2020-02-25 TOEFL: word roots, reading inference

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Word Roots (list 5)
morph (amorphous, metamorphosis, morphology) = shape/form
multi (multicolored, multilayered) = many (This is the Latin root.)
nat (native, innate, natal) = birth
neo (neoclassical, neocolonialism, Neolithic) = new
nom/nym (nominate, misnomer, pseudonym) = name
nov (innovate, novelty, nova) = new
nov (November) = nine (The calendar used to begin in March.)
ob/op (obstruct, object, opposite) = in front of
omni (omnipotent, omnidirectional, omnivore) = all (This is the Latin root.)
optim (optimal, optimize) = best
opt (optician, optometry) = sight/vision
paleo (paleontology, Paleolithic, paleozoic) = old
pan (panacea, panorama, pandemic) = all (This is the Greek root.)
path (pathology, antipathy, empathy) = suffer (Many words that start with this are about diseases.)
ped (pedestrian, pedicure) = foot
ped/paed (pediatrician, pedagogy) = child
peri (perimeter, peripheral, perinatal) = around
phil (philanthropy, philosophy, bibliophile) = love/attraction
phob (arachnophobia, claustrophobia) = fear/aversion/repulsion
phon (phonograph, microphone, homophone) = sound
photo (photograph, photosynthesis, photogenic) = light (Many words that start with this are about photography.)
pod (podium, podiatry, tripod) = foot
poly (polygon, polyglot) = many (This is the Greek root.)
port (transport, portable) = carry (especially through something)
post (posthumous, postpone) = after
proto (prototype, proton, protocol) = first
pseudo (pseudonym, pseudopod) = false
psych (psychopath, psychotherapy, psychology) = mind
pyro (pyromaniac, pyrotechnics) = fire
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Inference Questions - What conclusions can you draw about things that aren’t stated directly? The correct answer choice must be true based on the evidence (in the passage), but the passage never says explicitly that it’s true.
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Cambridge exercise R15 - Choose all the inferences that can be made from the original statement. (Sometimes more than one inference is possible.)
1 C
2 B
3 B D
4 A B (“floating nest”)
5 B C
6 B D
7 A C
8 B (every other drug you can imagine must not be as good as morphine, including cocaine) (maybe C - But we don’t really know they used it for pain relief in the past.)
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BREAK
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exercise R17 - Decide whether each inference is correct or not. Compare and convince.
1 Yes
2 Yes
3 No
4 Yes
5 No
6 Yes
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Cum hoc ergo propter hoc = “happened with therefore happened because of”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc = “happened after therfore happened because of”
- These are both incorrect inferences.
“Correlation doesn’t imply causation” - Just because two things happen together (or in the same direction), it doesn’t mean one of them caused the other.
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In addition to causation, there are some other common incorrect inferences:
- predictions (when the only information is about the present or the past)
- judgments about good/bad (when the only information is factual)
- “should” (when the only information is factual)
(Some of these also show up in incorrect paraphrase answer choices.)
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It’s also incorrect to choose an answer choice that you know is true, but which can’t be concluded from the information in the passage.
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Cengage exercise 3.1 - Take 13 minutes to choose the correct inference (two already have the answers marked).
1 B
2 C
3 C (“only” is there because it’s the thing that has changed)
4 C (The closest star to Earth is the Sun. Proxima Centauri is the next closest.)
5 A
6 B (A is wrong because we can’t infer that they’re 50x deeper just because they’re 50x more likely to be struck. They’re definitely deeper, but we don’t know by how much.)
7 A
8 C (Half of his books are about Alaska, but they weren’t written there.)
9 B
10 A
11 B (not A because the interest of other swamps isn’t mentioned, not C because Okefenokee does have those things)
12 A
13 C
14 C
15 A (C is true - if you never use your screwdriver it will last forever - but it’s not what the text says)
“substitute X for Y” “use X as a substitute for Y” = use X in a situation where you’d normally use Y
“substitute X with Y” = use Y in a situation where you’d normally use X
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exercise 3.2 - Take 6 minutes to answer the questions about passage 1
1 D
2 A
3 D
4 B
5 C
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Homework: finish passages 2 and 3 from exercise 3.2 (optionally, finish the exercise)