Reading Comprehension Test - 1

Much has been made of the wealth-creating power of the New Economy. Technological innovation and entrepreneurial activity, proponents of the New Economy point out, have combined to spur the most prolonged economic expansion in American history, and have swelled the ranks of the upper middle classes. A recent Conference Board study, however, suggests that the economic boom of the 1990s has bypassed the poorest segments of the American population. The study reveals that since 1986, a period in which the American economy has expanded by some 30%, the number of fully employed people living in poverty has grown by some 40%, to nearly 3 million Americans.

Apologists of the New Economy are quick to downplay the significance of this disturbing trend. In the second half of the 1990s, they argue, the plight of the poor has begun to improve. Unemployment rates are at a post-war low, the real wages of low-income workers have edged upwards, and from 1993 to 1998 the poverty rate declined from 15.1% to 12.7%. These modest gains notwithstanding, there is no denying that for the economically disadvantaged the current economic boom has not brought the benefits that the boom of the 1960s did: from 1966 to 1978, for example, the poverty rate among full-time workers fell by more than 50%. There can only be one explanation for the fact that the recent boom has not produced similar effects. While the computerization of the American economy has created many high-skilled jobs in the technology industry, a vast number of the new jobs created in the current boom are of the low-skill and low-pay variety. To the people filling these jobs the New Economy has hardly yielded a rich bounty.


In paragraph two, the "apologists" are most characterized by their:

A role in promoting the rights of those on welfare
B regret at missing out on the New Economy
C sorrowful demeanor
D faith in the positive impact of the New Economy
E contrition with regard to poverty in America


According to the passage, what is the principal shortcoming of the New Economy?

A It has not lowered unemployment rates.
B The technological revolution has impersonalized society.
C It requires too much education to succeed in the age of the New Economy.
D It has not in fact increased the overall wealth of society as much as is often assumed.
E Many of the jobs it has created do not pay a good wage.

Which of the following is the most likely occupation of the author of the passage?

A A speechwriter for a politician
B A lobbyist for the computer industry
C A journalist for an investment magazine
D An advocate for the poor
E A disgruntled employee of the Conference Board





#2

The evolution of painting, and cubism in particular, shared with science the common characteristic of drawing upon late nineteenth-century achievements, but, in so doing, of intensifying and transforming them. The result was the overthrow of much of the heritage of the nineteenth and earlier centuries. In certain respects cubism brought to an end artistic traditions that had begun as early as the fifteenth century. At the same time, the cubists created a new artistic tradition that is still alive, for they originated attitudes and ideas that spread rapidly to other areas of culture and that to an important degree underlie artistic thought even today. Cubism first posed, in works of the highest artistic quality, many of the fundamental questions that were to preoccupy artists during the first half of the twentieth century; the historical and aesthetic importance of cubism, therefore, renders it worthy of the most serious attention.

Cubism developed with extraordinary rapidity between the years 1907 and 1914. From 1914 until about 1925 there were a great many artists painting in a cubist mode, but this later phase produced relatively few stylistic innovations that had not been anticipated to some extent during the pre-war years. By the mid-1920s, a crisis emerged in cubism as in European art generally, bringing to an end a period of almost twenty years during which cubism had been the predominant force behind an entire artistic generation.

In its beginnings, however, and until about 1923, cubism was an exclusively Parisian phenomenon, and it probably could not have been born elsewhere, for reasons of history, geography, and culture. No other city in the world in the early years of the twentieth century could boast of a comparable century-long history of outstanding artistic activity; and the relatively central location of Paris in western Europe served only to facilitate the migration of the most gifted young artists and writers from Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia, and the Low Countries toward this cultural mecca. Paris offered them not only the challenge of their most gifted contemporaries, but also its great museums; it offered a tradition of moral and intellectual freedom, and an artistic bohemia in which they could live cheaply at the edge of society without suffering the ostracism inflicted by the bourgeoisie in smaller, more conservative, and less cosmopolitan European cities. In retrospect it is not surprising that, by the early part of the twentieth century, Paris contained an astonishing number of young men of genius, whose presence constituted an intellectual ‘critical mass’ that soon produced a series of revolutionary cultural explosions.

Which of the following was NOT a reason given by the author that Paris became the center of the artistic world in the early twentieth century?

A Paris was centrally located in Western Europe
B Artists were attracted to Paris because of its many museums
C Parisian society was characterized by greater freedom than other European cities
D The bourgeoisie of Paris were wealthy and provided a vast market for young artists to sell their work
E Paris had a century-long tradition of outstanding artistic activity


Which of the following best summarizes the author’s view of the significance of cubism?

