Skill 18: ANTICIPATE THE TOPICS. (TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE (LISTENING))

TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE

(LISTENING)

Skill 18: ANTICIPATE THE TOPICS.

It is very helpful to your overall comprehension if you know what topics to expect in the long conversations. You should therefore try to anticipate the topics you will be hearing. For example, are the conversations about some aspect of school life, or some type of social issue, or a trip someone is planning? A helpful strategy is therefore to look briefly at the answers in the test book, therefore you actually hear the conversations on the recording, and try to determine the topics of the conversations that you will hear.

TOEFL EXERCISE 18: Look at the answers to five questions together, and try to anticipate the topic of the conversation for those five questions. (Of course, you cannot always determine exactly what the topic is, but you often can get a general idea.) Questions 1 through 5 have been answered for you

1	A.       Find work on campus B.        Work in the employment office. C.       Help students find jobs. D.       Ask the woman questions	4	A.       Every morning. B.        Afternoons and weekends. C.       When he’s in class. D.       Weekdays.
2	A.        In the library. B.         In a classroom. C.        In a campus office. D.        In an apartment.	5	A.       Fill out a form. B.        Give her some additional information. C.       Tell her some news. D.       Phone her.
3	A.        No more than ten B.         At least twenty C.        Not more than twenty D.        Up to ten

What is the topic of the conversations 1 through 5?

Looking for a job on campus_____________________________________________________

You can guess this because of the following clues:

·         work on campus

·         employment office

·         students

·         jobs

6	A.       Just before a vacation. B.        Just after the end of a school semester. C.       At the end of the summer. D.      Just after a break from school.	9	A.       Sleeping outside on the ground. B.        Spending time in a sauna or hot tub. C.       Relaxing at the lodge. D.      Enjoying excellent food.
7	A.       A trip to visit the Eskimos. B.        A trip the woman is planning to take. C.       A trip the man has already taken. D.       A camping trip the man and woman took.	10	A.       She’d be scared, but she’d like to try. B.        She can’t wait. C.       It would be quite exciting for her D.       She’d prefer not to try.
8	A.       Three hours. B.        Three complete days. C.       Three classes. D.       Three weeks.

What is the topic of the conversations 6 through 10?

11	A.       All kinds of pollution. B.        How acid rain has harmed the earth. C.       Pollution from cars and factories. D.      The causes and possible effects of acid rain.	14	A.       Only in North America. B.        At the North and South Poles C.       In parts of several northern continents. D.      In equatorial areas.
12	A.       Nuclear power. B.        Electricity C.       Burning coal and oil. D.       Solar power.	15	A.       She should protect herself from the rain. B.        She should clean up the water supply. C.       She should read a novel. D.       She should get more information about acid rain.
13	A.       From sulphur dioxide and water vapour. B.        From sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. C.       From nitric acid and sulphur dioxide. D.       From water vapour and nitric acid.

What is the topic of the conversations 11 through 15?

ANSWER KEY

Question 1 through 5: looking for a job on campus

Question 6 through 10: a trip taken during a school vacation

Question 11 through 15:  one type of pollution; acid rain