VSTEP 03 A. discussed B. prepared C. registered D.

obtained
PASSAGE 1.
A number of factors related to the voice reveal the personality of the speaker.
The first is the broad area of communication, which includes imparting information by
use of language, communicating with a group or an individual and specialized communication
through performance. A person conveys thoughts and ideas through choice of words, by a tone
of voice that is pleasant or unpleasant, gentle or harsh, by the rhythm that is inherent within the
language itself, and by speech rhythms that are flowing and regular or uneven and hesitant, and
finally, by the pitch and melody of the utterance. When speaking before a group, a person's tone
may indicate uncertainty or fright, confidence or calm. At interpersonal levels, the tone may
reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen, or may believe them. Here the
participant’s tone can consciously or unconsciously reflect intuitive sympathy or antipathy, lack
of concern or interest, fatigue, anxiety, enthusiasm or excitement, all of which are .usually
discernible by the acute listener. Public performance is a manner of communication that is highly
specialized with its own techniques for obtaining effects by voice and /or gesture. The motivation
derived from the text, and in the case of singing, the music, in combination with the performer's
skills, personality, and ability to create empathy will determine the success of artistic, political,
or pedagogic communication.
Second, the voice gives psychological clues to a person's self-image, perception of
others, and emotional health. Self-image can be indicated by a tone of voice that is confident,
pretentious, shy, aggressive, outgoing, or exuberant, to name only a few personality traits. Also
the sound may give a clue to the facade or mask of that person, for example, a shy person hiding
behind an overconfident front. How a speaker perceives the listener's receptiveness, interest, or
sympathy in any given conversation can drastically alter the tone of presentation, by
encouraging or discouraging the speaker. Emotional health is evidenced in the voice by free and
melodic sounds of the happy, by constricted and harsh sound of the angry, and by dull and
lethargic qualities of the depressed.
Question 1: What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The function of the voice in performance
B. Communication styles
C. The connection between voice and personality
D. The production of speech
Question 2: What does the author mean by staring that, "At interpersonal levels, tone may
reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen" in lines 6?
A. Feelings are expressed with different words than ideas are.
B. The tone of voice can carry information beyond the meaning of words.
C. A high tone of voice reflects an emotional communication.
D. Feelings are more difficult to express than ideas.
Question 3: The word "Here" in line 6 refers to _____________.
A. interpersonal interactions B. the tone
C. ideas and feelings D. words chosen
Question 4: The word "derived" in line 13 is closest in meaning to ____________.
Question 5: Why does the author mention "artistic, political, or pedagogic communication" ?
A. As examples of public performance B. As examples of basic styles of communication
C. To contrast them to singing D. To introduce the idea of self-image
Question 6: According to the passage, an exuberant tone of voice may be an indication of a
person's _______.
A. general physical health B. personality
C. ability to communicate D. vocal quality
Question 7: According to the passage, an overconfident front may hide _______.
A. hostility B. shyness C. friendliness D. strength
Question 8: The word "drastically" in line 14 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. frequently B. exactly C. severely D. easily
Question 9: The word "evidenced" in line 15 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. questioned B. repeated C. indicated D. exaggerated
Question 10: According to the passage, what does a constricted and harsh voice indicate?
A. Lethargy B. Depression C. Boredom D. Anger
PASSAGE 2
Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s
impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five in 1966.
In September 1966 Canada’s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this surging growth
came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930s and the war had held back marriages,
and the catching-up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of
the 1950s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951
to 1956. This rate of increase had been exceeded only once before in Canada’s history, in the
decade before 1911, when the prairies were being settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic
conditions of the 1950s supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived
from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the
Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per thousand, one of the highest in the world.
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling until in
1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births
during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young
people were staying at school longer, more women were working; young married couples were
buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down
the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend toward
smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the Industrial
Revolution.
Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the first
half of the 1960s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the
horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the high birth
rate prior to 1957.
Question 1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Educational changes in Canadian society B. Canada during the Second World War
C. Population trends in postwar Canada D. Standards of living in Canada in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In
Question 2. The word “five” in bold refers to contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in
A. Canadians B. years C. decades D. marriages that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for
Question 3. The word “surging” in bold is closest in meaning to cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of
A. new B. extra C. accelerating D. surprising agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian
Question 4. The author suggests that in Canada during the 1950’s Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.
A. the urban population decreased rapidly B. fewer people married
55. The main point of the passage is that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a time
C. economic conditions were poor D. the birth rate was very high
when
Question 5. The word “trend” in bold is closest in meaning to
A. tendency B. aim C. growth D. directive A. the European textile industry increased its demand for American export products
Question 6. The word “peak” in bold is closest in meaning to B. mechanization of spinning and weaving dramatically changed the textile industry
A. pointed B. dismal C. mountain D. maximum C. cotton became a profitable crop but was still time-consuming to process
Question 7. The author mention all of the following as causes of declines in population growth D. cotton became the most important American export product
after 1957 EXCEPT 56. The word "favored" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
A. people being better educated B. people getting married earlier A. preferred B. recommended C. imported D. included
C. better standards of living D. couples buying houses 57. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as reasons for the increased demand for
Question 8. It can be inferred from the passage that before the Industrial Revolution cotton EXCEPT
A. families were larger B. population statistics were unreliable A. cotton's softness B. cotton's ease of processing
C. the population grew steadily D. economic conditions were bad C. a shortage of flax and wool D. the growth that occurred in the textile
Question 9. The word “it” in bold refers to industry.
A. horizon B. population wave C. nine percent D. first half 58. The word "laborious" in line 6 is closest in meaning to
Question 10. The phrase “prior to” in bold is closest in meaning to A. unfamiliar B. primitive C. skilled D. difficult
A. behind B. since C. during D. preceding 59. According to the passage, one advantage of sea island cotton was its
A. abundance of seeds B. long fibers
PASSAGE 3
C. long growing season D. adaptability to different climates
By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth 60. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about cotton production in the
centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was United States after the
easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning and weaving allowed significant introduction of Whitney's cotton gin?
centralization and expansion in the textile industry during this period, and at the same time the A. More cotton came from sea island cotton plants than before.
demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand B. More cotton came from short-staple cotton plants than before.
largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown C. Most cotton produced was sold domestically.
throughout the South, but separating the fiber – or lint – from the seed was a laborious process. D. Most cotton produced was exported to England.
Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds 61. The word "surge" in line 14 is closest in meaning to
were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available A. sharp increase B. sudden stop C. important change D. excess amount
only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing 62. The author mentions "wheat and wheat flour" in line 17 in order to
season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could A. show that Americans exported more agricultural products than they imported.
hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with B. show the increase in the amount of wheat products exported.
revolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. Using the gin, a worker C. demonstrate the importance of cotton among American export products.
could produce up to 50 pounds of lint a day. The later development of larger gins, powered by D. demonstrate that wheat farming was becoming more profitable.
horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further. 63. The word "unprecedented" in line 18 is closest in meaning to
A. slow B. profitable C. not seen before D. never explained
The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the 64. According to the passage, the Mississippi River was
cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing A. one of the boundaries of a region where new agricultural settlement took place
all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a B. a major source of water for agricultural crops
36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share C. the primary route by which agricultural crops were transported
D. a main source of power for most agricultural machinery