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TOEFL Listening Exercise Questions Set 1


Audio Duration

  1. Conversation 1   0:02 - 2:50
  2. Lecture 1   2:54 - 7:30
  3. Lecture 2   7:34 - 11:50
  4. Conversation 2   11:54 - 15:16
  5. Lecture 3   15:20 - 21:29 


Conversation 1
Question 1 of 5 (hard)
Why does the student go to the work-study office?
A.To talk about what he would like to do after graduation
B.To receive feedback on his performance at work
C.To ask for advice about finding a new job
D.To learn what courses best match his career goals

Question 2 of 5 (easy)

What information was included in the report from the museum director?

A.The student spoke with friends when he should have been helping visitors.

B.The student did not give accurate information to museum visitors.

C.The student arrived late to work on one occasion.

D.The student requested a job in a different part of the museum.


Question 3 of 5 (medium)

What is the student's main concern about his job?

A.He does not like working outdoors.

B.He is not confident interacting with museum visitors.

C.He does not have enough time to spend on academic studies.

D.He is not interested in the sculptures at the museum.


Question 4 of 5 (easy)

Why does the woman suggest that the student call the curator's office? Click on 2 answers.

A.To find out if he can work there

B.To get more information about the sculpture garden

C.To apologize for causing a problem at the museum

D.To learn what background he will need to become a curator


Question 5 of 5 (medium)

What does the woman imply when she says this: 


That's why they hired you and why they were willing to pay you. Museums normally use volunteers you know.


A.The student does not understand that the museum's rules are less strict for volunteers.

B.The student should work more closely with volunteers in the sculpture garden.

C.The museum should hire more work-study students.

D.The student does not appreciate his job.


Lecture 1

Question 1 of 6 (hard)

What does the professor mainly discuss in the lecture? Click on 2 answers.

A.Some ways birds benefit by having homing abilities

B.Several ways that birds improve their homing abilities

C.Some navigational tools that birds use in migration and homing

D.Several research studies that measure migration and homing abilities in birds


Question 2 of 6 (hard)

According to the professor, what are three ways in which homing behavior is different from migration behavior in birds? Click on 3 answers.

A.Homing is not a seasonal activity.

B.Homing does not always involve long distances.

C.Homing behavior is learned rather than instinctive.

D.Homing abilities allow birds to deal with unexpected situations.

E.Homing requires the use of different navigational tools than does migration.


Question 3 of 6 (easy)

According to the professor, birds often take a different route when they leave the nest to hunt for food than they do when they return to the nest. What is one reason for this behavior?

A.Birds use the return flight to teach their young homing skills.

B.Birds want to complete the return trip as quickly as possible.

C.By taking different routes, birds have access to more food sources.

D.By taking different routes, birds avoid predators that may try to follow them.


Question 4 of 6 (medium)

Why does the professor mention a study with gannets?

A.To identify a bird species that does not migrate long distances

B.To explain that some birds fly in spiral patterns until they locate food sources

C.To illustrate differences in behavior between coastal and mountain bird species

D.To demonstrate that some birds use distinctive features of the landscape as a navigation tool


Question 5 of 6 (easy)

What does the professor imply about the design of research experiments that the students might conduct on bird navigation?

A.Well-designed research studies help to explain human as well as bird navigational abilities.

B.Past research studies were mistakenly designed to study only one navigational skill at a time.

C.Students need to be careful to avoid designing experiments that are based on faulty assumptions.

D.Students should try to design experiments that challenge traditional theories about birds' navigational abilities.


Question 6 of 6 (easy)

Why does the student say this:


Student: I think so. I mean, we talked about using the sun and the stars as navigation and guides, and that would certainly be helpful for homing. And so with that ability to sense earth's magnetic poles, the one in the studies you described about the um, internal magnetic compass birds have. Yeah, it should be the same.


A.To establish a connection between two scientific studies

B.To point out that the professor mentioned these details in a previous class

C.To indicate she is confident that her initial response was correct

D.To show that she agrees with the professor's interpretation of a theory


Lecture 2

Question 1 of 6 (easy)

What is the lecture mainly about?

A.Instruments that have helped improve astronomical observations

B.The impact of the big bang theory on astronomy

C.The importance of computers in astronomy

D.The development of the interferometer


Question 2 of 6 (easy)

According to the professor, why was the Hooker telescope important?

A.It allowed astronomers to differentiate between solo-and multiple-star systems.

B.It allowed astronomers to accurately measure the dimensions of stars.

C.It was the first telescope to be attached to a computer.

D.It helped astronomers develop the big bang theory.


