How to Prepare Students

for the TOEIC® TEST

TOEIC® is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS). Paraskevi Kanistra

This publication is not endorsed or approved by ETS.
Charalambos Kollias

Distributed Free of charge by

Acknowledgments
Thisbookcouldnothavebeenwrittenwithouttheassistanceofmanypeople.

WemustthanktheHellenicAmericanUnionfaculty,whoproofreadthemanuscriptandpilotedtheactivitiesin
theirclasses.WewouldalsoliketothanktheHellenicAmericanUnionstudentsfortheirvaluablefeedback.

Lastbutnotleast,wemustthankLeonidasͲPhoebusKoskos,ExecutiveDirectoroftheHellenicAmericanUnion,for
hisencouragementandsupportateverystageofthisendeavor.

EditedbyCatherineGeorgopoulou

DesignedbyElenaXanthi

©HellenicAmericanUnion,2008

Allrightsreserved.ThispublicationisprotectedbyCopyright(N.2121/1993)andpermissionshouldbeobtained
fromtheHellenicAmericanUnionpriortoanyprohibitedreproduction,storageinaretrievalsystem,or
transmissioninanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise.

ISBN:978Ͳ960Ͳ8331Ͳ64Ͳ8
Notefromtheauthors
TheaimofHowtoPrepareStudentsfortheTOEIC®TestistogiveteachersideasonhowtouseTOEIC®practice
testsasateachingtool.Thispublicationprovidesusefulactivitiestohelpstudentsprepareeffectivelyforthe
variouspartsoftheListeningandReadingSectionsoftheTOEIC®Test.Theseactivitiesenablestudentstohavea
betterunderstandingofthepurposeofthetesttasksandoftheskillsandsubskillsoflisteningandreading
requiredtocompletethesetasksinaspecifictimelimit.AllactivitiesareadaptedfromPracticeExamsforthe
TOEIC®TestpublishedbytheHellenicAmericanUnionin2007.Similaractivitiescanbeincludedinapreparation
courseusingpracticetestsfromthisHAUpublication.

Practicetestsusedasteachingtoolsneednotnecessarilybeexploitedassuchintheirentiretynorshouldtheybe
completedinoneclasssession.Theyshouldbespreadoutoverseveralsessions,focusingononeortwopartseach
time,andshouldbecombinedwithlanguageconsolidationactivities(e.g.grammar,vocabulary,etc.).Forexample,
asamplefromPartIoftheListeningSectioncouldbedoneduringthefirsthourofthesessionandexamplesof
grammarandvocabularyitemsfromtheReadingSectionduringthesecond.Onasubsequentsession,examples
fromPartIIoftheListeningSectioncouldbepresentedandanalyzedduringthefirsthourandexamplesofreading
taskscouldbeexploitedduringthesecond.Ofcourse,notallthepracticetestsonaTOEIC®Testpreparation
coursesyllabusshouldbeusedasteachingtools.Forexample,inasyllabusthatuseseightpracticeexaminations
(e.g.45ͲHourNewTOEICPreparationCourseSyllabus,HAUPublication2008),onlytwoofthesetestsshouldbe
reservedforthispurpose.Theremainingsixshouldbeadministeredtothestudentsasprogressormocktests,or
beassignedashomework.

UsingpracticetestsasateachingtoolwillprovidemoreeffectiveclassroompreparationfortheTOEIC®Test.The
varietyofactivitiesfacilitateamorecreativelearningenvironmentandhelpstudentstogaininsightsonhowthe
TOEIC®Testreflectsauthentictasksintherealworld.

Notefromthepublisher
TheEducationalTestingService(ETS)hasofferedtheTOEIC®Testforover25years.TheTOEIC®Testisdesigned
fornonnativespeakersofEnglishwhowanttomeasuretheirEnglishlanguageskills.TheHellenicAmericanUnion
wasentrustedwiththeresponsibilityforadministeringthetestin2001andsincethenithasbeenprovidingnot
onlyhighqualityexaminationservices,butalsostrongacademicsupportfortheEFLcommunitythroughover150
seminarsheldeachyearthroughoutGreeceaspartoftheinstitution’scommitmenttofurtheringteacher
development.

