SKILL 7: ANSWER TRANSITION QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

LONGMAN COMPLETE COURSE FOR THE TOEFL

READING

SKILL 7: ANSWER TRANSITION QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

This type of question asks you to demonstrate that you understand that good writing contains transitions from one paragraph to the next. A paragraph may start out with the idea of the previous paragraph as a way of linking the ideas in the two paragraphs. A paragraph may also end with an idea that will be further developed in the following paragraph. Look at a multiple-choice examples of a transition question from the paper TOEFL test that asks you to identify what was probably in the preceding paragraph.

Example from the Paper TOEFL Test The passage: Another myth of the ocean concerns Davy Jones, who in folklore is a mean-spirited sovereign of the ocean’s depths. The name “Jones” is thought by some etymologists to have been derived from the name “Jonah,” the Hebrew prophet who spent three days in a whale’s belly. According to tradition, any object that goes overboard and sinks to the bottom of the ocean is said to have gone to Davy Jones’s locker, the ocean-sized, mythical receptacle for anything that falls into the water. Needless to say, any sailor on the seas is not so eager to take a tour of Davy Jones’s locker, although it might be a rather interesting trip considering all the treasures located there.

The question: The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses? A.                   The youth of Davy Jones B.                   Davy Jones’s career as a sailor C.                  A different traditional story from the sea D.                                      Preparing to travel on the ocean

This question asks about the topic of the preceding paragraph, so you must look at the beginning of the passage and draw a conclusion about what probably came before. Since the passage begins with the expression another myth of the oceans, you should understand that the new passage is going to present a second myth of the oceans and the previous passage probably presented the first myth of the oceans. A myth is a traditional story, so the best answer to this question is answer (C), which discusses a different traditional story from the sea.

The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about transition questions:

TOEFL EXERCISE 7: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-2)

Another program instrumental in the popularization of science was Cosmos. This series, broadcast on public television, dealt with topics and issues from varied fields of science. The principal writer and narrator of the program was Carl Sagan, a noted astronomer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

1	The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses		2	The paragraph following this passage most likely contains information on what?
	A	a different scientific television series		A	The popularity of science
	B	Carl Sagan’s scientific achievements		B	The program Cosmos
	C	The Pulitzer Prize won by Carl Sagan		C	The astronomer Carl Sagan
	D	public television		D	Topics and issues from various fields of science

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3-4)

When a strong earthquake occurs on the ocean floor rather than on land, a tremendous force is exerted on the seawater and one or more large, destructive waves called tsunamis can be formed. Tsunamis are commonly called tidal waves in the United States, but this is really an inappropriate name in the cause of the Tsunami is an underground earthquake rather than the ocean’s tides. Far from land, a tsunami can move through the wide open vastness of the ocean at a speed of 600 miles (900 kilometers) per hour and often can travel tremendous distances without losing height and strength. When a tsunami reaches shallow coastal water, it can reach a height of 100 feet (30 meters) or more and can cause tremendous flooding and damage to coastal areas.

3	The paragraph preceding the passage most probably discusses		4	Which of the following is most likely the topic of the paragraph following the passage?
	A	tsunamis in various parts of the world		A	The causes of tsunamis
	B	the negative effects of tsunamis		B	The destructive effects of tsunamis on the coast
	C	land-based earthquakes		C	The differences between tsunamis and tidal waves
	D	the effect of tides on tsunamis		D	The distances covered by tsunamis

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5-6)

While draft laws are federal laws, marriage laws are state laws rather than federal; marriage regulations are therefore not uniform throughout the country. The legal marriage age serves as an example of this lack of conformity. In most states, both the man and the woman must be at least eighteen years old to marry without parental consent; however, the states of Nebraska and Wyoming require the couple to be at least nineteen, while the minimum age in Mississippi is twenty-one. If parental permission is given, then a couple can marry at sixteen in some states, and a few states even allow marriage before the age of sixteen, though a judge’s permission, in addition to the permission of the parents, is sometimes required in this situation. Some states which allow couples to marry at such a young age are now considering doing away with such early marriages because of the  numerous negative effects of these young marriages.

5	The paragraph preceding the passage most probably discusses		6	The topic of the paragraph following the passage is most likely to be
	A	state marriage laws		A	disadvantages of youthful marriages
	B	the lack of uniformity in marriage laws		B	reasons why young people decide to marry
	C	federal drafts laws		C	the age when parental consent for marriage is required
	D	the minimum legal marriage age		D	a discussion of why some states allow marriages before the age of sixteen

ANSWER KEY

1	2	3	4	5	6
A	C	C	B	C	A