Tips

There are several key skills that youll need to be successful in the Reading section. You should
be able to:

1. Synthesize information presented in the text

This means that you can read chunks of text and identify main ideas being expressed. You
should be able to draw connections between individual sentences and paraphrase the
information that is presented.

2. Identify the authors rhetorical purpose

When you read a piece of information, you should be able to understand why the author has
included it. Is it an example of a phenomenon, a supporting detail for an argument, or perhaps
the introduction of a new idea? Understanding the structure of each paragraph and the whole
passage is critical to understanding its contents.

3. Scan the text to find specific pieces of information

In order to put together the big picture about whats going on in a passage, you will also need
to comprehend the little pieces that fit together to make that big picture. It is important to be
able to quickly locate a sentence or portion of a paragraph that discusses a particular point.
Once youve found that sentence, you can re-read it in order to understand exactly what is
being expressed.

4. Understand academic vocabulary used in the passage

A newspaper or magazine article might use more everyday languagethe sort of thing you
hear in conversations and read in emails. But an academic text, regardless of the
subject, contains certain vocabulary that is standard in academic discourse. There
might be words related to presenting theories: "propose", "hypothesis", "scenario".
Or there could be words that connect two sentences: "however", "in addition",
"thus". A good reader should be familiar with this type of vocabulary.

Reading Practice Test Directions

This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English.

There is one passage in this practice test. Give yourself 20 minutes to read the passage and
answer the questions about it.

You may look back at the passage when answering the questions. You can skip questions and
go back to them later as long as there is time remaining.

Please note:

The practice questions are real TOEFL iBT test questions, but the testing experience has
been adapted for presentation in this course.
Your performance on this practice test is not a predictor of how you might perform on the
actual TOEFL iBT test.

Your scores for this practice test will show correct vs. incorrect choices. You will also see an
explanation for why each answer choice is correct or incorrect. Scores and scoring information
are for preparation use only; they are not official or scaled scores.
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions. Give yourself 20
minutes to complete this practice set.

Pastoralism in Ancient Inner Eurasia

Pastoralism is a lifestyle in which economic activity is based primarily on livestock.

Archaeological evidence suggests that by 3,000 B.C., and perhaps even earlier, there had
emerged on the steppes of Inner Eurasia the distinctive types of pastoralism that were to
dominate the regions history for several millennia. Here, the horse was already becoming the
animal of prestige in many regions, though sheep, goats, and cattle could also play a vital role.
It is the use of horses for transportation and warfare that explains why Inner Eurasian
pastoralism proved the most mobile and the most militaristic of all major forms of pastoralism.
The emergence and spread of pastoralism had a profound impact on the history of Inner
Eurasia, and also, indirectly, on the parts of Asia and Europe just outside this area. In
particular, pastoralism favors a mobile lifestyle, and this mobility helps to explain the impact of
pastoralist societies on this part of the world.

The mobility of pastoralist societies reflects their dependence on animal-based foods. While
agriculturalists rely on domesticated plants, pastoralists rely on domesticated animals. As a
result, pastoralists, like carnivores in general, occupy a higher position on the food chain. All
else being equal, this means they must exploit larger areas of land than do agriculturalists to
secure the same amount of food, clothing, and other necessities. So pastoralism is a more
extensive lifeway than farming is. However, the larger the terrain used to support a group, the
harder it is to exploit that terrain while remaining in one place. So, basic ecological principles
imply a strong tendency within pastoralist lifeways toward nomadism (a mobile lifestyle). As the
archaeologist Roger Cribb puts it, The greater the degree of pastoralism, the stronger the
tendency toward nomadism. A modern Turkic nomad interviewed by Cribb commented: The
more animals you have, the farther you have to move.

