READING PRACTICE DRILL 5 CRACKING TOEFL IBT 2019

 

CRACKING TOEFL IBT 2019 READING PRACTICE DRILL 5

 

THE OLYMPICS   What we call the Olympics—considered the world’s premier sports competition—are actually   inspired by the ancient Olympic games. These ancient games were a series of athletic competitions   that took place in Olympia, Greece, sometime between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 4th century   C.E. Free-born, Greek-speaking, male representatives from city-states across Greece gathered 5 every four years to take part in various running, throwing, jumping, and chariot-riding competitions.   While the competitions always took place in Olympia, athletes from any city-state or kingdom   could compete—they simply had to meet the entrance criteria. Originally, the men wore loincloths   during competitions. As time went on, they eventually competed in the nude, in part because the   Olympics were a time to recognize and celebrate the strength of the human body. Because the men 10 competed totally nude, though, married women were expressly forbidden to watch—under penalty   of death!       Initially, the ancient Olympic games took place for only one day, but as events were added the   festival ultimately grew to five days. The initial competition was called the “stadion,” which was a 15 fairly short sprint of somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 meters, or the length of one stadium.   The second race added sometime later was called the “diaulos,” which was the length of one lap of   the stadium, or about 400 meters. A few years after the advent of the diaulos, the “dolichos” was   added to the races. It was somewhere between eighteen and twenty-four laps around the stadium,   roughly three miles total. 20     Not surprisingly, the games also took on political importance, and were used by city-states to   establish their dominance over other city-states. City-states maintained an often tenuous balance   with each other: the dichotomy between needing each other for political and military alliances while   simultaneously competing for limited geographical resources resulted in a frequently-conflicted 25 political environment. The Games, therefore, created an opportunity for the city-states to “compete”   peacefully. In fact, these peaceful competitions led politicians to work together to create alliances,   much like they do today.       The games didn’t only involve athletic pursuits, though. Sculptors, poets, and other artists would 30 gather for competitions and showcase their wares to passers-by, hoping to turn them into patrons.   Sculptors liked to highlight the natural body, its muscles, and the way it moved. Poets, too, wanted   to honor the athletes and so wrote songs in praise of the victors. These songs often lived on for   generations. The Games also had religious importance: They are thought to have first been held in   honor of Zeus, and his statue at Olympia was long regarded as one of the seven wonders of the 35 ancient world. The sporting events were frequently accompanied by religious sacrifices to Zeus and   other gods, too.       → Just as historians debate when the first Olympic games were held, it is unclear why the ancient   Greek Olympic games came to a halt. Some believe that Roman emperor Theodosius I, in an effort 40 to spread Christianity, decreed that all pagan rituals and cults be eliminated. Others believe that his   successor, Theodosius II, later demanded the destruction of all Greek temples, leaving the Olympics   with nowhere to take place.       Sometime in the 17th century, interest in the games sprang up anew in several locations. ■ The 45 first stirring of interest came up in England, and then France about a hundred years later. ■ Within   another hundred years, in the early to mid-1800s, renewed interest surfaced in Greece, when   the Greek War of Independence emancipated the country from Ottoman Rule in 1821. Greek   Romanian philanthropist Evangelos Zappas wrote to King Otto of Greece in 1856 and offered to   fully underwrite a revival of the games. ■ In fact, the first modern Games that took place under the 50 governance of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took place in that very same stadium   in Greece. ■ During these games, 241 athletes from 14 nations competed in 43 events. Today’s   Olympics have come a long way from their humble origins: More than 200 countries send a   cumulative 13,000 or more athletes to compete in 400 events spread across 33 different sports.   1 The word premier in the passage is closest in meaning to A first B leading C only D chief officer 2 The author states that today’s games were modeled after ancient Olympic games that A started sometime around the 4th century B.C.E. B ended sometime in the 8th century C.E C took place in Olympia, Greece D were open to men and women of all ages and backgrounds 3 The word they in the first paragraph of the passage refers to A male athletes B loincloths C competitions D married women 4 The word expressly in the passage most nearly means A quickly B explicitly C took place in Olympia, Greece D emotionally 5 The word ultimately in the passage is closest in meaning to A best B most respected C fundamentally D eventually 6 According to the passage, the ancient Games gave city-states the opportunity to A compete peacefully B form military alliances C create political agreements D challenge other city-states for natural resources 7 The word they in the third paragraph of the passage refers to A city-states B politicians C the Games D competitions 8 The word patrons in the passage is closest in meaning to A athletes B artists C competitors D buyers 9 According to paragraph 5, historians are unsure about (Paragraph 5 is marked with an arrow →) A where the first ancient Games took place B the role the ancient Games played in politics C why the ancient Games came to an end D who took part in ancient Games 10 Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. He also paid for the entire restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium so it could be used to host future Games. Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage. (Here, on this practice test, circle your answer below.) A Square 1 B Square 2 C Square 3 D Square 4 11 The word successor in the passage is closest in meaning to A someone who came before B someone who came after C someone who was a contemporary D someone who competed 12 The word emancipated in the passage most nearly means A freed from B subjected to C proclaimed aloud D began again 13 The word their refers to A ancient Games B modern Games C ancient athletes D modern athletes 14 Directions: Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the Games they describe. TWO of the answer choices will not be used. This question is worth 4 points. Answer Choices   Ancient Games Interest began in London •   Had few competitions •   Women couldn’t watch •   Elite sports competition •   Mandatory drug testing   Modern Games Held in honor of gods •   Attended by artists •   Inspired by other games •   Were paid for by a philanthropist •   Take place all over the world

