Cracking the Toefl IBT 2009 edition part 42

Still, there is enough to conclude that ancient peoples, motivated by the nutritional value of bread or cakes made of wild wheat, looked for controlled ways to grow it to provide a consi

ps

Scant physical evidence remains

of the first human domestication

of grain Still, there is enough to conclude that ancient peoples, motivated by the nutritional value of bread or cakes made of wild wheat, looked for controlled ways to grow it

to provide a consistent food supply

Three related discoveries are likely to have led to the introduction of bread

as the first grain-based food

The first discovery was that wheat could be prepared for use by grinding People probably began

consuming wheat by chewing it raw

Because wheat is very hard, they

gradually discovered that it was less trouble to eat if crushed to paste between two stones The result would have been the ancestor of the drier, more powdery wheat flour we use today,

From there, it was a short step to the next breakthrough—baking the

simplest bread, which requires no technology but fire Loaves of wheat paste, when baked into bread, could

be stored for long periods, certainly longer than raw seeds This kept the food value of wheat available for an extended period after it had been harvested

Finally, ancient peoples found that,

if the paste was allowed to sit in the open, yeast spores from the air settled on it and began fermenting the wheat This natural process of fermentation caused bubbles to form

in the wheat paste, suggesting that it would be lighter in texture and even easier to eat when baked

416 | Cracking the TOEFL iBT

Resume playing Track 10 on the CD

N:Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about €)

NN: Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on the

contents of the reading, You may refer to the passage as you write

Writing Practice Drills | 447

rey

Directions: You have 20 minutes to plan ara write your response “Your

response will be graded on the quality of your writing and on how well your

response | recsnts tis ponte Melecuio ara their relationship

reading passage Typically, an effective response will be 15010 225 words,

Question: Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard,

explaining how they cast doubt on the contents of reading You may refer

to the passage as you write

Scant physical evidence remains of the first human domestication of grain Stil, there is enough to conclude that ancient peoples, motivated by the nutritional value of bread or cakes made of wild wheat, looked for controlled ways to grow ito provide

‘a consistent food supply Three related discoveries are likely to have led to the introduction of bread as the first grain-based food

The first discovery was that wheat could bbe prepared for use by grinding People probably began consuming wheat by chewing it raw Because wheat is very hard, they gradually discovered that it was less trouble to eat if crushed to paste between two stones—the result would have been the ancestor of the drier, more powdery wheat flour we use today

From there, it was a short step to the next breakthrough: baking the simplest bread, which requires no technology but fire Loaves

of wheat paste, when baked into bread, could be stored for long periods, certainly longer than raw seeds This kept the food value of wheat available for an extended period after it had been harvested, Finally, ancient peoples found that, if the paste was allowed to sit in the open, yeast spores from the air settled on it and began fermenting the wheat This natural process

Of fermentation caused bubbles to form in the wheat paste, suggesting that it would be lighter in texture and even easier to eat when

448 | Cracking the TOEFL iT

WRITING PRACTICE DRILL #2

“The second type of writing question asks you to write a response to a question in 30 minutes It will look something like the following:

T0EFI Wilng

——

Directions: For this essay, you will have 30 minutes to write a response

to a question that asks you to state,

explain, and support your position on

an issue An effective essay is usually

300 words in length Your response

will be graded on the quality of

your writing, the organization of

your ideas, and the accuracy of the language you use

Question:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Teachers should encourage their students to question everything

Use examples and reasons to support your position

420 | Cracking the TOEFL i8T

WRITING PRACTICE DRILL #3

‘This drill again asks you to write a response to a question in 30 minutes

ky

=<

Directions: For this essay, you will

have 30 minutes to write a response

toa question that asks you to state,

explain, and support your position on

an issue An effective essay is usually

300 words in length Your response

will be graded on the quality of

your writing, the organization of

your ideas, and the accuracy of the

language you use

Question:

Do you agree or disagree with the

following statement?