A Cubism was a revolutionary movement that transformed art and has continued to influence art up to the present.
B Cubism was a revolutionary movement that transformed art in the early twentieth century but exercised little
influence after the movement waned in the 1920s.
C Cubism, though an important movement, never exercised much influence outside of Paris.
D Cubism was a short-lived fad and doesn’t deserve serious attention from art critics or art historians.
E Cubism inaugurated a social revolution and had far-reaching effects that were felt far beyond the confines of the art world

The word "ostracism" in the third paragraph most nearly means:

A stigmatization
B gentrification
C calumniation
D poverty
E incrimination


Based on this passage it can be concluded that the author believes that:

A Cubism never exercised much influence outside the city of Paris
B The most innovative period of the cubist movement occurred while Cubism was confined to Paris
C Picasso was the greatest of all cubists
D The crisis that emerged in cubism in the 1920s caused a crisis in the rest of the art world
E Cubism had only an ephemeral impact on art


In the third paragraph the artist describes Paris as a "cultural mecca" because:

A he means to suggest that Paris was greatly influenced by Middle Eastern trends
B he believes that Paris’ importance as a religious center resulted in great amounts of artistic patronage
C he believes that Paris’ age-old importance as a center of European art was waning
D he means to suggest that Paris represented a place to which artists flocked from all over Europe
E he means to suggest that the Parisian art world had become decadent



# 3


Ichneumon wasps are a family (Ichneumonidae) of insects in the order Hymenoptera. While the life cycle of most ichneumons is still largely undocumented, observation of some of the known species of the order enables it to relate some established facts. Most ichneumons overwinter in the pupal stage, although a few species overwinter as adult fertilized females. In spring, after emerging from their pupae, the adults mate; the females of the species seek out other insects in which to lay their eggs. Unlike other members of the order Hymenoptera, which includes bees and ants as well as wasps, almost all species of ichneumon wasps are parasitic. Most parasitize only one species; a particular favorite is the moth or butterfly caterpillar. Virtually all the life cycle - barring the adult stage - takes place inside other insects, making observation difficult. It seems, however, that most eggs hatch while the host is still alive; wasp larvae usually live inside the host without killing it. Occasionally, the wasp begins its own development in one stage of its host's own life cycle, and will not mature until the host itself has transformed into another stage.

Adult ichneumons may be observed moving about flowers and leaves, feeling these with their antennae, searching for the prey on which they will parasitize. Many of the larger ichneumons lay their eggs on caterpillars and in the cocoons of large silk moths. If an insect is living and active, one cannot determine by observation alone whether it has been parasitized. However, dryness and brittleness of dead caterpillars and cocoons are often the signs that these had served as hosts to an ichneumon. The presence of small, hard, oval pupal cases inside the remains of the caterpillar or cocoon will corroborate these signs.

Megarhyssa macrurus, one of the largest ichneumons, lays its eggs in the developing larva of the horntail, a primitive wasp whose larva feeds in tunnels inside wood. The female megarhyssa uses her antennae to sense the vibrations of the horntail larvae inside the wood; her ovipositor penetrates through the wood, allowing her to lay her eggs in the horntail larvae. The eggs develop in the larvae, killing them when they are fully grown. The wasp pupates in the horntail tunnel, and chews its way through the bark upon maturity.

The primary purpose of this passage is to:

A Catalogue the destructive behavior of ichneumons.
B Explain what parasitical activity entails.
C Contrast the ways in which ichneumons differ from other hymenoptera.
D Detail what facts are known about the life cycle of ichneumons.
E Register the horntail, silk moth and butterfly among the targets of the ichneumon.


The passage says that ichneumons parasitize which of the following:
I Butterfly caterpillar
II Cocoons of silk moths
III Other wasps


A I only
B II only
C III only
D I & II only
E I, II & III


According to the passage above, the order Hymenoptera includes which of the following:
I Horntail wasps
II Parasitic bees
III All ants


A I only
B I and II
C I, II and III
D II and III only
E I and III


Overwinter, in paragraph one, most likely means:

A to hibernate
B to camouflage oneself
C to metamorphose
D to lower one's body temperature
E to avoid the cold


According to the passage above the life cycle of most ichneumons is still largely undocumented because:

A There has been little interest in the species.
B The bulk of their activity is concealed in inaccessible locations.
C Their tendency to sting makes close-range observation perilous.
D They only exist in geographically remote regions.
E Most ichneumons are so small as to be imperceptible to the naked eye.





# 4

Health scientists have long been puzzled by the so-called French Paradox -- the perplexing fact that the French consume at least as much fat and cholesterol as Americans do, smoke more cigarettes, and yet have far lower rates of coronary heart disease. After a thorough consideration of the two peoples' lifestyles, researchers have isolated yet another distinction between the French and the Americans. The French drink much more wine than do Americans, typically consuming it at meals.

These facts, combined with numerous studies conducted over the past twenty years, point to the fact that light to moderate consumption of alcohol, especially red wine, reduces the rate of heart disease dramatically. Research shows that men and women who drink a glass of wine a day exhibit a 20 to 50 percent lower risk of heart disease, and recent studies suggest that tempered consumption of alcohol reduces the risk of stroke.

Alcohol increases concentrations of HDL, the 'good' cholesterol that lowers the likelihood of heart disease and decreases platelet aggregability: it makes the blood less sticky and less likely to clot, thus decreasing the risk of a heart attack. With its many antioxidant components, including tannins, phenols, resveratrol, and quercitin, in addition to alcohol, red wine appears to be especially protective.


