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Chapter 4

The document provides exercises aimed at improving note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills, including using abbreviations and predicting information from signal words. It emphasizes the importance of vocabulary expansion through reading and using dictionaries and thesauruses. Additionally, it includes strategies for organizing notes and evaluating progress in these skills.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
4 views21 pages

Chapter 4

The document provides exercises aimed at improving note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills, including using abbreviations and predicting information from signal words. It emphasizes the importance of vocabulary expansion through reading and using dictionaries and thesauruses. Additionally, it includes strategies for organizing notes and evaluating progress in these skills.

Uploaded by

Vũ Bảo Nông
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Building Supporting Skills

□ 5, Flow chart method

M a y a in A ztec Empire

Amr. Civ, M esoam erica raise com 2 n d m il CE

1st m il BCE M o c h e /N a z c a cerem cntrs Inca Empire


in Peru 2n d m il CE
... ...
....... .............

EXERCISE NPS2 Using short form s


Practice using abbreviated forms by writing your own short form of the words listed
below.

department dpt
percentages %s
anthropologist anthrop.

1, association ___________________

2. World Health Organization ___________________

3. for example ___________________

4. lexicography ___________________

5. building ___________________

6‘ equals ___________________

7. concentrated ___________________

8. chapters ___________________

9. developing ___________________

10. without ___________________

EXERCISE NPS3 Abbreviating sentences


Read the sentences/ and write them in a shortened form.

The decrease in the number of birds has had the effect of an increase in the
insect population.
A # birds = 个 bug pop_______
Decrease is represented by the arrow pointing downward. The symbol # means
number, the symbol = means equals and refers to the results of the decrease in
birds. Increase is represented by the arrow pointing upward. The word bug is a
shorter word meaning insect, and pop is an abbreviation for population.

1. Ironworking probably spread to the rest of Africa via the Meroitic civilization.

2. Finely ground pigments mixed with a base such as egg yolk was the exclusive
medium for painting panels in the Middle Ages.

57
Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

3. Trade relations between Egypt and Africa began in 1460 BCE when Queen
Hatshepsut sent her ships to the country of Flint/ todays Somalia.

4. The Freedom of Information Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1966, gives U.S.
citizens the right of access to public records.

5. In the Sonora Desert; the daytime temperatures rise to 50 degrees Celsius.

EXERCISE NPS4 Predicting w hat w ill follow a signal w ord or words


Write the kind of information you would expect to hear when a speaker uses the
connecting words below.

in other woixls Q repetitio n o f a previous p o in t b u t s a id in a different w av

L likewise_____________________________________________________________

2. therefore __________________________________________________________

3. as an illustration_____________________________________________________

4. granted that_________________________________________________________

5. incidentally__________________________________________________________

6. previously ___________________________________________________________

7. conversely^_________________________________________________
8. furthermore __________________________________________________________

9. above all ____________________________________________________________

10. to summarize______________________________________________________

EXERCISE NPS5 A nalyzing note-taking strategies


Answer the questions,
1. How can I increase my speed in taking notes?

2. How can I organize my notes to show cause-and-effect relationships?

3. How can I organize my notes to show comparisons and contrasts in passages?

58
Building Supporting Skills

4, How can I organize my notes to indicate the reasoning for and against an argument
in passages?

5. How can I organize my notes to combine the points made in the tasks that integrate
reading and listening?

EXERCISE NPS6 Taking abbreviated notes


Read the excerpts from texts and lectures. Write abbreviated notes in the format of
your choice.

Chief Washakie was the head chief of the Shoshone tribes from the mid-1800s.
He earned this position through his bravery in battles and his wisdom
in statesmanship. As a charismatic leader with linguistic abilities in French,
English, and numerous Native American languages, Chief Washakie negotiated a
treaty that protected the lands of the Shoshone people and provided them with
education and health care. In 1900, after 60 years of leadership, Chief Washakie,
the man known as the ^Peacemaker/' died. He is the only Native American chief
to have been given the honor of a full military funeral by orders from the president
of the United States, President McKinley.
W ashakie Shoshone chief 18〇 Qs __________________________________________

