SKILL 9: DETERMINE MEANINGS FROM WORD PARTS LONGMAN COMPLETE COURSE FOR THE TOEFL

LONGMAN COMPLETE COURSE FOR THE TOEFL

READING

SKILL 9: DETERMINE MEANINGS FROM WORD PARTS

When you are asked to determine the meaning of a long word that you do not know in the reading section of either the paper TOEFL test or the computer TOEFL test, it is sometimes possible to determine the meaning of the word by studying the word parts. Look at a multiple-choice example from the paper TOEFL test where the anser can be determined from a word part.

Example from the Paper TOEFL Test The passage: Ring Lardner was born into a wealthy, educated, and cultured family. For the bulk of his career, he worked as a reporter for newspapers in South Bend, Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago. However, it is for his short stories of lower middle-class Americans that Ring Lardner is perhaps best known. In these stories, Lardner vividly creates the language and the ambiance of this lower class, often using the misspelled words, grammatical errors, and incorrect diction that typified the language of the lower middle class.

The question: The word “vividly” in line 6 is closet in meaning to A.                   In a cultured way B.                   In a correct way C.                  In a lifelike way D.                                      In a brief way

This question asks about the meaning of the word vividly. To answer this question, you should notice that the word vividly contains the word part viv-, which means life. Answer (C) is therefore the best answer to this question.

The following chart contains a few word parts that you will need to know to complete the exercises in this part of the text. A more complete list of word parts and exercises to practice them can be found in Appendix 1 at the back of the text:

A SHORT LIST OF WORD PARTS
PART	MEANING	EXAMPLE	PART	MEANING	EXAMPLE
CONTRA	(against)	contrast	DIC	(say)	dictate
MAL	(bad)	malcontent	DOMIN	(master)	dominant
MIS	(error)	mistake	JUD	(judge)	judgement
SUB	(under)	subway	MORE	(death)	mortal
DEC	(ten)	decade	SPEC	(see)	spectator
MULTI	(many)	multiple	TERR	(earth)	territory
SOL	(one)	solo	VER	(turn)	divert
TRI	(three)	triple	VIV	(live)	revive

TOEFL EXERCISE 9: Study each of the passages and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-5)

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese-born explorer who is credited with the exploration of the cost of what is today the state of California. Sketchy military records from the period show that early in his career he served with the Spanish army from 1520 to 1524 in Spain’s quest for subjugation of the people in what are today Cuba, Mexico, and Guatemala. Little is known of his activities over the next decades, but apparently he succeeded in rising up through the ranks of military; in 1541, he was ordered by Antonio de Mendoza, the Spanish ruler of Mexico, to explore the western coast of North America. Cabrillo set out in June of 1542 in command of two ships, the San Salvador and the Victoria; he reached San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and claimed the terrain for Spain. The peninsula where he landed is today named Cabrillo Point in his honor; the area has been established as national monument and park, and local residents each year hold a celebration and reenactment of Cabrillo’s landing. From San Diego, Cabrillo continued northward for further exploration of the spectacular California coastline. By November 1542, he had reached as far north as San Francisco Bay, although he missed the entrance of the bay due to a huge storm. Soon after, with the approach of winter, he veered south and turned back to Mexico. He made it as far south as the Channel islands off the coast of what is today Santa Barbara. Cabrillo, who died on San Miguel island in the Channel Islands, never made it back to Mexico.

1	The word “subjugation” in line 4 is closest in meaning to		4	Look at the word spectacular in paragraph 2. This word is closest in meaning to which of the following?
	A	religion		A	Ruggedly handsome
	B	flag		B	Visually exciting
	C	control		C	Completely uneven
	D	agreement		D	Unendingly boring
2	Look at the word decades in paragraph 1. This word is closest in meaning to		5	Look at the word veered in Paragraph 2. Click on another word in paragraph 2 that is close in meaning to veered.
	A	months
	B	centuries
	C	long epoch
	D	ten-year periods
3	In line 9, the word “terrain” is closest in meaning to
	A	land
	B	population
	C	minerals
	D	prosperity

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 6-10)

Checks and balances are an important concept in the formation of the U.S. system of government as presented in the Constitution of the United States. Under this conception of government, each branch of government has built-in checks and limitations placed on it by one or more different branches of government in order to ensure that any branch is not able to usurp total dominance over the government. Under the Constitution, the United States has a tripartite government, which power divided equally among the branches; the presidency, the legislature, and the judiciary. Each branch is given some authority over the other two branches to balance the power among the three branches. An example of these checks and balances is seen in the steps needed to pass a law. Congress can pass a law with a simple majority, but the president can veto such a law. Congress can then counteract the veto with a two-thirds majority. However, even if Congress passes a law with a simple majority or overrides a presidential veto, the Supreme Court can still declare the law unconstitutional if it finds that the law is contradictory to the guidelines presented in the Constitution.

6	The expression “dominance over” in line 5 is closest in meaning to		9	Look at the word counteract in the passage. This word is closest in meaning to
	A	understanding of		A	vote for
	B	dispute over		B	debate
	C	authority over		C	surpass
	D	rejection of		D	work against
7	Look at the word tripartite in the passage, this word suggests that something is		10	“Contradictory” in line 12 is closest in meaning to which of the following expressions?
	A	divided into three		A	In agreement with
	B	totally democratic		B	Opposite to
	C	powerfully constructed		C	Supported by
	D	evenly matched		D	Similar to
8	The “judiciary” in line 7 is
	A	the electorate
	B	the authority
	C	the legal system
	D	the government

ANSWER KEY

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