98 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Practice
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Find the answers on page 111.
Storytelling should speak first to the heart and only second to the intellect. It should, in Isaac Bashevis Singer’s words, “be both clear
and profound,” and it should also entertain. The new writer should avoid creating pieces that are deliberately obscure and
impossible to understand except by a small, elite group of other writers.
6. What is the passage suggesting about new writers? a. They are excellent writers.
b. They write better than those who have practiced the
art of writing.
c. They think that good writing should be difficult to
understand.
d. They aim to please a wide audience. 7. What is the author implying about most readers?
a. They are not very smart. b. They are not interested in obscure prose.
c. They do not like writing that affects their emotions. d. They are snobs who look down on others.
ANSWERING REFERENCE QUESTIONS
Reference questions measure your understanding of what a par- ticular sentence means. Read each passage carefully and try this
three-part strategy to find the correct answer:
1. Eliminate any answers that you know are incorrect. 2. Insert each remaining answer choice into the sentence.
READING 99
3. Decide whether the answer makes sense in the context
of the sentence. If not, eliminate it and try another. For example, look at how the strategy works with the following
reference question. The word they in paragraph 2 refers to:
a. the victims of heat stroke b. the treatments for heat stroke
c. the people who administer aid to victims of heat stroke d. the characteristics of heat stroke
Here’s the sentence in which they is used: They are a high body temperature which may reach 106
degrees F or more; a rapid pulse; hot, dry skin; and a blocked sweating mechanism.
They clearly does not refer to people, so you can rule out choices
a and c. When you replace they with the remaining answer choices, you can easily narrow your answer to the correct choice: d.
In Your Own Words
Questions that ask you to paraphrase, or reword, a sentence test the same skills as reference questions. They
measure your ability to comprehend a sentence or paragraph. As you read, think about what the material is
stating, then try rewriting it on paper or in your mind in new terms. This will increase your comprehension skills
and improve your chances of answering paraphrased sentence questions correctly.
