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How To Master Skills For Reading Comprehension
A manual for Third-Year Students
The Danang University of Foreign Language Studies

Department of English

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Contents
To the Student .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
PART I. Building supporting skills .................................................................................................... 7
PRACTICE WITH SKIMMING TECHNIQUE .............................................................................................................. 9
EXERCISE R1: Choose the best heading.................................................................................... 9
EXERCISE R2: Match the Headings ........................................................................................ 10
PRACTICE WITH SCANNING TECHNIQUE ........................................................................................................... 18
EXERCISE R3: Do short-answer questions ............................................................................... 18
EXERCISE R4: Do true/false/not-given questions ..................................................................... 20
EXERCISE R5: Do multiple choice questions ........................................................................... 22
EXERCISE R6: Do multiple matching ...................................................................................... 23
Reading Mini-test 1 ............................................................................................................ 27
PRACTICE WITH REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 30
EXERCISE R7: Locating referents within a sentence ................................................................. 31
EXERCISE R8: Locating multiple referents within a passage ..................................................... 32
PRACTICE WITH DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARY ................................................................. 34
EXERCISE R9: Guess the meanings of the boldfaced word(s) in a sentence. ............................... 35
EXERCISE R10: Find the meanings of the boldfaced words in a paragraph. ................................ 38
PRACTICE WITH INFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 41
EXERCISE R11: Inferring in Yes / No / Not Given question type ............................................... 41
EXERCISE R12: Inferring in multiple choice question type ....................................................... 44
EXERCISE R13: Inferring for other task types .......................................................................... 48
PRACTICE WITH SUMMARIZING SKILL ................................................................................................................ 50
EXERCISE R14: Completing a summary with main ideas .......................................................... 50
EXERCISE R15: Filling in gaps with words given ..................................................................... 52
EXERCISE R16: Filling in gaps without words given ................................................................ 54
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING TEXT ORGANIZATION ........................................................................ 56
EXERCISE R17: Inserting sentences into a passage ................................................................... 56
READING PRACTICE TEST 1 ................................................................................................................... 61
PART II Getting ready for exam ......................................................................................................... 69
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING MEANING FROM CONTEXT.............................................................. 70
EXERCISE R18 Understanding words in context ....................................................................... 70
EXERCISE R19 Choosing the best synonym ............................................................................. 75
EXERCISE R20 Understanding the author's meaning ................................................................. 79
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING THE CONNECTION OF IDEAS .......................................................... 84
EXERCISE R21 Locating referents within a passage .................................................................. 84
EXERCISE R22 Locating multiple referents within a passage..................................................... 85

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EXERCISE R23 Understanding transition words ....................................................................... 85

EXERCISE R24 Inserting sentences ......................................................................................... 87
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING DETAILS AND RECOGNIZING PARAPHRASES .......................... 93
EXERCISE R25 Finding facts .................................................................................................. 95
EXERCISE R26 Understanding exceptions ............................................................................... 96
EXERCISE R27 Determining whether statements are the same or different ................................. 98
EXERCISE R28 Locating restated information.......................................................................... 98
EXERCISE R29 Choosing the restatement of boldfaced sentences.............................................. 99
EXERCISE R30 Choosing the restatement of boldfaced sentences in paragraphs ....................... 101
Reading Mini-test 5 .......................................................................................................... 103
PRACTICE WITH MAKING INFERENCES AND DRAWING CONCLUSIONS............................................ 108
EXERCISE R31 Identifying inferences ................................................................................... 109
EXERCISE R32 Checking if an inference is correct................................................................. 110
EXERCISE R33 Identifying inferences in paragraphs .............................................................. 110
EXERCISE R34 Making inferences ........................................................................................ 111
EXERCISE R35 Drawing conclusions .................................................................................... 113
EXERCISE R36 Reviewing inferences ................................................................................... 114
PRACTICE WITH SUMMARIES AND CHARTS ................................................................................................... 120
EXERCISE R37 Understanding summaries ............................................................................. 120
EXERCISE R38 Identifying summary ideas ............................................................................ 121
EXERCISE R39 Organizing information into charts ................................................................ 125
READING PRACTICE TEST 2 ................................................................................................................. 132
PASSAGE 1: Resources and Industrialism in Canada ............................................................. 132
PASSAGE 2: Migration from Asia ........................................................................................ 134
PASSAGE 3: Layers of Social Class....................................................................................... 136
PASSAGE 4: Sea Rising Levels ............................................................................................ 139
PASSAGE 5: Exotic and Endangered Species ........................................................................ 141
VSTEP READING TEST SAMPLE........................................................................................................ 144

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To the Student
This book is designed to help third-year students of the College of Foreign Language Studies,
the University of Danang, to develop their reading comprehension skills.
The book is divided into three major parts. The first part is to help students build up
techniques that help them do a reading comprehension test effectively like skimming,
scanning, looking for main ideas, locating referents, guessing unfamiliar vocabulary, and the
like. Some might view the techniques are not necessary, but its helpfulness is not questionable
as they do reflect what a reader does in their real-life reading activity. In addition, it includes
most of the question types learners might meet in standardized reading comprehension tests,
and so it certainly helps learners prepare themselves for these tests.
While the first part of the book aims to equip learners with necessary reading skills so that
they can deal with any reading material that they encounter in both their daily and academic
life, the second part of the book focuses mainly on helping students answer multiple-choice
questions in a reading test. The skills learned in the first part can be repeated in the second
part, but with a totally different goal. The goal is for students (1) to review the skills, but more
importantly (2) to apply the skills learned in dealing with text passages with multiple-choice
questions.
At the end of each part, there is a practice test. The practice tests are also there to help
students check their progress with the skills they have learned. The final part of the book
presents a sample VSTEP reading test. VTSEP is the standardized test administered by the
Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, which students are expected to take to
complete their graduation requirements.

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PART I
BUILDING
SUPPORTING
SKILLS

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Building Support Skills
PRACTICE WITH SKIMMING TECHNIQUE

Skimming is a fast reading technique. It involves selective reading of the most important
parts of the text in order to:
• find out how the text is organized – that is, the way it is divided into sections or
paragraphs.
• get a general idea of what the text is about.
• decide if the text is interesting and whether you should read it in more detail.
Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim
when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you
want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.
• Read the title, subtitles and subheadings to find out what the text is about.
• Look at the illustrations to give you further information about the topic.
• When you are skimming a passage for a general understanding, don’t try to understand
every word. Jump from paragraph to paragraph, finding the main point in each paragraph
before moving on to the next paragraph, like jumping across stepping-stones in a river.
The main point of each paragraph is often, though certainly not always, the first sentence
in each paragraph. The sentence with the main point is often called the ‘topic sentence’.
Taken together, the topic sentences of a passage should provide a reasonable summary of
the passage.
When you are looking at sentences to understand the main points, try to find the main words
in the sentence, namely the subject, the verb and the object of the main clause. Try to ignore
the other words, particularly the relative clauses and adverbial clauses.
Examples:
Whale oil, rendered from the blubber, was used originally for lamp fuel and later as a
principal ingredient of soaps, margarine, paint oils and lubricants.
While skimming, it is enough to understand that: (This) oil was used for (something).
Tea plants are grown on tea plantations, called gardens or estates, in areas that have a
great amount of rainfall and rich loamy oil.
It is enough to understand that tea plants are grown on/in somewhere/somehow. If you
later find a question that relates to this sentence, you can come back and read it more
intensively.
EXERCISE R1: Choose the best heading
1. Which of these three headings states the main idea in the paragraph that goes below? Use
the highlighted key words to help you decide.
A. Population figures for China
B. Assessing China’s farmland
C. Global population and the future
The world’s population is forecast to reach 7.5 billion by 2020, and growing prosperity,
especially in China, is fueling a rising appetite for meat and cereals. Yet it is becoming
harder to find new farmland, water is increasingly scare and crop-yield growth is slowing.
Already 167 million children are malnourished. Are hungry times ahead?
1. How did the highlighted words help you?
2. How do the verb tenses help you find the answer?
3. Can you explain why the other headings are attractive, but wrong?

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Practice with skimming technique
2. Look at these three headings. As quickly as possible decide which of the headings best
matches the paragraph, taken from a reading passage below.
A. Britain’s modern motorway system
B. Roman principles relevant today
C. 6,000 km of Roman roads
Between 43 AD and 81 AD Roman Britain acquired 6000 km network of technically
advanced, hard bearing and straight highways linking towns of importance. Today
Britain’s motorway system is only half that length. The basic Roman philosophy of
building a road to cope with different types and volumes of vehicles and using local
materials where possible still applies today.
EXERCISE R2: Match the Headings
Questions 1-3
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-C from the list of heading below
Tactics for heading matching
1. Read all the headings and underline or highlight the key words.
2. Read the first paragraph of the passage, marking the topic sentences and
related phrases and vocabulary.
3. Re-phrase the main idea of the paragraph in your mind.
4. Read the list of headings to see if there is a match between the key words and
the headings and the words you have marked in the paragraph.
5. Choose the heading that best summarizes the main idea of the first paragraph.
6. Go on to the next paragraph and repeat the process.
7. If you think two headings fit one paragraph, mark both of them and rule one of
these out later.
List of headings
i. The destruction of the library
ii. Collection methods
iii. Replacing lost books
iv. The library’s original purpose
v. Storage methods
The Old Library of Alexandria

A. The ancient library of Alexandria, which served as the intellectual and cultural hub of Egypt
for 250 years, was tragically destroyed in 43 B.C. Now there is widespread speculation
about its true beginnings. The most popular theory is that Plolemy I Sorter (who ruled from
304 to 282 BC) gathered a vast selection of books on kingship, ruling and the world’s
people, so he might be better understand trade terms and how to lead his subjects.
B. Ptolemy I longed to possess all the literature in the world. The manuscripts to take the form
of scrolls kept in pigeonholes, the best of them wrapped in jackets of leather or linen. They
are likely to have remained in the groups in which they were acquired rather than being
properly categorized. Parchment wasn’t used until later, when the first books began to be
written and kept in wooden chests in Roman times.
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C. As the library expanded, Ptolemy’s successors used increasingly unscrupulous techniques

to obtain manuscripts. One source claims that every ship sailing into Alexandria’s harbour
was routinely searched and, if a book was found, it was confiscated and taken to the library.
There it was examined and a decision made whether to keep it and make a replacement
copy, to be given to its rightful owner together with adequate reimbursement, or to just
return the original copy outright.
Your Answer:
1. Section A ……….. 2. Section B ………… 3. Section C…………
Questions 4-9
Look at the passage ‘Difficulties Commonly Experienced by Overseas Students’. There are
six sections 4-9. Choose the most suitable heading for each section from the list of headings
below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-viii) in the lines. There are more headings than
sections, so you will not use all of them. You may use any of the headings more than once.
List of headings
i. Personal Finances
ii. Language and Communication
iii. Being Different and Apart
iv. Cultural Adjustment
v. Study-Related Concerns
vi. Family Support
vii. Getting Around
viii. Living Independently
Difficulties Commonly Experienced by Overseas Students

The problems experienced by overseas students are now generally well-documented. The
issues that cause the greatest difficulty can be summarized as follows:
4. ………………………………………………………………………………….
This involves getting used to the new country and different way of life, customs, and values. In
addition, students also have to deal with the sense of loss (missing family, friends, familiar food
and places). These issues are usually referred to by the term ‘culture shock’.
5. …………………………………………………………………………………….
Managing on a limited budget is a challenge for most, but it is especially so for people living
in an unfamiliar environment. Students may have to pay for education and living expenses, find
a reasonable place to live and, in some cases, a part-time job to supplement any scholarship or
money from home.
6. …………………………………………………………………………………
Many students are not used to looking after themselves. At home, parents and family usually
assist them in coping with shopping, cooking, personal finances and generally managing their
affairs. Overseas, all of these things must be done without the family’s support.
7. …………………………………………………………………………………..
Even some of the students who have been educated in an English language school have
problems communicating freely at university level. Many students find reading and writing in
English especially difficult. Participating in classroom discussion, and asking questions of staff
often produce difficulties.
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8. …………………………………………………………………….
Differences in the style and traditions of learning between Western and Asian countries
frequently cause difficulty. Many overseas students find it difficult to adapt to Western notions
of independent thinking and learning. Students from some countries may also have difficulty
because they lack experience in using well-equipped libraries and laboratories.
9. …………………………………………………………………………..
This refers both to experiences of racial intolerance and the relatively low level of contact that
overseas students have with local people. Students often report being uncomfortable about
generalized discrimination, e.g. graffiti. The lack of meaningful contact with locals will be
discussed in a later section of this book.
Questions 10-19
Look at the passage ‘How to Revise for Exams’. There are ten sections 10-19. Choose the
most suitable heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
numbers (i-x) in the lines.
List of headings
i. Structuring exam essays
ii. Your attitude
iii. How to remember
iv. Concentration
v. Practicing long exam essays
vi. Stress and self confidence
vii. How to revise
viii. Have a balanced timetable
ix. Reviewing study material
x. Working with others
How to Revise for Exams

Students learn and study in different ways. No one way best suits all students. We make the
following suggestions, but they need to be interpreted flexibly.
10. …………………………………………………………………….
Start with a positive frame of mind. Remind yourself why exams are necessary (to measure
student performance and to assess student potential), and why you are going to do well in
your exam (because you have been reasonably hard working and have prepared intelligently).
11. . …………………………………………………………………….
Reduce stress and increase self-confidence. Make yourself familiar with the format of the
exam. Most tests follow the pattern of earlier years. So, study past exam papers, noting exam
format, the choice of questions and the time limits.
12. …………………………………………………………………….
Review systematically. Go through all of your learning materials (class and reading notes,
handouts, essays, etc.), making a careful index under major and minor headings.
13. …………………………………………………………………….
Revise actively, not passively. Revision means more than “re-viewing” and passing your eye
across pages of notes. Active revision means using a questioning approach: do you understand
what your notes mean? Follow up any points you do not understand.
14. …………………………………………………………………….
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Learn how to recall and use your knowledge. Practice remembering your ideas and making
use of your knowledge. Learn to joint ideas together by making connection between
information from various sources.
15. …………………………………………………………………….
The organization of essays is very important. One page of well structured answer is worth ten
pages of aimless text. But good exam technique only comes with practice. To do well at short
exam answers you need to practice noting and organizing your thoughts quickly.
16. …………………………………………………………………….
Get used to writing continuously for long period without a break under exam conditions. This
will help you to develop writing skills and to manage your most important resource _ time.
17. …………………………………………………………………….
Don’t day dream or drift into a negative frame of mind. Concentration depends on practice,
but it also depends on keeping fit and healthy. Remember to take regular breaks for fresh air,
physical exercise and refreshment. Avoid excessive tea, coffee and alcohol.
18. …………………………………………………………………….
Consider the value of cooperative revision. Most students revise alone, and may become
depressed because they feel they are falling behind. Others find it best to work in a revision
group. Working with fellow students reminds you that you are not alone and is mutually
supportive.
19. …………………………………………………………………….
Maintain a balanced review time table. Don’t revise only a few topics to the exclusion of all
others. Spread your revision over two or more subjects each day. Take a day off now and then
as a reward. Remember, you are building yourself up to peak performance on the day of the
exam.
Questions 20-25
Look at the passage ‘Job Sharing’. There are six sections A-F. Choose the most suitable
heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-x)
in the lines. There are more headings than sections, so you will not use all of them. You
may use any of the headings more than once.
List of headings
i. Characteristics of job sharers
ii. Employer acceptance of job sharing
iii. Sharing work vs sharing jobs
iv. Rejection of job sharing by industry
v. Definition of job sharing
vi. Finding a job share partner
vii. Ingredients of successful job sharing
viii. Creating employment through job sharing
ix. Women sharing work
x. Job sharers as bosses
Job Sharing
Section A
Job sharing refers to a situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time
job. The two people willingly act as part-time workers, working enough hours between them to
fulfil the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the hours of the job, for example,
they each receive 50 per cent of the job's wages, its holidays and its other benefits. Of course,
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some job sharers take a smaller or larger share of the responsibilities of the position, receiving
a lesser or greater share of the benefits.
Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it is mainly (although not
exclusively) occurring in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which entail higher
levels of responsibility and employee commitment. Until recently, these characteristics were
not generally seen as compatible with anything less than full-time employment. Thus, the
demands of job sharing are reciprocated by better pay and conditions and, ideally, more
satisfaction than conventional part-time work.
Section B
Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which pertains to increasing
the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more
positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not
designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work
for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other pursuits.
Section C
As would be expected, women comprise the bulk of job sharers. A survey carried out in 1988
by Britain's Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) revealed that 78 per cent of sharers were
female, the majority of whom were between the ages of 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent
studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job
market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would
have meant reduced wages and lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable transition
back into full-time work after a long absence.
Section D
Although job sharing is still seen as too radical by many companies, those that have chosen to
experiment with it include large businesses with conservative reputations. One of Britain's
major banks, the National Westminster Bank, for example, offers a limited number of shared
positions intended to give long -serving employees a break from full -time work. British
Telecom, meanwhile, maintains 25 shared posts because, according to its personnel
department, "Some of the job sharers might otherwise have left the company and we are now
able to retain them”. Two wide-ranging surveys carried out in the country in 1989 revealed
the proportion of large and medium -sized private -sector businesses that allow job sharing to
be between 16 and 25 per cent. Some 78 per cent of job sharers, however, work in public -
sector jobs.
Section E
The types of jobs that are shared vary but include positions that involve responsibility for
many subordinates. Research into shared senior management position suggests that even such
high -pressure work can be shared between two people with little adjustment, provided the
personalities and temperaments of the sharers are not vastly different from one another. A
1991 study of employees working under supervisory positions shared by two people showed
that those who prefer such a situation do so for several reasons. Most prevalent were those
who felt there was less bias in the evaluation of their work because having two assessments
provided for a greater degree of fairness.
Section F
The necessity of close cooperation and collaboration when sharing a job with another person
makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position, one-person jobs.
However, to ensure a greater change that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to
know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a
position. Moreover, there must be an equitable allocation of both routine task and interesting
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ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well-matched and
must treat each other as equals.
Your Answer:
20. Section A: ………………. 21. Section B: ……………. 22. Section C: ………………
23. Section D: ………………. 24. Section E: …………… 25. Section F: ………………
Questions 26-31
Look at the passage ‘Parenting Responsibility’. There are six sections A-F. Choose the most
suitable heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
numbers (i-ix) in the lines. There are more headings than sections, so you will not use all of
them. You may use any of the headings more than once.
List of headings
i. The presumptions of policy makers
ii. Need for more equitable parenting policies
iii. The impact of dual employment
iv. Comparison of employed and non-employed mothers
v. The benefits of balanced responsibility
vi. The unchanged role of the female parent
vii. The effect of stress on the female parent
viii. Disadvantages of parental equality
ix. The experts' view of the male parent's role
x. Commitment of mothers to their paid jobs
xi. Origins of anxiety in working mothers
Parenting Responsibility
Section A
There are still significant gaps between women and men in terms of their involvement in
family life, the tasks they perform and the responsibilities they take. Yet, at least in developed
Western countries, both women and men express a desire for greater equality in family life. It
is evident that in terms of attitudes and beliefs, the problem cannot simply be thought of in
terms of women wanting men to share more equally and men being reluctant to do so. The
challenge now is to develop policies and practices based on a presumption of shared
responsibility between men and women, and a presumption that there are potential benefits
for men and women, as well as for families and the community, if there is greater gender
equality in the responsibilities and pleasures of family life. These are becoming key concerns
of researchers, policy makers, community workers and, more importantly, family members
themselves.
Section B
Despite the significant increase in the number of women with dependent children who are in
the paid workforce, Australian research studies over the last 15 years are consistent in
showing that divisions of labour for family work are very rigid indeed (Watson 1991). In
terms of time, women perform approximately 90 per cent of child care tasks and 70 per cent
of all family work and only 14 per cent of fathers are highly participant in terms of time spent
on family work (Russell 1983). Demo and Acock (1993), in a recent US study, also found that
women continue to perform a constant and major proportion of household labour (68 per cent
to 95 per cent) across all family types (first marriage, divorced, step-family or never married),
regardless of whether they are employed or non-employed in paid work.
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Section C
Divisions of labour for family work are particularly problematic in families in which both
parents are employed outside the home (dual-worker families). Employed mothers adjust their
jobs and personal lives to accommodate family commitments more than employed fathers do.
Mothers are less likely to work overtime and are more likely to take time off work to attend to
children's need (VandenHeuvel 1993). Mothers spend less time on personal leisure activities
than their partners, a factor that often leads to resentment (Demo and Acock 1993).
Section D
The parental role is central to the stress-related anxiety reported by employed mothers, and a
major contributor to such stress is their taking a greater role in child care (VandenHeuvel
1993). Edgar and Glezer (1992) found that close to 90 per cent of both husbands and wives
agreed that the man should share equally in child care, yet 55 per cent of husbands and wives
claimed that the men actually did this. (These claims are despite the findings mentioned
earlier that point to a much lower participation rate by fathers). A mother's wanting her
partner to do more housework and child care is a better predictor of poor family adjustment
than is actual time spent by fathers in these tasks (Demo and Acock 1993). It is this desire,
together with its lack of fulfilment in most families, that brings about stress in the female
parent.
Section E
Family therapists and social work researchers are increasingly defining family problems in
terms of a lack of involvement and support from fathers and are concerned with difficulties
involved in having fathers take responsibility for the solution of family and child behaviour
problems (Edgar and Glezer 1986). Yet, a father accepting responsibility for behaviour
problems is linked with positive outcomes.
Section F
Research studies lend strong support to the argument that there are benefits for families
considering a change to a fairer or more equitable division of the pleasures and pains of
family life. Greater equality in the performance of family work is associated with lower levels
of family stress and higher self esteem, better health, and higher marital satisfaction for
mothers. There is also higher marital satisfaction for fathers, especially when they take more
responsibility for the needs of their children - fathers are happier when they are more involved
(Russell 1984).
26. Section A: ………………. 27. Section B: ……………. 28. Section C: ………………

29. Section D: ………………. 30. Section E: …………… 31. Section F: ………………
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Practice with scanning technique
PRACTICE WITH SCANNING TECHNIQUE

Scanning is the method to use when you need to search a passage quickly to locate the specific
information you need to answer each question.
When you are scanning to locate some specific information (e.g. names, places, dates, specific
phrases), it is not necessary to read and understand every word in the passage. When you look
at each sentence, you need to understand only enough to answer the question: Is it what I am
looking for or not? So, you only need to understand the topic of each sentence. For example,
you see this sentence:
Example
Like perfumes, cosmetics were originally used as an adjunct to religious ritual, the
ceremonial aspects gradually being lost as both men and women adorned themselves
with cosmetics.
You locate the subject of the sentence ‘cosmetics’ and that is enough. It is not necessary to
read all the details. You know that this sentence probably does not contain the information
you need, so you quickly move on to the next sentence. This is scanning.
Hints and tips for better scanning.

• Don't try to read every word. Instead let your eyes move quickly across the page
until you find what you are looking for.
• Use clues on the page, such as headings and titles, to help you.
• If you are reading for study, start by thinking up or writing down some questions
that you want to answer. Doing this can focus your mind and help you find the
facts or information that you need more easily.
• When scanning, guide your eyes across the page by using your first 3 fingers, or
your index finger alone, or even the tip of a pen or pencil. This will prevent your
eyes from wandering about on the page. You can increase your general reading
speed too, by following your finger with your eyes across the page as you read.
Many studies prove how much quicker people read when guiding their eyes
across the page. You might be surprised to discover how much faster you will be
reading.
You can use the scanning technique to find answers the following types of question in a
reading comprehension test.
• short-answer questions
• true/false/ not given questions
• sentence completion
• multiple choice
EXERCISE R3: Do short-answer questions
Tactics for doing short-answer questions
• Read the instructions carefully.
• Underline or highlight the key words in each question and decide what kind of
information you need to look for.
• Start with the first question and read the passage quickly to see if you can find
words that are the same as the key words or have a similar meaning.
• Read around these words to find the answer.
• Decide exactly which words/or numbers you should write as the answer.
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Questions 1-4
Scan the passage about libraries. Which sentence contains the information you need to answer
the questions below? Write the number of the sentence from the passage next to each question.
(1) Libraries are quite difficult to define. (2) If you ask most people to define a library, they
will probably say that it is a building with a lot of books. (3) Strictly speaking, a library does
not have to be a building: it can be a room, or indeed any area where material is kept. (4)
Equally, a library is not merely a collection of books: there are journals, newspapers, CD-
ROMs, microfilm, audio-visual materials and so on. (5) So, to be more accurate we can say
that a library is a collection of information or material.
(6) Libraries are organized in three ways. (7) Most libraries will use one or more of the three
main classification systems that have been developed to detail the material in the collection.
(8) They are referred to as the Dewey Decimal System, the Universal Decimal Classification
and the Library of Congress System.
(9) Nowadays libraries are under threat for a number of reasons. (10) The primary challenge,
as never before, is funding. (11) Hardware and personnel costs increase each time technology
expands. (12) Equally, there are challenges in the skills needed by users and resource
professionals.
(13) It is difficult to predict the future of libraries. (14) Our basic concept of libraries will
almost certainly, it would appear, change dramatically in that we will not think of them (and
access them) as physical places, which is the prevailing concept at the moment. (15) But
beyond that, it is difficult to predict both usage patterns and preferred systems of data
recording and retrieval.
1. What kinds of materials does a library collect? ___________
2. What is the most accurate way to define ‘library’? ___________
3. What is the main problem that libraries are facing? ___________
4. What aspect of libraries is sure to change? ___________
Questions 5-9
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. Decide what kind of answer, or which
words from the question, you are looking for.
Meanwhile people in the Third World can only envy the level of health risk faced by those of
us who can turn on a tap or flush a toilet. Most cities in Africa and many in Asia – Dakar,
Kinshasa and Chittagong, for example, have no sewerage of any kind. Streams, gullies and
ditches are where most human excrement and household waste end up.
People draw their drinking water from a standpipe which only operates for a few hours each
day. Women still wash clothes and bathe their children in a muddy stream. In Nairobi,
Jakarta, Bangkok and elsewhere, families are forced to purchase water from a vendor, paying
ten times the rate charged to houses with main connections (in Khartoum it is 18 times more
expensive). In some parts of Sudan, half of household income is spent on water. As city
populations rapidly expand, water and sanitation services are put under pressures –
unimaginable to those who build them. But at least fear of epidemic – repeating the terrible
ravages of cholera in nineteenth century Europe – encourages action in city halls. Lagos, for
example, used to be a watchword for urban filth. Now there is a monthly “sanitation day” on
which moving around the city is banned: everyone must pick up a shovel and clean their
neighbourhood.
But until very recently, the sanitary environment inhabited by more than 60 per cent of Third
World people – the countryside – was left to take care of itself. The woman carrying her
container to the well, washing her laundry in the stream, leaving her toddlers to squat in the
compound, had ever seen a pipeline nor a drain; no faucet graced her village square, let alone
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her own backyard. At the end of the 1970s, 1.2 billion people in the Third World were
without a safe supply of drinking water and 1.6 billion without any proper means of waste
disposal.
5. Give two examples of cities which have no sewerage.
6. Where is half of the household income spent on water?
7. What must Lagos inhabitants do on “sanitation day”?
8. Where do more than 60 per cent of Third World people live?
9. In the 1970s, how many people had no proper means of waste
disposal?
Questions 10-15
Read the passage very quickly and answer the following questions as briefly as possible, writing
the answers in the spaces.
The Sydney Harbour Tunnel

A. Construction started in January 1988 and was completed by 31 August 1992. The tunnel
took more than 300 contractors and subcontractors combining for a total workforce of more
than 4,500 employees having a peak of 800 at any one time. When completed it will have a
total staff of 30 excluding toll collectors. It required the excavation of about 1.8 million
cubic metres of rock, mud and sand; land tunnels – more than 320,000 cubic metres; trench
for marine tunnel – almost 700,000 cubic metres, casting basin – almost 800,000 cubic
metres. The tunnel is one of more than 70 immersed tube tunnels around the world. Its total
length is 2.3 km. It is Australia’s longest road tunnel and its first under water.
B. Land tunnels on the northern side commenced in February 1988 with the drilling of a pilot
tunnel from the harbour edge up towards Mount Street bridge above the Warringah
Expressway using tunnel borers, road headers, excavators and rock hammers. Land tunnels
on the south side commenced in October 1988, with identical procedures.
C. Dredging commenced in January 1989 when grab dredger Goomai commenced bulk
dredging at the southern end of the tunnel trench, and trailing hopper suction dredger
Resolution commenced operations in the central half of the immersed tube trench in mid
February 1989. 650,000 cubic metres of silt, clay and sand were removed leaving only
sandstone to be cleared by the cutter suction dredge Kunara. She crushed a total of 37,000
cubic metres of sandstone. Each dredge was equipped with at least two position fixing
systems. These systems generated a horizontal position derived from microwave, infra-red
and laser-based measurement systems.
10. How long did it take to construct the tunnel?

11. What was the total number of people involved in building the
tunnel?
12. How many underwater tunnels are there in Australia?
13. Where was the pilot tunnel drilled?
14. When were the land tunnels begun?
15. How much sandstone did the dredge Kunara crush?
EXERCISE R4: Do true/false/not-given questions

You decide whether the statement agrees with or contradicts the information in the passage, or
whether there is no information about the statement. The answers are in passage order but they
may be grouped together in one part of the passage or spread across the passage.
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How do I know the statement is true, false, not given.

• True: The statement agrees with what is in the passage → i.e. says the same thing
using different words
• False: The statement contradicts what is in the passage → i.e. says the opposite
• Not given: There is no information of this piece of information in the passage.
Tactics for true/false /not given questions

• Read the statements very carefully.
• Underline or highlight the key words or phrases in the first statement and
quickly read the passage for these. This is done to help you find the idea or
information and get started in the right part of the passage.
• Read around the words in the passage and see whether the information agrees
with the statement, contradicts it or whether nothing is said about it.
• Decide whether the answer is True, False or Not Given
Questions 1-3
Read the article below and the three statements. Decide which statement is true/false/not given.
The Four-minute Mile
One of the great sporting achievement of the 20th century was when the runner Roger Bannister
broke the four minute mile record. In being the first to do so, he denied his Australian rival,
John Landy, the chance of achieved immortality in the fields of athletics. Media interest in the
50th anniversary of the event, including the publication of two books on the subject, highlight
the significant of the achievement.
T / F/ NG
1. John Landy ran a mile in under minutes before Roger Bannister. ___________
2. Fifty years have passed since the four-minute mile was broken. ___________
3. Roger Bannister was English. ___________
Questions 4-11
Urban Heat
In 1818, Luke Howard published The Climate of London in which he identified an emerging
problem: urban development was having a direct impact on the local weather. The early 1800s
was a time of great expansion for London and Howard noticed that temperatures in the city
were gradually becoming higher than those in rural areas. We now refer to these areas as
Urban Heat Islands. The difference in temperature is usually greater at night and the
phenomenon occurs in both winter and summer. Experts agree that this is due to urban
development, when open green spaces are replaced with asphalt roads and tall brick or
concrete buildings. These materials retain heat generated by the Sun and release it through the
night. In Atlanta, in the US, this has even led to thunderstorms occurring in the morning rather
than, as is more common, in the afternoon, Officials there are advising builders to use light-
coloured roofs in a bid to reduce the problem.
Large cities around the world are adopting strategies to combat this issue and it is not
uncommon to find plants growing on top of roofs or down the walls of large buildings. In
Singapore, the government has pledged to transform it into a ‘city within a garden’ and, in
2006, they held an international competition calling for entries to develop a master plan to
help bring this about. One outcome was the creation of 18 ‘Supertrees’. These metal
constructions are made to resemble very tall trees and range in height from 25m to 50m. Each
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one is a vertical freestanding garden and is home to exotic plants and ferns. Their structure
allowed the designers to create an immediate rainforest canopy without having to wait for
trees to reach such heights. They contain solar panels used to light the trees at night and also
containers to collect rainwater, making them truly self-sufficient.
Decide if the following statements are True, False or Not Given according to the text:
T / F/ NG
4. Luke Howard invented the term ‘Urban Heat Island’. _________
5. City temperatures are higher than country temperatures regardless of the _________
season.
6. Experts have failed in their efforts to create heat-reflecting concrete and _________
brick.
7. Atlanta has experienced more dramatic weather change than other areas of _________
the US.
8. Roofs that are dark in colour help address the issue of Urban Heat Islands. _________
9. Singapore’s Supertrees are made entirely from natural materials. _________
10. The designers of the Supertrees originally planned to plant very tall trees. _________
11. The Supertrees require regular maintenance. _________
EXERCISE R5: Do multiple choice questions

Tactics For Multiple Choice Questions
• Underline or highlight the key words in the question and the four questions.
• Quickly read the sentences that contain the main ideas in each paragraph of the
passage.
• Rule out any options in the questions that you think are definitely wrong.
• Decide which option is correct.
Questions 1-5
Look through the questions below, scan the passage and then choose the best answers.
The first black literature in America was not written but was preserved in an oral tradition, in
a rich body of folklore, songs and stories, many from African origins. There are humorous
tales, Biblical stories, animal stories, and stories of natural phenomena, of good and bad
people, and of the wise and foolish. Many reflect how African Americans viewed themselves
and their lives. The lyrics of blues, spirituals, and work songs speak of suffering and hope, joy
and pain, loved ones, and religious faith, and are an integral part of the early literature of
black people in America.
The earliest existing written black literature was Lucy Terry’s poem “Bars Fight”, written in
1746. Other eighteenth-century black poets include Jupiter Hammon and George Moses
Horton. The first African American to publish a book in American was Phillis Wheatley.
Black poetry also flourished in the nineteenth-century, during which the writings of almost
forty poets were printed, the most notable of whom was Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first black
American to achieve national acclaim for his work. Dunbar published eight volumes of poetry
and eight novels and collections of stories.
More than three dozen novels were written by blacks between 1853 and 1899, but
autobiography dominated African-American literature in the nineteenth-century, as it had in
the eighteenth. In the twentieth century, however, fiction has presided, with Charles W.
Chestnutt, America’s first black man of letters, successfully bridging the two centuries. He
began publishing short fiction in the mid-1880s, wrote two books that appeared in 1899, and
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had three books published between 1900 and 1905. He was a pioneer of the “new literature”
of the early 1900s, which aimed to persuade readers of the worth and equality of African
Americans.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as part of the oral tradition of
African Americans?
(A) humorous tales (B) tales of adventure
(C) biblical stories (D) animal stories
2. According to the passage, the lyrics of blues and spirituals are often concerned with
(A) the pain and joy in life (B) loved ones and animals
(C) religion and nature (D) wise and foolish people
3. According to the passage, an important part of early African-American literature was
(A) Novels (B) Short fiction stories
(C) Biographies (D) songs
4. According to the passage, when did the first written African-American literature appear?
(A) In the 1600s (B) In the 1700s
(C) In the 1800s (D) In the 1900s
5. According to the passage, who was the first African American to receive national
recognition for his writing?
(A) Paul Dunbar (B) George Horton
(C) Lucy Terry (D) Phillis Wheatley
EXERCISE R6: Do multiple matching
Tactics for multiple matching
• Read the whole text once. If there are no section headings, it may help to add
your own.
• Read the questions and highlight the key words. Answer any if you can
immediately and underline the relevant parts of the text. You do not need to
read these again.
• Read each section of the text carefully, looking for answers to all the remaining
questions.
Questions 1- 14
You are going to read a magazine interview with five woman MPs (Members of Parliament).
For questions 1-14 choose from the list of women (A-E) in the box. Some of the women may
be chosen more than once. When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any
order. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
A Edwina Currie D Tessa Jowell C Diana
B Harriet Harman E Anne Coffey
Which of the woman MPs:
Is also a writer? 0 A
Complain about the attitude of male MPs to women? 1 ____ 2 ____
think there will be no problem with female MPs in the future? 3 ____ 4 ____
mention women’s difficulties in other areas as well? 5 ____ 6 ____
thinks it is an advantage to be an older woman in Parliament? 7 ____
complains about the arrangements for children in Parliament? 8 ____
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feels female MPs work together more than men do? 9 ____
feels that her work has harmed her family? 10 ____
thinks Parliament should change fundamentally? 11 ____
thinks male and female MPs face the same type of difficulty? 12 ____
live near the Houses of Parliament 13 ____ 14 ____
Is There a Woman in the House?

