The official guide to the toefl ibt third edition part 22 doc

138 TOEFL iBT Listening How to Recognize Connecting Content Questions Connecting Content questions are typically phrased as follows: b What is the likely outcome of doing procedure X before procedure Y? b What can be inferred about X? b What does the professor imply about X? Tip for Connecting Content Questions b Questions that require you to fill in a chart or table or put events in order fall into this category. As you listen to the lectures accompanying this study guide, pay attention to the way you format your notes. Clearly iden- tifying terms and their definitions as well as steps in a process will help you answer questions of this type. Example Professor OK, Neptune and its moons. Neptune has several moons, but there’s only . . . we’ll probably only worry about two of them, the two fairly interesting ones. The first one’s Triton. So you have this little struggle with the word Titan which is the big moon of Saturn and the name Triton which is the big moon of Neptune . Triton it’s it’s the only large moon in the solar system to go backwards, to go around its what we call its par- ent planet, in this case Neptune, the wrong way. OK? Every other large moon orbits the parent planet in the same counterclockwise direction . . . same as most of the other bodies in the solar system. But this moon. . . the reverse direction, which is per- fectly OK as far as the laws of gravity are concerned. But it indicates some sort of pe- culiar event in the early solar system that gave this moon a motion in contrast to the general spin of the raw material that it was formed from. The other moon orbiting Neptune that I want to talk about is Nereid [NEER ee ihd]. Nereid is, Nereid has the most eccentric orbit, the most lopsided elliptical type orbit for a large moon in the solar system. The others tend more like circular orbits. . . . Does it mean that the planets Pluto and Neptune might have been related somehow in the past and then drifted slowly into their present orbits. If Pluto . . . did Pluto ever belong to the Neptune system? Do Neptune’s moons represent Pluto type bodies that have been captured by Neptune? Was some sort of . . . was Pluto the ob- ject that disrupted the Neptune system at some point in the past? It’s really hard to prove any of those things. But now we’re starting to appreciate that there’s quite a few junior Plutos out there. Not big enough to really call a planet, but large enough that they’re significant in history of the early solar system. So we’ll come back to those when we talk about comets and other small bodies in the fringes of the outer solar system. What does the professor imply about the orbits of Triton and Nereid? ɕ They used to be closer together. ɕ They might provide evidence of an undiscovered planet. ɕ They might reverse directions in the future. ɕ They might have been changed by some unusual event. 139 TOEFL iBT Listening Explanation In Connecting Content questions you will have to use information from more than one place in the listening passage. In this example, the professor describes the orbits of Triton and Nereid. In both cases he refers to events in the early solar system that might have changed or disrupted their orbits. The best answer for this question is choice 4, “They might have been changed by some unusual event.” Type 8: Making Inferences Questions The final type of connecting information question is Making Inferences ques- tions. In this kind of question you usually have to reach a conclusion based on facts presented in the listening passage. How to Recognize Making Inferences Questions Making Inferences questions are typically phrased as follows: b What does the professor imply about X? b What will the student probably do next? b What can be inferred about X? b What does the professor imply when he says this: (replay) Tip for Making Inferences Questions b In some cases, answering this kind of question correctly means adding up details from the passage to reach a conclusion. In other cases, the professor may imply something without directly stating it. In most cases the answer you choose will use vocabulary not found in the listening passage. Example Professor Dada is often considered under the broader category of Fantasy. It’s one of the early directions in the Fantasy style. The term “Dada” itself is a nonsense word—it has no meaning . . . and where the word originated isn’t known. The “philosophy” behind the “Dada” movement was to create works that conveyed the concept of absurdity —the artwork was meant to shock the public by presenting the ridiculous absurd concepts. Dada artists rejected reason—or rational thought. They did not believe that rational thought would help solve social problems . . . . . . When he turned to Dada, he quit painting and devoted himself to making a type of sculpture he referred to as a “ready-made” . . . probably because they were constructed of readily available objects. . . . At the time, many people reacted to Dadaism by saying that the works were not art at all . . . and in fact, that’s exactly how Duchamp and others conceived of it—as a form of “NON-art” . . . or ANTI-art. Duchamp also took a reproduction of DaVinci’s famous painting, the Mona Lisa, and he drew a mustache and goatee on the subject’s face. Treating this masterpiece with such disrespect was another way. Duchamp was challenging the established cul- tural standards of his day. What does the professor imply about the philosophy of the Dada movement? ɕ It was not taken seriously by most artists. ɕ It varied from one country to another. ɕ It challenged people’s concept of what art is. ɕ It was based on a realistic style of art. Explanation Note the highlighted portions of the listening passage. You can see that Dadaism was meant to challenge the public’s conception of what art was meant to be. The best answer to the question is choice 3. 