Section III: vocabluary and reading comprehension

Part A

DIRECTIONS

In questions 1-30 each sentence has an underlined word or pin use KeJow each sentence are four other words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (('), and (D). You are to choose the one word or phrase that best keeps the meaning of the original sentence if it is substituted for the underlined word or phrase Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and nil in the space that corresponds to the letter you have chosen. Fill in the space so that the letter inside the oval cannot be seen.

1. Larry was so absorbed in his novel that he forgot about his dinner cooking in the oven.

(A) Engrossed

(B) obliged

(C) enlivened

(D) excelled

2. Having come from an affluent society, Dick found it difficult to adjust to a small country town.

(A) affable

(B) wealthy

(C) overpopulated

(D) large

3. The question was discarded because it was ambiguous.

(A) incorrect

(B) biased

C) vague

(D) dull

4. Most students abhor lengthy exams at the end of the year.

(A) detest

(B) regret

(C) nullify

(D) negate

5. The news of the president's death astonished the world

(A) alerted

(B) admonished

(C) atoned

(D) astounded

6. King Midas's greed led him to spend a life of grief.

(A) cruelty

(B) wealth

(C) warning

(D) avarice

7. A multitude of people attended the fund-raising presentation in the mall.

(A) small number

(B) select group

(C) huge crowd

(D) large herd

8. The new building was to be octagonal in shape.

(A) five sided

(B) six sided

(C) seven sided

(D) eight sided

9. Mark cannot talk well because he has a speech impediment.

(A) skeptic

(B) defect

(C) imposition

(D) aspect

10. Our final assignment for the English class is to give an impromptu speech.

(A) eloquent

(B) unprepared

(C) technical

(D) unbiased

11. The rigor exhibited by the general was totally unwarranted.

(A) calisthenics

(B) severity

(C) march

(D) cleanliness

12. The people interviewed for the survey were randomly selected.

(A) carefully

(B) carelessly

(C) indiscriminately

(D) thoughtfully

13. Lyndon Johnson succeeded John Kennedy as president of the United States.

(A) overruled

(B) preceded

(C) followed

(D) assisted

14. The foreign countries' attempt at a blockade of the port was unsuccessful.

(A) expedition

(B) opening

(C) landing

(D) closure

15. When he was director of the company, his first accomplishment was to bring about better working conditions.

(A) accumulation

(B) achievement

(C) defeat

(D) job

16. During the American colonial period, the capable leaders instilled a spirit of nationalism in the colonists.

(A) insatiated

(B) extirpated

(C) implanted

(D) extracted

17. Because the details of the project were rather hazy, we decided to reject the proposal.

(A) dubious

(B) unobtainable

(C) lucrative

(D) vague

18. Many weak and incompetent rulers were overthrown by more powerful forces.

(A) incapable

(B) impulsive

(C) clever

(D) greedy

19. The passengers on the boat were mesmerized by the motion of the sea.

(A) paralyzed

(B) hypnotized

(C) nauseated

(D) reverberated

20. Allowing fields to lie fallow is one means of restoring fertility.

(A) unplanted

(B) plowed

(C) watered

(D) seeded

21. The guests at the luau enjoyed it very much but refused to eat the raw fish.

(A) marinated

(B) fresh

(C) rotten

(D) uncooked

22. American legend says that Johnny Appleseed planted apple orchards throughout Ohio.

(A) almanac

(B) myth

(C) history

(D) record

23. After a long, hard struggle, we gradually succeeded in having people accept the truth of our theory.

(A) slowly

(B) momentarily

(C) suddenly

(D) graciously

24. Exchanges of language and culture were a direct result of commerce.

(A) embargo

(B) trade

(C) stagnation

(D) schooling

25. That artist did not achieve acclaim because he was an imitator, not a creator.

(A) a distorter

(B) a copier

(C) an originator

(D) a burglar

26. The powerful ruler suppressed a rebellion and punished the instigators.

(A) initiated

(B) supported

(C) quashed

(D) reinstated

27. During the war, many foreign lands were confiscated by the govern­ment.

(A) owned

(B) sequestrated

(C) bartered

(D) sold

28. That vast region was irrigated by the large river and its many tributaries.

(A) arid

(B) miniscule

(C) enormous

(D) damp

29. The television station was inundated with calls protesting the distasteful program.

(A) harassed

(B) modulated

(C) probated

(D) flooded

30. The dog saw his reflection in the pool of water.

(A) image

(B) bone

(C) imagination

(D) leash

PART B

DIRECTIONS

In the rest of this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. For questions 31-60, 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.

