READING (9) BUILDING SKILLS CAMBRIDGE PREPARATION FOR THE TOEFL® IBT TEST

 

CAMBRIDGE PREPARATION FOR THE TOEFL® IBT TEST BUILDING SKILLS READING (9)

 

EXERCISES R1-R3 Use Reading Exercises R1-R3 to practice understanding meaning from context EXERCISE R2 Choosing the best synonym Read each passage. Choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each of the sentences that follow it. Questions 1-6 The fork, which did not become a standardized item in Europe until the eighteenth century was almost unheard of in America. With the absence of forks, it can be assumed that colonists used a spoon instead. The knife was probably held in the right hand, generally the preferred hand for manipulating utensils or tools. The spoon would have been held in the left hand with concave part of the bowl facing downward. In this position, the dinner would be more adept at securing a piece of meat against a plate while the cutting took place. Once the meat was cut, the down-turned spoon would have been suitable for picking up the morsel. Probably the dinner would have put the knife down and shifted the spoon to the right hand. This action would bring the spoon into the correct position for scooping up the bite of food. The practice of shifting utensils back and forth between hands continued when the fork made its way to America and replaced food against the plate more adequately, and its curving lines served the same function as the bowl of the spoon. The custom of shifting the fork made from the left hand to right was no longer necessary, but people continued to use the style that they were used to. This American style of handling eating utensils persists to this day.   1 The word “utensils” is closest in meaning to A gadgets B cutlery C hammers D weapons 2 The word “adept” is closest in meaning to A cultivated B agreeable C cumbersome D proficient

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