34 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Woman: Frank, how do I get to Times Square? Frank: Ask Sarah. She’s a native New Yorker.
Question: What is Frank assuming about Sarah? a. She always carries a map of New York City.
b. She doesn’t know how to get to Times Square. c. She will know how to get to Times Square because she
grew up in New York.
d. Frank doesn’t know how to get to Times Square. Choice c is correct. Choice a may be true, but it is not what
Frank is implying. Choice d may be true, but it doesn’t answer the question.
The last type of inference question asks you to make a log- ical conclusion about what the speaker will do in the future
based on the conversation:
Woman: I forgot my textbook. Professor Jacob said we could look at our books during the test.
Man: I have a copy that I’m not using.
Question: What will the woman probably do? a. Borrow the man’s textbook for the test.
b. Go home so she can get her book. c. Ask the professor if she can take the test another day.
d. Call home and see if her roommate will bring it to her.
Choice a is correct. The man is offering his book to the woman even though he is not saying it explicitly. You can make
this conclusion based on what he is suggesting.
LISTENING 35
OTHER QUESTION TYPES ON THE COMPUTER TEST
Most of the questions on the computer-based test are traditional multiple choice, but some are types that can only be used on a
computer. If you are taking the computer-based TOEFL exam, become familiar with these question types:
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Questions with more than one answer. You will select two of four possible answer choices. Here is an example:
Acid rain looks, feels, even tastes like clean rainwater, but it actually contains high levels of pollutants. Although natural
sources like gases from forest fires can be part of the problem, the burning of fossil fuels, such as car exhaust and smoke from
factories, is the main cause of acid rain. This how it works: pol- lutants mix in the atmosphere to form fine particles that can
be carried long distances by wind. Eventually, they return to the ground in the form of rain or other precipitation. Acid rain
has caused widespread damage in eastern North America, Europe, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
Question: Based on the lecture, which of the following can cause acid rain?
[Click on two answers.] a. contaminated drinking water
b. natural sources c. man-made pollutants
d. rain
Answer: b and c.
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Questions that use visual information. You will select an image or part of an image for your answer.
