TH TOEFL EXAM

1 NOUNS
1. Life expectancy: The length of time people is expected to live The life expectancy of Peruvian people is about 70 years according to INEI The global population aged 60 years can expect to live another 20 years on average in 2011. 70 years is the average life expectancy at birth of the global population in 2011. 2. Upbringing : The way or manner in which our parents raised us Every child has a right to have a family, which is the basis of his education During the first ten years of my life, I enjoyed a privileged upbringing. Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. More attention should be focussed on the role of the man in the upbringing and care for children. 3. Removal: The act of taking something off or away from a place Allegations of abuse led to the removal of children from their parents. The removal of the tumour Clearance of the site required the removal of several trees.

4. Awareness: Knowing sth, knowing that sth exists and is important, being interested in sth An awareness of the importance of eating a healthy diet. There was an almost complete lack of awareness of this issues involved. It is important that students develop an awareness of how the Internet can be used. To raise/increase public awareness of sth A greater/a growing/an increasing awareness of sth Environmental awareness (knowing that look after the environment is important) Energy Awareness Week 5. Endurance: The ability to continue doing sth painful or difficult for a long period of time without complaining He showed remarkable endurance throughout his illness They were humiliated beyond endurance This event tests both physical and mental endurance These adventurers have pushed themselves to the limits of human endurance. Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle group to contract over long periods of time. Men have more muscle mass than women, but they do not necessarily have more muscular endurance.

6. Loan: Money that an organization such as a bank lends and sb borrows Bank loans with low interest rates It took three years to repay my student loan A car loan (a loan to buy a car) 7. Comparison: The process of comparing two or more people or things Comparison with other oil-producing countries is extremely interesting. The education system here stands no comparison with that in many Asian countries Comparison was the most important method of analysis in sociology. 8. Enhancement: How sb upgrades the quality of sth Equipment for the enhancement of sound quality Software enhancement The benefits of these "neuro-enhancements" are not proven scientifically There is a huge debate over the dehumanization because of human enhancements. 9. Denial: How people wont come to terms with sb or sth situations / a refusal to accept that sth unpleasant or painful is true An official denial that there would be an election before the end of the years The denial of basic human rights The advertising ban is a denial of freedom of speech The patient is still in denial about his ilness 10. Availability: The condition of being ready for action The availability of cheap flights Locally however, if more fresh water is consumed through human activities than is naturally restored, this may result in reduced fresh water availability from surface. Loss of mountain snowpack because of higher temperatures reduces the availability of drinking water. Many marathon runners and other endurance athletes reduce energy availability intentionally to modify body size and composition for improving performance. 11. Boredom: The state of feeling bored; the quality of being very boring. I started to eat too much out of sheer boredom. Television helps to relieve the boredom of the long winter springs 12. Wisdom: The ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that sb has. A woman of great wisdom

 Words of wisdom The collective wisdom of the Native American people The government in its wisdom has decided to support the ban 13. Capability: The ability or qualities necessary to do sth Animals in the zoo have lost the capability of catching food for themselves. Beyond the capabilities of current technology Within the capabilities of current technology Age affects the range of a persons capabilities A companys production capability 14. Agreement: an arrangement, a promise or contract made with sb An international peace agreement The agreement was signed during a meeting in Chicago They have a free trade agreement with Australia They had an agreement never to talk about work at home Are we in agreement about the price? Youll have to get your parents agreement if you want to go on the trip 15. Wealth: A large amount of money, property that a person or country owns A person of wealth an influence His personal wealth is estimated at around $100 million The distribution of wealth The purpose of industry is to create wealth Good education often depends on wealth A wealth of information He brings a great wealth of experience to the job 16. Momentum: The only and most appropriate moment to do sth 17. Famine: a lack of food during a long period of time in a region A severe famine Disasters such as floods and famine The threat of widespread famine in the area To raise money for famine relief 18. Funding: Money for a particular purpose There have been large cuts in government funding for scientific research You can get funding for postgraduate study through studentships, grants and loans. Are you seeking funding for research or training in a particular area?

 Fulbright provides funding and grants for a broad range of projects and programs covering areas such as education, health 19. Feature: Something important, interesting or typical of a place or thing An interesting feature of the city is the old market Teamwork is a key feature of the training program. Which features do you look for when choosing a car? 20. Depletion: The act of destroying a natural resource or habitat Many areas of the United States are experiencing groundwater depletion by sustained groundwater pumping. Stopping ozone layer depletion is one of the major challenges facing the world today. Depletion of muscle glycogen is a good thing for those looking to gain lean muscle mass 21. Disposal: The act of getting rid of sth The disposal of nuclear waste He will have a car at his disposal for the whole month Well, Im at your disposal One of the primary causes of contamination of water is the inadequate or improper disposal of human (and animal) excreta. 22. Advance: How sth or sb progresses or evolves: Recent advances in medical science We live in an age of rapid technologic advance. Major advances in the field of physics In fact, it teaches them that cheating and bribing is an acceptable way to advance their careers 23. Source: The supplier of materials or information Renewable energy sources Your local library will be a useful source of information What is their main source of income? A source of violence/confusion Now it is a common waterway and source of fish. They are an important source of employment and a breeding ground for new business 24. Acquisition: How someone obtains something by doing Theories of child language acquisition His latest acquisition is a racehorse