Women have been taking up seats in Parliament since 1920. Sharon Garfinkle talks to female
MPs about the pressure and prejudice they still face today.
Edwinna Currie
This place is full of people whose way of thinking is amazingly old-fashioned. When my novel
was published, I was talking to a journalist friend when a male colleague came and put his arm
around me. I introduced him to the journalist and the MP said:” I’ve always said we shouldn’t
have women in this place. They aren’t suited for it. They ought to be at home looking after the
children.” The journalist’s mouth dropped open. My own feeling is that when we get 200
women here, this tone will disappear.
Being a Parliamentarian is a very demanding job. It means conflict between home and
occupation for both men and women. It is no ordinary job _ you must have a huge amount of
commitment and energy.
Harriet Harman
If Parliament is to include women, it has to be run in a different way. The issues for me are
different to the issues for male MPs because they might have a wife who’s taking responsibility
for their children, whereas I don’t. I became a new PM and a new mother at more or less the
same time. Both of these were overwhelming experiences. One of the critical things for me is
that my constituency and home are in London and only 15 minutes from the Parliament.
In the future women in the Parliament will not be an issue. We’ll be here in equal numbers and
on equal terms.
Diana Maddock
I knew that Parliament would be a strange place and I would be surrounded by arrogant men,
but the reality was 20 times worse. Gaining my seat has been quite an upheaval. I have a pager,
so my two teenage daughters can always get a message to me. As I’ve become more involved
with politics over the years it has played a greater part in their life. But they both did well in
their exams this year, so it can’t have affected them academically.
During my campaign newspaper described me as ‘nice, grey-haired granny type’. Yet I see
these characteristics as being important as it means I can relate to people.
Tessa Jowell
I do feel fortunate that I am a London MP and live at home. My little boy is very interested in
politics and like coming along. But it’s not a building which is terribly well organized for
children. There’s only one family room. I manage because my husband is incredibly supportive.
What I’m doing is what so many women up and down the country are doing with no recognition
at all. It is a fact that as women increasingly combine home and career they are under pressure
to strike a balance between the two jobs. There are some wonderful women in Parliament and
I think we’re working co-operatively more and more. That’s something women are better at
doing then men.
Anne Coffey
I think my career has made life very difficult for my 17-year-old daughter. She was 14 when I
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was elected and it was very disruptive for her since I had to leave her during the week. Her
exam results were terrible and I’m convinced that if she had had a more stable situation, she
would have done better.
I think it’s very difficult to escape from this type of guilt if you are a woman, but if I hadn’t
become a politician and stayed at home I would simply ended up reproducing my mother’s life.
If you put your children first, then you limit the world for yourself.
Nothing prepares you for the complexity and enormity of this place, and I had problems at first
due to ignorance of how things work.
Questions 15- 29
You are going to read a magazine article about supermarkets. For questions 1-15, choose
from the sections of the article (A-E). Some of the sections may be chosen more than once.
When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order.
Supermarkets
Their secrets revealed….
Have you wondered why some stores smell of fresh bread or why some play music and others
don’t? We asked the experts at Supermarketing magazine to explain some of the hidden tricks
of the trade.
A. Fresh start
“Why are the fresh fruit and vegetables usually at the entrance to the store? It’s always
crowded, and they get squashed if I have to load heavy cans and packets on top.”
It’s simply because supermarkets make a high profit on fresh fruit and vegetables, and they
have discovered they sell more of them if they are near the entrance. According to the
research carried out by supermarkets, customers prefer fresh goods to come first. Maybe it’s
because many of us arrive at the store concentrating on the kinds of fruit and vegetables we
need. Once we’ve got that out of the way, we can relax and do the rest of the shopping at
leisure. Another reason is that if we see fresh goods first, the sight and the smell of all those
rosy apples and glossy aubergines give a “feel good” impression of freshness and quality
which we carry around the store.
Nowadays, trolleys should have a separate compartment where you can place fruit and
vegetables so they don’t get squashed.
B. On the scent
“Do they have to pipe smells of freshly baked bread around stores? I always end up with
buying an extra loaf of cake because the smell is just so tempting”
That’s what the store is counting on! It’s well-known in the retail food industry that smell is
the most powerful of human senses when it comes to influencing our choice of where we shop
and what we buy. For years, some stores have been piping smell of freshly baked bread and
real coffee through the air-conditioning to get appetites going. But this may be
counterproductive, the retail consultants Retail Dynamics point out: “If you are doing your
shopping at lunch or dinner time, when you are already hungry, the smell of baking may send
you straight to the bread counter and then out of the store so you can eat quickly.”
C. All change
“Why is it that supermarkets change their layout so often? Just when I have speeded up my
shopping by knowing everything is, they move the section!”
This is another way of trying to make you buy things you thought you didn’t need.
Supermarkets make most of their money out of fresh foods and “luxury” snacks and far less
on essentials like milk, sugar and bread. So everyday items are scattered around the store
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because in order to get them, you have to pass the “high earners” and, hopefully, suddenly
decided to buy some.
The eye-catching display on the unit at the end of a row does not necessarily mean that the
goods are the bargain of the week, as you may think. Manufacturers sometimes pay the
supermarket to put their brands in the best positions. Among the best are the places across the
ends of units where customer traffic is very high.
D. Quick march!
“Why does the supermarket have to play music all the time? It drives me mad and I can’t
avoid it since it’s the only store I can reach conveniently.”
This may be an attempt to please customers _ so they will enjoy shopping more _ or a way of
projecting an image. One supermarket plays 1960s music to go with its decor. Another sets
out simply to please _ playing 1950s and 1960s music in the morning when older customers
do most of their shopping, pop music in the evenings and on Saturdays for a younger
audience, and music that appeals to the whole family on a Sunday. Some stores use music to
increase high profits by playing slow waltzes or light classics on quiet days, like Mondays, to
keep customers browsing and buying. At busier times, like Saturdays, they’ll increase the
tempo to encourage customers to move quickly through the store.
A recent supermarket study reported a 38% increase in sales when the store played slow
music compared to fast. However, you can shop in silence at some supermarkets, which never
play music _ their customers say it puts them off.
E. Last straw
“Why do I always choose the queue that moves the slowest?”
Perhaps you’re too considerate! For example, don’t think the wider checkouts marked
“disabled” are exclusively for wheelchairs. If there are no wheelchair customers waiting,
anyone is welcome to use them. And if you’re in a real hurry, avoid the checkout assistant
wearing a “trainee” badge _ a sign of possible delay.
Checkouts could become a thing of the past anyway. One supermarket is testing a hand-held
unit which customers use themselves as they shop. It reads and records the prices of groceries
and then totals the bill… but you still have to pay before you leave.
Which section refers to:
An arrangement between producers and supermarkets? 15 ____
The order in which the customers buy foods? 16 ____ 17 ____
Customers consuming goods they have bought? 18 ____
A method that may have the opposite effect to the one intended? 19 ____ 20 ____
Customers having the wrong idea about something? 21 ____ 22 ____
Goods getting damaged? 23 ____
Supermarkets being reorganized? 24 ____
Matching something to particular types of customer? 25 ____
Not putting certain types of goods together? 26 ____
Supermarkets paying attention to customers’ comments? 27 ____ 28 ____
A system that may die out? 29 ____
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Reading Mini-test 1
Questions 1-18
Read the four extracts and do the following exercises
My Worst Job
A. Nadine Theron, 32, Physiotherapist, Johannesburg, South Africa
When I was 15 I used to get up at 5 am and go out on a horse-drawn cart, searching our
neighborhood for people who were throwing away tins, pans and everything else made of
metal that could be recycled. We lived in a poor northern shanty town on the outskirts of
the city and times were very hard. To make a living we had to collect every bit of scrap
metal we could, which we then sold to a factory, which paid a few cents for every kilo. I
had to sit on the cart while my father pulled the mute along, and I had to shout out non-stop
“we’re buying tins, pots and pans”. There were days when we had to spend hours going
through dark alleys to collect enough scrap metal to make even the small amount of money
we needed to buy that day’s food.
B. Tania Lindberg, 45 Diplomat, Helsinki, Finland
I was 17 years old and keen to improve both my money situation and my German, so I got
a job packing eggs in Lower Saxony for two months. I was there with a friend, which
certainly helped, but the really difficult thing was the 6 am start and the subsequent ten-
hour day, standing at an assembly line packing eggs into boxes of six or ten. Occasionally,
when eggs were out of date or unsold, they were returned to the plant and I would get egg-
breaking duty. This involved me standing next to a big metal industrial vat throwing in all
these rotten eggs. The smell was absolutely terrible. I had done some agricultural work
before, when I was very young _ picking out turnips which were too small to be sold.
Packing eggs was much, much worse, and for once I was grateful when I went back to
school after the holidays.
C. Koshi Domoto, 39 Data Analyst, Tokyo, Japan
I was 18 when I opted out of going to college and started working as a cleaner or “sanitary
worker” in the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. My job involved cleaning the area where fish,
like tuna, are cut up and auctioned each day. To the outsider, the market is an extremely
interesting place because most of Tokyo’s fish and sushi are obtained from here, but my
memories of my time at Tusikiji are terrible. The smell of fish never seemed to leave my
body. The Japanese are generally tolerant people but my family decided that I smelt so bad
that I would move to the back room of our house, which got very cold in winter time.
Around that time I met a girl who loved and wanted to marry, but she could not bear the
thought of being married to a fish market cleaner. After a while I found a job as a trainee
fishmonger preparing fish for sushi chefs, so things got better. I subsequently studied for a
degree at night school and now work for a financial services company. Life is altogether
better and I now have some prospects for the future.
D. Chen Liang, 22 Waiter, Shanghai, China
Earlier this year I worked as a sales representative for a transportation company. My work
started at 8.30 am, and I was expected to spend the whole day travelling around visiting
different businesses and trying to convince them to use our transportation services. The
only problem was that I was very inexperienced and young, and nobody knew who I was
in the companies I visited. Consequently, I would spend whole days without getting any
business. I did not enjoy returning to my office at the end of the day, as the boss would
give me a hard time. Like any boss he wants to make money and my failures made him
pretty unhappy.
I. Give brief answers to these questions.
1. Which country does Tanja Linberg come from?
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2. What is Nadine Theron’s present job?

3. Who is the youngest of the four?
4. How did Nadine Theron travel around while she was working?
5. What was Koshi Domoto’s first job?
6. Which language did Tanja Lindberg want to practice?
7. What time did Chen Liang begin work?
8. How long was Tanja Lindberg’s working day?
II. Read the four texts carefully to answer these questions. Circle the correct answer (s) A,
B, C, D in each case. There may be more than one correct answer.
9. Who mentions unpleasant smells in the job they did? A B C D
10. Who needed to travel as part of their work? A B C D
11. Who worded with a friend? A B C D
12. Who worked with a member of their family? A B C D
13. Who was often unsuccessful in their job? A B C D
14. Who lived at home while they were working? A B C D
15. Who describes starting work early in the morning as hard? A B C D
16. Who mentions their present career? A B C D
17. Who was the youngest at the time of the job they describe? A B C D
18. Who mentions they had worked before the job they describe? A B C D
Questions 19-30
Read the text and do the following exercises.
The Boys of Summer, the Man of Fall
Why some athletes improve with age and some don’t.
“Ageing is sports-specific”, says Waneen Spirduso, a researcher in human movement at the
University of Texas, because excellence in any sport depends on three ingredients – power,
endurance, and good nerves – and these components deteriorate at different rates.
Weightlifting, rowing and wrestling all require short bursts of great strength, the ability least
affected by ageing. The muscle cells which make up the tissue responsible for strength die off
with the passing years but so slowly as to make little difference until the age of 50 or beyond.
Forty-year-old rowers can therefore remain competitive with 25 year-olds.
To fuel muscles for longer events, the body relies on oxygen. The sooner oxygen reaches
muscles, the better the performance. But with age, the lungs lose elasticity and take in less
oxygen. Beginning at 30, oxygen capacity decreases 5-10% per decade. This makes a major
difference to cyclists, swimmers, and runners.
The third of the athletic skills, good nerves, underlies gymnastic and field events, which
require perfect balance. Because neurons start to deteriorate in the 20s, you don’t see many
world-class gymnasts over 25. Nerves are also crucial in sprints, triple jump and hurdles.
That’s why most track stars are past their prime by their mid-to-late-20s. Ageing takes its
biggest toll in the sprints and jumps where you need a quick reaction time.
I. Read through the text quickly to answer these questions. Before you begin, underline the
key words or phrases in each question.
19. What three ingredients are needed for excellence in sport?
20. Find one sport where sportsmen and sportswomen have a long career.
21. Find one sport where sportsmen and sportswomen have a short career.
22. What provides energy for the muscles in sporting events?
II. Answer these questions, using no more than three words or a number for each answer.
23. What is Waneen Spirduso’s special field of study?
24. At what age does the oxygen capacity of the lungs become smaller?
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25. Which components of the body become less effective between the ages of 20 and 30?
III. Are the following statements True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG) according to the
information in the text?
26. The muscle cells responsible for strength begin to die off when we are 50.
27. A 40-year-old rower is just as likely to win a race as a younger rower.
28. According to research, the best anti-ageing tonic is in the mind.
29. The oxygen capacity of the lungs is reduced by 5-10 per cent every year.
30. Athletes in sprints and jumps events are worst affected by ageing.
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Practice with references
PRACTICE WITH REFERENCES

What is reading for reference?
Successful reading means being able to see the relationship between different words, that is,
being able to match information rather than understand isolated words. Look at the following
example.
How do humans produce speech? First the brain issues a command to the lungs to initiate
an airstream. Before this stream can become speech, however, it must pass through, or
by, the larynx, pharynx, tongue, teeth, lips and nose _ all of which can modify the
airstream in various ways.
You might understand every word in the paragraph, but you need to see the relationship of the
words to one another to be a successful reader. You have to see what “it” and “all of which”
relate to. “It” relates to “the airstream” and “all of which” relates to “the larynx, pharynx,
tongue, teeth, lips and nose”.
The most typical example of matching information is matching reference, that is, how one
word refers to other words. If you cannot understand all the references, you cannot understand
the passage. There are many types of reference.
1. Pronouns: (e.g. he, she, it, they, himself, herself, this, that, these, what, who, where…)
Many people wrote to complain. They particularly objected to…
We received about twenty calls a day. These range from requests for…
The hospital receives insufficient funding. This is a major problem.
He asked if I could lend him a torch. Unfortunately, I didn’t have one.
2. Auxiliary verbs: (e.g. do/did, have/had, can/could, will/would…)
We all tell white lies occasionally. Life would be difficult if we didn’t.
You need to pay the fee now. If you can’t, please let us know.
They asked me to help. I said I would.
3. there, then, so, such...
At the beginning of the 19th century… Things were very different then.
You may experience symptoms of nausea Such symptoms are not uncommon.
4. Parallel expressions
His fellow mathematicians his colleagues
Feelings of anger and betrayal strong emotions
5. Articles
A survey… (first reference) the survey …. (later reference)
Tips for references

How can you find the references? Reference words are in many cases pronouns such
as “it”, “them”, “they”, or “this”. When the reference word is a pronoun, look for a
previous noun that might match the pronoun. Make sure that they match in gender
(male or female), number (singular and plural), and case (is the word a subject, an
object or a possessive?). Replace the pronoun with this noun and check to see if the
meaning is possible.
For example, in the sentences below, when ‘her’ is replaced with ‘Sandra’ the sentence makes
sense. Therefore ‘her’ refers to ‘Sandra’.
Sandra’s closest friends are Amy and Lee. They study with her at the university.
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Sometimes to understand a reading passage we need to work out the link between the ideas
correctly. This link is not always expressed by reference words but by elliptical devices. Let’s
have a look at the following example.
The main purpose of a resume’ is to convince an employer to grant you an interview.
There are two kinds.
In this sentence, “two kinds” means “two kinds of resume.”
Notes:
• When answering reference questions be aware that the noun closest to the reference
word may not be always the correct answer.
• Reference words may refer to a noun or a noun phrase made up of several words.
• Reference words may refer to the nouns in the following sentences. Examples of this type
are indefinite pronouns like “something, someone,” etc.
EXERCISE R7: Locating referents within a sentence
Read the following sentences and state what the boldfaced words refer to
1. Once in the café you must buy something, so you spend your last fifty centimes on a glass
of black coffee with a dead fly in it.
2. You spend your last eighty centimes on half a liter of milk and you are boiling it over the
spirit lamp.
3. The city’s busiest underground station – St. Paul’s in Cheapside – unlocks its gates. To
get there on time, the station foreman, John Milne, has to come in by bus from
Goodmayes in Essex.
4. The tiny number of residents – 7,500, many of them caretakers, 4,000 of them living in
the Barbican – is suddenly and dramatically increased.
5. The City’s working day ends earlier than most of the rest of London. That’s reasonable; it
starts earlier.
6. Good husbandry – forest ecology, wisdom in planning, less greed and stupidity – could
keep man and the delicate rain forest relationship in balance indefinitely. This is our last
great store house… our last wonderland.
7. Birthmarks, once almost untreatable, are a mass of blood vessels and, being red, they
absorb the laser beam strongly. It seals them so that the mark becomes less conspicuous.
8. Britain, though, is one of the leaders in the laser treatment of bleeding peptic ulcers and
this, combined with new medicines can mean ulcer treatment without conventional
surgery.
9. When you think that you too might be asked to pay two sous extra, and would have to
confess you could not, you bolt in panic. What could you not do?
10. Many people clutch when asked to think about their abilities. Some think that they have
none at all. But everyone does, and one of yours may just be the ticket an employer would
be glad to punch _ if only you show it. Everyone does what? One of your what? What
does it refers to?
11. Before writing a resume’, take four or five hours off, not necessarily consecutive, and
simply write down every accomplishment in your life, on or off the job, that made you
feel effective. Don’t worry at first about what it all means. What does it refers to?
12. When you’re satisfied, send your resume to a printer; a printed resume’ is far superior to
photocopies. It shows an employer that you regard job hunting as serious work, worth
doing right. What does it refer to?
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Practice with references
13. To be fair to all concerned, the film was made partly in Greece, partly in the USA and
partly in Britain, and that probably explains why so many filled so seemingly identical
roles. What does that refer to?
14. In determining the shape and content of his narrative, the writer of prose fiction is
constrained by nothing except purely artistic criteria. This does not necessarily make his
task easier than that of the writer of plays and screenplays.
15. Tiger moths are covered with highly conspicuous orange-and-black or yellow-and-black
patterns of spots and stripes. Such boldly patterned colour combinations are
commonplace in the animal world, serving the function of forewarning potential predators
of unpleasant tastes and smells.
16. Detergents clean clothes by first removing particles of dirt from the fabric, then
suspending the particles until they can be washed away.
17. A number of sculptors have rejected the abstractions of minimalist artists. These
sculptors have developed a style of extreme realism involving ordinary subjects.
18. The detailed information in maps is now produced almost entirely from satellite
photography rather than by ground surveying because this method is faster, cheaper and
more accurate.
19. Ruth sat three three-hour papers - Algebra and Geometry; Calculus, Probability and
Statistics; and Math, Pure and Applied. ‘I was happy with the first two,’ she said
yesterday, ‘but I wasn’t sure about the third.’
20. The major educational distinction between on-campus and distance teaching is the
reliance on group based strategies in the former and the obligation to individualize
instruction in the latter.
EXERCISE R8: Locating multiple referents within a passage
Questions 1-4
Read the following passage and state what the underlined words refer to
The flows of illegal immigrants have persisted in a number of countries. These flows have been
fostered by the demographic imbalance between the developed and developing countries,
differentials in economic growth, employment opportunities and wages, and a demand for low-
wage workers in a number of developed countries.
Although some countries have sought to strengthen the sovereignty of their frontier through
such measures as the extension of visa requirements and increased checks on employers to
ensure they have not hired illegals, illegal immigration still continues.
For example, the scale of illegal immigration to the United States is massive. It has been
estimated that three million illegals enter the United States successfully every year with perhaps
twenty five per cent of them remaining permanently.
What do the boldfaced words refer to?
1. “These” in paragraph 1: ……………………………………………………………
2. “their” in paragraph 2: ………………………………………………………………
3. “they” in paragraph 2: ……………………………………………………………
4. “them” in paragraph 3:……………………………………………………………
Questions 5-8
Read the following passage and choose the right answer (A, B, C, or D) for each of the reference
words
George Lucas’s Star Wars changed the direction of America film with some of the most
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ingenious special effects contrived for movies of its time. Twenty two months were spent on
the special effects, including the six months needed to design the equipment and the more than
1,000 story boards for effects sequences.
A special computerized camera, called a Dykstraflex, was designed to give the illusion of real
screen movement. This system, controlled by the camera operator, enabled him or her to pan,
tilt, and track around the model, always keeping it in focus. The breakthrough was the
camera’s ability to repeat the identical movements from shot to shot, thus the effects
sequences could be built like a music track; layer upon layer. The illusion was complete: none
of the spaceships in Star Wars ever moved - only the camera did.
The star-field backdrop in space was made by punching holes in black Plexiglas. More than 75
models were constructed, with astonishing detail work. On the rebel blockade runner artists
built a tiny cockpit, all done to scale. The miniaturized laser canons were fully motorized to
swivel and tilt by the remote control. The light sabers were four-sided blades coated with
reflective aluminum, attached to a small motor. When rotated, they created a flashing light later
enhanced by animation.
5. The word “some” in paragraph 1 refers to
A. American film
B. direction
C. movies
D. special effects
6. In the paragraph 2, “this system” refers to
A. the creation of an illusion
B. screen movement
C. panning and tilting around a model
D. a special computerized camera
7. The word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to
A. model
B. camera
C. focus
D. system
8. The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to
A. miniaturized laser cannons
B. artists
C. four-sided blades
D. seventy-five models
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Practice with dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary
PRACTICE WITH DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARY

A limited vocabulary may be the single most difficult problem developing readers face. It is
not necessary to understand every word in the passage. However, you must know over 50% of
the words if you want to understand the main points of the passage. A vocabulary
development program will probably help you to know the vast majority of the words in the
reading passages, but you will not able to know every word. When readers face with unknown
words, they often panic, and believe that they will not able to answer the questions. It is true
that you often do not need to understand every word to carry out the required tasks.
Techniques for dealing with unknown words in reading texts:

• Ignore them
• Look for the meaning given somewhere in the sentence or in the previous and
following sentences
• Guess their meaning from the context
Ignoring unfamiliar words
For example, look at this exercise. Read the paragraph about obesity and answer the questions.
Obesity is a medical disorder that affects approximately 20-30% of the population of
the United States of America. It is an excessive accumulation of body fat that results
from the storage of excess food energy calories in the body’s fat cells.
1. Most American people suffer from obesity. True, False, or Not Given?
2. This paragraph presents…
A. some examples of obesity.
B. a definition of obesity
C. the different types of obesity.
D. the treatment of obesity.
When reading this passage, a student may find many unknown words and underline them.
However, both questions can be answered without knowing the meaning of the italic words. It
is even unnecessary to know the meaning of the word “obesity”!
Looking for the meaning of unfamiliar words given somewhere in the
sentence
Sometimes a sentence gives a definition of a new vocabulary item or information about it. This
information may be in parentheses ( ), after a dash (-), or after a comma (,).
There were sixty-one identical cats in the classroom, each one exactly like the one on the
board. (What does identical mean? It means “exactly like”).
Sometimes the meaning or a clue to the meaning of a new vocabulary item is in another sentence
or sentence part.
A teacher from a Western country recently visited an elementary school in an Asian country.
In one class, she watched sixty young children. (What is an elementary school? It’s a school
for young children).
Guessing the meaning of unknown words from the context
If it seems necessary to understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word, you will have to
guess. You cannot look up every word you don’t know in a dictionary since it is boring and
time-consuming, especially when you read long passages and more importantly, it is
forbidden when you take a test! Now, let’s focus on how to use context to guess the meaning
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of a word. In ordinary reading, there are a number of clues that can help you to determine the
meaning of an unknown word.
Synonyms:
The first state to institute compulsory education was Massachusetts, which made it
mandatory for students to attend school twelve weeks a year.
The word mandatory is a synonym of the word compulsory.
Many gardeners use some kind of mulch, such as chopped leaves, peat moss, grass
clippings, pine needles, or wood chips, in order to stop the growth of weeds and hold
in moisture.
From the examples given, it is clear that mulch is a plant matter.
Contrast:
In the 1820s, the Southern states supported improvements in the national
transportation system, but the Northern states balked.
Since the Southern states supported the improvements, and since a word signalling
contrast (but) is used, it is clear that the Northern states disagreed with the idea, and that
the word balked must mean objected or refused.
General context:
In a desert, vegetation is so scanty as to be incapable of supporting any large human
population.
As is generally known, deserts contain little vegetation, so clearly scanty must mean scare
or barely sufficient.
EXERCISE R9: Guess the meanings of the boldfaced word(s) in a sentence.
Questions 1-3
Underline the context clues that help you guess the meaning of the boldfaced words
1. After 24 hours without sleep, Gardner had trouble reading and watching television. The
words and pictures were too blurry.
2. By the fourth day, Gardner was hallucinating. For example, when he saw a street sign, he
thought it was a person.
3. Over the next few days, Gardner’s speech became so slurred that people couldn’t
understand him.
Can you guess the meanings of those words?
Questions 4-9
Read the following sentences and find words that mean the same as the words in bold type.
There are six pairs of words which have similar meaning. The first one has been done for you
as an example.
a. After a storrup day at work, it is wonderful to return to the calm of my house in the
country.
b. If I had a tragoon, I could easily cut that wood to burn in winter.
c. It was a cold, grumfit November day. Clouds covered the sky, and all she wanted to do
was get home to a warm fire.
d. He huckled her hand affectionately, and told her he would love her forever.
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Procedures for guessing meaning from context

Step 1. Look at the unknown word and decide its part of speech. Is it a noun, a verb, an
adjective or an adverb?
Step 2. Look at the clause or sentence containing the unknown word.
• If the unknown word is a noun, what adjectives describe it? What verb is near it?
That is, what does this noun do, and what is done to it?
• If the unknown word is a verb, what noun does it go with? Is it modified by an
adverb?
• If it is an adjective, what noun does it go with?
• If it is an adverb, what verb is it modifying?
Step 3. Look at the relationship between the sentence containing the unknown word
and other sentences. For example, is there a contrast, or an effect, being
described? Sometimes this relationship will be signaled by a conjunction like
but, because, if, when, or by an adverb like however or as a result. Often
there will be no signal.
The possible types of relationship include cause and effect, contrast, inclusion,
time, exemplification, and summary…Punctuation may also serve as a clue.
Semicolons often signal a list of inclusion relationships; dashes may signal
restatement. Reference words like “this”, “that”, and “such” also provide useful
information.
Step 4. Use the knowledge you have gained from steps 1-3 to guess the meaning of the
word.
Step 5. Check that your guess is correct.
• See that the part of speech of your guess is the same as the part of speech of the
unknown word. If it is not the same, then something wrong with your guess.
• Replace the unknown word with your guess. If the sentence makes sense, your
guess is probably correct.
Remember, you won’t always be able to guess the meaning of a word from context using
these procedures, but sometimes you can.
e. I heard a hitstit today that you and Sheila are going to get married. Is it true?
f. The party was awful. A pawdry old man bored me to death for two hours telling me how
depressed and miserable he was.
g. The bank robber looked very menacing, and no-one dared approached him. He has a zooly
in one hand and a revolver in the other.
Word Nonsense synonym Possible English synonyms

4. storrup glaimy
5. tragoon
6. grumfit
7. huckled
8. hitstit
9. scrummy
h. Sorry about the mess. The office is a bit glaimy at the moment. There’s too much to do
and no time to do it.
i. Wait a minute. I can’t walk. I’ve got a scrummy in my shoes.
j. Mag a lemon, add the juice to the mixture, and keep it in the fridge for 2 hours.
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k. There is a bagshot going around that there will be a general selection soon, but most
people don’t believe it.
l. It is a very nice beach, actually. There isn’t much sand. Most of it is covered in
blotchermers.
Questions 10-23
Find the meanings of the underlined words in the sentence
10. A children’s art lesson produced a room full of unique pictures, each one completely
different from the others.
11. The instructor also teaches the culture (the ideas and beliefs of society).
12. People highly value individualism - the differences among people.
13. Most Asian societies value discipline, or self-control.
14. All insects are invertebrate, that is, they have no backbone.
15. The teacher drew a big circle on the blackboard, and the children copied it. Then she drew
a smaller circle, and the class drew it in the same way.
16. The teaching methods were very different from the ways of teaching in her country.
17. Students memorize information; they learn and remember basic rules and facts.
18. They work individually and find answers themselves.
19. Each education system is a mirror that reflects the values of the society. In the Orient, it
shows society’s beliefs in group goals rather than individualism.
20. People in Western cultures value individualism highly. Teachers place a lot of importance
on the qualities that make each person special.
21. All these insects are invertebrates, that is, they have no backbone.
22. The word filibuster comes from the Dutch freebooter, or pirate.
23. The flu, influenza, is probably the most common cause of absenteeism.
Questions 24-30
Guess the meaning of the boldfaced words
24. Lazy Peter disposed of, got rid of, three bags of money.
25. Seeing the bag of money was such a surprise the farmer stood with his mouth open in
astonishment.
26. The farmer offered a thousand pesos, Spanish coins, for the hat.
27. Today, pranks and jokes like this are common, and many are spread using e-mail.
28. My expenses for every semester are almost 15,000$.
29. Undergraduate tuition at a public university can cost between 2,000$ and 10,000$ a year.
30. In Japan, on the second Monday in January, twenty-year-olds celebrate by first going to a
shrine to pray with their families.
Questions 31-40
Guess the meaning of the boldfaced words
31. He turned the omelet over with a spatula
32. A female kangaroo, like other marsupials, has a pouch for her young
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33. The drunken man staggered into his room and fell down onto the bed.
34. A cactus, a rose, and a durian are all prickly plants.
35. She loves diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and other gems.
36. Unlike a red grape, a scuppernong is green.
37. That corpulent dog’s stomach almost touches the ground when it walks.
38. Ducks, geese, and cormorants all fly to warmer places during winter.
39. Some animals are nocturnal, active at night.
40. The excellent teacher received kudos from her peers.
EXERCISE R10: Find the meanings of the boldfaced words in a
paragraph.
1. Some doctors recently carried out several experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of
different analgesics. They did every experiment with three groups of people. One group
took one of the pain-killing drugs which were being tested, another took no drug and the
third took a placebo, that is, a pill containing only sugar. The doctors then caused the
subjects to feel a certain amount of pain by tying a band tightly around their arms. The
doctors were interested in the length of time that the people in the experiments could
tolerate the pain. When the doctors compared the period of time that the people were able
to stand the pain, they found that there were no significant variations among the periods
of tolerance of the group which took a placebo or no drug. However there were important
differences among the times of the groups which took the different drugs. In fact, the
some of the subjects who took the drugs tolerated the pain for less time than those who
took no drug or a placebo. In other words, some analgesics seemed to diminish the time
that the people could tolerate the pain _ a strange finding. Since the purpose of the
analgesics is to increase the period of tolerance, not to reduce it, this result obviously calls
into question the effectiveness of some pain-killing drugs.
2. Is there any restriction on human lifespan? At the moment nobody lives longer than 120
years, but scientists think this is feasible to raise this limit. Experiments have shown that
it is possible to prolong lifespan. But do people really want to extend their lives? They
may not want to live longer if the additional years are spent in poor health. As people
age, senses such as their sight and hearing deteriorate and their general health becomes
worse. However, people can take action to promote good health: for example, they can
take exercise and eat a sensible diet. If they try to improve their health in this way, they
have a better chance of enjoying any extra period of life.
Reading Mini-test 2
Check your progress with your skill in dealing with unfamiliar words [Exercise R8] by
completing the following Mini-test.
Questions 1-8
Read the text about development in adolescence.
The final stage before adulthood is adolescence. This is a period of transition for teenagers
and there are many crucial milestones. Socially and emotionally, teens worry that they may
not be developing at the same rate as their peers. They become extremely self-conscious and
may be over sensitive about their appearance. Teens may rebel against their parents but are
also more able to accept the consequences of their actions.
This is also a period of enormous physical change and adolescents experience changes in their
physical development at a rate unparalleled since infancy. These changes include significant
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gains in height and weight. Within a year, boys and girls can gain an average of 4.1 inches
and 3.5 inches in height respectively. This growth spurt typically occurs two years earlier for
girls than for boys and can tend to make both sexes go through a clumsy phase. In terms of
cognitive development, adolescents have greater reasoning skills and have developed ability
to think logically and hypothetically. They are also able to discuss more abstract concepts.
They should also have developed strategies to help them study.
Complete the following sentences with words from the text.
1. First-year students often struggle with the transition from high school to university.
2. The ___________ at which a change occurs can cause problems for both the very young
and the elderly.
3. It can be less stressful to make a presentation to your ___________ rather than to your
teachers.
4. The increase in violence among young people may be a ___________ of watching too
much violence on TV and in video games.
5. Petrol prices are increasing at a speed that is ___________ since the oil crisis of the 70s.
6. Teenagers ___________ rebel against their parents between the ages of 14 and 16.
7. In part three of the speaking test you are expected to be able to talk about more
___________ topics.
8. Infinity is a very difficult ___________ for children to grasp.
Questions 9-31
Read the text about climate change and pollution
The advances made by human have made us the dominant species on our planet. However,
several eminent scientists are concerned that we have become too successful, that our way of
life is putting an unprecedented strain on the Earth’s (9) __________ and threatening our
future as a species. We are confronting (10) __________problems that we are more taxing
than ever before, some of them seemingly insoluble. Many of the Earth’s crises are chronic
and inexorably linked. Pollution is an obvious example of this affecting our air, water and
soil.
The air is polluted by (11) __________ produced by cars and industry. Through (12)
__________ rain and (13) __________gases these same (14) __________fumes can have a
devastating impact on our climate. Climate change is arguably the greatest environmental
challenge facing our planet with increased storms, floods, (15) __________ and species losses
predicted. This will inevitably have a negative impact on (16) __________ and thus our
ecosystem.
The soil is (17) __________ by factories and power stations which can leave heavy metals in
the soil. Other human activities such as the overdevelopment of land and the clearing of trees
also take their toll on the quality of our soil: (18) __________ has been shown to cause soil
(19) __________ . Certain farming practices can also pollute the land though the use of
chemical pesticides and (20) __________. This contamination in turn affects our rivers and
waterways and damages life there. The chemicals enter our food chain, moving from fish to
mammals to us. Our crops are also grown on land that is far from pristine. Affected species
include the polar bear, so not even the Arctic is immune.
Reducing (21) __________ and clearing up pollution costs money. Yet it is our quest for
wealth that generates so much of the refuse. There is an urgent need to find a way of life that
is less damaging to the Earth. This is not easy, but it is vital, because pollution is pervasive
and often life-threatening.
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I. Complete the text with words from the box:

acid biodiversity contaminated deforestation
ecosystems emissions environmental erosion
exhaust drought fertilizers greenhouse waste
II. Match the words in bold with these synonyms:
22. unspoiled 23. crucial
24. unparalleled 25. extremely harmful
26. insurmountable 27. unaffected
28. omnipresent 29. persistent
30. challenging 31. unavoidably (2 words)
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PRACTICE WITH INFERENCES

Inferring is one of the most difficult skills in reading comprehension. To answer inference
questions, you must decide what logical conclusion follows from the facts stated in the passage.
These ideas may be what the author believes to be true but has not stated in the passage. For
example, consider the following sentence:
Lie detectors are properly called emotion detectors, for their aim is to measure bodily
changes that contradict what a person says.
What can be inferred from the sentence?
• Lie detectors record a person’s emotions
• Emotions can contradict what a person says
What cannot be inferred from the sentence?
• People always say what they are feeling. (Bodily changes can contradict what a
person says)
• Lie detectors cause changes in emotions. (No. Lie detectors measure or record
bodily changes)
Tactics for inferring
• Go beyond the information stated in the passage
• Draw a conclusion or reason out what is implied- that is, what the author of the
passage means or believes to be true but has not stated in the passage.
• Remember that the answer to the question will not be stated in words in the
passage.
Inferring can be used to answer the following types of question in a reading

