Part 5+7 · Original Practice: A New Equipment-Return Procedure and Five Formal Connective Questions

01 Questions & answer area

Part 5 + 7 · 2 sections

Part 5 · Vocabulary & Grammar Fill-in

This section is standalone sentences with no shared passage — each question is listed directly in the answer area below.

Part 5 Answer area

0 / 5 answered

1. The recent increase in operating costs is largely ______ higher transportation and insurance fees.

2. ______ the revised budget constraints, the department intends to proceed with the recruitment campaign.

3. The company is reviewing its procurement procedures with a view to ______ unnecessary administrative delays.

4. Several factors contributed to the project's success, most ______ the close cooperation between the two engineering teams.

5. Neither the original proposal nor the subsequent revisions ______ sufficient detail about implementation costs.

Part 7 · Updated Equipment-Return Procedure Notice

Updated Equipment-Return Procedure

Questions 6-8 refer to the following notice.

Updated Equipment-Return Procedure

Beginning October 1, employees returning company-issued computers must schedule an appointment with the Technical Support desk. Walk-in returns will no longer be accepted because each device must be inspected and its data-removal status recorded while the employee is present.

Appointments should normally be made at least two business days in advance through the support portal. Employees whose final working day is less than two days away should telephone Technical Support instead. Devices may be returned at either the headquarters office or the West Branch, but accessories such as chargers and docking stations must be returned to the location from which they were originally issued.

Employees working entirely remotely may request prepaid shipping materials. Because delivery takes approximately three business days, such requests should be submitted well before the employee's final week. Managers will continue to receive confirmation once all assigned equipment has been returned.

Part 7 Answer area

0 / 3 answered

6. Why are appointments now required?

7. What should an employee leaving the company tomorrow do?

8. What is indicated about accessories?

03 Answers & explanations

Answers appear after you submit

No.	Correct answer	Point tested	Explanation
1	A · attributable to	Fixed adjective-phrase collocation	"be attributable to" fits the context of "the cost increase is due to higher transportation and insurance fees." "dependent upon," "representative of," and "applicable to" all fail to express the causal relationship.
2	B · Notwithstanding	Formal concessive preposition	"Notwithstanding" is a formal concessive preposition taking a noun phrase, meaning "despite the revised budget constraints, the department still intends to proceed." "Whereas" (needs a full clause), "Consequently" (an adverb, can't be used this way), and "Provided" (needs a "that" clause) all fail to fit the "preposition + noun phrase" structure here.
3	C · eliminating	Gerund after a preposition	The "to" in "with a view to" is a preposition, not an infinitive marker, so it must be followed by a gerund: "eliminating." This is a high-frequency TOEIC point on prepositions disguised as infinitive "to."
4	B · notably	Fixed adverb-phrase collocation	"most notably" is used after a list to introduce the most prominent example. "notable" (adjective), "notation" (noun), and "notice" (noun/verb) cannot modify the following noun phrase to introduce a specific example.
5	D · provide	"neither...nor..." subject-verb agreement	With subjects joined by "neither...nor...," the verb agrees with the nearer subject (plural "revisions"), so the plural "provide" is used. "provides/has provided" are singular forms, and "providing" is not a finite verb form.
6	B · Each device must be checked in the employee's presence.	Reason detail question	Corresponds to "...because each device must be inspected and its data-removal status recorded while the employee is present."
7	C · Telephone Technical Support	Detail question	Corresponds to "Employees whose final working day is less than two days away should telephone Technical Support instead."
8	D · They must go back to their issuing location.	Detail question	Corresponds to "...accessories such as chargers and docking stations must be returned to the location from which they were originally issued."

04 High-frequency vocabulary

Browse all vocabulary →

English	IPA	Part of speech	Chinese	Japanese	Example
attributable to	/əˈtrɪbjətəbəl tuː/	adj. phr.	归因于……的	〜に起因する	the increase is attributable to higher fees
notwithstanding	/ˌnɑːtwɪðˈstændɪŋ/	prep.	尽管，纵然	〜にもかかわらず	notwithstanding the budget constraints
with a view to (doing)	/wɪð ə vjuː tuː/	prep. phr.	意在，目的是	〜することを目指して	with a view to eliminating delays
procurement procedure	/prəˈkjʊrmənt prəˈsiːdʒər/	n.	采购流程	調達手続き	reviewing its procurement procedures
administrative delay	/ədˈmɪnɪˌstreɪtɪv dɪˈleɪ/	n.	行政延误	事務手続きの遅延	eliminate unnecessary administrative delays
most notably	/moʊst ˈnoʊtəbli/	adv. phr.	尤其是，最显著的是	特に、とりわけ	most notably the close cooperation
subsequent	/ˈsʌbsɪkwənt/	adj.	随后的，接下来的	その後の	the subsequent revisions
implementation cost	/ˌɪmpləmənˈteɪʃən kɔːst/	n.	实施成本	導入コスト	sufficient detail about implementation costs
walk-in	/ˈwɔːk ɪn/	adj.	无需预约的，当面办理的	予約なしの	walk-in returns will no longer be accepted
data-removal status	/ˈdeɪtə rɪˈmuːvəl ˈsteɪtəs/	n.	数据清除状态	データ削除状況	its data-removal status recorded
docking station	/ˈdɑːkɪŋ ˈsteɪʃən/	n.	扩展坞	ドッキングステーション	chargers and docking stations
prepaid shipping materials	/ˌpriːˈpeɪd ˈʃɪpɪŋ məˈtɪriəlz/	n.	预付邮资的寄送材料	送料前払いの配送資材	request prepaid shipping materials

05 Common phrases

Learn as a whole chunk — don’t break it apart

be attributable to…归因于……〜に起因する

notwithstanding + n.尽管……〜にもかかわらず

with a view to doing sth意在做某事〜することを目的として

most notably…尤其是……特に〜

neither A nor B + 谓语A 和 B 都不……AもBも〜ない

schedule an appointment with…与……预约〜に予約を入れる

06 Answer techniques

Part 5 + 7 · 6 tips

01
The fixed phrase "be attributable to"
Means "caused by," common in cost/outcome-analysis sentences. It's unrelated in form to "dependent upon," "representative of," or "applicable to," but easily confused as a near-synonym of them.
02
"Notwithstanding" is a formal concessive preposition
Equivalent to "despite/in spite of," taking a noun phrase. Don't confuse it with "Whereas" (needs a full clause), "Consequently" (adverb only), or "Provided" (needs a "that" clause).
03
Prepositions disguised as infinitive "to"
The "to" in "with a view to," "in addition to," "devoted to," "accustomed to," and "object to" is a preposition, requiring a noun or gerund afterward, never a base verb — a high-frequency TOEIC trap.
04
Using "most notably" to introduce a specific example
Typically follows a list of "multiple factors/reasons" to introduce the most prominent one for explanation. "notable" (adjective), "notation" (mark), and "notice" (attention) don't fit in part of speech or meaning.
05
"neither...nor..." subject-verb agreement
The verb's number is determined by the nearer subject. Here, the nearer subject is the plural "revisions," so the plural verb "provide" is used.
06
Reading: three signal types — reason, exception, and contrast
"because" directly gives the reason for a procedural change (Q6). An exception introduced by "whose" must be carefully matched to the right group — for a question about an urgent situation, locate the exception clause precisely rather than applying the general procedure (Q7). Contrasting information after "but" is a common detail-question point, where two different rules are often used to set a contrast trap (Q8).

07 Business English

Standard formal business-letter phrasing

The increase in costs is largely attributable to higher insurance fees.成本上升主要归因于保险费用的提高。コストの増加は主に保険料の上昇に起因しています。

Notwithstanding the budget constraints, we intend to proceed with the plan.尽管存在预算限制，我们仍打算推进该计划。予算上の制約にもかかわらず、私たちはこの計画を進めるつもりです。

Please schedule an appointment with Technical Support before returning your device.归还设备前，请先与技术支持部门预约。端末を返却する前に、テクニカルサポートにご予約ください。

Accessories must be returned to the location from which they were issued.配件必须归还至最初发放的地点。付属品は支給元の場所に返却する必要があります。

08 Today's reflection

Why you got it wrong matters more than the right answer

When you’re done, note why you got it wrong in one line.

Ten minutes a day — no rush, just no stopping.

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