 This money will be spent on acquisitions for the university library Technology policies were adopted to accelerate the acquisition of technological capabilities. The strategy behind this policy consists in facilitating and creating access to work and to society by encouraging skill acquisition and participation. 25. Peer: a person who is the same age or who has the same social status as you

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

2 READING
2.1 25-10-13
WHAT IS THE OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE? Our latest Big Question asks: "What is the opium of the people?" In 1843, as Rosie Blau explains in the opening article, Karl Marx wrote one of his most famous sentences as a passing remark in an introduction to a book of philosophical criticism. It was only in the 20th century that his insight that "religion was the opium of the people" gained wide currency. But since we live in an increasingly secular age many other contenders have appeared and we have asked six writers to come up with their own challenge to Marx's insight. We will be publishing these online over the next two weeks. But now we would like you to make your choices too either by voting for one of the six suggestions, or by making a suggestion of your own. The British MP and former soldier Rory Stewart says that "our opium is our children". He writes that "ours is a culture not of ancestor worship but of descendant worship." The novelist Lionel Shriver picks food as the modern opium. Food has become a distraction and "all appetites being circular, gorging feeds the appetite itself". Ann Wroe, The Economist's obituaries editor, chooses sea air. As soon as the sun comes out, Britons head for the coast. "Very few go to the shore to swim." Another novelist, Lottie Moggach, from a younger generation than Shriver, picks the internet a choice that wasn't available to Marx. "Like opium," Moggach writes, "the internet essentially functions as an unedifying way to kill time." Keith Blackmore, a former deputy editor of the Times, makes the case for celebrity, a merging of fact and fiction that diverts us from our own travails. "Our highs come from the foolishness and vanity of our fellow men and women". And finally, Harriet Sergeant, author "Among the Hoods", settles on the addictive power of designer goods, which "take on an all-consuming importance for young men who have no other way to excel." Which of these six opiates wins your vote? Have your say in our poll, below, and please let us know why you chose the one that you did. Or, if you think some other occupation is the opium of the peoplemoney or Prozac, perhaps, or football or alcoholdo please tell us why.

THE OPIUM IS THE INTERNET We mustnt romanticize intellectual life before the internet. Procrastination did not begin with YouTube. Novels have always been abandoned. There is no evidence that the Victorians who spent their evenings pinning dead insects into mahogany cases were better nourished mentally than their descendants, live-tweeting "Strictly Come Dancing". There are even those, like Clive Thompson, the author of "Smarter Than You Think", who claim that the internet is improving our minds. But thats not how it feels to me. This is a medium that has shredded our ability to concentrate, discourages reflection and panders to our base instincts for trivia, and a lot of people are in thrall to it. "Who is Kim Kardashian and why am I reading about her trousers?" asked a writer friend when first he ventured onto Mail Online. He was, however, powerless to resist and now, several years on, he is as familiar with the goings-on of the Kardashians as he is with those of his own family. I used to spend hours on Facebook every day, hoovering up minor details of distant acquaintances lives like krill. The Facebook account had to go. But now Im hooked on Rightmove, the site that enables you to gaze at houses you will never be able to afford. There must be some who use the internet for its best purposesbroadening horizons, disseminating vital information, forging life-enhancing connections. But, day to day, most of us tend to stick to e-mail and a small circuit of websites, like animals let loose on a plain who choose to scratch around in a few square yards. We may occasionally learn something, and its exciting when our gags are re-tweeted by a C-list celebrity, but like opium the internet essentially functions as an unedifying way to kill time. Humans may have always sought ways to dodge work and avoid thinking too hard, but never before has the solution been so accessible, or so addictive.

3 Writing
3.1 25-10-13
FIRST OFF, even when there are some who claim that it is improving our minds WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT internet is an unedifying way to kill time, SO IT IS NO WONDER THAT most people spend hours on e-mails and social networks. TO ILLUSTRATE, WE CAN POINT OUT THAT it is a medium that has shredded peoples ability to concentrate and discourages reflection. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, less people enjoy a comfortable afternoon of reading instead of commenting their friends profiles, SO novels have been virtually abandoned.

ANOTHER TYPE OF ARGUMENT IS ONE THAT FOCUSES PRECISELY ON the fact that this situation is more than a preference, lot of people is in thrall to the internet. In spite of some people use it for its best purposes as broadening horizons, disseminating vital information or forging life-enhancing connections, most of them only follow celebrities or give likes to funny photos. SO IF, THERE ARE GROUNDS TO BELIEVE THAT internet is that way people have sought for dodging work and avoiding thinking too much.

WHAT IS THE OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE?