Q ualities brave, wise, charismatic, m u ltilin g u a l _______________________________

Treaty protect lands, provide edu 6 r health __________________________________

D ie d 1 9 0 0 . peacemaker, only N a tiv e A m erican chief buried U.S.____________

m ilita ry honors ________________________________________________________________

1. Rube Goldberg earned his degree in engineering/ but a love for drawing led him
into the cartooning profession. Although Goldberg^ career in cartooning involved a
variety of different creations, he is perhaps best known for the absurd inventions of
Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. Typically, these inventions/ sometimes referred
to as "Rube Goldberg's inventions," consisted of outrageously complicated designs
for machines that performed ridiculously simple tasks. Every year, a nationwide
Rube Goldberg invention contest is sponsored by the engineering fraternity at
Purdue University. University students are required to design and engineer an
impractical machine to perform in less than 9 minutes a simple task using more
than 20 processes. Past assignments have included designing a device that turns
off an alarm clock and one that cleans and peels an apple.

59
Pari 1 Building Supporting Skills

2. Wlien sound waves hit an object, they are reflected back. This is called an echo.
Several species of animals use a system of emitting sounds and listening for
the subsequent echoes in order to navigate or find food. This system is called
echolocation. Echolocation makes it possible for these species to reduce their
dependency on sight while hunting at night, living in dark areas such as in caves
(as in the case of bats and some birds), or swimming through cloudy or dark water
[as in the case of whales and dolphins).

You may be surprised that not all whales use echolocation. Only the toothed whales,
Odontoceti, have this capability/ although baleen whales do have the apparatus for
echolocation in a vestigial form/ which suggests that they may have been capable of
using echolocation in the past. I will go on now to discuss odontocete skull anatomy
and how echolocation is achieved.

3. If scores on IQ tests are anything to go by, it seems that people are becoming more
intelligent. Since the 1950$^ test scores have been rising, and although many studies
have been undertaken, the reasons for the rise in IQ scores remain a mystery. Factors
such as the decrease in family size; improved nutrition, higher living standards,
access to a better education, or a combination of these factors may account for some
of the increase. Since increases have tended to be in those areas measuring abstract
reason, it has been suggested that children have been stimulated by the visual
effects of television and the problem-solving challenges of video games. But
beyond just IQ ;researchers are also beginning to study Emotional Intelligence, or EI.
A person with high El has a self-awareness that enables a better understanding of his
or her own emotions and how to manage them. Furthermore, that person has the
ability to be empathetic toward others. You might call this having good social skills.

There are people with high IQs who lack emotional intelligence. However, people
with emotional intelligence tend to have the capacity to keep their emotions from
interfering with solving intellectual problems, and therefor^ they do well on IQ
tests. It has also been shown that IQ scores drop dramatically when people with low
emotional intelligence have allowed negative feelings to interfere with intellectual
tasks required on IQ tests.

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Building Supporting Skills

EX ER C ISE NPS7 Paraphrasing spoken and w ritten texts


Using your notes from Exercise NPS6/ paraphrase the original texts and lectures.

The leader o f the Shoshone tribes in the m id - to la te 18 〇 Q s was C h ie f ________


W ashakie. H e was a brave, wise, a n d ch a rism a tic m a n w ho could speak m a n y
languages. H e m ade a tre a ty th a t p ro te cte d Shoshone lands a n d gave his
people access to education a n d h e a lth services. W hen he died in 1 9 0 0 , he was
know n as the liPeacemaker,f, a n d he is the o n ly N a tiv e A m e ric a n c h ie f b u rie d
w ith U.S. m ilita ry honors. _____________________________________________________ _

2.

3.

EX ER C ISE N PS8 Sum m arizing spoken and w ritten texts


Using your notes and sentences from Exercises NPS6-NPS7, write short summaries of
the original text and lectures.

C h ie f W ashakie was a ta le n te d leader o f the Shoshone tribes d u rin g the 18 〇 Qs


w ho helped p ro te c t a n d serve his people b y n e g o tia tin g a tre a ty fo r peace. A t
his death in 1 9 0 0 , he becam e the o n ly N a tiv e A m e ric a n c h ie f to be hon ored
w ith a U.S. m ilita ry funeral. ______________________________________________________

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Part 1 Building Supporting Skiiis

1.