ANSWER KEY

1 B This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. What we call the Olympics—considered the world’s________sports competition —are actually inspired by the ancient Olympic games. These ancient games were a series of athletic competitions that took place in Olympia, Greece, sometime between the 8th century b.c.e. and the 4th century C.E. There isn’t really much in the passage to tell you exactly what word could go here, so try looking at the answers to see if any of them make sense. The passage says that the Olympics we know today were inspired by games from long ago. This would help to eliminate (A), because they’re not the first games, and also (C), because they’re not the only games to have ever existed. That at least brings you to a fifty-fifty shot at guessing. Then compare the two remaining choices. Is it more likely that the author would describe the Olympics as the world’s “leading” sports competition, or as the “chief officer” sports competition? Choice (D) doesn’t make sense, so get rid of it. 2 C This is a detail question, so go back to the passage, around the area where you looked to find support for the last question. Here’s what it says. These ancient games were a series of athletic competitions that took place in Olympia, Greece, sometime between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 4th century C.E. Free-born, Greek-speaking, male representatives from city-states across Greece gathered every four years to take part in various running, throwing, jumping, and chariot-riding competitions. While the competitions always took place in Olympia, athletes from any city-state or kingdom could compete—they simply had to meet the entrance criteria. Originally, the men wore loincloths during competitions. As time went on, they eventually competed in the nude, in part because the Olympics were a time to recognize and celebrate the strength of the human body. Because the men competed totally nude, though, married women were expressly forbidden to watch— under penalty of death! That is a lot of information to take in, so go to the answers and POE. The passage says the games started sometime around the 8th century B.C.E., so eliminate (A). It also indicates that they ended sometime around the 4th century C.E., so eliminate (B). There is proof that they took place in Olympia, Greece, so leave (C). Eliminate (D) because the passage says the games were open only to men, not to men and women. 3 A This is a reference question: it’s asking what noun the pronoun they replaces. Look at the passage. Originally, the men wore loincloths during competitions. As time went on, they eventually competed in the nude, in part because the Olympics were a time to recognize and celebrate the strength of the human body. Ask yourself, “who eventually competed in the nude?” Well, the competitors are the men. POE allows you to eliminate (B), (C), and (D). 4 B This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. Because the men competed totally nude, though, married women were______ forbidden to watch —under penalty of death! What word could you put in the blank? Well, the word has to describe the way that married women were forbidden to watch the men compete nude. They were forbidden “under the penalty of death.” That means it was a major deal for them to not watch. So something like “harshly” or “clearly” might make sense. The women were not “quickly” forbidden—that wouldn’t make sense, so eliminate (A). If you’re not sure what “explicitly” means, leave (B) in. If it was such a big deal that married women were threatened with death for watching men compete, it’s not likely that they were “gradually” forbidden, so eliminate (C). It’s also not likely that they were forbidden “emotionally,” so get rid of (D). All that’s left is “explicitly,” (B), which is a synonym for “clearly.” 5 D This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. Initially, the ancient Olympic games took place for only one day, but as events were added the festival______ grew to five days. The initial competition was called the “stadion,” which was a fairly short sprint of somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 meters, or the length of one stadium. The second race added sometime later was called the “diaulos,” which was the length of one lap of the stadium, or about 400 meters. A few years after the advent of the diaulos, the “dolichos” was added to the races. It was somewhere between eighteen and twenty-four laps around the stadium, roughly three miles total. The paragraph begins by describing the Olympic games “initially,” and the “but” shifts the direction of the sentence. So, you might put something like “final” or “later” into the blank. With those definitions, POE allows you to eliminate (A), (B), and (C) because they do not match your prediction. 6 A This is a detail question, so go back to the passage, around the area where you looked to find support for the last question. Here’s what it says. The Games, therefore, created an opportunity for the city-states to “compete” peacefully. In fact, these peaceful competitions led politicians to work together to create alliances, much like they do today. The passage clearly states that the Games “created an opportunity for the city-states to compete’ peacefully.” This is an exact match to (A), so eliminate the other three. 