Chapter 2: Practice Test 1: Diagnostic 23

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diagnostic test
PRACTICE TEST 1: DIAGNOSTIC

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Directions: In questions 1–15 each sentence has a word or phrase underlined.

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Below each sentence there are four other words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and

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(D). You are to choose the one word or phrase that best keeps the meaning of the

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original sentence if it is substituted for the underlined word or phrase.

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4. It is futile to go shopping when you don’t

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His students think he is odd.

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have any money.

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(A) dangerous

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(A) useless

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(B) friendly

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(B) brilliant

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(C) strange

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(C) idiotic

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(D) humorous

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(D) challenging

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The correct answer is (C). The 5. The actress had to raise her voice in order

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sentence, “His students think he to be audible in the balcony.

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is strange,” is closest in meaning

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(A) musical

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to, “His students think he is odd.”

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(B) dramatic

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As soon as you understand the (C) heard

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directions, begin work on the

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(D) appreciated

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problems.

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6. Dictators do not tolerate opposition of any

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kind.

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1. Oil is one of the principal sources of en- (A) understand

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ergy. (B) permit
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(C) justify ○
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(B) most important (D) execute

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(C) most difficult

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7. Earthquakes occur frequently in parts of

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(D) most popular

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California.
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2. No one can survive for very long without (A) instantly

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water.
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(B) annually
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(A) reproduce
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(C) spontaneously
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(B) prosper
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(D) often
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(C) transcend
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8. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King fought

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(D) exist
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to put an end to racial segregation in the

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3. The assignment was to write a synopsis of United States.

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our favorite novel. (A) integration

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(A) evaluation (B) education

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(B) summary (C) separation

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(C) critique (D) torture

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(D) dramatization
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02_TOEFL Vocab,Ch2,19-26 23 8/9/06, 9:46

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 24 PART II: Diagnosing Strengths and Weaknesses
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9. The number of illiterate young people in 13. A familiar adage says that the early bird
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her country continues to rise. gets the worm.

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(A) unable to read and write (A) proverb

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(B) without children (B) lady

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(C) sports participants (C) gentleman

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(D) wealthy (D) book

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10. Since his wound was superficial, only a 14. A television ad shows a busy baker with a
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small bandage was required. new computer that the advertiser claims
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(A) frivolous will help him “make dough.”

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(B) on the surface (A) a baking mixture

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(C) deep (B) more customers

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(D) supercilious (C) money

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(D) bread
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11. The main road will be closed until the

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blizzard ends. 15. At every faculty meeting, Ms. Volatile

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always manages to put her foot in her

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(A) snowstorm
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mouth.
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(B) hurricane
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(A) trip over her big feet

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(C) tornado
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(B) say the wrong thing

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(D) thunderstorm
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(C) move rapidly

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12. Tennis wear has become a very lucrative (D) fall asleep
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business for both manufacturers and ten-

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nis stars.
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(A) illegal
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(B) circumstantial
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(C) expansive
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(D) profitable
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02_TOEFL Vocab,Ch2,19-26 24 8/9/06, 9:46

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 Chapter 2: Practice Test 1: Diagnostic 25
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answers diagnostic test

ANSWER KEY AND EXPLANATIONS

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1. B 6. B 11. A

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2. D 7. D 12. D

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3. B 8. C 13. A

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4. A 9. A 14. C

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5. C 10. B 15. B

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1. The correct answer is (B). If your 6. The correct answer is (B). The key

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answer is wrong, write the word on a 3 × words in this sentence are dictators and

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5-inch card. Include the synonyms main, opposition. You know that dictators by

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chief, and major. As you continue to study nature do not (B), permit opposition, so

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in this book, add to your file all words the other three alternatives will not fit

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that you discover you do not know. Keep with what you know about dictators.

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the cards in alphabetical order for easy

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7. The correct answer is (D). The word

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reference.

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frequently is commonly used, so you

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2. The correct answer is (D). All four should know its meaning.

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choices can be used to make a meaning-

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8. The correct answer is (C). Knowing

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ful sentence. Therefore, you had to know
about Martin Luther King will help you

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that survive is the same as (D), exist. If

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answer this item correctly. The fact that

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you do not know the meaning of the

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segregation and separation both begin

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words given as alternatives, add them to
with se may lead you to the correct an-

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your card list.

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swer here. However, there is no guaran-

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3. The correct answer is (B). If you know

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tee that all words that begin with the

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that critique and evaluation have ap- same syllable will mean the same thing.
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proximately the same meaning, critical

9. The correct answer is (A). The word
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writing, then you can assume that nei-

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illiterate is composed of two parts—il,

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ther is the correct answer. Dramatiza-

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which is a prefix meaning not, and liter-

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tion of a novel would certainly not be an

ate, which means able to read and write.
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assignment a teacher would give. By

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elimination and using your good sense, 10. The correct answer is (B). The prefix
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you get the correct answer. super means above. Another clue is that
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only a small bandage is needed, so the

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4. The correct answer is (A). Neither

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wound must not be deep. It is true that a

brilliant nor challenging would describe
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frivolous person is superficial, but the

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the experience of shopping with no money.

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word applies to people not to inanimate

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Idiotic is not a word used to describe the

things. Supercilious might be the correct
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shopping experience.
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answer, since it begins with the same

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5. The correct answer is (C). All of the prefix. You would have to know that
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alternatives relate to an actress’s experi- supercilious means haughty and there-

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ence on stage. The key word in this sen- fore applies only to people.
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tence is balcony. What would be necessary

11. The correct answer is (A). All four
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for an actress if there are people in the

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alternatives relate to a serious weather

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balcony? She would have to be (C), heard,

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disturbance. You would have to know that

not musical, dramatic, or appreciated.
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only a blizzard creates the hazard of snow.

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www.petersons.com
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02_TOEFL Vocab,Ch2,19-26 25 8/9/06, 9:46

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 26 PART II: Diagnosing Strengths and Weaknesses
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12. The correct answer is (D). 15. The correct answer is (B). To put your
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foot in your mouth is an idiomatic expres-

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13. The correct answer is (A). Familiarity

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sion that means (B), to say the wrong

with old sayings such as the one given in
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thing. Like most such expressions, this

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this sentence—the early bird gets the

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would be impossible to translate literally

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worm—will give you answer (A), prov-

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into another language. It has simply be-

erb. The other alternatives are senseless
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come a frequently used expression that is

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in the context of this sentence.

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generally understood by native speak-

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14. The correct answer is (C). This is a ers. Another such expression is to have a
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difficult item because the word dough is heart, which means to be sympathetic.
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a slang expression for (C), money. The

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advertiser is making a play on words to

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get a humorous effect, since a baker nec-

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essarily makes dough, a mixture of flour

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and water. The computer will help the

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baker make more money, not more bak-

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ing mix.
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02_TOEFL Vocab,Ch2,19-26 26 8/9/06, 9:46

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