TOEFL Listening Mock Test 2

NARRATOR: Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor. STUDENT: Hi, Professor Ingrid. Do you have a few minutes? I wanted to ask for some help with our upcoming class presentation. PROFESSOR: Hello, Tomas. Yes, please come in and take a seat. I am happy to help. We do need to finalize your presentation topic soon. Remember, the deadline to submit your official topic sheet is this Friday at five p.m. STUDENT: Yes, that is exactly why I am here. I am having a really hard time choosing a topic. Originally, I wanted to talk about the history of agriculture in both Asia and Europe. I thought I could compare wheat, barley, and rice all in one talk. PROFESSOR: Ah, I see. Well, comparing three major grains across two continents is a very big project. Your presentation is only allowed to be five minutes long. If you try to cover all three, you will quickly run out of time. It is much better to focus on just one specific crop in one region. STUDENT: Oh, okay. Five minutes is indeed very short. I, uh, I guess I did not realize how fast that time goes by. So, if I have to pick just one... I think barley is really interesting. I read a little bit about how it was grown in ancient Mesopotamia. PROFESSOR: Barley is an excellent choice. It was one of the earliest cultivated grains in that region. To make your talk unique, you could focus on how barley was actually used as a form of payment, or, you know, money. STUDENT: Wait, they used barley like money? I did not know that! That is a really cool angle. But, I am a bit worried. Where can I find reliable articles about ancient barley payments? PROFESSOR: You should start with the university library website. We have a special digital database called "Ancient Agriculture Online." It has short, verified articles that are perfect for a five-minute classroom presentation. STUDENT: That sounds perfect. I will search that database today and fill out my topic sheet tonight. I will make sure to print it and slide it under your office door before Friday at five. PROFESSOR: That works. Just make sure you also write down your main research question on the sheet. I look forward to reading it! [Q1] Why does the student go to see the professor?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q2] According to the professor, what is the deadline to submit the topic sheet?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q3] What interesting detail about barley does the professor mention?

(Shared with Q1.) [Q4] What does the professor imply about the student's original presentation plan?

(Shared with Q1.) [Replay: "I, uh, I guess I did not realize how fast that time goes by."] [Q5] Why does the student say this: "I, uh, I guess I did not realize how fast that time goes by."

NARRATOR: Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. PROFESSOR: Okay, everyone, let's get started. Today, we're going to talk about how plants communicate. Now, when you think of plants, you probably think of them as silent, solitary organisms. But actually, they are highly connected, particularly underground. Most plants form symbiotic—uh, mutually beneficial—relationships with fungi, creating what we call Common Mycorrhizal Networks, or CMNs. A CMN is essentially an underground web of fungal threads, called hyphae, that physically links the root systems of different plants in an area. Traditionally, we've known that these networks help plants share resources like water, phosphorus, and nitrogen. But recent research shows they do much more—they actually act as a sort of information superhighway for sending warning signals. STUDENT: Wait, so plants can actually send warning messages to each other through fungi? PROFESSOR: Exactly, Lukas. When a plant is attacked by pests, say, aphids, it doesn't just suffer in silence. It sends out chemical warnings, or infochemicals—which are simply chemical compounds used to transmit information. These infochemicals travel through the CMN to neighboring plants. Let's look at a key study involving broad bean plants. Researchers set up an experiment where they grew bean plants in groups. Some were connected by a CMN, while others were prevented from forming these fungal connections. Now, to make sure the signals weren't just diffusing through the soil, the researchers used different types of mesh barriers. Some mesh had pores so small that plant roots and fungal hyphae couldn't pass through, but water and small molecules could. Other barriers blocked everything. They introduced aphids—which are tiny, sap-sucking insects—to one "donor" plant in each group. And here is the fascinating part. The neighboring plants that were connected to the donor by the fungal network quickly started producing defensive volatile chemicals. These volatiles do two things: they repel aphids, and they actually attract predatory wasps, which are the natural enemies of aphids. But the neighboring plants that were isolated from the network? They didn't produce any defenses at all. They had no idea the danger was coming. STUDENT: Wow, so the connected plants were basically pre-warned. But does this signaling cost the plants anything? PROFESSOR: That's a great question. Activating defenses before an attacker even arrives—a process we call priming—does require metabolic energy. The plant has to divert resources away from growth to make these defensive chemicals. However, compared to the massive damage an unchecked aphid infestation would cause, this energy cost is well worth it. It's a classic evolutionary trade-off. By investing a little energy early, the plant ensures its survival. Now, this underground communication isn't just a friendly neighborhood alert system. It also raises questions about whether plants are actively helping their relatives, or if the fungi themselves are driving this communication to protect their host plants, which provide them with carbon. [Q6] What is the lecture mainly about?

