WHAT DOES THE LADY MEAN BY “GRIN AND BEAR IT”

5. What does the lady mean by “grin and bear it”?

Of course, you may not be able to answer all of your questions right away. You may need to do some

extra work to find the answer.

Highlighting and Underlining

Here’s a good habit to get into: Whenever you read books that belong to you, have a pen, pencil, or highlighter

in your hand. That way, as you read, you can mark the words and ideas that are most important to learn or

remember. Highlighting and underlining help make key ideas stand out. Important information is then easy

to find when you need to take notes or review.

The key to effective highlighting or underlining is to be selective. Don’t highlight or underline everything.

If you highlight every other sentence, nothing will stand out for you on the page. Highlight only the key words

and ideas.

But how do you know what you should highlight or underline? As you study for the TOEFL exam, you

should highlight or underline:

■

words that are defined in the text

■

main ideas

■

key details that support or explain main ideas

■

words, grammar rules, and other items that you need to remember

■

ideas or concepts that are new to you

■

vocabulary words and idiomatic expressions that you are unsure about

Taking Notes

Taking notes is a terrific study strategy. It helps you understand, organize, and remember information. The

secret to taking good notes is knowing what it is you should write down. As with highlighting, the key is to

be selective. Take notes about the same things you would underline, especially main ideas, rules, and other

items you need to learn.

Whenever possible, include examples so that you can see the concept clearly. For example:

Rule: Don’t use the in front of noncount nouns (such as bread, wood, Spanish, peace, learning).

They refer to the general thing, not a specific item or example.

Examples:

■

Please buy bread when you go to the store.

■

(But: The bread he bought was moldy. Here it’s a specific bread being referred to.)

■

We wish for peace.

■

(But: The peace did not last long. Here a specific period of peace is referred to.)

■

Spanish is my native language.

Making Notes

Making notes is often as important as taking notes. Making notes means that you respond to what you read.

There are several ways you can respond (“talk back to”) the text:

■

Write questions. If you come across something you don’t understand, write a question. What does this

mean? Why is this word used this way? Why is this the best title? Then answer all of your questions.

Here is an example. Notice how the student hears a word used in an unfamiliar way, asks a question,

and then provides a detailed answer for herself to study:

Q: Doesn’t flat mean smooth, without bumps or curves? Why did the lady in the café say that her Coke

was flat?

A: The word flat has several meanings.

horizontal, level The prairie is flat.

spread out, lying at full length He fell flat on his face.

smooth and even The stone was flat.

absolute, unqualified She was flat broke.

dull, monotonous The story was flat.

(regarding carbonated beverages) having

lost its effervescence (bubbles) The Coke was flat.

(in music) below the correct pitch Her singing is flat.

deflated The tire was flat from running over a nail.

■

Make connections. Any time you make connections between ideas, you improve your chances of

remembering that material. For example, if Spanish is your native language, you might make the fol-

lowing connection:

dormir = to sleep in Spanish

dormitory = room with beds for students to sleep

■

Write your reactions. Your reactions work much like connections, and they can help you remember

information. For example, if you read “It’s raining cats and dogs out there!” you might write:

What an odd expression! Funny image. Easy to remember.

Outlining and Mapping Information

Outlines are great tools, especially for sequential learners. They help you focus on what’s most important by

making it easier to review key ideas and see relationships among those ideas. With an outline, you can see how

supporting information is related to main ideas.

The basic outline structure is this:

I. Topic