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TOEFL Listening Practice Test:
World history
The following is a TOEFL Listening practice test to help you prepare for the Listening section of the TOEFL test. For access to more practice tests and advice for how to increase your TOEFL score, join my TOEFL Preparation Course.
Note: After you finish answering the questions and check your answers, you can listen again with the transcript to see what you may have missed. Do NOT read the transcript the first time you listen, because you want to practice for the Listening test in the most authentic way. You won’t have a transcript for the test, so don’t practice with one now.
Questions:
1. How did the professor describe human history?
a. This story is the narrative of humanity’s past, and is also referred to as world history.
b. Human history and world history are two separate narratives of humanity’s past.
c. Human history ended in the Paleolithic era.
d. Human history is not well-known.
2. All of the following are mentioned by the lecturer EXCEPT:
a. The Agricultural Revolution and the Neolithic Era dated between 10,000 and 5,000 BC.
b. The systematic raising of plants and animals had a marked beginning during the Agricultural Revolution and the Neolithic Era.
c. With the advancement of agriculture, most humans decided to transition from a nomadic lifestyle to an established lifestyle.
d. The Paleolithic Era predates the Neolithic Era.
3. The speaker implies that:
a. There were times in history when people didn’t always need to be near reliable sources of water.
b. Settlements first emerged near sources of water.
c. Humans have always had reliable sources of drinking water nearby.
d. The only settlements that were able to develop were located in China.
4. What is the main purpose of this lecture?
a. Human history and world history occurred in different periods.
b. It was only in the Neolithic period that humans learned to work with agriculture, because before that period, survival was based on hunting.
c. Human history has evolved over thousands of years, through distinct eras.
d. Only in the Paleolithic period did humans learn to associate hunting and agriculture to survive.
5. Which aspect of ancient history, also called “Antiquity”, did the professor primarily discuss?
a. the industrial revolution
b. the rise and fall of empires
c. agricultural processes
d. the Indus River Valley
6. What did the professor say about the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Scientific Revolution?
a. The introduction of movable type printing in the mid-15th century in Europe revolutionized communication delayed the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.
b. The Early Modern Period did not include the Age of Enlightenment.
c. The 18th century saw a lack of knowledge and technology development.
d. The end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Scientific Revolution began after events in Europe in the mid-15th century.
Human history, or world history, is the narrative of humanity’s past. Humanity’s written history was preceded by its prehistory, beginning with the Palaeolithic Era (Old Stone Age), followed by the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age). The Neolithic saw the Agricultural Revolution begin, between 10,000 and 5000 BCE, in the Near East’s Fertile Crescent. During this period, humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals. As agriculture advanced, most humans transitioned from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements. Whether in prehistoric or historic times, people always needed to be near reliable sources of drinking water. Settlements developed as early as 4,000 BCE in Iran, in Mesopotamia, in the Indus River valley on the Indian subcontinent, on the banks of Egypt’s Nile River, and along China’s rivers.
With civilizations flourishing, ancient history (“Antiquity”, including the Classical Age and Golden Age of India, up to about 500 CE) saw the rise and fall of empires. Post-classical history (the “Middle Ages”, c. 500–1500 CE,) witnessed the rise of Christianity, the Islamic Golden Age (c. 750 CE – c. 1258 CE), and the Timurid and Italian Renaissances (from around 1300 CE). The mid-15th-century introduction of movable-type printing in Europe revolutionized communication and facilitated ever wider dissemination of information, hastening the end of the Middle Ages and ushering in the Scientific Revolution. The early modern period, sometimes referred to as the “European Age and Age of the Islamic Gunpowders”,from about 1500 to 1800, included the Age of Discovery and the Age of Enlightenment. By the 18th century, the accumulation of knowledge and technology had reached a critical mass that brought about the Industrial Revolution and began the late modern period, which started around 1800 and has continued through the present.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_history
Answers:
1. a 2. d 3. b 4. c 5. b 6. d
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The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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