Shirley

Thanks Taurus! hey! Are you also a taurean like me?:)

Thanks you Erin and Vinay!!I highly appreciate it:)

Thanks simon!Are you through with your test? All the best !

Hey!Great score!Congrats!Well I also agree with you.Noise is a big problem.When I gave my TOEFL,someone was consantly blowing their nose and inspite of plugging in the earplugs, i couldn't avoid it. Noise from typing is also distracting.I got even a much lower score on the listening-26!

CONGRATULATIONS!wONDERFUL SCORE!!

Hi Kiru.Congrats on your score. many of the universities require score between 213-230 .Maybe you should check that out .If you score well on the essay (around 5) you may end up nearer to the score 233.(I got 227-280 and got score of 5 on essay and my final score was 277) Once you type essay on the TOEFL CBT test, whatever typed is saved on the PC.So your essay WILL BE VALUED.I am so sure because even i didn't click the ANSWER CONFIRM Button but still got a score.So don't worry about that.

Hello Testmagicians:) I got my score report yesterday! Listening :26:((I thought it was hard just as Vaya said) Structure :28 Reading : 29 Essay: 5 To put forward my experiences, I would say listening was not that easy.I got the long format of TOEFL CBT.(49 ques. in listening)PART A conversations(16) were ok (just like in Power prep). But PART B ...well there were many science lectures whch need thorough concentration.In this section my views are very much similar to Vaya's. Structure was fine.In the reading section I got 4 passages )similar to powerprep) but found a few context questions confusing. essay topic was "Holidays honor people and events.." i even posted this essay here but unfortunately none of my essays were evaluated.:( (Was I so bad?:()I thought this essay topic was hard. Had i got some advice from all of you, maybe i could have got a better score on essay. Finally it's over and maybe 277 is not so bad after all. I thank all the TestMagicians and Erin for the support and guidance and hope this site continues to extend its services and assistance to all the aspirants!!BEST OF LUCK TO ALL!

In the current fast paced world which is constantly under change owing to the rapid technological advancements in every field, achieving success has become a matter of struggle where several people with equal calibre have to vie for same position. As a result of increasing awareness of knowledge and education, the present competition leaves people contending for status and success to improve one's living. In such a situation the ability to speak , listen and learn is worthy. So. I think the one skill which is important in today's complex world is effective communication skill. The lifestyle of the modern world has made it incumbent on the individuals to effectively communicate and make their presence felt both on the personal and professional level. On the personal level, an extroverted and broad minded attitude is more respected and fascinated as compared to a narrow minded approach. Being social, mingling with the people and being easy going gains appreciation from the society. To achieve such a position, one should develop communication skills to effectively communicate ideas. On the professional level, effective communication and interpersonal skills help promote popularity in the work environment where people with equal intellectual levels meet. Such work requires the individuals to effectively communicate, present and elucidate one's point of view.The more convincing the ideas are, the less is the distance to success. Moreover, to achieve success interpersonal skills also lead to developing leadership qualities and avoid conflict through effective diplomacy. In order that one has to stand out in a crowd , the grandeur of eloquence and clarity of speech are the most important attributes in the current professinal world. So I think the ability of effective communication skill is the most important skill today.

Hello Erin! This topic was on hold because I didn't follow the instructions properly before posting. I am posting the contents in this column again. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused. [/hr] Hi all! Could anyone please review my essays? I am posting another one just with a hope that one of them would be commented on. What score might I get on this essay? Museum is a place which collects documents, preserves, researches and above all produces a material evidence of the people of the country, background and their cultural environment. Museums are like a nation's memory bank. People visit museums to learn , seek entertainment , to scour their personal connection with the place and to serve their curiosity of the background of the place they visit. Museums offer a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave through the ages. We would not be able to understand the influence of technological innovations, or the rise and fall of the Qing dynasty, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we do not know about the experiences in the past. Visitors entertian their interests in the nations cultural heritage and the predecessors through museums as they offer offer a base for evidence of the society. Furthermore, museums display evidential historical and present data about how families, groups, institutions and whole nations were formed and about how they have evolved. This provides a sense of identity for the visitors. For instance, the Jewish Museum, opens a window onto history and religious life of the Jewish community in the Britain and beyond. By scouring for the threads of a community one tries to establish one's personal connection to a particular religion, origin and culture. Museums also serve as a place of entertainment and interactive learning for the visitors. Museums of art, natural history and literature serve to stir up the specific interests of people. For example, in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum of Washington, one would find the history of the innovation of flights which would enlighten their scientific interests. The live architectural models and the chronological listing of progress made at evry decade along with the pictures and maps would be found only in a museum which assert the established facts. In conclusion, I would like to reinforce that museums have their part to play for visitors for the above reasons and their importance is thus established.

Thank you very much Erin! Must have been a typo in the book. First of all, I am sorry to acknowledge this late to your reply. Thank you for clearing my doubts however trivial they might be and I will be looking forward to your help.

