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Practice Reading I

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Question 1- 8

	It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an
	education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to
	go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is
	important.
	Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education
	knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job,
	whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in
	schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range
	from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a
	distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite
	often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to
	discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from
	infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a
	process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part
	of one's entire life.
	Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general
	pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at
	school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use
	similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to
	be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of
	government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For
	example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the
	truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are
	experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of
	schooling.

1. What does the author probably mean by using the expression "children interrupt their education to go to school" (lines 2-3)?

(A) Going to several different schools is educationally beneficial.
(B) School vacations interrupt the continuity of the school year.
(C) Summer school makes the school year too long.
(D) All of life is an education.

Correct Answer: D

2. The word "bounds" in line 6 is closest in meaning to

(A) rules
(B) experiences
(C) limits
(D) exceptions

Correct Answer: C

3. The word "chance" in line 11 is closest in meaning to

(A) unplanned
(B) unusual
(C) lengthy
(D) lively

Correct Answer: A

4. The word "integral" in line 15 is closest in meaning to

(A) an equitable
(B) a profitable
(C) a pleasant
(D) an essential

Correct Answer: D

5. The word "they" in line 20 refers to

(A) slices of reality
(B) similar textbooks
(C) boundaries
(D) seats

Correct Answer: A

6. The phrase "For example," line 22, introduces a sentence that gives examples of

(A) similar textbooks
(B) the results of schooling
(C) the workings of a government
(D) the boundaries of classroom subjects

Correct Answer: D

7. The passage supports which of the following conclusions?

(A) Without formal education, people would remain ignorant.
(B) Education systems need to be radically reformed.
(C) Going to school is only part of how people become educated.
(D) Education involves many years of professional training.

Correct Answer: C

8. The passage is organized by

(A) listing and discussing several educational problems
(B) contrasting the meanings of two related words
(C) narrating a story about excellent teachers
(D) giving examples of different kinds of schools

Correct Answer: B

Questions 9 - 17

	The hard, rigid plates that form the outermost portion of the Earth are about 100
	kilometers thick. These plates include both the Earth's crust and the upper mantle.
	The rocks of the crust are composed mostly of minerals with light elements, like
	aluminum and sodium, while the mantle contains some heavier elements, like iron and
	magnesium. Together, the crust and upper mantle that form the surface plates are called
	the lithosphere. This rigid layer floats on the denser material of the lower mantle the way
	a wooden raft floats on a pond. The plates are supported by a weak, plastic layer of the
	lower mantle called the asthenosphere. Also like a raft on a pond, the lithospheric plates
	are carried along by slow currents in this more fluid layer beneath them.
	With an understanding of plate tectonics, geologists have put together a new history
	for the Earth's surface. About 200 million years ago, the plates at the Earth's surface
	formed a "supercontinent" called Pangaea. When this super continent started to tear
	apart because of plate movement, Pangaea first broke into two large continental masses
	with a newly formed sea that grew between the land areas as the depression filled with
	water. The southern one — which included the modern continents of South America,
	Africa, Australia, and Antarctica — is called Gondwanaland. The northern one — with
	North America, Europe, and Asia — is called Laurasia. North America tore away from
	Europe about 180 million years ago, forming the northern Atlantic Ocean.
	Some of the lithospheric plates carry ocean floor and others carry land masses or a
	combination of the two types. The movement of the lithospheric plates is responsible for
	earthquakes, volcanoes, and the Earth's largest mountain ranges. Current understanding
	of the interaction between different plates explains why these occur where they do. For
	example, the edge of the Pacific Ocean has been called the "Ring of Fire" because so
	many volcanic eruptions and, earthquakes happen there. Before the 1960' s, geologists
	could not explain why active volcanoes and strong earthquakes were concentrated in that
	region. The theory of plate tectonics gave them an answer.

9. With which of the following topics is the passage mainly concerned?

(A) The contributions of the theory of plate tectonics to geological knowledge
(B) The mineral composition of the Earth's crust
(C) The location of the Earth's major plates
(D) The methods used by scientists to measure plate movement

Correct Answer: A

10. According to the passage, the lithospheric plates are given support by the

(A) upper mantle
(B) ocean floor
(C) crust
(D) asthenosphere

Correct Answer: D

11. The author compares the relationship between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere to which of the following?

