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TOEFL iBT Reading Comprehension Test-taking Strategies I. Overview: Number of Passages and Questions 3 ! "assages# $% $& 'uestions "er "assage Timing (0 $00 minutes

Length of Each Passage ~700 words

II.

Question Types:

Basic n!ormation and n!erencing Questions )actua* Information Negati+e )actua* Information Inference ,hetorica* Pur"ose -ocabu*ar. ,eference /entence /im"*ification Insert Te0t Reading to Learn Questions Prose /ummar. )i** in a Tab*e III. Strategies: 3 ( "er set 0% 0% 0% 3! 0% 0$ 0$ $ "er set

"# $egative Factua% n!ormation& 12.$3: Over the past 600 years, English has grown from a language of a few speakers to
become the dominant language of international communication. English as we know it today emerged around 13 0, after having incorporated many elements of !rench that were introduced following the "orman invasion of 1066. #ntil the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England and had not e$tended even as far as %ales, &cotland, or 'reland. (owever, during the course of the ne$t two centuries, English began to spread around the globe as a result of e$ploration, trade )including slave trade*, coloni+ation, and missionary work. ,hus, small enclaves of English speakers became established and grew in various parts of the world. -s these communities proliferated, English gradually became the primary language of

international business, banking, and diplomacy.

Question: According to the passage, all of the following contributed to the spread of
English around the world EXCEPT: A. The slave trade B. The Nor an invasion C. !issionaries ". Coloni#ation

12.%3 'n "orth -merica there are two forms of bison, the plains bison and the woodland bison.
,he plains bison once ranged from .ennsylvania and /eorgia to the 0ockies, north to the edge of the 1anadian forest, and south onto the central plateau of 2e$ico. ,he bison has a great tolerance to cold. %hen bli++ards rage across the "orth -merican prairie, bison lower their heads and face directly into the storm. 'n winter the vegetation on which these animals feed may be hidden beneath a deep blanket of snow3 however, this does not present a problem, for the bison use their hooves and massive heads to clear away the snow and then feed on the grasses below. 4ison are strong survivors and have few predators e$cept for humans, who reduced their population to the point at which, around 1500, there were fewer than a thousand plains bison left. (owever, with protection and careful breeding they have been brought back to the point where their numbers can be multiplied at will. 6arge herds presently range on both government and private lands where they are protected. Other endangered species need the same planning and protection.

Question: According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT
A. so e bison live on govern ent land B. bison can survive heav$ snowstor s C. bison are pri aril$ vegetarian ". the woodland bison has beco e e%tinct

B# n!erence& Samp%e Test '() '*

(istorians of women7s labor in the #nited &tates at first largely disregarded the story of female service workers8women earning wages in occupations such as salesclerk, domestic servant, and office secretary. ,hese historians focused instead on factory work, primarily because it seemed so different from traditional, unpaid 9women7s work: in the home, and because the underlying economic forces of industrialism were presumed to be gender;blind and hence emancipatory in effect. #nfortunately, emancipation has been less profound than e$pected, for not even industrial wage labor has escaped continued se$ segregation in the work place.

Question: &t can be inferred fro the passage that earl$ historians of wo en's labor in
the (nited )tates paid little attention to wo en's e plo$ ent in the service sector of the

econo $ because "# B# C# +# the e%tre e variet$ of these occupations eaningful statistics about the . the wages paid to the wor*ers in the service sector were in the industrial sector. wo en's e plo$ ent in the service sector tended to be in factor$ wor*. e plo$ ent in the service sector see ed to have wor* associated with ho e a*ing. uch in co on with the unpaid uch ore short+ter than uch lower than those paid ade it ver$ difficult to asse ble

C# Rhetorica% ,urpose& Samp%e Test '&ince the (awaiian 'slands have never been connected to other land masses, the great variety of plants in (awaii must be a result of the long;distance dispersal of seeds, a process that re<uires both a method of transport and an e<uivalence between the ecology of the source area and that of the recipient area. ,here is some dispute about the method of transport involved. &ome biologists argue that ocean and air currents are responsible for the transport of plant seeds to (awaii. =et the results of flotation e$periments and the low temperatures of air currents cast doubt on these hypotheses. 2ore probable is bird transport, either e$ternally, by accidental attachment of the seeds to feathers, or internally, by the swallowing of fruit and subse<uent e$cretion of the seeds. %hile it is likely that fewer varieties of plant seeds have reached (awaii e$ternally than internally, more varieties are known to be adapted to e$ternal than to internal transport.

