LESSON 37.2 Reference Items (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 37.2

Reference Items

Reference items ask you to find the noun (called the referent) that a pronoun or other word refers to. Two things to remember: 1 The referent almost always comes before the reference word in the passage. 2 The referent is NOT always the noun that is closest to the reference word in the sentence. On the computer-based test, most reference items are Click on the Passage items but a few are Multiple-Choice items. Click on Reference Items When you see this type of item, a section of the passage—usually one or two sentences—appears in bold text, just as in Vocabulary items. A pronoun or other reference word will be highlighted. You have to find the referent in the bold text to which the highlighted word or phrase refers. You can identify “possible answers” in the bold text according to the type of reference word that is highlighted. For example, if the pronoun he is being asked about, you would only look for nouns that name a singular male person. Here’s a list of common reference words and the kinds of nouns they refer to: This, that, these, and those can also be used with nouns: this person, that time, those animals, or these places. After you have identified possible answers, you should read the sentence with the answers in place of the reference. Which one is the most logical substitute? If you are not sure, you can at least eliminate unlikely choices and guess. Multiple-Choice Reference Items A few reference items will ask you to choose to which one of four nouns a pronoun or other word refers. Again, you should read the sentence with each of the four choices in place of the highlighted word to decide which of the four answers is the most logical. EXERCISE 37.1 Focus: Identifying the referents for pronouns and other expressions in sentences and short passages Directions: Read the following passages and the questions about them. For Multiple-Choice items, decide which of the choices—(A), (B), (C), or (D)—best answers the question, and mark the answer. Underline the correct referents for “click-on” items. Passage 1 In addition to these various types of deep mining, several types of surface mining may be used when minerals lie relatively close to the surface of the earth. One type is open-pit mining. The first step is to remove the overburden, the layers of rock and earth lying above the ore, with giant scrapers. The ore is broken up in a series of blasting operations. Power shovels pick up the pieces and load them into trucks or, in some cases, ore trains. These carry it up ramps to ground level. Soft ores are removed by drilling screws, called augers. Another type is called “placer” mining. Sometimes heavy metals, such as gold, are found in soil deposited by streams and rivers. The soil is picked up by a power shovel and transferred to a long trough. Water is run through the soil in the trough. This carries soil particles away with it. The metal particles are heavier than the soil and sink to the bottom where they can be recovered. The finishing-off process of mining is called mineral concentration. In this process, the desired substances are removed from the waste in various ways. One technique is to bubble air through a liquid in which ore particles are suspended. Chemicals are added that make the minerals cling to the air bubbles. The bubbles rise to the surface with the mineral particles attached, and they can be skimmed off and saved 1 Look at the word them in the bold text below: The ore is broken up in a series of blasting operations. Power shovels pick up the pieces and load them into trucks. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to them 2 Look at the word These in the bold text below: Power shovels pick up the pieces and load them into trucks. These carry it up ramps to ground level. Soft ores are removed by drilling screws, called augers. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to These. 3 The phrase Another type in paragraph 2 is a reference to another type of (A) deep mining. (B) ore. (C) metal. (D) surface mining. 4 Look at the word it in the bold text below: The soil is picked up by a power shovel and transferred to a long trough. Water  is run through the soil in the trough. This carries soil particles away with it. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to it. 5 Look at the word they in the bold text below: This carries soil particles away with it. The metal particles are heavier than the soil and sink to the bottom where they can be recovered. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to they. 6 In paragraph 3, the phrase this process refers to (A) surface mining. (B) the depositing of soil. (C) mineral concentration. (D) placer mining. 7 Look at the word they in the bold text below: Chemicals are added that make them cling to the air bubbles. The bubbles rise to the surface with the ore particles attached, and they can be skimmed off and saved. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to they. Passage 2 Mount Rainier, the heart of Mt. Rainier National Park, is the highest mountain in the state of Washington and in the Cascade Range. The mountain’s summit is broad and rounded. It is 14,410 feet above sea level and has an area of about one square mile. Numerous steam and gas jets occur around the crater, but the volcano has been sleeping for many centuries. Mount Rainier has a permanent ice cap and extensive snow fields, which give rise to more than forty glaciers. These feed swift streams and tumbling waterfalls that race through the glacial valleys. Forests extend to 4,500 feet. There are alpine meadows between the glaciers and the forests, which contain beautiful wild flowers. The Nisqually Glacier is probably the ice region that is most often explored by visitors. Paradise Valley, where hotel accommodations are available, perches on the mountain’s slope at 5,400 feet. The Wonderland Trail encircles the mountain. Its 90-mile length can be covered in about a week’s time. 8 Look at the word It in the bold text below: Mount Rainier, the heart of Mt. Rainier National Park, is the highest mountain in the state of Washington and in the Cascade Range. The mountain’s summit is broad and rounded. It is 14,410 feet above sea level and has an area of about one square mile. