TEST – 37
The author E. L. Doctorow is best known for mixing
fiction with historical fact, by placing his stories
within the frame work of public events, in fact by
integrating the front-page news of 20th century
America with the lives of his characters. Doctorow
gives readers the "feel" of an era combining the
unusual and the commonplace. His latest novel
World's Fair shows how the events of the turbulent
1930s helped mould the sensibilities of his young
protagonist
1. It is concluded in the passage that Doctorow's
novel World's Fair ………..
A. describes the damaging effects of the turbulent
1930s on the sensitive young protagonist.
B. is actually a full historical account of the
great changes that took place in the 1930s.
C. demonstrates his theories concerning the
relationship between man and his society.
D. fails to give his readers a "tool" of the 1930s
in America.
E. gives an account of how the thoughts and feelings
of the main character are shaped by the period in
which he lived.
2. From the passage we infer that a blend of fiction
and history
A. has not always been Doctorow's primary concern.
B. is deliberately avoided by Doctorow in his most
recent novel.
C. is a striking feature of Doctorow's writing.
D. is commonly used by contemporary American
writers,
including Doctorow himself.
E. is never to found in the medicinal novel.
3. We learn from the passage that Doctorow's purpose
in bringing together in his novels the usual and the
extraordinary ___.
A. is to build up a convincing picture of a period.
B. did not achieve the result he aimed for in
World's Fair,
C. has been frequently criticized by his readers.
D. has not been properly appreciated in one case of
World's Fair
E. American novelist.
Ever since Nobel prize-winner Linus Pauling first
advocated vitamin C as a common-cold war weapon more
than 20 years ago, researchers have been busy trying
to verify that claim. But so far, they've found
little proof that vitamin C prevents colds. In fact,
there are more studies that say it doesn't. But
there is evidence that it can keep coughing and
sneezing to a minimum, and that low levels of
vitamin C in the body may be related to bronchitis.
4. From the passage we can learn that Dr. Pauling's
view as regards vitamin C ........
A. has greatly improved the treatment of bronchitis
B. has caused a revolution in medical studies
C. aroused very little interest among medical
exports
D. was based on the results of years of research
E. has not been verified scientifically
5. In accordance with the passage, coughing and
sneezing ......
A. should be taken seriously and treated accordingly
B. are the early symptoms of bronchitis
C. are now being effectively treated without vitamin
C
D. can be reduced with the help of vitamin C
E. do not respond to any treatment whatsoever
6. During the last two decades there has been plenty
of scientific effort made to ....
A. convince the public of the dangers of vitamin C
B. confirm that the common cold can be prevented by
vitamin C
C. establish a connection between coughing and
bronchitis
D. study the adverse effects of vitamin C
E. demonstrate how the body reacts to low levels of
vitamin C
Since early times it has been assumed that the
actions of animals are unconscious. Behaviour, in
this view, stems almost exclusively from instinct.
If animals behave in ways that seems pretty clever,
they do so without thinking about it. Animals may
know things, the argument goes, but that they know
that they know. Current research reports suggest a
startling depth of intelligence among animals.
Although no one can yet 'prove' the existence of
animal consciousness, the data offered make a
compelling case for at least considering it.
7. It is emphasized in the passage that
traditionally, animals are believed to .....
A. behave not instinctively but logically
B. have an intelligence comparable with man's
C. imitate man in many ways.
D. act on instinct
E. know exactly what they are doing
8. It is stressed in the pass; that modern research
forces one to consider .....
A. why animals behave differently under different
circumstances
B. the possibility of intelligence in animals
C. the means by which animal behaviour can be
improved.
D. how animals can be made to acquire new skills
E. animals to be the equal of man in intelligence
9. We can infer from the passage that, in the light
of modern research, our traditional assumptions
about animal behaviour ………
A. have been totally disproved
B. have been confirmed
C. have to be reconsidered
D. were indeed based on scientific fact
E. should never have been questioned
The first universities developed in Europe in the
12th century. By 1600 Western Europe boasted 108
institutions of higher learning, many of which had
obtained special privileges from existing regimes
because of their close association with the Church.
In most European countries universities were
designed mainly for the sons of nobility and gentry.
Scholarly standards were low, and scholarship was
irrelevant for most professions. Education for
earning a livelihood in, say, medicine or law could
be acquired after college by serving as an
apprentice.
10. As said in the passage, in the early years of
the universities……..
A. most students wanted to train for a profession
B. the Church disapproved of much of their teaching
C. Western European governments were not at all
interested in education
D. medicine was the most popular subject for study
E. the majority of students came from upper class
families
11. It is implied in the passage that, since most of
the early universities enjoyed the support of the
Church ………
A. state authorities granted them various rights
B. the number of students they admitted increased
rapidly
C. the academic level of the education they offered
was extremely high
D. the academic level of the education they offered
was extremely low
E. law naturally became one of the major subjects
offered
12. As emphasized in the passage, real professional
skills .....
A. were taught during the university years
B. were normally acquired through a period of
apprenticeship
C. gained importance in the universities only after
1600
D. were acquired by nearly all university students
E. were taught only to the children of nobility.
The effects of sleep loss are subject to a number of
popular misconceptions. The belief that everyone
must sleep 8 hours a night is a myth. According to
the results of a recent survey on the subject adults
average about 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep per night, and
many individuals function effectively with 5 to 6
hours of sleep. In fact, 20 percent of the
population (slightly more in men) sleep less than 6
hours per night. Another important fact is that
sleep time decreases with age.