3.

EXERCISE NPS9 Determ ining yo u r resources


Read the list of resources you can use to practice taking notes^ paraphrasing, and
summarizing. Check 丨 /) the resources that are available to you.

Listening materials
□ the listening and integrated skills sections of this book
□ the listening and integrated skills tasks in the tests that accompany this book
□ audio cassettes or CDs
□ videotapes
□ CD-ROMs
□ DVDs
□ radio programs
□ TV programs
□ lectures given in English
□ online lectures in English

Written materials
□ the reading and integrated skills sections of this book
□ the reading and integrated skills tasks in the tests that accompany this book
□ English-language newspapers
□ English-language magazines
□ English-language textbooks
□ online reading material in English

EXERCISE NPS10 Planning a study strategy


Plan a strategy for improving your note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills.
1. The note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills I need to work on:

2. What I am going to do to improve and how I am going to do it:

3. How I am going to evaluate my progress:

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Building Supporting Skills

VOCABULARY
The more extensive your vocabulary is7 the more successful you will be on all
parts of the TOEFL test, In TOEFL reading passages and lectures on the test you
will encounter a wide variety of formal and academic words. Those found in
conversations tend to be less academic. Also, an effective choice of words in the
writing and speaking tasks will improve your score.
The best ways to expand your vocabulary are to spend as much time as you can reading
and listening to English, and to make good use of reference books such as a dictionary
and thesaurus. Some notes on using a dictionary and thesaurus are given here.

U sin g a d ictio n a ry
Invest in a good English dictionary. A good dictionary will have more information
than just meanings. Look for a dictionary that includes the following information:
® The pronunciation of the word
® How the word is used grammatically, for example, whether it is a noun (n.),
verb (y.), etc.
® Clear definitions
® An example of the word used in a sentence or phrase
® The origins of the word - this information can help you learn new words by
giving you the meaning of the parts of the word (prefixes/ roots, and suffixes)

Learn common prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes and suffixes are additions placed
at the beginning and end of a root word (the base element of a word) to modify its
meaning. Knowledge of these additions w ill help you expand your vocabulary.
Consider this chart for the root word pose, meaning to put or present.

ii顿 隨 d
, i
ex- pose expose: to uncover/ disclose^ or reveal
fout or from) When the tide went out, the shells weie
exposed.

irn- pose impose: to place upon, usually forcefully


(in, on, into, The government is debating the possibility
toward, or of imposing more taxes.
against)
ex- pose -ure exposure: the state of being open to and/or
(indicates a unprotected from a condition or influence
noun form] The exposure to the constant high level of
factory noise affected his hearing.
im- pose -tion imposition: a situation in which an
(indicates a unreasonable task is expected of someone
noun form) It was an imposition to ask him to pick you
up from the airport 100 miles away.

63
Pari 1 Building Supporting Skills

UWng a th e sau ru s
It is easier to remember a word if you know related words. A thesaurus is a good
source for finding words that are related in meaning. It may also list expressions
that the words are used in.

A thesaurus can be organized in one of two ways. One type of thesaurus is


organized in the same way as a dictionary: The words are in alphabetical order.
The other type is organized into categories. To use this type of thesaurus/ look up
the word you want in the index at the back. The index entry is followed by one or
more references;all of which are in some way related to the word you are looking
up (although they are not necessarily synonyms). A number following each
reference will direct you to a section that contains a list of synonyms. Use your
dictionary to find the precise meaning of any word you are unsure of.

For example, impose can have the slightly different meanings to inflict or to
intmde. In order to find an appropriate synonym, you w ill need to know which
meaning is called for. Under inflict, you w ill find the synonyms compel, oblige,
force, etc. Under intrude, you w ill find the synonyms disturb, be a nuisance,
be a burden, etc.

Exercises V1-V10 Use Exercises V1-V10 to practice skills that will help you develop
your vocabulary.

EXERCISE V1 Identifying words to learn


Read the following passage. Cross out any words you don^ know that are specific to the
fields of biology or biochemistry and that you will probably not have to understand for
the test. Circle the words that you think would be useful to learn or to build on.