Nomadism has further consequences. It means that pastoralist societies occupy and can
influence very large territories. This is particularly true of the horse pastoralism that emerged in
the Inner Eurasian steppes, for this was the most mobile of all major forms of pastoralism. So,
it is no accident that with the appearance of pastoralist societies there appear large areas that
share similar cultural, ecological, and even linguistic features. By the late fourth millennium
B.C., there is already evidence of large culture zones reaching from Eastern Europe to the
western borders of Mongolia. Perhaps the most striking sign of mobility is the fact that by the
third millennium B.C., most pastoralists in this huge region spoke related languages ancestral
to the modern Indo-European languages. The remarkable mobility and range of pastoral
societies explain, in part, why so many linguists have argued that the Indo-European languages
began their astonishing expansionist career not among farmers in Anatolia (present-day
Turkey), but among early pastoralists from Inner Eurasia. Such theories imply that the Indo-
European languages evolved not in Neolithic (10,000 to 3,000 B.C.) Anatolia, but among the
foraging communities of the cultures in the region of the Don and Dnieper rivers, which took
up stock breeding and began to exploit the neighboring steppes.
Nomadism also subjects pastoralist communities to strict rules of portability. If you are
constantly on the move, you cannot afford to accumulate large material surpluses. Such rules
limit variations in accumulated material goods between pastoralist households (though they
may also encourage a taste for portable goods of high value such as silks or jewelry). So, by
and large, nomadism implies a high degree of self-sufficiency and inhibits the appearance of an
 extensive division of labor. Inequalities of wealth and rank certainly exist, and have probably
existed in most pastoralist societies, but except in periods of military conquest, they are
normally too slight to generate the stable, hereditary hierarchies that are usually implied by the
use of the term class.Inequalities of gender have also existed in pastoralist societies, but they
seem to have been softened by the absence of steep hierarchies of wealth in most
communities, and also by the requirement that women acquire most of the skills of men,
including, often, their military skills.

Practice
Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own. These activities are based
on the tips presented in the Inside the TOEFL Test videos.

1. Do an online search to find a list of common Greek and Latin roots, such
as 60+ Greek and Latin Prefixes Arranged by Meaning(opens new window). Pick 5
roots, and find the definitions of at least 3 words that use each root.

2. Select an article such as "The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the
Telegraph"(opens new window) about Samuel Morse, and outline the main points
using one of the outline formats shown at the end of the Prose Summary/Fill in a
Table video.

3. Using the Reading passages from TOEFL iBT Quick Prep Volume 2 (opens
new window)(pages 4-5 and 10-11), select a paragraph to read. As you read, make
a list of what information is important, and what is not as important. Have a partner
do the same thing separately, then compare your lists.

4. Using "The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the Telegraph"(opens new
window), find all of the pronouns that arent "he" (since most of those obviously
refer to Samuel Morse), and determine what nouns they refer to. For example, in
this excerpt, you can find the pronoun "it" and determine that it refers to "the
invention".

Soon, all types of news and messages were being tapped out across the country.
The invention transformed communication, business, and the idea of
news. It sped up the world, cutting the delivery of a message from Washington,
D.C., to New Haven from four days to under four seconds.

Resources
If youre looking to practice more and would like additional reading materials that
have some similarities to TOEFL Reading passages in tone and content, here are a
few examples (the links will take you outside of the course and the edX platform):

Articles about archaeology from Smithsonian Magazine:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeology/(opens
new window)

News articles about science and culture from National Geographic:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/(opens new window)

An Encyclopedia Britannica article about the history and techniques of mountain climbing:

http://www.britannica.com/topic/mountaineering(opens new
window)

Also, check out these reading survival guides from a university in Australia:

http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/27
48132/IE5-Reading-in-English.pdf(opens new window)
 http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/27
48143/TN3-Read-effectively.pdf(opens new window)

WRITING SECTION

Question 1:
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on
specific points made in the reading passage.

Topic Notes:
You should understand the reasons presented in the lecture for why offering a four-day
workweek is not necessarily a good idea. The lecturer questions each of the benefits of a four-
day workweek presented in the reading passage: benefits to companies, to the country as a
whole, as well as to individuals.

A high-scoring response will include the following points made by the lecturer that address the
points made in the reading passage:

Point Made in the Reading Passage Contrasting Point from the Lecture

Companies will profit from four-day workers because Company profits could actually decrease due
these workers will be more alert and make fewer to extra money companies will need to spend
mistakes in their work. on health benefits, training, space, or
equipment for extra workers.

A policy of having four-day workers opens up more Unemployment may not decrease because
jobs and could reduce unemployment nationwide. companies could just ask workers to work
overtime, or expect four-day workers to
complete five days of work in four days.

