Listening Comprehension, Part C, Questions 47 through 50, "University Committee Meeting"

 

 

Discussion of This Passage

Why is this passage so hard? Simple--you have to pay close attention to the passage and remember what the speaker said.

A lot of people criticize the Listening section--they say that it is more of a memory test than a listening test. Hey, I agree! Even native speakers would miss some of these questions!

How can we practice this type of passage? Well, it's not easy. First, we have to get used to the vocab and we should be able to understand everything. Next, we have to get used to listening for details and then remembering.

Don't worry, though. We have some practice that we are going to do with this exercise to help.

TestMagic Top 10 Vocab List

This list is designed to help you learn new TOEFL vocabulary and remember it.

TestMagic has chosen the Top 10 words or phrases that are most likely to appear on your next TOEFL test and put them on this list. We have NOT included the vocab that is already contained in the practice test.

To make full use of this list, you should look at the Parts of Speech (that will help you with the grammar section), and read each Sample Sentence. The Sample Sentences are designed to be easy to remember and understand. Furthermore, each sentence has other useful vocabulary in it as well.

Finally, test yourself by taking the little quiz in the last column. Choose the answer that is closest in meaning to the words in bolded red. TestMagic has simulated the TOEFL vocab questions here--they are just as tricky as the real TOEFL questions!

Good luck! Any comments? Contact TestMagic!

When you are done, click here for the answers.

Note: The buttons will NOT give you the answers. You will need to check your answers by yourself.

 

# New Word Part of Speech Sample Sentence Sample TOEFL Vocab Question
1. now that sc I think we should all sit down to have dinner now that everybody has arrived.
before
since
when

currently
2. get down to work v I think we have been talking about this matter too much--let's get down to work, okay?
start
relax
sleep

avoid
3. on the agenda pp Before I decide to spend Saturday with you and your activities club, I would like to know what you have on the agenda.
visible
on the table
planned

available
4. budget cn I have made a careful budget for next semester and I have decided that I can only eat out twice a month instead of once week like I was doing this semester.
"money plan"
tough decision
strong wish

"exercise goal"
5. set aside v My parents think that education is really important, so they have set aside some money for my little sister's college education.
hidden
received
invested

reserved
6. netted v We had to run a lot of ads to sell all of our bumper stickers, so we only netted a profit of $350 on the campaign.
calculated
expected
lost

made
7. finalize v Before we continue with our meeting, I think we should finalize our plans for how to get more students to do volunteer work.
continue
delay
decide

record
8. commemorate v Our committee has decided to commission a sculpture in the Student Union to commemorate the farm workers from San Francisco who struggled to improve working conditions for agricultural workers. 
celebrate
depict
show

denounce
9. get on with it v Hey, come on guys, this meeting is running late, can we just get on with it?
establish
start working
leave

go home
10. first order of business cn Our first order of business today will be to congratulate Ghada on her success last week.
most important task
first sale
first task

best plan
Answers

 

 

TestMagic Listening Practice: Tough ones!

 

These grammar exercises are designed to reinforce the vocab you have just learned and certain "TOEFL traps."

When you are done, click here for the answers.

Note: The buttons will NOT give you the answers. You will need to check your answers by yourself.

Listen:
Good morning, everybody, nice to see you all here bright and early. I think we all know each other and we have a lot of work to do today, so I would like to get down to work as quickly as possible. However, before we begin, I would like to review our agenda for today. You may remember that at our last meeting, we decided that finalizing our budget had top priority; however, since I am the committee chairperson, I have decided that our first order of business should be to discuss the selection of the sculptor for the commemorative sculpture that we hope to commission for the Student Union. Once we can finalize that decision, then we should move on to discuss our budget. Third, we should choose one of us to contact a Student Union representative to make sure that we can agree on a location for the sculpture. Finally, we will need to start discussing who will take over for me next semester. As you recall, our committee charter only allows students to be chairperson for one semester. Oh, yes... before we get started, I'd like to congratulate Mi-ran on her acceptance to graduate school. Now, with no further delay, let's get on with our first task.

Questions
11. Who is conducting the meeting?
Mi-ran
a Student Union representative
an artist

the committee chair
12. When is the meeting being held?
at 8:00 a.m.
in the morning
in the afternoon

in the evening
13. What had the committee planned to discuss first?
the budget
the location of the sculpture
the selection of the sculptor

who will chair the committee next semester
14. Why will the current chair step down?
she is too busy with school
the other committee members do not want her to be chair anymore
she is not performing her functions well enough

the committee's regulations require her to do so
15. What will the committee probably do next?
discuss the budget
discuss who will sculpt the scuplture
congratulate Mi-ran

elect the chair for next semester

 
Answers