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Reading Section
Directions: These sample questions in the
Reading section measure your ability to
understand academic passages in English
...
In a real test, you would have 20
minutes to read the passage and answer the
questions
...

Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction

5

10

There is increasing evidence that the impacts
of meteorites have had important effects on
Earth, particularly in the field of biological
evolution
...
Twice in the
twentieth century, large meteorite objects are
known to have collided with Earth
...
The best-documented
such impact took place 65 million years ago at
the end of the Cretaceous period of geological
history
...

While there are a dozen or more mass
extinctions in the geological record, the
Cretaceous mass extinction has always
intrigued paleontologists because it marks the
end of the age of the dinosaurs
...
Then, suddenly, they disappeared
...
Scientists first identified
this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of
sediment deposited from the dust cloud that
enveloped the planet after the impact
...
Even diluted by the terrestrial
material excavated from the crater, this
component of meteorites is easily identified
...
The
crater, now deeply buried in sediment, was
originally about 200 kilometers in diameter
...
The explosion
lifted about 100 trillion tons of dust into the
atmosphere, as can be determined by
measuring the thickness of the sediment layer
formed when this dust settled to the surface
...
The explosion is also calculated to
have produced vast quantities of nitric acid and
melted rock that sprayed out over much of
Earth, starting widespread fires that must have
consumed most terrestrial forests and
grassland
...

Several other mass extinctions in the
geological record have been tentatively
identified with large impacts, but none is so
dramatic as the Cretaceous event
...
What is a
catastrophe for one group of living things,
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75

80

85

90

95

100

however, may create opportunities for another
group
...

Impacts by meteorites represent one
mechanism that could cause global
catastrophes and seriously influence the
evolution of life all over the planet
...
Such a perspective fundamentally
changes our view of biological evolution
...

Yet an equally important criterion is the ability
of a species to survive random global
ecological catastrophes due to impacts
...
In 1991 the
United States Congress asked NASA to
investigate the hazard posed today by large
impacts on Earth
...
Although there is always some risk
that a large impact could occur, careful study
shows that this risk is quite small
...
The word “pose” on line 4 is closest in
meaning to
a
...
model
c
...
present
2
...
To support the claim that the mass
extinction at the end of the Cretaceous
is the best-documented of the dozen or
so mass extinctions in the geological
record

-5-

b
...
To explain why paleontologists have
always been intrigued by the
mass extinction at the end of the
Cretaceous
d
...
Which of the following can be inferred from
paragraph 3 about the location of the
meteorite impact in Mexico?
a
...

b
...


-6-

c
...

d
...

4
...
They discovered a large crater in the
Yucatán region of Mexico
...
They found a unique layer of sediment
worldwide
...
They were alerted by archaeologists
who had been excavating in the
Yucatán region
...
They located a meteorite with a mass of
over a trillion tons
...
The word “excavating” on line 44 is closest
in meaning to
a
...
extending
c
...
covering up
6
...
changed
b
...
destroyed
d
...
According to paragraph 4, all of the
following statements are true of the impact
at the end of the Cretaceous period
EXCEPT:
a
...

b
...

c
...

d
...

8
...
identified after careful study
b
...
occasionally identified
d
...
The word “perspective” on line 84 is closest
in meaning to
a
...
point of view
c
...
complication
10
...
The most important factor for the
survival of a species is its ability to
compete and adapt to gradual changes
in its environment
...
The ability of a species to compete and
adapt to a gradually changing
environment is not the only ability that
is essential for survival
...
Since most extinctions of species are
due to major meteorite impacts, the
ability to survive such impacts is the
most important factor for the survival
of a species
...
The factors that are most important for
the survival of a species vary
significantly from one species to
another
...
Which of the sentences below best
expresses the essential information in the
following sentence?
Earth is a target in a cosmic shooting
gallery, subject to random violent
events that were unsuspected a few
decades ago
...

a
...


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b
...

c
...

d
...

