TOEFL 听

题型精讲
托福听力题型概述
 题型 2

Gist-Purpose
Questions

目的主旨题
Some gist questions focus on the purpose of the conversation rather

than on the content. This type of question will more likely occur with

conversations, but Gist- Purpose questions may also occasionally be

asked about lectures.

目的主旨题在对话中出现的几率更大。

选课出现问题 ，考试 ，作业 ，论文选题 ，对课堂上的知识点 ，图书馆 ，资料的

使用方法有疑问等。
典型问法 :
Why does the student visit the professor?

Why does the student visit the registrar’s

office?

Why did the professor ask to see the student?

Why does the professor explain X?

Tips for Gist- Purpose Questions

• Listen for the unifying theme of the conversation. For example,

during a professor’s office hours, a student asks the professor
for help with a paper on glaciers. Their conversation includes
facts about glaciers, but the unifying theme of the conversation
is that the student needs help writing his paper. In this
conversation the speakers are not attempting to convey a main
idea about glaciers.

• 关注对话中一致性的主题
Tips for Gist- Purpose Questions

• In Service Encounter conversations, the student is often

trying to solve a problem. Understanding what the
student’ s problem is and how it will be solved will help
you answer the Gist- Purpose question.

• 在学生服务的对话中 , 理解学生的问题及解决办法
解题技巧补充 :

抓主旨句型

排除无关词选
项
Examble

例题
1
例题 1. Why does the student go to see
the
professor?
A. To report on the research he has done
B. To ask for permission to observe a class
C. To get help understanding an assignment
D. To ask about a question on a recent test
P: Good afternoon, Alex, can I help you
with
something?
S: Well, I want to talk with you about the
research project you have assigned today. I
um...I hope you could clarify a few things
for me. P: I’ll certainly
try.
例题 1. Why does the student go to see
the
professor?

A. To report on the research he has done

B. To ask for permission to observe a class

C. To get help understanding an assignment

D. To ask about a question on a recent test

例题 1. Why does the student go to see
the
professor?

A. To report on the research he has done

B. To ask for permission to observe a class

C. To get help understanding an assignment

D. To ask about a question on a recent test

Examble

例题
2
例题 2: Why does the man go to see the woman?

A. To complain about customers.

B. To request an increase in his pay.

C. To ask for a change in his work schedule.

D. To apply for a job playing music in the dining hall.

Listen to a conversation between a student and a food service manager.
S: Excuse me, Mrs. Hanson. My name is John, John Grant. I work as a
waiter in the campus dining hall, in the faculty dining room.
M: What can I do for you, John?
S: Well, I work week nights, except for Friday. I was wondering if I could
switch from working the dinner service to working at lunch.
例题 2: Why does the man go to see the woman?

A. To complain about customers.

B. To request an increase in his pay.

C. To ask for a change in his work schedule.

D. To apply for a job playing music in the dining hall.

例题 2: Why does the man go to see the woman?

A. To complain about customers.

B. To request an increase in his pay.

C. To ask for a change in his work schedule.

D. To apply for a job playing music in the dining hall.

Examble

例题
3
例题 3: Why does the man go to see the professor?
A. To ask for help in choosing a topic for his term paper

B. To ask the professor to explain how to complete an

assignment
C. To ask about a point raised in a recent lecture
D. To offer to help the professor with her research project
S: Hi, professor Handerson. That was a really interesting lecture in class
today.
P: Thanks, Tom. Yeah, animals’ use of deception, ways they play tricks
on other animals, that’s a fascinating area. One we are really just
starting to understand.

S: Yeah, you know, selective adaptations over time are one thing. Oh,
like, non-poisonous butterflies that have come to look like poisonous
ones. But the idea that animals of the same species intentionally
deceive each other, I have never heard that before.
P: Right, like, there are male frogs who lower their voices and end up
sounding bigger than they really are.
S: So they do that to keep other frogs from invading their territory?
P: Right, bigger frogs have deeper voices, so if a smaller frog can imitate
that deep voice. Well ...
S: Yeah, I can see how that might do the trick. But, anyway, what I
wanted to ask was, when you started talking about game theory, well, I
know a little bit about it, but I am not clear about its use in biology.
例题 3: Why does the man go to see the professor?
A. To ask for help in choosing a topic for his term paper

B. To ask the professor to explain how to complete an

assignment
C. To ask about a point raised in a recent lecture

D. To offer to help the professor with her research

project
例题 3: Why does the man go to see the professor?
A. To ask for help in choosing a topic for his term paper

B. To ask the professor to explain how to complete an

assignment
C. To ask about a point raised in a recent lecture

D. To offer to help the professor with her research

project
Examble

例题
3
例题 3. What is the conversation mainly about?