(Shared with Q6.) [Q7] According to the professor, what is a Common Mycorrhizal Network (CMN)?

(Shared with Q6.) [Q8] According to the study mentioned by the professor, what are two effects of the volatile chemicals produced by the warned bean plants? Choose 2 answers.

(Shared with Q6.) [Q9] Why does the professor mention the different pore sizes of the mesh barriers used in the experiment?

(Shared with Q6.) [Q10] According to the professor, what is a drawback of "priming" for a plant?

(Shared with Q6.) [Replay: "But the neighboring plants that were isolated from the network? They didn't produce any defenses at all. They had no idea the danger was coming."] [Q11] Why does the speaker say this:

NARRATOR: Listen to a conversation between a student and an academic advisor. Student: Hi, Mr. Vance. Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice. I'm Ingrid. I'm hoping you can help me make sense of my graduation audit. I just checked it online yesterday, and it says I'm still short by six credits for my environmental studies major. But... well, I spent last semester studying in Costa Rica, and I thought those biology courses would fulfill my upper-level elective requirements. Advisor: Hi, Ingrid. Please, sit down. Let's pull up your file here. Ah, yes, I see the Costa Rica credits on your transcript. They're currently listed under 'general electives' at the bottom of the page. Here's the thing: when you study abroad, the registrar's office automatically inputs those credits as general electives. They don't automatically match them up with specific major requirements, even if the course titles look similar. Student: Oh, I see. So that's why they aren't counting toward my major. I was really starting to panic because I'm supposed to graduate this coming spring. Is there any way to fix this, or do I have to take two more classes next semester? That would really overload my schedule. Advisor: Don't worry, you won't necessarily have to take more classes. What you need to do is submit a Course Substitution Form for each of the two biology classes you took abroad. Basically, this form asks the head of the Environmental Studies department to officially approve those Costa Rica courses as equivalent to our upper-level electives. Once they sign off on it, you bring the forms back here, and we'll update your audit. Student: Okay, that sounds doable. But... is there a deadline for this? I know the general graduation application is due next month. Advisor: Yes, there is. For the courses to be officially applied to this evaluation cycle, the signed forms must be submitted to the registrar's office by this Friday at five p.m. If you miss that window, you can still submit them, but you'll be charged a forty-five dollar late processing fee, and it might delay your official graduation clearance. Student: This Friday? Wow, that's... that's only three days from now. I'll have to find the department head, Dr. Perez, right away. I just hope she's in her office this week. Advisor: Actually, Dr. Perez is at an academic conference until Thursday. But you don't have to meet with her in person. You can email her the completed forms along with the course syllabi from Costa Rica. She can sign them digitally and email them back to you, or send them directly to us. I'd highly recommend doing that today, though, so she has time to review them as soon as she gets back. Student: That's a huge relief. I still have the digital syllabi saved on my laptop. I'll fill out the forms right now and email her. Thank you so much for explaining this! Advisor: You're welcome, Ingrid. Just make sure those syllabi have detailed weekly course descriptions, as that's what departments usually look at to verify the academic rigor. Let me print out those forms for you now so you can get started. [Q12] Why does the student go to see the academic advisor?

(Shared with Q12.) [Q13] According to the advisor, what is the default status of credits earned during study abroad?

(Shared with Q12.) [Q14] What does the advisor imply about sending the syllabi to the department head?

