TOEFL Structure Practice. Focusing on Subjunctive mood

TOEFL Reading Practice. Focusing on main idea and inference of vocabulary.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin made his textbook experiment with a brass key and a silk kite that he flew in a thunderstorm to prove that lightning and electricity are the same thing. In 1920, a kite-flying championship for families and individuals was held in London. These two seemingly unrelated events underscore the fact that kites can be flown for both pleasure and scientific purposes. For example, in the 1800s weather bureaus flew kites to re¬cord temperature and humidity at certain altitudes. On one occasion, ten kites were strung together and flown at a height of four miles to lift men and carry cameras aloft.

The kite's ability to fly depends on its construction and the way that its line is attached. Tile familiar diamond-shaped kite flies when its covered face is aligned against the wind flow. The line attached to the nose of the kite pulls it into the wind, thus creating the neces¬sary angle for the lift force. If the kite’s construction and the angle of the air stream are correct. the kite will encounter greater pressure against its face and lower pressure against its back. The difference in the pressure creates a lift that causes the kite to rise until it hangs level from its bridle. Its angle against the wind should lx* sufficiently large or small to create maximum lift to overcome Ixjth drag and gravity. The towing point to which the line is attached is important because it sets the kite’s angle relative to the air flow. Although the kite must lx* headed up and into the wind with a velocity of 8 to 20 miles per hour, it can main¬tain its position through a tail, a rudder, a keel, vents, or tassels.

 What is the* main topic of the* passage*?
(A) How kites can be utilized
(B) Why kites were spurned
(C) What parts kites consist of
(D) What makes kites stay aloft

In line 1 the word "textbook" is clisest in meaning to:
A  Textual
B  Tentative
C  Classic
D  Ethical

“aloft" (the last word of paragraph 1) is closest in  meaning TO:
(A)  in flight
(B)  in the flood
(C)  for the analysis
(D)  for amusement

TOEFL Reading Practice . Focusing on Vocabulary Inference.

TOEFL Structure Practice. Focusing on Troublesome Verbs.

Directions: The first type of question consists of incomplete sentences, with a blank line showing where information is to be filled in. Choose the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence. The second type of question consists of sentences with four underlined words or phrases. Choose the one word or phrase that is incorrect in standard written English. Mark your answers on a separate piece of paper.

GRE Best Title of Passage Practice

PASSAGE 1

     Cacti and other succulent plants originate in areas where water is only occasionally available and are, therefore, conditioned to deal with long periods of drought. They possess structural modifications enabling them to store moisture for use in times of scarcity.

     Such adaptations may be similar in both groups. (All cacti are succu¬lents but not all succulents are cacti.) Storage areas include thickened leaves, stems, and corms. Leaves, which transpire precious moisture, may be eliminated altogether (with the stem taking over the process of photo¬synthesis), or the moisture in the leaves may be protected from evapora¬tion by a leathery surface or covered with wiry or velvety hairs, thick spines, or even with a powdery coating.

     The very shape of many succulents provides the same protection; globular and columnar forms offer the least exposed area to the drying effects of sun and wind.

Many times there are “look-alikes” in the two groups. Certain cacti coming from the New World closely resemble counterparts in the Euphor¬bias of Africa.

How do we then differentiate between cacti and other succulents? It is not always easy. Presence or absence of leaves can be helpful; size and Brilliance of flowers are also helpful, but the real test comes by learning to recognize the areole.

     The areole is possessed by cacti alone and consists of cushion-like modifications on the body of the cactus from which arise spines, hairs (and the barbed hairs or spines of Opuntia), flowers, fruit, and often new growth.

     The flowers of cacti are usually more conspicuous and most often appear from areoles near the top of the plant. In other succulents they are inclined to be less showy and more likely to emerge from between the leaves or from the base.

     In addition, with a very minor possible exception (a form of Rhipsalis), all cacti are native to the Western Hemisphere. It is sometimes hard to believe this because of the vast areas of escaped cacti in many parts of the world today.

     The majority of other succulents (excluding Agave, Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum and a few others) are indigenous to Africa and a few scat¬tered areas in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Both cacti and other succulents are excellent subjects for the outdoor garden, greenhouse, or windowsill. They require a minimum of care, pro¬vided that they have a requisite amount of sunlight and that their condition of hardiness is respected.

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
(A) Succulents and non-Succulents
(B) Regions of the World and their Vegetation
(C) Distinguishing Between Succulents and Cacti
(D) Subjects for the Outdoor Garden
(E) Characteristics of Cacti and Other Succulents


PASSAGE 2

     The torpedo is a self-propelled underwater weapon having either a high-expl osive or a nuclear warhead. Conventional warheads are loaded with up to 1000 pounds of HBX    explosive.

     Underwater explosion of the torpedo warhead increases its destructive effect. When a projectile explodes, a part of its force is absorbed by the surrounding air. Upon explosion of the torpedo warhead, the water trans-fers almost the full force of the explosion to the hull of the target ship.

Fleet-type and Guppy submarines are fitted with 10 tubes, 6 in the bow and 4 in the stem. Spare torpedoes are carried in ready racks near the tubes. On war patrol, a submarine of this type usually puts to sea with a load of 28 torpedoes aboard.

     Torpedoes are propelled by gas turbines or electric motors. Turbine types have maximum speeds of 30 to 45 knots, with a maximum effective range of as much as 7% miles. Electric torpedoes usually have less speed and range than turbine types, but from the submariners point of view, they have the advantage of leaving no visible wake.

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
(A) The Dynamics of Underwater Explosions
(B) The Efficacy of Conventional vs. Nuclear Warheads
(C) Standard Submarine Equipment and Armament
(D) How Torpedoes Work
(E) Torpedo Functions and Deployment

Answers and explanations

GRE Reading Practice Main ideas, topic, best title.

