2019-06-05 TOEFL: reading fact, listening gist

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-lovable-and-lethal-sea-lion-claire-simeone
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Homework: p. 210-212 (4R6 test questions) and 215-217 (4R12 test questions)
p. 212 exercise 4R6
1 c
2 c
3 b (The article only mentions human applications, but there’s no reason to infer that other applications don’t exist.)
4 a
5 a
6 d
7 b
8 a (If the impact will be “impossible to fathom”, it means it will be very different and we can’t predict the details.)

fathom = understand; grasp
get to the bottom of = understand (especially understand the root causes or reasons)
sluggish = very slowly
surge = a sudden large increase
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path = suffering/sickness
gen = make/create
pathogen = something that causes illness or disease
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https://newsela.com/ - news stories in different levels of English
- If you have trouble understanding something at the “MAX” level it was originally written, you can choose lower/simpler levels.
- For TOEFL, the stories in the “Library” section are probably more useful.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/ - You can practice with British accents here.
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BREAK
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Listening: second section, 60-90 minutes total, 6 or 9 listenings in 2 or 3 sets
	each set = 1 conversation, 1 lecture, 1 discussion; 17 questions; 10 minutes to choose answers
(August 1st changes are described at https://www.ets.org/toefl/better_test_experience)
Listening Question Types:
- main idea (topic or purpose)
- detail/fact
- purpose
- prediction
- inference
- function (replay)
- attitude
- table or chart
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Main Idea
Cambridge exercise L9 - Predict the main topic of each listening from the first sentence.
1 the United Kingdom
2 architecture award
3 Irish linen
4 human and animal figures carved in hillsides
5 geology of Mars
exercise L10 - Choose the correct topic from the first sentence.
1 C
2 B
3 A (or “satellite communications technology in education”)
4 D
5 A (He compares influenza to the cold, but the focus will be on influenza.)
6 D
- In this exercise there are examples of all three types of common wrong answers:
	- too general
	- too specific
	- similar words from the talk, but with a different meaning
exercise L11 - Is the main topic stated in the first sentence?
1 Yes
2 No (The topic is public zoos, but the first sentence is about wealthy people’s private collections.)
3 No
4 Yes
5 No
exercise L12 - Identify the topic (it’s not mentioned in the first sentence)
1 ways to record dance movements
2 reasons settlers came to America
3 the lack of historical value in modern photography
4 official language policies in the US
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Cengage exercise 9.1 - Listen to the conversations and identify the main idea.
1 C
2 B
3 C
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Homework: exercise 9.2, about lectures and discussions