13. In accordance with the passage, the popular
assumption that eight hours of sleep per night is
essential ......
A. is only true for the elderly
B. has been supported by scientific evidence
C. is actually a fallacy
D. is only true for 20 percent of the population
E. is very rarely disputed
14. The survey referred to in the passage signifies
that as people get older and older ......
A. they sleep less and less
B. they require more sleep than formerly
C. their sleep time varies between 7 and 8 hours
D. they rarely sleep less than 7 hours
E. sleep loss ceases to be a problem
15. It is implied in the passage that a sleep time
under 8 hours ......
A. is not recommended in the survey
B. invariably leads to noticeable inefficiency
C. does not necessarily reduce a person's efficiency
D. causes a number of complications in old people
E. is common among women but not among men
Until lately, many archaeologists took the view that
civilized communities first arose in Egypt, though
only a very short time before a similar development
in Mesopotamia; a more recent opinion is now that
the earliest advances may have taken place in
Mesopotamia. Whichever view is followed, it is
necessary to bear in mind that geographical
conditions in both regions were not identical, and
it can in fact be stated that in .Mesopotamia
environmental factors were not as wholly favourable
as in the valley of the Nile.
16. In accordance with a more recent view, the
beginnings of the development of civilization ………
A. have only recently been a major preoccupation
among archaeologists
B. were wrongly assumed to be in Mesopotamia
C. were apparently not affected by geographical
conditions
D. in Egypt were greatly hampered by unfavourable
environmental factors
E. seem to have occurred in Mesopotamia rather than,
as once thought, in Egypt
17. It is indicated in the passage that the Nile
valley and Mesopotamia .... .
A. have never attracted the attention of historians
B. were equally suitable for the rise of
civilization
C. could not have been the home of our earliest
civilizations
D. do not share the same geographical conditions
E. are no longer as fertile as they used to be in
early times
18. From the passage we can learn that ...... .
A. our opinions of early history may sometimes need
to be revised
B. archaeologists have never regarded either Egypt
or Mesopotamia as the cradles of civilization
C. geographical conditions play an important role in
the decline of civilizations
D. the early civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia
were not similar at all
E. archaeology has not, until recently, been
concerned with this part of the world
Dates and periods are necessary to the study and
discussion of history, for all historical phenomena
are conditioned by time and are produced by the
sequence of events. Periods, especially, are
retrospective conceptions that we form about past
events; they are useful to focus discussion, but
frequently they lead historical thought astray.
Thus, while it is certainly useful to speak of the
Middle Ages and of the Victorian Age, those two
abstract ideas have deluded many scholars and
millions of newspaper readers into supposing that
during certain decades called the Middle Ages, and
again during certain decades called Age of Victoria,
everyone thought or acted more or less in the same
way till at last Victoria died or the Middle Ages
came to an end. But in fact there was no such
sameness.
19. The writer argues that, contrary to common
assumption, the behaviour of people .......
A. was more uniform in the Middle Ages than in the
Victorian Age
B. was not uniform, at all, in any given period
C. is a subject that should also be studied by
historians
D. in any given period is always the same
E. is unrelated to the age they live in
20. The division of history into periods ......
A. is both useful and deceptive
B. is prevented by modern historians
C. was rejected in the Victorian Age
D. has been in use since the Middle Ages
E. serves no useful purpose at all
21. In accordance with the passage, the study of
history ............
A. began in the Middle Ages and reached its height
in Victorian Age
B. has changed greatly in our time
C. requires a knowledge of dates and periods
D. includes a great variety of interrelated subjects
E. should concentrate on the reconstruction of past
events
A number of books have been written on computers,
computer programming, and computer programming
languages, particularly FORTRAN. To produce another
book on FORTRAN, even the newest FORTRAN IV,
probably seems unreasonable to most, and it is with
mild trepidation that, I, the author, embark on this
project However, several good reasons can be started
for doing just that. Most computer professionals
will agree that the field of computer and
information science has quickly become a valid
discipline for academia, and that rapid changes are
occurring in computer programming languages. Both of
these facts demand that a new direction be taken in
presenting the subject.
22. From this passage we learn that the writer is
somewhat apprehensive in case ......
A. computer sales should drop sharply .
B. developments in computer programming will become
more and more costly.
C. his book will be felt, by many people, to be
exorbitant.
D. computer programming should be taken over by
professionals.
E. programming languages should become far more
complicated.
23. In accordance with the passage, publications on
computer technology .......
A. are only concerned with FORTRAN computer
programming.
B. have already reached a very high number.
C. are brought out by academia for academia.
D. invariably cause a great deal of public reaction.
E. are largely repetitive and very costly.
24. The writer of this passage points out that his
new book on FORTRAN is justified because ......
A. computer science is a new science with little
relevant literature.
B. computer professionals have not as yet recognized
the changes taking place in computer science.
C. it will boost the sale of computers throughout
the world.
D. it introduces a new approach to computer
programming languages.
E. It will change the concept of computer science
among academia.
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