GRE finding main ideas Practice.

     PASSAGE 1

     A mysterious phenomenon is the ability of over-water migrants to travel on course. Birds, bees, and other species can keep track of time without any sensory cues from the outside world, and such “biological clocks” clearly contribute to their “compass sense.” For example, they can use the position  of the Sun or stars, along with the time of day, to find north. But compass sense alone cannot explain how birds navigate the ocean: after a flock traveling east is blown far south by a storm, it will assume the proper northeasterly course to compensate. Perhaps, some scientists thought, migrants determine their geographic position on Earth by celestial  navigation, almost as human navigators use stars and planets, but this would demand of the animals a fantastic map sense. Researchers now know that some species have a magnetic sense, which might allow migrants to determine their geographic location by detecting variations in the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field.

The main idea of the passage is that
(A) migration over land requires a simpler explanation than migration over water does
(B) the means by which animals migrate over water are complex and only partly understood
(C) the ability of migrant animals to keep track of time is related to their magnetic sense
(D) knowledge of geographic location is essential to migrants with little or no compass sense
(E) explanations of how animals migrate tend to replace, rather than build on, one another

PASSAGE 2

     The history of responses to the work of the artist Sandra Botticelli (1444-1510) suggests that widespread appreciation by critics is a relatively recent phenomenon. Writing in 1550, Vasari expressed an unease with Botticelli’s work, admitting that the artist fitted awkwardly into his (Vasari’s) evolutionary scheme of the history of  art. Over the next two centuries, academic art historians denigrated Botticelli in favour of his fellow Florentine, Michelangelo. Even when anti-academic art historians of the early nineteenth century rejected many of the standards of evaluation espoused by their predecessors, Botticelli’s work remained outside of accepted taste, pleasing neither amateur observers nor connoisseurs. (Many of his  best paintings, however, remained hidden away in obscure churches and private homes.) 

     The primary reason for Botticelli’s unpopularity is not difficult to understand: most observers, up until the mid-nineteenth century, did not consider him to be noteworthy because his work, for the most part, did not seem to these observers to exhibit the  traditional characteristics of the fifteenth-century Florentine art. For example, Botticelli rarely employed the technique of strict perspective and, unlike Michelangelo, never used chiaroscuro. Another reason for Botticelli’s unpopularity may have been that his attitude toward the style of classical art was very different from that of his contemporaries. Although he was thoroughly exposed to classical art,  he showed little interest in borrowing from the classical style. Indeed, it is paradoxical that a painter of large-scale classical subjects adopted a style that was only slightly similar to that of classical art. 

     In any case, when viewers began to examine more closely the relationship of Botticelli’s work to the tradition of fifteenth-century Florentine art, his reputation  began to grow. Analyses and assessments of Botticelli made between 1850 and 1870 by the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, as well as by the writer Pater (although he, unfortunately, based his assessment on an incorrect analysis of Botticelli’s personality), inspired a new appreciation of Botticelli throughout the English-speaking world. Yet Botticelli’s work, especially the Sistine frescoes, did not  generate worldwide attention until it was finally subjected to a comprehensive and scrupulous analysis by Horne in 1908. Horne rightly demonstrated that the frescoes shared important features with paintings by other fifteenth-century Florentines - features such as skillful representation of anatomical proportions, and of the human figure in motion. However, Horne argued that Botticelli did not treat these qualities  as ends in themselves - rather, that he emphasized clear depiction of a story, a unique achievement and one that made the traditional Florentine qualities less central. Because of Horne’s emphasis on the way a talented artist reflects a tradition but yet moves beyond that tradition, an emphasis crucial to any study of art, the twentieth century has come to appreciate Botticelli’s achievements. 

 Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?
(A) Botticelli’s Contribution to Florentine Art
(B) Botticelli and the Traditions of Classical Art
(C) Sandro Botticelli: From Denigration to Appreciation
(D) Botticelli and Michelangelo : A Study in Contrasts.
(E) Standards of Taste: Botticelli’s critical Reputation up to the Nineteenth Century

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

What does it measure?

Slide 1: Cómo se dice en inglés cuánto mide algo. Comment dire en anglais "Combien mesure t-il/elle?"
Slide 2: Talking about depths. El agua me da/llega hasta los tobillos, rodillas, cintura, pecho, hombros... El agua me tapa. Orillas de ríos, playa, lago, laguna, canal, pozo, piscina.

The Life of Plants and Parts of Fruits or Nuts.

Vocabulary practice for GRE Test.

COMPLETION OF SENTENCES.  DIRECTIONS: Each of the given sentences has blank spaces which Indicate words omitted, Choose the best combination of words which fit into the meaning and structure within the context of the sentence.

Using the Verb"Suggest".

TOEFL Structure Practice: Focusing on verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives.

Directions: The first type of question consists of incomplete sentences, with a blank line showing where information is to be filled in. Choose the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence. The second type of question consists of sentences with four underlined words or phrases. Choose the one word or phrase that is incorrect in standard written English. Mark your answers on this page or on a separate piece of paper.

Semantic Classification of verbs followed by gerunds and not by infinitives.

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TOEFL Structure Practice

Directions: The first type of question consists of incomplete sentences, with a blank line showing where information is to be filled in. Choose the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence. The second type of question consists of sentences with four underlined words or phrases. Choose the one word or phrase that is incorrect in standard written English. Mark your answers on this page or on a separate piece of paper.

NOTAS MÁCARO

Hacer clic AQUÍ  para ver notas.

Notas Macaro Langcast Mácaro Yaracal.

Uses of the word "Address"

Prepositions On, IN, AT for locations.

Arrive in, arrive at, arrive for, arrive wothout preposition

Collocations with GO