TOEFL Week 1 Reading

​TOEFL Week 1

Reading​

Of course we start with the easiest.

1. Prose a summary

2. Fill in a table

Reading to learn

1. Factual Information questions (2 to 5 questions per set)

2. Negative Factual Information questions (0 to 2 questions per set)

3. Inference questions (1 to 2 questions per set)

4. Rhetorical Purpose questions (1 to 2 questions per set)

5. Vocabulary questions (1 to 2 questions per set)

6. Reference questions (0 to 2 questions per set)

7. Sentence Simplification question (0 or 1 question per set)

8. Insert Text question (1 question per set)

Basics and inference

​What skills do we need?

Quite a lot! Yeah?

You've practices almost everyone of these sub-skills.

a bit vocabulary won't hurt, though.

For real!

You'll be fine​

Vocabulary questions

we start with

​So in the reading paper

you'll see things like:

1. The word bazinga in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

2. The phrase bla bazinga in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

3. in stating ba bla bazinga, the author means that ...

And of course they are followed by options for you to choose.

​Let's give it a go, shall we?

​You need to make sure you understand words in the option

Multiple Choice

A monkey ______ from its cage the other day but luckily it was caught before he even got out of the zoo.

• evolution

• movement

• survival

• escape

Multiple Choice

Some (Kan) say that ______ is only a theory invented and not necessarily true science.

• evolution

• movement

• survival

• escape

Multiple Choice

A snake can be so fast and unpredictable that you can never guess its next ______

• evolution

• movement

• survival

• escape

Multiple Choice

You need to learn necessary ______ skills so that you don't bite the dust when out and about in the woods alone.

• evolution

• movement

• survival

• escape

I know you are ready.

​Example 1

Multiple Choice

In the animal world the task of moving about is fulfilled in many ways. For some animals locomotion is accomplished by changes in body shape.

The word 'locomotion' in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

• evolution

• movement

• survival

• escape

Open Ended

How did you know?

What strategies did you use?

Where in the sentences gives it away?

Don't run.

There's another one

Easy! Yeah?

​

Multiple Choice

The guy was knocked in the back of his head and ______

• lost the ability to move

• underwent shock

• became unconscious

• felt great pain

Multiple Choice

Petrificus Totalus!

• lost the ability to move

• underwent shock

• became unconscious

• felt great pain

Multiple Choice

The guy ___an electric ___ when mending the toaster.

• lost the ability to move

• underwent shock

• became unconscious

• felt great pain

Multiple Choice

Crucio

• lost the ability to move

• underwent shock

• became unconscious

• felt great pain

This one is ugly. Think!

​Example 2

Multiple Choice

'Some poisonous snake bites need to be treated immediately or victims will suffer paralysis.'

In stating that the victims will 'suffer paralysis,' the author means that victims will.

• lose ability to move

• become unconscious

• undergo shock

• feel great pain

Open Ended

How did you know?

What strategies did you use?

Where in the sentences gives it away?

Fill in the Blanks

What should you be aware of when answering vocabulary questions​

A truly easy question indeed.

Answer the next question and reflect

Multiple Choice

In a situation like this, it is common practice for the customer to tip 20% of the full bill.

The word 'practice' in the passage is closest in mean to ...

• action

• custom

• exercise to improve skills

• business

Actions rather than thought or ideas.

How are you going to put these proposals into practice?​

B2

Something that is usually, regularly done, often as a habit, custom, or tradition.

C2

The act of doing something repeatedly to improve skills

A2

A job or a business that involve a lot of skills or training.

Our dental practice ​is responsible for nearly 5 people!

unknown

A word can mean a lot of different things. make sure you've chosen the one that works in the sentence!

​

​

Make full use of the context, like synonyms, antonyms, even your experience in life ​

Always read the sentence with your choice of word in it to see if it makes sense

​

If you don't, then you aren't

Only the smart ones do this...

Good luck​

Who needs luck after MSE torture?

Real questions

Jorge Luis Borges

A long with Charles Dickens and Franz Kafka, the Argentine short-story writer Jorge Luis Borges is one of the few authors to inspire his own adjective. A 'Borgerian' work is one that bends time and reality often creating a fantasy world revealing unexpected historical connections. In The Library of Babel, Borges describes an infinite library that contains all possible texts. In The Babylon Lottery, he chronicles a lottery in which there are as many negative outcomes as positive; hence a winning ticket might carry a monetary prize while a losing ticket requires the loser's finger to be cut off. In Borges and I, he ponders his own identity, wondering whether his true nature is that of the famous writer or that of the humble man who walks the streets of Buenos Aires.

Literature

An actual text in the test is longer, around 700 words, with more questions

Multiple Choice

Borges describes an infinite library that contains all possible texts.

The word infinite in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

• wonderful

• distant

• realistic

• immense

Having no limit.

extremely large or ​great

​

Infinite

C2​

It's big

" ... that contains all possible texts... " 

Rosalind Franklin

The Nobel Prize for finding the structure of the DNA molecule was shared by three men in 1962. But it was a woman, Rosalind Franklin, who made that discovery possible. Working with Maurice Wilkins, Franklin used the technique known as X-ray crystallography to show that the DNA had a helical, or spiral, shape. Her results gave James Watson and Francis Crick the key insight that led them to conclude in 1953 that the DNA molecule was shaped like a double helix. That breakthrough enabled scientists to deduce how genes are passed by heredity. Because female scientists in the early 1950s were often forced to work in the shadow of their male counterparts, Franklin's pivotal work has been relegated to a footnote to science history.