ThisacademicsupportdrawsontheextensiveawarenessandexperienceofcurrentpracticeinthefieldofEFL
whichtheHellenicAmericanUnionhasacquiredthroughrunningthelargestTeacherEducationinstitutionfor
teachersofEFLinGreeceandthroughitsexperienceasacenterfortestdevelopment,bothincooperationwith
EuropeanprogramsandfromitsclosecooperationwiththeUniversityofMichigan.

Itwasfromourclosecontactwithlanguageteachersandlanguageschoolownersthatwerealizedthattherewas
astrongneedfordevelopingHowtoPrepareStudentsfortheTOEIC®Test.Thispublicationtakesintoaccountthe
mostrecentadjustmentstotheTOEIC®Test,helpingtoraiseawarenessofthesechangesandtoprovidesupport
forteacherspreparingstudentsforthistest.

InproducingHowtoPrepareStudentsfortheTOEIC®Test,theHellenicAmericanUnionhasdrawnonitsvast
academicknowledgeaswellasitsaccesstoteachersandstudents.Throughthedrafting,editingandpiloting
stages,theinstitutionhascontributeditssoundacademicbackgroundandvaluablepracticeexperienceof
teachingthistest,producinghighqualitymaterialthatwebelievewillassistbothteachersandcandidatesforthe
TOEIC®Test.


PracticeExamsfortheTOEIC®Test–Test2
Listeningsection
ListeningPart1:Photographs
Activity1

x GetstudentstobrainstormpictureͲrelatedvocabulary
x Havestudentsmakesentencesaboutthepictureusingthevocabulary

Example1(Item3):


1. GetstudentstobrainstormpictureͲrelatedvocabulary.Askstudentstowritevocabularyunder
threeheadings:nouns–verbs–adjectives

Possibleanswers:
Nouns Verbs Adjectives
puppets working big
man looking small
glasses wearing long
apronl etc. old
tools  etc.
etc.  


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 2. Askstudentstocreatefactualquestionsaboutthepicture.
Studentscanusethe…
x presentsimple:–Themanisstandingbehindthecounter.
x presentprogressive:–Themanisholdingatool.
x presentperfect:–Hehasn’tfinishedyet.

Rationale:ByscanningthepicturefirstandmakingamentalnoteofpictureͲrelatedwordsandactions,
studentsavoidmakinghypotheticalassumptionsaboutthepicture.Theinstructionsforthispartstate
thatthey“mustselecttheonestatementthatbestdescribeswhat[they]seeinthepicture.”Students,
therefore,mustselectthestatementthatstatesatruthaboutthepicture.DistractorssuchasHehas
repairedthepuppetcannotbethebestresponse.Thisisanunsupportedhypotheticalassumptionthat
doesnotdescribethepicture,aswedonotknowwhenandwhetherthepuppetwasactuallyrepaired.
Allweknowaboutthepictureisthatthemanisperformingsomeaction.Thecorrectresponsethat
“bestdescribesthepicture”isHeworkswithhishands.

Activity2

Example2(Item7):





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Askstudentstoanswerthefollowingquestions:

Whenviewingpeople:

x Whoarethepeopleinthepicture?(colleagues,bossͲemployees)
x Whataretheydoing?(talking)
x Whataretheywearing?(suits)
x Wherearethey?(office)
x Howmanypeoplearethereinthepicture?(3)
x Whatmakesthemdifferentfromeachother?Oneman–Oneelderlywoman–Oneyoung
womanͲͲͲoneperson(man)sittingdown,twowomenstandingup.Onewoman(elderly)is
wearingglasses.

