gistcontentquestion

What are Gist-Content questions?

TOEFL Listening gist content questions test whether you can identify the main topic of a conversation, announcement, or lecture. The question may ask about the opening topic, an idea that keeps returning, the problem that drives the talk, or the larger idea behind the examples. Here are the main types of information to listen for in gist content questions.

Strategy:

• Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.
• Listen for ideas repeated throughout. The main topic is usually the idea that keeps coming back. If several parts of the audio return to the same issue, that issue is the topic, even when other facts are mentioned once. A choice that repeats a word from the audio but changes the meaning is a trap. Count how often an idea is discussed, not how familiar a word sounds.
• Listen for the problem or situation driving the listening. Many conversations and talks are driven by a problem or a situation. In a conversation, that is usually the reason the two speakers are talking. In an announcement or a lecture, it is the situation the speaker wants listeners to understand. The solution, the advice, and the extra details all belong to that one situation. They are not separate topics.
• Separate examples from the larger idea. A speaker often gives several examples that all support one larger idea. Each example is true, but no single example describes the whole audio. The correct choice names the larger idea. A choice that names only one example is too narrow, even when it uses words you heard clearly.

Strategy reminder: Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.

We'll look at a sample TOEFL listening practice.

Sample Question:

• play_arrow
• pause

What is the conversation mainly about?

• Finding off-campus housing
• Eating fewer campus meals
• Adjusting a dining option
• Comparing residence-hall costs

• spellcheck Transcript

  Woman: Hi, I wanted to ask about changing my meal plan for next semester.

  Man: Sure. Are you thinking of switching to a smaller plan?

  Woman: Yeah. I'm living farther from campus next year, so I probably won't eat here as often.

  Man: That makes sense. There are two smaller plans you can choose from.

  Woman: Great. Could you explain the difference between them?

Let’s solve it using the strategy.

• Use the strategy. Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.
• Gist: The woman opens with changing her meal plan. Living farther from campus is the reason, not the topic. The whole conversation is about adjusting a dining option.
• Eliminate A. This choice is about finding off-campus housing. She already lives farther from campus next year. That is why she wants a smaller meal plan, not the topic of the talk.
• Eliminate B. This choice is about eating fewer campus meals. That is the result of a smaller plan. The conversation is about adjusting the dining option itself.
• Eliminate D. This choice is about comparing residence-hall costs. Housing costs never come up. She asks about switching to a smaller meal plan.
• Correct answer: C.
  
  

  What is the conversation mainly about?

  • Finding off-campus housing
  • Eating fewer campus meals
  • Adjusting a dining option
  • Comparing residence-hall costs

Strategy reminder: Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.

We'll look at a sample TOEFL listening practice.

Sample Question:

• play_arrow
• pause

What is the announcement mainly about?

• Science-building construction delays
• New rules for campus drivers
• Earlier Blue Line departure times
• A short-term transit reroute

• spellcheck Transcript

  Announcer: This is a reminder about changes to campus bus service beginning next Monday. The Blue Line will no longer stop in front of the science building because of construction in that area. Instead, passengers should use the temporary stop beside the east parking lot. All other Blue Line stops and departure times will remain the same.

Let’s solve it using the strategy.

• Use the strategy. Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.
• Gist: The first sentence names changes to campus bus service. Construction explains why the stop moved; times staying the same is a supporting detail. The announcement is mainly a short-term transit reroute.
• Eliminate A. This choice focuses on science-building construction. Construction is only why the Blue Line stop moved. The announcement is about a short-term transit reroute.
• Eliminate B. This choice invents new rules for campus drivers. The speaker talks about bus stops, not driving rules.
• Eliminate C. This choice says departure times are earlier. The speaker says all other stops and departure times will remain the same. Only the science-building stop changes.
• Correct answer: D.
  
  

  What is the announcement mainly about?

  • Science-building construction delays
  • New rules for campus drivers
  • Earlier Blue Line departure times
  • A short-term transit reroute

Strategy reminder: Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.

We'll look at a sample TOEFL listening practice.

Sample Question:

• play_arrow
• pause

What does the professor mainly discuss?

• Why winter food supplies become harder to find
• Ways wildlife copes with freezing weather
• Why some birds travel long distances each year
• How scientists measure changes in heart rate

• spellcheck Transcript

  Professor: Today we're going to look at how some animals survive extremely cold winters. Animals don't all respond to low temperatures in the same way. Some species leave the area entirely when the weather turns harsh. They migrate to warmer regions and return when conditions improve. Other animals remain in place and simply reduce their activity. During the coldest weeks, they may sleep for long periods and use stored body fat. A few species undergo major physiological changes that allow them to survive with very little food. Their heart rate slows, and their body temperature drops. These changes help them save energy until spring. Scientists have studied these responses in birds, mammals, and even some insects. The details differ from one species to another. Still, each strategy is a way of coping with the same seasonal problem. We'll look at several of these strategies more closely.

Let’s solve it using the strategy.

• Use the strategy. Listen for the topic introduced at the beginning. Speakers usually name the subject in the first few lines. In a conversation, the person who starts often says what they need. In an announcement or a lecture, the opening sentence usually states the subject directly. Hold that opening subject in your mind while the rest of the audio plays, and check whether the speakers stay with it.
• Gist: The professor states the topic in the first sentence: how animals survive extremely cold winters. Migration, reduced activity, and physiological changes are examples. The lecture is about ways wildlife copes with freezing weather.
• Eliminate A. This choice is about winter food becoming harder to find. Food shortage appears only inside one strategy. The lecture is about ways wildlife copes with freezing weather.
• Eliminate C. This choice is about birds traveling long distances. Migration is one example. Other animals stay and reduce activity or change their bodies.
• Eliminate D. This choice is about measuring heart rate. A slower heart rate is one detail of a physiological change. It is not the main topic.
• Correct answer: B.
  
  

  What does the professor mainly discuss?

  • Why winter food supplies become harder to find
  • Ways wildlife copes with freezing weather
  • Why some birds travel long distances each year
  • How scientists measure changes in heart rate