STRATEGY AND EXAMPLE
FOR READING TOEFL
Nama : Dinara Inargea
Npm : 22211147
Kelas :3EB25
1. Answer Main Idea
Questions Correctly
Almost every reading passage on the TOEFL test will have a
multiple-choice
question about the main idea of a passage. You may, for
example, be asked to
identify the topic, subject, title, primary idea or main idea.
It is relatively
easy to answer these questions since TOEFL passages are
generally written in a
traditionally organized manner.
If a passage consist of only one paragraph, you should study
the beginning of
that paragraph to determine the main idea. If a passage
consist of more than
one paragraph, you should study the beginning of each
paragraph to determine
2. Recognize The
Organization Of The Ideas
In the Reading section of both the paper TOEFL test and the
computer TOEFL
test, there may be questions about the organization of ideas
in a passage.
The answer to this type of question can generally be
determined by looking
at the first sentence of the paragraph of the appropriate
paragraphs. You can
answer it by these following steps:
1. Read at the first line of each of paragraph.
2. Look for words that show relationships among the
paragraphs.
3. Choose the answer that best express the relationship.
3. Answer Stated
Detail Questions Correctly
A detailed question asks about one piece of information in
the passage rather
than the passage as a whole. The answer to these questions
are generally given
in order in the passage, and the correct answer is often a
restatement of what is
given in the passage.
Here are the useful steps to answer the question:
1. Choose a key word in the question.
2. Skim in the appropriate part of the passage for the key
word or idea.
3. Read the sentence that contains the key word or idea
carefully.
4. Find "Unstated" Details
You will sometimes be asked in the Reading section of the
TOEFL test to find
an answer that is not stated or not mentioned or not true in
the passage. You
should note that there are two kinds of answers to this type
of question:
1. there are three true answers and one that is not true
according to the
passage, or
2. there are three true answers and one that is not
mentioned in the passage.
To answer this type of the question, do the following steps:
1. Choose a key word in the question.
2. Scan the appropriate place in the passage for the key
word (or related idea).
3. Look for answers that are definitele true according to
the passage. Eliminate
those answers.
4. Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed in
the passage.
5. Find Pronoun Reference
In the Reading section of the TOEFL test, you will sometimes
be asked to
determine to which noun a pronoun refers .
6. Answer Implied
Detail Questions Correctly
You will sometimes be asked to answer a multiple-choice
question about a reading
passage drawing a conclution from a specific detail or
details in the passage.
Some information will be given the passage, and you will
draw a conclution from
that information. The answers to these questions are
generally found in order in
the passage.
7. Answer Transition
Questions Correctly
You will sometimes be asked on the TOEFL test to answer a
multiple-choice
question about what probably came before the reading
passage or what probably
8. Find Denitions
From Structural Clues
When you are asked to determine the meaning of word in the
reading section of
the TOEFL test, it is possible that:
1. the passage provides information about the meaning of the
word,
2. there are structural clues to tell you that the definition
of a word is included
in the passage.
There are three types of clues to help you. They are:
1. punctuation: comma, parentheses, dashes
2. restatement: or, that is, in other words, i.e.
3. examples: such as, for example, e.g.
4. Information to help you determine what something means
will generally be
found after those clues.
Learn the following steps to answer this type of question
1. Find the word in the passage.
2. Locate any structural clues.
3. Read the part of the passage after reading the structural
letter.
4. Eliminate any "denitely wrong answers" and
choose the best answer for
the best answer from the remaining choices
9. Determine Meanings
From Word Parts
It is sometimes possible to determine the meaning of a long
word that you do not
know in the reading section of the TOEFL test by studying
the word parts.
10. Use Context To
Determine Meanings Of Di‑cult Words
You me asked to determine the meaning of a di‑cult word in a
reading passage
on the TOEFL test . In this case, the passage will probably
give you a clear
indication of what the word means.
11. Use Context To
Determine Meanings Of Simple Words
On the TOEFL test, you may be asked to determine the meaning
of a simple
word in a reading passage . In this type of question, you
should not give the
normal, everyday meaning of the word. Instead, a secondary
meaning of the word
is being tested.
