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Answer Key for Reading Comprehension
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Answer Key for Reading ComprehensionD A A B C D C B A C Practice Read the passage and then answer the following question. Space shuttle astronauts, because they spend only about a week in space, undergo minimal wasting of bone and muscle. But when longer stays in microgravity or zero gravity are contemplated, as in a space station or a two-year roundtrip voyage to Mars, these problems are of particular concern because they could become acute. Fortunately, studies show that muscle atrophy can be kept largely at bay with appropriate exercise. Unfortunately, bone loss caused by reduced gravity cannot. Question: What is the main point of this paragraph? a. The U.S. government is currently planning a voyage to Mars.
b. Muscle atrophy and bone loss are major problems for astronauts in extended space flight. c. Astronauts confront many dangers in space flight. d. Short stays in space cause little bone and muscle damage in humans. Choice b is correct—It represents a general statement that holds together all of the information in the paragraph. Choice d is too specific to be the main idea. Choice c is too general to be the main idea. Choice a may be true, but the passage does not give this information.
Supporting details are facts or specific information that provide evidence for an author’s main idea. They often answer the questions
the reading test ask you about specific information within a passage: supporting-detail questions, exception questions, and location of information questions. You will need to be able to: ■ identify supporting details from a passage ■ recognize information that is not provided in the passage ■ identify the place in the passage where specific information is given How can you recall one fact from a passage that is five paragraphs long? Follow these techniques as a guide: Do not memorize. The reading test does not ask you to have perfect recall. Instead, it measures your ability to read carefully and know where to look for specific information.
often use one of the following phrases to signal that they are introducing a fact or example: one reason is in one case specifically for example for instance in particular
three important words that tell you exactly what information to look for in the passage. For example, in the question
key words are how many, and species. They signal to you to look for a sentence in the passage that has a number and the word species. Take note of structure. As you read, pay attention to how information is presented and in what order. Understanding the organization of a passage will help you locate the facts you need. See pages 100–103 for more about structure. Practice Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. Find the answers on page 111.
Reef?
a. 30 b. 200 c. 300 d. 3,000 2. Which of the following NOT a threat to the Great Barrier Reef?
a. dugong (sea cows) b. crown-of-thorn starfish c. pollution d. rising sea temperatures READING 95 3. In which sentence does the author describe the coral polyp? a. sentence (1) b. sentence (2) c. sentence (4) d. sentence (5) TIPS FOR VOCABULARY QUESTIONS Active readers make a habit of looking up unfamiliar words. But in a testing situation, you can’t use a dictionary. The following strategies will aid you in figuring out what unfamiliar terms mean: ■ Look at context—the words and sentences surrounding the word—for clues about meaning. For example, you can determine what the word gullible means from this context: Fred is so gullible. He will believe anything that Oliver tells him. The phrase “he will believe anything” restates the meaning of the word gullible and suggests its meaning of being easily duped or cheated. ■ Is the word negative or positive? Using the context of the passage, determine whether the unfamiliar term is a negative or positive one. In the preceding example, you can conclude that gullible is not positive in that context. Thus, you can eliminate any answer choices that are positive terms. ■ Replace the vocabulary word with the remaining answers, one at a time. Does the answer choice make sense when you read the sentence? If not, eliminate that answer choice.
Choose the correct meaning of the italicized word. Find the answers on page 111.
signs that you are nervous. Don’t shift in your chair, shake, or stutter.
wouldn’t do anything else. Knowing I’m helping others to learn is far more important to me than money.
