LESSON 33.3 OVERVIEW ITEMS (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 33.3

OVERVIEW ITEMS

MAIN IDEA, MAIN TOPIC, AND MAIN PURPOSE QUESTIONS After almost every passage, the first question is an overview question about the main idea, main topic, or main purpose of a passage. Main idea questions ask you to identify the most important thought in the passage. Sample Questions √ What is the main idea of the passage? The primary idea of the passage is . . . Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main idea? √ √ When there is not a single, readily identified main idea, main topic questions may be asked. These ask you what the passage is generally “about.” Sample Questions √ The main topic of the passage is . . . What does the passage mainly discuss? The passage is primarily concerned with . . . √ √ Main purpose questions ask why an author wrote a passage. The answer choices for these questions usually begin with infinitives. Sample Questions √ The author’s purpose in writing is to . . . What is the author’s main purpose in the passage? The main point of this passage is to . . . Why did the author write the passage? √ √ √ Sample Answer Choices √ To define . . . To relate . . . To discuss . . . To propose . . . To illustrate . . . To support the idea that . . . To distinguish between . . . and . . . To compare . . . and . . . √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Don’t answer the initial overview question about a passage until you have answered the other questions. The process of answering the detail questions may give you a clearer idea of the main idea, topic, or purpose of the passage. The correct answers for main idea, main topic, and main purpose questions correctly summarize the main points of the passage; they must be more general than any of the supporting ideas or details, but not so general that they include ideas outside the scope of the passages. Distractors for this type of question have one of these characteristics: 1 They are too specific. They are too general. They are incorrect according to the passage. They are irrelevant (unrelated) to the main idea of the passage. 2 3 4 If you’re not sure of the answer for one of these questions, go back and quickly scan the passage. You can usually infer the main idea, main topic, or main purpose of the entire passage from an understanding of the main ideas of the paragraphs that make up the passage and the relationship between them. OTHER OVERVIEW ITEMS Several other items test your overall understanding of the passage. These are often the last question in a set of questions. Tone items ask you to determine the author’s feelings about the topic by the language that he or she uses in writing the passage. Look for vocabulary that indicates if the author’s feelings are positive, negative, or neutral. Sample Questions √ What tone does the author take in writing this passage? The tone of this passage could best be described as . . . √ Sample Answer Choices • Positive • Favorable • Optimistic • Amused • Pleased • Respectful • Humorous • Negative • Critical • Unfavorable • Angry • Defiant • Worried • Outraged • Neutral • Objective • Impersonal If you read the following sentences in passages, would the tone of those passages most likely be positive or negative? 1 That was just the beginning of a remarkable series of performances by this brilliant actress. 2 Despite some minor problems, this device has a number of admirable features. 3 This practice is a waste of time and money. 4 At the time his poems were first published, they were very popular, but today most critics find them simplistic and rather uninteresting. The italicized words in sentences 1 and 2 show a positive tone; in 3 and 4, the italicized words indicate a negative attitude. Notice that sentence 2 contains negative words (minor problems) but the overall meaning of the sentence is positive. Sentence 4 contains positive language (very popular) but overall, the tone is negative. (Words such as despite, but, although, however, and similar words can “reverse” the tone of the passage.) Most TOEFL reading passages have a neutral tone, but sometimes an author may take a position for or against some point. However, answer choices that indicate strong emotion—angry, outraged, sad, and so forth—will seldom be correct. Attitude questions are similar to tone questions. Again, you must understand the author’s opinion. The language that the author uses will tell you what his or her position is. What is the author’s attitude toward smoking on airplanes as expressed in the sentence below? Although some passengers may experience a slight discomfort from not smoking on long flights, their smoking endangers the health of all the passengers and crew. The author opposes smoking during flights. He admits that there is some argument in favor of smoking— some passengers may feel discomfort—but this is not as important as the fact that smoking can be dangerous to everyone on the flight. The use of the word although shows this. Sample Questions √ What is the author’s attitude toward . . . ? The author’s opinion of ________ is best described as . . . The author’s attitude toward ________ could best be described as one of . . . How would the author probably feel about . . . ? √ √ √ Another type of attitude question presents four statements and asks how the author would feel about them. √ Which of the following recommendations would the author most likely support? The author would be LEAST likely to agree with which of the following statements? The author of the passage would most likely be in favor of which of the following policies? √ √ Organization items ask about the overall structure of a passage or about the organization of a particular paragraph. Sample Question √ Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage? Sample Answer Choices √ A general concept is defined and examples are given. Several generalizations are presented, from which a conclusion is drawn. The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of ________. The author presents a system of classification for ________. Persuasive language is used to argue against ________. The author describes ________. The author presents a brief account of ________. The author compares ________ and ________. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Items about previous or following paragraphs ask you to assume that the passage is part of a longer work: What would be the topic of the hypothetical paragraph that precedes or follows the passage? To find the topic of the previous paragraph, look for clues in the first line or two of the passage; for the topic of the following passage, look in the last few lines. Sometimes incorrect answer choices mention topics that have already been discussed in the passage. Sample Questions √ What topic would the following/preceding paragraph most likely deal with? The paragraph before/after the passage most probably discusses . . . It can be inferred from the passage that the previous/next paragraph concerns . . . What most likely precedes/follows the passage? √ √ √ EXERCISE 33.3 Focus: Understanding the meaning of multiparagraph passages by identifying the main point of each of the paragraphs Directions: Read the following passages and the questions about them. Decide which of the choices best answers the question, and mark the answer. Passage 1 In most of Europe, farmers’ homes and outbuildings are in general located within a village. Every morning, the farmers and farm laborers leave their village to work their land or tend their animals in distant fields and return to the village at the end of the day. Social life is thus centripetal; that is, it is focused around the community center, the village. Only in certain parts of Quebec has this pattern been preserved in North America. Throughout most of North America, a different pattern was established. It was borrowed from northern Europe, but was pushed even further in the New World where land was cheap or even free. It is a centrifugal system of social life, with large isolated farms whose residents go to the village only to buy goods and procure services. The independence associated with American farmers stems from this pattern of farm settlement. The American farmer is as free of the intimacy of the village as is the urbanite. 1 The main topic of the first paragraph is (A) European farm products. (B) social life in Quebec. (C) the European pattern of rural settlement. 2 The main topic of the second paragraph is the (A) relative isolation of North American farm families. (B) relationship between farmers and urbanites in North America. (C) low cost of farmland in North America. 3 The main topic of the entire passage is (A) a comparison of farming in northern and southern Europe. (B) the difference between farming in Quebec and the rest of North America. (C) European influence on American agriculture. (D) a contrast between a centripetal system of rural life and a centrifugal system. Passage 2 While fats have lately acquired a bad image, one should not forget how essential they are. Fats provide the body’s best means of storing energy, a far more efficient energy sources than either carbohydrates or proteins. They act as insulation against cold, as cushioning for the internal organs, and as lubricants. Without fats, energy would have no way to utilize fat-soluble vitamins. Furthermore, some fats contain fatty acids that contain necessary growth factors and help with the digestion of other foods. An important consideration of fat intake is the ratio of saturated fats to unsaturated fats. Saturated fats, which are derived from dairy products, animal fats, and tropical oils, increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol may lead to coronary heart disease by building up in the arteries of the heart. However, unsaturated fats, derived from vegetable oils, tend to lower serum cholesterol if taken in a proportion twice that of saturated fats. The consumption of a variety of fats is necessary, but the intake of too much fat may lead to a variety of health problems. Excessive intake of fats, like all nutritional excesses, is to be avoided. 4 The main idea of the first paragraph is that fats (A) deserve their bad image. (B) serve important functions in the body. (C) store food more efficiently than proteins or carbohydrates. 5 What is the main idea of the second paragraph? (A) Unsaturated fats may reduce cholesterol levels. (B) The consumption of any type of fat leads to heart disease. (C) Fats taken in the proper proportion may reduce serum cholesterol. 6 The main idea of the third paragraph is that (A) people are eating less and less fat today. (B) fats should be gradually eliminated from the diet. (C) excessive consumption of fats may be dangerous to one’s health. 7 With which of the following is the whole passage primarily concerned? (A) The role of fats in human health (B) The dangers of cholesterol (C) The benefits of fats in the diet (D) The importance of good nutrition Passage 3 The term weathering refers to all the ways in which rock can be broken down. It takes place because minerals formed in a particular way (say at high temperatures, in the case of igneous rocks) are often unstable when exposed to various conditions. Weathering involves the interaction of the lithosphere (the earth’s crust) with the atmosphere and hydrosphere (air and water). It occurs at different rates and in different ways, depending on the climactic and environmental conditions. But all kinds of weathering ultimately produce broken minerals and rock fragments and other products of the decomposition of stone. Soil is the most obvious and, from the human point of view, the most important result of the weathering process. Soil is the weathered part of the earth’s crust that is capable of sustaining plant life. The character of soil depends on the nature of rock from which it is formed. It also depends on the climate and on the relative “age” of the soil. Immature soils are little more than broken rock fragments. Over time, immature soil develops into mature soil, which contains quantities of humus, formed from decayed plant matter. Mature soil is darker, richer in microscopic life, and more conducive to plant growth. 8 The first paragraph primarily describes (A) the process by which rocks are broken down. (B) the weathering of igneous rocks. (C) gradual changes in the earth’s weather patterns. 9 The main topic of the second paragraph is (A) a description of immature soil. (B) the growth of plants. (C) the evolution of soil. 10 The main topic of the entire passage is that (A) weathering breaks down rocks and leads to the development of soil. (B) soils may be classified as mature or immature. (C) the process of soil development is more important to humans than that of weathering. (D) the earth’s crust is constantlychanging.

ANSWER KEY