(A) Lava flowing from a volcano
(B) A boat floating on the water
(C) A fish swimming in a pond
(D) The erosion of rocks by running water

Correct Answer: B

12. The word "one" in line 16 refers to

(A) movements
(B) masses
(C) sea
(D) depression

Correct Answer: B

13. According to the passage, the northern Atlantic Ocean was formed when

(A) Pangaea was created
(B) plate movement ceased
(C) Gondwanaland collided with Pangaea
(D) parts of Laurasia separated from each other

Correct Answer: D

14. The word "carry" in line 20 could best be replaced by

(A) damage
(B) squeeze
(C) connect
(D) support

Correct Answer: D

15. In line 27, the word "concentrated" is closest in meaning to which of the following?

(A) Allowed
(B) Clustered
(C) Exploded
(D) Strengthened

Correct Answer: B

16. Which of the following can be inferred about the theory of plate tectonics?

(A) It is no longer of great interest to geologists.
(B) It was first proposed in the 1960's.
(C) It fails to explain why earthquakes occur.
(D) It refutes the theory of the existence of a supercontinent.

Correct Answer: B

17. The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses

(A) why certain geological events happen where they do
(B) how geological occurrences have changed over the years
(C) the most unusual geological developments in the Earth's history
(D) the latest innovations in geological measurement

Correct Answer: A

Questions 18 - 27

	In the United States in the early 1800' s, individual state governments had more
	effect on the economy than did the federal government. States chartered manufacturing,
	banking, mining, and transportation firms and participated in the construction of various
	internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads. The states encouraged
	internal improvements in two distinct ways: first, by actually establishing state companies
	to build such improvements; second, by providing part of the capital for mixed
	public-private companies setting out to make a profit.
	In the early nineteenth century, state governments also engaged in a surprisingly
	large amount of direct regulatory activity, including extensive licensing and inspection
	programs. Licensing targets reflected both similarities in and differences between the
	economy of the nineteenth century and that of today: in the nineteenth century, state
	regulation through licensing fell especially on peddlers, innkeepers, and retail merchants
	of various kinds. The perishable commodities of trade generally came under state
	inspection, and such important frontier staples as lumber and gunpowder were also
	subject to state control. Finally, state governments experimented with direct labor and
	business regulation designed to help the individual laborer or consumer, including setting
	maximum limits on hours of work and restrictions on price-fixing by businesses.
	Although the states dominated economic activity during this period, the federal
	government was not inactive. Its goals were the facilitation of western settlement and the
	development of native industries. Toward these ends the federal government pursued
	several courses of action. It established a national bank to stabilize banking activities in
	the country and, in part, to provide a supply of relatively easy money to the frontier, where
	it was greatly needed for settlement. It permitted access to public western lands on
	increasingly easy terms, culminating in the Homestead Act of 1862, by which title to land
	could be claimed on the basis of residence alone. Finally, it set up a system of tariffs that
	was basically protectionist in effect, although maneuvering for position by various regional
	interests produced frequent changes in tariff rates throughout the nineteenth century.

18. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) States' rights versus federal rights
(B) The participation of state governments in railroad, canal, and turnpike construction
(C) The roles of state and federal governments in the economy of the nineteenth century
(D) Regulatory activity by state governments

Correct Answer: C

19. The word "effect" in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) value
(B) argument
(C) influence
(D) restraint

Correct Answer: C

20. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as areas that involved state governments in the nineteenth century EXCEPT

(A) mining
(B) banking
(C) manufacturing
(D) higher education

Correct Answer: D

21. The word "distinct" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) separate
(B) innovative
(C) alarming
(D) provocative

Correct Answer: A

22. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that in the nineteenth century canals and railroads were

(A) built with money that came from the federal government
(B) much more expensive to build than they had been previously
(C) built predominantly in the western part of the country
(D) sometimes built in part by state companies

Correct Answer: D

23. The regulatory activities of state governments included all of the following EXCEPT

(A) licensing of retail merchants
(B) inspecting materials used in turnpike maintenance
(C) imposing limits on price fixing
(D) control of lumber