The extra day off would improve individuals quality The quality of life of people working four-day
of life by allowing them more time with family and weeks could suffer because they could have
more leisure time. fewer chances for career advancement or be
more likely to be laid off.
Annotate

Your Responses:
We have selected responses from Elizabeth from Malaysia and Abdirahman M. from
Somaliland. Lets take a look at their responses together!
Annotate

Read Elizabeths high-level response.

The lecturer states that offering employees the option of a four-day workweek would
not affect companies' profits, which is contrary to the reading passage. It is
understood from the reading passage that companies can hire more staff for the same
amount of money if the current employees take up the offer of a four-day workweek.
However, the lecturer points out that companies will instead, spend more money if
they were to hire new recruits. This is because all the recruits will need training,
medical benefits, workspace and new computers.

Besides, the country's unemployment rate would not decrease even if the option of a
four-day workweek is available. According to the lecturer, companies might just expect
four-day workers to produce the same quota required of those working for five days
per week, instead of hiring more people to share the workload as stated in the
passage. The employees might be expected to work overtime and their job just
becomes more unpleasant than their current working conditions.

Moreover, the lecturer thinks that employees on a four-day workweek might not be
able to enjoy a quality life, as opposed to the reading passage. While the worker may
be able to spend more time with his or her family, engaging in private interests and
leisure activity, the worker might lose out on more important things such as a
promotion. The lecturer even suggested that these employees are at a higher risk of
unemployment when a company downsizes its structure during an economy crisis.

Rater Comments:

This high-level response covers all of the important lecture information and most of the
relevant reading content needed to explain how the lecture comments on the reading.
In each paragraph, Elizabeth refers to or addresses content from the reading passage.
Sometimes she clearly and coherently relates it to the lecture ( It is understood from
the reading passage that ... However, the lecturer points out that ... ) but other times
she blends the reading and lecture a little less coherently ( employees ... might not be
able to enjoy a quality life, as opposed to the reading passage ). There is a minor
inaccuracy in the first sentence, where Elizabeth indicates that the lecturer says that a
four-day workweek would not affect companies profits . This is an incomplete version
of the lecturers opening words that misrepresents what is said, but otherwise she
accurately summarizes the lecture. The response contains a very minor mechanical
error (companies will instead, spend ; the comma here is unnecessary) and a tense
error (The employees might be expected to work overtime and their job just becomes
more unpleasant; this should read The employees might be expected to work
overtime and their job would justbecome more unpleasant), but these errors do not
interfere with meaning.
Annotate
Read Abdirahman M.s high-level response .

The passage proposes an optional four days a week for the workers but the lecturer
totally opposed the idea.

First, in the reading, four days a week will make the employees rested and more
efficient. Others will be hired to fill the gap. This will reduce the errors they commit on
their daily basis and will result in higher profits for the companies. The lecturer argues
the companies will not hire new employees because the cost of production increases
as they need more space to work, more computers and training. Moreover, no matter
how much the employees work, medical benefits should be available for them.

Second, the passage implies as the current employees work less, new jobs will be
available and the unemployment rate decreases. But the lecturer believes the increase
in cost of production mentioned above will compel the companies not to hire more.
They may force their employees to work overtime or expect them to finish their work
in just four days instead. The overload creates unpleasant environment for the
workers.

Finally, in the passage the workers will have more free time to spend with their
families or leisure activities. However, the lecturer asserted that times of recession,
they will be more likely to lose their jobs and less likely to be promoted for managerial
positions because more committed employees are considered first.

Rater Comments:

In this high-level response, Abdirahman covers all the relevant lecture material,
succinctly summarizing the relevant reading content before summarizing each point
from the lecture. Even though the response is fairly short, it generally provides a clear
and coherent idea of how the lecture comments on the reading passage. In addressing
the connection between the increased costs to companies hiring new employees
(expressed as, the cost of production increases) and the idea that all employees
should have medical benefits, Abdirahman is somewhat vague. And it is unclear
whether the opinion no matter how much the employees work, medical benefits
should be available for them is Abdirahmans opinion or the opinion of the lecturer.
Elsewhere in the response, however, Abdirahman clearly connects the lecture to the
reading. There are some minor language errors involving word choice ( This will
reduce the errors they commit on their daily basis instead of This will reduce
the number of errors they make on a daily basis ) and omission (the lecturer
asserted that times of recession instead of the lecturer asserted that during times of
recession) but none of these significantly interfere with meaning.

