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TÀI LIỆU HỌC TIẾNG ANHĐỌC HIỂU 1 (PHẦN BỔ SUNG)
DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN
(NĂM HỌC 2010 – 2011)
Chapter 1: READING FOR DETAILSIntroducing Details
PREREADING QUESTIONS
Answer the following questions
1. What do you know about hairstyles in ancient times?
2. What kinds of things to do you think people did to their hair in ancient times
3. Do you think that hairstyles and colors were important for both men and
women?
People have been concerned with their hair since ancient times. In 1500 B.C.,
the Assyrians, inhabiting the area know today as Northern Iraq, were the
world's first true hairstylists. Their skills at cutting, curling, layering and dyeing
hair were known throughout the Middle East. In fact, they were obsessed with
their hair, which was oiled, perfumed, and tinted. A fashionable courtier wore
his hair cut in neat geometric layers. Kings, soldiers, and noblewomen had
their hair curled with a fire-heated iron bar, probably the world's first curling
iron. So important was hair styling in Assyria that law dictated certain types of
hairstyles according to a person's position and employment. Facial hair was
also important. Men grew beards down to their chests and had them clipped in
layers. High-ranking women in both Egypt and Assryia wore fake beards
during official court business to show their equal authority with men.
Like the Asyrians, the early Greeks liked long, scented, curly hair. Fair
hair was favored over dark, so those who were not "natural blonds" Ughtened
or reddened their hair with soaps and bleaches. The Romans, on the other
hand, favored dark hair for men for high societies, or political rank. Early
Saxon men were neither blonds nor brunets but dyed their hair and beards
blue, red, green, and orange.
Over the centuries, societies have combed, curled, waved, pow-dered,
dyed, cut, coiffed, and sculpted their hair, or someone else's during times of
wig crazes. Churches and lawmakers have sometimes tried to put a stop to
the human obsession with hair, but with little success. It seems hairstyling is
here to stay, and the future will likely prove no exception.
EXERCISE 1Answer the following questions.
SKIMMING
Read the passage quickly once again.
1. What is the passage about?
SCANNING
Look over the article again to find the answers to questions 2-15.
Complete the following sentences with details from the passage.
2. The hairstyling skills of the Assyrians were known all over _____
3. An Assyrian courtier had his hair ___
4. The Assyrians had laws for certain types of hairstyles according to people's
___ and ___
5. Dunring official court business women in Egypt wore ___
6. ___ preferred fair hair.
7. ___ preferred dark hair for men of high rank.
Locate the following details in the passage. Give the line numbers.
8. In which lines does the author explain how people curled their hair?
9. In which lines does the author first mention changing the color of hair?
10. At what point in the passage does the author discuss the wearing of wigs?
Underline the detail that is NOT mentioned in the passage in each of the
sentences below.
11. The kings, soldiers, and women of Assyria curled their hair.
12. The Assyrians and the Grecks liked long, perfumed, blond, curly hair.
13. Beards were important for the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Greeks.
Detail Questions
Detail questions ask you about specific information in the passage. Detail
questions usually begin with the words
ACCORDING TO THE PASSAGE...
To answer detail questions, focus on the key word or words used in the
question Then you must scan the passage. When you scan a passage, you
move your eyes quickly over the passage until you find the key words that you
are looking for: a name, a date, a number. It is not necessary to read the
whole passage again-just locate the key words. Once you find the key words,
you can read the sentences that follow or come before to make sure you have
found the right information.
The correct answer to a detail question will not usually use the exact
words as found in the passage but synonyms or a restatement of what is
stated in the passage. For example, if the passage states that "Eugene O'Neill
was a well known dramatist," the answer to a question about the kind of work
he was known for might state that “lhis plays won him fame”
Detail questions usually appear in the order of the information
presented in the passage. This means that the answer to the first detail
question will come near the beginning of the passage and the information for
the second question will come after that.
Sample Reading Passage
Although "lie detectors" are being used by governments, police
departments, and businesses that all want guaranteed ways of detecting the
truth the results are not always accurate. Lie detectors are properly alled
emotion detectors, for their aim is to measure bodily changes that contradict
what a person says. The polygraph machine records changes in heart rate,
breathing, blood pressure, and the electrical activity of the skin (galvanic skin
response, or GSR). In the first part of the polygraph test, you are electronically
connected to the machine and asked a few neutral questions ("What is your
name?" "Where do you live?”). Your physical reactions serve as the standard
(beseline) for evaluating what comes next. Then you are asked a few entical
questions among the neutral ones (“When did you rob the bank?”). The
assumption is that if you are guilty, your body will reveal the truth, even if you
try to deny it. Your heart rate, respiration, and GSR will change abruptly as
you respond to the incriminating questions.
That is the theory; but psychologists have found that lie detectors are
simly not reliable. Since most physical changes are the same across all
emotions, machines cannot tell whether you are feeling guilty, angry, nervous,
thrilled, or revved up from an exciting day. Innocent people may be tense and
nervous about the whole procedure. They may react physiologically to a
certain word ("bank") not because they robbed it, but because they recently
bounced a check. In either case the machine will record a “lie”. The reverse
mistake is also common. Some practiced liars can lie without flinehing, and
others learn to beat the machine by tensing muscles or thinking about an
exciting experience during neutral questions.
QUESTION
1. According to the passage, polygraph tests
(A) record a person's physical reactions
(B) measure a person's thoughts
(C) always reveal the truth about a person
(D) make guilty pcople angry
ANSWER
Answer (A) is correct because it is a rewording of "bodily changes". Answer
(B) is incorrect because the polygraph measures physical changes; thoughts
are not physical changes. Answer (C) is also incorrect since the passage
states that lie detectors are "simply not reliable." Answer (D) is incorrect since
the polygraph does not make guilty people nervous; it makes innocent pcople
nevous.
QUESTION
1) According to the passage, what kind of questions are asked on the first part
of the polygraph test?
(A) Critical
(B) Unimportant
(C) Incriminating
(D) Emotional
ANSWER
Answer (A) is not correct because critical questions are asked on the second
part of the test. Answer (C) is also not conrrect since incriminating questions
are not asked on the first part of the test. Answer (D) is also incorrect since
"What is your name? and "Where do you live?" are not emotional questions.
The best answer is (B), which is another word for "neutral."
DETAIL QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS NOT IN THE PASSAGE
This type of detail question asks about what is not in the passage or
what is not true according to the passage. These questions have the word
NOT or EXCEPT in capital letters. The following are examples of such
questions:
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT...
In this type of question, three of the answers are true and one of the
answers is not mentioned in the passage or is not true. Scan the passage to
find the answers that are true or stated in the passage. The answer that is not
mentioned in the passage or is not true is the correct one.
Read the sample reading passage again.
QUESTION
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as something that is measured by
a polygraph machine?
(A) Blood pressure
(B) Heart rate
(C) Breathing
(D) Eye movement
Rememher, three of the answers are mentioned and one is not mentioned.
ANSWER
(A) is mentioned because the passage states that the polygraph records
changes in blood pressure. Because (A) is mentioned, it is not the correct
answer. (B) is also mentioned because the passage states that the polygraph
machine records changes in heart rate. Since (B) is mentioned, it is not
correct. Answer (C) is also mentioned, because the passage states that the
polygraph machine records breathing. Since (C) is mentioned it is not correct.
The best answer to the question is therefore (D) because it is not mentioned.
Straregies for Answering Detail Questions
- The answers to detail questions will follow the order of information presented
in the passage.
- The correct answers to detail questions are often a restatement of what is
stated in the passage.
- If the question has the word NOT or EXCEPT, choose the answer that is not
true or not mentioned in the passage. Answers that are true or mentioned in
the passage are not correct.
Exercises on Details
EXERCISE 2Read the passage and answer the detait quetions that follow each one.
QUESTIONS 1-6
Hermit crabs occupy the empty shells of dead sea snails for protection
while still retaining their mobility. They are capable of discriminating among a
selection of shells of vanous sizes and species, and they choose the one that
fits the body most closely. Hermit crabs change shells as their grow, although
in some marine environments a large enough variety of shells may not be
available and the hermit crab may be forced to occupy a smaller-than-ideal
"house". When a shell becomes too small for the hermit crab to occupy, it will
sometimes become aggressive and fight other hermit crabs to gain a larger
shell.
Hermit crabs may encounter empty shells in the course of their daily
activity, but the vacant shell is usually sponed by sight. The hermit crab's
visual response increases with the size of an object and its contrast against
the background. The hermit crab then scizes the shell with its walking legs
and climbs on it, monitoring its size. If the size is right, the crab investigates its
shape and texture by rolling it over between its walking legs and running its
claws over the surface. Once the shell's opening has been located, the crab
uses its claws to remove any foreign material before preparing to enter. The
crab rises above the opening, flexes its abdomen, and enters the shell
backward. The shell intenor is monitored by the abdomen as the crab
repcatedly enters and withdraws. When conrpletely satisfied with its new
mobile home, the hermit crab will emerge one last time, turn the shell over and
make a final entrance.
1. According to the passage, hermit crabs occupy vacant shells for
(A) mobility
(B) flexibility
(C) protection
(D) discrimination
2. According to the passage, a hermit crab changes shells when it
(A) outgrows the one it has
(B) hunts fur food
(C) becomes aggressive
(D) locates any vacant shell
3. According to the passage, the way in which hermit crabs locate empty
shells is through which of the following senses
(A) Hearing
(B) Touch
(C) Taste
(D) Sight
4. A crab investigates a vacant shell for all of the following EXCEPT
(A) size
(B) type
(C) shape
(D) texture
5. According to the passage, a hermit crab enters a new shell
(A) head first
(B) claws first
(C) backward
(D) with its walking legs
6. According to the passage, a hermit crab senles into its new "mobile home"
(A) after entering and leaving several times
(B) without inspecting the intenor first
(C) immediately after locating the shell opening
(D) after fighting other hermit crabs for al larger shell
QUESTIONS 7-13
The first black literature in America was not written but was preserved in
an oral tradition, in a rich body of folklore, songs and stones, many from
African origins. There are humorous tales, Biblical stones, animal stories, and
stones 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 litenture of black people in America.
The earliest existing written black literature was Lucy Teny's poem
"Bars Fight." written in 1746. Other eighteenth-century black poets include
Jupiter Hammon and Geoge Moses Horton. The first African American to
publish a book in American was Phillis Wheatley. Slack poetry also flourished
in the nineteenth-century, during which the wntings 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 corrections of stones.
More than three dozen novels were written by blacks between 1855 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
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.
7. 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) Bibhcal stories
(D) Animal stones
8. According to the passage, the lyries of blues and spirituals are often
concerned with
(A) the pain and ioy in life
(B) loved ones and animals
(C) religion and nature
(D) wise and foolish people
9. According to the passage, an important part of early African-amerian
literature was
(A) novels
(B) short fiction stories
(C) biographies
(D) songs
10. According to the passage, when did the first written African-amrincan
literature appear?
(A) In the l600s
(B) In the 1700s
(C) In the 1800s
(D) In the 1900s
11. 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 Tenv
(D) Phiuis Wheatley
12. According to the passage, what form dominated African-American
literature in the nineteenth century?
(A) Poetry
(B) Novels
(C) Autobiography
(D) Fiction
13. According to the passage, Charles W. Chestnutt was one the first writers
to
(A) write about the suffering of African Americans
(B) publish short fiction in the early 1990s
(C) write persuasively about the worth of African Americans
(D) dominate the African-American literary tradition
QUESTION 14-20
A Snowflake onginates from countlees water moleules that iunitially
come together in small groups as a result of a weak attractive force between
oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The same forces subsequendy organize the
groups into a frozen molecular crystal, a perfectly organized lattice of
molecules. Finally, sevveral molecular crystals join to form a snowflake.
Scientists have realized for some time that the forces that assemble
molecules into natural crystals can be utilized to produce a variety of
imnportant materials. They have detemlined the structure of more than 90,000
different molecular crystals, the most common example of which are aspirin
and mothballs.
In recent years, researchers have studied how molecules organize
themselves to fom crystals in the hope of better understanding what types of
mokcules and what conditions, will produce molecular crystals with unusual
and useful properties. Scientists are aware that the material properties of a
crystal depend in large part on the organization of the molecules in the cyrstal,
yet they know linle about the factors controuing the assembly of such crystals.
Synthesizing a molecular crystal is similar to designing a building.
Before construction can begin, the architect must specify the shapes and
sizes of the girders and the number and placement of the rivets. Similarly, to
produce new molecular crystals, chemists must choose molecules of the
appropriate sizes and shapes and select the molecular forces that will hold the
crystals together. A chemist can normally find many molecules of vanous
shapes and sizes, but the challenge is to find ones that assemble in a
predictable manner.