Question: The author entions the results of flotation e%peri ents on plant seeds
probabl$ in order to A. support the clai that the distribution of plants in ,awaii is the result of the long+ distance dispersal of seeds B. lend credibilit$ to the thesis that air currents provide a seeds to ,awaii C. suggest that the long+distance dispersal of seed is a process that re-uires long periods of ti e ". challenge the clai seeds to ,awaii that ocean currents are responsible for the transport of plant

ost

ethod of transport for plant

.ore E/amp%e 012 The human brain is a""ro0imate*. $.3 *bs of raw thin4ing and ana*.5ing "ower. 6ore "owerfu* than an. su"ercom"uter# the brain is com"osed of fi+e main sections: the

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cerebrum# the brain stem# h."otha*amus# tha*amus# and the cerebe**um. 7f the brain8s man. functions# the cerebrum is thought to be most im"ortant for the cogniti+e thought "rocess. The cerebrum8s fo*ded and twisted outer mass is com"rised of g.ri 9bu*bous ridges:# suc*i 9sma** groo+es:# and fissures 9*arger groo+es: and is ca**ed the cerebra* corte0. In "aragra"h $# wh. does the author mention su"ercom"uters; 92: To inform the reader about su"ercom"uting brain "ower 9<: To "ro+ide the reader with information on the brain8s functions 9=: To re*ate to the reader how much ana*.sis humans can accom"*ish with a com"uter 9>: To re*ate to the reader how im"ressi+e the brain8s ana*.5ing abi*ities are .ore E/amp%e 0(2 Li4e student acti+ism# ethnicit.?the assertion of distincti+eness?is on the rise throughout the wor*d. The b*ac4 mo+ement in the @nited /tates has found an echo among other ethnic grou"s in the @nited /tates# such as the Puerto ,ican# 6e0ican 2merican# 2merican Indian# 7rienta*# Ita*ian# Irish# and Po*ish grou"s. The origina* circumstances of a** of these grou"s +aried great*.. /ome had been con'uered# some had emigrated from co*onies and some from free countries# and some had met substantia* "reAudice and discrimination. Bet the notion of a unified ethnic grou" seemed# in some degree# to satisf. indi+idua*s from e+er. ethnic bac4ground. The b*ac4 re+o*ution has had as wide s"read a resonance abroad as at home. 2 b*ac4 "ower mo+ement de+e*o"ed in the Cest Indies# a ci+i* rights mo+ement in Northern Ire*and# and a <*ac4 Panther grou" in Israe*. The =atho*ics of Northern Ire*and did not need the b*ac4 e0am"*e to teach them that the. were aggrie+ed?their miseries in re*ation to the Protestant maAorit. go bac4 farther in histor. than those of 2merican b*ac4s. Nor did the 7rienta* Dews of Israe* need the 2merican b*ac4s to remind them that something was amiss with their "osition. Ne+erthe*ess# the b*ac4 e0am"*e e0erted its inf*uence around the wor*d# Aust as certain de+e*o"ments abroad inf*uenced 2merican b*ac4s. The 2merican ci+i* rights mo+ement# for e0am"*e# a+owed*. and e0"*icit*. ado"ted techni'ues de+e*o"ed in twentieth centur. India during the strugg*e against <ritish ru*e. The author mentions twentieth centur. India in order to show that 92: the Indians were successfu* in their strugg*e against <ritish ru*e 9<: the efforts of b*ac4s in the @nited /tates affected ethnic grou"s in non Euro"ean states 9=: 2merican b*ac4s were inf*uenced b. a foreign mo+ement 9>: Indians encouraged and ad+ised 2merican ci+i* rights *eaders

+# Sentence Simp%i!ication& Samp%e Test '13

These voices of dissent have demonstrated to environmentalists the need to apply quantitative methods in assessing the extent of the destruction they have witnessed, or the degree to which their work has been manifested in actual improvement of the environment.

Question& .hich of the sentence below best e%presses the essential infor ation in the
highlighted sentence in the passage/ Incorrect choices change the i portant wa$s or leave out essential infor ation. A. Critics of the ove ent were successful in dissuading ore drastic ethods the$ e plo$ed. ove ent succeeded in getting the an$ environ entalists fro eaning in

supporting so e of the

easures that had been suggested b$

-uestioning the -uantitative activists to ta*e another, an$ that the

B. 0pponents of the environ ental protection

ore ob1ective, approach to substantiating their clai s. ove ent were invalid and ethods in

C. People who disagreed with the environ entalists eventuall$ were able to persuade ethods e plo$ed b$ the environ ental their conclusion incorrect. ". !e bers of environ ental groups were reluctant to e plo$ -uantitative assessing environ ental da age because the$ felt the results substantiate their clai s. ight not

