We’re back with the sentence break downs of parallel structures! This is the follow up from ______________.
Frozen orange juice must be packed, _______________, and stored when the fruit is ripe.
be frozen
must be frozen
frozen
it must be frozen
2. Sioux is a North American Indian language that is spoken not only ______________ Sioux but also by the Crow and Osage tribes.
by the
the
do the
and the
3. In 1900 electrically powered cars were more popular than gasoline powered cars because they were quiet, operated smoothly, and ________________.
handled easily
easy of handling
handling easily
easy to handle
4. Roger Williams was a clergyman, _______________ the colony of Rhode Island, and an outspoken advocate of religious and political freedom.
founded
the founder of
was the founder of
he founded
5. Paint can be applied to a surface with rollers, _____________, or spray guns.
brushes
brushes can be used
with brushes
by brush
6. The use of labor-saving devices in homes, _____________, and factories added to the amount of leisure time people had.
at an office
used in offices
offices
in offices
7. A dulcimer can be played by either striking its string with a hammer or ______________.
to pluck them with the fingers
fingers are used to pluck them
they are plucked with the fingers
plucking them with the fingers
8. Throughout history, trade routes have increased contact between people, _______________, and greatly affected the growth of civilization.
have resulted in an exchange of ideas
an exchange of ideas has resulted
resulted in an exchange of ideas
resulting in an exchange of ideas
9. Walt Disney made many technical advances in the use of sound, color, and ______________ in animated films.
photographing
using photography
photography
use of photographs
10. Artist Paul Kane traveled throughout Northwest Canada on foot, by canoe, and _______________ to sketch Native Canadians going about their ordinary lives.
on horseback
riding a horse
horseback
by a horse
11. Barbara Jordan was the first woman in the South to win an election to the House of Representatives, _________ as Congresswoman from Texas from 1973 to 1979.
to serve
served
serving
has served
12. Photographers’ choice of a camera depends on what kind of picturesthey want to take, how much controlthey want over exposure, and ___________ they want to spend.
the amount of money
what money
how much money
so much money that
13. Atlanta is the commercial, financial, and ______________ of Georgia.
center of administration
administrative center
center for administering
administering center
14. Even after the Revolutionary War, American importers obtained merchandise from Britain because British merchants understood American tastes, offered attractive prices, and _____________.
We’re back with a great TOEFL iTP podcast/video today! In today’s episode, I’m going to go over this structurally easy talk, but also emphasize how important it is to figure out a suitable technique for you to follow the questions. Remember, tests this year are extremely difficult, so what you see me go over on today’s podcast/video is completely different from what you’ll experience. Tune in!
How often does the man usually talk to his great-grandmother?
Every evening.
Every week.
Every Sunday.
Every month.
What did the man’s great-grandmother tell him on the phone this morning?
That she was eighty-five years old.
That a storm was coming.
That she was under a great deal of pressure.
That she wanted to become a weather forecaster.
Where does the man’s great-grandmother say when she feels a storm coming?
In her bones.
In her ears.
In her legs.
In her head.
What will the man probably do in the future?
Call his great-grandmother less often.
Watch the weather forecasts with his great-grandmother.
Help his great-grandmother relieve some of her pressures.
Believe his great-grandmother’s predictions about the weather.
Excited about launching this for you students! I’ve already spoken about the coaching that’s available, but it’s important to put out different products to cater to different price points, so today I’m officially launching the TOEFL iBT correction services! For those of you who are having difficulty on any of the speaking parts and would like to be corrected…you can now submit your recordings to me so that I can give you a write-up and a voice note in terms of areas that I think you should improve. The different questions I will give you will provide you genuine practice for the exam. And unlike other services out there, I will give you detailed/actionable items/points so that you can improve.
First speaking grade is free! Try the service and also inquire about packages. There are plenty of them that suit not only your financial needs but also the amount of practice you need before going into the exam. So, whether you need immediate support or you need something a little more short / long-term….hit any of the social links down below and inquire today!
Woohoo! Finally someone took it upon themself to submit a recording! I’m so happy that you guys are utilizing the tools I’m finally giving you, and with that being said, welcome to the first grading of the TOEFL iBT speaking test. In this podcast, I will critique the small audio he had submitted to me. Because he did so well, I had to really figure out what areas he could get better in, and that’s exactly what I did in this podcast. I hope you enjoy this!
In this podcast, I discuss with a student from Afghanistan HOW to answer questions. The majority of students out there in the world are unsure how to answer — if they should take two sides or how long they should spend on the reading versus the material they listen to. Regardless of what task it is, here’s a 1 on 1 coaching with me explaining the details in the podcast down below.
In this podcast/video, I’ll be breaking down (through transcription) what a speaking IV looks like, taking out the key details, and then formulating it. After that, I will play a two-minute recording for you guys to prepare, take notes, then send me voice messages either on my FB page or email so I can grade them. Whoever does the best in the challenge gets a free hour of coaching with me in any area of TOEFL! Let’s go!
