The
Strategy To Answer The Reading in TOEFL Test
1. Read,
Read, Read. Read in English regularly. Focus on academic texts from
university textbooks or other materials. Do not stick to one or two topics that
you are interested in. Read from variety of subjects - science, social science,
business, arts, geography, history, economics, and others. Academic texts,
apart from textbooks, could be found in variety of articles and academic
publications on the Internet or university libraries.
2. Find the purpose of
the passage. Knowing the purpose of the reading you may easily find
what the writer is trying to accomplish. The purpose of the passage in most of
the readings is embedded in the introductory paragraph which is one of the most
important paragraphs in the text. Most of the passages in TOEFL will try to do
the following:
· To
Explain - to present the information on a specific topic in explanatory manner.
These texts contain mostly factual information.
· To
Resolve - it aims at finding solution for some sort of dilemmas or questions
that need answers. Usually there would be a debate.
· To
convince - to persuade the reader of the validity of certain viewpoint or idea.
There would be opinions and support with evidence in those type of passages.
3. Increase
vocabulary. When reading wide variety of texts on different subjects
you should make a word list. Organize your list in topics for better results.
Example topics could be business, geography, science and others. Make
flashcards to help you learn those word lists. Use the words learned in your
writings and speaking.
4. Take notes. During
all sections of TOEFL note taking is allowed. It is a crucial component for
success. It is difficult to remember all facts and details from a reading text
in order to answer the questions. You also don't have enough time to search for
those again in the text. So, the solution is called note taking. When skimming
and reading the texts you should write down all important facts and details in
order to find them fast and easily when you need them. See also our effective
note taking strategies.
5. Learn how to skim
the text. Skimming means reading the text quickly to obtain very first
general impression on what the text is about, what its main idea is. Skimming
corresponds with Reading to find information objective in TOEFL. You should
develop your ability to skim quickly but at the same time to identify all major
points in the passage. Take notes. See also our skimming strategies.
6. Read after
skimming. Only skimming is not enough. Read the passage again. This
time read it more carefully, but don't forget that you have limited time. Take
notes. Identify the passage type - classification, cause/effect,
compare/contrast, problem/solution, etc.
7. Try to guess the meaning
of unfamiliar words in the passages, the context can help to do that.
After that, check those words in the dictionary. Guessing the words from the
context brings great advantages - you save time and it doesn't disturb your
comprehension of the texts.
8. Highlight some of
the pronouns (he, him, they, them, etc.) in the texts
Identify to which nouns in the
particular text the highlighted pronouns refer.
9. Practice making
general inferences and conclusions based on what is implied in the
text.
10. Learn to organize the data presented in the
passage in charts and tables. Create charts with categories and place
the important data from the passage in the appropriate category. In TOEFL you
are not asked to create charts. Rather, charts are provided and you are asked
to categorize the information in pre-defined categories.
Example :
Read the short
passage. The reading is followed by several questions about it. There are four
possible answers (A-D) for each question. Choose the best
answer and click the button next to it. When you have finished, click answers.
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer was born in 1847 in Makó, Hungary. He emigrated
to the United States when he was seventeen years old, and was naturalised on
his twentieth birthday. He spent his career in journalism working in the
mid-west and New York. From 1871 he was also the owner or part-owner of many
newspapers. His most famous newspaper was the New York World (which
many believe was the model for the Daily Planet of theSuperman stories).
The World campaigned against corruption, and exposed many
scandals. It was also a strong supporter of the rights of the working man.
In later life, Joseph Pulitzer collapsed from overwork, and lost
his sight. He became dedicated to improving the quality of journalism in
America, and donated $1 million to Columbia University to found a school of
journalism. However, his most significant contribution was the establishment of
the Pulitzer prizes in his will.
These prizes for excellence in journalism have been given every
year since 1917 by Columbia University. Since 1942 there have been extra
categories for press photography, and later still for criticism, feature
writing and commentary. The prize was originally for $500, but today the
winners of the prize receive a gold medal. However, the real value of the prize
is that it confirms that the journalist who has received the award is the best
American journalist of the year - a fact that is worth much more than $500 to
the journalist and to the newspaper that employs him or her.
1. Joseph Pulitzer came
ti America because?
a. He was with his
parents
b. He wanted to be a
journalist
c. Hungary was being
attacked by Austria
d. The text does not say
The correct answer is D
2. Pulitzer became an
American citizen?
a. Twenty years
after he arrived in the United States
b. In 1867
c. After
contributing $1 million to a university
d. When he was 17 years
old
The correct answer is B
3. What did the New
York World not do?
a. Investigate
wrongdoing by public officials
b. Establish a famous prize for journalism
c. Probably provide a
model for a famous fictional newspaper
d. Stand up for the
common people
The correct answer is B
4. The Pulitzer prizes
are for?
a. The best writing in
America
b. Press photography
and commentary
c. High
quality journalism
d. None of the above
The correct answer is C
5. The text tells us
that?
a. Joseph
Pulitzer became a patriotic American
b. Later became a
member of Columbia Universitywas one of the richest men
c. In New York
d. Worked very hard.
The correct answer is D
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 "elaborate rehearsal". *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 memory 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.
1. According to the
passage, how do memories get transferred to the STM?
a. They revert from the
long term memory
b. They are filtered from the sensory storage area
c. They get
chunked when they enter the brain
d. They enter via the
nervous system.
The correct answer is B
2. The word elapses in
paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to?
a. Passes
b. adds up
c. appears
d. continue
The correct answer is A
3. All of the
following are mentioned as places in which memories are stored EXCEPT the?
a. STM
b. long term memory
c. sensory storage area
d. maintenance
area
The correct answer is D
4. Why does the author
mention a dog's bark?
a. To give an example
of a type of memory
b. To
provide a type of interruption
c. To prove that
dogs have better memories than humans
d. To compare another
sound that is loud like a doorbell
The correct answer is B
5. How do theorists
believe a person can remember more information in a short time?
a. By
organizing it
b. By repeating it
c. By giving it a
name
d. By drawing it
The correct answer is A
Source :
http://biruayuk.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-strategy-to-answer-toefl-test_27.html