E# Reading to Learn& -,rose Summary 0Samp%e Test '142 Reading to Learn& -Fi%% in a Ta5%e The 2eft+handed Pol$ orphis
2ost people e$hibit hand preference, but it has long been a mystery to scientists as to how and why human handedness e$ists. ,his preference is a polymorphism, a non;neutral trait that can be observed in a population. ,he most common polymorphism is that of se$, the se$ual dimorphism. &everal studies indicate that the coe$istence of both right; and left;handed individuals has been maintained for a long time in hominids. ,he oldest undisputed evidence is from the middle .leistocene )>? ,000@1A0,000 =ears 4efore the .resent*, where marking on incisor;teeth of Homo neanderthalensis individuals indicate that they used either their right or left hand to feed themselves. 'n Homo sapiens, indications of handedness polymorphism come from studies of hole;making rotation movements in wood and wear marks on spoons. ,here is

still today a polymorphism of handedness in humans, in all populations. ,he evolutionary significance of this polymorphism is unclear. (owever, the heritability of this trait is clearly established. 't is known that the fre<uency of left;handers is variable across geographical areas, but until recently nothing was known about its variation over time. &cientists have long speculated that the handedness polymorphism has changed over time. 6eft;handedness has been shown to be a heritable trait that associates with different types of fitness costs, such as higher susceptibility to neural disorders, lower height, and shorter life e$pectancy. B &tatistics show that left;handed people are more likely to be schi+ophrenic, alcoholic, delin<uent, dysle$ic, and have 1rohn7s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. B ,hey7re also more likely to get into accidents and died young. B !urthermore, many societies have considered left;handed individuals as sinister. B 'f this is the case, handedness meets all the re<uirements for natural selection to act on, and left;handedness should have been wiped out by natural selection. =et, a new study by Cr. 1harlotte !aurie and Cr. 2ichel 0aymond suggest that handedness has remained a stable polymorphism through human evolution. E$amining 0D negative hand prints made near cave paintings in !rance and &pain made 30,000 to 10,000 =4., the professors were able to determine the handedness of many of the individuals who made them. "egative hand prints were created by placing one hand against the wall of the cave. ,he other hand was used to control a straw;like device. 4lack paint was blown out of the straw on to the hand and cave wall. Once the hand was removed the cave was left with an image of a negative hand print. ,he hands used in some of the 0D prints were ambiguous, but the professors found 3>3 that were clearly pictures of right or left hands. Of these 3>3, D5 or ?3E were pictures of right hands and ?6> or DDE were pictures of left hands. ,he professors then had 1D5 college students create negative hand prints. ,he students were not told which hand to use. ,hey found that the present day participants made >1 )??.5E* images of their right hands and 13A )DD.1E* made images of their left hands. ,he professors were ama+ed to see that there were no significant differences in the images created over 10,000 years apart. 't suggests that handedness is a trait has not substantially changed since the upper .alaeolithic. ,herefore, left;handedness must have biological benefits. 0esearchers have forwarded the fighting hypothesis to e$plain the preservation of this polymorphism. ,his hypothesis states that left;handers have a fre<uency advantage when they engage in combat because of the fact that right;handers are much more numerous than left;handers3 this implies that right;handers will be relatively ine$perienced when facing left;handed opponents as compared to left;handers who are more accustomed to encountering right;handers. ,his is described as a fre<uency; dependent situation because the fewer left;handers in the population, the more advantage they

would have when fighting with right;handed opponents. ,his hypothesis also e$plains the relative success of left;handed people in sports. 'n fact, left;handed athletes are much more prevalent in interactive sports, where competitors face each other like bo$ing, basketball, baseball, and fencing than non;interactive sports where competitors do not face their opponents directly, like swimming, and gymnastics. 3?E of interactive sports athletes are left; handed3 whereas, only 11E of non;interactive sports athletes are left;handed. ,he stable polymorphism between left; and right;handedness, as suggested by the fighting hypothesis, may be the conse<uence of the e<uilibrium between the fitness costs and the fighting advantage associated with left;handedness. 'f the ratio of right; and left;handed individuals were 1F1, the left;handers would no longer have the advantages spelled out by the fight hypothesis, while maintaining the deleterious effects of left;handedness. 2athematical models suggest the optimum e<uilibrium between right; and left;handed individuals is 5F1. ,his ideal model roughly mirrors the percentage of left;handed individuals in the population, appro$imately11E.

Question& Co plete the table below to su

3 points.

ari#e infor ation about the advantages

and disadvantages of being left+handed discussed in the passage. The question is worth

"rag $our answer choices to the spaces where the$ belong. To review the passage, clic* on 3iew Te%t.

Advantages of being left+handed 4 6 8 5 7

"isadvantages of being left+handed

5. 9. 4. 6. :. 8. 7.

2eft+handed people are

ore li*el$ to have d$sle%ic. a*e a lot of one$.

2eft+handed people are less li*el$ to 2eft+handed people are 2eft+handed people are 2eft+handed people are people. 2eft+handed people are

There are fewer left+handed people than right handed people ore li*el$ to do well in co bat. ore li*el$ to be careful than right+handed people. ore li*el$ to do well in an$ sports than right+handed

ore li*el$ to be shorter than right+handed people.