tailieunhanh - Cracking the toefl ibt 2008 part 6

There are three to five reading passages on the TOEFL, each between 550 and 700 words. Although the TOEFL attempts to simulate the type of reading you wiil do at a school or graduate program, the reading skills required on the test are very different from the skills used in an academic environment. Let's take a look at a passage. | Direction Markers Again use boldface for same-direction markers and italics for opposite-direction markers. Although some recent education theorists have challenged the efficacy of oral reading its popularity in schools and classrooms is unchallenged. However printed books were often scarce and literacy rates were often low. Thus families would gather around and listen to a book being read to them. In fact they concluded that the only time students read orally was in school. For a number of years oral reading was absent from many a classroom. But in time new research and studies brought oral reading back to the forefront of education. By looking at these direction markers the author s purpose and main idea become much clearer. The author wishes to show how oral reading has persisted despite challenges. This explains why three paragraphs discuss negative aspects but the final sentence is positive. Main idea Despite challenges to its usefulness oral reading remains an important educational technique. If your main idea isn t similar to the one above you may have missed some of the direction markers. This passage isn t presenting oral reading in a negative manner but rather supporting it. The last sentence of the first paragraph is a very important one. Passage 5 Paragraph 1 Homer s play helps historians understand early Greek warfare. Try to predict the author s purpose. It is likely that the passage will describe how the play helps because of the information it provides. Paragraph 2 Weapons and armor made from bronze. It appears that the passage is going to focus on weapons and armor. Paragraph 3 The spear is the primary weapon. The passage gives some information on weapons. Paragraph 4 Description of a shield. Now the passage is talking about some of the armor. Paragraph 5 The helmet was also standard equipment. By this point we should note that the passage is simply listing and describing different types of weapons and armor. Paragraph 6 Information may not be .