TOEFL Reading Practice Test: Vampire Bats!!
Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at
8:17 pm
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
Michael Buckhoff’s “7 Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT
Exam!” Buy a lesson; pass the TOEFL iBT tomorrow!
http://www.bettertoeflscores.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Reading-Practice-Test-Vampire-Bats.mp4View as PDF document: TOEFL Practice Reading Test Vampire Bats
For information, go here:
Michael Buckhoff’s “7 Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT
Exam!” Buy a lesson; pass the TOEFL iBT tomorrow!
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
hi michale can u give me some books name thaat i can read i confuse pls thanks
Lily:
Thanks for the link. Halloween is my favorite time of the year.
Michael
Thanks for the Information, thanks for this great Post. I will subscribe to your feed for updates. Also check this vampire information: vampire art
John:
Dude, you should be my editor! From the looks of it, this reading passage is a mess, and I should have edited it a lot more closely. Meanwhile, my baby’s diaper needs to be changed, I have to wash all three of my cars, the pool is a mess, and the yard needs mowing. You have now added one task to a thousand more that I have yet to complete. And I have a monster cold right now digging deep in the sinus cavities of my aching head. Sheesh!!!
Whoever you are, wherever you might be, if I we ever cross paths, I think I may buy you a drink.
Michael
John:
It could happen! And it has happened! For example, most TOEFLers who take my lessons have extremely advanced English skills. It is possible that they could take one of my lessons and pass the TOEFL iBT tomorrow. However, I see your point. If someone takes one of my lessons who has intermediate English skills (they should not be focusing on TOEFL at this point in my opinion anyway!), they would not be able to pass the TOEFL test if they took it tomorrow.
Michael
Buy a lesson; pass the TOEFL iBT tomorrow!
Isn’t this phrase (above) a tad misleading? How many people can really expect to pass the TOEFL in only one day after taking one of your lessons?
Note: I did some editing and proofreading (below) that was orginally in “vampire” red but it didn’t seem to get picked up in this comment section. Still, the comments should be identifiable as they are mostly contained inside parentheses.
TOEFL Reading Practice Test: Vampire Bats!!!
You will read an academic passage. You should answer each question based on what is stated or implied in the passage. You have 10 minutes to complete this test (including the reading of the passages).
(Note that the YouTube file which includes this same subject (Vampire Bats) lasts for only 1 minute and 47 seconds and the reading passage is basically unreadable on my screen. I’m guessing the YouTube video is therefore only really usable as an attention getter.)
Another type of mammal is the Vampire bat, which is ordinary looking and weighs about one ounce and (replace this “and” with a comma) with a body the size of an adult’s thumb. They are 2 3/4 inches in length and have an 8 inch wingspan. Their colonies are quite structured with strong social bonds, grooming each other and recognizing their fellows with voice and smell. The structure is imperative to their survival, as there are many nights when a bat may not find a host to feed on. At that point (In this circumstance?), the hungry bats are fed from others through a process of regurgitation. In the wild, vampire bats live to (be?) about 9 years old, but can reach 20 years in captivity. Vampire bats mate all year round and usually have only one offspring per year. Gestation is 6-8 months in length.
Bats are the only true flying mammals, with about 925 different species identified. Of all these species, only the common vampire bat is able to maneuver on the ground as well as in the air. Vampire bats can move side to side and backward, (in a manner?) similar to a spider. Instead of taking off in flight from the ground, these bats actually launch themselves into the air with powerful pectoral muscles. (Note: These bats ARE still taking off from the ground. So the phrase beginning with “Ïnstead” is probably NOT appropriate here). The force comes from the bat extending its hind knees, leaning forward and using its forelimbs. The bat also invokes its triceps muscle and very long thumb. While the jump only takes about 30 milliseconds, the bat catapults itself about 4 feet into the air. Although a few other species of bats move readily on the ground and some take off from the ground, no other species possess the extreme terrestrial agility and jumping ability of Desmodus. (Desmodes is a genus name… not a species name. As such you might actually now be referring to a genus of vampire bats which could include several vampire bat species). Once in the air, the transition into flight is basically one fluid motion. Since the vampire bat feeds at ground level, their (its?) agility and fast take-off is an amazing advantage.
Feeding on the blood of animals like cows, pigs, and horses, the vampire bat (Oops… now the word “vampire” is not capitalized. See your opening paragraph and sentence to compare.) requires about two tablespoons of blood each day. Locating their (its? Note: You use the term “vampire bat” (singular) and then transition to the plural pronoun “their”. Confusing!) prey is a combination of smell, sound, echolocation, and possibly heat. While they do not actually suck blood from their host, they make a small incision and lap up the blood. Since they do not chew their food, they have fewer teeth of (than?) any other bat. They generally approach their prey from the ground. (A somewhat isolated sentence… What’s the connection of this sentence to previous sentences in this paragraph?)
They have heat sensors on their noseleaf for locating capillary-rich areas of the skin; modified canines for fur clipping; long, sharp incisors for painlessly opening a wound; anticoagulants to prevent clotting; (comma works better here) and a grooved tongue to help move blood rapidly to (into?) the mouth. While the bat may consume up to 60% of its body weight in blood and it only needs the red blood cells, it will begin excreting plasma before its meal is over. With a specialized stomach and kidneys, the vampire rapidly removes the plasma as (but?) it may take up to twenty minutes to (for?) the bat to finish its meal. (Need to start a new paragraph with the following sentences?) Due to length of time and the invasive nature of its feeding, it is clear the vampire bat needs its deftness and agility to be successful. Observations of Desmodus scrambling over the backs and necks of animals prior to feeding or to avoid movements of the host animal to brush them off, and running or hopping about on the ground while feeding, illustrate the adaptive value of this effective terrestrial locomotion. (Why aren’t these last few sentences collocated with your previous comments about terrestrial agility, etc.?)