The Complete Guide To The TOEFL Test

174 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression

MINI-TEST 5: STRUCTURE

__ (A) If survival

___ (B) For surviving

___ (C) To survive

___ (D) It survives

2. The art of landscape architecture is ______ that of architecture itself.

___ (A) almost as old as __ (B) as almost old

___ (C) almost as old than

___ (D) old as almost

3.The Mummers' Parade has ______ every year in Philadelphia on New Year's Day since

1901.

__ (A) holding __ (B) been holding __ (C) held

__ (D) been held

___ (A) redwood trees grow

___ (B) redwood trees do grow

___ (C) grow redwood trees

___ (D) do redwood trees grow

5.Microorganisms live in extreme conditions of heat and cold where ______ other organisms can survive.

__ (A) not

___ (B) never

__ (C) no __ (D) none

6. The higher one rises in the atmosphere, ______ the temperature generally becomes.

__ (A) colder than __ (B) the colder

___ (C) the colder as

___ (D) is colder

PAR T B

Written Expression

About Written Expression

In this part of the test, there are twenty-five sentences. In each sentence, four expressions-single words or twoor three-word phrases-are underlined. Your job is to identify which of these phrases must be rewritten (it can't simply be omitted) in order for the sentence to be correct. All the errors involve grammar or usage-never punctuation or spelling.

T Sample Items

Music, dramatic, and art contribute to the culture of any community.

ABC J)

This sentence should correctly read "Music, drama, and art contribute to the culture of any community." Choice (A) would have to be rewritten to correct the sentence, so (A) is the best answer.

176

Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression 177

Lenses may having either concave or convex shapes.

The correct verb form after a modal auxiliary is the simple form have. This sentence should read "Lenses may have either concave or convex shapes." The best answer is (A). ..

What'sthe Best Way to Answer Written Expression Items?

You should begin with a quick reading of each sentence to find any obvious errors. Don't simply read the underlined portions, because in most items the underlined expression is incorrect only in the context of the sentence. Don't answer the question until you've read the entire sentence.

Easier questions can be answered after the first reading; mark your answer and go on. If you don't find the error immediately, re-read the sentence, now concentrating on the underlined expressions. You can't use the same techniques for reading these items as you would to read other materials, such as newspapers or magazine articles. Usually, a person's eyes move very quickly over "little words" like articles and prepositions because these words don't contain much information. However, in this part of the test, these expressions may be used incorrectly. It would be helpful, in fact, if you could read these sentences aloud, but of course that isn't permitted. You can, however, train your eyes to move slowly and to pronounce the sentences in your mind exactly as if you were speaking them.

If you haven't identified the error after a careful reading of the sentence, go through a mental checklist of the most common errors: word form, word choice, verb error, parallelism, pronoun errors, and singular/plural noun errors. Do the underlined expressions seem to fit into any of these categories?

If you still can't find an error, eliminate expressions that seem to be used correctly, and then make a guess from any items that remain.

• Based on an analysis of 20 different exams that test-takers were alJo:vved to keep after Disclosed Test Admissions.

Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression 181

•Sometimes adverbs are used at the beginning of sentences, often followed by a comma. These adverbs sometimes modify the entire sentence rather than one word in the sentence.

Generally, I like my classes.

Usually Professor Ingram's lectures are more interesting.

•Most adverbs tested in this section are adverbs of manner. They are formed by adding the suffix -ly or -ally to an adjective.

• Adverbs of manner answer the question How?

She treated her employees honestly. (How did she treat her employees? Honestly.)

• A few adverbs (fast, hard, high, for example) have the same form as adjectives.

He bought a fast car. (adjective)

He was driving so fast that he got a speeding ticket. (adverb)

• Well is the irregular adverb form of the adjective good.

Juan is an exceptionally good student.

He did very well on the last test.

• Some adjectives also end in -ly: friendly, yearly, costly, and lively, for example.

That was a costly mistake.

I found Houston a very friendly city.

..... Sample Items

The Black Hills of South Dakota are covered with densely pine forests.

During solar storms, the amount of radiation reaching the Earth is

ABC

abnormal high.

D

The adverb abnormally is needed to modify the adjective high. ...

B) Incorrect Forms of Words Connected with Certain Fields

This error involves a confusion between the names of fields (biology, for example) and the name of a person who practices in that field (biologist), or between one of those terms and the adjective that describes the field (biological).

182 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression

~Sample Item

First specializing in industrial photography, Margaret Bourke-White later

A B

became a famous news photographer and editorial .

The adjective editorial is used to describe the field of editing. However, a

noun referring to a person (editor) is needed in this sentence. ...

C) Other Word-Form Problems

There are many other word-form problems. Some examples are given here:

~Sample Items

Corn played an important role in the cultural of the cliff-dwelling

in the Northern Hemisphere.

The adjective distant is needed in place of the noun distance.

Scientists belief that the continents once formed a single continent

--A-- B

surrounded by an enormous sea.

In this sentence, the verb believe is needed in place of the noun belief

Bunsen burners are used to hot materials in a chemistry lab.

Rather than the gerund (-ing) form, the noun freeze is required. ...