THE READING COMPREHENSION QUESTION

Time: 55 minutes, including the reading of the directions

Now set your clock for 55 minutes.

Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each passage is followed by several
questions about it. For questions 1-50, you are to choose the best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to
each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space
that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.

Read the following sample passage:

The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society, or to draw
attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out
their wares at daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been
Linein rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is
5 today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of
time, social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services,
and information would proceed in fits and starts; the very fabric of modern society would
begin to unravel.
Example I Sample Answer
A B C D
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) In modern society we must make more time for our neighbors.
(B) The traditions of society are timeless.
(C) An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
(D) Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.

The main idea of the passage is that societies need to agree about how time is to be
measured in order to function smoothly. Therefore, you should choose (C)

Example II Sample Answer

A B C D
2. In line 4, the phrase “this tradition” refers to …
(A) the practice of starting the business day at dawn
(B) friendly relations between neighbours
(C) the railroad’s reliance on time schedules
(D) people’s agreement on the measurement of time

The phrase “this tradition” refers to the preceding clause, “people have been in rough agreement
with their neighbours as to the time of day.” Therefore, you should choose (D).
 READING COMPREHENSION
Questions 1
In the philosophy of John Dewey, a sharp distinction is made between “intelligence”
and “reasoning”. According to Dewey, intelligence is the only absolute way to achieve a
balance between realism and idealism between practicality and wisdom of life. Intelligence
involves "interacting with other things and knowing them, while reasoning is merely the act
of an observer, "... a mind that beholds or grasps objects outside the world of things. With
reasoning, a level of mental certainty can be achieved, but it is through intelligence that
control is taken of events that shape one’s life.

1. What is the topic of this passage?

(A) The intelligence of John Dewey
(B) Distinctions made by John Dewey
(C) Dewey's ideas on the ability to reason
(D) How intelligence differs from reasoning in Dewey's works

Questions 2
Nitrogen fixation is a process by which nitrogen is continuously fed into biological
circulation. In this process, certain algae and bacteria convert nitrogen into ammonia (NIH).
This newly created ammonia is then for the most part absorbed by plants.
The opposite process of denitrification returns nitrogen to the air. During the
process of denitrification, bacteria cause some of the nitrates from the soil to convert into
gaseous nitrogen or nitrous oxide (N,0). In this gaseous form the nitrogen returns to the
atmosphere.

2. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
(A) The Process of Nitrogen Fixation
(B) Two Nitrogen Processes
(C) The Return of Nitrogen to the Air
(D) The Effect of Nitrogen on Plant Life

Questions 3-5
Williamsburg is a historic city in Virginia situated on a peninsula between two rivers,
the York and the James. It was settled by English colonists in 1633, twenty-six years after
the first permanent English colony in America was settled at Jamestown. In the beginning
the colony at Williamsburg was named Middle Plantation because of its location in the
middle of the peninsula. The site for Williamsburg had been selected by the colonists
because the soil drainage was better there than at the Jamestown location, and there were
fewer mosquitoes.
 3. According to the passage, Williamsburg is located…
(A) on an island
(B) in the middle of a river
(C) where the York and the James meet
(D) on a piece of land with rivers on two sides

4. The passage indicates that Jamestown…

(A) was settled in 1633
(B) was settled twenty-six years after Williamsburg
(C) was the first permanent English colony in America
(D) was originally named Middle Plantation

5. The passage states that the name Middle Plantation

(A) is a more recent name than Williamsburg
(B) derived from the location of the colony on the peninsula
(C) refers to the middle part of England that was home to the colonist
(D) was given to the new colony because it was located in the middle of several
plantations

Question 6-7
Carnivorous plants, such as the sundew and the Venus flytrap, are generally found
in humid areas where there is an inadequate supply of nitrogen in the soil. In order to
survive, these plants have developed mechanisms to trap insects within their foliage. They
Linehave digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects. These plants trap
5 the insects in a variety of ways. The sundew has sticky hairs on its leaves; when an insect
lands on these leaves, it gets caught up in the sticky hairs, and the leaf wraps itself around
the insect. The leaves of the Venus flytrap function more like a trap, snapping suddenly and
forcefully shut around an insect.

