Welcome to Part B of TOEFL iTP Listening! The second part of the listening consists of longer conversations between a man and a woman or sometimes between two men and two women. Each conversation lasts for thirty to ninety seconds. It is preceded by brief introductory comments. After each conversations, there are from three-five questions.

You will hear:

F1: Bill, you're a physics major, aren't you?
M1: That's right.
F1: I need some advice. I want to take an introductory physics class, and I have to choose between two teachers, Professor Hunter and Professor McVey. Do you know much about them?
M1: I've taken classes from both of them. To tell you the truth, I don't really like Hunter's style of teaching. He doesn't seem to care if his students understand or not, and his lectures are pretty dry.
F1: Well, then, what about McVey? I've heard his course is difficult.
M1: It's not easy, but you'll learn alot. And he always encourages his students to ask questions and join in discussions.

You will then hear:

What does the woman ask Bill to do?

You will read:

The woman asks Bill for some advice about the two professors who are teaching basic physics courses. Therefore, the best answer is 1, which ia A. 

You will then hear:

What does Bill imply that the woman should do?

You will read:

Bill speaks critical of Hunter's teaching methods, but favorable of McVey's. 

When you are previewing the items in Part B, you should try to anticipate what the questions will be. For example, in the four answer choices are the names of places, a "where..." question will be asked; if the answer choices are times of day, you can focus your listening during the talks. 

After each of these, there are 4-5 questions. Usually the first or sometimes the last question are overview questions. To answer these questions, you need to understand the entire conversation rather than the specific points. 

Overview questions for extended conversations

Main topic questions must correctly summarize the conversation. Incorrect answers for these questions are too general, too specific, or incorrect according to the conversation. 

M1: Hello?
F1: Hi, Rod, this is Rita -- I'm in your 9 o'clock class. I missed class because of a cold, and I was wondering if I could borrow your notes. 
M1: I don't know if you could read my notes -- I have terrible handwriting. But I can tell you what happened. Professor Philips went over the material in Chapter 4, about different types of stars in our galaxy. And she talked about what the mid-term exam is going to be like. 
F1: Uh-oh, you better tell me all about the mid-term -- I really need to do well on it. 

From this portion of a conversation, we learn that...

....both speakers are students
.....they are probably taking a course in astronomy
.....the class is about halfway over (because they are taking mid-term exams)
....the rest of the talk will probably deal with the material that will be on the examination. 

Not all conversations begin with so much detail. However, it is important to concentrate on the opening lines to learn this kind of information.