comprehension test.
• Yes / No / Not Given or True/ False/ Not Given
• Multiple choices
• Other types (deciding what can be inferred and what cannot, making inferences,)
EXERCISE R11: Inferring in Yes / No / Not Given question type
Questions 1-3
Are the statements below TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN according to the paragraph?
Research indicates that if adults and children are given the same amount of time to learn a
foreign language, it is the adults who will be more successful, with the opposite exception of
achieving a native-like pronunciation.
1. Adults find it easy to learn foreign languages.
2. The issue of whether adults or children learn foreign languages more successfully has
been researched.
3. It has been concluded that children are more successful than adults at achieving a native-
like pronunciation in a foreign language.
Questions 4-8
Are the statements below TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN according to the paragraph?
Despite the dazzling diversity of shape and colour among insects, they all share three
fundamental characteristics in common. They are made up of three component parts. All are
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Practice with inferences
invertebrates, that is, they have no backbone. And finally, all have six legs.
4. Insects are often very different in their shape and colour.
5. All insects share the same shape and colour.
6. Insects are a vital part of the environment.
7. Insects have no backbone.
8. Insects share many of the same characteristics as other animals.
Questions 9-12
Are the statements below TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN according to the passage?
Tetanus Injection
All wounds carry a risk of infection. Dirty wounds in particular carry a risk of tetanus
infection. The bacteria that cause tetanus are present in the soil and in animal faces. If they get
into a wound they multiply very rapidly. Tetanus is a serious, potentially fatal condition. It
can cause muscle spasms and leads to lockjaw. It can be prevented by a tetanus injection.
Have regular tetanus injections. A booster is recommended every five years. Always check
that you are covered after any injury where the skin is broken.
Be particularly sure that children have regular tetanus injections. They are more prone to
falling over and getting dirt in a wound than adults.
9. Tetanus can kill you.
10. Household pets should be given tetanus injections.
11. A single tetanus injection provides permanent protection.
12. Children have a higher risk than adults of getting tetanus.
Questions 13-16
Medicare - Your Health Insurer
What does Medicare cover?
Doctors
Medicare helps pay for the doctor to treat you at the doctor’s surgery or wherever you need
treatment. Medicare helps pay for treatment by a specialist. If you need to see a specialist, you
must be referred by your doctor.
Other medical services
• X-rays
• Pathology tests
• Medical tests, examinations and procedures
Optometrists
Medicare helps pay for eye tests, but not for the cost of glasses or contact lenses.
Dentists
Routine dental services are not covered. However, some medical-type operations performed by
approved dentists are covered.
Hospitals
Public patient
If you choose to be treated under Medicare as a public patient in a public hospital,
Medicare will cover all hospital costs. You pay nothing.
Private patient
If you choose to be treated as a private patient in any hospital, Medicare will help to
pay for services by your doctor. However, Medicare will not pay for expenses such as theatre
fees or your accommodation. These charges can be covered by arranging private health
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insurance.
Are the statements below TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN according to the passage?
13. Medicare does not pay for any work done by dentists.
14. Medicare pays for ambulance fees.
15. If you have not seen a doctor first, Medicare will not pay for you to see a specialist.
16. Medicare will pay at least some hospital doctor’s costs for both private and public
patients.
Questions 17-24
Books, Films and Plays
The novelist's medium is the written word, one might almost say the printed word, the novel
as we know it was born with the invention of printing. Typically, the novel is consumed by a
silent, solitary reader, who may be anywhere at the time. The paperback novel is still the
cheapest, most portable and adaptable form of narrative entertainment. It is limited to a single
channel of information - writing. But within that restriction it is the most versatile of narrative
forms. The narrative can go, effortlessly, anywhere into space, people's heads, palaces,
prisons and pyramids, without any consideration of cost or practical feasibility. In
determining the shape and content of his narrative, the writer of prose fiction is constrained by
nothing except purely artistic criteria.
This does not necessarily make his task any easier than that of the writer of plays and
screenplays, who must always be conscious of practical constraints such as budgets,
performance time, casting requirements, and so on. The very infinity of choice enjoyed by the
novelist is a source of anxiety and difficulty. But the novelist does retain absolute control over
his test until it is published and received by the audience. He may be advised by his editor to
revise his text, but if the writer refuse to meet this condition no one would be surprised. It is
not unknown for a well-established novelist to deliver his or her manuscript and expect the
publisher to print it exactly as written. However, not even the most well-established
playwright or screenplay writer would submit a script and expect it to be performed without
any rewriting. This is because plays and motion pictures are collaborative forms of narrative,
using more than one channel of communication.
The production of a stage play involves, as well as the words of the author, the physical
presence of the actors, their voices and gestures as orchestrated by the director, spectacle in
the form of ‘lightning and ‘the set’, and possibly music. In film, the element of spectacle is
more prominent in the sequence of visual images, heightened by various devices of
perspective and focus. In film too, music tends to be more pervasive and potent than in
straight drama. So, although the script is the essential basis of both stage play and film, it is a
basis for subsequent revision negotiated between the writer and the other creative people
involved; in the case of the screenplay, the writer may have little or no control over the final
form of his work. Contracts for the production of plays protects the rights of authors in this
respect. They are given ‘approval’ of the choice of director and actors and have the right to
attend rehearsals. Often a good deal of rewriting takes place in the rehearsal period and
sometimes there is an opportunity for more rewriting during previews before the official
opening night.
In film or television work, on the other hand, the screenplay writer usually has no contractual
right to this degree of consultation. Practice in this respect varies very much from one
production company to another and according to the nature of the project and the individuals
involved. In short, while the script is going through its various drafts, the writer is in the
driver’s seat, albeit receiving advice and criticism from the producer and the director. But
once the production is under way, artistic control over the project tends to pass to the director.
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This is a fact overlooked by most journalistic critics of television drama, who tend (unlike
film critics) to give all the credit or blame for success or failure of a production to the writer
and actors, ignoring the contribution, for good or ill, of the director.
Decide whether following statements TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN according to the passage.
17. Novelists do not have to concern themselves with many of the difficulties faced by other
artists.
18. Novelists have fewer restrictions on their work than playwrights.
19. Novelist must agree to the demands of their editors.
20. Playwrights envy the simplicity of the novelist's work.
21. Music is more significant element of theatre than cinema.
22. Experience in the theatre improves the work of screenplay writers.
23. Playwrights can revise their work continuously.
24. Directors usually have the final say in how a TV drama will turn out.
EXERCISE R12: Inferring in multiple choice question type
Read the following passages and answer the questions below
Questions 1-4
Tiger Moths
One of the most beautiful of the more than 100,000 known species in the order Lepidoptera are
the tiger moths, moths known for the striking appeal of their distinctive coloration. This type
of moth is covered with highly conspicuous orange-and-black or yellow-and-black patterns of
spots and stripes. Such boldly patterned color combinations are commonplace in the animal
world, serving the function of forewarning potential predators of unpleasant tastes and smells.
This is unquestionably the function served by the striking coloration of the garden tiger moth,
which is quite visually attractive but is also poisonous to predators. Certain glands in the garden
tiger moth produce strong toxins that circulate throughout the insect’s bloodstream, while other
glands secrete bubbles that produce noxious warning smell. The tiger moth, indeed, is a clear
example of a concept that many predators intuitively understand, that creatures with the
brightest coloration are often the least suitable to eat.
1. It is implied in the passage about the order Lepidoptera that
A. all members of the order are moths
B. there may be more than 100,000 species in this order
C. all members of the order are brightly colored
D. there are most likely fewer than 100,000 species in this order
2. It can be inferred from the passage that the tiger moth was so named because
A. its coloration resembles that of a tiger
B. it is a ferocious predator, like a tiger
C. its habitat is the same as the tiger’s
D. it is a member of the same scientific classification as the tiger
3. What would likely happen to a predator that wanted to eat a tiger moth?
A. The predator would be unable to catch it
B. The predator would capture it by poisoning it
C. The predator would be unable to find it
D. The predator would back away from it
4. Which of the following would a predator be most likely to attack successfully?
A. A purple and orange moth
B. A green and blue moth
C. A brown and grey moth
D. A red and yellow moth
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Questions 5-8
The Cambrian Explosion
Many of the major phyla of animals arose during the Cambrian period, in what is called the
Cambrian Explosion. Prior to the Cambrian period, simple one-celled organisms had slowly
evolved into primitive multicellular creatures. Then, in a relatively rapid explosion during the
period from 540 million years ago to 500 million years ago, there was a period of astonishing
diversification in which quickly developing organisms became widely distributed and formed
complex communities.
One theoretical explanation for the rapid diversification that occurred during the Cambrian
period is known as the theory of polar wander. According to this theory, the rapid diversification
occurred because of an unusually rapid reorganization of the Earth’s crust during the Cambrian
period. This rapid change in the Earth’s crust initiated evolutionary change inasmuch as change
in the environment serves to trigger evolutionary change.
5. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that
A. some major phyla developed during periods other than the Cambrian period
B. many other phyla of animals became extinct during the Cambrian Explosion
C. descriptions of various animal phyla were created during the Cambrian period
D. the major phyla of animals that came about during the Cambrian period died out in the
Cambrian Explosion
6. It can be determined from paragraph 1 that the Cambrian Explosion most likely lasted
A. 40 million years
B. 450 million years
C. 500 million years
D. 540 million years
7. It is implied in paragraph 2 that
A. only one theory to explain the rapid diversification has been proposed
B. the polar wander explanation is accepted by all scientists
C. the theory of polar wander fails to adequately explain the rapid diversification
D. the theory of polar wander is not the only theory to explain the rapid diversification
8. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that one basis of the theory of polar wander is that
A. relatively little change in the Earth’s crust took place during the Cambrian period
B. rapid diversification was unable to take place because of the changes in the Earth’s crust
C. the Earth’s crust changed more slowly in other periods
D. evolutionary change is unrelated to changes in the environment
Questions 9-13
The Golden Age of Comics
The period from the late 1930s to the middle 1940s is known as the Golden age of comic books.
The modern comic book came about in the early 1930s in the United States as a giveaway
premium to promote the sales of a whole range of household products such as cereal and
cleansers. The comic books, which were printed in bright colors to attract the attention of
potential customers, proved so popular that some publishers decided to produce comic books
that would come out on a monthly basis and would sell for a dime each. Though comic strips
had been reproduced in publications prior to this time, the Famous Funnies comic book, which
was started in 1934, marked the first occasion that a serialized book of comics was attempted.
Early comic books reprinted already existing comic strips and comics based on known
characters; however, publishers soon began introducing original characters developed
specifically for comic books. Superman was introduced in Action Comics in 1938, and Batman
was introduced a year later. The tremendous success of these superhero comic books led to the
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development of numerous comic books on a variety of topics, though superhero comic books
predominated. Astonishingly, by 1945 approximately 160 different comic books were being
published in the United States each month, and 90 percent of U.S. children were said to read
comic books on a regular basis.
9. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that, at the beginning of the 1930s, comic books most
likely cost
A. nothing
B. 5 cents
C. 10 cents
D. 25 cents
10. Comic books would least likely have been used to promote
A. soap
B. cookies
C. jewelry
D. bread
11. It is implied in the passage that Famous Funnies
A. was a promotional item
B. appeared in a magazine
C. had been produced prior to 1934
D. was published on a regular basis
12. From the information in paragraph 2, it appears that Superman most likely
A. was introduced sometime after Batman
B. was a character that first appeared in a comic book
C. first appeared in Famous Funnies
D. first appeared in a promotional comic strip
13. It is implied in paragraph 2 that it is surprising that
A. comic strips were more popular than comic books
B. superheroes were not too popular
C. 90 percent of U.S. children did not read comics
D. comic books developed so quickly
Questions 14-18
Brown bears are found in Alaska and western Canada. They are first cousins of the grizzly,
each belonging to the species Ursusarctos. The chief difference in them is size, as brown bears
on the average are slightly larger. A full-grown male may weigh 1,500 pounds and stand 9 to
10 feet tall. Like bears everywhere they are creatures of habit that tread the same trails year
after year. Brown bears have three gaits: an even, deliberate one that takes them over rough or
boggy ground at a steady clip; a quick shuffle; and a fast gallop. They are not only surprisingly
fast, but also, for such huge beasts, amazingly agile. They can charge up and climb down nearly
vertical inclines. Fishing the streams in summer, they pounce on swift-moving salmon and
snatch them with almost simultaneous movements of their paws and mouths. Brown bears are
excellent swimmers and love to loll and wallow in the water on warm days. They are also
curious and playful. Most manifest a fear of humans, but Alaskans prefer not to test these
creatures and usually carry noisemakers of some kind to warn the bears of their presence.
14. It can be inferred from the passage that
A. grizzlies are smaller than brown bears
B. brown bears do not have the same habits as most bears
C. grizzlies are not found in western Canada
D. grizzlies and brown bears are not related
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15. It is most probable that if a brown bear came across a human in the wild it would
A. attack the human
B. avoid the human
C. not be the least interested in the human
D. be friendly toward the human
16. The passage implies that brown bears
A. are huge, awkward animals
B. can negotiate almost any terrain
C. are fierce and bad-tempered
D. are not afraid of loud noises
17. The passage suggests that
A. it would not be unusual to see a bear cross a deep river
B. brown bears catch salmon in quiet pools
C. brown bears like to range over new territory
D. brown bears are slow but agile
18. Which of the following can be implied from the passage?
A. Alaskans have no fear of the brown bear
B. Alaskans do not know very much about the habits of the brown bear.
C. Alaskans are not creatures of habit.
D. Alaskans have a cautious respect for the brown bear.
Questions 19-22
In the twentieth century, people depend on unlimited energy to power their everyday lives. A
wide range of energy-run devices and modern conveniences are taken for granted , and although
it may seem that we will never be in danger of living without those conveniences, the fact is
that many supplies of energy are dwindling rapidly. Scientists are constantly searching for new
sources of power to keep modern society running. Whether future population will continue to
enjoy the benefits of abundant energy will depend on the success of this search.
Coal, oil and natural gas supply modern civilization with most of its power. However, not only
are supplies of these fuels limited, but they are a major source of pollution. If the energy
demands of the future are to be met without seriously harming the environment, existing
alternative energy sources must be improved or further explored and developed. These include
nuclear, water, solar, wind and geothermal power, as well as energy from new, nonpolluting
types of fuels. Each of these alternatives, however, has advantages and disadvantages.
Nuclear power plants efficiently produce large amounts of electricity without polluting the
atmosphere; however, they are costly to build and maintain, they pose the daunting problem of
what to do with nuclear wastes. Hydroelectric power is inexpensive and environmentally safe,
but impractical for communities located far from moving water. Harnessing energy from tides
and waves has similar drawbacks. Solar power holds great promise for the future but methods
of collecting and concentrating sunlight are as yet inefficient, as are methods of harnessing wind
power.
Every source of energy has its disadvantages. One way to minimize them is to use less energy.
Conservation efforts coupled with renewable energy resources, such as a combination of solar,
water, wind and geothermal energy and alternative fuels, such as alcohol and hydrogen, will
ensure supplies of clean, affordable energy for humanity’s future.
19. The passage suggests that
A. people use energy without giving great thought to where it’s coming from
B. the search for energy sources is mainly a problem for the future
C. scientists believe we will never have to go without our modern conveniences
D. modern society requires a minimum amount of energy to keep it running
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A. most alternative energy sources have proven to be impractical
B. many alternative energy sources are environmentally hazardous
C. nuclear power solves one problem while creating others
D. solar and wind power are not promising for the future
21. From the passage, it can be inferred that to solve our energy problems
A. we will have to stop using many of our modern conveniences
B. scientists will have to find one major source of nonpolluting energy
C. scientists will have to find ways to increase our supplies of coal, oil and gas
D. a combination of conservation and invention will be needed
22. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. The search for alternative energy sources is not over
B. Our present energy sources must be eliminated and replaced with alternative sources.
C. Alternative sources of energy on this planet are very limited.
D. Demands for energy in the future are likely to decrease.
EXERCISE R13: Inferring for other task types
Read the following passages and answer the questions below
Questions 1-7
Read the following passage and the statements that follow them. Some statements can be
inferred from the passage, and others cannot. Put a check mark next to the statements that
can be inferred from the passage.
The mid 1950s saw the growth of a new kind of popular music that was first called "rock 'n'
roll' and then simply "rock". Although quite diverse in style, rock music tends to be vocal music
with a hard, driving beat often featuring electric guitar accompaniment and heavily amplified
sound. Early rock grew mainly out of rhythm and blues, a dance music of African Americans
that combined blues, jazz, and gospel styles. Rock also drew upon country and western music,
a folk-like guitar-based style associated with rural Americans and the Nashville Grand Ole
Opry. In little more than a decade, rock evolved from a single, dance oriented style to a music
highly varied in its tones, lyrics, and electronic technology.
1. Rock was the first form of popular music.
2. There is basically one style of rock music.
3. Rock music is often loud.
4. Several types of music influenced the development of rock.
5. Rock has always been a complicated style of music.
6. Folk music is popular in rural areas.
7. The revolution of rock music occurred relatively quickly.
Questions 8-14
Read the following passage and the statements that follow them. Put a check mark next to the
statements that can be inferred from the passage.
Professional photographers have been engaged in a contest with nature since the origin of their
craft. They have ventured into the most adverse conditions, from the broiling heat and stinging
sand of the Sahara to the extreme cold of the Arctic, to capture the perfect image. Although
setting, lightning and action all pose challenges to the photographer, environmental obstacles
are in many ways the trickiest to surmount. Heat, humidity, dust, and cold all jeopardise
photographic materials and equipment. The harm caused by these conditions is sometimes
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immediately obvious, such as when the shutter or film advance mechanism jams, but often it is
impossible to detect until after the film is developed or the effects of camera corrosion show
up.
To avoid catastrophes, photographers have decided a number of ingenious ways to protect their
equipment, from sophisticated cases and housings to simple plastic bags and picnic coolers.
Armed with these devices, professional photographers have bested the worst that nature can
present and have brought back from their campaigns photographic trophies of rare beauty.
____ 8. Only recently have photographers had to contend with the environmental
problems.
____ 9. Heat is not the only problem photographers have to contend with in the Sahara Desert.
____ 10. Photographic equipment should never be taken to places where there are adverse
conditions.
____ 11. A photographer will brave discomfort and danger to get a great picture.
____ 12. The effect of humidity on photographic equipment is usually immediately evident.
____ 13. Photographers have not proven to be very creative when it comes to protecting their
equipment.
____ 14. Sometimes the most basic items provide the best solutions to the problems facing
photographers.
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Practice with summarizing skill
PRACTICE WITH SUMMARIZING SKILL

Your ability to summarize a text requires an accurate comprehension of a passage, the ability
to distinguish between essential and secondary information, and skill in composing clear,
economical text.
Task types that can check summarizing skill are
• Summary completion with main ideas
• Summary completion / Gap-fill (with or without given words)
EXERCISE R14: Completing a summary with main ideas
Question 1
Island Plant Life
Islands are geographical formations that are completely surrounded by water, yet many islands
are covered with a rich assortment of plant life. It may seem surprising that so much plant life
exists on many islands, yet there are surprisingly simple explanations as to how the vegetation
has been able to establish itself there. Some islands were formerly attached to larger bodies of
land, while others were created on their own. Islands that were created when flooding or rising
water levels cut them off from their neighbors often still have the plant life that they had before
they were cut off. In cases where islands formed out of the ocean, they may have plant life from
neighboring lands even though they were never actually attached to the neighboring lands.
Winds carry many seeds to islands; some plants produce extremely light seeds that can float
thousands of feet above the Earth and then drift down to islands where they can sprout and
develop. Birds also carry seeds to islands; as birds move over open stretches of water, they can
serve as the transportation system to spread seeds from place to place.
1. An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete
the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important
ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express
ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage.
This passage discusses the ways that plant life is able to develop on islands.
A. Some seeds are able to float great distances in the air.
B. Some plant life existed before islands were cut off from larger bodies of land.
C. Some islands have many different varieties of plants.
D. Birds sometimes carry seeds to islands.
E. Some islands were created when rising water cut them off from larger bodies of land.
F. Some plant seeds are carried to islands by the wind.
Question 2
Ben and Jerry
All successful businesses are not established and run in the same way, with formal business
plans, traditional organizational structures, and a strong focus on profits. Ben Cohen and Jerry
Greenfield, the entrepreneurs responsible for the highly successful ice cream business that bears
their names, were businessmen with a rather unconventional approach.
They were rather unconventional from the start, not choosing to begin their careers by attending
one of the elite business schools but instead choosing to take a five-dollar correspondence
course from Pennsylvania State University. They had little financial backing to start their
business, so they had to cut corners wherever they could; the only location they could afford
for the startup of their business was a gas station that they converted to ice cream production.
Though this start-up was rather unconventional, they were strongly committed to creating the
best ice cream possible, and this commitment to the quality of their product eventually led to
considerable success.
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Even though they became extremely successful, they did not convert to a more conventional
style of doing business. In an era where companies were measured on every penny of profit that
they managed to squeeze out, Ben and Jerry had a strong belief that business should give back
to the community; thus, they donated 7.5 percent of their pretax profit to social causes that they
believed in. They also lacked the emphasis on executive salary and benefits packages that so
preoccupy other corporations, opting instead for a five-to-one policy in which the salary of the
employee receiving the highest pay could never be more than five times the salary of the
employee receiving the lowest pay.
This passage discusses Ben and Jerry’s unconventional company.
A. They each had a personal commitment to social causes.
B. They began their business with little background and investment.
C. They believed strongly in producing a very high-quality product.
D. They had a salary structure that limits the salaries of high-level executives.
E. They set aside a noteworthy portion of their profits for social causes
F. They borrowed several thousand dollars from friends to start their business.
Question 3
Modernism in Art
A proliferation of varying styles characterized the world of American art and architecture in the
period between 1880 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In spite of the fact that these
various styles often had little in common with each other, they are traditionally clustered under
the label of modernism. It is thus rather difficult to give a precise definition of modernism, one
that encompasses all the characteristics of the artists and architects who are commonly grouped
under this label. What modernists do have in common is that their work contains at least one of
two characteristics of modernism.
One fundamental characteristic of modernism is a demonstration of progressive innovation. In
general, a modernist is someone who tries to develop an individual style by adding to or
improving upon the style of immediate predecessors. The modernist belief was in starting with
the ideas of the main stream movement and then innovating from the mainstream to improve
upon the ideas of predecessors rather than in breaking away from the mainstream to create
something entirely new. However, because there were varying ideas on what constituted the
mainstream and because the potential innovations emanating from the mainstream were infinite,
modernism under this definition could take a myriad of directions.
A second fundamental characteristic of modernism was the belief that art could and should
reflect the reality of modern life and would not, for example, focus on the lives of society’s
most privileged members or on otherworld entities such as angels and sprites. Though there
was agreement among modernists as to the need for art to reflect modern life, there was far less
agreement on what actually constituted modern life. Thus, modern artists and architects reflect
very different aspects of modern life in their works.
the summary by selecting the FOUR answer choices that express the most important ideas
in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas
that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage.
Though modernism in art shares certain characteristics, these characteristics can be
difficult to define precisely.
A. A refection of the reality of modern life is one aspect of modernism.
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B. There is no universal agreement as to exactly what makes up modern life.

C. Modernism is a highly individualistic style of art.
D. Modernism in art must improve upon the style of the mainstream.
E. There were many different styles of American art in the early twentieth century.
F. It can be difficult to define what the mainstream is.
EXERCISE R15: Filling in gaps with words given

Questions 1-6
Effective Utilisation of Women’s Skills
In order to utilise female talents at all effectively, it may well be necessary, as many have
already argued, to provide some simple logistical support in the form of flexible schedules,
childcare facilities and the like. But it may be even more necessary to provide greater
opportunity for working women in general and part-time workers in particular, to become
integrated into the mainstream of organized activity.
This can occur only if industry then treats them as worthy of it, no matter whether they are
“merely” part-time or whether they choose to take some time out to start a family. Some
organizations, especially those facing a tight labour market, do provide such opportunities and
do attempt to keep those on leave of absence in touch of policies and practices. They are
probably too few for comfort and too often stimulated by extremely short-sighted and short-
lived motives. Unless these activities are integrated with the business strategy, they are unlikely
to survive a slackening of the labour market or to give industry full benefit.
Finally, their potential is unlikely to be realised unless they are included in all the
communication systems developed both to inform employees and to elicit their suggestions for
improvement. Part-timers particularly, but also those who perform what have traditionally been
regarded as women’s jobs, are often excluded from these, so that their often unblinkered views
are ignored.
Below is a summary of the reading passage. Complete the summary by choosing words from
the box following the summary. Note that there are more words than spaces so you will not
use them all. You may use any word more than once.
Two steps need to be taken for greater utilisation of women’s expertise: (1)……………… of
logistical support and better (2)………………. of women into all industry activities. These
can be achieved by (3)………………….such facilities as childcare facilities and by
(4)……………… a system of keeping women up-to-date when they are away from work
(5)………………. It is also useful (6)………………… communication system so that women
can put forward their ideas.
to propose integration provision adopting
providing utilization adjusting on holidays
for long periods consider to integrate creation
Questions 7-13
The Panda’s Last Chance
Chinese authorities have devised an ambitious plan to save the giant panda from the ravages
of deforestation. Martin Williams assesses the creature’s chances of avoiding extinction.
A. The giant panda, the creature that has become a symbol of conservation, is facing
extinction. The major reason is loss of habitat, which has continued despite the
establishment, since 1963, of 14 panda reserves. Deforestation, mainly carried out by
farmers clearing land to make way for fields as they move higher into the mountains, has
drastically contracted the mammal’s range. The panda has disappeared from much of
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central and eastern China, and is now restricted to eastern flank of the Himalayas in
Sichuan and Gansu provinces, and the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi province. Fewer
than 1400 of the animals are believed to remain in the wild.
B. Satellite imagery has shown the seriousness of the situation; almost half of the panda’s
habitat has been cut or degraded since 1975. Worse, the surviving panda population has also
become fragmented; a combination of satellite imagery and ground surveys reveals panda
“islands” in patches of forest separated by cleared land. The population of these islands,
ranging fewer than ten to more than 50 pandas, has become isolated because the animals
are loath to cross open areas. Just putting a road through panda habitat may be enough to
split a population in two.
C. The minuscule size of the panda populations worries conservationists. The smallest groups
have too few animals to be viable, and will inevitably die out. The larger populations may
be viable in the short term, but will be susceptible to genetic defects as a result of inbreeding.
D. In these circumstances, a more traditional threat to pandas - the cycle of flowering and
subsequent withering of the bamboo that is their staple food - can become literally
species-threatening. The flowerings prompt pandas to move from one area to another, thus
preventing inbreeding in otherwise sedentary populations. In panda islands, however,
bamboo flowering could prove catastrophic because the pandas are unable to emigrate.
E. The latest conservation management plan for the panda, prepared by China’s Ministry of
Forestry and the World Wildlife Fund of Nature, aims primarily to maintain panda
habitats and to ensure that populations are linked wherever possible. The plan will change
some existing reserve boundaries, establish 14 new reserves and protect or replant
corridors of forest between panda islands. Other measures include better control of
poaching, which remains a problem despite strict laws, as panda skins fetch high prices;
reducing the degradation of habitats outside reserves; and reforestation.
F. The plan is ambitious. Implementation will be expensive - Yuan 56.6 million (US$ 12.5
million) will be needed for the development of the panda reserves - and will require
participation by individuals ranging from villagers to government officials.
Below is a summary of the reading passage. Complete the summary by choosing words from
the box following the summary. Note that there are more words than spaces so you will not
use them all. You may use any word more than once.
The survival of the giant panda is being seriously threatened. Panda numbers have
already seriously (7)……..…….. This is largely because the overall size of their habitat
has been reduced and habitable areas are now (8)………….... from each other. Two
results are that pandas are more prone to genetic (9)…….…….... and are unable to move
around freely to follow the (10)…….…….... cycles of the bamboo that they eat. A new
plan is aiming to protect the existing panda habitats and to (11)…….…….... many of
them. This plan also includes reforestation and the creation of the new (12)…….……....
To succeed, everyone, including both the government and individuals, will have to
(13)…….……....
survival disconnected dominated decreased
problems join increased growth
reserves food cooperate disconnect
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EXERCISE R16: Filling in gaps without words given

Questions 1-4
Skim reading the passage to understand the main points and then complete the summary
below.
Meerkat Study
Dr Alex Thornton from the University of Cambridge recently led a study into meerkat society.
Meerkats are highly social mongooses that live in large social groups and take turns foraging
for food and standing guard to look out for predators. Research has shown that the animals
have their own traditions within their group. For example, while members of one meerkat
troop will consistently rise very early, those of another will emerge from their burrows much
later in the morning.
In an attempt to assess whether meerkats simply copy these behavior patterns or are taught
them, Thornton and his team travelled to the Kalahari Desert and set a series of tests for a
group in the wild. One test involved putting a scorpion (the meerkat’s favourite food) into a
transparent container. The meerkats had to work out how to open the opaque lid of the
container in order to reach the scorpion inside. The tests showed that the more subordinate
juvenile members of meerkat troops are the most innovative when it comes to foraging -
these low-ranking males were best at solving problems and obtaining the treat. However, Dr
Thornton conceded that the meerkats didn’t even appear to work out that it was the opaque
surface of the box that they should attack in preference to the transparent ones. So, this may
simply be evidence of persistence rather than actual intelligence.
Complete the summary of the passage. Use only ONE word for each blank:
A recent study at Cambridge University discovered that different meerkat groups
(1)……………… at different times of the day. This demonstrates that each group has distinct
customs. They also learned that young, male meerkats were more (2)………………than other
members of their social groups when it came to problem solving. The researchers conducted
an experiment where the meerkats had to try to open a container. If they did, they were
rewarded with a (3)……………… .However, they also found that the meerkats never learned
that it was the (4)……………… .Part of the container that they needed to open.
Questions 5-11
Is it any wonder that there are teacher shortages? Daily, the press carries reports of schools
going on four-day weeks simply because they cannot recruit enough teachers. But why? There
is no straightforward answer. For a start, fewer students are entering teacher-training courses
when they leave school. But can you blame young people after the barracking faced by the
teaching profession in the UK for the last decade?
The government’s obvious contempt for teaching profession was recently revealed by one of
the most powerful people in the government when she referred to schools as ‘bog standard
comprehensive’. Hardly the sort of comment to inspire parents and career advisers seeking to
direct young people’s future. Would you want to spend your working life in a dead-end
profession? The government doesn’t seem to want you either.
On the administrative side, most teachers weighed down by an increasingly flow of
bureaucracy. Cynicism would have me believe that stops teachers from fomenting dissent as
they are worn out by the useless administrative exercises. Most teachers must then also be
cynics.
Teachers bashing, unfortunately, spread to youngsters in schools as the recent catalogue of
physical attacks on teachers will testify. If grown-up have no respect for the teaching profession,
young can be hardly expected to think any differently. The circle is then squared when, as well
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as experienced, competent teachers being driven out of the profession by the increased pressure
and stress, fewer students are applying for teacher-training courses.
Complete the summary of the passage. Use only ONE word for each blank:
Is it surprising that there is a (5)……………… of teachers? Schools do not have enough
teachers, but what are the reasons for this? To begin with, fewer students are going into
(6)……………… courses after finishing school. But it is not young people’s fault. The
(7)………………of teaching has been under constant attack over the last ten years. The
government’s lack of respect for the profession is (8)……………… . Moreover,
administratively, the flow of bureaucracy is (9)……………… . Even pupils in schools have
no respect for those who teach them, as a (10)……………… series of assaults on teachers
shows. The growing strains and stress means that, as well as fewer applications for teacher-
training courses, teachers who have experience and are (11)……………… are also being
driven out.
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Practice with understanding text organization
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING TEXT ORGANIZATION

The ability to understand text organization is also one of the most important skills to achieve
successful comprehension of a passage. Understanding text organization means being able to
recognize how a passage is organized, how sentences are joined together to make paragraphs,
how paragraphs are combined into text, and how this organization is signaled. The most
common task type to measure this skill is inserting sentences into a text.
EXERCISE R17: Inserting sentences into a passage
Tactics for inserting sentences into a passage
• Look at the sentence to be inserted for any key words or ideas at the beginning
or the end of the sentence.
• Read the context before and after the insertion space for any ideas that relate to
the sentence to be inserted.
Questions 1-2
Popcorn
One method of popping corn involved skewering an ear of corn on a stick and roasting it until
the kernels popped off the ear. Corn was also popped by first cutting the kernels off the cob,
throwing them into a fire, and gathering them as they popped out of the fire. In a final method
for popping corn, sand and unpopped kernels of corn were mixed together in a cooking pot and
heated until the corn popped to the surface of the sand in the pot.
This Traditional Native American dish was quite a novelty to newcomers to the Americas.
Columbus and his sailors found natives in the West Indies wearing popcorn necklaces, and
explorer Hernando Cortes described the use of popcorn amulets in the religious ceremonies of
the Aztecs. According to legendary descriptions of the celebratory meal, Quadequinna, the
brother of Chief Massasoit, contributed several deerskin bags of popcorn to the celebration.
Insert the following sentences into the two paragraphs above
1. Native Americans have been popping corn for at least 5,000 years, using a variety of
different methods.
2. A century after these early explorers, the Pilgrims at Plymouth may have been introduced
to popcorn at the first Thanksgiving dinner.
Questions 3-5
Lions
Something unusual about lions is that they hunt in groups. Group hunting is beneficial to lions
because it means that much larger prey can be captured by the lions. It also means that
individual lions expend much less energy during a hunt.
There is a standard pattern to the process of hunting in groups. The process is initiated by a
single female, who stations herself a raised elevation to serve as a lookout to spot potential prey.
When prey is spotted, a group of young lionesses advances on the herd and pushes the herd in
the direction of a different lioness who has hidden herself downwind. It is up to this concealed
female to choose the weakest member of the herd for the kill.
As can be seen from this description of the process, it is the females rather than the male or
males in the pride that take part in the kill. The younger and stronger females are the ones
who go on the attack. While the females are on the attack, the males stay behind to protect the
rest of the pride from attack by predators such as hyenas.
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Insert the following sentences into the three paragraphs above:

3. Other cats do not.
4. This is usually accomplished by knocking their prey to the ground and breaking its neck.
5. Thus, the males have a defensive rather than an offensive role.
Questions 6-10
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser, the American author best known for the novel Sister Carrie (1912),
introduced a powerful style of writing that had a profound influence on the writers that
followed him, from Steinbeck to Fitzgerald and Hemingway. It was in Sister Carrie that
Theodore Dreiser created a fictional account that laid bare the harsh reality of life in the big
city and in which Dreiser established himself as the architect of a new genre.
Dreiser was born in 1871 into a large family whose fortunes had in the recent past taken a
dramatic turn for the worse. Before Theodore’s birth, his father had built up a successful
factory business only to lose it to a fire. The family was rather abruptly thrust into poverty,
and Theodore spent his youth moving from place to place in the Midwest as the family tried
desperately to reestablish itself financially. He left home at the age of sixteen. After earning
some money he spent a year at Indiana University but left school and returned to Chicago,
yearning for the glamour and excitement that it offered. At the age of twenty-two, he began
work as a reporter for a small newspaper in Chicago, the Daily Globe, and later worked on
newspapers in Pittsburgh, Cleverland, Saint Louis, and New York City. In his work as a
reporter, he was witness to the seamier side of life and was responsible for recording events
that befell the less fortunate in the city, the beggars, the alcoholics, the prostitutes, and the
working poor.
Dreiser first tried his hand at fiction by writing short stories rather than novels, and the first
four short stories that he wrote were published. Based on this, he was encouraged to write a
novel that would accurately depict the harsh life of the city, and the novel Sister Carrie was
the result of his effort. This novel chronicles the life of Carrie Meeber, a small-town girl who
goes to Chicago in a quest for fame and fortune. As Carrie progresses from factory worker to
Broadway star by manipulating anyone in her path, Dreiser sends a clear message about the
tragedy of life that is devoted purely to the quest for money.
Sister Carrie, unfortunately for Dreiser, did not achieve immediate success. The novel was
accepted for publication by Doubleday, but Dreiser was immediately asked to make major
revisions to the novel. When Dreiser refused to make the revisions, Doubleday published only
a limited number of copies of the book and refused to promote or advertise it. Published in
limited release and without the backing of the company, the novel was a dismal failure,
selling fewer than 500 copies.
After the failure of the novel that was so meaningful to him, Dreiser suffered a nervous
breakdown; he was depressed, stricken with severe headaches, and unable to sleep for days on
end. Having sunk to a point where he was considering suicide, he was sent by his brother to a
sanatorium in White Plains, New York, where he eventually recovered. After leaving the
sanatorium, he took a position as an editor for Butterick’s. He was successful in this position,
and was eventually able to purchase a one-third interest in a new publishing company, B. W.
Dodge, which republished Dreiser’s novel Sister Carrie. This new release of the novel proved
considerably more successful than the first release had been. In its first year, the reissued
version of Sister Carrie sold 4,500 copies, with strong reviews, and the next year it sold more
than 10,000 copies. The recognition that accompanied the success of the novel was based not
only on the power of the description of the perils of urban life but also on the new trend in
literature that Dreiser was credited with establishing.
Insert the following sentences into the passage above:
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6. This forceful first novel set a new path for American novels at the turn of the last century.
7. At this young age, he moved alone to Chicago and supported himself by taking odd jobs.
8. It was rather unusual for a novice writer to achieve so much so quickly.
9. These changes were intended to tone down some of the starker and more scandalous
descriptions.
10. This company was one that published magazines to promote sewing and the sale of
clothing patterns.
Questions 11-17
Turning up the Heat in the Greenhouse
For a country that produces more than 20 percent of the planet’s greenhouse gases, the United
States (11)……………… But in a report a National Academy of Sciences panel warned that
using the atmosphere as an industrial sewer could send temperatures soaring 2 to 9 degrees
Fahrenheit in the near future – and called for measures that would (12)……………… Says
that Yale university economist and panel member William Nordhaus, ‘It is worth making
modest investments today to slow climate change and prepare for it’.
How? The panel recommended phasing out chlorofluorcarbons, (13)……………… Next
comes energy efficiency. Replacing standard light bulbs with compact fluorescents that are
more efficient and raising miles-per-gallon standards for new cars would more than pay for
themselves – and cut the use of fuels that emit greenhouse gases. It urged lawmakers to raise
energy prices, impose more efficient building codes, increase support for mass transit and
(14)……………… And it called on Americans to prepare for the side effects of a changing
climate, for example by reducing the amount of wasted water, (15)……………… .
While they applauded the report, the environmentalists worried that its recommendations
would meet with stiff resistance from the White House. Moreover, many scientists continue to
doubt that global temperatures are rising at alarming rates- (16)……………… Panel Member
Jessica Tuchman Mathews, vice president of the World Resources Institute, concedes that the
science of measuring climate changes (17)……………… .'But when there’s the potential for
irreversible consequences,’ she says, ‘we have to act.’ The question is whether the findings
will be acted on, or just add to the hot air.
Seven phrases have been left out. Decide which phrase from the list A-I below should go in
each gap and write the letter in the space provided. Note that there are more phrases than gaps.
A. boost efficiency standards for electrical appliances.
B. reduces temperature by a similar amount.
C. the chemicals that both destroy the ozone layer and heat the atmosphere.
D. or even that the earth is warming at all.
E. has been slow to do much about global warming.
F. a major cause of the rise in sea-level.
G. is imprecise
H. cut greenhouse emissions 10 to 40 percent with minimal cost to the economy.
I. which could become scarcer in the years ahead.
Questions 18-25
You are going to read a magazine article. Eight sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-I the one which fits each gap (19-25). There is one extra sentence
which you do not need to use. There is one example at the beginning (18).
On Camera
When I saw the notice “women film extras wanted” in a local newspaper, I jumped at the
chance. As a child I had dreamed of being a film star. (18)….I…..
The casting interview, held in a church hall with many budding actors in attendance, went
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well, and two days later I was told that I had been chosen. The production in question was
revealed as Scottish Television’s Dr Finlay drama, which is set in the 1950s.
(19)..…… . Extras are often left in the dark for some time when it comes to being told which
role they will play. Finally, the nature of my role was revealed; I was asked to play a mental
hospital patient.
(20)..…… .Then, barely a week later, the day of filming dawned. All 13 of us extras, mainly
housewives, were told to change into our costumes in the wardrobe department. Then we
were driven to the location, a hospital on the fringes of Glasgow. It seems that it is common
for old hospitals to be used in this way.
On arriving, we were given coffee and tea, which looked and tasted like cement. Then we
were rushed off to make-up. My hair was pinned back and make-up was applied that gave me
a pale appearance. Then we were sent to the minibus for a few hours, as the cameras rolled
elsewhere.
After the second hour had passed, I was becoming bored. (21)..…… . I had expected to be so
busy that I hadn’t come prepared for a long wait. Many of the other had brought a book or
knitting.
Three hours had now passed. (22)..…… . A large room in the hospital had been transformed
into a dayroom for that purpose. Although I had expected the room to be warm because of the
lighting equipment present, it was quite chilly.
When the director came in, we were instructed what to do and where to stand. Along with a
few others, I was told to sit at a table and weave baskets. (23)..…… .The cane we had to use
was very long. On several occasions my basket fell apart in front of my very eyes. On other I
only succeeded in hitting the cameraman in the eye.
(24)..…… . Jean, who was barefoot, had to circle the floor. Poor Alice was asked to pretend
to bang her head against the wall. Meanwhile, Veronica swept the floor.
Thankfully, after just a few attempts, the scenes were done. (25)..…… . Although I found the
experience very interesting, my first screen role will almost certainly be my last.
A. This is not an easy task.
B. Life for the other extras was far from easy.
C. So some things just aren’t meant to happen, I suppose.
D. Despite my disappointment, I agreed to participate.
E. And so my first taste of this ‘glamorous’ career was over.
F. I was to lose some of my enthusiasm for the idea, however.
G. I bet stars are never treated like this, I thought.
H. Then at last we were called to do our scenes.
I. Now at last I would get my chance.
Questions 26-32
Read the magazine article giving advice to teenagers about part-time jobs. Seven sentences
have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each
gap (27-33). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. This, however, depends on your having the appropriate qualifications.
B. You might not even be able to find a job in an area that you enjoy.
C. Indoor house painting is another option.
D. In return, you can learn an amazing amount about the business.
E. Try as many positions as possible and ask lots of questions about cash flow, staffing,
etc.
F. You won’t earn any money, but you can gain valuable experience.
G. This is a question which is best answered by doing a market survey.
H. There are several things you can do to make your services more valuable.
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Part-Time Jobs for Teenagers

As a teenager, you are likely to have both a fair amount of spare time and a desire to earn
some money. By working to earn money yourself, you can learn a lot about the value of
things as well as the world of business. Typical and obvious jobs for teenagers include
working at a fast-food restaurant, working as a shop assistant or stacking shelves at a
supermarket.
What you get out of a job like this depends on your attitude. If your attitude is ‘I hate this job’
then obviously you won’t benefit much from it; if, on the other hand, you look at it as an
opportunity to learn how a business works from the inside out, then the benefits can be great.
Many of the new generation of millionaires, for example, are owners of franchise and private
restaurants. Owing a restaurant is not easy, however, and it requires knowledge and skills to
be successful, so start gathering these as a teenager. (26)……………… . Applying this
attitude to any job you have will really pay off; you will learn a huge amount.
For many teenagers, there are a variety of problems associated with getting a job. You may
not be old enough or you may lack reliable transportation. You may not have enough total
time available or a regular enough schedule for someone to be willing to hire you.
(27)……………… . If any of these problems holds true for you, then working for yourself on
a part-time basic may be the best way to go.
Babysitting is a tried and tested way for responsible teenagers who like being with kids to
make money. (28)……………… . For example, think about taking a first-aid course so that
you know how to handle emergencies. Secondly, you might want to consider teaming-up with
some like-minded friends. That way your group will be able to say yes more often, increasing
the amount of work you’re offered.
If babysitting doesn’t appeal to you, then you might want to consider garden care. During the
summer you mow lawns, trim hedges and so on, in the autumn you rake leaves and in the
winter you shovel snow! (29)……………… . Before undertaking this, you need to make sure
you know what you are doing by working with someone with experience and practicing at
home (but get your parents’ permission first!) Other activities include providing in-home pet
care when owners are on holiday; errand-running for busy people; washing cars for neighbors
or teaching people how to use computers or the internet.
One question you will have as soon as you choose an activity is ‘How much should I charge?’
(30)……………… . You’ll need to call around and ask potential customers what they are
used to paying and/or willing to pay, or ask your friends what they charge for similar
activities. In the case of an activity like car-washing, you could also call garages in your area
and ask what they charge.
Another way of gaining experience is to offer your services to a small business. Although it
may not be obvious to you, every community has thousands of small firms which do all sorts
of things: printing, plumbing, computer programming, advertising and so on. Many of these
could really benefit from a part-time helper who is reliable and mature. (31)……………… .
You will be surprised at how quickly you become a valued part of the team.
Volunteer positions are another option. You can volunteer your services at hospitals, old-
people’s home, and most charitable organizations or political groups. (32)……………… .
This will benefit you in the future, as colleges and universities will be impressed by any
voluntary work you have done.
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READING PRACTICE TEST 1

In this section, you will read three passages and answer reading comprehension questions about each
passage. The questions are designed to help you consolidate the skills you have learned so far to do a
reading comprehension test.
Questions 1-8
Hurry Sickness
A. According to statistics, it is becoming increasingly rare in many Western countries for
families to eat together. It seems that people no longer have time to enjoy a meal, let alone
buy and prepare the ingredients. Meanwhile, fast food outlets are proliferating. Further
evidence of the effects of the increasing pace of life can be seen on all sides. Motorists
drum their fingers impatiently at stop lights. Tempers flare in supermarket queues.
Saddest of all is the success of an American series of books called “One Minute Bedtime
Stories”. What, one has to ask, do parents do with the time thus saved?
B. According to Barton Sparagon, M.D., medical director of the Meyer Friedman Institute in
San Francisco, and an expert on stress-related illness, the above are all symptoms of a
modern epidemic called “hurry sickness”. The term was coined nearly 40 years ago by a
prominent cardiologist, who noticed that all of his heart disease patients had common
behavioural characteristics, the most obvious being that they were in a chronic rush. Hurry
sickness has been an issue in our culture ever since, but the problem is escalating in
degree and intensity, leading to rudeness, short-tempered behaviour and even violence,
alongside a range of physical ills.
C. The primary culprit, according to Sparagon, is the increasing prevalence of technology _
like e-mail, cell phones, pagers, and laptop computers. We can bring work home, into our
bedrooms and on our vacations. Time has sped up for so many people, and there is
increased pressure to do more in the same number of hours, says Sparagon.
D. Jill Stein, a sociologist at the University of California at Los Angeles, agrees that time is
being more compressed than ever. “In the past, an overnight letter used to be a big deal.
Now if you can’t send an e-mail attachment, there’s something wrong. Because the
technology is available to us, there is an irresistible urge to use it.”
E. What about those annoying people who shout into their cell phones, oblivious to those
around them? Stein says that self-centered behaviour is related to larger social trends as
well as technology. “There is a breakdown of the nuclear family, of community, of
belonging; and an increased alienation and sense that we’re all disconnected from one
another. This breakdown came before the technology, but the technology has exacerbated
it.” Now we connect through this technology, says Stein, and we don’t have face-to-face
interaction.
F. Ironically, as people pull their cell phones out in the most unlikely venues, our personal
lives are available on a public level as never before. People are having work meetings and
conversations about their spouses and their therapy sessions with complete impunity.
Ordinarily we’d never be exposed to this information, says Stein.
G. Sparagon claims that there is more a sense of entitlement now than ever (“Why should
anyone slow me down?”). But he warns that there is more than civility at stake. “This
chronic impatience is damaging not only to our social environment, but to our physical
health. It builds, and then it doesn’t take too much to explode. And for those who repress
it, it’s equally damaging.”
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Reading Practice Test 1
H. The high-tech revolution and the lifestyle it has spawned have brought with them a rash of
serious health problems, including heart attacks, palpitations, depression, anxiety, immune
disorders, digestive ills, insomnia and migraines. Sparagon says that human beings are not
designed for prolonged, high-speed activity. “When you look at our heart rates, brain-
wave patterns _ our basic physiology has not evolved to keep pace with the technology _
we are hard-wired to be able to handle a “fight-flight” response where the stress ends
within five to ten minutes. In our current culture, though, we struggle for hours on end.”
I. Even children are not spared the ills of modern-day overload. There’s a hidden epidemic
of symptoms like hypertension, migraines and digestive problems among children as
young as ten _ disorders never before seen in children, says Sparagon. Whether these
problems result from being swept into the maelstrom of their parents’ lives, or from full
loads of extracurricular activities and unprecedented homework requirements _ up to five
hours a night for some children are experiencing the same sense of overload, time pressure
and demands that their parents experience, says Sparagon, “and they don’t have coping
mechanisms to deal with it.”
J. Recovery is possible, but Sparagon emphasises there is no quick fix. Many of these
stress-related behaviours have become deeply ingrained to the point where people are
hardly aware of them. The greatest paradox, he says, is that even when people are ready to
change their behaviour, they are in a hurry to do so.
K. Sparagon works with people to become aware of their stress and the impact it’s having on
their lives. They examine their belief systems (What is really important? What can they let
go of?) and they learn to challenge their behaviours. One popular exercise is to assign a
chronically impatient person to stand in the longest line in the grocery store.
L. The only answer is to take it one day at a time. The irony is that all the techniques and
technology designed to streamline our lives may ultimately be counterproductive. As
Sparagon says, “People are finding that all of these multi-tasking, rushing and worrying is not
only making life intolerable, but actually making them less efficient than they could otherwise
be.”
1. What is the overall topic of the passage?
A. Ways to improve our efficiency at work
B. Illnesses caused by working too hard
C. Problems arising from the increased pace of life
D. The importance of relaxation
2. Complete these sentences in your own words:

