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Reading Comprehension Practice Test 5

Passage for Question 1 to 9

At the time Jane Austen's novels were published – between 1811 and 1818 – English literature was not part of any academic curriculum. In addition, fiction was under strenuous attack. Certain religious and political groups felt novels had the power to make so called immoral characters so interesting young readers would identify with them; these groups also considered novels to be of little practical use. Even Cole-ridge, certainly no literary reactionary, spoke for many when he asserted that "novel-reading occasions the destruction of the mind's power. These attitudes towards novels help explain why Ausjten received little attention from early nineteenth century literary critics. (In any case, a novelist published anonymously, as Austin was, would not be likely to receive much critical attention). The literary response that was accorded her, however, was often as incisive as twentieth century criticism. In his attack in 1816 on novelistic portrayals "outside of ordinary experience, " for example, Scott made an insightful remarks about the merits of Austen;'s fiction. Her novels, wrote Scott, "present to the reader an accurate and exact. picture of ordinary everyday people and places, reminiscent of seventeenth –century Flemish painting. " Scott did not use the word "realistic probability in judging novels. The critic whitely did not use the word realism either, but he expressed agreement with Scott's evaluation, and went on to suggest the possibilities for moral instruction in what we have called Austen's realistic method. Her characters, wrote whitely, are persuasive agents for moral truth since they are ordinary persons "so clearly evoked that was feel an interest in their fate as if it were our own Moral instruction, explained Whitely, is more likely to be effective when conveyed through recognizably human and interesting characters then when imparted by a sermonizing narrator. Whately especially praised Austen's ability to create characters who "mingle goodness and villainy, weakness and virtue, as in life they are always mingled. "Whately concluded his remarks by comparing Austen's art of characterization to Sicken's, stating his preference for Austin's. often anticipated the reservations of twentieth-century critics. An example of such a response was Lewes' complaint in 1859 that Austen's range of subjects and characters was too narrow. Praising her verisimilitude, Lewes added that nonetheless her focus was too often upon only the unlofty and the common place. (Twentieth-century Marxists, on the other hand, were to complain about what they saw as her exclusive emphasis on a lofty upper-middle class) in any case, having been rescued by some literary critics from neglect and indeed gradually lionized by them, Austen's steadily reached, by the mid-nineteenth century, the enviable pinnacle of being considered controversial.

Question 1

The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. demonstrate the nineteenth-century preference for realistic novels rather than romantic ones.
2. Explain why Jane Austen's novels were not included in any academic curriculum in the early nineteenth century
3. Urge a reassessment of Jane Austen's novels by twentieth-century literary critics
4. Describe some of the responses of nineteenth – century critics tol Jane Austen's novels as well as to fiction in general
5. Argue that realistic character portrayal is the novelist's most difficult task as well as the aspect of novel most likely to elicit critical response.

Correct Answer : D

Question 2

The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

1. Ws Whately aware of Scott's remarks about Jane Austen's novels?
2. Who is an example of a twentieth-century Marxist critic?
3. Who is an example of twentieth-century critic who admired Jane Aujsten's novels?
4. What is the author's judgment of Dickens?
5. Did Jane Austen's express her opinion of those nineteenth-century critics who admired her novels.

Correct Answer : A

Question 3

The authors mentions that English literature "was not part of any academic curriculum " in the early nineteenth century in order to

1. emphasize the need for Jane Austen to increate ordinary, everyday character in her novels.
2. give support to those religious and political groups that had attacked fiction
3. give one reason why Jane Austen's novels received little critical attention in the early nineteenth century.
4. Suggest the superiority of an informal and unsystematized approach to the study of literature
5. contrast nineteenth-century attitudes towards English literature with those towards classical literature

Correct Answer : C

Question 4

The passage supplies information to suggest that the religious and political groups mentioned and Whately might have agreed that a novel

1. has little practical use
2. has the ability to influence the moral values of its readers
3. is of most interest to readers when representing ordinary human characters.
4. should not be read by young readers.
5. Needs the sermonizing of a narrator in order to impart moral truths

Correct Answer : B

Question 5

The author quotes Coleridge in order to

1. refute the literary opinions of certain religious and political groups
2. make a case for the inferiority of novels to poetry
3. give an example of a writer who was not a literary reactionary
4. illustrate the early nineteenth-century belief that fiction was especially appealing to young readers
5. indicate how widespread was the attack on novels in the early nineteenth century

Correct Answer : E

Question 6

The passage suggests that twentieth century Marxists would have admired Jane Austen's noels more if the novels, a he Marxists understood them, had

1. described the values of upper-middle class society
2. avoided moral instruction and sermonizing
3. depicted ordinary society in a more flattering light portrayed characters from more than one class of society
4. portrayed characters from more than one class of society
5. anticipated some of controversial social problems of the twentieth century.

