In TOEFL reading passages, some details are not stated explicitly or directly, but you can understood them from the other details that are stated before and after. Look at the following sentence:

Dr. Brown and two other professors needed twenty-five graduate students for their psychological study, so they chose five from St. Mary’s, ten from other all-girls colleges in Toronto, and the rest from all-girl colleges in other cities in Ontario.

The details stated are:

  1. Dr. Brown and two other professors chose twenty-five graduate students for a study.
  2. Five students were from St. Mary’s.
  3. Ten Students were from other all-girl colleges in Toronto.
  4. The rest were from all-girl colleges in other Ontario cities.

What is not stated but must be understood?

  1. What kind of job does Dr. Brown have?
    You understand that Dr. Brown is a psychology professor because it can be inferred from the phrase "and two other professors" and “for their psychological study.”
  2. How many professors were doing the study?
    You understand that three professors were doing the study because it can be inferred from the phrase "Dr. Brown and two other professors."
  3. What and where is St. Mary’s?
    You understand that St. Mary’s is an all-girl college in Toronto because it can be inferred from the phrase "other all-girl colleges in Toronto."
  4. What and where is Toronto?
    You understand that Toronto is a city in Ontario because it can be inferred from the phrase "other cities in Ontario."
  5. How many students from other cities in Toronto were chosen for the study?
    You understand that ten students came from other cities because it can be inferred from the phrase "needed twenty-five graduate students…, five from…, ten from,… and the rest from all-girl colleges.”
  6. What was the study probably about?
    You understand that the study was probably about some aspect of students in all-girl college environments because it can be inferred from the phrases "all-girl colleges in Toronto" and "all-girl colleges in other cities" that "all-girl" was an important factor in choosing the students from those colleges.

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Exercise

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