A. Barton Sparagon is a doctor who researches …………….
B. The term “hurry sickness” has been in use for …………….
C. Jill Stein’s area of expertise is ………..
3. Choose the most suitable heading for each section. (There are two extra headings):
List of headings
i. The effects of social changes
ii. How do we begin to tackle the problem?
iii. What are the effects on our health and why we are so susceptible?
iv. Who is responsible for the problem?
v. Danger signs
vi. A disease with no age limits
vii. What is “hurry sickness”?
viii. A treatment for heart disease
ix. What is the cause?
x. Is there a cure?
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4. Which FOUR of the following (A-H) are mentioned in the passage as factors that
contribute to “hurry sickness.”
A. Jobs are less secure, and people must work harder to keep them.
B. Our bodies are not designed to cope with stress for long periods.
C. People are becoming more short-tempered and violent.
D. People are expected to try and achieved more in the time available.
E. Communications have become faster.
F. Too much stress can lead to physical disease.
G. Globalization has led to 24-hour trading.
H. People want to use the new technology which is available.
5. Which THREE of the following (a-f) are mentioned as the results of technology and the
increased pace of life?
A. people frequently meet work colleagues in public places.
B. people have personal telephone conversations in public.
C. people need to visit therapists on a regular basis.
D. people no longer have offices to work from.
E. people have more stress-related problems
F. people can fulfil their tasks in less time than before
G. people pass their impatience rush to their children
6. Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE words from the passage
for each answer:
Hurry sickness is not a new condition but it has increased both in (A) …….. in recent years,
mainly as a result of the rapid development of (B) ………. Typical symptoms include
chronic impatience, which experts believe can have potentially serious effects not only on
those around us but also on our (C) ……….. The fact that the children are also beginning
to suffer from a variety of (D) ……….. suggests that they are as vulnerable to the pressures
of modern life as their parents. Curing the condition is a slow process, which requires the
sufferer to (E) ……….. the stress in their lives, and try to change their behaviour patterns.
7. Find words in the passage that means the following:
A. rapidly increase in numbers
B. something which develops and spreads quickly (e.g. an infectious disease)
C. invented
D. becoming more serious
E. person or thing guilty of a crime or offence
F. widespread existence
G. made worse
H. outside the regular course of work in a school or college
I. statement which seems to be impossible because it says two opposite things
J. having the opposite effect to that intended
8. What do these words refer to
A. It (par. D)
B. This technology (par. D)
C. This information (par. D)
D. This chronic impatience (par. E)
E. These problems (par. F)
F. It (par. F)
G. These stress-related behaviours (par. G)
H. It (par. H)
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Questions 9-13
Why Ironing Shirts is Better than Working out
A. Those people who find the idea of joining an exercise class unappealing can sit back
on their sofa and relax. New research shows that doing a few housework chores can be
just as effective at lowering your heart rate and reducing your weight as working out
vigorously in the gym.
B. “You don’t need to follow a structured programme someone else has devised, and
wear a fancy outfit to get healthy,” says Dr.Adrianne Hardman, a lecturer in sports
science at Loughborough University.
C. In many studies, walking, stair-climbing, gardening and even ironing have been more
closely linked with reductions in heart disease and other serious illnesses than jogging,
cycling and playing tennis.
D. Furthermore, you can no longer plead lack of time as an excuse for not taking
exercise. The myth that you have to work out for at least 30 minutes a day has been
exploded by American researchers. Three ten-minute bouts of brisk walking spread
over the day are as effective as one lasting half an hour.
E. Dr Adrianne Hardman says that official recommendations from the Health Education
Authority and the Sports Council, which advise us to exercise at least three times a
week and for a minimum of 20 minutes a time, are more geared to improving fitness
than health.
F. “We need to inject a bit of realism into the whole exercise debate,” she says. “If
doctors really want to improve the population’s health, then there is no point talking
about high-intensity, frequent exercise. All that does is put off the most inactive
people, who are the ones who would gain the most by increasing their activity.
G. “It is more effective just to encourage everyone to do a little. Let’s concentrate on
what is the minimum amount of exercise that is useful.” She also claims that those
who think the more intensive the exercise the better are wrong. Many benefits of
exercise - reducing the risk of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and cancers - can
be achieved by any level of activity.
H. “Some long-term benefits don’t just depend on how fit you are, but rather on regular
activity,” says Dr Hardman. “If you want to get healthier, then just use more energy. It
doesn’t matter how you do it.”
I. Even the smallest level of activity, like a brisk walk, can reduce heart disease by
altering the way the body deals with fat and carbohydrate. In tests, Dr Hardman found
that the blood fat levels in those people who had done some low-intensity exercise
before eating were 30 less than those who had done nothing. “Fat and carbohydrate
from the meat are handled more quickly after the activity than they would otherwise
have been,” she says. “This means that the level for fat in the blood does not rise so
much and the artery walls are less likely to fur up.”
J. The greatest benefits occur when people who are least active to do a little. But you can
overdo it. As you increase the amount of exercise, you also increase the risk of injury.
(Adapted from “Why Ironing Shirts is Better Than Pumping
Iron” by Helen Reilly in the Sunday Mirror)
9. What is the passage about?
A. the benefits of joining an organized fitness program.
B. ways of preventing people from getting serious diseases.
C. advice on efficient methods of housekeeping.
D. the most effective forms of exercise for improving health.
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10. Find the paragraph which deals with these topics (they are not in the correct order).
i. The health benefits of some daily activities.
ii. Exercise and the prevention of specific diseases.
iii. The general health benefits of doing housework.
iv. The effect of exercise on digestion.
v. Official advise on exercise.
vi. A popular reason for not taking exercise.
11. State whether the following sentences are true (T), false (F), or not given (NG):
A. Dr Hardman believes that more health benefits are gained from exercising vigorously
than exercising gently.
B. One effect of exercise is to help prevent cancer.
C. Taking exercise before a meal prevents blood fat levels from rising.
D. The body processes food more rapidly after exercise.
E. You should consult a doctor before you take any new form of exercise.
F. The more exercise you do, the better it is for you.
12. Complete the summary. Choose the answers from the box and write them in the spaces
provided.
prevents regular discourages rarely according important
helps fit lessen unnecessary careful contrary
frequently gentle vigorous increase active suits
Dr Adrianne Hardman explains that it is unnecessary to follow a special programme at a
gym in order to improve your health. Research has shown that doing everyday household
tasks can (1) _____ the risk of serious disease. It has also been found that, (2) _____ to
popular opinion, several short periods of exercise are as beneficial as longer ones. This is
especially good news for those who (3) ______ take exercise, because they are likely to
experience the greatest benefits. Dr Hardman takes issue with traditional advice, which
emphasizes the need for (4) ____ activity, believing that this (5) _____ many people. Her
overall message is that it isn’t essential to be (6) ______ in order to be healthy, we simply
need to be more (7) _____.
13. Find words or phrases in the passage which mean the following:
A. regular or boring tasks
B. very actively or energetically
C. made up or invented
D. something many people believe which is actually false
E. shown to be untrue
F. short periods (of activity)
G. quick or fairly energetic
H. concerned with or designed to be useful for
I. discouraged (from doing something)
J. uninteresting
Questions 14-17
The Consequences of Food Production
A. Agriculture transformed Homo Sapiens from a rare to an abundant species because the
need for the labour of even the very young provided an incentive to produce numerous
offspring. An increased population, however, brought with it epidemics, famine, conquest.
and unremitting warfare... As humans increasingly lived together in crowded settlements,
in towns, and later in cities, new health hazards appeared. Cultivated plots of land which
humans walked on over and over again to produce crops became a focus for disease
spreading rats, fleas, and mosquitoes. 'The birds that humans had domesticated, or which
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were attracted to the fields, spread bacteria, protozoa, viruses, helminths and other
parasites. Even cattle presented a health hazard.
B. The high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet of agriculturists brought with it beriberi, pellagra,
rickets, and other diseases caused by vitamin and amino-acid deficiencies. A liking for
sweets is an ancient trail which humans share with other primates. A cave painting in
Spain, dating from perhaps 20,000 years ago, shows people using ropes to reach a beehive
with its store of honey. This carbohydrate, though, existed in only small quantities in the
pre-agricultural environment. It was usually so difficult to obtain that it could not do much
damage to human health until the practice of agriculture made it abundant ...
C. Food production both caused and accompanied drastic changes in political, social, and
economic life. Without this adaptation, complex societies - the state, the empire, and later
the industrialized nations - could not have developed. This adaptation also brought with it
a new attitude toward material objects and possessions. Since some people were able to
obtain more land than others, the egalitarian society of the hunter-gatherers gave way to
increasingly greater differences in wealth, power, and status. For the first time, societies
became divided into the rulers and the ruled, the rich and the poor. Wealth and power did
not merely appear for the first time; they also became hereditary.
D. In contrast to the diversity of skills possessed by every hunter-gatherer, the food-
producing adaptation compartmentalized skills into highly specialized occupations. This
adaptation soon contributed techniques that altered the internal properties of natural
substances. Clay, earth and ore were modified to produce pottery, glazes, and metals. If
clay, for example, is heated to a high temperature, it is transformed into pottery, and
ceramics, substances that can no longer be returned to their original stale. The humans'
new ability to change the very nature of matter must have profoundly enhanced their
intellectual awareness and their confidence in being able to serve their own needs.
Domestication, after all, involved simply guiding normal biological processes, whereas
the new technology involved a control over matter itself.
E. People in our threatening century often tend to look back with envy on the seemingly
idyllic past of leisured hunter-gatherers or simple agriculturists. But since turning back is
impossible, we must live today with all the consequences - whether good, evil, or neutral -
of innovations stemming from the development of food production. The population
explosion, the shortage of resources, the pollution of the environment, exploitation of one
human group by another, famine, and war - all have their roots in that great adaptive
change from foraging to production.
F. On the other hand, it was food production that permitted the cultural potentiality of the
human species to develop freely. Having become liberated from the limitations and
constraints dictated by the environment, the innate capacities of our species could now be
expressed much more fully...
(By Peter Farb)
14. The following sentences have been removed from the passage. Decide where they should
go in the passage:
A. The new diet also produced obesity and widespread dental decay because of the intake
of sugar.
B. They thus gave certain people in the society political authority and social privileges
that had little reference to their abilities.
C. Had such specializations been absent, the technological achievements that developed
as part of this adaptation would have been impossible.
D. Our path today is still laid out for us by those innovations, made so many thousands of
years ago.
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15. Below are the main ideas of the paragraphs. Match the ideas with the paragraphs
_____ However, the invention of agriculture also freed human beings to develop
technologically and culturally.
_____ Agriculture brought about inequalities in wealth and power among human
beings, and these inequalities became hereditary.
_____ The adoption of agriculture resulted in a population increase and, as a result,
new diseases and health problems appeared.
_____ Many of the problems in the world today are consequences of the invention of
agriculture, but we cannot return to the way the world was before the invention
of agriculture.
_____ Agriculture changed the diet of human beings, which brought about various
diseases caused by certain deficiencies in their diet, as well as obesity and tool
decay.
_____ Instead of everyone having many skills, agriculture brought about the
specialization of individuals in one skill, which gave rise to the beginning of
technology.
16. Decide whether each of the following sentences is true (T) or false (E) or doesn't say (DS).
If it is true, give evidence; If it is false, make it true. Write the letter T or F or DS before
the sentences.
_____ A. Agriculture increased the rate of development of the human species.
_____ B. The increase in population occurred because parents had more time to take
care of their children.
_____ C. Various diseases were caused by a lack of vitamins and amino - acids.
_____ D. In pre- agricultural lime, people did not eat much honey because they knew
that too much honey was bad for their health.
_____ E. The more developed the society, the easier for the human beings to catch
diseases.
_____ F. Wealth and power resulted in equalities among human beings.
_____ G. It was not necessary for everyone in agricultural societies to have many
skills.
_____ H. Agricultural produced not enough food than was immediately necessary.
_____ I. Technology, like domestication, can alter the properties of natural
substances.
_____ J. Human beings like the pre- agricultural lifestyle more than their present one.
17. Complete the following table using information form the passage.
CAUSE RESULT
1. The need for the labour of the very young. ……………………………………………
…………………………………………
2. …………………………………………… New health hazards appeared.
…………………………………………… ……………………………………………
3. Honey was very difficult to obtain. ……………………………………………
……………………………………………
4. Some people were able to obtain more land ……………………………………………
than others. ……………………………………………
5. …………………………………………… Certain people have wealth and power not
…………………………………………… because of their abilities.
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Getting ready for exam
PART II
GETTING READY
FOR EXAM
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Practice with understanding meaning from context
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING MEANING FROM CONTEXT

EXERCISE R18 Understanding words in context
This exercise consists of two types of questions. Examples of these two types, including
directions, are shown in the boxes below.
Read the sentence and write the definition of the underlined word.
A cutlass is a short, curved sword.
a short, curved sword
You should write a short, curved sword as the meaning of cutlass because the definition is
included in the sentence. The definition follows the verb be.
Read the paragraph, and choose the letter of the word or phrase that completes the sentence
that follows it.
In law, a nuisance is an act that has no legal justification and that interferes with the
safety or comfort of other people. Public nuisances, those that are injurious to the
community, may be prosecuted as crimes.
A public nuisance is
A. a protective law
B. injurious act
C. a legal justification
D. a safety precaution
You should choose B because a public nuisance is an act that interferes with the safety of
others; that is, an injurious act.
Using be to understand meanings
1. The Celtic religion centered on the worship of a pantheon of nature deities. Their religious
ceremonies included animal sacrifices and various forms of magic. Druids were the priests
who led the people in this highly ritualistic worship.
Druids are
A. deities
B. ceremonies
C. sacrifices
D. priests
2. Waste that has been made useful is said to have been recycled. Empty bottles can be
returned and used again. Other things that can be recycled are paper, plastic, and metals.
Besides the aesthetic value of recycling, there are many environmental reasons to do so.
Recycled material is
A. strewn garbage
B. common waste materials
C. paper, glass, and coffee
D. reused waste
3. Both the Rocky Mountains in North America and the Swiss Alps in Europe have high
peaks that challenge the most skilled of mountain climbers. As these climbers ascend the
steep, rocky crevices, they may come across edelweiss. Although edelweiss is the Swiss
national flower, it is also found in the Rocky Mountains. It grows wild near areas with
year-round snow and can be recognized by its small, white, star-shaped blossoms.
Edelweiss is a
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A. crevice
B. flower
C. star
D. peak
Using appositives to understand meanings
4. Seventeenth-century attempts to preserve anatomical specimens brought about modern
techniques of embalming, the preservation of the body tissue after death by artificial
chemical means. The most common agent used today is formaldehyde, which is infused to
replace body fluids.
Embalming is
A. death by a chemical means
B. the preservation of body tissue
C. a common agent related to formaldehyde
D. the replacement of body fluids
5. The grasslands of the world are inhabited by the magnificent and impressive ungulates,
the long-legged hoofed mammals, such as bison. The greatest varieties of ungulates are
found on the African savanna, where the herds of gazelles and wildebeests in mass
movement are a spectacular sight.
Ungulates are
A. grasslands
B. herds
C. African animals
D. hoofed mammals
6. Samuel Morse spent twelve years perfecting his own version of André Ampere's idea for
an electric telegraph. However, this inventor is best known for the Morse code, a system
of telegraphic signals composed of dots and dashes. The dot represents a very brief
depression of the telegraph key. The dash represents a depression three times as long as
the dot. Different combinations of dots and dashes are used to code the alphabet,
numerals, and some punctuation.
Morse code is a system of telegraphic
A. signals
B. keys
C. dots
D. depression
Using punctuation to understand meanings
7. At the age of 19, Galileo discovered isochronism - the principle in which each oscillation
of a pendulum takes the same time despite changes in amplitude.
Isochronism is
A. a principle
B. an oscillation
C. a pendulum
D. an amplitude
8. A composer indicates to a musician how a musical passage is to be played through the use
of dynamic markings. The symbol for soft is p, whereas the one for loud is /. The intensity
- loudness or softness - depends on the extent or amplitude of the vibrations made by the
particular instrument being played.
Intensity is
A. dynamic markings
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B. the symbol for soft and loud

C. the extent of the vibrations
D. loudness or softness
9. Oral history, the use of the tape recorder to capture memories of the past in private
interviews, has become increasingly popular among professional historians. Studs Terkel
is the best known of America's historians to use this method for recording historical
events. He has interviewed people about their experiences during important events such as
the Great Depression and World War II.
Oral history is
A. private interviews
B. the recording of people's memories
C. experiences during important events
D. the history of tape recording
Using or to understand meanings
10. According to many psychologists, phobias, or irrational fears, represent or are symbolic of
repressed anxiety. They are usually persistent, illogical, and intense. The most useful
treatment has been behavior-modification therapy.
phobia is a
A. psychologist
B. fear
C. symbol
D. treatment
11. Honeybees live in colonies of many thousand members. A typical colony has a queen that
lays eggs; fertile males, or drones; and sexually undeveloped females called workers. The
workers care for the queen and larvae, gather nectar, make and store honey, and protect
the hive.
A drone is
A. an egg
B. a male bee
C. an undeveloped female
D. a worker
12. The nervous system of an insect is not a simple electrical circuit, when a signal gets to one
end of a nerve cell, the cell sprays various molecules out for the next cell to pick up. The
central nervous system of grasshoppers, fruit flies, and other insects includes both the
brain and a chain of simpler segmental ganglia, or groups of nerve cells.
Ganglia are
A. nervous systems
B. electrical circuits
C. groups of nerve cells
D. the molecules the cells send out
Using examples to understand meanings
13. Much can be done to halt the process of desertification. For example, an asphaltlike
petroleum can be sprayed onto sand dunes, and seeds of trees and shrubs can then be
planted. The oil stabilizes the sand and retains moisture, allowing vegetation to become
established where the desert had previously taken over.
Desertification is the
A. spraying of oil onto sand dunes
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B. planting of trees and shrubs

C. vegetation becoming established
D. desert taking over a fertile area
14. Of all the electronic devices that engineers have produced, the computer has had the
greatest impact on society. At the heart of every computer, there are microchips.
Microchips consist of large collections of tiny devices like the diode and transistor,
connected on a single piece ("chip") of silicon.
Diodes and transistors are
A. collections of computers
B. microelectronic devices
C. silicon pieces
D. computer engineers
15. How complicated the preparations for a camping trip are depends on the duration of the
trip as well as the isolation of the area in which the camper intends to be. If a camper
intends to stay at one of the many commercial campsites, most needs are provided for.
However, for outdoor enthusiasts who want to get far from civilization, choosing camping
paraphernalia such as tents, sleeping bags, cooking implements, and other supplies should
be done with care.
Paraphernalia is
A. equipment
B. food supplies
C. sleeping bags
D. campsites
Using adjective clauses to understand meanings
16. The Pueblo Indians are those who dwell in pueblos, a name derived from the Spanish
word for village. The pueblo is usually built against the face of a cliff and generally
consists of connected houses rising in a series of receding terraces. The roof of one house
is the yard or patio of the next house. The kiva, where Pueblo Indians hold their secret
ceremonies, is entered by an opening in the roof.
A kiva is a
A. patio
B. ceremonial room
C. series of terraces
D. Pueblo Indian village
17. The coyote resembles a medium-sized dog with a pointed face, thick fur; and a black-
tipped, bushy tail. Although its main diet consists of rabbits and other rodents, it is
considered dangerous to livestock. Consequently, thousands of coyotes are killed yearly.
In recent years, nonlethal techniques, those that do not kill coyotes, have been developed
to protect sheep and other livestock while allowing the coyote to remain in the wilD.
Nonlethal techniques are those that
A. dangerous to livestock
B. injure thousands of coyotes yearly
C. allow livestock to live in the wild
D. are not deadly to wild animals
18. The phenomenon of a mirage, which is an atmospheric optical illusion in which an
observer sees a nonexistent body of water, can be explained by two facts. First, light rays
are bent in passing between media of differing densities. Second, the boundary between
two such media acts as a mirror for rays of light coming in at certain angles.
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A mirage is
A. an illusion
B. a body of water
C. a medium acting as a mirror
D. the boundary between two media
Using referents to understand meanings
19. Important officials visiting President Theodore Roosevelt were surprised by his menagerie
of pets. No previous president had filled the white House with such a variety of animals.
A menagerie is a varied group of
A. officials
B. presidents
C. animals
D. staff members
20. At least 50 different weed species fight off competitors by emitting toxins from their
roots, leaves, or seeds. These poisons do their work in a variety of ways, such as inhibiting
germination of seeds and destroying photosynthesis abilities.
Toxins are
A. roots
B. leaves
C. seeds
D. poisons
21. The English longbowmen did not draw their bows but bent them by leaning on them with
one arm and the upper part of their body. This method utilized the strength of the body
instead of just the arm and gave the archers endurance to use the longbow for extended
periods.
A longbowman is
A. an archer
B. a bowing technique
C. a method for utilizing the strength of the body
D. a way to increase endurance for longer use of the longbow
Using contrasts to understand meanings
22. A unified field theory is one in which two forces, seemingly very different from each
other, are shown to be basically identical. According to such a theory, unification will take
place at various stages as the energy and temperature increase.
Identical is
A. different
B. unified
C. equal
D. level
23. The campanile is chiefly a medieval form of Italian architecture. Built in connection with
a church or town hall, it served as a belfry, watchtower, and sometimes a civil monument.
Unlike other bell towers that are attached to buildings, the campanile generally stands as a
detached unit.
A campanile is a
A. church
B. town hall
C. tower
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D. unit
24. While the methods used at other learning institutions are based on the theory that children
need a teacher, the Montessori method is based on the theory that a child will learn
naturally if placed in an environment rich in learning materials. These materials are suited
to children's abilities and interests, and learning takes place as the child plays, children
following this method are autodidactic, and only when a child needs help does the teacher
step in.
Autodidactic is
A. playful
B. self-taught
C. able to learn
D. dependent on teachers
Using other words in the sentence to understand meanings
25. The much larger hull of the multidecked round ship allowed it to carry more supplies,
more men, more guns, and more sails, all of which were necessary for long voyages of
commerce and discovery.
A hull is a
A. storage place
B. deck
C. kind of sail
D. type of commerce
26. In the third century BCE, Ctesibius, the Greek engineer and theorist, first exercised his
inventive talents by making an adjustable mirror and then creating ingenious toys that
could move under their own power.
Inventive is
A. regional
B. creative
C. flexible
D. effective
27. Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin because it is absorbed through bare skin. The
body uses it to form strong bones, and therefore, it is essential for growing children.
People who are not exposed to the sun can become deficient in vitamin D and may
develop the bone disease rickets.
Deficient is
A. overexposed
B. infected
C. lacking
D. improved
EXERCISE R19 Choosing the best synonym
Read each passage, choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each of the
sentences that follow it.
The horse has played a little-known but very important role in the field of medicine. Horses
were injected with toxins of diseases until their blood built up immunities. Then a serum
was made from their blood. Serums to fight both diphtheria and tetanus were developed in
this way.
The word "serum " is closest in meaning to
A. ointment
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B. antitoxin
C. blood
D. acid
According to the passage, horses were given toxins to which they became immune. The
blood was made into serums, which acted as antitoxins against the toxins of diseases.
Therefore, you should choose B.
Questions 1-6
The fork, which did not become a standardized item in Europe until the eighteenth century,
was almost unheard of in America. With the absence of forks, it can be assumed that
colonists used a spoon instead. The knife was probably held in the right hand, generally the
preferred hand for manipulating utensils. The spoon would have been held in the left I hand
with the concave part of the bowl facing downward. In this position, the diner would be
more adept at securing a piece of meat against a plate while the cutting took place. Once the
meat was cut, the down-turned spoon would not have been suitable for picking up the
morsel. Probably the diner would have put the knife down and shifted the spoon to the right
hand. This action would bring the spoon into the correct position for scooping up the bite
of food.
This practice of shifting utensils back and forth between hands continued when the fork
made its way to America and replaced the spoon as the tool to secure the food being cut.
The fork kept the food against the plate more adequately, and its curving tines served the
same function as the bowl of the spoon. The custom of shifting the fork from the left hand
to the right was no longer necessary, but people continued to use the style that they were
used to. This American style of handling eating utensils persists to this day.
1. The word "utensils" is closest in meaning to

A. gadgets
B. cutlery
C. hammers
D. weapons
2. The word "adept" is closest in meaning to
A. cultivated
B. agreeable
C. cumbersome
D. proficient
3. The word "morsel" is closest in meaning to
A. piece
B. meat
C. food
D. spoon
4. The phrase "scooping up" is closest in meaning to
A. packing up
B. hoisting up
C. messing up
D. picking up
5. The word "tines" is closest in meaning to
A. handles
B. blades
C. prongs
D. bowls
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6. The word "persists" is closest in meaning to

A. continues
B. operates
C. traces
D. impresses
Questions 7-12
When Jessye Norman's parents were knocking on the wall of their young daughter’s iignal
for her to stop singing and to go to sleep, little did they dream that this who seemed to have
been born singing would grow up to be an internationally renowned opera singer.
It is not surprising that Jessye loved to sing. Music was an integral part of her family's
lifestyle. Alhough Jessye remembers her mother singing spirituals, it was her grandmother
who was always singing. Every hour of her day and every mood was highlighted with a song
that fit the occasion. As Jessye was growing up, her piano-playing mother and trumpet- and
trombone-playing brothers accompanied her when the family was called upon to provide
special music for church services, parent-teacher meetings, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
During her childhood, Jessye knew only three operatic songs: one that she learned from a
recording and two others - the only opera scores she could find at the local music store.
Although singing was in her blood, it was not until she attended Howard University that
Jessye Norman took her first voice lesson with Carolyn Grant, who recognized her talent
and knew how to channel it. It was almost immediately after leaving the university in 1968,
on her first visit to Europe, that Jessye won the singing prize in the International Music
Competition of German Radio. The following year, she was invited to go to Berlin to
perform at the Deutsche Opera. Since that time, Jessye Norman has become a world
superstar whose singular voice reaches audiences all over the world.
7. The word "renowned" is closest in meaning to
A. infamous
B. celebrated
C. notorious
D. precocious
8. The word "integral" is closest in meaning to
A. demanding
B. persistent
C. essential
D. intuitive
9. The word " boldfaced " is closest in meaning to
A. emphasized
B. contradicted
C. conveyed
D. belittled
10. The word " scores " is closest in meaning to
A. points
B. experts
C. voice lessons
D. sheet music
11. The word "channel" is closest in meaning to
A. station
B. irrigate
C. exploit
D. direct
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12. The word " singular " is closest in meaning to

A. flattering
B. exceptional
C. fluctuating
D. different
Questions 13-18
Many laws that were passed in the various states of the United States over the years are
now out of date or seem ludicrous. For example, the laws in one state make it illegal for
women to expose their ankles and for men to go without their guns. Obviously, these laws
are broken daily. With current trends in fashion, every woman who walks down the street
or goes to a beach or public swimming pool is committing a crime. While it was once
considered of utmost importance that a man be armed and ready for action on the frontier, it
IS hardly necessary for a man to tote guns to work today. However, a man without a gun IS
also technically breaking the law.
On the other hand, other laws aren't ever likely to be broken. For example, another law
makes it illegal to tether one’s horse to the fence surrounding the capitol building. It is hard
to imagine anyone riding a horse into the city and leaving it tied outside of the capitol
building today. One would have to go to great lengths in order to break this law.
These outdated laws remain on the record because the time needed for state legislatures
to debate the issues and make changes in the existing laws would keep the members from
attending to more important current and relevant issues. It would be hard to calculate the
cost to the taxpayers for these laws to be purged or updated. Consequently, it is likely that
these laws will remain on the books.
13. The word "Judicious" is closest in meaning to

A. insipid
B. demeaning
C. ridiculous
D. incomprehensible
14. The word "expose" is closest in meaning to
A. sprain
B. conceal
C. decorate
D. display
15. The word " tether " is closest in meaning to
A. gallop
B. fasten
C. saddle
D. conduct
16. The word " debate " is closest in meaning to
A. challenge
B. contemplate
C. discuss
D. overturn
17. The word "relevant" is closest in meaning to
A. pertinent
B. fashionable
C. extraneous
D. inadequate
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18. The word "purged" is closest in meaning to

A. eliminated
B. restored
C. remedied
D. amended
EXERCISE R20 Understanding the author's meaning

Although originally formed to prevent illegal trade in whiskey, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, or "Mounties" as they are informally called, now enforce all federal laws
throughout Canada. Their diverse duties also include participating in peacekeeping efforts
and supplying expertise in areas like forensics to Canadian and international police forces.
About 1,000 members of the force are assigned exclusively to the task of controlling
the spread of illicit drugs.
In stating that “1,000 members of the force are assigned exclusively to the task of
controlling the spread of illicit drugs”, the author means that these members
A. deal only with work involving drug control
B. are excluded from the task force assigned to drug control
C. work with those who are assigned to the task of drug control
D. are assigned all law enforcement tasks excluding that of drug control
You would choose A because the word exclusively means without exception.
The members' only task is that of controlling the spread of illicit drugs.
Read each passage. Choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the sentence
that follows it.
1. Astronomers have recently gained new knowledge of the behavior of galaxies. It has been
discovered that spiral galaxies sometimes collide with each other. The huge forces created
in such a cosmic event can tug long trails of stars and create new ones from compressed
gases. After repeated collisions, galaxies may eventually merge, forming a single elliptical
shape. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is on a collision course with the nearby
Andromeda Galaxy. Hundreds of millions of years from now, these two star systems may
combine to form one giant configuration.
In stating that "the Milky Way is on a collision course" the author means that A. the
Milky Way is going to crash into our own galaxy
A. the Milky Way is going to crash into our own galaxy
B. the Milky Way is heading toward the Andromeda Galaxy
C. the Milky Way is the result of an impact that created one giant configuration
D. the Milky Way will crash into two-star systems in hundreds of millions of years
2. As long ago as the thirteenth century, Roger Bacon, the celebrated philosopher and
Franciscan friar, postulated that humankind could fly with the aid of a large ball
constructed of thin copper filled with air. Throughout the centuries, other scientific
dreamers hypothesized the construction of a variety of flying devices. Leonardo da Vinci,
in particular, studied aspects of flight and made sketches for flying machines. It was not
until 1783 that the first people, Pilâtre đe Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes, successfully
took off from the ground, in a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers.
In stating that "Roger Bacon ... postulated that humankind could fly," the author means
that Roger Bacon
A. witnessed human flight
B. wanted to show how humans could fly
C. knew why it was important that humans fly
D. thought that human flight was possible
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3. Christmas Island, discovered by Captain James Cook on Christmas Eve in 1777, was once
populated by a wide variety of bird species. In recent years, at least 18 species of birds - a
total of 17 million birds - have been observed to leave or to perish on the island. It is
suspected that the cause of the disappearance may be related to a cyclical weather
phenomenon in the Pacific that alters winds, salinity, and ocean currents. These variously
repeating conditions have resulted in higher water temperatures, which may have caused
the fish and squid that the birds live on to die.
In stating that "the cause of the disappearance maybe related to a cyclical weather
phenomenon," the author means that the cause is related to
A. hurricanes and cyclones
B. recurring climatic conditions
C. a succession of environmental patterns
D. a combination of wind, salt, and ocean currents
4. The historic centers of the American sister cities Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston,
South Carolina, have fortunately been saved from demolition or neglect and now
attract tourists eager to view the gracious old houses, of particular interest for the visitor is
the exquisite decorative ironwork found throughout the older parts of both cities,
especially on porch and stair railings and banisters. Both wrought and cast iron became
popular there in the early 1800s, since fire was a constant threat and iron would not burn.
Pig iron, which was used as ballast in ships coming from Europe to pick up cargoes of
cotton, was bought cheaply, and a local industry producing beautiful ironwork developed.
In stating that "the historic centers of the American sister cities ... have fortunately
been, saved from demolition the author means that the city centers have
A. been kept intact
B. remained neglected
C. been elegantly restored
D. saved the tourist industry
Reading Mini-test 3
Questions 1-4
The incorporation of broken-down scrap: tires into asphalt to produce a blend suitable for
the construction of road surfaces is becoming widespread. The resulting material, asphalt-
rubber, has several advantages over customary road-building materials. It can be applied in
a reduced thickness, and this means that less material has to be mined and transported to the
road site. Furthermore, roads constructed with this material require less maintenance than
more conventional roads. Another benefit is the abatement of traffic noise, a serious
issue in urban areas. Perhaps most important, the reduction and possible eventual
elimination of waste tires with all their attendant environmental problems may one day
become a reality.
1. The word "scrap" is closest in meaning to
A. waste
B. outdated
C. rough
D. broken
2. The word " customary" is closest in meaning to
A. special
B. unusual
C. regular
D. suitable
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3. In stating “Another benefit is the abatement of traffic noise”, the author means that the
traffic noise has
A. subsided
B. become beneficial
C. become a serious issue
D. benefited from the construction
4. The word "elimination" is closest in meaning to
A. revision
B. fulfillment
C. reduction
D. eradication
Questions 5-8
Emily Dickinson published only a handful of poems during her lifetime, and she was
so secretive about her writing that even her own family was not aware of her literary
activities. Emily never married, and after the age of 30 she became increasingly reclusive,
rarely venturing out of her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She did, however, take
a keen interest in contemporary culture and science and was a lively and prolific
correspondent.
Her poetry was also abundant, and it was much concerned with the themes of religious
conflict, nature, love, and death. Technically her poems show innovative use of rhyme and
rhythm and exhibit intense emotion clearly and concisely expressed. After her death in
1886, her sister, Lavinia, discovered her entire unpublished output, over 1,700 poems in all,
concealed in drawers. Four years after Emily's death, a selection of these was published,
and since then her reputation has grown immensely. Her poetry is now acclaimed
throughout the world.
5. The word "reclusive" is closest in meaning to
A. solitary
B. distinct
C. hostile
D. lonely
6. In stating that Emily Dickinson was a "prolific correspondent," the author means that
A. her letters were profound
B. her letters were entertaining
C. she held many serious discussions
D. she communicated a lot through letters
7. The word "intense" is closest in meaning to
A. focused
B. inhibited
C. weird
D. strong
8. The word "concisely" is closest in meaning to
A. accurately
B. cryptically
C. movingly
D. succinctly
Questions 9-12
In the last couple of decades, marine researchers have observed that epidemic diseases
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are attacking a variety of sea creatures. Some of them are affecting rare species that are
already at risk of extinction. For example, in the 1980s a mysterious epidemic struck a
species of sea urchin in the Caribbean, wiping out over 90 percent of the population. Later
in the same decade, harbor seals in the Baltic and North Seas succumbed to an unidentified
affliction. The green sea turtle has expired in large numbers as a result of developing
tumors, known as fibropapillomas, which eventually cover the creature and prevent it from
seeing or eating.
Coral reefs and the species that inhabit them have also witnessed an explosion of new
diseases. Most of these reported diseases are infections that have appeared recently or are
increasing in incidence or geographic range. Some scientists infer that human activity is
responsible for spreading these afflictions. Perhaps industrial pollution is weakening the
immune systems of marine populations and making them more susceptible to pathogens.
9. The word "affliction" is closest in meaning to

A. situation
B. toxin
C. disease
D. seizure
10. In stating "The green sea turtle has expired in large numbers,” the author means that
the sea turtles have
A. died from an illness
B. declined in numbers
C. quit coming to the Caribbean
D. become extinct in the Baltic and North Seas
11. The word "incidence" is closest in meaning to
A. rate of occurrence
B. degree of circumstance
C. degree of severity
D. rate of exposure
12. The word "susceptible" is closest in meaning to
A. attractive
B. heedful
C. perilous
D. vulnerable
Questions 13-16
Psychologists have found that privately made resolutions are rarely followed, whereas
I a public commitment to achieve some goal, such as losing weight or giving up smoking, is
likely to be much more effective. This is because the approval of others for reaching one’s
target is valued. In contrast, disapproval for failure can lead to feelings of shame.
Advertising agencies have designed studies bearing out the truth of this observation. In
their research, a group of strangers was bombarded with information about the qualities of
a particular product. They were then asked to either announce out loud or write down
privately whether they intended to buy the product. It was later discovered that those who
publicly declared their intention to buy were considerably more likely to do so than those
who affirmed their intentions in private.
In another study, an experimenter claiming to represent a local utility company
interviewed homeowners, telling them he was investigating ways in which energy
consumption could be reduced. Half the subjects, randomly selected, were told that if they
agreed to conserve energy, their names would be mentioned in an article published in the
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local newspaper; the remaining half were told their names would not be used. All those
interviewed agreed to cooperate and signed a form either giving consent for their names to
be used or stating that their names would not be used. Later in the year, the amount of gas
consumed in each house was recorded. The owners who had agreed to their names being
published had used significantly less gas than those who remained anonymous.
13. The word "resolutions" is closest in meaning to
A. declarations
B. explanations
C. speculations
D. persuasions
14. The word "bombarded" is closest in meaning to
A. bombed
B. attacked
C. saturated
D. hampered
15. In stating "an experimenter claiming to represent a local utility company interviewed
homeowners," the author means that the experimenter who interviewed the homeowners
was
A. committing fraud
B. working for a state utility company
C. hiding his identity from the people in the study
D. representing a claimant in a law case against the utility company
16. The word "consent" is closest in meaning to
A. permission
B. submission
C. justification
D. consideration
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Practice with understanding the connection of ideas
PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING THE CONNECTION OF

IDEAS
EXERCISE R21 Locating referents within a passage
Read the passage, choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the sentence
that follows it.
Differences in the way men and women process language is of special interest to brain
researchers. It has been known that aphasia - a kind of speech disorder - is more common in
men than in women when the left side of the brain is damaged in an accident or after a
stroke. However, women are more likely than men to suffer aphasia when the front part of
the brain is damaged. This clearly indicates that the brains of men and women are
organized differently in the way they process speech.
The word "they" in the passage refers to
A. men
B. women
C. brains
D. researchers
You should choose C because they (plural) agrees with brains, and brains can process
speech.
1. One of the most potentially explosive international problems is that of mass tourism. Of
the more than six billion people in the world, an increasing number of them are
determined to travel. Annually a vast number of travel-hungry tourists traipse around the
globe, and thousands of perfect beaches, quaint villages, historic cities, and regions of
exquisite natural beauty have become victims of developers' building schemes. Attempts
to accommodate these people have led to the destruction of the very attractions that they
have come to enjoy and have made daily living almost impossible for the local residents.
The phrase "these people" in the passage refers to
A. people in the world
B. tourists
C. developers
D. residents
2. Traditionally, America's fast-food companies have hired teenagers, while teenagers
provide cheap labor, they are sometimes unreliable. Consequently, fast-food companies
often use another source of cheap labor - the elderly, older people are less likely to skip a
day of work or quit without giving notice, but because they have not been brought up with
computers, they view the high-tech fast-food counter with terror. Training centers have
opened in order to teach "mature workers" how to operate computerized cash registers,
timed deep-fat fryers, and automatic drink- dispenser software. These students are put
into classrooms with their peers and, since mental arithmetic is a thing of the past, are
taught how to use a calculator.
The phrase " These students” in the passage refers to
A. teenagers
B. fast-food employers
C. the elderly
D. peers
3. The Bettmann Archive is a picture library that was founded in the 1930s by German
immigrant Otto Bettmann. He arrived in New York City with two suitcases of
photographs and opened a picture library, which he built into the biggest commercial
operation of its kind in the world. Among the millions of photographs the archive contains
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are some of the most memorable images of the twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe
standing by a street grate ventilating her skirt, Einstein sticking out his tongue, and the
Hindenburg exploding into flames. According to Bettmann, the archive's success was due
to his unique filing system which he designed to suit journalistic needs. For example, the
Mona Lisa was not filed under "Paintings" or "Leonardo da Vinci"; it was filed under
"Smiling."
The word " some " in the passage refers to
A. suitcases of photographs
B. picture libraries
C. commercial operations
D. archive photographs
EXERCISE R22 Locating multiple referents within a passage