(Shared with Q12.) [Q15] Why does the advisor mention a forty-five dollar fee?

(Shared with Q12.) [Replay: "Don't worry, you won't necessarily have to take more classes."] [Q16] Why does the advisor say this:

NARRATOR: Listen to part of a lecture in an environmental science class. PROFESSOR: Today, we're going to dive into one of the most complex, and honestly, one of the most uncertain variables in modern climate modeling: the indirect effects of aerosols on clouds. Now, we already know that aerosols—which are microscopic solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere—can directly reflect or absorb incoming solar radiation. But their indirect effects—how they alter the properties of clouds themselves—are far more intricate. To understand this, we first need to look at Cloud Condensation Nuclei, or CCN. CCN are simply the specific aerosol particles upon which water vapor can condense to form cloud droplets. In a pristine atmosphere, say, over the middle of the ocean, CCN are relatively scarce. So, when water vapor condenses, it's distributed among a smaller number of particles, resulting in fewer, but larger, cloud droplets. PROFESSOR: But what happens when human activities—like burning fossil fuels—inject a massive amount of artificial aerosols into the air? Well, we suddenly have a much higher concentration of CCN. This brings us to our first major concept: the Twomey Effect, also known as the cloud albedo indirect effect. Named after physicist Sean Twomey, this principle states that for a fixed amount of water vapor, an increase in aerosol concentration leads to a cloud with a larger number of smaller droplets. Because many small droplets present a greater total surface area to incoming sunlight than fewer large ones do, the cloud becomes significantly more reflective, or... uh, it has a higher albedo. It bounces more solar energy back into space, which has a cooling effect on the planet. STUDENT: So... if these polluted clouds are more reflective and cool the Earth, does that mean aerosol pollution is actually helping us mitigate global warming? PROFESSOR: That's a tempting conclusion, Tomas, but it's a double-edged sword. While it does temporarily mask some greenhouse warming, aerosols don't last nearly as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide does. Plus, the climate system is highly non-linear. And that leads us to our second concept: the Albrecht Effect, or the cloud lifetime indirect effect. Proposed by atmospheric scientist Bruce Albrecht, this concept focuses on what happens after those smaller droplets form. Because the droplets are so tiny, they struggle to coalesce—that is, to merge together to form raindrops heavy enough to fall. As a result, precipitation is suppressed. Because the clouds aren't raining themselves out, they persist in the atmosphere for much longer periods. They also tend to grow thicker. PROFESSOR: To see this in action, we can look at a very striking real-world phenomenon known as 'ship tracks.' If you've ever looked at satellite imagery of the ocean, you might have seen these long, narrow, bright white lines cutting through low-lying marine stratus clouds. These tracks are formed by the exhaust plumes of cargo ships. The sulfur-rich particles in the ships' fuel act as highly efficient CCN. As the ships move, they inject these aerosols into the clean marine air, creating linear clouds of tiny, highly reflective droplets. These ship tracks are visible proof of both the Twomey and Albrecht effects: they are brighter than the surrounding clouds, and they persist much longer because the droplets are too small to fall as rain. PROFESSOR: However, measuring these effects on a global scale is incredibly difficult. For instance, while ship tracks clearly demonstrate localized cooling, scaling this up to global climate models introduces huge margins of error. Why? Because clouds are incredibly dynamic. If a cloud persists longer due to suppressed rain, it might also evaporate faster at its edges due to dry air mixing, a process called entrainment. This entrainment can actually cause the cloud to shrink under certain conditions, offsetting the cooling effect. So, what looks like a straightforward cooling mechanism in a localized ship track becomes a deeply unpredictable variable when we try to project global temperatures fifty years into the future. [Q17] What is the lecture mainly about?

(Shared with Q17.) [Q18] According to the professor, how does a cloud in a pristine environment differ from one in a polluted environment?

(Shared with Q17.) [Q19] Why does the professor mention the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide compared to aerosols?

(Shared with Q17.) [Q20] Based on the discussion of ship tracks, how do they demonstrate both the Twomey effect and the Albrecht effect?