Whenviewingobjects:

x Whattypeofobjectisit?(pencilholder,laptop)
x Whereistheobjectusuallyfound?(pencilholder,onofficedesk)
x Whatistheobjectmadeof?(pencilholder,glass,metal,plastic)

Rationale:Byansweringthesetypesofquestions,studentswilldevelopthetechniqueofquickly
scanningthepictureontestdaysothattheycanmakesoundinterpretationsofwhatthepicture
depicts.AnswerchoicessuchasThey’realllookingatthecomputerscreendoesnot“bestdescribethe
picture”asonlytheelderlywomanislookingatthecomputerscreen.ThebestresponseisThey’re
discussingaproject.Thisisasafeinterpretationtomakeastheyareinanofficeandtheyseemtobe
discussingsomething.

Activity3

Askstudentstolistentothefourstatementsandchoosethebestresponse.Askstudentstojustifytheir
answerandexplainwhytheotherthreeanswerchoices(distractors)arewrong.

Rationale:Bygettingstudentstojustifywhydistractorsarewrong,theywillcometounderstandthat
theymaymakeunwarrantedassumptionsaboutthepictureiftheybringintheirownbackground
schemata.

Examstrategies:
Beforestudentslistentothechoices:

1. Theyshouldquicklyscanthepicturemakingamentalnoteofallthenouns,verbs,and
adjectives.
2. TheyshouldquicklyanswerthequestionsinActivity2.



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Whiletheylistentothechoices:

1. Studentsshouldusethebackoftheirpencilandmoveacrossthethreeanswerchoicesasthey
eliminatedistractors.
2. Studentsshouldanswerthequestionassoonastheyarecertainthattheyhavefoundthe
correctanswerandquicklyscanthenextpicture.Theyshouldberemindedtoalwaysbea
questionahead.

ListeningPart2:QuestionͲResponse
Activity1

A. Givestudentsahandoutwiththefollowingchart.Askthemtoplaceatickunderthetypeof
questiontheyhear.

 Function Negative Information Alternative Yes/No
Question Question Question Question Question

Question1     

Question2     

Question3     

Question4     

Question5     

1. When’sthebesttimetomeet?(Informationquestion)(Item13)
2. Canyoutellmewherethemanageris?(Yes/Noquestion)(Item28)
3. Whyweren’twetoldinadvance?(Negativequestion)(Item37)
4. Wouldyoucareforsomecoffeeortea?(Alternativequestion)(Item14)
5. WhatwouldyourecommendIdo?(Functionquestion)(Item40)

Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentsrecognizethedifferenttypesofquestionsthattheywillhearin
thispartofthetest.

B. Thenaskstudentstodecidewhattypeofinformationisneededtoanswerthequestion.
1. Whenisthebesttimetomeet?(Informationquestion)(timereference)
2. Canyoutellmewherethemanageris?(Yes/Noquestion)(Yes/Noornaturalresponse)
3. Whyweren’twetoldinadvance?(Negativequestion)(reason)
4. Wouldyoucareforsomecoffeeortea?(Alternativequestion)(achoiceofthetwo,both,
neither,orevenanaturalresponse)
5. WhatwouldyourecommendIdo?(Function)(suggestion/advice)
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Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentstounderstandthetypeofquestionsaskedandtheappropriate
responsestosuchquestions.Studentsneednotonlytounderstandwhattypeofinformationthe
questionasksforbutalsotobeawarethatmanyquestionsmaybeanswerednaturallywithout
necessarilyfollowinganexpectedanswerpattern.AnappropriateanswertoWho’sinthephoto?may
notnecessarilyrefertoanactualperson.AnaturalresponseinthiscaseisIamnotsure.

Activity2

Askstudentstolistentothefollowingquestionsoneatatimeandpredictanappropriateresponse:

Example:

1. Whodidn’treceivethememo?(Item11)
2. Whenwilltheeventtakeplace?(Item21)
3. Doyouliketheredoneortheblueone?(Item24)
4. WhatwouldyourecommendIdo?(Item40)
5. Canyoutellmewherethemanageris?(Item28)

Rationale:Thisactivityprovidesanactualreasonforstudentstolistentothequestionorstatementand
makesthemfocusonthetask.Thiswillreinforcetheimportanceofpayingattentiontothequestionsor
statementsandnotonlytotheanswerchoices.

