TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE (LISTENING) Skill 10: LISTEN FOR NEGATIVE WITH COMPARATIVES

TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE

(LISTENING)

Skill 10: LISTEN FOR NEGATIVE WITH COMPARATIVES

Negative can be used with comparatives in the short dialogues of the TOEFL test. A sentence with a negative and comparative has a superlative, or very strong, meaning.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

woman	What do you think of the new student in math class?
man	No one is more intelligent than she is.
narrator	What does the man say about the new student?

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

A.     She is not very smart.

B.      He is smarter than she is.

C.     Other students are smarter than she is.

D.     She is the smartest student in the class.

The man responds to the woman’s question with the negative No and the comparative more intelligent, and this combination has a superlative meaning, the smartest. The best answer is therefore answer (D).

The following chart outlines comparisons that you should be careful of when they are used with negatives:

 

TOEFL EXERCISE 10: 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 comparatives with negatives.

1	A.        She’s not very happy. B.         She didn’t do very well on the exam. C.        She could be somewhat happier. D.        She’s delighted with the results.	6	A.        They were not very lucky. B.         No one was hurt. C.        The accident was unfortunate. D.        She wanted to have better luck.
2	A.        Paula is always lazy. B.         Paula didn’t work very hard this semester. C.        Paula made a strong effort. D.        Paula could have worked hard.	7	A.       Nothing was very difficult. B.        The exam wasn’t at all easy. C.       The exam couldn’t have been easier. D.       The exam had nothing difficult on it.
3	A.        The prices were great! B.         The prices were too high. C.        She didn’t buy much because of the prices. D.        The prices could have been lower.	8	A.       She wants that job very much. B.        No one is going to get the job. C.       Everybody else wants that job as much as she does. D.       She is not sure about taking the job.
4	A.        She is not very smart. B.         She always tells him everything. C.        He doesn’t know her very well. D.        She’s extremely intelligent.	9	A.       She was second in the race. B.        She was almost the slowest person in the race. C.       She won the race. D.       She was not faster than anyone else.
5	A.        The patient absolutely didn’t need the surgery. B.         The necessity for the surgery was unquestionable. C.        The surgeon felt that the operation was necessary. D.        It was essential that the surgery be performed immediately.	10	A.       This math project was extremely complex. B.        This math project was less complicated than the last. C.       They seldom complete their math projects. D.       Complicated math projects are often assigned.

ANSWER KEY

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

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