2018-05-15 TOEFL: word roots, reading vocab

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Word Roots - list 2 - With your partners, try to think of one or two words to explain the meaning of each root
cert (certain, ascertain, certificate) = sure
chrom (monochrome, achromatic) = color
chron (chronological, anachronism, synchronize) = time
circum (circumscribe, circumspect, circumnavigate) = around
claim/clam (exclaim, proclamation, clamor) = shout/speak out
clar (clarify, declare) = clear
cline (inclination, decline, recline) = lean
co (coworker, coeducational, coauthor, cohabit) = together
col before L: (collaborate, colleague)
com before M, P, B: (communicate, composition, combine)
cor before R: (correlate, corroborate)
con before other consonants (not h): (connect, convention, contemporary)
(co before vowels and H, and in new words)
cogni (cognate, incognito) = know/think
contra (contrast, contradict, controversy) = against
corp (corporation, corpse, incorporate) = body
cred (credible, credit, credulous) = believe/trust
crypto (cryptography, cryptic, encrypt) = hidden/secret
de/di (decelerate, dethrone, decrease, divide, diverge) = down/away
dem/demo (demographics, democracy, epidemic) = people
di (dilemma, dihedral) = two
dia (diameter, dialect) = through
dict (dictator, dictionary, contradict) = say/speak
domin (dominate, dominion, predominate) = master
don (donate, pardon) = give
duce/duct (introduction, deduct, conduct) = lead
dyna (dynamic, dynamite, dynasty) = power
dys (dystopia, dyslexia) = bad (the opposite prefix is “eu”)
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English is difficult. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.
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Reading Question Types:
- fact
- negative fact
- vocabulary
- purpose
- paraphrase
- inference
- reference
- sentence insertion
- summarize
- organize
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DELTA p. 49-54 describes clues for figuring out what unfamiliar words mean
The TOEFL questions are always about words (and phrases) in context, so make sure your answer choice works with the context of that reading passage.
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p. 50 clue 7 - What are mustelids?
- animals (that have teeth)
- weasels and badgers are mustelids
- they have similar teeth to seals and walruses
- they evolved from the same ancestral group as seals and walruses
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p. 59-61 exercise 1.3.B - Take 10 minutes to answer these vocabulary questions.
1 D
2 B (The moon has no clouds and the dark part isn’t increasing when the crescent is growing.)
3 A (It helps to know that “withstand” means “stand against”.)
4 C (“its meaning continues to evolve” = Its meaning has not stayed the same.)
5 D (The scouring removed most of the soil and hollowed out lakes.)
6 C
7 C
8 A
9 B
10 A
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BREAK
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Handout (Cambridge) - This explains strategies for vocabulary questions in a different way from the DELTA book. Read this advice if you’re still unclear on how best to answer these questions.
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p. 50-51 - Take 5 minutes to define the words in Passage 1 in your own words. Then check your answers with a partner.
1 uninteresting, dull
2 continuous
3 sunset / evening twilight (the opposite of dawn)
4 basic / simple
5 weak
6 waste / garbage (There was no sanitation service to dispose of it, so it was eaten by pigs.)
7 walk around
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Take 3 minutes for passage 2
8 become in charge
9 overall course of studies for a school
10 optional
11 emphasized / focused on
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Take 4 minutes for passage 3
12 group (close together)
13 fog
14 bright
15 rubble / detritus (pieces of things left over from something)
16 a few
17 grieving (especially for someone who died)
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p. 54-56 - Take 7 minutes to answer the questions after passage 1 in exercise 2.2. Then check with your partner. Why is your partner wrong?
1 B
2 C (important)
3 C
4 D
5 A (supported)
6 D
7 B
8 B
9 A
10 A
11 A
p. 56-58 - Take 5 minutes to answer the questions for passage 2 and understand why those are correct.
12 D
13 C
14 A
15 B
16 D
17 C
18 A
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Homework: finish the handout (the rest of 2.1 and 2.2)