.

Section 3 A
Reading Comprehension ~
Time: 55 minute. (including the reading of the direction.)
Now .et yOlR' clock for 55 minute•.

Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one 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
that passage.
Read the following 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,
Line people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The
(5) 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 modem society would begin to unravel.
Example I Sample Answer
What is the main idea. of the passage? Q;> Cf) • (]l)

(A) In modem society we must make 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).
Example II Sample Answer
In line 5, the phrase "this tradition" refers to Q;> cD ~ •
(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 theirneighbors as to the time of day." Therefore. you should choose (D).
Now begin work on the questions.

Practice Teat B 85
 Questions 1-11

'The United States ~onstitution makes no provision for the nomination of candidates
for the presidency. As the framers of the Constitution set up the system, the electors
would, out of their own knowledge, select the "wisest and best" as President. But the
Line rise of political parties altered that system drastically - and with the change came the
(5) need for nominations.
The flTStmethod that the parties developed to nominate presidential candidates was
the congressional caucus, a small group of members of Congress. That method was
regularly used in the elections of 1800 to 1824. But its closed character led to its downfall
in the mid-1820's. For the election of 1832, both major parties turned to the national
(10) convention as their nominating device. It has continued to serve them ever since.
With the convention process, the final selection of the President is, for all practical
purposes, narrowed to one of two persons: the Republican or the Democratic party
nominee. Yet there is almost no legal control of that vital process.
The Constitution is silent on the subject of presidential nominations. There is, ~s
(15) well, almost no statutory law on the matter. The only provisions in federal law have to
do with the financing of conventions. And in each state there is only a small body of
laws that deal with issues related to the convention, such as the choosing of delegates
and the manner in which they may cast their votes. In short. the convention is very ;
largely a creation and a responsibility of the political parties themselves.
(20) In both the Republican and Democratic parties, the national committee is charged
with making the plans and arrangements for the national convention. As much as a year
before it is held, the committee meets (usually in Washington, D.C.) to set the time and
place for the convention. July has been the favored month; but each party has met in
convention as early as mid.June and also as late as the latter part of August.
(25) Where the convention is held is a matter of prime importance. There must be an
adequate convention hall, sufficient hotel accommodations, plentiful entertainment
outlets, and efficient transportation facilities.

1. Which of the following motivated 2. When was the congressional

a change in the original method of caucus used?
selecting a President of the United
(A) In the early 1800's
States?
(B) During the election of 1832
(A). The framers of the Constitution (C) Throughout the nineteenth
(B) The rise of the congressional century
caucus (D) In several recent elections
(C) The emergence of the party
system
(D) The establishment of national
conventions

88 Practice Telt B
3. What can be inferred about why 8. In paragraph 4, the author compares
the congressional caucus system (A) nominations and conventions
was terminated? (B) finances and the Constitution
(A). It was too expensive. (C)delegates and candidates
(B) It took toomuch:time~ (D) federal and state laws
t (C) It did not conform to the

Constitution. 9. The words "charged with" in lines

(D) It did not include enough ~ 20-21 are closest in meaning to
citizens. (A) responsible for
(B) exdted about
4. The word ''them'' in line 10 (C) blamed for
refers to (Dpn ,favor of
(A) conventions
(B) parties 10. The passage refers to all of the .
(C) elections following as necessary in the city
(D) candidlltes where the convention is held
. EXCEPT
5. The word "Yet" in line 13 (A) an acceptable meeting place
indicates that what follows is (B) politically aware citizens
(A) an unexpected fact (C) an easy way of traveling
(B) a p'ersonal ob.~ervatibri around the city
(C) a list .. ,. (D) sufficientarnusement
(D) an exampl~ opportunities

6. The word "vital" ih line 13 is II. Where in the passage does the
closest in meaning to author refer to the original method
of selecting a president?
(A) extremely important
(B) always accessible' (A) Lines 2-3
(C) political ' (B) Lines 11-13
(D) optional (C) Lines 18-19
(D) Lines 20-21
7. According to the passage, the only
aspect of political conventions
addressed by federal law involves
(A) organization
(B) choosing delegates
(C) voting procedures
(D) funding

Practice Te.t B ,87

• _~.'" :". j', 'C'-
 Questions 12-17

Several hundred million years ago, plants similar to modem ferns covered vast
stretches of the land. Some were as large as trees. with giant fronds bunched at the top
.of trunks as straight as pillars. Others were the size of bushes and formed thickets of
line undergrowth. Still others lived in the shade of giant club mosses and horsetails along
(5) the edges of swampy lagoons where giant amphibians swam.
A great number of these plants were true ferns, reproducing themselves without
fruits or seeds. Others had only the appearance offerns. Their leaves had organs of
sexual reproduction and produced seeds. Although their "flowers" did not have corollas,
these false ferns (today completely extinct) ushered in the era of flowering plants.
(10) Traces of these flora of the earliest times have been preserved in the form of fossils.
Such traces are most commonly found in shale and sandstone rocks wedged between
coal beds.
T9day only tropical forests bear living proof of the ancient greatness of ferns. The
species that grow there are no longer those of the Carboniferous period. but their v~ety
( IS) and vast numbers, and the great size of some, remind us of the time when ferns ruled
the plant kingdom.

