A Collection of TOEFL Reading Comprehension

Content PRACTICE TEST 30 3
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ANSWER KEY 10 PRACTICE TEST 30
October 1997
Question 1-7 Hotels were among the earliest facilities that bound the
United States together. They
were both creatures and creators of communities, as well as symptoms of
the frenetic
quest for community. Even in the first part of the nineteenth century,
Americans were
Line already forming the habit of gathering from all corners of the
nation for both public and
(5) private, business and pleasure purposes. Conventions were the new
occasions, and
hotels were distinctively American facilities making conventions
possible. The first
national convention of a major party to choose a candidate for
President (that of the
National Republican party, which met on December 12, 1831, and
nominated Henry
Clay for President) was held in Baltimore, at a hotel that was then
reputed to be the
(10) best in the country. The presence in Baltimore of Barnum's City
Hotel, a six-story
building with two hundred apartments, helps explain why many other
early national
political conventions were held there. In the longer run, too. American hotels made other national
conventions not only
possible but pleasant and convivial. The growing custom of regularly
assembling from
(15) afar the representatives of all kinds of groups - not only for
political conventions, but
also for commercial, professional, learned, and avocational ones - in
turn supported
the multiplying hotels. By mid-twentieth century, conventions accounted
for over a
third of the yearly room occupancy of all hotels in the nation, about
eighteen thousand
different conventions were held annually with a total attendance of
about ten million
(20) persons. Nineteenth-century American hotelkeepers, who were no longer
the genial,
deferential "hosts" of the eighteenth-century European inn, became
leading citizens.
Holding a large stake in the community, they exercised power to make it
prosper. As
owners or managers of the local "palace of the public", they were
makers and shapers
(25) of a principal community attraction. Travelers from abroad were
mildly shocked by
this high social position.
1. The word "bound" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(A) led (B) protected (C) tied (D) strengthened 2. The National Republican party is mentioned in line 8 as an example of a
group
(A) from Baltimore (B) of learned people
(C) owning a hotel (D) holding a convention 3. The word "assembling" in line 14 is closest in meaning to
(A) announcing (B) motivating (C) gathering (D) contracting 4. The word "ones" in line 16 refers to
(A) hotels (B) conventions (C) kinds (D) representatives 5. The word "it" in line 23 refers to
(A) European inn (B) host (C) community (D) public 6. It can be inferred from the passage that early hotelkeepers in the
United States were
(A) active politicians (B) European immigrants
(C) Professional builders (D) Influential citizens
7. Which of the following statements about early American hotels is NOT
mentioned in the passage?
(A) Travelers from abroad did not enjoy staying in them.
(B) Conventions were held in them
(C) People used them for both business and pleasure.
(D) They were important to the community. Question 8-17 Beads were probably the first durable ornaments humans
possessed, and the
intimate relationship they had with their owners is reflected in the
fact that beads are
among the most common items found in ancient archaeological sites. In
the past, as
Line today, men, women, and children adorned themselves with beads. In
some cultures
(5) still, certain beads are often worn from birth until death, and
then are buried with their
owners for the afterlife. Abrasion due to daily wear alters the surface
features of beads,
and if they are buried for long, the effects of corrosion can further
change their
appearance. Thus, interest is imparted to the bead both by use and the
effects of time. Besides their wearability, either as jewelry or incorporated
into articles of attire,
(10) beads possess the desirable characteristics of every collectible,
they are durable,
portable, available in infinite variety, and often valuable in their
original cultural
context as well as in today's market. Pleasing to look at and touch,
beads come in
shapes, colors, and materials that almost compel one to handle them and
to sort them. Beads are miniature bundles of secrets waiting to be
revealed: their history,
(15) manufacture, cultural context, economic role, and ornamental use
are all points of
information one hopes to unravel. Even the most mundane beads may have
traveled
great distances and been exposed to many human experiences. The bead
researcher
must gather information from many diverse fields. In addition to having
to be a
generalist while specializing in what may seem to be a narrow field,
the researcher is
(20) faced with the problem of primary materials that have little or no
documentation. Many
ancient beads that are of ethnographic interest have often been
separated from their
original cultural context. The special attractions of beads contribute to the uniqueness
of bead research. While
often regarded as the "small change of civilizations", beads are a part
of every culture,
(25) and they can often be used to date archaeological sites and to
designate the degree of
mercantile, technological, and cultural sophistication.
8. What is the main subject of the passage?
(A) Materials used in making beads (B) How beads are made
(C) The reasons for studying beads (D) Different types of beads 9. The word "adorned" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A) protected (B) decorated (C) purchased (D) enjoyed 10. The word "attire" in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) ritual (B) importance (C) clothing (D) history 11. All of the following are given as characteristics of collectible
objects EXCEPT
(A) durability (B) portability (C) value (D) scarcity. 12. According to the passage, all of the following are factors that make
people want to touch beads
EXCEPT the
(A) shape (B) color (C) material (D) odor
13. The word "unravel" in line 16 is closest in meaning to
(A) communicate (B) transport (C) improve (D) discover 14. The word "mundane" in line 16 is closest in meaning to
(A) carved (B) beautiful (C) ordinary (D) heavy 15. It is difficult to trace the history of certain ancient beads because
they
(A) are small in size
(B) have been buried underground
(C) have been moved from their original locations
(D) are frequently lost 16. Knowledge of the history of some beads may be useful in the studies
done by which of the following?
(A) Anthropologists (B) Agricultural experts
(C) Medical researchers (D) Economists 17. Where in the passage does the author describe why the appearance of
beads may change?
(A) Lines 3-4 (B) Lines 6-8 (C) Lines 12-13 (D) Lines 20-22 Question 18-31 In the world of birds, bill design is a prime example of
evolutionary fine-tuning.
Shorebirds such as oystercatchers use their bills to pry open the
tightly sealed shells of
their prey; hummingbirds have stiletto-like bills to probe the deepest
nectar-bearing
Line flowers; and kiwis smell out earthworms thanks to nostrils located
at the tip of their
(5) beaks. But few birds are more intimately tied to their source of
sustenance than are
crossbills. Two species of these finches, named for the way the upper
and lower parts
of their bills cross, rather than meet in the middle, reside in the
evergreen forests of
North America and feed on the seeds held within the cones of coniferous
trees. The efficiency of the bill is evident when a crossbill
locates a cone. Using a lateral
(10) motion of its lower mandible, the bird separates two overlapping
scales on the cone and
exposes the seed. The crossed mandibles enable the bird to exert a
powerful biting
force at the bill tips, which is critical for maneuvering them between
the scales and
spreading the scales apart. Next, the crossbill snakes its long tongue
into the gap and
draws out the seed. Using the combined action of the bill and tongue,
the bird cracks
(15) open and discards the woody seed covering action and swallows the
nutritious inner kernel.
This whole process takes but a few seconds and is repeated hundreds of
times a day. The bills of different crossbill species and subspecies vary
- some are stout and
deep, others more slender and shallow. As a rule, large-billed
crossbills are better at
seeming seeds from large cones, while small-billed crossbills are more
deft at
(20) removing the seeds from small, thin-scaled cones. Moreover, the
degree to which cones
are naturally slightly open or tightly closed helps determine which
bill design is the best.