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READING PAPER 2
Time permitted: 60 minutes
Number of questions: 40
Directions: In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each followed by 10
questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the 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.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your answers to the
answer sheet.

PASSAGE 1- Questions 1-10

William Henry Perkin


The man who invented synthetic dyes
William Henry Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England. As a boy, Perkin’s curiosity
prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering.
As a student at the City of London School, Perkin became interested in the study of chemistry. His
talent and devotion to the subject were perceived by his teacher, Thomas Hall, who encouraged him to
attend a series of lectures given by the scientist Michael Faraday. Those speeches fired the young
chemist’s enthusiasm further, and he later went on to attend the Royal College of Chemistry in 1853, at
the age of 15.
At the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the German chemist
August Wilhelm Hofmann. Perkin’s scientific talent soon caught Hofmann’s attention and, within two
years, he became Hofmann’s youngest assistant. Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific
breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune.
At the time, quinine was the only medical treatment for malaria. The drug is derived from the bark of a
native tree in South America, and by 1856 demand for the drug was surpassing the available supply.
Thus, when Hofmann made some passing comments about the need of a synthetic substitute for quinine,
it was unsurprising that Perkin was moved to take up the challenge.
During his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family’s
house. He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline. Despite his best efforts, however, he did
not make quinine. Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge. Luckily, Perkin’s scientific training and
nature prompted him to investigate the substance further. He finally produced a deep purple solution.
And, Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find.
Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions. Some of
these were difficult to obtain and very expensive. Indeed, the purple colour extracted from a snail was
once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it. Further, natural dyes tended to be
muddy in hue and fade quickly. These are different from the color Perkin had produced.
Perkin quickly realized that his purple solution could be used to colour fabric, thus making it the
world’s first synthetic dye. Perkin originally named his dye Tyrian Purple, but it later became commonly
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known as mauve (from the French for the plant used to make the colour violet). He asked advice of
Scottish dye works owner Robert Pullar, who assured him that manufacturing the dye would be well
worth it if the colour would not fade and the cost was relatively low. So, he left college to give birth to the
modern chemical industry.
With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London. The company
received a commercial boost from a businesswoman from France, Empress Eugenie. Very soon, mauve
was the necessary shade for all the fashionable ladies in that country.
Although Perkin’s fame was achieved and fortune assured by his first discovery, the chemist continued
his research. Among other dyes he developed and introduced were aniline red (1859) and aniline black
(1863) and, in the late 1860s, Perkin’s green. The dyes also became vital to medical research in many
different ways. For instance, they were used to stain previously invisible bacteria, allowing researchers to
identify such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax. Artificial dyes continue to play a crucial role
today, especially in their current use in the search for a vaccine against malaria.

1. What is true about Perkin's childhood?


A. He hated science
B. He was forced to go to school by his parents
C. He was an orphan
D. He was soon keen on science
2. What is Perkin's favorite subject?
A. Physics
B. Chemistry
C. Biology
D. Literature
3. Who introduced Perkin to Michael Faraday's lectures?
A. His brother
B. Thomas Hall
C. August Wilhelm Hofmann
D. Empress Eugenie
4. What did the scientific breakthrough bring to Perkin?
A. Fame and fortune
B. Popularity
C. A good job
D. A reward
5. What does the word “malaria” in the 4th paragraph refer to?
A. A kind of animal
B. A disease
C. A species of tree
D. A species of fungus
6. What is true about the 5th paragraph
A. Perkin succeeded in making quinine
B. Perkin failed to make quinine
C. Perkin used quinine to create a new substance
D. Perkin sold a lot of quinine
7. Why is Perkin's color different?
A. It is extracted from animals
B. It is extracted from plants
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C. It fades quickly
D. It's cheap and long lasting
8. What was Perkin's first color?
A. Red
B. Green
C. Purple
D. Pink
9. What is true about the Perkin factory?
A. He operates by himself
B. He sells the goods himself
C. He gets support from his wife
D. He received support from Empress Eugenie
10. What is true about the last paragraph?
A. He stops the research after the first success
B. He sells his color patents
C. His color is only for dyeing fabric
D. His color has wide application in many fields