12. What does the passage mainly 14. Which of the following is NOT
discuss? mentioned as a charactenstic of
(A) Plant reproduction the plants described in the passage?
(B) How to.locate fossils (A) They once spread over large
(C) An ancient form of plant life areas of land.
(0) Tropical plant life (B) They varied greatly in size.
(C) They coexisted with
13. The word"others" in line 3 refers to amphibians. mosses,
(A) plants and horsetails. .
(B) pillars (D) They clung to tree trunks and
(C) trees bushes for suppon.
(0) fronds

88 "rlctlce Telt I
!l":t'""-------------------------

15. The word ''true'' in line 6 is 17. The word "bear" in line 13 could
closest in meaning to which best be replaced by which of the
of the following? following?
(A) accurate (A) call for
(B) genuine (B) provide
(C) straight (C) tolerate
(D) dependable (D) suffer.

16. The author states that fossils of

early plant life are usually found in
rocks located between deposits of
(A) coal
(B) shale
(C) sandstone
(D) corollas

>
•

,.

.. /

P,actlce ,Telt B 89
 Questions 18-28
The economic expansion prompted by the Second World War triggered a spectacular
population boom in the West. Of course, the region was no stranger to population
booms. Throughout much of its history, western settlement had been characterized by
Line spurts, rather than by a pattern of gradual and steady population growth, beginning
(5) with the gold and silver rushes ofthe 1850's and 1860's. The decade after the First
World War-the 1920's-witnessed another major surge of people pouring into the
West, particularly into urban areas. But the economic depression of the 1930's brought
this expansion to a halt; some of the more sparsely settled parts of the region actually
lost population as migrants sought workin more heavily industrialized areas. By 1941,
(/0) when the United States entered the Second World War and began to mobilize, new job
opportunities were created iii the western part of the nation.
If the expansion of industries, such as shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing, was
most striking on the Pacific coast, it also affected interior citieslike Denver, Phoenix,
and Salt Lake City. Equally dramatic were the effects of the establishment of aluminum
(/5) plants in Oregon and Washington and the burgeoning steel industry in Utah and '
California. The flow of people into these areas provided an enormous impetus to the
expansion of the service industries - banks, health care services, and schools. Although
strained to the limit by the influx of newcomers, western communities welcomed the
vast reservoir of new job opponunities.. At the same time, the unprecedented expansion
(20) of government installations in the West, such as military bases, created thousands of
new civilian openings. As land had served as a magnet for western migrants in the late
nineteenth century, so wanime mobilization set in motion another major expansion of
population. Indeed, it could be said that the entire western United States became a giant
boomtown during the Second World War. This was especially true of California. Of
(25) the more than eight milIion people who moved into the West in the decade after 1940,

almost one-half went to the Pacific coast. In fact, between 1940 and 1950, California's
population surged by more than three million people.

18. What is the main point of the 19. The word "triggered" in line I is
passage? closest in meaning to
(A) California dominated the (A) was connected to
economic growth of the (B) generated
West during the Second (C) interfered with
World War. •. (D) illuminated
(B) Industrial growth during the
1940's attracted large
numbers of people to the
West.
(C) The military drew people away
from civilian jobs during the
1940's.

~~W~Si~'= ~
}O 'PlctlceJel1S
20. Why does the author mention "the 22. According to the passage, the
depression of the 1930's caused
gold and silver rushes of the
1850' s and 1860' s" in the first which of the following?
paragraph? (A) A lac!<of population growth
(A) As causes of gradual in the West
(B) The building of new suburbs
population growth
(B) As contrasts to later patterns (C) A creation of more job
of population growth opportunities
(D) A growth in immigration from
(C) As illustrations of a market
abroad
economy
(D) As examples of western
23. Which of the following statements
population booms
about'the shipbuilding industry is
21. Which of the following occurred suggcsJed by the passage?
in the West during the 1920's? (A) It came into being during the
(A) Gold and silver deposits were First World War.
(D) Many new shipbuilding yards
discovered.
(B) The population density were established on the
Pacific coast during the
gradually increased.
(C) The population of the cities 1940's.
increased significantly. (C) Denver was considered to be
(D) Many military oases were a poor location for
shipbuilding factories.
established.
(D) Shipbuilding was the dominant
industry in Oregon and
Washington.

