PRACTICE TEST A (9) SECTION 3: READING COMPREHENSION TOEFL ITP PRACTICE TEST

 

TOEFL ITP PRACTICE TEST VOLUME 1 PRACTICE TEST A (9) SECTION 3: READING COMPREHENSION

 

Time: 55 minutes, including the reading of the directions Now set your clock for 55 minutes. Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each passage is followed by several questions about it. For questions 1-50, you are to choose the one best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. Read the following sample passage: The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society, or to draw attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out their wares at daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and information would proceed in fits and starts; the very fabric of modern society would begin to unravel.   Example 1 What is the main idea of the passage? A In modern society, we must take more time for our neighbors. B The traditions of society are timeless. C An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society. D Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities. The main idea of the passage is that societies need to agree about how time is to be measured in order to function smoothly. Therefore, you should choose (C). Sample Answer A B C D   Example II In line 5, the phrase “this tradition” refers to A the practice of starting the business day at dawn B friendly relations between neighbors C the railroad’s reliance on time schedules D people’s agreement on the measurement of time The phrase “this tradition” refers to the preceding clause, “people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day.”Therefore, you should choose (D). Sample Answer A B C D   Questions 40-50 Radiocarbon dating and tree-ring dating, in combination, have provided a very powerful tool to establish a time spectrum for more recent dates in the past. The initial idea for dating by tree rings can be traced back to 1811. Modern scientific tree-ring dating, dendrochronology, stems from pioneering work in early 1900’s. Usually, but not always, trees produce one ring each year. This ring is formed by the cambium, which lies between the old wood and the bark. In spring, wood cells with large lumens are manufactured, but in summer and autumn, the cells become smaller and more thick-walled until with the onset of winter the production of a new cell stops. The same process is repeated the following year. In this way a year’s growth (annual ring) is imprinted as new wood. The demarcation line between summer and autumn wood of the previous year, with its characteristic small cells, and the spring wood of the year following, with its large cells, enables annual rings to be counted relatively easily. Growth rings, however, are not always the same thickness. They vary for several reasons. Environmental factors rigidly control the degree of growth of an annual ring or determine whether, in fact, an annual ring appears at all in any particular year. Thus in a specific locale or, more accurately, a specific climatic province, tree-ring counts will reflect climatic conditions and variations due to inequalities of climate from year to year. In years with abnormal drought, for example, narrow rings are produced and sometimes no ring at all. In this way a fossil record is imprinted for as long as the wood remains intact. From this pattern a historical template can be constructed to correlate one set of growth rings in one tree with a set of growth rings in another tree or piece of timber. Another important factor is that tree-ring growth varies with age of the tree. As the tree matures, the rings become narrower, and this results in the central rings being wider than those on the outer part of the tree.   40.       What does the passage mainly discuss? (A)       The effect of drought on tree-ring growth (B)       The history of dating trees (C)       The problems of tree-ring dating (D)       The formation of growth rings in trees 41.       The word “stems” in line 4 is closest in meaning to (A)       distinguishes (B)       recovers (C)       derives (D)       returns 42.       The approximate age of a tree can be determined by (A)       counting the rings (B)       analyzing the structure of the cells (C)       examining the cambium (D)       measuring the width of the rings 43.       The word “onset” in line 9 is closest in meaning to (A)       beginning (B)       coldness (C)       difficulty (D)       darkness 44.       The word “enables” in line 14 is closest in meaning to (A)       combines (B)       forces (C)       encourages (D)       allows 45.       The word “They” in line 15 refers to (A)       large cells (B)       growth rings (C)       several reasons (D)       environmental  factors 46.       According to the passage, the production of rings from year to year in any given tree is (A)       random (B)       predetermined (C)       variable (D)       accelerated 47.       The word “reflect” in line 19 is closest in meaning to (A)       indicate (B)       affect (C)       confuse (D)       limit 48.       A narrow growth ring between two wide growth rings would probably indicate (A)       an unusually warm winter (B)       the death of an old tree (C)       unfavorable climatic conditions during a single year (D)       wood cells that had grown to be very large 49.       Which of the following terms is defined in the passage? (A)       dendrochronology (line 4) (B)       lumens (line 8) (C)       drought (line 20) (D)       template (line 23) 50.       The phrase “this pattern” in line 22 refers to (A)       the change of seasons (B)       different climates in different places (C)       the destruction of trees and forests (D)       variation in the thickness of tree rings

 

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