TOEIC Part 3 and 4 don't test what you heard. They test what it meant.

It's easy to assume a stalled score means there's still vocabulary to learn. Past a certain point, that's rarely the actual issue. TOEIC's Part 3 and 4 are built around a specific trap: the correct answer is usually a paraphrase of what was said, not a repeat of it, while the wrong answer often borrows the exact words from the audio. An ear that matches by sound instead of by meaning runs straight into this, question after question.

1. 1

   The correct answer almost never repeats the exact word

   TOEIC rewrites what you heard into different wording for the correct answer, on purpose. An ear trained to listen for the exact word from the audio will scan right past the correct choice, because it's phrased differently than what actually played.

2. 2

   The wrong answer is often the word you actually heard

   The trap answer frequently repeats a word or phrase straight from the audio, out of context, specifically to catch listeners who match by sound instead of by meaning. Recognizing a familiar word in an answer choice isn't proof it's correct.

3. 3

   Later details override earlier ones without warning

   A speaker will state one plan, then revise or contradict it later in the same passage, and the question tests the final, updated version. Locking in an answer from the first half of the audio is a common way to miss this.

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This is also why re-listening to the same clip repeatedly can plateau on its own. Hearing familiar audio again mostly reinforces recognizing the words you already caught. It doesn't automatically train the habit of restating a scene's meaning in different words, which is the specific skill this part of the test is checking for.

A stuck score at this level usually isn't missing vocabulary. It's missing the habit of tracking meaning past the exact words, which is exactly what separates a good score from a great one on this part of the test.