2017-01-04 TOEFL: word roots, reading vocab

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-are-we-so-attached-to-our-things-christian-jarrett
hoarding - the practice of keeping everything you have instead of throwing it away
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Word Roots - list 4 - With your partner, try to think of one or two words to explain the meaning of each root.
icon = image
idio = one’s own -> unique -> strange (“idiot” was originally a euphemism for someone who kept to himself instead of going out and interacting with other people)
il/im/in/ir = not (normally spelled “in”, but chages to ‘m’ before ‘m’ or ‘p’, and changes to ‘r’ and ‘l’ before those letters)
	(These roots also mean “in” or “into”: illuminate, impress, inhale, irradiate)
 - Usually the “into” meaning is for verbs, and the “not” meaning is for adjectives.
infra = under
inter = among/between
intra/intro = inside (intranet is the network within a company or organization)
ject = throw
junct = connect/join
kine = move (“cinema” is the Latin spelling from this same root)
lab = work
*lect = choose or pick out (can mean “word” from the idea that we pick out words as we speak or read)
lex = word
loc = place
luc = light (When spelled “luc”, this root is followed by ‘e’ or ‘i’, so sounds like /s/.)
lum = light
	(In many words, roots for “light” metaphorically refer to truth or knowledge, and roots for “see” refer to understanding.)
macro = big
magni = big/great (“great” can mean size or quality)
mal = bad
man = hand
mar = sea
*mega = big
meta = change (It often means “beyond”.)
micro = small
migr = move
*milli = thousand
mis = wrong/incorrect (We can say “millipede” is a misnomer, because the animal doesn’t really have 1000 feet.)
miss/mit = send
mono = one
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Very often, we use both the Greek (mono, helio, hydro, hyper) and Latin (uni, sol, aqua, super) roots for an idea, but we use them differently or in different words.
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BREAK
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University vocabulary handouts
- Most universities follow a similar pattern, but each one is slightly different, so the “dean” at one place might not have the same job as at another place.
- Student government can’t make academic policy decisions, but most universities have a student union building and organization, which the student government can control.
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acronym = a word formed by the initial letters of several words
(NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
- Some people say acronyms are only the ones you can pronounce as a word, but it’s usually used for any initialism
(FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation)
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Universities, governments, and other large organizations have lots of TLAs (three-letter acronyms).
At my university:
LSA = Literature, Science, and the Arts (the general academic section of the university)
GSI = Graduate Student Instructor (what we called TAs)
https://campusinfo.umich.edu/acronyms - helpful information page to “decode” acronyms
People will often talk about departments by their acronym (ISS for International Student Services, for example).
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Conversation listening tasks (the first passage of each set on the Listening section, and speaking tasks 3 and 5) often refer to these university departments and positions.
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TOEFL test overview:
4 sections:
Reading - 60-80 minutes to read and answer questions about 3 or 4 passages
Listening - 60-90 minutes for 2 or 3 sets of listenings (each set has 1 conversation and 2 academic lectures or discussions)
	10-minute break
Speaking - 20 minutes for 6 speaking tasks (5.5 minutes of total speaking time)
Writing - 60 minutes for 2 tasks (You have 20 minutes and 30 minutes to write.)
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Speaking and writing both have independent and integrated tasks.
independent = use your own opinions, experiences, and ideas
integrated = speak or write about something you’ve read or heard
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There are several different types of questions you might get in the reading section:
- fact
- negative fact
- vocabulary (which word has the same word as one from the reading?)
- purpose
- paraphrase (which sentence has the same meaning as one from the reading?)
- reference (what does a word like “this” or “those” mean in the text?)
- inference
- sentence insertion (choose the place in a paragraph where a new sentence best fits)
- summary (choose the three main points that best support the main idea of the reading)
- organize/categorize (put sentences in the correct categories according to the reading)
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Vocabulary in Context
DELTA p. 48 - “A 1625 map of North America drawn by Henry Briggs is one of the most notorious maps in the history of North American cartography.”
- What does “cartography” probably mean, just from this sentence?
(At the end of the paragraph, they call it a “cartographical misconception”, which is another clue that cartography is about maps.)
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Read about the context clues on p. 49-52.
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p. 56-57 - With your partner, choose the best answer for each question (1-4) and explain how you know that’s the best answer. (What clues are in the passage?)
1 D - “obstructed” must be able to reduce something, and it’s what a head cold does to smell (“as” gives an example)
2 A - A hexagon is a six-sided shape, so having the same angle as a hexagon explains why ice crystals have six sides.
3 B - The employees that compile something are “responsible for preparing the report”, so “compile” must be related to prepare. You could also recognize that “com” means “together”.
4 A - contrast: “common origins but then split off” (It’s also important to recognize that “common origin” means “same origin”, not “typical” or “usual”.)
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Homework: p. 58-61 - Answer the questions and note what clues from each passage you use.