Section Three: Reading Comprehension

Question 1-10
Hunting is at best a precarious way of procuring food, even when the diet is supplemented with
seeds and fruits. Not long after the last Ice Age, around 7,000 B.C. (during the Neolithic period) ,
some hunters and gatherers began to rely chiefly on agriculture for their sustenance. Others
continued the old pastoral and nomadic ways. Indeed, agriculture itself evolved over the course of
(5) time, and Neolithic peoples had long known how to grow crops. The real transformation of human
life occurred when huge numbers of people began to rely primarily and permanently on the grain
they grew and the animals they domesticated.
Agriculture made possible a more stable and secure life. With it Neolithic peoples flourished,
fashioning an energetic, creative era. They were responsible for many fundamental inventions and
(10) innovations that the modern world takes for granted. First, obviously, is systematic agriculture---
that is, the reliance of Neolithic peoples on agriculture as their primary, not merely subsidiary,
source of food.
Thus they developed the primary economic activity of the entire ancient world and the basis of all
modern life. With the settled routine of Neolithic farmers came the evolution of towns and
(15) eventually cities. Neolithic farmers usually raised more food than they could consume, and their
surpluses permitted larger, healthier populations. Population growth in turn created an even
greater reliance on settled farming, as only systematic agriculture could sustain the increased
numbers of people. Since surpluses o food could also be bartered for other commodities, the
Neolithic era witnessed the beginnings of large-scale exchange of goods. In time the increasing
(20) complexity of Neolithic societies led to the development of writing, prompted by the need to keep
records and later by the urge to chronicle experiences, learning, and beliefs.
The transition to settled life also had a profound impact on the family. The shared needs and
pressures that encourage extended-family ties are less prominent in settled than in nomadic
societies. Bonds to the extended family weakened. In towns and cities, the nuclear family was
(25) more dependent on its immediate neighbors than on kinfolk.

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1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A). Why many human societies are dependent 6. According to the passage, all of the following led
on agriculture to the development of writing EXCEPT the
B). the changes agriculture brought to human A). need to keep records
life B). desire to write down beliefs
C). How Neolithic peoples discovered C). extraction of ink from plants
agriculture D).growth of social complexity
D). Why the first agricultural societies failed
7. The word "chronicle" in line 23 is closest in
2. The word "precarious" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
meaning to A). repeat
A). uncertain B). exchange
B). humble C). understand
C). worthy D). describe
D). unusual
8. According to the passage, how did the shift to
3. The author mentions "seeds and fruits" in line 2 agricultural societies impact people's family
as examples of relationships?
A). the first crops cultivated by early A). the extended family became less important.
agricultural societies B). Immediate neighbors often became family
B). foods eaten by hunters and gatherers as a members.
secondary food source C). the nuclear family became self-sufficient.
C). types of food that hunters and gatherers D). Family members began to wok together to
lacked in their diets raise food.
D). the most common foods cultivated by early
agricultural societies 9. The author mentions all of the following as
results of the shift to agricultural societies
4. The word "settled" in line 15 is closest in EXCEPT
meaning to A). an increase in invention and innovation
A). advanced B). emergence of towns and cities
B). original C). development of a system of trade
C). involved D). a decrease in warfare
D). stable
10. Which of the following is true about the human
5. According to the passage, agricultural societies diet prior to the Neolithic period?
produced larger human populations because A). It consisted mainly of agricultural products
agriculture B). It varied according to family size.
A). created more varieties of food C). It was based on hunting and gathering.
B). created food surpluses D). It was transformed when large numbers of
C). resulted in increases in leisure time people no longer depended on the grain they
D). encouraged bartering grew themselves.

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 Question 11-21
In the North American colonies, red ware, a simple pottery fired at low temperatures, and stone
ware, a strong, impervious grey pottery fired at high temperatures, were produced from two
different native clays. These kind of pottery were produced to supplement imported European
pottery. When the American Revolution (1775-1783) interrupted the flow of the superior European
(5) ware, there was incentive for American potters to replace the imports with comparable domestic
goods. Stoneware, which had been simple, utilitarian kitchenware, grew increasingly ornate
throughout the nineteenth century, and in addition to the earlier scratched and drawn designs,
three-dimensional molded relief decoration became popular. Representational motifs largely
replaced the earlier abstract decorations. Birds and flowers were particularly evident, but other
(10) subjects---lions, flags, and clipper ships--- are found. Some figurines, mainly of dogs and lions,
were made in this medium. Sometimes a name, usually that of the potter, was die-stamped onto a
piece.
As more and more large kilns were built to create the high-fired stoneware, experiments revealed
that the same clay used to produce low-fired red ware could produce a stronger, paler pottery if
(15) fired at a hotter temperature. The result was yellow ware, used largely for serviceable items; but a
further development was Rockingham ware--- one of the most important American ceramics of the
nineteenth century. (The name of the ware was probably derived from its resemblance to English
brown-glazed earthenware made in South Yorkshire.) It was created by adding a brown glaze to
the fired clay, usually giving the finished product a mottled appearance. Various methods of
(20) spattering or sponging the glaze onto the ware account for the extremely wide variations in color
and add to the interest of collecting Rockingham. An advanced form of Rockingham was flint
enamel, created by dusting metallic powders onto the Rockingham glaze to produce brilliant
varicolored streaks.
Articles for nearly every household activity and ornament could be bought in Rockingham ware:
(25) dishes and bowls, of course; also bedpans, foot warmers, cuspidors, lamp bases, doorknobs,
molds, picture frames, even curtain tiebacks. All these items are highly collectible today and are
eagerly sought. A few Rockingham specialties command particular affection among collectors and
correspondingly high prices.

