TOEFL Reading Introduction
The reading section is the first
section of the TOEFL iBT test. It tests your ability to read and answer
questions at an academic level. It contain 3-4 passages with each passage
containing 12-14 questions for a total of 36-56 questions. Each passage is generally
600 to 700 words long. You'll have 60-80 minutes in which to finish this
section.
When you are taking the reading
test, you can skip answers and come back to them later. You can come back and
change your answers at any time during the reading testing period.
Reading Difficulty Level
The TOEFL reading difficulty level
is equivalent to an introductory undergraduate university textbook. Most of the
passages' context is North American, but you may also see some international
contexts from United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The passages cover a
wide range of topics such as:
·
Social science including anthropology, economics,
psychology, urban studies, and sociology
·
Science and technology including astronomy, geology,
chemistry, biology, physics, engineering
·
History, government, biography, geography, and culture
·
Art including literature, painting, sculpture, drama,
and architecture
Even though the reading passages can
be difficult to understand, you don't necessarily have to understand it all. By
learning the strategies to answer each reading question type, you can get a
high TOEFL score without fully understanding the reading passage. The first
thing you need to learn are the different types of TOEFL reading question
types.
The 10 TOEFL Reading Question Types
The TOEFL reading questions can be broken down into 10
different reading question types:
1.
Vocabulary
2.
Reference
3.
Inference
4.
Purpose
5.
Negative Factual Information
6.
Essential Information
7.
Detail
8.
Sentence Insertion
9.
Complete the Summary
10. Complete the
Table
Tips and tricks
for answering the reading comprehension problem
1.
Answer
main idea questions correctly
A.
How to Identify Question:
-
What
is the topic of the passage?
-
What
is the subject of the passage?
-
What
is the main idea of the passage?
-
What
is the author's playing point in the passage?
-
With
what is the author primarily concerned?
-
Which
of the following would be the best title?
B.
Search
for Answers: Answers to this question in general can be found at the first part
of each paragraph.
C.
Answer
Questions:
-
Read
the first line in each paragraph.
-
Look
for a general theme or idea in the first line.
-
Take
a quick look at the reading to check if you really are have found the main
topic / idea.
-
Eliminate
the existence of inappropriate answers choose the best answer from the
remaining choices
Example:
The passage:
In the philosophy
of John Dewey, a sharp distinction is made
between
"intelligence" and "reasoning". According to Dewey,
intelligence is the
only absolute way to achieve a balance between
Line realism and idealism, between practicality and
wisdom of life.
(5) Intelligence involves "interacting with
other things and knowing
them," while
reasoning is merely the act of an observer, "... a mind
that beholds or grasps
objects outside the world of thing.... "
With reasoning, a
level of mental certainty can be achieved, but it
is through
intelligence that control is taken of events that shape
(10) one's life.
The
question:
What is the topic of this passage?
(A) The intelligence ofjohn Dewey
(B) Distinctions made by John Dewey
(C) Dewey’s ideas on the ability to reason
(D) How intelligence differs from
reasoning in Dewey’s works
Discussion
and answer:
The first sentence
in this passage discusses a difference between the idea of
"intelligence" and "reasoning" in John Dewey's life view,
so this is probably the topic. Quickly check the parts of the sentence in this
reading to ensure that the topic being discussed is a fact of the difference
between "intelligence" and "reasoning". Then, check each
answer option to determine which is most appropriate.
Answer (A) only mentions
intelligence (intelligence), so it is not the topic. Answer (B) mentions the
difference John Dewey made, but does not say specifically what kind of
difference. Answer (C) only mentions reasoning, and is incomplete. Therefore,
the correct answer is (D); The idea of how intelligence differs from reasoning
comes from the first sentence in that reading, which mentions a sharp
distinction is made between "intelligence" and "reasoning".
2.
Recognize
the Organization of Ideas
A.
How to Identify Question:
-
How
is information in the passage organized?
-
How
is the information in the second paragraph related to the information in the
first paragraph?
B.