6. The pronoun "they" in line 3 refers to..

(A) humid areas
(B) these plants
(C) insects
(D) digestive fluids

7. The pronoun "it" in line 6 refers to..

(A) a variety
(B) the sundew
(C) an insect
(D) the leaf

Question 8-9
 The Hawaiian language is a melodious language in which all words are derived from
an alphabet of only twelve letters, the five vowels a, e, i, o, u and the seven consonants h,
k, I, m, n, p, w. Each syllable in the language ends in a vowel, and two consonants never
appear together, so vowels have a much higher frequency in the Hawaiian language than
they do in English.
This musical-sounding language can be heard regularly by visitors to the islands.
Most Hawaiians speak English, but it is quite common to hear English that is liberally spiced
with words and expressions from the traditional language of the culture. A visitor may be
greeted with the expression aloha and may be referred to as a malihini because he is a
newcomer to the island. This visitor may attend an outside luau where everyone eats too
much and may be invited afterwards to dance the hula.

8. Which of the following is probably NOT a Hawaiian word?

(A) Mahalo
(B) Mahimahi
(C) Meklea
(D) Moana

9. It is implied that a luau is?

(A) a dance
(B) a feast
(C) a concert
(D) a language

Question 10-12
One of the leading schools of psychological thought in the twentieth century was
behaviorism— the belief that the role of the psychologist is to study behavior, which is
observable, rather than conscious or unconscious thought, which is not. Probably the-best
known proponent of behaviorism is B.F. Skinner, who was famous for his research on how
rewards and punishments influence behavior. He came to believe that positive
reinforcements such as praise, food, or money were more effective in promoting good
behavior than negative reinforcement, or punishment.

10. In “behaviorism”, a psychologist is (B) A reward

concerned with (C) A bribe
(A) Conscious thought patterns (D) A penalty
(B) Unconscious thought patterns
(C) Observable actions 12. What is “negative reinforcement”?
(D) Unobservable actions (A) A promotion
(B) A reward
11. What is “positive reinforcement”? (C) A surprise
(A) A gift (D) A punishment
Question 13-20
Colour in textiles is produced by dyeing, by printing, or by painting. Until the
nineteenth century, all dyes were derived from vegetable or, more rarely, animal or mineral
sources.
Line Since madder plants could be grown practically everywhere, the roots of some
5species of the madder plant family were used from the earliest period to produce a whole
range of reds. Red animal dyes, derived from certain species of scale insects, were also
highly valued from ancient times through the Middle Ages. Blues were obtained from
indigo, which was widely cultivated in India and exported from there, and from woad, a
plant common in Europe and also used in the Near East from the beginning of the Christian
era. Before the first, nonfading “solid” green was invented in the early nineteenth century,
greens were achieved by the overdyeing or overprinting of yellow and blue. However,
yellow dyes, whether from weld or some other plant source such as saffron or turmeric,
invariably fade or disappear. This accounts for the bluish tinge of what were once bright
greens in, for example, woven tapestry.
Line
15 The range of natural colours was hugely expanded and, indeed, superseded by the
chemical dyes developed during the eighteen hundreds. By 1900 a complete range of
synthetic colours had been evolved, many of them reaching a standard of resistance to
fading from exposure to light and to washing that greatly exceeded that of natural
dyestuffs. Since then, the petroleum industry has added many new chemicals, and from
these other types of dyestuffs have been developed. Much of the research in dyes was
stimulated by the peculiarities of some of the new synthetic fibers. Acetate rayon, for
example, seemed at first to have no affinity for dyes and a new range of dyes had to be
developed; nylon and Terylene presented similar problems.
The printing of textiles has involved a number of distinct methods. With the
exception of printing patterns directly onto the cloth, whether by block, roller, or screen, all
of these are based on dyeing; that is, the immersion of the fabric in a dye bath.

