Times: 55 minutes
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. For questions 1-50, you are to choose the one best answer, (A), (B), (C), or (D), to each question. Then, on your ‘answer sheet, find the number
of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.
Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
Read the following passage:
The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society, or to
draw attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants
have set out their wares at daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated,
people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The
value of this tradition is today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public
acceptance of a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably chaotic:
the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and information would proceed in
fits and starts; the very fabric of modem society would begin to unravel.
Example I
What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) In modem society we must make more time for our neighbors.
(B) The traditions of society are timeless.
(C) An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
(D) Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.
The main idea of the passage is that societies need to agree about how time is to be measured in order to function smoothly. Therefore, you should choose (C).
Example II
In line 5, the phrase “this tradition” refers to
(A) the practice of starting the business day at dawn
(B) friendly relations between neighbors
(C) the railroad’s reliance on time schedules
(0) people’s agreement on the measurement of time
The phrase “this tradition” refers to the preceding clause, “people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day.” Therefore, you should choose (D).
Now begin work on the questions.
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1. The author refers to the impact of railroads before the late 1860’s as “limited” because
2. The word “they” in line 5 refers to
3. The word “supplements” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
4. What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroads expanded?
5. The word “crisscross” in line 11 is closest in meaning to
6. Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in line 15?
7. The word “skepticism” in line 18 is closest in meaning to 122
8. The Pacific railroads were considered a “premature enterprise” (line 21) because
9. The word “subsidy” in line 23 is closest in meaning to
10. Where in the passage does the author give example of geographical challenges to railroad construction?
11. What does the passage mainly discuss?
12. The word “conjectural” in line 5 is closest in meaning to
13. Why does the author mention animals in line 9?
14. The word “it” in line 11 refers to
15. What is the basic principle of the tally method described in the second paragraph?
16. The word “employing” in line 13 is closest in meaning to
17. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an early methods of counting?
18. The word “maintained” in line 15 is closest in meaning to
19. The word “assortment” in line 17 is closest in meaning to
20. It can be inferred that research in other academic fields relates to research in the author’s field in which of the following ways?
21. Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage?
22. Where in the passage does the author mention the ability of animals to recognized small and large groups?
23. According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth-century developments had a strong impact on silversmiths?
24. The word “They” in line 5 refers to
25. The word “exalted” in line 7 is closest in meaning to
26. In colonial America, where did silversmiths usually obtain the material to make silver articles?
27. The word “ingots” in line 17 refers to
28. The phrase “came of age” in line 22 is closest in meaning to
29. The passage mentions all of the following as uses for copper in colonial America EXCEPT
30. According to the passage, silversmiths and coppersmiths in colonial America were similar in which of the following ways?
31. Based on the information in paragraph 4, which of the following was probably true about copper in the colonies?
32. The passage primarily discusses which of the following?
33. The word “traces” in line 1 is closest in meaning to
34. All of the following facts about fossils are refereed to by the author (paragraph 1) EXCEPT the fact that they can be
35. The fossil fish from the Green River (paragraph 3) were probably preserved because they were
36. The word “exposed” in line 22 is closest in meaning to
37. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be found as a fossil, assuming that all are buried rapidly?
38. It can be inferred that a condition that favors fossilization when volcanic ash falls to Earth is
39. The word “them” in line 29 refers to
40. Which of the following is true of the environments in which fossil are found?
41. What does the passage mainly discuss?
42. The word “adversely” in line 3 is closest in meaning to
43. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that
44. The word “altered” in line 12 is closest in meaning to
45. Natural pollutants can play an important role in controlling air pollution for which of the following reasons?
46. According to the passage, which of the following is true about human-generated air pollution in localized regions?
47. The word “noxious’ in line 19 is closest in meaning to
48. According to the passage, the numerical valued of the concentration level of a substance is only useful if
49. The word “detectable” in line 24 is closest in meaning to
50. Which of the following is best supported by the passage?