Countries should not isolate

themselves from the world but

instead engage other countries

Use examples and reasons to

support your position

Writing Practice Drils | 423

WRITING PRACTICE DRILL #4

‘This is another opportunity for you co write a response to a question in 30 minutes

==

Directions: For this essay, you will have 30 minutes to write a response

to a question that asks you to state, explain, and support your position on

an issue An effective essay is usually

300 words in length Your response will be graded on the quality of

your writing, the organization of

your ideas, and the accuracy of the language you use

Question:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

Students, not teachers or administrators, should be in control of their own education

Use examples and reasons to support your position

426 | Cracking the TOEFL i8T

WRITING PRACTICE DRILL #5

Here's another chance to write a response to a question in 30 minutes

Rots

language you use

Question:

following statement?

will be popular with others

support your position

Directions: For this essay, you will

have 30 minutes to write a response

to a question that asks you to state,

explain, and support your position on

an issue An effective essay is usually

300 words in length Your response

will be graded on the quality of

your writing, the organization of

your ideas, and the accuracy of the

Do you agree or disagree with the

Before making a decision, it is

important to find out if the decision

Use examples and reasons to

Writing Practice Drills 429

Chapter 17 Writing Answers and Explanations

Read through the following sample responses to the drill you completed in the previous chapter, and compare your essays with them If possible, have a friend who is proficient in English look over your essays

WRITING PRACTICE DRILL #1

Take a look at the first task

Narrator: Now read the passage about the first grain-based food You have 3 minutes to

read the passage Begin reading now

‘Scant physical evidence remains of the first human domestication of grain Still, there is

‘enough to conclude that ancient peoples, motivated by the nutritional value of bread or cakes made of wild wheat, looked for controlled ways to grow it to provide a consistent food supply Three related discoveries are likely to have led to the introduction of bread as the first

grain-based food

The first discovery was that wheat could be prepared for use by grinding People probably began consuming wheat by chewing it raw Because wheat is very hard, they gradually

discovered that it was less trouble to eat if crushed to paste between two stones—the result would have been the ancestor of the drier, more powdery wheat flour we use today

From there, it was a short step to the next breakthrough: baking the simplest bread, which requires no technology but fire Loaves of wheat paste, when baked into bread, could be stored for long periods, certainly longer than raw seeds This kept the food value of wheat available for an extended period after it had been harvested

Finally, ancient peoples found that, if the paste was allowed to sit in the open, yeast spores from the air settled on it and began fermenting the wheat This natural process of fermentation caused bubbles to form in the wheat paste that suggested it would be lighter in texture and even easier to eat when baked,

Narrator: Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about

Professor: Conventional wisdom says that a very primitive kind of bread was the first grain

food that human societies ate But, you know, for the last few decades, there's been

an alternative hypothesis that quite a few anthropologists are starting to give a closer look That hypothesis says that it was, in fact, beer—not bread—that was the first grain food Sound strange? Consider a couple of things

For one thing, you don't have to grind wheat to make it easier to eat If you keep it

in a moist environment, it naturally starts sprouting, with a new baby plant splitting the hard seed case in half Sprouted wheat is sweeter, softer, and actually more Nutritious than whole wheat seeds—and it would have developed without human effort In order to discover the usefulness of ground wheat, someone had to get the bright idea of crushing it To discover the usefulness of sprouted wheat, people just had to do nothing and let it sit Which do you think happened first?

434 | Cracking the TOEFL i8T

Another thing: What turns grain into beer is fermentation, and wheat begins to ferment almost as soon as it’s stored—from water and yeasts in the air After the wheat sprouted, it would have started to ferment The process would have been obvious because of the bubbles and foam that formed, People could have experimented by tasting it and discovering the first beer

And even if you assume that people were already grinding wheat to paste, think about it The paste ferments and bubbles Is it likely that early peoples would have thought to fire it before eating? We're used to cooking our food, but in prehistoric

times, the idea that you would take fire to food to improve it for eating was not obvious

N: Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on the contents of the reading You may refer to the passage as you write

Lets look at some notes you may have jotted down

Reading:

Main Idea: i4 Example/reason: Wheat is hard to eat, and people probably ground it into a paste,

Example/teason: The wheat paste could be baked with fire,

Lecture:

Point #1: Wheat: doesn't need to be ground,

Detail #3: Early people did not cook things,

‘With that information, let's construct our essay The following sections offer a variety of responses, scored from high co low All spelling and grammatical errors are intentional—to demonstrate the factors behind an assigned score As you read the response, think of what numerical value the grader might have assigned, and check to see how your assessment matches up to the actual score As you know, the scale is from 0 to 5

A High-Scoring Response

“The following is an example of a high-scoring response:

In the lecture, the profesor makes several points about the first wheat product The profesor argues that beer was the first wheat product This is different from the reading, which states that bread came first However, the teacher cast doubt on the reading with several points

Firet of all, the teacher says that wheat doesn't have to be ground It is easy to people to eat wheat when it sprouts This is not what the reading states, it says that early people ground wheat into a paste because

it hard to eat The lecture casts doubt on this by showing another way to eat wheat

Writing Answers and Explanations