13. The passage mainly discusses the

(A) development of synthetic colours for textiles during the nineteenth century
(B) advantages of chemical dyes over dyes derived from plants and animals
(C) differences between dyeing textiles and printing them
(D) history of the use of natural and chemical dyes to colour textiles

14. According to the passage, what was the source of most textile dyes that were used
before the nineteenth century?
(A) Animals
(B) Minerals
(C) Plants
(D) Chemicals

15. What was the advantage of using madder plants for different shades of red?
(A) It was possible to cultivate madder plants in almost every location.
 (B) Madder plants produced brighter colours than other plant sources.
(C) Plant sources produced more lasting colours than animal sources.
(D) Dyes derived from the madder plants were easier to work with than other dyes.

16. The word “invariably” in line 12 is closest in meaning to…

(A) without exception
(B) steadily
(C) after some time
(D) noticeably

17. It can be inferred from the passage that the green areas in woven tapestries developed
a bluish tinge because
(A) a darker colour, like blue, dominates a light colour, like yellow
(B) light changed some of the green dye used in the tapestries to blue
(C) the yellow dye that was used in the tapestries had faded
(D) the dyes used to colour woven tapestries were made from minerals

18. The word “superseded” in line 15 is closest in meaning to

(A) strengthened
(B) improved
(C) replaced
(D) complemented

19. According to the passage, how did chemical dyes compare to natural dyes?
(A) The chemical dyes had less attractive colours.
(B) The chemical dyes were less easy to use.
(C) The chemical dyes lost their brightness more quickly when exposed to light.
(D) The chemical dyes held up better after washing.

20. According to the passage, what problem led to the development of new dyes after
1900?
(A) Previously developed dyes did not work on new types of fibers.
(B) Dyes derived from petroleum caused damage to new synthetic fibers.
(C) New synthetic fibers required brighter colours than natural fibers did.
(D) New fabrics easily lost their colours when washed.

Question 21-30
In the later part of the nineteenth century, the direction of expansion in the United
LineStates shifted from the countryside to the city. During the crises of the 1870s and the
51890s, tens of thousands of families abandoned their farms and ranches and headed for
urban areas. Even prosperity produced migration from the countryside to the city. As
pioneers settled rural districts, eventually the number of farms or ranches approached the
maximum number the land would support. Landowners sought to increase their
productivity through mechanization, and those who were successful invested their returns
in the purchase of additional land and equipment, expanding their holdings by buying the
farms of less fortunate neighbours, who moved on. Compare this pattern of economic
development with that of the city, where innovations in manufacturing led to the creation
of new opportunities and new jobs. But in the countryside, economic development
inevitably meant depopulation. Rural areas in the central part of the country had begun to
lose population by the 1880s, and over the next half century most of the rural West was
overtaken by this trend. For every industrial worker who became a farmer, 20 young men
from farms rushed to the city to compete for his job.
Less well-known is the fact that for every 20 young farm men, as many as 25 or 30
young farm women moved from the rural West to the cities. As a government report noted
in 1920, young farm women were more likely to leave the farm and move to a western city
than were young farm men. This amounted to a stunning reversal of the traditional pattern
of western urban settlement, which featured the presence of many young, unattached men
among the migrants but almost no single women.
What explains the greater rates of female migration to the cities? In the opinion of
many contemporaries, young women were pushed out of the countryside by constricted
opportunities, particularly limited educational and vocational options.

21. What aspect of the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Why young women chose to move from farms to cities
(B) The number and types of manufacturing jobs created in cities
(C) Changes in settlement patterns between farms and cities
(D) The effects of mechanization on western migration

22. The word “expansion” in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) change
(B) growth
(C) population
(D) labour

23. The word “abandoned” in line 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) left behind
(B) sold
(C) gave away
(D) gradually reduced the size of

24. Why does the author discuss “prosperity” in line 4?

(A) To indicate that more than one factor contributed to the movement from rural to
urban settlement
 (B) To support the idea that many families were able to stop farming and migrate to
the cities
(C) To suggest that the migration would have happened despite the economic situation
(D) To argue against economics as the primary factor in migration

25. According to the first paragraph, in the late 1800s, farmland was most likely to be
purchased by
(A) city businessmen seeking new investments
(B) successful landowners who had mechanized farms
(C) young farm men starting to work
(D) people who had few opportunities in cities

26. The word “inevitably” in line 11 is closest in meaning to

(A) unexpectedly
(B) usually
(C) unavoidably
(D) possibly

27. The phrase “this trend” in line 13 refers to

(A) industrial workers becoming farmers
(B) the economic development of the countryside
(C) the loss of rural population
(D) innovations in manufacturing

28. According to the first paragraph, which of the following is true about the population of
the United States after the 1880s?
(A) Fewer people lived on farms.
(B) The central part of the United States lost much of its population to rural areas in
the West.
(C) Rural areas of the West became more populated than those in the central part of
the country.
(D) Work opportunities in urban areas began to decline.

