1. Read the passage below and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in this passage.

Experienced truck drivers often travel in a convoy–a group of trucks that are travelling to the same part of the country. Convoys can help truckers to stay alert.

The author implies that professional long-distance truck drivers may avoid travelling alone because:

2. Read the passage below and then choose the best answer to the question.

Huge beasts such as the dinosaur have never really become extinct. Mothra, a giant caterpillar who later becomes a moth, destroys Tokyo, and stars in the 1962 Japanese film named for him. Mothra is born, dies, and reborn regularly on classic movie channels. In Japan, Mothra is one of the most popular films ever made. Mothra has survived the creation of more current scary creatures such as giant apes, extraterrestrial beings, and swamp creatures. More than 30 years after his creation, Mothra still lives.

The main subject of the passage is:

1. the reasons that fads do not endure
2. the lasting appeal of Mothra
3. the difficulty of marketing good horror movies
4. old models for creatures are still used because making new monsters is expensive

3. Two underlined sentences are followed by a question or statement. Read the sentences and then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Anxious to ensure that America would depart from European traditions regarding religion and royalty, the early U.S. could be described as a place that focused more on work than on the entertainment offered by spectacle and ceremony in the Old World.

However, national celebrations such as the lighting of the White House Christmas Tree and the ceremonies used to swear in new federal officials give the American people some experiences that are based upon national tradition.

What does the second sentence do?

1. It cancels the meaning of the first.
2. It provides an example of the first sentence.
3. It adds more detail to the first sentence.
4. It offers an exception to the information given in the first sentence.

4. Read the passage below and choose the best answer to the question.

The Earthʹs past climate–including temperature and elements in the atmosphere has recently been studied by analyzing ice samples from Greenland and Antarctica. The air bubbles in the ice have shown that, over the past 160,000 years, there has been a close correlation between temperature changes and level of natural greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane. One recent analysis from Greenland showed that at the end of the last glacial period (when the great ice sheets began to retreat to their present position), temperatures in southern Greenland rose from 5 to 7 degrees in about 100 years.

Air bubbles are not the only method of determining characteristics of the Earthʹs ancient climate history. Analysis of dust layers from ancient volcanic activity is another such method, as is the study of ice cores, which interpret past solar activity that may have affected our climate.

This passage states that:

1. the Greenhouse effect is destroying the planetʹs atmosphere.
2. Temperatures in Greenland have been unusually stable over the past 100 years.
3. There is more than one kind of information that scientists can use to determine the characteristics of the Earthʹs early climate.
4. Solar energy is the wave of the future.

5. Two passages are followed by a question or statement. Read the passages, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Before video cameras were widely used, home and business owners had to rely only on written reports and photos as a way to document their valuables for insurance purposes. This form of documentation was difficult for some insurance policyholders. They found it was easy to lose lists, forget to add new items they purchased, or delete items they no longer had. As a result, these insurance inventories were often inaccurate.

While videotaping is not an option for every home or business owner, this kind of insurance documentation is helpful for some.

How are these passages related?

1. They repeat the same idea.
2. They contradict one another.
3. They compare two forms of written documentation.
4. They present a problem and a solution.

6. Two underlined sentences are followed by a question or a statement. Read the sentences and then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Public speaking is very different from everyday conversation.

First of all, speeches are much more structured than a typical informal discussion.

How are these sentences related?

1. Sentence two offers support for the statement made in the first sentence.
2. Sentence two contradicts the statement made in the first sentence.
3. Sentence two shows an exception to the first sentence.
4. Sentence two compares two kinds of speeches.

7. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in these passages.

French physicist Charles Fabry found ozone gas in the atmosphere in 1913. At room temperature, ozone is a colourless gas; it condenses to a dark blue liquid at -170 F. At temperatures above the boiling point of water, 212 F, it decomposes.

Ozone is all around us. After a thunderstorm, or around electrical equipment, ozone is often detected as a sharp odour. Ozone is used as a strong oxidizing agent, a bleaching agent, and to sterilize drinking water. This gas is also highly reactive. For example, rubber insulation around a carʹs spark plug wires will need to be replaced eventually, due to the small amounts of ozone produced when electricity flows from the engine to the plug.