READING TOEFL TIPS

10 Easy TOEFL Reading Tips to Help You Prepare for the Exam

Getting ready to take the TOEFL?  Need some help on the TOEFL reading section?

Here are ten tips to help you prepare for the TOEFL reading test. These tips, tricks and strategies will help improve your overall TOEFL score.

1. You Need to Read for the TOEFL

The best way to prepare for the TOEFL reading exam is to read!

It might sound obvious, but the best way to practice for TOEFL reading test is to read as much as possible beforehand on as wide a variety of topics as possible.

Current affairs, health, sports, it doesn’t matter. Also, cover all the media in your reading materials like books, online texts, and magazines.

This is really a great long term strategy. If you think you might take the TOEFL someday, start reading in English a little bit every day, right now!

2. Keep a Vocabulary Notebook

As you read to study for the TOEFL, keep a notebook and a dictionary by your side. Every time you discover a new word, write write it in your notebook to study later.

This will help you develop a strong vocabulary that should be a great help to you when you sit TOEFL’s reading test.

3. Practice Past Tests

You need to always remember that TOEFL is a standardized test. This means it always follows the same format. TakeTOEFL reading practice tests to help prepare. You’ll be much more comfortable with the test this way.

  

4. Practice Staying Within The Time Limit

When you take practice tests, set a timer so that you can be sure you’re doing each part within the 20 minutes you normally get during the test. Remember that in TOEFL iBT the software will cut you off when you reach the time limit so it is critical you learn to work within it.

The first few times, you may not able to do this, but with practice it should become easy.

5. Learn to Skim

In English, skimming involves reading a passage quickly and understanding a text by extracting the important details at a glance. This is a crucial skill for the TOEFL reading test. Practice doing this with passages as you get closer to taking the exam.

6. Practice Summarizing

Never presume you know the meaning of a text while you are reading it. Always stop at the end of each paragraph and try to summarize what you have just read (even if it have to whisper it to yourself).

7. Highlight (if you need to)

Highlighting important data like vocabulary, dates and places might help you relax and order your thoughts. Go ahead and do this while you are reading if it helps.

8. Learn To Guess Unfamiliar Words

When you are faced with a new word what do you do? Panic? Consult a dictionary? Neither of these responses will help you in your exam. Learn to guess the meaning of new words from the context of a passage or the words and paragraphs which surround it. Reading will help with this.

9. Learn To Pick Out Pronouns

When you speak, you know there is a big difference between the pronouns he, she and it. It is the same when you are reading. Learn to pay attention to the pronouns in a text so you know to whom or what it is referring, especially if there are multiple characters in the text. This could be the difference between you answering a question correctly and incorrectly.

10. Relax

In order to really capture the meaning of a text, you need to be relaxed so that you can focus on it completely. If you are very nervous you might miss important, and maybe obvious, points. Develop relaxation techniques like deep breathing during the test or even a yoga session before it! Whatever keeps you calm and works for you should not be ignored.

EXAMPLE Questions 1-5

A distinctively American architecture began with Frank Lloyd Wright, who had taken to heart the admonition that form should follow function and who thought of buildings not as separate architectural entities but as parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the society. In a very real way the houses of colonial New England and some of the southern plantations had been functional, but Wright was the first architect to make functionalism the authoritative principle for public as well as for domestic buildings. As early as 1906 he built the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. Thereafter he turned his genius to such miscellaneous structures as houses, schools, office buildings, and factories, among them the famous Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York, and the Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin.

1. The phrase “taken to heart” in line 1 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A)  Taken seriously
(B)  Criticized
(C)  Memorized
(D)  Taken offence

2. In what way did Wright’s public buildings differ from most of those built by earlier architects?
(A)  They were built on a larger scale.
(B)  Their materials came from the southern United States.
(C)  They looked more like private homes.
(D)  Their designs were based on how they would be used.

