Tag: toefl

TOEFL iTP | Written Expression | Because & Because of; Although; During or When/While

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We’re back with another Written Expression! IN today’s blog/podcast, which will be a relatively short one, we’ll be talking about the confusion of the expressions below.

Certain expressions, such as because are adverb clause markers and are used only before clauses. Other expressions, such as because of, are prepositions and are used before noun phrases or pronouns.

Adverb Clause Markers: Because, although, when, while

Prepositions: because of, despite, in spite of, during

Sample Items

Because migration to the suburbs, the population of many large American cities declined between 1950 and 1960.

Before a noun phrase (migration), the preposition of must be used.

Despite most people consider the tomato a vegetable, botanists classify it as a fruit.

Before a full clause, (most people consider the tomato a vegetable), the adverb marker although must be used.

Podcast

Instagram Story Questions

  1. Although/despite cats cannot see in complete darkness, their eyes are much more sensitive to light than humans’ eyes.
  2. Because/because of cheese is essentially a concentrated form of milk, it contains the same nutrients as milk.
  3. Because/because of its acute sense of smell, the bloodhound is often used in tracking.

TOEFL iTP | Written Expression | Wrong Choice of Another or Other

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We’re back with another fantastic blog! As stated in previous podcasts/blogs, my structure course will be coming out on June 1st! Book your calendar! I’ve set the deadline so you better get ready! This course will be priced at $50 and have between 3-6 hours’ worth of content. If you would like to wait until the Written Expression, the combo course will be $80. With these two courses, you’ll be guaranteed a phenomenal score on TOEFL iTP’s Structure & Written Expression.

Nonetheless, here’s another great blog on Another and Other.

AnotherOther
Used as an adjectiveAnother + singular
(Have another sandwich.)		Other + plural noun
(I wonder if there is life on other planets)
Determiner + other + noun
(There may be life on some other planets)
Used as a pronounAnother
(Thanks. I’ll have another.)		Determiner + other
(“I have one book.”
“I have the other.”)

Another means “one more, an additional one.” It can be used as an adjective before a singular noun or alone as a pronoun.

He needs another piece of paper.

I have one class in that building, and another in the building across the yard.

Other is used as an adjective before a plural noun. It is also used as an adjective before a singular noun when preceded by a determiner such as the, some, any, one, or no. It can also be used alone as a pronoun when preceded by a determiner.

There are other matters I’d like to discuss with you.

One of the books was a novel; the other was a collection of essays.

There’s no other place I’d rather visit.

Sample Items

Willa Cather is known for My Antonia and another novels of the American frontier.

An understudy is an actor who can substitute for other actor in case of an emergency.

Podcast

TOEFL iTP Course Debut!

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It’s set! For all my TOEFL iTPers out there, the Structure & Written Expression Course dates have been set!

On June 1st, the Structure course will debut, featuring EVERY single lesson needed to pass the TOEFL iTP: parallel structures, adjective clauses, noun phrases, XYZ, passive verbs, comparatives, etc. 

July 1st is the Written Expression course debut.  If you’re subscribed to my email marketing, you will get snippets and pre-launch deals between now and then. The course is priced at $50 per course (because it will have between 3-10 hours worth of content), or the bundle will be $80.  They will be quite extensive with lots of work within it (and available on my Podia).

However, you could possibly get them at a 50% discount if you’re on my email marketing list (thearseniobuckshow.com) as a pre-launch deal. So, in saying that, here’s the podcast, follow my IG and stay tuned!

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TOEFL iTP | Reading | Federal Express

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We’re back with another intermediate reading! In this podcast/video, I’ll be breaking down the Federal Express. I’m excited about the amazing TOEFL iTP Course that will debut soon! Stay tuned and make sure you sign up to my email list!

