Peterson’s TOEFL Practice TEST 5 READING COMPREHENSION PART 5

Peterson’s TOEFL Practice

TEST 5

READING COMPREHENSION

PART 5

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 45-50

Fog is a cloud in contact with or just above the surface of land or sea. It can be a major environmental hazard. Fog on highways can cause chain-reaction accidents involving dozens of cars. Delays and shutdowns at airports can cause economic losses to airlines and inconvenience to thousands of travellers. Fog at sea has always been a danger to navigation. Today, with supertankers carrying vast quantities of oil, fog increases the possibility of catastrophic oil spills. The most common type of fog, radiation fog, forms at night, when moist air near the ground loses warmth through radiation on a clear night. This type of fog often occurs in valleys, such as California’s San Joaquin Valley. Another common type, advection fog, results from the movement of warm, wet air over cold ground. The air loses temperature to the ground and condensation sets in. this type of fog often occurs along the California coast and the shores of the Great Lakes. Advection fog also forms when air associated with a warm ocean current blows across the surface of a cold current. The thick fogs of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, Canada, are largely of this origin, because here the Labrador Current comes in contact with the warm Gulf Stream. Two other types of fog are somewhat more unusual. Frontal fog occurs when two fronts of different temperatures meet, and rain from the warm front falls into the colder one, saturating the air. Steam fog appears when cold air picks up moisture by moving over warmer water.

45	The first paragraph focuses on which aspect of fog? A.          its danger B.           its composition C.          its beauty D.          its causes	49	The author organizes the discussion of the different types of fog according to A.      their geographic locations B.       their relative density C.      the types of problems the cause D.      their relative frequency
46	The word catastrophic in line 7 is closest in meaning to A.          accidental B.           inevitable C.           unexpected D.          disastrous	50	The author of the passage is probably an expert in the field of A.      physics B.       economics C.       transportation D.      meteorology
47	According to the article, fog that occurs along the California coast is generally A.          radiation fog B.           advection fog C.           frontal fog D.          steam fog
48	It can be inferred from the passage that the Labrador Current is A.           cold B.            weak C.            polluted D.           warm

 

ANSWER KEY

45	46	47	48	49	50
A	D	B	A	D	D