The complete guide to the toefl IBT reading part 11

Heyerdahl theorized that the Hanau Momoko were Polynesians from other Pacific islands, but that the Hanau Eepe came later in rafts from South America.. He believed that the Hanau Momoko

ideas of paragraphs 5, 6, and 7 are combined in choice C The main idea of

paragraph 8 is given in choice E (although the word invasion does not appear

in this choice.)

Choice A mentions “accidentals” as an example of an organism whose appear-

ance represents the sweepstakes route It is mentioned only as a detail, not as the

main idea of the paragraph

Choice D is about the topic of barriers, but it presents information that is not

given in the passage There is nothing in the passage to suggest that behavioral

barriers are not as effective as physical barriers

Choice E is mentioned in the passage, but it is given as a detail in the discus-

sion of physical barriers It is not a main idea

Your best choices, then, are choices B, C, and E

¢ Biological barriers can be the result of physical features, climate, competi-

tion, and behavior

¢ Organisms can cross barriers by means of three natural types of pathways:

corridors, filter routes, and sweepstakes routes

¢ Humans may accidentally or intentionally bring some species across natural

barriers, and these species may have certain advantages over native species

(B) Complete-the-Chart Questions

The complete-the-chart question consists of a list of answer choices and a simple

chart (ETS calls this a “Schematic Table”) You have to place the answer choices into

the correct categories to complete an outline of the passage

The answer choices can be phrases or sentences In some questions there are

seven choices and you must put five into the chart In some questions there are

nine choices and you must put seven into the chart Correct choices are important

characteristics of the different categories

There will be two or sometimes three categories of information These

categories represent concepts, theories, or divisions in the passage Often they

represent ideas that are compared or contrasted in the passage

Two of the answer choices cannot be placed into the chart This is because they

do not fit properly into any of the categories This type of question tests your ability

to see how information from different parts of the passage fits into logical cate-

gories It also tests your ability to see when points of information are not related to

general categories

When you decide which category you want to place an answer choice into, you

click first on the choice and then on a space under the category in the chart where

you want to put it You do not have to put choices into the category in any special

order As in summary questions, order is not important When you have finished,

you will have created a chart that organizes the information in the passage

A five-answer chart is worth 3 points and a seven-answer chart is worth 4

points Partial credit is given

7 correct choices = 4 points

6 correct choices = 3 points

4 correct choices = 1 point Fewer than 4 correct choices = 0 points

5 correct choices = 3 points

4 correct choices = 2 points

3 correct choices = 1 point Fewer than 3 correct choices = 0 points

Here are some tips for answering complete-the-chart questions:

1 First look at the two or three categories of information given in the chart Be sure that you understand the concepts and the differences between them If you do not, go back to the passage to familiarize yourself with the categories

2 Locate the answer choices one by one in the passage Remember, the choices might be scattered all over the passage, not just in one paragraph Also remem- ber that the information in the answer choices will not appear the same, word for word, as the information in the passage Use key words from the choices to help you find the information quickly just as you did when you were answering factual questions (Lesson 1) When you have found information about the answer choice in the passage, read that sentence and the sentences around it

3 Using your notepaper, take simple notes about each choice Just write down the letter for the choice and an abbreviation for one of the categories If you are not able to categorize the choice, write a question mark (?) by the letter of the choice

4 Now, using your notes, click on the choices that you are sure of and put them in the proper categories If all the blank spaces in the chart are not full, go back and look at the choices you marked with a question mark Reread the paragraph and see if you can classify those choices now If not, guess

Here is one of the passages from the Reading Preview Test and an example of a complete-the-chart question about that passage

Mysteries of Easter Island

Easter Island is an isolated island in the Pacific between Chile and Tahiti The

island is roughly triangular and covers only 64 square miles (165 square kilome-

ters) Because of its immense statues, Easter Island has long been the subject of

curiosity

There are 887 carved stone statues, called Moai, on Easter Island (not all

complete) It is not known exactly what significance the Moai had to the Easter

islanders, but they were obsessed with building these statues Some statues are

as tall as 33 feet (11 meters) and weigh as much as 165 tons (167 metric tons)