12
...
Paleontologists
b
...
The United States Congress
d
...
Look at the four letters (A, B, C, and D)
that indicate where the following sentence
could be added to the passage in
paragraph 6
...

Where would the sentence best fit?
Impacts by meteorites represent one
mechanism that could cause global
catastrophes and seriously influence the
evolution of life all over the planet
...
(B) Such a perspective fundamentally
changes our view of biological evolution
...
(D) Yet an equally important
criterion is the ability of a species to survive
random global ecological catastrophes due to
impacts
...

a
...
Option B
c
...
Option D
14
...
Complete the summary by
selecting the THREE answer choices that
express the most important ideas in the
passage
...
This question is worth 2
points
...
You can write in the
number of the answer choice or the whole
sentence
...


•

•

•

Answer choices
(1) Scientists had believed for centuries that
meteorite activity influenced evolution on
Earth
...

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(3) There have also been large meteorite
impacts on the surface of the Moon, leaving
craters like Tycho
...

(5) Large meteorite impacts, such as one at
the end of the Cretaceous period, can seriously
affect climate, ecological niches, plants, and
animals
...


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Key to Reading Section:
1
...
c
3
...
b
5
...
c
7
...
b
9
...
b
11
...
d
13
...
4,5,6

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Listening Section
Directions: The Listening section measures
your ability to understand conversations and
lectures in English
...
The questions typically ask about the
main idea and supporting details
...
Answer the questions based on what
is stated or implied by the speakers
...
If a question is
worth more than one point, it will have special
directions that indicate how many points you
can receive
...
Your notes
will not be scored
...

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(Male coach) Hi, Elizabeth
...
I just thought
I’d stop by to see what I missed while I was
gone
...
I’ve
asked Susan to go over it with you before
practice this afternoon, so you’ll know what
we’re doing
...

(Male coach) By the way, how did your
brother’s wedding go?
(Female student) Oh, it was beautiful
...
I saw aunts and
uncles and cousins I hadn’t seen in years
...

(Female student) Oh definitely
...
I feel bad about
that
...


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(Female student) Yep
...

(Male coach) Just a minute
...

(Female student) Oh, okay
...
First, everybody’s
getting a new team jacket
...
How did that
happen?
(Male coach) A woman who played here
about 20, 25 years ago came through town a
few weeks ago and saw a game, and said she
wanted to do something for the team, so
...

(Female student) Wow, that’s really nice of
her
...
It’s great that former
players still care so much about our school and
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our basketball program
...
I’ll give it to you now,
and you can bring it back this afternoon
...
Maybe we’ll
have the jackets by the next game
...

(Male coach) Great
...
And the other players
unanimously picked you to take over as
captain when Mary leaves
...
I saw everybody this
morning, and nobody said a word
...
So,
do you accept?
(Female student) Of course! But Susan’s a
much better player than I am
...

(Male coach) They think you’re the right one
...

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(Female student) Okay
...

(Male coach) Good idea
...

(Female student) And I’ll make sure the
whole team signs it
...
That’s all the news there
is
...
Oh, let me get you
that order form
...
What are the speakers mainly discussing?
a
...
The woman’s responsibilities as team
captain
c
...
The style of the new team uniforms

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2
...
The coach
b
...
A former player
d
...
There are two answers for the next
question
...

Why is the woman surprised to learn that
she has been chosen as the new team
captain?
a
...

b
...

c
...

d
...


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4
...
Then
answer the question
...
I feel bad about that
...

What does the man mean when he says:
“Family’s very important
...
He hopes the woman’s family is doing
well
...
He would like to meet the woman’s
family
...
The woman should spend more time
with her family
...
The woman had a good reason for
missing practice
...
Why does the coach say: “Good
...
I think that’s it for now
...
He wants to know if the woman
understood his point
...
He wants the woman to act
immediately
...
He is preparing to change the topic
...
He is ready to end the conversation
...

(Male professor) Today I’d like to introduce
you to a novel that some critics consider the
finest detective novel ever written
...
We’re talking about The Moonstone
by Wilkie Collins
...

Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, such as “The Murders
in the Rue Morgue” and
...
” Now these were short stories that
featured a detective
...
But The Moonstone, which follows
them by about twenty years—it was published
in 1868—this is the first full-length detective
novel ever written
...

uh, come to it as a contemporary reader—
what’s interesting is that most of the features
you find in almost any detective novel are in
fact already present
...
It’s, it’s really a
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wonderful novel and I recommend it, even just
as a fun book to read, if you’ve never read it
...
I’m not gonna go into the plot
at length, but, you know, the basic set-up is
...
there’s this diamond of great
...
That’s Sergeant Cuff
...
well, let me try to give you a
sense of who Sergeant Cuff is, by first
describing the regular police
...
and able to solve
the crime
...
When
Superintendent Seegrave comes in, he orders
his minions around, they bumble, and they
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actually make a mess of the investigation,
which you’ll see repeated—um, you’ll see this
pattern repeated, particularly in the Sherlock
Holmes stories of a few years later where, uh,
Inspector Lestrade, this well-meaning idiot, is
always countered, uh, by Sherlock Holmes,
who’s a genius
...
Cuff is the man who’s
coming to solve the mystery, and again he has
a lot of the characteristics that future
detectives throughout the history of this genre
will have
...
He has a hobby that
he’s obsessive about—in this
...
He’s a fanatic about the
breeding of roses; and here think of Nero
Wolfe and his orchids, Sherlock Holmes and his
violin, a lot of those later classic detective
heroes have this kind of outside interest that
they
...
At one point, Cuff says he likes his roses
because they offer solace, uh, an escape, from
the world of crime he typically operates in
...
they have this
characteristic of being smart, incredibly smart,
but of not appearing to be smart
...
And that’s why the
detective is such an important figure, I think,
in our modern imagination
...


...
Of course, the regular
police have missed this paint smear or made
some sort of unwarranted assumption about it
...
the
whole world
...
brings to it that
the other characters don’t—it’s this ability to,
uh, see meaning where others see no meaning
and to bring order
...


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6
...
A comparison of two types of detective
novels
b
...
The Moonstone as a model for later
detective novels
d
...
In what way is The Moonstone different
from earlier works featuring a detective?
a
...
In its unique characters
c
...
In its greater length

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8
...
A key clue that leads to the solving of
the mystery
b
...
Romance between the main characters
d
...
Why does the professor mention a smeared
bit of paint in a doorway in The Moonstone?
a
...
To show how realistically the author
describes the crime scene
c
...
To illustrate the superior techniques
used by the police

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10
...
”
a
...

b
...

c
...

d
...


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11
...
well, let me try to give
you a sense of who Sergeant Cuff is, by
first describing the regular police
...
Sergeant Cuff is unlike other characters
in The Moonstone
...
The author’s description of Sergeant
Cuff is very realistic
...
Sergeant Cuff learned to solve crimes
by observing the regular police
...
Differences between Sergeant Cuff and
Sherlock Holmes are hard to describe
...
c
2
...
a, b
4
...
d
6
...
d
8
...
c
10
...
a

- 34 -

Speaking Section
Directions: The Speaking section in the test
measures your ability to speak about a variety
of topics
...

• In questions 3 and 4, in an actual test, you
will first read a short text and then listen to a
talk on the same topic
...
Your response will be scored on your
ability to accurately convey information, and
to speak clearly and coherently
...

• In questions 5 and 6, in an actual test, you
will listen to part of a conversation or lecture
...
Your response will be
scored on your ability to accurately convey
information, and to speak clearly and
- 35 -

coherently
...

• In an actual test, you will be able to take
notes while you read and while you listen to
the conversations and talks
...

• Preparation and response times for an actual
test are noted in this text
...

• Sample candidate responses and score
explanations can be found in the online
version of the sampler
...


1
...

Explain why this event brings back fond
memories
...
Some people think it is more fun to spend
time with friends in restaurants or cafés
...
Which do you think is
better? Explain why
...
Read the following text and the
conversation that follows it
...