11. Why did the potters discussed in the passage D). common
change the kind of pottery they made?
A). They discovered a new kind of clay. 13. The passage suggests that the earliest stoneware
B). They were compensation for the loss of A). was decorated with simple, abstract
an overseas supplier. designs
C). They studied new techniques in Europe. B). used three-dimensional decorations
D). The pottery they had been producing C). was valued for its fancy decorations
was not very strong. D). had no decoration

12. The word "ornate" in line 7 is closest in 14. How did yellow ware achieve its distinctive
meaning to color?
A). elaborate A). By sponging on a glaze
B). puzzling B). By dusting on metallic powders
C). durable C). By brown-glazing

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 D). By firing at a high temperature D). supplement

15. The phrase "derived from" in line 19 is 19. What was special about flint enamel?
closest in meaning to A). Its even metallic shine
A). ruined by B). Its mottled appearance
B). warned against C). Its spattered effect
C). based on D). Its varicolored streaks
D). sold by
16. The word "It" in line 20 refers to 20. Which of the following kinds of Rockingham
A). red ware ware were probably produced in the
B). yellow ware greatest quantity?
C). Rockingham ware A). Picture frames
D). English brown-glazed earthenware B). Dishes and bowls
C). Curtain tiebacks
17. The word “Various" in line 21 is closest in D). Doorknobs
meaning to
A). complicated 21. The passage would most probably continue
B). accepted with a discussion of
C). careful A). what bedpans, foot warmers, and
D). different cuspidors were used for
B). well-known, modern-day potters who
18. The phrase "account for" in line 22 is closest make Rockingham ware
in meaning to C). examples of Rockingham ware that
A). explain collectors especially want
B). restrict D). pieces of Rockingham ware that are
C). finance inexpensive in today's market

Question 22-30
Archaeological discoveries have led some scholars to believe that the first Mesopotamian
inventors of writing may have been a people the later Babylonians called Subarians. According to
tradition, they came from the north and moved into Uruk in the south. By about 3100B.C, They
were apparently subjugated in southern Mesopotamia by the Sumerians, whose name became
(5) synonymous with the region immediately north of the Persian Gulf, in the fertile lower valleys of the
Tigris and Euphrates. Here the Sumerians were already well established by the year 3000B.C.
They had invented bronze, an alloy that could be cast in molds, out of which they made tools and
weapons. They lived in cities, and they had begun to acquire and use capital. Perhaps most
important, the Sumerians adapted writing (probably from the Subarians) into a flexible tool of
(10) communication.
Archacologists have known about the Sumerians for over 150 years. Archaeologists working at
Nineveh in northern Mesopotamia in the mid-nineteenth century found many inscribed clay tablets.
Some they could decipher because the language was a Semitic one (Akkadian) , on which scholars
had already been working for a generation. But other tablets were inscribed in another language
(15) that was not Semitic and previously unknown. Because these inscriptions mad reference to the
king of Sumer and Akkad, a scholar suggested that the mew language be called Sumerian.

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 But it was not until the 1890's that archaeologists excavating in city-states well to the south o f
Nieveh found many thousands of tablets inscribed in Sumerian only. Because the Akkadians
thought of Sumerian as a classical language (as ancient Greek and Latin are considered today) ,
(20) they taught it to educated persons and they inscribed vocabulary, translation exercised, and other
study aids on tablets. Working from known Akkadian to previously unknown Sumerian, scholars
since the 1890's have learned how to read the Sumerian language moderately well. Vast quantities
of tablets in Sumerian have been unearthed during the intervening years from numerous sites.

22. According to the passage, the inventors of written language in Mesopotamia were probably the
A). Babylonians
B). Subarians
C). Akkadians
D). Sumerians
23. The word "subjugated" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
A). distinguished
B). segregated
C). Concentrated
D). conquered
24. The phrase "synonymous with" in line 5 is closest in meaning to
A). equivalent to
B). important for
C). respected in
D). familiar with

25. According to the passage, by the year 3000 B.C. the Sumerians had already done all of the following
EXCEPT:
A). They had abandoned the area north of the Persian Gulf.
B). They had established themselves in cities.
C). They had started to communicate through
D). They had created bronze tools and weapons.

26. The word "some" in line 14 refers to

27. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage concerning the Sumerians?
A). They were descendants of the Persians.
B). They were the first people to cultivate the valley of the Tigris.
C). They were accomplished musicians.
D).They had the beginnings of an economy.

28. According to the passage, when did archaeologists begin to be able to understand tablets inscribed in

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 Sumerian?
A).In the early nineteenth century
B). More than 150 years ago
C). After the 1890's
D). In the mid-eighteenth century

29. According to the passage, in what way did the Sumerian language resemble ancient Greek and Latin?
A). It was invented in Mesopotamia.
B). It became well established around 3000 B.C.
C). It became a classical language.
D). It was used exclusively for business transactions.

30. The word "excavating" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

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