TOEFL iBT Reading Section

TOEFL iBT Reading Section
Skill 1:
Main Idea
With Main Idea questions the test makers want to understand how good you are in
getting to the gist of the passage. The best strategies to follow are the following:
1) Don't get lost in the details

The most common mistake test takers make is taking time to read the entire passage
in detail and trying to understand every miniscule facts mentioned in the passage.
This approach is counterproductive. Skip through the details and read through the
first and last line in each paragraph. Skim through the rest of the lines.
2) Summarize each paragraph

Once you have read the first and last line in each paragraph summarize each
paragraph in one line. The summary of each paragraph should cover the central idea
of the paragraph.
3) Paraphrase the main summary

Try to paraphrase the main summary from the summaries of each paragraph.
Sometimes the main idea is explicitly mentioned in one of the summaries and
sometimes it would be hidden in the summaries.
4) Eliminate and Select

Now go through each answer options and eliminate options that are irrelevant, out
of scope or that tries to generalize or classify the summary to a smaller category.
Select the answer option which is most close to the paraphrased main summary and
voila you cracked the Main Idea question. Now let's apply the strategy for the
following.
EXAMPLE:
Passage 1
P1: Until recently, scientists did not know of a close vertebrate analogue to the
extreme form of altruism observed in eusocial insects like ants and bees, whereby
individuals cooperate, sometimes even sacrificing their own opportunities to survive
and reproduce, for the good of others. However, such a vertebrate society may exist
among underground colonies of the highly social rodent Heterocephalus glaber, the
naked mole rat.
P2: A naked mole rat colony, like a beehive, wasp’s nest, or termite mound, is ruled
by its queen, or reproducing female. Other adult female mole rats neither ovulate
nor breed. The queen is the largest member of the colony, and she maintains her
breeding status through a mixture of behavioral and, presumably, chemical control.
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Queens have been long-lived in captivity, and when they die or are removed from a
colony one sees violent fighting for breeding status among the larger remaining
females, leading to a takeover by a new queen.
P3: Eusocial insect societies have rigid caste systems, each insect’s role being defined
by its behavior, body shape, and physiology. In naked mole rat societies, on the
other hand, differences in behavior are related primarily to reproductive status
(reproduction being limited to the queen and a few males), body size, and perhaps
age. Smaller non-breeding members, both male and female, seem to participate
primarily in gathering food, transporting nest material, and tunneling. Larger non -
breeders are active in defending the colony and perhaps in removing dirt from the
tunnels. Jarvis’ work has suggested that differences in growth rates may influence
the length of time that an individual performs a task, regardless of its age.
P4:Cooperative breeding has evolved many times in vertebrates, but unlike naked
mole rats, most cooperatively breeding vertebrates (except the wild dog, Lycaon
pictus) are dominated by a pair of breeders rather than by a single breeding female.
The division of labor within social groups is less pronounced among other
vertebrates than among naked mole rats, colony size is much smaller, and mating by
subordinate females may not be totally suppressed, whereas in naked mole rat
colonies subordinate females are not sexually active, and many never breed.
HOW TO ANSWER:
P1 Summary: Scientist were not aware of self sacrificing breed of naked mole rat
P2 Summary: Like bees naked mole is ruled by queen and on the later's death heavy
infighting erupts to select the new queen.
P3 Summary: Euscoial Insect societies defined by rigid caste system as in Naked
Mole Rats but based on different criteria. Jarvi's work suggests correlation between
individual growth rate and performance
P4 Summary: Cooperative breeding in other vertebrates are different from naked
mole rats.In other vertebrates female mating habits are not as suppressed as in
Naked Mole rats.
Summary: Supremacy of queen and similarities of naked mole rats with eusocial insect
societies.
Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?
(A) Naked mole rat colonies are the only known examples of cooperatively breeding
vertebrate societies. Extreme words: “Only Known examples” (Not mentioned in
the passage) Eliminate
(B) Naked mole rat colonies exhibit social organization based on a rigid caste system.
In Euscoial Insect, behaviour is defined by rigid caste system. Eliminate

(C) Behavior in naked mole rat colonies may well be a close vertebrate analogue to
behavior in eusocial insect societies. Close to Main Summary: Maybe
(D) The mating habits of naked mole rats differ from those of any other vertebrate
species. Extreme words: “Any Other”. Eliminate
Correct Answer : C
Passage 2
The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that
of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage. Especially by
comparison with Britain, Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood.
The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent
covered by a climax forest. Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken
at many points. Nevertheless, all sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early
colonial period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests. By the end of
the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities, but wood was
still extremely abundant.
The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated.
Wood was a foundation of the economy. Houses and all manner of buildings were
made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain. Secondly, wood was used as fuel for
heating and cooking. Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industrial
compounds, such as potash, an industrial alkali; charcoal, a component of
gunpowder; and tannic acid, used for tanning leather.
The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well.
Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal. Because Britain
was so stripped of trees, she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines. But the
American colonies had both iron ore and wood; iron production was encouraged
and became successful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the
Colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal
iron was stronger than coke iron. Coke smelting led to technologic innovations and
was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. In the early nineteenth
century, the former colonies lagged behind Britain in industrial development
because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron.
What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The advantages of using wood in the colonies
(B) The effects of an abundance of wood on the colonies
(C) The roots of the Industrial Revolution
(D) The difference between charcoal iron and coke iron
Answer key: B

Reading 2
In most of Europe, farmers’ homes and outbuildings are in general located within
a village. Every morning, the farmers and farm laborers leave their village to work
their land or tend their animals in distant fields and return to the village at the end
of the day. Social life is thus centripetal; that is, it is focused around the community
center, the village. Only in certain parts of Quebec has this pattern been preserved in
North America.
Throughout most of North America, a different pattern was established. It was
borrowed from northern Europe, but was pushed even further in the New World
where land was cheap or even free. It is a centrifugal system of social life, with large
isolated farms whose residents go to the village only to buy goods and procure
services. The independence associated with American farmers stems from this
pattern of farm settlement. The American farmer is as free of the intimacy of the
village as is the urbanite.
1. The main topic of the first paragraph is

(A) European farm products
(B) social life in Quebec
(C) the European pattern of rural settlement
(D) Europeans’ way of sustenance
2. The main topic of the second paragraph is the

(A) impact of city life on North American people’s life in the countryside
(B) relative isolation of North American farm families
(C) relationship between farmers and urbanites in North America
(D) low cost of farmland in North America
3. The main topic of the entire passage is

(A) a comparison of farming in northern and southern Europe
(B) the difference between farming in Quebec and the rest of North America
(C) European influence on American agriculture
(D) a contrast between a centripetal system of rural life and a centrifugal system
Answer key: 1. D 2. B 3. D

Reading 3
Americans have always been interested in their Presidents' wives. Many First
Ladies have been remembered because of the ways they have influenced their
husbands. Other First Ladies have made the history books on their own.
At least two First Ladies, Bess Truman and Lady Bird Johnson, made it their
business to send signals during their husbands' speeches. When Lady Bird Johnson
thought her husband was talking too long, she wrote a note and sent it up to the
platform. It read, “It's time to stop!” And he did. Once Bess Truman didn't like what
her husband was saying on television, so she phoned him and said,” If you can't talk
more politely than that in public, you come right home.”
Abigail Fillmore and Eliza Johnson actually taught their husbands, Millard
Fillmore and Andrew Johnson, the thirteenth and seventeenth Presidents. A
schoolteacher, Abigail eventually married her pupil, Millard. When Eliza Johnson
married Andrew, he could not read or write, so she taught him herself.
It was First Lady Helen Taft's idea to plant the famous cherry trees in
Washington, D. C. Each spring these blossoming trees attract thousands of visitors to
the nation's capital. Mrs. Taft also influenced the male members of her family and
the White House staff in a strange way: she convinced them to shave off their
beards!
Shortly after President Wilson suffered a stroke, Edith Wilson unofficially took
over most of the duties of the Presidency until the end of her husband's term. Earlier,
during World War I, Mrs. Wilson had had sheep brought onto the White House
lawn to eat the grass. The sheep not only kept the lawn mowed but provided wool
for an auction sponsored by the First Lady. Almost $100,000 was raised for the Red
Cross.
Dolly Madison saw to it that a magnificent painting of George Washington was
not destroyed during the War of 1812. As the British marched toward Washington,
D. C., she remained behind to rescue the painting, even after the guards had left. The
painting is the only object from the original White House that was not burned.
One of the most famous First Ladies was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was active in political and social causes
throughout her husband's tenure in office. After his death, she became famous for
her humanitarian work in the United Nations. She made life better for thousands of
needy people around the world.
What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) The Humanitarian work of the First Ladies is critical in American
government.
(B) Eleanor Roosevelt transformed the First Lady image.
(C) The First Ladies are important in American culture.
(D) The First Ladies are key supporters of the Presidents.
Answer: C

Skill 2: Summary Type Questions
These items measure you ability to understand and recognize the major ideas and
the relative importance of information in a passage. You will be asked to select the
major ideas in the passage by distinguishing them from minor ideas or ideas that are
not in the passage. The correct answer choice will synthesize major ideas in the
passage. Because the correct answer represents a synthesis of ideas, it will not match
any particular sentence from the passage. To select the correct answer, you will need
to create a mental framework to organize and remember major ideas and other
important information. Understanding the relative importance of information in a
passage is critical to this ability.
Consider the following paragraph:
Even when you try to be polite, it's easy to do the wrong thing inadvertently in a
new culture. For example, when someone offers you food or a beverage in America,
accept it the first time it is offered. If you say "No, thank you" because it is polite to
decline the first one or two offers in your culture, you could become very hungry
and thirsty. An American thinks that "no" means "no" and will usually not offer
again. American meals are usually more informal than meals in other countries, and
the times of meals may be different. ///Although Americans are usually very direct
in social matters, there are a few occasions when they are not. If an American says,
"Please drop by sometime," he may or may not want you to visit him in his home.
Your clue that this may not be a real invitation is the word "sometime.” In some
areas of the United States, Americans do not expect you to visit them unless you
have an invitation for a specific day and time. In other areas of the United States,
however, "dropping by" is a friendly, neighborly gesture idioms are often difficult
for newcomers to understand.
The paragraph above is concerned with American culture. Now you should ask you
self how many aspects are mentioned in this regard. Yes, you are right, “two
aspects”: one pertaining to those in which they direct, e.g. offering people something
to drink or eat and the other one pertaining to occasions on which they may not be
direct e.g. inviting to people to their place in casual conversations. So if you like you
can divide this paragraph into two at the point in the passage marked by three
slashes.
Important Note: Of course in the actual test, each passage is composed of several
paragraphs. Your job is then to find out how many and what main points are
mentioned and discussed in regard to the main topic of the passage. In fact, in a
Prose Summary question, you will be given six answer choices and asked to pick the
three that express the most important ideas in the passage. A Prose Summary
question can be worth either one or two points depending on how many correct
answers you choose. If you choose no correct answer or just one correct answer, you

will earn no points. If you choose two correct answers, you will earn one point. If
you choose all three correct answers, you will earn two points. The order in which
you choose your answers does not matter for scoring purposes.
More specifically follow the steps outlined below:
QUESTIONS ABOUT SUMMARY INFORMATION

HOW TO IDENTIFY
A summary information chart is given
THE QUESTION
Because the answer demonstrates an understanding of the
WHERE TO FIND major points
THE and critical supporting information, the information needed
ANSWER to answer
the question is found throughout the passage
· Read the topic stated in the summary chart carefully
· Read the passage, focusing on the main ideas as they
relate to the topic stated in the summary chart
· Read each answer choice, evaluating whether it is true
information according to the passage, false information
according to the passage, or not discussed in the
HOW TO ANSWER passage
THE · Eliminate any answers that are false or not discussed
QUESTION · For each statement that is true according to the
passage, evaluate whether it is a major factor related to
the topic or is a major detail
· Select the answers that are true and are major factors as
your responses
· Partial credit is possible, and your answers may be in
any order
Example:
Ben and Jerry
1 All successful businesses are not established and run in the same way, with
formal business plans, traditional organizational structures, and a strong focus on
profits. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the entrepreneurs responsible for the highly
successful ice cream business that bears their names, were businessmen with a rather
unconventional approach.
2 They were rather unconventional from the start, not choosing to begin their
careers by attending one of the elite business schools but instead choosing to take a
five-dollar correspondence course from Pennsylvania State University. They had
little financial backing to start their business, so they had to cut corners wherever
they could; the only location they could afford for the startup of their business was a
gas station that they converted to ice cream production. Though this start -up was

rather unconventional, they were strongly committed to creating the best ice cream
possible, and this commitment to the quality of their product eventually led to
considerable success.
3 Even though they became extremely successful, they did not convert to a more
conventional style of doing business. In an era where companies were measured on
every penny of profit that they managed to squeeze out, Ben and Jerry had a strong
belief that business should give back to the community; thus, they donated 7.5
percent of their pretax profit to social causes that they believed in. They also lacked
the emphasis on executive salary and benefits packages that so preoccupy other
corporations, opting instead for a five-to-one policy in which the salary of the
employee receiving the highest pay could never be more than five times the salary of
the employee receiving the lowest pay.
This passage discusses Ben and Jerry's unconventional company.

*
*
*
Answer Choices (choose 3 to complete the chart):
(1) They each had a personal commitment to social causes.
(2) They began their business with little background and investment.
(3) They believed strongly in producing a very high-quality product.
(4) They had a salary structure that limits the salaries of high-level executives.
(5) They set aside a noteworthy portion of their profits for social causes.
(6) They borrowed several thousand dollars from friends to start their business.
Answer: 2/4/5
Practice
The Bald Eagle

1 When the bald eagle became the national symbol of the United States in 1782,
soon after the country was born, it is estimated that there were as many as 75,000
nesting pairs in North America. By the early 1960s, however, the number of nesting
pairs had been reduced to only around 450.
2 The demise of the bald eagle is generally attributed to the effects of the
pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). This pesticide was used to kill
insects harmful to agriculture, thereby increasing agricultural production. One
unintended negative result of the use of DDT was that, while it did get rid of the
undesirable insects, it also made its way along the food chain into fish, a favorite
food source of the bald eagle.
3 The bald eagle is now protected by federal laws. It was originally protected by
the Bald Eagle Act of 1940 and later by the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
However, it is not just the laws directly related to endangered species that aided in
the resurgence of the bald eagle; its resurgence has also been widely attributed to the
banning of DDT in 1972. Today there are more than 5,000 pairs of bald eagles, a

tenfold increase over the low point of 450, and the bird was removed from the list of
endangered species in July, 1999.
This passage discusses radical shifts in population that the bald eagle has
undergone.
*
*
*
*

(1) The numbers of bald eagles were greatly reduced, at least in part due to the
effects of a pesticide.
(2) The legislation has had a positive effect on the number of bald eagles.
(3) The bald eagle was named as the national symbol of the United States in the
late eighteenth century.
(4) Early in the history of the United States, there were huge numbers of bald
eagles.
(5) Two different pieces of legislation that affected the bald eagle were enacted
33 years apart.
(6) The federal government enacted legislation specifically designed to protect
the bald eagle as well as to outlaw the pesticide DDT.
Answer key: 1/2/4/6
Reading 2
Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. When this
short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memory.
How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way
to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has
a filter which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM,
also known as the working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memory.
The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist
who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of
information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word
or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can
increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar
information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and
improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage.
When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for
an exam, many people engage in “rote rehearsal”. By repeating something over and

over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory
maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops
rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper
are not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it
aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the
opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number
instantly.* Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from
the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice
“elaboraterehearsal”. This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of
information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.
Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving
information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily recall memories
that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a me mory
seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a
person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved. This is
why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of
memorization.
An introductory sentence for a summary of the passage is found below. Complete

the summary by choosing the THREE answer choices that contain the most
important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not fit in the summary because
they provide ideas that are not mentioned in the passage or are only minor ideas
from the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
The brain stores information that a person may need in the immediate future in a
place called the short term memory (STM).
*
*
*
(1) Most people can only remember numbers for a short time.
(2) Many psychologists agree that only a certain amount of information can be
stored in the STM at once.
(3) Some techniques for memorization don't work because of potential interruptions.
(4) Elaborate rehearsal is generally considered less effective than rote rehearsal.
(5) Assigning meaning to information makes it easier for the brain to retrieve.
Answer key: 2/ 3/ 5

Reading 3
Behind the Story of “The Metamorphosis”
“The Metamorphosis” is a short story about a man who turns into a cockroach.
The story is both funny and sad at the same time. It is funny because of how Gregor
must learn to move his new “cockroach” legs and body. On the other hand, it is sad
because he loses the love of his family as a result of his becoming so disgusting.
Why did Kafka choose to tell a story about a man who turns into a cockroach?
Certainly many people are afraid of cockroaches and other insects. They think
cockroaches are ugly and disgusting. Why would Kafka choose something that most
of us hate? What was his purpose? Many critics have written their ideas about
Kafka’s purpose.
One explanation comes from a word that Kafka used in his story. Kafka wrote
his story in German, and he used the German word Ungeziefer, or vermin, which can
be used to mean a person who is rough and disgusting. In English, we do the same
thing. If call a person a “cockroach,” we mean that the person is weak and cowardly.
Gregor, the man, is like a cockroach. He is weak and disgusting. Why? Because he
doesn’t want to be the supporter of his family. He hates his job and wishes he didn’t
have to do it in order to pay off the family debt. In addition, his family has been like
a parasite to him. Gregor’s family members have all enjoyed relaxing, not working,
while he alone has had to work. When he becomes a cockroach, he becomes the
parasite to the family. So Gregor’s true self is an insect because his true self wants to
be like a child again, helpless and having no responsibility.
Another explanation comes from Kafka’s relationship with his father. Kafka
was a small, quiet man. He saw himself as weak and spineless compared to his
father, who was physically large and had a powerful personality. It is the same with
Gregor. He also sees himself as a failure. By turning himself into an insect, Gregor is
able to rebel against his father and, at the same time, punish himself for rebelling.
This punishment results in his being physically and emotionally separated from his
family with no hope of joining them again, and finally he dies.
Kafka’s choice of an insect makes this story work because many people feel
insects are disgusting. Gregor becomes the vermin, the disgusting son that nobody
cares about. His family rejects him because of his appearance, yet he continues to
love them to the end.
l. What is the passage mainly about?