14. According to the passage, a snowflake is formed by
(A) the attractive force between oxygen and hydrogen
(B) molecular crystals with new and useful propen'es
(C) the synthesizing of molecular crystals
(D) the joining of several molecular crystals
15. According to the passage, water molecules join together as a result of
(A) an attraction between oxygen and hydrogen atoms
(B) the organization of the molecules in a crystal
(C) a strong force that assembles crystal atoms
(D) the unusual and useful properties of molecular crystals
16. By making use of forces that assemble molecules into natural crystals,
scientists can
(A) find molecules of various shapes and sizes
(B) detemine the structure of different molecular crystals
(C) organize molecules into a perfect lattice
(D) create new and useful materials
17. According to the passage, what reason do researchers have for studying
how molccules organize themselves to form crystals?
(A) To assemble molecules into natural crystals.
(B) To leam how to synthesize molecular crystals
(C) To make aspirin and mothballs
(D). To change the material properties of a crystal
18. According to the passage, what do scientists still need to learn about the
organization of molecules?
(A) What detemines the material property of a crystal
(B) The molecular forces that hold molecules together
(C) The conditions that produce molecular crystals.
(D) The factors controlling the way crystals are assembled...
19. To produce new molecular crystals, chemists must choose all of the
following EXCEPT
(A) molecules of the right size
(B) molccules of the appropriate shape
(C) the right molecular organization
(D) the proper molecular forces
2O. According to the passage, the task of synthesizing a molecular crystal can
be compared to
(A) designing a building
(B) building a house
(C) making materials
(D) constructing a lattice
QUESTIONS 21-28
Education was of primary importance to the English colonists and was
conducted at home as well as in established schools. Regardless of
geographic location or finances, most Americans learned to read and compute
numbers. For many, the Bible and other religious tracts were their only books;
however, the excellent language contained in such works usually made them
good primers. Many families owned one or more of Shakespcare's works, a
copy of John Bunyan's dassic A Pilgrim’s Progress, and sometimes collections
of English literary essays, poems, or historical speeches.
In 1647 the Massachusetts School Law required every town of at least
50 households to maintain a grammar school. The law was the first to
mandate public education in America. In the middle colonies at the time,
schools were oftẹn dependent on rehgious societies, such as the Quakers and
other private organizations. In the South, famihes employed private tutors or
relied on the city to conduct education. At the outset, most elementary schools
were for boys, but schools for girls were established in the eighteenth century
in most cities and large towns. In spite of the informal atmosphere of most
American schools, the literacy rate in the colonies of mid-eighteenth-century
America was equal to or higher than in most European countries.
Before the American Revolution, nine colleges had been founded,
including Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, the Colleges of New Jersey (now
Princeton), Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth, and Kings College (later Columbia
University). By 1720 the natural sciences and modem languages were being
taught, as well as courses in practical subjects such as mechanics and
agriculture. At the end of the eighteenth century, medical schools were
established at the College of Philadelphia and at King's Colleges.
21. Which of the following words best describes the English colonists attitude
toward education?
(A) Indifferent
(B) Distrustful
(C) Enthusiastic
(D) Casual
22. According to the passage, most Americans learned how to
(A) write
(B) read
(C) farm
(D) speak a foreign language
23. According to the passage, all of the following sometimes substituted for
school books EXCEPT
(A) historical speeches
(B) works of Shakespeare
(C) literary essays
(D) biographies
24. According to the passage, the Massachusetts School Law applied to
every town with how many households?
(A) Less than fifty
(B) Exactly fifty
(C) Fifty or more
(D) Fifteen
25. According to the passage, the middle colonies often depended upon which
group to provide education?
(A) Private organizations
(B) Colleges.
(C) Established primary schools
(D) Businesses
26. According to the passage, who often conducted education in the South?
(A) Public school teachers
(B) Doctors
(C) Clergy
(D) Politicians
27. How well educated were Americans in comparison to most European
countries?
(A) Much worse
(B) The same or better
(C) Far better
(D) Less or equal
28. According to the passage, all the following subjects are mentioned as
being taught in colleges in the 1700s EXCEPT
(A) languages
(B) science
(C) medicine
(D) economies
QUESTIONS 29-36
The study of control processes in electronic, mechanical, and blological
systems is known as cybernetics. The word was coined in 1948 by the
American mathematician Norbert Wiener from the Greek word meaning pilot
or steersman. Cybernetics is concerned with the analysis of the flow of
information in both living organisms and machines, but it is particularly
concerned with systems that are capable of regulating their own operations
without human control
Automatic regulation is accomplished by using information about the
state of the end production that is fed back to the regulating device, causing it
to modify or conrrect production procedures if necessary. The concept of
feedback is at the very heart of cybernetics and is what makes a system
automatic and self-regulating. A simple example of a self-regulating machine
is a thermostat, which reacts to continual feedback about the outside
temperature and responds accordingly to achieve the temperature that has
been programmed into it.
The applications of cybernetics are wide reaching, appearing in science,
engineering, technology, sociology, economies, education, and medicine.
Computers can keep a patient alive during a surgical opention, making
instantaneous modifications based on a constant flow of information. In
eduation, teaching machines use cybernetic principles to instruct students on
an individual basis. In the home, automation is present in such everyday
products as refrigentors, coffeemakers, and dishwashers. In industry,
automation is increasing its applications, although it is currenưy applied
primarily to the large-scale production of single units. In industries in which a
break in the flow of production can ruin the product, automatic controls are
invaluable. Chemical and petroleum plants are now almost completely
automatic, as are industries involved in the production of chemicals and
atomic energy. Automation has become the answer when human safety is the
number one priority.
29. Cybernetics is the study of control processes in all of the systems
EXCEPT
(A) ecological
(B) biological
(C) mechanical
(D) electronic
30. According to the passage, the word "cybernetics" was coined from the
Greek word meaning
(A) information
(B) automatic
(C) pilot
(D) regulator
31. According to the passage, cybernetics is primarily concerned with systems
that
(A) are controued by humans
(B) analyze flaws of information
(C) are self-regulating
(D) have wide-reaching applications
32. According to the passage, how is automatic regulation accomplished?
(A) By modifying and correcting production procedures
(B) By feeding information to the regulatory device
(C) By analyzing the flow of information to the organism
(D) By making modifications in cybernetic principles
33. According to the passage, what makes a system automatic and self-
regulating?
(A) Information
(B) Production procedures
(C) Human control
(D) Fcedback
34. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an area in which cybernetics
has applications?
(A) Technology
(B) Engineering
(C) Philosophy
(D) Education
35. According to the passage, automation in industry is primarily used in
producing
(A) large quantities of a single unit
(B) everyday household products
(C) small amounts of many different products
(D) high-tech surgical instruments
36. According to the passage, automation is extremely important when the top
priority is
(A) efficiency
(B) speed
(C) convenience
(D) safety
QUESTIONS 37-44
Cattle ranchers throughout the American West owe much of their
traditional culture to the Spaniards, who first introduced cattle to the New
World and first developed cattle ranching in the Westem Hemisphere. The
vaquero, or Mexican cowboy, was born of the necessity to look after the cattle
that grazed open ranges. He was not a romantic figure but a poor laborer on
horseback, who wore what clothes he had on his back and eventually found
certain types of dress more appropriate than others, a blend of Spanish dress
and that worn by the natives.
Working in the hot sun brought the adoption of Spanish sombreros and
bandannas. Because it was waterproof and wind resistant, leather was
eventually the chosen material for lackcts and leggings, or botas, the
predecessor to chaps. A large pair of iron spurs were the badge of the
vaquero, and a lazo (lasso) - a rope with slipknot - was the vaquero's primary
working tool, especially on the trail drives that became commonplace by the
the sixteenth century. Saddle makers added a large saddle horn to the
Spanish saddle to accommodate the lasso during the roping technique, in
which the vaquero tossed the rope around the cow and then quickly tied and
wrapped the end of the rope around the horn. Later, American cowboys north
of the Rio Grande learned this technique.
As the size of cattle herds grew and rustlers became a problem, the
Spanish cattlemen asked the authorities to put a stop to them. The Spanish
crown responded with the establishment of the Mesta to enact ordinances to
beneat and increase the herds and to remedy and punish crimes. The Mesta
selved the special interests of cattle raisers and preceded the American
West's cattlemen's associations. Moreover the Mesta's ordinances were
similar to modem American laws relating to ranching, and today's laws, in fact,
are essentially variations and adaptations of the regulations first established in
the New World more than four centuries ago.
37. According to the passage, which of the following best describes the
vaquero?
(A) A romantic figure
(B) A wealthy cattle rancher
(C) A poor working man
(D) A Spanish explorer
38. According to the passage, who introduced cattle to the Westem
Hemisphere?
(A) The American cowboys
(B) The Spaniards
(C) The Mexicans
(D) The native Americans
39. According to the passage, what kind of clothing was worn by the Mexican
cowboy?
(A) A combination of formal and infomlal dress
(B) A variation on the style worn by American cattlemen
(C) The same type of garments the cowboys wore in their villages
(D) A blend of native and Spanish dress
40. According to the passage, what element of nature inspired the vaqueros to
wear hats and bandannas?
(A) Sun
(B) Wind
(C) Rain
(D) Cold
41. According to the passage, leather was chosen as the material for a
cowboy's jacket and leggings because
(A) it was warm
(B) it was waterproof
(C) it made good padding for horseback riding
(D) it was good protection from the sun
42. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned as
being among a vaquero's prossessions during trail drives?
(A) A pair of spurs
(B) A lass.
(C) A pair of botas
(D) A pair of leather gloves
43. According to the passage, why did saddle makers eventually put a horn on
the Spanish saddle?
(A) To make a place on which to tie the lasso
(B) So the cowboy would have something to hold onto
(C) To add something to hang things on
(D) To make it easier to get on and off the horse
44. According to the passage, the ordinances enacted by the Mesta
(A) were meant to protect the working cowboy
(B) protected the rights of the natives
(C) were to serve the interests of the cattle ranchers
(D) were eliaminated when American ranching laws were passed
QUESTIONS 45-49
May 18, 1980, dawned clear and cool in the Cascades, but it would
pass into history as a momentous day when the cataclysmic eruption of Mt.
St. Helens turned a vast area of the pristine Washington countryside into a
cauldron of devastation. Mt. St. Helens was one of the most beautiful
mountains in the Northwest, having been called the Fujiyama of America, but
it was also, and still remains, the most active volcano in the Cascade Range.
A century of volcanic inactivity has made Washingtonians complacent.
However, beneath the tranquil sylvan pandise, molten magma was slowly
rising to the suface of the earth, eventually forming a mushroom-shaped lava
dome that exploded with the force of 10 million tons of TNT at 8:30 a.m.,
throwing nature into upheaval. A hot plume of ash and debris rose 65,000 feet
into the sky, turning day into night. Billowing, hot molten rock avalanches
swept down the flanks of the mountain, mowing down everything in their
paths. Spirit Lake boiled, and rivers turned black. On the stones great swaths
of trees were blown away from the mountain and tossed in heaps. This burned
everywhere. In the aftermath, what had been pristione beauty only hours
before lay in total devastation. The crest of the mountain had been completely
blown away and a thick carpet of ash covered the landscape. Trees were
strewn about like toothpseks. There were no signs of life.
Most people believed that decades, even centuries, would pass before
the land would recover. However, nature proved to be far more resilient than
apected. The return of life, both plant and animal, was remarkable, and today
undergrowth carpets the ground and wildlife is abundant. A forest of young
trees graces the slopes and valleys below the volcano, and a delicate and
screne beauty has returned once more to this vast wilderness area.
45. According to the passage, Mt. St. Helens was called the Fujiyama of
America because of its
(A) height
(B) beauty
(C) volcanic activity
(D) cataclysmic eruption
46. According to the passage, what was the mood of Washingtonians before
the eruption occurred?
(A) They had been expecting the eruption for some time.
(B) They didn't know that Mt. St. Helens was an active volcano.
(C) They knew that whatever happened, nature would recover.
(D) They were not concerned about the eruption at all.
47. According to the passage. how long had Mt. St. Helens been inactive?
(A) Ten years
(B) Fifty years
(C) One hundred years
(D) Two bundred years
48. When Mt. St. Helens exploded, which of the following did NOT occur?
(A) Molten rock avalanches flowed down mountainsides.
(B) A plume of ash and debris rose to the sky.
(C) The carth cracked and formed a new valley.
(D) Fires burned in the forests.
49. According to the passage, what does the Mt. St. Helens area look like
today?
(A) Nature has made a surpnsing recovery.
(B) The land is as devastated as it was the day of the eruption.
(C) Nature has not proven to be very resilient.
(D) There is undergrowth but no trees.
