TOEFL Sentence Simplification Questions Questions and Answers 2

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:

Accepted Answer

Invasive species spread by global trade and travel can devastate native ecosystems and wildlife.

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Despite being large and complex, early computers established the foundations for today's small, widespread devices.

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Antibiotics revolutionized medicine by allowing doctors to cure formerly deadly bacterial infections, greatly increasing life expectancy.

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Solar power was once too expensive but has become more affordable due to manufacturing improvements and scale.

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

The fading of traditional languages, driven by global languages in key domains, means permanent loss of culturally encoded knowledge.

Answer

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.

TOEFL Practice Test

TOEFL Practice Test

TOEFL Sentence Simplification Questions Questions and Answers 2