READING

COMPREHENSION
• Reading Comprehension is the 3rd section in Paper TOEFL Test

• It consists of five reading passages and followed by fifty questions

• Fifty five minutes are given to finish the test

• A multiple – choice question may ask about: main idea, stated

detail questions, unstated detail questions, implied detail
questions, vocabulary in context questions, and “where”
questions.
• The passages are given in progress from easy to difficult

• The questions are presented in order.

1. Reading Comprehension questions.
Asks you to answer questions about the information given in
the reading passages.

2. Vocabulary Questions.

Asks you to identify the meanings of vocabulary words in

the reading passages

General Stratégies

• Be familiar with the direction

• Do not spend too much time reading the passage
• Do not worry if a topic is unfamiliar with you.
• Do not spend too much time on a question
• Guess to complete the section before time is up
• Never leave any answers blank
 READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

• Reading Comprehension consists of 5 reading passages

• Each reading passage is followed by a number of questions of

READING COMPREHENSION & VOCABS QUESTIONS
• Topics of reading are often information about subjects studied in
America: American History, Literature, art, architecture,
geology, geography, and astronomy.
STRATEGY FOR READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Skim the reading passage to determine the main idea or the

overall organization of ideas in the passage.
2. Look ahead at the questions to determine what types of questions
you must answer.
3. Find the section of the passage that deals with each questions.

Main Idea 1st line of each paragraph

Directly Answered Detail Questions Choose a keyword in the question
Indirectly Answered Detail Questions Skim that keyword in the
passage
 Vocabulary Questions the questions will tell you where the
word is located in the passage.
Where questions answered are found anywhere in the passage

4. Read the part of the passage that contains the answer carefully.

5. Choose the best answer to each questions from the four choices listed
in the test book.
SKILL S
 SKILL 1:
SKILL 1:
MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
• A question about “Main Idea” is almost always asked in
every reading passage of Paper TOEFL Test.
• The questions may ask about topic sentence, subject, title,
primary idea or main idea.
• Main Idea is usually found in the beginning of the
reading passage.
Examples I

The passage:

Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education instructor in Springfield,

Massachusetts, by the name of James Naismith. Because of the terrible weather in
winter, his physical education students were indoors rather than outdoors. They
really did not like the idea of boring, repetitive exercises and preferred the excitement
and challenge of a game. Naismith figured out a team sport that could be played
indoors on a gymnasium floor, that involved a lot of running, that kept all team
members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and physical contact of
American-style football.

The question:

1. What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) The life of James Naismith
(B) The history of sports
(C) Physical education and exercise
(D) The origin of basketball
Examples II
The passage:

Early maps of the North American continent showed a massive river that began in the
Rocky Mountains, flowed into the Great Salt Lake, and from there continued westward into
the Pacific Ocean. This river, named the Buenaventura River, on some maps rivaled the
great Mississippi River. This mythical river of course does not exist. Perhaps an early
mapmaker, hypothesized that such a river probably existed; perhaps a smaller river was
seen and its path from the Rockies to the Pacific was assumed. As late as the middle of the
nineteenth century this river was still on maps and explorers
were still searching for it.

The question:

2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

(A) Early Maps of North America

(B) A Non-Existent River on Maps
(C) A Comparison of the Buenaventura and the Mississippi Rivers
(D) Rivers in Mythology
 MAIN IDEA QUESTION

• What is the topic of the passage?

• What is the subject of this passage?

• What is the main idea of the passage?

• What is the author’s main point in the

How To Identify The
passage?
Questions
• With what is the author primarily concerned?

• Which of the following would be the best

title?
Where to find the answer The answer to this type of question can be
generally be determined by looking at the first
sentence of each paragraph.
How To Answer the 1. Read the first line of each paragraph
2. Look for a common theme or idea in the
Questions first lines.
3. Pass your eyes quickly over the rest of
the passage to check that you really have
found the topic sentences.
4. Eliminate any difficulty wrong answer
and choose the best answer from the
remaining choices.
 TOEFL Exercise 1

CATATAN:
• KLIK MOUSE, MAKA AKAN MENUJU KE PDF (TOEFL Exercise 1)
• Kalau tidak bisa, baca panduan memasukan link
SKILL 2:

STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS

• Ask about one piece of information in the passage rather than a passage
as a whole.
• The answers to the questions are generally given in order to the
passage.
• The correct answer is often restatement of what is given in the passage.
It means that the correct answer often expresses the same idea as what
is written in the passage, but the words are not exactly the same.
Examples

The passage:
Flutes have been around for quite some time, in all sorts of shapes and sizes and made from a variety
of materials. The oldest known flutes are about 20,000 years old; they were made from hollowed-out
bones with holes cut in them In addition to bone, older flutes were often constructed from bamboo or
hollowed-out wood. Today’s flutes are generally made of metal, and in addition to the holes they have
a complicated system of keys, levers, and pads. The instrument belonging to well known flautist
James Galway is not just made of any metal; it is made of gold

The questions:
1. According to the passage, the oldest flutes
(A) had holes cut in them
(B) were made of metal
(C) were made 200,000 years ago
(D) had a complicated set of levers and pads

2. The passage indicates that James Gaiway’s flute is made of

(A) bones
(B) bamboo
(C) wood
(D) gold
 STATED DETAIL QUESTION

• According to the passage….

How To Identify The • It is stated in the passage that………
Questions • The passage indicates that…….

