Listening: Listen to an Academic Talk

Listening: Listen to an Academic Talk belongs to the Listening component of TOEFL iBT. The task gives you 4 questions and 4 minutes. Your result counts the questions you answer correctly.

Questions
4
Time
4 minutes
Prompts here
66 published

Build the lecture vocabulary that signals structure and emphasis — how a lecturer introduces a point, qualifies it, contrasts it and marks what matters.

Lecturers signal before they explain. Phrases that flag a definition, an exception or a conclusion tell you what is about to be asked.

Questions & answer key4 questions

Your Listening result comes from how many questions you get right. Each recording plays one time, so what is really tested is how much detail you can hold while the next line is already playing.

  1. 1What is the main point the professor makes about sourdough?

    1. AIt rises more slowly than industrial bread.
    2. ✓It involves a community of organisms rather than one.
    3. CIt requires preservatives to stay fresh.
    4. DIt was developed before commercial yeast existed.

  2. 2According to the professor, what do lactic acid bacteria contribute?

    1. ACarbon dioxide
    2. ✓Acid
    3. CGluten
    4. DHeat

  3. 3Why does the professor mention spoilage moulds?

    1. ✓To explain why sourdough keeps longer without preservatives.
    2. BTo warn that sourdough spoils faster than other bread.
    3. CTo describe a risk of home baking.
    4. DTo introduce a third organism in the community.

  4. 4What does the professor imply about bakers new to sourdough?

    1. AThey usually add too much yeast.
    2. ✓They may mistake normal dough behaviour for a mistake.
    3. CThey should avoid acidic starters.
    4. DThey find the dough stiffer than expected.

Try one yourself, under the clock

This page shows the key. Practice under the timer shows which kinds of question you keep missing — and that is the part worth fixing.

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Common questions
How demanding is the vocabulary?
ETS states that the upper-level listening items require understanding a wide range of vocabulary, including less common and idiomatic expressions.
Do I need the subject knowledge?
No. The talk supplies whatever specialist term it uses. The academic signposting vocabulary is what carries across every topic.
65 more Academic Talk prompts in the bank6 free
  • ·Academic Talk — a psychology class (Test 1, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a biology class (Test 2, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a linguistics class (Test 3, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a sociology class (Test 4, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a chemistry class (Test 5, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a computer science class (Test 6, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a neuroscience class (Test 7, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a zoology class (Test 8, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a botany class (Test 9, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a public health class (Test 10, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a genetics class (Test 1, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — an immunology class (Test 2, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a nutrition science class (Test 3, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — an entomology class (Test 4, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a cognitive science class (Test 5, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — an ecology class (Test 6, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a virology class (Test 7, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — a kinesiology class (Test 8, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — an ornithology class (Test 9, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — an astrophysics class (Test 10, Q17–20)
  • ·Academic Talk — Roman concretefree
  • ·Academic Talk — an environmental science class (Test 1, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an economics class (Test 2, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a geology class (Test 3, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a physics class (Test 4, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a political science class (Test 5, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a philosophy class (Test 6, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an ethnomusicology class (Test 7, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an architecture class (Test 8, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a classics class (Test 9, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a geography class (Test 10, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an urban planning class (Test 1, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an engineering class (Test 2, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a music theory class (Test 3, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a forensic science class (Test 4, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — an agricultural science class (Test 5, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a robotics class (Test 6, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a materials science class (Test 7, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a toxicology class (Test 8, Q28–31)
  • ·Academic Talk — a volcanology class (Test 9, Q28–31)
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