Correct Answer : D

Question 7

It can be inferred from the passage that Whately found Dickens character to be

1. especially interest to you readers
2. ordinary persons in recognizably human situations
3. less liable than Jane Aujten's characters to have a realistic mixture of moral qualities
4. more often villainous and week than virtuous and good
5. less susceptible than Jane Austen's characters to the m oral judgments of sermonizing narrator.

Correct Answer : C

Question 8

According to the passage, the lack of critical attention paid to Jane Austen can be explained by all of the following nineteenth-century attitudes towards the novel EXCEPT the

1. assurance felt by many people that novels weakened the mind
2. certainly shared by many political commentators that the range of novels was too narrow
3. lack of interest shown by some critics in novels that were published anonymously
4. fear exhibited by some religious and political groups that novels had the power to portray immoral characters attractively
5. belief held by some religious and political groups that novels had no practical value.

Correct Answer : B

Question 9

The author would most likely agree that which of the following ios the best measure of a writer's literary success?

1. Inclusion of the writer's work in an academic curriculum
2. Publication of the writer's work in the writer's own name
3. Existence of debate among critics about the writers work
4. Praise of the writers work by religious and political groups
5. Ability of the writers work to appeal to ordinary people.

Correct Answer : C

Passage for Question 10 to 15

Despite their many differences of temperament and of literary perspective, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman share certain beliefs. Common to all these writers is their humanistic perspective. Its basic premises are that humans are the spiritual center of the universe and that in them alone is the clue of the nature, history and ultimately the cosmos itself. Without denying outright the existenced either of a deity or of brute matter, this perspective nevertheless rejects them as exclusive principles of interpretation and prefers to explain humans and the world in terms of humanity itself. This preference is expressed most clearly in the Transcendentalist principle that the structure of the universe literally duplicates the structure of the individual self: therefore, all knowledge begins with self-knowledge. This common perspective is almost always universalized. Its emphasis is not upon the individual as a particular European or American, but upon the hyuman as universal, freed from the accidents of time, space, birth and talent. Thus, for Emerson, the "American Scholar turns out to be simply "Main Tinking; while, for Whitman, the "Song of Myself merges imperceptibly into a song of all the "children of Adam:, where "every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Also common to all five writers is the belief that individual virtue and happiness depends upon the self-realization, which, in turn, depend upon the harmonious reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies: first, the self-asserting impulse of the individual to withdraw; to remain unique and separate, and to be responsible only to himself or herself, and second, the self-transcending impulse of the individual to embrace the whole world in the experience of a single moment and to know and become one with that world. These conflicting impulses can be seen in the democratic ethic. Democracy advocates individualism, he preservation of the individual's free-dom and self-expression. But the democratic self is torn between the duty to self, which is implied by the concept of liberty, and the duty to society, which is implied by the concept of equality and fraternity. A third assumption common to the five writers is that intuition and imagination offer a surer road to truth than does abstract logic or scientific method. It is illustrated by their emphasis upon the introspection-their belief that the clue to external nature is to be found in the inner world of individual psychology and by their interpretation of experience as, in essence, symbolic. Both these stresses presume an organic relationship between the self and the cosmos of which only intuition and imagination can properly take account. These writers' faith in the imagination and in themselves as practitioners of imagination led them conceive of the writer as a seer and enabled them to achieve supreme confidence in their own moral and metaphysical insights.

Question 10

The author's discussion of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, and Whitman is primarily concerned with explaining.

1. some of their beliefs about the difficulties involved in self-realization
2. some of their beliefs concerning the world and the place that humanity occupies in the universal order
3. some of their beliefs concerning the relationship between humanism and democracy
4. the way some of their beliefs are shaped by differences in temperament and literary outlook.
5. the effects of some of their beliefs on their writings

Correct Answer : B

Question 11

According to the passage, the humanistic perspective of the five writers presupposes which of the following? 
I)The structures of the universe can be discovered through self-knowledge.
II)The world can be explained in terms of humanity
III)The spiritual and the material worlds are incompatible

1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II only
4. II and III only
5. I, II and III