All portray a human head and sometimes an upper body They are all carved

from stone taken from a volcano on the island Some are topped with a red

“hat” called a pukao, made from a different type of stone, and a few have white

coral eyes The statues were moved on a network of roads on rollers made of

palm logs and were then placed on stone bases called ahu Most were built

between 800 and 1500 a.p

By the eighteenth century, the population had grown too large for the small

island At its peak, it was around 12,000 The only crop—sweet potatoes—could

no longer feed the population The palm forests had been cut down to provide

rollers for the statues and to make way for roads In 1722, when the first west-

erner, Admiral Jacob Roggeveen, visited the island, he wrote that there were

hundreds of statues standing When Captain Cook visited in 1774, he reported

that only nine statues were still standing Obviously, something dramatic had

occurred during those years

Any commentary about Easter Island would be incomplete without men-

tioning the theories of the Norwegian explorer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl,

who came to the island in the 1950's Heyerdahl learned that there had been

two groups of islanders: the Hanau Momoko and Hanau Eepe—names once

mistranslated as “Short Ears” and “Long Ears.” The Hanau Mamoko were dark-

haired, the Hanau Eepe mostly red-haired The Hanau Eepe used heavy earrings

to extend the length of their ears Heyerdahl theorized that the Hanau Momoko

were Polynesians from other Pacific islands, but that the Hanau Eepe came later

in rafts from South America He believed that the Hanau Momoko became the

servants of the Hanau Eepe, who forced them to build the statues Because the

Hanau Eepe were the masters, the statues resembled them Heyerdahl said that

the red “hats” of the statues actually represented the red hair of the Hanau

Eepe He also pointed out that the ears of the statues resembled those of the

Hanau Eepe According to Heyerdahl’s theory, the Hanau Momoko eventually

rose up in revolt, overturning most of the statues and killing off all but a few

Hanau Eepe

Heyerdahl gave other evidence for the South American origin of the Hanau

Eepe The stonework of the stone platforms called ahu was incredibly intricate,

unlike any made by other Pacific Islanders However, the Inca people of South

America were famous for intricate stonework Another piece of evidence

Heyerdahl presented was the fact that the staple food of the Easter Islanders, the

sweet potato, is not found in Polynesia He believed that it came with the Hanau Eepe from South America

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DNA testing has proven that all Easter Islanders were in fact descended from Polynesians The current theory is that the Hanau Momoko and Hanau Eepe were two of perhaps twelve clans of islanders, all of whom built statues The

“statue toppling wars” broke out among the clans as the island became over- populated When one group won a victory over another, they toppled their enemies’ statues Archaeologists say that the resemblance between the stonework of the Easter Islanders and that of the Inca is coincidental As for the sweet potato, most scientists now believe that sweet potato seeds came to the island in the stomachs of sea birds

Mysteries about the Moai of Easter Island certainly remain, but current archaeological research has made one lesson clear: overpopulation and overuse

of resources such as occurred on Easter Island can lead to the downfall of thriv-

Directions: Select phrases from the answer choices and match them to the group of people to which they relate, according to the theories of Thor Heyerdahl: Hanau Momoko or Hanau Eepe Two answer choices will not be used This question is worth 4 points

A Extended the length of their ears by wearing

B Were the first to arrive on Easter Island

C Were one of twelve groups on the island that died out because of overpopulation

E Brought sweet potatoes to Easter Island

F, Provided the physical models for the statues

on Easter Island

G Learned how to build the statues from other Pacific Islanders

H Were almost all killed off during a revolution Knocked over most of the statues

— š

First look at the categories, Hanau Momoko and Hanau Eepe Do you under- stand these? According to the theories of Thor Heyerdahl, there were two groups of people on Easter Island, the Hanau Eepe, the dominant group that came from

South America, and the Hanau Momoko, who came from Polynesia and were, until the time of their uprising, the servants of the Hanau Eepe

The answer choices give a list of characteristics We know from looking at the chart that three of these choices will be about the Hanau Momoko and four about the Hanau Eepe We know that two choices will not be used

Now look at choice A Try to find this information in the passage Use the key

words extended, ears, and earrings If you look carefully, you will find the sentence

that contains this information in paragraph 4: “The Hanau Eepe used heavy

earrings to extend the length of their ears.” Clearly, this point belongs in the

second category Your first note might look like this: “A HE.”

Information about choice B is also found in paragraph 4: “Heyerdahl theorized

that the Hanau Momoko were Polynesians from other Pacific islands, but that the

Hanau Eepe came later in rafts from South America.” From this sentence we know

that choice B belongs in the first category because Heyerdahl believed that the

Hanau Eepe came later Your note for choice B would look like this: “B HM.”

Choice C says that there were several groups that died out According to

Heyerdahl’s theory, there were only two groups There is information about several

clans in paragraph 6, but this is part of “current theory,” not the theory of

Heyerdahl You might make the following note: “C 2”

Information about choice D is found in paragraph 4: “He (Heyerdahl) believed

that the Hanau Momoko became the servants of the Hanau Eepe and forced them

to build the statues.” This means that the fourth choice belongs in the first

category: “D HM.”

You can find the information about choice E in paragraph 5: “Another piece of

evidence Heyerdahl presented was the fact that the staple of the Easter Islanders,

the sweet potato, is not found in Polynesia He believed that it came with the

Hanau Eepe from South America.” Your note would say “E HE.”

