Peterson’s TOEFL Practice TEST 5 READING COMPREHENSION PART 2

Peterson’s TOEFL Practice

TEST 5

READING COMPREHENSION

PART 2

Direction: This section contains several passages, each followed by a number of questions. Read the passages and, for each question, choose the one best answer – (A), (B), (C), or (D) – based on what is stated in the passage or on what can be inferred from the passage. Then fill in the space on your answer sheet that matches the letter of the answer that you have selected. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE Like mammals, birds claim their own territories. A bird’s territory may be small or large. Some birds claim only their nest and the area right around it, while others claim for larger territories that include their feeding areas. Gulls, penguins, and other waterfowl nest in huge colonies, but even in the biggest colonies, each males and his mate have small territories of their own immediately around their nests. Male birds defend their territory chiefly against other males of the same species. In some cases, a warning call or threatening pose may be all the defense needed, but on other cases, intruders may refuse to leave peacefully. Example 1 What is the main topic of this passage? A.           Birds that live in colonies B.           Bird’s mating habits C.           The behaviour of birds D.          Territoriality in birds The passage mainly concerns the territories of birds. You should fill in (D) on your answer sheet.

 

QUESTIONS 13-24

The Roman alphabet took thousands of years to develop, from the picture writing of the ancient Egyptians through modifications by Phoenicians Greeks, Romans, and others. Yet in just a dozen years, one man, Sequoyah, invented an alphabet for the Cherokee people. Born in eastern Tennessee, Sequoyah was a hunter and a silversmoth in his youth, as well as an able interpreter who knew Spanish, French, and English.

Sequoyah wanted his people to have the secret of the “talking leaves,” as he called the books of white people, and so he set out to design a written form of Cherokee. His chief aim was to record his people’s ancient tribal customs. He began by designing pictographs for every word in the Cherokee vocabulary. Reputedly his wife, angry at him for his neglect of garden and house, burned his notes, and he had to start over. This time, having concluded that picture-writing was cumbersome, he made symbols for the sounds of the Cherokee language. Eventually he refined his system to eighty-five characters, which he borrowed from the Roman, Greek, and Hebrew alphabets. He presented this system to the Cherokee General Council in 1821, and it was wholeheartedly approved. The response was phenomenal. Cherokees who had struggled for months to learn English lettering in school picked up the new system in days. Several books were printed in Cherokee, and in 1828, a newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, was first published in the new alphabet. Sequoyah was acclaimed by his people.

In his later life, Sequoyah dedicated himself to the general advancement of his people. He went to Washington, D.C., as a representative of the Western tribes. He helped settle bitter differences among Cherokee after their forced movement by the federal government to the Oklahoma territory in the 1830s. He died in Mexico in 1843 while searching for groups of lost Cherokee. A statue of Sequoyah represents Oklahoma in the statuary Hall in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. However, he is probably chiefly remembered today because sequoias, the giant redwood trees of California are named for him.

13	The passage is mainly concerned with A.          the development of the Roman alphabet. B.           the accomplishments of Sequoyah. C.          the pictographic system of writing. D.          Sequoyah’s experiences in Mexico	19	In the final version of the Cherokee alphabet system, each of the characters represents a A.      word B.       picture C.      sound D.      thought
14	According to the passage, how long did it take to develop the Cherokee alphabet? A.          Twelve years B.           Twenty years C.           Eighty-five years D.          Thousands of years	20	All of the following were mentioned in the passage as alphabet systems that Sequoyah borrowed from EXCEPT A.      Egyptian B.       Roman C.       Hebrew D.      Greek
15	There is NO indication in the passage that, as a young man, Sequoayah A.          served as an interpreter B.           made things from silver C.           served as a representative in Washington D.          hunted game	21	The word wholeheartedly in line 17 is closest in meaning to A.      unanimously B.       enthusiastically C.       immediately D.      ultimately
16	According to the passage, Sequoah used the phrase talking leaves (Line 7) to refer to A.           redwood trees B.            books C.            symbols for sounds D.           newspaper	22	According to the passage, a memorial statue of Sequoyah is located in A.      Oklahoma B.       Mexico C.       Tennessee D.      Washington, D.C.
17	What was Sequoyah’s main purpose in designing a Cherokee alphabet? A.           To record Cherokee customs B.            To write books in Cherokee C.            To write about his own life D.           To publish a newspaper	23	Why does the author mention the giant redwood trees of California in the passage A.      Sequoyah took his name from those trees B.       The trees inspired Sequoyah to write a book. C.       Sequoyah was born in the vicinity of the redwood forest. D.      The trees were named in Sequoyah’s honor.
18	The word cumbersome in line 13 is closest in meaning to A.          awkward B.           radical C.           simplistic D.          unfamiliar	24	The author begins to describe the Cherokees’ reaction to the invention of a written language in A.      lines 3-4 B.       lines 9-10 C.       lines 17-21 D.      lines 23-24

 

ANSWER KEY

13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
B	A	C	B	A	A	C	A	B	D	D	C