Activity3(Item11)

Givestudentstheanswerchoicesbelowandaskthemtocomeupwithanappropriatequestion.Only
oneoftheanswerchoicesshouldbethecorrectanswertothequestionstudentscreate.

A. Theaccountingdepartment
B. Thesecretarytypedthememo.
C. Wereceivedityesterday.  

Rationale:Byformulatingquestionsfromtheanswerchoices,studentswillhaveabetterunderstanding
ofthetypeofquestionthatcanbeansweredbytheanswerchoices.Studentswillbeabletoeliminate
inappropriateanswerchoiceswithoutnecessarilyunderstandingthewholequestionorstatement.For
example,ifthestudentshearWhodidn’treceivethememo?ChoiceCcanbesafelyeliminatedasit
wouldbeamoresuitableresponsetoa“when”question.

Activity4

HavestudentsdecideonthetimeͲframeofthequestion.

Item21.Whenwilltheeventtakeplace?

a. Hastheeventhappened?(no)
b. Howdoweknow?(will)

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Item15.Howmanyhavealreadyregistered?

a. Canpeoplestillregister?(yes)
b. Howdoweknow?(havealready+ed)

Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentsunderstandthatanappropriateresponsemusttakethetime
frameofthequestionorstatementintoaccount.

Examstrategies:
Whilestudentslisten,theyshould:

1. Trytorecognizethetypeofquestionheard.
2. Predictpossibleanswerbeforetheylistentotheresponses.
3. Eliminateinappropriateanswerchoices.
4. Usethebackoftheirpencilandmoveacrosstheanswerchoicesastheyeliminatedistractors.


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ListeningPart3:Conversations
Activity1

Writethequestionsbelowontheboard.Havestudentsanswerasmanyofthesequestionsastheycan
whiletheylistentoeachconversation:

1. Whoarethespeakers?   2.Whatistheirprofession?

3.Whatistheirrelationship?  4.Wherearethey?

5. Whataretheydiscussing?  6.Whyaretheydiscussingthis?

Questions50Ͳ52refertothefollowingconversation.

Man:  Whyisyourcomputermakingthisbeepingnoise?Doyouhavesomany
  incomingmessages?

Woman: No,Idon’t.ForsomereasonIcan’tlogontomyOutlookaccounttoreadmymessages.

Man: You’veprobablybeenlockedoutforsomereason;youneedtocontactthehelpdeskto
unlockyou.

Woman: IthinkI’lljustlogoffmycomputerfirst;itmighthavecrashed! It’snotthatit’sstate-ofͲ
theͲartequipment.Ishouldhaveupgradeditalongtimeago.

Suggestedanswers:

1. Whoarethespeakers?(colleagues)

2. Whatistheirprofession?(secretaries–notcomputerexperts)

3. Whatistheirrelationship?(colleagues)

4. Wherearethey?(office)

5. Whataretheydiscussing?(computerproblems)

6. Whyaretheydiscussingthis?(computermakingnoise–computerold)

Rationale:Thisactivityprovidesstudentswiththenecessaryfocustobetterunderstandthe
conversationtheyhear.Somestudentsdonothavetimetoscanquestionsbeforehand,buthaving
thesequestionsinmindwillincreasetheirprobabilityofansweringcorrectlythequestionsthatwill
follow.


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Activity2

Writethequestionsbelowontheboard.Donotwritetheanswerchoices.Firstaskstudentsto
underlinethekeywordsinthequestionstem.Thentheyshouldlistentotheconversationandanswer
thequestionsbyprovidingtheirownanswers.

Question41: WhyisthemangoingtoSpain?

Question42: Whatadvicedoesthewomangivehim?

Question43: Whatcanbeinferredabouttheman?


Conversation

Woman: HowmanydaysareyougoingtostayinSpain?

Man: Unfortunately,I’llonlybethereforfourdaysandI’llbeprettybusyinthemornings
attendingseminars.

Woman: Yes,butyou’llbefreeintheevenings,won’tyou?I’dreallytrytomakethemostoutof
thisvisitifIwereyou.