Correct Answer : C

Question 12

The authors quotes Whiteman primarily in order to

1. show that the poet not agree with Emerson
2. indicate the way the poet uses the humanists ideal to praise himself
3. suggest that the poet adapts the basis premises of humanism to his own individual outlook on the world
4. illustrate a way the poet expresses the relationship of the individual to the humanistic universe
5. demonstrate that the poet is concerned with the well being of all humans

Correct Answer : D

Question 13

According to the passage, the five writers objects to the scientific method primarily because they think it

1. is not the best way to obtain an understanding of the relationship between the individual and the cosmos
2. is so specialized that it leads to an understanding of separate parts of the universe but not of the relationships among those parts
3. cannot provide an adequate explanation of intuition and imagination
4. misleads people into believing they have an understanding of truth, when they do not
5. prevents people from recognizing the symbolic nature of experience.

Correct Answer : A

Question 14

It can be inferred that intuition is important to the five writers primarily because it provides them with

1. information useful for understanding abstract logic and scientific method
2. the discipline needed in the search for truth
3. inspiration for their best writing
4. clues to the interpretation of symbolic experience
5. the means of resolving conflicts between the self and the world

Correct Answer : D

Question 15

The author discuses "the democratic ethic in order to

1. explain the relationship between external experience and inner imagination
2. support the notion that the self contains two conflicting and reconcilable factions.
3. Illustrate the relationship between the self's desire to be individual and its desire to merge with all other selves
4. Elaborate on the concept that the self constantly desires to realize its potential
5. Give an example of the idea that, in order to be happy, the self must reconcile its desires with external reality

Correct Answer : C

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Reading Comprehension Practice Test 4

Passage For Question 1 to 9

The fossil remain of the first flying vertebrates, the pterosaurs, have intrigued paleontologists for more than two centuries. How such large creatures, which weighed in some cases as much as a piloted hangglider and had wingspans from 8 to 12 meters, solved the problems of powered flight, and exactly what these creatures were-reptiles or birds- are among the questions scientist have puzzled over. Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises, and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their wings suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In pterosaurs a greatly elongated fourth finger of each forelimb supported a wing like membrane. The other fingers were short and reptilian, with sharp claws, In birds the second finger is the principle strut of the wing, which consists primarily of features. If the pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger, and with it the wing, could only turn upward in an extended inverted V-shape along side of the animal's body. The pterosaurs resembled both birds and bats in their overall structure and proportions. This is not surprising because the design of any flying vertebrate is subject to aerodynamic constraints. Both the pterosaurs and the birds have hollow bones, a feature that represents a saving in weight. In the birds, however, these bones are reinforced more massively by internal struts. Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. T.H. Huxley reasoned that flying vertebrates must have been warm – blooded because flying implies a high internal temperature. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. The recent discovery of a pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense, and relatively thick hairlike fossil material was the first clear evidenced that his reasoning was correct. Efforts to explain how the pterosaurs became air-borne have led to suggestions that they launched themselves by jumping from cliffs, by dropping from trees, or even by rising into light winds from the crests of waves. Each hypothesis has its difficulties. The first wrongly assumes that the pterosaur's hind feet resembled a bat's and could served as hooks by which the animal could bang in preparation for flight. The second hypothesis seems unlikely because large pterosaurs could not have landed in trees without damaging their wings. The birds calls for high waves to channels updrafts. The wind that made such waves however, might have been too strong for the pterosaurs to control their flight once airborne.

Question 1

It can be inferred from the passage that scientists now generally agree that the

1. enormous wingspan of the pterosaurs enable them to fly great distances
2. structure of the skeleton of the pterosaurs suggests a close evolutionary relationship to bats
3. fossil remains of the pterosaurs reveal how they solved the problem of powered flight
4. pterosaurs were reptiles
5. pterosaurs walked on all fours.

Correct Answer : D

Question 2

The authors views the idea that the pterosaurs became airborne by rising into light winds created by waves as

1. revolutionary
2. unlikely
3. unassailable
4. probable
5. outdated

Correct Answer : B

Question 3

According to the passage, the skeleton of a pterosaur can be distinguished form that of a bird by the

1. size of its wingspan
2. presence of hollow spaces in its bones
3. anatomic origin of its wing strut
4. presence of hooklike projections on its hind feet
5. location of the shoulder joint joining the wind to its body

Correct Answer : C

Question 4

The ides attributed to T.H. Huxley in the passage suggest that he would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

1. An animal's brain size has little bearing on its ability to master complex behaviors.
2. An animal's appearance dramatically over a period of time.
3. Animals within a given family group are unlikely to change their appearance
4. The origin of flight in vertebrates was an accidental development rather than the outcome
5. The pterosaurs should be classifieds as birds, not reptiles.