7 B This is a reference question: it’s asking what noun the pronoun they replaces. Look at the passage. The Games, therefore, created an opportunity for the city-states to “compete” peacefully. In fact, these peaceful competitions led politicians to work together to create alliances, much like they do today. Ask yourself, “who creates alliances today?” Politicians. This is an exact match to (B), so eliminate the other three. 8 D This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. The games didn’t only involve athletic pursuits, though. Sculptors, poets, and other artists would gather for competitions and showcase their wares to passers-by, hoping to sell them art and turn them into_______ . What word could go in the blank? The passage indicates that the artists wanted to sell their wares to passers-by, hoping to turn them into________ . You could put “buyers” or “purchasers” in the blank. This directly matches (D), and it doesn’t match (A), (B), or (C). 9 C This is a detail question, so go back to the passage, around the area where you looked to find support for the last question. Here’s what it says. Just as historians debate when the first Olympic games were held, it is unclear why the ancient Greek Olympic games came to a halt. So, historians are unclear about when the games began, and why they ended. Walk through POE. There is no question about where the first ancient Games took place, so eliminate (A). The passage also states that “the games also took on political importance, and were used by city-states to establish their dominance over other city-states,” so eliminate (B). Historians are also clear that it was only men who took part in the ancient Games, so eliminate (D). That leaves (C), which is directly supported by the passage. 10 C This is a sentence insertion question. Recall that for this question type, you have to look at the sentences before and after the black squares to try to match the information in those sentences with the new sentence. Here’s the sentence that may be inserted: He also paid for the entire restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium so it could be used to host future Games. Ask yourself who might have paid for this? The only people mentioned in the paragraph are Evangelos Zappas and King Otto. It would make sense that Evangelos Zappas might want to pay, because he offered to underwrite, or pay for, a revival of the games. So it would then make sense to put this sentence somewhere close to this information. Eliminate (A) and (B)—they are too early in the paragraph. The question then is whether to put this sentence before or after the sentence about the first modern Games. Since he was paying for a revival, including the restoration of the stadium, it would make sense to put the new sentence in before the discussion of the modern Games taking place in the stadium. Eliminate (D)—it is too late in the paragraph. 11 B This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. Some believe that Roman emperor Theodosius I, in an effort to spread Christianity, decreed that all pagan rituals and cults be eliminated. Others believe that his ______ , Theodosius II, later demanded the destruction of all Greek temples, leaving the Olympics with nowhere to take place. The sentence indicates that Theodosius II came “later,”’ after Theodosius I. This gives insight that the word in the blank has something to do with “coming later” or “coming after.” Take a look at the answers. Choice (A) can be eliminated because it’s the exact opposite, but (B) matches, so leave it. A “contemporary,” as in (C), is someone who lived in the same time, which doesn’t match, so eliminate that answer. While the passage discusses competitors, that meaning doesn’t fit here, so eliminate (D). 12 A This is a vocabulary in context question, so look at the passage and think of a word you could put in place of the word in question. Within another hundred years, in the early to mid-1800s, renewed interest also surfaced in Greece, when the Greek War of Independence_________the country from Ottoman Rule in 1821. Ask yourself, “what result would come from a War of Independence?” “Independence” or “freedom” would be perfect words for the blank. Choice (A) is a very close match, so leave it. Choices (B), (C), and (D), though, have nothing to do with independence or freedom, so eliminate all of them. 13 B This question asks you to identify what “their” is referring to. In this case, “their” means (B) the modern games, which have come a long way from their humble origins. 14 This question asks you to match statements with the appropriate category. This type of question may not be worth your time on test day—it’s going to take a LOT of time and energy. While it is worth 4 points, you may find that going to another passage, if you have one left to do, will give you the opportunity to get more points in the same amount of time you’d invest on this question. To answer this question, you have to go back to many places in the passage to find proof for the answers. You may recall where to go based on where you looked for preceding questions. Here are the answers: