TOEFL PREPARATION

Meeting 6

SKS : 2 (Dua)

Semester :

Time
 Reading Comprehension

1. This passage is mainly about …

a. North American birds

b. Audubon’s route to success as a painter of
birds
c. the works that Audubon published
e. Audubon’s preference for travel in natural
habitats
 Reading Comprehension

John James Audubon, nineteenth-century artist and

naturalist, is known as one of the foremost authorities on
Northern American birds. Born in Les Cayes, Haiti, in
1785, Audubon was raised in France and studied art
under French artist Jacques-Louis David. After settling on
his father’s Pennsylvania estate at the age of eighteen,
he first began to study and paint birds.
 Reading Comprehension

In his young adulthood, Audubon undertook numerous

enterprises, generally without a tremendous amount of
success; at various times during his life he was involved
in a mercantile business, a lumber and grist mill, a
taxidermy business, and a school. His general mode of
operating a business was to leave it either unattended or
in the hands of a partner and take off on excursions
through the wilds to paint the natural life that he saw.
His business career came to an end in 1819 when he
was jailed for debt and forced to file for bankruptcy.
 Reading Comprehension

It was at that time that Audubon began to seriously

pursue the dream of publishing a collection of his
paintings of birds. For the next six years he painted birds
in their natural habitats while his wife worked as a
teacher to support the family. His Birds of America,
which included engravings of 435 of his colorful and
lifelike watercolors, was published in parts during the
period from 1826 to 1838 in England. After the success
of the English editions, American editions of his work
were published in 1839, and his fame and fortune were
ensured.
 Reading Comprehension

2. The word “foremost” in line 1 is closest in

meaning to …

a. prior
b. leading
c. first
d. largest
 Reading Comprehension

3. In the second paragraph, the author mainly

discusses …

a. how Audubon developed his painting style

b. Audubon’s involvement in a mercantile
business
c. where Audubon went on his excursions
d. Audubon’s unsuccessful business practices
 Reading Comprehension

4. The word “mode” in line 7 could best be

replaced by …

a. method
b. vogue
c. average
d. trend
 Reading Comprehension

5. Audubon decided not to continue to pursue

business when …

a. he was injured in an accident at a grist mill

b. he decided to study art in France
c. he was put in prison because he owed money
d. he made enough money from his paintings
 Reading Comprehension

6. The word “pursue” in line 11 is closest in

meaning to …

a. imagine
b. share
c. follow
d. deny
 Reading Comprehension

7. According to the passage, Audubon’s

paintings …

a. were realistic portrayals

b. used only black, white, and gray
c. were done in oils
d. depicted birds in cages
 Reading Comprehension

8. The word “support” in line 13 could best be

replaced by …

a. tolerate
b. provide for
c. side with
d. fight for
 Reading Comprehension

9. It can be inferred from the passage that after

1839 Audubon …

a. unsuccessfully tried to develop new

businesses
b. continued to be supported by his wife
c. traveled to Europe
d. became wealthy
 Reading Comprehension

1. The subject of the preceding paragraph was

most likely …

(A)ways of producing honey

(B)stories in the media about killer bees
(C)the chemical nature of killer bee attacks
(D)the creation of the killer bee
 Reading Comprehension

These stories of killer bees in the news in recent

years have attracted a lot of attention as the
bees have made their way from South America
to North America. Killer bees are reputed to be
extremely aggressive in nature, although
experts say that their aggression may have been
somewhat inflated.
 Reading Comprehension

The killer bee is a hybrid- or combination- of the

very mild European strain of honeybee and the
considerably more aggressive African bee, which
was created when the African strain was
imported into Brazil in 1955. The African bees
were brought into Brazil because their
aggression was considered an advantage: they
were far more productive than their European
counterparts in that they spent a higher
percentage of their time working and continued
working longer in inclement weather than did
the European bees.
 Reading Comprehension

These killer bees have been known to attack humans and

animals, and some fatalities have occurred. Experts point out,
however, that the mixed breed known as the killer bee is
actually not at all as aggressive as the pure African bee. They
also point out that the attacks have a chemical cause. A killer
bee stings only when it has been disturbed; it is not
aggressive by nature. However, after a disturbed bee stings
and flies away; it leaves its stinger embedded in the victim. In
the viscera attached to the embedded stinger is the chemical
isoamyl acetate, which has an odor that attracts other bees.
As other bees approach the victim of the original sting, the
victim tends to panic, thus disturbing other bees and causing
them to sting. The new stings create more of the chemical
isoamylacetate which attracts more bees and increases the
panic level of the victim. Killer bees tend to travel in large
clusters or swarms and thus respond in large numbers to the
production of isoamyl acetate.
 Reading Comprehension

2. The main idea of this passage is that killer

bees …

(A)have been in the news a lot recently

(B)have been moving unexpectedly rapidly
through the Americas
(C)are not as aggressive as their reputation
suggests
(D)are a hybrid rather than a pure breed
 Reading Comprehension

3. The word "inflated" in line 4 could best be

replaced by …

(A)Exaggerated
(B)blown
(C)Aired
(D)burst
 Reading Comprehension

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the

killer bee …

(A)traveled from Brazil to Africa in 1955

(B)was a predecessor of the African bee
(C)was carried from Africa to Brazil in 1955
(D)did not exist early in the twentieth century
 Reading Comprehension

5. Why were African bees considered beneficial?

(A)They produced an unusual type of honey.

(B)They spent their time traveling.
(C)They were very aggressive.
(D)They hid from inclement weather.
 Reading Comprehension

6. A ‘‘hybrid" in line 5 is ...

(A)a mixture
(B)a relative
(C)a predecessor
(D)an enemy
 Reading Comprehension

7. It is stated in the passage that killer bees …

(A)are more deadly than African bees

(B)are less aggressive than African bees
(C)never attack animals
(D)always attack African bees
 Reading Comprehension

8. The pronoun “They” in line 13 refers to …

(A)killer bees
(B)humans and animals
(C)Fatalities
(D)experts
 Reading Comprehension

9. What is NOT mentioned in the passage as a

contributing factor in an attack by killer bees?

(A)Panic by the victim

(B)An odorous chemical
(C)Disturbance of the bees
(D)Inclement weather
 Reading Comprehension

10. Where in the passage does the author

describe the size of the groups in which killer
bees move?

(A)Lines 2-4
(B)Lines 5-7
(C)11-12
(D)Lines 19-20
 Practice

Complete Test One

Reading Section
page 21-24 No. 20-40