PETERSON TOEFL PBT PRACTICE TEST 3 PART 5 READING

PETERSON TOEFL PBT

PRACTICE TEST 3 PART 5

READING

QUESTION 1-11

Lighthouses are towers with strong lights that help mariners plot their position, inform them that land is near, and warn them of dangerous rocks and reefs. They are placed at prominent points on the coat and on islands, reefs, and sandbars.

Every lighthouse has a distinctive pattern of light known as its characteristic. There are five basic characteristics; fixed, flashing, occulting, group flashing, and group occulting. A fixed signal is a steady beam. A flashing signal has periods of darkness longer than periods of light, while an occulting signal’s periods of light are longer. a group-flashing light gives off two or more flashes at regular intervals, and a group-occulting signal consists of a fixed light with two or more periods of darkness at regular intervals. Some lighthouses are also equipped with radio beacons. The three types of apparatus used to produce the signals are the catoptric, in which metal is used to reflect the light; the dioptric, in which glass is used; and the catadioptric, in which both glass and metal are used.

In the daytime, lighthouses can usually be identified by their structure alone. The most typical structure is a tower tapering at the top, but some, such as the Bastion Lighthouse on the Saint Lawrence River, are shaped like pyramids, and others, such as the Race Rock Light, look like wooden houses sitting on high platforms. Still others, such as the American Shoal Lighthouse off the Florida Coast, are skeletal towers of steel. Where lighthouses might be confused in daylight, they can be distinguished by day-marker patterns- designs of checks and stripes painted in vivid colors on lighthouse walls.

In the past, the job of lighthouse keeper was lonely and difficult, if somewhat romantic. Lighthouse keepers put in a hours of tedious work maintaining the lights. Today, lighthouses are almost entirely automated with human supplying only occasional maintenance. Because of improvements in navigational technology, the importance of lighthouses has diminished. There are only about 340 functioning lighthouses in existence in the United States today, compared to about 1,500 in 1990, and there are only about 1,400 functioning lighthouses outside the United States. Some decommissioned lighthouses have been preserved as historical monuments.

1.   Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as on of the functions of lighthouses?

A.                  To help sailors determine their location

B.                  To warn of danger from rocks and reefs

C.                  To notify sailors that bad weather is approaching

D.                 To indicate that land is near

2.        The word their in line 1 refers to

A.                  mariners’

B.                  lighthouses’

C.                  dangers’

D.                 lights’

3.        The word prominent in line 3 is closest in meaning to

A.                  dangerous

B.                  conspicuous

C.                  picturesque

D.                 famous

4.       In the context of this passage, the author uses the term characteristic (lines 4-5) to refer to a

A.                  period of darkness

B.                  person who operates a lighthouse

C.                  pattern painted on a lighthouse

D.                 distinctive light signal

5.    According to the passage, what kind of signal has long periods of light that are regularly broken by two or more periods of darkness?

A.                  Group occulting

B.                  Flashing

C.                  Occulting

D.                 Group flashing

6.        According to the passage, a catoptric apparatus in one that uses

A.                  lights of various colors

B.                  metal

C.                  glass

D.                 a radio beacon

7.    For which of the following does the author NOT provide a specific example in the third paragraph?

A.                  A lighthouse shaped like a pyramid

B.                  A lighthouse made of steel

C.                  A lighthouse with day-marker patterns

D.                 A lighthouse that resembles a house on a platform

8.        The word tapering in line 14 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A.                  Narrowing

B.                  Soaring

C.                  Opening

D.                 Rotating

9.      It can be concluded from the passage that lighthouses with day marker patterns would most likely be found in areas where

A.                  the weather is frequently bad

B.                  the structures themselves can not be easily seen by passing mariners

C.                  there are not many lighthouses

D.                 there are a number of lighthouses with similar structures

10.    The author implies that, compared to those of the past, contemporary lighthouses

A.                  employ more powerful lights

B.                  require less maintenance

C.                  are more difficult to operate

D.                 are more romantic

11.    There is information in the fourth paragraph to support which of these statements?

A.              There are more lighthouses in the United States now than there were in 1990.

B.           There are more lighthouses in the United States today than in any other single country.

C.          There are more functioning lighthouses in the United States today than there are lighthouses preserved as historical monuments.

D.             There were more lighthouses in the United States in 1990 than there are elsewhere in the world today.

ANSWER KEY

1.        C

There is no mention in the passage that lighthouses are used as weather stations to report bad weather to sailors. The other functions of lighthouses are given in lines 1-2.

2.        A

The reference is to mariners (sailors) in line 1.

3.        B

The word prominent is closest in meaning with conspicuous.

4.        D

According to the passage, a characteristic is a “distinctive pattern of light” (line 4).

5.        A

According to line 9-10, “a group-occulting signal consists of a fixed light with two or more periods of darkness at regular intervals.”

6.        B

A catoptric apparatus is one “in which metal is used to reflect the light” (lines 14-15).

7.        C

There is no specific example provided for a lighthouse with day-marker patterns. There are examples of a lighthouse in the shape of pyramid (the Bastion Lighthouse), a lighthouse made of steel (American Shoal lighthouse), and a lighthouse that resembles a house on a platform (Race Rock Light)

8.        A

The word tapering means becoming narrower.

9.        D

According to lines 22-24, “Where lighthouses might be confused in daylight, they can be distinguished by day-marker patterns.” It is logical that lighthouses would be confused in daylight because they have similar structures.

10.    B

The author said that, in the past, “lighthouse keepers put in hours of tedious work maintaining the lights. “Today, however, humans supply” only occasional maintenance.”

11.    D

There is no information so support (A); the passage says that the number of lighthouses has declined greatly since 1990. There is no information about the number of lighthouses in any single country other than the United States, so (B) could not be correct. Nor is there information about (C) – the specific numbers of functioning lighthouses or lighthouses that hve been converted into historical monuments. There is information to support (D); there were 1,500 lighthouses in the United States in 1990, more than the 1,400 lighthouses existing outside the United States today.