The following two essays are examples of how test takers can approach this task. The first one covers the text first, then mentions the points made in the lecture. The second one (you may have to click continue) goes right into the listening and contrasts the points made by the professor with those found in the text.
This exercise is on page 426 of DELTA'S Key to the TOEFL iBT Advanced Skill Practice textbook.
TASK: Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they differ from specific points made in the reading passage.
FIRST ESSAY:
This set of materials talks about the "fight or flight" mechanism in humans. The reading mentions the various ways we react to stressful situations, while the listening adds to the information, explaining that men and women actually deal with negative situations differently.
According to the reading, our fight or flight mechanism allows us to either deal with a problem head on or flee from it if the problem is too large or difficult to handle. A surge of adrenaline is released in our bodies that triggers this response which leads us to attack someone physically or engage someone in a verbal argument if we decide to fight. On the other hand, if we determine fleeing to be the better choice, we withdraw from the situation by leaving the space and avoid people or engage in habits that separate us from society. This can take the form of drug or alcohol abuse.
The lecture, on the other hand, mentions that the fight or flight response actually only refers to men. The professor points out that most of the research done on this mechanism has been done on men, and there is growing evidence that women react to stress differently. Some scientists say that while men engage in fight or flight behavior, women respond to stress by tending and befriending. As an example, scientists noticed that in their workplace, men who encountered stress tended to verbally attack another person and leave the room, while women who were stressed, tended to clean the lab to deal with the mess. In addition, instead of running away, they tended to sit down and talk to a colleague about their predicament. Women, the scientists noticed, avoided fights and were more apt to diffuse the situation by seeking advice and turning to colleagues for help.
In this set of materials, the reading explains the "fight or flight" mechanism of humans, while the listening adds to this information by mentioning recent observations that women and men actually deal with stress differently.
The professor begins by mentioning that 90 percent of the research that has been done on "fight or flight" has used men as subjects and that there is growing evidence that women have a different response when facing dangers and challenges. One characteristic female response that is completely opposite that of men is women's tendency to stay in the space. Instead of fleeing the situation as men do and as believed to be the overall human response as mentioned in the text, women remain in the space and deal with the problem diplomatically. For example, scientists in one lab noticed that women started cleaning their space to alleviate the problem and sat down to have a chat with their colleagues. The men in the lab, on the other hand, would leave the lab to let off some steam.
In addition, instead of engaging in attacks as men tend to do, women discussed their problem with someone. They were more apt to avoid fights and tended to ask for help or looked for advice from others instead. On the contrary, the scientists noticed that men who encountered stressful situations tended to verbally attack another person and ran off to be on their own. Instead of fighting or flying as the text explained all humans did, the scientists noticed that women were more apt to tend and befriend. In fact, the professor mentions scientific studies showing that women release a hormone that actually weaken the fight or flight response, which explains why they tend to hang around and diffuse the situation.
The first essay was written within the 20-minute time limit during our writing task.
-- Joe Yu, ESL instructor
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