isten in English
   
  
Advanced Search 고급 검색 Búsqueda avanzada Pesquisa avançada Розширений пошук Grammar Index 문법 색인 Índice gramatical Índice gramatical Граматика
Check your level 레벨 확인 Comprueba tu nivel Verifique seu nível Перевірте рівень Test your level 레벨을 테스트해 Prueba tu nivel Teste o seu nível Протестуйте рівень
For Teachers 선생님을 위한 Para profesores Para professores Вчителям About us 회사 소개 Sobre nosotros Sobre nós Про нас Origin 기원 Origen Origem Походження Contact us 연락처 Contacta con nosotras Contate-nos Контакти
Teaching Tips 교육 팁 Dicas de Ensino Consejos para Enseñar Викладацькі поради
  
English Flag   English
Portuguese Flag   Português
Spanish Flag   Español
Ukranian Flag   українська
Korean Flag   한국어

TOEFL 2026 Listening

Academic Talks #6

icon
Published:
Level 4   |   Time:
Accent: American
Source: Listen in English

Practice the Listen to an Academic Talk tasks from the new TOEFL Test (2026).


TOEFL        
TOEFL
    

triangle Directions 목표 Direcciones Instruções Інструкції

English Flag Brazil Flag Spanish Flag Ukrainian Flag Korean Flag
  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    If you find this task difficult, you can check the vocabulary before you take the test.

  2. LISTEN to the AUDIO

    You can either listen to all the questions continuously or play each question individually.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    Choose the best response to each sentence or question.

  4. CHECK the SCRIPT

    You can check the whole script below or SHOW each sentence/question as you take the test.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    Review the difficult vocabulary after you finish the test.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Si esta tarea te resulta difícil, puedes revisar el vocabulario antes de hacer el examen.

  2. ESCUCHA el AUDIO

    Puedes escuchar todas las preguntas de forma continua o reproducir cada pregunta individualmente.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Elige la mejor respuesta para cada frase o pregunta.

  4. REVISA el GUIÓN

    Puedes revisar el guion completo abajo o SHOW cada frase o pregunta mientras haces el examen.

  5. REALIZA las ACTIVIDADES

    Repasa el vocabulario difícil después de terminar el examen.

  1. LEIA o VOCABULÁRIO

    Se você achar esta tarefa difícil, pode revisar o vocabulário antes de fazer o teste.

  2. OUÇA o ÁUDIO

    Você pode ouvir todas as perguntas continuamente ou reproduzir cada pergunta individualmente.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Escolha a melhor resposta para cada frase ou pergunta.

  4. CONFIRA o ROTEIRO

    Você pode conferir o roteiro completo abaixo ou MOSTRAR cada frase ou pergunta enquanto faz o teste.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Revise o vocabulário difícil depois de concluir o teste.

  1. 어휘를 읽어 보세요

    이 과제가 어렵다면, 시험을 보기 전에 어휘를 먼저 확인할 수 있습니다.

  2. 오디오를 들으세요

    모든 문제를 연속으로 들을 수도 있고, 각 문제를 개별적으로 재생할 수도 있습니다.

  3. 문제에 답하세요

    각 문장이나 질문에 가장 알맞은 답을 선택하세요.

  4. 스크립트를 확인하세요

    아래에서 전체 스크립트를 확인하거나, 시험을 진행하면서 각 문장이나 질문을 하나씩 표시할 수 있습니다.

  5. 활동을 해 보세요

    시험을 마친 후, 어려웠던 어휘를 복습하세요.

  1. ПРОЧИТАЙТЕ СЛОВНИК

    Якщо це завдання здається вам складним, ви можете переглянути словник перед тестом.

  2. ПРОСЛУХАЙТЕ АУДІО

    Ви можете прослухати всі запитання поспіль або відтворювати кожне запитання окремо.

  3. ВІДПОВІДАЙТЕ НА ЗАПИТАННЯ

    Виберіть найкращу відповідь на кожне речення або запитання.

  4. ПЕРЕВІРТЕ СЦЕНАРІЙ

    Ви можете переглянути весь сценарій нижче або натиснути SHOW для кожного речення/запитання під час тесту.

  5. ВИКОНАЙТЕ ЗАВДАННЯ

    Повторіть складну лексику після завершення тесту.

triangle Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario Словник

  • ☐ ☐ ☐ freelance [adj] - working independently for different clients rather than for one employer
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a platform [n] - a digital service that connects buyers and sellers or workers and clients
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ flexibility [n] - the ability to change or adapt easily; freedom to choose your own schedule
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ an independent contractor [n] - a self-employed person hired to do specific work, not a permanent employee
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a safety net [n] - financial or social support that protects people from hardship
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ reclassify [v] - change the official category something or someone belongs to
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ unpredictable [adj] - not able to be known or planned for in advance
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ resist [v] - oppose or fight against something

  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a scale [n] - a set of musical notes arranged in order of pitch
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ pitch [n] - how high or low a musical note sounds
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ equal temperament [n] - a system of tuning that divides an octave into twelve equally spaced pitches
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ an interval [n] - the difference in pitch between two musical notes
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a quarter tone [n] - a musical interval half the size of a semitone, used in some musical traditions
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ an ensemble [n] - a group of musicians who perform together
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ aesthetic [adj] - relating to beauty or the appreciation of beauty
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ universal [adj] - applying to all people or situations; true everywhere
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ correspond to [phv] - match or be equivalent to something

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression


triangle Questions 문제 Questões Preguntas Запитання

Talk 1: Sociology



Questions hidden
Click "Show Questions" to reveal

What is the main topic of the talk?