(A) Why family members should help each other
(B) Why people think cockroaches are disgusting
(C) Why writers use the image of insects in their stories
(D) Why Kafka wrote about a man who becomes a cockroach
2. Read the first sentence of a summary of the passage. Then complete the summary
by circling the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas of
the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express

ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage.
In “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka tells the story of a man who turns into a
cockroach for several reasons.
*
*
*
(A) Kafka wanted to show that Gregor worked hard to pay off his family’s debts.
(B) The author tried to say that Gregor was happier as a cockroach than as a man.
(C) The author wanted to depict Gregor as ugly and disgusting.
(D) Kafka tried to demonstrate how cowardly Gregor was.
(E) The cockroach represented Gregor’s desire to become helpless like a child.
(F) In the end Gregor loved his family, but they still rejected him.
Answer key: 1. D 2. C/D/E
Skill 3:
Fill in a Table Questions
Explanation
In this kind of item, you will be given a partially completed classification table based
on information in the passage. Your job is to complete the table by choosing correct
answer choices and matching them to the related locations in the table.
Fill in a Table items measure you ability to conceptualize and organize major ideas
and other important information from across the passage and then to place them in
appropriate categories. This means that you must first recognize and identify the
major points from the passage, and then place those points in their proper context.
Just as for Summary questions, the able reader will create a mental framework to
organize and remember major ideas and other important information.
Doing so requires the ability to understand rhetorical functions such as cause effect
relationships, compare-contrast relationships, arguments, and the like.
When building your mental framework, keep in mind that the major ideas in the
passage are the ones you would include if you were making a fairly high-level
outline of the passage. The correct answer choices are usually ideas that would be
included in a slightly more detailed outline. Minor details and examples are
generally not included in such an outline because they are used only to support the
more important, higher-level themes. The distinction between major

ideas/important information and less important information can also be thought of

as a distinction between essential and nonessential information.
Passages used with Fill in a Table items have more than one focus of development in
that they include more than one point of view or perspective. Typical passages have
the following types of organization: compare/contrast, problem/solution,
cause/effect, alternative arguments (such as theories, hypotheses), and the like.
Correct answers represent major ideas and important supporting information in the
passage. Generally these answers will not match specific phrases in the passage.
They are more likely to be abstract concepts based on passage information or
paraphrases of passage information. Correct answers will be easy to confirm by able
readers who can remember or easily locate relevant text information.
Incorrect answers may include information about the topic that is not mentioned in
the passage or that is not directly relevant to the classification categories in the table.
They may also be obviously incorrect generalizations or conclusions based on what
is stated in the passage. Be aware that incorrect answers may include words and
phrases that match or resemble words or phrases in the passage.
Study the passage, and complete the summary table that follows by matching the
answer choice to its appropriate position in the table. Some answer choices do not
belong in the table because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage
or are minor ideas in the passage.
William Faulkner
Author William Faulkner is today recognized as one of America’s greatest

writers on the basis of a body of novels that so convincingly portray the culture of
the South in the years following the Civil War, with its citizens overcome by grief
and defeat and trying to cling to old values while struggling to take their place in a
changing world. The acclaim that today is Faulkner’s, however, was slow in coming.
Though Faulkner was praised by some critics and reviewers during the first
part of his career, his novels did not sell well and he was considered a fairly
marginal author. For the first few decades of his career, he made his living writing
magazine articles and working as a screenwriter rather than as a novelist.
Throughout this period, he continued to write, though his novels, sometimes noted
for the stirring portrait that they presented of life in the post-Civil War South, were
generally relegated to the category of strictly regional writing and were not widely
appreciated.
Beginning in 1946, Faulkner’s career took an unexpected and .dramatic turn
as Faulkner came to be recognized as considerably more than a regional writer. The
Portable Faulkner was published in that year by Viking Press; two years later he was
elected to the prestigious National Academy of Arts and Letters; he was awarded the
Nobel Prize for literature in 1949. Over the next decade, his work was recognized in
various ways, including a National Book Award and two Pulitzer Prizes, and he

became a novelist in residence at the University of Virginia. His success led to a

degree of affluence that enabled him to take up the life of a southern gentleman,
including horseback riding and fox hunting. Ironically, he died as a result of an
accident related to these gentlemanly pursuits, succumbing as a result of injuries
suffered during a fall from a horse.
Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices, and match
them to the phrase of William Faulkner’s career to which they relate. TWO of the
answer choices will not be used. This question is worth 3 points.
*
Faulkner in the first phase of his career *
*
*
Faulkner in the second phase of his career *
*

(1) Was considered one of America’s greatest writers
(2) Received a small amount of critical acclaim
(3) Died as a result of a horseback-riding incident
(4) Received numerous awards and acclaim
(5) Was considered merely a regional writer
(6) Wrote novels about various American regions
(7) Made his living as a novelist
(8) Made his living with writing other than novels
Answer key:
Faulkner in the first phase of his career: 2/5/8
Faulkner in the second phase of his career: 1/4/7
Reading 2
A few investigators, known as cryptozoologists, are dedicated to researching

mysterious, unclassified beasts that orthodox scientists refuse to believe exist. One of
the most celebrated mysteries being investigated by ctyptozoologists is "Bigfoot," a
large hairy humanoid creature that many people claim to have seen in parts of North
America. In 1967, a film of what was purported to be Bigfoot was actually taken by
an amateur photographer. Of course, this footage is almost certainly a hoax.
Nevertheless, many people remain convinced of Bigfoot's existence.
Another humanoid creature, the Yeti or "abominable snowman" of the
Himalayas, may be the most fascinating undiscovered creature. Many climbers and
Sherpas claim to have seen the Yeti or its footprints, and local inhabitants of the

mountains are convinced of its existence. As in the case of Bigfoot, some film footage
that is alleged to be of this creature exists.
While cryptozoologists keep an open mind about their object of study; they are
quick to point to cases in which the skeptics were proved mistaken. Those interested
in water life can name as an example the giant squid, which was dismissed as the
product of an overactive imagination until a specimen was washed up on a beach in
1873. The coelacanth, a large-bodied, hollow-spined fish and predecessor of the
amphibians, was considered extinct until one was caught by a fisherman off the
coast of South Africa in 1938. The Loch Ness Monster, however, has not been found
and continues to provoke disagreements among researchers. In this case some
authorities argue that while some kind of creature may really have been seen, it is
probably a type of whale that penetrates the loch when the river feeding the loch
floods.
Besides humanlike creatures and sea animals, cryptozoologists are also interested
in land animals. The pygmy hippopotamus, for example—once claimed to be
extinct—was eventually found to exist in East Africa. However, the Congo dinosaur
and the Queensland tiger have not been found. These and other intriguing creatures
will no doubt be the objects of much speculation as well as pursuit for years to come.
Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the
type of creature to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used.
This question is worth 3 points.
*
Creatures Found to Exist *
*
*
Creatures That Perhaps Don’t Exist *
*
*
Answer Choices
A. The hairy humanoid creature in North America called Bigfoot
B. The Yeti, known as the abominable" snowman, of the Himalayas
C. The footage of North America
D. The specimen of a giant squid
E. The large-bodied, hollow-spined coelacanth
F. The Loch Ness Monster
G. The land animals that cryptozoologists are interested in
H. The East African pygmy hippopotamus
I. The Congo dinosaur and the Queensland tiger
Answer key:
Creatures Found to Exist: D/E/H
Creatures That Perhaps Don’t Exist: A/B/F/I

Reading 3
Anxiety
Stress caused by worry is both useful and problematic for people. How can it be
both useful and problematic? Consider the stress some people feel when they worry
about the future. Worrying about the future, though unpleasant, motivates us to get
things done. We strive to accomplish certain tasks today in order to avoid
unpleasant outcomes later. This would be an example of how stress actually serves a
useful purpose.
However, sometimes worry can have the opposite effect. Let us again take the
example of worrying about the future. As discussed above, a certain level of worry
can help us accomplish the tasks at hand. But some people experience a significantly
higher level of stress brought on by worry. This is when worry turns into fe ar or
anxiety, and although many people might understand fear and anxiety as the same
thing, psychologists define these two emotions differently.
Basically, fear can be understood as a normal, healthy reaction to one’s
situation. Anxiety, on the other hand, is typically associated with an unhealthy
mental state. An additional distinction between fear and anxiety can be seen in their
sources. The source of fear can be named or described. It might be an important test
that is coming up, or it could be a large black spider on the wall. In contrast, anxiety
is not based on a describable source. When you ask a person exhibiting the
symptoms of extreme stress or worry about the cause of their distress, they cannot
name it. Needless to say, such imagined, indefinable causes of anxiety and any effort
to solve or avoid these problems are a waste of energy.
Other than such negative effects as consuming energy and causing distraction, too
much anxiety can cause people to feel overwhelmed. A person’s anxiety might
actually hinder his or her ability to take any action, and in severe cases, the person
may be unable to even leave home. When the quality of a person’s life is seriously
affected by their feelings of anxiety, they are said to be suffering from an anxie ty
disorder. There are several types of disorders, the most common being specific
phobias such as fear of spiders or fear of heights. This is not a really big problem, so
long as the feared situation is not important to the person’s life. However, more
serious anxiety disorders can be accompanied by symptoms that affect a person’s
physical health.
When someone suffers severe physical symptoms of anxiety, it is called a panic
attack. A panic attack is a sudden and intense onset of fear. As for the symptoms that
accompany such an attack, the person may experience shortness of breath, sweating,
trembling, or even an irregular heartbeat. These symptoms may cause the panic to
become worse because the symptoms are so frightening for the individual.
Obviously, a panic attack is a very unpleasant experience that the person does not
want to repeat. For this reason, the individual develops even greater anxiety about
having another panic attack.
Anxiety disorders are serious conditions. They are not only unpleasant emotionally
for the individual, but they also make it very difficult for the person to have

relationships and to maintain employment. Anxiety disorders can have disastrous

effects on a person’s life and the way that the person functions in society. However,
the good news is that, of all mental disorders, anxiety disorder has the highest rate of
effective treatment.
Directions: Complete the table below about the mental states discussed in the
passage. Match the appropriate statements to the feeling with which they are
associated. TWO of the answers will NOT be used. This question is worth 3
points.
*
Fear
*
*
Anxiety *
*
(A) cannot be treated

(B) is healthy
(C) source can be named
(C) is unhealthy
(E) source cannot be named
(F) is used to treat panic attacks
(G) wastes energy
Answer key:
Fear: B/C
Anxiety: D/E/G
Skill 4:
Guessing Meaning of
Vocabulary from Context
Some of the questions in the Reading Section of TOEFL iBT require that you guess
the meaning of highlighted words or phrases. First of all, you need to have a good
mastery of vocabulary to handle these questions with ease. However, in cases when
a word is unfamiliar to you can use the following explanations to make calculated
guesses.
Input
In order to understand what you are reading from an English text, you need to guess
the meaning of unfamiliar words (words you do not know) from the context. This

will help you read faster and easier. Do Exercise 1 before studying how you can
guess the meaning of vocabulary from context.
Exercise 1 Find the meaning of the underlined word in each sentence. Choose the
best answer for each question.
1. She had often come into conflict with her mother-in-law.
a) announcement b) attainment c) argument
2. The old woman’s blunt questions embarrassed her, making her momentarily
tongue-tied.
a) emit b) ashamed c) loathe
3. We just need a couple more chairs so everyone can sit down.
a) one b) two c) three
4. Please, Uncle Jack, give me a piggyback!
a) a ride on someone back or shoulder
b) a small bag
c) people who arrived to settle in Bangkok 2000
5. Ladda does not like to eat papaya or carrots, which is high in vitamin A, so she
lacks it. Her mother keeps telling her that aninadequate supply of vitamin A can
lead to blindness.
a) too big b) not enough c) full
How many did you get right from Exercise 1? _________
Language Focus
Now you will learn how to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words or new words by
looking around the words to find clues. These clues will help you to find their
meanings; then you will better understand what you are reading. There are many
ways to help you guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context. Read the
explanation below and study the examples.
1. Definition
A definition gives the meaning of words. The writer may use words, phrases, or
statements to define something. The writer will use key words, or signal words to
identify a definition so you need to look for them. See examples of key words
below.
Key words
is/are means/mean
is/are called what this means is
is/are known as consist of
is/are defined as refer to
is/are described as may be seen as
e.g.
1. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices you pay for things you buy.
an unfamiliar word = inflation

signal word = is
the definition = a rise in the general level of prices you pay for everything you buy.
2. Someone who explores and studies caves is known as a spelunker.
an unfamiliar word = spelunker
signal words = is known as
definition = someone who explores and studies caves
Exercise 2 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined
words. Circle signal words and write their meaning in the space provided.
1. The encyclopedia defines astrology as “the ancient art or science of divining the
fate and future of human beings from indications given by the positions of stars and
other heavenly bodies.”
astrology means______________________________________
2. Sales literature means printed matters that contain information on the goods.
Sales literature means_________________________________
3. The part at the back of the car used for holding luggage is called the car boot in
United Kingdom, whereas Americans would refer to this as the car’s trunk.
car boot means______________________________________
2. Restatement
The writer may use other words, phrases, or sentences to provide the meaning of
difficult words. We call this restatement; the writer describes it again or in a different
way. Signal words for restatement are in the “Key words box” below.
Key words
or
that is to say
in other words
i.e. or that is
e.g.
The surface of Africa consists mainly of plateaus, or large flat areas, although these
occur at different levels.
an unfamiliar word = plateaus
signal word = or
meaning = large flat areas
Exercise 3 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined
words. Circle signal words and write the meaning in the space provided.
1. According to Indian custom, a great dowry of money and objects is given to the
bridegroom, in other words, it is a dot.
dot = ______________________________________
2. There are several types of aerosol cans. Simple ones contain a liquefied gas, called
the propellant, in which material is dissolved,i.e., melt.
dissolved =__________________________________

3. Our youth nowadays should not engage in intoxicating things such as alcohol,
cigarettes, and tranquilizers, that is to say, they should not ingest them.
engage =___________________________________
3. Punctuation marks
Punctuation is used to describe the meaning of unfamiliar words. The writer will
write unfamiliar words and then use punctuation, words, phrases, or sentences to
explain the meaning of the new words. Such punctuation is in the “Key words box”
below.
Key words
, commas
, , appositive
( ) parentheses
? ? dashes
; semicolon
: colon
e.g.
Full-color pictures are printed using only black and three colors: yellow, cyan (a light
blue) and magenta (a light purple).
an unfamiliar word = cyan and magenta
signal punctuation = ( )
meaning : cyan = a light blue and magenta = a light purple
The use of computers to handle text, or word processing, was foreseen in the 1950s.
an unfamiliar word = handle text
signal punctuation = , ,
meaning : handle text = word processing
Exercise 4. Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined
1. Both facsimile (known as fax) and electronic mail (email) are ways of sending
documents.
Facsimile =______________________________________
Electronic mail =__________________________________
2. An FM radio DJ (disk jockey) broadcasts over the airwaves.
DJ =___________________________________________
3. Infection ? becoming ill through contact with bacteria ? of the respiratory system
such as the nose, the throat, and the chest is among the most common of all
diseases.
Infection =______________________________________
4. Examples
Examples help us to understand the meaning of new words. See key words or signal
words used for showing examples in the “Key words box”.