Hi Erin! These 2 questions are from Barron's Practice Questions. Could you please help me with these? 1. Never ______ concerned about money even though he was not well-to-do. A. the doctor was B. was the doctor C. the doctor were D. the doctor is 2. China has made impressive efforts ______ population growth under control. A. to bring its B. bringing its C. to bringing their D. bring there The answers are A and C respectively. But I think it should be B to Q#1 as an auxiliary verb should precede the subject if a sentence begins with negative word, and A to Q#2. Please explain. Thank you Blanks added by Erin.

Thanks a lot bubble.But the audio files are not opening up in http://www.esl-lab.com.

Regarding this topic, I think there might have been many discoveries which led to difference around the world but the discovery's contribution to a country in particular is important.This is what I understood from all of your suggestions. So I have come up with this response.Could anybody suggest if I am on the right track? The twentieth century had been an age of scientific research and this led to discoveries which brought significant improvement in the socio-economic structure of the world.The discovery which proved beneficial to the people of my country, i.e., India is "The discovery of DNA", as it had tremendous influence in recuperating the food shortage and ultimately reach the 'Green Revolution' in 1967. During 1943, the nation recorded one of the world's greatest food disaters called 'The Bengal Famine' which involved mass deaths due to acute food shortage.When India got independence in 1947, the disaster still haunted the memories.Thus, it was natural that an agenda of achieving food security be arrived at in the best interests of the free nation.This awareness led to adoption of the best possible methods to improve food production. This involved massive effort in expanding the areas of farming, and adopting the method of double-cropping in a year by improved irrigation techniques which were then under scrutiny and research. Though starvation deaths still existed, the population growth outgrew the food production. As a result new techniques had to be applied to achieve faster production. It was during this period of early 1950s that the role of discovery of DNA comes into effect for the farming methods in India. The discovery of DNA put forth marvelous results when the location of genes was established in this double helix structure. This proved to be a sequel to the already innovative methods of hybridisation and genetics. In a decade, scientists established strong proofs of incorporation of favourable genes and proportional increase in productvity and resistance of plants to diseases. India then became one of the first nations to utilize those methods only next to Mexico,and it used the 'miracle seeds' of improved genetics on a wide scale. This helped India rise from the position of shortage to the summit of one of the leading agricultural producers. A growth of nearly 30% was registered during those two decades. This also helped create plenty of jobs not only in agricultural sector but also in related sector of industries such as hydro-electric power stations and factories. Due to the role that discovery of DNA played in India to achieve self-sufficiency in production of leading crops and thus achieve a significant role in the world market, I conclude that this particular discovery had been instrumental to the lives of people of my nation.

Could anyone give me ideas with this topic.All I could come up with was this which I know is not adequate or cogent. There are several ways that people adopt to express their dissastisfaction about a particular product or service. The aim of any such method is quick action regarding their queries. In order that my difficulty be perused at the earliest note, I would resort to complain in person because of the reasons below. Meeting face to face with the service providers or the product sellers would draw the their attention in the best possible way.With a written complaint one might not be sure if the complaint is submitted. Moreover, corrrespondence through letters might take longer time and because of the busy schedule such complaints might be put away for later observance since the urgency of the problem is not well absorbed. The providers may have the flexibility of delaying such complaints. Since providers or sellers have a large staff of customer care representatives, one's problem can be tracked more easily through the identity of the representative attending the complaint. Sometimes if a product fails to function properly, it may not always be necessary that the nature of the problem is interpreted well by the sellers through written complaint.Meeting in person and showing them the defect would make the problem more comprehensive to the sellers and immediate action would be taken. Since the ultimate objective of a complaint, i.e fast action is achieved because of the resaons cited, I would prefer to complain in person.

Hi! Here is my response to the above topic. I request all the TestMagicians to evaluate my essay too. As I read other essays I feel my writing skills need major help :(and I am truly ready to absorb all suggestions.:) Many people show their preference about a place to live depending on their choice of life. If I were to make a choice, I would choose to live in a big city because of its sound infrastructure which make multifarious activities possible. Firstly, a big city has the convenient features that make life easier.The transportation facilities are immense that makes it easier to get around to any place without preplanning. There are a number of multi-product stores, all at a hairs length . But in a typical town, one may have to travel atleast a few miles to get to the nearest location. Without a personal vehicle, mobility in small towns is restricted. A big city has a sound infrastructure. The technological varsity in a city makes it a hub for technological people to learn and expand their knowledge. In a small town, their immediate surroundings become their focus and this can result in narrow perspective. Meeting different people from different backgrounds in a city, one can understand the diversity of culture and ideas, and thus improve one's mental abilities to communicate and develop interpersonal skills. Moreover, a city has various organizations, clubs, cultural and recreational centers which bestow upon the dwellers to take up a variety of activities in leisure to pursue one's interests. A big city also provides better and vast educational and career opprtunities because of its technological advancement and hence people keep in pace with the world. In a big city, communication is easier as people reside at closer distances. As a result, families and friends can find time to drop by and sigh a breath of relief. Moreover, the hustle bustle of the city makes it lively,and a safer place to dwell with people around the corner to offer any assistance than in a town where one house every 5 acres drifts people apart. Though one would say that a town dwellers have more spare time, this may not be true as most people work in a different suburb and major time isspend in travelling. In conclusion, to pace up with the current trend and enjoy all the benefits which form an essential part in developing one's personality, I would prefer to live in a city.

When students move to a new school, they encounter difficulty in adapting to the new environment. New students, new teachers, new systems of regulation, different teaching style are some of the reasons which pose difficulty in students as it takes time for them to get used to it. Assistance to such students can be offered by helping them adjust as soon as possible and become comfortable with the new curriculum. As soon as students join a new school, an orientation class can be organized exclusively for them so that they are are acquainted with the system of the school. Though students would do their own research,a brief overview about the infrastructure and facilities of the school would definitely prove to be of additional help. An informal gathering of the old and new students can be organized so that the new students can mingle with the old students and approach them for assistance regarding the curriculum or to find themselves company.Discussion groups would also help the students open up. Furthermore, the old students can be assigned a handful of new students and asked to take care of their requirements for a couple of days.Such assistance would not only help them to mix up but also develop friendship among them. An occasional meeting, special tuition classes, and seminars held between the faculty and the new students weekly regarding the study curriculum and doubts would help them catch up with the rest of the students. Finally, active participation of the new students in the school sponsored events such as sports, seminars and functions should be encouraged so that the students build relationship. Such an initiative on the part of administration, faculty and cooperation among the students would help new students not only shed their inhibitions but to overcome their problems within a short span of time.

This is my second attempt to write an essay but didn't come up with good ideas. I seriusly need to improve my writing skills and I would be glad if someone took trouble to read and evaluate this essay. Holidays are declared for people to commemorate the contributions, sacrifices of people in various aspects or to honour a festive event. If I were to create a new holiday, I would create " World Doctor's Day' to honour all those doctors who sacrifice their time, health and personal lives to help the common people. Every country had a public holiday on eve of a festival or to honour people who shed their blood in the past in achieving freedom. The reason that I would honour doctors is that they sacrifice each and every day of their life to attend the needs of the common people. Though there are awards and ceremonies for significant contributions of particularly erudite people for technological advancement in the field of medicine, those doctors who volunteer for their countries with still underdeveloped methods of sanitation dare to be amongst the sickest people. Doctors also help provide emotional support to the common people and help them grow strong. They do not hesitate to attend casualities in the midst of their personal life. I think that their contribution should be recognized. To celebrate the day, all the people of the a particular city or town should hold a gathering to pronounce the sustained efforts of their town doctors for working towards the common good of all the people. A holiday should be declared for them so that they can spend thier time with their loved ones. A rally held in their honor would also serve to explain the prized position that doctors tend to create in the daily life of common people. In conclusion, I would say that the a holiday in their favour would help people realize that they also being most common of individuals help bring about a valuable contribution in the life of people and form an integral part of the society and country as a whole.

Hello Erin! This is my first TOEFL essay and I would like you to score it at this stage and please suggest areas of improvement. Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need. Others say that advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives. Which viewpoint do you agree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Ever since the concept of advertising was introduced, it had always been under debate about its impact on society and such practice has become more popular because of the mass media of television. Considering the technical advancements in the present century where every dawn begins with a novel idea of a better approach to every chore of our life, and a variety of options available for every purchase, we can conclude that the prevailing competition has made the promotors with "profit at any cost" attitude to improve their methods of sale.In the process, I agree that advertising media misles the customers into making purchases which may be unnecessary mor than the basic concept of creating awareness among people about any product. Beginning from trivial products such as detergents to most important investment of property sale, there are various choices that the customer can make today. In order to promote sale of a particular product, the advertisers tend to introduce it into market with low costs initially and such products even though contribute a necessary investment, lures the individuals to make such investments. For example, for a professor of English for whom an ordinary computer with basic software features for composing his papers would be sufficient, would be lured to make unnecessary purchase of a Pentium 4 processor which is now available at a cheaper price, advertised with an sound technical features and has reasonable instalment plans. The advertisements also claim to make a comparitive study of the reliability of one product over the other and as a result the customers are lured into choosing one product over the other. It's obvious that a person who finds an advertisement humorous or funny or a quotation interesting , would be misled into making a purchase if such presentation fits his attitude. The very motive of advertising is thus served. People also tend to be carried away by what is latest in fashion. For example, where an ordinary kitchen appliance can shred a head of cabbage why would a person want to invest ten times more on an electric shredder for tiny job bacause it is cheaper than the same product of different brand. Moreover, it is not even necessary that the product under promotion is the best option. Some wholesale promotors may choose to maintain a low profile since most of their sales may be derived from the export market or any external agencies. Though advertising to some extent tends to make individuals aware of the latest product in market, to a large extent the motive of the advertisers is to win the market shares and because the market now is highly competitive, its incumbent upon the customers to be shrewd in making their choices of purchase and strike a balance between their needs and the amount of investment and make their own research into a purchase of a particular product.