Man: No,I’mnotintendingtomissthisopportunity.I’lldosomesightseeing.Idon’tknowif
museumsorgalleriesareopenlateintheeveningthough,butI’lldefinitelytryandgeta
tasteofSpanishnightlife.

Suggestedanswers

Question41: WhyisthemangoingtoSpain?(workͲrelated)
Question42: Whatadvicedoesthewomangivehim?(enjoyhimself–visitplaces)
Question43: Whatcanbeinferredabouttheman?(hewillenjoyhimself)


Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentsfocusonthekeyinformationtheyarerequiredtolistenfor.By
paraphrasingtheinformationtheyhearintheconversation,studentswillhaveabetterunderstanding
oftheconversationandwillbeabletobetterpredictthecorrectanswerchoicewhileeliminating
distractors.Answerchoicesdonotnecessarilyusethesamewordsfromthetextandmanytimes
distractorsechothetextbutdonotanswerthequestions.

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Examstrategies:
Beforestudentslisten:

1. Theyshouldskimthequestionsandanswerchoicespayingattentiontothekeywords.

Whilelistening:

2. Studentsshouldkeeptheireyesonthekeywordsinthequestionstemandanswerchoices.
3. Studentsshouldmarkthecorrectanswerchoiceasquicklyastheyhearit.

ListeningPart4:ShortTalks
Activity1

Writethefollowingquestionsontheboard.Askstudentstoanswerasmanyofthesequestionsasthey
canwhilelisteningtoeachshorttalk:

1. Whoisthespeaker?   2.Whatishis/herprofession?

3.Whereisthespeaker?   4.Whatisthepurposeofthetalk?

5.Whoistheaudience?

Questions77–79,refertothefollowingweatherreport

Thanks,Marcy,Dan...andyes,thatcoldfrontisrapidlyapproaching.Theweatherserviceispredicting
snowovernight.ForthoseofyoudrivinginfromaweekendgetͲaway,you'llwanttobeontheroad
earlythisafternoonandbackhomebeforeitstarts.Andthatcanbeanytimeaftersundownintheupper
elevations.So,ifyou'recomingintotownonthenationalhighway,remembertobecarefulonthose
highpassesonMt.Patton.Thesnowwillcontinueuntilmiddaytomorrow...makingitlessthanpleasant
forthoseofyouwhohavetogettoworkinthemorningrushhour.Andoncethesnowstops,
temperatureswillfallevenfurther.We'relookingforalowofminustentomorrownightinhigher
elevations,andzerotominusone,hereinthecity.Socoveryouroutdoorplantsandmakesureany
outdooranimalshaveashelteredplacetosleep.It'sgoingtobeverychillyforthenextfewdays.That's
thelocalweather.Nowforalookat...


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Possibleanswers:

1. Whoisthespeaker?(weatherforecaster)

2. Whatishis/herprofession?(weatherforecaster)

3. Whereisthespeaker?(radiostationstudio)

4. Whatisthepurposeofthetalk?(toinform–towarn)

5. Whoistheaudience?(locals)

Rationale:Thisactivityprovidesstudentswiththenecessaryfocustobetterunderstandtheshorttalk
theyhear.Somestudentsdonothavetimetoscanquestionsbeforehand,buthavingthesequestionsin
mindwillincreasetheirprobabilityofansweringcorrectlythequestionsthatfollow.

Activity2

Givestudentsthequestionstemsandinstructthemtounderlinethekeywords.Thenaskstudentsto
listentothetalkandanswerthequestionsbyprovidingtheirownanswers.

Question77:Whatisthespeaker'sjob?

Question78:Thereportisintendedforpeopleinwhicharea?

Question79:Whatsevereweatherconditionswillthelistenersface?

Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentsfocusonthekeyinformationtheyneedtolistenfor.By
paraphrasingtheinformationtheyhearintheconversation,studentswillhaveabetterunderstanding
oftheconversationandwillbeabletobetterpredictthecorrectanswerchoicewhileeliminating
distractors.Answerchoicesdonotnecessarilyusethesamewordsfromthetextandmanytimes
distractorsechothetextbutdonotanswerthequestions.