Search
for Answers: Answers to this type of question can generally be determined by see
the first sentence of each paragraph.
C.
Answer
Questions:
-
Read
the first line of each paragraph.
-
See
words that appear to have inter-religious relationships.
-
Choose
the answer that has the strongest connection.
Example:
The passage:
If asked who invented
the game of baseball, most
Americans would
probably reply that it was their belief that
Abner Doubleday did.
They believe this because the story
Line about Doubleday is part of the tradition of
baseball.
(5) Doubleday was given credit for this invention
early in the
twentieth century when
sporting-goods manufacturer
Spaulding inaugurated
a commission to research the question
of who invented
baseball. In 1908, a report was published by
the commission in
which Abner Doubleday, a U.S. Army
(10) officer from Cooperstown, New York, was given
credit for the
invention of the game.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame
was established in
Cooperstown in honor of Doubleday.
Today, most sports historians are in agreement that
Doubleday really did
not have much to do with the
(15) development of baseball. Instead, baseball seems to be
a close
relative of the
English game of rounders and probably has
English rather than
American roots.
The Question:
In this passage
(A) an idea is
presented and then refuted
(B) a concept is
followed by examples
(C) a cause is followed
by an effect
(D) a belief is
supported with reasons
Discussion
and answer:
This question is
about how information is arranged in the reading. To answer this question, it
is necessary to pay attention to the main idea every three paragraphs. The main
idea of the first paragraph is found at the beginning of the sentence: namely
"If asked who invented the game of baseball, most Americans would probably
reply that it was their belief that Abner Doubleday did" (if asked who
invented the baseball game, most Americans might answer confidently, Abner
Doubleday). The main idea of the second paragraph was found in the first
line: namely "Doubt was given credit for this invention" (Doubleday
was given an award for his discovery). The main idea of the third paragraph
was found in the first line: "most sports historians are in agreement that
don't have much to do with the development of baseball" (most sports
historians agree that Doubleday doesn't really do much baseball development).
If you study the information on each of the first lines of each paragraph, you
can determine that the third paragraph opposes (refutes) the information
presented at the beginning of the two paragraphs. For this reason, answer (A)
is the most correct for this question.
3.
Stated
Detail Questions
A.
How to Identify Question:
-
According to the passage, ....
-
It is stated in the passage ...
-
The passage indicates that ....
-
Which of the following is true ....
-
The author mentions that ...
B.
Search
for Answers: The answers are in the reading sequence
C.
Answer
Questions:
-
Select
keywords from the question
-
Filter
the parts that match the key words or reading points
-
Read
the sentence that reads the keyword or reading point carefully.
Example:
The passage:
Williamsburg is a historic city in Virginia that was
settled
by
English colonists in 1633, twenty-six years after the first
permanent English colony in America was settled at
Line Jamestown. In the beginning, the
colony at Williamsburg was
(5) named Middle Plantation because
of its location in the middle
of a
peninsula between two rivers, the York and the James.
The
site for Williamsburg had been selected by the colonists
because the soil drainage was better there than at the
Jamestown location, and there were fewer mosquitoes.
The question:
The passage indicates that Jamestown
(A) was settled in 1633
(B) was settled
twenty-six years after Williamsburg
(C) was the first
permanent English colony in America
(D) was originally named
Middle Plantation
Discussion
and answer:
This question asks
what readings indicate about Jamestown. So, you know that the answer is
immediately stated in the reading. Take a quick look at the reading sections
that discuss Jamestown. The answer to this question was found in the statement
that "Williamsburg .... was settled by English colonists in 1633,
twenty-six years after the first permanent English colony in America was
settled at Jamestown." (Williamsburg was occupied by British invaders in
Th 1633, 26 years after settling for the first time British colonists in
America occupied Jamestown). Answer (A) is wrong, because Williamsburg was
occupied in 1633. Answer (B) is wrong, because Jamestown was occupied before
Williamsburg. The answer (D) is wrong, because the name Middle Plantation is
for Williamsburg. The correct answer is (C), because the reading directly
states that Jamestown was first occupied by the British colony in America,
"... the first permanent English colony in America ...".
