TOEFL Questions

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Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.

When I think of my family's history on the land. I experience a pang of regret. Unlike much of the arid West, where the land has gone virtually unchanged for centuries, my place of origin, western Kansas, has been torn up by agriculture. The flat plains, excellent soil, and sparse but just adequate rainfall permitted farming; therefore farming prevailed, and a good 90% of the original sod prairie is gone. The consequence, in human terms, is that our relationship to our place has always felt primarily mercantile. We used the land and denied, or held at bay, its effect on us. Yet from my earliest childhood, when the most of the Kansas prairie was still intact, I 've known that the land also had a romantic quality. I've felt moved by the expanse of it , enthralled by size. I take pride in my identity as a plains daughter.

From the passage, it may be determined that the word "mercantile" has something to do with

In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

Indian corporates are _______________ influenced by the American style of management, including ______________ practices. The recent episodes in a couple of big and reputed corporates in India are prompting many to re-think the kind of compensation strategy that would be __________ for Indian corporates. Should it be more socialistic, as prevalent in Scandinavian, some European and Japanese companies? _______________ there be some law to govern the salary differentials? __________should different functions such as Finance be remunerated substantially higher for equivalent educational degree holders and similar efforts by individuals in other functions?

management, including ______________ practices.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.

to make from scratch

In the following questions a part of a sentence is given in bold, it is then followed by four sentences which try to explain the meaning of the idiom/phrase given in bold. Choose the
alternative from the four given below each question which explains the meaning of the phrase correctly without altering the meaning of the sentence given as question. If none of the sentence explains the meaning of the highlighted phrase, choose option 5 i.e., “None of these” as your answer choice

At the start of his presentation, it seemed that he’s out of his mind, but when he finished, we saw that there’s method in his madness.

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.

Meticulous

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which is opposite in meaning of the given word.

Abutting

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which is opposite in meaning of the given word.

Artifice

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.

Pejorative