Biology

An actual text in the test is longer, around 700 words, with more questions

Multiple Choice

Her results gave James Watson and Francis Crick the key insight that led them to conclude in 1953 that the DNA molecule was shaped like a double helix. That breakthrough enabled scientists to deduce how genes are passed by heredity.

The word breakthrough in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

• discovery

• experiment

• attempt

• announcement

An important discovery or event that helps improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem.

​breakthrough

B2 ​

it led to other things

" ... enabled scientists to deduce... " 

​

Multiple Choice

Because female scientists in the early 1950s were often forced to work in the shadow of their male counterparts, Franklin's pivotal work has been relegated to a footnote to science history.

The word pivotal in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

• difficult

• essential

• published

• preliminary

Central and important

Pivotal

a pivotal figure

​- Kan

" It is worth mentioning only when IMPORTANT work is reduced to a footnote. " 

Charter School

The charter-school movement in the Unites states developed in the 1990s as a reaction to the perceived failure of public schools, especially in the inner cities. The concept is that some money that normally goes to the public schools is given instead to private groups, who find their own building, hire their own teachers, and plan their own curriculum. Charter schools operate free from the control of the public schools and they are expected to produce better academic results. The name chart refers to the statutorily defined performance contract that the schools are expected to meet. While there are many successful charter schools, many others have not achieved the desired improvements. Thus the wisdom and effectiveness of this innovation is still being debated.

Sociology

An actual text in the test is longer, around 700 words, with more questions

Multiple Choice

The charter-school movement in the United States developed in the 1990s as a reaction to the perceived failure of public schools, especially in the inner cities.

The word perceived in the passage is closest in meaning to

• costly

• familiar

• complete

• apparent

to come to an opinion of something, or have a belief about something.

​Perceived

C1​

Multiple Choice

The name charter refers to the statutorily defined performance contract that the schools are expected to meet.

The word statutorily in the passage is closest in meaning to

• legally

• adequately

• strictly

• specially

​- not so strict

" ... many others have not achieved the desired improvements. " 

decided and controlled by law

statutory

​

Philip Roth

Often picked by critics as the best American novelist of the past 50 years, Philip Roth writes personal reflections on the experience of being a Jew in America as well as satiric looks at history and materialistic longings. His first book, Goodbye, Columbus, won the National Book Award in the 1960 and later became an influential movie.His 1969 novel, Portnoy's Complaint, won critical praise while triggering a storm of controversy with its candid and raw descriptions of adolescent desire and adult materialism. It was banned for many years in some towns. Roth often adopts a character as an alter ego and has him reappear in several novels. For example, Nathan Zuckerman is the protagonist of five novels from 1979 to 1986 and again in three more in 1997 to 2000.

Literature

An actual text in the test is longer, around 700 words, with more questions

Multiple Choice

His novel won critical praise while triggering a storm of controversy with its candid and raw descriptions of adolescent desire and adult materialism.

The word triggering in the passage is closest in meaning to

• prompting

• rejecting

• advising

• calming

To cause something to start

(strong emotional reaction)​

CAE phase 1?

trigger

C1​

​- Kan

" It would have helped a bit if you' knew the word 'controversy'. " 

Multiple Choice

His novel won critical praise while triggering a storm of controversy with its candid and raw descriptions of adolescent desire and adult materialism.

The word adolescent in the passage is closest in meaning to

• elderly

• improper

• youthful

• secret

A young person who is developing into an adult

​Adolescent

C2​

​- Kan

" the word 'adult' after 'and' might give you a clue. " 

Malthusian Catastrophe

In 1798, the English economist Thomas Malthus theorised that human population tends to increase faster than food supplies. He predicted that much of the surplus population would be killed off by wars and diseases but that the remaining people would be condemned to 'catastrophe,' that is, periods of starvation and misery. The Malthusian catastrophe has already occurred in isolated cultures that had no means of replenishing resources. For example, the original Easter Island died out after they deforested the whole island, leading to soil erosion and the demise of the animals and plants on which they depended for food. Some scientist see signs that a broader Malthusian catastrophe may be gaining momentum today, citing the tragic recent histories of Haiti, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Sociology

An actual text in the test is longer, around 700 words, with more questions

Multiple Choice

in 1719 eight, the English economist Thomas Malthus theorised that human population tends to increase faster than food supplies. He predicted that much of the surplus population would be killed off ...

The word theorised in the passage is closest in meaning to

• proved

• learned

• proposed

• guessed

to develop a set of ideas about something.

​Theorise

(theory)​

​- Kan

" predicted" 

Multiple Choice

The Malthusian catastrophe has already occurred in isolated cultures that had no means of replenishing resources. For example, the original Easter Islanders died out after they deforested the whole island, leading to soil erosion and the demise of the animals and plants on which they depended for food.

The word replenishing in the passage is closest in meaning to

• renewing

• protecting

• creating

• altering

(formal)

to fill something up again,

or return something to its earlier condition (American E)​

replenish

​- Kan

" How did the easter islanders die? "