Read the passage. Then draw a line from each boldfaced word to its referent.
People often assume that athletes are healthier and more attuned to their overall well-being
than non-athletes. However, two researchers recently conducted a survey of college students.
They reported that athletes are more likely than those who aren't into sports to engage in
behaviors that put their health at risk.
1. Scientists used to believe that animals scream to startle predators into loosening their grip
or to warn their kin. However, now some researchers have concluded that the piercing,
far-reaching cries of animals may have another function. Recent studies indicate that these
screams may have evolved to attract other predators, which will give the prey a chance to
escape during the ensuing struggle between predators.
2. When cartoonists take on the task of drawing real people, they do so by making a
caricature. These kinds of cartoon drawings are frequently used to satirize well- known
people. Most famous people have several particular characteristics that distinguish them,
such as facial features, body posture, or gestures, which are familiar to the general public.
Cartoonists can cleverly exaggerate them to the point of ridiculousness.
3. Satellites routinely relay pictures of desert areas. From these pictures, it can be
determined where locusts are likely to breed. With information on the locusts' breeding
areas, agriculture officials can use pesticides to kill these insects before they become a
menace. If not eradicated, a single swarm can devour 80,000 tons of corn a day -
sustenance for half a million people for one year.
EXERCISE R23 Understanding transition words
Complete the sentences by choosing the letter of the phrase or clause that would most likely
follow the underlined transition words.
Although potatoes are richer in food value than any other vegetable, they are not always a
wise choice for a garden crop because they need a considerable amount of space to grow.
Consequently,
A. they are the most common vegetable in a garden
B. people don't eat potatoes very much
C. they can be more economically grown on farms
D. farmers overcharge for their potatoes
You should choose c because consequently introduces a consequence of a previously stated
fact. If potatoes are not a wise choice for a garden because of the amount of space they
need, they could be grown on a farm more economically, since a farm has more space than
a garden.
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1. Glass was precious to Egyptians, who used it interchangeably with gemstones, but
A. it is over 4,000 years old
B. its novelty as an artist's material prevents its being taken seriously
C. today it has come out of factories and into the workshops
D. today it is so commonplace that it is seldom given a second thought
2. Glimpses into the prenatal world via ultrasound imaging occasionally show behavior such
as
A. the development of the central nervous system
B. the sex of the baby-to-be
C. a fetus sucking its thumb
D. structures as small as the pupil of an eye of a second-trimester fetus
3. Although the animals and plants that live in the world's various deserts come from
different ancestral stocks,
A. they have solved their problems of survival differently
B. none of them have adapted to the jungles
C. they are from different deserts
D. they resemble one another to a surprising degree
4. Children dress up in witches' hats or ghost costumes to play pranks when celebrating the
fun October holiday of Halloween. In contrast,
A. Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday
B. Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November
C. families dress more formally and set elegant tables for the more serious occasion of
Thanksgiving
D. children enjoy Thanksgiving
5. Everything from chairs and fishing poles to rope and paper can be made from bamboo.
Equally important,
A. this giant grass grows in warm climates
B. fresh spring bamboo shoots take longer to cook than winter ones
C. a variety of foods ran he made from this giant grass
D. preserved bamboo shoots can be used in soups instead of fresh ones
6. Earth satellites transmit telephone and television signals, relay information about weather
patterns, and enable scientists to study the atmosphere. This information has helped
people communicate ideas and expand their knowledge. In conclusion,
A. satellites have enriched the lives of humankind
B. satellites are expensive to send into space and sometimes are difficult to maintain
C. a dish antenna can pick up 300 TV channels from satellites
D. satellites are placed in an orbital region around Earth called the geostationary belt
7. In the 1940s, when today's astronauts hadn't even been born, comic-strip detective Dick
Tracy fought crime in an atomic-powered space vehicle. In addition to that;
A. many of today's astronauts have used a kind of atomic-powered space vehicle
B. he used lasers to process gold and a two-way wrist TV for communication
C. "Dick Tracy" was a very popular comic strip in the United States
D. astronauts used lasers to process gold and communicated on long-distance flights
using two-way wrist TVs
8. According to dental researchers, a vaccine that could significantly reduce the number of
microorganisms thought to cause cavities will soon be ready for human trials.
Consequently,
A. cavity prevention programs may soon be eliminated
B. immunization of test animals will no longer be necessary
C. children will be able to consume more sugary foods and drinks
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D. long-term protection against tooth decay could soon be available on the market
9. Medical researchers have recently developed a nonsurgical method of treating heart
disease that, in some cases,
A. is just as effective as coronary bypass surgery but is much less expensive and
disabling
B. can replace a clogged artery by the transplantation of a vein or artery from another part
of the body
C. continues to be underused because coronary bypass operations are lucrative for
hospitals and surgeons
D. requires opening up the chest and operating under local anesthesia
10. Neurons, which cannot divide, are the basic cells of the brain. Glial cells, which can
increase in number, provide support and nourishment to the neurons. It was hypothesized
that if Einstein's brain had been more active, more glial cells would be found there.
Indeed,
A. scientists found that the physicist's brain contained more glial cells per neuron than the
brains of eleven normal males
B. scientists' previous work had shown that animals put in environments that stimulate
mental activity develop more glial cells per neuron
C. scientists examined sections of the upper front and lower rear of both hemispheres
because these areas are involved in "higher" thinking
D. scientists found that even though there was evidence he had greater intellectual
processing, it cannot be determined whether Einstein was born with this or developed
it later
EXERCISE R24 Inserting sentences
For each passage, choose the letter of the square where the bold sentences would best fit.
For more than 2,000 years, nomads of Central Asia and the Far East have lived in portable,
circular dwellings called yurts. [A] These structures are highly durable and use resources
very efficiently. [B] They typically have a low profile and circular shape. [C] This allows
the wind to slip around and over them so they can withstand very high winds. The basic
shape is formed from wooden poles crisscrossed to form a circular lattice frame in which a
wooden door is set. [D] The outside covering is made of fabric that is supplemented with
animal skins during cold weather.
Roof poles are made from wooden beams that are tied at the lower end to the lattice
and are secured to a central roof ring.
The sentence to be added gives details on how the basic shape is made. It would follow the
sentence describing the basic shape and precede the sentence that describes the covering of
the basic shape. The sentence would logically be inserted at D.
1. [A] Pragmatism is essentially an American school of thought that has had few supporters
elsewhere. [B] One of the first pragmatists, William James, wrote that it was impossible to
discover the real world outside our senses and therefore we must concern ourselves
primarily with human experience. [C] Because the world would be a worse place without
a belief in human responsibility, morals, and free will, it was necessary, he considered, to
believe in these concepts. [D] Another pragmatist, John Dewey; held that since truth is an
instrument for solving problems, it must change as the problems it confronts change.
Pragmatists believe that the test of any belief should be its practical consequences
and that the truth of a proposition should be judged on how well it corresponds with
experimental results.
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2. In the early years of the twentieth century, the American art scene was dominated by
painters who had established their reputations in the previous century. [A] At this time,
there was a general intolerance both by critics and by the public of any deviation from the
kind of work championed by academic institutions, [B] Acceptable art generally
employed detailed realistic technique and focused on subject matter of historical or
mythological scenes or sentimental landscapes. [C] In 1908 a group of artists organized an
exhibition in a New York gallery that constituted a revolt against these current
orthodoxies. [D] Their unconventional work often depicted the seamy side of urban life in
settings such as backyards, saloons, dance halls, and theaters. Surprisingly, the show was
a success, and for a time these artists enjoyed widespread popularity.
The artists, who came to be called "the Eight" and were later dubbed the "Ashcan
School," used vigorous brush strokes and dramatic lighting.
3. Seeds are dispersed to new sites by various means. Many, such as dandelion or thistle
seeds, have fine tufts that allow them to be scattered by the action of the wind. [A] Some
seeds such as the coconut can float and are dispersed by currents around the islands of the
Pacific Ocean. Other seeds have evolved ways of getting around through the activities of
an intermediary animal. [B] This can happen in a number of different ways. For example,
animals may devour the fruit containing seeds. [C] Sometimes a seed needs to be buried
before it can germinate. This might happen when a hoarding animal such as a squirrel fails
to return for its hidden meal. [D] Some seeds have sticky or spiky surfaces, often called
burrs, which may catch on the coat of a passing animal and later drop off at a considerable
distance from their origin.
In fact, a seed may require passage through the gut of the bird or animal before it
can germinate.
4. The technique of using wind power to grind grain between stones to produce flour is
ancient and was widely practiced. Exactly where the first windmill was constructed is
unknown, although certainly the Persians ground corn more than 2,000 years ago. [A]
Tradition has it that the knowledge spread to the Middle East and from there to Northern
Europe during the Middle Ages, [B] The power of the wind replaced animal power in
several regions of Europe where millwrights became highly skilled craftsmen and rapidly
developed the technology. [C] In England the device became a ubiquitous feature of the
landscape, and by 1400 there were 10,000 windmills concentrated in the southeast part of
the country, each capable of grinding 10,000 bushels of grain a week. Starting in the
nineteenth century the mill started to decline in importance with the advent of steam
power. [D] By the mid-twentieth century few working mills remained in use, but in recent
years efforts have been made to restore and maintain these romantic souvenirs of a bygone
age.
The Dutch in particular made considerable improvements and used windmills to
pump water as well as to produce flour.
Reading Mini-test 4
Check your progress in understanding connections by completing the following Mini-test.
Select the correct answer.
Questions 1-3
In the twentieth century, architects in large cities designed structures in a way that I
reduced noise and yet made living as comfortable as possible. [A] They used such I
techniques as making walls hollow and filling this wall space with materials that absorb I
noise. Thick carpets and heavy curtains were used to cover floors and windows. Air 'ị
conditioners and furnaces were designed to filter air through soundproofing materials. [B]
However, after much time and effort had been spent in making buildings less noisy, it I was
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discovered that people also reacted adversely to the lack of sounD. [C] Now architects I are
designing structures that reduce undesirable noise but retain the kind of noise that I people
seem to need. [B]
1. The word "They" in the passage refers to

A. cities
B. structures
C. architects
D. techniques
2. According to the passage, making walls hollow and filling this wall space with materials
that absorb noise results in
A. filtered air
B. a lack of sound
C. an adverse reaction to noise
D. a reduction in undesirable noise
3. The following sentence can be added to the passage:
A silent home can cause feelings of anxiety and isolation.
Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where the sentence could be added.
Where would the sentence best fit? choose the letter of the square [ ] that shows where
the sentence should be added.
Questions 4-6
The gambrel roof design has an enduring appeal to many builders and homeowners.
Originally a feature of Dutch colonial architectural style, the gambrel is a straight double--
sloped roof joined at a central ridge. [A] The main distinguishing feature is that each roof
side is broken into two planes, with the lower slope inclined at a steeper pitch than the
upper. Sometimes the angle of the gambrel roof becomes shallower again at the eaves and
projects over the wall of the house, giving a bell-shaped appearance in cross section. [B]
The main advantage of the gambrel roof is that it creates a spacious interior on the upper
floor of the house. [C] This makes it a perfect choice for a growing family. [D]
4. The phrase“a feature " in the passage refers to

A. the gambrel roof design
B. the straight sloping roof
C. the roof design in Holland
D. the roof joined at a central ridge
5. The gambrel roof design of the Dutch colonial architectural style is appealing to
homeowners because
A. it has a bell-shaped appearance
B. it creates a spacious upper floor
C. the shape is traditional
D. the angle becomes shallower at the eaves
6. The following sentence can be added to the passage:
This spaciousness also makes the gambrel roof highly suitable for bam construction,
since the upper floor can be used as a hayloft.
Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where the sentence could be added.
Where would the sentence best fit? choose the letter of the square [ ] that shows where
the sentence should be added.
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Questions 7-9
Diamond value is based on four characteristics: carat, color, clarity, and cut. The size
of a diamond is measured by carat weight. There are 100 points in a carat and 142 carats in
an ounce. Each point above 1 carat is more valuable than each one below 1 carat. In other
words, a stone that weighs more than 1 carat is more valuable per point than a stone that is
Ĩ. smaller than 1 carat.
The scale used for rating color begins with D, which means the gem is absolutely
colorless and, therefore, the most valuable. E and F are almost colorless. All three are good
for investment purposes. A stone rated between G and J is good for jewelry. Beyond J the
stones take on a slightly yellowish color, which gets deeper as the grade declines.
The clarity of a stone is determined by its lack of carbon spots, inner flaws, and surface
blemishes. While most of these are invisible to the unaided eye, they do affect the
diamond’s brilliance. For jewelry, a diamond rated VVS1 (very, very slight imperfections)
is as close to flawless as one will find. After that the scale goes to VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1,
SI2, I1, I2, and so on.
The final characteristic is cut. [A] When shaped - whether round, oval, emerald,
marquise, pear, or heart - the diamond should be faceted so that light is directed into the
depths of the prism and then reflected outward again. [B] A well-cut diamond will separate
the light into different colors when the light is reflected. [C] Only stones of similar shape
should have their reflective qualities compared, as some shapes are more reflective than
others. The round shape is the most reflective. [D]
7. The word "one" in the passage refers to

A. a diamond
B. an ounce
C. each point
D. 1 carat
8. Even though they affect a diamond's brilliance, slight carbon spots, inner flaws, and
surface blemishes
A. lack imperfections
B. are rated VVS1
C. cannot be seen with the naked eye
D. can make a diamond more valuable
9. The following sentence can be added to paragraph 4:
In contrast, a nearly flawless diamond that is not professionally cut will not acquire
its full reflective potential, and thus, its value may be diminished.
Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where the sentence could be added, where would
the sentence best fit?
Questions 10-12
People who suffer from excessive drowsiness during the daytime may be victims of a
condition known as “narcolepsy.” Although most people may feel sleepy while watching
TV or after eating a meal, narcoleptics may fall asleep at unusual or embarrassing times.
They may doze while eating, talking, taking a shower, or even driving a car.
Victims can be affected in one of two ways. Most narcoleptics have several sleeping
periods during each day with alert periods in between, but a minority feel drowsy almost all
the time and are alert for only brief intervals. Many people with this condition also suffer
from cataplexy - a form of muscular paralysis that can range from a mild weakness at the
knees to complete immobility affecting the entire body. This condition lasts from a few
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seconds to several minutes and is often set off by intense emotions.

No reliable data exist showing how many people have narcolepsy. [A] Unfortunately,
there is also little knowledge about the causes of this illness. [B] Researchers suggest that
the problem may stem from the immune system’s reacting abnormally to the brain’s
chemical processes. [C] Further studies have shown a link between narcolepsy and a
number of genes, although it is quite possible for an individual to have these genes and not
develop the disease. [D] There are also cases of twins where one member has narcolepsy
but the other does not. Thus, an explanation based on genetics alone is not adequate.
There is currently no cure for narcolepsy, so sufferers of this condition can only have
their symptoms treated through a combination of counseling and drugs. The available drugs
can help' control the worst of the symptoms, but their administration has unwanted side
effects such as increased blood pressure and heart rate and, sometimes, even increased
sleepiness. It is clear that improved medications need to be developed.
10. Unlike most people who may feel drowsy after a meal or while watching TV, narcoleptics
A. doze off at odd times
B. sleep most of the time
C. suffer in one of two ways
D. have no trouble falling asleep
11. The word “their" in the passage refers to
A. sufferers
B. symptoms
C. drugs
D. side effects
Some estimates put the number as high as 300,000 in the United States alone.
Look at the four squares [ ] that indicate where the sentence could be added, where would
the sentence best fit? Choose the letter of the square [ ] that shows where the sentence
should be added.
Questions 13-15
On December 4, 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste, carrying 1,700 barrels of crude -
alcohol en route from New York to Genoa, was found abandoned and drifting in the
Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and Portugal. The crew of the Dei Gratia, the cargo
ship that found the Mary Celeste, inspected her carefully and then sailed her to Gibraltar to
collect the large salvage reward. Their report given at the inquiry suggests that the captain,
his wife, his young daughter, and the seven-man crew had deserted the ship in a great hurry.
The captain’s bed was unmade, something unheard of in a well-run ship, which the Mary
Celeste was known to be. The oilskin boots and pipes belonging to the crew had also been
left, although the chronometer, sextant, and lifeboat were missing. The cargo was intact,
although some barrels had leaked and two of the hatches were not in place.
Several theories have been propounded to explain why those aboard left a perfectly
seaworthy vessel to risk their lives on an open boat. It has been suggested that they were the
victims of alien abduction or sea-monster attacks. Such outlandish notions are hardly
credible. The idea that the ship was a victim of piracy can also be discounted, since the
cargo and other valuables were untouched. Likewise, mutiny does not seem plausible, since
the captain and first officer were known to be fair and experienced, the voyage was
relatively short, and mutineers would probably have taken over the ship, not forsaken it.
A possible explanation is that some event made the captain fear for the safety of the
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ship. [A] In fact, recently studied seismic records indicate that a violent earthquake, whose
epicenter was on the seafloor in the region where the Mary Celeste was sailing, occurred
some days before the ship's discovery. [B] If the ship had been subjected to intense shocks I
caused by the quake, all aboard may have hastily abandoned ship to avoid what they f;
imagined might be its imminent destruction from an explosion of the combustible cargo.
[C] A severed rope found dangling from the side of the Mary Celeste suggests that the
evacuees trailed behind in the lifeboat, attached to the ship, waiting for the crisis to pass.
[D] Great waves may then have snapped the rope and capsized the smaller boat, whose Ii
occupants would have disappeared without a trace.
13. The word "Their" in the passage refers to

A. the captain's family
B. the crew of the Dei Gratia
C. the crew of the Mary Celeste
D. all those aboard the ships sailing between the Azores and Portugal
14. The phrase “Such outlandish notions" in the passage refers to
A. risking their lives in an open boat
B. alien abduction or sea-monster attacks
C. piracy
D. mutiny
The need to circulate air to prevent such a blast could explain why the crew left two
hatches open.
Look at the four squares […] that indicate where the sentence could be added, where
would the sentence best fit? Choose the letter of the square […] that shows where the
sentence should be added.
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PRACTICE WITH UNDERSTANDING DETAILS AND

RECOGNIZING PARAPHRASES
Understanding details
Some of the questions in the Reading Comprehension section of an English proficiency test
requires you to understand details within a reading passage. Several details may be mentioned
within a passage. To answer these questions successfully, you must be able to recognize them.
Detail questions are frequently introduced in the following ways:
According to the passage, . . .
The author states that . . .
The remaining part of the question will tell you what to look for, as shown in the example
below:
According to the astronomers, the blue arcs are
A. visual phenomenon
B. actually imaginary
C. invisible to the human eye
D. bending massive galaxies
The details in the answer choices may use words and phrases that are different from (but have
similar meaning to those in the reading passage. Here is the part of the passage that contains
the answer to the example:
The discoverers of these arcs think they are actually optical illusions created by light that
has been bent by the immense gravitational pull of a massive galaxy.
In order to answer the question, you will have to recognize that the discoverers of the arcs
must be astronomers, and the pronoun they refers to these arcs. The word optical is related to
visual and an illusion could be a phenomenon. Therefore, you should choose A.
Recognizing paraphrases
Improving your ability to recognize details from a passage that are stated in a different way in
the questions and answer choices will help you succeed in completing a reading
comprehension test.
Identifying restated information from a passage
Some test questions will require you to choose a sentence that has the same meaning as a
boldfaced sentence in the reading passage. The answer choices use words similar to those in
the boldfaced statement, but the incorrect choices do not have the same meaning. Incorrect
choices can also leave out pertinent details in the boldfaced sentence. Read the excerpt below.
An example of this type of multiple-choice question follows.
The discoverers of these arcs think they are actually optical illusions created by light that has
been bent by the immense gravitational pull of a massive galaxy. The arcs are probably
formed when the light from a distant galaxy is bent by the gravitational pull of another, less
distant, intervening galaxy. Even though such light-bending galaxies contain billions of
stars, they do not contain enough visible ones that alone could exert the pull needed to
create a blue arc. It has been theorized that there must be huge amounts of invisible or
"dark" matter within these galaxies.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the boldfaced
sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out
essential information. Billions of stars are contained in the galaxies, which alone could exert
the pull needed to create a blue arc.
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A. Those galaxies that cause light to bend into 3 blue arc do not have enough visible stars to
exert such a pull,
B. The light-bending galaxies contain billions of visible and invisible stars that exert enough
pull to cause a blue arc.
C. Since the light-bending galaxies don't contain enough visible stars to exert the pull needed
to create a blue arc, dark matter is considered a possibility.
In choice A, the information is contrary to that in the boldfaced statement. The visible stars
are not enough to exert the pull that creates a blue arc. In choice C; the information has
introduced "invisible stars." Choice D has introduced "dark matter." The passage may contain
information about invisible stars and dark matter. However, this information is not mentioned
in the boldfaced sentence and is therefore incorrect as a restatement. Therefore, you should
choose B as the correct restatement of the boldfaced sentence.
Identifying information not stated in a passage
Some questions will ask you to identify information that has not been stated explicitly in the
reading passage. These multiple-choice questions are frequently introduced in the following
ways:
All of the following are mentioned in the passage . . . EXCEPT
All of the following are mentioned in paragraph . . . EXCEPT
The remaining part of the question will tell you what to look for. To answer these questions
successfully, you will need to read all of the answer choices and determine whether the details
described in each one can be found in the passage.
The details in the answer choices may use words and phrases that are different from (but have
similar meaning to) those in the reading passage. Read the excerpt about arcs again. An
example of this type of question follows on the next page.
The discoverers of these arcs think they are actually optical illusions created by light that has
been bent by the immense gravitational pull of a massive galaxy. The arcs are probably
formed when the light from a distant galaxy is bent by the gravitational pull of another, less
distant, intervening galaxy. Even though such light-bending galaxies contain billions of stars,
they do not contain enough visible ones that alone could exert the pull needed to create a blue
arc. It has been theorized that there must be huge amounts of invisible or "dark" matter within
these galaxies.
All of the following are mentioned in the paragraph as factors in the blue arc phenomenon
EXCEPT
A. the light being bent by the gravitational pull of galaxies
B. the light coming from a distant galaxy and bent by a closer one
C. the amount of gravity needed being explained by dark matter theory
D. the light-bending dark matter existing in such distant intervening galaxies
Choice A is found in the passage in the phrase "light that has been bent by the immense
gravitational pull of a massive galaxy." Choice B is found in the words "the light from a
distant galaxy is bent by the gravitational pull of another, less distant, intervening galaxy."
Choice c is found in the phrase "theorized that there must be huge amounts of invisible or
'dark' matter within these galaxies," which refers to the fact that there are not enough visible
stars to exert the needed pull. There is no information in the passage concerning the galaxies
where dark matter exists. Therefore, you should choose D.
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EXERCISE R25 Finding facts

Read each passage and the statements that follow. Write T in the space if the statement is true
according to the information in the passage. Write F in the space if the statement is false or if
the information is not given in the passage.
Miciomygale diblemma is a spider that inhabits the coastal, forested regions of Panama. It
has only two eyes whereas most spiders have six or eight. Unlike most spiders, it does not
have lungs but instead absorbs oxygen through its skin. Just three one-hundredths of an
inch long, the size of the head of a pin, M. diblemma is one of the world's smallest spiders.
A. T The coastal, forested regions of Panama are where one of the world's smallest spiders
lives.
B. F While most spiders have six or eight eyes and absorb oxygen through the skin,
Micromygale diblemma has only two eyes and lungs.
C. F The world's smallest spider is the size of the head of a pin.
Statement A is true. According to the passage, the spider that inhabits the coastal, forested
regions of Panama is one of the world's smallest spiders. Statement B is false. Most spiders
have six or eight eyes and have lungs. Miciomygale diblemma has two eyes, but does not
have lungs. It takes in oxygen through its skin. Statement c is false because there is no
information about the world's smallest spider. We only know that one of the world's
smallest spiders is about the size of the head of a pin.
1. The plan to join Britain to the European continent by boring a tunnel under the English
channel between Dover, England, and Calais, France, was originally proposed in the
second half of the nineteenth century. The bill authorizing the work was rejected in 1883.
The plan was again proposed in 1930 by many enthusiastic supporters. The tunnel was to
be the longest ever made and an engineering wonder. However, the estimated cost, the
military risks, and the doubt as to the feasibility of construction led to the rejection of the
proposal in June 1930. Finally, in the 1980s, the proposal was accepted and tunneling
began. The great engineering feat was completed in 1994, and for the first time passengers
could travel underwater between England and the European mainland.
A. _____ The plan to unite Britain with the European continent was proposed three
times.
B. _____ The plan to unite Britain with the continent was rejected three times.
C. _____ It was believed by some that the tunnel posed a security threat.
D. _____ Some people did not believe that the tunnel was a viable idea in the 1930s.
E. _____ The plan was rejected in 1883 because the people were bored.
F. _____ The construction of the tunnel led to the rejection of the proposal in 1930.
G. _____ The tunnel made in 1930 was the longest ever constructed.
H. _____ The predicted expense of the proposed tunnel was prohibitive in 1930.
2. The 50-million-year-old fossils of an ancient whale found in the Himalayan foothills of
Pakistan give strong evidence that modern whales are descended from a four-legged, land-
dwelling animal. The fossils consist of part of the skull, some teeth; and the well-
preserved middle ear of an animal that was 6 to 8 feet long, weighed about 350 pounds,
had a wolf-like snout, and had two foot-long jaws with sharp, triangular teeth. It is the
middle ear that suggests that the ancient whale lived on land. Analysis indicated that the
animal had eardrums, which would not have worked in water and which modern whales
have only in vestigial form. Furthermore, the right and left ear bones were not isolated
from each other. The separation of these bones in marine whales enables them to detect
the direction of underwater sounds.
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A. _____ The 50-million-year-old fossils found in Pakistan are most likely

from a four-legged, land-dwelling animal.
B. _____ The fossils are 6 to 8 feet long and about 350 pounds in weight.
C. _____ The whale's skull, teeth, and middle ear are evidence that the
Himalayan foothills were once under water.
D. _____ Because eardrums do not function under water, the ancient whale
probably lived on land.
E. _____ Whales with eardrums would not be able to hear well in the water.
F. _____ A marine whale can recognize the source of a sound because the
middle ear is in a vestigial form.
G. _____ When the right and left ear bones are isolated from each other, a
whale can detect the direction of underwater sounds.
H. _____ Whales with isolated right and left ear bones live in the sea.
3. The potato, which is nutritious and popular, is an important food source for millions of
people. It is so important that destruction of the potato crop by pests has resulted in
famines. Plant researchers, studying the hundreds of varieties of potatoes, have uncovered
a wild hairy variety of potato from Bolivia that emits a strong glue from the end of its
hairs. This glue traps and kills insects. A new hairy potato was developed when
researchers successfully crossed the common potato with the hairy potato. This new
hybrid potato not only reduces aphid populations by 40 to 60 percent, but also emits a
substance that checks the population of the Colorado potato beetle, one of the most
destructive potato pests. Unfortunately, the hairs also trap beneficial insects. Plant
researchers are currently trying to alleviate this problem by limiting the density of hairs.
A. _____ The potato, an important food for millions of people, is nutritious and
popular.
B. _____ There are hundreds of varieties of potatoes that are hairy.
C. _____ Plant researchers are studying a potato from Bolivia that gives off a
scent from the end of its hairs.
D. _____ Insects get trapped in the sticky hairs and die.
E. _____ The hairy potato was crossed with the common potato to develop a new
hairy potato.
F. _____ All insect populations have been reduced by 40 to 60 percent by the wild
hairy potato.
G. _____ The Colorado potato beetle is one of the pests affected by the substance
the hairy potato emits.
H. _____ The hybrid potato harms insects that help potatoes.
EXERCISE R26 Understanding exceptions

Read each passage, choose the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the sentence
that follows it.
Today's readers look for knowledge and information from more than just an encyclopedia.
Knowledge, information, data, and images race around the world with ever-increasing
speed and availability. With a quick press of a key on the computer keyboard, data from
some of the great libraries in the world can be called onto a screen for immediate perusal.
The author mentions all of the following means of accessing information EXCEPT
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A. encyclopedias
B. television
C. computers
D. libraries
The author's mention of a screen is in reference to a computer screen and not to ạ television
screen. The only means of accessing information not mentioned is television. Therefore,
you should choose B.
1. Whereas the scene of colonial North America was one of complex cultural negotiations
and explosive interactions among Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans, history
books have portrayed the settlement of North America as a unilateral push of Europeans
into a virgin land. Although primary documentation - government reports, travel accounts,
trade journals, all written from a European perspective - is filled with observations
concerning Native American customs and beliefs, history books are more interested in
outlining important battles.
Ethnohistorians, the scholars who blend anthropology's insights with historical research to
produce a cultural understanding of the past, have been making advances in understanding
the Native American perspective on European colonialization.
The author mentions all of the following as sources of primary documentation EXCEPT
A. government reports
B. travel accounts
C. trade journals
D. history books
2. Although Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is best known for his realistic watercolors of
powerfully dramatic seascapes, he first won acclaim in the art world as an illustrator for
the reportage of the American Civil War. This led to his illustrating texts of prose and
poetry. His more than 160 drawings reached print as lithographs, wood engravings, and
photomechanical cuts. Despite the skill and serious intent he invested in them, Homer's
book illustrations made little impact during his lifetime. Even today, most of his
illustrations are not discussed in the literature covering his work, and nearly all of them
have been excluded from even the most comprehensive exhibitions of Homer's art.
The author mentions all of the following as types of work Winslow Homer did EXCEPT
A. photography
B. lithographs
C. watercolors
D. illustrations
3. Almost all sports and outdoor leisure activities carry real risks. Swimmers drown,
mountaineers fall, skiers are swept away by avalanches, and boxers are killed by blows to
the head. A person's skill or experience is no guarantee against disaster. In fact, the better
an athlete is, the greater the temptation to break records or succeed in doing something
that has never been done before. Danger, which tests nerves, courage, and skill, is an
essential element that adds thrill and enjoyment to a sport. Although those who organize
sports formulate their rules in a way to minimize the risk of injury and to ensure that
medical assistance is readily available, no amount of caution can alter basic facts: even the
best-trained horse may panic; motorcycles give little protection in a crash; and a hard-
driven golf ball can go astray.
According to the passage, all of the following are risks in sports EXCEPT
A. falls
B. storms
C. accidents
D. avalanches
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EXERCISE R27 Determining whether statements are the same or different

Write S in the space if the two sentences have the same meaning. Write D if they have
different meanings.
D A collection of fascinating tales called The Arabian Nights was introduced to Europe
by the French scholar Antoine Galland.
The French scholar Antoine Galland introduced to Europe a collection of fascinating
tales that he named The Arabian Nights.
You should write D because the sentences do not mean the same thing. The first sentence
means that the scholar introduced the tales, whereas the second sentence means that the
scholar both introduced and named the tales.
1. _____ Scree, which abounds in the Rocky Mountains, has its origins in the ice
ages. The Rocky Mountains have a lot of scree, the formation of which
dates back to the ice ages.
2. _____ Many reef organisms avoid dead-end caves, which lack the steady currents
necessary for bringing a continuous food supply.
3. _____ Dead-end caves don't have currents that bring in food supplies, so many
reef organisms don't go there.
4. _____ Two theaters in Stratford-upon-Avon and two in London are the ones
regularly used by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
5. _____ The Royal Shakespeare Company regularly uses four theaters - two in
Stratford-upon-Avon and two in London.
EXERCISE R28 Locating restated information

Read each passage and the restatement that follows it. Underline the words or phrases in the
passage that give the information that is restated.
The damp British climate may be infuriating to humans, but it is ideal for plants. The
Gulf Stream flows across the Atlantic to warm the west coast of these islands, which occupy
the same latitudes as Newfoundland. Moisture-laden Atlantic winds bring almost constant
rain and mist.
The perfect weather conditions for plants to flourish are found in the wet British Isles.
You should underline British climate (weather conditions in the British Isles), ideal for plants
(perfect for plants), and constant rain and mist (wet) because these are ideas from the passage
that are restated.
1. Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, is the only place in the solar system - outside of Earth -
where enormous quantities of water are known to exist. Although this water is in ice form,
there is a possibility that there is only a crust of ice with a liquid ocean underneath.
Because of powerful thermal pulses caused by the tidal forces of Jupiter and the other
moons, Europa may be the best place in the solar system for finding life forms.
Europa's vast oceans are unequaled in the solar system, with one exception.
2. Using sophisticated instrumentation, lightning experts have learned that lightning travels
at one-third the speed of light. A lightning bolt is five times hotter than the surface of the
sun and can have ten times more power than the output of a large power company. A
single discharge can actually contain twenty or more successive strokes, occurring too last
for the eye to separate. Some seem to stretch for 500 miles when observed from outer
space.
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It is possible that a lightning bolt, which seems very large, is really a series of bolts.
3. Once porpoises reach speeds of 12 miles per hour, they frequently leap out of the water to
escape the pull of surface drag. At that point, leaping out of the water actually requires
less energy than swimming. These leaps are most efficient at speeds of 40 miles per hour
and greater.
Porpoises conserve energy by traveling through the air, which creates less drag than
water.
4. In the earliest stages of a star's formation - a process that takes some 10,000 years - the
star is surrounded by an extremely dense layer of gas and dust. This matter eventually
condenses and heats up to 1 million degrees and hotter, triggering a thermonuclear
explosion. During the flare-up, strong winds blowing off the surface of the star disperse
the surrounding dust and expose the newborn star to observers on Earth.
People can see the birth of a star because of the strong winds that scatter the dust
particles.
5. Perhaps the greatest navigators in history were the Vikings. Without compasses or other
modern instruments, they explored Iceland, Greenland, and even crossed the Atlantic
Ocean to the shores of North America. To find their way, they stayed close to shorelines
or used the position of the sun to plot the latitude.
The Vikings were expert sailors.
EXERCISE R29 Choosing the restatement of boldfaced sentences
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the boldfaced
sentence? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information.
The bulk of Kafka's writings was not published until after his early death from
tuberculosis
A. It was not until after Kafka's early death from tuberculosis that the bulk of his
writings was published
B. After the bulk of his writings was published, Kafka died an early death from
tuberculosis
C. After Kafka had written the bulk of his published writings, he met with an early
death from tuberculosis.
D. An early death from tuberculosis kept Kafka from publishing the bulk of his
writings
You should choose A because this is the only sentence that contains the same information
as the first sentence: First Kafka died, and then most of his writings were published.
1. Fainting is caused by a sudden drop in the normal blood supply to the brain.
A. The brain reacts to a drop in the normal blood supply by fainting.
B. Fainting occurs when the brain suddenly loses its normal blood supply.
C. Fainting happens when the brain drops its normal
D. The brain faints when the normal blood supply drops.
2. Gorillas, which arc vegetarians, have been observed to demonstrate gentle behavior
toward small creatures in the wild.
A. Vegetarians have been observed to demonstrate gentle behavior toward gorillas and
small creatures in the wild.
B. Only vegetarian gorillas have been observed as demonstrating gentle behavior toward
small creatures in the wild.
C. Small creatures in the wild have been observed as behaving gently and
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demonstratively when near gorillas.

