92 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Question: What is the main point of this paragraph?
a. The U.S. government is currently planning a voyage
to Mars.
b. Muscle atrophy and bone loss are major problems for
astronauts in extended space flight.
c. Astronauts confront many dangers in space flight.
d. Short stays in space cause little bone and muscle dam-
age in humans.
Choice b is correct—It represents a general statement that
holds together all of the information in the paragraph. Choice d
is too specific to be the main idea. Choice c is too general to be
the main idea. Choice a may be true, but the passage does not
give this information.
FINDING SUPPORTING DETAILS
Supporting details are facts or specific information that provide
evidence for an author’s main idea. They often answer the ques-
tions what? when? where? why? or how? Three question types on
the reading test ask you about specific information within a pas-
sage: supporting-detail questions, exception questions, and loca-
tion of information questions. You will need to be able to:
■
identify supporting details from a passage
■
recognize information that is not provided in the passage
■
identify the place in the passage where specific
information is given
READING 93
How can you recall one fact from a passage that is five para-
graphs long? Follow these techniques as a guide:

Do not memorize. The reading test does not ask you to have
perfect recall. Instead, it measures your ability to read
carefully and know where to look for specific information.
Look for language clues as you read the passage. Writers
often use one of the following phrases to signal that they
are introducing a fact or example:
one reason is in one case specifically
for example for instance in particular
Use key words from the question. Questions have two or
three important words that tell you exactly what informa-
tion to look for in the passage. For example, in the ques-
tion How many species of penguins are there worldwide? the
key words are how many, and species. They signal to you to
look for a sentence in the passage that has a number and
the word species.
Take note of structure. As you read, pay attention to how
information is presented and in what order. Understand-
ing the organization of a passage will help you locate the
facts you need. See pages 100–103 for more about structure.
Practice
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that
follow it. Find the answers on page 111.
(1) Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest network of coral
reefs, stretching 2,010 km (1,250 miles) off Australia’s
94 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
northeastern coast. (2) Although coral looks like a plant, it is
the limestone skeleton of a tiny animal called a coral polyp. (3)
The reef’s 300 species of coral create an underwater garden of
brilliant colors and intricate shapes.
(4) From microorganisms to whales, diverse life forms

make their home on the reef. (5) Over 1,500 fish species, 4,000
mollusk species, 200 bird species, 16 sea snake species, and six
sea turtle species thrive in the reef’s tropical waters. (6) The
reef is also a habitat for the endangered dugong (sea cows), moray
eels, and sharks.
(7) Although protected by the Australian government,
Great Barrier Reef faces environmental threats. (8) Crown-
of-thorns starfish feed on coral and can destroy large portions
of reef. (9) Pollution and rising water temperatures also threaten
the delicate coral.
1. How many species of coral are there in the Great Barrier
Reef?
a. 30
b. 200
c. 300
d. 3,000
2. Which of the following NOT a threat to the Great Bar-
rier Reef?
a. dugong (sea cows)
b. crown-of-thorn starfish
c. pollution
d. rising sea temperatures
READING 95
3. In which sentence does the author describe the coral polyp?
a. sentence (1)
b. sentence (2)
c. sentence (4)
d. sentence (5)
TIPS FOR VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
Active readers make a habit of looking up unfamiliar words. But

in a testing situation, you can’t use a dictionary. The following
strategies will aid you in figuring out what unfamiliar terms mean:
■
Look at context—the words and sentences surrounding
the word—for clues about meaning. For example, you
can determine what the word gullible means from this
context: Fred is so gullible. He will believe anything that
Oliver tells him. The phrase “he will believe anything”
restates the meaning of the word gullible and suggests its
meaning of being easily duped or cheated.
■
Is the word negative or positive? Using the context of
the passage, determine whether the unfamiliar term is a
negative or positive one. In the preceding example, you
can conclude that gullible is not positive in that context.
Thus, you can eliminate any answer choices that are
positive terms.
■
Replace the vocabulary word with the remaining
answers, one at a time. Does the answer choice make
sense when you read the sentence? If not, eliminate that
answer choice.
96 TOEFL EXAM ESSENTIALS
Practice
Choose the correct meaning of the italicized word. Find the
answers on page 111.
4. When you are in an interview, try not to show any overt
signs that you are nervous. Don’t shift in your chair, shake,
or stutter.
Overt means

a. subtle.
b. obnoxious.
c. obvious.
d. confident.
5. Although teaching is not a particularly lucrative career, I
wouldn’t do anything else. Knowing I’m helping others to
learn is far more important to me than money.
Lucrative means
a. highly profitable.
b. highly rewarding.
c. highly exciting.
d. highly repetitive.
MAKING INFERENCES
Inference questions on the TOEFL exam ask you to draw logi-
cal conclusions about what you read. Sometimes a writer does not
explicitly state his or her main idea or offer a conclusion. You must
infer the writer’s meaning. To do this you must carefully read the
details and facts of a passage and look for context clues that reveal
a writer’s attitude.
READING 97
Word choice—the specific words a writer chooses to describe
people, places, and things—is one of the best clues to how a
writer feels about her subject. Word choice, also called diction,
includes these forms:
■
the particular words a writer uses
■
the way words are arranged in a sentence
■
repetition of words or phrases

■
inclusion of particular details
For example, consider how word choice affects the two sen-
tences below:
A: Improved job training would reduce workplace injuries.
B: Improved job training would minimize workplace injuries.
The only difference between the two sentences is that sen-
tence A uses the word reduces and sentence B uses minimize. Both
sentences state that improved job training would result in fewer
workplace injuries. However, sentence B is stronger because of
its word choice: to minimize means to reduce to the smallest pos-
sible amount.
Even words that have similar dictionary definitions may have
different connotations, or suggested meanings. For example, con-
sider the words rich, wealthy and affluent. Although similar in
meaning, each word evokes different thoughts and feelings. Rich
implies having more than enough to fulfill normal needs, wealthy
suggests the possession of property and things of value, and afflu-
ent implies increasing wealth.