Welcome back to another video! Well, for those of you reading this blog, this is the blog..and then you have the video and the podcast. Nonetheless, this is the first of it’s kind! A fantastic guide for writing a good introduction. Introductions should be quick and simple. 3-4 sentences (4 sentences max)….and in this short video/podcast, I’ll be explaining just that, along with good stance-markers for you guys to memorize so that you’re not repeating yourself in both essays. Let’s get into this!
Example Introduction
It is critically important that students work as hard as possible when they are at school. Personally, I believe that teachers can motivate students to work hard by giving them grades. I feel this way for two reasons, which I will explore in the following essay.
Question: Grades encourage students to work harder in school. Do you agree or disagree?
Super grateful for this week! Live videos will be recorded, as well as pre-recorded videos for those of you out there who are studying TOEIC, TOEFL, and IELTS. So…in day 1, I’m going to be going over TOEFL Reading (iBT). So, this is going to be an extensive passage. For the video, YouTube and podcast, make sure you check my links down below! To hear my explanation, you’ll have to surely check out the podcast/video.
The Creators of Grammar
No student of a foreign language needs to be told that grammar is complex. By changing word sequences and by adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we are able to communicate tiny variations in meaning. We can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks to convey subtle differences in meaning. Nor is this complexity inherent to the English language. All languages, even those of so-called ‘primitive’ tribes have clever grammatical components. The Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between ‘you and I’, ‘several other people and I’ and ‘you, another person and I’. In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one, crude pronoun ‘we’. Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is. So the question which has baffled many linguists is – who created grammar?
At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer. To find out how grammar is created, someone needs to be present at the time of a language’s creation, documenting its emergence. Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed, the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch. Amazingly, however, this is possible.
Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade. At that time, slaves from a number of different ethnicities were forced to work together under colonizer’s rule. Since they had no opportunity to learn each other’s languages, they developed a make-shift language called a pidgin. Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the landowner. They have little in the way of grammar, and in many cases it is difficult for a listener to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom. [A] Speakers need to use circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood. [B] Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue. [C] Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language. [D] Complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins are termed creoles, and they are invented by children.
Further evidence of this can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. Sign languages are not simply a series of gestures; they utilise the same grammatical machinery that is found in spoken languages. Moreover, there are many different languages used worldwide. The creation of one such language was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the deaf. Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home. It was basically a pidgin. Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar. However, children who joined the school later, when this inventive sign system was already around, developed a quite different sign language. Although it was based on the signs of the older children, the younger children’s language was more fluid and compact, and it utilised a large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning. What is more, all the children used the signs in the same way. A new creole was born.
Some linguists believe that many of the world’s most established languages were creoles at first. The English past tense –ed ending may have evolved from the verb ‘do’. ‘It ended’mayonce have been’It end-did’. Therefore it would appear that even the most widespread languages were partly created by children. Children appear to have innate grammatical machinery in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the world around them. Their minds can serve to create logical, complex structures, even when there is no grammar present for them to copy.
1 In paragraph 1, why does the writer include information about the Cherokee language?
4 In paragraph 3, where can the following sentence be placed? It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers.
7 Which sentence is closest in meaning to the highlighted sentence? Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.
I’ve done lots of TOEFL idioms podcast (probably going up to about number 8), but i felt like they weren’t as effective. Yes, the podcast plays show that they were fire, but I’m going through a more systematic approach now. In this podcast, I’m going to give you stories about the following idioms/expressions, then there will be an exercise for you down below to fill them in.
If you want the answers, make sure you comment below or reach out to me on my IG or Facebook!
spick and span – extremely clean, spotless
stack up against – compare with
stamp out – eliminate/wipe out
stand for – tolerate; put up with // symbolize: represent
stand out – be noticeable
stay out – not come home
stay out (or up) to all houses – come home *or go to bed* very late
stay up – not go to bed
stick with – not change; stay with
stock up on – get a large supply of something
a stone’s throw from – not far away from; close to
stop by – visit informally; go to see
straighten up clean up; make tidy
stuck with – have something one cannot get rid of
take a break – stop working for a short time
take a lot of nerve – require a lot of courage
take a lot out of (someone) – be hard on someone; drain energy from someone
take advantage of – utilize; make use of; exploit
take after – resemble; look like (especially an older relative)
take apart – disassemble
take it easy – relax, calm down
Now, fill in the blanks in the sentences with the idioms/expressions from above! You might have to change the verb forms based on the sentences.
Vaccines have permitted doctors to virtually _________ _________ a number of diseases, including smallpox and polio.
“How late do you usually _______ _______?” — “I’m normally in bed by eleven on weekdays.”
“How late do you usually _______ _______ on weekends? ” — I sometimes don’t come home until 2 or 3 in the morning.
“Do you ______ ______ your mother or father?” — “I don’t think I look much like either of them.”
Early had no trouble _________ _________ the engine on the lawn mower, but then he couldn’t put it back together.
You look a little tired. Why don’t you _________ _________ ________ and finish your homework later?
