SKILL 10: USE CONTEXT TO DETERMINE MEANINGS OF DIFFICULT WORDS

In the TOEFL test, you may be asked to determine meaning of a difficult word in a reading passage, a word that you are not expected to know. In this case, the passage will probably give you a clear indication of what the word means.

Example:

The passage:
Line (5)	In a government election, the incumbent generally has a strong advantage over a newcomer. A person who is already in office and thus has a certain degree of prominence has a better chance of being elected than does someone who is unknown to the electorate. History has shown a strong proclivity in elections at all levels of government to return the incumbent to office.
The question:
	An “incumbent” in line 1 is most likely (A)   a special type of election (B)   a political party (C)   a beneficial comment (D)   a current office-holder
The answer: This question asks about the meaning of the word incumbent. In this question, you are not expected to know the meaning of the wordincumbent. Instead, you should understand from the context a person who is already in office that an incumbent is a current office-holder. Answer (D) is therefore the best answer to this question.

The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about vocabulary questions containing difficult words:

VOCABULARY QUESTIONS CONTAINING DIFFICULT WORDS
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	What is the meaning of “X” in line Y? The word “X” in line Y is closest in meaning to….
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	Information to help you understand the meaning of an unknown word can often be found in the context surrounding the unknown word.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1.       Find the word in the passage. 2.       Read the sentence that contains the word carefully. 3.       Look for context clues to help you understand the meaning. 4.       Choose the answer that the context indicates.

For more information watch the next video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEQIhHRWb2g