Let me reiterate. There are animal cells and plant cells. Both have a cell surface
membrane, but the plant cell also has a cell wall. The plant cell has a vacuole in the
center of the cell that an animal cell does not have. Both animal and plant cells have
a nucleus with chromosomes containing genes. The animal cell nucleus is in the
cytoplasm. The plant cell nucleus is usually in the cytoplasm but can sometimes
be found in the vacuole. Both animal and plant cells liave mitocliondria in their
cytoplasm;but only plants have chloroplasts. The food stored in animal cells is
glycogen granules and in plants/ starch grains.

EX E R C ISE V 2 Learning new words


Choose some words from the above passage to add to your vocabulary. If you already
know all the words in the passage choose words from a different passage you have
read. Write each word on a different note card;and then look it vip in a dictionary.
On the back of the note card, write down the meaning.

64
Building Supporting Skills

reiterate M e a n in g :to re p e a t a g a in

EX E R C ISE V3 A dding details


On your note card,, write how the new word is pronounced. Underline the stressed
syllable and add the different forms of the word.

reiterate - / n :
-il-tdr-eit/ verb

re ite ra tio n - noun


re ite ra tive - adjective
re ite ra tiv e !/ - adverb

EX E R C ISE V 4 A dding related words


On your note card, write synonyms and if possible, antonyms.

M e a n in g :to re p e a t a g a in
Synonym s :repeat
stress

EX ER C ISE V5 A dding inform ation about the prefixes and roots


On your note card/ write the meanings of the prefix and root7if there are any. In the
case of reiterate, the prefix re means again and the root iterate means say again. This
helps you to remember that reiterate means to repeat several times.

65
Pari 1 Building Supporting Skills

M e a n in g :to re p e a t a g a in
S y n o n y m s : repea t
stress
P re fix : re — a g a in
Root :ite ra te - to say a g a in

EX ER C ISE V6 Thinking about synonym s


Some words are similar in meaning but have important differences. For example, both
smolder and blaze mean to bum. However, smolder means to burn slowly without
flames, whereas blaze means to bum strongly with high flames.
Look at the synonyms that you wrote on your note cards. Write the differences in their
meanings.

M e a n in g :to re p e a t a g a in
Synonym s :repea t - to say a g a in
stress - to em phasize
Prefix :re - a g a in
Root :ite ra te - to sa y a g a in

EXERCSSE V7 Thinking about m ultiple m eanings


Some words have two or more meanings that are completely different. Look at your
note cards. Identify the words that have several completely different meanings and
write a sentence using each of those meanings.

C ell

1. The p riso n e r escaped fro m his celt.


2. O u r b od y produces new b lo o d cells.
3. Every cell in the spreadsheet was filled.
4. The s o la r p a n e l th a t heated the w a te r was m ade
up o f m a n y s o la r cells.
5. The p o litic a l m ovem ent h a d organ ized cells in various
cities.
6. There is a s to rm ceil o f f the coast a n d heading
n o rth w e s t

66
Building Supporting Skills

EX ER C ISE V 8 Thinking about organizing vocabulary


Read the following ways to organize vocabulary learning. Check (/) the one(s) that you
think would be useful to you.
□ 1. Making word maps
Here is a word map for adjectivec that mean the same as strange.

weird
u n u su a l p e c u lia r

STRANGE

eccentric odd

u n fa m ilia r

□ 2. Making word charts


Professions

C oncerning m oney H e lp in g people W o rk in g w ith machinery^


econom ist social w o rke r engineer
b a n ke r th e ra p ist m echanic
sto ckbroker counselor

□ 3. Using symbols
Write words and their opposites like this: p o o r ^ rich
d e stitu te ^ a fflu e n t
in d ig e n t ^ w e althy

□ 4. Making rhymes
To reiterate
one m u st restate
a g a in a n d aga in
a n d at^gam
□ 5. Making associations
A p a rro t repeats phrases it has learned. W e co u ld c a ll th is b ird ''a re ite ra tin g
p a rro t."