Annotate

Question 2:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

People benefit more from traveling in their own country than from
traveling to foreign countries.

Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Be sure to use
your own words. Do not use memorized examples.
Topic Notes:
The topic is accessible; writers generally have plenty to say in response to this prompt.
Not surprisingly, many respond that both traveling in one's own country and traveling
to a foreign country are good. Travel, in general, provides new experiences and
opportunities to see and learn about new people and places. People grow through
traveling.

Those who agree with the prompt say that if there is a good place to go in your
country, by all means, go there. Domestic travel is not expensive, and it is comfortable,
convenient, and easy. One doesn't need any foreign language skills to travel in ones
own country. Different cultures, places, and languages may not provide the relaxation
that one wants from a vacation.

Those who say they prefer travel to foreign places cite the usual reasons: that travel is
broadening and one can learn about a different culture. In these days of globalization
it is important to know about the world, not just one's own country. Writers cite
particular cities and countries as specific examples although many of the essays are
more general than specific.

A few writers talk about travel in terms of emigration/immigration from one country to
another. Since the prompt does not specify the reason for travel, these are considered
on topic and are scored accordingly.

Annotate

Your Responses:

We have selected responses from satoko_fs from Japan and Muhammad A. from
Pakistan. Lets take a look at their responses together!

Annotate
Read satoko_fss high-level response.

Traveling is one of my two biggest passion in life. Since I am an adult, whenever I

have time, I plan a trip. Based on my personal experiences, I would like to share my
opinion on this topic.

I definitely agree that people benefit from traveling to foreign countries. When
someone from my home country is doubting about traveling abroad, the first thing I
tell him is: go for it!. The reason behind this is because we can never travel through
pictures, movies or other peoples stories. I think we can only dream about it. I
strongly believe that we can enrich ourselves by discovering other cultures, learning
about traditions and food (my other passion!) and this can only be done when we are
actually there. For instance, a Japanese restaurant in a foreign country likely adapts
their menu to the local taste, and that is not the real one!

Also, in my opinion, when I travel to a country where I do not speak the language, I
tend to open up more. I like to feel the amazing human connection between me and
local people, and I realised I express myself in more creative ways (such as gesture or
with sound words).

I also agree that people benefit from traveling in their own country. So many times I
felt bad realising that I did not know enough about the country I was born and raised.
My excuse is that traveling is quite expensive and when I was growing up I had other
things to do than traveling. I knew that there were so many beautiful sights and
cultures to discover, but my mind was more interested in the unknown (that is to say,
foreign countries). It helps to know about your own country though, especially when a
friend wants to travel there and know local tips. So now when I go back to my home
country, I try my best not to stay in my city but to travel to regions I have never been
to.

Nowadays, we can access so many information regarding any places in the world
thanks to the Internet. But with the current air transportation options, those places are
much more accessible. Perhaps it is a luxury to travel in general, but the non-material
memories that we can take back from those travels are so enlightening and enriching!
Either in our own or foreign countries, traveling is definitely a great benefit for
ourselves.

Rater Comments:

In this high-level response, satoko_fs explains why visiting foreign countries helps us
to truly appreciate other cultures and to grow personally, as well as why traveling in
ones own country can be beneficial. Satoko_fs supports her opinion with sufficient
examples and details; for example, by indicating that a Japanese restaurant in a
foreign country which likely adapts their menu to the local taste is not the real
one! She describes her positive experience of interacting with people abroad ( I tend
to open up more and I realised I express myself in more creative ways), though this
idea about connecting with people whose language she doesnt speak could perhaps
have been developed further. Additionally, the connection between the benefit of
knowing ones own country through travel and having a friend who wants to travel
there could have been made clearer by explaining that a person would be able to make
recommendations to that friend. Satoko_fs generally displays good language control
and uses a mixture of simple and complex sentences. The response contains a few
minor word choice and word formation errors (I had other things to do than traveling
instead of I had other things to do than travel, and so many information instead of
so much information) and once or twice leaves out a preposition where one is
needed (the country I was born and raised instead of the country where I was born
and raised), but these errors do not interfere with meaning.
Annotate
Read Muhammad A.s high-level response.