Examstrategies:
Beforestudentslisten:

1. Theyshouldskimthequestionsandanswerchoicespayingattentiontothekeywords.

Whilelistening,studentsshould:

2. Payattentiontotheintroductionofthetalktounderstandthetypeofthetalk.
3. Keeptheireyesonthekeywordsinthequestionstemandanswerchoices.
4. Markthecorrectanswerchoiceassoonastheyhearit.


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Readingsection
ReadingParts5and6
Activity1–Wordforms,VocabularyandGrammar

Askstudentstocovertheanswerchoicesandworkwiththestemonly.Studentsshouldanalyzethe
questionstemonly,payingspecialattentiontothestructureofcomplexsentences.Theyshouldalso
decidewhatpartofspeechthemissingwordis.Thentheyshouldtrytoguessthemissingwordor
phrasebeforetheylookattheanswerchoices.

108. YungLaboratories,agenericͲdrugsmakerbasedinChina,hadchallenged
ourcompany’spatentsinanattempttolauncha_____product.
(A) competent
(B) competing
(C) competition
(D) competitor


Answer:partofspeech–adjective
Mainclause:YungLaboratorieschallengedourcompany’spatentsinanattempttolauncha
(competing)product.
Appositive:agenericͲdrugsmakerbasedinChina(explainswhatkindofcompanyYungLaboratoriesis)
Possibleanswer:new(students’word)

122. Thecompanyhasbeenseekinganewbosssincetheshareholders,_____
 withabidfortheLondonStockExchange,oustedWilliamLee.
(A) dissatisfaction
(B) dissatisfied
(C) dissatisfy
(D) dissatisfying


Answer:partofspeech–adjective
Mainclause:Thecompanyhasbeenseekinganewboss
Subordinateclause:sincetheshareholdersoustedWilliamLee.
Reducedadjectiveclause:_____withabidfortheLondonStockExchange,
Possibleanswer:whowereunhappyorunhappy

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 116. ThePresidentovercamestrongoppositionand_____togetreͲelectedagain.
(A) accomplished
(B) fulfilled
(C) managed
(D) succeeded


Answer:partofspeech–verb
Possibleanswer:wasable
Mainclauses:ThePresidentovercamestrongopposition.HemanagedtogetreͲelectedagain.(Two
mainclausesjoinedwith“and.”Inthesecondmainclausethesubjectisnotrepeated.)

Rationale:Thisactivitygivesstudentspracticeinanalyzingsentencestructureandpredictingan
appropriateanswerwhileatthesametimeitreinforcestheirvocabulary.Studentswillalsobenefitfrom
listeningtosuggestedanswersfromtheirpeers.Classdiscussiononpossibleanswerswillmakestudents
awareofthegrammarassociatedwiththewordtheyhavechosen.Thewordsucceeded,forexample,
wouldbefollowedbyinandagerund.Studentswillalsoconsolidatedifferentsuffixes.

Activity2

Askstudentstoreadthequestionstemandselectthecorrectanswerchoice.Thenstudentsshouldbe
askedtouseoneofthedistractors(whenappropriate)andtoproduceagrammaticallycorrect
sentence,makingthenecessaryadjustments(syntacticalorgrammatical)tothestemprovided.Asan
alternative,studentscouldbeaskedtoproducetheirownsentenceusingsomeofthedistractors
correctly.

118. _____JeanPaulWatsonwasaspecialistininternationalretailing,hewas
  notpromotedbecausehedidnothavehandsͲonexperience.
(A) Although
(B) Besides
(C) Butfor
(D) Inspite

Possiblechange: Inspiteofbeingaspecialistininternationalretailing,JeanPaulWatsonwasnot
promotedbecausehedidnothavehandsͲonexperience.

Rationale:Thisactivityreinforcesstudentsunderstandingofsentencestructureandhighlightstheneed
toreadthewholesentenceagainwiththechoiceselectedtoensurethatitisgrammatically
appropriate.Whenstudentscreatetheirownsentences,theywillreinforcetheirvocabularyand
knowledgeofgrammar.