□ 6. Drawing or visualizing
Draw a picture of one of the various meanings of a cell. If you can^ draw or don't
feel like drawing, picture in your mind a cell as you repeat the word.

□ 7. Using the words in stories


O nce there was a cell th a t was bored. It s ta te d its boredom so often th a t the
o th e r cells decided to do so m e th in g to s to p the c e ll’s c o n s ta n t re ite ra tio n . . .

67
Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

68
Building Supporting Skills

EX E R C ISE V10 Planning a study strategy


Plan a strategy for increasing your vocabulary.
1. Where I am going to find words I need:

2. How I am going to work on increasing my vocabulary:

3. How I am going to evaluate my progress:

PRONUNCIATION
Improving your pronunciation skills will help you succeed on the TOEFL test
in two ways: You will improve your understanding of spoken English and do
better on the tasks that involve listening, and you will improve the clarity and
comprehensibility of your own speech and perform better on the Speaking tasks.
In order to improve your pronunciation skills, you should focus on three different
areas of Knglisli proramciation: individual speech sounds, stress and rhythm, and
intonation. Some useful background information about these aspects of English
pronunciation is given here.

In d ivid u al speech so u n d s
English spelling can be confusing because it does not always indicate how a word
is pronounced. Some letters can be pronounced in more than one way. For example^
the letter c can sound like the letter k, as in the word canot, or the letter s, as in the
word decide.
Also, different letters can be pronounced in the same way. For example, the sound
Hi can be spelled in many different ways. All of the following words have the /f/
sound: short, mustache, patience, ocean, and sure.
Because English spelling is misleading, it is useful for you to learn the symbols of
the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). This alphabet uses a different symbol for
every speech sound that is made.
There are several advantages to learning the IPA symbols for English:
® You will know how to pronounce words you see in the dictionary.
® You will recognize words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently.
® You will recognize words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same.
® You will be able to practice the pronunciation as well as the meanings of
vocabulary words you are trying to learn.
® You will be able to improve your pronunciation.

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Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

/p/ pit M van M ring / leisure


/〇
M bit /e/ think /V leg Mi chop
N time 闷 that M rat 炖 / jump
M/ door /s/ send M wet
M cat M N hat
/g/ get /m/ man !\i yet
/f/ fan AV nice /J7 shop

......... --■ ■ ■ ■ ■
i!!;.
N Pit N luck M meat /ei/ day M bear
M pet M good M too /ai/ sky M tour
M pat N ago M dog M boy H g〇
M P〇
t /au/ COW

Stress and rhythm


In English, every word has its own stress pattern or rhythm. Some syllables are given
more emphasis, meaning that they are longer and stronger than others. Other syllables
are reduced, or shortened. When you learn English words, it is important to learn their
stress pattern as well as the individual sounds of the word. Pronouncing a word with
the wrong stress pattern makes it much more difficult for listeners to understand you.
For more information about stress and rhythm, see Stress Patterns/ p. 311^ and Rhythm
Patterns, p. 312.

Intonation
Intonation refers to the melody or pitch line of a spoken utterance. Speakers of English
use intonation to add an extra layer of meaning. Intonation points to the most
important word in a sentence, indicates whether a sentence is a question or a
statement/ and tells the listener when a speaker is finished. It also helps to
communicate a speaker^ mood and purpose. For more information about intonation
patterns/ see Intonation Patterns, page 313.

Exercises P1-P8 Use Exercises P1-P8 to assess your pronunciation skills.

EX ER C ISE P1 Identifying difficulties


Read the following passage aloud and underline the words or phrases that you are
uncertain how to pronounce or that you have difficulty pronouncing.
A stairway is comprised of various components that fit together to allow
access from one floor of a building to another. The horizontal boards^ which are
the pieces actually stepped on, are called the treads. These should be sufficiently
deep to enable users to place their feet down comfortably without slipping. The
vertical boards that meet each tread at right angles and that raise the stairway
are called the risers. These can vary in height depending on architectural

