CliffsTestPrep TOEFL CBT PRACTICE TEST 1 READING PASSAGE 3

CliffsTestPrep TOEFL CBT

PRACTICE TEST 1

READING PASSAGE 3

Directions: This section measures your ability to read and understand written English similar to that which one may expect in a college or university setting. Read each passage and answer the questions based on what is stated or implied in the passage. Circle or mark the correct answer in the book or write it on a separate piece of paper.

 

Passage 3

Bees, classified into over 10,000 species, are insects found in almost every part of the world except the northernmost and southernmost regions. One commonly known species is the honeybee, the only bee that produces honey and wax. Humans use the wax in making candles, lipsticks, and other products, and they use the honey as a food. While gathering the nectar and pollen with which they make honey, bees are simultaneously helping to fertilize the flowers on which they land. Many fruits and vegetables would not survive if bees did not carry the pollen from blossom to blossom. Bees live in a structured environment and social structure within a hive, which is a nest with storage space for the honey. The different types of bees each perform a unique function. The worker bee carries nectar to the hive in a special stomach called a honey stomach. Other workers make beeswax and shape it into a honeycomb, which is a waterproof mass of six-sided compartments, or cells. The queen lays eggs in completed cells. As the workers build more cells, the queen lays more eggs. All workers, like the queen, are female, but the workers are smaller than the queen. The male honeybees are called drones; they do no work and cannot sting. They are developed from unfertilized eggs, and their only job is to impregnate a queen. The queen must be fertilized in order to lay worker eggs. During the season when less honey is available and the drone is of no further use, the workers block the drones from eating thehoney so that they will starve to death.

25	Which of the following is the best title for this reading? A.    The Many Species of Bees B.    The Useless Drone C.    The Honeybee — Its Characteristics and Usefulness D.    Making Honey	31	The author implies that A.    bees are unnecessary in the food chain. B.    drones are completely dispensable. C.    the queen can be a worker. D.    drones are never females.
26	The word species in the first sentence is closest in meaning to? A.        mates B.        varieties C.        killers D.        enemies	32	According to the passage, honey is carried to the hive in a honey stomach by the A.       queens B.       drones C.       males D.       workers
27	The word which in the fourth sentence refers to A.        fertilizer B.        flowers C.        honey D.        bees	33	In what way does the reading imply that bees are useful in nature? A.       They pollinate fruit and vegetable plants. B.       They make marvelous creations from wax. C.       They kill the dangerous drones. D.       They create storage spaces.
28	The word simultaneously in the fourth sentence is closest in meaning to A.       stubbornly B.       concurrently C.       skilfully D.       diligently	34	All of the following are characteristic of a honeycomb except A.       it contains hexagonal sections. B.       it is made of honey. C.       it is made of wax. D.       it is impermeable.
29	According to the passage, a hive is A.       a type of honey. B.       a nest. C.       a type of bee. D.       a storage space.	35	The passage implies that bees can be found in each of the following parts of the world except A.       Africa B.       China C.       Europe D.       Antarctica
30	According to the passage, the drone A.       collects less honey than workers. B.       mates with the queen and has no other purpose. C.       comes from eggs fertilized by other drones. D.       can be male or female.	36	It can be inferred from the reading that beeswax is A.     absorbent B.     pliable C.     complex in structure. D.    sweet

 

ANSWER KEY

25	C	The Honeybee — Its Characteristics and Usefulness. A is too broad and the B and D too narrow.
26	B	varieties.
27	B	flowers.
28	B	concurrently, which means happening at the same time.
29	B	a nest. The passage states: Bees live in a structured environment and social structure within a hive, which is a nest with storage space for the honey.
30	B	mates with the queen and has no other purpose. The author states: The male honeybees are called drones . . . their only job is to impregnate a queen.
31	D	drones are never females. Drones impregnate the queen, so they must be male.
32	D	workers. This is clearly stated in the passage in the sentence: The worker bee carries nectar to the hive in a special stomach called a honey stomach.
33	A	They pollinate fruit and vegetable plants. The reading passage states that when bees carry pollen from one plant to the next, they fertilize the flowers.
34	B	it is made of honey. The author states the honeycomb is made of wax, has six-sided compartments, and is waterproof.
35	D	Antarctica. The first sentence of the passage states that bees can be found in every part of the world except the northernmost and southernmost areas.
36	B	pliable. The passage states that workers make beeswax and shape it into a honeycomb. If it can be shaped, it is pliable, or easy to mold.