TOEFL Reading Prep Worksheet: TOEFL Reading Prep Worksheet. Use this during the Webinar to Circle the Answers to the Practice Questions

Transcription

1 TOEFL Reading Prep Worksheet: TOEFL Reading Prep Worksheet Use this during the Webinar to Circle the Answers to the Practice Questions

2 Improve your TOEFL Reading Test score: understand the questions and practice important reading skills >> >>>

3 Skimming and Scanning: Find Information Quickly

4 Solving the Mystery of Yellow Fever It can be difficult to determine the cause of a disease and how it spreads. Often the evidence is hard to interpret. Some diseases, like the plague or the flu or Ebola, are clearly contagious. If you have close contact with an infected person, you will probably develop the disease yourself. Other diseases, like yellow fever, are much harder to explain. 2 Why do some people get them while others nearby do not? How do they spread? And how can they be controlled? People have made a great effort, and sometimes taken great risks, to find the answers-- because so many lives depend on them. 3 Imagine that you were alive in The U.S. had just won the Spanish-American war after heavy fighting in Cuba, with a loss of far more men from yellow fever than from battle. Yellow fever had caused havoc in the U.S. as well. In 1793 in Philadelphia 2,000 died and most of the population fled. New Orleans and the southern U.S. had frequent epidemics throughout the 19 th century. It was a terrible disease, sudden and often fatal. No one knew how to stop an epidemic once it started. 4 Could people find a way to conquer yellow fever before it took the lives of thousands more? 5 In 1900, U.S. Army doctor Walter Reed and a team of researchers went to Cuba to find out. There they talked to Carlos Finley, a Cuban doctor who was convinced that yellow fever was transmitted (passed on) by mosquitoes. He had started investigating mosquitoes after an earlier commission had concluded that somehow the disease was spread through the air. He did further research that showed that the yellow fever infection had to get into the blood. How could it get there? Mosquitoes had direct access.

5 3 Imagine that you were alive in The U.S. had just won the Spanish-American war after heavy fighting in Cuba, with a loss of far more men from yellow fever than from battle. Yellow fever had caused havoc in the U.S. as well. In 1793 in Philadelphia 2,000 died and most of the population fled. New Orleans and the southern U.S. had frequent epidemics throughout the 19 th century. It was a terrible disease, sudden and often fatal. No one knew how to stop an epidemic once it started. 4 Could people find a way to conquer yellow fever before it took the lives of thousands more? 5 In 1900, U.S. Army doctor Walter Reed and a team of researchers went to Cuba to find out. There they talked to Carlos Finley, a Cuban doctor who was convinced that yellow fever was transmitted (passed on) by mosquitoes. He had started investigating mosquitoes after an earlier commission had concluded that somehow the disease was spread through the air. He did further research that showed that the yellow fever infection had to get into the blood. How could it get there? Mosquitoes had direct access.

6 Pronoun Reference Questions What noun does the it in the first sentence of paragraph refer to?

7 Some diseases, like the plague or the flu or Ebola, are clearly contagious. If you have close contact with an infected person, you will probably develop the disease yourself. Other diseases, like yellow fever, are much harder to explain. 2 Why do some people get them while others nearby do not? 1. Which of the nouns below does the pronoun them in paragraph two refer to? A. diseases B. other diseases, like yellow fever C. contagious diseases D. some people

8 Yellow fever had caused havoc in the U.S. as well. In 1793 in Philadelphia 2,000 died and most of the population fled. New Orleans and the southern U.S. had frequent epidemics throughout the 19 th century. It was a terrible disease, sudden and often fatal. No one knew how to stop an epidemic once it started. 2. The it in the last sentence in this paragraph refers to: A. havoc B. yellow fever C. an epidemic D. New Orleans

9 The Amazon rainforest is a commanding natural feature in South America and one of the world s richest biological reservoirs, teeming with plant and animal life. Much of it is situated in Brazil * 3. Which of the phrases below does the bolded it on the last sentence refer to? A. a natural feature B. plant life C. animal life D. the Amazon rainforest *

10 President Barack Obama elevated Hayden from her post as CEO of Baltimore s Enoch Pratt Free Library to head the Library of Congress, which was established more than 200 years ago as the research arm for congressional officials. * 4. What phrase does the relative pronoun which in the sentence above refer to? A. her post B. Baltimore s Enoch Pratt Free Library C. Congress D. The Library of Congress *

11 Sentence Restatement (Paraphrasing) Which is the best way to express the essential information of the first sentence?

12 Example sentence: There is no alternative. Which of the sentences below has the same meaning as the example sentence? A. We don t have any other options. B. There are no possible choices. C. We don t need to decide yet. D. There is only one other choice.

13 Example sentence: At many schools, participation in after-school sports depends on maintaining good grades. Which of the sentences below does NOT have the same meaning as the example sentence? A. Schools often require good grades if students want to be involved in sports. B. Students who are failing may not be allowed to play afterschool sports. C. After-school athletics are a privilege often limited to good students. D. You must be strong and athletic to be allowed in school sports.

14 Example: The general s careful analysis of the battlefield led to a decisive victory. Which of the sentences below has the same meaning as the example sentence? A. The general s detailed study of all aspects of his opponents strategies resulted in a clear victory. B. The general s background knowledge of the battlefield region was almost enough to win the battle. C. The general s consideration of every detail of the area in which the battle would be fought enabled a successful outcome. D. The general s understanding of strategy was responsible for his success.

15 Example sentence: Researchers should double-check the evidence behind their conclusions before publishing them. Which of the sentences below has the same meaning as the example sentence? A. Researchers need to be very sure no one else has published their ideas before they do. B. Researchers ought to fact-check several times before sharing their results with the public. C. Researchers should consider verifying their data before publication of their research. D. Researchers might want to check their facts before they publish them.

16 Example sentence: The American Founding Fathers could not resolve the contradiction between liberty and slavery. Which of the sentences below has the same meaning as the example sentence? A. Some of the founders of the U.S. had slaves in spite of their arguments in favor of liberty. B. The Founding Fathers ignored the problem of slavery in a free society. C. The Founding Fathers were troubled by slavery, because it opposed their ideals of liberty and equality. D. The writers of the Constitution did not know how to settle the conflict between slavery and liberty.

17 Example sentence: I still am amazed at the transformation of a helpless infant into an independent, curious toddler. Which of the sentences below does NOT have the same meaning as the example sentence? A. It s surprising to see how quickly babies develop into toddlers. B. Even after years of watching children grow, I am surprised at the tremendous change that happens between birth and age two or three. C. I am always astonished at the dramatic development between infancy and early childhood. D. It s wonderful how a tiny baby can turn into a confident threeyear-old.