Based on the second paragraph of the passage, we can infer which of the following:

A Red wine is less expensive in France than in America
B More French vineyards produce red wine than white
C The positive effects of wine consumption compound the effects of cigarette smoking
D Of all alcoholic beverages, only red wine has beneficial medicinal effects
E Americans would be healthier if they drank more red wine


The word 'aggregability' in the third paragraph most likely means:

A the tendency to coagulate
B the tendency to oxidize
C the tendency to flatten
D the tendency to protect
E the tendency to dissipate


Based on the third paragraph, we can infer a connection between which of the following elements:

A 'good' cholesterol and 'bad' cholesterol
B oxidation and platelet aggregability
C 'good' cholesterol and blood clotting
D antioxidants and protection from heart disease
E resveratrol and HDL

The first sentence of the passage assumes that:

A The French have a healthier lifestyle than Americans
B There is a link between fat and cholesterol consumption and coronary heart disease
C Cigarette smoking is fashionable in France
D Coronary heart disease is usually fatal
E Levels of second-hand smoke in the air impact rates of coronary heart disease


According to this passage, the key to solving the French Paradox lies in understanding which of the following:

A The relationship between alcohol and HDL
B The relationship between cheese and 'bad cholesterol'
C The relationship between heart disease and stroke
D The relationship between alcohol and nicotine
E The relationship between environmental and genetic factors



# 5

The following text is adapted from the introduction to an 1871 book about Japan written by a British diplomat.

The books which have been written recently about Japan have either been compiled from official records, or have contained the sketchy impressions of passing travelers. Of the inner life of the Japanese the world at large knows but little: their religion, their superstitions, their ways of thought, the hidden springs by which they move—all these are as yet mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at. The first Western men who came in contact with Japan—I am speaking not of the old Dutch and Portuguese traders and priests, but of the diplomats and merchants of eleven years ago—met with a cold reception. Above all things, the native Government threw obstacles in the way of any inquiry into their language, literature, and history. The fact was that the Tycoon's Government—with whom alone, so long as the Mikado remained in seclusion in his sacred capital at Kyoto, any relations were maintained—knew that the Imperial purple with which they sought to invest their chief must quickly fade before the strong sunlight which would be brought upon it so soon as there should be European linguists capable of examining their books and records. No opportunity was lost of throwing dust in the eyes of the newcomers, whom, even in the most trifling details, it was the official policy to lead astray. Now, however, there is no cause for concealment; the King has shaken off his sloth, and an intelligible Government, which need not fear scrutiny from abroad, is the result: the records of the country being but so many proofs of the Mikado's title to power, there is no reason for keeping up any show of mystery. The path of inquiry is open to all; and although there is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been attained, in which it may interest those who stay at home to share.

The recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social as well as political; and it may be that when, in addition to the advance which has already been made, railways and telegraphs shall have connected the principal points of the Land of Sunrise, the old Japanese, such as he was and had been for centuries when we found him eleven short years ago, will have become extinct. It has appeared to me that no better means could be chosen of preserving a record of a curious and fast disappearing civilization than the translation of some of the most interesting national legends and histories, together with other specimens of literature bearing upon the same subject. Thus the Japanese may tell their own tale, their translator only adding here and there a few words of heading or tag to a chapter, where an explanation or amplification may seem necessary. I fear that the long and hard names will often make my tales tedious reading, but I believe that those who will bear with the difficulty will learn more of the character of the Japanese people than by skimming over descriptions of travel and adventure, however brilliant. The lord and his retainer, the warrior and the priest, the humble artisan and the despised Eta or pariah, each in his turn will become a leading character in my budget of stories; and it is out of the mouths of these personages that I hope to show forth a tolerably complete picture of Japanese society.

Having said so much by way of preface, I beg my readers to fancy themselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of Yedo—a fair, smiling landscape: gentle slopes, crested by a dark fringe of pines and firs, lead down to the sea; the quaint eaves of many a temple and holy shrine peep out here and there from the groves; the bay itself is studded with picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by night like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the west loom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond the twin hills of the Hakone Pass --Fujiyama, the Peerless Mountain, solitary and grand, stands in the centre of the plain, from which it sprang vomiting flames twenty-one centuries ago. For a hundred and sixty years the huge mountain has been at peace, but the frequent earthquakes still tell of hidden fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones and ashes may once more fall like rain over five provinces.

In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a suburb of Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned throughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which contains the graves of the Forty-seven. Ronins, famous in Japanese history, heroes of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deeds I am about to transcribe.

And now for the story
.
In Japan, the decade before the writing of this text had been:

A A period of relative political stability.
B A period interrupted by volcanic eruptions.
C A time of social upheaval and political revolution.
D A time when the traditional Japanese roles of warrior, priest, and artisan were being rediscovered.
E A period of unprecedented production of new stories and legends regarding Japanese culture.


The phrase "no opportunity was lost of throwing dust in the eyes of newcomers" describes

A An effort to dazzle visitors with details of the literary and artistic accomplishments of the Japanese.
B The effects of ashes from Mt. Fujiyama.
C The efforts to keep holy shrines private.
D A custom observed since the arrival of Dutch and Portuguese traders.
E The previous government's efforts to deceive foreigners about its legitimacy.


What will follow in the remainder of the book?