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The Northfield College Student Association
recently decided to make a new purchase
...

(Reading time in an actual test would be 45-50
seconds
...
By installing the new
sound system, the Student Association hopes
to attract more students to the movies and
increase ticket sales
...
Going to the movies ranked number one
...
We’re confident that
the investment into the sound system will
translate into increased ticket sales
...

(Female student) Really? Why? Don’t you
like going to the movies?
(Male student) Sure I do
...

(Female student) What do you mean? It’s
supposed to sound really good
...

(Female student) So you’re saying there’ll be
no improvement?
(Male student) That’s right
...

(Female student) Yeah, but that’s what
students said
...
What else is there to do on campus?
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(Female student) What do you mean?
(Male student) I mean, there isn’t much to
do on campus besides go to the movies
...

Question: The man expresses his opinion of
the Student Association’s recent purchase
...

Preparation Time: 30 seconds
Response Time: 60 seconds
4
...
Then answer
the question
...
)

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Flow
In psychology, the feeling of complete and
energized focus in an activity is called flow
...
They become completely involved
in an activity for its own sake rather than for
what may result from the activity, such as
money or prestige
...


(Male professor) I think this will help you get
a picture of what your textbook is describing
...
Anyway, I remember
...
I remember passing by a
classroom early one morning just as he was
leaving, and he looked terrible: his clothes
were all rumpled, and he looked like he hadn’t
slept all night
...
I was
surprised when he said that he never felt
better, that he was totally happy
...
He didn’t stop to eat
dinner; he didn’t stop to sleep
...
He was that involved in solving the
puzzle
...

Question: Explain flow and how the example
used by the professor illustrates the concept
...
Read the following conversation between
two students and then answer the
question
...
I just can’t get the
hang of it
...
It’s only a few weeks away
...

(Female student) Oh
...

(Male student) You mean, in the
mathematics building?
(Female student) Ya
...
Most
tutors are doctoral students in the math
program
...

(Male student) I know about that program
...
but doesn’t it cost money?
(Female student) Of course
...
But they’ve
got all the answers
...


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(Female student) Another option, I guess, is
to form a study group with other students
...

(Male student) That’s a thought
...
We usually ended up talking
about other stuff like what we did over the
weekend
...
Usually
students in the same class have different
strengths and weaknesses with the material
...
if they’re serious about studying, they can
really help each other out
...

Question: Briefly summarize the problem the
speakers are discussing
...
Explain the
reasons for your recommendation
...
Read part of a lecture in a biology course
and then answer the question
...
It’s generally
recognized that other animals use tools as well

...
But when can we say
that an object is a tool? Well, it depends on
your definition of a tool
...
The narrow definition says
that a tool is an object that’s used to perform a
specific task
...
To be
a tool, according to the narrow definition, the
object’s gotta be purposefully changed or
shaped by the animal, or human, so that it can
be used that way
...

Wild chimpanzees use sticks to dig insects out
of their nests
...
they might be too thick,
for example
...
The chimp pulls off the
leaves and chews the stick and trims it down
that way until it’s the right size
...
it
...


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But the broad definition says an object doesn’t
have to be modified to be considered a tool
...
For
example, an elephant will sometimes use a
stick to scratch its back
...
It doesn’t modify the stick, it uses it
just as it’s found
...

Question: Using points and examples from the
talk, describe the two different
definitions of tools given by the professor
...
There will be 2
writing tasks
...
Then you will write a
response to a question that asks you about
the relationship between the lecture and the
reading passage
...

The question does not ask you to express
your personal opinion
...

• For the second task, you will demonstrate
your ability to write an essay in response to
a question that asks you to express and
support your opinion about a topic or issue
...
This includes the development
- 47 -

of your ideas, the organization of your essay,
and the quality and accuracy of the language
you use to express your ideas
...

