新托福口语考试的Task 5和Task 6都属于Integrated Listening/Speaking Task，是考查考生听说综合能力的考题。虽然相对前面的Task 3和Task 4少了相关的阅读文章，但考生还是要口耳并用，充分发挥自己的听说能力，因此有一定的难度。

　　考试形式

　　在Task 5中，考生先会听到一段跟校园场景相关的对话，再回答一道基于这段对话的问题。对话一般是两个人就一个问题产生讨论并提出两种可行的解决办法。这个问题可能是跟其中一人相关或跟两个人都相关的。听完对话以后，考生会被要求简要地描述对话中所讨论的问题并给出自己的对于解决办法的意见。准备时间为20秒，而回答时间为60秒。

　　考试内容

　　一般来说，对话通常发生在两个学生之间，学生与教授之间或者学生与工作人员如教学助理、图书管理员和行政人员之间。问题所涵盖的内容大都是与校园生活相关的，例如课业和其他安排上的冲突、不可避免缺席某些课程、学习资源不能利用、学生对课程的选择把握不准、亦或是经济上的困难等。有时问题在对话者身上都有发生，所以两者必须达成一个共同的解决办法；也有时候问题只存在于其中一方，那么此方提出问题，另一方则提供两种可能的解决途径。整个对话大约持续60到90秒的时间。

　　应考策略一：答题模式

　　那么在作答的时候考生应注意些什么呢？下面就一个例题来跟大家分享一下，题中对话如下：

　　Man: Hey Lisa, how’s it going?

　　Woman: Hi Mark. Uh, I’m OK, I guess, but my schoolwork is really stressing me out.

　　Man: [sympathetically] Yeah? What’s wrong?

　　Woman: Well, I’ve got a paper to write and two exams to study for. And a bunch of math problems to finish. It’s just so much that I can’t concentrate on any of it. I start concentrating on studying for one of my exams, and then I’m like, how long’s it gonna take to finish that problem set?

　　Man: Wow. Sounds like you’ve got a lot more work than you can handle right now. [Not wanting to sound too pushy] Look, have you talked to some of your professors . . . mean, you know, try to explain the problem. Look, you could probably get an extension on your paper, or on the math assignment . . .

　　Woman: You think? It would give me a little more time to prepare for my exams right now.

　　Man: Well, I mean another thing that you might do . . . I mean have you tried making yourself a schedule? I mean that’s what I do when I’m feeling overwhelmed.

　　Woman: What does that do for you?

　　Man: Well, I mean it helps you to focus your energies. You know, you make yourself a chart that shows the next few days and the time till your stuff is due and . . .

　　Woman: Uh-huh . . . [meaning “I’m listening”]

　　Man: I mean think about what you need to do and when you have to do it by. You know then start filling in your schedule—like, all right 9:00 [nine] to 11:30 [eleven-thirty] A.M., study for exam. 12:00 [twelve] to 3:00 [three], work on problem set. But I mean don’t make the time periods too long. Like, don’t put in eight hours of studying—you know, you’ll get tired, or start worrying about your other work again. But if you keep to your schedule, you know you’ll just have to worry about one thing at a time.

　　Woman: Yeah, that might work. [somewhat noncommittally]

　　听完对话以后，考生会听到考题的要求如下：

　　The students discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Describe the problem and state which solution you prefer and explain why.

　　先就问题来看，考生一定要把考试中提出的问题一一回答完整。问题包括以下几个部分：首先是要简明扼要地描述出对话中所讨论的问题，其中重要的细节要充足以便没有听到对话只听到考生陈述的人能够充分了解这个问题；然后考生需表明自己的态度，即两种解决办法中自己会更倾向于哪种，在表明观点时通常可以用到如”I think it would be better if …”之类的句型引出；最后是过渡到用适当的理由解释自己所选择的解决办法。