A An account of the social changes that had recently occurred in Japan after the revolution.
B An analysis of the contents of the official government records that had previously been supressed.
C A novel by the author depicting the way of life of contemporary Japanese.
D A translation of various stories and legends of traditional Japanese culture.
E A description of the physical features of the Japanese landscape.


The author expects that over the next few years:

A Japan will revert to more traditional ways.
B The Ronins will resume leadership in Japan.
C The ancient class system will be reinstated.
D Modernization will likely transform the traditional social structure.
E International influences in Japan will diminish.


At the time the author wrote, Mount Fujiyama had been:

A A recently active volcano with violent eruptions comparable to the social revolution discussed in the text.
B Dormant for twenty one centuries.
C Dormant for the last 160 years.
D The solitary place of the seclusion of the Mikado.
E Discovered to be only one of a series of 47 other volcanoes.




The politically minded among us may do well to take a cue from the literati in our midst, our colleagues in the fields of language and literature who have contrived to sift through the layers of meaning inherent in language itself, unmasking the power of the metaphor as unpacking the associations of the symbol. As Americans, we take as given the decision made by the United States Congress on June 20, 1798 to adopt the bald eagle as our national emblem. And yet, though it graces our national currency and adorns our federal buildings, even the most reflective of us gives the bird scant thought. We are affronted by the notion of hunting it; we are concerned, if abstractly, that its numbers in the wild continue to decrease. But we pay little, if any mind, to the emblem itself, to the very sign and what it signifies.

Benjamin Franklin, himself a paragon of American virtue, opposed the bird known in his day as the American eagle as the choice for the national emblem. While the logic underlying his objection remains unarticulated, that of American ornithologist Arthur Cleveland Bent, who lived a century after Franklin, was unequivocal. He lamented that the bird's carrion-eating habits and its piratical attacks on the smaller, weaker osprey - itself a bird of prey - "hardly inspire respect and certainly do not exemplify the best in American character." Except, of course, that we have come, as a nation, to uphold the mercenary and the combative. Further fitting in these dubious times, is the fact that our beau idéal not only eats carrion, which it frequently steals from the osprey, but is also a skilled hunter, able to swoop down to capture water fowl in flight and rabbits on the run.

It is the eagle's competence as a hunter, its ability to secure food at will, that allows our eagle to perch for hours, conserving strength where other, inept birds squander their energy searching for food. So, to the charges of viciousness and thievery, we might add indolence: the bald eagle is a sedentary creature that often remains on the same branch or crag for long stretches of time. If we have begun to doubt the prudence, or perhaps more accurately, the desirability of emulating our national bird - of being a nation upholding alternately the virtues of violence, opportunism and laziness - let us conclude with one last comment about the behavior of the bird. When the eggs of the bald eagle hatch, the largest and strongest chick is very aggressive and frequently kills the younger and weaker birds in what is referred to as 'the Cain and Abel battle.' In this nation where the rich continue to prosper as the poor grow poorer, where the strong thrive and the weak languish, it would seem we have begun to perfect an imitative battle.

With which of the following statements would the author of this passage be least likely to agree?

A Americans can be mercenary and opportunistic.
B Americans can be violent.
C The American ideal of equality for all has been realized.
D The flaws of the bald eagle may be evidenced in the behavior of the American population.
E Americans tend toward laziness.


'Carrion' (paragraph 2) most likely means:

A a small bird of the warbler family
B a natural predator
C a flesh-eating animal
D the decaying flesh of a dead animal
E the flesh of caribou and reindeer


When the author states that Arthur Cleveland Bent was "unequivocal", he means to say that Bent was:

A condemning the symbol
B trying to provoke his listeners
C unwilling to compromise
D intending to spark controversy
E clear about his meaning


The author mentions all of the following as negative traits of the Bald Eagle except:

A gluttony
B indolence
C bloodthirst
D thievery
E savagery


The author's primary argument is that:

A The United States needs to select a new bird as its emblem.
B The values of the United States, as epitomized in the bald eagle, can scarcely be considered virtues.
C It is impossible to over-read the meaning of a symbol.
D Poverty in the United States threatens to undermine the quality of American life.
E The inevitable extinction of the bald eagle should not be lamented.




Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) was in many respects the archetypal artist, the tortured soul racked with doubt, filled with conflict. The doubt that engulfed him arose precisely because of the artistic conflict storming within him: in every stroke of the brush he waged the eternal struggle between chaos and order. He debated whether, like Poussin before him, he should create an ordered, harmonious vision of the world. Or should he acknowledge the evidence the world had set before him, that it inherently lacked order, that order was imposed - arbitrarily, even - from without? Could he acknowledge that the order of the world is entirely imposed by its observer, that we as human readers of the world around us discern patterns and impose them upon nature, that we construct meaningful frameworks to link together disparate components? Like the little child who lies in bed, closing one eye and then another, observing with each blink a shift in the room before her, Cezanne became more and more struck by the relativity of vision. It became increasingly significant to him that a slight tilt to the head, a closing of the eye, would alter the appearance of reality.