The history of freelance work in the arts

The role of digital technology in employment

A shift in the structure of the labor market and its consequences

Government regulation of technology companies


According to the speaker, why do companies prefer the gig model?

It allows them to hire more skilled workers.

It gives companies more control over working hours.

It reduces costs by avoiding employee benefits.

It makes it easier to expand into new markets.


Why does the speaker describe gig work as "the worst of both worlds"?

Workers earn less than traditional employees and freelancers.

The platforms are unreliable and poorly managed.

Workers have the risks of self-employment but limited real independence.

Gig work combines physical and mental demands in difficult ways.


What can be inferred about the future of the gig economy?

It will likely decline as workers return to traditional employment.

Digital platforms will eventually replace all traditional employers.

Its legal status and worker protections remain unresolved.

Most governments have already agreed on how to regulate it.





Talk 2: Music Theory



Questions hidden
Click "Show Questions" to reveal

What is the main topic of the talk?

The history of Western classical music

Why some music is considered more beautiful than others

How musical scales differ across cultures and what this reveals

The technical structure of the equal temperament system


Why does the speaker mention Arabic music?

To argue that it is more complex than Western music

To give an example of a scale system outside the Western tradition

To explain the historical origins of the quarter tone

To compare Eastern and Western approaches to melody


According to the speaker, what is distinctive about gamelan music?

It uses exactly the same pitches as Western music but in a different order.

It relies entirely on percussion with no melodic instruments.

Each ensemble is tuned differently, and variation is part of the tradition.

It developed independently of any cultural or geographic influences.


What does the speaker imply about aesthetic responses to music?

They are determined primarily by a person's age.

They are largely the same across all human cultures.

What sounds natural or beautiful is shaped significantly by cultural exposure.

They can be measured objectively through music psychology research.





Score:


triangle Vocabulary Review 어휘 검토 Revisão de vocabulário Vocabulario revisión Огляд лексики

Directions: What expressions from the video have the same meaning as the highlighted expressions in the sentences below?

Instrucciones: ¿Qué expresiones del video tienen el mismo significado que las expresiones destacadas en las oraciones siguientes?

Instruções: Quais expressões do vídeo têm o mesmo significado que as expressões destacadas nas frases abaixo?

지시 사항: 아래 문장에서 강조된 표현과 같은 의미를 가진 표현을 영상에서 찾아보세요.

Інструкції: Які вирази з відео мають те саме значення, що й виділені вирази в реченнях нижче?


  1. Rather than working for one employer, gig workers take short-term [ self-employed ] jobs.

    [ freelance ]



  2. Digital [ services, apps ] connect workers with customers quickly and at scale.

    [ platforms ]



  3. The appeal for workers is [ freedom, adaptability ] — the ability to set their own hours.

    [ flexibility ]



  4. Gig workers often have [ uncertain, varying ] income and no [ financial support system ].

    [ unpredictable ] [ safety net ]



  5. Companies have strongly [ opposed ] moves to [ change the classification of ] workers as employees.

    [ resisted ] [ reclassify ]



  6. Different cultures use different [ sets of notes ] as the building blocks of music.

    [ scales ]



  7. Arabic music uses [ note gaps ] smaller than anything in the Western system.

    [ intervals ]



  8. Gamelan scales do not [ match ] any fixed Western pitches.

    [ correspond to ]



  9. Some [ beauty-related ] responses that feel natural are actually learned cultural ones.

    [ aesthetic ]



triangle Script 대본 Roteiro Guion Сценарій

Talk 1: The Gig Economy

Listen to a talk in a sociology class.

The gig economy refers to a labor market in which short-term contracts and freelance work are more common than permanent employment. Rather than working for a single employer full-time, gig workers are typically paid per task or project. Ride-sharing drivers, food delivery couriers, and freelance designers are all examples of gig workers.

The gig economy has grown rapidly, driven largely by digital platforms that connect workers with customers quickly and at scale. For workers, the appeal is flexibility — the ability to set their own hours and work for multiple clients simultaneously. For companies, the model reduces costs significantly, since gig workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, meaning companies are not required to provide benefits such as health insurance or paid leave.

Critics argue that this classification is the central problem. Gig workers often bear all the financial risks of self-employment — unpredictable income, no safety net — while still being heavily dependent on a single platform that sets the rules and rates. Some economists describe this as the worst of both worlds: the insecurity of freelancing without the independence. Several governments have moved to reclassify some gig workers as employees, but companies have strongly resisted these changes.


Talk 2: Musical Scales and Culture

One of the key reasons music sounds so different across cultures is the use of different scales — the sets of notes that form the building blocks of a musical tradition.

In Western music, the most common scales contain seven notes drawn from twelve equally spaced pitches. This system, called equal temperament, became standard in Europe by the 18th century. But it is far from universal. Arabic music uses scales that include quarter tones — intervals smaller than anything in the Western system. Indonesian gamelan music uses scales that do not correspond to any fixed Western pitches at all; each ensemble is tuned slightly differently, and the variation is considered part of the music's character.

Why do these differences exist? Scales develop over centuries within specific cultural contexts. Research in music psychology suggests that culture shapes what we hear as natural or beautiful. Listeners trained in one tradition often find the scales of another strange at first — while those same scales feel entirely natural to people raised with them. This suggests that some aesthetic responses are not universal but learned.

square Watch Next 다음에 볼 Veja a seguir Ver siguiente Дивіться далі