29. According to the second paragraph, how did migration among young women in the
rural West differ from that of young men?
(A) Young women were more likely to leave rural areas to go to urban areas.
(B) Young women were more likely to take jobs on farms.
(C) Young women who migrated generally had more education.
(D) Young women generally moved more frequently from one rural area to another.

30. The word “constricted” in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) unappealing
(B) reduced
 (C) low-paying
(D) disappearing

Question 31-39
In the United States, many social reformers in the late nineteenth century
demonstrated a concern for improved housing conditions for workers. George Pullman
(1831-1897), the wealthy industrialist who introduced luxury railway cars with beds, built
Linehis model city called Pullman in 1880 to address housing problems caused by Chicago’s
5 industrialization. In constructing the town, Pullman hoped to produce an ideal environment
that would help attract workers of a superior type to the railway car industry and retain
them. Pullman inhabitants were expected to embody values of thrift, industry, and
morality. They were taught to develop propriety and good manners, cleanliness and
neatness of appearance, diligence, and self-improvement through education and savings.
Like the brick clock tower that dominated the town centre, Pullman kept a regulatory eye
on his workers.
In its first five years, this new experiment in industrial life received little criticism,
except from radical political groups. Crediting the town of Pullman with producing a new
type of dependable and ambitious worker in a rationally ordered environment, reformers,
Lineat first, praised it as a successful model for modern industrial life. However, after 1885,
15 with the high gloss of the experiment dulled, it became clear that the residents of Pullman
had honest grievances about the overcharging of rent and other services.
In 1893, The World’s Columbian Exposition, an exhibition that aimed to promote
American cultural, economic, and technological development, and in which George
Pullman was a major investor, was held in Chicago. The town of Pullman became a popular
tourist stop, attracting more than its share of curious travellers. There were 10,000 foreign
visitors alone during the exposition year. In fact, the first Baedeker Travel Guide to the
United States advised visitors to tour Pullman. Frequent trains and trolley cars connected
the fairgrounds of the exposition with the town, and on several occasions, George Pullman
himself guided the tours. Constructing a fantastic environment for the benefit of tourists,
he made sure that any real tensions between his office and the working inhabitants of the
town were rendered invisible to the tourist gaze.

31. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The effect of industrialization on the city of Pullman
(B) The model city built by George Pullman
(C) The career of George Pullman
(D) Housing problems in the nineteenth century

32. According to the passage, which of the following led to the creation of the town of
Pullman?
(A) A surplus of railway workers in Chicago
(B) Housing problems caused by industrialization
(C) George Pullman’s decision to stop producing railway cars
 (D) The opening of the World’s Columbian Exposition

33. According to the passage, George Pullman expected that the city of Pullman would
(A) impress social reformers
(B) satisfy radical political groups
(C) soon develop housing problems
(D) draw workers to the railway car industry

34. The word “retain” in line 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) house
(B) train
(C) keep
(D) reward

35. According to the passage, Pullman inhabitants were taught to do all of the following
EXCEPT
(A) have good manners
(B) become active in town politics
(C) value education
(D) save money

36. What does the author imply about George Pullman’s attitude toward his workers in line
10?
(A) Pullman believed that his workers should follow a strict daily schedule.
(B) Pullman felt that his workers required careful monitoring and supervision.
(C) Pullman thought that individual workers could be taught to work together as a team.
(D) Pullman believed that his workers had trouble keeping track of the time they spent
on a task.