The teacher won’t ________ ________ cheating. When she caught one student cheating on the mid-term exam, she gave him a zero on that test.
“I tried and tried to find a buyer for this old car.” — “Looks like you’re _______ _______ it for now.”
“My brother is going to invest all his savings in a new business venture.” — “That _______ _______ _______ _______ _______. I’d be afraid to take a risk like that.”
“I give up. I can’t solve this chemistry problem.” — “________ _______it. Eventually, you’ll figure it out.”
We have to leave the apartment ________ _______ ________. The landlord said that if it wasn’t clean when we moved out, we’d lose part of our security deposit.
Don was wearing jeans and a T-shirt while all the other guests had on formal dinner wear. He really _________ _________.
“I’m nervous about my interview.” — ” _______ ______ _______. You’ll make a better impression if you’re relaxed.”
The fifty stars on the American flag __________ __________ the fifty states.
“Do you ________ ________ your apartment before guests __________ _________?” — “A little bit. I don’t mind if it’s a little messy, but i don’t want it to look like a disaster area.”
“My new roommate is from Italy.” — “You should ________ ________ ________ this opportunity to learn some Italian.”
“I just heard on the news that the Florida orange crop was damaged by the hurricane last week, and that orange juice prices are going to go way up.” — “If we had a big freezer, we could ________ _______ _______ frozen orange juice n ow and we wouldn’t have to pay those prices.”
“Do you live near Cecilia?” — “Oh, sure. My apartment building is just __________ ________ ________ ________ hers.”
” So you ran in that ten-kilometer race?” — “Yes, but it ________ ________ ________ _______ ________ me. I can hardly move.”
“Time, you’ve eaten at both these restaurants — how does Chez Michelle _______ _______ _______ the Oak Room? — ” Oh, they’re both good. I think the Oak Room has slightly better food, but the service is better at Chez Michelle.”
Welcome back, everyone! In this episode, I’m going to do a thorough break down of this TOEFL iTP reading passage — North American Colonies. I’ve been doing a lot of coaching as of late, so I decided to make my first YouTube video + podcast that pertains to the passage down below. I will give you techniques, how to answer questions, doing the these questions first, and much more. Hope you enjoy this!
The technology of the North American colonies did not defer strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage. Especially by comparison with Britain, Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood.
TOEFL iTP
The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent covered by a climax forest. Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken at many points. Nevertheless, all sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early colonial period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests. By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities, but wood was still extremely abundant.
TOEFL iTP
The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated. Wood was a foundation of the economy. Houses and all manner of buildings were made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain. Secondly, wood was used as a fuel for heating and cooking. Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industrial compounds, such as potash, an industrial alkali; charcoal, a component of gunpowder; and tannic acid, used for tanning leather.
TOEFL iTP
The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well. Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal. Because Britain was so stripped of trees, she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines. But the American colonies had both iron ore and wood; iron production was encouraged and became successful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal iron was strong than coke iron. Coke smelting led to technological innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. In the early 19th nineteenth century, the former colonies lagged behind Britain in industrial development because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron.
TOEFL iTP
What does the passage mainly discuss?
The advantages of using wood in colonies
The effects of an abundance of wood on the
colonies
The roots of the Industrial Revolution
The difference between charcoal iron and coke
iron
The word “strikingly” in line 2 is closest in
meaning to
Realistically
Dramatically
Completely
Immediately
Which of the following is a common assumption
about the forests of North America during the colonial period?
They contained only a few types of trees
They existed only along the Atlantic seaboard.
They had little or no economic value.
They covered te entire continent.
The use of the word “abounded” in line 8
Indicates that the trees were
Present in large numbers
Restricted to certain areas
Cut down
Cultivated
According to the passage, by the end of the
colonial period, the price of wood in eastern cities
Rose quickly because wood was becoming so scarce
Was much higher than it was in Britain
Was slightly higher than in previous years
Decreased rapidly because of lower demand for
wood
What can be inferred about houses in Britain
during the period written about it in the passage?
They were more expensive than American houses.
They were generally built with imported
materials.
They were typically smaller than homes in North
America.
They were usually built from materials other
than wood.
Why does the author mention gunpowder in line
19?
To illustrate the negative aspects of some
industrial processes
To give an example of a product made with wood
To remind readers that the Colonial era ended in
warfare
To suggest that wood was not the only important
product of the colonies
The word “conferred” in line 21 is cloest in
meaning to
Consulted
Gathered
Provided
Restricted
The phrase “follow suit” in line 27 means
Do the same thing
Make an attempt
Have the opportunity
Take a risk
According
to the passage, why was the use of coke smelting advantageous?
It led to advances in technology
It was less expensive than wood smelting
It produced a strong type of iron than wood
smelting
It stimulated the demand for wood
The
phrase “cling to” in line 33 is closest in meaning to
Try to develop
Avoid
Continue to use
Reconsider
Where
in the passage does the author begin to discuss in detail the advantages that
an abundant supply of wood brought to the colonies?
