Somewhat analogous to the Chinese system of writing in difficulty
for non-native speakers to learn and loosely based on the Chinese system
of writing the Japanese system of writing known as Kanji.
to difficulty
loosely based
the
Correction: is the
Level
of Difficulty: HARD!!
Magic explanation:
Whew! This is a hard question for a couple of reasons. First, the sentence is
long and has a lot of extra phrases. Second, we have inversion
here. The main subject is "the Japanese system
of writing," so, we need a main verb, "is."
173.
______
big cats, housecats have polyphasic sleeping patterns; that, is they take several
naps a day.
They are like
Magic explanation:
If we choose this answer, we will have two main sentences with no conjunction
between them. Be careful of this mistake--it is one of the most common ones on
the TOEFL!!
Like
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
Magic explanation: First, we
should notice here that we have a complete main sentence already. The only thing
we have to worry about is using another word or phrase with "big cats."
If we use the preposition
"like," then "big cats" becomes the object of the preposition.
It is the
Magic explanation:
If we choose this answer, we will have two main sentences with no conjunction
between them. Be careful of this mistake--it is one of the most common ones on
the TOEFL!!
The
Magic explanation: If we choose
this answer, we will essentially have two main subjects here, or what we often
call a "double subject."
174.
It was as a direct result of the widespread implementation
electricity that the US had a source of light other than gas lights.
It was
result of
implementation
Correction: implementation of
Level of Difficulty: medium
Magic
explanation: First, we should notice that we have a preposition
here, "of." "implementation" is the object of this preposition.
A preposition can NEVER have two objects, so we should use another preposition
with the noun "electricity."
a source of
175.
______ many communications companies are now able to offer radio and
television broadcasts over the Internet.
Advanced technology has enabled
Magic explanation:
This answer choice is wrong for two reasons. First, "enabled" needs
an object. Second, even if we have an object for "enabled," we would
end up with two complete sentences with no conjunction between them. As I stated
above, this is a big no-no and is a very common mistake.
Introducing advanced technology and
Magic
explanation: This answer choice is wrong because we need another noun to
be parallel with "technology." If we had another noun, for example "new
methods of storing data," then this answer choice would be correct.
Because the
introduction of advanced technology
Magic
explanation: This answer choice is wrong because we need a subordinate
verb after the subordinating
conjunction "because."
With the introduction of advanced technology
Level
of Difficulty: Medium
Magic explanation:
First, we should notice that we have a complete main sentence here and that nothing
is missing from the sentence as it is written. When nothing is missing from the
sentence, we should add something that is both optional and complete. This answer
choice is the only one that meets these criteria--it is a prepositional phrase,
and prepositional phrases are almost always optional in the sentence.
176.
While it is actually a planet, Venus is often mistaken
a star in the night sky.
While it
a planet mistaken
Correction:
mistaken for
Level of Difficulty:
Medium
Magic explanation: The correct
idiom to use here is "to mistake x for y" (in the active voice), or
"x is mistaken for y" (in the passive voice).
the night
177.
______ its area of defense, a fort should be built on an elevation and with
some sort of natural feature of the landscape to obstruct direct access to the
fort.
To better protect
Level of Difficulty:
Hard
Magic explanation: We should
use the infinitive of purpose here to explain how or why something is done.
Protecting
better
Magic explanation: If you
missed this question, you probably chose this answer. We cannot choose this answer
choice because "protecting" modifies "fort" in this sentence
either as an adjective phrase or an adverbial phrase (we have some ambiguity in
this construction). Since the main sentence is making recommendations about how
to build a fort, we should use the infinitive of purpose, not the participial
form.
For the better of
Magic explanation:
The easiest way to explain this one is simply to point out that "better"
cannot be a noun.
It is better for
Magic explanation:
Again, this answer choice would give us two main clauses with no conjunction
between them.
178.
In 2000 William Jefferson Clinton entered his last year officeas President of the United States.
In 2000
entered
office
Correction: of office
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Magic
explanation: The verb "entered" can have only one object. In
this case, the object of "entered" is "year," leaving us with
an extra noun, "office." Since "entered" cannot have two objects,
we should use a preposition
to make "office" the object of the preposition.
as President
179.
It was ______ the Industrial Revolution that the United States was able to
increase productivity through mechanization.
when
Magic explanation: If we choose
this answer choice, we would be missing a subordinate verb. In other words, we
would have to have a complete subordinate clause, something like this: …when
the Industrial Revolution… DID something.
at the time
Magic explanation: The
easiest way to explain this one is to point out that we would need to say "at
the time of."
during
Level of Difficulty:
Medium
Magic explanation: We essentially
need a preposition
(or some other word) here for the noun phrase Industrial Revolution.
because
Magic explanation: If we choose this answer
choice, we would be missing a subordinate verb. In other words, we would have
to have a complete subordinate clause, something like this: …because the
Industrial Revolution… DID something.
180.
______ Einstein
was able to come up with a theory that has yet to be disproved.
Other scientists
Magic explanation:
This answer choice would give us a double subject, a big no-no on the TOEFL.
Similar
to other scientists
Level of Difficulty:
Medium
Magic explanation: This is
a typical TOEFL question. First, we should notice that we have a complete main
sentence here and that nothing is missing from the sentence as it is written.
When nothing is missing from the sentence, we should add something that is both
optional and complete. This answer choice, and the last one, are the only ones
that meet these criteria.
Just as other scientists
Magic explanation:
Since "as" is a subordinating
conjunction, we would need a subordinate verb here.
To be a scientist
Magic explanation:
This choice is wrong because we should not use the infinitive of purpose here;
i.e., the main clause does not explain HOW or WHY Einstein was a scientist.
