Questions 1-2 refer to the following passage.

United States citizens have always had a problem relating to the colonial period
of their history. They have often thought that earlier period to be less relevant,
less historically significant, than the later national period of their history. For
many, the colonial era lacks seriousness; it seems trivial and antique and
shrouded in nostalgia. For much of United States history, popular opinion has
considered the century and a half of the colonial period to be simply a quaint
prolog to the main story that followed the American Revolution.

In part this is because the colonial period has become a natural source of
folklore and mythmaking. Since the United States, unlike older Western
nations, lacks a misty past in which the historical record is remote and obscure,
people have tended to transform authentic historical figures and events of the
colonial past into mythical characters and legends. Unlike England we have no
King Canute, no King Arthur, no Robin Hood to spin tales and legends about.
Instead, we have transformed John Smith and Pocahontas, the Pilgrim Fathers,
and Squanto (historical figures about whom we know a great deal) into fanciful
and fabulous characters.

But such has not always been the case. In the decades following the Revolution,
the colonial period was an integral and important part of history.

Topik: Reading Comprehension

Subtopik: Purpose of the passage

1. The primary purpose of this passage is to ….

A. argue that colonial history had no influence on later periods in United

States history.
B. demonstrate that the colonial history of the United States is a mixture of
legends and myths.
C. present a rationale for teaching future generations of people in the
United States about colonial history.
D. explain why many people in the United States perceive colonial history
in a particular way.
E. suggest that a general ignorance of colonial history has caused people to
repeat the mistakes of that era.
2. The author implies that which of the following is the most direct result of
transforming colonial history into sentimental stories?

A. It gives a much-needed nostalgic tone to an era otherwise lacking in

emotion.
B. It makes knowledge of colonial history more accessible to people of all
ages.
C. It fills in gaps where no actual historical data are available.
D. It denigrates the work of those who study colonial history.
E. It detracts from the historical significance of the colonial era.

Question 3 refers to the following passage.

One might think that hikers, seeking beauty and solitude in the wilderness,
prefer to camp at previously untouched sites. However, researchers have
discovered that small amounts of impact are often considered more acceptable
than no impact at all. In one study, small fire rings were rated more acceptable
than no fire rings. This may be because hikers, respecting that beauty, try to do
as little damage as possible, and so would rather reuse an existing site than
establish a new one. Or, perhaps tired hikers appreciate that existing “impacts”
make it easier and quicker to set up cooking and sleeping areas.

Topik: Reading Comprehension

Subtopik: Purpose of component

3. The author discusses fire rings primarily to …

A. explain why hikers prefer slightly used, rather than untouched, sites for
camping
B. show that hikers are concerned about inadvertently starting forest fires
C. present one criterion by which hikers judge the quality of a campsite
D. point out that previously used campsites often have more than one fire
ring
E. indicate that small fire rings are more often found at campsites than are
large fire rings

Question 4 refers to the following passage.

American archeologist Harriet Boyd Hawes excavated the ancient Greek town
of Gournia at around the same time the palatial site of Phaistos was excavated,
in the early 1900s. She is credited not only for her attention to a “common”
rather than a palatial site, but also for her attention to artifacts that shed light
on the day-to-day culture of the Minoans rather than just on their gold and
lavish architecture.

Topik: Reading Comprehension

Subtopik: Summarizing a passage

4. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the passage?

A. Gournia is more representative of Minoan society than Phaistos.

B. Gold and lavish architecture help to shed light on day-to-day Minoan
culture.
C. The work of Harriet Boyd Hawes contributes to our knowledge of
standard Minoan living.
D. Most archeologists would rather excavate a palatial site than a common
site.
E. Harriet Boyd Hawes is an archeologist who specializes in Minoan culture.

Question 5 refers to the following passage.

After writing her first novel, The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
realized that the American reading public was generally ignorant about Chinese
Americans, so she deliberately put history lessons into her second novel, China
Men—even listing historical facts, such as items of anti-Chinese legislation.
Kingston contends that she felt compelled to do this, even at the risk of spoiling
the dramatic moments in the narration, because sacrificing historical
background for the sake of story in The Woman Warrior had not worked.

The “reviews of my first book made it clear that people did not know the
history—or they thought I did not know it,” she says. “While I was writing China
Men, I could not take that tension any more. So all of a sudden, right in the
middle of the story, plunk—there is an eight-page section of pure history. There
are no characters in it. It really affects the shape of the book and might look
quite clumsy.”

The challenge that Kingston and other Asian American writers face is how to
preserve the artistic integrity of their writing and be understood at the same
time by readers whose ignorance of the cultural and historical background
might necessitate explanations that interfere with the art.

Topik: Reading Comprehension

Subtopik: Inferences

5. The passage suggests that Kingston thought her approach to writing China
Men might …

A. distort historical facts

B. make the novel seem awkward
C. make the novel too long
D. make the novel seem outdated
E. appear pretentious