TOEFL iTP Pre-Sale course is available, too, for 50% off (priced at $27 for the Structure which will debut June 1st). You can buy it today and wait for the launch at the beginning of next month! 15 full lessons and 3-4 micro lessons for each one! Course is Here

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Reading

Federal Express is a company that specializes in rapid overnight delivery of high-priority packages. The first company of its type, Federal Express was founded by the youthful Fred Smith in 1971, when he was only 28 years old. Smith had actually developed the idea for the rapid delivery service in a term paper for an economics class when he was a student at Yale University. the term paper reputedly received a less-than-stellar grade because of the infeasibility of the project that smith had outlined. The model that Smith proposed had never been tried; it was a model that was efficient to operate but at the same time was very difficult to institute.

Smith achieved efficiency in his model by designing a system that was separate from the passenger system and could, therefore, focus on how to deliver packages most efficiently. His strategy was to own his own planes so that he could create his own schedules and to ship all packages through the hub city of Memphis, a set-up that resembles the spokes on the wheel of a bicycle. With this combination of his own planes and hub set-up, he could get packages anywhere in the United States overnight.

What made Smith’s idea difficult to institute was the fact that the entire system had to be created before the company could begin operations. He needed a fleet of aircraft to collect packages from airports every night and deliver them to Memphis, where they were immediately sorted and flown out to their new destinations; he needed a fleet of trucks to deliver packages to and from the various airports; he needed facilities and trained staff all in place to handle the operation. Smith had a $4 million inheritance from his father, and he managed to raise an additional $91 million dollars from venture capitalists to get the company operating.

When Federal Express began service in 1973 in 25 cities, the company was not an immediate success, but success did come within a relatively short period of time. The company lost $29 million in the first 26 months of operations. However, the tide was to turn relatively quickly. By late 1976, Federal Express was carrying an average of 19,000 packages per night and had made a profit of $3.6 million.

Longman
  1. The most appropriate title for this passage is
  • The problems and Frustrations of a Business Student
  • The Importance of Business Studies
  • The Capitalization of Federal Express
  • The Implementation of a Success Business

2. The word “developed” in line 3 could best be replaced by

  • come up with
  • come about
  • come across
  • come into

3. What is stated in the passage about Smith’s term paper?

  • Smith submitted through a delivery service.
  • It was written by a student of Smith’s.
  • Its grade was mediocre
  • The professor thought it had great potential.

4. What was a key idea of Smith’s?

  • That he should focus on passenger service
  • That package delivery should be separate from passenger service
  • That packages could be delivered on other companies’ planes
  • That passenger service had to be efficient

5. A “hub city” in line 11 is

  • a large city with small cities as destinations
  • a city that is the final destination for many routes
  • a city where many bicycles routes begin
  • a centralized city with destinations emanating from it

6. It can be inferred from the passage that Smith selected Memphis as his hub city because it

  • was near the middle of the country
  • had a large number of passenger aircraft
  • already had a large package delivery service
  • was a favorite passenger airport

7. The pronoun “they” in line 16 refers to

  • aircraft
  • packages
  • airports
  • destinations

8. It is NOT mentioned in the passage that, in order to set up his company, Smith needed

  • airplanes
  • trucks
  • personnel
  • faculty

9. How long did it take Federal Express to become profitable?

  • two months
  • one year
  • three years
  • six years

10. Which paragraph explain WHAT made Smith’s model effective?

  • the first paragraph
  • second
  • third
  • fourth

Podcast

YouTube

Answers on second page

Pages: 1 2

TOEFL iTP | Reading | Ben Franklin & Thomas Paine

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Welcome back to another TOEFL iTP segment! Because my videos on YouTube are now taking off and link clicks are coming through to my blog, I decided that I’m going to start posting more content on here for you guys. So, today’s segment is on literature, Ben Franklin!

TOEFL iTP Pre-Sale course is available, too, for 50% off (priced at $27 for the Structure which will debut June 1st). You can buy today and wait for the launch at the beginning of next month! 15 full lessons and 3-4 micro lessons for each one! Course is Here

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Reading

Whereas literature in the first half of the eighteenth century in America had been largely religious and moral in tone, by the latter half of the century the revolutionary fervor that was coming in life in the colonies began to be reflected in the literature of the time, which in turn served to further influence the population. Although not all writers of this period supported the Revolution, the two best-known and most influential writers, Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine, were both strongly supportive of that cause.

