Read the following passage
The Chemistry Department is planning to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above. We have found there to be a serious need for well-educated chemistry students and the current pool of chemists is highly lacking. By awarding these scholarships, it will allow future chemists to get a better handle on their tuition costs as well as encourage students to study harder in class. After the recent audit, we have found there to be plenty of funds for this department and we feel this is the best place to use them. Considering this school spends most of its funds on the Sports Department, we want to get students more interested in chemistry and we feel this is the best place to start.
The Chemistry Department is planning to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above. We have found there to be a serious need for well-educated chemistry students and the current pool of chemists is highly lacking. By awarding these scholarships, it will allow future chemists to get a better handle on their tuition costs as well as encourage students to study harder in class. After the recent audit, we have found there to be plenty of funds for this department and we feel this is the best place to use them. Considering this school spends most of its funds on the Sports Department, we want to get students more interested in chemistry and we feel this is the best place to start.
Female: This is a bad move from the Chemistry Department. I can’t believe they are going to spend school funding like this.
Male: Why would you say that?
Female: Have you seen the outdated equipment in the Chemistry Department? Most of it is older than I am. If the department has so much extra money, they should spend it on updating the chemistry equipment before pushing for more students. I mean, think about it! Most companies use updated equipment, so how do they expect us to compete for positions when we’re accustomed to using outdated equipment? We’re going to be at a disadvantage.
Male: Yea, you’re right. I never thought about that. We will need to know how to use the latest equipment in the Chemistry field for our future careers.
Female: Exactly! Also, I think they should consider spending money on current students who are actually working hard and not try to lure in potential students. I know a lot of my friends are studying hard. Even though they are not getting an average grade of 90%, they are still getting good grades in Chemistry. I think the Chemistry department should award them, like giving them a bonus or something.
Male: That’s true! You make a good point. It would be great if my hard work was rewarded.
Question: The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.
You have 30 seconds to prepare you answer
00:30
Question: The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.
You have 60 seconds to speak
Sample Response 4/4
The woman does not think the chemistry department’s plan to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above is a good idea. She makes a point to say that the current items on hand in the Chemistry lab are very outdated. The use of outdated equipment hurts the students because it doesn’t allow for them to understand or use the latest equipment being used currently in the Chemistry field. She also thinks that the department should spend the money on current students who are working hard and reward them for the hard work and their dedication to the department instead of trying to lure in potential students and spending money on them. For these two reasons, she is not in agreement with this campus announcement. She feels the funds need to be used in the current lab considering its condition or used to reward current hard-working students.
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Task Fulfillment 2/4
Task Fulfillment is about how well you respond to the question you are given. TOEFL raters are looking for...
How to Improve
To do well on Task Fulfillment for Speaking Task 1, you first need to understand...
Pronunciation & Intonation 3/4
Pronunciation and intonation is about how you form English sounds and how you use natural English intonation. Your pronunciation and intonation can damage your score if...
How to Improve
Watch the following pronunciation video lessons to improve your pronunciation.
| Vowel | Video Lesson |
| Vowel ɪ and i | ... |
| Vowel ɛ and æ | ... |
| Vowel ə and ʌ | ... |
| Vowel ɔ and ɑ | ... |
| Vowel ʊ and u | ... |
| Consonants | Video Lesson |
| Consonant b and p | ... |
| Consonant d and t | ... |
| Consonant g and k | ... |
| Consonant dʒ and tʃ | ... |
| Consonant v and f | ... |
| Consonant ð and θ | ... |
| Consonant s and z | ... |
| Consonant ʃ and ʒ | ... |
| Consonant m, n and ŋ | ... |
| Consonant l and r | ... |
| Consonant h, w and y |
...
... ... |
Flow & Speech 3/4
Flow and speech is about how quickly you can speak and how much pausing and hesitation you use. You don’t have to speak quickly, but...
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To improve your speech flow...
Unnatural Pauses and Hesitations Reduction Exercise
Practice any TOEFL question and record your answer. Then listen to your recording and...
Speech Pacing Exercise
An important key to earning a high score on Speech delivery is pacing in your speech. A good pacing means using proper pauses and word stresses. Here is a step-by-step exercise that can help you improve the pacing in your speech:
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Correct Grammar Usage 1/4
Correct grammar usage is about how you use English grammar and sentence structure. Raters want to see...
How to Improve
Using right tenses is important in TOEFL speaking. Every time you are not sure about what tense you should use, refer to our sample answer and...
| Grammar topic | Lesson |
| All past tenses | ... |
| Present perfect tense | ... |
| How to talk about future using right tenses | ... |
| Mixed Verb Tenses in English: Conditionals and IF clauses | ... |
Vocabulary Usage (Appropriacy and Range) 4/4
Vocabulary usage is about how you use English words. Raters are looking for responses that use...
How to Improve
To improve your vocabulary usage for task 1, practice...
We suggest you complete the following speaking tasks 1 and 2 lessons...
Support & Development 2/4
Support and development is about...
How to Improve
To improve your support and development you have to...
A great exercise to improve note-taking is...
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Sample Answer
The woman does not think the chemistry department’s plan to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above is a good idea. She makes a point to say that the current items on hand in the Chemistry lab are very outdated. The use of outdated equipment hurts the students because it doesn’t allow for them to understand or use the latest equipment being used currently in the Chemistry field. She also thinks that the department should spend the money on current students who are working hard and reward them for the hard work and their dedication to the department instead of trying to lure in potential students and spending money on them. For these two reasons, she is not in agreement with this campus announcement. She feels the funds need to be used in the current lab considering its condition or used to reward current hard-working students.
Pronunciation Training Exercise
(This exercise trains your pronunciation, speech rhythm, timing, and reading)
Click the record button and read out load a Sample Answer Script:. As you speak, your speech will be translated to text. It can take 5 seconds before the text appears, so don't worry and keep speaking.
Click the record button again to stop recording; Review the text for any pronunciation errors.
Sample Answer Script:
The woman does not think the chemistry department’s plan to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above is a good idea. She makes a point to say that the current items on hand in the Chemistry lab are very outdated. The use of outdated equipment hurts the students because it doesn’t allow for them to understand or use the latest equipment being used currently in the Chemistry field. She also thinks that the department should spend the money on current students who are working hard and reward them for the hard work and their dedication to the department instead of trying to lure in potential students and spending money on them. For these two reasons, she is not in agreement with this campus announcement. She feels the funds need to be used in the current lab considering its condition or used to reward current hard-working students.