37. The word “grievances” in line 16 is closest in meaning to

(A) stories
(B) opinions
(C) findings
(D) complaints

38. According to the passage, what did George Pullman do to promote tourism in the town
of Pullman?
(A) He personally showed tourists around the town.
(B) He published a travel guide to the town.
(C) He started to invest in the town’s cultural development.
(D) He built a new road connecting it to the World’s Columbian Exposition.
 39. The passage suggests that George Pullman worked to hide which of the following from
tourists?
(A) His role as an investor in the World’s Columbian Exposition
(B) His conflicts with the inhabitants of the town of Pullman
(C) His efforts to promote the town of Pullman
(D) His lack of knowledge about how the inhabitants of Pullman really lived

Question 40-50
Except for flies, all flying insects have two pairs of wings, one of which is attached to
the upper mesothorax and the other to the upper metathorax. It is likely that their wings
originated as flaps that could be extended from the thorax, allowing wingless insects to
Lineescape danger by leaping from an elevated perch and gliding some distance away. Insect
5 wings are unique, having evolved specifically for flight, while the wings of birds and bats
are merely modifications of preexisting limbs.
The earliest insects known to be capable of true flight had two pairs of wings that
remained extended and did not fold, even when the creature was at rest. Each pair flapped
independently of the other pair, a contemporary parallel to this feature being found in the
wings of dragonflies, which are members of a primitive but common order of insects. Many
advanced insects, such as beetles, butterflies, and wasps, have evolved means to link their
forewings and hind wings to form two coordinated flight surfaces rather than four.
Most insect wings are laced with veins. These are distinct ridges, the pattern of
Linewhich is often critical to the identification of individual species. The spaces between the
15veins are called cells; those extending to the wing margin are open cells, and those
enclosed by veins on all sides are closed cells. Adult insects that emerge from a pupa have
wings that at first look crumpled and useless. Extensions of the tracheal respiratory system
run through the veins, and blood circulates in the spaces around the tracheae. As air is
pumped through the veins, the wings of these newly emerged insects unfurl and
straighten. As the veins harden, they provide both strength and a degree of flexibility, and
the wings become capable of sustaining flight.
The veins of the wings tend to be thicker and stronger near the body and along the
forward, or leading, edge and thinner and more flexible near the tip and along the trailing
edge. The trailing edge curls on both the upstroke and the downstroke, pushing against the
air behind it and producing not only lift but forward propulsion and reduced drag.

40. The wings of insects are compared to the wings of birds and bats in terms of
(A) their size
(B) the way they evolved
(C) their point of attachment to the thorax
(D) their role in the survival of the species

41. Which of the following is a characteristic of the earliest insects known to be capable of
true flight?
(A) They had one pair of wings.
 (B) Their wings were only folded when at rest.
(C) Both pairs of wings moved at the same time.
(D) Their wings were always extended.

42. The author mentions dragonflies in the second paragraph as an example of insects
whose wings are
(A) not symmetrical in design
(B) commonly found in advanced insects
(C) similar to those of the earliest insects
(D) capable of circular movements

43. The word “link” in line 11 is closest in meaning to

(A) join
(B) stop
(C) reduce
(D) flatten

44. According to the passage, how do the veins of insect wings differ among species?
(A) Some species do not have spaces between the veins.
(B) Veins are difficult to see in some species.
(C) Different species have different patterns of veins.
(D) Some species do not pump air through the veins

45. Where can open cells be found?

(A) At the edge of the wings
(B) In the middle of the wings
(C) In the veins
(D) In the blood

46. The word “they” in line 20 refers to

(A) spaces
(B) wings
(C) insects
(D) veins

47. How do the forward and trailing edges of insect wings differ?
(A) There are fewer veins in the trailing edge.
(B) They have veins of different thicknesses.
(C) Only the forward edge produces forward movement.
(D) One curls on the upstroke and the other curls on the downstroke

48. The word “flexible” in line 23 is closest in meaning to

(A) pointed
 (B) weak
(C) able to expand
(D) able to bend

49. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the capabilities of an
adult insect that has recently emerged from the pupa?
(A) It cannot fly immediately.
(B) It has difficulty breathing.
(C) It uses its wings for balance.
(D) It cannot remain upright.

50. Which of the following aspects of insects that can fly is NOT discussed in the passage?
(A) The origin of their wings
(B) Their movements while in flight
(C) The physical structure of their wings
(D) The speed at which they can fly