READING
COMPREHENSION
• Reading Comprehension is the 3rd section in Paper TOEFL Test
• It consists of five reading passages and followed by fifty questions
• Fifty five minutes are given to finish the test
• A multiple – choice question may ask about: main idea, stated detail questions, unstated detail questions, implied detail questions, vocabulary in context questions, and “where”
questions.
• The passages are given in progress from easy to difficult
• The questions are presented in order.
1. Reading Comprehension questions.
Asks you to answer questions about the information given in the reading passages.
Types of Questions Types of Questions
2. Vocabulary Questions.
Asks you to identify the meanings of vocabulary words in the reading passages
• Be familiar with the direction
• Do not spend too much time reading the passage
• Do not worry if a topic is unfamiliar with you.
• Do not spend too much time on a question
• Guess to complete the section before time is up
• Never leave any answers blank General StratégiesGeneral Stratégies
• Reading Comprehension consists of 5 reading passages
• Each reading passage is followed by a number of questions of READING COMPREHENSION & VOCABS QUESTIONS
• Topics of reading are often information about subjects studied in America: American History, Literature, art, architecture, geology, geography, and astronomy.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONSREADING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Skim the reading passage to determine the main idea or the overall organization of ideas in the passage.
2. Look ahead at the questions to determine what types of questions you must answer.
3. Find the section of the passage that deals with each questions.
Main Idea 1st line of each paragraph
Directly Answered Detail Questions Choose a keyword in the question Indirectly Answered Detail Questions Skim that keyword in the
passage
STRATEGY FOR READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Vocabulary Questions the questions will tell you where the word is located in the passage.
Where questions answered are found anywhere in the passage
4. Read the part of the passage that contains the answer carefully.
5. Choose the best answer to each questions from the four choices listed in the test book.
S K I L L S
SKILL 1:
SKILL 1:
SKILL 1:
MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
• A question about “Main Idea” is almost always asked in every reading passage of Paper TOEFL Test.
• The questions may ask about topic sentence, subject, title, primary idea or main idea.
• Main Idea is usually found in the beginning of the reading passage.
Examples I
The passage:
Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts, by the name of James Naismith. Because of the terrible weather in winter, his physical education students were indoors rather than outdoors. They really did not like the idea of boring, repetitive exercises and preferred the excitement and challenge of a game. Naismith figured out a team sport that could be played indoors on a gymnasium floor, that involved a lot of running, that kept all team members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and physical contact of American-style football.
The question:
1. What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) The life of James Naismith (B) The history of sports
(C) Physical education and exercise (D) The origin of basketball
Examples II
The passage:
Early maps of the North American continent showed a massive river that began in the Rocky Mountains, flowed into the Great Salt Lake, and from there continued westward into the Pacific Ocean. This river, named the Buenaventura River, on some maps rivaled the great Mississippi River. This mythical river of course does not exist. Perhaps an early mapmaker, hypothesized that such a river probably existed; perhaps a smaller river was seen and its path from the Rockies to the Pacific was assumed. As late as the middle of the nineteenth century this river was still on maps and explorers
were still searching for it.
The question:
2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
(A) Early Maps of North America (B) A Non-Existent River on Maps
(C) A Comparison of the Buenaventura and the Mississippi Rivers (D) Rivers in Mythology
How To Identify The Questions
• What is the topic of the passage?
• What is the subject of this passage?
• What is the main idea of the passage?
• What is the author’s main point in the passage?
• With what is the author primarily concerned?
• Which of the following would be the best title?
MAIN IDEA QUESTION
Where to find the answer The answer to this type of question can be generally be determined by looking at the first sentence of each paragraph.
How To Answer the Questions
1. Read the first line of each paragraph
2. Look for a common theme or idea in the first lines.
3. Pass your eyes quickly over the rest of the passage to check that you really have found the topic sentences.
4. Eliminate any difficulty wrong answer and choose the best answer from the remaining choices.