LOCATING DETAILS
In some detail questions you are asked where in the passage a particular
piece of information is located. The answers to this type of question are line
numbers. The following are examples of questions for locating details:
At what point in the passage does the author discuss...?
Where in the passage does the author first mention...?
In which lines does the author explain...?
To answer such questions, scan the passage looking for the key words using
the same technique as for detail questions.
Read the sample reading passage again (p.4).
QUESTION
1. Where in the passage does the author first mention how the test is given?
(A) Lines 3-4
(B) Lines 4-5
(C) Lines 5-7
(D) Lines 7-9
ANSWER
Answer (A) is incorrect because lines 3-4 only mention another name for lie
detectors. Answer (B) is also incorrect because in lines 4-5 only the purpose
or aim of lie detectors is mentioned. Answer (C) also is incorrect because lines
5-7 state only what the machine records, not how it works. The best answer to
the question is (D), lines 7-9, which state that "you are electronically
connected to the machine and asked a few neutral questions" and are
therefore the first mention of how a polygraph works.
QUESTION
1. In which lines does the author explain how some peopk learn to trick the
polygraph?
(A) Lines 17-19
(B) Lines 19-20
(C) Lines 20-22
(D) Lines 23-26
ANSWER
Answer (A) is incorrect because lines 17-19 state how the machine can be
unreliable. Answer (B) is also incorrect since lines 19-20 mention only
innocent people and not how they can trick the machine. Answer (C) is also
incorrect because lines 20-22 only mention how innocent people may react to
the machine. The best answer is (D), lines 23-26, which state how "some
practiced liars" learn to "beat the machine" and in this way trick the polygraph.
EXERCISE 3Read the following passages and answer the questions on locating details that
follow.
QUESTIONS 1-7
Mineral King, located at the southern edge of Sequoia National Park in
California, is a glacially carved valley situated along the headwaters of the
east fork of the Kaweah River, at an altitude of 7,800 feet. The steep, sparsely
forested slopes of rusty mineral-rich rock surrounding the valley gave Mineral
King its name and twice nearly destroyed its isolated tranquility.
The first instance occuned in 1872 after a hunter named Harry O’Farrell
spied silver and minenl deposits and hastily staked his claim. Within a year,
ninety-three prospectors had filed claims and the Mineral King Mining District
was formed. During the rest of the decade the valley resembled a boomtown,
complete with assay office, bakeshop, barber-shop, post office, genenl store,
and cabins, and the population rose to 300. A toll road, tramway, and smelter
were built, but only one silver ingot was even produced. Moreover, year after
year winter avalanches hit the 15 mines, destroying cabins, shops, the stamp
mill, and the tramway. Discounged, the miners fmauy admitted defeat in 1881.
For years the area slumbered serencly in its obscunty, until 1969, when
the Forest Service granted a permit to Disney Enterprises, which had plans for
a momumental project replete with an Alpine village of hotels, theaters and
restaurants, a ski area designed to serve 10,000 people a day, and proposals
for a cog railway, an aerial tramway, and a monorail. Environmentalists and
wilderness enthusiasts were horrified, and ten years of court battles ensued. It
was Nature, however, who had the final say, delivering avalanche after
avalanche over cabins, snow denection barriers, and even a platform-
mounted gun that was meant to trigger slides when they were still small. In
1978 Disney abandoned its grand plan and Mineral King was added to
Sequoia National Park, its raw beauty and isolated tranquility protected
forever.
1. At what point in the passage does the author specifically discuss the
reasons why the miners left Mineral King?
(A) Lines 10-12
(B) Lines 14-16
(C) Line 17
(D) Lines 26-28
2. Where in the passage does the author first mention Disney's plans for
Minenl King?
(A) Line 17
(B) Lines 18-21
(C) Lines 22-23
(D) Lines 26-28
3. In which lines does the author first describe Mineral King?
(A) Lines 1-3
(B) Lines 3-6
(C) Lines 7-8
(D) Lines 9-10
4. Where in the passage does the author mention the deciding factor in the
final outcome of the Disney plans?
(A) Lines 17-19
(B) Lines 22-23
(C) Lines 23-26
(D) Lines 26-28
5. At what point in the passage does the author describe the look of Mineral
King Valley during its occupation by the miners?
(A) Lines 3-6
(B) Lines 9-10
(C) Lines 10-12
(D) Lines 15-16
6. Where in the passage does the author describe the reaction of environ
mentalists to the Disney proposal?
(A) Lines 15-16
(B) Lines 22-23
(C) Lines 23-26
(D) Lines 26-28
7. In which lines does the author explain how Mineral King got its name?
(A) Lines 1-3
(B) Lines 3-6
(C) Lines 7-8
(D) Unes 7-10
QUESTIONS 8-13
Line Between 1607 and 1732 permanent English settlements were
established along the eastem coast of North America. The new colonies
provided havens for immigrants avoiding persecution and punishment,
business failures, or poor prospects for trade and work in the mother country.
The English government authorized the use of two kinds of agencies to
promote the establishment of settlements overseas: the chartered trading
company and the proprietorship.
The commercial joint-stock companies operating under royal charters
were composed of adventuresome stockholders, who shared the profits and
losses of their colonial venture. Two of the colonies established by English
chanered trading companies were Jamestown, Virginia, and the Puntan
colony of Massachusetts. The chief characteristic that distinguished the
corporate colony from others was the large measure of seft-government it
enjoyed. Qualified voters in the colonies chose the governor, the governor's
council, and the legislative assembly.
Of the thirteen English colonies, seven were founded as proprietorships.
Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and
Georgia. The propriety charters normally granted huge tracts of land to an
individual, often royaty, or a group of persons on terms similar to feudal
tenure. Pohtical control was put in the hands of those who received the royal
grant, although in most cases it was delegated in part to representatives
chosen by the colonists.
8. Where in the passage does the author defme the commercial joint-stock
companies?
(A) Lines 4-7
(B) Lines 8-10
(C) Lines 12-14
(D) Lines 14-15
9. At what point in the passage does the author give the names of the colonies
established by proprietorship
(A) Lines 2-4
(B) Lines 10-12
(C) Lines 16-18
(D) Lines 18-20
10. In which lines does the author explain how the corporate colony was
different from other colonies?
(A) Lines 12-14
(B) Lines 14-15
(C) Lines 18-20
(D) Lines 20-22
11. Where in the passage does the author indicate when permanent English
settlements were established in North America?
(A) Lines 1-2
(B) Lines 2-4
(C) Lines 4-6
(D) Lines 10-12
12. In what lines does the author explain proprietorships?
(A) Lines 12-14
(B) Lines 16-18
(C) Lines 18-20
(D) Lines 20-22
13. Where in the passage does the author discuss the reasons why
immigrants came to America?
(A) Lines 1-2
(B) Lines 2-4
(C) Lines 4-7
(D) Lines 8-10
Chapter 2: RAEDING FOR MAIN IDEASIntroducing Main ideas
PREREDING QUESTIONS
Answer fhe following questions.
1. Why do you think people exercise?
2. What things should you do to be healthy?
3. What foods should you eat to be healthy?
A healthful lifestyle leads to a longer, happier, healthier life. Staying
healthy means eating a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and
avoiding things that are bad for the body and mind.
Nutrition plays a key role in maintaining good health and preventing
many diseases. In spite of all the information available about diets, scientists
still believe that good nutrition can be simple. There are several basic rules to
follow. Keep fat intake low. Eat foods high in carbohydrates, which are the
starches in grains, legumes (beans and peas), vegetables, and some fruits.
Avoid too much sugar. Limit salt. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which are
high in vitamins.
A healthful lifestyle in an active lifestyle. Lack of proper physical
exercise can cause tiredness, irritability, and poor general health. Physical
fitness requires both aerobic exercise, such as running, bicycle riding, and
swimming, and musele-strengthening exercises, such as weight lifting.
Finally, good health is acquired by saying no to bad habits such as
smoking, drinking, and overeating and by avoiding situations that are
constantly stressful. People can take their lives and happiness into their own
hands. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the first step.
EXERCISE 1Answer fhe following questions.
SKIMMING
Skim or read the passage over quickly. Do not read each detail carefully.
Usually, hut not always, the main idea is found in the first sentence of a
paragraph.
Underline the main idea in paragraph 2.
Underline the main idea in paragraph 3.
Underline the main idea in paragraph 4.
1. What is the main idea of the whole passage?
SCANNING
Look over the passage again to find the answers to questions 2-12.
Complete the following sentences with details from the passage.
2. Three kinds of food that you should avoid having too much of are ___, ___,
and ___
3. Three problems that lack of physical exercise can cause are
___, ___, and ___
4. Two kinds of aerobic exercise mentioned in the passage are
___ and ___
5. Grains, legumes, vegetables, and some fruits all contain ___
6. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of ___
In cach of the sentences below, underline the detail that is NOT
mentioned in the passage.
7. Smoking, drinking, excessive eating, dieting, and stressful situations are not
good for your health.
8. Physical fitness for a healthy lifestyle includes regular walking, aerobic
cxereise, and musele-strengthening exercises.
REFERENCE AND VOCABULARY QUESTIONS.
9. What does the word "their" in its second appearance on line 17 refer to?
10. What does the word "nutrition" in line 4 mean?
11. What would be the best substitute for the word "limit" in line 9?
12. What does the word “constantly” in line 17 mean?
Main Idea Questions
One of the most frequently asked questions in the Reading
Comprehension section is about the main idea of the passage. There is
usually one such question for each reading passage. As its name suggests,
the main idea is the most important idea in the passage or what the passage
is about. Each passage has main and subordinate, or less important, ideas.
The main idea is more general than the supporting ideas or details in the
passage. The main idea may be the first sentence in the paragraph, but this is
not always the case. The main idea may appear in the middle or toward the
end.
When the main idea of a passage is not clear because each paragraph
has a different main point, a question identifying the main topic of the passage
will be asked. The following are examples of main idea questions:
What is the main idea of the passage?
What is the main idea expressed in the passage?
What does the passage mainly discuss?
With what topic is the passage mainly concerned?
The primary idea of the passage is...
The main topic of the passage is...
If the main idea of the passage is not clear because each paragraph
has a different main point, then summarize or combine the main points of
each pangraph to find the main idea. The main idea should relate to the entire
passgge and not to just one part of it. Also, the main idea should not be so
genenal that it goes beyond the passage.
The four answer choices to the main idea questions will contain the
following types of answers:
(A) Too general
(B) True but only a detail
(C) Incorrect
(D) Correct
Sample Reading Passage
Although "lie detectors" are being used by governments, police
departments, and businesses that all want guaranteed ways of detecting the
truth, the results are not always accurate. Lie detectors are property called
emotion detectors, for their aim is to measure bodily changes that contradict
what a person says. The polygraph machine records changes in heart rate,
breathing, blood pressure, and the electrical activity of the skin (galvanic skin
response, or GSR). In the first part of the polygraph test, you are electronically
connected to the machine and asked a few neutral questions ("What is your
name?" "Where do you live?"). Your physical reactions serve as the standard
(baseline) for evaluating what comes next. Then you are asked a few critical
questions among the neutral ones (“When did you rob the bank?”). The
assumption is that if you are guilty, your body will reveal the truth, even if you
try to deny it. Your heart rate, respiration, and GSR will change abruptly as
you respond to the ineriminating questions.
That is the theory; but psychologists have found that lie detectors are
simply not reliable. Since most physical changes are the same across the
emotions, machines cannot tell whether you are feeling guilty, angry, nervous,
thrilled, or revved up from an exciting day. Innocent people may be tense and
nervous about the whole procedure. They may react physiologically to a
certain word (''bank") not because they robbed it, but because they recently
bounced a check. In either case the machine will record a "lie." The reverse
mistake is also common. Some practiced liars can lie without flinehing, and
others learn to beat the machine by tensing museles or thinking about an
exciting experience during neutral questions.
QUESTION
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Physical reactions reveal guilt.
(B) How lie detectors are used and their reliability.
(C) Lie detectors distinguish different emotions.
(D) Lie detectors make innocent people nervous.
ANSWER
Answer (A) is not correct because it is too general and does not have
anything to do with lie detectors. Answer (C) is incorrect because lie detectors
record only physical changes in the body and not emotions. A lie detector
cannot determine whether you are angry or nervous. Answer (D) is incorrect
because although lie detectors make innocent people nervous, this is only a
detail and not the main point. The best answer is (B) since this combines the
main point of the first paragraph, which is about the use of the lie detector,
with the main point of the second paragraph, which is about the reliability of
the lie detector.
Exercises on Main Ideas
EXERCISE 2 Read the following passages and find the main idea of each one.