Example of TOEFL reading
DIRECTIONS In this section you will read
several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. For
questions 1-50, you are to choose the one best answer, (A), (B), (C), or (D),
to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question
and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have
chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is
stated or
implied in that passage.
READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
A distinctively American architecture began with Frank Lloyd
Wright, who had taken to heart the admonition that form should follow function
and who thought of buildings not as separate architectural entities but as
parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the
society. In a very real way the houses of colonial New England and some of the
southern plantations had been functional, but Wright was the first architect to
make functionalism the authoritative principle for public as well as for
domestic buildings. As early as 1906 he built the Unity Temple in Oak Park,
Illinois, the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize
ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. Thereafter he turned his
genius to such miscellaneous structures as houses, schools, office buildings, and
factories, among them the famous Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York, and the
Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin.
1. The
phrase “taken to heart” in line 1 is closest in meaning to which of the
following?
(A) Taken seriously
(B) Criticized
(C) Memorized
(D) Taken offence
2. In
what way did Wright’s public buildings differ from most of those built by
earlier architects?
(A) They were built on a larger scale.
(B) Their materials came from the southern United States.
(C) They looked more like private homes.
(D) Their designs were based on how they would be used.
3. The
author mentions the Unity Temple because, it
(A) was Wright’s first building
(B) influenced the architecture of subsequent churches
(C) demonstrated traditional ecclesiastical architecture
(D) was the largest church Wright ever designed
4. The
passage mentions that all of the following structures were built by Wright
EXCEPT
(A) factories
(B) public buildings
(C) offices
(D) southern plantations
5. Which
of the following statements best reflects one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s
architectural principles?
(A) Beautiful design is more important than utility.
(B) Ecclesiastical architecture should be derived from traditional
designs.
(C) A building should fit into its surroundings.
(D) The architecture of public buildings does not need to be revolutionary
Discussion
A distinctively American architecture
began with Frank Lloyd Wright, who had taken to heart the admonition that form
should follow function and who thought of buildings not as separate
architectural entities but as parts of an organic whole that included the land,
the community, and the society. In a very real way the houses of colonial New
England and some of the southern plantations had been functional, but Wright
was the first architect to make functionalism the authoritative principle for
public as well as for domestic buildings. As early as 1906 he built the Unity
Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the first of those churches that did so much to
revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. Thereafter he
turned his genius to such miscellaneous structures as houses, schools, office
buildings, and factories, among them the famous Larkin Building in Buffalo, New
York, and the Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin.
1.
The phrase “taken to heart” in line 1 is closest in
meaning to which of the following?
Answer: A →
Taken seriously
Discuss: The
phrase taken to heart is a form of idiomatic expression and means "do it
wholeheartedly / seriously".
2.
In what way did Wright’s public buildings differ from
most of those built by earlier architects?
Answer: D →
Their designs were based on how they would be used.
Discuss: In the
sentence "... that form should follow function ..." indicates that
the design should be based on its function, for what purpose the building will
be used and such an answer is found in choice D.
3.
The author mentions the Unity Temple because, it
Answer:
B → influenced the architecture of subsequent churches
Discuss: :
In the sentence
"... the story of those churches that are so much to revolutionize the
ecological architecture in the United States" states that the building
greatly influenced the design of the subsequent buildings. Answers that contain
similar ideas are in option B.
4.
The passage mentions that all of the following
structures were built by Wright EXCEPT
Answer:
D → southern plantations
Discuss: In the
last sentence it is clear that offices, factories and public building,
including churches are his works. Whereas South Plantations is not the result
of his work because it has been designed by previous people as mentioned in the
reading.
5.
Which of the following statements best reflects one of
Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles?
Answer: C → A
building should fit into its surroundings.
Discuss: The
sentence "... as parts of an organic whole that includes land, the
community, and the society" states that the building should be considered
as part of the whole environment and the surrounding community so that in other
words the building must be in accordance with its environment.
References:
