TOEFL STUDY GUIDE PART 2 LISTENING COMPREHENSION Conversational English Tips 26 - 30 Conversational English Tip 26 Practice speaking and listening to English radio, TV, internet sites
Trang 1TOEFL STUDY GUIDE
PART 2 LISTENING COMPREHENSION
Conversational English Tips 26 - 30
Conversational English Tip 26
Practice speaking and listening to English (radio, TV, internet sites
like Dave's ESL Café ( http://eslcafe.com )
Conversational English Tip 27
Voice emphasis can change the meaning of a statement In spoken English,
people place stress on certain words in a given sentence to convey
additional meaning beyond the dictionary definitions of the words The
pitch or volume of one's voice to make the word stand out from the rest of
the sentence One fo the things that vocal emphasis can tell you is which
information in the sentence the speaker considers to be the most important
Conversational English Tip 28
Trang 2Emphasized expressions: What's Important
When the following sentence is written on paper
"Susan took the red purse?"
every word is stressed equally However, when emphasis is placed on
specific words in the sentence, the intention of the speaker changes slightly
For example:
"Susan took the red purse?"
If you emphasize "Susan" one is surprised that Susan took the purse, and
not someone else
"Susan took the red purse?"
If you emphasize "took" one is surprised that Susan "took" the purse and
not perhaps borrowed it
"Susan took the red purse?"
If you emphasize "red" one is surprised that it was it was not the blue purse
that was taken
"Susan took the red purse?"
If you emphasize "purse" one is surprised that it was the purse that was
taken, not the wallet for example
Conversational English Tip 29
Trang 3Common TOEFL Exam Cliches
All of the following are cliches that appear on the TOEFL and are
used to express simple ideas We've grouped them by meaning in
order to make them easier to learn
Meaning: "I don't know."
m I couldn't tell you
m I wouldn't know
m I haven't the vaguest
m I haven't the foggiest
m I haven't any idea
m Who knows?
m It's a mystery to me
m Don't look at me
m Don't ask me
m You got me
m Beats me
Meaning: "No."
m Not in a million years
m I wouldn't say that
m I doubt it
Trang 4m Don't count on it
m Not likely
m Probably not
m Don't bet on it
m I don't think so
m Dont' be too sure
m Never
m No way
Meaning: "Don't do it!"
m I wouldn't if I were you
m Oh no you don't!
m Cut it out!
m Not here you don't
m Better leave well enough alone
m Forget it!
m Don't bother
Meaning: Agreement
m To say the least
m That's putting it mildly
You can say that again
Trang 5That's for sure
Now, That's an idea
There you go! Now youve said something I agree with,
whereas you didn't before
I'll say
I couldn't agree with you more
Count me in
Why not!
Won't I!
Don't I!
Aren't I!
Meaning: "Thank you!"
Thanks!
I appreciate it
Thanks a lot
I don't know how to thank you
You're a lifesaver
I'll never be able to repay you
I 'm grateful
Meaning: "You're welcome!"
Trang 6It's the least I can do
Forget it
Don't mention it
Never mind
It doesn't matter
No problem
Meaning: "What did you say?"
Pardon me?
Excuse me?
Sorry?
What?
Meaning: Surprise / disbelief
Isn't that something?
My goodness!
How about that!
It/He/She's too good to be true!
We made it!
You're kidding!
You're joking!
Come on!
Trang 7It can't be!
Who says?