Key words
such as
like
for example, …
for instance
is / are
e.g.
Use navigation buttons, such as, the “Next” button, the “Previous” button, the
“Menu” button, and the “Exit” button, to go back and forth or jump to other topics
while you are using your English software.
unfamiliar words = navigation buttons
signal word = such as
meaning = buttons on computer program that are used for turn on pages
words by choosing the best answer for each question. Circle signal words.
1. Some people in the North of Thailand do wickerwork, for example, they make
elephants, turtles, plates, beds, and chairs, from teak trees for earning money.
a) silver handicraft b) bronze handicraft
c) niello handicraft d) wood handicraft
2. The Savanna grasslands are the home of grazing animals such as elephants,
giraffes, antelopes and zebras. Lions, leopards and hyenas also live there.
a) non-backbone animals b) meat-eating animals
c) invertebrate animals d) grass-eating animals
3. A tourist guide advised them to see the elephant round up. There was racing,
colorful war procession, marching, kicking a ball and tug-of-war between men and
elephants.
a) show b) breed
c) sleep d) born
5. Contrast
You can guess the meaning of new words by using signal words of contrast.
They will show the opposite meaning of the new words. See key words or
signal words of contrast in the “Key words box”.
Key words
but instead of even though in contrast to

yet in spite of although as opposed to

unlike despite however on the other hand
whereas fond of still provided that
e.g.
Although Dara and Vipa are very close friends, they are very different. Suda spends
a lot of money to buy things while Vipa loves to economize.
a) spend more money b) save money

c) buy things more than before d) keep things in a safe place
words by choosing the best answer for each question. Circle signal words.
1. Ladda was promoted to be the chief secretary of the manager of the company,
whereas her colleague, Somechai, was penalized.
a) promoted b) punished
c) exiled d) rewarded
2. Although small pox has almost been eradicated. Malaria is prevalent in
Kanchanaburee, Thailand. A policeman just died from the PF (Plasmodium
Falsiparum) malaria last month.
a) destroyed completely b) common found
c) fear of disease d) furbish
3. The plane is scheduled to leave for Phuket at 7:00 am but the plane departure has
been postponed for two hours. That is to say, it will leave at 9:00 am instead.
a) retard b) stop
c) extend d) went back
6. Similarity
You can guess the meaning of new words by using signal words of similarity. They
will display the same meaning of the new words. See key words or signal words of
similarity in the “Key words box”.
Key words
like similarly in the same way
as the same as just as
e.g.
Indonesia is producing Ford cars and trucks. Soon, Thailand and Vietnam will be
producing the same products with, no doubt, the same quality.
What does the words “the same products” mean? ___________________________
What is your clue? ___________________________________________________

Exercise 7. Use signal words as your clue to find the meaning of the underlined
1. Learning should not be limited to the classroom or with teachers. We can learn by
ourselves about things that are not taught by teachers. Similarly, “self-learning” is
encouraged for our education system.
What does the words “self-learning” mean? __________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Thailand and South Korea have made a break-through in developing a new
technology that enables high-speed Internet connections, just as phone service links
are made efficiently through electric power lines. Both countries have joined hands
to do business.
What do the words “high-speed Internet connections” mean?
_____________________________________________________________________
7. Surrounding words
If you cannot find any signal words or key words as stated before, you may look
around new words or unfamiliar words and try to guess them. The surrounding
words may help you to understand the new words. See examples below.
e.g.
Children are too young to understand that swallowing gum can cause medical
problems and so they shouldn't be allowed to chew it, doctors say.
Unfamiliar words: swallowing and chew
What do these words mean?
How do you guess their meaning?
Exercise 8. Find the meaning of the underlined word by choosing the best answer
for each question.
1. Professor Boonmee of the Thai Business Commerce School (TBC), Bangkok, had
to do a presentation in Khonkaen and Bangkok on the same day, to be sure that he
would be back to Bangkok on time, he bought a round trip ticket.
a) one way ticket b) two way ticket
2. In Bangkok on Monday morning, most streets are very crowded, so Penporn
came to school late because she was trapped in traffic.
a) blocked b) caught
3. The accountant clerks are responsible to check for false signatures, thus they
needed to verify all cheques with the original signature before paying the money.
a) fake b) true
Practice
Parasitic plants are plants that survive by using food produced by host plants
rather than by producing their own food from the Sun's energy. Because they do not
need sunlight to survive, parasitic plants are generally found in umbrageous areas

rather than in areas exposed to direct sunlight. Parasitic plants attach themselves to
host plants, often to the stems or roots, by means of haustoria, which the parasite
uses to make its way into the food channels of the host plant and absorb the
nutrients that it needs to survive from the host plant.
The world's heaviest flower, a species of rafflesia, is a parasite that flourishes
among, and lives off of, the roots of jungle vines. Each of these ponderous blooms
can weigh up to 15 pounds (7 kg) and can measure up to 3 feet (1 m) across.
1. The word umbrageous in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. moist
B. well lit
C. shaded
D. buried
2. Haustoria in paragraph 1 are most likely

A. offshoots from the parasite
B. seeds of the host plant
C. fruits from the host plant
D. food for the parasite
3. The word ponderous in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. smelly
B. hidden
C. mature
D. heavy
Answer key: 1. C 2. A 3. D
Word Guessing- Lesson 2
So much sentimentality is attached to the rose in popular culture that it is difficult to

separate the original mythological and folkloric beliefs from the emotional excess
that surrounds the flower. Yet if we look into the beliefs, we find that the rose is
much more than the mere symbol of romantic love invoked by every minor poet and
painter.
One of the rose’s most common associations in folklore is with death. The
Romans often deckedthe tombs of the dead with roses; in fact, Roman wills frequently
specified that roses were to be planted on the grave. To this day, in Switzerland,
cemeteries are known as rose gardens. The Saxons equated the rose with life, and
they believed that when a child died, the figure of death could be seenplucking a rose
outside the house.
The rose has a long association with female beauty. Shakespeare mentions the
rose more frequently than any other flower, often using it as a token of all that is

lovely and good. For the Arabs, on the other hand, the rose was a symbol not of
feminine but of masculine beauty.
Later the rose became a sign of secrecy and silence. The expression sub rosa “under
the rose,” is traced to a Roman belief. During the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, it was common practice to carve or paint roses on the ceilings of council
chambers to emphasize the intention of secrecy.
1. The word sentimentality in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. confusion
B. beauty
C. feeling
D. popularity
2. The word invoked in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. avoided
B. called on
C. criticized
D. taken away
3. The word decked in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. painted
B. separated
C. disguised
D. decorated
4. The word plucking in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. growing
B. smelling
C. picking
D. wearing
5. The word token in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. symbol
B. proof
C. justification
D. contradiction
6. The word sub rosa in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
A. romantically
B. secretly
C. intentionally
D. commonly

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN ANIMALS
Social behavior is communication that permits a group of animals of the same

species to become organized cooperatively. Social behavior includes any interaction
that is a consequence of one animal's response to another of its own species, such as
an individual fighting to defend a territory. However, not all aggregations of animals
are social. Clusters of moths attracted to a light at night or trout gathering in the
coolest pool of a stream are groupings of animals responding to environmental
signals. Social aggregations, on the other hand, depend on signals from the animals
themselves, which stay together and do things together by influencing one another.
Social animals are not all social to the same degree. Some species cooperate only
long enough to achieve reproduction, while others—such as geese and beavers—
form strong pair bonds that last a lifetime. The most persistent social bonds usually
form between mothers and their young. For birds and mammals, these bonds
usually end when the young can fly, swim, or run, and find enough food to support
themselves.
One obvious benefit of social organization is defense—both passive and active—
from predators. Musk oxen that form a passive defensive circle when threatened by
a pack of wolves are much less vulnerable than an individual facing the wolves
alone. A breeding colony of gulls practices active defense when they, alerted by the
alarm calls of a few, attack a predator as a group. Such a collective attack will
discourage a predator more effectively than individual attacks. Members of a town
of prairie dogs cooperate by warning each other with a special bark when a predator
is nearby. Thus, every individual in a social organization benefits from the eyes, ears,
and noses of all other members of the group. Other advantages of social organization
include cooperation in hunting for food,huddling for protection from severe weather,
and the potential for transmitting information that is useful to the society.
7. The word aggregations in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. species
B. habitats
C. gatherings
D. tendencies
8. The word huddling in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. fighting
B. getting together
C. grazing
D. escaping
9. An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.

Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the
most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary
because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas
in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Social behavior allows animals of the same species to organize

cooperatively.
*
*
*
Answer Choices ((choose 3 to complete the chart):
(A) Social behavior is defined as any beneficial grouping of animals of the same
species.
(B) Any exchange resulting from the response of one animal to another of the same
species is social behavior.
(C) The most important social bond occurs between mother animals and their young.
(D) Members of a group influence one another in different degrees and for various
reasons.
(E) Living together provides many benefits, including the defense of the group from
danger.
(F) Prairie dogs are organized into social units that alert each other when danger
threatens.
Answer key: 1. C 2.B 3. D 4. C 5. A 6. B 7.C 8. B 9. B/D/E
Word Guessing - Lesson 3
COCA-COLA THINKS
INTERNATIONAL
Coca-Cola has been operating internationally for most of its 100-year history.
Today the company has operations in 160 countries and employs over 400,000
people. The firm’s human resource management (HRM) strategy helps to account
for a great deal of its success. In one recent year Coca-Cola transferred more than 300
professional and managerial staff from one country to another under its leadership
development program, and the number of international transferees is increasin g
annually. One senior-level HRM manager explained the company strategy by
noting:
We recently concluded that our talent base has to be multilingual and

multicultural. ...To use a sports analogy, you want to be sure that you
have a lot of capable and competent bench strength, ready to assume

broader responsibilities as they present themselves.
In preparing for the future, Coca-Cola includes a human resources recruitment

forecast in its annual and long-term business strategies. The firm also has selection
standards on which management can focus when recruiting and hiring. For example,
the company likes applicants who are fluent in more than one language because they
can be transferred to other geographic areas where their fluency will help them be
part of Coca-Cola’s operation. This multilingual, multicultural emphasis starts at the
top with the president, Roberto Goizueta, a Cuban-born American who has been
chairman for over a decade, and with the 21 members of the board, of whom only
four are American.
The firm also has a recruitment program that helps it to identify candidates at
the college level. Rather than just seeking students abroad, Coca-Cola looks for
foreign students who are studying in the United States at domestic universities. The
students are recruited stateside and then provided with a year’s training before they
go back to their home country. Coca-Cola also has an internshipprogram for foreign
students who are interested in working for the company during school break, either
in the United States or back home. These interns are put into groups and assigned a
project that requires them to make a presentation to the operations personnel on
their project. This presentation must include a discussion of what worked and what
did not work. Each individual intern is then evaluated, and management decides the
person’s future potential with the company.
Coca-Cola believes that these approaches are extremely fruitful in helping the
firm to find talent on a global basis. Not only is the company able to develop internal
sources, but the intern program provides a large number of additional individuals
who would otherwise end up with other companies. Coca-Cola earns a greater
portion of its income and profit overseas than it does in the United States. The
company’s human resource management strategy helps to explain how Coke is able
to achieve this feat.
1. What is the passage mainly about?

(A) The history of the Coca-Cola company
(B) Coca-Cola’s employee development strategies
(C) The future of Coca-Cola’s international profits
(D) Coca-Cola’s college recruitment program
2. In paragraph about, the author’s primary purpose is

(A) to illustrate the size of the company
(B) to compare Coca-Cola and sports
(C) to describe Coca-Cola’s college interns
(D) to explain the firm’s international success
3. The word account for in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) prevent
(B) ignore

(C) explain
(D) predict
4. The word recruitment in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) management
(B) hiring
(C) unity
(D) planning
5. The word stateside in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) immediately
(B) overseas
(C) nationally
(D) in the U.S.
6. The word internship in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) supervision
(B) presentation
(C) management
(D) training
7. The word fruitful in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) extreme
(B) modern
(C) local
(D) helpful
8. Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices below and
match them to the group they characterize. TWO of the answer choices will NOT
be used. This question is worth 3 points.
HRM Strategies *
*
*
Recruitment Strategies *
*
Answer Choices
(A) Employee transfers
(B) Greater overseas income
(C) Internship program
(D) Multicultural emphasis
(E) Identifying college candidates
(F) Language fluency standards
(G) 100-year history in 160 countries

Answer key: 1. B 2.D 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. D 7.D 8. Recruitment

Strategies: A/D/F HRM Strategies: C,E
Skill 5:
Factual Information - Lesson 1
FIND FACTUAL INFORMATION
A large number of questions on the Reading Section of the TOEFL ask about the
details and facts in reading passages. These questions are usually asked in the order
that the information appears in the passage. The information in the following chart
can help you identify and answer factual questions more easily.
QUESTIONS ABOUT FACTUAL INFORMATION

According to paragraph X …
HOW TO IDENTIFY
It is stated in paragraph X …
THE
It is indicated in paragraph X …
QUESTION
It is mentioned in paragraph X …
These answers are generally found in order in the
WHERE TO FIND THE passage, and the paragraph where the answer is
ANSWER found
is generally indicated in the question
· Choose a key word or idea in the question
· Skim the appropriate paragraph for the key word
or
idea
HOW TO ANSWER THE
· Read the sentence that contains the key word or
QUESTION
idea
· Eliminate any definitely wrong answers, and
choose
the best answer from the remaining choices
Example:
Throughout the year, chimpanzee food is quite varied, but it is mainly vegetable
material. At times, however, Gombe Park is loaded with insects—termites, ants,
caterpillars—and the chimpanzees will eat huge numbers of them. The chimpanzees’
really remarkable behavior appears when they gather termites. According to Suzuki
and van Lawick-Goodall, when chimpanzees see that termites have pushed open
their tunnels on the surface, they will go off to find a suitable termiting tool. It may
look simple, but the job takes skill and patience.

The author states in the passage that the chimpanzees’ most remarkable behavior
can best be seen
(A) when they are hungry
(B) as they are resting
(C) when they are looking for termites
(D) in the spring
Explanation
The correct answer to this question is (C) when they are looking for termites. To answer
this question you need to match the words chimpanzees’ most remarkable behavior in
the question with those words in the passage. This will tell you in what part of the
passage you will find the answer. After careful reading of the sentence, you can
match the information in the passage with the answer choice. In this case the passage
states when they gather termites, and a restatement of this is found in answer choice
(C).
NOTE: In questions that ask what is NOT in the passage, information that is true is not the
correct answer.
Question about information that IS NOT in the passage take such forms as:
All of the following are mentioned in the passage as …. EXCEPT ….

According to the passage all of the following are true about …. EXCEPT ….
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as ….?
Which of the following is NOT stated in the passage?
Example:
Consider the following questions asked related to the example passage above:
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned as part of the
chimpanzees’ diet?
(A) Termites
(B) Vegetable material
(C) Ants
(D) Mosquitoes
Explanation
The correct answer to this question is (D) Mosquitoes. This, question asks you to
identify the answer that IS NOT m the passage. By knowing where m the passage
the food that chimpanzees eat mentioned, you can quickly look at those sentences
and match the items in the sentence with those in the answer choices. Mosquitoes
are not mentioned in the passage.

Practice
Passage 1
No sooner had the first intrepid male aviators safely returned to Earth than it
seemed that women. too, had been smitten by an urge to fly. From mere spectators,
they became willing passengers and finally pilots in their own right, plotting their
skills and daring line against the hazards of the air and the skepticism of their male
counterparts. In doing so they enlarged the traditional bounds of a women's world,
won for their sex a new sense of competence and achievement, and contributed
handsomely to the progress of aviation.
But recognition of their abilities did not come easily. "Men do not believe us
capable." the famed aviator Amelia Earhart once remarked to a friend. "Because we
are women, seldom are we trusted to do an efficient job." Indeed old attitudes died
hard: when Charles Lindbergh visited the Soviet Union in i938 with his wife, Anne -
herself a pilot and gifted proponent of aviation - he was astonished to discover both
men and women flying in the Soviet Air Force.
Such conventional wisdom made it difficult for women to raise money for the
up-to-date equipment they needed to compete on an equal basis with men. Yet they
did compete, and often they triumphed finally despite the odds.
Ruth Law, whose 590 - mile flight from Chicago to Hornell, New York, set a
new nonstop distance record in 1916, exemplified the resourcefulness and grit
demanded of any woman who wanted to fly. And when she addressed the Aero
Club of America after completing her historic journey, her plainspoken words
testified to a universal human motivation that was unaffected by gender: "My flight
was done with no expectation of reward," she declared, "just purely for the love of
accomplishment."
1. According to the passage, women pilots were successful in all of the following
EXCEPT
(A) challenging the conventional role of women
(B) contributing to the science of aviation
(C) winning universal recognition from men
(D) building the confidence of women
2. In their efforts to compete with men, early women pilots had difficulty in
(A) addressing clubs (B) flying nonstop
(C) setting records (D) raising money
3. According to the passage, who said that flying was done with no expectation of
reward?
(A) Amelia Earhart (B) Charles Lindbergh
(C) Anne Lindbergh (D) Ruth Law

Passage 2
Aquatic Schools
Many species of fish, particularly smaller fish, travel in schools, moving in tight
formations, often with the precision of the most highly disciplined military unit on
parade. Some move in synchronized hordes, while others move in starkly geometric
forms. In addition to the varieties of shapes of schools of fish, there are countless
varieties of schooling behaviors. Some fish coalesce into schools and then spread out
in random patterns, while others move into close formations at specific times, such
as feeding times, but are more spread out at other times. Some move in schools
composed of members of all age groups, while others move in schools
predominantly when they are young but take up a more solitary existence as they
mature. Though this behavior is quite a regular, familiar phenomenon, there is much
that is not completely known about it, particularly the exact function that it serves
and what mechanisms fish use to make it happen.
Numerous hypotheses have been proposed and tested concerning the
purpose of schooling behavior in fish. Schooling certainly promotes the survival of
the species, but questions arise as to the way the schooling enables fish to have a
better chance of surviving. Certainly, the fact that fish congregate together in schools
helps to ensure their survival in that schooling provides numerous types of
protection for the members of the school. One form of protection derives from the
sheer numbers in the school. When a predator attacks a school containing a huge
number of fish, the predator will be able to consume only a small percentage of the
school. Whereas some of the members of the school will be lost to the predator, the
majority of the school will be able to survive. Another form of protection comes from
the special coloration and markings of different types of fish. Certain types of
coloration or markings such as stripes or patterns in vibrant and shiny colors create a
visual effect when huge numbers of the fish are clustered together, making it more
difficult for a potential predator to focus on specific members of the school. A final
form of protection comes from a special sense that fish possess a sense that is
enhanced when fish swim in schools. This special sense is related to a set of lateral
line organs that consist of rows of pores leading to fluid-filled canals. These organs
are sensitive to minute vibrations in the water. The thousands of sets of those special
organs in a school of fish together can prove very effective in warning the school
about an approaching threat.
It is also unclear exactly how fish manage to maintain their tight formations.
Sight seems to play a role in the ability of fish to move in schools, and some scientists
believe that, at least in some species, sight may play the principal role. However,
many experiments indicate that more than sight is involved. Some fish school quite
well in the dark or in murky water where visibility is extremely limited. This
indicates that senses other than eyesight must be involved in enabling the schooling
behavior. The lateral line system most likely plays a significant role in the ability of
fish to school. Because these lateral line organs are sensitive to the most minute
vibrations and currents, this organ system may be used by fish to detect movements
among members of their school even when eyesight is limited or unavailable.

