A. FUTUREFOR INSTANCE, CARELESS, WHICH IS CHOICE AIN QUES-B. FRIEND...
3.
a.
future
For instance, careless, which is choice a
in ques-
b.
friends
tion 1, is made up of a stem, care, and a suffix, -less. If
c.
abilities
you know the meaning of care
and know that the suf-
d.
hardships
fix -less
means without, you can figure out that care-
less
means not caring.
For question 1, choice c
is the correct answer. If
Here are a list of some common prefixes and
you substitute important
for the blank it makes sense.
suffixes. If you do not already know what each means,
The other choices do not. Certainly the author of the
take a few minutes to become familiar with them.
letter wouldn’t call Mr. Arnold’s points careless. That
would be an insult and that is not the purpose of the
letter. Nor would she call them funny
or
defeating,
COMMON PREFIXES
since both would change the meaning to something
PREFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLE
negative, not positive.
anti-
against
antigravity
For question 2, choice d
is the correct answer.
co-
together
cooperate
This conjunction makes sense when it is substituted
for the blank. It suggests a cause and effect relation-
dis-
not, opposite of
dislike
ship, which exists here. The others do not make sense.
in-
into, within
inside
For question 3, choice c
is the correct answer.
This is the logical choice since it makes the most
mis-
bad, wrong
misguided
sense. It is unlikely that the author of the letter would
non-
not
nonbinding
mention Mr. Arnold’s future
or friends. Certainly she
wouldn’t mention his hardships.
pre-
before, in front of
preschool
re-
again
reopen
Context Clues
Besides using the context of the e-mail, knowledge of
sub-
under, below
subway
what each word means is equally important. That is
un-
not
untie
why it is important to increase your vocabulary.
Reading helps you increase your vocabulary. So does
figuring out the meaning from context clues.
Purpose Questions
COMMON SUFFIXES
To answer this kind of question, figure out why the
SUFFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLE
author wrote the passage. Determine what the pas-
-able
capable of, given to
enviable
sage is trying to tell you.
-er
person or thing that
performs an action
player
Detail Questions
Some questions will ask you about details in the pas-
-ful
full of
hopeful
sage. The best way to answer this kind of question is
-ion
action, process
contention
to look back in the text for the topic that is being
asked about. You can use keywords. If a question is
-ly
in a certain way
slowly
about how old an antique is, skim through the pas-
-less
without or not
effortless
sage and locate where the keywords old
and antique
are located. Then you will find your answer.
-like
similar
childlike
-ness
being that thing or way
happiness
Synonym Questions
Synonym questions ask you to find a word that is
-ship
quality or state
stewardship
closest in meaning to a word in the passage. You can
-ward
progress in a direction
downward
use context clues to figure out the meaning of the
word. Then decide which word is closest in meaning.
Another way to approach this question is to substi-
Figure out the meaning of the word hardships
from
tute each of the answer choices for the word and see
its parts.
which one makes the most sense.
Reading Comprehension
Inference Questions
In this part of the test, you will be asked to read pas-
Inference questions will ask you to draw a conclusion
sages and then to answer questions. Sometimes two
based on the information in the passage and your
related passages are grouped together.
own knowledge. You will need to look for evidence or
The kinds of questions that are asked vary.
clues and then decide the most likely answer based on
Some are easier than others. Some of the answers are
what you know. These are usually the hardest ques-
found in the text. Other answers you have to figure
tions to answer. You must make your most informed
out from the clues that are in the passages and from
guess here.
your own personal knowledge and experiences.
Here is a list of the kinds of questions that you
Comparison Questions
will find in this section of the TOEIC. Each one re-
Comparison questions are asked about two passages
quires a different skill to find an answer.
that are linked together. They may ask you to figure
out what information is in one passage and not the
Main Idea Questions
other or how the passages compare. You need to read
To answer this kind of question, read through the en-
both passages carefully to determine the answers to
tire passage. Figure out what it is mostly about. Dis-
these questions. You need to compare the two pas-
tinguish between details that the passage includes and
sages and what information they contain.
what it mostly talks about.
Example
When answering a main idea question, read
When researching what to do for your next
through the article and find out what it talks
vacation, you may want to consider resorts that
about most. Rule out answer choices that are
include food as well as room and amenities.
details in the passage. Look for the general
The advantage of booking an all-inclusive
topic of the passage.
resort is obvious: You will know just how much
the trip will cost you up front and not after it is
all over. The obvious disadvantage is that you