D. It has been observed in the wild that gorillas, by nature vegetarians, treat small
animals gently.
3. In fighting forest fires, the initial attack crews dig a fire line, which varies in width
depending on the strength and nature of the fire.
A. Initial attack crews dig a forest fire to vary the fire line's width.
B. Initial attack crews depend on the strength and nature of the fire to vary the fire line.
C. The width of the fire line, which the initial attack crews dig, varies according to the
strength and nature of the fire.
D. In digging a fire line, the initial attack crews depend on fighting forest fires.
4. Medical quackery, which promises cures for all existing and even non-existing
diseases, has a powerful appeal even to the well-educated.
A. Well-educated people in medicine promise to find powerful cures for diseases.
B. Even well-educated people are attracted to fake cures for diseases that may or may not
exist.
C. Medical quackery promises the well-educated a cure for diseases.
D. The medical profession has appealed to the well-educated for funding to find cures for
diseases.
5. A silver compound has been found to kill the parasitic protozoa that are carried by
the dreaded tsetse fly and that cause sleeping sickness.
A. The dreaded tsetse fly causes sleeping sickness and kills the parasitic protozoa used
for finding silver compounds.
B. It has been found that the silver compound that is carried by the dreaded tsetse fly
and causes sleeping sickness kills the parasitic protozoa.
C. Sleeping sickness, which is caused by the dreaded tsetse fly, has been found to kill
the parasitic protozoa in silver compounds,
D. Parasitic protozoa that cause sleeping sickness and are carried by the dreaded tsetse
fly can be killed with a silver compound.
6. While working as a postmaster at the University of Mississippi, William Faulkner
submitted thirty-seven stories to magazines, six of which were accepted.
A. Of the thirty-seven stories that Faulkner submitted while working at the University of
Mississippi as a postmaster, six were published in magazines.
B. Faulkner wrote six out of thirty-seven stories after accepting a job as postmaster at
the University of Mississippi.
C. Faulkner published thirty-seven stories in magazines, six of which were accepted by
the University of Mississippi.
D. The six accepted stories by Faulkner were about his job as a postmaster at the
University of Mississippi.
7. The continental drift theory proposes that the Earth's crustal plates are driven by ạ
global system of convection currents in the hot magma below that behave like giant
conveyor belts.
A. Theoretically, the Earth's crustal plates behave like giant conveyor belts, driving the
convection currents across the hot magma, which causes the continents to drift.
B. A global system of convection currents in the underlying hot magma acts as giant
conveyor belts to drive the Earth's crustal plates.
C. The continental drift theory suggests that global plates cover hot magma, which acts as
a giant conveyor belt for convection currents.
D. The continental drift theory is proposed by the Earth's crustal plates, which drive a
global system of convection currents in the hot magma below, behaving like giant
conveyor belts.
8. Medical authorities have been reluctant to support the findings of some nutritionists
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that vitamin C given in large doses can prevent the common cold.
A. Medical authorities support nutritionists' views about the value of vitamin c in
preventing the common cold.
B. Nutritionists have found that medical authorities are not in favor of using vitamin c to
prevent the common cold.
C. Some nutritionists have found that large doses of vitamin c can prevent the common
cold, but this has not been completely accepted by medical authorities.
D. According to nutritionists and some medical authorities, the common cold can be
prevented by giving large doses of vitamin c.
9. Female cowbirds, which cannot sing, are nonetheless able to teach songs to their
young by responding to specific chirps and ignoring others.
A. Even though female cowbirds cannot sing, they teach their chicks to do so by
responding to specific chirps and ignoring others.
B. Female cowbirds can neither sing nor teach songs to their babies by responding to
certain chirps more than to others.
C. Female cowbirds, which cannot sing, have other birds teach their young to sing.
D. Female cowbirds, which cannot sing, unsuccessfully attempt to teach their young to
sing by responding to other bird songs.
10. The conflict between those who wish to conserve a large area of unaltered and
unimproved spaces and those who want the abolition of the last remnants of
wilderness in the interest of industrial profit will not be resolved in the near future.
A. The people who desire to conserve a large area of untouched natural land and those
who want to use all land for industrialization are in a conflict that will not have an
immediate resolution.
B. The conflict over whether a large area of unaltered and unimproved space should be
given over for industrial development and profit is of interest to those resolved to
abolish the last remnants of wilderness.
C. Lawyers are profiting from the unresolved conflict between the people who wish to
save the last remnants of wilderness and those who want to alter and improve the
space for industry.
D. There is an unresolved conflict caused by people who wish to abolish
EXERCISE R30 Choosing the restatement of boldfaced sentences in
paragraphs
Read each passage. Then choose the letter of the sentence that best expresses the essential
information in the boldfaced sentence. Incorrect choices change the meaning in important
ways or leave out essential information.
Between the late 1920s and 1950s, the Osborne Calendar Company produced a series of
calendars featuring trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Up to 300,000 of these, featuring
large, colorful scenes of trains at work, were published each year to hang in depots and
shippers' offices along the lines of the famous railroad company. The scenes, mostly
painted by one artist, Grif Teller, are now valuable collectibles.
A. The scenes of trains, for the most part painted by Grif Teller, are collectibles.
B. The Osborne Calendar series of train scenes are collector's items.
C. Grif Teller has a valuable collection of the Osborne Calendar scenes of trains at
work.
D. Grif Teller's paintings of depots and shippers' offices are valued by collectors.
You should choose A because the scenes of trains are the valuable collectibles.
1. Tree rings have long been used to determine the ages of trees and to gauge past climatic
conditions. New evidence adds considerable weight to the theory that tree rings also
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record earthquakes. The rings reflect the effects of earthquakes, such as tilting, the
disruption of root systems, and breakage, as well as shifts in environments. Older
trees and petrified trees may give information about earthquakes that took place hundreds
and even thousands of years ago.
A. The effects of earthquakes on trees can be seen in tree rings.
B. Earthquakes cause a lot of damage to trees in the environment.
C. The effects of earthquakes are tilting, disruption of root systems, breakage, and shifts
in environments.
D. Tilting, disruption of root systems, breakage, and shifts in environments are examples
of how an earthquake affects trees.
2. Yuzen dyeing is a Japanese art that produces a lavish, multicolored type of kimono design
that dates from the seventeenth century. First, a pattern is sketched on a kimono of plain,
undyed silk. The garment is then taken apart and the design carefully painted onto
the fabric with a paste that prevents the fabric from absorbing dye. Next, dyes are
brushed over the silk, their colors penetrating only the untreated areas, After the paste is
rinsed out, the strips of silk are again sewed into the kimono. Elaborate embroidery often
completes the decoration.
A. The paste keeps the unstitched garment together while the fabric is absorbing the
colors.
B. The dye is prevented from being absorbed into the fabric pieces by the paste that
covers the design.
C. The design is painted onto the pieces of garment with a paste that keeps the dye from
destroying the design.
D. The design is painted onto the fabric in places where the paste does not prevent the
paint being absorbed by the garment.
3. The beaver's comical-looking flat tail, which is three-quarters of an inch thick, six or
seven inches wide, and perhaps a foot long, is unique in the animal world. In the water, it
serves as a rudder for swimming, and on land it props the beaver upright while the animal
is cutting trees. It also serves as a radiator through which the heavily insulated beaver
passes off excess body heat. The beaver uses its broad tail for an early warning system by
slapping it against the water's surface, making a resounding whack that can be heard half a
mile away.
A. The beaver's tail is like a big fan that disperses heat.
B. The beaver gets rid of extra body heat through its tail.
C. The beaver's body heat radiates through its heavily insulated body.
D. The beaver has a heavy coat and, therefore, needs a radiator to reduce its body heat.
4. If pearls are protected properly, they can last for centuries. One reason a pearl loses its
luster or cracks is that the mineral constituent of the pearl can be dissolved by weak acids.
There are several kinds of acids that pearls may come in contact with. Human perspiration
contains one such acid. Much of the cotton that pearls are wrapped in when not in use is
treated with an acid. Another kind of acid that damages pearls is found in many modern
cosmetics. The chemicals in commercial brands of makeup seep into the string canal
and may penetrate into the layers of a pearl and cause deterioration. The best
protection to give pearls to ensure their long life is having them cleaned and restrung at
prescribed intervals.
A. The penetration through the pearl of the string canal causes damage to the layers.
B. The deterioration of the pearl is usually caused by string canal seepage and
penetration.
C. The infiltration of cosmetics into the pearl may cause it to disintegrate.
D. A pearl's deterioration can be prevented through cosmetic usage.
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Reading Mini-test 5
Check your progress in understanding details and recognizing restatements by completing the
following Mini-test.
Select the correct answer.
Questions 1-5
Every year about two million people visit Mount Rushmore, where the faces of four
U.S. presidents were carved in granite by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son. The
creation of the Mount Rushmore monument took 14 years - from 1927 to 1941 - and nearly
a million dollars. These were times when money was difficult to come by, and many people
were jobless. To help him with this sculpture, Borglum hired laid-off workers from the
closed-down mines in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. He taught these men to
dynamite, drill, carve, and finish the granite as they were hanging in midair in his specially
devised chairs, which had many safety features.
Borglum used dynamite to remove 90 percent of the 450,000 tons of rock from the
mountain quickly and relatively inexpensively. His workmen became so skilled that
without causing damage, they could blast to within four inches of the finished surface and
grade the contours of the facial features. Borglum was proud of the fact that no workers
were killed or seriously injured during the years of blasting and carving the granite.
Considering the workers regularly used dynamite and heavy equipment, this was a
remarkable feat.
During the carving, many changes in the original design had to be made to keep the
carved heads free of large fissures that were uncovered. However, not all the cracks could
be avoided, so Borglum concocted a mixture of granite dust, white lead, and linseed oil
to fill them.
Every winter, water from melting snow gets into the fissures and expands as it freezes,
making the fissures bigger. Consequently, every autumn maintenance work is done to refill
the cracks. To preserve this national monument for future generations, the repairers swing
out in space over a 500-foot drop and fix the monument with the same mixture that
Borglum used.
1. The author of the passage indicates that the men Borglum hired were
A. trained sculptors do
B. laid-off stone carvers
C. Black Hills volunteers
D. unemployed miners
2. According to the passage, what achievement did Borglum pride himself on?
A. The four presidential faces in granite that he had sculpted
B. The removal of 90 percent of the 450,000 tons of rock quickly and at a relatively low
cost
C. His safety record of no deaths or serious injuries during the years of work with heavy
equipment and dynamite
D. His skillful training of the labor force that enabled blasts of dynamite to be within
inches of the contour lines of the faces
3. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential, information in the boldfaced
sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential information.
A. Since cracks could not be avoided, Borglum tried various materials to cover them.
B. In order to fill the unavoidable cracks, Borglum invented a mixture for filling them.
C. A mixture was uncovered by Borglum during the changes in design needed to avoid
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cracks.
D. Because cracks could not be avoided, Borglum bought a mixture of granite dust, white
lead, and linseed oil.
4. According to the passage, today Mount Rushmore needs to be
A. protected from air pollution
B. polished for tourists
C. restored during the winter
D. repaired periodically
5. The passage discusses all of the following aspects of the creation of the Mount Rush more
carvings EXCEPT
A. where the people who worked on Mount Rushmore came from
B. why Borglum carved the heads of four U.S. presidents
C. how Borglum dealt with fissures that could not be avoided
D. when repairs to this national monument are made
Questions 6-10
Teotihuacán is the largest and most impressive urban archaeological site of ancient
America, covering an area of roughly 20 square kilometers. The city was at one time
thought to be the religious center of the Toltecs but is now believed to be a creation of an
earlier civilization about whose origins little is known. The earliest artifacts from
Teotihuacán date from over 2,000 years ago, but the period of greatest expansion dates
from 200 CE to 500 CE. At its peak the city is estimated to have had a population of up to
200,000 inhabitants, with residential areas extending throughout the built-up area. Judging
by regionally dispersed finds of the image of the rain god Tlaloc, of “thin orange wear”
pottery, and of the characteristic architectural forms, the influence of Teotihuacán was
widespread.
It is not clear what caused the city's decline and eventual abandonment, but the
evidence points to overpopulation, a depletion of resources, and the possible sacking by
adversaries.
The primary axis of the city was the Avenue of the Dead, which extends for 2.5
kilometers through the center of the urban area, starting in the north at the Moon Plaza and
continuing beyond the Great Compound complexes to the south. The avenue divided
Teotihuacán into two sections with apartment compounds arranged on either side, often
symmetrically, suggesting a highly planned layout from the earliest phases of construction.
The vast Pyramid of the Sun, located in the middle of the central zone, is the tallest and
most dominant structure of Teotihuacán, with a height of 65 meters and a base covering
approximately 10 acres. At one time the edifice was surmounted by a temple,
A cave located underneath the pyramid and possibly used for ritual activities hints at its
religious importance. The Pyramids of the Moon and Feathered Serpent are other notable
ceremonial sites nearby.
A particular feature of the architecture of many of the pyramidal platforms at
this site is the series of sloping apron wails, known as taluds, interspersed with vertical
panels - tableros - producing a step-like appearance. Originally all such structures would
have been covered with a layer of stucco and then painted, often with pictures of animals
and mythological creatures.
6. According to the passage, the dispersed finds from Teotihuacán indicate that
A. the city is over 2,000 years old
B. the city had an estimated population of as many as 200,000 inhabitants
C. the residential areas extended throughout the urbanized area
D. the city greatly influenced the surrounding areas
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7. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the decline of
Teotihuacán is known to be true?
A. The people migrated to another city.
B. The population of the city starved.
C. The city was invaded by neighbors.
D. The cause of the decline is uncertain.
8. According to the passage, the symmetrical layout around the Avenue of the Dead
A. divided the city into two sections, one of which had apartment compounds for the
living
B. started at the Moon Plaza, continued past the Great Compound complexes, and
extended as far as the center of the urban area
C. included a primary axis of the city
D. indicated that the city layout was planned before building began
9. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the boldfaced
A. A feature of the pyramidal architecture is the many platforms that make up the steps.
B. The sloping walls of the pyramid have occasional vertical panels, which gives the
appearance of steps.
C. The architectural features known as taluds and tableros are a particular feature of the
many pyramidal platforms.
D. A series of sloping walls combined with vertical panels produces the appearance of
steps that form the pyramidal platforms.
10. All of the following are mentioned as having been found in the Teotihuacán area
EXCEPT
A. market streets
B. religious artifacts
C. ceremonial structures
D. residential districts
Questions 11-15
In the eleventh century, people noticed that if a small hole were put in one wall of a
darkened room, then light coming through the aperture would make a picture of the scene I
outside on the opposite wall of the room. A room like this was called a camera obscura.
Artists later used a box to create a camera obscura, with a lens in its opening to make the
picture clearer. But it was not possible to preserve the image that was produced in the box.
In 1727, Johann Heinrich Schulze mixed chalk, silver, and nitric acid in a bottle. He
found that when the mixture was subjected to light, it became darker. In 1826, Joseph
Nicéphore Niepce put some paper dipped in a light-sensitive chemical into his camera
obscura, which he left exposed in a window. The result was probably the first permanent
photographic image. The image Niépce made was a negative, a picture in which all the
white parts are black and all the black parts are white. Later, Louis Daguerre found a way to
reverse the black and white parts to make positive prints. But when he looked at the
pictures in the light, the chemicals continued to react and the pictures went dark. In 1837,
he found a way to fix the image. These images are known as daguerreotypes.
Many developments of photographic equipment were made in the nineteenth century.
Glass plates coated with light-sensitive chemicals were used to produce clear, sharp,
positive prints on paper. In the 1870s, George Eastman proposed using rolls of paper I film,
coated with chemicals, to replace glass plates. Then, in 1888, Eastman began I
manufacturing the Kodak® camera, the first “modern” lightweight camera that people could
carry and use.
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During the twentieth century, many technological improvements were made. One of
the most important was color film. Color film is made from layers of chemicals that are
sensitive to red, green, and blue light, from which all other colors can be made. Despite
the fact that the space age has witnessed the creation of an array of technological marvels,
until recently even the ability to take photographs of distant galaxies from above the Earth’s
atmosphere via orbiting satellites was grounded in the basic principles of photography that
Niépce used when he took his first fuzzy negative pictures.
11. The first camera obscura can be described as nothing more than
A. a darkened room in which an image was projected onto a wall
B. a preserved image of a darkened room projected in a box
C. box with a lens, which projected an image onto a wall in a dark room
D. a hole in a wall into which a lens could be inserted to project an image
12. According to the passage, what problem did Daguerre encounter?
A. His pictures were all negative images.
B. He could not find a way to make positive images.
C. His positive images would darken.
D. He could not reverse the fixed image.
13. According to the passage, George Eastman built a camera that
A. used chemically coated glass plates
B. produced light-sensitive prints
C. used chemicals to produce clear, sharp, and positive prints
D. was portable
A. The layers of chemicals that make up color film are sensitive to all colors that can be
made.
B. Color film uses chemicals that are sensitive to red, green, and blue light.
C. Red; green, and blue light are the essential colors from which all colors can be
chemically made.
D. The layers of chemicals on color film are sensitive to red, green, and blue light that,
combined, can make all colors.
15. All of the following people are mentioned as working with photographic images EXCEPT
A. Johann Heinrich Schulze
B. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
C. Louis Daguerre
D. George Eastman
Questions 16-20
Generations of American schoolchildren have been taught the story of how the Great I Fire
of Chicago in October 1871 was started by Daisy, a cow belonging to one Mrs. O’Leary.
The cow, stabled in a barn behind Mrs. O’Leary’s house, supposedly Kicked over a
kerosene lamp, which set fire to hay and other combustible materials stored there. The
blaze quickly spread, and fanned by a strong southwest wind and aided by intensely dry
conditions, the conflagration engulfed and entirely destroyed more than three square miles
of built-up area. Almost 100,000 people were left homeless, and about 300 lost their lives.
Property damage was estimated at 200 million dollars, an immense sum in those days.
Soon after the fire, the O’Leary-cow story became an almost unchallenged truth and, over
the years, took on the status of a modern-day myth - a staple ingredient in the fabric of
American folklore. However, there are good reasons to believe that neither Mrs. O’Leary
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nor Daisy was culpable. First, a police reporter later claimed to have invented the whole
story. Of course, this is not a conclusive refutation, but his reasoning was valid and his
alternative suggestions credible. Furthermore, the testimony of one of the main witnesses, a
neighbor called “Peg Leg” Sullivan, is now thought to be questionable. Some claim he
invented the story to avoid censure, since he himself was not above suspicion and there
were inconsistencies in his account, other accusers have focused the blame on a variety of
targets - some local boys smoking in the barn, a different neighbor, an unnamed terrorist
organization, spontaneous combustion, and, most recently, an asteroiD. The asteroid
theory gains credence from the fact that on the same night as the Chicago fire,
neighboring states suffered more than a dozen major fires. One fire destroyed the entire
town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, with the loss of more than 1,200 lives.
Whatever the real origin of the fire, the truth is that it was inevitable, given the near-
drought conditions of the time and the fact that much of the city consisted of densely
packed wooden shacks served by an undermanned fire department. It seems that Mrs.
O’Leary and her cow were perhaps no more than convenient and vulnerable scapegoats on
which a devastated populace could center its frustrations.
16. What myth has been told to generations of American schoolchildren?

A. That many people lost their lives and many were left homeless
B. That the Great Fire of Chicago was started by a cow kicking over a lamp
C. How much the property damage caused by the Great Fire of Chicago cost
D. How fast the Great Fire of Chicago spread and how much of the Chicago area was
destroyed
17. What did "Peg Leg" Sullivan do?
A. He set the barn on fire while smoking.
B. He accused some local boys.
C. He gave a suspicious account.
D. He came up with some believable alternatives.
A. The number of fires in the surrounding states on the same night as the Chicago fire
supports the asteroid theory.
B. There were a number of fires throughout the city of Chicago, and this supports the
asteroid theory.
C. The numerous fires on the same night as the Chicago fire means that asteroids were to
blame.
D. Asteroids may have caused the unusually high number of fires in Chicago on the same
night.
19. All of the following are mentioned as possible reasons that the fire was so devastating
EXCEPT
A. the lack of rain
B. fire-prone building materials
C. too few firefighters
D. a riotous populace
20. According to the passage, Mrs. O'Leary's cow
A. is a myth
B. is folklore
C. was a scapegoat
D. did not exist
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Practice with making inferences and drawing conclusions
PRACTICE WITH MAKING INFERENCES AND DRAWING

CONCLUSIONS
Some details in a passage are not stated explicitly, but they can be inferred from other details
that are stated. On many reading comprehension tests, you are be required to make inferences
from the passages that you read. Sometimes you must use the information given to you in a
passage to draw conclusions about the topic.
This section will build your skills in making inferences and drawing conclusions from details
that are stated or implied in a reading passage. Read the following statement:
Dr. Smitten and two other psychologists chose 25 children for their study: 5 from Campbell,
10 from other multiracial schools in Miami, and the rest from multiracial schools in other
cities in Florida.
The details stated explicitly are:
• Dr. Smitten and two other psychologists chose 25 children for a study.
• Five children were from Campbell.
• Ten children were from other schools in Miami.
• The rest were from schools in other Florida cities.
The answers to the following questions were not stated in the sentence but can be understood
or inferred.
1. What kind of doctor is Dr. Smitten?
You understand that Dr. Smitten is a psychologist because it can be inferred from the
phrase "and two other psychologists."
2. How many psychologists were doing the study?
You understand that three psychologists were doing the study because it can be inferred
from the phrase "Dr. Smitten and two other psychologists."
3. What and where is Campbell?
You understand that Campbell is a multiracial school in Miami because it can be inferred
from the phrase "other multiracial schools in Miami."
4. What and where is Miami?
You understand that Miami is a city in Florida because it can be inferred from the phrase
"other cities in Florida."
5. How many children from other cities in Florida were chosen for the study?
You understand that 10 children came from other cities because it can be inferred from the
phrase "chose 25 children: 5 from . . . , 10 from . . . , and the rest from . . . other cities in
Florida."
Some details are neither stated nor implied. Therefore, you cannot answer the following
questions:
• When did the study take place?
• Why was the study done?
• What were the results of the study?
You can answer the question below by drawing a logical conclusion from details implied in
the passage.
• What was the study probably about?
You should draw the conclusion or understand that the study was probably about some aspect
of children in multiracial school environments because it can be inferred from the phrases
"multiracial schools in Miami" and "multiracial schools in other cities" that a multiracial
environment was an important factor in choosing children from those particular schools.
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EXERCISE R31 Identifying inferences

Choose the letter of those inferences that can be made from the information given in the
statement. More than one inference may be possible.
The lesser North American poets are more popular with children than major poets
because they are direct and clear.
A. Children may have difficulty understanding major poets.
B. Minor poets write poetry for children.
C. There are fewer poets writing for children than writing for adults.
D. Indirect and hidden meanings are used in the poetry of major poets.
You should choose A because it can be inferred that the poetry of major poets is
difficult for children because, unlike that of lesser poets, it is not direct and clear. You
should not choose B because it cannot be inferred that either minor or major poets write for
children or c because lesser means minor poets, not fewer poets. You should also choose D
because it can be inferred that if children like the lesser poets because they write more
directly and clearly, the major poets use indirect ways of expressing ideas.
1. Three of the published reports came from official investigations, but the other two came
from private individuals.
A. Private individuals cannot submit reports for publication.
B. Only the three official reports were considered for publication.
C. Five reports were published.
D. Official investigations were made on private individuals.
2. The Institute of Anthropology plans to computerize archaeological data to help restore the
Native American villages in Chaco Canyon.
A. The Chaco Canyon Native American villages were destroyed by European people.
B. The Institute of Anthropology collects information about Native American villages
that are in ruins.
C. The Native Americans in Chaco Canyon have computers to help them store data.
D. Computers can be helpful in restoring archaeological plans.
3. Some scientists believe that the African bees that have devastated the Latin American
beekeeping industry will become gentler as they interbreed with the previously introduced
European varieties.
A. European bees will not be advantageous to the Latin American beekeeping industry.
B. African bees are ferocious and destructive.
C. The Latin American beekeeping industry will become gentler as African bees and
European bees interbreed.
D. African bees, as well as European bees, live in Latin America.
4. No partner helps the male pheasant-tailed jacana protect and nurture his chicks in their
floating nest.
A. The female pheasant-tailed jacana does not take care of her babies.
B. The pheasant-tailed jacana is an aquatic bird.
C. The male pheasant-tailed jacana doesn't help to protect and nurture its partner.
D. The male pheasant-tailed jacana does not mate.
5. Elephants are slowly becoming trapped in isolated forest enclaves completely surrounded
by land cleared for agriculture.
A. Hunters are trapping elephants in isolated forest enclaves to get their ivory tusks.
B. People are destroying the elephants' habitat to make farms.
C. Elephants would have to cross over farmland to migrate to different forest areas.
D. People are trapping elephants to use them for clearing land for agriculture.
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EXERCISE R32 Checking if an inference is correct

Read each sentence and answer Yes or No to the question that follows.
Volunteers for organizations such as Save the children make an extremely important
personal contribution toward improving the daily lives of millions of children throughout
the world.
Can it be inferred that Save the children volunteers contribute a lot of money to aid
children? No
You should write No in the space because a "personal contribution" does not
necessarily mean a monetary contribution. Volunteers may contribute time or a special
personal skill that they have in order to aid children.
1. Each day, more and more communities discover that they have been living near dumps or on
top of ground that has been contaminated by toxic chemicals.
Can it be inferred that communities aren't always told when and where toxic wastes are being
disposed? _____________
2. E. B. White's death, at 86, was cause for sadness in millions of homes. Can it be inferred
that E. B. white was famous? _____________
3. There is evidence that a global firestorm raged about the time the dinosaurs disappeared.
Can it be inferred that dinosaurs became extinct because of a global firestorm? ____________
4. Of the twelve sulfite-associated deaths, one was caused by wine, one by beer, and one by
hashed brown potatoes; the rest were linked to fresh fruits or vegetables.
Can it be inferred that nine people died from sulfite-contaminated fresh foods? _________
5. Quinolone, a recently discovered antibiotic, inhibits an enzyme that controls the way
bacterial DNA unravels and rewinds when microbes reproduce.
Can it be inferred that quinolone will eventually replace all other antibiotics? __________
EXERCISE R33 Identifying inferences in paragraphs
Read the passage and the statements that follow it. Write I in the space if the statement is an
inference. Write R if the statement is a restatement. Leave the space blank if the statement is
neither an inference nor a restatement.
Francis Gary Powers survived when his high-flying reconnaissance aircraft was shot
down over the Soviet Union in 1960. He was convicted of espionage after a trial in
Moscow. Later, Powers was returned to the United States in exchange for Soviet spy
Rudolf Abel. Powers was killed in a helicopter crash in California in 1977.
A. ___R_____Powers was found guilty of spying in the Soviet Union.
B. ___I______Rudolf Abel was imprisoned by the United States for spying.
C. _________ Powers was killed during a reconnaissance mission.
You should write R for A because to be "convicted of espionage" means the same as to be
"found guilty of spying." You should write I for B because Rudolf Abel must have been
imprisoned by the United States if the Americans exchanged him for Powers. You should
leave c blank because no information is given on why Powers was flying in the helicopter.
It might have been for work or for pleasure.
1. The MacArthur Prizes, or "genius awards," are large grants of money given to individuals
who show outstanding talents in their fields. According to a foundation spokesperson, this
money frees these people from financial worries and allows them the time to devote
themselves to creative thinking. The recipients of MacArthur Prizes are people who have
already achieved considerable success. It may be asked whether they attained success
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despite the fact that they had to worry about money or because of it.
A. ________ Someone who is not already known in his or her field will probably not be a
recipient of a MacArthur Prize.
B. ________ Some people may become successful because they are worried about money.
C. ________ Some individuals receive large sums of money to think.
2. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is responsible for the research done in solving or
attempting to solve medical mysteries. Teams of epidemiologists crisscross the country
investigating outbreaks of disease. They ask questions, look for clues, and track down
pieces of puzzles in a relentless pursuit to find answers that will bring about
breakthroughs in the prevention or cure of serious diseases. The CDC rushes in to study
epidemics because it is possible to quickly determine patterns and common links among
the victims.
A. ________The CDC is not always successful in its research of diseases.
B. ________ Epidemiologists travel across the nation to do their research.
C. ________ Because there are more victims when an epidemic strikes, more data can be
collected to find answers to medical questions.
3. Astronomers have long believed that frozen gases and water account for up to 80 percent
of a comet's mass, while observing Comet Bowell, astronomers were able to measure the
amount of light this comet absorbed and reflected. On the basis of these observations, they
determined that comets do indeed contain frozen water.
A. ________ Astronomers have proved the theory that comets contain frozen water.
B. ________ The ice content of other comets can be ascertained by measuring how much
light they absorb and reflect
C. ________ The name of the observed comet is Bowell.
4. Although most honeybees die in the field while gathering pollen, some bees die in the
hives and must be removed in order to prevent the spread of disease and to keep the nest
from filling up with corpses. These corpses emit a chemical that signals death. While
some bees ignore the corpses, others poke at them, lick them, or inspect them. Usually
within an hour, the bees that are in charge of removing dead bees grasp the corpses in
their mandibles, pull them through the hive toward the entrance, then fly away and drop
them as far as 400 feet from the hive.
A. ________ Dead bees cannot be left in the hive because they may make the other bees
sick.
B. ________ The honeybees know there is a dead bee in the hive because of the death
chemical that is emitted.
C. ________ In less than one hour, the dead bees have usually been removed from the
hive.
5. The northern elephant seal, a 2,000-pound mammal, is making a dramatic comeback after
being hunted to near extinction in the late nineteenth century. The seals that once thrived
off the coast of California now receive protection from both the Mexican and United
States governments. A contributing factor to their survival is the reduced demand for seal
oil due to the ready availability of petroleum products.
A. ________ Products that were once made from seal oil are now made from petroleum.
B. ________ Petroleum is easier to obtain now than seal oil is.
C. ________ Northern elephant seals are now numerous.
EXERCISE R34 Making inferences
Read the passage and the question that follows it. Then choose the letter of the best answer
based on the information given.
In the third and fourth centuries, the Germanic tribes of central Europe joined forces
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and plundered the crumbling Roman Empire. But they in turn became the victims of the
Norse invasions of the eighth century. The Norsemen raided villages in every region. They
killed the men, abducted the women and children, and then departed in their fast-sailing
ships, leaving nothing but a few smoldering ruins.
What does the author mean by the statement "they in turn became the victims"?
A. The Germanic tribes turned on the Norse invaders in the eighth century.
B. The Germanic tribes and the Norse invaders took turns in attacking the Roman
Empire.
C. The Germanic tribes received the same treatment from the Norsemen that they had
given the Roman Empire.
D. The Roman Empire was first plundered by the Germanic tribes in the third and
fourth centuries and then by the Norsemen in the eighth century.
You should choose C because the author is pointing out how the invaders later became the
victims of another group of invaders.
1. Erosion of America's farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first
put the prairies and grasslands under the plow in the nineteenth century. By the 1930s;
more than 282 million acres of farmland were damaged by erosion. After decades of
conservation efforts, soil erosion has accelerated due to new demands placed on the land
by heavy crop production. In the years ahead, soil erosion and the pollution problems it
causes are likely to replace petroleum scarcity: as the nation's most critical natural
resource problem.
Why does the author mention "petroleum scarcity"?
A. To show that petroleum scarcity will become the most critical natural resource
problem
B. To prove that petroleum is causing heavy soil erosion and pollution problems
C. To indicate that soil erosion has caused humans to place new demands on heavy crop
production
D. To emphasize the fact that soil erosion will become the most critical problem the
nation faces
2. Contamination of the sea caused by oil spills is a critical problem as wind and wave action
can carry oil spills a great distance across the sea. However, there are ways in which oil
spills in the sea can be dealt with. For example, straw, which can absorb up to four
times its weight in oil, can be thrown on the spill and then be burned. Oil can be broken
up and sunk by sand, talcum powder, or chalk. Under experimentation, some chemicals
have been shown to disperse the spill into droplets, which microbes can then destroy.
Why does the author mention that straw "can absorb up to four times its weight in oil”?
B. To emphasize the versatility of straw
C. To show why straw is useful in cleaning oil spills
D. To compare the weight of straw to that of oil spills
E. To give background on the properties of straw
3. The quality of the graphics output on a computer printer is measured in dpi (dots per
inch). Simply by changing the density of dots that make up each part of an image, the
printer can produce graphics that look almost photographic. To understand how this
works, consider how a black-and-white photograph shows the shades that, in real life, are
colors. Each color is a different shade of gray.
For graphics to be produced on the computer printer, a piece of software called a printer
driver decides upon a dot pattern that will represent each color shade. These different
patterns or textures each create an individual effect that your eye translates into gray
shades. The closer you look at the image, however, the less lifelike it looks.
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Why does the author mention "a black-and-white photograph"?

A. To explain how a printer makes graphics
B. To compare the clarity of computer graphics to photographs
C. To emphasize the difference between colored graphics and black-and-white graphics
D. To convince the reader that dpi is preferable to photography
4. Endesha Ida Mae Holland became a playwright by a mere twist of fate. While
studying at the University of Minnesota, Ms. Holland was consumed by activities other
than academics. She helped start student groups dedicated to racial progress and black
unity, off campus, she formed an organization to get former prisoners back on their feet.
So diverted, it took her nearly 15 years to earn her bachelor's degree, when she found
herself four credit hours short of a degree, she enrolled in an acting course, which she
thought would be easy because of her experience on speaking tours. But by transposing
two numbers, Ms. Holland accidentally signed up for an advanced playwriting seminar.
An author was born.
What does the author mean by stating "Endesha Ida Mae Holland became a playwright
by a mere twist of fate"?
A. It took nearly 15 years to complete her bachelor's degree.
B. An author was born.
C. she didn't intend to take the playwriting seminar.
D. She had experience because of her speaking tours.
EXERCISE R35 Drawing conclusions
Read the statement and the question that follows it. Then choose the letter of the best answer
based on the information given.
Few school curriculums include a unit on how to deal with bereavement and grief, and yet
all people at some point in their lives suffer from loss through death and parting.
What topic would probably NOT be included in a unit on bereavement?
A. How to write a letter of condolence
B. What emotional stages are passed through in the healing process
C. How to give support to a grieving friend
D. What the leading causes of death are
Bereavement is the state of experiencing the death of a relative or friend. Since the leading
causes of death are not relevant to the particular death that a person may have to deal with,
you should choose D.
1. Studies show that bike races in Mexico City, where the air is 20 percent less dense than at
sea level, tend to be 3 to 5 percent faster than at lower altitudes.
In which area would a bike race probably be the slowest?
A. Along the coast
B. On an indoor track
C. On a high plateau
D. Near the snow line of a volcano
2. Owners of famous and valuable paintings have recently been commissioning talented
artists to paint copies of these art treasures to exhibit in their homes.
What is the most likely reason an owner of a valuable painting might want to exhibit a
copy instead of the original?
A. Because they need to trick the experts
B. Because they hope to foil would-be thieves
C. Because they want to encourage talented artists
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D. Because they enjoy buying fake paintings

3. The Academy of Dog Training supplies law enforcement agencies with German shepherds
that are trained to recognize the smell of marijuana and other drugs.
In which of the following places would these German shepherds most likely be used?
A. At scenes of violent crimes
B. Where burglaries have taken place
C. At public swimming pools
D. At customs checks between borders
4. Schools based upon the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner are all coeducational, practice
mixed-ability teaching, and discourage competition among children.
Which of the following activities would probably NOT be seen in a Steiner school?
A. A class period devoted to the teaching of mathematics
B. A game involving both boys and girls
C. A poetry-writing contest
D. A classroom of children reading at different levels
5. The microbiologist exposed bacteria to increasingly higher levels of cyanide until he had a
type of bacteria that could destroy the cyanide that had been dumped into rivers by
chemical plants.
In what way could these bacteria be useful?
A. For saving the water life from toxic wastes
B. For poisoning undesirable fish
C. For cleaning swimming pools
D. For increasing the cyanide in the chemical plants
EXERCISE R36 Reviewing inferences
Read each passage and the items that follow it. Then choose the letter of the best answer for
each.
Questions 1-4
The Malabar Pied-Hornbill usually nests in the fruit trees that bear its food. First, the
female enters a hole in the tree and sheds her feathers. Then, she and her mate seal the
hollow with mud and dung, leaving a crack through which he feeds her. When the chicks
hatch and her plumage returns, she breaks out, resealing the nest to guard the young, which
emerge later.
1. The Malabar Pied-Hornbill is probably a

A. chicken
B. seal
C. bird
D. bear
2. What can be said about the Malabar Pied-Hornbill's nest?
A. It is padded with feathers.
B. It is so warm that the female Malabar Pied-Hornbill loses its plumage.
C. The female Malabar Pied-Hornbill breaks it up after losing her plumage.
D. Its cracks are covered by the feathers which the female Malabar Pied-Hornbill plucks
off herself.
3. Which of the following statements can be inferred?
A. The male is afraid of other males and, therefore, forces his mate into the nest and seals
it.
B. The female is so involved in building her nest that she doesn't realize she's locked
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herself inside it.

C. The female purposely imprisons herself to lay her eggs.
D. The female has to keep the male from hurting the babies, so she encloses herself in the
nest.
4. The male Malabar Pied-Hornbill probably
A. feeds the eggs through a crack in the nest
B. doesn't help the female until she has enclosed herself in the nest
C. uses his plumage to guard the recently hatched chicks
D. doesn't hatch the eggs by keeping them warm with his own body
Questions 5-7
The Mississippi River and its tributaries form the world’s fourth-longest river system. Two
I Canadian provinces and all or parts of 31 states in the United States have rivers that drain
I into the Mississippi. As the Mississippi River flows down to join the sea, it deposits sand,
silt, I and clay, building the delta seaward across Louisiana’s shallow continental shelf. The
delta I marsh and its bays, lakes, and sounds provide shelter and nutrients for North
America’s I most fertile marine nursery.

A. Canada has only two drainage areas in its provinces
B. there are 31 states in the United States
C. the 31 states mentioned have no other river systems to carry silt, sand, and clay
D. some of the silt deposited in the Louisiana delta is from Canada
6. It is probably true that
A. the delta system formed by the Mississippi River is very important for marine life
B. nurseries have been set up in the delta so that children can take part in aquatic sports in
the bays, lakes, and sounds
C. the delta marshland is an excellent area for medical people to study diseases caused by
mosquitoes and other insects
D. the United States government has established nurseries to provide shelter and food for
migrating birds
A. the delta is being destroyed by the Mississippi River depositing sand, silt, and clay
B. the geographic features of the delta are always changing
C. the sea movement is building a delta on the continental shelf at the mouth of the
Mississippi
D. the river, delta, and sea all play an important role in building Louisiana's continental
shelf
Questions 8-10
An ultralight airplane is very different from a conventional airplane. It looks like a
lawn chair with wings, weighs no more than 254 pounds, flies up to 60 miles an hour, and
carries about 5 gallons of fuel. Most ultralights are sold as kits and take about 40 hours to
assemble. Flying an ultralight is so easy that a pilot with no experience can fly one.
Accidents are rarely fatal or even serious because the ultralight lands so slowly and gently
and carries so little fuel. Some models now have parachutes attached, while others have
parachute packs which pilots can wear.
8. Ultralights are powered by

A. an engine
B. human energy
C. remote control
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D. solar energy
9. It is probably true that
A. an ultralight can be purchased at the airport
B. people can put their own ultralights together
C. people who fly ultralights have no experience
D. ultralight builders need to have training in aviation
A. accident statistics are inaccurate because ultralights are not registered at airports
B. fatal accidents are frequent because of the lack of experienced pilots
C. ultralight pilots can walk away from most of the accidents they are in
D. because of the frequency of fatal accidents, laws requiring parachutes have been
enacted
Reading Mini-test 6
Check your progress with making inferences and drawing conclusions by completing the
following Mini-test. Select the correct answer.
Questions 1-4
I Jacob Epstein’s sculptures were the focus of much controversy during the sculptor's
lifetime. Epstein was born in the United States of Russian-Jewish immigrants in 1880. He
moved to Paris in his youth and later to England, where he eventually settled and obtained
British citizenship in 1907. His first major public commission, on a building in London,
offended public taste because of the expressive distortion and nudity of the figures. In 1937,
the Rhodesian government, which at that time owned the building, actually mutilated the
sculptures to make them conform to public notions of decency. Many other of Epstein’s:
monumental carvings received equally adverse criticism.
While the general public denounced his work, many artists and critics praised it. They
admired in particular the diversity of his work and noted the influence on it of primitive and
ancient sculptural motifs from Africa and the Pacific. Today, Epstein's work has received
the recognition it deserves, and Epstein is considered one of the major sculptors of the
twentieth century.
1. The author's attitude toward Epstein's work is
A. critical
B. derisive
C. amusing
D. admiring
2. Which of the following was most probably an important influence on Epstein's work?
A. public tastes
B. African carvings
C. Russian painting
D. the Rhodesian government
3. Today, a newly erected Epstein sculpture would probably
A. be mutilated
B. conform to public opinions
C. be well received
D. be expressive
4. What does the author mean by the statement' 'Many other of Epstein's monumental
carvings received equally adverse criticism"?.
A. Many of Epstein's monuments were defaced.
B. People have taken equal offense to other critical works of art.
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C. Epstein's monuments were usually denounced for their nudity.

D. Other sculptures of Epstein's elicited negative comments.
Questions 5-9
History books record that the first moving picture with sound was The Jazz Singer in
1927. But sound films, or “talkies,” did not suddenly appear after years of silent screenings.
From the earliest public performances in 1896, films were accompanied by music and
sound effects. These were produced by a single pianist, á small band, or a full-scale
orchestra; larger movie theaters could buy sound-effects machines.
Research into sound that was reproduced at exactly the same time as the pictures -
called "synchronized sound” - began soon after the very first movies were shown. With
synchronized sound, characters on the movie screen could sing and speak. As early as 1896,
the newly invented gramophone, which played a large disc carrying music and dialogue,
was used as a sound system. The biggest disadvantage was that the sound and pictures
could become unsynchronized if, for example, the gramophone needle jumped or if the
speed of the projector changed. This system was only effective for a single song or dialogue
sequence.
A later development was the “sound-on-film” system. Here, sounds were recorded as a
series of marks on celluloid read by optical sensors. These signals would be placed on the
film alongside the images, guaranteeing synchronization. Short feature films were produced
in this way as early as 1922. This system eventually brought us “talking pictures.”
5. Why does the author mention " a single pianist, a small band, or a full-scale
orchestra"?
A. To show how badly paid musicians were
B. To explain how sound that accompanied early films was made
C. To emphasize the role sound effects played in The Jazz Singer
D. To refute history books that claim the first movie with sound was made in 1927
6. It can be inferred that

A. most movie theaters had a pianist
B. sound-effects machines were common
C. orchestras couldn't synchronize sound with the pictures
D. gramophones were developed about the same time as moving pictures
7. Why could gramophones be considered ineffective?

