SECTION III: VOCABULARY AND READING COMPREHENSION

DIRECTIONS

In the rest of this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several
questions about it. You are to choose the best one 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 that passage.

Questions 1 through 6 are based on the following reading

The Stone Age was a period of history which began in approximately 2 million B.C. and
lasted until 3000 B.C. Its name was derived from the stone tools and weapons that modern
scientists found. This period was divided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic ages. During
the first period, (2 million to 8000 B.C.) the fist hatchet and use of fire for heating and cooking
were developed. As a result of the Ice Age, which evolved about 1 million years into the
Paleolithic Age, people were forced to seek shelter in caves, wear clothing, and develop new
tools.
During the Mesolithic Age (8000 to 6000 B.C.) people made crude pottery and the first
fish hooks, took dogs hunting, and developed a bow and arrow, which was used until the
fourteenth century A.D.
The Neolithic Age (6000 to 3000 B.C.) saw humankind domesticating sheep, goats, pigs,
and cattle, being less nomadic than in previous eras, establishing permanent settlements, and
creating governments.

1. Into how many periods was the Stone Age divided?

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5

2. Which of the following was developed earliest?

(A) the fish hook (C) the bow and arrow
(B) the fist hatchet (D) pottery

3. Which of the following developments is not related to the conditions of the Ice Age?
(A) farming (C) living indoors
(B) clothing (D) using fire

4. Which period lasted longest?

(A) Paleolithic (C) Mesolithic
(B) Ice Age (D) Neolithic

5. Which of the following periods saw people develop a more communal form of living?
(A) Paleolithic (C) Mesolithic
(B) Ice Age (D) Neolithic
 6. The author states that the Stone Age was so named because
(A) it was very durable
(B) the tools and weapons were made of stone
(C) there was little vegetation
(D) the people lived in caves

Questions 7 through 11 are based on the following reading

Hot boning is an energy saving technique for the meat processing industry. It has received
considerable attention in recent years when increased pressure for energy conservation has
accentuated the need for more efficient methods of processing the bovine carcass. Cooling of an
entire carcass requires a considerable amount of refrigerated space, since bone and trimmable fat
are cooled along with the muscle. It is also necessary to space the carcasses adequately in the
refrigerated room for better air movement and prevention of microbial contamination, thus
adding to the volume requirements for carcass chillers.
Conventional handling of meat involves holding the beef sides in the cooler for 24 to 36
hours before boning. Chilling in the traditional fashion is also associated with a loss of carcass
weight ranging from 2% to 4% due to evaporation of moisture from the meat tissue.
Early excision, or hot boning, of muscle prerigor followed by vacuum packaging has
several potential advantages. By removing only the edible muscle and fat prerigor, refrigeration
space and costs are minimized, boning labor is decreased and storage yields increased. Because
hot boning often results in toughening of meat, a more recent approach, hot boning following
electrical simulation, has been used to reduce the necessary time of rigor mortis. Some
researchers have found this method beneficial in maintaining tender meat, while others have
found that the meat also becomes tough after electrical stimulation.

7. Which of the following was not mentioned as a drawback of the conventional methods of
boning?
(A) storage space requirements
(B) energy waste
(C) loss of carcass weight
(D) toughness of meat

8. Hot boning is becoming very popular because

(A) it causes meat to be very tender
(B) It helps conserve energy and is less expensive that conventional methods
(C) meat tastes better when the bone is adequately seared along with the meat
(D) it reduces the weight of the carcass

9. Carcass chiller means most nearly

(A) a refrigerator for the animal body
(B) a method of boning meat
(C) electrical stimulation of beef
(D) early excision
 10. Early excision means most nearly
(A) vacuum packaging (C) carcass chilling
(B) hot boning (D) electrical stimulation

11. The toughening of meat during hot boning has been combated by
(A) following hot boning with electrical stimulation
(B) tenderizing the meat
(C) Using electrical stimulation before hot boning
(D) removing only the edible muscle and fat prerigor

Questions 12 through 16 are based on the following reading.