Strictly speaking, cartography is the drawing or compiling of maps. The
explorers and surveyors go out and make the measurements and gather the
information from which the cartographers draw their maps. Sometimes the
fieldwork and the creation of the map are done by the same person. But when
the scope is broad and the sources of information many, maps are more often
a compilation of that information. They represent the accumulated work of
many people, brought together under the supervision of one person, the
compiler. The value of the map depends, of course, on the expertise of the
compiler, who must sift through available information, select the most accurate
data, and come up with a thoughtful and accurate synthesis of the geographic
knowledge of the region.
Strategies
- The main idea is not always the first sentence in the paragraph or
passage. It can also appear in the middle or toward the end of a paragraph.
- When the main idea is not clear because each paragraph has a main
point combine all the main points to get the main idea.
- Make sure the answer you select for the main idea question relates to
the whole passage and not just to one part of it. You can scan the passage to
see whether the main idea you have selected is discussed all through the
passage.
- The wrong choices for main idea questions may be one of the
following:
1. True statements that focus on one paragraph or a detail
2. Statements that are too general and go beyond the passage
3. Statements that are incorrect misinterpretations of the main idea
Or, brefly:
1. Too specific
2. Too general
3. Incorrect
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) The definition of cartography is the drawing or compiling of maps.
(B) Maps are the product of a group effort brought together usually by
one person.
(C) Not all of the infonnation initially compiled for maps is accurate.
(D) The compiler's task is more important than that of the explorers and
surveyors.
In the 1820s and 1830s American painting added a new chapter to the
story of its development. Until the nineteenth century, portraiture and
occasional historical pieces were the only concerns of American art, but
throughout the 1800s some of America's most talented painters chose to
depict landscapes and the daily activities of ordinary people. With the nation's
declaration of independence had come prosperity and with it the opportunity
and inclination for painters to contemplate their environment. As they traveled
beyond the early settlements and left the nation's first cities, such as Boston
and Philadelphia, they began to experience and appreciate the pristine beauty
of the American scenery, which differed greatly from the European landscape,
partly because in its unsettled state it appeared wild and pnmeval.
2. What is the main topic of the passage?
(A) Conditions in the early 1800s were favorable to the emergence of
the American landscape artist.
(B) In the early 1800s, landscapes were produced in preference to
portraits and historical pieces.
(C) America's declaration of independence brought prosperity to the
nation and with it an appreciation of the outdoors.
(D) An increase in travel in America led to an appreciation of the beauty
of the American landscape.
Speculation about the carth's crust has a special edge of urgency in
California, which sits on the San Andreas fault, the world's most famous and
respected fracture zone. Not surprisingly, it was a scientist at the California
Institute of Technolog, Charles F. Richter, who invented the Richter scale
used to measure earthquakes. Seismic activity in California is being constantly
monitored and mapped. Seismometers register many thousands of small
earthquakes every year, and computers instantly calculate the location, depth,
and magnitude of an earthquake. Laser distance-ranging networks can detect
changes of length, indicating change in crustal stress, accurate to about half
an inch in 20 miles. Satellite measurements of crustal blocks are improving,
and California seismologists believe they may in time be precise enough to
allow earthquake prediction.
3. What is the main idea expressed in the passage?
(A) The Richter scale was invented in Califomia.
(B) Computers provide a variety of information about earthquakes.
(C) A great deal of attention is paid to earthquake activity in Califomia.
(D) Earthquake prediction will be possible in the future.
The first expedition down the Colorado River was made by John Wesley
Powell and his party in 1869. Powell had made long trips down the Ohio and
the Mississippi and its tributanes during his twenties, when his lifelong interest
in natural history developed. In 1867 he led his first expedition to the Rockies,
a couccting trip for the museum he had founded in Illinois. While on Pike's
Peak, near Colorado Springs, Powell conceived his great plan to explore the
Colorado River. On May 24, 1869, he and his party set off down the upper
Colorado and nothing was heard from them for thirty-seven days. During that
time Powell and party braved uncharted territory, encounters with the natives,
fierce rapids, and 20-foot waterfalls, as they followed the Colorado through the
Grand Canyon to the Gulf of California.
4. What is the main subject of the passage?
(A) Powell was uniqucly qualifled to lead an expedition down the
Colorado.
(B) Powell was inspired to explore the Colorado whilc on Pike's Peak.
(C) People were concerned when nothing was heard from Powell and
his party for over a month.
(D) Powell and his party faced daunting challenges on the first Colo-
rado River expedition.
Innovations in transportation in the 1800s permitted space to be
traversed more rapidly and were crucial to the industnal expansion of the
North. The great spaces that separated producers from consumers made
speed essential, especially in the movement of perishable freight. The
development of the steam-powered locomotive in the 1850s and the rapid
extension of the railways in the 1840s and 1850s provided the answer to the
need for faster transport and dramatically altered patterns of economic
development throughout the United States. In 1830 there were 32 miles of
rails in the country, in 1840 there were 2,818 miles, and by 1850 there were
more than 9,000 miles. The rapid atension of rail mileage enabled the
railroads significantly to reduce their costs for shipping freight and carrying
passengers, thus enabling them to price their services more cheaply and
competitively. The extension of trunk lines, into which short or local lines fed,
further tightened the east-west flow of commerce and bound the Northeast
and the old Northwest together with bands of steel.
5. What is the main theme in the passage?
(A) Railroad made the transportation of perishable freight possible.
(B) Between 1830 and 1850 over 8,000 miles of railroad track were laid.
(C) Railroads provided an important link between the Northwest and the
Northeast.
(D) Railroads had a profound effect on the economic development of
the United States in the nineteenth century.
The few places left on earth that have not been altered by humankind
are almost invanably hostile to humans. One such place is the Alaskan Arctic,
which is inhabited, where inhabited at all, by only a scattering of Eskimos,
Native Americans, and whites. But while the Arctic is indeed a chill and
inimical realm of snow, ice, and polar bears, it is also a region of great beauty
and, above all, purity where plants and animals still exist undisturbed in a
state of natural balance. Nearly one third of Alaska lies north of the Arctic
Circle and consists of pristine land. The Brooks Range cuts across the region
like a wall, making access difficult. Even today, in an age of let travel, the
number of persons who have had firsthand experience in the Alaskan Arctic
remains small, and countless valleys and mountains go unnamed and even
unexplored.
6. What is the primary topic of the passage?
(A) The Alaskan Arctic is a beautifully pristine realm of snow, ice, and
polar bears.
(B) The Alaskan Arcti is habitable only to Arctic animals and a few hardy
humans.
(C) The ruggedness of the Alaskan Arctic makes it one of the last few
remaining pristine areas in the world.
(D) Remarkably, parts of the Alaskan Arctic still remain unexplored.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, the first distinctly American
culture took form. The rise of an American tradition in literature paralleled the
expansion of the nation, as American writers began to look within themselves
and across their enlarged continental homeland for their subjects and themes.
The romance, or novel, provided a useful form for dealing with the large moral
subjects and the peculiar circumstances of the American setting. In James
Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers (1823) and The Deerslayer (1841). Natty
Bumppo and the Mohican guide Chingachgook confronted the environment of
the American frontier, chronicling the advance of "civilization" and questioning
the implications of its impact on the natural world. The theme of the individual
confronting nature was further developed by Hennan Melville in the classic
novel Moby Dick (l951). Nathaniel Hawthome dealt with equally difflcult
questions of inner limits and the individual's responsibilities to society in The
Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851).
7. What is the main idea expressed in the passage?
(A) As the nation expanded, novelists began writing about the American
frontier.
(B) The first American literature took the form of novels that dcalt
with uniquely American themes.
(C) In their novels, Melville and Hawthome both addressed difficult
questions facing Americans.
(D) The individual versus nature was one of the main themes explored
in carly American literature.
Because different tree species adapted to difierent climates and soil
types have evolved over millennia, many kinds of forests occupy the earth
today. The primitive forests of several hundred million years ago consisted of
fewer kinds of trees. In fact, the earliest "trees", which grew nearly 500 million
years ago, were like giant club mosses. They lacked true roots and consisted
of a tangle of specialized branches that clambered over rocky ground. Fifty
million years later came the dense forests of tree ferns that prevailed in
tropical climates of that crab. The forerunners of modem conifers were on the
scene 300 milhon years ago, when plant life abundantly colonized marshy
land, building the tremendous coal and oil reserves so imponant today. By the
time the dinosaurs roamed the earth some 180 million years ago, during the
Cretaceous period, seed-bearing trees had evolved that shed their leaves in
winter; from these have sprung the angiosperms and our present deciduous
forests.
8. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Conifers are the oldest trees in today's forests.
(B) Climate affected the development of trees over millennia.
(C) The predecessors of today's forests were giant club mosses and
tree ferns.
(D) The variety of trees in today's forest are a result of millions of years
of evolution.
Birds have two basic types of sounds: songs and calls. Songs are
usually more complex than caus and are utihzed primarily by adult males
during the breeding season to establish temtories or attract mates. Caus are
normally simple notes, single or repeated, vocalized by males and females in
all seasons to express alarm or maintain contact with mates, offspring, or
other birds of the same species. All songs and most calls are distinctive, and
with concentrated study and practice? bird-watchers can learn to identify
many birds by their sounds and to call them as well.
9. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Bird calls and songs are distinctive, meaningful, and identifiable.
(B) Bird songs are complicated and used mainly by males to attract
mates.
(C) Birds have their own language by which they maintain contact.
(D) Bird-watchers can identify many bird calls and their meanings and
learn to mimic them as well.
Hawaii was originally settled by the natives of the South Pacific, who
arrived in the islands in canoes laden with breadfruit, yams, taro, coconut,
bananas, pigs, and chickens. Supplementing these foods were over a
hundred different edible fishes and forty kinds of seaweed from the
surrounding waters. Hawaiian food was eaten raw or wrapped in taro leaves,
seasoned with coconut, and cooked.
In the early 1800s, the whalers and missionaries introduced stews,
chowders, cumes, comed beef, dried beef, salt salmon, and Indian and
comstarch puddings. Most likely, pipkaula (jerked beef), lomi lomi salmon, and
haupia (coconut pudding) evolved during this period.
In the late nineteenth century immigrants from China, Japan, and Korea
were brought to Hawaii to work the sugar plantations. The Chinese brought
rice, soybeans, and vegetables and their ways of cooking them. The
Japanese brought sukiyaki and teriyaki, among many other foods. Settlers
from the continental United States also brought their favorite recipes and in
the spint of aloha, the Hawaiians have accepted each group's offerings and
drawn the best from them. Thus, a Hawaiian feast is a gastronomic
experience, the essence of Hawaii and its many cultures.
10. What is the main topic of the passage?
(A) Whalers and missionanes introduced new kinds of foods to the
people of Hawaii.
(B) Sugar plantations were worked by immigrants from Asia, who
brought their native foods with them.
(C) Hawaiian rood is a combination of the foods of many peoples and a
reflection of Hawaii's history.
(D) The natives of the South Pacific who first settled in Hawaii ate raw
food, whereas other immigrants cooked theirs.
Lesson 44: OVERVIEW QUESTIONS MAIN IDEA, MAIN TOPIC, AND MAIN PURPOSE QUESTIONSAfter almost every passage, the first question is an overview question about
the main idea, main topic, or main purpose of a passage. Main idea questions
ask you to identify the most important thought in the passage.
Sample Questions
- What is the main idea of the passage?
- The primary idea of the passage is...
- Which of the following best summarizes the author's main idea?
When there is not a single, readily identified main idea, main topic
questions may be asked. There ask you what the passage is generally
“about”.
Sample Questions
- The main topic of the passage is…
- What does the passage mainly discuss?
- The passage is primarily concerned with…
Main purpose questions ask why an author wrote a passage. The
answer choices for these questions usually begin with infinitives.
Sample Questions
- The author's purpose in wnting is...
- What is the author's main purpose in the passage?
- The main point of this passage is...
- Why did the author write the passage?
Sample Answer Choices
- To define ...
- To relate ...
- To discuss ...
- To propose ...
- To illustrate ...
- To support the idea that ...
- To distinguish between ___ and ___
- To compare ___ and ___
Don't answer the initial overview question about a passage until you
have answered the other questions. The process of answering the detail
questions may give you a clearer idea of the main idea, topic or purpose of the
passage.
The correct answers for main idea, main topse, and main purpose
questions correctly summarize the main points of the passage; they must be
more general than any of the supporting ideas or details, but not so general
that they include ideas outside the scope of the passages.
Distractors for this type of question have one of these charactenstics:
1. They are too specific.
2. They are too general.
3. They are incorrect according to the passage.
4. They are irrelevant (unrelated) to the main idea of the passage.
If you re not sure of the answer for one of these questions, go back and
quickly scan the passage. You can usually infer the main idea, main topic, or
main purpose of the entire passage from an understanding of the main ideas
of the paragraphs that make up the passage and the relationship between
them.
