Listening · Academic Talk
Supply and Demand
Listening · Academic Talk
Listening Test
Today's lecture: economics
This task is designed to measure your ability to understand a short academic lecture on a topic taught in a university class.
In this exercise, you'll listen to a short academic talk and then answer multiple-choice questions about what you heard.
- Each question is worth 1 point. There are 4 questions about this talk.
- The talk plays only once — listen carefully.
- After the talk, you'll have 30 seconds per question. The exercise auto-advances when the timer hits zero.
- You can replay the audio and review the transcript only on the result screen.
Supply and Demand
Listen to the talk and answer the questions
Listen to a talk in a economics class
Show transcript
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, and as a rule, the lower the price, the more people will want. Supply describes how much sellers are willing to offer, and here it works the other way: the higher the price, the more they will produce. The magic happens where these two forces meet, at what we call the equilibrium price, the point where the amount people want exactly matches the amount available. If something disturbs this balance, say a sudden shortage, prices rise, which cools demand and encourages more supply until balance returns. Understanding this dance helps explain everyday puzzles, like why the price of fruit drops in the harvest season or why concert tickets soar when a popular act comes to town.
Question 1
According to the professor, what happens to demand as price falls?
Show answer
Answer: More people want the product
Question 2
How do sellers usually respond to higher prices?
Show answer
Answer: They produce more
Question 3
What is the equilibrium price?
Show answer
Answer: Where the amount wanted matches the amount available
Question 4
Which everyday example does the professor give?
Show answer
Answer: Why fruit drops in price during harvest
Practice against the clock and track your progress
Create a free account for all 20 sets in every task, timed practice with scoring, a progress dashboard and a full TOEFL mock test.