In 1920, after some thirty-nine years of problems with disease, high costs, and politics,
the Panama Canal was officially opened, finally linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by
allowing ships to pass through the fifty-mile canal zone instead of traveling some seven thousand
miles around Cape Horn. It takes a ship approximately eight hours to complete the trip through
the canal and costs an average of fifteen thousand dollars, one-tenth of what it would cost an
average ship to round the horn. More than fifteen thousand ships pass through its locks each year.
The French initiated the project but sold their rights to the United States. The latter will
control it until the end of twentieth century when Panama takes over its duties.

12. Who currently controls the Panama Canal?

(A) France (C) Panama
(B) United States (D) Canal Zone

13. In approximately what year will a different government take control of the Panama
Canal?
(A) 2000 (B) 2100 (C) 3001 (D) 2999

14. On the average, how much would it cost a ship to travel around Cape Horn?
(A) $1,500 (C) $150,000
(B) $15,000 (D) $1,500,000

15. In what year was the construction probably begun on the canal?
(A) 1881 (B) 1920 (C) 1939 (D) 1999

16. What can be inferred from this reading?

(A) This is a costly project which should be reevaluated.
(B) Despite all the problems involved, the project is beneficial.
(C) Many captains prefer to sail around Cape Horn because it is less expensive.
(D) Due to all the problems, three governments have had to control the canal over three
years.

Questions 17 through 21 are based on the following reading.

In 776 B.C. the first Olympic Games were held at the foot of Mount Olympus to honor
the Greeks’ chief god, Zeus. The Greeks emphasized physical fitness and strength in their
education of youth. Therefore, contests in running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, boxing,
and horse and chariot racing were held in individual cities, and the winners competed every four
years at Mount Olympus. Winners were greatly honored by having olive wreaths placed on their
heads and having poems sung about their deeds. Originally these were held as games of
friendship, and any wars in progress were halted to allow the games to take place.
The Greeks attached so much importance to these games that they calculated time in four-
year cycles called “Olympiads” dating from 776 B.C.

17. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Winners placed olive wreaths on their own heads.
(B) The games were held in Greece every four years.
(C) Battles were interrupted to participate in the games.
(D) Poems glorified the winners in song.

18. Why were the Olympic Games held?

(A) to stop wars (C) to crown the best athletes
(C) to honor Zeus (D) to sing songs about the athletes

19. Approximately how many years ago did these games originate?
(A) 776 years (C) 2,277 years
(B) 1,205 years (D) 2,787 years

20. Which of the following contests was not mentioned?

(A) discus throwing (C) skating
(B) boxing (D) running

21. What conclusion can we draw about the ancient Greeks?

(A) They liked to fight.
(B) They were very athletic.
(C) They liked a lot of ceremony.
(D) They couldn’t count, so they used “Olympiads” for dates.

Questions 22 through 24 are based on the following reading.

Tampa, Florida, owes a great deal of its growth and prosperity to a Cuban cigar
manufacturer named Vicente Martínez Ybor. When the Cuban Revollution broke out in 1869, he
was forced to flee his country and moved his business to south Florida. Sixteen years later,
serious problems caused him to seek a better location along the west coast of the state. His
original land purchase of sixteen blocks expanded to more than one hundreds acres near Tampa.
This newly developed area was called Ybor city in his honor. With the demand for factory
workers for Ybor’s business, the surrounding areas expanded and thrived.

22. Where is Ybor City located?

(A) south Florida (C) west Florida
(B) Cuba (D) in the Florida countryside
 23. In what year was Ybor forced to leave south Florida?
(A) 1854 (B) 1869 (C) 1885 (D) 1895

24. Why will people probably continue to remember Ybor’s name?

(A) He suffered a great deal.
(B) An area was named in his honor.
(C) He was a Cuban revolutionary.
(D) He was forced to flee his homeland.

Questions 25 through 28 are based on the following reading.

Lichens are a unique group of complex, flowerless plants growing on rocks and trees.
There are thousands of kinds of lichens, which come in a wide variety of colors. They are
composed of algae and fungi which unite to satisfy the needs of the lichens.
The autotrophic green algae produce all their own food through a process called
photosynthesis and provide the lichen with nutritional elements. On the other hand, the
heterotrophic fungus, which depends on other elements to provide its food, not only absorbs and
stores water for the plant, but also helps protect it. This union by which two dissimilar organisms
live together is called “symbiosis”.
This sharing enables lichens to resist the most adverse environmental conditions found on
earth. They can be found in some very unlikely places such as the polar ice caps as well as in
tropical zones, in dry areas as well as in wet ones, on mountain peaks and along coastal areas.
The lichen’s strong resistance to its hostile environment and its ability to live in harmony
with such environments is one example that humanity should consider in trying to solve its own
problems.

25. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Lichens are not simple plants.
(B) The lichen habitat is limited to the polar ice caps.
(C) Lichens can resist a hostile environment.
(D) Heterotrophic plants depend on other elements to supply their food.

26. What can be said about autotrophic plants and heterotrophic plants?
(A) They produce their food in the same manner.
(B) Heterotrophic plants produce all their own food.
(C) Autotrophic plants need other elements to supply their food.
(D) Their methods of food production are completely different.

27. Which of the following conclusions could be made about lichens?

(A) They are found worldwide and are complex plants made up of algae and fungi.
(B) They are found worldwide and are simple plants, symbiotic in nature.
(C) They are found worldwide and are compound plants made up entirely of algae.
(D) Although found worldwide, lichens are found mostly as a simple plant form in the
tropics.
 28. Which of the following directly relates to algae?
(A) It offers protection to lichens.
(B) It supplies water for lichens.
(C) It supplies its own food.
(D) It is dependent on other plants for its food supply.

Questions 29 through 35 are based on the following reading.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s ambition to control all the area around the Mediterranean Sea led
him and his French soldiers to Egypt. After losing a naval battle, they were forced to remain there
for three years. In 1799, while constructing a fort, a soldier discovered a piece of stele (stone
pillar bearing an inscription) known as the Rosetta stone. This famous stone, which would
eventually lead to the deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics dating to 3100 B.C., was
written in three languages: hieroglyphics (picture writing), demotic (a shorthand version of
hieroglyphics), and Greek. Scientists discovered that the characters, unlike those in English,
could be written from right to left and in other directions as well.
Twenty-three years after discovery of the Rosetta stone, Jean François Champollion, a
French philologist, fluent in several languages, was able to decipher the first word ─ Ptolemy ─
name of an Egyptian ruler. This name was written inside an oval called a “cartouche.” Further
investigation revealed that cartouches contained names of important people of that period.
Champollion painstakingly continued his search and was able to increase his growing list of
known phonetic signs. He and an Englishman, Thomas Young, worked independently of each
other to unravel the deeply hidden mysteries of this strange language. Young believed that sound
values could be assigned to the symbols, while Champollion insisted that the pictures represented
words.

29. How many years elapsed between the date of the oldest hieroglyphics deciphered by
means of the Rosetta stone and the stone’s discovery?
(A) 1,301 (B) 1,799 (C) 3,100 (D) 4,899

30. Which of the following languages was not written on the Rosetta stone?
(A) French (B) demotic (C) Greek (D) hieroglyphics

31. Which of the following statements is not true?

(A) Cartouches contained names of prominent people of the period.
(B) Champollion and Young worked together in attempt to decipher the hieroglyphics.
(C) One of Napoleon’s soldiers discovered the Rosetta stone.
(D) Thomas Young believed that sound values could be assigned to the symbols.

32. When was the first word from the Rosetta stone deciphered?
(A) 3100 B.C. (B) 1766 (C) 1799 (D) 1822

33. What was the first word that was deciphered from the Rosetta stone?
(A) cartouche (B) Ptolemy (C) demotic (D) Champollion
 34. Why were Napoleon’s soldiers in Egypt in 1799?
(A) They were celebrating a naval victory.
(B) They were looking for the Rosetta stone.
(C) They were waiting to continue their campaign.
(D) They were trying to decipher the hieroglyphics.

35. Who was responsible for the deciphering the first word?
(A) Champollion (B) Young (C) Ptolemy (D) Napoleon

Questions 36 through 41 are based on the following reading

Sequoyah was a young Cherokee Indian, son of a white trader and an Indian squaw. At an
early age, he became fascinated by “the talking leaf,” an expression that he used to describe the
white man’s written records. Although many believed this “talking leaf” to be a gift from the
Great Spirit, Sequoyah refused to accept that theory. Like other Indians of the period, he was
illiterate, but his determination to remedy the situation led to the invention of a unique 86-
character alphabet based on the sound patterns that he heard.
His family and friends thought him mad, but while recuperating from a hunting accident,
he diligently and independently set out to create a form of communication for his own people as
well as for other Indians. In 1821, after twelve years of work, he had successfully develop a
written language that would enable thousands of Indians to read and write.
Sequoyah’s desire to preserve words and events for later generations has caused him to be
remembered among the important inventors. The giant redwood trees of California, called
“sequoias” in his honor, will further imprint his name in history.