Almost everyone loves to travel and explore new places and cultures, whether inside
one's country or in other parts of the world. Some people think traveling inside their
own country benefits more than taking tour to foreign lands and others take
completely different line. Due to several reasons, i personally think traveling inside
one's own country is more advantageous than going to foreign countries.
firstly, by going in different ares inside your own country can give you valuable
information, like nation's overall fabric- How many different threads and colors of
different languages, festivals, foods, cultures and school of thought exist in that
"fabric". For example, last summer when i visited northern ares of my country and to
my surprise, i tasted new dry-fruits which i never have tried before.

In addition, when we go to new places we get to know new people- of different

background. By traveling insides our "own land" we come to know our "own people".
And when we meet them and make them our friends, then definitely our social circle
and its diversity increases. An addition advantage of connecting those people we learn
from their experiences and their way of treating problems.
Therefore, i think traveling in our own country benefits us more. because one came to
know about one's own nation than visiting other places. And we can predict and gain
most credible information about our own national aspirations, geography, potentials
and problems.
 Raters Comments:

In this high-level response, Muhammad argues that traveling in ones own country is
more rewarding than traveling abroad, since it enables people to experience and better
appreciate variety within their own country and to learn from and form meaningful
bonds with people in their country. Muhammad uses appropriate examples and details.
To capture the idea of variety within a persons given country, he develops a colorful
comparison (like nations overall fabric- How many different threads and colors of
different languages, festivals, foods, cultures and school of thought exist ) and
provides a personal detail (i tasted new dry-fruits). The response is somewhat
shorter than a typical high-level response for this writing task. It also contains some
noticeable errors in spelling and usage (firstly instead of Firstly, ares instead of
areas, and lowercase i instead of capital I), and once or twice includes words that
result in ungrammatical sentences (last summer when i visited northern ares of my
country and to my surprise, I tasted instead of last summer I visited northern
areas of my country and to my surprise, I tasted ). However, these errors dont
really interfere with meaning, and the response overall addresses the topic and task
well.

Annotate

Practice
Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own.

1. Find a short news article from a news website like cnn.com, bbc.com, or reuters.com.
Practice paraphrasing by rewriting the article in your own words.

2. Keep a vocabulary journal that includes synonyms of useful words. Type in a

word at www.thesaurus.com(opens new window) to find synonyms and explore how
words with similar meanings relate to one another.

3. Find a recorded lecture from an online course website, such as edx.org. Listen to the
lecture and write down what the main points are. This is a great activity to do with a study
partner, because you can both do it separately and compare notes.

4. Read two articles on the same topic, and write a summary of each. Then explain the
ways in which they are similar and the ways in which they are different.

5. Find an essay in a news magazine or on a website that expresses an opinion.

Read it and write about why you agree or disagree. Give yourself 30 minutes to
plan, write, and revise the essay.

Resources
Here is a list of additional writing resources. These resources offer information about
written English and ways for you to practice writing in English.

Explore these online handbooks and other resources on academic writing from
universities in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia. The links will take you outside of
the course and the edX platform.

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/process.html(opens new window)

http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/resources(opens new
window)
 http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice(opens new window)

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html(opens new window)

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter/resource
sforwriters(opens new window)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/resources/writing-support/445(opens new
window)

http://www.une.edu.au/current-students/resources/academic-
skills/fact-sheets(opens new window) (Look at the fact sheets on writing
and paragraph types.)

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-
resources(opens new window)

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/(opens new
window)

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/678/01/(opens new
window)

https://kb.myport.ac.uk/Article/Index/12/4?
relparticId=1091&relpname=Academic%20writing
%20support&id=2072(opens new window)

Read short essays, then look for the questions at the end of each essay. Write
responses to the questions. Try to incorporate some of the key words that were used
in the essays in your responses:

http://blogs.voanews.com/confessions/(opens new window)

Read short lessons, then apply what you learned by writing responses to a wide variety
of tasks:

https://www.englishclub.com/efl/category/writing-prompts/