Correct Answer : B

Question 5

It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is characteristic of the pterosaurs?

1. They were unable to fold their wings when not in use.
2. They hung upside down from branches as bats do before flight
3. They flew in order to capture prey
4. They were an early stage in the evolution of the birds
5. The lived primarily in a forest like habitat.

Correct Answer : A

Question 6

Which of the following best describes the organization of the last paragraph of the passage?

1. New evidence is introduced to support a traditional point of view
2. Three explanations for a phenomenon are presented, and each is disputed by means of specific information.
3. Three hypotheses are outlined, and evidenced supporting each is given.
4. Recent discoveries are described, and their implications for future study are projected
5. A summary of the materials in the preceding paragraphs is presented, and conclusions are drawn.

Correct Answer : B

Question 7

It can be inferred from the passage that some scientists believe that pterosaurs.

1. lived near large bodies of water
2. had sharp teeth for tearing food
3. were attacked and eaten by larger reptiles
4. had longer tails than many birds
5. consumed twice their weight daily to maintain their body temperature

Correct Answer : A

Question 8

Which of the following is the principle topic of the passage?

1. What causes labor market pathologies that result in suffering
2. Why income measures are imprecise in measuring degrees of poverty
3. Which of the currently used statistical procedures are the best for estimating the incidence of hardship that is due to unemployment
4. Where the areas of agreement are among poverty, employment, and earnings figures
5. How social statistics give an unclear picture of the degree of hardship caused by low wages and insufficient employment opportunities

Correct Answer : E

Question 9

The author uses “labor market problems' in lines 1-2 to refer to which of the following ?

1. The over all causes of poverty
2. Deficiencies in the training of the work force
3. Trade relationships among producers of goods
4. Shortages of jobs providing adequate income
5. Strikes and inadequate supplies of labor

Correct Answer : D

Passage for Question 10 to 15

How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems ? This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of har-ship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930's when most of the unemployed were primary bread-winners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hard-ship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the overwhelming majority are from multiple-earner, relatively affluent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies. Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labour-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing job-lessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer s a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the month unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find full-time work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected. As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of labor market problems number in the hundreds of thousands or the tens of millions, and hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate-that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.

Question 10

The author contrasts the 1930's with the present in order to show that

1. more people were unemployed in the 1930's
2. unemployment now has less severe effects
3. social programs are more needed now
4. there now is a greater proportion of elderly and handicapped people among those in poverty
5. poverty has increased since the 1930's

Correct Answer : B

Question 11

Which of the following proposals best responds to the issues raised by the author ?

1. Innovative programs using multiple approaches should be set up to reduce the level of unemployment.
2. A compromise should be found between the positions of those who view joblessness as an evil greater than economic control and those who hold the opposite view.
3. New statistical indices should be developed to measure the degree to which unemployment and inadequately paid employment cause suffering.
4. Consideration showed be given to the ways in which statistics can act as partial causes of the phenomena that they purport to measure.
5. The labor force should be restructured so that it corresponds to the range of job vacancies.

Correct Answer : C

Question 12

The author's purpose in citing those who are repeatedly unemployed during a twelve-month period is most probably to show that

1. there are several factors that cause the payment of low wags to some members of the labor force
2. unemployment statistics can underestimate the hardship resulting from joblessness
3. recurrent inadequacies in the labor market can exist and can cause hardships for individual workers.
4. A majority of those who are jobless at any one time do not suffer severe hardship
5. There are fewer individuals who are without jobs at some time during a year than would be expected on the basis of monthly unemployment figures

Correct Answer : B

Question 13

The author states that the mitigating effect of social programs involving income transfers on the income level of low-income people is often not felt by

1. the employed poor
2. dependent children in single – earner families
3. workers who become disabled
4. workers who become disabled
5. full-time workers who become unemployed

Correct Answer : A

Question 14

According to the passage, one factor that causes unemployment and earnings figures to overpredict the amount of economic hardship is the

1. recurrence of periods of unemployment for a group of low-wage workers
2. possibility that earnings may be received from more than one job per workers.
3. Fact that unemployment counts do not include those who work for low wages and remain poor
4. Establishment of system of record-keeping that makes it possible to compile poverty statistics
5. Prevalence, among low-wage workers and the unemployed, of members of families in which other are employed

Correct Answer : E

Question 15

The conclusion stated about the number of people who suffer as a result of forced idleness depends primarily on the point that

1. in times of high unemployment, there are some people who do not remain unemployed for long
2. the capacity for self-support depends on receiving moderate-to-high wages
3. those in forced idleness include, besides the unemployed, both underemployed part-time workers and those not actively seeking work
4. at different times during the year, different people are unemployed
5. many of those who are affected by unemployment ae dependents of unemployed workers.