4. All of the following are stated in paragraph 1 about schooling EXCEPT that
A. it is quite common
B. it can involve large numbers of fish
C. it can involve a number of different fish behaviors
D. it is fully understood
5. Which fish would be least likely to be in a school?

A. A large, older fish
B. A smaller, colorful fish
C. A young, hungry fish
D. A tiny, shiny fish
6. It is stated in paragraph 2 that

A. fish in schools rarely have distinct markings
B. schooling fish tend to have muted coloration
C. the effect of coloration is multiplied when fish are massed together
D. the bright coloration makes it easier for predators to spot fish
7. According to paragraph 3,
A. fish cannot see well
B. sight is the only sense used by fish to remain in schools
C. not all fish use sight to remain in schools
D. fish can see quite well in the dark
8. It is NOT stated in the passage that the lateral line system

A. contains lines of pores
B. can detect movement in the water
C. quite possibly helps fish to remain in schools
D. in fish is similar to sense organs in other animals
9. Directions: An introductory sentence or a brief summary of the passage is

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the TWO answer choices that
express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in
the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 3 points.
This passage discusses schooling behavior in certain fish.

*
*

(1) Fish most likely move in schools in various types of water.

(2) Fish may move in schools by using various senses.

(3) Fish may move in schools at various times of the day or night.
(4) Fish most likely move in schools in various ways.
10. Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices, and
match them to the process of extinction to which they relate. TWO of the
answer choices will not be used. This question is worth 4 points.
*
hypotheses related
*
to purpose
*
hypotheses related *
to manner *

(1) Coloration provides protection.
(2) Lateral sense organs enable some fish to school.
(3) Sight provides protection.
(4) Coloration enables some fish to move.
(5) Large numbers provide protection.
(6) Sight enables some fish to school.
(7) Lateral sense organs provide protection.
Answer key: 1. C 2. D 3.D 4. D 5. (A) 6. C 7. C 8. D 9. (2) / (4)

10. hypotheses related to purpose: (1) / (5) / (7)
hypotheses related to manner: (2) / (6)

Powering the Industrial Revolution
In Britain one of the most dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution was the
harnessing of power．Until the reign of George Ⅲ(1760-1820)，available sources of
power for work and travel had not increased since the Middle Ages. There were
three sources of power：animal or human muscles；the wind, operating on sail or
windmill; and running water .Only the last of these was suited at all to the
continuous operating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in
Lancashire and Scotland and ran grain mills as well as textile mills, it had one great
disadvantage：streams flowed where nature intended them to and water-driven
factories had to be located on their banks whether or not the location was desirable
for other reasons. Furthermore even the most reliable waterpower varied with the

seasons and disappeared in a drought．The new age of machinery, in short, could

not have been born without a new source of both movable and constant power.
The source had long been known but not exploited. Early in the century, a
pump had come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in a cylinder, and
atmospheric pressure brought it down again when the steam condensed inside the
cylinder to form a vacuum．This “atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery
and vastly improved by his partner Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary
principles, but it was so slow and wasteful of fuel that it could not be em ployed
outside the coal mines for which it had been designed. In the 1760s, James Watt
perfected a separate condenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be
cooled at every stroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and
thus convert reciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion. He thereby
transformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine of a thousand
uses. The final step came when steam was introduced into the cylinder to drive the
piston backward as well as forward thereby increasing the speed of the engine and
cutting its fuel consumption.
Watt's steam engine soon showed what it could do. It liberated industry from
dependence on running water. The engine eliminated water in the mines by driving
efficient pumps, which made possible deeper and deeper mining. The ready
availability of coal inspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first
new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in a millennium and a half.
Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the new
century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gas lit houses and even streets.
Iron manufacturers which had starved for fuel while depending on charcoal also
benefited from ever-increasing supplies of coal; blast furnaces with steam- powered
bellows turned out more iron and steel for the new machinery. Steam became the
motive force of the Industrial Revolution as coal and iron ore were the raw
materials．
By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles,
and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the
1830s．Steam power did not merely spin cotton and roll iron; early in the new
century it also multiplied ten times over the amount of paper that a single worker
could produce in a day. At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run
by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an
hour rather than thirty. Steam also promised to eliminate a transportation problem
not fully solved by either canal boats or turnpikes. Boats could carry heavy weights,
but canals could not cross hilly terrain; turnpikes could cross the hills, but the
roadbeds could not stand up under great weights. These problems needed still
another solution, and the ingredients for it lay close at hand. In some industrial
regions, heavily laden wagons，with flanged wheels，were being hauled by horses
along metal rails; and the stationary steam engine was puffing in the factory and
mine．Another generation passed before Inventors succeeded in combining these
ingredients by putting the engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to
provide a machine to take the place of the horse. Thus the railroad age sprang from
what had already happened in the eighteenth century.

1. The word exploited in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) utilized
(B) recognized
(C) examined
(D) fully understood
2. The word vastly in paragraph 2 is closet in meaning to

(A) quickly
(B) ultimately
(C) greatly
(D) initially
3. According to paragraph 2, the atmospheric engine was slow because

(A) it had been designed to be used in coal mines
(B) the cylinder had to cool between each stroke
(C) it made use of expanding steam to raise the piston in its cylinder
(D) it could be operated only when a large supply of fuel was available
4. According to paragraph 2, Watt's steam engine differed from earlier steam

engines, in each of the following ways, except:
(A) It used steam to move a piston in a cylinder.
(B) It worked with greater speed.
(C) It was more efficient in its use of fuel.
(D) It could be used in many different ways.
5. The phrase grew accustomed to in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) began to prefer
(B) wanted to have
(C) became used to
(D) insisted on
6. The word retained in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) gained
(B) established
(C) profited from
(D) maintained
7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements about steam engines

is true?
(A) They were used for the production of paper but not for printing.
(B) By 1800, significant numbers of them were produced outside of Britain.
(C) They were used in factories before they were used to power trains.
(D) They were used in the construction of canals and turnpikes.

8. According to paragraph 4, providing a machine to take the place of the horse

involved combining which two previously separate ingredients?
(A) Turnpikes and canals
(B) Stationary steam engines and wagons with flanged wheels
(C) Metal rails in roadbeds and wagons capable of carrying heavy loads
(D) Canal boats and heavily laden wagons
9. Directions: An introductory sentence or a brief summary of the passage is

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices
that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not
belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the
passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 3 points.
The Industrial Revolution would not have been possible without a new source of
power that was efficient, movable and continuously available．
*
*
*

(1) In the early eighteenth century, Savery and Newcomen discovered that
expanding steam could be used to raise a piston in a cylinder.
(2) Watt’s steam engine played a leading role in greatly increasing industrial
production of all kinds.
(3) Until the 1830s，Britain was the world’s major producer of steam engines.
(4) In the mid-1700s James Watt transformed an inefficient steam pump into a fast,
flexible, fuel-efficient engine.
(5) In the 1790s William Murdoch developed a new way of lighting houses and
streets using coal gas.
(6) The availability of steam engines was a major factor in the development of
railroads,which solved a major transportation problem.
Answer key: 1. A 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. C 6. D 7. C 8. B 9. (2)/(4)/(6)


Mass Extinctions
Cases in which many species become extinct within a geologically short interval
of time are called mass extinctions. There was one such event at the end of the
Cretaceous period (around 70 million years ago). There was another, even larger,
mass extinction at the end of the Permian period (around 250 million years ago). The
Permian event has attracted much less attention than other mass extinctions because
mostly unfamiliar species perished at that time.
The fossil record shows at least five mass extinctions in which many families of
marine organisms died out. The rates of extinction happening today are as great as
the rates during these mass extinctions. Many scientists have therefore concluded
that a sixth great mass extinction is currently in progress.
What could cause such high rates of extinction? There are several hypotheses,
including warming or cooling of Earth, changes in seasonal fluctuations or ocean
currents, and changing positions of the continents. Biological hypotheses include
ecological changes brought about by the evolution of cooperation between insects
and flowering plants or of bottom-feeding predators in the oceans. Some of the
proposed mechanisms required a very brief period during which all extinctions
suddenly took place; other mechanisms would be more likely to have taken place
more gradually, over an extended period, or at different times on different
continents. Some hypotheses fad to account for simultaneous extinctions on land
and in the seas. Each mass extinction may have had a different cause. Evidence
points to hunting by humans and habitat destruction as the likely causes for the
current mass extinction.
American paleontologists David Raup and John Sepkoski, who have studied
extinction rates in a number of fossil groups, suggest that episodes of increased
extinction have recurred periodically, approximately every 26 million years since the
mid-Cretaceous period. The late Cretaceous extinction of the dinosaurs and am
monoids was just one of the more drastic in a whole series of such recurrent
extinction episodes. The possibility that mass extinctions may recur periodically has
given rise to such hypotheses as that of a companion star with a long-period orbit
deflecting other bodies from their normal orbits, making some of them fall to Earth
as meteors and causing widespread devastation upon impact.
Of the various hypotheses attempting to account for the late Cretaceous
extinctions, the one that has attracted the most attention in recent years is the
asteroid-impact hypothesis first suggested by Luis and Walter Alvarez. According to
this hypothesis, Earth collided with an asteroid with an estimated diameter of 10
kilometers, or with several asteroids, the combined mass of which was comparable.
The force of collision spewed large amounts of debris into the atmosphere,
darkening the skies for several years before the finer particles settled. The reduced
level of photosynthesis led to a massive decline in plant life of all kinds, and this
caused massive starvation first of herbivores and subsequently of carnivores. The
mass extinction would have occurred very suddenly under this hypothesis.

One interesting test of the Alvarez hypothesis is based on the presence of the
rare-earth element iridium (Ir). Earth' s crust contains very little of this element, but
most asteroids contain a lot more. Debris thrown into the atmosphere by an asteroid
collision would presumably contain large amounts of iridium, and atmospheric
currents would carry this material all over the globe. A search of sedimentary
deposits that span the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods shows
that there is a dramatic increase in the abundance of iridium briefly and precisely at
this boundary. This iridium anomaly offers strong support for the Alvarez
hypothesis even though no asteroid itself has ever been recovered.
An asteroid of this size would be expected to leave an immense crater, even if
the asteroid itself was disintegrated by the impact. The intense heat of the impact
would produce heat-shocked quartz in many types of rock. Also, large blocks
thrown aside by the impact would form secondary craters surrounding the main
crater. To date, several such secondary craters have been found along Mexico's
Yucatan Peninsula, and heat-shocked quartz has been found both in Mexico and in
Haiti. A location called Chicxulub, along the Yucatan coast, has been suggested as
the primary impact site.
1. Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about mass extinctions?

(A) They take place over a period of 70 million years.
(B) They began during the Cretaceous period.
(C) They eliminate many animal species that exist at the time they occur.
(D) They occur every 250 million years.
2. According to paragraph 2, scientists base their belief that a mass extinction is

going on at present on which of the following?
(A) The speed with which mass extinctions are happening today is similar to the
speed of past extinctions.
(B) The number of species that have died out since the last extinction event is
extremely large.
(C) Mass extinctions occur with regularity and it is time for another one.
(D) Fossil records of many marine species have disappeared.
3. The word extended in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) specific
(B) unlimited
(C) reasonable
(D) long
4. According to paragraph 3, each of the following has been proposed as a possible

cause of mass extinctions EXCEPT
(A) habitat destruction
(B) continental movement
(C) fierce interspecies competition
(D) changes in Earth's temperature

5. Paragraph 3 supports which of the following ideas about mass extinctions?

(A) Scientists know the exact causes of most mass extinctions.
(B) Mass extinctions are unlikely to happen again in the future.
(C) Insects, flowering plants, and bottom-feeding predators in the oceans tend to be
the first organisms to disappear during episodes of mass extinctions.
(D) Some mass extinction occurred on land and in the seas at the same time.
6. According to paragraph 4, what aspect of extinction episodes does the companion

star hypothesis supposedly clarify?
(A) Their location
(B) Their frequency
(C) Their duration
(D) Their severity
7. The phrase account for in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) describe
(B) challenge
(C) explain
(D) test
8. According to paragraph 6, what made iridium a useful test of the Alvarez

hypothesis?
(A) Its occurrence in a few locations on Earth against several locations on other
planets
(B) Its occurrence in limited quantities on Earth against its abundance in asteroids
(C) Its ability to remain solid at extremely high temperatures
(D) Its ease of detection even in very small amounts
9. In stating that no asteroid itself has ever been recovered ( paragraph 6) the
author emphasizes which of the following?
(A) The importance of the indirect evidence for a large asteroid
(B) The fact that no evidence supports the asteroid- impact hypothesis
(C) The reason many researchers reject the Alvarez hypothesis
(D) The responsibility of scientists for not making the effort to discover the asteroid
itself
10.The word intense in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) sudden
(B) unusual
(C) immediate
(D) extreme
11. What is the purpose of paragraph 7 in the passage?

(A) It proposes a decisive new test of the Alvarez hypothesis.

(B) It presents additional supporting evidence for the Alvarez hypothesis.

(C) It explains why evidence relating to the Alvarez hypothesis is hard to find.
(D) It shows how recent evidence has raised doubts about the Alvarez hypothesis
12. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that
the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
There have been many attempts to explain the causes of mass

extinctions.
*
*
*
Answer Choices ((choose 3 to complete the chart):

(1) Asteroid impacts, evolutionary developments, and changes in Earth' s climate
and in the positions of the continents have all been proposed as possible causes of
mass extinctions.
(2) Researchers have observed 26-million-year cycles in extinction rates of a
number of fossil groups that could all be attributed to the same cause.
(3) According to the Alvarez hypothesis, much of the iridium originally present on
Earth was thrown into the atmosphere as a result of an asteroid impact that also
caused a mass extinction.
(4) The unusual distribution of iridium on Earth and the presence of craters and
heat-shocked quartz are central to the theory that an asteroid impact caused the
late Cretaceous event.
(5) The collision between Earth and a large asteroid resulted in massive damage and
generated enough heat to cause irreversible changes in Earth' s atmosphere.
(6) There was a particularly large mass extinction that occurred around 250
million years ago at the end of the Permian period, whose cause could not be
determined.
Answer key:
1. C 2. B 3. D 4. C 5. D 6. B 7.C 8. B 9. A
10. D 11. C 13. (1), (2), (4)

Skill 6:
Paraphrase Questions - Lesson 1
Paraphrase Questions
Another iBT reading question type is the paraphrase type. In this question type, a
part in the passage (usually one or two sentences) is highlighted in the passage and
you are expected to select the one option that best conveys the most essential
information in the highlighted part. In such a case, you first have to locate the subject
and the main verb or verbs and do not let unnecessary modifiers or descriptive
phrases distract you from the main point. The following chart gives you more
information you need to know about this question type and the way to answer them.
PARAPHRASE QUESTIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY Which of the sentences below best express the essential
THE QUESTION information…?
The targeted sentence is highlighted in the passage.
WHERE TO FIND
Information to answer the question is in the highlighted
THE
sentence and may also be in the context around the
ANSWER
highlighted sentence
1. Study the highlighted sentence carefully
2. Break the sentence down into meaningful parts by
looking for the subject and the main verb and transition
expressions
HOW TO ANSWER 3. If the highlighted sentence makes references to
THE QUESTION information outside of the highlighted sentence, read the
context around the highlighted sentence
4. Study the answer choices, and eliminate definitely wrong
answers
5. Choose the best answer from the remaining choices
Consider the following example:
Camouflage is one of the most effective ways for animals to avoid attack in the
treeless Arctic. However, the summer and winter landscapes there are so diverse
that a single protective coloring scheme would, of course, prove ineffective in one
season or the other. Thus, many of the inhabitants of the Arctic tundra change their
camouflage twice a year. The arctic fox is a clear-cut example of the phenomenon; it
sports a brownish-gray coat in the summer which then turns white as cold weather
sets in, and the process reverses itself in the springtime. Its brownish-gray coat
blends in with the barren tundra landscape in the months without snow, and the
white coat naturally blends in with the landscape of the frozen wintertime tundra.

1. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the first
highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
(A) Opposite conditions in summer and in winter necessitate different protective
coloration for Arctic animals.
(B) The coloration of the summer and winter landscapes in the Arctic fails to
protect the Arctic tundra.
(C) In a single season, protective coloring schemes are ineffective in the treeless
Arctic.
(D) For many animals, a single protective coloring scheme effectively protects
them during summer and winter months.
If you examine the highlighted sentence you realize that the subject is “protective
coloring scheme” and the verb part is “prove ineffective.” This simple recognition
enables you to easily dismiss B because it has a different subject. You can also reject
D because its verb is opposite in meaning to the verb part of the highlighted
sentence. To choose between A and C you need to consider the other parts of the
sentence. In the original sentence there are two seasons mentioned while in C only
one season is mentioned. Hence, the correct response is A.
Practice
Passage 1
The cerebral cortex of the human brain is divided into two hemispheres that are
linked By a thick band of fibers called corpus callosum. Each hemisphere has four
discrete lobes, and researchers have identified a number of functional areas within
each lobe. The left hemisphere has areas for controlling speech, language, and
calculation, while the right hemisphere controls creative ability and spatial
perception. This centering of functions in specific areas of the brain is known as
lateralization.
Much of our knowledge about brain lateralization comes from studies of “split -
brain” patients, people with a damaged corpus callosum. In one experiment, a
subject holding a key in his left hand, with both eyes open, was able to name it as a
key. However, when the subject’s eyes were covered, he could use the key to open a
lock, but was unable to name it as a key. The center for speech is in the left
hemisphere, but sensory information from the left hand crosses over and enters the
right side of the brain. Without the corpus callosum to function as a switchboard
between the two sides of the brain, the subject’s knowledge of the size, texture, and
function of the key could not be transferred from the right to the left
hemisphere. The link between sensory input and spoken response was disconnected.
1 .Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted
sentence in paragraph 1?
(A) Each half of the brain consists of four types of tissues that are identified by

their size and location.