(Shared with Q17.) [Q21] What can be inferred about the process of entrainment in clouds?

(Shared with Q17.) [Replay: "That's a tempting conclusion, Tomas, but it's a double-edged sword."] [Q22] Why does the professor say this:

NARRATOR: Listen to part of a lecture in a cognitive psychology class. PROFESSOR: Yesterday, we discussed how the brain organizes visual stimuli, but today we’re shifting our focus to cognitive linguistics—specifically, how we process the meaning of words. For decades, the dominant view was that language comprehension is entirely symbolic and abstract. In this traditional model, when you read a word, your brain decodes it using a mental dictionary that operates independently of your physical senses. PROFESSOR: However, a newer paradigm has gained considerable traction. It’s called embodied semantics. Embodied semantics is the theory that understanding language is not just an abstract cognitive exercise, but rather, it involves mentally simulating the actual physical sensations or motor actions associated with the words. So, when you hear a word like "kick," your brain doesn’t just look up an abstract definition. Instead, it subtly activates the premotor cortex—the region responsible for planning leg movements. It’s as if your brain is executing a mini-simulation of the action itself. STUDENT: Excuse me, Professor. I can see how that works for concrete actions like "kick" or "grab." But what about abstract concepts? We use words like "justice" or, um, "interest rates" all the time. Surely we don't simulate those physically? PROFESSOR: That is the ultimate challenge for embodied semantics, Lukas, and it brings us to our second concept: abstract conceptual mapping. This is the process where we understand abstract ideas by metaphorically mapping them onto physical, bodily experiences. Take the concept of social warmth, for instance. We often describe a friendly person as "warm" and an unfriendly person as "cold." Researchers have found that this isn't just a figure of speech. In a well-known study, participants who were asked to briefly hold a cup of hot coffee rated a stranger as significantly warmer and more trustworthy than those who held iced coffee. The physical sensation of warmth actually primed, or pre-activated, the psychological concept of friendliness. So, yes, even abstract concepts seem to have physical scaffolding in our minds. PROFESSOR: Let’s look at another striking piece of evidence for this mind-body connection: the Action-Sentence Compatibility Effect, or simply the ACE. The ACE is a psychological phenomenon where physical reaction times are altered depending on whether a physical movement aligns with the meaning of a sentence. PROFESSOR: To study this, researchers had participants sit in front of a button box. They were asked to read sentences on a screen and decide, as quickly as possible, if the sentences made sense. To register their answer, they had to press a button. But here is the catch: for some trials, the "yes" button was located further away from their body, requiring an outward hand movement. For other trials, the "yes" button was closer, requiring an inward movement toward their body. PROFESSOR: Now, think about a sentence like "He closed the drawer." If you close a drawer, you push it away from you, right? The researchers found that when participants read a sentence describing an action directed away from the body, they were significantly faster to press the "yes" button if that button required them to move their hand away from their body. If they had to pull their hand toward themselves to press the button, their response times were measurably slower. PROFESSOR: Now, this effect—uh, wait, let make a crucial distinction here—the delay isn't because the participants were confused by the sentences. Rather, it’s because the motor system was already "busy" preparing a simulation of pushing away, which created a brief mental bottleneck when they were asked to physically pull their hand inward. This interference is powerful evidence that we don't just process language in an isolated, abstract linguistic chamber. Our motor systems are actively recruited to help us make sense of the world. [Q23] What is the lecture mainly about?

(Shared with Q23.) [Q24] According to the professor, what occurs in the brain when a person hears a concrete action verb like "kick"?

(Shared with Q23.) [Q25] In the study involving the Action-Sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE), what two tasks were participants required to perform? Choose 2 answers.

(Shared with Q23.) [Q26] Why does the professor discuss the experiment where participants held a cup of coffee?

(Shared with Q23.) [Q27] What does the professor imply about the delay in reaction times observed during the ACE experiment?

(Shared with Q23.) [Replay: "Now, this effect—uh, wait, let make a crucial distinction here—the delay isn't because the participants were confused by the sentences."] [Q28] Why does the speaker say this: