Senin, 30 Juni 2014

READING TOEFL


NAMA           :           Panca Ragil Rizkianto
NPM               :           25211489
KELAS          :           3EB24



STRATEGY READING TOEFL

1.      Before going to the 1st question, just check out the beginning of every paragraph. This will make an overall idea about the organization. Don't use more than 30sec for this.

2.      Answer the reference questions first (Vocabulary/Word reference, Pronoun reference, Highlighted sentence, Sentence Insertion etc.) - To answer these questions, most of the time, you will not have to read any other sentence than the indicated one. Therefore, these are time savers. A little information about the sentence insertion question is that, read the given sentence very carefully. If it starts with a pronoun, then identify to what it may refer to. Go to the passage and check the sentences preceding the insertion boxes. Think whether the pronoun of the given sentence can refer to the subject (or idea) presented in this sentence. Even if the given sentence does not start with a pronoun, usually you will be able to identify where to insert the sentence by reading only 9 sentences (Given sentence + the sentence before each box + the sentence after each box). However, generally, you'll need much lesser reading than this.

3.      Now go for the inference type questions (and any other types of questions not indicated in this post). Try to stick into the paragraph if it is mentioned. If not, the knowledge on overall organization of the essay (got in step 1) will help here. If that also fails, check out where the previous and next question came from. It is most likely that the answer of this question falls in between the answers of the previous and next question. I named this method as "TOEFL Sandwich". Read the middle part of the sandwich carefully and answer the question.

4.      Now go for the "Except" type questions. These questions generally take more time because it needs searching for 4 different information. Going through step 3 will already reduce a lot of works, i.e. you have read a lot of things already. Now, first, read each answer choice and then find related information from the passage and decide whether you need to consider this choice or need to refute it. Using this approach, I've found these questions answerable in very short time.

5.      Now, go for the summary/Classify type questions. If you forget about the organization of the passage by this time and if there is about 3~4 mins left (not less than it),repeat step 1. When answering the summary questions, do not take an answer only because you have read that in the passage. Take only those answers which represent a broader idea than others. 


EXAMPLE
1.
This section is designed to measure your ability to read and understand short passages similar in topic and style to those that student are likely to encounter in North American Universities and colleges. This section contains reading passages and questions about the passages.
            Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of Ser Piero, a Florentine notary and landlord, but lived on the estate and was treated as a legitimate son.
            In 1483, Leonardo da Vinci drew the first model of a helicopter. It did look very much like our modern day “copter” but the idea of what it could do was about the same.
            Leonardo was an artist and sculptor. He was very interested in motion and movement and tried to show it in his art. In order to show movement, he found it helpful to study the way things moved. One subject he liked to study was birds and how they flew. He spent many hours watching the birds and examining the structure of their wings. He noticed how they cupped air with their wings and how the feathers helped hold the air. Through these studies, Leonardo began to undertstand how bird were able to fly.
            Like many other men, Leonardo began to dream of the day when people would be able to fly. He designed a machine that used all the things he had learned about flight, and thus became the first model of a helicopter.
            Poor Leonardo had only one problem, however. He had no way to give the necessary speed to his invention. You see, motors had not yet been invented and speed was an important part of the flying process. It would be another four hundred years before the engine was invented and another fifty years before it was put to the test in an airplane. Leonardo’s dream of a helicopter finally came to pass in 1936.
            The Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, Leonardo died on May 2,1519, an was buried in the cloister of San Fiorentino in Amboise.

1.      What is the author’s main point?
a.         The invention of the helicopter
b.         Birds cup air with their wings and use feather to help hold the air
c.         An overview of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s many skills
d.        Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 and died in 1519
Correct answer : A

2.      The word problem in paragraph five could best be replaced by the word?
a.       Dilemma
b.      Mistake
c.       Danger
d.      Pain
Correct answer : A

3.      The word it in paragraph two refers to?
a.       Leonardo da Vinci
b.      The first model helicopter
c.       1483
d.       Motion and movement
Correct answer : B

4.      Which paragraph explains why Leonardo’s helicopter was not successful in his lifwtime?
a.       Paragraph 1
b.      Paragraph 2
c.       Paragraph 4
d.      Paragraph 5
Correct answer : D

5.      The word illegitimate in paragraph one is closest in meaning to?
a.       Against the law or illegal
b.      Not in correct usage
c.       Incorrectly deduced; illogical
d.      Born out of wedlock
Correct answer : D

2.
            Glass fibers are extremely strong; for their weight; they are stronger than stell. They are made by forcing molten glass through tiny holes called spinnerets. As many as four hundred spinnerets are placed together, and thread of glass much thinner than human hairs are drawn off at great speed-miles of thread per minute. As they speed along, the threads are coated thinly with a  type of glue and twisted into a yarn. The glass fibers are used with plastics to make boats and car bodies. They are also woven into heavy cloth for window draperies and into strong belts for making tires stronger.
            A special kind of glass fiber is causing a revolution in communications. A signal of light can be made to travel along the fiber for long distances. By changing the qulity of the light, many messages can be sent at once along one strand of glass. New office buildings are being “wired” with glass fibers as they are built. The glass fibers will be used to connect telephones and computers in ways that not long ago were either impossible or too expensive.
            Glas wool traps air in a thick, light blanket of fibers. This blanket is then put into walls and ceilings to keep warm air in during the winter and cool air in during the summer.
            To make glass wool, molten glass is fed into a spinning drum with many holes in it. As the glass threads stream out of the holes, they are fordced downward by a blast of hot air and through a spray of glues. The threads are then further blown about to mix. Them up as they fall in a thick mat on a moving belt.
The glass we see through and drink out of has many, many other uses besides the ones described here.
1.      The word they in the second sentence of the first paragraph refers to?
a.       Human hair
b.      Weight
c.       Glass fibers
d.      Yarn
Correct answer : C

2.      The word it in the fourth paragraph refers to?
a.       Molten glass
b.      Glass wool
c.       Spinning drum
d.      Holes
Correct answer : C

3.      The following sentences would best complete which paragraph? “this improvement in technology is expected to continue”.
a.       Paragraph 1
b.      Paragraph 2
c.       Paragraph 3
d.      Paragraph 4
Correct answer : B

4.      A signal of what can be made to travel along fiber for very long distance?
a.       Heat
b.      Wave
c.       Wool
d.      Light
Correct answer : D

5.      The word spray in the fourth paragraph could best be replaced by the word?
a.       Shower
b.      Blow
c.       Spit
d.      Force
Correct answer : A

Sumber :
download pdf di www.google.com