Correct Answer : D

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Reading Comprehension Practice Test 3

Passage For Question 1 to 9

Those examples of poetic justice that occur in medieval and Elizabethan literature, and that seem so satisfying, have encouraged a whole school of twentieth-century scholars to "find" further examples. In fact, these scholars have merely forced victimized character into a moral framework by which the injustices inflicted on them are, somehow or other, justified. Such scholars deny that the sufferers in a tragedy are innocent; they blame the victims themselves for their tragic fates. Any misdoing is enough to subject a character to critical whips. Thus, there are long essays about the misdemeanors of Webster’s Duchess of Malfi, who defined her brothers, and he behavior of Shakespeare’s Desdemona, who disobeyed her father.\n\nYet it should be remembered that the Renaissance writer Matteo Bandello strongly protests the injustice of the severe penalties issued to women for acts of disobedience that men could, and did, commit with virtual impunity. And Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Webster often enlist their readers on the side of their tragic heroines by describing injustices so cruel that readers cannot but join in protest. By portraying Griselda, in the Clerk’s Tale, as a meek, gentle victim who does not criticize, much less rebel against the prosecutor, her husband Waltter, Chaucer incites readers to espouse Griselda’s cause against Walter’s oppression. Thus, efforts to supply historical and theological rationalization for Walter’s persecutions tend to turn Chaucer’s fable upside down, to deny its most obvious effect on reader’s sympathies. Similarly, to assert that Webster’s Duchess deserved torture and death because she chose to marry the man she loved and to bear their children is, in effect to join forces with her tyrannical brothers, and so to confound the operation of poetic justice, of which readers should approve, with precisely those examples of social injustice that Webster does everything in his power to make readers condemn. Indeed. Webster has his heroin so heroically lead the resistance to tyranny that she may well in spire members of the audience to imaginatively join forces with her against the cruelty and hypocritical morality of her brothers. Thus Chaucer and Webster, in their different ways, attack injustice, argue on behalf of the victims, and prosecute the persecutors. Their readers serve them as a court of appeal that remains free to rule, as the evidence requires, and as common humanity requires, in favour of the innocent and injured parties. For, to paraphrase the noted eighteenth-century scholar, Samuel Johnson, despite all the refinements of subtlety and the dogmatism of learning, it is by the common sense and compassion of readers who are uncorrupted by the characters and situations in mereval and Dlizabetahn literature, as in any other literature, can best be judged.

Question 1

According to the passage, some twentieth-century scholars have written at length about

1. Walter's persecution of his wife in Chaucer's the Clerk's Tale
2. the Duchess of Malfi's love for her husband
3. the tyrannical behaviour of the Duchess of Malfi's brothers
4. the actions taken by Shakespeare's Desdemona
5. the injustices suffered by Chaucer's Griselda

Correct Answer : D

Question 2

The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. describe the role of the tragic heroine in medieval and Elizabethan literature
2. resolve a controversy over the meaning of "poetic justice" as it is discussed in certain medieval and Elizabethan literary treatises
3. present evidence to support the view that characters in medieval and Elizabethan tragedies are to blame for their fates
4. assert that it is impossible for twentieth-century readers to fully comprehend the characters and situations in medieval and Elizabethan literary works
5. argue that some twentieth-century scholars have misapplied the concept of "poetic justice" in analyzing certain medieval and Elizabethan literary works.

Correct Answer : E

Question 3

It can be inferred from the passage that the author consider Chaucer's Grisselda to be

1. an innocent victim
2. a sympathetic judge
3. an imprudent person
4. a strong individual
5. a rebellious daughters

Correct Answer : A

Question 4

The author's tone in her discussion of the conclusion's reached by the "school of twentieth-century scholars" (line 4) is best described as

1. plaintive
2. philosophical
3. disparaging
4. apologetic
5. enthusiastic

Correct Answer : C

Question 5

It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes that most people respond to intended instances of poetic justice in medieval and Elizabethan literature with

1. annoyance
2. disapproval
3. indifference
4. amusement
5. gratification

Correct Answer : E

Question 6

As described in the passage, the process by which some twentieth-century scholars have reached their conclusions about the blameworthiness of victims in medieval and Elizabethan literary works is mot similar to which of the following?