Ben Franklin first attained popular success through his writings in his brother’s newspaper, the New-England Courant. In these articles he used a simple style of language and commonsense argumentation to defend the point of view of the farmer and the Leather Apron man. He continued with the same commonsense practicality and appeal to the common man with his work on Poor Richard’s Almanac from 1733 until 1759. Firmly established in his popular acceptance by the people, Franklin wrote a variety of extremely effective articles and pamphlets about the colonists’ revolutionary cause against England.

Thomas Paine was an Englishman working as a magazine editor in Philadelphia at the time of the Revolution. His pamphlet Common Sense, which appeared in 1776, was a force in encouraging the colonists to declare their independence from England. Then throughout the long and desperate war years he published a series of Crisis papers (from 1776 until 1783) to encourage the colonists to continue on with the struggle. The effectiveness of his writing was probably due to his emotional yet oversimplified depiction of the cause of the colonists against England as a classic struggle of good and evil.

Longman Series
  1. The paragraph preceding this passage most likely discusses
  • how literature influences the population
  • religious and moral literature
  • literature supporting the cause of the American Revolution
  • what made Thomas Paine’s literature successful

2. The word “fervor” in line 2 is closest in meaning to

  • war
  • anxiety
  • spirit
  • action

3. The word “time” in line 3 could best be replaced by

  • hour
  • period
  • appointment
  • duration

4. It is implied in the passage that

  • some writers in the American colonies supported England during the Revolution
  • Franklin and Paine were the only writers to influence the Revolution
  • because Thomas Pain was an Englishman, he supported England against the colonies
  • authors who supported England did not remain in the colonies during the Revolution

5. The pronoun “he” in line 8 refers to

  • Thomas Paine
  • Ben Franklin
  • Ben Franklin’s brother
  • Poor Richard

6. The word “desperate” in line 16 could best be replaced by

  • unending
  • hopeless
  • strategic
  • combative

7. Where in the passage does the author describe Thomas Paine’s style of writing?

  • Lines 4-6
  • Lines 8-9
  • Lines 14-15
  • Lines 18-20

8. The purpose of the passage is to

  • discuss American literature in the first half of the eighteenth century
  • give biographical data on two American writers
  • explain which authors supported the Revolution
  • describe the literary influence during revolutionary America

Podcast

YouTube

Answers on second page

Pages: 1 2

{Patreon Special} TOEFL iBT | 1 on 1 Coaching | Listening: Lecture | Seasonal Migration

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BOOM! I’ve been coaching a student from one of the biggest companies here in Thailand, and there was a segment within the 2-hour session that I knew would be very vital for a lot of you out there. So, here’s Seasonal Migration!

Available on Early Access & TOEFL iBT Badge!

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TOEFL iTP | Written Expression | Mini-test #2 | Process of Elimination

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We’re back with another mini-test! I’ve had a couple of students tell me that they need more help in Written Expression, one of them narrowly missing their mark by ten points (needed 550). So, I said LET ME QUICKLY make a video for you guys, breaking down the process of elimination and how they can narrow their choices down. Here we go!

TOEFL iTP Pre-Sale course is available, too, for 50% off (priced at $27 for the Structure which will debut June 1st). You can buy today and wait for the launch at the beginning of next month! 15 full lessons and 3-4 micro lessons for each one! Course is Here