Information about choice F is in paragraph 4: “Because the Hanau Eepe were

the masters, the statues resembled them Heyerdahl said that the red ‘hats’ of

the statues actually represented the red hair of the Hanau Eepe He also pointed

out that the ears of the statues resembled those of the Hanau Eepe.” You would

write “E HE.”

No matter where you look in the passage, you won't be able to find information

about choice G The passage does not say how either group learned to build stat-

ues, so you would write “G 2”

There is information about choice H in paragraph 4: “According to Heyerdahl’s

theory, the Hanau Momoko eventually rose up in revolt, overturning many of the

statues and killing off all but a few Hanau Eepe.” Your note would say “H HE.”

In the same sentence in paragraph 4, the author provides information about

choice I: “According to Heyerdahl’s theory, the Hanau Momoko eventually rose up

in revolt, overturning (toppling) many of the statues and killing off all but a few

Hanau Eepe.” You would write “I HM.”

Working from your notes, you can quickly complete the chart Choices B, D,

and IJ should be put under the Hanau Momoko classification Choices A, E, EF and

H should be under the Hanau Eepe classification Choices C and G should not be

used at all

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Hanau Momoko

¢ B Were the first to arrive on Easter Island

* D Did the actual work of building the statues

¢ I Knocked over most of the statues Hanau Eepe

¢ A Extended the length of their ears

* E Brought sweet potatoes to Easter Island

¢ F Provided the physical models for the statues on Easter Island

¢ H Were almost all killed off during a revolution

EXERCISE 8.1

Focus: Recognizing the most important topics and ideas of paragraphs and answering complete-the-summary questions

Directions: Read each passage As you are reading, take brief notes on the main topic of each paragraph of the passage in the spaces provided At the end of each passage, you will find the introductory sentence for a brief summary of the pas- sage Using your notes, complete the summary Write the letters of three of the answer choices that express the most important ideas of the passage next to the bullet points Three answer choices will not be used These answer choices are incorrect because they express ideas that are not given in the passage, because they express only details from the passage, or because they contain inaccurate information

On an actual test, these questions would be worth 2 points each

Passage 1

} What is meant by the term economic resources? In general, these are all the natu- ral, synthetic, and human resources that go into the production of goods and services This obviously covers a lot of ground: factories and farms; the tools and machines used in production; transportation and communication facilities; innu- merable types of labor; mineral resources Economic resources can be broken down into two general categories: property resources—land and capital—and human resources—labor and entrepreneurial skills

2 What does land mean to the economist? Much more than to the non-

economist Land refers to all natural resources that are usable in the production process: arable land, forests, mineral and oil deposits, water resources, and so

on What about capital? Capital goods, or investment goods, are all the synthetic aids to producing, storing, transporting, and distributing goods and services Capital goods, or tools, differ from consumer goods in that the latter satisfy wants directly, while the former do so indirectly by facilitating the production of consumer goods it should be noted that capital as defined here does not refer to money Money alone produces nothing

3 The term /abor refers to the physical and mental talents of humans used to

produce goods or services (with the exception of one set of human talents,

entrepreneurial skills, which will be considered a separate category because of

their special significance) Thus the services of a factory worker or an office

worker, a ballet dancer, a deep-sea diver, or an astronaut all fall under the head-

ing of labor

All economic resources have one fundamental characteristic in common:

they are limited in supply Certainly the economy of a nation may possess vast

amounts of natural resources, capital goods, and labor However, the supply of

these resources is not infinite A lack of semiskilled and skilled workers, for exam-

ple, may present a major obstacle to the production process The same can be

said for a shortage of the other factors of production

Notes on Main Topics:

Paragraph 2

Everything that can be used to produce goods and services is considered an —

economic resource

A Capital does not include the concept of money because money does not

directly produce goods or services

B No economic resource is unlimited

C The work done by a factory worker or an office worker, a ballet dancer, a

deep-sea diver, or an astronaut can all be considered labor

D Entrepreneurs are vital to the creation and management of economic

resources

E One form of economic resources is property resources, which include land

(natural resources that can be used in production) and capital (tools used

in production)

E Another form of economic resources is human capital, which includes all

labor except for entrepreneurial skills

1

Passage 2

West Side Story is a musical tragedy based on William Shakespeare’s timeless love story, Romeo and Juliet \t is set in the early 1950’s, when gang warfare in big cities led to injuries and even death West Side Story transformed the Montagues and the Capulets of Shakespeare’s play into rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks The Sharks were newly arrived immigrants to New York from Puerto Rico, the Jets native-born New Yorkers The play chronicles the rising tension between these gangs and focuses on the story of Maria, a Puerto Rican whose brother Bernardo is the leader of the Sharks, and of Tony, a member of the Jets