OTHER OVERVIEW QUESTIONS
A number of other questions ate asked that require an overall
understanding of the passage. These are often the last question in a set of
questions.
Tone questions ask you to detemine the author's feelings about the
topic by the language that he or she uses in writing the passage. Look for
vocabulary that indicates if the author's feelings are positive, negative, or
neutral.
Sample Questions
- What tone does the author take in writing this passage?
- The tone of this passage could best be described as ...
Sample Answer Choices
- Positive
- Humorous
- Worried
- Favorable
- Negative
- Neutral
- Optimistic
- Critical
- Objective
- Pleased
- Angry
- Impersonal
- Respectful
- Defiant
- Impersonal
If you read the following sentences in passages, would the tone of those
passages most likely be positive or negative?
1. That was just the beginning of a remarkable series of performances
by this brilliant actress.
2. Despite some minor problems, this device has a number of admirable
features.
3. This practice is a waste of time and money.
4. At the time his poems were first published, they were very popular,
but today most critics find them simplistic and rather uninteresting.
The italicized words in sentences 1 and 2 show a positive tone; in 3 and
4, the italicized words indicate a negative attitude. Notice that sentence 2
contains negative words (“minor problems”) but the overall meaning of the
sentence is positive. Sentence 4 contains positive language (“very popular”)
but overall, the tone is negative. (Words like despite, but, although, however,
and similar words can "reverse" the tone of the passage).
Most TOEFL reading passages have a neutral tone, but sometimes an
author may take a position for or against some point. However, answer
choices that indicate strong emotion - angry, outraged, sad, and so forth - will
seldom be correct.
Attiude questions very similar to tone questions. Again, you must
understand the author's opinion. The language that the author uses will tell
you what his or her position is.
What is the author’s anitude toward smoking on airplanes as expressed
in the sentence below?
Although some passengers may experience a slight discomfort from not
smoking on long flights, their smoking endangers the health of all the
passengers and crew.
The author opposes smoking during flights. He admits that there is
some argument in favor of smoking - some passengers may feel discomfort -
but this is not as important as the fact that smoking can be dangerous to
everyone on the flight. The use of the word although shows this.
Sample Questions
- What is the author's attitude toward...
- The author's opinion of ___ is best described as...
- The author's attitude toward ___ could best be described as one of...
- How would the author probably feel about...
Another type of attitude question presents four statements and asks
how the author would teel about them.
- Which of the following recommendations would the author most likely
support?
- The author would be LEAST likely to agree with which of the following
statements?
- The author of the passage would most likely be in favor of which of the
following policies?
Organization questions ask about the overall structure of a passage or
about the organization of a particular paragraph.
Sample Question
- Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
Sample Answer Choices
- A genenl concept is defmed and examples are given.
- Several generalizations are presented, from which a conclusion is
drawn.
- The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of __
- The author presents a system of classification for ___
- Persuasive language is used to argue against ___
- The author describes ___
- The author presents a brief account of ___
- The author compares ___ and ___
Questions about previous or following paragraphs ask you to assume
that the passage is part of a longer work: what would be the topic of the
hypothetical paragraph that precedes or follows the passage? To find the topic
of the previous paragraph, look for clues in the first line or two of the passage;
for the topic of the following passage, look in the last few lines. Sometimes
incorrect answer choices mention topics that have already been discussed in
the passage.
Sample Questions
- With what topic would the following / preceding paragraph most like
deal?
- The paragraph prior to / after the passage most probably discusses...
- It can be inferred from the passage that the previous / next paragraph
concerns...
- What most likely precedes / follows the passage?
EXERCISE 44.1Focus: Identifying correct answers and recognizing distractors in main
idea / main topic / main purpose questions.
Directions: Read the passages. Then mark each answer choice
according to the following system:
S Too specific
G Too general
X Incorrect
I Irrelevant
C Correct
The first one is done as an example.
There are two main types of cell division. Most cells are produced by a
process called mitosis. In mitosis, a cell divides and forms two identical
daughter cells, each with an identical number of chromosomes. Mosl one-
celled creatures reproduce by this method, as do most of the cell in multi-
celled plants and animals. Sex cells, however, are formed in a special type of
cell division called meiosis. This process reduces the number of
chromosomes in a sex cell to half the number found in other kinds of cells.
Then, when sex cells unite, they produce a single cell with the onginal number
of chromosomes.
1. What is the main topic of this passage?
S (A) The method by which one-celled organisms reproduce
C (B) A comprason between mitosis and meiosis
X (C) Meiosis, the process by which identical cells are produced.
The last gold rush belongs as much to Canadian history as it does to
American. The discovery of gold along the Klondike River, which flows from
Canada's Yukon Territory into Alaska, drew some 30,000 fortune hunters to
the north. The Yukon became a territory and its capital of the time, Dawson,
would not have existed without the gold rush. The gold strike furnished
material for a dozen of Jack London's novels; in inspired Rohert Service to
write "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and other poems, and it provided the
background for the wonderful Charlie Chaplin movie, The Gold Rusb. It also
marked the beginnings of modem Alaska.
2. This author’s main purpose in writing is to
___ (A) discuss the significance of mining in Canada and the United
States
___ (B) show the influence of the Klondike gold strike on the creative
arts
___ (C) point out the significance of the Klondike gold strike
The keystone arch was used by almost every early civilization. To build
a keystone arch, stones are cut so that the opposite sides taper toward each
other sightly. The upper and lower surfaces are carved so that when several
stones are placed side by side, the upper and lower surfaces meet in smooth,
continuous curves. Some form of scaffolding is built under the arch and
shaped to accept the curved underside of the stones. Then the stones are
fitted in place one by one. The kystone is the top center stone, the last to be
dropped into position. Afterwards, the scaffolding is removed and the arch is
self-supporting.
3. The passage mainly concerns
___ (A) the basic principles of building keystone arches
___ (B) the uses of arches in modem architecture
___ (C) the role of scaffolding in bullding kyrstone arches
Circumstantial evidence is evidence not drawn from the direct
observation of a fact. If, for example, there is evidence that a piece of rock
embedded in a wrapped chocolate bar is the same type of rock found in the
vicinity of the candy factory, and that rock of this type is found in few other
places, then there is circumstantial evidence that the stone found its way into
the candy during manufacture and suggests that the candy maker was
negligent. Despite a popular notion to look down on the quality of
circumstantial evidence, it is of great usefulness if there is enough of it and if it
is properly interpreted. Each circumstance, taken singly, may mean little, but a
whole chain of circumstances can be as concluslve as direct evidence.
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
___ (A) A manufacturer's negligence can be shown by direct evidence
only.
___ (B) Enough circumstantial evidence is as persuasive as direct
evidence.
___ (C) Circumstantial evidence can be very useful in science.
The Nonhwest Ordinance was passed by Congress in 1787. It set up
the government structure of the region nonh of the Ohio River and west of
Pennsylvania, then called the Northwest Territory. It set the conditions under
which parts of the territory could become states having equality with the older
states. But the ordinance was more than just a plan for government. The law
also guaranteed freedom of religion and trial by jury in the Territory. It
organized the territory into townships of 36 square miles and ordered a school
to be built for each township. It also abolished slavely in the Territory. The
terms were so attractive that thousands of pioneers poured into the Territory.
Eventually, the Territory became the states of Ohio, Indiana, lllinois, Michtgan,
and Wisconsin.
5. What is the main topic of this passage?
___ (A) The structure of government
___ (B) The provisions of an important law
___ (C) The establishment of schools in the Northwest Territory
The story of the motel business from 1920 to the start of Wodd War II in
1941 is one of uninterrupted growth. Motels spread from the west and the
midwest all the way to Maine and Florida. They clustered along
transcontinental highways such as U.S. Routes 40 and 66 and along the
north-south routes running up and down both the East and West Coasts.
There were 16,000 motels by 1930 and 24,000 by 1940. The motel industry
was one of the few industries that was not hurt by the Depression of the
1930s. Their cheap rates attracted travelers who had very little money.
6. What does the passage mainly discuss?
___ (A) How the Depression hurt U.S. motels
___ (B) The impact of transcontinental highways
___ (C) Two decades of growth for the motel industry
An old proverb states, "Beware of oak, it draws the stroke." This saying
is handy during thunder" stom season. In genenl, trees with deep roots that
tap into groundwater attract more lightning than do trees with shallow, drier
roots. Oaks are around 50 times more likely to be struck than becches.
Spruces are nearly as sate as beeches. Pines are not as safe as these two,
but are stul much safer than oaks.
7. What is the author's main point?
___ (A) Old proverbs often contain important truths.
___ (B) Trees with shanow roots are more likely to avoid lightning than
those with deep roots.
___ (C) The deeper a tree's roots, the safer it is during a thunderstorm.
Altemative history is generally classmed ls a type of science fiction, but
It also bears some relation to historical fiction. This type of writing describes
an imaginary world that is identical to ours up to a certain point in history, but
at that point, the two worlds diverge; some important historical event takes
place in one world but not in the other, and they go in different directions.
Altemative histories might describe worlds in which the Roman Empire had
never fallen, in which the Spanish Armada had been victorious, or in which the
South had won the Civill War. Or they may suppose that some technology had
been introduced carrier in the world's history than actually happened. For
example: What if computers had been invented in Victorian times? Many
readers find these stones interesting because of the way they stimte the
imagination and get them thinking about the phenomenon of cause and effect
in history.
8. What is the main idea of this passage?
___ (A) Altemative histories describe worlds in which history has taken
another course.
___ (B) Altemative histones are a type of historical novel.
___ (C) Science fiction writers have accurately predicted certain actual
scientific developments.
Until the late 1700s, metal could not be turned on a lathe to make it
uniformly smooth and round.
The operator could not gulde the cutting tool evenly by hand against the
turning piece. This problem was solved by David Wilkinson of Pawtucket,
Rhode rsland. In 1798 he invented a machine in which the cutter was clamped
into a moveable slide that could be advanced precisely, by hand crank,
paranel to the work. The slide rest, as it came to be called, has many uses. It
permits the manufacture of pans so unlform that they can be interchanged.
Without it. mass production would not have been possible. As it turns out, the
great English machinist Henry Maudsley developed nearly the same
mechanism a few years before, but this was unknown to Willdnson and does
not diminish his accomphshment.
9. Why did the author write this passage?
___ (A) To prove that Wilkinson's invention was based on Maudsley's.
___ (B) To demonstrate the importance of mass production to American
society.
___ (C) To show the usefuiness of Wilkinson's invention.
Almost every foml of transportation has given some one the idea for a
new type of toy. After the Montgomer brothers new the first balloon, toy
balloons became popular playthings. In the nineteenth century, soon after
railroads and steamships were developed, every child had to have model
trains and steamboats. The same held true for automobues and airplanes in
the early twentieth century. Toy rockets and missiles became popular at the
begining of the space age, and by the 1980s, there were many different
versions of space-shuttle toys.
10. The main idea of this pusage is that
__ (A) inventors have been inspired by toys to build new forms of
transponation
__ (B) toy automobues and airplanes were verlr popular in the early
1900s
__ (C) toy design has followed developments in transponation
EXERCISE 44.2Focus: Answering a variety of overview questions about short passages.
Directions: Read the passages and mark the best answer choice -(A), (B), (C),
or (D).
American folk music originated with ordinary people at time when the
rural population was isolated and music was not yet spread by radio, records,
or music videos. It was transmitted by oral tradition and is noted for its energy,
humor, and emotional impact. The maior source of early American folk songs
was music from the British Isles, but songs from Africa as well as songs of the
American Indian have significant part in its heritage. Later settlers from other
countries also contributed songs. In the nineteenth century, composer Steven
Foster wrote some of the most enduringly popular of all American songs,
which soon became part of the folk tradition. Beginning in the 1930s, Woody
Guthrie gained great popularity by adapting tradaional melodies and lyrics and
Supplying new ones as well. In the 1950s and 1960s, signer-composers such
as Pete Secger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez continued this tradition by creating
“urban” folk music. Many of these songs dealt with important social issues,
such as nacial integration and the war in Vietnam.
1 . The primary purpose of this passage is to
___ (A) trace the development of American folk music
___ (B) explain the oral tradition
___ (C) contrast the styles of folk musicians
___ (D) point out the influence of social issues on "urban" folk music
Every scientific discipline tends to develop its own special language
because it finds ordinary words inadequate, and psychology is no different.
The purpose of this special jargon is not to mystify non-psychologists; rather, it
allows psychologists to accurately describe the phenomena they are
discussing and to communicate with each other effectively. Of course,
psychological terminology conslsts in part of everyday words such as emotion,
intelligence, and motivation, but psychologists use these words some-what
differently. For example, laymen use the term anxiety to mean nervousness or
fear, but most psychologists reserve the term to describe a condition produced
when one fears events over which one has no control.
