TOEFL
Introduction & function
TOEFL is an English examination that
tests your knowledge of academic English in four key areas: reading, listening,
writing and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar knowledge are also tested, but
indirectly.
The TOEFL test is designed and
administered by ETS, Educational Testing Services, an American company based in
New Jersey. ETS also administers other common tests like TOEIC.
The maximum score in the TOEFL test is
120. A good score is above 90 points, and a great score is more than 100
points. At higher score ar EC, it is our goal to help every student achieve a
score o0f 90 points or above.
The Test of English as
a Foreign Language is an exam developed by ETS that measures the ability of
non-native English speakers to function in an academic setting. Many colleges
and universities, especially in the United States, require ESL students to
submit a TOEFL score before they can apply to a program. The test evaluates
listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. The TOEFL is not for beginner
ESL students. It is designed for advanced learners who are ready to prove that
they have the ability to live and study in an English environment. It is
important that you familiarize yourself with the test that you will be taking.
The majority of test centers are now using the Internet Based TOEFL (iBT).
Before beginning the following practice pages, check with your local test
center to confirm that the iBT is available in your region.
TEST TOEFL
Deep in the Sierra
Nevada, the famous General Grant giant sequoia tree is suffering its loss of
stature in silence. What once was the world's No. 2 biggest tree has been
supplanted thanks to the most comprehensive measurements taken of the largest
living things on Earth.
The new No. 2 is The
President, a 54,000-cubic-foot gargantuan not far from the Grant in Sequoia
National Park. After 3,240 years, the giant sequoia still is growing wider at a
consistent rate, which may be what most surprised the scientists examining how
the sequoias and coastal redwoods will be affected by climate change and
whether these trees have a role to play in combating it.
"I consider it to
be the greatest tree in all of the mountains of the world," said Stephen
Sillett, a redwood researcher whose team from Humboldt State University is
seeking to mathematically assess the potential of California's iconic trees to
absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide.
The researchers are a
part of the 10-year Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative funded by the Save
the Redwoods League in San Francisco. The measurements of The President,
reported in the current National Geographic, dispelled the previous notion that
the big trees grow more slowly in old age.
It means, the experts
say, the amount of carbon dioxide they absorb during photosynthesis continues
to increase over their lifetimes.
In addition to
painstaking measurements of every branch and twig, the team took 15
half-centimeter-wide core samples of The President to determine its growth
rate, which they learned was stunted in the abnormally cold year of 1580 when
temperatures in the Sierra hovered near freezing even in the summer and the trees
remained dormant.
But that was an
anomaly, Sillett said. The President adds about one cubic meter of wood a year
during its short six-month growing season, making it one of the fastest-growing
trees in the world. Its 2 billion leaves are thought to be the most of any tree
on the planet, which would also make it one of the most efficient at
transforming carbon dioxide into nourishing sugars during photosynthesis.
"We're not going
to save the world with any one strategy, but part of the value of these great
trees is this contribution and we're trying to get a handle on the math behind
that," Sillett said.
After the equivalent
of 32 working days dangling from ropes in The President, Sillett's team is
closer to having a mathematical equation to determine its carbon conversion
potential, as it has done with some less famous coastal redwoods. The team has
analyzed a representative sample that can be used to model the capacity of the
state's signature trees.
More immediately,
however, the new measurements could lead to a changing of the guard in the land
of giant sequoias. The park would have to update signs and brochures - and
someone is going to have to correct the Wikipedia entry for "List of
largest giant sequoias," which still has The President at No. 3.
Now at 93 feet in
circumference and with 45,000 cubic feet of trunk volume and another 9,000
cubic feet in its branches, the tree named for President Warren G. Harding is
about 15 percent larger than Grant, also known as America's Christmas Tree.
Sliced into one-foot by one-foot cubes, The President would cover a football
field.
Giant sequoias grow so
big and for so long because their wood is resistant to the pests and disease
that dwarf the lifespan of other trees, and their thick bark makes them
impervious to fast-moving fire.
It's that resiliency
that makes sequoias and their taller coastal redwood cousin worthy of intensive
protections - and even candidates for cultivation to pull carbon from an
increasingly warming atmosphere, Sillett said. Unlike white firs, which easily
die and decay to send decomposing carbon back into the air, rot-resistant
redwoods stay solid for hundreds of years after they fall.
Though sequoias are
native to California, early settlers traveled with seedlings back to the
British Isles and New Zealand, where a 15-foot diameter sequoia that is the
world's biggest planted tree took root in 1850. Part of Sillett's studies
involves modeling the potential growth rate of cultivated sequoia forests to
determine over time how much carbon sequestering might increase.
All of that led him to
a spot 7,000 feet high in the Sierra and to The President, which he calls
"the ultimate example of a giant sequoia." Compared to the other
giants whose silhouettes are bedraggled by lightning strikes, The President's
crown is large with burly branches that are themselves as large as tree trunks.
The world's biggest
tree is still the nearby General Sherman with about 2,000 cubic feet more
volume than the President, but to Sillett it's not a contest.
"They're all superlative
in their own way," Sillett said.
1. The word "supplanted" in paragraph 1
A) inquisitive
B) Has a double-meaning both as a pun on the topic of plants and a literal meaning of "to replace"
C) Is a synonym for "to plant again"
D) Has the same meaning as "to plant," with extra emphasis
2. One common myth about trees that The President helps disprove is
A) That giant sequoias are more resilient than other tree species
B) That old trees are as productive at photosynthesis as younger ones
C) That only giant sequoias may be named after historical figures
D) That large trees grow more slowly as they age
3. What is the primary benefit that Sillett and other researchers suggest that giant sequoias may have?
A) Their natural beauty can have health benefits for those who travel to wildlife preserves to see them
B) They represent centuries of natural history that no other living things do
C) Because of their size, they are able to process more carbon dioxide than other trees, which can have significant benefits for the atmosphere
D) Their resilient bark may have eventual uses in human medicine.
4. The giant sequoias are compared to white firs to demonstrate that?
A) Even when the sequoias fall, they do not decay and so send less carbon into the air
B) White firs are more plentiful because they grow and decay more quickly than sequoias
C) The giant sequoias are completely resistant to death
D) White firs are essential because when they decompose they emit necessary nutrients
5. The President has grown every year EXCEPT
A) 1850
B) 2012
C) 1580
D) The President has grown every year of its life
