TOEFL Preparation
Chapter 2
Reading Lessons
Lesson 1
1. Skimming
2. Scanning
TOEFL iBT (Reading) - Overview
➢ The reading section measures Time: 35 mins
your ability to understand 20 Questions
university-level academic Scale score: 0 – 30
texts. 2 passages
Approx 700 words long
Sample TOEFL iBT Reading Test
Question number
Time left
{
options
Answer chosen is in black.
What is skimming?
▪ Reading quickly to get the main
“idea” of a passage
When do we skim?
When do people skim a text in real life?
❑ Checking news articles to decide if they’re worth reading
❑ Reviewing academic articles for the main arguments
❑ Previewing textbook chapters before studying
❑ Reviewing a long document for gist
❑ Going through social media posts to understand the gist
❑ Locating answers during exams
How to skim a text!
▪ Read the title and subtitle
▪ Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph
▪ Focus on key words (nouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs)
▪ Ignore details
▪ No more than 30 seconds in TOEFL iBT reading.
Skim the text on the next page!
Pay attention to the highlighted parts only.
[Link] would be the best title for this reading passage?
A. Urban gardening and vertical farming
B. The history of rural agriculture
C. How to grow crops in soil
D. The dangers of farming indoors
Skim the text (20 seconds)
Pay attention to the highlighted key words.
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It
helps communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities
greener. One common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and
herbs are grown on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics – a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
1. What would be the best title for this reading passage?
A. Urban gardening and vertical farming
B. The history of rural agriculture
C. How to grow crops in soil
D. The dangers of farming indoors
What is scanning?
▪ Scanning is a reading skill you use when you want to locate a
single fact or a specific bit of information without reading every
part of a story, article, list, or document. Fry, E. B. (1997)
When do we scan?
Reading a class timetable to check when your next session starts
Looking up flight information on an airport screen
Finding the date or time of an event on a schedule
Checking a shopping list for a specific item
Searching a menu for your favorite dish
Looking for a definition or name in a textbook or article
Finding a message or keyword in a long email or chat
Find ‘hydroponics’
in 5 seconds
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It
helps communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities
greener. One common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and
herbs are grown on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics – a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
Find ‘Vertical Farming’
in 5 seconds
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It
helps communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities
greener. One common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and
herbs are grown on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics – a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
Find the word that means
“Moving goods from one place to another”
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It
helps communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities
greener. One common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and
herbs are grown on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics – a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
Find “A type of gardening done
on the tops of buildings”
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It helps
communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities greener. One
common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and herbs are grown
on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics – a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
Find the keywords and think of possible synonyms
Which metropolitan areas are mentioned as
using vertical farming?
{
Find the name in the
Urban areas specific passage
possible Cities
synonyms Cities centers
Cosmopolitan cities
Which metropolitan areas are
mentioned as using vertical farming?
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plants in city environments. It
helps communities grow fresh food, improve air quality, and make cities
greener. One common method is rooftop gardening, where vegetables and
herbs are grown on top of buildings.
Another innovation is vertical farming, where plants grow in stacked layers
indoors, often using artificial lights and hydroponics—a technique that uses
nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Cities like Singapore, New York, and Tokyo
are leaders in this method.
Answer
These new approaches help reduce the need to transport food from faraway
farms, saving energy and supporting local food systems.
Helpful tips!
▪ Read the question carefully.
▪ Identify keywords in the question.
▪ Scan the passage for those keywords.
▪ Read the surrounding sentence(s) to find the answer.
See you in the next video
Chapter 2 Lesson 2