36. What is the most important reason that Sequoyah will be remembered?
(A) California redwoods were named in his honor.
(B) He was illiterate.
(C) He created a unique alphabet.
(D) He recovered from his madness and helped mankind.

37. How did Sequoyah’s family react to his idea of developing his own “talking leaf”?
(A) They arranged for his hunting accident.
(B) They thought he was crazy.
(C) They decided to help him.
(D) They asked him to teach them to read and write.

38. What prompted Sequoyah to develop his alphabet?

(A) People were writing things about him that he couldn’t read.
(B)He wanted to become famous.
(C) After his hunting accident, he needed something to keep him busy.
(D) He wanted the history of his people preserved for future generations.

39. The word illiterate means most nearly

(A) fierce (C) abandoned
(B) poor (D) unable to read or write
 40. How would you describe Sequoyah?
(A) determined (B) mad (C) backwards (D) meek

41. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Sequoyah developed a form of writing with the help of the Cherokee tribe.
(B) Sequoyah was a very observant young man.
(C) Sequoyah spent twelve years developing his alphabet.
(D) Sequoyah was honored by having some trees named after him.

Questions 42 through 44 are based on the following reading.

The mighty, warlike Aztec nation felt that its existence depended upon human sacrifices.
The sun would not shine, the crops would not grow, and wars would not be won if the gods were
not appeased. As brutal as the ceremonies were, the victims (usually taken from among captives
from battles) accepted their fate passively, having been previously indoctrinated and heavily
sedated.

42. Why did the Aztecs offer human sacrifices?

(A) They were cruel and inhuman.
(B) They believed they had to pacify the gods.
(C) They wanted to force the citizens to obey.
(D) They wanted to deter crime.

43. Before the sacrifices, the victims were

(A) tortured and harassed (C) brainwashed and drugged
(B) fed and entertained. (D) interrogated and drugged

44. In what manner did the victims accept their destiny?

(A) submissively (C) violently
(C) rebelliously (D) notoriously

Questions 45 through 49 are based on the following passage.

Petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosene, home heating oil, residual fuel oil, and
lubricating oils, come from one source─ crude oil found below the earth’s surface, as well as
under large bodies of water, from a few hundred feet below the surface to as deep as 25,000 feet
into the earth’s interior. Sometimes crude oil is secured by drilling a hole through the earth, but
more dry holes are drilled than those producing oil. Pressure at the source or pumping forces
crude oil to the surface.
Crude oil wells flow at varying rates, from ten to thousands of barrels per hour. Petroleum
products are always measured in 42-gallon barrels.
Petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearance: thin, thick, transparent or
opaque, but regardless, their chemical composition is made up of only two elements: carbon and
hydrogen which form compounds called hydrocarbons. Other chemical elements found in union
with the hydrocarbons are few and are classified as impurities. Trace elements are also found, but
these are of such minute quantities that they are disregarded. The combination of carbon and
hydrogen forms many thousands of compounds which are possible because of the various
positions and joinings of these two atoms in the hydrocarbon molecule.
The various petroleum products are refined from the crude oil by heating and condensing
the vapors. These products are the so-called light oils, such as gasoline, kerosene, and distillate
oil. The residue remaining after the light oils are distilled is known as heavy or residual fuel oil
and is used mostly for burning under boilers. Additional complicated refining processes rearrange
the chemical structure of the hydrocarbons to produce other products, some of which are used to
upgrade and increase the octane rating of various types of gasolines.

45. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Crude oil is found below land and water.
(B) Crude oil is always found a few hundred feet below the surface.
(C) Pumping and pressure force crude oil to the surface.
(D) A variety of petroleum products is obtained from crude oil.

46. Many thousands of hydrocarbon compounds are possible because

(A) the petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearances.
(B) complicated refining processes rearrange the chemical structure.
(C) the two atoms in the molecule assume many positions.
(D) the pressure needed to force it to the surface causes molecular transformation.