Information to help you understand the meaning of an unknown
word can be
often be found in the context surrounding the unknown word.
Here are steps to
answer the question:
1. Find the word in the passage.
2. Read the sentence that contains the word carefully.
3. Look for context clues to help you understand the
meaning.
4. Choose the answer that the context indicates.
12. Determine Where
Specific nformation Is Found
Sometimes the nal question accompanying a reading passage 1
will ask you to
determine where in the passage a piece of information is
found. You may do the
following steps to answer the quesion:
1. Choose a key word or idea in the question.
2. Skim the appropriate part(s) of the passage looking for
the key word or
idea.
3. Choose the answer that contains the key word or idea.
13. Determine The
Tone, Purpose Or Course
Other types of review questions occur occasionally in the
reading section of the
TOEFL test. Possible questions of this type are questions
that ask about:
1. the tone of the passage
The majority of the passage on the TOEFL test are factual
passages
presented without any emotion. However, sometimes the author
shows
some emotion. If the author is being funny, making fun of
something.
14. Determine Where
To Insert A Piece Of Information
On the computer TOEFL test, there may be a question
following a particular
paragraph or at the end of the reading passage that asks
where a particular piece
of information should be inserted. In this type of question,
you must click on one
of a number of squares in a passage to indicate that piece
of information should
be inserted in that position.
Here are the steps to answer the question:
1. Look at the sentence to be inserted for any key words or
ideas at the
beginning or the end of the sentence.
2. Read the context before and after the insertion squares
for any ideas that
relate to the sentence to be inserted.
3. Choose the insertion square that is most related to the
sentence to be
inserted.
Example for reading
toefl
In the middle of the night, as most of New York slept,
something big and bright lit up the Manhattan skyline for just seconds-a
tightly kept secret to all but a handful of people. It was a tiny test for the
huge public surprise four days later: the flipping of a switch at the Empire State
Building to turn on its dancing new LED lights. They burst from the skyscraper
while synchronized with R&B star Alicia Keys singing "Empire State of
Mind" on nationwide radio.The LED system has "16.7 million color
possibilities, in digital combinations of ripples, sparkles, sweeps and
strobes," says Phil O'Donnell, of Burlington, Mass.-based Philips Color
Kinetics that's responsible for the system and worked with a resident lighting
designer. "It's the sum of all possibilities - a huge palette."
The old lights came in only 10 colors.
From Manhattan and the Bronx to Staten Island and even New
Jersey, "there were hundreds of thousands of people on the streets looking
up, filming and videoing, clustered on street corners," when the new
lights came on, said Anthony Malkin, whose family controls the iconic Art Deco
building.
In an interview with The Associated Press at his office, he
glowed with pleasure describing Monday night's inaugural light show.
Keys also sang "Girl On Fire" from her new CD.
After all, the 102-story skyscraper "has always been a
symbol of what's possible in New York, and all the dreams that can come true in
this city that never sleeps," Keys, a New York native, said before her
performance, which was ready on tracks while she watched from a Manhattan
studio.
Malkin and his technical team wanted to test the new
lighting system with as few people noticing as possible and chose early
Thanksgiving morning.
Good luck, in the middle of Manhattan, with people walking
around even at 2:30 a.m.
That seemed the best moment, after most bars close and
before dawn.
"We decided to do it facing west, in very short bursts
between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., because we knew we didn't have a camera trained
on us from there," Malkin said.
Apparently, the secret test worked. No images of the Empire
State Building alight that night appeared anywhere, as far as Malkin knows.
To stage the show, he worked with Clear Channel radio, which
has 239 million monthly listeners in the United States.
The lights are part of a larger effort to modernize the
81-year-old edifice that is undergoing a more than half a billion-dollar
renovation that includes making it "green." The computerized LED
system will cut energy consumption by more than half, while delivering light
and vibrancy superior to the old floodlights, which have huge timpani drum-size
lenses that had to be changed every so often, O'Donnell said.
They may still have nostalgic value to some who watched them
light up New York City for every special occasion from Christmas to the Fourth
of July.