Karl Marx's celebrated dictum, "religion is the opium of the people", had a quiet genesis. He wrote it in 1843 as a passing remark in the introduction to a book of philosophical criticism he never finished. When he did publish it the following year, it was in an obscure radical journal with a print run of 1,000. It was not until the 1930s, when all things Marxist were in vogue, that the maxim entered the popular lexicon. Yet it still resonates. In many parts of the world organised religion remains the most powerful force in society: more than 4.5 billion people identify with one of the world's four biggest religions, and that figure is rising. In Europe, though, religious faith and expression have collapsed in the past 170 years. It's hard to think of anything that has taken their place except perhaps, for a while, Marxism itself. Marx was not exactly against religion. For him, faith was something that "the people" conjured for themselves, a source of phoney happiness to which they turned to help numb the pain of reality. It was "the sigh of the oppressed creature". Organised religion with its churches, doctrines and priests followed on from that, a useful tool by which the ruling classes kept the masses supine. Now it may seem elitist, even sneering, to ask what the opium of the people is, what keeps usor, worse, "them"down when we could be up, soporific when we should be fighting for a better world. Are we really dim animals, willing ourselves into submission? The question is uncomfortable. Yet there is something in it that speaks to a niggling sense in most of us that were it not for time and energy wasted in some directionbe it a penchant for pints, an obsession with runs, goals or tries, even too long spent at workthen we too might have changed the world, staged a revolution, or even just written that novel. So what do we drug ourselves with today? Society is more diverse than it was in Marxs time. Our writers reflect that here in their intriguing selection of obsessions that distract us from realitys dark truths. The list could have been far longer. Though traditional opium smoking has largely died out, its modern form, heroin, remains a minority but far more dangerous and deadening sport. Other drugs now fight for popularity: 180m people worldwide have smoked weed in the past year; Prozac, an anti-depressant that takes the edge off in a rather different way, has had more than 35m users in the past 25 years. The merriment and oblivion of alcohol have been a comfort for millenniaand in Britain and parts of northern Europe people binge more often now than they used to. One billion people still smoke, butts that help to dim the ifs of life for a precious five minutes or so. Myriad alternative religions flourish. Football fans flock to stadiums in rain or snow and spend thousands on season tickets. Celebrity-gossip magazines thrive while other forms of print struggle to survive. Money must be another contenderso many lives are filled with dreams of it, pursuit of it, spending it. It's a faith with many faces: credit cards that let us buy more than we can afford; houses for which we borrow and borrow; lottery tickets that we know make little sense. Perhaps this is Marx's ultimate defeat: is capitalism now the opium of the people?

There is also the ever-expanding realm of mass distraction. In 1957 Edward R. Murrow, an American journalist who helped to fell McCarthy, labelled television the opiate of the people, in despair at its passive audience and poor programmes. Americans still watch more than four hours a day, despite being equally addicted to other screens. More than a billion people use Facebook, and mass communication by phone, text and e-mail means we are never alone, always "in touch"or perhaps, as Marx might see it, forever out of touch with our true selves. One day, Marx argued, man would wake up "as his own true sun". If the world were reorderedthrough revolution, of coursewe would have no need for religion. In fact, our consolations have multiplied in glorious technicolour. If Marx were writing today, that snappy soundbite might be rather more cumbersome.

Religion as Opium of the People

How do we account for religion its origin, its development, and even its persistence in modern society? This is a question which has occupied many people in a variety of fields for quite a long time. At one point, the answers were framed in purely theological and religious terms, assuming the truth of Christian revelations and proceeding from there. But through the 18th and 19th centuries, a more naturalistic approach developed. One person who attempted to examine religion from an objective, scientific perspective was Karl Marx. Marxs analysis and critique of religion is perhaps one of the most famous and most quoted by theist and atheist alike. Unfortunately, most of those doing the quoting dont really understand exactly what Marx meant. I think that this in turn is due to not entirely understanding Marxs general theories on economics and society. Marx actually said very little about religion directly; in all of his writings, he hardly ever addresses religion in a systematic fashion, even though he touches on it frequently in books, speeches and pamphlets.The reason is that his critique of religion forms simply one piece of his overall theory of society thus, understanding his critique of religion requires some understanding of his critique of society in general. According to Marx, religion is an expression of material realities and economic injustice. Thus, problems in religion are ultimately problems in society. Religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom. It is used by oppressors to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited. This is the origin of his comment that religion is the opium of the masses but as shall see, his thoughts are much more complex than commonly portrayed.

Groundwater is a valuable resource both in the United States and throughout the world. I noticed her short attention span This is a controversial and polemic approach to reduce rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy among teenagers. It is better to be safe than sorry Aged: I have two children aged six and nine. Volunteers aged between 25 and 40 He left at school at the age of 18 She needs more friends of her own age Young people of all ages go there to meet Children over the age of 12 must pay full fare. Children travel (at) half fare. Clearance: The removal of things that are not wanted (el despeje/la limpieza)

1) To be entitled to (verb-ing) / noun 2) To pursue 3) To be second nature to (sb) 4) To keep (sb/sth) from (verb-ing) 5) Barely 6) Thoroughly 7) Hardly ever 8) Neither___ nor___ 9) When + (verb-ing) 10) By (verb-ing) 11) Nowhere near 12) Throughout 13) State-of-the-arte 14) To make ends meet 15) To be likely to (verb) 16) To be worth (verb-ing) 17) Breakthrough 18) To remark on 19) Whereas 20) Resemble 21) So that