A. The advantages and disadvantages of a career in

journalism

B. Topics the student could write about for the

school newspaper
C. Comparing a major in journalism to other majors
D. Preparing for a career in journalism
Listen to a conversation between a student and his faculty adviser

Advisor: Hi ， Steven I schedule this appointment, cause it has been a while

since we touch this.
Student: I know I have been really busy- - - a friend of mine works on a school a
paper. He asks me if I would like to try reporting so I did and I really love it.
Advisor: Hey…that's sounds great!
Student: Yeah… the first article I wrote it was a profile ( 概 况 ) of the
chemistry professor---the one who’s name teacher of the year. My article ran
on the front page ( 头版 ) . When I saw my name, I mean my byline ( 署名 )
in print, I was hooked ( 我被迷住了 ) . Now I know this is what I want to do--- be
a reporter.
Advisor: Isn‘t it great to discover something that you really enjoy? And I read that
the article too ！ It was very good.
Student: To be honest ( 老实说 ) , the articles got a lot of editing. In fact I barely
( 几 乎不 ) recognized a couple of paragraphs. But the editor explained why
the changes were made. I learned a lot and my second article didn‘ t meet
nearly many changes.
Advisor: Sound like you got a real knack ( 诀窍 ，本领 ) for this.
Student: Yeah … anyway, I am glad you schedule this meeting because I want to
change my major tojournalism ( 新闻业 ) now.
Advisor: Um ， the university doesn‘t offer major in journalism.
Student: Oh no …
Advisor: But … .
Student: I… I mean … should I transfer to another school, or major in English?
Advisor: Er… wait a minute. Let me explain why the major isn’t offered. Editors at
the newspaper… editors… um… I mean when you apply for a reporting job, editors
look at the two things--- they want to see clips ( 报刊上的文章 / 新闻 / 图片等 ) ,
you know, some of your published articles, they’ll also want to try out ( 尝
试 ) , they’ll give you an assignment like… covering ( 报导 ) a press
conferences of some other event, then see if you can craft ( 精 心制作 ) the
story about it, accurately, on dead line.
Student: So they don‘t even to look at my major?
Advisor: It is not that they don‘t look at it… it is… well, having a degree in
something other than journalism should actually work to your advantage.
Student: How?
Advisor: Most journalism specialized ( 专业细化 ) these days. They only write
about science or business or technology for example. Is there a type of
reporting you think you may like to specialize then?
Student: Well… I think it can be really cool to cover the Supreme Court ( 最高法院 )
. I mean … their decision affects so many people.
Advisor: That is really a goal worth striving for ( 值得奋斗 ) . So, why not
continue major in political science ( 政治学 ) ? And as elective ( 选修课 ) , you
could take some Pre- Law ( 法 律 预 科 ) classes like Constitutional Law ( 宪 法 ) ,
and as for you work on the student newspaper , maybe they let you cover some
local court cases- -- once that the student and professor here would want to read
about.
Student: Do you know of any ？
Advisor: I do. Actually, there is case involving this computer
software program that one of our professors wrote. The district
courts ( 地方法院 ) decide in if the university entitle to ( 拥有…
的 权利 ) any of our professors' profits.
例题 3. What is the conversation mainly about?

A. The advantages and disadvantages of a career

in journalism

B. Topics the student could write about for the

school newspaper
C. Comparing a major in journalism to other majors
D. Preparing for a career in journalism
例题 3. What is the conversation mainly about?

A. The advantages and disadvantages of a career in

journalism

B. Topics the student could write about for the

school newspaper
C. Comparing a major in journalism to other majors
D. Preparing for a career in journalism
Thanks