15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Hom e
IELTS Hel p
D ai ly Moti vati on
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 .com/content.php?pgID=2 90 90
ESL Hel p
Free TOEFL C ours e
H ow To Choos e Your TOEFL Program
Order now
Succes s Stories
C ontact Us
1/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Don't Feel Confused Or Stressed With The TOEFL Reading ba ck to to p
Are you ready for step 2? Click below to take your next step forward: Click now to learn which program is best for you to reach your TOEFL score. Remember that NoteFull is here for you every st ep of the way: to answer y our questions and guide you through difficulty. We will succeed.
TOEFL Reading Overview ba ck t o t op
When you sit down and take y our seat after y ou’re finished registering and the examiner allows you to start the ex am, you’re going to see the instructions for the reading section. They’re going to be read out loud to y ou. That’s going to give y ou some time to psy chologically prepare yourself and become comfortable with what’s going to come next: the all-powerful reading section. After the instructions are finished, your first reading will appear. It will consist of 700 words and it will take up the whole screen of y our monitor, so you’re not going to see any questions. You will need to scroll down through the reading and then click next before y ou start to see the questions. The reason is to give you a chance to look at the reading. It doesn't mean that you should read the whole essay though. (We’ll learn more about what to do here later.)
The TOEFL Readings ba ck t o t op
Remember (from the T OEFL over view section) that you'll receive either 3 or 4 readings on your TOEFL. Each reading will contain approximately 700 words and require y ou to answer 1 4 questions within 20 minutes. You’ll see a timer on the upper- right hand corner of your ex am. It’s there to help make sure that you don’t spend too much time on any one question and it’s going to count from 60 or 80 minutes down to 0 (depending on if you get that extr a ex perimental reading or not; explained in our TOEFL overv iew section). Once it hits 0, y our answers will be recorded and you will move on to the listening section never to return to the reading again. Consequently, to succeed, look at that timer https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
2/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
and monitor y our time as you answer the questions to answer all of them (or at least guess on them) before time runs out.
Answering on the TOEFL Reading ba ck t o t op
As you answer, you will always be able to jump to different questions. For example, let’s say y ou’re answering questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and then 5 . Then, you think to y ourself, “Wait a second, I think I understand 3 better. Let me go back and change the answer.” You will be able to do that. When you finish the last question (number 42 or 56), you’re going to see a chart that shows you the questions that y ou answered and didn’t answer. You’ll be able to doubleclick on a question to jump directly to it in the reading. You'll also be able to jump around a bit for the questions in the r eading y ou're succeeding at during the ex am. I’m explaining this to let y ou know that you can bounce around once you finish the reading to double check your answers. But, of course, we’ll learn to be focused and exact as we answer so that we won’t need to do this. When you finish the first reading, you’re going to move on to another reading and so on and so on until you complete y our set: either 3 or 4.
Attacking the TOEFL Reading ba ck to to p
First, y ou don’t want to read the whole passage before y ou start answering the quest ions; if you do, it will be a very inefficient and time-wasting way to read. Instead, acquire a basic idea of the reading and prepare your mind for what y ou’re going to read about by first r eading the title. Then, read the first sentence (which is the all important t opic sentence) of ev ery paragraph. Do this to get a quick introduction to the reading before you read it in detail. Below is a picture to get a visual idea of this; it's that important that we creat ed an image to make it absolutely clear. The black boxes re present the title and pargraphs and the red lines represe nt what y ou will read.
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
3/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Only spend 1 minute doing this. Anymore than that and it will be too much time; spend all of the time that y ou can answering the questions since that’s where your score comes from. To finish within 1 minute, you might have to read only pieces of the first sentences (subject, ver b, object only) since they can be quite big. After you read the first sentence, read question number 1, not the answers but the question. Establish an idea of what it’s asking about. Then, start reading the passage from the v ery beginning in search of the answer to that question. In this way, y ou will concentrate only on what’s important and what will earn y ou a higher score. We read the first sentences in the first minute to picture the idea of what the passage is about as we work to answer the question; it helps. This challenges students when they aren’t used to it. However, ev ery one who’s tried it sticks with this method of attack because it works. Once you answer question number 1 , go onto question number 2 in the same way. The TOEFL questions proceed in chronological order, so the answer to number 1 is in the beginning of the passage and the answer to number 12 is towards the end. As we discussed earlier, timing is important and it’s very easy for students to run out of time. Follow this guideline carefully and you will NEVER have that tr ouble again. That's right: y ou will never have trouble again. 1st Reading 80 min - 79 min : read the first sentences 79 min - 72:40 min : answer quest ions 1 - 5 72:40 min - 66:20 min : answer questions 6 - 10 66:20 min - 60 min : answer questions 11 - 14
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
4/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
2nd Reading 60 min - 59 min : read the first sentences 59 min - 52:40 min : answer questions 1 - 5 52:40 min - 46:20 min : answer questions 6 - 10 46:20 min - 40 min : answer questions 11 - 14 3rd Reading 40 min - 39 min : read the first se ntences 39 min - 32:40 min : answer questions 1 - 5 32:40 min - 26:20 min : answer questions 6 - 10 26:20 min - 20:00 min : answer questions 11 - 14 4th Reading 20 min - 19 min : read the first sentences 19 min - 12:40 min : answer questions 15 - 19 12:40 min - 6:20 min : answer questions 20 - 24 6:20 min - 0 min : answer questions 25 - 28 You should be able to tell that through this timing guideline, you have more time to answer the final questions of the reading than the first questions. The final questions demand the most time and concentration, so don’t change this. Also, this timing structure is set up for when you do have an ext ra experimental reading. If you don't, simply start from 60 minutes and follow the timing precisely. Click here for more powerful help with t he TOEFL reading before your next t est.