A. They were subject to variations in speed.
B. They were too large for most movie theaters.
C. They couldn't always match the speed of the projector.
D. They were newly invented.
8. It can be understood that the synchronization system

A. could be placed alongside the images
B. developed at the same time as sound for movies
C. was an important development for talking pictures
D. was a guarantee that short feature films could be produced
9. It can be inferred that short feature films produced as early as 1922

A. preceded talking pictures
B. put musicians out of work
C. were recorded by optical sensors
D. were only effective for dialogue sequences
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Questions 10-13
Experiments have shown that in selecting personnel for a job, interviewing is at best a
hindrance and may even cause harm. These studies have disclosed that the judgments of
interviewers differ markedly and bear little or no relationship to the adequacy of job
applicants. Of the many reasons why this should be the case, three in particular stand out.
The first reason is related to an error of judgment known as the halo effect. If a person has
one noticeable good trait, their other characteristics will be judged as better than they really
are. Thus, an individual who dresses smartly and shows self-confidence is likely to be
judged capable of doing a job well regardless of his or her real ability. The horns effect is
essentially the same error, but focuses on one particular bad trait. Here the individual will
be judged as incapable of doing a good job.
Interviewers are also prejudiced by an effect called the primacy effect. This error
occurs when interpretation of later information is distorted by earlier connected
information. Hence, in an interview situation, the interviewer spends most of the interview
trying to confirm; the impression given by the candidate in the first few moments. Studies
have repeatedly demonstrated that such an impression is unrelated to the aptitude of the
applicant.
The phenomenon known as the contrast effect also skews the judgment of interviewers.
A suitable candidate may be underestimated because he or she contrasts with a previous
one who appears exceptionally intelligent. Likewise, an average candidate who is preceded
by one who gives a weak showing may be judged as more suitable than he or she really is.
Since interviews as a form of personnel selection have been shown to be inadequate,
other selection procedures have been devised that more accurately predict candidate
suitability. Of the various tests devised, the predictor that appears to do this most
successfully is cognitive ability as measured by a variety of verbal and spatial tests.
10. What does the author mean by the phrase "essentially the same error"?
A. The effect of the error is the same.
B. The error is based on the same kind of misjudgment.
C. The effect focuses only on negative traits.
D. The individual is considered less capable of the job.
11. Which of the following applicants would probably be hired for the job based on an
interview in which the typical interview errors are made?
A. A well-dressed, confident person following someone who appears very intelligent
B. An unconfident, well-dressed person following someone who is well-dressed and
confident
C. A well-dressed, confident person following someone who has apparent flaws
D. A confident person following a well-dressed, confident person
12. Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with concerning the
actions of an interviewer looking for the best applicant for a job?
A. The interviewer should spend time trying to confirm a first impression.
B. The interviewer should be confident and well-dressed.
C. The interviewer should be aware that this process is a hindrance to finding the right
person.
D. The interviewer should look for other ways to choose the best applicant.
13. The paragraphs following the passage most likely discuss which of the following?
A. Other reasons for misjudgments about applicants
B. More information on the kinds of judgmental effects
C. More information on tests measuring cognitive ability
D. Other selection procedures included in interviewing
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Practice with summaries and charts
PRACTICE WITH SUMMARIES AND CHARTS

Your ability to understand how a reading passage is organized and to grasp the relationships
between details and main ideas will be tested in reading comprehension proficiency tests.
With this type of question, you will be required to extract information from the entire passage
and arrange the given text options into a summary or a category chart. Your ability to
recognize and understand compare- and-contrast, cause-and-effect, and agree-and-disagree
relationships, as well as steps in a process, will help you to succeed on these questions.
Summary questions
These questions require you to understand the main ideas that together form a summary of the
passage. You will be given the first sentence in a summary and a list of other sentences. You
will then be asked to choose which of the other sentences complete the summary by clicking
on your choices and dragging them into a box. It is not necessary for you to put them in the
correct order. The number of choices will be apparent by the number of spaces in the box.
Incorrect answer choices can be sentences that are details from the passage but are not critical
to the understanding of the passage or to the formation of a summary. Incorrect choices can
also be sentences that contain ideas that were not explicitly stated or information that is not
mentioned within the passage.
Category chart questions
These questions require you to organize important material from the passage into a chart. You
will be given a two-column chart with answer choices on the left and category headings on
the right. You will then be asked to sort the answer choices under the appropriate headings by
clicking on the choices and dragging them from the left column to the right. You will not
always use all of the answer choices.
Incorrect answer choices may include information that is not mentioned in the text. Incorrect
choices can also be incorrect generalizations or conclusions.
EXERCISE R37 Understanding summaries
Read each passage and the statements that follow it. Write s in the blank if the sentence
summarizes the passage. Write D if the sentence expresses a detail in the passage. If the
sentence expresses ideas not found in the passage, write N.
The Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood was a school of artists formed in about 1848. The Pre-
Raphaelites' ideal was absolute fidelity to nature. For a time, this school of painting greatly
influenced art developments throughout Europe. However, within a decade, the movement
had disbanded.
A. N The Pre-Raphaelite movement formed in 1848 broke up within ten years due to
European influences on the brotherhood.
B. S The Pre-Raphaelite movement, which advocated a faithful portrayal of nature,
influenced European art developments in the mid-nineteenth century.
C. D The Pre-Raphaelites brought their ideals of a true portrayal of nature to their
painting.
For A you should write N because there is no information in the passage concerning the
reason the brotherhood disbanded. For B you should write s because this sentence
summarizes the passage. For c you should write D because this is a restatement of a detail
in the passage.
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1. Because winning or losing a race in skiing can be a matter of a tiny fraction of a second,
skiing equipment has undergone many changes. Even clothing has changed as skiers
search for ways to increase speed. Now they wear one-piece suits that cling to their bodies
in order to reduce wind resistance. Nothing is worn under these tight-fitting suits as
anything extra may mean the loss of an important millisecond.
A. _______
N Skiers are always searching for ways to change their appearance for an
important race.
B. _______
S Skiing equipment and clothing have been developed specifically to
increase racing speeds.
C. _______
D Clothes that cling to a skier's body cause less wind resistance.
2. Rice is the only major grain crop that is grown almost exclusively as human food. Some
remarkable genetic advances have made it possible to cultivate high-yield varieties that
are resistant to disease and insect pests. Because rice constitutes an essential part of the
diet for much of the world's population, these advances have averted disasters that
otherwise would have left millions of people severely underfed.
A. _______
N Rice has been genetically modified for use as animal feed.
B. _______
D New rice varieties have prevented many people from going hungry.
C. _______
S Genetic advances have led to high-yield rice varieties.
3. Addiction to cigarette smoking is basically an addiction to nicotine. Those who are
attempting to overcome their addiction have found the most common cures ineffective.
Switching to low-nicotine cigarettes simply causes problem smokers to smoke more.
Cigarettes without any of this chemical substance are usually rejected because they don't
satisfy smokers' needs. One aid, which some quitters have found effective, is a chewing
gum containing nicotine, which allows them to stop without the unpleasant withdrawal
symptoms. A similar kind of treatment provides a measured nicotine dose through an
inhaler.
A. _______
S Smokers have tried to overcome their addiction to cigarettes using
various methods.
B. _______
N Nicotine is the chemical substance that all cigarettes contain.
C. _______
D Methods that provide those trying to quit smoking with a way to get nicotine
without smoking a cigarette have been effective in some cases.
4. Two-thirds of China's vast territory is either mountainous or covered by desert. Every
spring, windstorms come raging out of the mountains and cross the great deserts,
gathering dust. A dense cloud of dust forms that is hundreds of miles wide. It is blown
thousands of miles, traveling from the North Pacific to the Gulf of Alaska and from there
moving south and then east. As the prevailing winds lose their velocity, dust particles fall
from the cloud. It is believed that as much as 10 percent of the soil in Hawaii comprises
dust particles collected from China's deserts and dispersed in the journey across the
Pacific.
D
A. _______As the winds abate, dust particles drop from the clouds.
B. _______The
N raging windstorms are increasing the great deserts in China.
C. _______The
S winds coming out of China scatter dust particles across the Pacific.
EXERCISE R38 Identifying summary ideas
Each of the passages below is followed by an introductory sentence that begins a brief
summary of the passage, choose the letters of the three statements that express the most
important ideas in the passage. Incorrect choices express minor details or are not presented
in the passage.
In 1836, crews building a canal from Washington, D.C., to the Ohio River found a major
obstacle in their path: a long, steep crest of mountains known as Paw Paw Ridge. Various
options for surmounting this hurdle were proposed. One idea, to build directly over the
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sheer cliffs, proved impractical. Another option was to create a series of aqueducts to skirt
around the difficult terrain. This idea was rejected because of the anticipated time and
expense.
The company's project engineer, Lee Montgomery, finally decided to tunnel through the
ridge, a distance of about one kilometer. This was expected to take only two years. Perhaps
this was optimistic on his part, given that power drills and dynamite had not yet been
invented. Montgomery had invested much of his own money in the project and was keen to
see the deadlines met. However, the construction crews found that the ridge was composed
of soft shale, which frequently caved in and hampered progress. Other problems followed,
cholera, aided by the unsanitary living conditions, swept through the shantytowns, claiming
many lives. At one point the laborers could not be paid.
The major obstacle for the completion of the Paw Paw Canal was the Paw Paw Ridge.
A. The Paw. Paw Canal is named after the mountain ridge that had to be traversed.
B. Several ideas for overcoming the Paw Paw Ridge Canal were considered.
C. It was decided that a one-kilometer tunnel was the best way to overcome the barrier.
D. Power drills and dynamite were not available during the time that the canal was
being built.
E. The project was beset with financial setbacks, disease, and unexpected terrain
characteristics.
F. Unpaid laborers held protests that led to the loss of lives.
You should choose B because the first paragraph states and discusses ideas that were
considered for overcoming the obstacle, c because it concerns the decision on how the ridge
was to be dealt with, and E because these were obstacles encountered during the tunneling.
A might be inferred but is not stated as fact. D is a detail.
The laborers were unpaid at one point, but there is no mention of their possible response as
stated in F.
1. A recent survey found that nine out of ten drivers admit to having felt intense anger
toward other drivers at some time. "Road rage" seems to be on the rise, and several
explanations for this have been presented. First, there are more cars today competing for
road space. People also are far more subject to time constraints. A person who must meet
a time deadline, but is caught in a tangle of traffic, may feel increasingly frustrated. Soon
this stress may result in an outburst of road rage ranging anywhere from pounding on the
car horn to getting out of the car and attacking another driver.
Of the three major responses to stress which have evolved - fight, flight, or freeze - only
one is available to the driver who is suddenly caught behind a dawdler in the fast lane.
The car itself prohibits the driver from fleeing the situation or freezing in one place. The
only stress response left is fight.
Another explanation may be that people are not as courteous as they used to be.
A person who is worried about getting to work on time, having a report ready for the
afternoon mail, and running into the boss while coming into the office late may forget
how to be polite. Other drivers become the enemy and the car, a weapon.
Road rage has become a serious problem that is on the rise.
A. These days the roads are very congested.
B. Stress caused by the frustration of dealing with the traffic is a major reason for people
to succumb to road rage.
C. The major responses to stress are fight; flight, or freeze.
D. The fight response is the only recourse for the driver who cannot flee nor freeze
because of the situation the car puts him or her in.
E. The car is now a weapon and all other drivers are the enemy.
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F. The stresses of modern-day living may cause people to forget courtesy and give in to
road rage.
2. For a fossil to be found, a complicated series of steps must occur in sequence. The first is
that the animal (or plant) must be buried quickly. Animals that die on the plains or in the
mountains are soon found by scavengers, such as hyenas or ceratosaurs, and rapidly
reduced to bone chips. Most animals that are fossilized are caught in a flash flood, or die
in or near a river and are buried in a sand bar, or are caught in a sandstorm. If the current
in the river is fairly strong, even those few animals that die in the water are soon torn apart
and their bones scattered over acres of river bottom. It is estimated that perhaps one
animal in a thousand is fossilized, likely a generous estimate.
The second condition necessary for an animal to be fossilized is that it must be buried in a
depositional area: that is, more and more layers of mud or gravel must be laid down over
it. If the area is subject to erosion - and nearly all land surfaces are - the fossil will soon be
washed out and destroyed.
The third step is that this depositional area must at some time become an erosional area, so
that wind and water wear it down and uncover the buried remains.
The fourth step necessary for the recovery of a fossil is that when the fossil is uncovered,
someone knowledgeable has to walk along that ridge, or study the face of that cliff, and
locate the fossil and recover it. The time frame for this recovery varies, but it is
necessarily short. The fossil is protected, but also invisible, until it is exposed. As soon as
it is exposed, wind and water attack it, and they can destroy it quickly. The best fossils are
found when someone spots an exposed bone that turns out to be part of a buried skeleton
and is therefore Still well preserved. But many fine fossils have been washed away
because no one happened to see them when they were first exposed, or the people who
saw them didn't realize what they were seeing.
The conditions that have to be met in order for a fossil to be found are relatively
tare.
A. Animals that die are quickly eaten by scavengers and reduced to bone chips within a
short period of time.
B. For an animal or a plant to become fossilized, it must be buried before other animals or
the elements destroy the body.
C. A fossilized animal must first be covered by layers of soil for a length of time and then
be uncovered by erosional forces,
D. A fossil must be protected from the elements for as long as it is buried.
E. The best fossils are those that have not been washed away and scattered before they are
found.
F. An exposed fossil needs to be found and recognized by someone for what it is before it
is destroyed by the elements.
3. One of the major hazards for deep-sea divers is decompression sickness (DCS), more
commonly known as "the bends." This sometimes fatal condition is caused by gas bubbles
forming in the bloodstream if the diver ascends too rapidly. These bubbles travel in the
blood and may become lodged anyplace in the body. Most commonly, they get trapped in
joints, particularly the spine. The resulting pain causes the diver to bend over, hence the
name of the condition.
The reason gas bubbles form has to do with the saturation and desaturation of body tissues
with various gases. At increasingly great depths, the diver breathes air at higher pressures.
This results in an increased quantity of air being dissolved in the bloodstream. Different
body tissues are saturated with different gases from the air at different rates, when the
diver rises to the surface, oxygen is used by the body tissues, carbon dioxide is released
quickly, and nitrogen remains. The nitrogen needs to be released gradually from the
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bloodstream and body tissues. If nitrogen is subjected to a too rapid pressure reduction, it
forms bubbles. Not only do these bubbles collect in joints, but they also become trapped in
capillaries. This prevents blood and oxygen from supplying necessary nutrients to body
tissues, which consequently begin to die.
Saturation and desaturation are affected by various factors such as the depth, length of
time, and amount of exertion under water. There are other factors that must be taken into
account when determining a safe ascent rate. These include the diver's sex and body build,
the number of dives undertaken within the previous 12 hours, the time spent at the dive
location before the dive, and the composition of the respiration gas.
Diving tables set guidelines based on statistical probabilities of getting the bends.
However, someone who stays within the suggested limits can still get DCS. Since even a
mild case can leave a diver permanently disabled, it is imperative that divers recognize the
symptoms. Unfortunately, such symptoms can be similar to those of the flu or a strained
muscle, something that occurs frequently when divers are handling heavy equipment,
using improperly fitted gear, or engaging in unaccustomed activity. Because even
professionals can have difficulty diagnosing DCS, the most reliable test is to recompress
the patient and see whether the symptoms abate.
Decompression sickness (DCS) is a sometimes fatal condition that affects deep-sea
divers.
A. DCS is the formation of gas bubbles in the bloodstream caused by the different
saturation and desaturation rates of gases under pressure.
B. Most people are more familiar with the term "the bends," referring to the way a diver
bends over in pain.
C. Body tissues die when nitrogen prevents blood and oxygen from bringing important
nutrients.
D. Saturation and desaturation rates of gases are affected by factors that divers need to
take into consideration.
E. can be misdiagnosed as the flu.
F. The best way to diagnose DCS is to put the patient through recompression.
4. One of the most basic laws of economics is that nothing of value is free.
Sometimes this is dubbed "tanstaafl." The word tanstaafl is formed from the initials of the
statement: "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." what this means is that everything
that has value must be paid for in currency, labor, or by some other means.
Not only do people have to pay for everything that has value, but governments do as well.
Governments have a lot of expenditures - public buildings, roads, military, etc. - and to get
the necessary money, they tax their citizens. Nobody likes to pay taxes, and history has
shown that when taxes get too high, people eventually revolt and overthrow the offending
government. To avoid raising taxes, a government must find another way to deal with the
problem of getting money to meet its expenses.
A case in point is the government of the Roman Empire. The Roman government taxed
its citizens in order to pay for the expenses of running such a vast empire. It became
apparent that if it raised taxes further, it risked provoking unrest. So it came up with the
idea of clipping the denarius, a coin made of 94 percent silver, when the tax collectors
brought in people's taxes paid in silver coins, the Roman treasury clipped; or shaved the
edges off, the coins. The clippings were minted into new coins. For a time, this gave the
government the money necessary for its budget. But it did not take the Roman people long
to realize that some of their coins were missing silver. Therefore, they either refused to
accept the clipped coins or charged more coins for their goods or services.
In later centuries a system called reeding came into practice. A reeded coin has grooves
along its edge making it easy to see whether or not clipping has taken place. But since the
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Roman government still needed money and clipping no longer served its purpose, the
Roman treasury started melting down coins and reminting them with a mixture of base
metal, such as copper. However, each time a coin was melted down and reminted with a
base-metal mixture, the content of precious metal became less and that of base metal,
more, when the Roman people realized that their money was being debased, they
responded by hoarding coins, whenever they got a good coin, one with a high percentage
of silver in it, they kept it. They spent only bad coins, those with a low percentage of
silver. This behavior is explained by Gresham's Law, which states: Bad money drives
good money out of circulation. When debasement happens, money loses its value and
prices inevitably rise.
The Roman government tried various ways OÍ dealing with the economic problem of
running their Empire.
A. The Roman officials understood the concept of tanstaafl - that nothing of value is free.
B. Like Roman people, the Roman government had expenses, which in the case of the
Empire included building cities, maintaining roads, and keeping an army. C. The
Roman Treasury met expenditures by taxing citizens until further tax increases would
have caused discontent.
D. The Roman currency was the denarius, which was composed of 94 percent silver.
E. By clipping silver from an old coin, the Treasury was able to mint new coins until the
people became wise and the coins had to be reeded.
F. A further need for money caused the Roman Treasury to start the practice of minting
coins that were debased.
EXERCISE R39 Organizing information into charts
In the following exercise, each passage is followed by a list of answer choices and two
categories. Follow the specific instructions underneath each passage about how to match the
answer choices to the correct categories. Not all of the answer choices will be used.
Early Greek columns were built in two main styles, or orders - the Doric and the Ionic -
named after Greek dialects, of these two orders, the Ionic is the more slender - but is most
notably different in the decoration of the capital, the part that rests on top of the column,
while the capital of the Doric column is plain and unadorned, that of the Ionic is
characterized by two pairs of prominent spiral scrolls, one pair on each side of the capital,
which may have been inspired by curling leaves of foliage. Between the scrolls other
ornamentation, such as an egg and dart pattern, were often carved for added embellishment.
Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the style of
column to which they relate. ONE of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Ionic
A. Larger in comparison • D
B. Styles of Greek dialects • F
c. An unembellished capital Doric
D. A capital adorned with spiral scrolls • A
E. A split column • C
F. Added decoration between scrolls
You should write D and F in the Ionic column because it is described as having spiral
scrolls on the capital and added embellishment between them. You should write A and C in
the Doric column because the Doric column is described as larger and its capital is
described as unadorned. Since B concerns the origin of the names for the two types of
columns and E concerns information not stated in the passage, they are not appropriate for
either category.
1. Initially, underground homes are more expensive to build than conventional houses. In
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order to avoid a home resembling a dark, dank basement, much care and expense must be
put into designing a home with well-placed windows and skylights that ensure brightness
and fresh air. Conventional homes have much more straightforward designs. Also,
expensive and sophisticated waterproofing techniques need to be used to keep moisture
out of an underground home. However, in the long term, underground homes save the
owner a great deal of money in heating and air- conditioning costs. Underground houses
require much less energy than conventional homes because the soil temperature is
relatively stable and the concrete walls can store the sun's heat and radiate it into the
rooms at night.
Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the type of
home to which they relate. ONE of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Underground Homes
A. Expensive to build •______
A
B. Higher energy costs •______

D
C. Unstable soil temperatures Conventional Homes

D. Waterproofing to avoid dampness •______
B
E. Easier to design •______

E
2. The earliest form of dueling was the clash of mounted knights armed with lances in
medieval tournaments. These duels were often purely sporting affairs in which special
nonlethal lances were used. They provided entertainment for the spectators and kept the
knights in good condition for battle. Later, in Elizabethan days, duels no longer took place
on horseback, and the lance was exchanged for a sword and dagger. The sword was held
in the right hand and used for attacking, while the dagger was held in the left hand and
used for defense. Dueling with swords was not a sport but used as a means to decide a
point of honor. This form of dueling later became obsolete with the invention of pistols,
which brought about a whole new set of rules and etiquette unique to that form of dueling.
Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the period of
dueling to which they relate. ONE of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Early Forms of Dueling
A. Unique set of rules •______
D
B. Clashes in battle •______

E
C. Defense of one's honor Later Forms of Dueling

D. Entertaining spectacles •______
A
E. Use of horses •______

C
3. Playing marbles was supposedly popular in ancient Eypt, and it has yet to lose its
popularity. There are several different games played with marbles, but the main object of
all marble games is to hit a target with a marble. "Shooting the marble" is accomplished
by flicking a marble that is balanced on the index finger with a quick movement of the
thumb. The best-known marble game is called "ringtaw." In this game, the players draw a
circle on the ground. From a prearranged distance, they take turns shooting one of their
marbles at other marbles placed in the circle. The object is to knock as many marbles out
of the circle as possible. In another game, "fortification," the marbles are placed in the
center of a series of concentric circles marked on the ground. The players must knock
marbles out of the center circle and into the adjacent circle. A marble is considered out
when a player has knocked it through all the circles. A third popular game uses holes
instead of circles. In fact, this game is called "holes." Here, the players shoot their marbles
into shallow holes dug in the ground.
game to which they relate. ONE of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Ringtaw
A. Marbles knocked out of the circle completely •______
A
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B. Marbles flicked into holes •______

D
C. Circles within circles drawn on ground Fortification

D. One circle drawn on ground •______
C
E. Marbles knocked through one circle at a time •______

E
4. Sun City, South Africa; Disney World; and Sentosa Island are examples of the artificial,
all-purpose holiday resort. These "tourism ghettoes," as they are referred to by seasoned
travelers, isolate tourists from the real world and provide instead a sanitized package of
pleasures. However much they are ridiculed and avoided by those looking for a cultural
experience or seeking to study local fauna, they have proved their worth to those who are
environmentally concerned with the welfare of the planet. Sun City, for example, was
built on what had been useless scrubland, but now provides a haven for endangered or
elusive wildlife. Unlike some traditional vacation spots, such as beach resorts that have
destroyed the beauty of the area and have put heavy burdens on the infrastructure of
coastal villages not designed for a large influx of people, these all-purpose resorts were
carefully planned to accommodate large numbers of tourists. Incorporated in this planning
is concern for the environment and for the local inhabitants. An artificial resort can gather
into one compact area the best that the host country has to offer. Artificial lakes can attract
birds that would not normally be seen. Trees can be planted to provide homes for animals
and insects. Even species that have been wiped out in the wild could be reintroduced.
resort to which they relate. ONE of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Artificial Resort
• __________
D
A. Accommodates large numbers of people
B. Is responsible for wiping out some species • __________
A
C. Has damaged natural beauty Traditional Resort

D. Provides sanctuary for wildlife • __________
C
E. Puts burdens on local infrastructures • __________

E
5. A few investigators, known as cryptozoologists, are dedicated to researching mysterious,

unclassified beasts that orthodox scientists refuse to believe exist. One of the most
celebrated mysteries being investigated by cryptozoologists is "Bigfoot," a large hairy
humanoid creature that many people claim to have seen in parts of North America. In
1967, a film of what was purported to be Bigfoot was actually taken by an amateur
photographer, of course, this footage is almost certainly a hoax. Nevertheless, many
people remain convinced of Bigfoot's existence.
Another humanoid creature, the Yeti or "abominable snowman" of the Himalayas, may
be the most fascinating undiscovered creature. Many climbers and Sherpas claim to have
seen the Yeti or its footprints, and local inhabitants of the mountains are convinced of its
existence. As in the case of Bigfoot, some film footage that is alleged to be of this creature
exists.
While cryptozoologists keep an open mind about their object of study, they are quick to
point to cases in which the skeptics were proved mistaken. Those interested in water life
can name as an example the giant squid, which was dismissed as the product of an
overactive imagination until a specimen was washed up on a beach in 1873. The
coelacanth, a large-bodied, hollow-spined fish and predecessor of the amphibians, was
considered extinct until one was caught by a fisherman off the coast of South Africa in
1938. The Loch Ness Monster, however, has not been found and continues to provoke
disagreements among researchers. In this case some authorities argue that while some
kind of creature may really have been seen, it is probably a type of whale that penetrates
the loch when the river feeding the loch floods.
Besides humanlike creatures and sea animals, cryptozoologists are also interested in land
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animals. The pygmy hippopotamus, for example - once claimed to be extinct - was
eventually found to exist in East Africa. However, the Congo dinosaur and the
Queensland tiger have not been found. These and other intriguing creatures will no doubt
be the objects of much speculation as well as pursuit for years to come.
Select the appropriate sentences from the answer choices and match them to the stages of
sleep to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Creatures Found to Exist
A. The hairy humanoid creature in North America • __________
D
called Bigfoot • __________

E
B. The Yeti, known as the abominable snowman, of • __________
H
the Himalayas Creatures That Perhaps
C. The footage of North America Don't Exist
D. The specimen of a giant squid • __________
A
E. The large-bodied, hollow-spined coelacanth • __________
B
F. The Loch Ness Monster • __________
F, I
G. The land animals that cryptozoologists are
interested in
H. The East African pygmy hippopotamus
I. The Congo dinosaur and the Queensland tiger
Reading Mini-test 7
Check your progress in understanding summaries and charts by completing the following
Mini-test.
Read each passage, then answer the question that follows.
One of the foremost American entertainers of the first part of the twentieth century was
a part-Cherokee Native American named Will Rogers (1879-1935). Rogers was born in
territory that would later become the state of Oklahoma and spent much of his youth riding
horses and mastering the use of the lariat. These skills were refined into an
entertainment act based on fancy rope tricks interspersed with humorous anecdotes and
witty remarks. Traveling widely as a vaudeville entertainer, by 1915 Rogers had become a
star act with the Ziegfeld Follies, a famous stage show. In 1918 his stage skills led to a new
career as a movie actor both in silent films and later in the “talkies.”
In the early 1920s, Rogers embarked on another profession, this time as a journalist
writing weekly newspaper columns that reached millions of people worldwide. Beginning
in 1930 he also broadcast regular radio addresses. What distinguished his journalistic
approach was his firsthand experience of ordinary people and places and a wry sense of
humor, often debunking establishment figures and institutions. This poking fun at the
serious side of life, combined with an optimistic homespun philosophy, gave him immense
popular appeal. He became a national and international celebrity and acquired the unofficial
status of a goodwill ambassador during his travels in Europe. He also had a strong
philanthropic streak and devoted money and time to charitable causes.
Rogers also had a keen interest in flying. He often wrote about the development of
aviation and made friends with trailblazing flyers such as Charles Lindbergh. Another
pioneering aviator, Wiley Post, invited Rogers to join him in testing the viability of a
commercial route between the United States and Asia. Tragically, both Rogers and Post
were killed when their plane crashed in northern Alaska. Rogers's death was felt deeply
throughout the United States, and the public displays of mourning were heartfelt and
widespread. The epitaph by his tomb is taken from one of his numerous quotable remarks
and reminds us of the essential dignity of the man. It reads, “Never Met A Man I Didn't
Like."
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Will Rogers was a much loved, charismatic figure from the first part of the twentieth
century.
A. The state of Oklahoma had been part of the Cherokee Native American nation to
which Rogers belonged.
B. Rogers's interests as a youth gave him the skills to succeed in the entertainment world.
C. The Ziegfeld Follies was a famous stage show that Rogers participated in.
D. A sense of humor and an optimistic philosophy were characteristics that brought
Rogers worldwide distinction as a journalist and goodwill ambassador.
E. Rogers's death in an airplane crash brought about widespread mourning for the highly
esteemed celebrity.
F. Written on Rogers's tombstone is "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like," one of his
remarks that highlights his dignity.
The importance of background music in a film cannot be overstated. It is instrumental

in creating the mood the moviemaker wants to evoke. During the infancy of cinema, the
importance of music was understood, but the relationship between music and the screen
action was not fully appreciated. Thus, early musical material consisted of anything
available, often bearing little relation to the emotional impact of the movie. Since
techniques for movies to include sound had not yet been developed, music was provided by
a single musician, a small band, or a full orchestra. These musicians played what they
wanted, and a pianist good at improvisation was highly regarded.
As the commercial potential of the cinema became apparent, producers realized the
advantage of each film having its own music. In 1908, Camille Saint-Saens composed
music specifically for a French film. However, this idea was before its time and was not
embraced by the movie industry. Perhaps cinema musicians weren’t ready to learn new
pieces for each movie that came along, or perhaps the costs were prohibitive.
By 1913, special catalogs of music for specific dramatic purposes were available. Thus,
musicians had at their disposal music that could be used for any scene from any movie.
Much of this music consisted of works by famous composers and predated the advent of
motion pictures. For example, Mendelssohn’s wedding march was a typical catalog piece
for wedding scenes and had been written before the appearance of motion pictures.
In 1922 a system that guaranteed synchronization of sound with image was developed,
thus making music an essential part of filmmaking. At first, background music was used
only if there was an orchestra or performer on screen because it was believed people would
be bewildered about the origin of the sound.
A 1930s Western called Cimarron was the first film to experiment with background
music without a visible means of production. The composer for this sound track was Max
Steiner, a pioneer of film scoring. Steiner also composed the film score for Symphony of Six
Million in 1932, the first film to have music underlying dialogue. The simple, somewhat
naïve music of early film scores quickly developed into the sophisticated musical
experience that moviegoers encounter today.
The way music is made to create mood in movies has undergone many changes
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throughout the history of cinema.

A. Live musicians, who in earlier times had been improvising or playing what they wanted,
were later given collections of pieces to play to set the mood.
B. Camille Saint-Saens was ahead of his time when he wrote music for a specific French film
in 1908.
C. Synchronization of sound and image made a practical reality of the previously failed idea
that each film should have its own music.
D. Cimarion and Symphony of Six Million, both movies from the 1930s, were breakthroughs
in the music industry.
E. Music evolved to underlie dialogues and to be heard in the background by an invisible
means of production.
F. In the infancy of cinema, people were naive but since then have become sophisticated
moviegoers.
Water scarcity is fast becoming one of the major limiting factors in world crop
production. In many areas, poor agricultural practices have led to increasing desertification
and the loss of formerly arable lands. Consequently, those plant species that are well
adapted to survival in dry climates are being looked at for an answer to the development of
more efficient crops to grow on marginally arable lands.
Plants use several mechanisms to ensure their survival in desert environments. Some
involve purely mechanical and physical adaptations, such as the shape of the plant’s
surface, smaller leaf size, and extensive root systems. Xerophytes and phraetophytes are
two kinds of plants that survive in the desert environment through adaptations of their
physical structure. Xerophytés, which include cactuses, an adaptation from the rose family,
are effective desert plants because they have spines instead of leaves. These spines protect
the plant from animals, shade it from the sun, and help it collect moisture. Another
adaptation is their shallow but extensive root systems. The roots radiate out from the plant
and quickly absorb large quantities of water when it rains.
The mesquite tree is a type of phraetophyte. These plants have tiny leaves that close
their pores during the day to avoid water loss and open them at night when they can absorb
moisture. All phraetophytes have developed extremely long root systems that draw water
from the water table deep undergrounD. Some phraetophytes have developed a double-root
system - the typical long and deep root system to collect ground water and a shallow
one like the xerophytes to collect surface water.
Some desert plant adaptations are related to chemical mechanisms. For instance, some
phraetophytes depend on their unpleasant smell and taste for protection, while many
xerophytes have internal gums and mucilages that give them water-retaining properties.
Another chemical mechanism is that of the epiticular wax layer. This wax layer acts as an
impervious cover to protect the plant. It prevents excessive loss of internal moisture. It also
protects the plant from external aggression, which can come from inorganic agents such as
gases, or organic agents, which include bacteria and plant pests.
Researchers have proposed that synthetic waxes with similar protective abilities could
be prepared based on knowledge of desert plants. If successfully developed, such a
compound could be used to greatly increase a plant’s ability to maintain health in such
adverse situations as inadequate water supply, limited fertilizer availability, attack by pests,
and poor storage after harvesting.
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3. Select the appropriate survival tactics from the answer choices and match them to the type
of plant to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used.
Answer Choices Xerophytes
A. Epiticular wax coating causes difficulties for storage after • __________
harvesting. • __________
B. Internal chemical mechanisms allow water to be held • __________
C. Small leaves open to collect water and close to retain it. Phractophytes
D. Spines were adapted from leaves. • __________
E. The smell and taste of the plant is unpleasant for predators. • __________
F. The long roots spread out close to the surface of the ground. • __________
G. The roots descend deep into the ground. • __________
H. The cactus is an adaptation of the rose to desert environments,
I. Two sets of root systems collect ground and surface water.
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READING PRACTICE TEST 2

PASSAGE 1: Resources and Industrialism in Canada
1. While the much-anticipated expansion of the western frontier was unfolding in accordance
with the design of the National Policy, a new northern frontier was opening up to enhance
the prospects of Canadian industrial development. [A] Long the preserve of the fur trade,
the Canadian Shield and the western Cordilleras became a treasury of minerals, timber
and hydroelectric power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As early as 1883, CPR
[Canadian Pacific Railway] construction crews blasting through the rugged terrain of
northern Ontario discovered copper and nickel deposits in the vicinity of Sudbury. [B] As
refining processes, uses, and markets for the metal developed, Sudbury became the
world’s largest nickel producer. The building of the Temiskaming and the Northern
Ontario Railway led to the discovery of rich silver deposits around Cobalt north of Lake
Nipissing in 1903 and touched off a mining boom that spread northward to Kirkland Lake
and the Porcupine district. [C] Although the economic importance of these mining
operations was enduring, they did not capture the public imagination to the same extent as
the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. [D]
2. Fortune-seekers from all parts of the world flocked to the Klondike and Yukon River
valleys to pan for gold starting in 1896. At the height of the gold rush in 1898, the
previously unsettled subarctic frontier had a population of about 30,000, more than half of
which was concentrated in the newly established town of Dawson. In the same year, the
federal government created the Yukon Territory, administered by an appointed
commissioner, in an effort to ward off the prospect of annexation to Alaska. Even if the
economic significance of the Klondike strike was somewhat exaggerated and short-lived,
the tales of sudden riches, heroic and tragic exploits, and the rowdiness and lawlessness of
the mining frontier were immortalized through popular fiction and folklore, notably the
poetic verses of Robert W. Service.
3. Perhaps less romantic than the mining booms, the exploitation of forest and water
resources was just as vital to national development. The Douglas fir, spruce, and cedar
stands of British Columbia along with the white pine forests of Ontario satisfied
construction demands on the treeless prairies as well as in the growing cities and towns of
central Canada and the United States. British Columbia’s forests also supplied lumber to
Asia. In addition, the softwood forest wealth of the Cordilleras and the Shield was a
valuable source of pulpwood for the development of the pulp and paper industry, which
made Canada one of the world’s leading exporters of newsprint. Furthermore, the fast
flowing rivers of the Shield and Cordilleras could readily be harnessed as sources of
hydroelectric power, replacing coal in the booming factories of central Canada as well as
in the evolving mining and pulp and paper industries. The age of electricity under public
ownership and control was ushered in by the creation of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power
Commission (now Ontario Hydro) in 1906 to distribute and eventually to produce this
vital source of energy.
4. Western settlement and the opening of the northern resource frontier stimulated industrial
expansion, particularly in central Canada. As the National Policy had intended, a growing
agricultural population in the West increased the demand for eastern manufactured goods,
thereby giving rise to agricultural implements works, iron and steel foundries, machine
shops, railway yards, textile mills, boot and shoe factories, and numerous smaller
manufacturing enterprises that supplied consumer goods. By keeping out lower-priced
foreign manufactured goods, the high tariff policies of the federal government
received much credit for protecting existing industries and encouraging the creation
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Getting Ready for Exam
of new enterprises. To climb the tariff wall, large American industrial firms opened branches
in Canada, and the governments of Ontario and Quebec aggressively urged them on by
offering bonuses, subsidies, and guarantees to locate new plants within their borders.
Canadian industrial enterprises became increasingly attractive to foreign investors, especially
from the United States and Great Britain. Much of the over $600 million of American capital
that flowed into Canada from 1900 to 1913 was earmarked for mining and the pulp and paper
industry, while British investors contributed nearly $1.8 billion, mostly in railway building,
business development, and the construction of urban infrastructure. As a result, the gross
value of Canadian manufactured products quadrupled from 1891 to 1916.
1. Why does the author mention the 6. How did the poetry by Robert Service
railroads in paragraph 1? contribute to the development of
A. Because miners were traveling to Canada?
camps in the West A. It made the Klondike gold rush
B. Because mineral deposits were famous.
discovered when the railroads were B. It encouraged families to settle in the
built Klondike.
C. Because the western frontier was C. It captured the beauty of the western
being settled by families Klondike.
D. Because traders used the railroads to D. It prevented the Klondike’s
transport their goods annexation to Alaska.
2. In paragraph 1, the author identifies 7. According to paragraph 3, the forest
Sudbury as industry supported the development of
A. an important stop on the new railroad Canada in all of the following ways
line EXCEPT
B. a large market for the metals A. by supplying wood for the
produced in Ontario construction of homes and buildings
C. a major industrial center for the B. by clearing the land for expanded
production of nickel agricultural uses
D. a mining town in the Klondike region C. by producing the power for the
hydroelectric plants
3. The word enhance in the passage is
D. by exploring wood and newsprint to
closest in meaning to
foreign markets
A. disrupt
B. restore 8. The word Furthermore in the
C. identify passage is closest in meaning to
D. improve A. Although
B. Because
4. According to paragraph 2, why was the
C. Therefore
Yukon Territory created?
D. Moreover
A. To encourage people to settle the
region 9. Which of the sentences below best
B. To prevent Alaska from acquiring it expresses the information in the
C. To establish law and order in the area boldfaced statement in the passage?
D. To legalize the mining claims The other choices change the
meaning or leave out important
5. The word previously in the passage is
information.
A. New businesses and industries
A. frequently
were created by the federal
B. suddenly
government to keep the prices of
C. routinely
manufactured goods low.
D. formerly
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B. The lower price of manufacturing A. the Canadian government offered

attracted many foreign businesses incentives
and new industries to the area. B. the raw materials were available
C. Federal taxes on cheaper in Canada
imported goods were responsible C. the consumers in Canada were
for protecting domestic industries eager to buy their goods
and supporting new businesses. D. the infrastructure was attractive
D. The federal tax laws made it to investors
difficult for manufacturers to sell
12. Look at the four squares […] that
their goods to foreign markets.
show where the following sentence
10. The word them in the passage refers could be inserted in the passage.
to Railway construction through the
A. governments Kootenay region of southeastern
B. plants British Columbia also led to
C. firms significant discoveries of gold,
D. policies silver, copper, lead, and zinc.
Where could the sentence best be
11. According to paragraph 4, British
added?
and American businesses opened
affiliates in Canada because
PASSAGE 2: Migration from Asia

