PRACTICE TEST B (10-19) SECTION 3: READING COMPREHENSION TOEFL ITP PRACTICE TEST

 

TOEFL ITP PRACTICE TEST VOLUME 1 PRACTICE TEST B (10-19) 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 10-19 The piano has always had a special place in music in the United States. Because one can play on it several notes at once, it can be used in substitution for a band. This quality has attracted composers; there has been far more music written for piano, or the keyboards in general, than for any other instrument. And because a piano can, in effect, accompany itself, for a century it has been the basic instrument for the playing of popular music. This was especially so during the decades around the turn of the century. In the years before the First World War (1914-1918), most families in the United States felt it important to own a piano, no matter how poor they were. People who could play the piano were welcome visitors and were generally cajoled into playing the latest popular tunes. But it was not just in the home that the piano flourished. It was the basic entertainment tool in cabarets, clubs, and restaurants, just as it is today. The piano, thus, was central to the social lives of people in the United States, and in the period between the Civil War (1861-1865) and the First World War, there grew up a considerable industry devoted to it: the popular music business, a huge trade in instructional schools and mail order lessons, and, of course, the selling of pianos themselves. Inevitably a large corps of virtuoso professional piano players developed. These “professors” or “ivory ticklers” were not necessarily trained in the classical European tradition. Most, although not all, either were self-taught or studied with older ticklers who themselves had little experience with the classical tradition. Despite the lack of European-style training, many of these players possessed astonishing techniques that, if not well-suited to classical piano compositions, were exactly right for producing the showy effects with which these professors impressed audiences and competing pianists. Fast arpeggios, octave runs, and other great splashes up and down the keyboard were practiced endlessly. These ticklers were the people who developed and popularized ragtime; it is no accident that the most popular music of the period was a piano form. And of course, when jazz came into fashion, they were caught up in this new music.   10.       What does the passage mainly discuss? (A)       The parts of a piano (B)       Kinds of pianos (C)       Composers of piano music (D)       The popularity of the piano 11.       The word “place” in line 1 is closest in meaning to (A)       performance (B)       region (C)       position (D)       arrangement 12.       The word “it” in line 2 refers to (A)       piano (B)       place (C)       music (D)       band 13.       The word “central” in line 14 is closest in meaning to (A)       accessible (B)       important (C)       convenient (D)       related 14.       Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the piano industry between 1861 and 1914? (A)       Fewer pianos were built. (B)       Many people wanted to learn how to play the piano. (C)       Other forms of keyboard instruments were invented. (D)       Large bands began to replace pianos in clubs and restaurants. 15.       The word “virtuoso” in line 19 is closest in meaning to (A)       youthful (B)       dedicated (C)       skilled (D)       noble 16.       The word “themselves” in line 22 refers to (A)       pianos (B)       compositions (C)       older ticklers (D)       techniques 17.       According to the passage, why were audiences amazed by the piano-playing of the ticklers mentioned in the third paragraph? (A)       They played without looking at music. (B)       Their performances were very exciting. (C)       They were younger than most pianists. (D)       They were accompanied by variety of other instruments. 18.       Which of the following is NOT true of the professional piano players mentioned in the fourth paragraph? (A)       They were trained in Europe. (B)       Their piano performances appealed to audience. (C)       They usually received little formal training. (D)       They were more skilled at playing popular music than classical music. 19.       The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses (A)       classical piano music (B)       piano competitions (C)       piano instruction (D)       jazz piano music

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