TOFEFL EXERCISE ’7‘: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the ques-

tions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE ( Questions 1—2)

Another program instrumental in the popularization ofscience was Cosmos. This series,

broadcast on public television, dealt with topics and issues from varied fields of science. The

principal writer and narrator of the program was Carl Sagan, a noted astronomer and Pulitzer

Prize-winning author.

PASSAGE TWO ( Questions 3—4)

When a strong earthquake occurs on the ocean floor rather than on land, a tremendous

force is exerted on the seawater and one or more large, destructive waves called tsunamis can be

formed. Tsunamis are commonly called tidal waves in the United States, but this is really an

inappropriate name in that the cause of the tsunami is an underground earthquake rather than

the ocean’s tides.

Far from land, a tsunami can move through the wide open vastness of the ocean at a speed of

600 miles (900 kilometers) per hour and often can travel tremendous distances without losing

height and strength. When a tsunami reaches shallow coastal water, it can reach a height of 100

feet (30 meters) or more and can cause tremendous flooding and damage to coastal areas.

PASSAGE THREE ( Questions 5—6)

While draft laws are federal laws, marriage laws are state laws rather than federal; marriage

regulations are therefore not uniform throughout the country. The legal marriage age serves as

an example of this lack of conformity. In most states, both the man and the woman must be at

least eighteen years old to marry without parental consent; however, the states of Nebraska and
Wyoming require the couple to be at least nineteen, while the minimum age in Mississippi is

twenty-one. If parental permission is given, then a couple can marry at sixteen in some states, and

a few states even allow marriage before the age of sixteen, though a judge’s permission, in

addition to the permission of the parents, is sometimes required in this situation. Some states

which allow couples to marry at such a young age are now considering doing away with such early

marriages because of the numerous negative effects of these young marriages.

TOEFL EXERCISE (Skills 6—7): Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to

the questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1—4)

The most conservative sect of the Mennonite Church is the Old Order Amish, with 33,000

members living mainly today in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Their lifestyle

reflects their belief in the doctrines of separation from the world and simplicity of life. The Amish

have steadfastly rejected the societal changes that have occurred in the previous three hundred

years, preferring instead to remain securely rooted in a seventeenth—century lifestyle. They live on

farms without radios, televisions, telephones, electric lights, and cars; they dress in plainly styled

and colored old—fashioned clothes; and they farm their lands with horses and tools rather than

modern farm equipment. They have a highly communal form of living, with barn raisings and

quilting bees as commonplace activities.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 5-8)

Various other Native American tribes also lived on the Great Plains. The Sioux, a group of

seven Native American tribes, are best known for the fiercely combative posture against

encroaching White civilization in the 18005. Although they are popularly referred to as Sioux,

these Native American tribes did not call themselves Sioux; the name was given to them by an

enemy tribe. The seven Sioux tribes called themselves by some variation of the word Dakota,
which means “allies” in their language. Four tribes of the eastern Sioux community living in

Minnesota were known by the name Dakota. The Nakota included two tribes that left the eastern

woodlands and moved out onto the plains. The Teton Sioux, or Lakota, moved even farther west

to the plains of the present-day states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 9—12)

The extinction of many species of birds has undoubtedly been hastened by modern man;

since 1600 it has been estimated that approximately 100 bird species have become extinct over

the world. In North America, the first species known to be annihilated was the great auk, a

flightless bird that served as an easy source of food and bait for Atlantic fishermen through the

beginning of the nineteenth century.

Shortly after the great auk’s extinction, two other North American species, the Carolina

parakeet and the passenger pigeon, began dwindling noticeably in numbers. The last Carolina

parakeet and the last passenger pigeon .in captivity both died in September 1914. In addition to

these extinct species, several others such as the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, and the

California condor are today recognized as endangered; steps are being taken to prevent their

extinction.

TOEFL REVIEW EXERCISE (Skills l—7): Study each of the passages and choose the best

answers to the questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1—8)

The Mason-Dixon Line is often considered by Americans to be the demarcation between the

North and the South. It is in reality the boundary that separates the state of Pennsylvania from

Maryland and parts of West Virginia. Prior to the Civil War, this southern boundary of

Pennsylvania separated the nonslave states to the north from the slave states to the south.
The Mason-Dixon Line was established well before the Civil War, as a result of a boundary

dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Two English astronomers, Charles Mason and

jeremiah Dixon, were called in to survey the area and officially mark the boundary between the

two states. The survey was completed in 1767, and the boundary was marked with stones, many of

which remain to this day.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 9—14)

Manic depression is another psychiatric illness that mainly affects the mood. A patient

suffering from this disease will alternate between periods of manic excitement and extreme

depression, with or without relatively normal periods in between. The changes in mood suffered

by a manic-depressive patient go far beyond the day-to—day mood changes experienced by the

general population. In the period of manic excitement, the mood elevation can become so

intense that it can result in extended insomnia, extreme irritability, and heightened

aggressiveness. In the period of depression, which may last for several weeks or months, a patient

experiences feelings of general fatigue, uselessness, and hopelessness, and, in serious cases, may

contemplate suicide.

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 15—23)

Unlike earlier campaigns, the 1950 presidential campaign featured a politically innovative

and highly influential series of televised debates in the contest between the Republicans and the

Democrats. Debates that could be viewed by such a wide audience had never before been part of

the presidential campaigns, and through these debates, the far-reaching medium of television

showed how effective it could be in influencing the outcome of an election.

