TOEFL Sentence Simplification Questions Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Original: "The proliferation of invasive species, facilitated by increased global trade and travel, has led to the disruption of native ecosystems, sometimes with catastrophic consequences for indigenous wildlife." The best simplification is:
- Global trade is always harmful to wildlife because it introduces invasive species.
- Invasive species spread by global trade and travel can devastate native ecosystems and wildlife. (Correct answer)
- Indigenous wildlife adapts successfully to the arrival of invasive species.
- Travel and trade should be restricted to prevent harm to ecosystems.
Correct answer: Invasive species spread by global trade and travel can devastate native ecosystems and wildlife.
Sentence Simplification requires retaining the essential meaning without adding, changing, or omitting key information. Option B preserves all core elements: (1) invasive species spread through global trade/travel, and (2) this can severely harm native ecosystems and wildlife. Option A adds a judgment ("always"), and C and D distort the meaning.
Question 2: Original: "Although early computers were unwieldy machines that occupied entire rooms and required teams of specialists to operate, they laid the conceptual and technological groundwork for the miniaturized, ubiquitous devices of today." The best simplification is:
- Early computers were too large to be useful, unlike modern computers.
- Despite being large and complex, early computers established the foundations for today's small, widespread devices. (Correct answer)
- Early computers were only used by specialists, which is why they were not popular.
- Today's computers are better than early computers in every way.
Correct answer: Despite being large and complex, early computers established the foundations for today's small, widespread devices.
The original sentence contains two key ideas: (1) early computers were cumbersome and complex, and (2) they provided the foundation for today's miniaturized, widespread devices. Option B captures both ideas accurately. Options A and C misrepresent the original, and D omits the historical connection entirely.
Question 3: Original: "The discovery of antibiotics fundamentally transformed medical treatment by enabling physicians to cure bacterial infections that had previously been fatal, thereby dramatically extending average human lifespans." The best simplification is:
- Antibiotics were discovered by physicians who wanted to extend human lifespans.
- Before antibiotics, no one survived bacterial infections.
- Antibiotics revolutionized medicine by allowing doctors to cure formerly deadly bacterial infections, greatly increasing life expectancy. (Correct answer)
- Antibiotics are the most important medical discovery in human history.
Correct answer: Antibiotics revolutionized medicine by allowing doctors to cure formerly deadly bacterial infections, greatly increasing life expectancy.
The key information is: (1) antibiotics transformed medicine, (2) they enabled curing previously fatal bacterial infections, and (3) this extended lifespans. Option C captures all three points without distortion. Option A misrepresents causality, B overstates ("no one survived"), and D adds a judgment not in the original.
Question 4: Original: "While photovoltaic technology was initially prohibitively expensive, continuous improvements in manufacturing efficiency and economies of scale have rendered solar power increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels." The best simplification is:
- Solar power was once too expensive but has become more affordable due to manufacturing improvements and scale. (Correct answer)
- Photovoltaic technology is now cheaper than all fossil fuels in every market.
- Fossil fuels are more expensive than solar energy in most countries today.
- Solar energy has always been competitive with fossil fuels in terms of cost.
Correct answer: Solar power was once too expensive but has become more affordable due to manufacturing improvements and scale.
The original states: (1) solar technology was initially too expensive, and (2) manufacturing improvements and economies of scale have made it increasingly cost-competitive. Option A captures both ideas accurately. Options B and C overstate the comparison, and D directly contradicts the original ("was initially prohibitively expensive").
Question 5: Original: "The gradual disappearance of traditional languages, accelerated by the dominance of global languages in commerce, education, and media, represents an irreversible loss of cultural knowledge embedded in linguistic structures." The best simplification is:
- Global languages should replace traditional languages to improve commerce and education.
- The fading of traditional languages, driven by global languages in key domains, means permanent loss of culturally encoded knowledge. (Correct answer)
- Cultural knowledge is unimportant compared to economic language competency.
- Traditional languages are disappearing because their speakers choose to abandon them freely.
Correct answer: The fading of traditional languages, driven by global languages in key domains, means permanent loss of culturally encoded knowledge.
The essential meaning: traditional languages are disappearing because global languages dominate commerce/education/media, and this results in permanent loss of cultural knowledge. Option B accurately reflects both the cause (global language dominance) and the consequence (irreversible cultural knowledge loss). The other options add judgments or distort causality.
Question 6: Original: "Although the placebo effect is frequently dismissed as mere psychological suggestion, its demonstrable physiological impact on pain perception and immune function suggests that the mind-body connection is far more complex than previously assumed." The best simplification is:
- The placebo effect has no real medical value because it is only psychological.
- The placebo effect proves that all medical treatments are based on suggestion.
- Despite being seen as only psychological, the placebo effect has measurable physical effects, indicating that mind and body interact in more complex ways than once thought. (Correct answer)
- Psychological factors are more important than physical factors in treating pain.
Correct answer: Despite being seen as only psychological, the placebo effect has measurable physical effects, indicating that mind and body interact in more complex ways than once thought.
The original contains two parts: (1) the placebo effect is often dismissed as merely psychological, and (2) it has measurable physiological effects that show mind-body interaction is more complex than assumed. Option C captures both parts faithfully. Options A and B distort or omit key information.
TOEFL Sentence Simplification Questions Questions and Answers 2
Original: "The proliferation of invasive species, facilitated by increased global trade and travel, has led to the disruption of native ecosystems, sometimes with catastrophic consequences for indigenous wildlife." The best simplification is: