THE HEINEMANN TOEFL COURSE PRACTICE TEST 2 READING PART 1 (Questions 1-9)

THE HEINEMANN TOEFL COURSE

PRACTICE TEST 2

READING

PART 1 (Questions 1-9)

While most desert animals will drink water if confronted with it, for many of them the opportunity never comes. Yet all living things must have water, or they will expire. The herbivores find it in desert plants. The carnivores slake their thirst with the flesh and blood of living prey. One of the most remarkable adjustments, however, has been made by the tiny kangaroo rat, who not only lives without drinking but subsists on a diet of dry seeds containing about 5% free water. Like other animals, he has the ability to manufacture water in his body by a metabolic conversion of carbohydrates. But he is notable for the parsimony with which he conserves his small supply by every possible means, expending only minuscule amounts in his excreta and through evaporation from his respiratory tract. Investigation into how the kangaroo rat can live without drinking water has involved various experiments with these small animals. Could kangaroo rats somehow store water in their bodies and slowly utilize these resources in the long periods when no free water is available from dew or rain? The simplest way to settle this question was to determine the total water content in the animals to see if it decreases as they are kept for long periods on a dry diet. If they slowly use up their water, the body should become increasingly dehydrated, and if they begin with a store of water, this should be evident from an initial high water content. Results of such experiments with kangaroo rats on dry diets for more than 7 weeks showed that the rats maintained their body weight. There was no trend toward a decrease in water content during the long period of water deprivation. When the kangaroo rats were given free access to water, they did not drink water. They did nibble on small pieces of watermelon, but this did not change appreciably the water content in their bodies, which remained at 66.3 to 67.2 during this period. This is very close to the water content of dry-fed animals (66.5), and the availability of free water, therefore, did not lead to any "storage" that could be meaningful as a water reserve. This makes it reasonable to conclude that physiological storage of water is not a factor in the kangaroo rat's ability to live on dry food. 1 What is the topic of this passage? A Kangaroo rats Water in the desert Desert life Physiological experiments B C D 2 The word "expire" in line 3 is closest in meaning to A become ill die shrink dehydrate B C D 3 Which of the following is NOT a source of water for the desert animals? A Desert plants Metabolic conversion of carbohydrates in the body The blood of other animals Streams B C D 4 . The word "it" in line 3 refers to A a living thing the desert the opportunity water B C D 5 The author states that the kangaroo rat is known for all of the following EXCEPT A the economy with which it uses available water. living without drinking water. breathing slowly and infrequently. manufacturing water internally. B C D 6 The word "parsimony" in line 10 is closest in meaning to A intelligence. desire. frugality. skill. B C D 7 It is implied by the author that desert animals can exist with little or no water because of A less need for water than other animals. many opportunities for them to find water. their ability to eat plants. their ability to adjust to the desert environment. B C D 8 The word "deprivation" inline 26 is closest in meaning to A preservation. renewal. examination. withholding. B C D 9 According to the passage, the results of the experiments with kangaroo rats showed that A kangaroo rats store water for use during dry periods. kangaroo rats took advantage of free access to water. there was no significant change in body weight due to lack of water or accessibility to water. a dry diet seems detrimental to the kangaroo rat's health. B C D

ANSWER KEY

1. A  The correct answer is (A) because this idea is central   to the passage. Answers (B), (C), and (D) are too general to be the topic of this passage and are mentioned in the passage only in relation to the kangaroo rat. 2.  В   The meaning of the word "expire" can be  deduced from the beginning of the sentence Yet all living things must have water or expire (lines 2-3). The logical conclusion is that without water living things will die. 3. D   The correct answer (D) is the only choice which is not mentioned in the passage. All other choices are found in the passage: (A) and (B) in lines 4-8 and (C) lines 3-4. 4. D   The noun water, (D), is the referent immediately preceding the pronoun it. In addition, water is logically what herbivores find in plants, based on the meaning in the previous sentences. 5. D   The correct answer (D) is the only choice which is NOT mentioned in relation to the kangaroo rat. (A), (B), and (C) are mentioned in lines 5-9. 6. C   The concept of parsimony is relayed in lines 9-10 by the phrases conserves his small supply by every possible means,... minuscule amounts in his excreta.., evaporation from his respiratory tract. Frugality (C) is the answer choice that describes this concept. 7. D   The correct answer (D) can be inferred from the examples in the passage of how desert animals have compensated for lack of water in their diet through ingenuity (lines 4-5) and physiological adaptations (lines 7-10). 8. D   The meaning of the word "deprivation" can be deduced by understanding that a dry diet means that the kangaroo rat had no water for the 7 weeks of the experiment (lines 19-20). It can be inferred in line 21 that the long period of water deprivation refers to the seven-week period of the dry diet. Therefore, answer (D) withholding is the correct answer. 9.  C    Lines 19-20 state that results of the experiments showed that the rats maintained their body weight despite being on a dry diet with no access to water. Therefore, answer (C) is correct. Answers (A), (B), and (D) are not true according to the passage.