Inference questions on the TOEFL exam ask you to draw logical conclusions about what you read. Sometimes a writer does not explicitly state his or her main idea or offer a conclusion. You must infer the writer’s meaning. To do this you must carefully read the details and facts of a passage and look for context clues that reveal a writer’s attitude.
people, places, and things—is one of the best clues to how a writer feels about her subject. Word choice, also called diction, includes these forms: ■ the particular words a writer uses ■ the way words are arranged in a sentence ■ repetition of words or phrases ■ inclusion of particular details For example, consider how word choice affects the two sentences below:
A: Improved job training would reduce workplace injuries. B: Improved job training would minimize workplace injuries. The only difference between the two sentences is that sentence A uses the word reduces and sentence B uses minimize. Both sentences state that improved job training would result in fewer workplace injuries. However, sentence B is stronger because of its word choice: to minimize means to reduce to the smallest possible amount. Even words that have similar dictionary definitions may have different connotations, or suggested meanings. For example, consider the words rich, wealthy and affluent. Although similar in meaning, each word evokes different thoughts and feelings. Rich implies having more than enough to fulfill normal needs, wealthy suggests the possession of property and things of value, and affluent implies increasing wealth. Word choice—the specific words a writer chooses to describe people, places, and things—is one of the best clues to how a writer feels about her subject. Word choice, also called diction, includes these forms: ■ the particular words a writer uses ■ the way words are arranged in a sentence ■ repetition of words or phrases ■ inclusion of particular details For example, consider how word choice affects the two sentences below:
A: Improved job training would reduce workplace injuries. B: Improved job training would minimize workplace injuries. The only difference between the two sentences is that sentence A uses the word reduces and sentence B uses minimize. Both sentences state that improved job training would result in fewer workplace injuries. However, sentence B is stronger because of its word choice: to minimize means to reduce to the smallest possible amount. Even words that have similar dictionary definitions may have different connotations, or suggested meanings. For example, consider the words rich, wealthy and affluent. Although similar in meaning, each word evokes different thoughts and feelings. Rich implies having more than enough to fulfill normal needs, wealthy suggests the possession of property and things of value, and affluent implies increasing wealth. Practice Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Find the answers on page 111.
art of writing. c. They think that good writing should be difficult to understand. d. They aim to please a wide audience. 7. What is the author implying about most readers? a. They are not very smart. b. They are not interested in obscure prose. c. They do not like writing that affects their emotions. d. They are snobs who look down on others. ANSWERING REFERENCE QUESTIONS Reference questions measure your understanding of what a particular sentence means. Read each passage carefully and try this three-part strategy to find the correct answer: 1. Eliminate any answers that you know are incorrect. 2. Insert each remaining answer choice into the sentence. 3. Decide whether the answer makes sense in the context of the sentence. If not, eliminate it and try another. For example, look at how the strategy works with the following reference question. The word they in paragraph 2 refers to:
Here’s the sentence in which they is used: They are a high body temperature (which may reach 106
you can easily narrow your answer to the correct choice: d. In Your Own Words Questions that ask you to paraphrase, or reword, a sentence test the same skills as reference questions. They measure your ability to comprehend a sentence or paragraph. As you read, think about what the material is stating, then try rewriting it (on paper or in your mind) in new terms. This will increase your comprehension skills and improve your chances of answering paraphrased sentence questions correctly.
Just as an architect needs a blueprint when designing a building, writers must have a plan that organizes their information and ideas. Learning organizational strategies will help you identify common patterns so that you can guess at what is coming ahead. Recognizing structural techniques also helps you answer two types of questions on the TOEFL exam: supporting-detail questions (you will be able to locate specific information in a passage) and sentence-insertion questions (you will know where best to place new information in a passage). The four most common organizational patterns that writers use are:
1. chronological order (time) 2. order of importance 3. comparison and contrast 4. cause and effect Chronological order describes events in the order that they happened, will happen, or should happen. History texts, memoir, personal essays, and instructions often use this organization. Writers often provide clues in the form of transitional words or phrases to guide readers through events. Here are some common chronological transitions: first, second, third before after Next now then when as soon as Immediately suddenly soon during while Meanwhile later Finally in the meantime at last eventually afterward
Writers may organize their ideas: ■ by increasing importance (least important idea→most important idea), or ■ by decreasing importance (most important idea→least important idea) Newspaper articles follow the principle of decreasing importance; they give the most important information first (the who, what, when, where, and why about an event). Arguments may follow the principle of increasing importance, saving the most persuasive points for the end. Transitions offer clues about this type of organizational pattern, too. The following are common transitions used to indicate order of importance: first and foremost most important more important moreover above all first, second, third last but not least finally Comparison and contrast arranges two things side by side to show their similarities and differences. In this way, a writer can analyze two items by seeing how they measure up to one another. For example, this description of the two movie versions of King Kong uses comparison and contrast: Both versions of the monster movie used the most sophisticated effects of their day (comparison). However, the stop-motion animation of the 1933 film retains its magic, whereas the state-of-the-art special effects of 1976 seem hopelessly out of date today (contrast). Here are common transitions that signal that a writer is organizing her ideas through comparison and contrast.
