Answers Reading Toefl Test Group 6
Answers Reading Toefl Test Group 6
Answers Reading Toefl Test Group 6
READING
COMPREHENSION
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DIAGNOSTIC PRE-TEST
SECTION 3
READING COMPREHENSION
Time-55 minutes
(including the reading of the directions)
Norv set your clock for 55 minutes.
This section is designed to Dreasure vour abilitr, to read and unclerstand short passa-ses sin.rilar in topic
and stvle to those tlrat students are likelv to enc()Llnler in North American trniversities and colleges.
This section contains reading passages and questions about the passages.
Directions: In this section vou rvill reacl ser,er:rl passages. Each one is lollor,l'ed br, a nurnber o[
.t.rcstion-s atror-rt it. You are to choose the one be-t ansiler, (A), (B), (C), or (D), to each qr-re.stion. Then,
()n vour ilns\\'er sheet, find ll-re number of the c;uestion and fill in the space that corresponds to the
letter ol the ansrver vou har,e chosen.
Ansu'er all questions about the information in a passage or.r the biisis of rvhat is stated or implied
in that passage.
IOhFI- 1!'st dir (.t i('nr rnl lormnl ar L' r'epr int.rl L)\ l\.r Dr r\\ri jt
)
What is the best tille for this passare? 4. It can be inlcrrccl lrom the passage that the
Cullinan Diamond u'as cLlt into hour mzrnv
(A) DianronclCr-rtting
total stone's?
(B) The World's Biggest Diamond, Uncut
ancl Ctrt (A) e
(C) Measuring Diamonds in Carats (B) e6
(D) The British Crori n Jeu'els (c) l0s
(D) 3,106
2. The u'ord "ttncut" in line 2 is closest ir-r
meaning to u hich of the follot ing? 5. The rvord "nrajor" in line 3 cor.rld best be
replaced br
(A) Finished
(B) Unnalulal (A) r'u'ell-knort'n
(C) Pear' (B) militar-r
(D) \4/hole' (C) natural
(D) bie
The t'ord "discovered" in line 2 is closest
in meaning to
(A) created
(B) fbund
(C) buriecl
(D) u'eighecl
READINGCOMPREHENSIONPRE-TEST 145
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Questions 10-20
Coca-Cola n'as invented in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John S. Pemberton. The name for the
product rvas actuallv proposed bv Pemberton'.s assistant, Frank Robinson. The name rvas taken
from the two most unusual ingredients in the drink, the South American coca leaf and the Afr-ican
Line c<>la nut.
(5) The recipe for todavt Coca-Cola is r,'etl u'ell guarded. Manv o[ the ingredic-nts are knorvn; in
addition to coca leaves and cola nut, thev include lemon, orange, lime, cinnar.non, nutmeg, vanilla,
caramel, and sugar. The proportions oF the ingredients and the identitv of Coke'.s secret ingledients
are knou,n bv onlr, a ferv of the Coca-Cola Company's sc.nior corporate officers.
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Questions 2l-30
Most people u'c-ruld sav that the u'orldi tallest mountain is Mount Everest. This rnourrtain in the
Himaiavas is.just or.er 29,000 feet high.
Hou'ever, if nrountains are measured a little bit differentll then the tallest mountain on lrarth is
Llne Mauna Kea, in the Halvaiian Islands. Mauna Kea is onlv aboLrt 14,000 feet above sea level, so in
(5) comparison to Mount Erret'est it just does not look anlrr,here near as high as lVlount Everest to a
pel'son standing zrt sea ler,el.
Nlauna Kea, h<;u'ever, does not begin at seer level. It rises ft-om an ocean floor tl-rat is more than
16,000 f'eet belorv the surface of thc'r'n'ater'. This mottntain therefore measllres nrore than 30,000 feet
from its base to its top, making it :r higher mountain than Mount Everest.
2l The main idea ol'lhe pirssage is that 25 According to the passage, Mauna Kea is
horv far above tl.re level of the .,vater?
