Practice Reading Comprehension
Paragraf I..,Carbon tetrachloride is a colorless and inflammable liquid that can be produced by combining carbon disulfide and chlorine. This compound is widely used in industry today because of its effectiveness as a solvent as well as its use in the production of propellants.
Despite its widespread use in industry, carbon tetrachloride has been banned for home use. In the past, carbon tetrachloride was a common ingredient in cleaning compounds that were used throughout the home, but it was found to be dangerous: when heated, it changes into a poisonous gas that can cause severe illness and even death if it is inhaled. Because of this dangerous characteristic, the United States revoked permission for the home use of carbon tetrachloride in 1970. The United States has taken similar action with various other chemical compounds.
Questions 1-8 ...:
1. The main point of this passage is that
Answer : 3. although carbon tetrachloride can legally be used in industry, it is not allowed in home products.
2. The word “widely” in line 2 could most easily be replaced by
Answer : 2. extensively
3. The word “banned” in line 4 is closest in meaning to
Answer : 1. forbidden
4. According to the passage, before 1970 carbon tetrachloride was
Answer : 4. not allowed in home cleaning products
5. It is stated in the passage that when carbon tetrachloride is heated, it becomes
Answer : 1. harmful
6. The word “inhaled” in line 7 is closest in meaning to
Answer : 2. breathed in
7. The word “revoked” in line 8 could most easily be replaced by
Answer : 4. took away
8. It can be inferred from the passage that one role of the U.S. government is to
Answer : 4. regulate product safety
Paragraf II..,
The next artist in this survey of American artist is James Whistler; he is include in this survey of American artist because he was born in the United States, although the majority of his artwork was completed in Europe. Whistler was born in Massachusetts in 1834, but nine years later his father moved the family to St. Petersburg, Russia, to work on the construction of a railroad. The family returned to the United States in 1849. Two years later Whistler entered the U.S. military academy at West Point, but he was unable to graduate. At the age of twenty-one Whistler went to Europe to study art despite familial objections, and he remained in Europe until his death.
Whistler worked in various art forms, including etchings and lithographs. However, he is most famous for his paintings, particularly Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother or Whistler’s Mother, as it is more commonly known. This painting shows a side view of Whistler’s mother, dressed I black and posing against a gray wall. The asymmetrical nature of the portrait, with his mother seated off-center, is highly characteristic of Whistler’s work.
Questions 9 – 16
9. The paragraph preceding this passage most likely discusses
Answer : 2. a different American artist
10. Which of the following best describes the information in the passage?
Answer : 2. One artist’s life and works are described
11. Whistler is considered an American artis because
Answer : 1. he was born in America
12. The world “majority” in line 2 is closest in meaning to
Answer : 4. high percentage
13. It is implied in the passage that Whistler’s family was
Answer : 3. working class
14. The word “objections” in line 7 is closest in meaning to
Answer : 1. protests
15. In line 8, the “etchings” are
Answer : 4. an art form involving engraving
16. The word “asymmetrical” in line 11 is closest in meaning to
Answer : 2. uneven
Paragraf III..,
The locations of stars in the sky relative to one another, do not appear to the naked eye to change, and as a result stars are often considered to be fixed in position. Many unaware stargazers falsely assume that each star has its own permanent home in the nighttime sky.
In reality, though, stars are always moving, but because of the tremendous distances between stars themselves and from stars to Earth, the changes are barely perceptible here. An example of a rather fast-moving star demonstrate why this misconception prevails; it takes approximately 200 years for a relatively rapid star like Bernard’s star to move a distance in the skies equal to the diameter of the earth’s moon. When the apparently negligible movement of the stars is contrasted with the movement of the planets, the stars are seemingly unmoving.
Questions 17-23
17. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
Answer : 4. The Evermoving Stars
18. The expression “naked eye” in line 1 most probably refers to
Answer : 3. unassisted vision
19. According to the passage, the distance between the stars and Earth are
Answer : 1. barely perceptible
20. The word “perceptible” in line 5 is closest in meaning to which of the following
Answer : 1. Noticeble
21. In line 6, a “misconception” is closest in meaning to a(n)
Answer : 3. erroneous belief
22. The passage states that in 200 years Bernard’s star can move
Answer : 4. a distance seemingly equal to the diameter of the Moon
23. The passage implies that from Earth it appears that the planets
Answer : 4. travel through the sky considerably more rapidly than the stars.