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Examstrategies:
Studentsshould:

1. Analyzesentencestructureandworkoutwhatpartofspeechismissing.
2. Rereadsentencewiththeiranswerchoicetoensurethatitisappropriateforthesteminterms
ofmeaningandform.
3. PayattentiontothecoͲtextualfeatures(clues).
4. Payspecialattentiontocomplexsentences.
5. Skimthetextquicklyfirstwhentheitemistestingdiscourse(Part6).

ReadingPart7
Step1

Askstudentstofirstreadthequestions.Theyshouldunderlinekeywordsindirectquestionsandkey
wordsinanswerchoicesinincompletesentences.Thenaskstudentswhetherthequestionsrequire
themtoreadtheentirepassageindetailortoskimandscanittolocatespecificinformation.

159. Underwhichcircumstancescanacompanyaskajobapplicanttotakea
 polygraphtest?(skimming/scanning)

160. Accordingtothenotice,ifacompanyaskssomeonetotakea
 polygraph,thecompanyshould…(skimming/scanning)

(A) havealawyerpresent.
(B) letthepersonknowinwriting.
(C) asktheDepartmentofLabor.
(D) givetheresultstotheFederalGovernment.


161. Inthelastlineofparagraph6,theword“disclosed”isclosestinmeaning
to…(detail)(Note:Sometimesstudentsmayneedtoreadnotonlythesentencein
whichthewordiscontainedbutalsotheonethatprecedesaswellastheonethat
follows).

162. Whatistrueaccordingtothenotice?(skimming/scanning)

Rationale:Thisactivityhelpsstudentsfocusonthekeyinformationandprovidesarealpurposefor
readingthetext.Italsomakesstudentsawareofthereadingskillsandsubskillstheyneedtoemploy
whilereadingthetext.

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Step2

Havestudentsanswerthequestionsbyunderliningrelevantpartsofthetextusingtheappropriate
techniquesalreadydecidedoninStep1.Emphasizetothestudentsthatinordertoanswerskimming
andscanningquestions,theyshouldusethekeywordsfromthequestionstemand/ortheanswer
choices.Thiswaytheywillbebetterabletolocatetherelevantinformationneededtoanswerthe
question.Thekeywordsmaybethesameormaybeaparaphrasedependingonthedifficultyofthe
item.

Questions159Ͳ162refertothefollowingnotice.

 NOTICE

EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT
 The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests either for pre-
employment screening or during the course of employment.

PROHIBITIONS

Employers are generally prohibited from requiring or requesting any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test,
and from discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee or prospective employee for refusing to take a
 test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

 EXEMPTIONS*

 Federal, State and local governments are not affected by the law. Also, the law does not apply to tests given by the
Federal Government to certain private individuals engaged in national security-related activities.
 The Act permits polygraph (a kind of lie detector) tests to be administered in the private sector, subject to restrictions, to
certain prospective employees of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard), and of pharmaceutical
 manufacturers, distributors and dispensers.

 The Act also permits polygraph testing, subject to restrictions, of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably
suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc.) that resulted in economic loss to the
employer.

EXAMINEE RIGHTS

Where polygraph tests are permitted, they are subject to numerous strict standards concerning the conduct and length
 of the test. Examinees have a number of specific rights, including the right to a written notice before testing, the right to
refuse or discontinue a test, and the right not to have test results disclosed to unauthorized persons.

*The law does not preempt any provision of any State or local law or any collective bargaining agreement which is more
restrictive with respect to lie detector tests.

DEPARTMENTOFLABOR


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 159. Underwhichcircumstancescanacompanyaskajobapplicanttotakeapolygraphtest?
(A) Ifthecompany’sprofitsaredown
(B) Iftheapplicantpreviouslyworkedasasecurityofficer
(C) Wheneverthecompanyfeelsitisnecessary
(D) Wheneverthecompanyproducesmedicaldrugs(pharmaceuticalManufacturers,under
 Exemptions*)

160. Accordingtothenotice,ifacompanyaskssomeonetotakeapolygraph,thecompanyshould…
(A) havealawyerpresent.
(B) letthepersonknowinwriting.(awrittennoticebeforetesting,underExamineeRights)
(C) asktheDepartmentofLabor.
(D) givetheresultstotheFederalGovernment.