Correct Answer: B

24. The word "setting" in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) discussing
(B) analyzing
(C) establishing
(D) avoiding

Correct Answer: C

25. The word "ends" in line 20 is closest in meaning to

(A) benefits
(B) decisions
(C) services
(D) goals

Correct Answer: D

26. According to the passage, which of the following is true of the Homestead Act of 1862?

(A) It made it increasingly possible for settlers to obtain land in the West.
(B) It was a law first passed by state governments in the West.
(C) It increased the money supply in the West.
(D) It established tariffs in a number of regions.

Correct Answer: A

27. Which of the following activi ties was the responsibility of the federal government in the nineteenth century?

(A) Control of the manufacture of gunpowder
(B) Determining the conditions under which individuals worked
(C) Regulation of the supply of money
(D) Inspection of new homes built on western lands

Correct Answer: C

Questions 28 - 37

	Life originated in the early seas less than a billion years after the Earth was formed.
	Yet another three billion years were to pass before the first plants and animals appeared
	on the continents. Life's transition from the sea to the land was perhaps as much of an
	evolutionary challenge as was the genesis of life.
	What forms of life were able to make such a drastic change in lifestyle? The
	traditional view of the first terrestrial organisms is based on megafossils — relatively large
	specimens of essentially whole plants and animals. Vascular plants, related to modern
	seed plants and ferns, left the first comprehensive megafossil record. Because of this, it
	has been commonly assumed that the sequence of terrestrialization reflected the
	evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. In this view, primitive vascular plants first
	colonized the margins of continental waters, followed by animals that fed on the plants,
	and lastly by animals that preyed on the plant-eaters. Moreover, the megafossils suggest
	that terrestrial life appeared and diversified explosively near the boundary between the
	Silurian and the Devonian periods, a little more than 400 million years ago.
	Recently, however, paleontologists have been taking a closer look at the sediments
	below this Silurian-Devonian geological boundary. It turns out that some fossils can be
	extracted from these sediments by putting the rocks in an acid bath. The technique has
	uncovered new evidence from sediments that were deposited near the shores of the
	ancient oceans — plant microfossils and microscopic pieces of small animals. In many
	instances the specimens are less than one-tenth of a millimeter in diameter. Although
	they were entombed in the rocks for hundreds of millions of years, many of the fossils
	consist of the organic remains of the organism.
	These newly discovered fossils have not only revealed the existence of previously
	unknown organisms, but have also pushed back these dates for the invasion of land by
	multicellular organisms. Our views about the nature of the early plant and animal
	communities are now being revised. And with those revisions come new speculations
	about the first terrestrial life-forms.

28. The word "drastic" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) widespread
(B) radical
(C) progressive
(D) risky

Correct Answer: B

29. According to the theory that the author calls "the traditional view," what was the first form of life to appear on land?

(A) Bacteria
(B) Meat-eating animals
(C) Plant-eating animals
(D) Vascular plants

Correct Answer: D

30. According to the passage, what happened about 400 million years ago?

(A) Many terrestrial life-forms died out.
(B) New life-forms on land developed at a rapid rate.
(C) The megafossils were destroyed by floods.
(D) Life began to develop in the ancient seas.

Correct Answer: B

31. The word "extracted" in line 18 is closest in meaning to

(A) located
(B) preserved
(C) removed
(D) studied

Correct Answer: C

32. What can be inferred from the passage about the fossils mentioned in lines 17-20 ?

(A) They have not been helpful in understanding the evolution of terrestrial life.
(B) They were found in approximately the same numbers as vascular plant fossils.
(C) They are older than the megafossils.
(D) They consist of modem life-forms.

Correct Answer: C

33. The word "instances" in line 21 is closest in meaning to

(A) methods
(B) processes
(C) cases
(D) reasons

Correct Answer: C

34. The word "they" in line 22 refers to

(A) rocks
(B) shores
(C) oceans
(D) specimens

Correct Answer: D

35. The word "entombed" in line 22 is closest in meaning to

(A) crushed
(B) trapped
(C) produced
(D) excavated

Correct Answer: B

36. Which of the following resulted from the discovery of microscopic fossils?

(A) The time estimate for the first appearance of terrestrial life-forms was revised.
(B) Old techniques for analyzing fossils were found to have new uses.
(C) The origins of primitive sea life were explained.
(D) Assumptions about the locations of ancient seas were changed.