PASSAGE 2- Questions 11-20


Narcolepsy is a disease characterized by malfunctioning sleep mechanics. It can consist of a
sudden and uncontrollable bout of sleep during daylight hours and disturbed sleep during nighttime
hours. It occurs more often in men than in women, and it commonly makes its appearance during
adolescence or young adulthood.
At least a half million Americans are believed to be affected by narcolepsy. Narcolepsy can take a
number of forms during daylight hours. One common symptom of the disease during daytime hours is a
sudden attack of REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep during normal waking hours. This occurs in some
people hundreds of times in a single day, while others only have rare occurrences. During a sleep attack,
narcoleptics may experience automatic behavior; even though asleep, they may continue automatically
performing the activity they were involved in prior to falling asleep. They may, for example, continue
walking, or driving, or stirring a pot until the activity is interrupted by external forces. Others experience
cataplexy during daytime hours; cataplexy involves a sudden loss of muscle tone that may cause the head
to droop or the knees to wobble in minor attacks or a total collapse in more serious attacks. Cataplexy
seems to occur most often in conjunction with intense emotion or excitement.
During sleep hours, narcolepsy can also manifest itself in a variety of ways. During the
transitional phase that precedes the onset of sleep, it is common for hallucinations to occur. These
hallucinations, known as hypnagogic phenomena, consist of realistic perceptions of sights and sounds
during the semi-conscious state between wakefulness and sleep. Narcoleptics may also suffer from night
wakening during sleep, resulting in extremely fragmented and restless sleep. Then, upon waking, a
narcoleptic may experience sleep paralysis, the inability to move, perhaps for several minutes,
immediately after waking.
11. According to the passage, narcolepsy is a …
A. syndrome B. symptom C. disease D. disorder
12. The word "malfunctioning" is closest in meaning to …
A. regularly waking B. improperly working C. harshly interpreting D. incorrectly classifying
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13. At which of the following ages would a person be most likely to develop narcolepsy?
A. 10 B. 20 C. 30 D. 40
14. Approximately how many narcoleptics are there in the United States?
A. Fewer than 500,000 B. More than 500,000
C. Fewer than 1,500,000 D. More than 1,500,000
15. The word "bout" is closest in meaning to …
A. period B. illness C. lack D. symptom
16. Which of the following would be most likely to occur during daily activities?
A. Hallucinations B. Automatic behavior C. Sleep paralysis D. Night wakening
17. Which of the following involves a complete collapse?
A. Cataplexy B. Automatic behavior C. REM sleep D. Hallucinations
18. The word "resulting in" is closest in meaning to …
A. bringing on B. making up C. leading to D. getting to
19. When would hypnagogic phenomena most likely occur?
A. Soon after waking B. Just after going to bed
C. After getting up D. In the middle of the night
20. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?
A. Cure for Narcolepsy B. A Good Night's Sleep
C. Hallucinations during Sleep D. An Unusual Sleep Disturbance

PASSAGE 3 - Questions 21-30


EARLY CINEMA
The cinema did not emerge as a form of mass consumption until its technology evolved from the
initial "peepshow" format to the point where images were projected on a screen in a darkened theater. In
the peepshow format, a film was viewed through a small opening in a machine that was created for that
purpose.
Thomas Edison's peepshow device, the Kinetoscope, was introduced to the public in 1894. It was
designed for use in Kinetoscope parlors, or arcades, which contained only a few individual machines and
permitted only one customer to view a short, 50-foot film at any one time. The first Kinetoscope parlors
contained five machines. For the price of 25 cents (or 5 cents per machine), customers moved from
machine to machine to watch five different films (or, in the case of famous prizefights, successive rounds
of a single fight).
These Kinetoscope arcades were modeled on phonograph parlors, which had proven successful for
Edison several years earlier. In the phonograph parlors, customers listened to recordings through
individual ear tubes, moving from one machine to the next to hear different recorded speeches or pieces
of music. The Kinetoscope parlors functioned in a similar way. Edison was more interested in the sale of
Kinetoscopes (for roughly $1,000 apiece) to these parlors than in the films that would be run in them
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(which cost approximately $10 to $15 each). He refused to develop projection technology, reasoning
that if he made and sold projectors, then exhibitors would purchase only one machine — a
projector — from him instead of several.
[A] Exhibitors, however, wanted to maximize their profits, which they could do more readily by
projecting a handful of films to hundreds of customers at a time (rather than one at a time) and by
charging 25 to 50 cents admission. [B] About a year after the opening of the first Kinetoscope parlor in
1894, showmen such as Louis and Auguste Lumiere, Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins, and
Orville and Woodville Latham (with the assistance of Edison's former assistant, William Dickson)
perfected projection devices. [C] These early projection devices were used in vaudeville theaters,
legitimate theaters, local town halls, makeshift storefront theaters, fairgrounds, and amusement parks to
show films to a mass audience. [D]
With the advent of projection in 1895-1896, motion pictures became the ultimate form of mass
consumption. Previously, large audiences had viewed spectacles at the theater, where vaudeville, popular
dramas, musical and minstrel shows, classical plays, lectures, and slide-and-lantern shows had been
presented to several hundred spectators at a time. But the movies differed significantly from these other
forms of entertainment, which depended on either live performance or (in the case of the slide and-lantern
shows) the active involvement of a master of ceremonies who assembled the final program.
Although early exhibitors regularly accompanied movies with live acts, the substance of the
movies themselves is mass-produced, prerecorded material that can easily be reproduced by theaters with
little or no active participation by the exhibitor. Even though early exhibitors shaped their film programs
by mixing films and other entertainments together in whichever way they thought would be most
attractive to audiences or by accompanying them with lectures, their creative control remained limited.
What audiences came to see was the technological marvel of the movies; the lifelike reproduction of the
commonplace motion of trains, of waves striking the shore, and of people walking in the street; and the
magic made possible by trick photography and the manipulation of the camera.
With the advent of projection, the viewer's relationship with the image was no longer private, as it
had been with earlier peepshow devices such as the Kinetoscope and the Mutoscope, which was a similar
machine that reproduced motion by means of successive images on individual photographic cards instead
of on strips of celluloid. It suddenly became public - an experience that the viewer shared with dozens,
scores, and even hundreds of others. At the same time, the image that the spectator looked at expanded
from the minuscule peepshow dimensions of 1or 2 inches (in height) to the life-size proportions of 6 or 9
feet.
21. According to paragraph 1, all of the following were true of viewing films in Kinetoscope parlors
EXCEPT …
A. prizefights were the most popular subjects for films.
B. customers could view one film after another.
C. one individual at a time viewed a film.
D. each film was short.
22. The author discusses phonograph parlors in paragraph 2 in order to .
A. describe the model used to design Kinetoscope parlors
B. explain Edison's financial success
C. contrast their popularity to that of Kinetoscope parlors
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D. illustrate how much more technologically advanced Kinetoscope parlors were


23. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence
from the passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out
essential information.
A. Edison did not want to develop projection technology because it limited the number of
machines he could sell.
B. Edison was more interested in developing a variety of machines than in developing a
technology based on only one.
C. Edison would not develop projection technology unless exhibitors agreed to purchase more
than one projector from him.
D. Edison refused to work on projection technology because he did not think exhibitors would
replace their projectors with newer machines.
24. The word "readily" in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. easily B. frequently C. intelligently D. obviously
25. The word "assistance" in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. help B. leadership C. criticism D. approval
26. According to paragraph 4, how did the early movies differ from previous spectacles that were
presented to large audiences?
A. They were more educational.
B. They were viewed by larger audiences.
C. They were a more expensive form of entertainment.
D. They did not require live entertainers.
27. According to paragraph 5, what role did early exhibitors play in the presentation of movies in
theaters?
A. They often took part in the live-action performances.
B. They advised film-makers on appropriate movie content.
C. They decided how to combine various components of the film program.
D. They produced and prerecorded the material that was shown in the theaters.
28. The word "It" in the passage refers to …
A. the viewer's relationship with the image B. the advent of projection
C. a similar machine D. celluloid
29. According to paragraph 6, the images seen by viewers in the earlier peepshows, compared to the
images projected on the screen, were relatively …
A. small in size B. unfocused C. inexpensive to create D. limited in subject matter
30. Look at the four squares [_] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to
the passage.
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When this widespread use of projection technology began to hurt his Kinetoscope business,
Edison acquired a projector developed by Armat and introduced it as "Edison's latest marvel, the
Vitascope."
Where would the sentence best fit?
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]