70
Building Supporting Skills

reqiiirements. On many stairways, the tread juts out a small amount over the
riser and this feature is known as a nosing. The treads and risers are supported
on an inclined structure called a stringer that runs flush with the sides of the
staircase and presents a diagonal saw-toothed pattern when viewed from
the side.
Por safety; a stairway usually has a handrail on one side resting on vertical
supports called balusters. Balusters and handrails together are known as
banisters, and these are firmly supported at the bottom and top of the stairs
by heavy posts.
Whereas these features are common to most stairway types, the actual layout
of the stairway will vary depending on space and aesthetic considerations. If the
stairway turns back on itself a total of 180 degrees, the landing/ which is the flat
area at the top of the stairs, will be twice the width of the stairs. If the stairs
turn at right angles, the landing will be the width of the stairs. Perhaps the most
elegant layout is called a spiral stairway. This structure usually rises around a
central vertical post to which tapered treads are attached at their narrow end.

EX E R C ISE P2 A nalyzing difficulties


Answer the questions about your performance in Exercise PI.
1. Which individual sounds were difficult to pronounce?

2. Which combinations of sounds were difficult to pronounce?

3. Which individual words were difficult to pronounce? Why?

4. Are there any patterns of pronunciation difficulty?

EX E R C ISE P3 〇 A nalyzing speech patterns


Read the passage silently as you listen. Then answer the questions below about the
speech patterns you hear in the passage. Listen to the passage as many times as
necessary to answer the questions.

START h
Since the seventh century/ large bells have been used in cathedrals/ churches, and
monasteries. The largest bell in the world is in Moscow. This famous ''King of Bells^
weighs about 198 tons. The next two largest bells are also located in Russia. One near
St. Petersburg weighs 171 tons, and anotlier in Moscow weighs 110 tons. Great Paul,
the bell at St. Paulas in London, is the largest bell in England, but weighs a mere
17 tons.

71
Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

STOP®
1. Wlaat words or parts of words did the speaker stress (speak louder or longer)?
2. How did I know when the speaker completed a sentence?
3. Wlien did I hear the speaker raise his voice (speak using a higher pitch)?
4. Wiien did I hear the speaker drop his voice (speak using a lower pitch)?
5. Wliich words or parts of words did the speaker combine with other words or
parts of words?
6. Wliich words or parts of words did the speaker seem to skip over?

EXERCISE P4 Q Indicating speech patterns


There are several ways to indicate speech patterns:
© Underline the words or parts of words that the speaker stresses
® Draw arrows going up or down to show where the speaker has a rise or
drop in pitch
® Link words that are combined
® Cross out sounds that are dropped

Listen to the following sentence and notice how the speech patterns are indicated.
Pause the audio after you have heard the sentence.

START 黔

Carnivals, with spectacular parades, masked balls;mock ceremonials/a n ,

street dancing, usually last f^r a week /r more before Mardi Gras itself.
— 、 f O

STOP 國

Now listen again to the passage in Exercise P3 and indicate the speech patterns using
the methods above.

START .

Since the seventh century, large bells have been used in cathedrals;churches, and

monasteries. The largest bell in the world is in Moscow. This famous "King of

Bellsy/weighs about 198 tons. The next two largest bells are also located in Russia.

One near St. Petersburg weighs 171 tons^ and another in Moscow weighs 110 tons.

Great Paul, the bell at St. PauFs in London, is the largest bell in England, but

weighs a mere 17 tons.

STOP 疆

EXERCISE P5 Q Imitating speech patterns


Listen again to the passage in Exercise P3. Pause the audio after the first sentence, then
say the sentence aloud. Try to imitate the speaker^ speech patterns. Repeat with each
sentence in the passage.

72
Building Supporting Skills

EXERCISE P6 Q Listening to accents


Listen again to the passage. This time you will hear it spoken three times by speakers
from the United Kingdom, the United States/ and Australia. Then answer the questions.

1. What are some specific words that were pronounced differently by the three
speakers?

2. What individual sounds were different?

3. What features of stress, intonation/ and rhythm were different?

4. Which speaker was easiest to understand? Why?

EX ER C ISE P7 Determ ining yo u r resources


Read the list of resources you can use to help you sound more like a native English
speaker. Check {/) the resources that are available to you.

