TOEFL Listening Part 2: Why the Final Part of the Listening Matters

Listening Part 2: Listen to a Conversation

As the name suggests, you will hear a conversation between two people. The topics vary widely and may include daily life, meals, social situations, education, hobbies, services, health issues, household chores, and travel.

Although the previous TOEFL also included conversation-based questions, the new TOEFL Part 2 focuses much more heavily on everyday life. Since the older version of the TOEFL was composed almost entirely of academic contexts, you may be surprised by the types of topics you hear in this section.

How to Tackle Part 2?

Before we move on to practice questions, let’s review some effective strategies for tackling Listening Section Part 2. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of this section is the limited time you have to select your answer: you are given only 20 seconds for each question.

Within that short time frame, you must read all four options and choose the most appropriate one.

No Need to Take Notes

The conversation in Part 2 is very short. In fact, it usually lasts less than 30 seconds, often around 20 seconds. Because of its length, you generally don’t need to take notes. Instead, you should focus fully on understanding the audio.

Focus on the Problem Mentioned in the Conversation

In the new TOEFL Listening Section Part 2, some questions require you to identify the problem mentioned in the conversation. Therefore, if one of the speakers refers to a specific issue, make sure you clearly remember what it is.

Focus on What the Speaker Will Do Next

Many questions require you to infer what one of the speakers will do next. The key information often appears at the very end of the conversation. Therefore, do not lose focus until the audio finishes.

Limited Time Window for Selecting an Option

As mentioned above, you will have only 20 seconds to answer each question. This time includes reading the instructions and the answer choices, and then selecting the correct one.

Practice Questions

Answers and Transcriptions

Listening 1 (Question 1 and 2)

Answer for Question 1

Question: What was the woman unaware of?
Answer: B

Key evidence from the conversation:

• Woman: “Closed? It’s only six.”
• Man: “They changed their weekday hours. They close at five now.”

Her surprise at “only six” shows she expected the shop to be open, meaning she did not know the hours had changed. Then the man directly states the change.

Answer for Question 2

Question: What will the woman probably do next?
Answer: C

Key evidence from the conversation:

• Man: “The clerk said they open earlier in the morning.”
• Woman: “In that case, I’ll go there before work.”

She explicitly decides her next action: go there before work, which means visiting the shop in the morning.

Listening 2 (Question 3 and 4)

Answer for Question 3

Question: Why was the woman unable to solve the problem immediately?
Answer: A

Key evidence from the conversation:

• Woman: “I tried calling the office, but it was already past their business hours.”

She attempted to contact the office but could not reach them because it was outside operating hours. This means assistance was unavailable at that time.

Answer for Question 4

Question: What will the woman most likely do next?
Answer: D

Key evidence from the conversation:

• Woman: “I’ll stay at my sister’s place until they send someone to repair it properly.”

She clearly states she plans to stay at her sister’s place. The word “until” shows this arrangement is temporary.