Section Three: Reading Comprehension

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The planned development of Seattle's public park system
(B) The organization of the Seattle city government
(C) The history of the OImsted Brothers architectural firm
(D) The design and building of the University of Washington campus

2. The word "engaged" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) trained
(B) hired
(C) described
(D) evaluated

3. The word "subsequent" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
(A) complicated
(B) alternate
(C) later
(D) detailed

4. Which of the following statements about parks does NOT reflect the views of the Olmsted Brothers firm?
(A) They should be planted with trees that grow locally.
(B) They should provide a quiet, restful environment.
(C) They should be protected by limiting the number of visitors from the community.
(D) They should be designed to conform to the topography of the area.

5. Why does the author mention "local parks and squares" in lines 13-14 when talking about the Olmsted plan?
(A) To emphasize the difficulties facing adoption of the plan
(B) To illustrate the comprehensive nature of the plan
(C) To demonstrate an omission in the plan
(D) To describe Seattle's landscape prior to implementation of the plan

6. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about how citizens of Seattle received the Olmsted Report?
(A) They were hostile to the report's conclusions.
(B) They ignored the Olmsteds' findings.
(C) They supported the Olmsteds' plans.
(D) They favored the city council's seeking advice from another firm.

7. According to the passage, when was the Olmsted Report officially accepted as the master plan for the Seattle public park system?
(A) 1903
(B) 1907
(C) 1909
(D) 1913

8. The word "sums" in line 20 is closest in meaning to
(A) problems
(B) amounts
(C) services
(D) debts

9. According to the passage, which of the following was most directly influenced by the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition?
(A) The University of Washington
(B) Brookline, Massachusetts
(C) The mayor of Seattle
(D) The Seattle Parks Board 

10. The passage focuses on comets primarily in terms of their
(A) orbital patterns
(B) coma and tails
(C) brightness
(D) size

11. The word "identical" in line I is closest in meaning to
(A) equally fast
(B) exactly alike
(C) near each other
(D) invisible

12. The word "heart" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A) center
(B) edge
(C) tail
(D) beginning

13. Why does the author mention the Giotto probe in paragraph 3?
(A) It had a relatively small and inconspicuous nucleus.
(B) It was very similar to an asteroid.
(C) It was covered with an unusual black dust.
(D) It provided visual evidence of the makeup of a comet's nucleus.

14. It can be inferred from the passage that the nucleus of a comet is made up of
(A) dust and gas
(B) ice and dust
(C) hydrogen gas
(D) electrically charged atoms

15. The word "graphic" in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) mathematical
(B) popular
(C) unusual
(D) vivid

16. Which of the following occurred as the ices from Halley's Comet evaporated?
(A) Black dust was left on the comet's surface.
(B) The nucleus of the comet expanded.
(C) The tail of the comet straightened out.
(D) Jets of gas caused the comet to increase its speed.

17. All of the following statements about the tails of comets are true EXCEPT:
(A) They can contain electrically charged or neutral particles.
(B) They can be formed only when there is sufficient heat.
(C) They are formed before the coma expands.
(D) They always point in the direction away from the Sun.

18. The word "distinct" in line 17 is closest in meaning to
(A) visible
(B) gaseous
(C) separate
(D) new

19. Compared to the tail of electrically charged atoms, the tail of neutral dust particles is
relatively
(A) long
(B) curved
(C) unpredictable
(D) bright

20. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The effects of human activities on prehistoric wildlife
(B) The origins of the hunter-gatherer way of life
(C) The diets of large animals of the Pleistocene epoch
(D) The change in climate at the end of the Pleistocene epoch

21. The word "Undoubtedly" in line I is closest in meaning to
(A) occasionally
(B) unexpectedly
(C) previously
(D) certainly

22. The word "components" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) parts
(B) problems
(C) changes
(D) varieties

23. Which of the following is mentioned as supporting the Pleistocene overkill
hypothesis?
(A) Many of the animals that became extinct were quite large.
(B) Humans migrated into certain regions around the time that major
extinctions occurred.
(C) There is evidence that new species were arriving in areas inhabited by
humans.
(D) Humans began to keep and care for certain animals.

