МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ
Нижнетагильский государственный педагогический институт
Ерофеева Л. А.
Введение в систему тестирования TOEFL
Учебно-методическое пособие
Нижний Тагил
2002
Учебно-методическое пособие составлено в соответствии с Государственным образовательным стандартом высшего профессионального образования, утвержденным приказом Государственного комитета Российской федерации по высшему образованию от 4 апреля 2000 года №371, учебным планом подготовки учителей (третий уровень высшего профессионального образования) по специальности "021700 – филология" соответствует программам, рекомендованным учебно-методическим объединением.
Пособие обсуждено и утверждено на заседании кафедры методики преподавания истории “____” ____________ 2001 г.
Заведующий кафедрой Лис Н. А.
Автор-составитель Ерофеева Л. А.
Система тестирования “TOEFL” (Test of English as a Foreign Language), т. е. проверка знаний английского языка у иностранцев предлагается всем, кто собирается учиться в колледжах и университетах Соединенных Штатов Америки, Канады, Соединенного Королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии, а также в странах, где обучение ведется на английском языке.
Система тестирования “TOEFL” была создана образовательной службой тестирования (Educational Testing Service). Задания для “TOEFL” составлены высококвалифицированными лингвистами. Все вопросы проверялись многими специалистами и испытывались в пробных тестированиях, прежде чем были приняты в форме тестов для объективной оценки знаний по английскому языку.
Данная система тестирования призвана оценить уровень владения устной и письменной речью. Она используется в 2300 колледжах и университетах США и Канады и предъявляется как одно из основных требований для иностранцев. Ежегодно при помощи этой системы проходят тестирование около миллиона человек.
Задания по системе тестирования “TOEFL” включают в себя 3 раздела: контроль восприятия на слух (Listening Comprehension), письменная речь (Structure and Written Expression), контроль прочитанного материала и словарного запаса (Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary). Задания всех трех разделов являются равнозначно важными. Освоение данной системы тестирования происходит в рамках специального курса, в соответствии с учебным планом исторического факультета. В связи с небольшим количеством аудиторных часов по дополнительной специальности “английский язык”, отводимых для ознакомительного прохождения системы тестирования TOEFL, нам представляется необходимым большее внимание уделить письменной речи, с тем, чтобы студенты могли повторить грамматический материал, изученный за предыдущие годы обучения.
Пособие написано на английском языке, так как адресовано студентам старших курсов. Большинство заданий заимствовано из зарубежных источников. Оно рассчитано на 10 аудиторных часов и снабжено практическими советами по его использованию, которые рекомендуется прочитать перед тем, как выполнять задания. В пособии приведены примеры и разобраны типичные ошибки, допускаемые при выполнении заданий. Пособие также включает краткий грамматический обзор всех грамматических явлений, необходимых при выполнении заданий, причем используется американская терминология при описании грамматических категорий. Здесь также приводятся рекомендуемые домашние задания.
В конце прохождения курса студенты пишут экзаменационную или зачетную работу.
Certain types of sentence structure errors are usually tested in the TOEFL. If you are prepared for and alert to these areas, you will have the tools needed to become more confident in taking the Structure and Written Expression section of TOEFL.
Many excellent books have been written which analyze the structure of English and its many exceptions. It is the aim of this section to organize in a methodical way the strategic error areas that you can use as a checklist when attempting to eliminate incorrect choices. These tips may help you eliminate incorrect choices and give the correct answer.
I. SENTENCE CONTENT
Parts of speech
As a TOEFL test-taker, particularly in the Structure and Written Expression (Grammar), you must be alert to all the possible roles of a word within a sentence. A word’s role is its “function” in a sentence. The role a word serves in one sentence may be different from the role the same word serves in another sentence. Following are the eight roles a word may serve in a sentence.
| PART OF SPEECH | FUNCTION | EXAMPLES |
| A. NOUN | A person, place, or a thing | girl, dress, Mary, John |
| B. PRONOUN | A substitute for a noun | he, she, it, I, them |
| C. VERB | Expresses action | sing, dance |
| D. Adjective | Describes a noun or pronoun | silent, calm, anxious, eager |
| E. ADVERB | Modifies a verb, adjective or | quietly, fast, calmly |
| F. PREPOSITION | Shows the relationship between the noun or pronoun and another word | around, to, in, during, for |
| G. CONJUNCTION | Joins two words or groups | and, or, but |
| H. Interjection | Displays feelings | Oh! Wow! |
A SENTENCE
The most important skill you can learn for the TOEFL Structure and Written Expression section is to identify a sentence’s subjects and verbs.
A complete sentence contains at least one subject and one verb. The subject and the verb form the basis of the sentence. Extra words added to sentences do not change the subject and the verb. It is essential to identify the verb in the sentence first. Why? Recognizing the verb first is easier because there are fewer possible words for verbs than there are for subjects. The verb is the action being performed in a sentence.
The following parts of speech are NOT verbs, so you should not include them when looking for the verbs:
Infinitive – the combination of the word “to” plus a verb, such as “to sing” or “to dance”. This is not part of the verb in the sentence.
Adverb – words that describe the verb are not part of the verb. The words “not”, “never”, “quickly”, and “very” are some adverbs.
All forms of the verb “BE” are verbs: AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, and
BEEN. Verbs also include words that substitute for BE, such as BECOME,
APPEAR, SEEM, and FEEL.