1. The Asian migration hypothesis is today supported by most of the scientific evidence. The
first “hard” data linking the American Indians with Asians appeared in the 1980s with the
finding that Indians and northeast Asians share a common and distinctive pattern in the
arrangement of the teeth. But perhaps the most compelling support for the hypothesis
comes from genetic research. Studies comparing the DNA variation of populations around
the world consistently demonstrate the close genetic relationship of the two populations,
and recently geneticists studying a virus sequestered in the kidneys of all humans found
that the strain of virus carried by Navajos and Japanese is nearly identical, while that
carried by Europeans and Africans is quite different.
2. The migration could have begun over a land bridge connecting the continents. During the
last Ice Age 70,000 to 10,000 years ago, huge glaciers locked up massive volumes of
water and sea levels were as much as 300 feet lower than today. Asia and North America
were joined by a huge subcontinent of ice-free, treeless grassland, 750 miles wide.
Geologists have named this area Beringia, from the Bering Straits. Summers there were
warm, winters were cold, dry and almost snow-free. This was a perfect environment for
large mammals – mammoth and mastodon, bison, horse, reindeer, camel, and saiga (a
goat-like antelope). Small bands of Stone Age hunter-gatherers were attracted by these
animal populations, which provided them not only with food but with hides for clothing
and shelter, dung for fuel, and bones for tools and weapons. Accompanied by a husky-
like species of dog, hunting bands gradually moved as far east as the Yukon River basin of
northern Canada, where field excavations have uncovered the fossilized jawbones of
several dogs and bone tools estimated to be about 27,000 years old.
3. Other evidence suggests that the migration from Asia began about 30,000 years ago –
around the same time that Japan and Scandinavia were being settled. This evidence is
based on blood type. The vast majority of modern Native Americans have type O blood
and a few have type A, but almost none have type B. Because modern Asian populations
include all three blood types, however, the migrations must have begun before the
evolution of type B, which geneticists believe occurred about 30,000 years ago.
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Getting Ready of Exam
4. By 25,000 years ago human communities were established in western Beringia, which is
present-day Alaska. [A] But access to the south was blocked by a huge glacial sheet
covering much of what is today Canada. How did the hunters get over those 2,000 miles
of deep ice? The argument is that the climate began to warm with the passing of the Ice
Age, and about 13,000 B.C.E, glacial melting created an ice-free corridor along the
eastern front range of the Rocky Mountains. [B] Soon hunters of big game had reached
the Great Plains.
5. In the past several years, however, new archaeological finds along the Pacific coast of
North and South America have thrown this theory into question. [C] The most spectacular
find, at Monte Verde in southern Chile, produced striking evidence of tool making, house
building, rock painting, and human footprints conservatively dated at 12,500 years ago,
long before the highway had been cleared of ice. [D] Many archaeologists now believe
that migrants moved south in boats along a coastal route rather than overland. These
people were probably gatherers and fishers rather than hunters of big game.
6. There were two later migrations into North America. About 5000 B.C.E. the Athapascan
or Na-Dene people began to settle the forests in the northwestern area of the continent.
Eventually Athapascan speakers, the ancestors of the Navajos and Apaches, migrated
across the Great Plains to the Southwest. The final migration began about 3000 B.C.E.
after Beringia had been submerged, when a maritime hunting people crossed the
Bering Straits in small boats. The Inuits (also known as the Eskimos) colonized the
polar coasts of the Arctic, the Yupiks the coast of southwestern Alaska, and the Aleuts the
Aleutian Islands.
7. While scientists debate the timing and mapping of these migrations, many Indian people
hold to oral traditions that include a long journey from a distant place of origin to a new
homeland.
1. The word distinctive in the passage C. geneticists
is closest in meaning to D. populations
A. new 5. Why does the author mention blood
B. simple types in paragraph 3?
C. different A. Blood types offered proof that
D. particular the migration had come from
2. According to paragraph 2, why did Scandinavia.
Stone Age tribes begin to migrate B. The presence of type B in Native
into Beringia? Americans was evidence of the
A. To intermarry with tribes living migration.
there C. The blood typing was similar to
B. To trade with tribes that made data from both Japan and
tools Scandinavia.
C. To hunt for animals in the area D. Comparisons of blood types in
D. To capture domesticated dogs Asia and North America
3. The phrase Accompanied by in the established the date of migration.
passage is closest in meaning to 6. How did groups migrate into the
A. Found with Great Plains?
B. Joined by A. By walking on a corridor covered
C. Threatened by with ice
D. Detoured with B. By using the path that big game
4. The word which in the passage had made
refers to C. By detouring around a huge ice
A. migrations sheet
B. evolution D. By following a mountain trail
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7. Why does the author mention the people from migrating in small
settlement at Monte Verde, Chile, in boats.
paragraph 5? 10. According to paragraph 6, all of the
A. The remains of boats suggest that following are true about the later
people may have lived there. migrations EXCEPT
B. Artifacts suggest that humans A. The Athapascans traveled into
reached this area before the ice the Southwest United States.
melted on lanD. B. The Eskimos established homes
C. Bones and footprints from large in the Arctic polar region.
animals confirm that the people C. The Aleuts migrated in small
were hunters. boats to settle coastal islands.
D. The houses and tools excavated D. The Yupiks established
prove that the early humans were settlements on the Great Plains.
intelligent. 11. Which of the following statements
8. The word Eventually in the passage most accurately reflects the author’s
is closest in meaning to opinion about the settlement of the
A. In the end North American continent?
B. Nevertheless A. The oral traditions do not support
C. Without doubt the migration theory.
D. In this way B. The anthropological evidence for
9. Which of the sentences below best migration should be reexamined.
expresses the information in the C. Migration theories are probably
boldfaced statement in the passage? not valid explanations for the
The other choices change the physical evidence.
meaning or leave out important D. Genetic markers are the best
information. evidence of a migration from
A. Beringia was under water when Asia.
the last people crossed the straits 12. Look at the four squares […] that
in boats about 3000 B.C.E. show where the following sentence
B. Beringia sank after the last could be inserted in the passage.
people had crossed the straits in Newly excavated early human sites
their boats about 3000 B.C.E. in Washington State, California,
C. About 3000 B.C.E., the final and Peru have been radiocarbon
migration of people in small dated to be 11,000 to 12,000 years
boats across Beringia had ended. old.
D. About 3000 B.C.E., Beringia was Where could the sentence best be
flooded, preventing the last added?
PASSAGE 3: Layers of Social Class

1. Taken together, income, occupation, and education are good measures of people’s
social standing. Using a layered model of stratification, most sociologists describe the
class system in the United States as divided into several classes: upper, upper middle,
middle, lower middle, and lower class. Each class is defined by characteristics such as
income, occupational prestige, and educational attainment. The different groups are
arrayed along a continuum with those with the most money, education, and prestige at
the top and those with the least at the bottom.
2. In the United States, the upper class owns the major share of corporate and the
personal wealth; it includes those who have held wealth for generations as well as
those who have recently become rich. Only a very small proportion of people actually
constitute the upper class, but they control vast amounts of wealth and power in the
United States. They exercise enormous control throughout society. Most of their
wealth is inherited.
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3. Despite social myths to the contrary, the best predictor of future wealth is the
family into which you are born. Each year, the business magazine Forbes publishes
a list of the “Forbes 400” – the four hundred wealthiest families and individuals in the
country. Of all the wealth represented on the Forbes 400 list, more than half is
inherited. Those on the list who could be called “self-made” were not typically of
modest origins; most inherited significant assets (Forbes, 1997; Sklar and Collins,
1997). Those in the upper class with newly acquired wealth are known as the nouveau
riche. Although they may have vast amounts of money, they are often not accepted
into “old rich” circles.
4. The upper middle class includes those with high incomes and high social prestige.
They tend to be well-educated professionals or business executives. Their earnings can
be quite high indeed – successful business executives can earn millions of dollars a
year. It is difficult to estimate exactly how many people fall into this group because of
the difficulty of drawing lines between the upper, upper middle, and middle class.
Indeed, the upper middle class is often thought of as “middle class” because their
lifestyle sets the standard to which many aspire, but this lifestyle is simply beyond the
means of a majority of people in the United States.
5. The middle class is hard to define; in part, being “middle class” is more than just
economic position. By far the majority of Americans identify themselves as middle
class even though they vary widely in lifestyles and in resources at their disposal. But
the idea that the United States is an open-class system leads many to think that the
majority have a middle-class lifestyle because, in general, people tend not to want to
recognize class distinctions in the United States. Thus, the middle class becomes the
ubiquitous norm even though many who call themselves middle class have a tenuous
hold on this class position.
[
6. In the hierarchy of social class, the lower middle class includes workers in the skilled
trades and low-income bureaucratic workers, many of whom may actually define
themselves as middle class. Examples are blue-collar workers (those in skilled trades
who do manual labor) and many service workers, such as secretaries, hairdressers,
waitresses, police, and firefighters. Medium to low income, education, and
occupational prestige define the lower middle class relative to the class groups above
it. The term “lower” in this class designation refers to the relative position of the group
in the stratification system, but it has a pejorative sound to many people, especially to
people who are members of this class.
7. The lower class is composed primarily of the displaced and poor. People in this class
have little formal education and are often unemployed or working in minimum-wage
jobs. [A] Forty percent of the poor work; 10 percent work year-round and full time – a
proportion that has generally increased over time. Recently, the concept of the
underclass has been added to the lower class. [B] The underclass includes those who
have been left behind by contemporary economic developments. [C] Rejected from
the economic system, those in the underclass may become dependent on public
assistance of illegal activities. [D]
1. The word those in the passage 2. The word enormous in the
refers to passage is closest in meaning to
A. characteristics A. very large
B. groups B. very new
C. classes C. very early
D. continuum D. very good
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3. Which of the sentences below 7. The word contemporary in the

best expresses the information in passage is closest in meaning to
the highlighted statement in the A. unexpected
passage? The other choices B. modern
change the meaning or leave out C. strategic
important information. D. reliable
A. Although it is not generally
8. According to paragraph 5, why
accepted, your family
do most people identify
provides the best prediction
themselves as middle class in the
of your future wealth.
United States?
B. You can achieve great future
A. They have about the same
wealth in spite of the family
lifestyle as everyone else in
in which you may have been
the country.
born.
B. They prefer not to admit that
C. It is not true that your family
there are class distinctions in
will restrict the acquisition of
the United States.
your future wealth and level
C. They don’t really know how
of social status.
to define their status because
D. Social myths are contrary to
it is unclear.
the facts about the future
D. They identify themselves with
wealth and social status of
the majority who have normal
your family.
lifestyles.
4. Why does the author mention the
9. What can be inferred about poor
“Forbes 400” in paragraph 3?
people in the United States?
A. To explain the meaning of the
A. They are not able to find
listing that appears every year
entry-level jobs.
B. To support the statement that
B. They work in jobs that require
most wealthy people inherit
little education.
their money
C. They are service workers and
C. To cast doubt on the claim
manual laborers.
that family income predicts
D. They do not try to find
individual wealth
employment.
D. To give examples of
successful people who have 10. According to paragraph 7, why
modest family connections has the underclass emerged?
A. The new term was necessary
5. In paragraph 4, the author states
because the lower class
that business and professional
enjoyed a higher lifestyle than
people with educational
it had previously.
advantages are most often
B. The increase in crime has
members of the
supported a new class of
A. lower middle class
people who live by engaging
B. upper middle class
in illegal activities.
C. nouveau riche
C. Changes in the economy have
D. upper class
caused an entire class of
6. The word primarily in the people to survive by welfare
passage is closest in meaning to or crime.
A. mostly D. Minimum-wage jobs no
B. somewhat longer support a class of
C. finally people at a standard level in
D. always the economic system.
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11. All of the following are indicators 12. Look at the four squares […] that
of prestige in the United States show where the following
EXCEPT sentence could be inserted in the
A. the level of education that a passage.
person has achieved The working poor constitute a
B. the amount of money that an large portion of those who are
individual has acquired poor.
C. the type of employment that Where could the sentence best be
someone pursues added?
D. the hard work that a person
does on a consistent basis
PASSAGE 4: Sea Rising Levels

1. Perhaps the most pervasive climatic effect of global warming is rapid escalation of ice
melt. Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, portions of the South American Andes, and the
Himalayas will very likely lose most of their glacial ice within the next two decades,
affecting local water resources. Glacial ice continues its retreat in Alaska. NASA
scientists determined that Greenland’s ice sheet is thinning by about 1 m per year. The
additional meltwater, especially from continental ice masses and glaciers, is adding to a
rise in sea level worldwide. Satellite remote sensing is monitoring global sea level, sea ice,
and continental ice. Worldwide measurements confirm that sea level rose during the last
century.
2. Surrounding the margins of Antarctica, and constituting about 11% of its surface area, are
numerous ice shelves, especially where sheltering inlets or bays exist. Covering many
thousands of square kilometers, these ice shelves extend over the sea while still attached
to continental ice. The loss of these ice shelves does not significantly raise sea level, for
they already displace seawater. The concern is for the possible surge of grounded
continental ice that the ice shelves hold back from the sea.
3. Although ice shelves constantly break up to produce icebergs, some large sections have
recently broken free. In 1998 an iceberg (150 km by 35 km) broke off the Ronne Ice
Shelf, southeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. In March 2000 an iceberg tagged B-15 broke
off the Ross Ice Shelf (some 90º longitude west of the Antarctic Peninsula), measuring
300 km by 40 km. Since 1993, six ice shelves have disintegrated in Antarctica. About
8000 km of ice shelf are gone, changing maps, freeing up islands to circumnavigation, and
creating thousands of icebergs. The Larsen Ice Shelf, along the east coast of the Antarctic
Peninsula, has been retreating slowly for years. Larsen-A suddenly disintegrated in 1995.
In only 35 days in early 2002, Larsen-B collapsed into icebergs. This ice loss is likely a
result of the 2.5 °C temperature increase in the region in the last50 years. In response to
the increasing warmth, the Antarctic Peninsula is sporting new vegetation growth,
previously not seen there.
4. A loss of polar ice mass, augmented by melting of alpine and mountain glaciers (which
experienced more than a 30% decrease in overall ice mass during the last century) will
affect sea-level rise. The IPCC assessment states that “between one-third to one-half of
the existing mountain glacier mass could disappear over the next hundred years.” Also,
“there is conclusive evidence for a worldwide recession of mountain glaciers … This is
among the clearest and best evidence for a change in energy balance at the Earth’s surface
since the end of the 19th century.”
5. [A] Sea-level rise must be expressed as a range of values that are under constant
reassessment. [B] The 2001 IPCC forecast for global mean sea-level rise this century,
given regional variations, is from 0.11-0.88 m. [C] The median value of 0.48m is two to
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four times the rate of previous increase. These increases would continue beyond 2100
even if greenhouse gas concentrations are stabilized. [D]
6. The Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, has kept ocean temperature
records since 1916. Significant temperature increases are being recorded to depths of more
than 300 m as ocean temperature records are set. Even the warming of the ocean itself will
contribute about 25% of sea-level rise, simply because of thermal expansion of the water.
In addition, any change in ocean temperature has a profound effect on weather and,
indirectly, on agriculture and soil moisture. In fact the ocean system appears to have
delayed some surface global warming during the past century through absorption of
excess atmospheric heat.
7. A quick survey of world coastlines shows that even a moderate rise could bring changes
of unparalleled proportions. At stake are the river deltas, lowland coastal farming valleys,
and low-lying mainland areas, all contending with high water, high tides, and higher storm
surges. Particularly tragic social and economic consequences will affect small island states
– being able to adjust within their present country boundaries, disruption of biological
systems, loss of biodiversity, reduction in water resources, among the impacts. There
could be both internal and international migration of affected human populations, spread
over decades, as people move away from coastal flooding from the sea-level rise.
1. The word confirm in the passage is A. stating an educated opinion
closest in meaning to B. referring to data in a study
A. clarify C. comparing sea levels
B. prove worldwide
C. assume D. presenting his research
D. predict
6. The word conclusive in the passage
2. There is more new plant life in is closest in meaning to
Antarctica recently because A. definite
A. the mountain glaciers have B. independent
melted C. unique
B. the land masses have split into D. valuable
islands
7. The word range in the passage is
C. the icebergs have broken into
smaller pieces
A. function
D. the temperature has risen a few
B. scale
degrees
C. version
3. It may be inferred from this D. lack
passage that icebergs are formed
8. Why does the author mention the
A. by a drop in ocean temperatures
Scripps Institute of Oceanography
B. when an ice shelf breaks free
in paragraph 6?
C. from intensely cold islands
A. The location near the coast
D. if mountain glaciers melt
endangers the Scripps facility.
4. The word there in the passage B. Research at Scripps indicates
refers to that the ocean is getting
A. polar ice mass in the last 50 warmer.
years C. One quarter of the rising sea
B. the temperature increase levels has been recorded at
C. new vegetation growth Scripps.
D. in the Antarctic Peninsula D. Records at Scripps have been
kept for nearly one hundred
5. In paragraph 4, the author explains
years.
the loss of polar and glacial ice by
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9. Which of the sentences below best A. It will be too warm for them to
expresses the information in the live there.
highlighted statement in the B. The coastlines will have too
passage? The other choices change much vegetation.
the meaning or leave out important C. Flooding will destroy the
information. coastal areas.
A. Global warming on the surface D. No agricultural crops will be
of the planet may have been grown on the coasts.
retarded during the last hundred
11. Which of the following statements
years because heat in the
most accurately reflects the
atmosphere was absorbed by
author’s opinion about rising sea
the oceans.
levels?
B. Global warming on the surface
A. Sea levels would rise without
of the ocean was greater than it
global warming.
was on the rest of the planet
B. Rising sea levels can be
during the past century because
reversed.
of heat in the atmosphere.
C. The results of rising sea levels
C. Too much heat in the
will be serious.
atmosphere has caused global
D. Sea levels are rising because of
warming on the surface of the
new glaciers.
planet for the past hundred
years in spite of the moderation 12. Look at the four squares […] that
caused by the oceans. show where the following sentence
D. There is less heat being could be inserted in the passage.
absorbed by the oceans now During the last century, sea level
than there was a hundred years rose 10-20 cm; a rate 10 times
ago before the atmosphere higher than the average rate
began to experience global during the last 3000 years.
warming. Where could the sentence best be
added?
10. According to paragraph 7, why will
people move away from the
coastlines in the future?
PASSAGE 5: Exotic and Endangered Species

1. When you hear someone bubbling enthusiastically about an exotic species, you can safely
bet the speaker isn’t an ecologist. This is a name for a resident of an established
community that was deliberately or accidentally moved from its home range and became
established elsewhere. Unlike most imports, which can’t take hold outside their home
range, an exotic species permanently insinuates itself into a new community.
2. Sometimes the additions are harmless and even have beneficial effects. More often, they
make native species endangered species, which by definition are extremely vulnerable to
extinction. Of all species on the rare or endangered lists or that recently became extinct,
close to 70 percent owe their precarious existence or demise to displacement by exotic
species. Two examples are included here to illustrate the problem.
3. During the 1800s, British settlers in Australia just couldn’t bond with the koalas and
kangaroos, so they started to import familiar animals from their homeland. In 1859, in
what could be the start of a wholesale disaster, a northern Australian landowner imported
and then released two dozen wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Good food
and good sport hunting – that was the idea. An ideal rabbit habitat with no natural
predators was the reality.
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4. Six years later, the landowner had killed 20,000 rabbits and was besieged by 20,000 more.
The rabbits displaced livestock, even kangaroos. Now Australia has 200 to 300 million
hippity hopping through the southern half of the country. They overgraze perennial
grasses in good times and strip bark from shrubs and trees during droughts. You know
where they’ve been; they transform grasslands and shrublands into eroded deserts. They
have been shot and poisoned. Their warrens have been plowed under, fumigated, and
dynamited. Even when all-out assaults reduced their population size by 70 percent, the
rapidly reproducing imports made a comeback in less than a year. Did the construction of
a 2,000-mile-long fence protect western Australia? No. Rabbits made it to the other side
before workers finished the fence.
5. In 1951, government workers introduced a myxoma virus by way of mildly infected South
American rabbits, its normal hosts. This virus causes myxomatosis. The disease has mild
effects on South American rabbits that coevolved with the virus but nearly always had
lethal effects on O. cuniculus. Biting insects, mainly mosquitoes and fleas, quickly
transmit the virus from host to host. Having no coevolved defenses against the novel
virus, the European rabbits died in droves. But, as you might expect, natural selection has
since favored rapid growth of populations of O. cuniculus resistant to the virus.
6. In 1991, on an uninhabited island in Spencer Guff, Australian researchers released a
population of rabbits that they had injected with a calcivirus. The rabbits died quickly and
relatively painlessly from blood clots in their lungs, hearts, and kidneys. In 1995, the test
virus escaped from the island, possibly on insect vectors. It has been killing 80 to 95
percent of the adult rabbits in Australian regions. At this writing, researchers are now
questioning whether the calcivirus should be used on a widespread scale, whether it can
jump boundaries and infect animals other than rabbits (such as humans), and what the
long-term consequences will be.
7. A vine called kudzu (Pueraria lobata) was deliberately imported from Japan to the United
States, where it faces no serious threats from herbivores, pathogens, or competitor plants.
In temperate parts of Asia, it is a well-behaved legume with a well-developed root system.
It seemed like a good idea to use it to control erosion on hills or highway embankments in
the southeastern United States. [A] With nothing to stop it, though, kudzu’s shoots grew a
third of a meter per day. Vines now blanket streambanks, trees, telephone poles, houses,
and almost everything else in their path. Attempts to dig up or burn kudzu are futile.
Grazing goats and herbicides help, but goats eat other plants, too, and herbicides
contaminate water supplies. [B] Kudzu could reach the Great Lakes by the year 2040.
8. On the bright side, a Japanese firm is constructing a kudzu farm and processing plant in
Alabama. The idea is to export the starch to Asia, where the demand currently exceeds the
supply. [C] Also, kudzu may eventually help reduce logging operations. [D] At the
Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers report that kudzu might become an
alternative source for paper.
1. Based on the information in
2. The word itself in the passage refers
paragraph 1, which of the following
to
best explains the term “exotic
A. most imports
species”?
B. new community
A. Animals or plants on the rare
C. home range
species list
D. exotic species
B. A permanent resident in an
established community
C. A species that has been moved to 3. The word bond in the passage is
a different community closest in meaning to
D. An import that fails to thrive A. move
outside of its home range B. connect
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C. live A. stages
D. fight B. advantages
C. results
4. According to the author, why did the
D. increases
plan to introduce rabbits in Australia
fail? 9. Why does the author give details
A. The rabbits were infected with a about the kudzu farm and processing
contagious virus. plant in paragraph 8?
B. Most Australians did not like the A. To explain why kudzu was
rabbits. imported from abroad
C. No natural predators controlled B. To argue that the decision to
the rabbit population. plant kudzu was a good one
D. Hunters killed the rabbits for C. To give a reason for kudzu to be
sport and for food. planted in Asia
D. To offer partial solutions to the
5. All of the following methods were
kudzu problem
used to control the rabbit population
in Australia EXCEPT 10. The word exceeds in the passage is
A. They were poisoned. closest in meaning to
B. Their habitats were buried. A. surpasses
C. They were moved to deserts. B. destroys
D. They were surrounded by fences. C. estimates
D. causes
6. Why does the author mention
mosquitoes and fleas in paragraph 5? 11. Which of the following statements
A. Because they are the origin of the most accurately reflects the author’s
myxoma virus opinion about exotic species?
B. Because they carry the myxoma A. Exotic species should be
virus to other animals protected by ecologists.
C. Because they die when they are B. Importing an exotic species can
infected by myxoma solve many problems.
D. Because they have an immunity C. Ecologists should make the
to the myxoma virus decisions to import an exotic
species.
7. According to paragraph 6, the
D. Exotic species are often
Spencer Gulf experiment was
disruptive to the ecology.
dangerous because
A. insect populations were exposed 12. Look at the four squares […] that
to a virus show where the following sentence
B. rabbits on the island died from a could be inserted in the passage.
virus Asians use a starch extract from
C. the virus may be a threat to kudzu in drinks, herbal medicines,
humans and candy.
D. some animals are immune to the Where could the sentence best be
virus added?
8. The word consequences in the
passage is closest in meaning to
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VSTEP Reading Test Sample
VSTEP READING TEST SAMPLE

Time Allowance: 1 hour
Number of Questions: 40
Directions: In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each followed
by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best answer A, B, C or D, to
each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space
that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a
passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your answers to the
answer sheet.
Example: Read the following passage and the answer the questions that follow.
FALL WEATHER
One of the first things we look for in fall is the first frost and freeze of the season, killing
or sending into dormancy the beautiful vegetation you admired all summer long. For some
locations along the Canadian border, and in the higher terrain of the West, the first freeze
typically arrives by the middle part of September. Cities in the South may not see the first
Line freeze until November, though a frost is very possible before then. A few cities in the
5 Lower 48, including International Falls, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota, have
recorded a freeze in every month of the year.
0. When does the first freeze often arrive in the South?
A. Early September B. Mid September
C. November D. Before November
You will read in the passage that “Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until
November”, so the correct answer is option C. November.
Questions 1-10
Line Ever wondered what it feels like to have a different job? Here, four people with very
different careers reveal the trade secrets of their working day.
Luc
My day typically starts with a business person going to the airport, and nearly
5 always ends with a drunk. I don't mind drunk people. Sometimes I think they're the
better version of themselves: more relaxed, happier, honest. Only once have I feared
for my life. A guy ran out at a traffic light and so I sped up before his brother could
run, too. He seemed embarrassed and made me drop him at a car park. When we
arrived, the first guy was waiting with a boulder, which went through the
10 windscreen, narrowly missing my head. But the worst people are the ones who call
me “Driver!”
Harry
I not only provide appearance for my client, I also do damage control. We've had
clients involved in lawsuits, divorces or drugs. One mistakenly took a gun to an
airport. On the red carpet – at the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes – I'm the
15 person making my client look good. The other day at an Oprah Winfrey event, the
carpet wasn't put down properly and my clients almost went flying – I had to catch
them. They can make some strange requests, too. At a black-tie gala at the White
House, two clients hated the dinner and insisted that we circle around Washington
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DC to find a KFC open at 1a.m. I had to go in wearing a gown and order so they
could eat it in the car.
20 Jennifer
I could teach you to do a basic brain operation in two weeks. But what takes time
and experience is doing it without wrecking the brain of the patients - learning your
limitations takes years.
25 I ended up working as a pediatric neurosurgeon because children make better
recoveries from brain damage than adults. So it's more rewarding in terms of
outcome and I find their resilience really inspiring. It's taken me a decade to become
comfortable discussing an operation with children, but they have to be able to ask
questions. You have to show them respect. Sometimes their perspective is funny;
30
most teenage girls just want to know how much hair you'll shave off.
I don't get upset by my job. These children are dying when they come in and I do
whatever I can to make them better.
Solange
When you become a judge after years of being a barrister and trying to make points
that win cases, you have to remember that a huge part of what you do is listening - to
35
advocates, to witnesses, to defendants. Behind closed doors most judges, even very
experienced ones, are much more anxious about their work than most people might
think. We agonize over what we do and the decisions we have to make. It would be
bizarre to say that as a judge, we learn to be less judgmental. But as you see the
complex and difficult lives of the people who end up in front of you, you realise that
your job is not so much to judge them as to ensure that everyone receives justice.
1. In the first paragraph, what best paraphrases the sentence ‘My day typically starts with a
business person going to the airport, and nearly always ends with a drunk’?
A. Normally, I will take a business person and a drunk at the airport.
B. Normally, I will go to the airport in the morning and come back with a drunk.
C. Normally, my first passenger will be a businessman and my last one a drunk.
D. Normally, I will drive a businessman to the airport and come back almost drunk.
2. What does Harry probably do for a living?
A. A tour guide B. An agent
C. A lawyer D. A driver
3. The word ‘circle’ in line 17 could be best replaced by
A. drive B. look
C. walk D. ride
4. In lines 23-24, what does Jennifer mean when she says, ‘Learning your limitations takes
years’?
It takes a person a long time to
A. control his weakness in a brain operation. B. understand what he cannot help.
C. perform even a basic operation. D. be able to perform a brain surgery.
5. The word ‘their’ in line 25 refers to
A. patients’ B. neurosurgeons’
C. children’s D. adults’
6. The word ‘perspective’ in line 28 is closest in meaning to
A. question B. worry
C. view D. prospective
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7. According to the passage, whose job involves in a large part listening to others?
A. Luc’s B. Harry’s
C. Jennifer’s D. Solange’s
8. According to the passage, who is likely to meet different types of people every day?
A. Luc B. Harry
C. Jennifer D. Solange
9. The word ‘ones’ in line 34 refers to
A. judges B. barristers
C. advocates D. defendants
10. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To inform people of what to expect in those jobs.
B. To report what different people do and think about their jobs.
C. To raise awareness of the importance of different jobs.
D. To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these jobs.
Questions 11-20
Spring is the season when newly minted college graduates flock to New York City to start
their careers. They begin the search for their dream apartment, brokers say, with the same
single-minded determination that earned them their degrees and landed them their jobs in
the first place. But that determination only goes so far when it comes to Manhattan real
5 estate. [A]
“Almost every single person I’ve worked with thinks there’s a golden nugget of an
apartment waiting right for them,” said Paul Hunt, an agent at Citi Habitats who
specializes in rentals. “They all want to be in the Village, and they all want the ‘Sex and
the City’ apartment.”
10 The first shock for a first-time renter will probably be the prices. Consider that the average
monthly rent for a one-bedroom in the Village is more than $3,100 and that the average
for a studio is over $2,200. Or that the average rent for a one-bedroom in a doorman
building anywhere in Manhattan is close to $3,500. [B]
Mr. Hunt said that when he shows prospective renters what their budget really can buy,
15 they are sometimes so appalled that “they think I’m trying to fool them or something, and
they run away and I don’t hear from them again.”
Alternatively, the renter checks his or her expectations and grudgingly decides to raise the
price limit, or look in other neighborhoods or get a roommate. “When expectations are
very high, the process can be very frustrating,” Mr. Hunt said.
20 The thousands of new graduates who will be driving the engine of the city’s rental market
from now until September will quickly learn that renting in New York is not like renting
anywhere else. [C]
The second shock is likely to be how small a Manhattan apartment can be. It is not
25 uncommon in New York, for example, to shop for a junior one-bedroom only to find out
it is really a studio that already has or can have a wall put up to create a bedroom.
[D] To start with, landlords want only tenants who earn at least 40 times the monthly rent,
which means an $80,000 annual salary for a $2,000 apartment. According to census data,
more than 25,000 graduates aged 22 to 28 moved to the city in 2006, and their median
30 salary was about $35,600.
Those who don’t make 40 times their monthly rent need a guarantor, usually a parent,
who must make at least 80 times the monthly rent. In addition to a security deposit, some
landlords also want the first and last month’s rent. Tack on a broker’s fee and a prospective
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renter for that $2,000 apartment is out of pocket nearly $10,000 just to get the keys to the
place.
35
11. Which of the following would be the best title for this article?
A. Best Guide to Finding an Apartment in New York City
B. New York City - Haven for First-time Renters
C. Surprises Await First-time Renters in New York City
D. Sure You Can Afford it in New York City?
12. On average, how much do tenants have to pay for a studio in New York City?
A. About $2,000 B. More than $2,000
C. More than $3,100 D. Less than $3,500
13. Which of the following words can best replace the word ‘prospective’ in line 12?
A. Apparent B. Prosperous
C. Potential D. Upcoming
14. Which of the following is NOT listed by Mr. Hunt as a reaction of prospective renters
when he informs them of the prices?
A. They think the broker is meaning to deceive them.
B. They decide to move to another city.
C. They decide to look for a place in a different neighborhood.
D. They find someone to share the accommodation with.
15. According to Mr. Hunt, what would make the process of finding an apartment
challenging?
A. Renters do not trust the brokers.
B. Renters over-expect about places they can rent.
C. Landlords expect tenants to have secured income.
D. Renters want to bargain with landlords.
16. Which of the following would best describe the attitude of renters who decide to raise
their price limit after being informed of the price?
A. Willing B. Hopeful
C. Reluctant D. Frustrated
17. In which space (marked [A], [B], [C], or [D] in the passage) will the following sentence
18.
fit?
Aside from the realities of price and space, the requirements set by New York landlords
are also bound to help turn a bright-eyed first-time renter’s outlook grim.
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D.[D]
18. Why did the writer mention the income of college graduates in 2006?
A. To demonstrate that graduates can earn a decent salary if they work in New York City
B. To indicate that less than 50% of the surveyed graduates could afford apartments in New
York City
C. To suggest that New York City is not a place for graduates
D. To prove that to guarantee a place in New York City is financially out of reach for an average
graduate
19. What does the word ‘Those’ in line 28 refer to?
A. Landlords B. Graduates
C. Guarantors D. Parents
20. Which of the following sentences would best complete the last paragraph?
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A. On top of that, every owner also has their own requirements, so just because you
qualified here doesn’t mean you’ll qualify there.
B. So you had better accept that you’ll never have what you want no matter how hard you
work.
C. So the key to finding that first apartment is to learn as much as possible about the market
before arriving in the city and to keep an open mind.
D. You have to be flexible and you have to come to the city armed with information and financial
paperwork.
Questions 21-30
‘Ladies and gentlemen’, the captain's voice crackled over the plane's public address
system. "If you look out of the window on the right side of the aircraft," he said, "you
will have a clear view of Greenland. In my 15 years of flying, I have not seen a scene
5 like this." I opened the window shade, and I understood what had so startled the pilot.
Instead of the habitual snowy landscape and frozen glaciers, a wide swathe of black
water was visible as it flowed into the Atlantic. It was late spring, but the giant icebox
that is Greenland was already melting.
10 The fleeting image that I saw from 30,000 feet in early May is consistent with massive
amounts of climate data gathered from across the planet. It is now clear that on average,
the global surface temperature has increased by about one degree Celsius since 1900 and
has been the cause of extreme climate events across the planet.
15 At times, warming climate combined with soot in the air thrown by wild fire has
accelerated the melting. Warm weather is leading ice sheets to break up and turning
glaciers into flowing streams. In May, NASA scientists concluded that the rapidly
melting glacial region of Antarctica has passed "the point of no return", threatening to
20 increase sea levels by as much as 13 feet within the next few centuries. [A] The fact that
the melting is taking place slowly and its effect may not be felt for a few decades seems
to offer comfort to those who want to continue their lifestyle relying on fossil fuels.
Unwilling to believe in global warming or make the sacrifices needed to face the
25 challenge, politicians have been finding excuses to do nothing. [B]
American President Barack Obama, not hobbled by the need to fight elections, has now
broken ranks with such politicians. Unable to pass legislation in the face of Republican
(and sometimes Democratic) opposition, he instructed the Environmental Protection
30 Agency to announce regulatory policies to curb emissions from power plants in the
United States by 30 per cent by 2030.He hopes that regulations would influence the US
states to adopt aggressive market interventions to address global warming. Of course,
execution of the policy still lies in the hands of many state governors who would find
ways to resist, saying that regulations would raise the cost to the economy and cause
unemployment among coal workers. As President Obama told Thomas Friedman of the
New York Times: "One of the hardest things in politics is getting a democracy to deal
with something now where the payoff is long term or the price of inaction is decades
away." [C]
The price of inaction could be raised - if the coming global summit on climate in Paris
could do what other summits have failed to do: agree on a fixed target for greenhouse
gas emissions and a rigorous system for monitoring. China has hinted at capping coal
burning in the next 15 years, adding weight in favor of action. [D] Meanwhile, melting
in Greenland and the Antarctica will continue as the sun scorches the fields and rising
water threatens the coastal areas.
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21. In paragraph 1, what does the pilot mean by saying, ‘In my 15 years of flying, I have not
seen a scene like this’?
A. This scene is very unusual.
B. The pilot is not an attentive person.
C. The scene makes flying worthy.
D. This scene is very magnificent.
22. What is the author’s purpose when recounting the scene he saw from the plane?
A. To introduce the idea of global warming
B. To give specific detail to support his point that global warming needs public awareness
C. To express his opinion towards research on global surface temperature
D. To contrast with what the pilot is saying
23. What is ‘offer comfort’ in line 16 closest in meaning to?
A. Warm up B. Reassure
C. Discourage D. Assist
24. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?
A. Hot weather combined with wild fire soot has been melting glaciers.
B. There has been enough evidence that global warming is an urgent issue.
C. Global warming is evident but some are not willing to deal with this.
D. The earliest effects of melting glaciers can only been seen in centuries.
25. Who does ‘such politicians’ in line 20 refer to?
A. Those who have protested against Obama’s views.
B. Those who are not at the same rank as Obama.
C. Those who take no actions against global warming.
D. Those who do not believe in global warming.
26. In which space (marked [A], [B], [C], or [D] in the passage) will the following sentence
fit?
India, the world's third largest user of coal, may have to take measures on its own or
face isolation.
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D.[D]
27. According to paragraph 4, the author's attitude toward Obama’s actions can be best
described as
A. skeptical B. appreciative C. sympathetic D. supportive
28. What can the word ‘scorches’ in line 35 be best replaced by?
A. shines B. warms up C. burns D. heats up
29. Which of the following best describes the tone of the author in this passage?
A. skeptical B. concerned C. indifferent D. pessimistic
30. Which of the following could best describe the message that the author wants to pass to
readers?
A. Fossil fuel should be replaced in the future.
B. Solutions to global warming need political support.
C. Rapid glacial melt has reached an irreversible point.
D. Politicians play a key role in resolving global issues.
Questions 31-40
The earliest evidence for life on Earth comes from fossilized mats of cyanobacteria called
stromatolites in Australia that are about 3.4 billion years old. Ancient as their origins are,
these bacteria, which are still around today, are already biologically complex—they have
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cell walls protecting their protein-producing DNA, so scientists think life must have
begun much earlier, perhaps as early as 3.8 billion years ago. But despite knowing
5 approximately when life first appeared on Earth, scientists are still far from answering
how it appeared.
Today, there are several competing theories for how life arose on Earth. Some question
whether life began on Earth at all, asserting instead that it came from a distant world or
the heart of a fallen comet or asteroid. Some even say life might have arisen here more
than once.
10
Most scientists agree that life went through a period when RNA was the head-honcho
molecule, guiding life through its nascent stages. According to this "RNA World"
hypothesis, RNA was the crux molecule for primitive life and only took a backseat when
DNA and proteins—which perform their jobs much more efficiently than RNA—
developed.
15
RNA is very similar to DNA, and today carries out numerous important functions in each
of our cells, including acting as a transitional-molecule between DNA and protein
synthesis, and functioning as an on-and-off switch for some genes.
But the RNA World hypothesis doesn't explain how RNA itself first arose. Like DNA,
20 RNA is a complex molecule made of repeating units of thousands of smaller molecules
called nucleotides that link together in very specific, patterned ways. While there are
scientists who think RNA could have arisen spontaneously on early Earth, others say the
odds of such a thing happening are astronomical.
"The appearance of such a molecule, given the way chemistry functions, is incredibly
improbable. It would be a once-in-a-universe long shot," said Robert Shapiro, a chemist
25 at New York University. "To adopt this, you have to believe we were incredibly lucky."
But "astronomical" is a relative term. In his book, The God Delusion, biologist Richard
Dawkins entertains another possibility, inspired by work in astronomy and physics.
Suppose, Dawkins says, the universe contains a billion planets, a conservative estimate,
30 he says, then the chances that life will arise on one of them is not really so remarkable.
Furthermore, if, as some physicists say, our universe is just one of many, and each
universe contained a billion planets, then it's nearly a certainty that life will arise on at
least one of them.
Shapiro doesn't think it's necessary to invoke multiple universes or life-laden comets
35 crashing into ancient Earth. Instead, he thinks life started with molecules that were
smaller and less complex than RNA, which performed simple chemical reactions that
eventually led to a self-sustaining system involving the formation of more complex
molecules. "If you fall back to a simpler theory, the odds aren't astronomical anymore,"
Shapiro concluded.
31. The word ‘they’ in line 3 refers to
A. mats B. origins C. bacteria D. DNA
32. According to the passage, what is RNA?
A. A protein B. A molecule C. A nucleotide D. A cell
33. The phrase ‘took a backseat’in line 12 is closest in meaning to
A. enjoyed more dominance B. turned to be useless
C. stepped back to its place D. became less important
34. According to the passage, what is NOT true about RNA?
A. It is the crux of a widely accepted theory on the origin of life.
B. It is believed to be most important for early life.
C. Like DNA, it executes many duties in human cells.
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D. There is still disagreement over how RNA first appeared.

35. What does Robert Shapiro mean when he says, ‘To adopt this, you have to believe we
were incredibly lucky’?
A. Supporters of RNA world hypothesis must think that humans were extremely blessed.
B. Humans were incredibly lucky because the RNA was the first form of life on Earth.
C. He believes it is near impossible that RNA accidentally arose on Earth.
D. Humans were unlucky because the RNA world hypothesis is highly improbable.
36. Which of the following statements would Dawkins most probably support?
A. As there are a countless number of planets, it is surprising that life arose on Earth only.
B. Life may exist on planets other than Earth and in universes other than ours.
C. There are many universes like ours, which contain an incredible number of planets.
D. Given the colossal number of planets, the appearance of life on one of them was not
unusual.
37. According to the passage, which is most likely supported by Robert Shapiro?
A. Life on Earth first came from outer space.
B. It is highly possible that DNA was present in earliest stages of life.
C. Earliest life might not have arisen in the form of complex molecules.
D. Life has arisen more than once on Earth.
38. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a hypothesis of life origin?
A. Life was formed elsewhere and then came to Earth.
B. Life was brought to Earth with crashing comets.
C. RNA played a central role in the early form of life.
D. DNA is more efficient than RNA for primitive life.
39. Which of following conclusions can be drawn from this passage?
A. Among many hypotheses for life origin on Earth, RNA remains the most important one.
B. Many theories of the origin of life have been proposed but no fully accepted theory exists.
C. Trying to explain what happened billions of years ago is an extremely difficult but
possible task.
D. The answer to the question of how life appeared would have important implications for
the likelihood of finding life elsewhere in the universe.
40. Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
A. A general presentation followed by a detailed discussion of both sides of an issue.
B. A list of possible answers to a question followed by a discussion of their strengths and
weaknesses.
C. A general statement of an issue followed by a discussion of possible answers.
D. A discussion of different aspects wrapped up by an answer to the question.
This is the end of the reading paper.

Now please submit your test paper and your answer sheets.
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GIÁO Trình ĐỌC 3 Chính THỨC bản cuối Vstep

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How To Master Skills For Reading Comprehension

A manual for Third-Year Students

The Danang University of Foreign Language Studies

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EXERCISE R23 Understanding transition words ....................................................................... 85

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Building Support Skills

PRACTICE WITH SKIMMING TECHNIQUE

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The Old Library of Alexandria

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C. As the library expanded, Ptolemy’s successors used increasingly unscrupulous techniques

Difficulties Commonly Experienced by Overseas Students

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How to Revise for Exams

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Building Support Skills

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Building Support Skills

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26. Section A: ………………. 27. Section B: ……………. 28. Section C: ………………

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PRACTICE WITH SCANNING TECHNIQUE

Hints and tips for better scanning.

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Building Support Skills

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The Sydney Harbour Tunnel

10. How long did it take to construct the tunnel?

EXERCISE R4: Do true/false/not-given questions

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How do I know the statement is true, false, not given.

Tactics for true/false /not given questions

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EXERCISE R5: Do multiple choice questions

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