• In an actual test, you will be able to take
notes while you listen and use your notes to
help you answer the questions
...
Read the following passage and the lecture
which follows
...
Then,
answer the question
...
Typically, an effective response
will be 150 to 225 words
...


- 48 -

READING PASSAGE
Critics say that current voting systems
used in the United States are inefficient and
often lead to the inaccurate counting of votes
...
Those critics
would like the traditional systems to be
replaced with far more efficient and
trustworthy computerized voting systems
...
Voters usually have to
find the name of their candidate on a large
sheet of paper containing many names—the
ballot—and make a small mark next to that
name
...
The computerized
voting machines have an easy-to-use touchscreen technology: to cast a vote, a voter
needs only to touch the candidate’s name on
the screen to record a vote for that candidate;
voters can even have the computer magnify
the name for easier viewing
...
Officials must often count up
the votes one by one, going through every
ballot and recording the vote
...
If an
error is detected, a long and expensive recount
has to take place
...

Finally some people say it is too risky to
implement complicated voting technology
nationwide
...

LECTURE TRANSCRIPT
(Narrator) Now listen to part of a lecture on
the topic you just read about
...
Computerized voting may seem
easy for people who are used to computers
...
These voters can easily cast the
wrong vote or be discouraged from voting
altogether because of fear of technology
...

But are we sure that computers will do a better
job? After all, computers are programmed by
humans, so “human error” can show up in
mistakes in their programs
...
The worst a human official
can do is miss a few ballots
...
And in many voting
systems, there is no physical record of the
votes, so a computer recount in the case of a
suspected error is impossible! As for our trust
of computer technology for banking and
communications, remember one thing: these
systems are used daily and they are used
heavily
...
They had to be improved
on and improved on until they got as reliable
as they are today
...
This is hardly sufficient for
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us to develop confidence that computerized
voting can be fully trusted
...


2
...
In a real test, you
will have 30 minutes to plan, write, and
revise your essay
...

Typically, an effective response will contain
a minimum of 300 words
...

Use specific reasons and examples to
support your answer
...
The
scoring rubrics used to score actual responses
can be found on the TOEFL website’s
“Download Library” page
...
There are the following three
reasons
...
Some people do not have
access to computers, some people are not
used of computers, and some people are even
scared of this new technology
...


- 53 -

Secondly, computers may make mistakes as
the people do
...
Problems caused by
computer voting systems may be more serious
than those caused by people
...
Furthermore, it
would take more energy to recount the votes
...

Thirdly, computerized voting system is not
reliable because it has not reached a stable
status
...
How
ever, the voting does not happen as often as
banking thus the computerized voting system
has not been proved to be totally reliable
...

- 54 -

Score explanation
This response is well organized, selects the
important information from all three points
made in the lecture, and explains its
relationship to the claims made in the reading
passage about the advantages of computerized
voting over traditional voting methods
...

Second, it challenges the argument that
computerized voting will result in fewer
miscounts by pointing out that programming
errors may result in large-scale miscounts and
that some errors may result in the loss of
voting records
...

There are occasional minor language
errors: for example, “people not used of
computers”; “miss counted”; “computer cause
mistakes”; and the poor syntax of the last
- 55 -

sentence (“All in all
...
” The
errors, however, are not at all frequent and do
not result in unclear or inaccurate
representation of the content
...


- 56 -

QUESTION 1, RESPONSE B, SCORE OF 4
The leture disgreed with the article's opinions
...

Firstly, it might be hard for the voters who
don't use the computer so often, or the users
who is fear of the technology, even some of
voters can not aford a computer
...
Secondly, computer is
programmed by human beings, which means it
can also have errors
...
In case of the computer crash or
disaster, it may lost all the voting information
...
Lastly,
our daily banking or other highly sensitive
infomation system, is actually improved as
time goes by
...
As we use them so often, we
have more chances to find problems, and
furturemore, to fix and improve them
...
We just don't use it often enough
to find a bug or test it thoroughly
...