1. Derivation of logically sound conclusions from well-founded premises
2. Accurate observation of data, inaccurate calculation of statistics, and drawing of incorrect conclusions form the faulty statistics
3. Establishment of a theory, application of the theory to ill-fittings data, and drawing of unwarranted conclusions from the data
4. Development of two schools of thought about a factual situation, debate between the two schools, and rendering of a balanced judgment by an objective observer
5. Consideration of a factual situation by a group, discussion of various possible explanatory hypotheses and agreement by consensus on the most plausible explanation

Correct Answer : C

Question 7

The author's paraphrase of a statement by Samuel Johnson serves which of the following functions in the passage?

1. it furnishes a specific example
2. it articulates a general conclusion
3. it introduces a new topic
4. it provides a contrasting perspective
5. it clarifies an ambiguous assertion

Correct Answer : B

Question 8

The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

1. reconciling opposing viewpoints
2. encouraging innovative approaches
3. defending an accepted explanation
4. advocating an alternative interpretation
5. analyzing an unresolved question

Correct Answer : D

Question 9

The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. criticize the inflexibility of American economic mythology
2. contrast "Old World" and "New World" economic ideologies
3. challenge the integrity of traditional political leaders
4. champion those Americans whom the author deems to be neglected
5. suggests a substitue for the traditional metaphor of a race

Correct Answer : A

Passage For Question 10 to 15

Woodraw Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the economic market when he said that the free enterprise system is the most efficient economic system. Maximum freedom means maximum productiveness; our "openness" is to be the measure of our stability. Fascination with this ideal has made Americans defy the "Old World" categories of settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation., the cupidity of retention versus the cupidity of seizure, a "status quo" defended of attacked. The United States, it was believed, had no status quo ante. Our only "station" was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and faster. We did not base our system on property but opportunity-which meant we based it not on stability but on mobility. The more things changed, that is, the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be. The conventional picture of class politics is composed of the Haves, who want a stability to keep what they have, and Have-Nots, who want a touch of instability and change in which to scramble for the things they have not. But Americans imagined a condition in which speculators, self-makers, runners are always using the new opportunities given by our land. These economic leaders (front-runners) would thus be mainly agents of Change. The nonstarters were considered the ones who wanted stability, a strong referee to give them some position in the race, a regulative hand to calm manic speculation; an authority that can call things to a half begin things again from compensatorily staggered "starting lines".:Reform" in America has been sterile because it can imagine no change except through the extension of this metaphor of the race, wider inclusion of competitors, "a piece of the action." As it were, of the disenfranchised. There is no attempt to call off the race. Since our only stability is change. America seems not to honor the quite work that achieves social interdependence and stability. There is, in our legends, no heroism of the office clerk, no stable industrial work force of the people who actually make the system work. There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for a return to the time when everyone was an employer). There has been no boasting about our social workers-they are need; empty boasts from the past make us ashamed of our present achievements, make us try to forget or deny the, move away from them. There is no honor but in the wonderland race we must all run, all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end).

Question 10

According to the passge, "Old World" values were based on

1. ability
2. property
3. family connections
4. guild hierarchies
5. education

Correct Answer : B

Question 11

In the context of the author's discussion of regulat ing change, which of the following could be most probably regvarded as a "strong referee" (lin e 30) in the United States?

1. A school principle
2. A political theorist
3. A federal court judge
4. A social worker
5. A government inspector

Correct Answer : C

Question 12

The author sets off the word "Reform" with quotation marks in order to

1. emphasize its departure from the concept of settled possessiveness
2. show his support for a systematic program of change
3. underscore the flexibility and even amorphousness of United States society
4. indicate that the term was one of Wilson's favorites
5. assert that reform in the United States has not been fundamental

Correct Answer : E

Question 13

It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised" ‘ a piece of action'" is

1. a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure
2. an example of American's resistance to profound social change
3. an innovative program for genuine social reform
4. a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers
5. a surprisingly " Old World" remedy for social ills

Correct Answer : B

Question 14

Which of the following metaphors could the authors most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system ?

1. A windmill
2. A water fall
3. A treadmill
4. A gyroscope
5. A bellows

Correct Answer : C

Question 15

It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson's idea's about the economic market

1. encouraged those who "make the system work"
2. perpetuated traditional legends about America
3. revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy
4. foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929
5. began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics

Correct Answer : B

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