TOEFL Reading Question Types and Strategies ba ck t o t op
Below is a lecture t hat I recorded to ex plain the basics of the question types that y ou'll find on the TOEFL readings and the strategies to answer them. This is a very important part of your preparation because these strategies will help you to answer faster, easier, and more accurately. Consequently, pay careful attention, listen more than once, and take great notes.
Practice TOEFL Reading ba ck to t op
1. Set your online stopwatch to 20 min. (click here to open an online stopwatch) 2. Start the stopwatch and start the reading. 3. When the timer stops, stop your work 4. Mark y our notes at the point where you stopped.
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
5/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Water in t he Desert Desert areas of the world are not completely void of precipitation, but rainfall in these regions is known to vary greatly. Typically, scientists use an annual rainfall amount of four inches as the dividing line between desert and non-desert areas. While these arid regions may receive a similar amount of rainfall each year, how that rainfall affects surface water and groundwater resources is largely dependent upon the area’s topographical characteristics. For example, landforms such as flats and depressions common to deserts are known to collect water, but these features constitute only a small percentage of the desert landscape. It is interesting to note t hat these arid lands in fact contain some of the e arth’s largest systems of rivers. In the cases of these river systems, the sources of the rivers lie outside the arid region itself, and hence they are known as “exogenous” rivers and systems. These exogenous systems play a critical role in nourishing life in the world’s most parched regions. For example, annual flooding of the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers has long supplied residents with water and brought in fertile silt to help agriculture. With the advent of modern technology, however, this flooding is largely managed by human hands, which has required more governmental cooperation among nations in crafting treaties and agreements regulating the use of these r iver basins. In addition to human intervention, the flow of exogenous rivers is impacted by the season. Ironically, it sometimes takes a number of months for the effect of a rainy season outside a desert area to be felt within it, so by the time the peak flow finally arriv es, it may in fact be the driest time of the ye ar. While this additional water does aid the irrigation for agriculture, weather changes during the dry season like higher temperatures and lower humidity may make the cultivation of some crops ev en more challenging than it is during the normal growing season. In contrast t o exogenous rivers, those identified as “ endogenous” sy stems begin and end within the arid region. Water in these sy stems generally comes from groundwater springs, but many of these rivers are fed by water coming from limestone massifs, such as the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Rivers of this variety tend not to reach the sea, but instead end up draining into inland basins, where most of it is simply lost to evaporation or disappears into the ground. Though rivers and lakes are pr esent in desert areas, groundwater makes up a much larger percentage of the total water in these re gions. However , only a small portion of these underground deposits ever reach the hydrologic cycle; i.e., it nev er enters t he constant movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the earth that characterizes most of the planet’s other water resources. The groundwater that does enter into this cycle usually does so by fee ding the flow of streams or by maintaining water levels in lakes. Water taken in this way from groundwater stores is t hen refilled by surface flows and rainwater. International organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank have both funded efforts to surv ey existing groundwater in arid lands and to create effective methods to draw usable water from these sources. These efforts are particularly necessary due to the lack of clear understanding in these regions about just how much groundwater exists. What is known, however, is that these groundwater deposits are very unevenly distributed, and that much of this water can be found deep beneath the earth’s surface. These groundwater deposits are found underground in open spaces between, inside, and among rocks and sediment. These water- laden layer s of earth are known as “aquifers.” In general, limestone and
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
6/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
sandstone aquifers tend to be deep and large, which contributes to their relatively high concentration of minerals. They are usually not replenished because they became saturated more than 1 0,000 years ago and do not need to be. These deep aquifers are sometimes called “fossil waters” to denote the fact that this water has been present for so long. On the other hand, shallow aquifers found in sand or gravel are much less extensive , but they can quickly be r eplenished. 1.