Questions 31 through 37 are based on the following reading.

Napoleon Bonaparte's ambition to control all the area around the Mediterranean Sea led him and his French soldiers to Egypt. After losing a naval battle, they were forced to remain there for three years.!n 1799, while constructing a fort, a soldier discovered a piece of stele (stone pillar bearing an inscription) known as the Rosetta stone. This famous stone, which would eventually lead to the deciphering of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics dating to 3100 B.C., was written in three languages: hieroglyphics (picture writing), demotic (a shorthand version of hieroglyphics), and Greek. Scientists discovered that the characters, unlike those in English, could be written from right to left and in other directions as well.

Twenty-three years after discovery of the Rosetta stone, Jean Francois Chamроllіоп, a French philologist, fluent in several languages, was able to decipher the first word—-Ptolemy—name of an Egyptian ruler. This name was written inside an oval called a "cartouche." Further investigation revealed that cartouches contained names of important people of that period. Champoliion painstakingly continued his search and was able to increase his growing list of known phonetic signs. He and an Englishman, Thomas Young, worked independently of each other to unravel the deeply hidden mysteries of this strange language. Young believed that sound value» could be assigned to the symbols, while Champoliion insisted that the pictures represented words.

31. How many years elapsed between the date of the oldest hieroglyphics deciphered by means of the Rosetta stone and the stone's discovery?

(A) 1,301

(B) 1,799

(C) 3,100

(D) 4,899

32. Which of the following languages was not written on the Resetta stone?

(а) French

(B) demotic

(C) Greek

(D) hieroglyphics

33. Which of the following statements is not true?

(A) Cartouches contained names of prominent people of the period.

(В) Champoliion and Young worked together in an attempt to decipher the hieroglyphics.

(C) One of Napoleon's soldiers discovered the Rosetta stone.

(D) Thomas Young believed that sound values could be assigned to the symbols.

34. When was the first word from the Rosetta stone deciphered?

(A) 3100 B.C

(B) 1766

(C) 1799

(D) 1822

35. What was the first word that was deciphered from the Rosetta stone?

(A) cartouche

(В) Ptolemy

(C) demotic

(D) Champoliion

36. Why were Napoleon's soldiers in Egypt in 1799?

(A) They were celebrating a naval victory.

(B) They were looking for the Rosetta stone.

(C) They were waiting to continue their campaign.

(D) They were trying to decipher the hieroglyphics.

37. Who was responsible for deciphering the first word?

(A) Champoliion

(B) Young

(C) Piolemy

(D) Napoleon

Questions 38 through 43 are based on the following passage.

Scquoyah was a young Cherokee Indian, son of a white trader and an Indian squaw. At an early age, he became fascinated by "the talking leaf," an expression that he used to describe the white man's written records. Although many believed this "talking leaf" to be a gift from the Great Spirit, Sequoyah refused to accept that theory. Like other Indians of the period, he was illiterate, but his determination to remedy the situation led to the invention of a unique S6-character alphabet

based on the sound patterns that he heard.

His family and friends thought him mad, but while recuperating from a hunting accident, he diligently and independently set out to create a form of communication for his own people as well as for other Indians. In 1821, after twelve years of work, he had successfully developed a written language that would enable thousands of Indians to read and write.

Sequoyah's desire to preserve words and events for later generations has caused him to be remembered among the important inventors. The giant redwood trees of California, called "sequoias" in his honor, will further imprint his name in history.

