TOEFL Reading Strategies: Vocabulary and Sentence Insertion

Before 1815 manufacturing in the United States had been done in homes or shops by skilled artisans. (A) As master craftworkers, they imparted the knowledge of their trades to apprentices and journeymen. (B) In addition, women often worked in their homes part-time, making finished articles from raw material supplied by merchant capitalists. (C) After 1815 this older form of manufacturing began to give way to factories with machinery tended by unskilled or semiskilled laborers. (D) Cheap transportation networks, the rise of cities, and the availability of capital and credit all stimulated the shift to factory production.

Prompt sentence: This new form of manufacturing depended on the movement of goods to distant locations and a centralized source of laborers.

• A

• B

• C

• D

The differences in feeding preferences lead, in turn, to differences in migratory habits. (A) The wildebeests follow, in their migration, the pattern of local rainfall. (B) The other species do likewise. But when a new area is fueled by rain, the mammals migrate toward it in a set order to exploit it. (C) The larger, less fastidious feeders, the zebras, move in first; the choosier, smaller wildebeests come later; and the smallest species of all, Thomson's gazelle, arrives last. The later species all depend on the preparations of the earlier one, for the actions of the zebra alter the vegetation to suit the stomachs of the wildebeest, topi, and gazelle. (D)

Prompt sentence: The sequence in which they migrate correlates with their body size.

• A

• B

• C

• D

The differences in feeding preferences lead, in turn, to differences in migratory habits. (A) The wildebeests follow, in their migration, the pattern of local rainfall. (B) The other species do likewise. But when a new area is fueled by rain, the mammals migrate toward it in a set order to exploit it. (C) The larger, less fastidious feeders, the zebras, move in first; the choosier, smaller wildebeests come later; and the smallest species of all, Thomson's gazelle, arrives last. The later species all depend on the preparations of the earlier one, for the actions of the zebra alter the vegetation to suit the stomachs of the wildebeest, topi, and gazelle. (D)

The word fastidious is closest in meaning to

• hungry

• picky

• noisy

• complex

Icebergs are ordinarily blue to white, although they may appear dark or opaque due to gravel and bits of rock. They may change color with changing light conditions and cloud cover, glowing pink or gold in the morning or evening light, but this color change is generally related to the low angle of the Sun above the horizon. (A) However, travelers to Antarctica have repeatedly reported seeing green icebergs in the Weddell Sea and, more commonly, close to the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. (B) One explanation for green icebergs attributes their color to an optical illusion when blue ice is illuminated by a near-horizon red Sun, but green icebergs stand out among white and blue icebergs under a great variety of light conditions. (C) Another suggestion is that the color might be related to ice with high levels of metallic compounds, including copper and iron. (D) Recent expeditions have taken ice samples from green icebergs and ice cores from the glacial ice shelves along the Antarctic . Analyses of these cores and samples provide a different solution to the problem.

Prompt Sentence: Scientists have differed as to whether icebergs appear green as a result of light conditions or because of something in the ice itself.

• A

• B

• C

• D

"Demarketing" is a scenario in which organizations seek to inhibit demand for their product. Some companies that are seeking to create an upscale image demarket their products by limiting the scope of advertising. (A) Jewelry companies might advertise only in certain magazines, giving their products the illusion of exclusivity. (B) Similarly, other companies limit their distribution, such as liquor manufacturers that only sell their whiskey in expensive bars. (C) Tobacco companies use such labels to educate current users while making themselves seem more compassionate. (D)

Prompt Sentence: Another approach is the use of warning labels outlining the health risks associated with a product.

• A

• B

• C

• D

"Demarketing" is a scenario in which organizations seek to inhibit demand for their product. Some companies that are seeking to create an upscale image demarket their products by limiting the scope of advertising. Jewelry companies might advertise only in certain magazines, giving their products the illusion of exclusivity. Similarly, other companies limit their distribution, such as liquor manufacturers that only sell their whiskey in expensive bars. Tobacco companies use such labels to educate current users while making themselves seem more compassionate.

The word inhibit is closest in meaning to

• discourage

• destroy

• falsify

• create

"Demarketing" is a scenario in which organizations seek to inhibit demand for their product. Some companies that are seeking to create an upscale image demarket their products by limiting the scope of advertising. Jewelry companies might advertise only in certain magazines, giving their products the illusion of exclusivity. Similarly, other companies limit their distribution, such as liquor manufacturers that only sell their whiskey in expensive bars. Tobacco companies use such labels to educate current users while making themselves seem more compassionate.

The word upscale is closest in meaning to

• enormous

• luxurious

• modest

• trending

The short-term impact of digestion of toxic methyl mercury is obviously a concern. (A) More troubling, however, is its long term impact on species up and down the food chain. (B) In Wisconsin, scientists have studied the decline in chick production in loons (aquatic birds). (C)They made a positive link to mercury concentration in eggs which exceeds the concentration found to be toxic in laboratory studies. (D) Through that example, the lasting impact of methyl mercury can be seen. Steps must be taken to ameliorate this problem.

Prompt Sentence: Thus, the harmful effects of methyl mercury are passed from adult to young and will impact the health of many of the species for years to come.

• A

• B

• C

• D

The short-term impact of digestion of toxic methyl mercury is obviously a concern. More troubling, however, is its long term impact on species up and down the food chain. In Wisconsin, scientists have studied the decline in chick production in loons (aquatic birds). They made a positive link to mercury concentration in eggs which exceeds the concentration found to be toxic in laboratory studies. Through that example, the lasting impact of methyl mercury can be seen. Steps must be taken to ameliorate this problem.

The word ameliorate in the passage is closest in meaning to:

• impact

• lessen

• discuss

• enlarge

The short-term impact of digestion of toxic methyl mercury is obviously a concern. More troubling, however, is its long term impact on species up and down the food chain. In Wisconsin, scientists have studied the decline in chick production in loons (aquatic birds). They made a positive link to mercury concentration in eggs which exceeds the concentration found to be toxic in laboratory studies. Through that example, the lasting impact of methyl mercury can be seen. Steps must be taken to ameliorate this problem.

The word decline in the passage is closest in meaning to:

• reduction

• refusal

• failure

• delays