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to It. 9 Look at the word These in the bold text below: Mount Rainier has a permanent ice cap and extensive snowfields, which give rise to over forty glaciers. These feed swift streams and tumbling waterfalls that race through the glacial valleys. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to These. 10 The word which in paragraph 2 refers to (A) forests. (B) wild flowers. (C) alpine meadows. (D) glacial valleys. 11 Look at the word Its in the bold text below: Paradise Valley, where hotel accommodations are available, perches on the mountain’s slope at 2,700 feet. The Wonderland Trail encircles the mountain. Its 90-mile length can be covered in about a week’s time. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to Its. Passage 3 Some people associate migration mainly with birds. Birds do travel vast distances, but mammals also migrate. Caribou graze on the grassy slopes of northern Canada. When the weather turns cold, these animals travel south until spring. Their tracks are so well-worn that they are clearly visible from the air. Another example is the Alaskan fur seal. These seals breed only in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. The young are born in June and by September are strong enough to go with their mothers on a journey of more than 3,000 miles. Together they swim down the Pacific Coast of North America. The females and young travel as far as southern California. The males do not journey so far. They swim only to the Gulf of Alaska. In the spring, males and females all return to the islands, and there the cycle begins again. Whales are among the greatest migrators of all. The humpback, fin, and blue whales migrate thousands of miles each year from the polar seas to the tropics. Whales eat huge quantities of tiny plants and animals. These are most abundant in cold polar waters. In winter, the whales move to warm waters to breed and give birth to their young. 12 Look at the word they in the bold text below: Caribou graze on the grassy slopes of northern Canada. When the weather turns cold, these animals travel south until spring. Their tracks are so well worn that they are clearly visible from the air. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to they. 13 The phrase Another example in the passage refers to an example of a (A) migratory mammal. (B) place where animals migrate. (C) bird. (D) person who associates migration with birds. 14 Look at the word They in the bold text below: The females and young travel as far as southern California. The males do not journey so far. They swim only to the Gulf of Alaska. In the spring, males and females all return to the islands, and there the cycle begins again. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to They. 15 In the passage, the word there refers to (A) the Gulf of Alaska. (B) the Pribilof Islands. (C) southern California. (D) the Pacific Coast of North America. 16 Look at the word These in the bold text below: Whales eat huge quantities of tiny plants and animals. These are most abundant in cold polar waters. In winter, the whales move to warm waters to breed and give birth to their young. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to These. Passage 4 Design is the arrangement of materials to produce certain effects. Design plays a role in visual arts and in the creation of commercial products. Designers are concerned with the direction of lines, the size of shapes, and the shading of colors. They arrange these patterns in ways that are satisfying to viewers. There are various elements involved in creating a pleasing design. Harmony, or balance, can be obtained in several ways. It may be either symmetrical (in balance) or asymmetrical (out of balance, but still pleasing to the eye). Or a small area may balance a large area if it has an importance to the eye (because of color or treatment) equaling that of the larger area. Contrast is the opposite of harmony. The colors red and orange harmonize, because orange contains red. A circle and an oval harmonize, because they are both made up of curved lines. But a triangle does not harmonize with a circle. Because of its straight lines and angles, it is in contrast. Unity occurs when all the elements in a design combine to form a consistent whole. Unity resembles balance. A design has balance if its masses are balanced or if its tones and colors harmonize. But unity differs from balance because it implies that balanced elements work together to form harmony in the design as a whole. 17 Look at the word They in the bold text below: Designers are concerned with the direction of lines, the size of shapes, and the shading of colors. They arrange these patterns in ways that are satisfying to viewers. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to They. 18 Look at the word that in the bold text below: Or a small area may balance a large area if it has an importance to the eye (because of color or treatment) equaling that of the larger area. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to that. 19 Look at the word they in the bold text below: The colors red and orange harmonize, because orange contains red. A circle and an oval harmonize, because they are both made up of curved lines. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to they. 20 Look at the word it in the bold text below: A circle and an oval harmonize, because they are both made up of curved lines. But a triangle does not harmonize with a circle. Because of its straight lines and angles, it is in contrast. Underline the word or phrase in the bold text that refers to it. 21 In the last sentence, the word it refers to (A) unity. (B) balance. (C) a design. (D) a consistent whole.

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