2. The main topic of this passage is
___ (A) effective communication
___ (B) the special language of psychology
___ (C) two definitions of the word "anxiety"
___ (D) the jargon of science
Gifford Pinchot was the first professlonauy trained forester in the United
States. After he graduated from Yale in 1889, he studied forestry in Europe. In
the 1890s he managed the forest on the Biltmore estate in North Carolina
(now Pisgah National forest) and became the first to pracuce scientme
forestry. Perhaps his most important contribution to conservation was
persuading President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside millions of acres in the
West as forest reserves. These lands now make up much of the national
parks and national forests of the United States. Pinchot became the chief
forester of the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. Although he held that post for only
five years, he established guidelines that set forest policy for decades to
come.
3. The passage primarily dcals with
___ (A) Gifford Pinchot's work on the Bilưnore Estate
___ (B) the practice and theory of scientific forestry
___ (C) the origin of national parks and national forests in the United
States
___ (D) the contributions Gifford Pinchot made to American forestry
Off-Broadway theater developed in New York City in about 1950 as a
result of dissatisfaction with conditions on Broadway. Its founders believed
that Broadway was overly concerned with producing safe, commercially-
successful hit plays rather than drama with artistic quality. Off-Broadway
producers tried to assist playwrights, directors, and performers who could not
find work on Broadway. Off-Broadway theater were poorly equipped, had
limited seating, and provided few conveniences for audiences. But, the
originality of the scripts, the creativity of the performers, and the low cost of
tickets made up for these disadvantages, and off-Broadway theater
prospered. However, by the 1960s, costs began to rise, and by the 1970s, off-
Broadway theater was encountering many of the difficulties of Broadway and
had lost much of its vitality. With its decline, a experimental movement called
off-off-Broadway theater developed.
4. What is the main idea of this passenge?
___ (A) After initial success, off-Broadway theater began to decline.
___ (B) Off-Broadway theaters produced many hit commercial plays.
___ (C) Theaters on Broadway were not wen equipped.
___ (D) Off-Broadway plays were highly creative.
5. The pagraph that follows this passage most likely deals with
___ (A) the help off-Broadway producers provided directors,
playwrights, and performers
___ (B) methods off-Broadway theaters used to cope with rising prices
(C) the development of off-off-Broadway theater
(D) the decline of Broadway theater
At the time of the first European contact, there were from 500 to 700
languages spoken by North American Indians. These were divided into some
60 language families, with no demonstrable genetic relationship among them.
Some of these families spread across several of the seven cultural areas. The
Algonquin family, for instance, contained dozens of languages and occupied a
vast territory. Speakers of Algonquin languages included the Algonquins of the
Eastern Woodland, the Blackfoots of the Plains, and the Wiyots and Yutoks of
California. Other language families, like the Zuni family of the Southwest,
occupy only a few square miles of area and contain only a single tribal
language.
6. What is the main idea of this passage?
___ (A) Each of the cultural areas was dominated by one of the
language families.
___ (B) The Zuni languages closely related to the Algonquin language.
___ (C) There is considerable diversity in the size and the number of
languages in language families of the Nonh American Indians.
___ (D) Contact with Europeans had an extraordinary effect on the
languages of the Indian tribes of North America.
Other major changes in journalism occuned around this time. In 1846,
Richard Hoe invented the steam cylinder rotary press, making it possible to
print newspapers faster and cheaper. The development of the telegraph made
possible much speedier collection and distribution of news. Also in 1846, the
first wire service was organized. A new type of newspaper appeared around
this time, one that was more attuned to the sipirit and needs of the new
America. Although newspapers continued to cover politics, they came to
report more human interest stones and to record the most recent news, which
they could not have done before the telegraph. New York papers, and those of
other northern cities, maintained corps of correspondents to go into all parts of
the country to cover newsworthy events.
7. The main purpose of the passage is to
___ (A) present a brief history of American journalism
___ (B) outline certain developments in mid-nineteenth-century
journalism
___ (C) explain the importance of the steam cylinder rotary press
___ (D) present some biographical information about Richard Hoe
8. What is the most probable topic of the paragaph preceding this one?
___ (A) Other types of rotary presses
___ (B) Alternatives to using wire services
___ (C) Newspapers that concentrated on polities
___ (D) Other developments in joumlism
9. The tone of the passage could best be described as
(A) objective
(B) optimistic
(C) angry
(D) humorous
In the western third of North America, the convoluted folds of the Earth's
suface and its fractured geologic structure tend to absorb the seismic energy
of an earthquake. Even if an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale
struck Los Angeles, its force would fade by the time it reached San Francisco,
some 400 miles away. But, in the eastern two thirds of the continent the same
energy travels more easily. The earthquake that struck New Madrid, Missouri,
in 1811, estimated at 8 on the Richter scale, shook Washington, D.C., about
800 miles away, and was felt as far as Boston and Toronto.
10. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of this passage?
___ (A) If a major earthquake strikes Los Angeles, it will probably
damage San Francisco as well.
___ (B) The New Madrid earthquake of 1811 was felt in Boston and
Toronto.
___ (C) The geology of the western United States is much more
complex than that of the East.
___ (D) Earthquakes travel farther in the East than in the West.
There has never been an adult scientist who has been half as curious
as any child between the ages of four months and four years. Adults
sometimes mistake this superb curiosity about everything as a lack of ability to
concentrate. The truth is that children begin to learn at birth, and by the time
they begin formal schooling at the age of 5 or 6, they have already absorbed a
fantastic amount of information, perhaps more, fact for fact, than they will
learn for the rest of their lives. Adults can multiply by many times the
knowledge children absorb if they appreciate this curiosity whilc
simultancously encouraging the children to learn.
11. With which of the following statements would the author probably agree?
___ (A) Children lack the abuity to concentrate
___ (B) Young children have a much greater curiosity than adult
scientists do.
___ (C) The first few years of school are the most important ones for
most children.
___ (D) Adults can utilize children's intense curiosity lo help children
learn more.
12. The paragraph following this one most likely deals with
___ (A) ways in which adults can help children learn by stimulating their
curiosity
___ (B) the learning habits of children over the age of 4
___ (C) the methods adult scientists use to study the curiosity of young
children
___ (D) ways in which adults can become as curious as children about
their environments
Settlement houses were institutions established to improve living
conditions in poor city neighbor-hoods in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They
offered health, educational, recreational, and cultural activities. The first to
open in the United States was University Settlement in New York City. It was
established by the social reformer Stanton Coit in 1886. The most famous
example was Hull House, established by the famous refomler Jane Addams in
Chicago in 1890. Settlement houses were usually staffed by idealistic young
college graduates who were eager to improve the condition of the poor.
13. The passage mainly discusses
___ (A) American citses in the late nineteenth century
___ (B) the idealism of college graduates
___ (C) settlement houses in the late 1800s and early 1900s
___ (D) the life of several American social reformers
The dancer Isadon Duncan was a daring, dynamic innovator in dance.
While she was not very successful in teaching her highly personal style of
dance to others, she taught a genention of dancers to trust their own forms of
expression. She rebelled against the rigid, formal style of classical ballet.
Inspired by the art of Greece, she usually danced barefoot in a loose, flowing
Greck tunic. She found further inspiration in nature and used dance
movements to mirror the waves of the sea and passsing clouds.
Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco in 1878. She gave her first
performance in 1899. Early failures gave way to triumphant performances in
Budapest, Berlin, London, and finally, in 1908, back in the United Stattes. She
lived in Europe most of her life, establishing dancing schools for children
there. She died in 1927 near Nice, France, in a freak accident, her long scarf
being caught in the wheel of an open sports car in which she was riding.
14. The author's attitude toward Isadora Duncan could best be described as
one of
___ (A) displeasure
___ (B) admiration
___ (C) compassion
___ (D) amazement
15. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
___ (A) The author first discusses Isadora Duncan's style of dance and
then her life history.
___ (B) The first paragraph deals with Isadora Duncan's role as a
teacher; the second, her role as a performer
___ (C) The author first discusses Isadora Duncan’s shortcomings and
then her positive points.
___ (D) First there is an analysis of Isadora Duncan's influences and
then of her lasting contributions to dance.
Through the centures, the dream of medieval alchemists was to
discover how to turn lead and othel "base" metals into gold. Some were fakes,
but many were learned men with philosophical goals. Their quest was based
on the ancient idea that all matter consists of different proportions of just four
substances-earth, water, fire, and air. The believed that it was possible to
adjust the proportions of the elements that made up lead by chemical means
so that it turned into gold, a process called transmutation. Their experiments
were concerned with finding the substance-which they called the philosopher’s
stone-that, when added to lead, would cause this astonishing change to take
place. Alchemists also searched for the end of life, a substance that could
cure diseases and prolong life. They failed on both counts. However, their
techniques for preparing and studying chemicals helped lay the foundation for
the modem science of chemistry.
16. Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's attiude
toward medieval alchemists
___ (A) Although they were all fakes, their made important contribution
to science.
___ (B) Their discovery of the philosopher's stone was more important
than the achievement of modern chemists.
___ (C) Although their theories were sound, they lacked the equipment
needed to accomplish their goals
___ (D) They were unable to realize their goals, but they helped prepare
the way for modern chemistry.
EXERCISE 44.3Focus: Understanding the meaning of multi-paragraph passages by identifying
the main point of each of the paragraphs.
Directions: Read the following passages and the questions about them.
Decide which of the choice best answers the question, and mark the answer.
QUESTIONS 1 -3
In most of Europe, famers' homes and outbuildings are generally
located within a villalge, and tool and animals are housed there. Every
morning, the farmers and farm laborers leave their village to work their land or
tend their animals in distant fields and return to the villge at the end of the day.
Social life thus centripetal; that is, it is focused around the community center,
the village. Only in certain parts of Quebec has this pattern been preserved in
North America.
Throughout most of North America, different pattern was established. It
was borrowed from northern Europe, but was pushed even further in the New
World where land was cheap or even free. It a centrifugal system of social life,
with large isolated farms whose residents go to the village only to buy goods
and procure services. The independence associated with American farmers
stems from this patten of farm settlement. The American farmer is as free of
the intimacy of the village as the urbanite.
1. The main topic of the first pangraph is
___ (A) European farm products
___ (B) social life in Quebec
___ (C) the European pattem of rural settlement
2. The main topic of the second paragraph is
___ (A) the relative isolation of North American farm families
___ (B) the relationship between farmers and urbanites in North
America
___ (C) the low cost of farmland in North America
3. The main topic of the entire passage is
___ (A) a comparison of farming in northern and southern Europe
___ (B) the difference between farming in Quebec and the rest of North
America
___ (C) European influence on American agriculture
___ (D) a contrast between a centripetal system of rural life and a
centrifugal system
QUESTIONS 4-7
While fats have lately acquired a bad image, one should not forget how
essential they are. Fats provide the body's best means of storing energy, far
more efficient energy sources than either carbohy-drates or proteins. They act
as insulation against cold, as cushioning for the intemal organs, and as
lubricants. Without fats, energy would be no way to utilize fat soluble vitamins.
Furthermore, some fats contain fatty acids that contain necessary growth
factors and help with the digestion of other foods.
An important consideration of fat intake is the ratio of saturated fats to
unsaturated fats. Saturated fats, which are derived from dairy products,
animals fats, and tropical oils, increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
Cholesterol may lead to coronary heart disease by building up in the erteries
of the heart. However, unsaturated fats, derived from vegetable oils, tend to
lower serum cholesterol if taken in proportion twice that of saturated fats.
The consumption of a variety of fats is necessary, but the intake of too
much fat may lead to variety of health problems. Excessive intake of fats, like
all nutritional accesses, is to be avoided.
4. The main idea of the fist paragraph is that
___ (A) fats have a bad image
___ (B) fats serve important functions in the body
___ (C) fats store food more efficently than proteins or carbohydrates
5. What is the main idea of the second paragraph
___ (A) Unsaturated fats may reduce cholesterol levels.
___ (B) The consumption of any type of fat leads to heart disease.
___ (C) Fats taken in the proper proportion may reduce serum
cholesterol.
6. The main idea of the third paragraph is that
___ (A) people are eating less and less fat today
___ (B) fats should be gradually eliminated from the diet
___ (C) excessive consumption of fats may be dangerous to one's
health
7. With which of the following is the whole passage primarily concerned?
___ (A) The role of fats in human health
___ (B) The dangers of cholesterol
___ (C) The benefits of fats in the diet
___ (D) The imponance of good nutrition
QUESTIONS 8- 1 0
The term weathering refers to all the ways in which rock can be broken
down. It takes place because minerals formed in a particular way (say at high
temperatures, in the case of igneous rocks) are often unstable when exposed
to various conditions. Weathering involves the interaction of the lithosphere
(the Earth's crust) with the atmosphere and hydrosphere (air and water). It
occurs at different rates and in different ways, depending on the climactic and
environmental conditions. But, all kinds of weathering ultimately produce
broken minerals and rock fragments and other products of the decomposition
of stone.
