2017-06-01 TOEFL: reading organization

Greg Malivuk
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http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-magellan-circumnavigated-the-globe-ewandro-magalhaes
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TOEFL has four sections:
1 Reading - 60-80 minutes, 3 or 4 passages
2 Listening - 60-90 minutes, 6 or 9 listenings (2 or 3 sets of 3)
	(10-minute break)
3 Speaking - 20-30 minutes, 6 tasks
4 Writing - almost 60 minutes, 2 tasks
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Reading question types:
- inference
- vocabulary
- fact
- negative fact
- paraphrase
- purpose
- reference
- sentence insertion
- summarize
- organize
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Organizing Information - This is the less common option for the final question about a reading passage.
DELTA p. 166 describes organization questions.
- When you skim the passage before looking at the questions, you should be able to tell whether it will have an organization question or a summary question.
p. 167 - Read the short passage and categorize the answer choices.
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Handout (Cambridge) p. 223-227 - Organize the answer choices into the correct categories. (Take a couple minutes to skim for the answers, then check with your partner and identify parts of the text that support your answers.)
1 underground: A D
  conventional: B E
2 early: D E
  later: A C
3 ringtaw: A D
  fortification: C E
4 artificial: A D
  traditional: C E
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“Unlike some traditional vacation spots, such as beach resorts that have destroyed the beauty of the area and have put heavy burdens on the infrastructure of coastal villages not designed for a large influx of people, these all-purpose resorts were carefully planned to accommodate large numbers of tourists.”
You should recognize that the entire italic part is about traditional resorts, and the bold is about artificial resorts. (There’s also a potential reference question to identify what “these all-purpose resorts” are.)
these all-purpose resorts = Sun City, Disney World, Sentosa Island (from the first sentence)
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DELTA p. 169 - Take 3 minutes to read and categorize the answer choices
Enlightenment: B E
Romanticism: A C F
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It’s important to be able to answer each type of question as quickly as possible.
fact - p. 20 question 2 - look for the word “epidermis” and quickly skim the paragraph about it
negative fact - p. 32 question 2 - skim the paragraph for each answer; if you find it listed as a cause of skin cancer, it’s wrong (“sun avoidance” is listed as a preventative measure)
vocabulary - p. 57 question 3 - “com” means “together”, and the context of the sentence suggests that “compile” might be a synonym for “prepare”
inference - p. 82 question 6 - skim the paragraph for information related to each answer and decide if that answer can be correct or incorrect (A and B are contradicted in the passage, C isn’t mentioned)
purpose - p. 94 question 1 - First recognize (from the first sentence) that the topic of the passage is economics and finance, and that they are being contrasted with physical science. Then go through the answer choices and eliminate the ones that are definitely incorrect.
paraphrase - p. 114 question 2 - Read the highlighted sentence, notice “this” and read the previous sentence to find out what it refers to. Check the answers for one that gives all the same information.
sentence insertion (coherence) - p. 129 question 2 - “However” means the new sentence contrasts with something, so read the sentences before each answer space to choose one that contrasts with “the ground surface is spongy and wet to the touch”. (Also look at the other possibilities to make sure you pick the best one.)
summary - p. 152 question 1 - First eliminate answers that are too minor or specific to be main ideas. Then skim the passage to check which other answer choices are true. (In this case, you should eliminate D and E as minor details, and eliminate B because it’s not about the main topic of watercolor.)
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Homework: finish the handout (Cambridge readings 5 and 6, Cengage readings 1-5)