According to paragraph 1, what do scientists use to determine whether or not an area is labeled a
desert? a. The amount of annual rainfall b. The lack of groundwater re sources c. Topographical characteristics d. The absence of flats and depressions in the landscape 2. The word “depressions” in the passage is closest in meaning to a. rifts b. dunes c.
ranges
d. basins With the advent of modern technology, however, this flooding is largely managed by human hands, which has required more governmental cooperation among nations in crafting treaties and agreements regulating the use of these river basins. 3.
Which of the sentences below best expre sses the essential information in the highlighted sentence
in the passage? I ncorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. a. Government involvement in the creation of tre aties and agreements enhances flood-controlling modern technology of river basins. b. Technology has allowed for better human management of floods, making river basin regulation agreements largely unnecessary. c. Humans have been able to use technology to control flooding, which has made international cooperation on the use of river basins more necessary . d. More modern technology will lead to bett er flood management because intergov ernmental treaties regarding riv er basins allow for cooperation. 4. The word “arid” in the passage is closest in meaning to a. moist b. dry c.
deserted
d.
airy
5.
In paragraph 3, the author mentions all of the following about the flow of exogenous rivers
EXCEPT: a. The impact of the flow is often felt in the driest seasons. b. The flow can be an aid in the cultivation of crops. c. The effects of the flow are not felt immediately. d. The flow is unaffected by the season of the year.
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
7/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
6. According to paragraph 4, what distinguishes an endogenous river from an exogenous river? a. An endogenous river flows into a limestone massif. b. The source of an endogenous river is within the desert region. c. The endogenous river does not reach the sea. d. Endogenous rivers have a higher saline content than exogenous rivers. 7. The word “stores” in the passage is closest in meaning to a.
locations
b. accumulations c.
caves
d. discoveries 8. According to paragraph 5, what are some international organizations now doing in desert areas? a. They are creating new methods for drawing these resources to river basins. b. They are paying for efforts to survey existing groundwater resources. c. They are giving monetary grants to individual inhabitants of arid lands. d. They are try ing to equalize the uneven distribution of groundwater. 9. Why does the passage mention in paragraph 5 the fact that the exact ext ent of groundwater resources is still unknown? a. To highlight the lack of scientific research being done in deser t areas. b. To illustrate the importance of freshwater to the inhabitants of deserts. c. To explain why the recent actions of the United Nations and others are needed. d. To show how groundwater can affect the flow of exogenous river s. 10.
The word “replenished” in the passage is closest in meaning to
a. Refilled b. Rejuvenated c. Reinvigorated d. 11.
Rescinded According to paragraph 6, why are limestone and sandstone aquifers not being refilled?
a. Because the water within them has been present for so long b. Because of disputes among intergovernmental agencies c. Because they were filled to capacity in the distant past d. Because they are deeper and larger than other aquifers 12.
What can be inferred in paragraph 7 about shallow aquifers?
a. They tend to have less mineral content than deeper ones. b. They can quickly be replenished because they wer e saturated as limestone aquifers once were. c. The water from shallow aquifers is unusable because of its proximity to gravel. d. They are more extensive than limestone aquifers. 13.
Look at the four squares () that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the
passage. In fact, these water deposits have recently become the focus of increased attention as a source of freshwater for the inhabitants of desert areas.
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
8/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Where would the sentence best fit? 14.
Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.
Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. Water resources in desert areas can be found in a number of different pl aces. a. In general, a desert area’s rainfall is below the threshold of four inches of annual precipitation. b. Exogenous rivers t hat flow through arid lands are among the largest river sy stems in the world and are v ital to the inhabitants of these regions. c. Endogenous river s begin and end within a desert region, but a large amount of this water is lost to evaporation or disappears into the ground. d. The water r esources of endogenous rivers never make it to the sea because much of it is used in the cultivation of crops. e.
Groundwater resources such as aquifers contain a large percentage of water in desert areas and
are becoming the focus of increased attention as a source of freshwater for the residents of these areas. f. Fossil waters are aquifers that are no longer being replenished because they wer e filled to capacity centuries ago.
Submit your TOEFL Reading Answers ba ck to to p
Use the form below to submit y our answers and get a chance to see how other test takers answered the same questions. Did you get the hard questions right or the e asy ones wrong?
Answer Key: Water in the Desert ba ck to to p
1. Detail-A 2. Vocabulary-D 3. Paraphrase-C 4. Vocabulary-B 5. Negative detail-D 6. Detail-B 7. Vocabulary-B 8. Detail-B 9. Purpose-C 10. Vocabulary-A 11. Detail-C 12. I nference-A 13. Plug-in-B 14. Summary-B, C, and E
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
9/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Calculate Your TOEFL Reading Score ba ck to t op
The way that we will understand the score that we are going to receive on the TOEFL exam is by doing a little bit of math. First, remember that the TOEFL reading section is scored out of 30 points. Each reading has approximately 1 4 questions. In order for us to know the score that y ou're likely t o receive on the exam from the reading that y ou just did is by following a few steps. 1. Count the total number of answers that y ou got correct. 2. Question 14 is worth 2 points. If y ou chose 3 out of 3 correctly, y ou earn 2 points. If y ou chose 2 out of 3 correctly, y ou earn one point. If y ou chose one out of 3 correctly , you earn no points. 3. Divide the number of correct answers by 14. 4. Multiply the number in step 3 by 30. This number is your TOEFL reading score. 5. Record the dates, the name of the reading, and your score in your notebook.
