TOEFL iBT Speaking Sample Q & A – FULL Test 4

This is an original TOEFLIBTee speaking practice set written in the style of the pre-2019 six-task Speaking section (see the note above). The current test doesn't use these tasks, so here is how to get value from the set today:

• Prompts 1 and 2: answer each one out loud in about 45 seconds. Describing your own experiences and giving a reasoned opinion is good practice for the kind of personal and opinion questions you may hear in the Take an Interview task.
• Prompts 3 to 6: have someone read the listening script to you (or read it aloud once yourself), take short notes, and then summarize it out loud. This trains the note-taking and academic listening you need for the Listening section.
• Listen and Repeat practice: choose five sentences from the scripts, have someone say them or record them, and repeat each one word for word. Accuracy matters more than speed. Each prompt is followed by one example answer to compare with yours.

Prompt 1

Describe a tradition or custom from your family or culture that you think is worth continuing. Explain why it matters to you.

Example answer

In my family, we cook a big dinner together on the first night of every new year. Everyone has a job: my grandmother makes the soup, my father prepares the fish, and the kids set the table and make dessert. I think this tradition is worth continuing for two reasons. First, it's the one night when three generations are in the kitchen at the same time, so the younger kids actually learn the family recipes instead of just eating them. Second, it starts the year with a shared project rather than just a party, and that teaches us to cooperate. Even when I have my own home someday, I want to keep doing it.

Prompt 2

Some people prefer to work as part of a team. Other people prefer to work alone. Which do you think produces better results? Explain why.

Example answer

I think working as part of a team usually produces better results, especially on complicated projects. The main reason is that people catch each other's mistakes. Last year I worked on a marketing project with three classmates, and I was sure my part of the budget was correct until a teammate noticed I had forgotten the printing costs. Working alone, I would have handed in a plan that didn't work. A team also combines different strengths: one person may be good at research while another is better at presenting. Teams can be slow if nobody takes responsibility, but with clear roles, the result is usually stronger than what one person could produce.

Prompt 3

Study Lounge May Stay Open All Night

The library closes at midnight, which a number of students have complained leaves them with nowhere quiet to study during exam week. In response, the administration is considering converting the lounge on the ground floor of the library into a 24-hour study space during the two weeks before final exams. Because the lounge already has its own entrance separate from the rest of the building, it could stay open without requiring staff to keep the whole library open. Campus security has agreed to add an extra patrol near that entrance during the overnight hours to address safety concerns. The change would only apply during exam periods and would be reviewed afterward to see whether it should continue.

Listening script

M: Did you hear they might keep that ground-floor lounge open all night during exams?

W: I did, and I think it's overdue, honestly. Every exam week I end up studying in my dorm's common room because the library kicks everyone out at midnight, and it's way too noisy there with people coming and going.

M: Same. But I wonder if it'll actually get quiet enough to be useful. If word gets out that it's open all night, won't it just turn into a place where people hang out and talk instead of studying?

W: Maybe at first, but I think it'll sort itself out. The people who show up at two in the morning during exam week aren't looking to socialize — they're the ones who are desperate for a quiet place because everywhere else is closed.

M: That's a fair point. I guess the people willing to be there that late already have a pretty strong incentive to actually study.

W: Exactly. I doubt it turns into a party space when the alternative is your own bed.

Question: The woman expresses her opinion about the change described in the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding it.

Example answer

The announcement says the university may keep the ground-floor lounge of the library open all night during the two weeks before final exams. The woman supports the idea for two reasons. First, she needs it herself: every exam week she ends up studying in her dorm's common room after the library closes at midnight, and it's far too noisy there. Second, she answers the man's worry that the lounge will become a place to socialize. She argues that students who come in at two in the morning during exam week are serious about studying, because everywhere else is closed, so she doesn't expect it to turn into a party space.

Prompt 4

Cognitive Dissonance

People generally want their beliefs, attitudes, and actions to fit together in a consistent way. When someone becomes aware of a conflict between two beliefs, or between a belief and an action, the resulting mental discomfort is known as cognitive dissonance. Because this discomfort is unpleasant, people are strongly motivated to reduce it, and they typically do so in one of a few predictable ways: changing one of the conflicting beliefs, downplaying the importance of the conflict, or adding a new belief that helps justify the inconsistency. Notably, people often resolve dissonance by adjusting their attitude rather than their behavior, especially once the behavior is difficult or costly to undo.