Question 3 of 6 (easy)

According to the professor, what advantage does an interferometer have over a conventional telescope?

A.It is simpler to operate.

B.It provides a more detailed image.

C.It allows astronomers to see farther.

D.It helps astronomers determine if stars are moving away from one another.


Question 4 of 6 (medium)

Why does the professor mention the star Castor?

A.To point out how it differs from most other stars

B.To give an example of a discovery made using the Hooker telescope

C.To demonstrate the interferometer's capabilities

D.To remind the class of an important discovery discussed in the reading


Question 5 of 6 (medium)

What does the professor imply when he says this:


And there are other things as well. How do stars behave as they age? Why do they cluster together? What was our sun like in the past? Can we predict giant flares or periods of dimming?


A.Interferometers may help scientists find answers to many astronomical questions.

B.The students should look for the answers to these questions in their textbook.

C.There are many areas of astronomy that the class has not yet covered.

D.Some astronomical questions will never be answered.


Question 6 of 6 (easy)

What does the professor imply when he says this:


Professor: I doubt it. Remember, big bang was a really revolutionary theory. But then again, if an interferometer is used to locate a planet that supports life, well, that's another story altogether.


A.He will discuss the topic in a later class session.

B.He may change his mind about the impact of interferometers.

C.He does not believe there are other planets that support life.

D.He thinks that the technology of both telescopes and interferometers will soon be outdated.

Conversation 2

Question 1 of 5 (medium)

Why does the man go to see the professor?

A.To confirm that he is registered for her class

B.To introduce himself to her before the beginning of classes

C.To discuss work he plans to do in preparation for her class

D.To borrow a copy of a film he missed in class


Question 2 of 5 (easy)

What did the man wrongly assume?

A.That he cannot take a film class during his second year of college

B.That he is required to take a film class

C.That he has registered for a filmmaking class

D.That a film class will fulfill his English literature requirement


Question 3 of 5 (easy)

What will the students learn about in Professor Johnson's class?

A.How classic stories become films

B.How to produce a film

C.Famous screenwriters

D.Narrative techniques used in film


Question 4 of 5 (easy)

What do the film narrative class and the English composition class have in common?

A.Both use the same textbook.

B.Both require students to write a lot of papers.

C.Both are taught by Professor Webb.

D.Both are required for a degree in film studies.


Question 5 of 5 (easy)

What does the professor suggest the man find out at the English department?

A.Whether the English department offers a course on narratives in stories

B.Whether the film narrative course could be accepted for his English requirement

C.When the man needs to make a final decision about his fall classes

D.When the English composition class is scheduled to meet

Lecture 3

Question 1 of 6 (easy)

What is the lecture mainly about?

A.The influence of the Harlem Renaissance on political movements in the United States

B.What the Harlem Renaissance was and why it happened

C.Why the Harlem Renaissance came to an early end

D.A comparison of literary works written during the Harlem Renaissance


Question 2 of 6 (medium)

According to the professor, what literary innovations did Harlem Renaissance writers introduce in their works? Click on 2 answers.

A.The characters in their novels were cosmopolitan.

B.They incorporated folk traditions into their writing.

C.They brought elements of African American music to their poetry.

D.They celebrated urban life instead of traditional rural life.


Question 3 of 6 (easy)

Where did the cultural renaissance discussed in the lecture take place?

A.It was confined to Harlem in New York City.

B.It spread among rural communities of African immigrants.

C.It was centered around the town of Niagara Falls.

D.It mostly occurred in cities in the north of the United States.


Question 4 of 6 (medium)

What does the professor imply about the dates of the Harlem Renaissance?

A.The renaissance began several years before the publication of Dubois first book.

B.Historians do not agree about when the renaissance began.

C.Many people assume the renaissance lasted longer than it actually did.

D.The renaissance ended when the First World War ended.


Question 5 of 6 (easy)

According to the professor, which historical events created conditions for the development of African American literature in the 1920s? Click on 3 answers.

A.The rise of the labor union movement

B.The mass migration of the rural population to cities

C.The founding of new universities in the North

D.A meeting led by DuBois

E.The return of veterans of World War l


Question 6 of 6 (easy)

What does the professor imply when she says this:


Student: When you say they were seeking to get away from unfair treatment in the south, was living in the north really that much different from living in the south back then? Professor: You might think it was. But those discriminatory practices existed everywhere in the US. They were in the south, but in the north as well.


A.The assumption is reasonable but false.

B.The student's question was not very perceptive.

C.The student should find the answer for himself.

D.The class should pay closer attention.