Soil is the most obvious and, from the human point of view, the most
important result of the weathering process. Soil is the weathered part of the
Earth's crust that is capable of sustaining plant life. The character of soil
depends on the nature of rock from which it is formed. It also depends on the
climate and on the relative "age" of the soil. Immature soils are little more than
broken rock fragments. Over time, immature soil develops into mature soil,
which contains quantities of humus, formed from decayed plant matter.
Mature soil is darker, richer in microscopic life, and more conducive to plant
growth.
8. The first paragraph primadly describes
___ (A) the process by which rocks are broken down
___ (B) the weathering of igneous rocks
___ (C) gradual changes in the Earth's weather patterns
9. The main topic of the second paragraph is
___ (A) a description of immature soil
___ (B) the growth of plants
___ (C) the evolution of soil
10. The main topic of the entire passage is that
___ (A) weathering breaks down rocks and leads to the development of
soil
___ (B) soils may be classifted as mature or immature
___ (C) the process of soil development is more imponant to humans
than that of weathering
___ (D) the Earth's crust is constantly changing
QUESTIONS 11-16
The fist Dutch outpost in New Nethedands was made at Fort Orange
(now Albany) in 1624; it became a depot of the fur trade. But, the most
important settlement was at the southern tip of Manhatttan, commanding the
great harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River. Peter Minuit, first governor-
general of New Netherlands, "purchased" title to the island from the Canarsic
Indians for the equivalent of $24 worth of trinkets. However, the Canarsie
Indians might be described as tourists from Brooklyn; Minuit had to make a
later payment to the group that was actually resident there.
In 1626, engineers from Holland arrived in Manhattan to construct Fort
Amsterdam. Within its rectangular walls, permanent houses were built,
replacing the thatched dwellings of the original Manhat-tanites. The fort
became the nucleus of the town of New Amsterdam. Soon Manhattan had its
first skyline: the soud outline of the fort; the flagstaff, the silhouette of a giant
windmill; and the masts of trading ships.
The Dutch West India company established dairy farms in the vicinity of
New Amsterdam. Each morning, the cattle were driven to the "Bouwerie" (now
the Bowery), a large open common in the city. Just southwest of the Bouwerie
was the Bowang Green, a level are where the burghers played ninepins, the
ancestor of modem bowling. The Bowling Green became the site of a cattle
fair where livestock were marketed; beer and sausage were available from
booths: cheese, lace, and linen were sold by farmers' wives; and indian
women sold baskets and other handicrafts. These colorful gatherings and
other aspects of everyday life in New Amsterdam are described in Washington
Irving's rollicking book. Diedricb Knicker-bocker’s "History of New York".
The last and most powerful governor-general of New Netherlands was
Peter Stuyvesant, famous for his temper and his wooden leg. He annexed the
Swedish colony of Delaware and ordered the streets of New Amsterdam laid
out in an orderly manner and numbered. He did his best to obtain military and
financial aid from Holland against the British. When the British sent emissaries
demanding the surrender of the colony, he wanted to fight.
Four British warships, commanded by Colonel Richard Nicolls. sailed
into the harbor in 1664. The fort was long out of repair, and there was a
shortage of ammunition. Stuyvesant had no choice but to surrender. New
Netherlands became the British colony of New York, and New Amsterdam
became New York City.
11. What is the main topic of the first paragraph
___ (A) The first Dutch settlement in New Netherlands.
___ (B) Peter Minuit's acquisition of Manhattan
___ (C) Tourism in Manhattan
12. The second paragraph deals primanly wish
___ (A) The establishment of Fort Amsterdam
___ (B) The skyline of Manhattan
___ (C) the thatched houses of the Indians
13. The third paragraph mainly describes
___ (A) aspects of everyday life in New Amsterdam
___ (B) the origin of the game of modern bowling
___ (C) Washington Irving's book about New Amsterdam
14. What does the fourth paragraph mainly discuss?
___ (A) The annexation of the Swedish colony of Delaware
___ (B) The ordering of the streects in New Amsterdam
___ (C) A description of Peter Stuyvesant and his accomplishments
15. What is the primary topic of the entire passage?
___ (A) A history of the British colony of New York
___ (B) The origin and importance of the cattle fair
___ (C) European colonization in the New World
___ (D) Fotty years of Dutch rule in New Amsterdam
Lesson 45: FACTUAL QUESTIONS, NEGATIVE QUESTIONS, AND SCANNING QUESTIONS FACTUAL QUESTIONS
Factual questions ask about explicit facts and details given in the
passage. They often contain one of the wh-question words: who, what, when,
where, why, how much, and so on.
Factual questions often begin with the phrases "According to the
passage..." or "According to the author. . . ." When you see these phrases,
you know that the information needed to answer the question is directly stated
somewhere in the passage (unlike answers for inference questions).
To answer factual questions, you have to locate and identify the
information that the question asks about. If you are not sure from your first
reading where to look for specific answers, use the following scanning
techniques.
- Focus on one or two key words as you read the stem of each
question. Lock these words in your mind.
- Scan the passage looking for the key words or their synonyms. Look
only for these words. Do NOT try to read every word of the passage.
- It may help to use the eraser end of your pencil as a pointer to focus
your attention. Don't reread the passage completely - just look for these
words.
- When you find the key words in the passage, carefully read the
sentence in which they occur. You may have to read the sentence preceding
or following that sentence as well.
- Compare the information you read with the four answer choices.
The order of detail questions about a passage almost always follows the
order in which ideas are presented in the passage. In other words, the
information you need to answer the first detail question will usually come near
the beginning of the passage; the information for the second will follow that,
and so on. Knowing this should help you locate the information you need.
Correct answers for detail questions are seldom the same, word for
word, as information in the passage; they often contain synonyms and use
different grammatical structures.
There are generally more factual questions-twelve to eighteen per
reading section-than any other type except (on some tests) vocabulary-in-
context questions.
NEGATIVE QUESTIONS
These questions ask you to determine which of the four choices is not
given in the passage. These questions contain the words NOT, EXCEPT, or
LEAST (which are always capitalized).
- According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT
- Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
- Which of the following is the LEAST likely . . .
Scan the passage to find the answers that ARE correct or mentioned in
the passage. Sometimes the three distractors are clustered in one or two
sentences; Sometimes they are scattered throughout the passage. The
correct answer, of course, is the one that does not appear.
Negative questions often take more time than other questions.
Therefore, you may want to guess and come back to these questions if you
have time.
There are generally from three to six negative questions per reading
section.
SCANNING QUESTIONS
These questions ask you to find where in the passage some particular
information or transition is located. They are easy to identify: the answers are
usually line numbers. They are usually easy to answer too. Scanning
questions are often the last question in a set of questions about a passage.
Use the same techniques for scanning given in Part A about detail questions.
Sample Questions
- In what line does the author shift his focus to___?
- Where in the passage does the author first discuss___?
- A description of ___ can be found in…
- Where in the passage does the author specifically stress___?
- In what paragraph does the author first mention the concept of___?
In each reading section, there are generally from one to three scanning
questions.
EXERCISE 45.1Focus: Scanning passages to locate answers for factual and scanning
questions.
Directions: for each question, locate that part of the passage in which the
answer will probably be found, and write down the line numbers in the blank at
the end of the passage. Don’t worry about answering the question itself, only
about finding the information. The first one is done as an example. Do these
scanning exercises as fast as you can.
QUESTIONS 1-7
Antlers grow from permanent knoblike bones on a deer's skull. Deer use
their antlers chiefly to fight for mates or for leadership of a herd. Among most
species of deer, only the males have antlers, but both male and female
reindeer and caribou have antlers. Musk deer and Chinese water deer do not
have antlers at all.
Deer that live in mild or cold climates lose their antlers each winter. New
ones begin to grow the next spring. Deer that live in tropical climates may lose
their antlers and grow new ones at other times of year.
New antlers are soft and tender. Thin skin grows over the antlers as
they develop. Short, fine hair on the skin makes it look like velvet. Full-grown
antlers are hard and strong. The velvety skin dries up and the deer rubs the
skin off by scraping its antlers against trees. The antlers fall off several months
later.
The size and shape of a deer's antlers depend on the animal's age and
health. The first set grows when the deer is from 1 to 2 years old. On most
deer. the first antlers are short and straight. As deer get older, their antlers
grow larger and form intricate branches.
1. How do deer primarily use their antlers? ___1-2
2. In what way are reindeer and caribou different from other types of deer?___
3. When do deer that live in temperate climates begin to grow their antlers?
___
4. According to the article, which of the following does the skin on deer's
antlers most closely re-semble?___
5. Which of the following factors influences the size and shape of a deer's
antlers?___
6. At what age do deer get their first antlers?___
7. What happens to deer's antlers as the deer grow older? ___
QUESTIONS 8- 13
The trumpet player Louis Armstrong, or Satchmo as he was usually
called, was among the first jazz musicians to achieve intenational fame. He is
known for the beautiful, clear tone of his trumpet - playing and for his gruff,
gravelly singing voice. He was one of the first musicians to sing in the scat
style, using rhythmic nonsense syllables instead of lyrics.
Armstrong was born into a poor family in New Orleans. He first learned
to play the cornet at the age of 13, taking lessons while living in a children's
home. As a teenager, he played in a number local jazz bands in New Orleans’
rollicking nightlife district, Storyville.
In 1922, Armstrong moved to Chicago to play in Joe "King" Oliver's
band. Two years later, he joined Fletcher Henderson's band. Then, from 1925
to 1928, Armstrong made a series of records wi group called the Hot Five, the
Hot Seven, and the Savoy Ballroom Five. These records rank among the
greatest recordings in the history of jazz. They include "Cornet Chop Sucy,"
"Potato Head Blues,” and “West End Blues."
Armstrong led a big band during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1947,
returned to playing with small jazz groups. He performed all over the world
and made a number of hit records, such as "Hello, Dolly" and "Mack the
Knife." Armstrong also appeared in a number of movies, first in New Orleans
in 1947, High Society in 1956, and Hello, Dolly in 1969.
8. What was Armstrong's nickname? ___
9. Which of the following phrases best describes Armstrong's singing voice?
___
10. Where did Armstrong first learn to play the cornet?___
11. In what city was Joe "King" Oliver's band based? ___
12. During what period did Armstrong record some of jazz's greatest records?
___
13. What was the first movie Armstrong appeared in? ___
QUESTIONS 14-23
In 1862, during the Civil War, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act.
The measure was named for its sponsor, Congressman (later Senator) Justin
S. Morrill of Vermont. Popularly called the Land Grai Act, it provided each
state with 30,000 acres of public land for each senator and each
representative, it had in Congress. It required that the land be sold, the
proceeds invested, and the income used to create and maintain colleges to
teach agriculture and engineering.
Although not all states used the money as planned in the act, some
thirty states did establish new institutions. Purdue University, the University of
Illinois, Texas A & M, Michigan State, and the University of California all trace
their roots to the Morrill Act. Eighteen states gave the money to existing state
universities to finance new agricultural and engineering departments. A few
gave their money to private colleges. For example, Massachusetts used much
of its funds to endow the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One state
changed its mind. Yale University was chosen to be funded in Connecticut,
but farmers protested, and the legistature moved the assets to the University
of Connecticut.
Most students chose to study engineering. Agriculture was not even
considered a science until it had been dignified by the work of research
stations. These were established at land-grant institu-tions in 1887 by the
Hatch Act. Gradually, universities broke away from the narrow functions
Congress had assigned them and presented a full range of academic offerings
from anthropology to zoology.
Today there are some sixty-nine land-grant institutions in all fifty states,
the District of Columb and Puerto Rico. About one in five college students in
the United States attends land-grant schools.
14. When was the Morrill Act signed?___
15. Who sponsored the Morrill Act?___
16. What position did the sponsor of the Morrill Act have at the time it was
passed?___
17. How much land did each state receive under the Morrill Act?___
18. How many states used the money in the way it was intended by
Congress?___
19. Which of these states used its money to fund a private university?___
20. Who objected to the way the Connecticut legislature initially decided to
spend its funds?___
21. What was one effect of the Hatch Act of 1887?___
22. How many land-grant institutions are in operation at present?___
23. What percent of college students in the United States currently attend
land-grant institution?___
EXERCISE 45.2Focus: Answering factual, negative, and scanning questions about
reading pusages.
Directions: Read the following passages and the questions ahout them.