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Podcast

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  1. Commercial bakeries can make thousands of loaves of bread on one time by using automated equipment.
  2. North America is a third largest of the seven continents.
  3. Neither humans or dogs can hear as well as cats.
  4. The astronomer George Hale was a pioneer in the art of photograph the Sun.
  5. Trucks can be used transport a wide variety of cargoes.
  6. Pikes Peak, named for explorer Zebulon Pike, is Colorado’s most famous but not its most highest mountain.
  7. Identical colors may appear to be quite different when are they viewed against different backgrounds.
  8. Oceanography is not a single science and rather a group of disciplines with a common focus.
  9. Until 1960, Maine was unique in that it held presidential and congressional elections on September, two months earlier than the rest of the nation.
  10. Snowshoes allow a person walking on snow without sinking into it because they distribute the person’s weight over a wide area.
  11. Fuel injection engines employ injectors instead a carburetor to spray fuel into the cylinders.
  12. Ocean currents have a enormous effect on life on this planet.
  13. Hydraulic elevators are still used in some old buildings, but all almost new buildings are equipped with electrical electors.
  14. Diaries and journals writing during colonial times provide the best records of that era.
  15. Frequently, the combination of several spices will result of a more pleasing flavor than the use of just one.
  16. Gold topaz is much rare than either white or blue topaz.
  17. A mosaic is picture made from small bits of colored glass or tile.
  18. Reclamation is the successful attempt to make deserts, marshlands, or other unusable land suitable of farming or building.
  19. A successful salesperson must have an intuitive understanding of psychology human.
  20. The University of Wisconsin was the first school to make a serious effort teach students public administration.
  21. Some underground water is enough safe to drink, but all surface water must be treated.
  22. A feeding animal will usually allow competitors approaching only within a certain distance, the boundaries of which are called its feeding territory.
  23. Most familiar type of pump in use today is the piston pump.
  24. The term “forgetting” refers to the loss, whether temporary and long-term, of material that has previously been learned.
  25. Dieticians urge people to eat the banana a day to get enough potassium in their diet.

{Patreon Special} Arsenio’s Business English Podcast | Season 6: Episode 37 | Is The Internet Bad?

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Because of big tech companies and social media giants, all of which are clamping down on disinformation, older generations are pointing fingers at why the internet is so bad. Conspiracy theory-pushing YouTube channels have a free-flowing cesspool of comments stating, “I got off social media 3 months ago; best decision I’ve ever made.” Yet, you’re still on social media, on YouTube, commenting and sharing your opinion?

There are two sides of a talisman that you must pick up every day — PMA and NMA. One is being positive and the other one is being negative. The ample amount of opportunity that’s readily available to everyone who knows a specific skill online — is something we’ve never had in our past.

If you could fully utilize and use the inter, social media platforms and other pieces of technology to help better humanity, then you wouldn’t be part of the pity party.

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TOEFL iTP | Written Expression | Wrong Choice of So, Such, Too & As

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We’re back with a wonderful special! In today’s podcast/video/blog, I’ll be diving into the wrong choices of the words mentioned above! Super excited about this one because it will be going live first on my IGTV. So, make sure you’re following me in the link down below!

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The words so, such, and too are used in the following patterns:

so + adjective + that clause

These boxes are so heavy that we can’t lift them.

(So is also used with many….that and much….that.)

There were so many people in the auditorium that we could barely get in the front door.

Such + adjective + noun phrase + that clause

It was such a pretty view that he took a photograph.

Too + adjective + infinitive

It’s too cold to go swimming today.

Notice that so and such are both followed by that clauses, but too is followed by an infinitive.

The words as and so are also sometimes confused:

Jane did so well as I did on the economics exam. (INCORRECT)

The coffee was as hot that I couldn’t drink it. (INCORRECT

Check podcast and YouTube for explanation!

Podcast

YouTube

  1. The sun is so bright to look at directly.

Correct pattern too + adjective + infinitive

2. In much of Alaska, the growing season is as short that crops can’t be raised.

The correct pattern is so + adjective + that clause.

3. The giant squid is so an elusive animal that at one time it was believed to be purely mythical.

Before an adjective + noun + that clause, the word such should be used.

4. The mineral grains in basalt are so much small that they cannot be seen with the unaided eye.

The phrase should read so small rather than so much small.

{Patreon Special – TOEFL iBT Badge} TOEFL iBT | Speaking Q4 | 1 on 1 Coaching | Ozone Layer

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Here’s the last of the four-part installment! I hope you guys benefited from this as much as I did! Every month I will feature students from different countries around the world to come on and showcase their stuff. If you already aren’t following me on IG, you should! The COMMUNITY is AMAZING! In saying that, let’s do Ozone Layer!

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