2019-01-08 TOEFL: word roots, reading fact

Word Roots (list 6) - With your partners, try to think of one or two words to explain the meaning of each root, using the examples.
re (recycle, rebound, reuse, recline) = again/back
reg (regulation, regent, regime) = rule
retro (retrograde, retroactive, retrospect) = backward (This “tro” ending is the same one we see in “intro” and “extra/extro”.)
rupt (disrupt, rupture) = break/burst
scend (ascend, descend, transcend) = climb
scope/skep/spec (microscope, spectacle, speculate) = see
scrib/script (transcript, scripture, inscribe) = write/draw
sect/seg (section, bisect, sector, segment) = cut/divide
semi (semicircle, semiannual) = half (This is the Latin root. The Greek is “hemi”.)
sol (solitude, desolate) = alone
sol (solar, solarium) = Sun
soph (philosophy, sophisticated) = wisdom
struct (construct, structure) = build
sub (subterranean, submerge, substandard) = under
super (superstructure, supersonic) = over
tele (telephone, telescope, telepathy) = far
term (determine, terminate) = end/limit
terra/terri (territory, terrain) = Earth/land
therm (thermometer, thermal) = heat
trans (transport, transaction, transverse) = cross
ultra (ultraviolet, ultrasound) = over/beyond
uni (universe, unique, unilateral) = one
vac (vacuum, vacate, evacuate) = empty
veri (verify, veracity) = truth
viv/vit (vital, vivacious) = life
vol (benevolent, volunteer, volition) = will (the noun, not the modal)
xeno (xenophobia, xenophile) = foreign/strange
zo (zoology, zooplankton, paleozoic) = animal
---
Sometimes roots that look like they’d mean the same thing have different meanings or connotations.
supersonic = faster than sound
ultrasonic = higher (frequency) than sound
All three of these words have roots related to saying something before it happens:
predict (Latin) = the everyday thing we do, based on evidence and reasoning
foretell (Germanic) = know and talk about the future in a supernatural or magical way
prophesy (Greek) = make predictions using divine knowledge (from a god)
	(Related to “prophecy” and “prophet”.)
---
TOEFL Test: $205, about 4 hours, 4 sections, 120 points total (30 per section)
1 reading: 3 or 4 passages, 60-80 minutes, about 14 questions per passage
2 listening: 2 or 3 sets, 60-90 minutes, each set: (3 listenings, 17 questions, 10 minutes to answer)
	(10-minute break)
3 speaking: 6 questions, 5.5 minutes of speaking time, about 20 minutes total
4 writing: 2 tasks, 50 minutes of writing time, about 60 minutes total
---
Reading Question Types:
- vocabulary (which word means the same as one from the text?)
- inference (what can you conclude from the text?)
- paraphrase (which sentence means the same as one from the text?)
- fact (what’s true according to the reading?)
- negative fact (what’s not true?)
- reference (what does a pronoun refer to?)
- purpose (why does the author say something?)
- sentence insertion (where in the text should this new sentence go?)
- summarize (choose the three most important ideas from the text)
- organize (categorize 5 or 7 things or statements into 2 or 3 categories)
---
Fact Questions - There are no true/false questions on the TOEFL, but it’s a useful way to warm up.
Handout (Cambridge) p. 181-182 - Read each paragraph and decide if the following statements are true or false according to the text.
Passage 1:
A. T
B. F
C. T (“military risks” = “security threat”)
D. T (“doubt as to the feasibility of construction” means some people didn’t think it was a viable idea)
E. F
F. F (There was no construction in 1930, and “the construction of the tunnel” as the subject implies that there was.)
G. F
H. T
---
BREAK
---
Take 3 minutes to read and answer the questions about passage 2. Then check with your partner.
A. T
B. F (The animal was probably this size, but the fossils they found were much smaller.)
C. F
D. T
E. T
F. F (The separation of the bones allows them to detect the source.)
G. T
H. T (“the separation of these bones in marine whales” tells us that whales living in the sea have separated bones)
---
Difficult reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5108153/ - Research suggesting the animal probably lived in the water, not on land.
Reading more like TOEFL level: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-did-whales-evolve-73276956/
---
Take 3 minutes for passage 3. Then compare your answers with your partner.
A. T
B. F
C. F (it gives off glue, not a scent)
D. T
E. T
F. F
G. T
H. T
---
Take 3 minutes for the fourth passage.
A. F (It is unmatched, meaning other violins can’t match a Strad.)
B. T
C. T
D. F
E. F (The color is mentioned as a detail, but is not important to the quality.)
F. T
G. F
H. T
---
(Longman) p. 51 - Take 5 minutes to answer the questions about Lake Baikal.
1 D (“crescent-shaped”, but also the width and length numbers don’t fit any of the other answers)
2 A
3 D
4 C
5 B
p. 52 - Take 5 minutes for the postage stamp.
6 C
7 A (“collected in advance” means you pay before sending it)
8 D
9 B
10 C
p. 53 - 5 minutes for “The Clovis Culture”
11 A
12 D
13 C
14 B
15 D
---
(Cengage) p. 38-40 - take 7 minutes to skim and answer these questions about passage 2
12 D
13 D
14 C
15 A (Some musicologists don’t think it’s in the zither family at all, so the zither can’t be an ancestor. “Santir” is mentioned in the first paragraph.)
16 B
17 A
18 C (the folk music revival was happening at that time, but they didn’t begin it)
---
Homework: finish the handout (1-11 about Mesa Verde and 19-26 about Dorothea Dix)