VERBS: MAIN AND HELPING
Main verbs tell the action or activity being performed. Helping verbs are used with main verbs to: (a) show “tense”, the time of an action (present, past, future), and (b) show meaning that cannot be expressed by the main verb alone.
Helping verbs always come before the main verb, although sometimes another word, such as an adverb, may come between the helping verb and the main verb. The following words are examples helping verbs: CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL, and WOULD.
A VERB INCLUDES THE MAIN VERBS PLUS ALL THE HELPING VERBS.
In the sentence, “I should have helped her,” the complete verb is “should have helped”. In the sentence “I will have a piece of cake, thank you,” the complete verb is “will have”.
Sentences may contain one, two, or three helping verbs with the main verb.
A complete verb with all of its helping verbs is called a finite verb.
SUBJECTS
The person or thing performing the action or activity is the subject. The following types of words are NOT subjects:
ADJECTIVES – words that describe a noun are not part of the subject.
WORDS THAT SHOW OWNERSHIP OR POSSESSION – words like “hers” or “his” are not part of the subject.
A sentence consists of a person or thing doing an action, or in other words a subject plus a verb.
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are small words that show the relationship between one word and another. Prepositions are found in phrases. Each prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a pronoun. This is an important fact because if a word is part of a prepositional phrase, it cannot be the subject or the verb of the sentence. Verbs are not in prepositional phrases, and the noun or pronoun that is the object of the preposition cannot be the main subject.
QUESTION: “WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN A TEST SENTENCE IS EXTREMELY LONG WITH DIFFICULT VOCABULARY?”
Cross out the prepositional phrases and within the few words left will be the subjects and verbs.
EXAMPLE: The early phase of the Bronze Age on the mainland ended about 2000 B. C. with military conquest of the area by invaders from the north.
This sentence has 24 words, but only one subject and one verb. Cross out the prepositional phrases and you will see how easy it is to find the subject and verb.
The following sentence has 22 words, but no verb. Cross out the prepositional phrases and the infinite phrase, and you will find the subject.
The wing design of the U-2 permitting long distance gliding without engine power
| A | B |
to reduce the likelihood of detection from the ground.
| C | D |
The subject of the sentence is “design”, but the sentence has no complete verb. The test-taker must ask, what does the wing design do? The answer shows that the error lies in (A) “permitting” which should be “permits”, a finite verb. (B) is a correct because it is a verb form used as a noun. The clue is the adjective “long-distance”. (C) gives the purpose of the wing design, and (D) tells where there is the likelihood of detection. If there are two or more clauses (clauses are subject-verb patterns), you must check to see if the clauses are combined correctly.
There are two basic ways to combine clauses:
A. Keep them as independent clauses that can stand alone and join them with a coordinating conjunction, such as: and, but, or, nor, for.
EXAMPLE: Jean looked everywhere but she could not find her velvet pillow.
B. Keep at least one as an independent clause and make the others dependent clauses using subordinate conjunctions.
EXAMPLE: She loved Michael dearly, but did not love his dog.
QUESTION: "WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS TO MAKE A CLAUSE (SUBJECT. VERB PATTERN) DEPENDENT?"
A dependent clause that describes a word is an adjective clause. An adjective clause is introduced by a relative pronoun.
| WHO | WHOM |
| THAT | WHOSE |
| WHICH | WHERE |
| WHEN |
Dependent clauses and their subjects and verbs must be in complete sentences.
EXAMPLE 1: The issue could be a paramount one in the decade to come.
EXAMPLE 2: Whenever I eat garlic, I feel better.
In example 1, a complete idea is expressed. The verb is "could be" and the subject is "issue». This is an independent clause. In example 2, the first verb "eat" and its subject "I" are introduced by the subordinating conjunction "whenever», making that a subordinate clause. The verb and the subject "I" stand alone as an independent clause, making this a complete sentence.
Is each of the following a sentence?
I cannot insist enough that the man whom you are dating is a liar and a thief.
| S1 | V1 | S2 | S3 | V3 | V2 |
S1 and VI form the independent main clause. The subordinate clause is introduced by "that». There is an adjective clause introduced by the relative pronoun within the subordinate clause.
Most Americans to purchase a colored television, regardless of what the cost might be.
This is not a complete sentence. «Regardless of» introduces the subordinate clause with the subject «cost» and the verb «might be». «To purchase» is not a verb; it is an infinitive. The main verb is missing.
Although many of his friends have come.
The subject "many" and verb "have come" are introduced by a subordinate conjunction "although», making this a subordinate clause, not a sentence. Remember that you need an independent clause, a subject and verb not introduced by a subordinating word, to have a sentence.
BECAUSE vs. BECAUSE OF
BECAUSE + subject + verb
BECAUSE OF + noun or pronoun
Because the situation did not improve, the boss decided to call a gathering of her employees.
Because of the worsening situation, the boss decided to call a gathering of her employees.
EXAMPLE: Because his conduct at the campaign, Bazaine was found
| A | B |
guilty of treason and received a death sentence, which was commuted to
C
imprisonment for 20 years.
D
(A) is the error. "Because" is not followed by a subject and verb, only by a noun. If it is followed by a noun, it should be "because of». (B) is a correct passive verb form. (C) is a description of the death sentence, a relative pronoun and passive verb. (D) tells the length of imprisonment.
APPOSITIVES
A noun or noun substitute used without a verb to explain or describe the noun beside it is called an appositive.
EXAMPLES:
Sue, our leader, took us to the museum. (“leader” is the appositive)
Two students, Beth and I, were chosen for the activity