As the rival gangs battle in the streets of New York, these two meet and fall in love The famous balcony scene of the Shakespeare drama takes place on a fire escape of an ugly New York tenement While trying to stop a fight between the two gangs, Tony inadvertently kills Maria’s brother Bernardo and is ultimately killed himself

The talents of a trio of theatrical legends went into the creation of West Side Story Leonard Bernstein, who composed the brilliant score, was a classical com- poser and the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Stephen Sondheim, making his Broadway debut, revealed a remarkable talent for writing lyrics Among the hit songs of the play are “Tonight,” “Maria,” “America,” “Gee Officer Krupke,” and “I Feel Pretty.” Jerome Robbins’s electrifying choreography broke new ground for musical theater in the 1950 Before West Side Story, no one thought that dance could be as integral to a narrative as the music or the lyrics But the hyper-athletic dances in West Side Story are among the most thrilling elements of the play

The play opened in New York City on September 26, 1957, and immedi- ately was a hit with critics and audiences alike It ran for 734 performances, toured the United States for ten months, and then returned to New York for an additional 246 performances It won a Tony Award in 1958 It opened to great acclaim in London that same year The play was revived on the Broadway stage

in 1980, 1995, and 2002 It is often performed by school drama departments and community theaters

4 The classic motion picture West Side Story was released in 1961 It was

directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and starred Natalie Wood as Maria

and Richard Beymer as Tony It won ten Academy Awards, including ones for

Best Picture and Best Director

Glossary

Romeo and Juliet: a play by William Shakespeare set in Verona, Italy and involving

rival noble families

Puerto Rico: an island in the Caribbean that is inhabited mostly by Spanish-speaking

people and administered by the United States

Tony Awards: awards given every year for the best play, best director, best actor

Academy Awards: (also called the Oscars) awards given every year to the best

movie, best director, best actor, best actress, and so on

Notes on Main Topics:

West Side Story is a musical play that retells Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

A The play emphasizes music and lyrics more than dance

B The play featured the brilliant work of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen

Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins

C The play and later the movie were successful and won many awards

D In the play, Maria, whose brother leads one gang, falls in love with Tony, a

member of a rival gang, who is eventually killed

E Jerome Robbins directed the play West Side Story

E_ The balcony scene from the play by Shakespeare takes place on a New York

City fire escape in West Side Story

Passage 3

Unlike most newborns in the animal kingdom, human infants are born with their eyes wide open and are able to see However, as any parent knows, babies are not born with full adult visual abilities Like all parts of a baby’s body, it takes years for the eyes, the eye muscles, and the visual cortex of the brain to com- pletely develop

At birth, the eye of a full-term infant is approximately two-thirds the size of that of an adult Growth is most rapid during the infant's first year and then continues at a rapid but decelerating rate until adolescence By adolescence the eye is essentially adult size It should be noted that the visual cortex of the brain itself is also immature at birth The brain’s dendrites are still growing This immaturity would limit contrast sensitivity and color recognition even if babies’ eyes provided perfect information to the brain Continual visual stimuli and the passage of time will develop the neural connections The muscles that control the movements of the eye are also immature at birth, and the eyes of many newborns tend to “wander” and cross However, within a few months, these muscles will learn to work as a team and will be able to control eye-pointing much better

In infants, the sclera (the “white” of the eye) is thin and translucent and often has a bluish tinge In the baby’s first year, this will thicken and become whiter The cornea (the tissue that lies in front of the iris of the eye) is perfectly clear in full-term babies In infants born prematurely, there may be a whitish haze in front of the cornea, but this disappears in a month or so The iris, the colored area surrounding the pupil, is typically lighter than it will be when the child matures It darkens as the pigmentation of the iris increases in the first year

Research indicates that newborns certainly have some visual abilities They can detect motion, which is the earliest, most basic perception Babies glance at moving objects in their first hour of life and track a moving light across their field of vision within the first few hours Although at birth, infants probably do not have the ability to see colors and cannot distinguish color from grayscale, by two weeks they can see some shades of color They respond to brightness values

in the first month

But newborn vision is limited Visual ability is made up of many factors: the ability to see and distinguish between colors, to adjust to different distances, to see a single image rather than double images, to orient to moving objects, to see details, and to perceive depth At four months, all these visual talents mature and start to work in tandem Just how this happens is not completely clear For example, how the brain and eye coordinate to process color information remains something of a mystery But somehow, by the fourth month, babies see the world in vivid color Studies have indicated that four-month-olds can not only distinguish colors but even have favorites Most look longer at bright colors such as blue and red than at dull colors such as gray and brown They prefer patterns such as plaids and stripes to solid colors Four-month-old babies also