Cezanne longed to counter the fragmentariness of perceived reality; he sought, by contrast, precision and synthesis. Torn between a desire to represent the world as it is - the room seen with one eye closed and the world then seen with the other shut - and a desire to create a unified representation of the world, Cezanne ultimately arrived at an artistic compromise: the dialectic. He began to paint the variations that the slightly changed viewpoint allowed him to perceive. Rather than dedicate the one tree before him to the canvas, he would paint several possible trees. In his later work, he furthered his means of representing possibility, or uncertainty, by leaving a large portion of his canvas blank. One effect of this innovation was that it encouraged the viewer to envision her own variations of the variations already presented, thereby adding her own perspective to Cezanne's. Nature was no longer laid out before the viewer to be subjected to her scrutiny, rather it includes her, and the evidence of her own senses as part of the constantly changing world. With Cezanne, the viewer becomes part of the view. The consequence of the innovation was extremely significant for Cezanne himself, a first step toward taming the battle within him. By presenting the possibilities, he was able to establish certainty, a certainty paradoxically built on the acceptance of doubt.

Dialectic in paragraph 2 means:

A a reconciliation of opposites
B a logical argumentation
C a reasoned antithesis
D a study over a period of time
E a clear distinction


The author mentions Poussin in the first paragraph primarily in order to:

A Show the artistic tradition out of which Cezanne came.
B Give an example of a painter who influenced Cezanne.
C Offer an example of how radical Cezanne's move away from his predecessors was.
D Denote a painter who sought to order the world in his works.
E Indicate a painter aware of the impossibility of representing reality.


The author understands Cezanne's use of blank space to be:

A A brilliant innovation because it serves to include the viewer in the act of composition.
B A definitive break that allowed Cezanne to free himself from Poussin's influence.
C A necessary step that allowed Cezanne to cure himself of his neuroses.
D A reflection of Cezanne's laziness as a painter.
E An answer to the postmodern questions of fragmentariness and indeterminacy.


The tone of the author's discussion of Cezanne is best described as:

A cautiously enthusiastic
B unconditionally supportive
C blindly laudatory
D unduly deferential
E profoundly respectful


The author's main purpose in this passage is to:

A Argue that the art world would become stale without innovations like Cezanne's.
B Illustrate how childlike whimsy can produce artistic masterpieces.
C Critique those artists, who, unlike Cezanne, sought to order an inherently chaotic world.
D Detail the most significant contribution Cezanne made to art.
E Situate Cezanne among other famous artists.



The young man shut the door with a sharper slam than any visitor had used that afternoon, and walked up the street at a great pace, cutting the air with his walking-stick. He was glad to find himself outside that drawing-room, breathing raw fog, and in contact with unpolished people who only wanted their share of the pavement allowed them. He thought that if he had had Mr. or Mrs. or Miss Hilbery out here he would have made them, somehow, feel his superiority, for he was chafed by the memory of halting awkward sentences which had failed to give even the young woman with the sad, but inwardly ironical eyes a hint of his force. He tried to recall the actual words of his little outburst, and unconsciously supplemented them by so many words of greater expressiveness that the irritation of his failure was somewhat assuaged. Sudden stabs of the unmitigated truth assailed him now and then, for he was not inclined by nature to take a rosy view of his conduct, but what with the beat of his foot upon the pavement, and the glimpse which half-drawn curtains offered him of kitchens, dining- rooms, and drawing-rooms, illustrating with mute power different scenes from different lives, his own experience lost its sharpness.

His own experience underwent a curious change. His speed slackened, his head sank a little towards his breast, and the lamplight shone now and again upon a face grown strangely tranquil. His thought was so absorbing that when it became necessary to verify the name of a street, he looked at it for a time before he read it; when he came to a crossing, he seemed to have to reassure himself by two or three taps, such as a blind man gives, upon the curb; and, reaching the Underground station, he blinked in the bright circle of light, glanced at his watch, decided that he might still indulge himself in darkness, and walked straight on.

And yet the thought was the thought with which he had started. He was still thinking about the people in the house which he had left; but instead of remembering, with whatever accuracy he could, their looks and sayings, he had consciously taken leave of the literal truth. A turn of the street, a firelit room, something monumental in the procession of the lamp-posts, who shall say what accident of light or shape had suddenly changed the prospect within his mind, and led him to murmur aloud:

"She'll do. . . . Yes, Katharine Hilbery'll do. . . . I'll take Katharine Hilbery."

As soon as he had said this, his pace slackened, his head fell, his eyes became fixed. The desire to justify himself, which had been so urgent, ceased to torment him, and, as if released from constraint, so that they worked without friction or bidding, his faculties leapt forward and fixed, as a matter of course, upon the form of Katharine Hilbery. It was marvelous how much they found to feed upon, considering the destructive nature of Denham's criticism in her presence. The charm, which he had tried to disown, when under the effect of it, the beauty, the character, the aloofness, which he had been determined not to feel, now possessed him wholly; and when, as happened by the nature of things, he had exhausted his memory, he went on with his imagination. He was conscious of what he was about, for in thus dwelling upon Miss Hilbery's qualities, he showed a kind of method, as if he required this vision of her for a particular purpose. He increased her height, he darkened her hair; but physically there was not much to change in her. His most daring liberty was taken with her mind, which, for reasons of his own, he desired to be exalted and infallible, and of such independence that it was only in the case of Ralph Denham that it swerved from its high, swift flight, but where he was concerned, though fastidious at first, she finally swooped from her eminence to crown him with her approval. These delicious details, however, were to be worked out in all their ramifications at his leisure; the main point was that Katharine Hilbery would do; she would do for weeks, perhaps for months. In taking her he had provided himself with something the lack of which had left a bare place in his mind for a considerable time. He gave a sigh of satisfaction; his consciousness of his actual position somewhere in the neighborhood of Knightsbridge returned to him, and he was soon speeding in the train towards Highgate.