The two parties to face off in the election selected very different candidates. John Kennedy,

a young senator from Massachusetts without much experience and recognition in national
politics, established an early lead among democratic hopefuls, and was nominated on the first

ballot at the Los Angeles convention to be the representative of the Democratic party in the

presidential elections. The older and more experienced Richard Nixon, then serving as vice

president of the United States under Eisenhower, received the nomination of the Republican

party. Both Nixon and Kennedy campaigned vigorously throughout the country and then took

the unprecedented step of appearing in face-to—face debates on television.

Experts in the politics of presidential elections contend that the debates were a pivotal force

in the elections. In front of a viewership of more than 100 million citizens, Kennedy masterfully

overcame Nixon’s advantage as the better-known and more experienced candidate and reversed

the public perception of him as too inexperienced and immature for the presidency. In an

election that was extremely close, it was perhaps these debates that brought victory to Kennedy.

VOCABULARY QUESTIONS

In the reading section of both the paper TOEFL test and the computer TOEFL test, there

will be a number of vocabulary questions. On the paper test, the vocabulary questions will

always be multiple-choice questions. On the computer test, vocabulary questions may be

multiple-choice questions, or they may be click-on questions: you may be asked to look at

one word in a passage and click on another word with a similar or opposite meaning, or

you may be asked to click on a word with a given meaning.

To answer a vocabulary question, it is, of course, helpful if you know the meaning of

the word that is being tested. However, it is not always necessary for you to know the mean-

ing of the word; often there are skills that you can use to help you find the correct answer

to the question: (1) finding definitions from structural clues, (2) determining meanings

from word parts, and (3) using context clues to determine meanings.
SKILL 8: FIND DEFINITIONS FROM STRUCTURAL CLUES

When you are asked to determine the meaning of a word in the reading section of either

the paper TOEFL test or the computer TOEFL test, it is possible (1) that the passage pro-

vides information about the meaning of the word, and (2) that there are structural clues to

tell you that the definition of a word is included in the passage. Look at a multiple-choice

example from the paper TOEFL test where a structural clue to the meaning of the tested

word is included in the passage.

This question asks about the meaning of the word behaviorism. To answer this question, you

should look at the part of the passage following the word behaviorism. The dash punctua-

tion (———) indicates that a definition or further information about behaviorism is going to

follow. In the information following the dash, you should see that the behaviorist is inter-

ested in behavior, which is observable, so the best answer to this question is answer (C).

Now look at a multiple-choice example from the computer TOEFL test where a struc-

tural clue to the meaning of the tested word is included in the passage.

This question asks about the meaning of the expression positive reinforcement. To answer this

question, you should look at the part of the passage following the expression positive rein-

forcement. The expression such as indicates that examples of positive reinforcement are going to

follow. Your job is to look at the examples of positive reinforcement and draw a conclusion

about what positive reinforcement might be. Since praise, food, or money might be given in

return for a job well done, then positive reinforcement must be a reward. You should click on

the second answer to this question.

Next look at a click-on example from the computer TOEFL test where a structural clue

to the meaning of the tested word is included in the passage.

answer this question, you should look at the part of the passage around the expression neg—

ative reinforcement. The word or following negative reinforcement tells you that the idea is going

to be restated in different words. You can see in the passage that another word for negative

reinforcement is punishment, so you should click on punishment to answer this question.

The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about

structural clues to help you to understand unknown vocabulary words:

TOEFL EXERCISE 8: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the

questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1—4)

The teddy bear is a child’s toy, a nice soft stuffed animal suitable for cuddling. It is, however,

a toy with an interesting history behind it.

Theodore Roosevelt, or Teddy as he was commonly called, was president of the United

States from 1901 to 1909. He was an unusually active man with varied pastimes, one of which was

hunting. One day the president was invited to take part in a bear hunt; and inasmuch as Teddy

was president, his hosts wanted to ensure that he caught a bear. A bear was captured, clanked over

the head to knock it out, and tied to a tree; however, Teddy, who really wanted to hunt a bear,

refused to shoot the bear and, in fact, demanded that the bear be extricated from the ropes; that

is, he demanded that the hear he set free.

The incident attracted a lot of attention among journalists. First a cartoon—drawn by

Clifford K. Berryman to make fun of this situation—appeared in the Washington Post, and the

cartoon was widely distributed and reprinted throughout the country. Then toy manufacturers
began producing a toy bear which they called a “teddy hear." The teddy bear became the most

widely recognized symbol of Roosevelt’s presidency.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 5—8)

A supernova occurs when all of the hydrogen in the core of a huge star is transformed to

iron and explodes. All stars die after their nuclear fuel has been exhausted. Stars with little mass

die gradually, but those with relatively large mass die in a sudden explosion, a supernova. The

sudden flash of light can then be followed by several weeks of extremely bright light, perhaps as

much light as twenty million stars.

Supernovae are not very common; they occur about once every hundred years in any galaxy,

and in 1987 a supernova that could be seen by the naked eye occurred in the Magellan Cloud, a

galaxy close to the Milky Way. Scientists periodically detect supernovae in other galaxies; however,

no supernovae have occurred in the MilkyWay (the galaxy that includes Earth) since 1604. One

very impressive supernova occurred in the Milky Way onJuly 4, 1054. There was a great explosion

followed by three months of lighted skies, and historical chronicles of the time were full of

accounts and unusual explanations for the misunderstood phenomenon—many people believed

that it meant that the world was coming to an end.

SKILL 9: DETERMINE MEANINGS FROM WORD PARTS

When you are asked to determine the meaning of a long word that you do not know in the

reading section of either the paper TOEFL test or the computer TOEFL test, it is some-

times possible to determine the meaning of the word by studying the word parts. Look at a

multiple-choice example from the paper TOEFL test where the answer can be determined

from a word part.