140 TOEFL iBT Listening 141 TOEFL iBT Listening Basic Strategies for the TOEFL iBT Listening Section b Take notes while you listen. Only the major points will be tested, so do not try to write down every detail. After testing, notes are collected and shred- ded before you leave the test center. b When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the new words or concepts introduced by the professor. These will often be tested. b When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the way the lecture is organ- ized and the way the ideas in the lecture are connected. b Choose the best answer. The computer will ask you to confirm your choice. After clicking on OK, you automatically go on to the next question. b Listening questions must be answered in order. Once you click on OK, you cannot go back to a previous question. How to Sharpen Your Listening Skills Listening is one of the most important skills necessary for success on the TOEFL iBT test and in academics in general. The ability to listen and understand is tested in three out of four sections of the TOEFL iBT test. The best way to improve your listening skills is to listen frequently to many different types of material in various subject areas (sciences, social sciences, arts, business, etc.). Of course, watching movies and TV and listening to the radio is an excellent way to practice listening. Audio tapes and CDs of talks are available in libraries and bookstores; those with transcripts of the listening material are par- ticularly helpful. The Internet is also a great resource for listening material. Here are some ways you can strengthen skills for the three listening purposes tested on the TOEFL iBT test. Listening for Basic Comprehension b Increase your vocabulary knowledge, perhaps by using flashcards. b Focus on the content and flow of material. Do not be distracted by the speaker’s style and delivery. b Anticipate what the speaker is going to say as a way to stay focused, and adjust your predictions when you receive additional information. b Stay active by asking yourself questions (e.g., What main idea is the pro- fessor communicating?). b Copy the words “main idea,” “major points,” and “important details” on different lines of paper. Listen carefully and write these things down while listening. Listen again until all important points and details are written down. b Listen to a portion of a lecture or talk and write a brief summary of important points. Gradually increase the amount you listen to and sum- marize. Note: Summarizing skills are not tested in the Listening section, but they are useful for the integrated tasks in the Writing and Speaking sections. Listening for Pragmatic Understanding b Think about what each speaker hopes to accomplish; that is, what is the purpose of the speech or conversation? Is the speaker apologizing, com- plaining, making suggestions? b Notice the way each speaker talks. Is the language formal or casual? How certain does each speaker sound? Is the speaker’s voice calm or emo- tional? What does the speaker’s tone of voice tell you? b Notice the degree of certainty of the speaker. How sure is the speaker about the information? Does the speaker’s tone of voice indicate some- thing about his or her degree of certainty? b Listen for changes in topic or side comments in which the speaker briefly moves away from the main topic and then returns (digressions). b Watch television or movie comedies and pay attention to stress and into- nation patterns used to convey meaning. Listening to Connect Ideas b Think about how the lecture is organized. Listen for the signal words that indicate the introduction, major steps or ideas, examples, and the conclu- sion or summary. b Identify the relationships between ideas in the information being dis- cussed. Possible relationships include: cause-and-effect, compare-and- contrast, steps in a process. b Listen for words that show connections and relationships between ideas. b When you listen to recorded material, stop the recording at various points and try to predict what information or idea will be expressed next. b Create an outline of the information discussed while listening or after lis- tening. 142 TOEFL iBT Listening 143 Listening Practice Sets PRACTICE SET 1 Now listen to Audio Track 1. Questions Directions: Mark your answer by filling in the oval next to your choice. 1. Why does the man go to see his professor? ɕ To borrow some charts and graphs from her ɕ To ask her to explain some statistical procedures ɕ To talk about a report he is writing ɕ To discuss a grade he got on a paper 2. Listen again to part of the conversation by playing Track 2. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this? ɕ To question the length of the paper ɕ To offer encouragement ɕ To dispute the data sources ɕ To explain a theory 3. What information will the man include in his report? For each phrase below, place a checkmark in the “Include” column or the “Not Include” column. Include in Report Not Include in Report Climate charts Interviews with meteorologists Journal notes Statistical tests 4. Why does the professor tell the man about the appointment at the doctor’s office? ɕ To demonstrate a way of remembering things ɕ To explain why she needs to leave soon ɕ To illustrate a point that appears in his report ɕ To emphasize the importance of good health 5. What does the professor offer to do for the man? ɕ Help him collect more data in other areas of the state ɕ Submit his research findings for publication ɕ Give him the doctor’s telephone number ɕ Review the first version of his report PRACTICE SET 1 SCRIPT AND ANSWERS Track 1 Listening Script Narrator Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor. Student Uh, excuse me, Professor Thompson. I know your office hours are tomorrow, but I was wondering if you had a few minutes free now to discuss something. Professor Sure, John. What did you want to talk about? Student Well, I have some quick questions about how to write up the research project I did this semester—about climate variations. Professor Oh, yes. You were looking at variations in climate in the Grant City area, right? How far along have you gotten? 144 TOEFL iBT Listening . meant to challenge the public’s conception of what art was meant to be. The best answer to the question is choice 3. 140 TOEFL iBT Listening 141 TOEFL iBT Listening Basic Strategies for the TOEFL. again to part of the conversation by playing Track 2. Then answer the question. Why does the professor say this? ɕ To question the length of the paper ɕ To offer encouragement ɕ To dispute the. of the most important skills necessary for success on the TOEFL iBT test and in academics in general. The ability to listen and understand is tested in three out of four sections of the TOEFL iBT