TOEFL - Are you ready?

Amanda:  So I got a call from my cousin, Jeff Wong, and I haven’t heard from him in months, but he was super stressed out because he’s practicing and cramming and studying for this toy-full exam…

Jason:  Oh, the TOEFL?

Amanda:  Yeah!

Jason:  The Test of English as a Foreign Language?

Amanda:  Yeah.

Jason:  Where does he live?

Amanda:  Exactly. He lives in China. He lives in Shanghai. And he’s just super-stressed about it but I don’t know if it’s like a one time you fail and you’re done, or if you just keep taking it. How’s it work?

Jason:  Well, you can take it again but it’s kind of expensive and stuff, so the best thing to do is probably take the practice TOEFL, which you can get online from English, baby! now. And it’s sweet because it’s pretty much exactly the TOEFL except it’s just pretend, you know? So if you get your score from that, you’ll know exactly how well you’re going to do.

Amanda:  So is it an online thing? You don’t go to a room with a bunch of other students…

Jason:  Yeah, exactly. You take it online and then you can, like, take breaks and pause it and eat dinner…

Amanda:  So you don’t have a maximum amount of time, like four hours, you have to be done…

Jason:  You do, but you can, like, hit pause on it, or whatever.

Amanda:  Oh that’s cool. So it’s pretty laid back.

Jason:  Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Amanda:  I mean, if you study enough, you should be able to get a pretty high mark, I would think.

Jason:  Yeah, and it seems like if you sort of go through the motions on the practice test it will make it less stressful when you take the real test.

Amanda:  Cool.


cramming: to study for something just before it happens.
stuff: là cái đang cần.
stressed out: worried, over-worked.
laid back: relaxed, mellow.
go through the motions: do something without care.