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