47. Which of the following is true?

(A) The various petroleum products are produced by filtration.
(B) Heating and condensation produce the various products.
(C) Chemical separation is used to produce the various products.
(D) Mechanical means such as the centrifuge are used to produce the various products.

48. How is crude oil brought to the surface?

(A) expansion of the hydrocarbons
(B) pressure and pumping
(C) vacuum created in the drilling pipe
(D) expansion and contraction of the earth’s surface

49. Which of the following is not listed as a light oil?

(A) distillate oil (C) lubricating oil
(B) gasoline (D) kerosene

Questions 50 through 55 are based on the following passage.

An election year is one in which all four numbers are evenly divisible by four (1944,
1948, etc.) Since1840, American presidents elected in years ending in zero have been destined to
die in office. William H. Harrison, the man who served the shortest term, died of pneumonia
several weeks after his inauguration.
Abraham Lincoln was one of four presidents who were assassinated. He was elected in
1860, and his untimely death came just five years later.
James A. Garfield, a former Union army general from Ohio, was shot during his first year
in office (1881) by a man to whom he wouldn’t give a job.
 While in his second term of office (1901), William McKinley, another Ohioan, attended
the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York. During the reception, he was assassinated
while shaking hands with some of the guests.
Three years after his election in 1920, Warren G. Harding died in office. Although it was
never proved, many believe he was poisoned.
Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944), the only
man to serve so long a term. He had contracted polio in 1921 and died of the illness in 1945.
John F. Kennedy, the last of the line, was assassinated in1963, only three years after his
election.
Will 1980’s candidate suffer the same fate?

50. Which of the following was not an election year?

(A) 1960 (B) 1930 (C) 1888 (D) 1824

51. Which president served the shortest term in office?

(A) Abraham Lincoln (C) William McKinley
(B) Warren G. Harding (D) William H. Harrison

52. Which of the following is true?

(A) All presidents elected in years ending in zero have died in office.
(B) Only presidents from Ohio have died in office.
(C) Franklin D. Roosevelt completed four terms as president.
(D) Four American presidents have been assassinated.

53. How many presidents elected in years ending in zero since 1840 have died in office?
(A) 7 (B) 5 (C) 4 (D) 3

54. In this reading, what does inauguration mean?

(A) election (C) swearing-in ceremonies
(B) acceptance speech (D) campaign

55. Which of the following was not assassinated?

(A) John F. Kennedy (C) Abraham Lincoln
(B) Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) James A. Garfield

Questions 56 through 60 are based on the following reading

A recent investigation by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey shows that strange
animal behavior might help predict future earthquakes. Investigators found such occurrences in a
ten-kilometer radius of the epicenter of a fairly recent quake. Some birds screeched and flew
about wildly; dogs yelped and ran around uncontrollably.
Scientists believe that animals can perceive these environmental changes as early as
several days before the mishap.
In 1976 after observing animal behavior, the Chinese were able to predict a devastating
quake. Although hundreds of thousands of people were killed, the government was able to
evacuate millions of other people and thus keep the death toll at a lower level.
 56. What prediction may be made by observing animal behavior?
(A) an impending earthquake
(B) the number of people who will die
(C) the ten-kilometer radius of the epicenter
(D) environmental changes

57. Why can animals perceive these changes when humans cannot?
(A) Animals are smarter than humans.
(B) Animals have certain instincts that humans don’t possess.
(C) By running around the house, they can feel the vibration.
(D) Humans don’t know where to look.

58. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Some animals may be able to sense an approaching earthquake.
(B) By observing animal behavior scientists perhaps can predict earthquakes.
(C) The Chinese have successfully predicted an earthquake and saved many lives.
(D) All birds and dogs in a ten-kilometer radius of the epicenter went wild before the
quake.

59. In this passage, the word evacuate most nearly means

(A) remove (C) destroy
(B) exile (D) emaciate

60. If scientists can accurately predict earthquakes, there will be

(A) fewer animals going crazy
(B) a lower death rate
(C) fewer people evacuated
(D) fewer environmental changes

Reference

Pyle, Michael A. & Mary Ellen Muñoz. 1991. Cliffs TOEFL Preparation Guide. Singapore: John
Wiley & Sons (SEA) Pte. Ltd.