TOEFL Sentence Simplification Questions Questions and Answers 2 Flashcards

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:

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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:

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").

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:

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.

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:

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.