24. The word "Besides" in line 13 is closest in meaning to
(A) caused by
(B) whereas
(C) in addition to
(D) in favor of

25. The author mentions saber-toothed cats in line 16 as an example of a carnivore
that
(A) became extinct before the Pleistocene epoch
(B) was unusually large for its time
(C) was not able to compete with humans
(D) caused the extinction of several species

26. The word "they" in line 20 refers to
(A) human hunters
(B) game animals
(C) other predators
(D) large mammals

27. According to the passage, what is one difference between the hunting done by
some humans and the hunting done by gray wolves?
(A) Some humans hunt more frequently than gray wolves.
(B) Gray wolves hunt in larger groups than some humans.
(C) Some humans can hunt larger animals than gray wolves can hunt.
(D) Some humans prey on animals of all ages, but gray wolves concentrate
their efforts on young animals.

28. The word "favored" in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A) large
(B) escaping
(C) preferred
(D) local

29. According to the passage, the imbalances discussed in paragraph 3 may have
resulted from
(A) the effect of climate changes on large game animals
(B) large animals moving into a new environment
(C) humans hunting some species more than others
(D) older animals not being able to compete with younger animals

30. Which of the following questions does the passage mainly answer?
(A) What is the difference between an Old World and a New World plant?
(B) Why are tulips grown in many different parts of the world?
(C) How did tulips become popular in North America?
(D) Where were the first Dutch colonies in North America located?

31. The word "integral" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) interesting
(B) fundamental
(C) ornamental
(D) overlooked

32. The passage mentions that tulips were first found in which of the following
regions?

(A) Central Asia
(B) Western Europe
(C) India
(D) North America

33. The word "flourished" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(A) were discovered
(B) were marketed
(C) combined
(D) thrived

34. The author mentions tulip growing in New Netherland. Pennsylvania. and
Michigan in order to illustrate how
(A) imported tulips were considered more valuable than locally grown tulips
(B) tulips were commonly passed as gifts from one family to another
(C) tulips grew progressively more popular in North America
(D) attitudes toward tulips varied from one location to another

35. The word "grumbled" in line 16 is closest in meaning to
(A) denied
(B) warned
(C) complained
(D) explained

36. The passage mentions that one reason English and Dutch settlers planted tulips in
their gardens was that tulips
(A) were easy to grow
(B) had become readily available
(C) made them appear fashionable
(D) reminded them of home

37. The word "they" in line 20 refers to
(A) tulips
(B) plains
(C) immigrants
(D) plants

38. According to the passage, which of the following changes occurred in English
gardens during the European settlement of North America?
(A) They grew in size in order to provide enough plants to export to the New World.
(B) They contained a wider variety of tulips than ever before.
(C) They contained many new types of North American plants.
(D) They decreased in size on the estates of wealthy people.

39. The passage mentions which of the following as a problem associated with the
importation of tulips into North America?
(A) They were no longer fashionable by the time they arrived.
(B) They often failed to survive the journey.
(C) Orders often took six months or longer to fill.
(D) Settlers knew little about how to cultivate them.

40. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) How insects use pheromones to communicate
(B) How pheromones are produced by insects
(C) Why analyzing insect pheromones is difficult
(D) The different uses of pheromones among various insect species

41. The word "serve" in line I is closest in meaning to
(A) improve
(B) function
(C) begin
(D) rely

42. The purpose of the second mention of "hormones" in line 4 is to point out
(A) chemical signals that are common among insects
(B) specific responses of various species to chemical signals
(C) similarities between two chemical substances
(D) how insects produce different chemical substances

43. The word "sole" in line 6 is closest in meaning to
(A) obvious
(B) best
(C) only
(D) final

44. The passage suggests that the speed at which communication through
pheromones occurs is dependent on how quickly they
(A) lose their effectiveness
(B) evaporate in the air
(C) travel through the air
(D) are produced by the body

45. According to the passage, the meaning of a message communicated through a
pheromone may vary when the (A) chemical structure of the pheromone is changed
(B) pheromone is excreted while other pheromones are also being excreted
(C) exocrine glands do not produce the pheromone
(D) pheromone is released near certain specific organisms

46. The word "detecting" in line 23 is closest in meaning to
(A) controlling
(B) storing
(C) questioning
(D) finding

47. According to paragraph 2, which of the following has made the study of
pheromones difficult?
(A) Pheromones cannot be easily reproduced in chemical laboratories.
(B) Existing technology cannot fully explore the properties of pheromones.
(C) Pheromones are highly volatile.
(D) Pheromone signals are constantly changing.

48. The word "They" in line 24 refers to
(A) pheromones
(B) roles
(C) activities
(D) insects

49. The word "sedentary" in line 29 is closest in meaning to
(A) inactive
(B) inefficient
(C) unchangeable
(D) unbalanced

50. Pheromone systems are relatively complex in insects that
(A) also communicate using sight and sound
(B) live underground
(C) prey on other insects
(D) live in organized groups

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