(B) The brain’s two hemispheres each have four separate parts, and each part
controls several functions.
(C) There are a number of functional centers in the brain, and these can be
divided into four main groups.
(D) Research has shown that the brain controls four basic functions, each with
a number of variations.
2. Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the

highlighted sentence in paragraph 2?
(A) Information about the key could not travel from one side of the brain to
the other because the corpus callosum did not provide the link.
(B) Some people are born without a corpus callosum, so they cannot exchange
knowledge between the two hemispheres of the brain.
(C) Both sides of the brain control knowledge of familiar objects, and the
corpus callosum functions as a key to that knowledge.
(D) The corpus callosum acts like a computer keyboard in the way that it
takes information from the hands and enters it into the brain.
Passage 2
Post-it® Notes
Post-it@ Notes were invented in the 1970s at the 3M company in Minnesota quite
by accident. Researchers at 3M were working on developing different types of
adhesives, and one particularly weak adhesive, a compound of acrylate copolymer
microspheres, was developed. Employees at 3M were asked if they could think of a
use for a weak adhesive which, provided it did not get dirty, could be reused. One
suggestion was that it could be applied to a piece of paper to use as a bookmark that
would stay in place in a book. Another use was found when the product was
attached to a report that was to be sent to a colleague with a request for comments
on the report; the colleague made his comments on the paper attached to the report
and returned the report. The idea for Post-it Notes was born.
It was decided within the company that there would be a test launch of the
product in 1977 in four American cities. Sales of this innovative product in test cities
were less than stellar, most likely because the product, while innovative, was also
quite unfamiliar. A final attempt was then made in the city of Boise to introduce the
product. In this attempt, 3M salesmen gave demonstrations of the product in offices
throughout Boise and gave away free samples of the product. When the salesmen
returned a week later to the offices where the product had been demonstrated and
given away, a huge percentage of the office workers, having noted how useful the
simple little product could be, were interested in purchasing it. Over time, 3M came
to understand the huge potential of this new product, and over the next few decades
more than 400 varieties of Post-it products – in different colors, shapes, and sizes –
have been developed.

highlighted sentence in paragraph 1? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
(A) Of the many adhesives that were being developed at 3M, one was not a
particularly strong adhesive.
(B) Researchers at 3M spent many years trying to develop a really weak
adhesive.
(C) Numerous weak adhesives resulted from a program to develop the
strongest adhesive of all.
(D) Researchers were assigned to develop different types of uses for acrylate
copolymer microspheres.
4. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the second
(A) The 3M company suggested applying for a patent on the product in a
report prepared by a colleague.
(B) One unexpectedly-discovered use for the adhesive was in sending and
receiving notes attached to documents.
(C) A note was attached to a report asking for suggestions for uses of one of
3M’s products.
(D) A colleague who developed the new product kept notes with suggestions by
other workers.
(A) The 3M company was unfamiliar with the process of using test cities to
introduce innovative products.
(B) Sales of the product soared even though the product was quite unfamiliar
to most customers.
(C) The new product did not sell well because potential customers did not
understand it.
(D) After selling the product for a while, the company understood that the
product was not innovative enough.
6. Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the second
(A) The company immediately understood the potential of the product and
began to develop it further.
(B) The company worked overtime to develop its new product, initially
creating numerous varieties to make it successful.
(C) The company initially introduced 400 varieties of the product and then

watched for decades as sales improved.

(D) It took some time for the company to understand how important its new
product was and how many variations were possible.
Answer key: 1. B 2. A 3. A 4. B 5.C 6. D

THE ORIGINS OF CETACEANS
It should be obvious that cetaceans-whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are

mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live
young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a
fluke1 and blowhole2 cannot disguise their affinities with land dwelling mammals.
However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses,
whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what
the first whales looked like. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known
from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a
swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate,
or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.
Very exciting discoveries have finally allowed scientists to reconstruct the most
likely origins of cetaceans. In 1979, a team looking for fossils in northern Pakistan
found what proved to be the oldest fossil whale. The fossil was officially
named Pakicetus in honor of the country where the discovery was
made. Pakicetus was found embedded in rocks formed from river deposits that were
52 million years old. The river that formed these deposits was actually not far from
an ancient ocean known as the Tethys Sea.
The fossil consists of a complete skull of an archaeocyte, an extinct group of
ancestors of modern cetaceans. Although limited to a skull, the Pakicetus fossil
provides precious details on the origins of cetaceans. The skull is cetacean-like but its
jawbones lack the enlarged space that is filled with fat or oil and used for receiving
underwater sound in modern whales. Pakicetus probably detected sound through the
ear opening as in land mammals. The skull also lacks a blowhole, another cetacean
adaptation for diving. Other features, however, show experts that Pakicetus is a
transitional form between a group of extinct flesh-eating mammals, the
mesonychids, and cetaceans. It has been suggested that Pakicetus fed on fish in
shallow water and was not yet adapted for life in the open ocean. It probably bred
and gave birth on land.
Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of
another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and
now exposed in the Sahara desert. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12
million years after Pakicetus. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they

included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot
with three tiny toes. Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the
50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale
with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs.
An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now
extinct whale Ambulocetus natans ("the walking whale that swam") lived in the
Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9
million before Basilosaurus. The fossil luckily includes a good portion of the hind
legs. The legs were strong and ended in long feet very much like those of a modern
pinniped. The legs were certainly functional both on land and at sea. The whale
retained a tail and lacked a fluke, the major means of locomotion in modern
cetaceans. The structure of the backbone shows, however, that Ambulocetus swam
like modern whales by moving the rear portion of its body up and down, even
though a fluke was missing. The large hind legs were used for propulsion in water.
On land, where it probably bred and gave birth, Ambulocetus may have moved
around very much like a modern sea lion. It was undoubtedly a whale that linked
life on land with life at sea
1. In paragraph 1, what does the author say about the presence of a blowhole in
cetaceans?
(A) It clearly indicates that cetaceans are mammals.
(B) It cannot conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals.
(C) It is the main difference between cetaceans and land-dwelling mammals.
(D) It cannot yield clues about the origins of cetaceans.
2. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about early sea
otters?
(A) It is not difficult to imagine what they looked like
(B) There were great numbers of them.
(C) They lived in the sea only.
(D) They did not leave many fossil remains.
3. The word precious in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) exact
(B) scarce
(C) valuable
(D) initial
4. Pakicetus and modern cetaceans have similar

(A) hearing structures
(B) adaptations for diving
(C) skull shapes
(D) breeding locations

5. The word exposed in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) explained
(B) visible
(C) identified
(D) located
6. The hind leg of Basilosaurus was a significant find because it showed that
Basilosaurus
(A) lived later than Ambulocetus natans
(B) lived at the same time as Pakicetus
(C) was able to swim well
(D) could not have walked on land
7. Why does the author use the word luckily (paragraph 5) in mentioning that
the Ambulocetus natans fossil included hind legs?
(A) Fossil legs of early whales are a rare find.
(B) The legs provided important information about the evolution of cetaceans.
(C) The discovery allowed scientists to reconstruct a complete skeleton of the
whale.
(D) Until that time, only the front legs of early whales had been discovered.
8. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the
Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out
essential information.
(A) Even though Ambulocetus swam by moving its body up and down, it did not
have a backbone.
(B) The backbone of Ambulocetus, which allowed it to swim, provides evidence
of its missing fluke.
(C) Although Ambulocetus had no fluke, its backbone structure shows that it
swam like modern whales.
(D) By moving the rear parts of their bodies up and down, modern whales swim
in a different way from the way Ambulocetus swam.
9. The word propulsion in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) staying afloat
(B) changing direction
(C) decreasing weight
(D) moving forward
10-11. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is

that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not

This passage discusses fossils that help to explain the likely origins of
cetaceans whales, porpoises, and dolphins.
*
*
*

1. Recent discoveries of fossils have helped to show the link between land
mammals and cetaceans.
2. The discovery of Ambulocetus natans provided evidence for a whale that lived
both on land and at sea.
3. The skeleton of Basilosaurusw as found in what had been the Tethys Sea, an
area rich in fossil evidence.
4. Pakicetus is the oldest fossil whale yet to be found.
5. Fossils thought to be transitional forms between walking mammals and
swimming whales were found.
6. Ambulocetus’ hind legs were used for propulsion in the water.
Answer key: 1. B 2. A 3. C 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. B 8. C 9. D 10-11. 1/2/5
Types of Social Groups
Life places us in a complex web of relationships with other people. Our

humanness arises out of these relationships in the course of social interaction.
Moreover, our humanness must be sustained through social interaction—and fairly
constantly so. When an association continues long enough for two people to become
linked together by a relatively stable set of expectations, it is called a relationship.
People are bound within relationships by two types of bonds: expressive ties
and instrumental ties. Expressive ties are social links formed when we emotionally
invest ourselves in and commit ourselves to other people. Through association with
people who are meaningful to us, we achieve a sense of security, love, acceptance,
companionship, and personal worth. Instrumental ties are social links formed when
we cooperate with other people to achieve some goal. Occasionally, this may mean
working with instead of against competitors. More often, we simply cooperate with
others to reach some end without endowing the relationship with any larger
significance.
Sociologists have built on the distinction between expressive and instrumental
ties to distinguish between two types of groups: primary and secondary. A primary

group involves two or more people who enjoy a direct, intimate, cohesive
relationship with one another. Expressive ties predominate in primary groups; we
view the people as ends in themselves and valuable in their own right. A secondary
group entails two or more people who are involved in an impersonal relationship
and have come together for a specific, practical purpose. Instrumental ties
predominate in secondary groups; we perceive people as means to ends rather than
as ends in their own right. Sometimes primary group relationships evolve out of
secondary group relationships. This happens in many work settings. People on the
job often develop close relationships with coworkers as they come to share gripes,
jokes, gossip, and satisfactions.
A number of conditions enhance the likelihood that primary groups will arise.
First, group size is important. We find it difficult to get to know people personally
when they are milling about and dispersed in large groups. In small groups we have
a better chance to initiate contact and establish rapport with them. Second, face -to-
face contact allows us to size up others. Seeing and talking with one another in close
physical proximity makes possible a subtle exchange of ideas and feelings. And
third, the probability that we will develop primary group bonds increases as we
have frequent and continuous contact. Our ties with people often deepen as we
interact with them across time and gradually evolve interlocking habits and
interests.
Primary groups are fundamental to us and to society. First, primary groups are
critical to the socialization process. Within them, infants and children are introduced
to the ways of their society. Such groups are the breeding grounds in which we
acquire the norms and values that equip us for social life. Sociologists view primary
groups as bridges between individuals and the larger societies because they
transmit, mediate, and interpret a society's cultural patterns and provide the sense of
oneness so critical for social solidarity.
Second, primary groups are fundamental because they provide the settings in
which we meet most of our personal needs. Within them, we experience
companionship, love, security, and an overall sense of well-being. Not surprisingly,
sociologists find that the strength of a group's primary ties has implications for the
group's functioning. For example, the stronger the primary group ties of a sports
team playing together, the better their record is.
Third, primary groups are fundamental because they serve as powerful
instruments for social control. Their members command and dispense many of the
rewards that are so vital to us and that make our lives seem worthwhile. Should the
use of rewards fail, members can frequently win by rejecting or threatening to
ostracize those who deviate from the primary group's norms. For instance, some
social groups employ shunning (a person can remain in the community, but others
are forbidden to interact with the person) as a device to bring into line individuals
whose behavior goes beyond that allowed by the particular group. Even more
important, primary groups define social reality for us by structuring our
experiences. By providing us with definitions of situations, they elicit from
our behavior that conforms to group-devised meanings. Primary groups, then, serve
both as carriers of social norms and as enforcers of them.

1. The word complex in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) delicate
(B) elaborate
(C) private
(D) common
2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of a relationship?

(A) It is a structure of associations with many people.
(B) It should be studied in the course of a social interaction.
(C) It places great demands on people.
(D) It develops gradually overtime.
3. The word endowing in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) leaving
(B) exposing
(C) providing
(D) understanding
4. According to paragraph 3, what do sociologists see as the main difference between

primary and secondary groups?
(A) Primary groups consist of people working together, while secondary
groups exist outside of work settings.
(B) In primary groups people are seen as means, while in secondary
groups people are seen as ends.
(C) Primary groups involve personal relationships, while secondary
groups are mainly practical in purpose.
(D) Primary groups are generally small, while secondary groups often
contain more than two people.
5. The phrase size up in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) enlarge
(B) evaluate
(C) impress
(D) accept
(A) Sociologists think that cultural patterns establish connections between the
individual and the larger society.
(B) Sociologists believe that individuals with a sense of oneness bridge the gap
between society and primary groups.
(C) Sociologists think primary groups contribute to social solidarity because they
help maintain a society's cultural patterns.
(D) Sociologists believe that the cultural patterns that provide social solidarity arise

as bridges from primary groups.
7. This passage is developed primarily by

(A)drawing comparisons between theory and practice
(B)presenting two opposing theories
(C)defining important concepts and providing examples of them
(D)discussing causes and their effects
8. The word deviate in paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) detract
(B) advance
(C) select
(D) depart
9. According to paragraph 7, why would a social group use shunning?

(A) To enforce practice of the kinds of behavior acceptable to the group
(B) To discourage offending individuals from remaining in the group
(C) To commend and reward the behavior of the other members of the group
(D) To decide which behavioral norms should be passed on to the next generation?
10. Directions: Complete the table below by selecting three answer choices that are
characteristics of primary groups and two answer choices that are
characteristics of secondary groups. This question is worth 3 points.
*
Primary Groups *
*
*
Secondary Groups
*
Answer Choices
(1) Developing socially acceptable behavior
(2) Working together against competitors
(3) Experiencing pressure from outside forces
(4) Viewing people as a means to an end
(5) Existing for practical purposes
(6) Providing meaning for life situations
(7) Involving close relationships
Answer key: 1.B 2.D 3.C 4. C 5.B 6.C 7. C 8.D 9.A

10. Primary Groups: 1, 6, 7
Secondary Groups: 4, 5

Skill 7:
Reference Questions - Lesson 1
Reference Questions
These questions ask you to identify referential relationships between the words in
the passage. Often, the relationship is between a pronoun and its antecedent (the
word to which the pronoun refers). Sometimes other kinds of grammatical reference
are tested (like which or this).
How to Recognize Reference Questions

Reference questions look similar to vocabulary questions. In the passage, one word
or phrase is highlighted. Usually the word is a pronoun. Then you are asked
• The word X in the passage refers to
The four answer choices will be words or phrases from the passage. Only one choice
is the word to which the highlighted word refers.
Tips for Reference Questions

• If the reference question is about a pronoun, make sure your answer is the same
number (singular to plural) and case (first person, second person, third person) as
the highlighted pronoun.
• Substitute your choice for the highlighted word or words in the sentence. Does it
violate any grammar rules? Does it make sense?
The reference reading question is similar to the vocabulary type. A word, usually a
pronoun, is highlighted in the passage. You are asked what the highlighted word
refers to. If it's a pronoun then you need to identify what word the pronoun is
replacing. All 4 answer options will be words in the reading passage near the
highlighted word.
Example:
Part of a passage: The astrological nature of the Mayan use of astronomical data
explains in part why so few written records exist of that data. The Mayans believed
that the passage of the sun continued throughout the night, only, then, it was
traveling through the underworld. This was believed to be a perilous journey, with
many demonic figures lurking in the darkness, waiting to ambush the sun to prevent
it from returning to the sky at dawn.
Question: The word it in the passage refers to

A. night
B. sun
C. passage
D. data

Explanation: (B) is the correct answer. The sentence is describing the path taken by
the sun. The other answer choices, though they are all words that appear in the
paragraph, do not refer to things that are traveling.
Practice
Passage 1
A huge loss of life resulted from the introduction of Old World diseases into the
Americas in the early sixteenth century. The inhabitants of the Americas were
separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe by rising oceans following the Ice Ages,
and, as a result, they were isolated by means of this watery barrier from numerous
virulent epidemic diseases that had developed across the ocean, such as measles,
smallpox, pneumonia, and malaria. Pre-Columbian Americans had a relatively
disease-free environment but also lacked the antibodies needed to protect them from
bacteria and viruses brought to America by European explorers and colonists. A
devastating outbreak of disease that strikes for the first time against a completely
unprotected population is known as a virgin soil epidemic. Virgin soil epidemics
contributed to an unbelievable decline in the population of native inhabitants of the
Americas, one that has been estimated at as much as an 80 percent decrease of the
native population the centuries following the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.
1. The word they in the passage refers to

A. the inhabitants
B. epidemic diseases
C. rising oceans
D. the Ice Ages
2. The word that in the passage refers to

A. a disease-free environment
B. this watery barrier
C. virulent epidemic diseases
D. the ocean
3. The word them in the passage refers to

A. pre-Columbian Americans
B. the antibodies
C. European explorers and colonists
D. bacteria and viruses
4. The word one in the passage refers to