(A) Mount Er.er-est is the r,r'orld's tallest
rnorrn tairr (A) 14,000 feet
(B) Mor-rnt Everest and Mar.tna Kea are (B) 16,000 l'ect
ioczrted in different parts <tf the (C) 29,000 teet
u'orld (D) 30,000 feet
(C) Mauna Kea's base is belorv sea level
(D) Mauna Kea could be considerecl the 26. The erpression "in comparison to" in lines
tallest nrorrntain in the rvor-lcl ,1 and -5 could best be replaced bv
(A) close to
22 Which of the follo'"r'ing is NOT stated
about Mount Er.'erest?
(B) in reiation to
(C) as a result of
(A) Man1" people believe it is the u'orld's (D) becar-rse of
tallest mountairr.
(B) It is part of the Himalavas. 27. It is implied
ir.r the passage that Mauna
(C) It is over-29,000 Ieet high. Kea does not seent as tall as Mount Everest
(D) it lises from thc ocean floor: because
(A) people clo not want to look at it
23. The u,ord "jtrst" in line 2 coulcl best be
replaced by
(B) part of Mauna Kea is under'\\:ater
(C) Mount Everest has more snou,
(A) noticeablv (D) Mauna Kea is in a different part ol'the
(B) soon rvorld tl-ran Mount Er,'erest
(C) barelv
(D) recenth' 28 The u'ord "f'loor" in line 7 coulci best be
repiaced br'
24. The expression "a little bit" in line 3 is
(A) carpet
closest in meaning tcr
(B) bottom
(A) a smzrll size (C) roof
(B) quite (D) urarter
(C) -somervhat
(D) extremelv
READINGCOMPREHENSIONPRE-TEST 149
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Questions 31-40
When Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492, there r.r'ere already an estimated thirtv to
rnillion people living in North and Sorrth Anrerica. It has there{bre' been quite easv for some to
tbrt-"-
refute the idea that Columbus "discovered" America. Hor.v and rvhen these inhabitants came to
Line America has been the source of much scientific research and discussion.
(s) Most archeologists agree that the first. Americans, the tr-r-re "discot,erers" of America, came from
northeastern Asia. There is also a considerable amount oI proof that inhabitants har.'e been in the
Americas for at least 15,000 vears.
To get to the Americas, these people had to cross over the -55-mile-rvide Bering Strait that
separates Asia and North America. According to one theon', these people crossed over during
( t0) periods rvhen a land bridge existed betu'een the tr.r'o continents. During Ice Ages, so much of the
Earth'.s \\'ater was frozen that the sea levels dropped, and it u,as possible to r,r'alk front Asia to Norlh
America.
31 . What is the authorrs main purpose? "t+ . It is impliecl in the passage that
(A) To explain hor^,' Columbus discovered (A) Columbus was reallv the first person
America in America
(B) To shou' ftsr,l' people came to America (B) scientists are sure about America'-s
before Coh-rmbus first inlrabitants
(C) To demonstrate the importance to (C) Columbus arrived at almost the same
archeologists of nor-theast.ern Asi;r time as America's first inhabitants
(D) To explain ho'uv to cross the Bering (D) all is not knorvn about Americat first
Strait inhabitants
JZ. In 1492, horv manv people u,ere probabir 3-5. There is general agreement that the first
in the Americas? people r.r,ho camc to North America came
(A) Fer.r'er than thirtv million lrom
(B) Eractlr thirtr nrillion (A) Europe
(C) Forty million or feu'er (B) South America
(D) At least fortv rnillion (C) northeastern Asia
(D) Afiica
JJ. The u'ord "refute" in line 3 is closest in
meaning to 36. The rvord "considerable" in line 6 could
best be replaced by which of the foilou'ing?
(A) theorize
(B) support (A) Large
(C) contradict (B) Weak
(D) de{'end (C) Well-knorvn
(D) Considerate
38 Which of the follorving is NOT stated 40. Where in the passage does the author
about the Bering Strait? rrention hou'long people have probably
been in the Americas?
(A) lt is 55 miles u'ide.
