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TOEFL ITP PRACTICE TEST VOLUME 1
PRACTICE TEST B (1-9)
SECTION 3: READING COMPREHENSION
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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:
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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.
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Example 1
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What is the main idea of the passage?
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A
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In modern society, we must
take more time for our neighbors.
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B
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The traditions of society are timeless.
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C
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An accepted way of
measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
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D
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Society judges people by the times at which
they conduct certain activities.
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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
Example II
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In line 5, the phrase “this tradition” refers to
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A
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the practice of starting
the business day at dawn
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B
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friendly relations between neighbors
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C
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the railroad’s reliance on
time schedules
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D
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people’s agreement on the measurement of time
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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
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Questions 1-9
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Calvin Coolidge was President
of the United States during the triumphant reign of prosperity that made
the twenties “golden,” and this prosperity had very real roots. Although
there had been a brief but sharp postwar depression in 1920 and 1921,
American industry made a quick recovery. Largely responsible for the
industrial boom that followed was the introduction of new products into
American life. For example, on the eve of the First World War, only half a
million automobiles were being produced annually, but during the twenties
production reached nearly five million units per year. Furthermore, the new
auto industry created demands on older industries for products such as
rubber, copper, glass, steel, and fabrics. It called for the building of
paved roads across the nation and brought about the tremendous expansion of
the oil and gasoline refining industries, along with the construction of
thousands of gasoline stations, which broke out like a rash of measles over
the countryside. Basic industries expanded as well – coal, steel, machine
tools, clothing, and, most dramatically of all, the new electric power
industry.
For the first time, average
citizens were buying cars, radios (another new and booming industry),
refrigerators, and a host of other new consumer products. The poor seemed
to be getting richer, and certainly the rich were getting richer. For the
well-to-do, the business civilization of the twenties seemed to promise all
that could be expected “this side of paradise,” as F. Scott Fitzgerald
titled one of his most popular novels. But paradise in the twenties had two
sides. On the far side of paradise during the golden decade lived the
majority of American farmers.
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1. According to the passage, when did
the United States experience a brief depression?
(A) In the late nineteenth century
(B) Before the First World War
(C) During the First World War
(D) In the early 1920’s
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2. The word “boom” in line 5 is
closest in meaning to
(A) noise
(B) strike
(C) expansion
(D) market
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3. The phrase “called for” in line 10
is closest in meaning to
(A) named
(B) required
(C) described
(D) considered
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4. According
to the passage, the growth in automobile production caused an increase in
the demand for
(A) rubber
(B) mass produced clothing
(C) electric power
(D) radios
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5. According to the passage, all of
the following were relatively new in the 1920’s EXCEPT
(A) steel
(B) radios
(C) automobiles
(D) refrigerators
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6. The word “host” in line 17 is
closest in meaning to
(A) entertainer
(B) representative sample
(C) business investment
(D) large number
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7. It can be inferred from the passage
that the characters in the novel This Side of Paradise are
(A) wealthy people
(B) industrious farmers
(C) creative writers
(D) average citizens
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8. What can be inferred from the
passage about farms in the United States in the 1920’s?
(A) They experienced very rapid economic
growth.
(B) They attracted workers from urban
industrial centers.
(C) They benefited from a reduction in
the price of gasoline.
(D) They were less prosperous than other
businesses.
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9. The paragraph following the passage
most likely discusses
(A) the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald
(B) the cost of consumer goods
(C) the economic condition of farms
(D) popular novels of the 1920’s
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Anjay
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