[General] Question about an answer on the preperation course for the toefl test.

Hello,


I got an answer which has been confusing me. I'm not convinced with it.

In toefl post-test, P.82, Q.4, there is a question said:

Woman: How did Chuck look when you visited him in the hospital?
Man: He's looked better.

Narrator: WHAT DOES THE MAN MEAN?

(a) Chuck has improved.
(b) This visit was better than the last.
(c) Chuck looked at him in the hospital.
(d) Chuck didn't seem to be doing very well.

I chose (A), but toefl key answers say "the best answer is (D)"
I was wondering, why number (A) is wrong?
Did the man say it sarcastically and mean the opposite meaning?

I have attached the sound track for this conversation. Maybe, I heard it wrong.

View attachment 03 - part a, conversations 1-15_clip.mp3

You heard correctly. 'He has looked better' has the literal meaning of the words, and implies that Chuck is not looking very well.

5jj said:

You heard correctly. 'He has looked better' has the literal meaning of the words, and implies that Chuck is not looking very well.

Click to expand...

Do you mean the man said it sarcastically?

I'm not sure what you're getting at.
Could you please explain more??

Hi,
As 5jj said it has the literal meaning of the words. In my opinion, if you add 'in the past / before' to the sentence, just like this, 'He has looked better in the past / before.' You will see that now he doesn't look as well as he used to. That's why the correct answer is, '(d) Chuck didn't seem to be doing very well.

Let's see what the teachers have to say about it.

L.

M!do said:

Do you mean the man said it sarcastically?

I'm not sure what you're getting at.
Could you please explain more??

Click to expand...

Expressions such as this can be used with a sarcastic suggestion, but that is not necessarily the case. I am not sure what you don't understand.

If I have seen Chuck looking better then, logically, he is not looking at his best. This could be taken to imply that he is not looking well. Only more context can make us certain of the full implications:

"He has looked better but, considering what he has been through, he didn't look too bad."
"He has looked better - much better. I am very worried about him".

learning54 said:

Hi,
As 5jj said it has the literal meaning of the words. In my opinion, if you add 'in the past / before' to the sentence, just like this, 'He has looked better in the past / before.' You will see that now he doesn't look as well as he used to. That's why the correct answer is, '(d) Chuck didn't seem to be doing very well.

Let's see what the teachers have to say about it.

L.

Click to expand...

I didn't choose (D), because the sentence in the present perfect (has). But, if they put (had), I'd choose (d).

That what makes me confused.

5jj said:

Expressions such as this can be used with a sarcastic suggestion, but that is not necessarily the case. I am not sure what you don't understand.

If I have seen Chuck looking better then, logically, he is not looking at his best. This could be taken to imply that he is not looking well. Only more context can make us certain of the full implications:

"He has looked better but, considering what he has been through, he didn't look too bad."
"He has looked better - much better. I am very worried about him".

Click to expand...

I got now what you're trying to get at.
So, the meaning of the sentence " Chuck has improved but not completely. Thus, he seems not to be doing very well as he was in the past"

Is that right??

If that's right, then I got it.

M!do said:

I didn't choose (D), because the sentence in the present perfect (has). But, if they put (had), I'd choose (d).

That what makes me confused.

Click to expand...

He has looked better in the time that I have known him. That time extends up to the present moment, hence the present perfect.

M!do said:

I didn't choose (D), because the sentence is in the present perfect (has). But, if they put (had), I'd choose (d).

That what makes me confused.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Remember that the present perfect somehow connects the past with the present, while the past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.

L.

5jj said:

He has looked better in the time that I have known him. That time extends up to the present moment, hence the present perfect.

Click to expand...

learning54 said:

Hi,
Remember that the present perfect somehow connects the past with the present, while the past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.

L.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your clarification and assistance.

I appreciate that.