A. virgin soil epidemic
B. an unbelievable decline
C. the population of native inhabitants
D. the arrival of Europeans

Passage 2
Vitamin D increases the efficiency of the intestine to absorb calcium and
phosphorus from food in order to mineralize the bones in the body. It also increases
the activity of bone cells that make and lay down bone matrix. The bone matrix is
like the frame of a building. If the body has adequate amounts of calcium and
phosphorus, they are incorporated into the bone matrix, and the result is a strong,
healthy skeleton. Our skin can make vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight.
However, most people living in North America do not get enough sunlight in the
winter to make adequate amounts of the vitamin.
Young children who do not get enough calcium and vitamin D are unable to
properly mineralize the bone matrix. Consequently, when gravity pushes on the
skeleton, it causes the typical bowing of the legs seen in a child with the disease
called rickets.
In adults, a deficiency in both calcium and vitamin D will increase the risk of
bone fracture. Vitamin D is necessary to increase the body's ability to absorb
calcium. If the body does not have enough vitamin D, it can absorb only 10 to 15
percent of the calcium it receives. If the bloodstream does not have enough calcium,
it will draw it out of the bones, which causes osteoporosis. With osteoporosis, the
bones break down as bone cells called osteoclasts dissolve the matrix and release
calcium from the bones. A vitamin D deficiency will increase the severity of
the disease because it increases the number of holes in the bones.
5. The word they in paragraph 1 refers to

A. vitamin D and calcium
B. bones
C. bone cells
D. calcium and phosphorus
6. The word it in paragraph 1 refers to
A. skin
B. vitamin D
C. skeleton
D. North America
A. calcium
B. vitamin D
C. bone matrix
D. gravity
8. The word the disease in paragraph 3 refers to
A. rickets
B. bone fracture
C. osteoporosis
D. vitamin D deficiency
Answer key: 1. A 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. A 6. A 7. D 8. C


Electricity from Wind
Since 1980, the use of wind to produce electricity has been growing rapidly. In 1994
there were nearly 20,000 wind turbines worldwide, most grouped in clusters called
wind farms that collectively produced 3,000 megawatts of electricity. Most were in
Denmark (which got 3 percent of its electricity from wind turbines) and California
(where 17,000 machines produced 1 percent of the state’s electricity, enough to meet
the residential needs of a city as large as San Francisco). In principle, all the power
needs of the United States could be provided by exploiting the wind potential of just
three states—North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas.
Large wind farms can be built in six months to a year and then easily expanded
as needed. With a moderate to fairly high net energy yield, these systems emit no
heat-trapping carbon dioxide or other air pollutants and need no water for cooling;
manufacturing them produces little water pollution. The land under wind turbines
can be used for grazing cattle and other purposes, and leasing land for wind turbines
can provide extra income for farmers and ranchers.
Wind power has a significant cost advantage over nuclear power and has become
competitive with coal-fired power plants in many places. With new technological
advances and mass production, projected cost declines should make wind power
one of the world’s cheapest ways to produce electricity. In the long run, electricity
from large wind farms in remote areas might be used to make hydrogen gas from
water during periods when there is less than peak demand for electricity. The
hydrogen gas could then be fed into a storage system and used to generate electricity
when additional or backup power is needed.
Wind power is most economical in areas with steady winds. In areas where the
wind dies down, backup electricity from a utility company or from an energy
storage system becomes necessary. Backup power could also be provided by linking
wind farms with a solar cell, with conventional or pumped-storage hydropower, or
with efficient natural-gas-burning turbines. Some drawbacks to wind farms include
visual pollution and noise, although these can be overcome by improving their
design and locating them in isolated areas.
Large wind farms might also interfere with the flight patterns of migratory birds
in certain areas, and they have killed large birds of prey (especially hawks, falcons,
and eagles) that prefer to hunt along the same ridge lines that are ideal for wind
turbines. The killing of birds of prey by wind turbines has pitted environmentalists
who champion wildlife protection against environmentalists who promote
renewable wind energy. Researchers are evaluating how serious this problem is and
hope to find ways to eliminate or sharply reduce this problem. Some analysts also
contend that the number of birds killed by wind turbines is dwarfed by birds killed
by other human-related sources and by the potential loss of entire bird species from
possible global warming. Recorded deaths of birds of prey and other birds in wind
farms in the United States currently amount to no more than 300 per year. By
contrast, in the United States an estimated 97 million birds are killed each year when

they collide with buildings made of plate glass, 57 million are killed on highways
each year; at least 3.8 million die annually from pollution and poisoning; and
millions of birds are electrocuted each year by transmission and distribution lines
carrying power produced by nuclear and coal power plants.
The technology is in place for a major expansion of wind power worldwide.
Wind power is a virtually unlimited source of energy at favorable sites, and even
excluding environmentally sensitive areas, the global potential of wind power is
much higher than the current world electricity use. In theory, Argentina, Canada,
Chile, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom could use wind to meet all of their
energy needs. Wind power experts project that by the middle of the twenty-first
century wind power could supply more than 10 percent of the world’s electricity
and 10-25 percent of the electricity used in the United States.
1. Based on the information in paragraph 1, which of the following best explains the
term wind farms?
(A) Farms using windmills to pump water
(B) Research centers exploring the uses of wind
(C) Types of power plant common in North Dakota
(D) Collections of wind turbines producing electric power
2. The word emit in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) Use
(B) Require
(C) Release
(D) Destroy
3. The word them in paragraph 2 refers to

(A) pollutants
(B) wind farms
(C) turbines
(D) gases like carbon dioxide
4. Based on the information in paragraph 3 and paragraph 4, what can be inferred

about the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas mentioned at the end
of paragraph 1?
(A) They rely largely on coal-fired power plants.
(B) They contain remote areas where the winds rarely die down.
(C) Over 1 percent of the electricity in these states is produced by wind farms.
(D) Wind farms in these states are being expanded to meet the power needs of the
United States.
5. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true about periods when the
demand for electricity is relatively low?
(A) These periods are times when wind turbines are powered by hydrogen gas.

(B) These periods provide the opportunity to produce and store energy for future
use.
(C) These periods create storage problems for all forms of power generation.
(D) These periods occur as often as periods when the demand for electricity is high.
6. In paragraph 4, the author states that in areas where winds are not steady
(A) Power does not reach all customers
(B) Wind farms cannot be used
(C) Solar power is more appropriate
(D) Backup systems are needed
7. According to paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the problems of visual

pollution and noise associated with wind farms?
(A) Both problems affect the efficiency of wind farms.
(B) Possible solutions are known for both problems.
(C) Wind power creates more noise than visual pollution.
(D) People are more concerned about visual pollution than noise.
8. The phrase this problem in paragraph 5 refers to

(A) Interference with the flight patterns of migrating birds in certain areas
(B) Building ridge lines that are ideal for wind turbines
(C) The killing of birds of prey by wind turbines
(D) Meeting the demands of environmentalists who promote renewable wind
energy
Highlighted sentence in paragraph 5? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
(A) Hawks, falcons, and eagles prefer to hunt along ridge lines, where wind turbines
can kill large numbers of migratory birds.
(B) Wind turbines occasionally cause migratory birds to change their flight patterns
and therefore may interfere with the areas where birds of prey prefer to hunt.
(C) Some of the best locations for large wind farms are places that may cause
problems for migrating birds and birds of prey.
(D) Large wind farms in certain areas kill hawks, falcons, and eagles and thus might
create a more ideal path for the flight of migratory birds.
10. In paragraph 5, why does the author give details about the estimated numbers
of birds killed each year?
(A) To argue that wind farms should not be built along ridge lines
(B) To point out that the deaths of migratory birds exceed the deaths of birds of prey
(C) To explain why some environmentalists oppose wind energy
(D) To suggest that wind turbines result in relatively few bird deaths

11. The phrase amount to in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) Can identify
(B) Change
(C) Are reduced by
(D) Total
12. The word project in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) Estimate
(B) Respond
(C) Argue
(D) Plan
13. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the author’s opinion
about wind energy?
(A) Wind energy production should be limited to large wind farms.
(B) The advantages of wind energy outweigh the disadvantages.
(C) The technology to make wind energy safe and efficient will not be ready until
the middle of the twenty-first century.
(D) Wind energy will eventually supply many countries with most of their
electricity.

that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not
In the future, wind power is likely to become a major source of the world’s
energy supply.
*
*
*
Answer Choices
(1) Wind farms have already produced sufficient amounts of electricity to suggest
that wind power could become an important source of electric power.
(2) Wind power has several advantages, such as low pollution and projected cost
declines, compared to other energy sources.
(3) Responding to environmentalists concerned about birds killed by wind turbines,
analysts point to other human developments that are even more dangerous to
birds.
(4) The wind energy produced by just a small number of states could supply all of
the power needs of the United States.
(5) Although wind power is not economical in areas with steady winds, alternative
wind sources can be used to simulate wind power.

(6) Smaller countries, which use less electricity than large countries, are especially
suited to use wind power to meet all their energy needs.
Answer key: 1. D 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. B 6. D 7. B 8. C
9. C 10. D 11. D 12. A 13. B 14. 1, 2, 3

Opportunists and Competitors
Growth, reproduction, and daily metabolism all require an organism to expend

energy. The expenditure of energy is essentially a process of budgeting, just as
finances are budgeted. If all of one’s money is spent on clothes, there may be none
left to buy food or go to the movies. Similarly, a plant or animal cannot squander all
its energy on growing a big body if none would be left over for reproduction, for this
is the surest way to extinction.
All organisms, therefore, allocate energy to growth, reproduction,
maintenance, and storage. No choice is involved; this allocation comes as part of the
genetic package from the parents. Maintenance for a given body design of an
organism is relatively constant. Storage is important, but ultimately that energy will
be used for maintenance, reproduction, or growth. Therefore the principal
differences in energy allocation are likely to be between growth and reproduction.
Almost all of an organism’s energy can be diverted to reproduction, with very
little allocated to building the body. Organisms at this extreme are “opportunists.”
At the other extreme are “competitors,” almost all of whose resources are invested in
building a huge body, with a bare minimum allocated to reproduction.
Dandelions are good examples of opportunists. Their seed heads raised just high
enough above the ground to catch the wind, the plants are no bigger than they need
be, their stems are hollow, and all the rigidity comes from their water content. Thus,
a minimum investment has been made in the body that becomes a platform for
seed dispersal. These very short-lived plants reproduce prolifically; that is to say
they provide a constant rain of seed in the neighborhood of parent plants. A new
plant will spring up wherever a seed falls on a suitable soil surface, but because they
do not build big bodies, they cannot compete with other plants for space, water, or
sunlight. These plants are termed opportunists because they rely on their seeds’
falling into settings where competing plants have been removed by natural
processes, such as along an eroding riverbank, on landslips, or where a tree falls and
creates a gap in the forest canopy.
Opportunists must constantly invade new areas to compensate for being
displaced by more competitive species. Human landscapes of lawns, fields, or
flowerbeds provide settings with bare soil and a lack of competitors that are perfect

habitats for colonization by opportunists. Hence, many of the strongly opportunistic

plants are the common weeds of fields and gardens.
Because each individual is short-lived, the population of an opportunist species
is likely to be adversely affected by drought, bad winters, or floods. If their
population is tracked through time, it will be seen to be particularly unstable—
soaring and plummeting in irregular cycles.
The opposite of an opportunist is a competitor. These organisms tend to have
big bodies, are long-lived, and spend relatively little effort each year on
reproduction. An oak tree is a good example of a competitor. A massive oak claims
its ground for 200 years or more, outcompeting all other would-be canopy trees by
casting a dense shade and drawing up any free water in the soil. The leaves of an oak
tree taste foul because they are rich in tannins, a chemical that renders them
distasteful or indigestible to many organisms. The tannins are part of the defense
mechanism that is essential to longevity. Although oaks produce thousands of
acorns, the investment in a crop of acorns is small compared with the energy spent
on building leaves, trunk, and roots. Once an oak tree becomes established, it is
likely to survive minor cycles of drought and even fire. A population of oaks is likely
to be relatively stable through time, and its survival is likely to depend more on its
ability to withstand the pressures of competition or predation than on its ability to
take advantage of chance events. It should be noted, however, that the pure
opportunist or pure competitor is rare in nature, as most species fall between the
extremes of a continuum, exhibiting a blend of some opportunistic and some
competitive characteristics.
1. The word none in paragraph 1 refers to

(A) process
(B) money
(C) energy
(D) food
2. The word whose in paragraph 3 refers to

(A) extremes
(B) organisms
(C) competitors
(D) opportunists

(A) population
(B) drought
(C) individual
(D) cycle
4. The word they in paragraph 7 refers to

(A) canopy trees
(B) oaks

(C) leaves
(D) organisms
5. The word squander in paragraph1 is closest in meaning to

(A) Extend
(B)Transform
(C) Activate
(D) Waste
6. In paragraph 1, the author explains the concept of energy expenditure by

(A) Identifying types of organisms that became extinct
(B) Comparing the scientific concept to a familiar human experience
(C) Arguing that most organisms conserve rather than expend energy
(D) Describing the processes of growth, reproduction, and metabolism
7. According to paragraph 3, the classification of organisms as “opportunists” or

“competitors” is determined by
(A) How the genetic information of an organism is stored and maintained
(B) The way in which the organism invests its energy resources
(C) Whether the climate in which the organism lives is mild or extreme
(D) The variety of natural resources the organism consumes in its environment
8. The word dispersal in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A)Development
(B) Growth
(C) Distribution
(D) Protection
(A) Because their seeds grow in places where competing plants are no longer
present, dandelions are classified as opportunists.
(B) Dandelions are called opportunists because they contribute to the natural
processes of erosion and the creation of gaps in the forest canopy.
(C) The term opportunists apply to plants whose seeds fall in places where they can
compete with the seeds of other plants.
(D) The term opportunists apply to plants whose falling seeds are removed by
natural processes.
10. The word massive in paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to

(A) Huge
(B) Ancient
(C) Common
(D) Successful

11. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 7 as contributing to the

longevity of an oak tree EXCEPT
(A) The capacity to create shade
(B) Leaves containing tannin
(C) The ability to withstand mild droughts and fire
(D) The large number of acorns the tree produces
12. According to the passage, oak trees are considered competitors because
(A) They grow in areas free of opportunists
(B) They spend more energy on their leaves, trunks and roots than on their acorns
(C) Their population tends to increase or decrease in irregular cycles
(D) Unlike other organisms, they do not need much water or sunlight
3. In paragraph 7, the author suggests that most species of organisms

(A) Are primarily opportunists
(B) Are primarily competitors
(C) Begin as opportunists and evolve into competitors
(D) Have some characteristics of opportunists and some of competitors
14. Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match
them to the type of organism to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices
will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.
Opportunists Competitors







Answer Choices
(1) Vary frequently the amount of energy they spend in body maintenance
(2) Have mechanisms for protecting themselves from predation
(3) Succeed in locations where other organisms have been removed
(4) Have relatively short life spans
(5) Invest energy in the growth of large, strong structures
(6) Have populations that are unstable in response to climate conditions
(7) Can rarely find suitable soil for reproduction
(8) Produce individuals that can withstand changes in the environmental
conditions
(9) Reproduce in large numbers
Answer key: 1. C 2. C 3. A 4 C 5. D 6. B 7. B 8. C
9. A 10.A 11. D 12. B 13.D
14. Opportunists：3, 4, 6, 9
Competitors： 2, 5, 8

Skill 8:
Sentence Insertion / Lesson 1
Insert Sentences into the Passage
In the Reading section of the TOEFL test, you may be asked to determine where to
insert a sentence into a passage. In this type of question, you must click on one of a
number of squares in a passage to indicate that the sentence should be inserted in
that position.
The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about
questions testing vocabulary in context.
QUESTIONS ABOUT INSERTING INFORMATION
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE Look at the four squares [.]

QUESTION
WHERE TO FIND THE
ANSWER The places where the sentence may be inserted are
marked in the passage.
HOW TO ANSWER THE

QUESTION 1. Look at the sentence to be inserted for any
key words or ideas at the or the end of the sentence.
2. Read the context before and after the insertion
squares for any ideas that to the sentence to be
inserted.
3. Choose the insertion square that is
most related to the sentence to be inserted.
Steps
Here are the steps you will need to follow.
1. Find the clue words. They are usually in the new sentence, but sometimes they
are in the reading passage already:
pronouns: this, she, their, these reasons, such, so, etc.
· transition words: therefore, however, as a result, consequently, etc.
· first mention/second mention: We have a pattern in English: The first time we
mention a noun, we use a; the second time, we use the. Here’s an
example: A common problem in schools today is student apathy. The problem is a
result of many changes in the United States.
· extenders: further, other, additionally, also, as well, too, etc.

· even: even shows surprise, or more than we expect. Even should come last in a
series: Businesswomen, policemen, college students, even grandmothers are
investing in the stock market these days! , etc.
· synonyms: Thousands of Japanese came to the United States last year to study.
Many of the students say they want to learn English for their careers.
· structures used in pairs: on the one hand… on the other hand; This
doesn’t mean … On the contrary…; This is not to say… In fact…;
2. Go back to the paragraph to find the word that is referred to.
3. Remember, TOEFL needs to be able to prove that the answers are
correct, not just say that ‘it sounds best’ there.
4. Make sure the new sentence makes sense in the new location.
Look at an example from the TOEFL test that asks where to insert a particular
sentence.
Example 1: The Origin of Chess

The origins of the game of chess are not known with certainty, and traditional
stories in a number of cultures claim credit for developing the game. [1A] One
legend claims that chess was invented during the Trojan Wars. [1B] According to
another legend, chess was developed to depict the battle between two royal
brothers for the crown of Persia. [1C] In a third legend, chess was the creation of the
mythical Arab philosopher Sassa. [1D]
Whatever its origins, chess was known to exist in India as early as 500 B.C., and
it eventually spread from India to Persia, where it took on much of the terminology
that today is part of the game. Foot soldiers in the Persian army were
called piyadah, which became the pawns of today’s game, and the Persian chariot
was a rukh, which became the rook. The Persian king was the shah, which evolved
into the name chess. Shahmat, which means “the king is dead” became the
expression checkmate.
Question 1: Look at the four symbols [1X] that indicate where the following
sentence can be added to the passage.
When one brother was killed, the remaining brother had the game invented to
explain the tragic events to his mother.
This question asks you to decide where a sentence could be added to one of the
paragraphs. To answer this question, you should study the sentence to be inserted
and then look at the context before and after each insertion box. The sen tence
mentions one brother and the remaining brother, and the context before insertion
box [1C] mentions two royal brothers. From this, it can be determined that the
sentence should be added at insertion box [1C]. You should click on [1C] to answer
this question.
Now look at another example that asks where to insert a particular sentence.