Listening script

Let's look at a situation that shows this clearly. Imagine a student who spends a long time and a fair amount of money joining a club with a difficult, unpleasant initiation process — something like an uncomfortable outdoor challenge that takes an entire weekend. Once they're finally a member, you'd expect them to feel some regret about putting themselves through that, right?

But research on situations like this shows almost the opposite. People who go through a difficult or unpleasant process to join a group tend to rate that group more positively afterward than people who joined easily, with no real cost at all. Why? Because "I suffered through that whole weekend and the club turned out to be mediocre" creates uncomfortable dissonance — it suggests the person wasted their time. So instead, the mind quietly resolves the conflict by deciding the club must actually be pretty great after all. The harder the initiation, the more valuable the club seems afterward, purely to justify the effort that already can't be taken back.

Question: Explain how the example in the talk illustrates the concept of cognitive dissonance.

Example answer

The reading defines cognitive dissonance as the discomfort people feel when their beliefs and their actions don't match. People usually reduce it by changing their attitude, especially when the action can't be undone. The professor illustrates this with a student who goes through a long, unpleasant initiation to join a club. You might expect regret, but people in this situation usually rate the group more highly than people who joined easily. Admitting that the club is mediocre would mean they wasted a whole weekend, which creates dissonance. To remove that conflict, they change their attitude and decide the club must be worthwhile, so the harder the initiation, the more they value the club.

Prompt 5

Listening script

W: Hey, can I ask you something? I'm supposed to pick up tickets for tonight's concert at the student center, but I can't find my student ID anywhere.

M: Oh no. Did you check with lost and found?

W: I did, first thing. Nothing's been turned in. I think I might have left it at the gym yesterday, but it's already closed for the night.

M: Can't you just explain the situation at the ticket table? Maybe they'll let you pick up your tickets with just your name.

W: I asked about that over the phone, actually. They said for concerts they're strict about it because tickets have gotten resold under other people's names before, so they need to see the ID.

M: What about getting a temporary ID from the registrar's office? I think they can print a replacement same-day if you go in person.

W: That's true, but the registrar's office closes at five, and the concert's not until eight. I might have just enough time if I go right now instead of waiting.

Question: Describe the problem facing the woman, then explain which solution you think she should choose and why.

Example answer

The woman needs her student ID to pick up concert tickets tonight, but she can't find it. It isn't at the lost and found, and the ticket table won't release tickets without seeing an ID. The man suggests asking the ticket staff to accept just her name, or getting a temporary ID from the registrar's office. Since the ticket office has already said no over the phone, I think she should go to the registrar right away. The office closes at five and the concert isn't until eight, so she has enough time if she leaves now, and a replacement ID solves the problem completely.

Prompt 6

Listening script

When architects design a building, one of the most important — and most overlooked — decisions they make is how natural light will move through the space. There are two techniques worth knowing about.

The first is orientation: literally which direction the building and its windows face. A building with large windows facing north gets soft, even light throughout the day without much harsh glare or heat, which is why you'll often see art studios and museums built with north-facing skylights — the light stays consistent whether it's morning or afternoon. A building oriented to catch direct afternoon sun on the west side, on the other hand, can turn uncomfortably hot and bright in the late day unless something is done to control it.

The second technique is called light shelves — horizontal panels placed above eye level near a window that bounce sunlight up onto the ceiling, which then spreads it deeper into the room than a plain window ever could. Instead of light landing only near the window and leaving the back of a room dim, a light shelf pushes brightness much farther inside, cutting down on how much electric lighting the room needs during the day.

Question: Using points from the talk, explain two techniques architects use to bring natural light into a building.

Example answer

The professor describes two techniques architects use to bring natural light into a building. The first is orientation, which means the direction the building and its windows face. North-facing windows give soft, even light all day without much glare or heat, which is why art studios and museums often use north-facing skylights. West-facing windows, by contrast, can make a room hot and uncomfortably bright in the late afternoon. The second technique is the light shelf, a horizontal panel placed above eye level near a window. It bounces sunlight onto the ceiling, which spreads the light deeper into the room, so the back of the room stays bright and less electric lighting is needed.