TOEFL Reading Comprehension

Mei 31, 2019

TOEFL Reading Comprehension

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

Improving your reading speed

For you to improve your reading speed, you need to improve your vocabulary and practice dissecting sentences. One strategy to dissect a sentence is to look for the subject and verb of the sentence. Finding the subject and verb will help you better understand the main idea of said sentence. Keep in mind, a common feature of a TOEFL reading passage is to join strings of ideas to form long compound sentences. This produces large chunks that students have a hard time absorbing. Do not get overwhelmed by its length, just look for the subject and verb, the rest of the ideas will flow.

TIPS Answering the TOEFL Reading Comprehension Test

Some strategies you can use in working on reading questions as follows:

1 The reading text does not need to be read all (from beginning to end). This will only be a waste of time.

2 Read the question first and understand the meaning then look for the answer in the text.

3 Don't think too long on words or phrases that you don't know what you mean by yourself. Try to guess, meaning that your time is very short.

4 Identify important nouns and verbs.

5 Take a quick look, observe the first sentence of each paragraph.

6 Read the text carefully, mark the main points, names, definitions, conclusions, places, and numbers.

7 Answer the question, but not too long on one question.

8 You must fill in all the answers. If you have to guess the answer, choose the answer B or C. Remember, the wrong answer will not reduce your value.

The type of question that often appears on the TOEFL.

1. Questions about Topics or Themes

The main topic is the main subject of the reading, about what the reading is. Topics or themes can be in the form of the core content (the text is about) or the writing title (title). Topic is one item that can almost certainly come out on every TOEFL test.

Example topic questions:

- What is the main topic of this passage? (What are the main topics for this reading?)

- The text is mainly talking about? (This reading is mainly talking about)

- The passage is about? (This reading is about.)

To find out the topic of a reading you do not need to read in detail and depth, which you need to do as follows:

· Read the first and last sentences in each paragraph of the reading.

· Find keywords (keywords) that are always repeated both at the beginning, middle, or end, especially the conclusions.

· These keywords can be synonyms or words that have the same meaning.

· If the question is about a topic, then the answer is in the form of one word or phrase form (word group).

2. Questions about the Main Idea (Main Idea)

Main ideas are the main points of a paragraph that contain information, explanations, descriptions or opinions of the author on the topic (subject matter). The main idea is an explanation for the title of the topic, explaining from the author's perspective. The main idea is an explanation of the topic, it will be longer and in the form of a complete sentence.

Examples of main ideas:

- What is the main idea of this passage? (What are the main ideas for this reading?)

- What is the text talking about? (What does this text tell?)

- The main idea of this passage is ... (The main idea of this reading is ...)

- What is the author of the main idea of paragraph 2? (What are the main ideas of paragraph 2 according to the author?)

To find the main ideas, you need to do the following:

· First search the topic / theme of the first paragraph.

· Pay attention to words / phrases in developing topics.

· Note the conclusions from the paragraph that will reveal the main idea.

· The main idea of a reading is usually in the first two sentences.

· If the question is about the main idea, the answer is in the form of a complete sentence, which consists of a subject and predicate.

3. Question about Title (Title)

To answer this type of question, read paragraph one, or several initial paragraphs. Titles are usually very short words, phrases, or sentences.

Example title question:

- What is the best title of the passage? (What is the most appropriate / best title for this reading?)

- What will be the most suitable title for the passage? (What is the most appropriate / appropriate title for this reading?)

4. Questions about Purpose (Purpose, Aim)

Purpose is the main reason for writing the reading. This goal can be found in the first or second paragraph. Usually closely related to main ideas.

Example main idea questions:

- What is the purpose of the text? (What is the purpose / purpose of this reading?)

- What is the aim of the passage? (What is the purpose of this reading?)

5. Questions about Detailed Information

One important part of Reading Comprehension is answering about details. This question asks the facts contained in the reading about: Who, What, Where, When, How.

Most of the questions in the reading comprehension section are included in the category of detailed question types. This type of question asks about a small portion of the reading, not the reading as a whole and at the same time asks about the explicit information expressed in the reading.

The following forms can be used to initiate detailed questions.

v According to the passage ... (According to that part ...)

v It is indicated that ... (This shows that ...)

v It is stated ... (This is stated ...)

v All of the following are mentioned EXCEPT ... (All of the following are EXCEPT ...)

v Which of the following is NOT supported by ... (Which of the following is NOT supported by ...)

v The passage states that ... (This section states that ...)

v The author states that ... (The author states ...)

v What does the author say about ... (What did the author say about ...)

To find the detailed questions, you need to do the following:

- This kind of question concerns the details or details contained in certain parts of the section.

- Answers to this type of question can generally be found directly in the reading.

- Answers to these kinds of questions are generally given sequentially in reading.

- In many ways, detailed questions require you to choose answers that are paraphrases, or re-disclose the same intonation with different words, and the facts contained in the reading. A paraphrasing conveys the same meaning, but is slightly different in the use of vocabulary and grammar.

6. Conclusion Questions (Conclusion)

Conclusions are summaries of reading. The conclusions are located at the end of the reading.

Examples of conclusion questions:

- It can be concluded that ... (It can be concluded that ...)

- What is the conclusion of this text? (What is the conclusion of this reading?)

- We can conclude that ... (We can conclude that ...)

- It can be inferred that (It can be concluded that ...)

- What can be inferred from the passage? (What can be concluded from the reading?)

- It can be inferred from the passage that ... (Can be inferred from the reading that ...)

- The author infers that ... (The author concludes that ...)

- What can we infer from the text? (What can we conclude from the text?)

7. Questions about Reference

The words pronouns such as: he-him-his-self, she-her-hers-herself, and so on, are used by the author to replace the nouns just mentioned so they don't have to replace with the same noun. The author simply uses reference.

The reference word is often, but not always, a pronoun or pronouns. This word can refer to a noun or a noun phrase composed of several words.

Examples of TOEFL Test Questions in the Reading Comprehension Section

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:

The railroad was not the ﬁrst institution to impose regularity on society, or to draw attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out their wares at daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and information would proceed in ﬁts and starts; the very fabric of modem society would begin to unravel.

Example I

What is the main idea of the passage?

(A) In modem society we must make more time for our neighbors.

(B) The traditions of society are timeless.

(D) Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.

The main idea of the passage is that societies need to agree about how time is to be measured in order to function smoothly. Therefore, you should choose (C).

Example II

In line 4, the phrase “this tradition” refers to....

(A) the practice of starting the business day at dawn

(B) friendly relations between neighbors

(D) people’s agreement on the measurement of time

The phrase “this tradition” refers to the preceding clause, “people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day.” Therefore, you should choose (D).

Example

The Passage:

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States had tremendous natural resources that could be exploited in order to develop heavy industry. Most of the raw materials that are valuable in the manufacture of machinery, transportation facilities, and consumer goods lay ready to be worked into wealth. Iron, coal, and oil-the basic ingredients of industrial growth-were plentiful and needed only the application of technical expertise, organizational skill, and labor.
One crucial development in this movement toward industrialization was the growth of the railroads. The railway network expanded rapidly until the railroad map of the United States looked like a spider’s web, with the steel ﬁlaments connecting all important sources of raw materials, their places of manufacture, and their centers of distribution. The railroads contributed to the industrial growth not only by connecting these major centers, but also by themselves consuming enormous amounts of fuel, iron, and coal.

Many factors inﬂuenced emerging modes of production. For example, machine tools, the tools used to make goods, were steadily improved in the latter part of the nineteenth century-always with an eye to speedier production and lower unit costs. The products of the factories were rapidly absorbed by the growing cities that sheltered the workers and the distributors. The increased urban population was nourished by the increased farm production that, in turn, was made more productive by the use of the new farm machinery. American agricultural production kept up with the urban demand and still had surpluses for sale to the industrial centers of Europe.

The labor that ran the factories and built the railways was recruited in part from American farm areas where people were being displaced by farm machinery, in part from Asia, and in part from Europe. Europe now began to send tides of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe-most of whom were originally poor farmers but who settled in American industrial cities. The money to ﬁnance this tremendous expansion of the American economy still came from European ﬁnanciers for the most part, but the Americans were approaching the day when their expansion could be ﬁnanced in their own “money market.”

Question:

What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The history of railroads in the United States

(B) The major United States industrial centers

(D) The role of agriculture in the nineteenth century

Discussion:

The reading mainly addresses the factors that influence industrialization in the US which include railroad development, machine tools and labor.

Answer: C. Factalization that affected industrialization in the United States

Question:

Why does the author mention “a spider’s web” in line 8?

(A) To emphasize the railroad’s consumption of oil and coal

(B) To describe the complex structure of the railway system

(D) To describe the diﬃculties involved in the distribution of raw materials

Discussion:

The term web spider describes the complexity of the arrangement of railroad systems at that time like spider webs.

Answer: B. To describe the complex structure of the railway system

Question:

According to the passage, all of the following were true of railroads in the United States in the nineteenth century EXCEPT that

(A) they connected important industrial cities

(B) they were necessary to the industrialization process

(D) they used relatively small quantities of natural resources

Discussion:

Based on the information in paragraph 2, the railway line develops very fast to resemble a spider web, connecting the industrial city centers in the country and contributing greatly to industrial growth. Therefore the incorrect answer is choice D because it is contrary to the facts.

Answer: D. they are used relatively small quantities of natural resources.

Question:

According to the passage, what was one effect of the improvement of machine tools?

(A) Lower manufacturing costs

(B) Better distribution of goods

(D) A reduction in industrial jobs

Discussion:

Because the development of machine tools that began to replace human power made production costs lower.

Answer: A. Lower manufacturing costs

Question:

According to the passage, who were the biggest consumers of manufactured products?

(A) Railway workers

(B) Farmers

(D) Europeans

Discussion:

Sentence The increased urban population was increased by the increased production of farms that, in turn, was made more productive by the use of the new farm machinery, showing the relationship between the rapid growth of urban population and the production of equipment needed by the population. In other words the greatest demand comes from the growing population of the city.

Answer: C. City dwellers

Question:

Which of the following is NOT true of United States farmers in the nineteenth century?

(A) They lost some jobs because of mechanization.

(B) They were unable to produce suﬃcient food for urban areas.

(D) They sold food to European countries.

Discussion:

The effect of industrialization is an increase in production due to the development of existing equipment to sell it to mainland Europe. But this also has an impact on reducing labor that has been replaced by machines with a much lower ratio of production costs. Therefore an answer that is not in accordance with the above facts is answer B.

Answer: B. They were able to produce food for urban areas

Question:

According to the passage, what did the United States supply to European cities?

(A) Machine tools

(B) Money

(D) Agricultural produce

Discussion:

The answer can be found in the last sentence of paragraph 3 that American agricultural production keeps up with the urban demand and still surpluses for sale to the industrial centers of Europe.

Answer: D. Agricultural produce

References:

https://www.bestmytest.com/toefl/reading

https://www.pustakabahasainggris.com/strategi-tips-dan-trik-menjawab-tes-toefl-reading-comprehension/

http://www.geniustoefl.com/artikel-ilmu-kunci-toefl/artikel/reading-comprehension/contoh-soal-pembahasan-reading-comprehension-tes-toefl

Cari Blog Ini

Primajatti Pratiwi