38. What is the most important reason that Sequoyah will be remembered?

(A) California redwoods were named in his honor.

(B) He was illiterate.

(C) He created a unique alphabet.

(D) He recovered from his madness and helped mankind.

39. How did Sequoyah's family react to his idea of developing his own "talking leaf"?

(A) They arranged for his hunting accident.

(B) They thought he was crazy.

(C) They decided to help him.

(D) They asked him to teach them to read and write.

40. What prompted Sequoyah to develop his alphabet?

(A) People were writing things about him that he couldn't read.

(В) Не wanted to become famous.

(C) After his hunting accident, he needed something to keep him busy.

(D) He wanted the history of his people preserved for future genera­tions.

41. The word illiterate means most nearly

(A) fierce

(B) poor

(C) abandoned

(D) unable to read or write

42. How would you describe Sequoyah?

(A) determined

(B) mad

(C) backwards

(D) meek

43. Which of the following is not true'

(A) Sequoyah developed a form of writing with the help of the Cherokee tribe.

(B) Sequoyah was a very observant young man.

(C) Sequoyah spent twelve years developing his alphabet.

(D) Sequoyah was honored by having some trees named after him.

Questions 44 through 46 are based on the following reading.

The mighty, warlike Aztec nation felt that its existence depended upon human sacrifices. The sun would not shine, the crops would not grow, and wars would not be won if the gods were not appeased. As brutal as the ceremonies were, the victims (usually taken from among captives from battles) accepted their fate passively, having been previously indoctrinated and heavily sedated.

44. Why did the Aztecs offer human sacrifices?

(A) They were cruel and inhuman.

(B) They believed they had to pacify the gods

(C) They wanted to force the citizens to obey

(D) They wanted to deter crime.

45. Before the sacrifices, the victims were

(A) tortured and harassed

(B) fed and entertained

(C) brainwashed and drugged

(D) interrogated and drugged

46. In what manner did the victims accept their destiny?

(A) submissively

(B) rebelliously

(C) violently

(D) notoriously

Questions 47 through 51 are based on the following passage.

Petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosine, home heating oil, residual fuel oil, and lubricating oils, come from one source—crude oil found below the earth's surface, as well as under large bodies of water, from a few hundred feet below the surface to as deep as 25,000 feet into (he earth's interior. Sometimes crude oil is secured by drilling a hole through the earth, but more dry holes are drilled than those producing oil. Pressure at the source or pumping forces crude oil to the surface.

Crude oil wells flow at varying rates, from ten to thousands of barrels per hour. Petroleum products are always measured in 42-gallon barrels.

Petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearance: thin, thick, transparent or opaque, but regardless, their сhemical composition is made up of only two elements: carbon and hydrogen, which form compounds called hydrocarbons. Other chemical elements found in union with the hydrocarbons are few and are classified as impurities. Trace elements are also found, but these are of such minute quantities that they are disregarded. The combination of carbon and hydrogen forms many thousands of compounds which are possible because of the various positions and joinings of these two atoms in the molecule.

The various petroleum products are refined from the crude oil by heating and condensing the vapors. These products are the so-called light oils, such as gasoline, kerosine, and distillate oil. The residue remaining after the light oils are distilled is known as heavy or residual fuel oil and is used mostly for burning under boilers. Additional complicated refining processes rearrange the chemical structure of the hydrocarbons to produce other products, some of which are used to upgrade and increase the octane rating of various types of gasolines.

47. Which of the following is not true?

(A) Crude oil is found below land and water.

(B) Crude oil is always found a few hundred feet below the surface.

(C) Pumping and pressure force crude oil to the surface.

(D) A variety of petroleum products is obtained from crude oil,

48. Many thousands of hydrocarbon compounds are possible because

(A) the petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearance

(B) complicated refining processes rearrange the chemical structure

(C) the two atoms in the molecule assume many positions

(D) the pressure needed to force it to the surface causes molecular transformation

49. Which of the following is true?

(A) The various petroleum products are produced by filtration.

(B) Heating and condensation produce the various products.

