TOEFL Practical Guide. Reading Section

Author: Wang Yifeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Walking together through wind and rain. Companionship cherishes the days and nights we have spent, becoming an indelible youth memorial in our lives! The reading topics in TOEFL, roughly categorized, have about 10 types, almost encompassing everything. Each article is 350–400 words long, with an average of 10 questions per article. Completing 5 articles within 55 minutes is required. This places high demands on students' vocabulary, common knowledge, and reading speed. From the perspective of TOEFL preparation, the main issues that trouble candidates are:
1. Insufficient vocabulary volume Undoubtedly, vocabulary volume is the biggest obstacle limiting reading proficiency. If one in five words in a sentence, especially in the first paragraph of an article, is unfamiliar, even if these words do not significantly affect the understanding of the article, they can greatly impact the candidate's mindset, leading to fear and boredom, making it difficult to focus and continue reading.
2. Low reading speed Many candidates lack sufficient reading practice, and during the exam, they become nervous, fearing to lose points. They hesitate to miss any information, becoming overly cautious and easily slowing down their already slow reading speed. In fact, reading English articles follows certain techniques and patterns. Discarding non-essential information or identifying relevant information corresponding to the key points is crucial.
3. Lack of common knowledge TOEFL reading topics cover a wide range of subjects, typically involving history, science, biology, humanities, and more in 5 articles. During the tense 55-minute reading and answering process, candidates often feel overwhelmed, struggling to understand the last article.
For the above three weak points, corresponding countermeasures can still be found during preparation.