PASSAGE 4- Questions 31-40


DESERT FORMATION
The deserts, which already occupy approximately a fourth of the Earth's land surface, have in
recent decades been increasing at an alarming pace. The expansion of desert-like conditions into areas
where they did not previously exist is called desertification. It has been estimated that an additional one-
fourth of the Earth's land surface is threatened by this process.
Desertification is accomplished primarily through the loss of stabilizing natural vegetation and the
subsequent accelerated erosion of the soil by wind and water. In some cases the loose soil is blown
completely away, leaving a stony surface. In other cases, the finer particles may be removed, while the
sand-sized particles are accumulated to form mobile hills or ridges of sand.
Even in the areas that retain a soil cover, the reduction of vegetation typically results in the loss of
the soil's ability to absorb substantial quantities of water. The impact of raindrops on the loose soil tends
to transfer fine clay particles into the tiniest soil spaces, sealing them and producing a surface that allows
very little water penetration. Water absorption is greatly reduced, consequently runoff is increased,
resulting in accelerated erosion rates. The gradual drying of the soil caused by its diminished ability to
absorb water results in the further loss of vegetation, so that a cycle of progressive surface deterioration is
established.
In some regions, the increase in desert areas is occurring largely as the result of a trend toward
drier climatic conditions. Continued gradual global warming has produced an increase in aridity for some
areas over the past few thousand years. The process may be accelerated in subsequent decades if global
warming resulting from air pollution seriously increases.
There is little doubt, however, that desertification in most areas results primarily from human
activities rather than natural processes. The semiarid lands bordering the deserts exist in a delicate
ecological balance and are limited in their potential to adjust to increased environmental pressures.
Expanding populations are subjecting the land to increasing pressures to provide them with food and fuel.
In wet periods, the land may be able to respond to these stresses. During the dry periods that are common
phenomena along the desert margins, though, the pressure on the land is often far in excess of its
diminished capacity, and desertification results. Four specific activities have been identified as major
contributors to the desertification processes: over-cultivation, over-grazing, firewood gathering, and over-
irrigation. The cultivation of crops has expanded into progressively drier regions as population densities
have grown. These regions are especially likely to have periods of severe dryness, so that crop failures are
common. Since the raising of most crops necessitates the prior removal of the natural vegetation, crop
failures leave extensive tracts of land devoid of a plant cover and susceptible to wind and water erosion.
The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid lands, where grasses are
generally the dominant type of natural vegetation. The consequences of an excessive number of livestock
grazing in an area are the reduction of the vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization of the
soil. This is usually followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated erosion.
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Firewood is the chief fuel used for cooking and heating in many countries. The increased
pressures of expanding populations have led to the removal of woody plants so that many cities and towns
are surrounded by large areas completely lacking in trees and shrubs. The increasing use of dried animal
waste as a substitute fuel has also hurt the soil because this valuable soil conditioner and source of plant
nutrients is no longer being returned to the land.
The final major human cause of desertification is soil salinization resulting from over-irrigation.
Excess water from irrigation sinks down into the water table. If no drainage system exists, the water table
rises, bringing dissolved salts to the surface. The water evaporates and the salts are left behind, creating a
white crustal layer that prevents air and water from reaching the underlying soil. The extreme
seriousness of desertification results from the vast areas of land and the tremendous numbers of
people affected, as well as from the great difficulty Of reversing or even slowing the process. Once
the soil has been removed by erosion, only the passage of centuries or millennia will enable new soil to
form. In areas where considerable soil still remains, though, a rigorously enforced program of land
protection and cover-crop planting may make it possible to reverse the present deterioration of the
surface.
31.The word "threatened" in the passage is closest in meaning to …
A. restricted B. endangered C. prevented D. rejected
32. According to paragraph 3, the loss of natural vegetation has which of the following
consequences for soil?
A. Reduced water absorption B. Increased numbers of spaces in the soil
C. Increased stony content D. Reduced water runoff
33.The word "delicate" in the passage is closest in meaning to …
A. predictable B. fragile C. complex D. valuable
34. According to paragraph 5, in dry periods, border areas have difficulty …
A. adjusting to stresses created by settlement
B. providing water for irrigating crops
C. retaining their fertility after desertification
D. attracting populations in search of food and fuel
35. The word "progressively" in the passage is closest in meaning to …
A. impressively B. openly C. objectively D. increasingly
36. According to paragraph 6, which of the following is often associated with raising crops?
A. Failure to plant crops suited to the particular area
B. Excessive use of dried animal waste
C. Lack of proper irrigation techniques
D. Removal of the original vegetation
37. According to paragraph 9, the ground's absorption of excess water is a factor in desertification
because it can …
A. limit the evaporation of water B. interfere with the irrigation of land\
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C. bring salts to the surface D. require more absorption of air by the soil
38. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as contributing to desertification EXCEPT
A. soil erosion B. insufficient irrigation C. global warming D. the raising of livestock
39. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence
in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information.
A. The spread of deserts is considered a very serious problem that can be solved only if large
numbers of people in various countries are involved in the effort.
B. Slowing down the process of desertification is difficult because of population growth that has
spread over large areas of land.
C. Desertification is a significant problem because it is so hard to reverse and affects large areas of
land and great numbers of people.
D. Desertification is extremely hard to reverse unless the population is reduced in the vast areas
affected.
40. As inferred from the passage, which of the following does the author most likely believe
about the future of desertification?
A. Desertification will continue to increase.
B. Desertification will soon occur in all areas of the world.
C. Governments will act quickly to control further desertification.
D. The factors influencing desertification occur in cycles and will change in the future
This is the end of the reading paper.
Now please submit your test paper and your answer sheet.

READING 2: ANSWER
1. D
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. D
10. D
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11. C
12. B
13. B
14. B
15. A
16. A
17. A
18. C
19. B
20. D
21. A
22. A
23. A
24. A
25. A
26. D
27. C
28. A
29. A
30. D
31. B
32. A
33. B
34. A
35. D
36. D
37. C
38. B
39. C
40. D

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