TOEFL Academic Talk practice
Listen to a short academic lecture and answer multiple-choice questions. 1 lecture per set, 30 seconds per question.
Photosynthesis Basics
Today I want to talk about photosynthesis, the process that quietly powers almost all life on Earth. In simple terms, green plants take in carbon dioxid…
The Water Cycle Explained
Let's trace a single drop of water through what we call the water cycle. Our drop begins in the ocean, where the sun's heat turns it into vapour and lif…
Volcanoes and Magma
When most people picture a volcano, they imagine the eruption, but the real story starts far below the surface. Deep underground, intense heat melts roc…
Memory and Sleep
I'd like to challenge a common belief today: that sleep is wasted time. In fact, while you sleep, your brain is busy doing some of its most important wo…
Supply and Demand
Let's look at one of the most basic ideas in economics: supply and demand. Demand describes how much of a product people want to buy at various prices,…
The Roman Roads
When we think of Rome's achievements, we often picture grand buildings, but I'd argue its roads were just as important. The Romans built an enormous net…
How Vaccines Work
Today's topic is how vaccines protect us, and the idea is surprisingly elegant. Your immune system learns by experience; once it has defeated a particul…
Plate Tectonics
The ground beneath your feet feels perfectly solid, yet on a grand scale it is slowly moving. The Earth's outer shell is broken into enormous slabs call…
The Science of Colour
Why is the sky blue and a leaf green? The answer lies in light. What we see as white light is actually a mixture of all colours, each one a wave of a sl…
Rivers and Erosion
A river may look gentle, but given time it is one of nature's most powerful sculptors. As water flows downhill, it carries sand, gravel, and even boulde…
About the TOEFL Academic Talk task
The academic talk is a short lecture excerpt from a university class — photosynthesis, the water cycle, volcanoes. You hear it once and then answer multiple-choice questions. Each set has one talk, about four questions and 30 seconds per question.
Expect questions on the main topic, key definitions and examples, how the professor organises the explanation (a comparison, a process, cause and effect), and why the professor mentions a particular detail.
Common mistakes: writing down examples without noting what they illustrate, missing signal phrases such as "here's a point students often miss", and choosing an answer that is true in general but wasn't said in the talk. Note the topic, each main point and the example attached to it.
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