• The author mentions that …………

Where to find the answer The answer to these questions are found in order
in the passage.
How To Answer the 1. Choose a keyword in the questions
2. Skim the appropriate part of the passage
Questions for the key word.
3. Read the sentences that contains the
keywords or idea carefully.
4. Look for the answer that restates an idea
in the passage.
5. Eliminate the wrong answers and choose
the best answer from the remaining
choices.
TOEFL Exercise 2
SKILL 3:

UNSTATED DETAIL QUESTIONS

• Test you to find an answer that is not stated or not mentioned or not
true in the passage.
• The type of question is that three of the answers are stated, mentioned,
or true, while one answer is not.
• Your job is to find the three incorrect answers and then choose the
letter of the one remaining answer..
Examples

The passage:

The Florida Keys are a beautiful chain of almost 1,000 coral and limestone islands These islands form an arc that
heads first southwest and then west from the mainland. U.S. Highway 1, called the Overseas Highway connects the
main islands in the chain. On this highway, it is necessary to cross 42 bridges over the ocean to cover the 159 miles
from Miami on the mainland, to Key West the farthest island on the highway and the southernmost city in the
United States.

The questions:

1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Florida Keys?

(A) The Florida Keys are a chain of islands.
(B) The Florida Keys contain coral and limestone
(C) The Florida Keys are in the shape of an arc.
(D) The Florida Keys are not all inhabited.

2. Which of the following is NOT true about U.S. Highway 1?

(A) It is also known as the Overseas Highway

(B) It joins all of the islands in the Florida Keys.
(C) It has more than 40 bridges
(D) It connects Miami and Key West
 UNSTATED DETAILS QUESTION

• Which of the following is not stated….?

How To Identify The • Which of the following is not mentioned…?
Questions • Which of the following is not discussed…?

• All of the following are not true except…?

Where to find the answer The answer to these questions are found in order
in the passage.
 • Choose a key word in the questions
• Scan the appropriate place in the passage for the
key word (or related idea)
• Read the sentence that contains the key word or
How To Answer the questions? idea carefully
• Look for the answer that are definitely true
according to the passage. Eliminate those answer.
• Choose the answer that is not true or not discussed
in the passage.
TOEFL EXERCISE 3
SKILL 4:

IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS

• Some answers in the Reading Comprehension are not directly stated in
the passage.
• You have to draw conclusion from information given in the passage to
answer the questions.

Example
Examples
The passage:

The number of rings in a tree can be used to determine how

old a tree really is. Each year a tree produces a ring that is composed of one light-colored wide band and one dark-
colored narrow band The wider band is produced during the spring and early summer, when tree stem cells grow
rapidly and become larger. The narrower band is produced in fall and early winter, when cell growth is much
slower and cells do not get very large. No cells are produced during the harsh winter and summer months.

The questions:

1. It is implied in the passage that if a tree has 100 wide bands and 100 narrow bands then it is
(A) a century old
(B) two centuries old
(C) fifty years old
(D) two hundred years old

2. It can be inferred from the passage that cells do not grow

(A) when the tree is ill

(B) during extreme heat or cold
(C) when it rains too much
(D) if there are more light-colored bands than dark-colored bands
 IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS

• It is implied in the passage that…

How To Identify The • It can be inferred from the passage that
Questions • It is most likely that ……..

• What probably happens…?

Where to find the answer The answer to these questions are found in order
in the passage.
 • Choose a key word in the questions
• Scan the passage for the key word (or related idea)
• Read the sentence that contains the key word or

How To Answer the questions? idea carefully

• Look for the answer that could be true according
to that sentence.
TOEFL EXERCISE 4
SKILL 5:

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT QUESTIONS

• On Paper TOEFL Test, it is sometimes asked to
determine the meaning of difficult word or expression.
• A passage often gives a clear indication of what the word
or expression means.
Examples

A line in the passage:

……..She has a large geranium growing in a pot in the corner of her
apartment……

The question:

A “geranium” is probably which of the following?

(A) A sofa
(B) A chair
(C) A fish
(D) A plant
 VOCABULARY QUESTIONS CONTAINING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

• What is the meaning of …………?

How To Identify The • Which of the following is closest in meaning to …?
Questions • …..could best be placed by which of the following?

Where to find the answer The question usually tells you in which line of the
passage the words or expression can be found.
 • Find the word or expression in the passage
• Read the sentences that contains the word
carefully.

How To Answer the questions? • Look for the context clues to help you understand
the meaning
• Choose the answer that the context indicates
TOEFL EXECISE 5
SKILL 6:

“WHERE” QUESTIONS
• Sometimes the final question in a reading passage asks you to

determine where in the passage a piece of information is found.

• Study the question to determine the information that you are looking

for and then to go to the lines listed in the answer and skim for that

information.
Examples
The passage:

The words “capital” and “capitol” are confused in spelling

and in meaning by a lot of people who try to use them. Both
their spellings and their meanings are quite closely related. A
“capital “ is the location of the center of government while a
“capitol” is the actual building where the government officials
meet. Thus, in the United States for example, the Capitol
building is located in Washington, D.C. which is the capital
city of the United States.

The questions:

1. Where in the passage does the author define the word “capital”?
(A) Lines 1 - 2
(B) Line 3
(C) Line 4
(D) Lines 6 – 8

2. Where in the passage does the author mention where the U.S. Capitol can be found?
(A) Lines 1 - 2
(B) Line 3
(C) Lines 4 - 5
(D) Line 6 - 8
 QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE IN THE PASSAGE…

How To Identify The Questions • Where in the passage…?

Where to find the answer • The questions can be in any of the lines listed in the
answer to the questions.

1. Choose a key word or idea in the questions

How To Answer the
2. Skim the lines in the passage that are listed in the
questions?
answer to questions. You should skim for the key
word.
3. Choose the answer that contains the lines number of
restatement of the key word or idea in the question
TOEFL EXERCISE 6
End of Reading Comprehension Section