3. The author mentions the Unity Temple because, it
(A)  was Wright’s first building
(B)  influenced the architecture of subsequent churches
(C)  demonstrated traditional ecclesiastical architecture
(D)  was the largest church Wright ever designed

4. The passage mentions that all of the following structures were built by Wright EXCEPT
(A)  factories
(B)  public buildings
(C)  offices
(D)  southern plantations

5. Which of the following statements best reflects one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles?
(A)  Beautiful design is more important than utility.
(B)  Ecclesiastical architecture should be derived from traditional designs.
(C)  A building should fit into its surroundings.
(D)  The architecture of public buildings does not need to be revolutionary

ANSWER Questions 1-5

A distinctively American architecture began with Frank Lloyd Wright, who had taken to heart the admonition that form should follow function and who thought of buildings not as separate architectural entities but as parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the society. In a very real way the houses of colonial New England and some of the southern plantations had been functional, but Wright was the first architect to make functionalism the authoritative principle for public as well as for domestic buildings. As early as 1906 he built the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States. Thereafter he turned his genius to such miscellaneous structures as houses, schools, office buildings, and factories, among them the famous Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York, and the Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin.    

Terjemahan

Arsitektur khas Amerika dimulai oleh Frank Lloyd Wright, yang telah dikenal bahwa bentuk harus mengikuti fungsi dan siapa yang berpikir bangunan tidak dipisahkan oleh arsitektur tetapi sebagai bagian keseluruhan organik yang termasuk tanah, masyarakat, dan kumpulan masyarakat. Dalam cara yang sangat nyata ,rumah-rumah kolonial New England dan beberapa perkebunan Selatan telah berfungsi, tetapi Wright adalah arsitek pertama yang membuat fungsionalisme prinsip otoritatif untuk umum juga domestik. Sejak 1906, ia membangun Persatuan Candi di Oak Park, Illinois, gereja-Gereja yang pertama dari yang melakukan begitu banyak merevolusi arsitektur gereja di Amerika Serikat. Kemudian menggunakan kejeniusannya untuk struktur yang berbeda-bedaseperti rumah, sekolah, bangunan perkantoran dan pabrik-pabrik, di antaranya Gedung Larkin terkenal di Buffalo, New York, dan perusahaan bangunan Johnson Wax di Racine, Wisconsin.

1. The phrase “taken to heart” in line 1 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
Jawab : A → Taken seriously
Pembahasan : Frasa taken to heart adalah bentuk ungkapan idiomatik dan memiliki arti “melakukan dengan sepenuh hati/serius”.

2. In what way did Wright’s public buildings differ from most of those built by earlier architects?
Jawab :  D → Their designs were based on how they would be used.
Pembahasan : Pada kalimat “…that form should follow function…” menunjukkan bahwa desain seharusnya berdasarkan pada fungsinya, untuk apa nantinya bangunan itu digunakan dan jawaban yang demikian ditemukan di pilihan D.

3. The author mentions the Unity Temple because, it
Jawab :  B → influenced the architecture of subsequent churches
Pembahasan :  Pada kalimat “…the first of those churches that did so much to revolutionize ecclesiastical architecture in the United States” menyatakan bahwa bangunan itu sangat mempengaruhi desain bangunan-bangunan selanjutnya. Jawaban yang mengandung ide serupa ada pada pilihan B.

4. The passage mentions that all of the following structures were built by Wright EXCEPT
Jawab :  D → southern plantations
Pembahasan :  Pada kalimat terakhir jelas bahwa offices, factories dan public building, termasuk churches adalah karyanya. Sedangkan South Plantations bukanlah hasil karyanya karena sudah didesain oleh orang terdahulu seperti yang disebutkan dalam bacaan.

5. Which of the following statements best reflects one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles?
Jawab : C → A building should fit into its surroundings.
Pembahasan : Kalimat “…as parts of an organic whole that included the land, the community, and the society” menyatakan bahwa bangunan seharusnya dianggap sebagai bagian dari keseluruhan lingkungan dan masyarakat sekitarnya sehingga dengan kata lain bangunan tersebut harus sesuai dengan lingkungannya.