(B) It separates North America and Asia. (A) Lines 1*2
(C) It r,vas probabll'a land bridge during (B) Lines 3-4
the Ice Ages. (C) Lines 6-7
(D) It is a land bridge todav. (D) Lines 8-9
Alpha Cerrtauri is zr triple-stal'svsten1. One ol the three stars in Alpha Ceutauri is Prorinra
Centauri, u,hich is the ne:rrest slilr to the Earrir, e\cept of course fol tl-re Sun. The nanre "Prorima"
comes {rom a Lalin uord r'r,hich means "close."
Lirte Even though Prorima Centauri is the closest star to the Earth outside of our solar svstem, it is
(5) not reallv ckrse. lnterstellar distances are so large that thev are almost impossible to im:rsine. A
person traveling in a modern spacecraft rvould nrit arrive at Pr-oxima Cer.rtauri u'ithin this lifetime ,
or the next, or even ten lifetimes because the clistance is so great. Light travels al a speed o1'186,000
mile's pcr seconcl, ancl it still takes light nrore than four'leals to travel fi'om Prorima Centartri to the
Earth.
(10) Alpha Centauri can be easih'seen in the night skv u'ithout a telescope from certain palts of the
Earth. lt is the thir-d brightest star in the skv, out of approximatelv 6,000 visible stars. It cannot be
secn from most parls of the United States because most of the United States is too far north;
hon,er.er-, it can be seen from the sorrthern parts of the southernmosl stares.
-lL is
The n-rain sr.rbjr-cl o[ this passage 44. "lntelsle]lar distances" in line 5 ale
(A) the closest stars to the Earth (A) distances betu,een stals
(B) n'roden.r space travel (B) distances betu'een the Earth:rnd
(C) the speed of light various sterrs
(D) interstell:rl distances (C) distances rneasured bv the speed of
rrgnt
42. The passage indicatcs that u'hich of the (D) distances from the Sun to each of the
l'ollou'ing is NOT true? planets, inclr-rdin.s the Earrh
(A) Alpha cerltatrri is c.mposetl o[ thrt'e 45. ltcan hc inrr'r.ed ll.om tlrc Dassrsc that il a
\lat'S.
person left in one of toda-v's spacecralts' he
(B) Proxin-ra Centauri is the closcst steu to or she u'ould at'rive at Alpha Ccnteuri
the Ear.th.
(C) Proxinra Centauri is one of the stars in (A) rrithin this liletime
Alpha Cc-ntauri. (B) u'ithin the next lifetinre
(D) It is possible to see Alpha Ccnt:ruri (C) u,ithin ten lifetimes
frorn the Ear-th. (D) alier more than ten lifetinres
43. The r,r'ord "comr-s" in line 3 coulcl best be -16. The u'ord "great" in line 7 coulcl best be
replaced br' replacecl bv u hich of the fc.rllorr ing*?
(A) travels (A) Fanrotrs
(B) is derir"cd (B) Well-knorrn
(C) is directed (C) Accomplishecl
(D) r'isits (D) Big
152 READINGCOMPREHENSIONPRE-TEST
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47. Which o[ the follou'ing is tn-re according to 49. lt can be inferred from the passage that
thepassage? from Alaska Alpha Ce'lrtauri is
(A) Light travels at 186,000 miles per (A) alu'avs visible
hour. (B) frequentlv visible
(B) A person cotrld travel from Earth lo (C) occasionailv visible
Proxima Centauli in firul vears. (D) never visible
(C) Li-eht lrom Proxin-ra CL-ntalrri reaches
the Earth in more than four vears. 50. Where in the passage does the author
(D) It is 186,000 miles liom the Earth to explain hon'last light can travel?
Prorim:r Ccntau'i. (A) Lines l_2
(B) Line '5
48. Thr' ri'ord "brightest" in lirre 1 I could best (c) Lines 7-9
be replaced bv (D) Lines 10-1 I
(A) smar-tt: st
(B) palest
(C) sl'riniest
(D) l:rrgest
@@@@@@@
When vou finish the test, vou mav do the follorving:
o Turn to the Diagnostic Chart on pages 357-363,
and circle the numbers of the questions that vou
n-rissed.
o Turn to the Progress Chart on page 353, and add
vour score to the chart.
READINGCOMPREHENSIONPRE-TEST 153