First, the response explains that some
people will not find computers to be userfriendly; however, it fails to relate this clearly
to the point made in the passage that
computerized voting will prevent distortion of
the vote
...

Second, the response does a good job of
pointing out how programming and errors can
cause greater problems than miscounts cause
in the traditional voting system
...

There are more frequent language errors
throughout the response—for example, “users
who is fear”; “some of voters can not aford”;
“people who is not familiar”; “it may lost”; and
“can not even to make
...
an errror in
the program code could cause tramendous
error in number” and “use them every 2 years
nationally and some other rare events
...

Due to the more frequent language errors
that on occasion result in minor lapses of
clarity and due to minor content omission,
especially in the coverage of the first lecture
point, the response cannot earn the score of 5
...
It meets the criteria for
the score of 4
...
If a friend
wants to know who our first grade teacher was
in elementary school, all they have to do is ask
me
...
They had
special relationships with nearly each and
every one of the students and were very nice
to everyone
...

A teacher’s primary goal is to teach
students the best they can about the things
that are in our textbooks and more important,
how to show respect for one another
...
In order to do that, the
teachers themselves have to be able to relate
well with students
...
One teaches
Plant Biology and one teaches English, but
that’s not the reason I’m calling them
“teachers
...
I have a
brother, and my parents use different
aproaches when teaching us
...
He almost never
studies on his own and is always either
drawing, playing computer games, or reading
...
I do my own
work when I want and need to because that
brings me the best results and my parents
understand that
...
My parents’ ability to relate well with
my brother and I allows them to teach, not
just the subject they teach but also their
excellent knowledge on life
...
One must go through and
pass a series of courses and tests in order to
become a teacher
...

A teacher’s primary goal is to teach
students the best they can about how to show
respect for one another, so teachers use
different approaches when teaching, and
knowledge of the subjet being taught is
secondary
...

Score explanation
This essay conveys the idea that as
important as teaching knowledge is, it is as
important if not more important for teachers to
possess other qualities, all of which the writer
classifies as necessary for being able to relate
well with students
...
The writer
develops the last idea primarily by using a
clearly appropriate extended and complex
example of the writer’s own parents, who are
teachers but whose special qualities in raising
the writer and the writer’s brother had to do
more with taking varied approaches
...

- 62 -

This response very effectively addresses
the topic and the task
...
However, because of very
good language structure and good conceptual
transitions between ideas, the reader is able to
follow the writer’s development of ideas
without becoming confused
...
Errors in
language are almost nonexistent here
...


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QUESTION 2, RESPONSE B, SCORE OF 4
I disagree with the idea that the
possessing the ability to relate well with
student is more important than excellent
knowledge of the subject being taught for a
teacher
...

First, teachers’ job is to educate their
student with their knowledge
...
That’s
why the board of education gives an award to
a teacher with an excellent knowledge of the
subject they teach
...

Second, Students go to schools because
they want to learn knowledge from their
teachers not to get along with their teachers
...
Some
students always complained how he never
entertains his students which made many of
his students to fall asleep
...
He won
the Apples prize (it’s given to a noticed teacher
annually) a couple of times and that enabled
students to firmly believe in his way of
teaching
...
Teachers already had an
experience of getting advantaged education
from college
...
We all
learn because we want to become the better
person that this world needs
...

For conclusion, I think the most important
quality a teacher must have is an excellent
knowledge of the subject they teach, not an
ability to relate well with their students
...

The second paragraph makes the point
that counselors are the ones who are supposed
to relate to students and that teachers with no
knowledge are not worthwhile as teachers
...

The fourth paragraph contains the very
interesting idea that teachers have the
obligation to pass on what they have had the
privilege of learning, but this paragraph in
particular has a few problems with somewhat
unclear expression of concepts: (1) errors of
word choice in the word “conceding” (not clear
exactly what word is intended here) and in the
term “‘advantaged’ education” (advanced
education or advantages of education?) and
(2) a problem with unclear connection of ideas
(why is it said that “We all learn because we
want to become the better person that this
world needs?”)
...


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