Correct Answer: A

37. With which of the following conclusions would the author probably agree?

(A) The evolution of terrestrial life was as complicated as the origin of life itself.
(B) The discovery of microfossils supports the traditional view of how terrestrial life evolved.
(C) New species have appeared at the same rate over the course of the last 400 million years.
(D) The technology used by paleontologists is too primitive to make accurate determinations about ages of fossils.

Correct Answer: A

Questions 38 - 50

	What we today call American folk art was, indeed, art of, by, and for ordinary,
	everyday "folks" who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for an of all
	kinds, and especially for portraits. Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class
	republics — whether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or
	nineteenth-century Americans — have always shown a marked taste for portraiture.
	Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing numbers of
	such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands.
	The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New. England —
	especially Connecticut and Massachusetts — for this was a wealthy and populous region
	and the center of a strong craft tradition. Within a few decades after the signing of the
	Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and portrait
	painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and
	Missouri. Midway through its first century as a nation, the United States's population had
	increased roughly five times, and eleven new states had been added to the original
	thirteen. During these years the demand for portraits grew and grew, eventually to be
	satisfied by the camera. In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering
	in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the
	popularity of painted portraits. Once again an original portrait became a luxury,
	commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional.
	But in the heyday of portrait painting — from the late eighteenth century until the
	1850's — anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a
	portraitist was called. Local craftspeople — sign, coach, and house painters — began to
	paint portraits as a profitable sideline; sometimes a talented man or woman who began by
	sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for
	portraits; artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvases, and brushes and
	to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting.

38. In lines 4-5 the author mentions seventeenth-century Dutch burghers as an example of a group that

(A) consisted mainly of self-taught artists
(B) appreciated portraits
(C) influenced American folk art
(D) had little time for the arts

Correct Answer: B

39. The word "marked" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) pronounced
(B) fortunate
(C) understandable
(D) mysterious

Correct Answer: A

40. According to the passage, where were many of the first American folk art portraits painted?

(A) In western New York
(B) In Illinois and Missouri
(C) In Connecticut and Massachusetts
(D) In Ohio

Correct Answer: C

41. The word "this" in line 9 refers to

(A) a strong craft tradition
(B) American folk art
(C) New England
(D) western New York

Correct Answer: C

42. How much did the population of the United States increase in the first fifty years following independence?

(A) It became three times larger.
(B) It became five times larger.
(C) It became eleven times larger.
(D) It became thirteen times larger.

Correct Answer: B

43. The phrase "ushering in" in line 17 is closest in meaning to

(A) beginning
(B) demanding
(C) publishing
(D) increasing

Correct Answer: A

44. The relationship between the daguerreotype (line 16) and the painted portrait is similar to the relationship between the automobile and the

(A) highway
(B) driver
(C) horse-drawn carriage
(D) engine

Correct Answer: C

45. According to the passage, which of the following contributed to a decline in the demand for painted portraits?

(A) The lack of a strong craft tradition
(B) The westward migration of many painters
(C) The growing preference for landscape paintings
(D) The invention of the camera

Correct Answer: D

46. The word "executed" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

(A) sold
(B) requested
(C) admired
(D) created

Correct Answer: D

47. The author implies that most limners (line 22)

(A) received instruction from traveling teachers
(B) were women
(C) were from wealthy families
(D) had no formal art training

Correct Answer: D

48. The word "sketching" in line 25 is closest in meaning to

(A) drawing
(B) hiring
(C) helping
(D) discussing

Correct Answer: A

49. Where in the passage does the author provide a definition?

(A) Lines 3-6
(B) Lines 8-10
(C) Lines 13-15
(D) Lines 21-23

Correct Answer: D

50. The phrase "worth their while" in line 26 is closest in meaning to

(A) essential
(B) educational
(C) profitable
(D) pleasurable

Correct Answer: C