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TOEFL Listening Test – Part 1
Instructions: Click on the mp3 player below to hear the TOEFL listening practice test. Then answer the questions that follow. The answers are provided at the end of this page.
TOEFL Listening Question 1
Where is it usually best to begin a career in television?
A) At the local level
B) At the state level
C) At the national level
D) At the international level
TOEFL Listening Question 2
According to the speaker, how is success measured?
A) By the amount of money made
B) By obtaining syndication
C) By the number of viewers
D) By the amount of paid subscriptions
TOEFL Listening Question 3
What is of utmost importance in order to get a job as a TV celebrity?
A) What you know
B) Who you know
C) How much you know
D) Where you attended college
TOEFL Listening Question 4
How important is academic training for jobs in journalism or broadcasting?
A) very important
B) somewhat important
C) unimportant
D) irrelevant
TOEFL Listening Question 5
For jobs in journalism, how should a person speak?
A) loudly
B) quickly
C) clearly
D) brusquely
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TOEFL Listening Part 1 – Answers
1) The correct answer is A.
This is a question on the speaker’s implication, so it evaluates your ability to understand what the speaker is expressing indirectly.
We can tell by the way that the speaker emphasizes the word ‘local’ that she is emphasizing this level.
2) The correct answer is C.
This is a question on a specific detail, so it evaluates your ability to identify important information from the listening passage.
The speaker explicitly states: “Here, by ‘success,’ I mean that success is measured by the number of viewers watching the program.”
3) The correct answer is B.
This is a question on understanding an idiomatic expression in context, so it assesses whether you can understand colloquial expressions used by the speaker.
The speaker says that “Getting that first break can be very tough, though, and I can’t emphasize enough that it is really important to know the right people.”
The idiom “getting a break” means an experience that helps a person gain an advantage or opportunity.
4) The correct answer is A.
This is another question on understanding a specific detail, so you need to identify important information from the passage.
The speaker states: “You may want to study journalism or broadcasting at college since some television networks consider academic training to be a very important prerequisite to obtaining these types of jobs.”
5) The correct answer is C.
The speaker mentions that you need to have a clear speaking voice.
Now go to the next page to see the text of this recording.