Based on the information provided in the first paragraph, which of the following best describes the feelings the young man is experiencing as a result of the meeting he just had with the Hilberrys?

A mild displeasure
B warm approval
C temporary indecision
D abject humiliation
E good-humored embarrassment


In the final paragraph, the young man's thoughts are mainly on:

A becoming more oriented to his physical surroundings
B reviewing the events of the earlier interview
C altering a previous impression of Hilberry
D remembering long forgotten aspects of Hilberry
E preparing a rebuttal to Denham on the subject of Hilberry


Which of the following best describes the transformation in the emotional state of the subject of this passage as he walks through the city?

A happiness to confusion
B indecision to abject sadness
C confused embarrassment to extreme anger
D agitation to resolve
E mild indignation to extreme anger


In the last paragraph the author writes that the young man’s faculties became fixed "without friction or bidding" on Katherine Hilberry. Which of the following best restates the author's meaning:

A the man’s thoughts unconsciously turned to Katherine Hilberry
B the man suddenly saw Katherine Hilberry in the lamplight
C the man’s thoughts towards Katherine Hilberry became less antagonistic
D the man stealthily approached Katherine Hilberry
E the man began replaying a pleasant conversation with Hilberry in his head


The word "chafed" as used in the first paragraph most nearly means:

A annoyed
B scraped
C made impatient
D warmed
E reminded





But man is not destined to vanish. He can be killed, but he cannot be destroyed, because his soul is deathless and his spirit is irrepressible. Therefore, though the situation seems dark in the context of the confrontation between the superpowers, the silver lining is provided by amazing phenomenon that the very nations which have spent incalculable resources and energy for the production of deadly weapons are desperately trying to find out how they might never be used. They threaten each other, intimidate each other and go to the brink, but before the total hour arrives they withdraw from the brink.

1. The main point from the author's view is that
1. Man's soul and spirit can not be destroyed by superpowers.
2. Man's destiny is not fully clear or visible.
3. Man's soul and spirit are immortal.
4. Man's safety is assured by the delicate balance of power in terms of nuclear weapons.
5. Human society will survive despite the serious threat of total annihilation.


2. The phrase 'Go to the brink' in the passage means
1. Retreating from extreme danger.
2. Declare war on each other.
3. Advancing to the stage of war but not engaging in it.
4. Negotiate for peace.
5. Commit suicide.

3. In the author's opinion
1. Huge stockpiles of destructive weapons have so far saved mankind from a catastrophe.
2. Superpowers have at last realized the need for abandoning the production of lethal weapons.
3. Mankind is heading towards complete destruction.
4. Nations in possession of huge stockpiles of lethal weapons are trying hard to avoid actual conflict.
5. There is a Silverlining over the production of deadly weapons.


4. 'Irrepressible' in the second line means
1. incompatible
2. strong
3. oppressive
4. unrestrainable
5. unspirited


5. A suitable title for the above passage is
1. Destruction of mankind is in evitable.
2. Man's desire to survive inhibits use of deadly weapons.
3. Mounting cost of modern weapons.
4. Threats and intimidation between super powers.
5. Cowardly retreat by man





Disequilibrium at the interface of water and air is a factor on which the transfer of heat and water vapor from the ocean to the air depends. The air within about a millimeter of the water is almost saturated with water vapor and the temperature of the air is close to that of the surface water. Irrespective of how small these differences might be, they are crucial, and the disequilibrium is maintained by air near the surface mixing with air higher up, which is typically appreciably cooler and lower in water vapor content. The turbulence, which takes its energy from the wind mixes the air. As the speed of wind increases, so does the turbulence, and consequently the rate of heat and moisture transfer. We can arrive at a detailed understanding of this phenomenon after further study. The transfer of momentum from wind to water, which occurs when waves are formed is an interacting-and complicated phenomenon. When waves are made by the wind, it transfers important amounts of energy-energy, which is consequently not available for the production of turbulence.

1. This passage principally intends to:
1. resolve a controversy
2. attempt a description of a phenomenon
3. sketch a theory
4. reinforce certain research findings
5. tabulate various observations


2. The wind over the ocean usually does which of the following according to the given passage?
I. Leads to cool, dry air coming in proximity with the ocean surface.
II. Maintains a steady rate of heat and moisture transfer between the ocean and the air.
III. Results in frequent changes in the ocean surface temperature.
1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II only
4. II and III only
5. I, II, and III


3. According to the author the present knowledge regarding heat and moisture transfer from the ocean to air as
1. revolutionary
2. inconsequential
3. outdated
4. derivative
5. incomplete


4. According to the given passage, in case the wind was to decrease until there was no wind at all, which of the following would occur?
1. The air, which is closest to the ocean surface would get saturated with water vapor.
2. The water would be cooler than the air closest to the ocean surface.
3. There would be a decrease in the amount of moisture in the air closest to the ocean surface.
4. There would be an increase in the rate of heat and moisture transfer.
5. The temperature of the air closest to the ocean and that of the air higher up would be the same.





The Food and Drug Administration has formulated certain severe restrictions regarding the use of antibiotics, which are used to promote the health and growth of meat animals. Though the different types of medicines mixed with the fodder of the animals kills many microorganisms, it also encourages the appearance of bacterial strains, which are resistant to anti-infective drugs.

It has already been observed that penicillin and the tetracyclines are not as effective therapeutically as they once used to be. This resistance to drugs is chiefly caused due to tiny circlets of genes, called plasmids, which are transferable between different species of bacteria. These plasmids are also one of the two kinds of vehicles on which molecular biologists depend on while performing gene transplant experiments. Existing guidelines also forbid the use of plasmids, which bear genes for resistance to antibiotics, in the laboratories. Though congressional dabate goes on as to whether these restrictions need to be toughened with reference to scientists in their laboratories, almost no congressional attention is being paid to an ill advised agricultural practice, which produces deleterious effects.

1. In the present passage, the author's primary concern is with:
1. The discovery of methods, which eliminate harmful microorganisms without generating drug-resistant bacteria.
2. Attempting an explanation of the reasons for congressional inaction about the regulation of gene transplant experiments.
3. Portraying a problematic agricultural practice and its serious genetic consequences
4. The verification of the therapeutic ineffectiveness of anti-infective drugs
5. Evaluation of the recently proposed restrictions, which are intended to promote the growth of meat animals.


2. As inferred from the above passage, the mutual transfer of plasmids between different bacteria can result in which of the following?
1. Microorganisms, which have an in-built resistance to drugs
2. Therapeutically useful circlets of genes
3. Penicillin like anti-infective drugs
4. Viruses used by molecular biologists
5. Carriers for performing gene transplant experiments.

3. According to the above passage the author believes that those who favor the stiffening of restrictions on gene transplant research should logically also.
1. Approve and aid experiments with any plasmids except those, which bear genes for antibiotic resistance.
2. Inquire regarding the addition of anti-infective drugs to livestock feeds
3. Oppose the using of penicillin and tetracyclines in order to kill microorganisms
4. Agree to the development of meatier live-stock through the use of antibiotics
5. Approve of congressional debate and discussion regarding science and health issues.


4. The attitude the author has with reference to the development of bacterial strains that render antibiotic drugs in effective can best be described as
1. indifferent
2. perplexed
3. pretentious
4. insincere
5. apprehensive




Roger Rosenblatt's book Black Fiction, manages to alter the approach taken in many previous studies by making an attempt to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject. Rosenblatt points out that criticism of Black writing has very often served as a pretext for an expounding on Black history. The recent work of Addison Gayle's passes a judgement on the value of Black fiction by clearly political standards, rating each work according to the ideas of Black identity, which it propounds.

Though fiction results from political circumstances, its author react not in ideological ways to those circumstances, and talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology circumvents much of the fictional enterprise. Affinities and connections are revealed in the works of Black fiction in Rosenblatt's literary analysis; these affinities and connections have been overlooked and ignored by solely political studies.

The writing of acceptable criticism of Black fiction, however, presumes giving satisfactory answers to a quite a few questions. The most important of all, is there a sufficient reason, apart from the racial identity of the authors, for the grouping together of Black authors? Secondly, what is the distinction of Black fiction from other modern fiction with which it is largely contemporaneous? In the work Rosenblatt demonstrates that Black fiction is a distinct body of writing, which has an identifiable, coherent literary tradition. He highlights recurring concerns and designs, which are independent of chronology in Black fiction written over the past eighty years. These concerns and designs are thematic, and they come form the central fact of the predominant white culture, where the Black characters in the novel are situated irrespective of whether they attempt to conform to that culture or they rebel against it.

Rosenblatt's work does leave certain aesthetic questions open. His thematic analysis allows considerable objectivity; he even clearly states that he does not intend to judge the merit of the various works yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especially since an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For example, certain novels have an appearance of structural diffusion. Is this a defeat, or are the authors working out of, or attempting to forge, a different kind of aesthetic? Apart from this, the style of certain Black novels, like Jean Toomer's Cane, verges on expressionism or surrealism; does this technique provide a counterpoint to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate against which Black heroes are pitted, a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic modes of expressions?

Irrespective of such omissions, what Rosenblatt talks about in his work makes for an astute and worthwhile study. His book very effectively surveys a variety of novels, highlighting certain fascinating and little-known works like James Weldon Johnson's Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man. Black Fiction is tightly constructed, and levelheaded and penetrating criticism is exemplified in its forthright and lucid style.