They were part of "the grande dame of the New York
skyline, now state-of-the-art, but still stately," says Malkin, adding
that the light show was "a gift we gave to the world, these lights. We
don't get paid for this."
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, with a spectacular view of
the new World Trade Center and New York Harbor, a vacant space under
reconstruction on the building's 72nd floor was filled with the retired
floodlights, sitting side by side in long lines, veterans of years of New York
weather. What will be done with them is also a secret - for now.
One old light will not be discarded in favor of a 21st
century novelty: a red beacon - "half the size of a Volkswagen
Beetle," as Malkin puts it - that serves as a warning signal for aircraft
constantly flying over New York City.
1. What is the primary purpose of the first sentence of the
article?
A) To explain that New Yorkers are commonly asleep in the
middle of the night.
B) To mislead readers into thinking the light flash was some
sort of attack
C) To build suspense and curiosity so that the reader wants
to know more"
D) To suggest that there is a secret organization working
late at night at the Empire State Building
2. The phrase "huge palette" in Paragraph 3 is
most likely
A) A metaphor for the scope and range of combinations the
new LED lights have
B) A literal explanation of the shape of the new lights,
which form an artist's palette
C) An extreme over exaggeration meant to draw more onlookers
to the new display
D) A way to emphasize the amount of lights, since 16.7 could
never fit onto a palette
3. What does Alicia Keys suggest the Empire State building
is a symbol of?
A) A way for Americans to have a landmark similar to other
major global cities
B) The iconic American capacity to push boundaries and break
new ground in art and architecture.
C) Lights that are always on due to the number of New
Yorkers who work night shifts
D) That any person can use the new lights as a way to make a
wish, as people do with other world landmarks.
4. To help keep the new lights secret during their initial
test, all precautions were taken EXCEPT:
A) Conducting the test in the middle of the night
B) Conducting the test facing west, away from cameras
C) Conducting the test in short bursts, so that there was no
sustained lighting
D) Conducting the test with additional sound effects to
distract anyone who might be on the street
5. What was the primary reason Malkin and his team choose to
test the new LED lights in the middle of the night?
A) Because the lights are impossible to see in the daylight
B) So that no spies would be awake to steal the new lighting
design
C) Because his team only works at night, to enhance their
creativity
D) So that when they made the formal reveal to the city and
world, it would be a true surprise
6. How does the new LED display contribute to the Empire
State Building's efforts to become more "green"?
A) The lights will be bright enough to reflect into the
building, allowing less lighting to be used indoors
B) The new lighting will consume almost half the amount of
energy the old lights did
C) The lights can become green in color, to cover the entire
building
D) The lights will be solar-powered, generating their own
electricity.
7. The article suggests that some older people might miss
the old lights. Why is this?
A) The elderly who have poorer eyesight have an easier time
seeing the old lights
B) The older generation might not understand the technology
behind the new LED lighting
C) Those who used to work in the Empire State Building will
no longer be able to recognize it without the old, larger lights
D) The old lights represented momentous occasions in
American history, and may still have nostalgic value
8. In the second-to-last paragraph, the old floodlights are
described as "veterans." What is the most suitable explanation for
this word in context?
A) The old lights have worked through the years, despite
harsh weather conditions and continual use for special occassions
B) The old lights have been up through many previous wars,
making them literal veterans
C) The old lights were dedicated to the Empire State
Building to memorialize war heroes
D) The old lights were only used before to celebrate
Veteran's Day
9. Currently, how many of the former lights are set to be
preserved for a specific purpose?
A) All, to replace other major lights around the city
B) None, they are all set to be discarded entirely
C) Five, spaced across Central Park for more light and
better security
D) One, to serve as a warning beacon for aircraft
10. Why might it be important for the Empire State's global
image to replace its lighting?
A) To represent that it is both environmentally conscious as
well as technologically advanced
B) To prove that other world landmarks are not as
spectacular
C) To suggest that despite its being decades-old, the Empire
State Building is still relevant
D) To provide New Yorkers and visitors with better
entertainment
Reference : summary note for toefl test, Adinda Praditya