The questions for this passage

continue on the next page.

Practicl Tilt B 71
 The following questions are based on
the passage on page 70.
24. The word "it" in line 13 refers to 27. According to the passage, what
(A) expansion was one result of the building of
(B) Denver new military bases in the West in
(C) manufacturing the 1940's?
(0) the Pacific coast (A) Military bases in other parts
of the United States were
~5. The word "enormous" in line 16 is closed.
closest in meaning to (B) Many settlers were forced off
(A) unexpected their land.
(B) immense (C) Many civilian jobs were
(C) adequate created.
(D) important (0) The cost of living rose sharply
in California and other
26. The passage suggests that western states.
industrialization in the West led
to all of the following EXCEPT 28. It can be inferred from the passage:
(A) A reduction in the price of
that the principal cause of .
land California's population surge
(B) An increase in school between 1940 and 1950 was
construction (A) the increased availability of
(C) Improved access to doctors land
(D) An increase in the number of (B) people's desire to live in a
banks warm, coastal climate
(C) the industrial mobilization
necessitated by the Second
World War
(0) overcrowding in urban areas
in other regions of the
United States

."-'~ . -- .\:

72PPlctlc.Tllt 8
 Questions 29-39
For, ] 50 years scientists have tried to determine the solar constant, the amount of
solar energy that reaches the Earth. Yet, even in the most cloud-free regions of the
planet, the solar constant cannot be measured precisely. Gas molecules and dust
Line particles in the atmosphere absorb and scatter sunlight and prevent some wavelengths
(5) of the light from ever reaching the ground.
With the advent of satellites, however, scientists have finally been able to measure
the Sun's output without being impeded by the Earth's atmosphere. Solar Max, a
satellite from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has been
measuring the Sun's output since February 1980. Although a malfimction in the
(/0) satellite's control system limited its observation for a few years, the satellite was
repaired in orbit by astronauts from the space shuttle in ]984. Max's observations
indicate that the solar constant is not really constant after all.
The satellite's instruments have detected frequent, small variations in the Sun's
energy output, generally amounting to no more than 0.05 percent of the Sun's meal1
(/5) energy output and lasting from a few days to a few weeks. Scientists believe these
fluctuations coincide with the appearance and disappearance of large groups of
sunspots on the Sun's disk. Sunspots are relatively dark regions on the Sun's surface
that have strong magnetic fieJds,and a:teptperature ~bout 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit .
cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface. Particularly large fluctuations in the solar
(20) constant have cQ!ncid~wi~:sighJings,of:Jarge ~.um.p<>tgroups,In ] 980, for example,
Solar Max's instruments registered a 0.3 percent dr()p in the solar energy reaching the
Earth. At that time a sunspot group covered about 0.6 percent of the solar disk, an area
20 times larger than the Earth's surface.
Long-term variations in the solar constant are more difficult to determine. Although
(25) Solar Max's data have indicated a slow and steady decline in the Sun's output, some
scientists have thought that the satellite's aging detectors might have become less sensitive
over the years, thus fals~y indicating a drop in the solar constant. This possibility was
dismissed, however, by comparing Solar Max's observations with data from a similar
instrument operating on NASA's Nimbus 7 weather satellite since 1978.
29. What does this passage mainly 30. Why does the author mention
discuss? "gas" and "dust" in line 3 ?
(A) The launching of a weather (A) They magnify the solar
satellite constant.
(B) The components of the (B) They are found in varying
Earth's atmosphere concentrations.
(C) The measurement of (C) Scientific equipment is ruined
variations in the solar by gas and dust.
constant (D) They interfere with accurate
(0) The interaction of sunlight mellSurement of the solar
and air pollution constant.