People
□ an English teacher
□ a native English speaker
□ a friend with good English speaking skills

Listening resources
□ the listening passages in this book
□ a pronunciation textbook
□ audio cassettes or CDs
□ videotapes
□ CD-ROMs
□ DVDs
□ radio programs
□ TV programs
□ movies
□ lectures given in English

Interactive resources
□ a dictionary with audio, such as the Cambridge Dictionary of American English
□ an online dictionary with audio
□ Web pages with pronunciation practice and audio
□ computer programs
□ online radio stations
□ online lectures

73
Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

EXERCISE P8 Planning a study strategy


Plan a strategy for improving your pronunciation and speech patterns.

1. The pronunciation features I need to work on:

2. What I am going to clo to improve and how I am going to do it:

3. How I am going to evaluate my progress:

GRAMMAR: ASSESSING YOUR SKILLS


Although grammar is not directly tested on the TOEFL iBT test, the effective use
of a variety of basic and complex structures will raise your scores in the speaking
and writing sections. In addition, the more solid your understanding of grammatical
structures, the more successful you will be in comprehending the reading and
listening passages and responding to the tasks. Thus/ a good grasp of grammatical
structures will improve your overall TOEFL score.

Look at the Grammar Strucmres Checklist below. It lists the key topics in
English grammar that students need to have a good understanding of in order to
be successful in English and perform well on the TOEFL test. You w ill use this
checklist in some of the exercises in this section. You can also use it to keep track
〇£ your progress^ or you can give it to an English speaker to help you check your
English usage. Make extra copies of the checklist before you begin.

Grammar Structures Checklist


□ 1. Word forms: Confusion between forms of nouns/ verbs, adjectives, and adverbs {See
Grammar Review: Word Porms, p. 82.)
□ 2. Incomplete sentences: Missing essential subject, verb, phrases, or clauses that
complete the idea (See Grammar Review: Clauses and Sentence Structure^, p. 87.)
□ 3. Basic sentences: Missing parts of the sentence or incorrect word order {See
Grammar Review: Word Order, p. 126.)
□ 4. Joining parts of speech: Incorrect joining of nouns, verbs, phrases;clauses, or
sentences [See Grammar Review: Parallel Structures, p. 115.)
□ 5. Subject/verb agreement: Confusion of singular and plural use between subjects and
verbs (See Subject-Verb Agreement, p. 106.}
□ 6. Yerb-tense agreement: Confusion of the verb tense and the context of time (See
Verb Tenses, p. 102.)
□ 7. Noun-clause formation: Incorrect choice of clause marker position of clause in the
sentence, noun clause as subject/verb agreement, faulty relationship to independent
clause (See Noun Clauses, p. 89.}

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Building Supporting Skills

□ 8. Adjective-clause formation: Incorrect choice of clause marker, position of clause


marker, clause marker function within clause, or faulty relationship to
independent clause (See Adjective Clauses, p. 91.) "
□ 9. Reduced adjective clause: Faulty reduction of adjective clause or incorrect verb
form (See Reduced Adjective Clauses, p. 93.)
□ 10. Adverb-clause formation: Incorrect choice of clause marker, faulty relationship
to independent clause (See Adverb Clauses, p. 94.)
□ 11. Reduced adverb clause: Faulty reduction of adverb clause or incorrect verb form
(See Reduced Adverb Clauses, p. 97.)
□ 12. Nouns: Incorrect plural or singular form^, or confusion of count/noncount forms
(See Grammar Review: Nounsyp. 121.)
□ 13. Pronouns: Incorrect form or ambiguous referent (See Grammar Review:
Referents, p. 113.)
□ 14. Gerunds and infinitives: Incorrect choice of gerund or infinitive (See Infinitives,
p. 108, Gerunds/p. 109/ and Infinitives and Gerunds, p. 110.)
□ 15. Active/passive sentences: Incorrect use or incorrect formation (See Active and
Passive Forms, p, 108.)
□ 16. Articles: Missing articles/ incorrect choice of article, or unnecessary article (See
Grammar Review: Articles, p. 124.)
□ 17. Auxiliary words and modals: Missing auxiliary verb or modal, incorrect choice
or incorrect word order (See Auxiliary Verbs, p. 102, Modals, p. 107;and
Grammar Review: Word Order, p. 126.)
□ 18. Adjective and adverb modifiers: Incorrect form, order, or position in the
sentence [See Grammar Review: Word Forms/ p. 82^ and Grammar Review:
Word Order, p. 126.)
□ 19. Comparatives and superlatives: Incorrect formation or incorrect choice
(See Grammar Review: Comparisons, p. 128.}
□ 20. Subject there and i t Missing when needed, used when unnecessary/ incorrect
verb agreement {See Subject-Verb Agreement;p. 106.)
□ 21. Transition or connecting words: Not used when needed, used inappropriately or
incorrect choice (See Grammar Review: Connecting Ideas, p. 116.)
□ 22. Prepositions: Missing when needed/ used when not needed, incorrect choice
(See Grammar Review: Prepositional Phrases/p. 131.)
□ 23. Other problem areas:____________________________________________________

