TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE (LISTENING) Skill 9: LISTEN FOR “ ALMOST NEGATIVE” EXPRESSIONS

TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE

(LISTENING)

Skill 9: LISTEN FOR “ ALMOST NEGATIVE” EXPRESSIONS

Certain expressions in English have “almost negative” meanings. These expressions are common in the short dialogues.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

woman	Were you able to pay the electric bill?
man	I had barely enough money.
narrator	What does the man imply?

 

In your test book or on the computer screen, you read:

A.    He had plenty money for the bill.

B.     He did not have enough money for the bill.

C.     He paid the bill but has no money left.

D.    He was unable to pay the bill.

In the man’s statement, the word enough indicates that there was enough, so he paid the bill. However, it was barely enough, so he almost did not have enough and certainty has no money left. The correct answer is therefore answer (C).

The following chart outlines common “almost negative” expressions:

 

TOEFL EXERCISE 9: In this exercise, Listen carefully to each short dialogue and question on the recording, and then choose the best answer to the question. You should be particularly careful of “almost negative” expressions.

1	A.       There’s little rain in July. B.       In July it never rains. C.       It rains hard in July. D.       When it rains in July, it rains hard.	6	A.       He rarely spends time on his courses. B.       He’s an excellent student. C.       He never studies. D.       His books are always open.
2	A.       The university accepted three students. B.       None of the students is going to the university. C.       John was not accepted. D.       Two were not admitted.	7	A.      He finished the exam in plenty of time. B.      He was scared he wouldn’t finish. C.      He used every possible minute to finish. D.      He was unable to complete the exam.
3	A.       Although he did pass, Mark’s exam grade wasn’t too good. B.       Mark failed his history exam. C.       The highest grade on the history exam went to Mark. D.       Professor Franks didn’t pass Mark on the history exam.	8	A.      This was a very long staff meeting. B.      This was the only staff meeting in a long time. C.      The meeting lasted only until one o’clock. D.      The one staff meeting should’ve lasted longer.
4	A.       He often has long waits in Dr. Robert’s office. B.       He must wait patiently for Robert. C.       Dr. Roberts is generally punctual. D.       He doesn’t mind waiting dor Dr. Roberts	9	A.      Meat tastes delicious to him when it’s cooked rare. B.      He isn’t sure if the meal is delicious. C.      This meat is the best he’s tasted in a long time. D.      He’d like to eat some meat from this delicatessen.
5	A.       Betty often takes vacations in winter. B.       Betty prefers to take vacations in winter. C.       Occasionally Betty works one week during vacation. D.       A winter vacation is unusual for Betty.	10	A.      He broke his arm trying to move it. B.      He only hurt the broken arm. C.      He only tries to move the broken arm. D.      There’s no pain if he rests quietly.

 

ANSWER KEY

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
A	D	A	C	D	A	C	A	C	D

 

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