LESSON 38.1 Sentence Addition Items (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 38.1

Sentence Addition Items

This type of item provides you with a sentence that can be added to a passage. You have to decide where to place this sentence. Black squares will appear between the sentences of one of the paragraphs of the passage. You have to click on the square where you think the sentence belongs. There will probably be from four to ten possible sites where you can insert the sentence. In general, you will see two to five Sentence Addition items per test. Sentence Addition problems test your knowledge of paragraph organization and coherence. You can think of coherence as the “glue” that holds the sentences of a paragraph together. There are some devices that writers use to achieve cohesion. You can use these as clues to help you find the best place to put the missing sentences. These devices may occur in either the missing sentence or the passage. 1 Signal Words Scientists have many theories about why the Ice Ages took place. However, none of these theories can fully explain why ice sheets form at certain periods and not at others. Stone tools are more durable than bones. Therefore, the tools of early humans are found more frequently than the bones of their makers. If we watch a cell divide under a microscope, what do we see? First, the nucleus of the cell begins to look different. The dense material thins out in the middle, forming two parts. Then these two parts separate, and there are two nuclei instead of one. Finally, a new cell wall forms between the new nuclei. The cell has divided. 2 Personal Pronouns Blood travels first through the great arteries. It then passes into smaller arteries until reaching the capillaries. They join to form veins, which carry the blood back to the heart. 3 Demonstratives There were a number of methods of improving worker motivation and performance introduced in the 1970s. One of these was called Management by Objectives (M.O.). This technique was designed to improve morale by having workers set their own goals. 4 Synonyms The earliest remains of ancient animals are those of soft-bodied jellyfish-like animals, worms, and proto-insects. The fossils of these creatures show us that, while some animals remained simple, others were becoming increasingly complex. 5 Repetition of Words Hydrilla is an invasive plant imported to Florida from Sri Lanka forty years ago for use in aquariums. Hydrilla has overgrown more than 40 percent of the state’s rivers and lakes, making life miserable for boaters and often impossible for native wildlife. In addition to these language clues, you can also use content clues. The missing sentence might be in contrast to one of the sentences in the passage, or one of the sentences in the paragraph might be in contrast to the missing sentence. The missing sentence might give an example of something mentioned in the passage or might represent a missing step from a process or a chronology described in the passage. For anyone to answer this type of item correctly, there must be some clues in either the missing sentence or the passage. There must be something—an idea or a word or a phrase—that links the missing sentence either to the sentence that comes before it or to the one that comes after it. It’s up to you to find the clues! You should follow these steps when you answer a sentence addition problem: 1 Read the missing sentence carefully and read over the sentences marked with squares (in our exercises, we have used numbers in parentheses instead of boxes to make it easier to discuss the answers). 2 Look for signal words, personal pronouns, demonstratives, synonyms, and repetition of words, first in the sentence and then in the passage. Do any of these devices link the missing sentence to any other sentence in the passage? 3 Look for places in the passage where the focus shifts from one topic to another abruptly, with no transition. 4 If the answer is not clear, look for content clues that tie the sentence either to the sentence that comes before it or to the sentence that comes after it. 5 You may be able to eliminate certain squares between two sentences because those sentences are closely joined and could not logically be separated. 6 If you still cannot find the answer, guess and go on. Sentence Addition items are generally quite difficult and take up a lot of your time—and you don’t get any extra credit for answering these questions correctly! Don’t spend too much time on these items on your first time through the test. If possible, come back to them later if you have extra time. EXERCISE 38 Focus: Understanding paragraph organization and cohesion and answering sentence addition questions Passage 1 When a mammal is young, it looks much like a smaller form of an adult. (1) However, animals that undergo metamorphosis develop quite differently from mammals. (2) The young of these animals, which are called larvae, look very little like the mature forms and have a very different way of life. (3) Take the example of butterflies and caterpillars, which are the larval form of butterflies. (4) Caterpillars, on the other hand, are wingless and have more than six legs. They move by crawling and feed on leaves. (5) To become adults, the larvae must radically change their forms. (6) To accomplish this change, a larva must go through the process of metamorphosis. (7) It does this in the second stage of life, called the pupa stage. (8) When they are ready to pupate, caterpillars settle in sheltered positions. (9) Some spin a cocoon around themselves. (10) The caterpillar then sheds its old skin and grows a protective pupal skin. (11) Inside this skin, the body of the caterpillar gradually transforms itself. (12) The wingbuds, which were under the caterpillar’s skin, grow into wings. (13) When the change is complete, the pupal skin splits open and the butterfly emerges. (14) But soon it dries out, its wings unfurl, and it flies off. (15) Now it is ready to mate and to lay eggs that will develop into larvae. (16) 1 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 1: Butterflies have two pairs of wings and six legs and feed on the nectar of flowers. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. 2 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2: At first it is damp and its wings are curled up. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. Passage 2 The process of miniaturization began in earnest with the transistor, which was invented in 1947. (1) It was much smaller than the smallest vacuum tube it was meant to replace and, not needing a filament, it consumed far less power and generated virtually no waste heat. (2) There was almost no limit to how small the transistor could be once engineers had learned how to etch electronic circuits onto a substrate of silicon. (3) In the 1950s, the standard radio had five vacuum tubes and dozens of resistors and capacitors, all handwired and soldered onto a chassis about the size of a hardbound book. (4) In fact, the limiting factor in making appliances smaller is not the size of the electronic components but the human interface. (5) There is no point in reducing the size of a palm-held computer much further unless humans can evolve smaller fingers. (6) 3 The following sentence can be added to the passage: Today all that circuitry and much more can fit into a microprocessor smaller than a postage stamp. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the passage. Passage 3 It is believed that the first Americans were hunters who arrived by way of the only link between the hemispheres, the Siberian-Alaskan land bridge. (1) This strip of land remained above water until about 10,000 years ago. (2) These migrants unquestionably brought with them the skills to make weapons, fur clothing, and shelters against the bitter cold. (3) It seems safe to assume that they also brought myths and folktales from the Old World. (4) But which myths and which folktales? (5) Among myths, the most impressive candidate for Old World origin is the story of the Earth Diver. (6) This is the story of a group of water creatures who take turns diving for a piece of solid land. (7) The duck, the muskrat, the turtle, the crawfish, or some other animal succeeds but has to dive so deep that by the time it returns to the surface, it is half-drowned or dead. (8) The animals magically enlarge this tiny piece of solid land until it becomes the earth. (9) Not every Native American tribe has a myth about the creation of the world, but of those that do, the Earth Diver myth is the most common. (10) It is found in all regions of North America except the Southwestern United States and the Arctic regions and is also found in many locations in Asia and the Pacific Islands. (11) Another common myth is that of the Theft of Fire. (12) In this story, a creature sets out to steal fire from a distant source, obtains it, often through trickery, and carries it home. (13) The best known version of this story is the Greek myth of Prometheus. (14) Other Old World versions of this story are told in Central Asia, India, and Africa. (15) In some New World locations, it is replaced by Theft of the Sun, Theft of Daylight, or Theft of Heat stories. (16) 4 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 1: More recent arrivals no doubt took the same route, crossing on winter ice. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. 5 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2: But in its claws, the other animals find a bit of mud. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. 6 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 3: In the New World, it appears among many Native American tribes west of the Rocky Mountains and in the American Southeast. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. Passage 6 Lawn tennis is a comparatively modern modification of the ancient game of court tennis. (1) Major Walter C. Wingfield thought that something like court tennis might be played outdoors on the grass, and in 1873 he introduced his new game under the name Sphairistikè at a lawn party in Wales. (2) Players and spectators soon began to call the new game “lawn tennis.” (3) In 1874, a woman named Mary Outerbridge returned to New York with the basic equipment of the game, which she had obtained from a British Army store in Bermuda. (4) The first game of lawn tennis in the United States was played on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club in 1874. (5) The game went on in a haphazard fashion for a number of years. (6) A year later, the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association was formed. (7) International matches for the Davis Cup began in 1900. (8) They were played at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, between British and American players. (9) The home team won this first championship match. (10) 9 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 1: It was an immediate success and spread rapidly, but the original name quickly disappeared. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. 10 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2: Then in 1879, standard equipment, rules, and measurements for the court were instituted. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph Passage 7 Photosynthesis is the process by which plants capture the sun’s energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars to fuel their growth. (1) In fact, chlorophyll is so essential to the life of plants that it forms almost instantly in seedlings as they come in contact with sunlight. (2) A green pigment, chlorophyll is responsible for the green coloring of plants. (3) But brilliant red and orange and gold in the autumn? (4) Trees do not manufacture new pigments for fall. (5) Orange, red, yellow, and other colored pigments are present in the leaves throughout the spring and summer. (6) However, these are masked by the far greater quantity of chlorophyll. (7) When the days grow shorter and temperatures fall, leaves sense the onset of fall. (8) They form an “abscission layer.” (9) This layer is a barrier of tissue at the base of each leaf stalk. (10) Thus, sugar builds up in the leaf, causing the chlorophyll to break down. (11) The greens of summer then begin to fade. (12) The orange, red, yellow, and brown pigments now predominate, giving the leaves their vibrant autumn colors. (13)what turns the leaves of deciduous plants 11 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 1: This process cannot take place without chlorophyll. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph. 12 The following sentence can be added to paragraph 2: It prevents nourishment from reaching the leaf and, conversely, prevents sugar created in the leaf from reaching the rest of the tree. Circle the correct number to show where it would best fit into the paragraph.

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