Exercises G1-G6 Use Exercises G 1-G 6 to assess your grammar skills.

EXERCISE G1 Thinking about yo u r know ledge o f grammar


Using a copy of the Grammar Structures Checklist, check (/) the grammar points that
you consider problem areas for you. If you don^ understand a term, refer to the section
noted in parentheses.

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Part 1 Building Supporting Skills

EXERCISE G2 Diagnosing grammar difficulties


Use the following grammar quiz as a diagnostic tool. Some of the sentences contain an
error. Other sentences are correct. Correct any errors that you find.

Alpine meadows are a tranquil sight.

fiMedy sometimes need special care.


The elderly _____________________________________________________________________

The first sentence is correct. For the second sentence, you should write The before
the word elderly because the is needed when an adjective is used as a noun. You
could also correct this sentence by writing Elderly people.

1. A laser cane, which the blind find useful; sends out beams that detecting obstacles.

2. In 1918, Charles Strite invented the timer that turns off the toaster when the bread
is toasted.

3. The most convincing evidence that female chimpanzees in Tanzania use the
aspilia plant for medicinal purposes.

4. Wlien adults come to night classes eager to learn has been the experience of most
adult-education teachers.

5. A vending machine is a kind of robot that automatically give out candy or other
items when money is inserted.

6. Apprentices sometimes fear that they must not be able to master the intricacies of
their chosen craft.

7. The importance of the Chaco Canyon archaeological site is that they reveals
insights into a whole civilization.

8. Arched roofs were built for a first time 2,500 years ago.

9, Because of financial restrictions/ some schools cannot contemplate to stay abreast


of advances in modern technology.

10. Birds that breed on high cliffs have pear-shaped eggs that roll in a tight circle.
However, that makes them somewhat less likely to roll off the cliff.

11. Botulism spores, which bees carry from certain kinds of plants, have been found in
jars of honey.

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Building Supporting Skills

12, Butterfly wings have iridescent scales consist of thin, interlaced layers.

13. China's first emperor was buried surrounded by 7,000 life-sized clay figures of
soldiers standing in battle formation along by life-sized ceramic chariots.

14. Christopher Columbus persuaded the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Pernando
financing his expeditions to the Caribbean.

15. East Coker is where the Anglo-American poet T. S. Eliot btiried in 1965.

16. Even though the team of scientists encounter snow and strong windsythey
continued their excavation.

17. Every four years the International Olympic Committee selects that city will hold
the next games.

18. Filming a wild animal in its habitat requires meticulous preparation^ unending
patience and, at times, one must be courageous.

19. George Gershwin gathered motifs for his folk opera Porgy and Bess while lived
in Charleston.

20. Having first domesticated for milk production, sheep were then used for wool.

21. John Wesley Hyatt discovered plastics by accident while cooking up a recipe for
making the billiard ball.

22. Lucid dreamers are those people who recognize when they are dreaming and thus
controlling the plot of their dreams.

23. Many traditional attitudes and value seem to be disappearing under the pressure of
global media.

24. Marine excavation is a race against time;the sea, and the looters who want
history^ treasures for themselves.

25. Mice aren^ really more attracted to cheese as they are to grains.

77

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