",::i'f~:m:..'
74 Puellee.re.1 B
•••••
31. Why is it not possible to measure 36. The word "decline" in line 25 is
the solar constant accurately closest in meaning to
without a satellite? (A) fall
(A) The Earth is too far from the (B) reversal
Sun. (C) release
(B) Some areas on Earth receive (D) fluctuation
more solar energy than
others. 37. Why did scientists think that Solar
(C) There is not enough sunlight Max might be giving unreliable
during the day. information?
(D) The Earth's atmosphere (A) Solar Max did not work for
interferes with the sunlight. the first few years.
(B) The space shuttle could not
32. The word "scatter" in line 4 is fix Solar Max's instruments.
closest in meaning to (C) Solar Max's instruments were
(A) emit getting old.
(B) capture (D) Nimbus 7 interfered with
(C) transform Solar Max's detectors.
(D) disperse
38. The phrase "This possibility" in
33. The word "its" in line 10 refers line27 refers to the likelihood
to the thatthe
(A) orbit (A) solar constant has declined
(B) atmosphere (B) Nimbus 7 sateIlite is older
(C) satellite than Solar Max
(D) malfunction (C) solar constant cannot be
measured
34. The word "detected" in line 13 is (D) instruments are providing
closest in meaning to inaccurate data
(A) estimated .
39. The attempt to describe the solar
(B) disregarded
constant can best be described as
(C) registered
(D) predicted (A) an ongoing research effort
(B) an issue that has been resolved
35. According to the passage, scientists (C) a question that can never be
believe variations in the solar answered
constant are related to (D) historically interesting, but
(A) sunspot activity irrelevant to contemporary
(B) unusual weather patterns concerns
(C) increased levels of dust
(D) fluctuations in the Earth's
temperature

Practice Test B 75
 Questions 40-50

Even before the tum of the century, movies began to develop in two major directions':
the realistic and lhe formalistic. Realism and formalism are merely general, rather than
absolute, terms. When used to suggest a tendency toward either polarity, such labels
Line can be helpful, but in the end they are still just labels. Few films are exclusively formalist
(5) in style, and fewer yet are completely realist. There is also an important difference
between realism and reality, allhough this distinction is often forgotten. Realism is a
particular style, whereas physical reality is the source of all the raw materials of film,
both realistic and formalistic. Virtually all movie directors go to the photographable
world for their subject malter, but what they do with this material ~ how they shape
(10) and manipulate it - determines their sty listie emphasis.
Generally speaking, realistic films attempt to reproduce the surface of concrete reality
with a minimum of distortion. In photographing objects and events, the filmmaker tries
to suggest the copiousness of life itself. Both realist and formalist film directors must
select (and hence emphasize) certain details from the chaotic sprawl of reality. But the
(15) element of selectivity in realistic films is less obvious. Realists, in short, try to preserve
the illusion that lheir film world is unmanipulated, an objective mirror of the actual
world. Formalists, on the other hand, make no such pretense. They deliberately stylize
and distort their raw materials so that only the very naive would mistake a manipulated
image of an object or event for the real thing.
(20) We rarely notice the style in a realistic movie; the artist tends to be self-effacing.
Some filmmakers are more concerned with what is being shown than how it is
manipulated. The camera is used conservatively. It is essentially a recording mechanism
that reproduces the surface of tangible objects with as little commentary as possible. A
high premium is placed on simplicity, spontaneity, and directness. This is not to suggest
.
(25) that these movies lack artistry, however, for at its best the realistic cinema specializes
in art that conceals art.

40. What does the passage mainly 41. With which of the following
discuss? statements would the author be
(A) Acting styles most likely to agree?
(B) Film plots (A) Realism and formalism are
(C) Styles of filmmaking outdated terms.
(D) Filmmaking 100 years ago (B) Most films are neither
exclusively realistic nor
formalistic.
(C) Realistic films are more
popular than formalistic
ones.
(D) Formalistic films are less
artistic than realistic ones.

78 PractIce Telt B
42. The phrase "this distinction" in 47. How can one recognize the
line 6 refers to the difference formalist style?
between (A) It uses familiar images.
(A) formalists and realists (B) It is very impersonal.
(B) realism and reality (C) It obviously manipulates
(C) general and absolute images.
(D) physical reality and raw . (D) It mirrors the actual world.
materials
48. The word "tangible" in line 23 is
43. Whom does the author say is closest in meaning to
primarily responsible for the style (A) concrete
ofa film? (B) complex
(A) The director (C)various
(B) The actors (D) comprehensible
(C) The producer
(D) The camera operator 49. Which of the following terms is
NOT used to describe realism in
44. The word "shape" in line 9 is filmmaking?
closest in meaning to (A) Simple
(A) specify (B) Spontaneous
(B) form (C) Self-effacing
(C) understand (D) Exaggerated
(D) achieve
50. Which of the following films
45. The word "preserve" in line 15 is would most likely use a realist
closest in meaning to style?
(A) encourage (A) A travel documentary
(B) maintain (B) A science fiction film
(C) reflect (C) A musical drama
(0) attain (D) An animated cartoon

46. The word "They" in line 17

refers to
(A) films
(B) realists
(C) formalists
(D) raw materials

Practice Telt B 77