Example 2: The Origin of Chess
The origins of the game of chess are not known with certainty, and traditional
stories in a number of cultures claim credit for developing the game. One legend
claims that chess was invented during the Trojan Wars. According to another
legend, chess was developed to depict the battle between two royal brothers for the
crown of Persia. In a third legend, chess was the creation of the mythical Arab
philosopher Sassa.
Whatever its origins, chess was known to exist in India as early as 500 B.C., and
it eventually spread from India to Persia, where it took on much of the terminology
that today is part of the game. [2A] Foot soldiers in the Persian army were
called piyadah, which became the pawns of today's game, and the Persian chariot was
a rukh, which became the rook.[2B] The Persian king was the shah, which evolved
into the name chess. [2C] Shahmat, which means “the king is dead” became the
expression checkmate. [2D]
Question 2: Look at the four symbols [2X] that indicate where the following sentence
can be added to the passage.
This expression is used during the game to indicate that one player's king is on the
verge of being captured.
This question asks you to decide where a sentence could be added to one of the
paragraphs. To answer this question, you should study the sentence to be inserted
and then look at the context before 'and after each insertion box. The sentence
mentions this expression about the king, and the context before insertion
box [2D] mentions the king and the expression checkmate. From this, it can be
determined that the sentence should be added at insertion box [2D]. You should
click on [2D] to answer this question.
Practice
Passage 1
When a mammal is young, it looks much like a smaller form of an
adult. 1A However, animals that undergo metamorphosis develop quite differently
from mammals. The young of these animals, which are called larvae, look very little
like the mature forms and have a very different way of life.1B Take the example of
butterflies and caterpillars, which are the larval form of butterflies. 1CCaterpillars,
on the other hand, are wingless and have more than six legs. They move by crawling
and feed on leaves. 1D To become adults, the larvae must radically change their
forms.
To accomplish this change, a larva must go through the process of
metamorphosis. 2A It does this in the second stage of life, called the pupa stage.
When they are ready to pupate, caterpillars settle in sheltered positions. 2B Some
spin a cocoon around themselves. The caterpillar then sheds its old skin and grows a
protective pupal skin. Inside this skin, the body of the caterpillar gradually

transforms itself. 2C The wingbuds, which were under the caterpillar’s skin, grow
into wings. When the change is complete, the pupal skin splits open and the
butterfly emerges. 2D But soon it dries out, its wings unfurl, and it flies off. Now it is
ready to mate and to lay eggs that will develop into larvae.
1. The following sentence can be added to paragraph 1:

Butterflies have two pairs of wings and six legs and feed on the nectar of
flowers.
Click on a square 1 to add the sentence to the passage.
2. The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2:

At first it is damp and its wings are curled up.
Passage 2
Uranium, a radioactive metal named after the planet Uranus, is a primary
source of energy in nuclear power plants and certain nuclear weapons. It occurs
naturally in three different isotopes, which differ in their facility in undergoing
nuclear fission.
3A The three naturally occurring isotopes of uranium are U-234, U-235, and U-
238. 3B Each of these isotopes has the same atomic number of 92, which is the
number of protons in the nucleus. 3CHowever, each has a different number of
neutrons and thus has a different atomic mass, which is the sum of the number of
protons and neutrons. 3D
Of these three naturally occurring isotopes of uranium, U-238 is by far the most
common, while U-235 is the most capable of undergoing nuclear fission. 4A More
than 99 percent of all naturally occurring uranium is U-238, while U-234 and U-235
each makes up less than 1 percent. 4B Nuclear fission can occur when a U-235
nucleus is struck by a neutron, and the nucleus splits, releasing energy and releasing
two or more neutrons. 4C However, nuclear fission rarely involves a U-238 or a U-
234 nucleus because it is unusual for either of these nuclei to break apart when
struck by a neutron. 4D
3. Look at the four squares 3 that indicate where the following sentence can be added
to the second paragraph of the passage.
U-234 has 92 protons and 142 neutrons for an atomic mass of 234, U-235
has 92 protons and 143 neutrons for a total of 235, and U-238 has 92
protons and 146 neutrons for a total of 238.
to the third paragraph of the passage.
These neutrons can create a chain reaction by causing other U-235
nuclei to break up.

Answer key: 1. C 2. D 3. D 4.C

1 Theodore Dreiser is the American author best known for the novel Sister Carrie
(1912). He introduced a powerful style of writing that had a profound influence on
the writers that followed him, from Steinbeck to Fitzgerald and Hemingway. It was
in Sister Carrie that Theodore Dreiser created a fictional account that laid bare the
harsh reality of life in the big city and in which Dreiser established himself as the
architect of a new genre.
2 Dreiser was born in 1871 into a large family whose fortunes had in the recent
past taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Before Theodore's birth, his father had built
up a successful factory business only to lose it to a fire. 1A The family was rather
abruptly thrust into poverty, and Theodore spent his youth moving from place to
place in the Midwest as the family tried desperately to reestablish itself
financially. 1B He left home at the age of sixteen. 1C After earning some money, he
spent a year at Indiana University but left school and returned to Chicago, yearning
for the glamour and excitement that it offered. 1D At the age of twenty-two, he
began work as a reporter for a small newspaper in Chicago, the Daily Globe, and
later worked on newspapers in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Saint Louis, and New York
City. In his work as a reporter, he was witness to the seamier side of life and was
responsible for recording events that befell the less fortunate in the city, the beggars,
the alcoholics, the prostitutes, and the working poor.
3 2A Dreiser first tried his hand at fiction by writing short stories rather than
novels, and the first four short stories that he wrote were published. 2B Based on
this, he was encouraged to write a novel that would accurately depict the harsh life
of the city, and the novel Sister Carrie was the result of his effort. 2C This novel
chronicles the life of Carrie Meeber, a small-town girl who goes to Chicago in a quest
for fame and fortune. 2D As Carrie progresses from factory worker to Broadway star
by manipulating anyone in her path, Dreiser sends a clear message about the
tragedy of life that is devoted purely to the quest for money.
4 Sister Carrie, unfortunately for Dreiser, did not achieve immediate
success. 3A The novel was accepted for publication by Doubleday, but Dreiser was
immediately asked to make major revisions to the novel. 3B When Dreiser refused to
make the revisions, Doubleday published only a limited number of copies of the
book and refused to promote or advertise it. 3C Published in limited release and
without the backing of the company, the novel was a dismal failure, selling fewer
than 500 copies. 3D
5 After the failure of the novel that was so meaningful to him, Dreiser suffered a
nervous breakdown; he was depressed, stricken with severe headaches, and unable
to sleep for days on end. Having sunk to a point where he was considering suicide,
he was sent by his brother to a sanatorium in White Plains, New York, where he

eventually recovered. 4A After leaving the sanatorium, he took a position as an

editor for Butterick's. 4B He was successful in this position, and was eventually able
to purchase a one-third interest in a new publishing company, B. W. Dodge, which
republished Dreiser's novel Sister Carrie. 4C This new release of the novel proved
considerably more successful than the first release had been. 4D In its first year, the
reissued version of Sister Carrie sold 4,500 copies, with strong reviews, and the next
year it sold more than 10,000 copies. The recognition that accompanied the success of
the novel was based not only on the power of the description of the perils of urban
life but also on the new trend in literature that Dreiser was credited with
establishing.
Questions
to paragraph 2.
At this young age, he moved alone to Chicago and supported himself by
taking odd jobs.
to paragraph 3.
It was rather unusual for a novice writer to achieve so much so quickly.
to paragraph 4.
These changes were intended to tone down some of the starker and more
scandalous descriptions.
to paragraph 5.
This company was one that published magazines to promote sewing and
the sale of clothing patterns.
Answer key: 1. C 2. B 3. B 4. B


Children and Advertising
Young children are trusting of commercial advertisements in the media, and
advertisers have sometimes been accused of taking advantage of this trusting
outlook. The Independent Television Commission, regulator of television
advertising in the United Kingdom, has criticized advertisers for "misleadingness'—
creating a wrong impression either intentionally or unintentionally—in an effort to
control advertisers' use of techniques that make it difficult for children to judge the
true size, action, performance, or construction of a toy.
General concern about misleading tactics that advertisers employ is centered on
the use of exaggeration. Consumer protection groups and parents believe that
children are largely ill-equipped to recognize such techniques and that often
exaggeration is used at the expense of product information. Claims such as "the
best” or “better than" can be subjective and misleading; even adults may be unsure
as to their meaning. They represent the advertiser's opinions about the qualities of
their products or brand and, as a consequence, are difficult to verify. Advertisers
sometimes offset or counterbalance an exaggerated claim with a disclaimer—a
qualification or condition on the claim. For example, the claim that breakfast cereal
has a health benefit may be accompanied by the disclaimer "when part of a
nutritionally balanced breakfast.” However, research has shown that children often
have difficulty understanding disclaimers: children may interpret the phrase “when
part of a nutritionally balanced breakfast" to mean that the cereal is required as a
necessary part of a balanced breakfast. The author George Comstock suggested that
less than a quarter of children between the ages of six and eight years old
understood standard disclaimers used in many toy advertisements and that
disclaimers are more readily comprehended when presented in both audio and
visual formats. Nevertheless, disclaimers are mainly presented in audio format only.
Fantasy is one of the more common techniques in advertising that could
possibly mislead a young audience. Child-oriented advertisements are more likely to
include magic and fantasy than advertisements aimed at adults. In a content analysis
of Canadian television, the author Stephen Kline observed that nearly all
commercials for character toys featured fantasy play. Children have strong
imaginations and the use of fantasy brings their ideas to life, but children may not
be adept enough to realize that what they are viewing is unreal. Fantasy situations
and settings are frequently used to attract children's attention, particularly in food
advertising. Advertisements for breakfast cereals have, for many years, been found
to be especially fond of fantasy techniques, with almost nine out of ten including
such content. Generally, there is uncertainty as to whether very young children can
distinguish between fantasy and reality in advertising. Certainly, rational appeals in
advertising aimed at children are limited, as most advertisements use emotional and
indirect appeals to psychological states or associations.
The use of celebrities such as singers and movie stars is common in advertising.
The intention is for the positively perceived attributes of the celebrity to be
transferred to the advertised product and for the two to become automatically linked

in the audience's mind. In children's advertising, the celebrities are often animated
figures from popular cartoons In the recent past, the role of celebrities in advertising
to children has often been conflated with the concept of host selling. Host selling
involves blending advertisements with regular programming in a way that makes it
difficult to distinguish one from the other. Host selling occurs, for example, when a
children's show about a cartoon lion contains an ad in which the same lion promotes
a breakfast cereal. The psychologist Dale Kunkel showed that the practice of host
selling reduced children's ability to distinguish between advertising and program
material. It was also found that older children responded more positively to
products in host selling advertisements.
Regarding the appearance of celebrities in advertisements that do not involve
host selling, the evidence is mixed. Researcher Charles Atkin found that children
believe that the characters used to advertise breakfast cereals are knowledgeable
about cereals, and children accept such characters as credible sources of nutritional
information. This finding was even more marked for heavy viewers of television. In
addition, children feel validated in their choice of a product when a celebrity
endorses that product. A study of children in Hong Kong, however, found that the
presence of celebrities in advertisements could negatively affect the children’s
perceptions of a product if the children did not like the celebrity in question.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as being a difficult

judgment for children to make about advertised toys?
(A) How big the toys are
(B) How much the toys cost
(C) What the toys can do
(D) How the toys are made
2. The word “Verify” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) establish the truth of
(B) approve of
(C) understand
(D) criticize
3. In paragraph 2, what is one reason that claims such as “the best” or “better than”
can be misleading?
(A) They represent the opinions of adults, which are often different from those of
children.
(B) They generally involve comparisons among only a small group of products.
(C) They reflect the attitudes of consumer protection groups rather than those of
actual consumers.
(D) They reflect the advertiser's viewpoint about the product.
4. Cereal advertisements that include the statement “when part of a nutritionally

balanced breakfast" are trying to suggest that
(A) the cereal is a desirable part of a healthful, balanced breakfast

(B) the cereal contains equal amounts of all nutrients

(C) cereal is a healthier breakfast than other foods are
(D) the cereal is the most nutritious part of the breakfast meal
5. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of disclaimers made in

advertisements EXCEPT:
(A) They are qualifications or conditions put on a claim.
(B) They may be used to balance exaggerations.
(C) They are usually presented in both audio and visual formats.
(D) They are often difficult for children to understand.
6. The word "adept” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) responsible
(B) skillful
(C) patient
(D) curious
7. Paragraph 3 indicates that there is uncertainty about which of the following issues
involving children and fantasy in advertising?
(A) Whether children can tell if what they are seeing in an advertisement is real or
fantasy
(B) Whether children can differentiate fantasy techniques from other techniques
used in advertising
(C) Whether children realize how commonly fantasy techniques are used in
advertising aimed at them
(D) Whether children are attracted to advertisements that lack fantasy
8. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in

the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
(A) Rational appeals in advertising are certainly limited by children's emotional
immaturity and the indirect nature of their associations.
(B) Indirect appeals to children's psychological states or associations can limit the
effectiveness of rational appeals in advertising.
(C) Rational appeals play a much smaller role in advertisements for children than
emotional appeals and psychological associations do.
(D) Rational appeals in advertising aimed at children should certainly be limited
until the children are emotionally and psychologically ready.
9. The word "attributes" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) Evaluations
(B) Attitudes
(C) Actions
(D) Characteristics

10. In paragraph 4, why does the author mention a show about a cartoon lion in
which an advertisement appears featuring the same lion character?
(A) To help explain what is meant by the term "host selling” and why it can be
misleading to children
(B) To explain why the role of celebrities in advertising aimed at children has often
been confused with host selling
(C) To compare the effectiveness of using animated figures with the effectiveness of
using celebrities in advertisements aimed at children
(D) To indicate how Kunkel first became interested in studying the effects of host
selling on children
11. The word "credible” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) helpful
(B) believable
(C) valuable
(D) familiar
Paragraph 3: ■ Fantasy is one of the more common techniques in advertising that

could possibly mislead a young audience. ■Child-oriented advertisements are more
likely to include magic and fantasy than advertisements aimed at adults. In a content
analysis of Canadian television, the author Stephen Kline observed that nearly all
commercials for character toys featured fantasy play.■ Children have strong
imaginations and the use of fantasy brings their ideas to life, but children may not be
adept enough to realize that what they are viewing is unreal. Fantasy situations and
settings are frequently used to attract children's attention, particularly in food
advertising. Advertisements for breakfast cereals have, for many years, been found
to be especially fond of fantasy techniques, with almost nine out of ten including
such content. ■Generally, there is uncertainty as to whether very young children can
distinguish between fantasy and reality in advertising. Certainly, rational appeals in
advertising aimed at children are limited, as most advertisements use emotional and
indirect appeals to psychological states or associations.
12. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be
added to the passage.
Another aspect of advertising that may especially influence children is fantasy.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the
passage.

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer that
the summary because they express ideas that not presented in the passage or are

Advertisements can be misleading to children when the advertisements use

audio and visual formats that are especially appealing to children.
*
*
*

(1) Children may not be able to interpret exaggerated claims made by advertisers or
understand the disclaimers used to offset claims.
(2) Although the use of celebrities is not necessarily effective in advertisements
aimed at children, there is evidence that host selling can positively affect their views
of a product.
(3) Studies show that misleading tactics are used most often in commercials for
breakfast cereals, with toy commercials using such tactics only slightly less
frequently.
(4) The use of fantasy is especially common in advertisements for children, but
children may not be able to distinguish fantasy from reality.
(5) Very young children are particularly influenced by host selling, while slightly
older children are more readily misled by seemingly rational claims such as 'the
best."
(6) Advertisements can be misleading to children when the advertisements use
audio and visual formats that are especially appealing to children.
Answer key: 1. B 2. A 3. D 4. A 5. C 6. B
7. A 8. C 9. D 10. A 11. B 12. A 13. 1, 2, 4
Skill 9:
Inference Questions / Lesson 1
INFERENCE QUESTIONS
There are questions in the Reading section that require you to make inferences. The
answers to these questions are not directly provided in the passage—you must “read
between the lines.” In other words, you must make conclusions based indirectly on
information in the passage. Many test-takers actually find these questions to be the
most difficult type of reading question.
Inference questions may be phrased in several ways. Many of these questions
contain some form of the words infer or imply.
 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
 It can be inferred from the passage that . . .
 The author implies that . . .
 Which of the following does the passage imply?