1. The author of the passage raises and objection to criticism of Black fiction like that by Addison Gayle as it:
1. Highlights only the purely literary aspects of such works
2. Misconceive the ideological content of such fiction
3. Miscalculate the notions of Black identity presented in such fiction
4. Replaces political for literary criteria in evaluating such fiction
5. Disregards the reciprocation between Black history and Black identity exhibited in such fiction.


2. The primary concern of the author in the above passage is:
1. Reviewing the validity of a work of criticism
2. Comparing various critical approaches to a subject
3. Talking of the limitations of a particular kind of criticism
4. Recapitulation of the major points in a work of criticism
5. Illustrating the theoretical background of a certain kind of criticism.


3. The author is of the opinion that Black Fiction would have been improved had Rosenblatt:
1. Undertaken a more careful evaluation of the ideological and historical aspects of Black Fiction
2. Been more objective in his approach to novels and stories by Black authors
3. Attempted a more detailed exploration of the recurring themes in Black fiction throughout its history
4. Established a basis for placing Black fiction within its own unique literary tradition
5. Calculated the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzed thematically.


4. Rosenblatt's discussion of Black Fiction is :
1. Pedantic and contentious
2. Critical but admiring
3. Ironic and deprecating
4. Argumentative but unfocused
5. Stilted and insincere.


5. According to the given passage the author would be LEAST likely to approve of which among the following?
1. Analyzing the influence of political events on the personal ideology of Black writers
2. Attempting a critical study, which applies sociopolitical criteria to the autobiographies of Black authors
3. A literary study of Black poetry that appraises the merits of poems according to the political acceptability of their themes
4. Studying the growth of a distinct Black literary tradition within the context of Black history
5. Undertaking a literary study, which attempts to isolate aesthetic qualities unique to Black fiction.


6. From the following options, which does the author not make use of while discussing Black Fiction?
1. Rhetorical questions
2. Specific examples
3. Comparison and contrast
4. Definition of terms
5. Personal opinion.


7. The author makes a reference to James Weldon Johnson's Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man most probably to:
1. Highlight the affinities between Rosenblatt's method of thematic analysis and earlier criticism
2. Elucidate regarding the point made regarding expressionistic style earlier in the passage
3. Qualify the assessment of Rosenblatt's book made in the first paragraph of the passage
4. Demonstrate the affinities among the various Black novels talked of by Rosenblatt's literary analysis
5. Present a specific example of one of the accomplishments of Rosenblatt's work.




Some modern anthropologists hold that biological evolution has shaped not only human morphology but also human behavior. The role those anthropologists ascribe to evolution is not of dictating the details of human behavior but one of imposing constraints - ways of feeling, thinking, and acting that ''come naturally'' in archetypal situations in any culture. Our ''frailties'' - emotions and motivs such as rage, fear, greed, gluttony, joy,lust, love-may be a very mixed assortment quality: we are, as we say, ''in the grip'' of them. And thus they give us oursense of constraints.

Unhappily, some of those frailties our need for ever-increasing security among them are presently maladaptive. Yet beneath the overlay of cultural detail, they, too, are said to be biological in direction, and therefore as natural to us as are our appendixes. We would need to comprehend throughly their adaptive origins in order to understand how badly they guide us now. And we might then begin to resist their pressure.

1. The author implies that control to any extent over the ''frailties'' that constrain our behavior is though to presuppose
1. That those frailties and adaptive are recognized as currently beneficial and adaptive
2. That there is little or no overlay of cultural detail that masks their true nature.
3. That there are cultures in which those frailties do not ''come naturally'' and from which such control can be learned
4. A full understanding of why those frailties evolved and of how they function now
5. A thorough grasp of the principle that cultural detail in human behavior can differ arbitrarily from society to society.


2. It can be inferred that in his discussion of maladaptive frailties the author assumes that
1. Evolution does not favor the emergence of adaptive characteristics over the emergence of maladaptive ones
2. Any structure or behavior not positively adaptive is regarded as transitory in evolutionary theory
3. Maladaptive characteristics, once fixed, make the emergence of other maladaptive characteristics more likely
4. The designation of a characteristic as being maladaptive must always remain highly tentative
5. Changes in the total human environment can outpace evolutionary change.

3. The primary purpose of the passage is to present
1. A position on the foundations of human behavior and on what those foundations imply
2. A theory outlining the parallel development of human morphology and of human behavior
3. A diagnostic test for separating biologically determined behavior patters from culture - specific detail
4. An overview of those human emotions and motive's that impose constraints on human behaviour
5. A practical method for resting the pressures of biologically determined drives.


4. Which of the following most probably provides an appropriate analogy from human morphology for the ''details'' versus ''constraints'' distinction made in the passage in relation to human behaviour?
1. The ability of most people to see all the colors of the visible spectrum as against most peoples inability to name any but the primary colors
2. The ability of even the least fortunate people to show compassion as against people's inability to mask their feelings completely
3. The ability of some people to dive to great depths as against most people's inability to swim long distance
4. The psychological profile of those people who are able to delay gratification as against people's inability to control their lives completely
5. The greater lung capacity of mountain peoples that helps them live in oxygen-poor air as against people's inability to fly without special apparatus.