TOEFL Vocabulary for TOEFL Reading ba ck t o t op
If y ou find that y ou scored 2 out of 4 (or less) vocabulary questions, it’s important to star t study ing vocabulary separately . It will stand in your way of improving. For fast free help, there are many vocabulary lists on the internet and you can always build your own list from these example readings and others. We have also developed a powerful vocabualry sy stem whose words we’v e taken directly from the most frequently occuring words from over 60 actual TOEFL readings. It’s a powerful sy stem that can help you as well. Click here to get an overview of it and some further direction on how to improve. If y ou have any questions or conerns about it, y ou can always send us an email (
[email protected]). Whatever you decide to do though, start working on vocabulary! If you scored 3 out of 4 (or more), studying vocabulary is not a major recommendation. At this level, it can be a waste of time bceause y our vocabulary will build naturally and it’s more important to practice actual readings than simply memorize words. Of course, this is unless you know that your vocabulary is an issue, but I don’t r ecommend studying it separately unless y ou have a few hours to study https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
10/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
whenever you study and you’re looking to improve y our score as quickly as possible.
Remember To Master This Chapter Before Moving On ba ck t o t op
Memorize the strategy, vocabulary, and reading content in this page. It will help you tremendously. It's the only way t o improve your T OEFL score in a big way. After doing so, let's move to the next chapter.
Want To Stay In Close Contact With NoteFull? Follow Us ba ck t o t op
Get Your Guided Practice and Feedback with our Free Email email TOEFL Course Now! first name Sign Up Now! Get it now!
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
11/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
COMMENTS Name:
Rate: Rate this!
Please type the characters into the box below. Just to let us know that you're not a robot.
Submit Comment 178 entries | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Reply Maryam wrote on Monday November 12, 2012 1:28pm very useful. Rated 4 of 5 Stars Reply vaishali patel wrote on Saturday November 10, 2012 12:36pm i was so affraid to go for toefl test, now after i became member of notefull ,i have 95 % confidence that i will pass the toefl. Reply sara wrote on Friday November 9, 2012 2:34pm It is better foe doing the test if the question few each paragraph is separated by each paragraph because it is hard for me to find the appropriate paragraph for each question Rated 3 of 5 Stars Reply houria elsyed wrote on Thursday November 8, 2012 8:42am I took the toefl exam 10 times in the past .I always got 25-27 .However I traveled to Egypt, and I stayed there for 3 years.I got the toefl recently and I got 20 in reading I am really upset t hat the reading section I mastered before ,I can not get the required 22 as a pharamcist,but I found these tips are very helpful ,and I am going to order the vocabulary words and I will do many tests I think that might be helpful too.thank you Rated 5 of 5 Stars Reply Abhinav Singh wrote on Monday November 5, 2012 9:06pm Very good Rated 4 of 5 Stars Reply Alice thevoux wrote on Tuesday October 30, 2012 11:55am dear teach, I have a quick question:Can we go our own pace through the reading section or we have to wait the end of the 20 mn to move to another reading? Reply lollol wrote on Thursday October 25, 2012 10:19pm I am thinking that No.1 c annot be 3 only. It s eems rainfall+topography...no??? can someone help me Reply ehsan wrote on Wednesday Oct ober 24, 2012 10:11am thanks alot,Now, i know how to beat this section Rated 5 of 5 Stars
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
12/13
15/ 11/ 2012
NO TEFULL
Reply Harshad wrote on Wednesday October 24, 2012 4:48am Thanks a lot!!! This was really helpful.I think now i have a better idea about how to tackle the reading section. Rated 5 of 5 Stars Reply Sama wrote on Wednesday October 17, 2012 3:15pm I took the above reading test today. I had 2 mis takes Q5-13. I am confused with calculating my score. If some one answers all 14 questions correctly by considering 2 points for Q14 the total sum will be 15 divided by 14 * 30> 30 . How does it work? for getting score 27 in reading TOEFL how many mistakes can I have?
Home | IELTS Help | ESL Help | Free TOEFL Course | How To Choose Your TOEFL Program | Order now | Succ ess Stories | Daily Motivation | Contact Us © Copyright 2012 Notefull. All Rights Reserved. Website design by CIS Media, CMS powered by Interactive Web Solutions
https://www.notefull.com/content.php?pgID=2 90
13/13