(C) Chemical separation is used to produce the various products.

(D) Mechanical means such as the centrifuge are used to produce the various products.

50. How is crude oil brought to the surface?

(A) expansion of the hydrocarbons

(B) pressure and pumping

(C) vacuum created in the drilling pipe

(D) expansion and contraction of the earth's surface

51. Which of the following is not listed as a light oil?

(A) distillate oil

(B) gasoline

(C) lubricating oil

(D) kerosine

Questions 52 through 57 are based он the following passage.

An election year is one in which all four numbers are evenly divisible by four (1944, 1948, etc.) Since 1840, American presidents elected in years ending in zero have been destined to die in office. William H.

Harrison, the man who served the shortest term, died of pneumonia several weeks after his inauguration.

Abraham Lincoln was one of four presidents who were assassinated. He was elected in 1860, and his untimely death came just five years later.

James Л. Garfield, a former Union army general from Ohio, was shot during his first year in office (1881) by a man to whom he wouldn't give a job.

While in his second term of office (1901), William McKinley, another Ohioan, attended the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York. During the reception, he was assassinated while shaking hands with some of the guests

Three years after his election in 1920, Warren G. Harding died in office. Although it was never proved, many believe he was poisoned.

Franklin D Roosevelt had been elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944), the only man to serve so long a term. He had contracted polio in 1921 and died of the illness in 1945.

John F. Kennedy, the last of the line, was assassinated in 1963, only three years after his election.

Will 1980's candidate suffer the same fate?

52. Which of the following was not an election year?

(A) 1960

(B) 1930

(C) 1888

(D) 1824

53. Which president served the shortest term in office?

(A) Abraham Lincoln

(C) William McKinley

(B) Warren G. Harding

(D) William H. Harrison

54. Which of the following is true?

(A) All presidents elected in years ending in zero have died in office.

(B) Only presidents from Ohio have died in office.

(C) Franklin D. Roosevelt completed four terms as president.

(D) Four American presidents have been assassinated.

55. How many presidents elected in years ending in zero since 1840 have died in office?

(A) 7

(B) 5

(C) 4

(D) 3

56. In this reading, what does inauguration mean?

(A) election

(B) acceptance speech

(C) swearing-in ceremonies

(D) campaign

57. Which of the following was not assassinated?

(A) John F. Kennedy

(B) Franklin D. Roosevelt

(C) Abraham Lincoln

(D) James A. Garfield

Directions for questions 58 through 60

For each of these questions, choose the answer that is closest in meaning to the original sentence. Note that several of the choices may be factually correct, but you should choose the one that is the closest restatement of the given statement.

58. Unintentionally, some cities are squeezing out the middle class by forcing them to support the poor,

(A) Unintentionally the poor are supporting a movement to squeeze the middle class out of some cities.

(B) The middle class in some cities is unfortunately squeezing out the support of (.he poor.

(C) In some cities, the middle class is forcing the poor to support them.

(D) By being forced to support the poor, the middle class is unintention­ally being squeezed out of some cities.

59. The current was black and mindless, with a beauty that almost masked its danger.

(A) Although it appeared dangerous, the current had a beauty that was only black and mindless.

(B) The current was black and mindless but not as dangerous as it seemed.

(C) Although the current was black and mindless, its beauty nearly disguised the danger.

(D) Despite its danger, the blackness and mindlessness of the current made it more beautiful.

60 Despite the breathtaking natural beauty of the crystalline Great Lakes during the winter, man is reluctant to venture into this snowy wonder­land.

(A) Even though the crystalline Great Lakes are breathtaking in the winter, man is afraid to explore this snowy wonderland.

(B) Man is reluctant to venture into the snowy wonderland in the winter because of the breathtaking natural beauty of the crystalline Great Lakes.

(C) Man is reluctant to venture into the crystalline Great Lakes during the winter because it makes breathing difficult.

(D) Although reluctant to venture into the crystalline Great Lakes, man does so to appreciate their breathtaking natural beauty.

PRACTICE TEST 3

SECTION II: