In the previous issue of TCG, we had discussed the first five reading skills of TOEFL. In the current issue, we shall move on to the remaining five skills. They are as follows:

1. Finding negative facts
2. Sentence insertion
3. Drawing inferences from facts
4. Rhetorical statements
5. Complete tables

Reading skill-6
Finding negative facts

In this skill, a student is asked to choose an option out of four that is not stated in the given passage.

For example, read the following passage.

Wrigley started out with two brands of chewing gum, Vassar and Lotta Gum, and soon introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearment. The latter two brands grew in popularity, while the first two were phased out. Juicy Fruit and Spearment are two of Wrigley’s main brands to this day.

Now, choose the one from the following options that is not stated in the above paragraph

A) Wrigley began two brands of gum
B) Wrigley added two new brands to the original two
C) Wrigley chose to phase out the last two brands
D) Wrigley chose to phase out the first two brands

The correct answer is option (D).

Reading skill-7
Sentence insertion
In this section, you learn how to insert a sentence contextually in a paragraph.

Read the following passage.

The tomato had been cultivated by the Aztecs, who had called it tomati; however, early botanists had recognized that the tomato was a member of the Solanacaea family, which does include a number of poisonous plants. The leaves of the tomato plant are poisonous, though, of course, the fruit is not.

(A) Thomas Jefferson, who cultivated the tomato in his gardens at Monticello and served dishes containing tomatoes at lavish feasts, often receives credit for changing the reputation of the tomato. (B) Soon after Jefferson had introduced the tomato to American society, recipes combining the newly fashionable tomato with the equally fashionable and exotic sauce known as ketchup began to appear. (C) By the middle of the 19th century, both the tomato and tomato ketchup were staples of the American ketchup. (D)

Read the following sentence and find out where it can be inserted in the passage, A, B, C or D

It turned from very bad to exceedingly good.

The correct answer is B (Reason: Tomato gained reputation as a dish after it had been served by Jefferson against the popular belief that it belonged to a poisonous family of plants.) 

Reading skill-8
Drawing inferences from facts
 
In this skill, a student is supposed to choose an
option out of four based on a logical conclusion. The other three options would be wrong.  

Early comic books reprinted already existing comic strips and comics based on known characters; however, publishers soon began introducing original characters developed specifically for comic books. Superman was introduced in Action Comics in 1938, and Batman was introduced a year later. The tremendous success of these superhero comic books led to the development of numerous comic books on a variety of topics, though superhero comic books predominated. Astonishingly, by 1945 approximately 160 different comic books were being published in the United States each month, and 90 percent of U.S. children were said to read comic books on a regular basis.

Now answer the following question:

From the paragraph, it can be inferred that surprisingly

A) comic strips became more popular than comic books
B) superheroes were so unpopular
C) Ninety percent of children in U.S. were not reading comics
D) Comic books developed so quickly 

The correct answer to the question given above is option D

Reading skill-9
Rhetorical statements

In this section, you are supposed to state what purpose a particular highlighted phrase or sentence serves in a given paragraph.

Now read the following paragraph.

As a result of the conductivity, the drum loses

its charge in the lighted areas, and toner (small grains to which dry ink adheres) attaches itself only to the darker parts of the image. The grains are then carried to a sheet of paper and fused with heat. When a laser printer used, the image is projected by means of a laser beam, which creates a brighter light and a greater contrast between lighter and darker areas, and therefore results in sharper printer images. 

Why is the phrase small grains to which dry ink adheres in bold face put in the brackets?

a) to contradict the previous statement
b) to give another example of conductivity
c) to give additional information about toner
d) to emphasize how effectively a toner works
The answer to the question is option C because the information given in the brackets tells us more about the toner.

Reading skill-10
Complete tables

In this section, a student needs to select appropriate phrases from the answers choices and match them, to the type of given items to which they relate.

The pitcher plant is a plant that is shaped like a pitcher and has fluid at the bottom. Insects are attracted to the pitcher plant by nectar around the rim of the pitcher opening; when an insect lands on the rim, it cannot maintain its balance on the slippery surface of the rim and falls into the opening and drowns in the fluid.

Bladderworts are water plants with traps on their leaves that resemble tiny bubbles. A small animal may swim by the plant, totally oblivious to the danger posed by the harmless-looking bladderwort. If the small animal comes too close to the plant, the bubbles open without warning and the animal is pulled inside the plant and digested. 

Now, complete the tables by placing the correct
answers

• Those plants with active traps ___________________            

• Those plants with inactive traps __________________
The answers are:

• Those with active traps ___________________ Bladderworts            

• Those with inactive traps __________________ Pitcher plants

 Practice Test-2

Tides are a natural phenomenon involving the alternating rise and fall in the earth’s large bodies of water caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. The combination of these two variable forces produces the complex recurrent cycle of the tides. Tides may occur in both oceans and seas, to a limited extent in large lakes, the atmosphere, and, to a very minute degree, in the earth itself.

 The force that generates tides results from the interaction of two forces: the centrifugal force produced by the revolution of the earth around the center-of-gravity of the earth-moon system; and the gravitational attraction of the moon acting upon the earth’s waters. Although the moon is only 238,852 miles from the earth, compared with the sun’s much greater distance of 92,956,000 miles, the and thus the moon’s tide-raising force is more than twice than of the sun.

 The tide-generating forces of the moon and sun cause a maximum accumulation of the waters of the oceans at two opposite positions on the earth’s surface. At the same time, compensating amounts of water are drawn from all points 90 degrees away from these tidal bulges.  As the earth rotates, a sequence of two high tides and two low tides is produced each day. Successive high tides occur on an average of 12.4 hours apart. High tide at any given location occurs when the moon is overheard and low tide when it is at either horizon.

 The highest and lowest levels of high tide, called spring tide and neap tide, each occur twice in every lunar month of about 27.5 days. A spring tide occurs at the new moon and at the full moon, when the moon and earth are lined up with the sun, and thus the moon’s pull is reinforced by the sun’s pull. At spring tide, the difference between high and low tides is the greatest. A neap tide, the lowest level of high tide, occurs when the sun-to-earth direction is at right angles to the moon-to-earth direction. When this happens, the gravitational forces of the moon and sun counteract each other; thus, the moon’s pull is at minimum strength, and the difference between high and low tides is the least. Spring and neap ideas at any given location have a range of about 20 percent more or less, respectively, than the average high tide.

 The vertical range of tides-the difference between high and low-varies according to the size, surface shape, and bottom topography of the basin in which tidal movement occurs. In the open water of the central Pacific, the range is no more than about a foot; in the relatively small, shallow North Sea, it is about 12 feet. Along the narrow channel of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, the difference between high and low tides may reach 45 feet under spring tide conditions-the world’s widest tidal range. At New Orleans, which is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the periodic rise and fall of the tides varies with the river’s stage, being about ten inches at low stage and zero at high. In every case, actual high or low tide can vary considerably from the average.

Several factors affect tidal ranges, including abrupt changes in atmospheric pressure of prolonged periods of extreme high or low pressure. They are also influenced by the density and volume of seawater, variations in ocean-current velocities, earthquakes, and the growing or shrinking of the world’s glaciers. In fact, any of these factors alone can alter sea level. The greater and more rapid the change of water level, the greater the erosive effect of the tidal action, and thus in the amount of material transported and deposited on the shore. 

Reading skill-6                                                               
Finding negative facts
Question 1 All of the following are mentioned as influences on the vertical range of tides except?

a) the size and shape of the body of water
b) sudden changes in atmospheric pressure
c) increasing levels of pollution in the oceans
d) changes in the size of the world’s glaciers

Reading skill-7
Sentence insertion

Several factors affect tidal ranges, including abrupt changes in atmospheric pressure or prolonged periods of extreme high or low pressure. (A)  They are also influenced by the density and volume of seawater, and the growing or shrinking of the world’s glaciers. (B) In fact, any of these factors alone can alter sea level. (C) The greater and more rapid the change of the water level, the greater the erosive effect of the tidal action, and thus in the amount of material transported and deposited on the shore. (D)

Question 2. Where would you insert the following sentence to fit in the best way- A, B, C or D?

Strom surges, such as the heaping up of ocean water by hurricane winds, are yet another factor.

Reading skill-8
Drawing inferences from facts
Question 3. What can you infer from the paragraph 3 about tides in different places on the earth?

a) High tide occurs at every location on the earth at the same time
b) When it is high tide in some places, it is low tide in other places.
c) Some places have two high tides each day, but others have only one.
d) The time between high and low tides is the same in different places.
Reading skill-9
Rhetorical statements

Question 4. The author has used the phrase Bay of Fundy paragraph 5 in order to:

a) Compare the Bay of Fundy with larger bodies of water.
b) Explain why a narrow channel is dangerous to ships
c) Give the most extreme example of a tidal range
d) Show how rivers can affect the rise and fall of tides

Reading skill-10
Complete tables

Question 5. Complete the tables by choosing the correct options.
• Factors influencing the tides _________________

• Rise and fall of tides ­­­­­­­­­______________________

A) Tides occur in the earth’s atmosphere and also in the earth itself
B) Scientists have been studying the moon’s influence on tides for several centuries
C) The gravitational forces of the moon and the sun together produce the cycle of the tides
D) The level of high tide varies throughout the lunar month.
E) The stage of the Mississippi River determines the level of the tides at New Orleans.
F) The characters of the basin and various environmental conditions affect the vertical range of tides.