toeflpreparation – The Arsenio Buck Show

TOEFL iBT Coaching | S1 : E1 | Speaking Questions 1-4 Breakdown

September 8, 2020September 10, 2020thearseniobuckshow

Welcome to my first-ever online training! For those of you tuning in for the first time, thank you so much for checking this out. In this segment, I will break down speaking questions 1 -4, how to answer them, the note-taking, etc. Down below are the comprehensive notes to it all. Keep in mind with your recommendations will come more episodes. Also, if some of you are interested in a free podcast session in regards to doing the speaking questions, make sure you message me! Interested in online group classes? This is also available! But until then, enjoy this 45-minute video/live class and ask questions in the comments!

Speaking Question 1

Do you think that parents should be allowed to educate their children at home, or should they be required to send children to school outside the home? Support your answer.

Question 1

For homeschooling – 7 seconds
Reason 1: more of an education- 18 seconds
Reason 2: save costs – 17-18 seconds

Speaking Question 2 – Converted Rooms

Reading – There is not enough housing for the large number of freshman university students. As an answer to this problem, we can take the lounges and study areas located in the main campus dorms and turn them into “triples”, rooms to house 3 students. This idea will be an answer to the shortage of available rooms. These converted rooms will have the same features as the other dorm rooms. This includes furniture like desks and bookshelves. And since these spaces are large areas, they will be plenty big enough and comfortable for the students.

Notes – I don’t like
agree not enough
should be lounges in dorms
important because students need quiet space
away from noisy roommates
quiet place to read
another point
location wouldn’t make good dorm rooms
corners of each floor
too far away
not typical dorm experience
nobody should live there
worse for freshman
if you need space ask sophomores

Speaking Question 3 – Entertainment Merchandising

Reading – Entertainment merchandising is a marketing practice in which a brand or image is used to sell other products typically unassociated with that product by using similar images. For example, the success of a movie might spark other industries to sell toys, t-shirts, or other merchandise featuring those characters. The opposite can occur also, in which a movie is made featuring toys that are already popular in an effort to help sell the movie.

Notes – brother PSP vita
lego batman
look like legoblocks
justice league
involves success venture to promote one and another
partnerships two entertainment industries
lego and dc collaboration
Sony and lego DC comics
born out of previous film
individual successes — wonderwoman, superman,
marvel — avengers — more successful than any one character
cars merchandise

Speaking Question 4 – Ritualization

Notes – evolution adopted behavior
identify a certain species
humans — shower before work, any other grooming
animal kingdom – best examples, instincts
male birds attract mate with rituals, song and dance displays
decorating nests with stones
another example
dogs
A dog will raise its lips and growl
seek to defend territory
means to identify themselves to their own species and communication

TOEFL iBT | Part 3 Question | Speaking | Vertical Migration + Note-taking

September 3, 2020September 3, 2020thearseniobuckshow

Welcome back to another TOEFL iBT Speaking segment. Today we’re going to be focusing on Part III, a difficult task for many non-NES speakers (because it’s difficult to follow) and in today’s podcast, we’re doing vertical migration. This was a difficult task for a recent student of mine because he was unable to follow the conversation. However, I’ll show you exactly how I had taken notes (video down below in the links if you want to see it).

TOEFL iTP | Reading | The Peale Family

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020thearseniobuckshow

We’re back with I believe the first or second or its kind. In today’s podcast/video/blog, I’ll be dissecting an old reading passive from a PBT TOEFL book (exactly like TOEFL iTP). In this one I’m going to break down each question, little by little. So if you want to see my corrections, tune into the video down below!

The Peales were a distinguished family of American artists. Charles Wilson Peale is best remembered for his portraits of leading figures of the American Revolution. He painted portraits of Franklin and Jefferson, and over a dozen of George Washington. His life-size portrait of his sons Raphaelle and Titians was so realistic that Georgia Washington reportedly tipped his hat to the figures in the picture.
Charles Wilson Peale gave up painting in his middle age and devoted his life to the Peale Museum, which he founded in Philadelphia. The world’s first popular museum of art and natural science featured paintings by Peal and his family as well as displays of animals in their natural settings. Peale found the animals himself and devised a method of taxidermy to make the exhibits more lifelike. The museum’s most popular display was the skeleton of a mastodon — a huge, extinct elephant — which Peale unearthed on a New York farm in 1801
Three of Peale’s seventeen children were also famous artists. Raphaelle Peal often painted still lifes of flowers, fruit, and cheese. His works show the same luminosity and attention to detail that the works of the Dutch masters show. In the late eighteenth century, however, portraiture was the rage, and so Raphaelle Peale found few buyers for his still lifes at the same time. His brother Rembrandt studied under his father and painted portraits fo many noted people, including one of George Washington. Another brother, Rubens Peale, painted mostly landscapes and portraits.
James Peale, the brother of Charles Wilson Peale, specialized in miniatures. His daughter Sara Miriam Peale was probably the first professional female portrait painter in America.
Complete TOEFL

What is the main topic of the passage?

a. The life of Charles Wilson Peale

b. Portraiture in the 18th century

c. The Peale Museum

d. A family of artists

2. The author probably mentions that Washington “tipped his hat to the figures in the painting” to indicate that…

a. Charles Wilson Peale’s painting was very lifelike

b. Washington respected Charles Wilson Peale’s work

c. Washington was friendly with Raphaelle and Titian Peale

d. The painting of the two brothers was extremely large

3. The word “settings” is closest in meaning to which of the following?

a. Environments

b. Categories

c. Positions

D. Requirements

4. For which of the following terms does the author give a definition in the second paragraph?

a. Natural science

b. Skeleton

C. Taxidermy

D. Mastodon

5. Which of the following questions about th ePeale Museum does the passage NOT supply enough information to answer?

a. Who found and prepared its animal exhibits?

b. In what city it was located?

c. Where did the most popular exhibit come from?

d. In what year was it founded?

6. The word “unearthed” has the closest meaning to….

a. displayed

b. dug up

c. located

d. looked over

7. Which of the following words could best be substituted for the word “rage”…

a. Fashion

b. Anger

c. Conflict

d. Desire

8. According to the passage, Rembrandt Peale and his father both painted…

a. miniatures

b. portraits of George Washington

c. paintings of flowers, fruit, and chese

d. pictures of animals

9. Which of the following is NOT one of the children of Charles Wilson Peale?

a. Titian Peale

b. Rubens Peale

c. Raphaelle Peale

d. Sarah Miriam Peale

10. The author’s attitude toward the Peales is generally..

a. envious

b. puzzled

c. admiring

d. disappointed

TOEFL iBT | Writing | Independent Essay | Employing Structure & Why It’s Better Than a Template

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020thearseniobuckshow

Welcome back to another TOEFL iBT writing segment! Today I’ll be talking about why structure should be employed more than using templates. Also, I want you to see how I elevated one of my online clients by employing that structure: the before, write up example, and then the after. There’s a massively noticeable difference in her work….so check it out!

Podcast

TOEFL iTP | Listening Part B | A Man’s Great-Grandmother

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020thearseniobuckshow

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.

Podcast

TOEFL iBT | Speaking Part 4 | Speaking Challenge

May 9, 2020May 9, 2020thearseniobuckshow

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!