 Which of the following would be the most reasonable guess about ________?
 The author suggests that . . .
 It is probable that . . .
Sample Item
A star very similar to the sun is one of the nearest stars to Earth. That star is Alpha
Centauri, just 4.3 light-years away. Other than our own sun, the nearest star to the
earth is a tiny red star, not visible without a telescope, called Proxima Centauri.
It can be inferred from this passage that

A. Proxima Centauri is similar to the earth’s sun.
B. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the earth.
C. Alpha Centauri is invisible from the earth.
D. Proxima Centauri is less than 4.3 light-years from the earth.
The correct answer is D. Choice A. is not a valid inference; Alpha Centauri is similar
to the sun, but Proxima Centauri is “a tiny red star.” Choice B. also cannot be
inferred; the closest star to the earth is our own sun. Nor can choice C. be inferred;
Proxima Centauri is invisible, but there is no information as to whether Alpha
Centauri is. Because Alpha Centauri is 4.3 light-years away, it can be inferred that
Alpha Centauri, the closest star, is less than that.
Practice
Passage 1
In 1881, a new type of weed began spreading across the northern Great Plains.
Unlike other weeds, the tumbleweed did not spend its life rooted to the soil; instead,
it tumbled and rolled across fields in the wind. The weed had sharp, spiny leaves
that could lacerate the flesh of ranchers and horses alike. It exploited the vast area of
the plains, thriving in regions too barren to support other plants. With its ability to
generate and disseminate numerous seeds quickly, it soon became the scourge of the
prairies.
To present-day Americans, the tumbleweed symbolizes the Old West. They
read the Zane Grey novels in which tumbleweeds drift across stark western
landscapes and see classic western movies in which tumbleweeds share scenes with
cowboys and covered wagons. Yet just over a century ago, the tumbleweed was a
newcomer. The first sign of the invasion occurred in North and South Dakota in the
late 1870s.
Farmers had noticed the sudden appearance of the new, unusual weed. One
group of immigrants, however, did not find the weed at all unfamiliar. The
tumbleweed, it turns out, was a native of southern Russia, where it was known as
Tartar thistle. It was imported to the United States by unknown means.
Frontier settlers gave the plants various names: saltwort, Russian cactus, and
wind witch. But botanists at the Department of Agriculture preferred the
designation Russian thistle as the plant’s common name. However, these botanists
had a much harder time agreeing on the plant’s scientific name. In general, botanists

compare a plant to published accounts of similar plants, or to samples kept as

specimens. Unfortunately, no book described the weed and no samples existed in
herbaria in the United States.
1. Which of the following can be inferred about tumbleweeds?

A. They have strong, deep roots.
B. They require a lot of care.
C. They reproduce efficiently.
D. They provided food for ranchers and animals.
2. The passage suggests that most present-day Americans

A. consider the tumbleweed beneficial.
B. don’t know when tumbleweeds came to North America.
C. have never heard of tumbleweeds.
D. believe tumbleweeds are newcomers to the United States.
3. It is probable that the “group of immigrants” mentioned in paragraph 3

A. was from southern Russia.
B. had lived in North and South Dakota for many years.
C. imported tumbleweeds into the United States.
D. wrote several accounts about tumbleweeds.
4. From the passage it can be inferred that the botanists at the Department of
Agriculture
A. could not find any tumbleweeds on the plains.
B. gave the names saltwort, Russian cactus, and wind witch to the tumbleweed.
C. could not decide on a common designation for the tumbleweed.
D. found it difficult to classify the plant scientifically.
Passage 2
The term filibuster has been in use since the mid-nineteenth century to describe
the tactic of delaying legislative action in order to prevent the passage of a bill. The
word comes from the Dutch freebooter, or pirate, and most likely developed from
the idea that someone conducting a filibuster is trying to steal away the opportunity
that proponents of a bill have to make it successful.
In the earlier history of the U.S. Congress, filibusters were used in both the
House of Representatives and in the Senate, but they are now much more a part of
the culture of the Senate than of the House. Because the House is a much larger body
than is the Senate, the House now has rules which greatly limit the amount of time
that each member may speak, which effectively serves to eliminate the filibuster as a
mechanism for delaying legislation in the House.
In the Senate, the smaller of the two bodies, there are now rules that can
constrain but not totally eliminate filibusters. The Senate adopted its first cloture rule
in 1917, a rule which requires a vote of two- thirds of the Senate to limit debate to

one hour on each side. The rule was changed in 1975 and now requires a vote of
three-fifths of the members to invoke cloture in most situations.
The longest filibuster on record occurred in 1957, when Senator Strom
Thurmond of South Carolina wanted to delay voting on civil rights legislation. The
filibuster was conducted for twenty-four hours and 18 minutes on August 28 and 29,
when Thurmond held the floor of the Senate by lecturing on the law and reading
from court decisions and newspaper columns. It was his hope that this filibuster
would rally opponents of civil rights legislation; however, two weeks after th e
filibuster, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed.
5. It can be inferred from the information in paragraph 1 that around 1800

1. the first filibuster took place
2. legislative action was never delayed
3. the term filibuster was not in use in the U.S. Congress
4. the Dutch introduced the term freebooter
6. It can be determined from paragraph 1 that a freebooter was most likely someone
who
A. served in the Senate
B. robbed passing ships
C. enacted legislation
D. served in the Dutch government
7. It is implied in paragraph 2 that, in its early years, the House

A. had no rules against filibusters
B. had few filibusters
C. had fewer filibusters than the Senate
D. had the longest filibuster on record
8. Based on the information in paragraph 3, a vote of cloture would most likely be

used to
A. initiate filibusters
B. break filibusters
C. extend filibusters
D. encourage filibusters
9. It can be inferred from the information in paragraph 3 that the 1975 rule change
A. increased the number of people needed to vote for cloture
B. made it easier to limit a filibuster
C. covered all types of Senate votes
D. decreased the number of people in the Senate
10. It is implied in paragraph 4 that Senator Thurmond was opposed to

A. filibusters
B. lecturing on the law

C. speaking in the Senate

D. the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Answer key: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. D 5. C
6. B 7. A 8. B 9. B 10. D
The spectacular and famous eruptions of Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone

National Park do not occur like clockwork. Before the earthquake of 1959, eruptions
came every 60 to 65 minutes; today they are as little as 30 minutes or as much as 90
minutes apart. Changes in weather and in atmospheric pressure can influence the
regularity of the eruptions and the height of the column. The geyser usually gives a
warning: a short burst of steam. Then a graceful jet of water and steam rises up to
150 feet in the air, unfurling in the sunlight with the colors of the rainbow playing
across it.
The eruption is only the visible part of the spectacle. In order for a geyser to
erupt, there are three necessary ingredients: a heat source, a water supply, and a
plumbing system. In the geyser fields of Yellowstone, a steady supply of heat is
provided by hot spots of molten rock as little as two miles below the surface. The
water supply of Old Faithful comes from groundwater and rainfall, but other
geysers in Yellowstone are located on river banks. Geysers have various types of
plumbing systems. Geologists studying Old Faithful theorized that it had a relatively
simple one consisting of an underground reservoir connected to the surface by a
long, narrow tube. In 1992 a probe equipped with a video camera and heat sensors
was lowered into the geyser and confirmed the existence of a deep, narrow shaft and
of a cavern, about the size of a large automobile, about 45 feet beneath the surface.
As water seeps into Old Faithful’s underground system, it is heated at the
bottom like water in a teakettle. But while water in a kettle rises because of
convection, the narrow tube of the plumbing system prevents free circulation. Thus,
the water in the upper tube is far cooler than the water at the bottom. The weight of
the water puts pressure on the column, and this raises the boiling point of the water
near the bottom. Finally, the confined, superheated water rises, and the water in the
upper part of the column warms and expands, some of it welling out of the mouth of
the geyser. This abruptly decreases the pressure on the superheated water, and
sudden, violent boiling occurs throughout much of the length of the tube, producing
a tremendous amount of steam and forcing the water out of the vent in a
superheated mass. This is the eruption, and it continues until the water reservoir is
emptied or the steam runs out.
There are two main types of geysers. A fountain geyser shoots water out in
various directions through a pool. A columnar geyser such as Old Faithful shoots
water in a fairly narrow jet from a conical formation at the mouth of the geyser that
looks like a miniature volcano.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that the earthquake of 1959 made Old Faithful
geyser erupt
(A) more frequently
(B) less regularly
(C) more suddenly
(D) less spectacularly
2. Why does the author mention a rainbow in paragraph 1?

(A) The column of water forms an arc in the shape of a rainbow.
(B) In the sunlight, the column of water may produce the colors of the rainbow.
(C) Rainbows can be seen quite frequently in Yellowstone National Park.
(D) The rainbow, like the geyser, is an example of the beauty of nature.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would be LEAST
likely to cause any change in Old Faithful’s eruptions?
(A) A drop in atmospheric pressure
(B) An earthquake
(C) A rise in the water level of a nearby river
(D) A period of unusually heavy rainfall
4. The passage implies that Old Faithful would probably not erupt at all if
(A) the tubes of the geyser system were wide.
(B) the climate suddenly changed.
(C) there had not been an earthquake in 1959.
(D) the underground tubes were longer.
5. The author implies that, compared to Old Faithful, many other geysers
(A) are more famous
(B) have a more complex plumbing system
(C) shoot water much higher into the air
(D) have far larger reservoirs
6. The author mentions the probe that was lowered into Old Faithful in 1992 to
indicate that
(A) it is difficult to investigate geysers
(B) the geologists’ original theory about Old Faithful was correct
(C) Old Faithful’s structure was more intricate than had been believed
(D) some surprising discoveries were made
7. The author probably compares the formation at the mouth of Old Faithful with a
volcano because of the formation’s
(A) age
(B) power
(C) size
(D) shape

Answer key: 1. B 2. B 3. C 4. B 5.B 6. B 7. D

DESERT FORMATION
The deserts, which already occupy approximately a fourth of the Earth's land
surface, have in recent decades been increasing at an alarming pace. The expansion
of desert like conditions into areas where they did not previously exist is called
desertification. It has been estimated that an additional one-fourth of the Earth's land
surface is threatened by this process.
Desertification is accomplished primarily through the loss of stabilizing natural
vegetation and the subsequent accelerated erosion of the soil by wind and water. In
some cases the loose soil is blown completely away, leaving a stony surface. In other
cases, the finer particles may be removed, while the sand-sized particles are
accumulated to form mobile hills or ridges of sand.
Even in the areas that retain a soil cover, the reduction of vegetation typically
results in the loss of the soil's ability to absorb substantial quantities of water. The
impact of raindrops on the loose soil tends to transfer fine clay particles i nto the
tiniest soil spaces, sealing them and producing a surface that allows very little water
penetration. Water absorption is greatly reduced; consequently runoff is increased,
resulting in accelerated erosion rates. The gradual drying of the soil cause d by its
diminished ability to absorb water results in the further loss of vegetation, so that a
cycle of progressive surface deterioration is established.
In some regions, the increase in desert areas is occurring largely as the result of a
trend toward drier climatic conditions. Continued gradual global warming has
produced an increase in aridity for some areas over the past few thousand years. The
process may be accelerated in subsequent decades if global warming resulting from
air pollution seriously increases.
There is little doubt, however, that desertification in most areas results primarily
from human activities rather than natural processes. The semiarid lands bordering
the deserts exist in a delicate ecological balance and are limited in their potential to
adjust to increased environmental pressures. Expanding populations are subjecting
the land to increasing pressures to provide them with food and fuel. In wet periods,
the land may be able to respond to these stresses. During the dry periods that are
common phenomena along the desert margins, though, the pressure on the land is
often far in excess of its diminished capacity, and desertification results.
Four specific activities have been identified as major contributors to the
desertification processes: over cultivation, overgrazing, firewood gathering, and
over irrigation. The cultivation of crops has expanded into progressively drier
regions as population densities have grown. These regions are especially likely to
have periods of severe dryness, so that crop failures are common. Since the raising of
most crops necessitates the prior removal of the natural vegetation, crop failures
leave extensive tracts of land devoid of a plant cover and susceptible to wind and
water erosion.

The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid lands, where

grasses are generally the dominant type of natural vegetation. The consequences of
an excessive number of livestock grazing in an area are the reduction of the
vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization of the soil. This is usually
followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated erosion.
Firewood is the chief fuel used for cooking and heating in many countries. The
increased pressures of expanding populations have led to the removal of woody
plants so that many cities and towns are surrounded by large areas completely
lacking in trees and shrubs. The increasing use of dried animal waste as a substitute
fuel has also hurt the soil because this valuable soil conditioner and source of plant
nutrients is no longer being returned to the land.
The final major human cause of desertification is soil salinization resulting from
over irrigation. Excess water from irrigation sinks down into the water table. If no
drainage system exists, the water table rises, bringing dissolved salts to the surface.
The water evaporates and the salts are left behind, creating a white crustal layer that
prevents air and water from reaching the underlying soil.
The extreme seriousness of desertification results from the vast areas of land and
the tremendous numbers of people affected, as well as from the great difficulty of
reversing or even slowing the process. Once the soil has been removed by erosion,
only the passage of centuries or millennia will enable new soil to form. In areas
where considerable soil still remains, though, a rigorously enforced program of land
protection and cover-crop planting may make it possible to reverse the present
deterioration of the surface.
1. The word threatened in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) Restricted
(B) Endangered
(C) Prevented
(D) Rejected
2. According to paragraph 3, the loss of natural vegetation has which of the

following consequences for soil?
(A) Increased stony content
(B) Reduced water absorption
(C) Increased numbers of spaces in the soil
(D) Reduced water runoff
3. The word delicate in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) Fragile
(B) Predictable
(C) Complex
(D) Valuable
4. According to paragraph 5, in dry periods, border areas have difficulty

(A) Adjusting to stresses created by settlement

(B) Retaining their fertility after desertification

(C) Providing water for irrigating crops
(D) Attracting populations in search of food and fuel
5. The word progressively in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) Openly
(B) Impressively
(C) Objectively
(D) Increasingly
6. According to paragraph 6, which of the following is often associated with raising?

crops?
(A) Lack of proper irrigation techniques
(B) Failure to plant crops suited to the particular area
(C) Removal of the original vegetation
(D) Excessive use of dried animal waste
7. The phrase devoid of in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) Consisting of
(B) Hidden by
(C) Except for
(D) Lacking in
8. According to paragraph 9, the ground’s absorption of excess water is a factor in

desertification because it can
(A) Interfere with the irrigation of land
(B) Limit the evaporation of water
(C) Require more absorption of air by the soil
(D) Bring salts to the surface
9. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as contributing to desertification

EXCEPT
(A) Soil erosion
(B) Global warming
(C) Insufficient irrigation
(D) The raising of livestock
Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information.
(A) Desertification is a significant problem because it is so hard to reverse and affects
large areas of land and great numbers of people.
(B) Slowing down the process of desertification is difficult because of population
growth that has spread over large areas of land.

(C) The spread of deserts is considered a very serious problem that can be solved
only if large numbers of people in various countries are involved in the effort.
(D) Desertification is extremely hard to reverse unless the population is reduced in
the vast areas affected.
11. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most likely believes which of
the following about the future of desertification?
(A) Governments will act quickly to control further desertification.
(B) The factors influencing desertification occur in cycles and will change in the
future.
(C) Desertification will continue to increase.
(D) Desertification will soon occur in all areas of the world.
Paragraph 7: (A) The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid

lands, where grasses are generally the dominant type of natural vegetation. (B) The
consequences of an excessive number of livestock grazing in an area are the
reduction of the vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization of the
soil. (C) This is usually followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated
erosion. (D)
12. Look at the four answer choices (A), (B), (C), and (D) that indicate where the
following sentence can be added to the passage.
This economic reliance on livestock in certain regions makes large
tracts of land susceptible to overgrazing.
Where would the sentence best fit?
13-14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer
choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer
choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are
not
presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is
worth 2 points.
Many factors have contributed to the great increase in desertification in

recent decades.
*
*
*
Answer Choices
(1) Growing human populations and the agricultural demands that come with such
growth have upset the ecological balance in some areas and led to the spread of
deserts.

(2) As periods of severe dryness have become more common, failures of a number of
different crops have increased.
(3) Excessive numbers of cattle and the need for firewood for fuel have reduced
grasses and trees, leaving the land unprotected and vulnerable.
(4) Extensive irrigation with poor drainage brings salt to the surface of the soil, a
process that reduces water and air absorption.
(5) Animal dung enriches the soil by providing nutrients for plant growth.
(6) Grasses are generally the dominant type of natural vegetation in semiarid lands.
Answer key: 1. B 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. D 6. C 7. D 8. D
9. C 10. A 11. C 12. B 13.-14. about/3/4

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1) Don't get lost in the details

2) Summarize each paragraph

3) Paraphrase the main summary

4) Eliminate and Select

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 1

In Euscoial Insect, behaviour is defined by rigid caste system. Eliminate

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 2

What does the passage mainly discuss?

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 3

1. The main topic of the first paragraph is

2. The main topic of the second paragraph is the

3. The main topic of the entire passage is

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 4

What is the main idea of this passage?

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 5

Skill 2: Summary Type Questions

Consider the following paragraph:

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 6

More specifically follow the steps outlined below:

QUESTIONS ABOUT SUMMARY INFORMATION

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 7

This passage discusses Ben and Jerry's unconventional company.

The Bald Eagle

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 8

Answer Choices (choose 4 to complete the chart):

Answer key: 1/2/4/6

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 9

An introductory sentence for a summary of the passage is found below. Complete

Answer Choices (choose 4 to complete the chart):

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 10

Behind the Story of “The Metamorphosis”

l. What is the passage mainly about?

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 11

Answer Choices (choose 3 to complete the chart):

Answer key: 1. D 2. C/D/E

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 12

ideas/important information and less important information can also be thought of

Author William Faulkner is today recognized as one of America’s greatest

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 13

became a novelist in residence at the University of Virginia. His success led to a

Answer Choices (choose 6 to complete the chart):

A few investigators, known as cryptozoologists, are dedicated to researching

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 14

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 15

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 16

relationships and to maintain employment. Anxiety disorders can have disastrous

Answer Choices (choose 5 to complete the chart):

(A) cannot be treated

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 17

How many did you get right from Exercise 1? _________

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 18

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 19

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 20

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 21

yet in spite of although as opposed to

a) spend more money b) save money

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 22

D r . H am ed G haemi - ham edghaem i @ym ai l .com Page 23

1. The word umbrageous in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

2. Haustoria in paragraph 1 are most likely

3. The word ponderous in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to