| TOEFL Listening Tips 5: Understand
the organization |
| Example 1: classification |
| The native peoples of Greenland and
Canada’s northern regions traditionally often lived in a type of
snowhouse known as an igloo. There were three types of
igloo, all of different sizes and all used for different purposes. The smallest of all
igloos was constructed as a temporary shelter. Hunters while out on the
land or sea ice camped in one of these igloos for one or two nights. Next in size was
the semi-permanent, intermediate sized family dwelling. This usually
was a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there
were several of these in a small area, which formed a kind of village. The largest of
the igloos was a temporary building constructed for special occasions.
This was constructed either by enlarging a smaller igloo or building
from scratch. These could have up to five rooms and housed up to 20
people. A large igloo may have been constructed from several smaller
igloos attached by their tunnels giving a common access to the outside.
These were used to hold community feasts and traditional dances. |
| Notice how
quite near the beginning, in sentence 2) we get the main idea of the
passage. The organization is classification: three types of igloos.
Also, notice how the writer moves
from the description of one type of igloo to
another. |
| Example 2: chronology |
| The patron Saint
of England is Saint George. George was born to a
Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from
Cappadocia and served as an officer of the Roman army. George followed
his father's example by joining the army soon after coming of age.
He proved to be a good soldier and consequently rose to become a high
ranking oficer. In
303, Diocletian, the Roman emperor ordered the
systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire. George
was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to
being a Christian himself and criticised the Emperor’s
decision. The Emperor was enraged and ordered George’s execution.
Christians at the time regarded George as a martyr and he became widely
accepted as a saint. |
| The
organization here is chronology, a series of steps in order of time.
Notice the progression of George's life from his birth to his death. |
| Example 3: process |
| The cultivation of rice is of
great importance to humanity, with more than half the world's
population depending on this plant. Growing rice is fairly simple, but
if mechanical equipment is not available it is a very labor-intensive
business. Before rice
can be planted, the ground on which it is to be grown must be levelled
and the fields surroundd by small dykes. If the land is hilly then
terraces have to be cut into the hillsides. The fields or terraces are then flooded. Next, the rice
seedlings which are grown in a separate beds are transplanted into the
flooded fields. Later,
when the rice starts to ripen, the fields are drained. Finally, when the
rice turns yellow, it is ready to be harvested. |
| The
organization here is a process, a series of steps describing how rice
is grown.
Notice the first sentence tells us that rice is very important, but
thisis not the main idea of the passage. This passage is about the
labor-intensive process of growing rice . Notice the words that mark
the progression from one step to another. |