161. Inthelastlineofparagraph6,theword“disclosed”isclosestinmeaningto…
(A) furthered
(B) informed
(C) revealed
(D) transferred

162. Whatistrueaccordingtothenotice?
(A) Apolygraphtestcantakeaslongasthecompanywantsitto.
(B) Employeesmusttakeapolygraphtestwhenasked.
(C) Employeescanrefusetotakeapolygraphtest.(therighttorefuseordiscontinueatest,
 underExamineeRights)
(D) Ifemployeesdonotwanttotakeapolygraph,theycanbefired.


Rationale:Byansweringthequestionsusingtheappropriatereadingskillsorsubskillsstudentsreduce
thereadingburdenandgainvaluabletime.


NOTE:Itisimportantthatyoufamiliarizestudentswithallthedifferenttypesoftextsthattheymay
encounterintheReadingSection.Studentsmustbeawarethatdifferentgenreshavetheirown
characteristicsandorganization.Forexample,youwouldfindthepurposeofanemailorfaxinthe
subjectorreferencelinewhilethepurposeofalettermaybeinthefirstorsecondparagraphdepending
onthetypeofletter.Inaletterofcomplaint,thefirstparagraphusuallycontainsallthenecessary
backgroundconditionsreferringtothespecifictransactionwhilethesecondparagraphcontainsthe
complaintitself.Studentsshouldalsopayattentiontotitlesandsubtitlesastheformercontain
importantinformationconcerningthepurposeofthetextandthelatterguidestudentstothesection
thattheyshouldbeskimmingandscanning.



18 
HowtoPrepareStudentsfortheTOEIC®Test
HellenicAmericanUnion
TypesofReadingTexts


Examstrategies:
Studentsshould:

1. SpendmorethanhalfofthetimeallocatedtotheReadingTasksinPart7.
2. Readthesentencethatintroducesthetext.
3. Readthequestionstemfirstandthenusetheappropriateskillsandsubskillstoanswerthe
questions.
4. Usekeywordstolocatetherelevantpartsofthetext.
5. Trytoguessunknownwordsfromcontext.
6. Inthedoubletexts,decidewhichquestionscanbeansweredusingthestrategies
mentionedabovepertextandwhichquestionsrequirethemtodiscernwhatonetextis
aboutbeforereadingtheothertext.

 19
HowtoPrepareStudentsfortheTOEIC®Test
HellenicAmericanUnion
REFERENCES:

COURSEBOOK
x Lougheed,L.(2004)LongmanPreparationSeriesfortheNewTOEICTest:Advanced
Course(4thedition).USA:Longman.

PRACTICEMATERIAL
x Kanistra,P.,Kollias,Ch.andLee,K.(2007)PracticeExamsfortheTOEIC®Test.
Athens:HellenicAmericanUnion.

SUPPLEMENTARYMATERIAL
x Duckworth,M.(2003)Business GrammarandPractice(Newedition).Oxford:Oxford
UniversityPress.

RECOMMENDEDBOOKS(forselfͲstudy)
x 600EssentialWordsfortheTOEIC.(2003).USA:Barron’s
(Studentsshouldbeencouragedtousethisbookforselfstudyasitisextremely
importantforthemtobecomefamiliarwiththebusinessjargon).
























ContactInformation

HellenicAmericanUnion HellenicAmericanUnion
TOEIC®Department TOEIC®Department
Massalias11B Fragkon14
10680 54626
Athens Thessaloniki
Ɉ:210Ͳ3680974,210Ͳ3680903,210Ͳ3680900 Ɉ:2310Ͳ557600
F:210Ͳ3633174 F:2310Ͳ553925
Website:www.hau.gr Website:www.hau.gr
Email:toeic@hau.gr Email:toeic@hau.gr


24 HellenicAmericanUnion©2008ͲNewTOEIC®Syllabus