similarly in the same way likewise like in a like manner just as and also both Words Showing Difference but on the other hand yet however on the contrary in contrast conversely while unlike Cause and effect arranges ideas so that readers can see why something took place (cause) and what changes happened as a result (effect). For example, a historian may write about the causes of the stock market crash of 1929 in the United States (investors borrowing money on easy credit to buy stock) and the effects of the crash (lost fortunes, business and bank closings, unemployment). The following are key words that give clues about when a writer is describing cause and effect. Words Indicating Cause because of created by since caused by
therefore so hence consequently as a result Practice Consider the structure of the passage below and then answer the following sentence-insertion question. Find the answer on page 111.
The following sentence can be added to the passage: Yet this sickly child later won fame as a political leader, Rough Rider, and hero of the common people. 8. Where would this sentence best fit in the passage? Choose the number to indicate where you would add the sentence to the passage.
The following are two reading passages like those you will find on the TOEFL exam. Read each one carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Passage 1 The Woodstock Music and Art Fair—better known to its participants and to history simply as “Woodstock”—should have been a colossal failure. Just a month prior to its August 15, 1969 opening, the council of Wallkill, New York, informed the fair’s organizers that it was withdrawing its permission to hold the festival. Amazingly, the organizers found a new site, a large field in Woodstock, New York, owned by a local dairy farmer. Word spread to the public of the fair’s new location. The event drew a larger audience than the organizers had expected. On the first day of the fair, crowd estimates of 30,000 kept rising; traffic jams blocked most roads leading to the area. Some musicians could not reach the site to appear at their scheduled times. In addition, fences that were supposed to facilitate ticket collection never materialized, so the organizers abandoned all attempts at taking tickets. But that was not all: as the large crowd gathered, so did summer storm clouds. It started raining on opening night and continued for much of the three-day event. To deal with the crowd, which reached an estiREADING 105
mated 500,000 by the third day, helicopters flew in food, doctors, and medical supplies. Despite all of its problems, the festival featured some of the greatest musicians of the 1960s, including Janis Joplin; Joan Baez; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Sly and the Family Stone; Creedence Clearwater Revival; and Jimi Hendrix. Today many people think of Woodstock not only as a milestone for rock music but as the defining moment for an entire generation. 1. The main idea of this passage is best expressed in which sentence? a. Most Americans think of Woodstock as a bunch of kids dancing to music in the mud. b. The organizers underestimated how many people the festival would attract. c. Despite poor planning, Woodstock was a success and a high point for a generation of Americans. d. The organizers succeeded in their goal of creating a historically significant event. 2. What was the final crowd estimate? a. 20,000 b. 30,000 c. 50,000 d. 500,000 3. Which of the following was NOT a problem faced by the event’s organizers? a. blocked access to the site b. attracting musical talent c. bad weather d. finding a location for the festival 4. The phrase defining moment in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by which word or phrase? Каталог: document library document library -> Font Tiếng Việt document library -> Font Tiếng Việt document library -> Trường Đại học Bách Khoa Hà Nội, Số 1 Đại Cồ Việt, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội document library -> Font Tiếng Việt document library -> Ninh Binh Portal document library -> Trường Đại học Bách Khoa Hà Nội, Số 1 Đại Cồ Việt, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội document library -> Ninh Binh Portal document library -> Thứ ba, Ngày 26/07/2016 tải về 0.52 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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