TOEFL® interview questions: Student travel

I went to a coastal town with two classmates after our exams. We planned to visit a famous beach, but it rained all afternoon. We found a small noodle shop near the station and talked with the owner while waiting for the rain to stop. She told us about a market nearby, so we went there instead. We bought warm bread and watched people repair fishing nets. The trip was different from our plan, but I enjoyed that afternoon most.

• instead · ‘Instead’ briefly links the changed plan to the activity they chose in its place.
• while waiting for the rain to stop · ‘While’ plus an -ing form sets the scene for the conversation.

After our exams, two classmates and I took a train to a coastal town. We had saved lots of beach photos, so heavy rain on the first afternoon felt like a disaster. We ducked into a noodle shop near the station, where the owner suggested a covered fish market instead. It wasn't a place we'd have searched for online, but watching people repair nets and bargain over the day's catch made the town feel real to us. We never got the beach photos we'd wanted. That unexpected afternoon became the part we kept talking about afterward.

• ducked into · ‘Duck into’ vividly shows them hurrying into the shop to escape the rain.
• a place we'd have searched for · A past conditional shows the market was somewhere they would never have looked up.

I prefer making most plans before leaving. When several friends travel together, we may want different things, so planning helps us avoid long discussions during the trip. Before a visit to Hangzhou, my friends and I each chose one place we wanted to see. We also checked the last bus times. We still had free time for walking around. For me, a plan is useful because I can relax more when the important details are already decided.

• each chose one place · ‘Each’ shows every friend named their own wish, making the planning concrete.
• when the important details are already decided · The ‘when’ clause explains why planning ahead lets the speaker relax.

I'd plan the essentials and a few shared activities before we leave. Travelling with friends is enjoyable, but deciding everything together can use up half the day. For a recent trip, we each chose one place we really wanted to visit, then checked which bookings and transport connections mattered. Once those were settled, we left the afternoons fairly open. That gave everyone something to look forward to without turning the holiday into a timetable we had to obey. I can be spontaneous about lunch or a side street, but I don't find uncertainty about the last train particularly relaxing when we're far from home.

• plan the essentials · ‘Essentials’ sums up the core things that must be arranged in advance.
• something to look forward to · ‘Look forward to’ describes plans that give every traveller something to anticipate.

I do not agree. A nearby place can still be very different from where I live. Last spring, I visited a village less than two hours from my university. I helped a friend pick tea with her family and learned how they prepared the leaves. I had never done anything like that before. An overseas trip may bring more language challenges, but distance does not decide everything. I think paying attention and trying something new make a trip valuable.

• less than two hours from · Gives the distance to support the point that nearby places can still feel new.
• does not decide everything · A partial negative rejects treating distance as the only standard.

I'd ask what they mean by rewarding. If the aim is to practice another language, going abroad may offer more opportunities. But that isn't the only kind of discovery travel can provide. A friend invited me to her nearby village for the tea harvest. I helped sort leaves and realized how much skill went into something I drank without thinking. An expensive overseas trip could still feel quite ordinary if I spent it moving between familiar shops. I'd judge a trip by how it changes my attention or understanding, rather than by how far the train or plane travels.

• what they mean by rewarding · Clarifies the standard of judgment before responding to the friend's claim.
• something I drank without thinking · The relative clause links the new insight to an everyday habit.

I think they should provide a small number of grants. Students can learn useful things outside required courses, but travel costs may stop some people from joining. Our history club wanted to visit an old factory museum last year, and the bus was quite expensive. A grant could help with that shared cost. Students should explain what they plan to learn and share something afterwards. The university should also choose fairly, instead of always supporting the biggest clubs.

• stop some people from joining · ‘Stop someone from doing’ presents cost as a concrete barrier to joining.
• share something afterwards · Adds a practical condition for funding: sharing something back on campus after the trip.

I'd support a modest grant scheme with clear criteria. Our history club planned a factory museum visit, but the bus cost excluded several members. A contribution to shared transport would have helped without funding the whole weekend. I'd ask applicants to explain the educational purpose, provide a realistic budget, and offer something useful afterward, such as a short campus talk or photo display. The scheme should also welcome small groups rather than favor clubs that already have experienced organisers. That way, the university would widen access to learning opportunities while keeping the spending focused and easy to account for.

• A contribution to shared transport · Limits funding to shared transport costs so the proposal doesn't grow too broad.
• easy to account for · ‘Account for’ means explaining how money is spent, making the scheme checkable.