Listening Practice

Step 1: Prediction

Look at this title for the listening: Saving Lives In Africa With The Humble Sweet Potato

What do you think the listening will be about?

What are some words that you think the listening will include?

Step 2: Checking your Guess

Look at this infographic related to the listening and check your guesses.

Step 3: Listen to the Report

Now listen to this report from National Public Radio.  As you listen take notes on the key ideas. After you listen, try to answer these questions. Don’t look at the questions as you listen. On the TOEFL iBT ® test you will not see the questions until after you listen, but you can take notes.

Step 4: Answer Questions Similar to the TOEFL iBT® Test

1. What is the listening mostly about?

A. the history of the orange sweet potato

B. the distribution of vitamin A capsules

C. nutrient deficiencies in the poor African populations

D. fortifying staple foods with essential micronutrients

2. According to the listening, what is the significant difference between orange sweet potatoes and other varieties?

A. the color

B. the micronutrients

C. the growing conditions

D. the size

3. Why does the reporter mention “golden rice”?

A. to give an example of  another food that has the same color as the sweet potato

B. to emphasize the importance of staple foods in developing countries

C. to recommend the next kind of crop Africans should grow

D. to give an example of another biofortified crop

4. What does the economist in the report imply, when he says,”Once that seed, that variety, is in the food system, it’s available year after year after year.”

A. orange sweet potato seeds persist in the environment for a long time

B. a biofortified crop is a more sustainable solution than vitamin supplements

C. seeds can endure harsh conditions

D. the food system cannot change quickly

5. Why does the reporter say, “At that point, Bouis had his eureka moment…”

A. to signal that Bouis solved the problem

B. to give an example of the problem

C. to point out the problem with vitamin supplements

D. to express frustration about the vitamin defficiency

Step 5: Check your Answers

1. D

2. B

3. D

4. B

5. A

Speaking Practice: Question 6

Question 6 on the Speaking Section of the TOEFL iBT® test involves listening to a lecture and answering a question about the talk. You have 20 seconds to think and 60 seconds to speak. You will summarize the lecture and focus on the key ideas in the question.

Step 1: Listen Again to the Report

As you listen take notes and focus on the main ideas.

Step 2: Read the Speaking Question and Prepare to Speak

Speaking Question: Summarize what the listening said about biofortification and how it is improving the health of poor people in Mozambique.

Take 20 seconds to think about your response.

Step 3: Answer the Question in 60 seconds

Focus on the main ideas in the question. Use any important examples in the listening.

Step 4: Check your Answer

After you speak compare your response with the answer below:

According to the listening biofortification is adding important nutrients to foods naturally by breeding staple crops that poor people already eat. The lecture said the biofortification is a better solution than vitamin supplements, because it is less expensive. The lecture gave the example of the orange sweet potato. This potato is common in the U.S.A, but not in Africa. It is important because it is a good source of vitamin A. Africans already eat sweet potatoes, but the kind they were eating didn’t have vitamin A. So the government introduced this new variety, and reports show that it is improving the health of many people in Africa. Because of this potato they have more vitamin A.

Did you include some of the same ideas in your response?

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