TOEFL  - Speaking Question 4

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Directions: In this question, you will read a short passage and then listen to a talk on the same academic topic. You will then answer a question about them. After you hear the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak. You have 45 seconds to read the passage.

  

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Sigmund Freud The terms “id,” “ego,” and “super ego” were coined by the German psychologist Sigmund Freud. For Freud, these terms described the division between conscious and unconscious. The “id,” being fully unconscious, deals with primal drives and urges, such things repressed by the consciousness. The “ego,” being mostly conscious, deals with external reality and everyday actions. And the “super ego,” which is partly conscious, is the moral judge that works internally as a conscience.

 

Narrator: Now listen to part of a talk about psychology.

 

Professor: Freud coined the terms id, ego, and super ego in reference to our psyche and how our brain makes decisions. The id is responsible for our basic impulses and drives such as hunger, thirst, sex, and aggression. We can think of a very young child as completely id driven. When the child wants something, it must have it. It ignores morals, logic, time, and being told “no.” It will stop at nothing until its needs are satisfied. The super-ego stands against the id as its moral superior. The super-ego is the conscience that thinks of social appropriateness. The laws of society and what is morally acceptable come into play with the super-ego. It keeps the id in check. If something is socially wrong or legally wrong to do, for example, steal from someone, it is the super ego that will remind us this is not the best path to take. The natural balance between these two is the ego. The ego mediates between what the id wants and what the super-ego says is ok or not. The ego tries its best to satisfy the wants of the id, while at the same time minimizing the consequences to the individual. Its main priority is the safety of this individual.

 

Narrator: Now get ready to answer the question.

 

Narrator: The professor describes the functions of the three divisions of psyche. How do the id, ego, and super-ego function in our everyday decision making? Use examples and details in your response.