1. Read, Read, Read. Read in English regularly. Focus on
academic texts from university textbooks or other materials. Do not stick to
one or two topics that you are interested in. Read from variety of subjects -
science, social science, business, arts, geography, history, economics, and
others. Academic texts, apart from textbooks, could be found in variety of
articles and academic publications on the Internet or university libraries.
2. Find the purpose of the passage. Knowing the
purpose of the reading you may easily find what the writer is trying to
accomplish. The purpose of the passage in most of the readings is embedded in
the introductory paragraph which is one of the most important paragraphs in the
text. Most of the passages in TOEFL will try to do the following:
·
To Explain - to present the information on a specific
topic in explanatory manner. These texts contain mostly factual information.
·
To Resolve - it aims at finding solution for some sort
of dilemmas or questions that need answers. Usually there would be a debate.
·
To convince - to persuade the reader of the validity
of certain viewpoint or idea. There would be opinions and support with evidence
in those type of passages.
3. Increase vocabulary. When reading
wide variety of texts on different subjects you should make a word list.
Organize your list in topics for better results. Example topics could be
business, geography, science and others. Make flashcards to help you learn
those word lists. Use the words learned in your writings and speaking.
4. Take notes. During all sections of TOEFL note
taking is allowed. It is a crucial component for success. It is difficult to
remember all facts and details from a reading text in order to answer the
questions. You also don't have enough time to search for those again in the
text. So, the solution is called note taking. When skimming and reading the
texts you should write down all important facts and details in order to find
them fast and easily when you need them. See also our effective note taking
strategies.
5. Learn how to skim the text. Skimming
means reading the text quickly to obtain very first general impression on what
the text is about, what its main idea is. Skimming corresponds with Reading to
find information objective in TOEFL. You should develop your ability to skim
quickly but at the same time to identify all major points in the passage. Take
notes. See also our skimming strategies.
6. Read after skimming. Only skimming is not enough. Read
the passage again. This time read it more carefully, but don't forget that you
have limited time. Take notes. Identify the passage type - classification,
cause/effect, compare/contrast, problem/solution, etc.
7. Try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in the
passages, the context can help to do that. After that, check those words in the
dictionary. Guessing the words from the context brings great advantages - you
save time and it doesn't disturb your comprehension of the texts.
8. Highlight some of the pronouns (he, him, they, them,
etc.) in the texts
Identify to
which nouns in the particular text the highlighted pronouns refer.
9. Practice making general inferences and conclusions
based on what is implied in the text.
10. Learn to
organize the data presented in the passage in charts and tables. Create charts
with categories and place the important data from the passage in the appropriate
category. In TOEFL you are not asked to create charts. Rather, charts are
provided and you are asked to categorize the information in pre-defined
categories.
Example :
Read the short passage. The reading is followed by
several questions about it. There are four possible answers (A-D) for
each question. Choose the best answer and click the button next to it. When you
have finished, click answers.
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph
Pulitzer was born in 1847 in Makó, Hungary. He emigrated to the United States
when he was seventeen years old, and was naturalised on his twentieth birthday.
He spent his career in journalism working in the mid-west and New York. From
1871 he was also the owner or part-owner of many newspapers. His most famous
newspaper was the New York World (which many believe was the model for
the Daily Planet of the Superman stories). The World
campaigned against corruption, and exposed many scandals. It was also a strong
supporter of the rights of the working man.
In later
life, Joseph Pulitzer collapsed from overwork, and lost his sight. He became
dedicated to improving the quality of journalism in America, and donated $1
million to Columbia University to found a school of journalism. However, his
most significant contribution was the establishment of the Pulitzer prizes in
his will.
These prizes
for excellence in journalism have been given every year since 1917 by Columbia
University. Since 1942 there have been extra categories for press photography,
and later still for criticism, feature writing and commentary. The prize was
originally for $500, but today the winners of the prize receive a gold medal.
However, the real value of the prize is that it confirms that the journalist
who has received the award is the best American journalist of the year - a fact
that is worth much more than $500 to the journalist and to the newspaper that
employs him or her.
1. Joseph
Pulitzer came ti America because?
a.
He was with his parents
b. He wanted to
be a journalist
c.
Hungary was being attacked by Austria
d. The text
does not say
The correct
answer is d
2.
Pulitzer became an American
citizen?
a.
Twenty years after he arrived in the United States
b. In 1867
c.
After contributing $1 million to a university
d. When he was
17 years old
The correct
answer is b
3.
What did the New York
World not do?
a.
Investigate wrongdoing by public officials
b. Establish a
famous prize for journalism
c.
Probably provide a model for a famous fictional
newspaper
d. Stand up for
the common people
The correct
answer is b
4.
The Pulitzer prizes are for?
a.
The best writing in America
b. Press
photography and commentary
c.
High quality journalism
d. None of the
above
The correct
answer is c
5.
The text tells us that?
a.
Joseph Pulitzer became a patriotic American
b. Later became
a member of Columbia Universitywas one of the richest men
c.
In New York
d. Worked very
hard.
The correct
answer is d
Most people can remember a phone number
for up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however,
the numbers are erased from the memory. How did the information get there in
the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM)
does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows
stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the
working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the
short term memory. The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a
cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately
seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of
information, such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern
theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory
by chunking, or classifying similar information together. By organizing
information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory
being passed on to long term storage.
When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as
information for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By
repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive.
Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no
interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the
tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy, people often attempt
to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the
dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call,
he will likely forget the number instantly.* Therefore, rote rehearsal
is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term
memory.* A better way is to practice "elaborate
rehearsal". *This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of
information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term
memories.*
Encoding information semantically also makes it more
retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall.
Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the
long term memory and used often; however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it
may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues
a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be
retrieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that
require a lot of memorization.
1.
According to the passage, how do memories
get transferred to the STM?
a.
They revert from the long term memory
b.
They are filtered from the sensory storage
area
c.
They get chunked when they enter the
brain
d.
They enter via the nervous system.
The
correct answer is b
2. The
word elapses in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to?
a. Passes
b. adds
up
c.
appears
d. continue
The
correct answer is a
3. All of the following are mentioned as places
in which memories are stored EXCEPT the?
a. STM
b. long
term memory
c.
sensory storage area
d. maintenance
area
The
correct answer is d
4. Why
does the author mention a dog's bark?
a. To
give an example of a type of memory
b. To
provide a type of interruption
c.
To prove that dogs have better memories
than humans
d. To
compare another sound that is loud like a doorbell
The
correct answer is b
5. How
do theorists believe a person can remember more information in a short time?
a. By
organizing it
b. By
repeating it
c.
By giving it a name
d. By
drawing it
The
correct answer is a