Decidc which of the choices-(A), (B), (C), or (D)-best answers the question,
and mark the answer.
QUESTIONS 1-9
Mesa Verde is the center of the prehistoric Anasazi culture. It is located
in the high plateau lands near Four Comers. Where Colorado, Utah, New
Mexico, and Arizona come together. This high ground is malestic but not
forbidding. The climate is dry but tiny streams trade at the bottom of deeply
cut canyons, where sepal and spdngs provided water for the Anasazi to
irrgate their crops. Rich red soll provided ferrtile ground for thetr crops of com,
beans, squash, tobacco, and cotton. The Anasazi domesticated the wild
turkey and hunted deer, rabbits, and mountain sheep.
For a thousand years the Anaszi lived around Mesa Verde. Although
the Anasazi are not related to the Navajos, no one knows what these Indians
called themselves, and so they are commonly refened to by their Navajo
name, Anasazi, which means “ancient ones” in the Navajo language.
Around 550 A.D., eady Anasazi-then a nomadic people eachaeologists
call the Basketmakers-began constructing permanent homes on mesa tops. In
the next 300 years, the Anasazi made rapid technological advancements,
induding the rermement of not only basket making but allso pottery making
and weaving. This phase of development is referred to as the Early Pueblo
Culture.
By the Great Pueblo Period (1100-1300 A.D.), the Anasazi population
swelled to more than 5,0OO and the architecturally ambitious cliff dwellings
came into being. The Anasazi moved from the mesa tops onto ledges on the
steep canyon walls, creating two- and three story dweninss. They used
sandstone blocks and mud mortar. There were no doors on the first floor and
people used laddera to reach the first roof. All the villages had underground
chambers called kivas. Men held tribal councus there and also used them for
secret religious ceremonies and clan meetings. Winding paths, ladders and
steps cut into the stone led from the valleys below to the ledges on which the
vilages stood. The largest settlement contained 217 rooms. One might
surmise that these dwellings were built for protection; but the Anaszi had no
known enemies and there is no sign of conflict.
But a bigger mystery is why the Anasazi occupied these structures such
a short time. By 1300, Mesa Verde was deserted. It is conjectured that the
Anasazi abandoned their settlements because of drought, overpopulation,
crop failure, or some combination of these. They probably moved south-ward
and were incorponted into the pueblo vilages that the Spanish explorers
encountered 200 years later. Their descendants still live in the Southwest.
1. The passage does NOT mention that the Anasazi hunted
(A) sheep
(B) turkeys
(C) deer
(D) rabbits
2. The name that the Anasazi used for them- selves
(A) means "Basketmakers" in the Navajo language
(B) is unknown today
(C) was given to them by archae-ologists
(D) means "ancient ones" in the Anasazi language
3. How long did the Early Pueblo Culture last?
(A) 200 years
(B) 300 years
(C) 550 years
(D) 1,000 years
4. Where did the Anasazi move during the Great Pueblo Period?
(A) to settlements on ledges of canyon walls
(B) to pueblos in the South
(C) onto the tops of the mesas
(D) onto the floors of the canyons
5. According to the passage, the Anasazi buildings were made primarily of
(A) mud
(B) blocks of wood
(C) sandstone
(D) the skins of animals
6. According to the passage, the Anasazi entered their buildings on the ledges
(A) by means of ladders
(B) from underground chambers
(C) by means of stone stairways
(D) through doors on the first floor
7. According to the passage, kivas were used for all the following purposes
EXCEPT
(A) clan meetings
(B) food preparation
(C) religious ceremonies
(D) tribal councils
8. According to the passage, the LEAST likely reason that the Anasazi
abandoned Mesa Verde was
(A) drought
(B) overpopulation
(C) war
(D) crop failure
9. Where in the passage does the author mention specific acomplishments of
the Basketmakers?
(A) Lines 5-6
(B) Lines 11-13
(C) Lines 15-16
(D) Lines 18-20
QUESTIONS 10- 15
Dulcimers are musical instruments that basically consist of wooden boxes with
strings stretched over them. In one form or another, they have been around
since ancient times, probably originating with the Persian santir. Today there
are two varieties: the hammered dulcimer and the Appalachian, or mountain
dulcimer. The former is shaped like a trapezoid, has two or more strings, and
is played with wooden mallets. It is the same instrument played in a number of
old World countries. The Appalachian dulcimer is classified by musicologists
as a box zither. It is a descendant of the Pennsyl-vania Dutch scheitholt and
the French epinette. Appalachian dulcimers are paininstakingly fashioned by
artisans in the mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.
These instrument have three or four strings and are plucked with quills or the
fingers. They are shaped like teardrops or hourglasses. Heart-shaped holes in
the sounding board are traditional. Most performers play the instruments while
seated with the instruments in their laps, but others wear them around their
necks like guitars or place them on tables in front of them. Originally used to
play dance music, Appala-chian dulcimers were popularized by performers
such as John Jacob Niles and Jean Ritchle during the folk music revival of the
1960s.
10. According to the passage, a hammered dulcimer is made in the shape of
____ (A) an hourglass
____ (B) a heart
____ (C) a trapezoid
____ (D) a teardrop
11. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT an ancestor of the
Appala- chian dulcimer?
____ (A) the box zither
____ (B) the santir
____ (C) the scheitholt
____ (D) the epinette
12. According to the passage, how many strings does the Appalachian
dulcimer have?
____ (A) one or two
____ (B) three or four
____ (C) four or five
____ (D) six or more
13. According to the author, most performers play the Appalachian dulcimer
____ (A) while sitting down
____ (B) with the instrument strapped around their neek
____ (C) while standing at a table
____ (D) with wooden hammers
14. According to the author, what are John Jacob Niles and Jean Ritchie
known for?
____ (A) playing dance music on Appalachian dulcimers
____ (B) are artisans who design Appalachian dulcimers
____ (C) helped bring Appalachian dulcimers to the public's attention
____ (D) began the folk music revival of the 1960s
15. Where in the passage does the author describe the hammered dulcimer?
____ (A) Lines 1-2
____ (B) Lines 3-4
____ (C) Lines 4-5
____ (D) Lines 8-10
QUESTIONS 16-20
Humanitarian Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine, in 1802. At the age
of 19, she established a school for girls, the Dix Mansion School, in Boston,
but had to close it in 1835 due to her poor health. She wrote and published the
first of many books for children in 1824. In 1841, Dix accepted an invitation to
teach classes at a prison in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was deeply
disturbed by the sight of mentally-ill persons thrown in the jail and treated like
criminals. For the next eighteen months, she toured Massachusetts
institutions where other mental patients were confined and reported the
shocking conditions she found to the state legislature. When improvements
followed in Massachusetts, she turned her attention to the neighboring states
and then to the West and South.
Dix’s work was interrupted by the Civil War; she served as
superintendent of women hospital nurses for the federal government.
Dix saw special hospital for the mentally in built in some fifteen states.
Although her plan to obtain public land for her cause failed, she aroused
concern for the problem of mental illness all over the United States as well as
in Canada and Europe.
Dix's success was due to her independent and thorough research, her
gentle but persistent manner, and her ability to secure the help of powerful
and wealthy supporters.
16. In what year was the Dix Mansion School clised?
____ (A) 1821
____ (B) 1824
____ (C) 1835
____ (D) 1841
17. Why did Dorothea Dix first go to a prison?
____ (A) She taught classes there.
____ (B) She was sent there by the state legislature.
____ (C) She was convicted of a crime.
____ (D) She was doing rescarch for a book.
18. wbere was Dorothea Dix first able to bring about reforms in the treatment
of the mentally ill?
____ (A) Canada
____ (B) Massachusetts
____ (C) The West and South
____ (D) Europe
19. Dorothea Dix was NOT successful in her attempt to
____ (A) become superintendent of nurses
____ (B) pubush books for chudren
____ (C) arouse concern for the mentally ill
____ (D) obtain public lands
20. At what point of the passage does the author discuss specific reasons for
Dix's success?
____ (A) Lines 7-8
____ (B) Lines 9-10
____ (C) Lines 11-13
____ (D) Lines 14-15
QUESTIONS 21 -26
A quilt is a bed cover made of squares of material piceed together. Each
square consists of two layers filled with a layer of wool or cotton cloth,
feathers, or down. Often, the squares are decorated with fancy stitches and
designs. According to legend, the earliest pieced quilt was stitched in 1704 by
Sarah Sedgewick Everett, wife of the governor of the Massachusetts colony.
By 1774 George Washing-ton was buying quilts in Belvoir, Virginia, to take
back to Martha in Mount Vernon. As the frontier moved westward, quilting
went along. In addition to sleeping under them, homesteaders kept out drafts
by hanging quilts over doors and windows. And if the money ran out, quilts
were used to pay debts.
For isolated pioneer women, quilts were a source of comfort. Mary
Vilman, whose family moved to Texas from Missoun in 189O, recalled the first
time she and her mother had to spend a week alone and a dust storm came
up. "The wind blew for three days and the dust was so thick that you couldn’t
see the barn. My mother quilted all day, and she laught me how to quilt. If it
hadn't been for quilting, I think we would have gone crazy."
Quilting provided an important social function for the women of the
frontier as well. At quilting bees, women met to work on quilts, and to share
the latest news.
Today, however, the homely quilt has become a coslly cultural
phenomenon. The International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, "world's fair
of quiltillg," attracted only 2,500 people and displayed only 20O quilts when it
began a dozen years ago. This year where were more than 20,000 visitors
and 5,000 quilts some of which sold for as much as $50,000.
21. According to legend, who made the first American quilt?
____ (A) Sarah Sedgewick Everett
____ (B) the governor of the colony of Massachusetts
____ (C) Martha Washington
____ (D) Mary Wilman
22. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as one of the
benefits of quilts for pioneers?
____ (A) They could be used to pay debts.
____ (B) They could be used to help
____ (C) They could provide logical comfort.
____ (D) They could be worn as warm clothing
23. According to the passage, what is a “quilting bee”?
____ (A) a type of insect
____ (B) a gathering where women socialize and make quilts
____ (C) a type of quilt
____ (D) a place where people buy and sell quilts
24. Where is the International Quilt Festival held?
____ (A) Massachusetts
____ (B) Houston, Texas
____ (C) Belvoir, Virginia
____ (D) Missouri
25. How many quilts were displayed at the first International Quilt Festival?
____ (A) 200
____ (B) 2,500
____ (C) 5,000
____ (D) 20,000
26. Where in the passage does the author first begin to discuss the way in
which the public’s perception of quilts has change in modern times?
____ (A) Lines 5-6
____ (B) Line 9
____ (C) Lines 16
____ (D) Lines 18-19
QUESTIONS 27-32
Ambient divers are, unlike divers who go underwater in submersible vehicles
or pressure resistant suits, exposed to the pressure and temperature of the
surrounding (ambient) water. Of all types of diving, the oldest and simplest is
free diving. Free divers may use no equipment at all, but most use a face
mask, foot fins, and a snorkel. Under the surface, free divers must hold their
breath. Most free divers can only descend 30 to 40 feet, but some skilled
divers can go as deep as 100 feet.
Scuba diving provides greater range than free diving. The word scuba
stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. Scuba divers wear
metal tanks with compressed air or other breathing gases. When using open-
circuit equipment, a scuba diver simply breathes air from the tank through a
hose and releases the exhaled air into the water. A closed-circult breathing
device, also called a rebreather, fitters out carbon dioxide and other harmful
gases and automatically adds oxygen. This enables the diver to breathe the
same air over and over.
In surface-supplied diving, divers wear helmets and waterproof canvas
suits. Today, sophisticated plastic helmets have replaced the heavy copper
helmets used in the past. These divers get their air from a hose connected to
compressors on a boat. Surface-supplied divers can go deeper than any other
type of ambient diver.
27. Ambient divers are ones who
____ (A) can descend to extreme depths
____ (B) use submersible vehicles
____ (C) use no equipment
____ (D) are exposed to the surrounding water
28. According to the passage, a free diver may use any of the following
EXCEPT
____ (A) a rebreather
____ (B) a snorkel
____ (C) foot fins
____ (D) a mask
29. According to the passage, the maximum depth for free divers is around
____ (A) 40 feet
____ (B) 100 feet
____ (C) 200 feet
____ (D) 1,000 feet
30. When using closed-circuit devices, divers
____ (A) exhale air into the water
____ (B) hold their breath
____ (C) breathe the same air over and over
____ (D) receive air from the surface
31. According to the passage, surface-supplied divers today use helmets
made from
____ (A) glass
____ (B) copper
____ (C) plastic
____ (D) canvas
32. Where in the passage does the author mention which type of diver can
make the deepest descents?
____ (A) Lines 2-5
____ (B) Lines 4-5
____ (C) Lines 11
____ (D) Lines 14-15