Listening Part C (Talks)

Part C of the Listening Comprehension section of the TOEFL test consists of three talks, each followed by a number of questions. You will hear the talks and the questions on a recording; they are not written in your test book. You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices that are written in you test book. Like the conversations in Listening Part B, the talks are often about some aspect of school life or topics currently in the news. It is also very common for the talks to be shortened versions of lectures from courses taught in American colleges and universities.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

(narrator)   : Questions 1 through 4. Listen to a lecture in a history class.

(woman)   :  Salt, which today seems so plentiful to us, in the past used to be a valuable commodity. In the  

                   ancient past in China, salt was used to make coins and in parts of Africa it was traded in place   

                  of  money. In the Roman Empire, soldiers were not paid in money but were instead paid in salt.    

                   In fact, the English word “salary, “ which means the amount of money that one earns, comes 

                  from  the Latin root for “salt.

Questions:

1.On the recording, you hear:

     (narrator) What is the topic of the talk?

     In your test book, you read:

     (A) Valuable commodities.

     (B) Salt.

     (C) Ancient China.

     (D) Money.

2.On the recording, you hear:

   (narrator) What was salt used for in China?

   In your test book, you read:

   (A) To spice food.

   (B) To build houses.

    (C) To make coins

    (D) To locate Africa.

3. On the recording, you hear:

   (narrator) What does “salary” mean in English?

    In your test book, you read:

    (A) Coins.

    (B) Earnings

    (C) Soldiers.

    (D) Commodities.

4. On the recording, you hear:

    (narrator) What is the meaning of the root “sal” in Latin?

   In your test book, you read:

   (A) Salt.

   (B) Rome.

   (C) Money.

   (D) Trade.

Analysis:

• The first question asks about the topic of the talk. The speaker begins with salt and continues to talk about it throughout the passage, so the best answer is answer (B).
• The second question asks about the use of salt in China. The speaker says that in China, salt was used to make coins, so the best answer is answer (C). 
• The third question asks the meaning of salary. The speaker says that salary means the amount of money that one earns, so the best answer is answer (B). 
• The last question asks about the meaning of the root sal. The speaker says that “salary”.. comes from the Latin root for “salt,” so the best answer is answer (A).