Reading 27
1. Real depression cannot be as easily overcome as some people often suppose. It generally
passes with time-but the time can seem endless. Activities giving companionship and a new
interest can help. However, for the sufferer to talk again and again about the causes of the
depression helps most. People with depression need to be listened to and encouraged to find
their own solutions, not made to feel yet more inadequate by good advice. They might need
professional counselling as well as the support of family and friends.
According to the passage, in overcoming depression the support of friends and family
............
A) can best be directed into giving good advice
B) is the only solution
C) may cause more harm than good
D) never contributes to any improvement in the patient
E) is not always sufficient
2. Several art museums and galleries and many individuals in the art world faced financial
problems in 1975 as the effects of the world recession deepened. On the surface, things
seemed to continue as before, with important exhibitions in major museums attracting large
crowds. But smaller galleries, and the artists whose work was shown by their resourceful
proprietors, fared less well, and over the long term, it is the work of young artists that
determines the course of art for the future.
According to the passage, the point made in the passage is that the recession in the 1970s
..............
A) forced many young artists to give up their profession
B) led to the immediate closure of several major museums in the West
C) was one of the most serious in economic history
D) didn't at first appear to hit hard at the art world
E) meant exhibitions were regarded as unnecessary luxurie
3. Computers should never have acquired the exalted status they now have. Fascinating and
invaluable as they are, even the most advanced have less brain power than a three-year-old.
But, they do, score on single-mindedness. The three-year-old uses his brain not only to think
but also to do tasks like seeing, hearing and running about, which need incredibly rapid and
Reading 27
sophisticated electromechanical interactions we too run on electricity. However, the computer
just sits there and sends spacecraft to the moon or re-organizes the world banking system
which is very much easier. That's why man's dream of robot servants is still a long way off.
The basic point made by the given passage is that the human brain ..........
A) is much inferior to any known computer
B) is infinitely more complex and powerful than any computer
C) reaches its maximum efficiency at the age of three
D) is not as complicated and mysterious as has usually been thought
E) has been entirely reproduced in computer form
4. The dramatic growth of the world's population in the twentieth century has been on a
scale without parallel in human history. Most of that growth has occurred since 1950 and is
known as the population ''explosion''. Between 1950 and 1980, the world population increases
from 2.5 to over 4 billion and by the end of the century, that figure will have risen to at least 6
billion. Growth of this size cannot continue indefinitely. Recent forecasts suggest that the total
population will level out at between 10 and 15 billion in the mid-twenty-first century. Already
there are encouraging signs that the rate of increase in several less developed countries is
beginning to slow down.
According to the given passage above, at no period in human history has there been ............
A) so much consensus among nations concerning the population of the world
B) a sharp decline in population like the one since 1980
C) a universal fear about the future of man
D) as comprehensive a study of population problems as the one envisaged now
E) a population explosion of the magnitude of the one in this century
5. Many substances, whether man-made or natural, can cause harm to man or the
environment. Some of these reach the environment in waste streams but emission limits and
environmental quality standards can, in some instances, reduce the amounts released.
However, some other substances cannot be controlled in this way because they are released,
not in industrial waste streams, however through the use or disposal of products that contain
them. In many cases, these substances pose little or no threat if the product containing them is
used and disposed of properly. The right way to deal with them is generally through controls
over their supply, use and disposal.
Reading 27
The passage gives the idea that the threat of certain substances to the environment ............
A) is far less than that to man
B) could be reduced by enforcing emission limits and environmental controls
C) has been unnecessarily overemphasized
D) has to date been completely ignored
E) can be eliminated by the use of industrial waste streams
6. No one knows when fiction began. Perhaps the first storyteller was a prehistoric mother
trying to explain the world to her children. Or perhaps it was a hunter telling about his
adventures around the campfire. Who can tell? What we do know, though, is that story-telling
was a purely oral activity until around 800 BC. Myths and tales were passed down by word of
mouth and had to be memorized by each new generation of storytellers. That oral tradition
only changed when ancient people started to keep written records of certain stories. The
earliest surviving examples of those are the epics of Homer, a blind professional storyteller,
who lived in the eighth century BC.
It is pointed out in the passage that storytelling .............
A) was first introduced by Homer in ancient times
B) possibly began in prehistoric times
C) began as a written activity in antiquity
D) became less and less popular during the 8th century BC
E) became far more popular with the invention of writing
7. The printing press was invented by Gutenberg in the city of Mainz, Germany. He built and
operated the printing press with movable metal letters. In fact, simple printing methods had
existed for centuries, however, they had to be done by hand and took a long time. What made
Gutenberg's press so different was that the individual letters themselves could rapidly and
easily be moved to create different pages. That made it possible to print entire books more
cheaply and more quickly than ever before.
It is emphasized in the passage that the basic new feature of Gutenberg's printing press
.............
A) was that all the pages of a book were printed at the same time
B) was that it could easily be operated by unskilled workmen
Reading 27
C) was that the printing of books was less costly although it took a long time to do
D) was the use of metal letters that could be moved into different positions
E) made it possible to print books without any error at all
8. In several countries in the process of industrialization, overcrowded cities present a major
problem. The overpopulation of towns is mainly caused by the drift of large numbers of people
from the rural areas. The only long-term solution is to make life in the rural areas more
attractive, which would encourage people to stay there. This could be achieved by providing
incentives for people to go and work in the villages. Moreover, facilities in the rural areas, such
as transportation, health and education services should be improved.
The passage says that one significant outcome of industrialization has been .............
A) massive migration from the countryside to cities
B) a general improvement in the quality of urban life
C) the decline of health services in cities
D) the emergence of new cities throughout the country
E) an overall increase in the population of the country
