READING PAPER 5

Time permitted: 60 minutes

Number of questions: 40

CODE 3
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.
Example
Read the following passage:

Line FALL WEATHER

One of the first things we look for in fall is the first frost and freeze of the season,
killing or sending into dormancy the beautiful vegetation you admired all summer
long. For some locations along the Canadian border, and in the higher terrain of the
West, the first freeze typically arrives by the middle part of September. Cities in the
5 South may not see the first freeze until November, though a frost is very possible
before then. A few cities in the Lower 48, including International Falls, Minnesota
and Grand Forks, North Dakota, have recorded a freeze in every month of the year.
0. When does the first freeze often arrive in the South?
A. Early September
B. Mid September
C. November
D. Before November

You will read in the passage that “Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until
November”, so the correct answer is option C. November.
PASSAGE 1- Questions 1-10

Bill Gates

1. William Henry Gates III (Bill) was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington.
Bill was the second of three children in an upper-middle class family. He enjoyed playing
games with the family and was very competitive. He also loved to read. Bill became bored
in public school so his family sent him to Lakeside School, a private school, where he
excelled in math and science and did well in drama and English.

2. Gates became interested in computer programming when he was 13, during the era of
giant mainframe computers. His school held a fund-raiser to purchase a teletype terminal
so students could use computer time that was donated by General Electric. Using this time,
Gates wrote a tic-tac-toe program using BASIC, one of the first computer languages. Later
he created a computer version of Risk, a board game he liked in which the goal is world
domination. At Lakeside, Bill met Paul Allen, who shared his interest in computers. Gates
and Allen and two other students hacked into a computer belonging to Computer Center
Corporation (CCC) to get free computer time but were caught. After a period of probation,
they were allowed back in the computer lab when they offered to fix glitches in CCC’s
software. At age 17, Gates and Allen were paid $20,000 for a program called Traf-O-Data
that was used to count traffic.

3. In early 1973, Bill Gates served as a congressional page in the U.S. House of
Representatives. He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and was accepted by Harvard
University. Steve Ballmer, who became CEO of Microsoft after Bill retired, was also a
Harvard student. Meanwhile, Paul Allen dropped out of Washington College to work on
computers at Honeywell Corporation and convinced Gates to drop out of Harvard and join
him in starting a new software company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They called it
Micro-Soft. This was soon changed to Microsoft, and they moved their company to
Bellevue, Washington.

4. In 1980, IBM, one of the largest technology companies of the era, asked Microsoft to
write software to run their new personal computer, the IBM PC. Microsoft kept the
licensing rights for the operating system (MS-DOS) so that they earned money for every
computer sold first by IBM, and later by all the other companies that made PC computers.
Microsoft grew quickly from 25 employees in 1978 to over 90,000 today. Over the years,
Microsoft developed many new technologies and some of the world’s most popular
software and products such as Word and Power Point. Although some have criticized
Gates for using questionable business practices, he built Microsoft into one of the largest
companies in the world. He has been described as brilliant but childlike, driven,
competitive, intense, fun, but lacking in empathy.

5. Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world. In 2012, his $61 billion dollars in
assets made him the world's second richest man according to Forbes Magazine. In 2006,
Gates announced that he would cut back his involvement at Microsoft to spend more time
on philanthropy and his foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports
many causes including the quest to eradicate Polio, fighting AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis; providing vaccinations for children; and even reinventing the toilet among
many other things.
1. Which is NOT true about Bill Gates in the first paragraph?
A. He was competitive.
B. He was born in Seattle, Washington.
C. He was involved in drama.
D. He enjoyed public school.
2. The second to last paragraph describes...
A. how Bill Gates became a billionaire.
B. how Microsoft became a bigger company than IBM.
C. how Microsoft rose to a major corporation.
D. the technical details of MS-DOS.
3. Microsoft earned money every time....
A. Traf-O-Data was used.
B. CCC used its software.
C. IBM sold a computer running MS-DOS.
D. IBM built a computer.
4. If the entire passage was limited to the last paragraph, what would an appropriate name
for the passage be?
A. Microsoft and its Software
B. Microsoft and its Billionaires
C. The Rise of Microsoft
D. The Business Practices of Microsoft
5. What question is answered in the second to last paragraph?
A. How rich is Bill Gates?
B. What new technologies, besides MS-DOS, did Microsoft develop?
C. What does empathy mean?
D. How many people work for Microsoft today?
6. What does the word "philanthropy" mean in the last paragraph?
A. charity
B. computer technology
C. wealth
D. business
7. Where was Steve Ballmer a student?
A. Albuquerque, New Mexico
B. The passage doesn't say
C. Harvard University
D. Washington College
8. In which of the following ways were Bill Gates and Paul Allen NOT alike?
A. They went to the same school
B. They both dropped out of college
C. They both went to the same college
D. They both liked computers
9. Which of the following was the EFFECT of Bill hacking into the CCC computer?
A. They were allowed back on the computer eventually
B. He met Paul Allen
C. He lost computer privileges
D. He wrote a TIC-TAC-TOE program
10. Which of the following WAS NOT a program written by Bill Gates or Paul Allen?
A. A computerized version of Risk
B. A computerized version of Tic-Tac-Toe
C. BASIC
D. Traf-O-Data
PASSAGE 2- Questions 11-20

Battles of Lexington

Following resolutions made by the Continental Congress, armed conflict seemed

imminent. King George, who declared the colonies in a state of rebellion, had authorized
the deliverance of British soldiers to reinforce those who had occupied Boston since 1768.
General Thomas Gage was sent to Boston to disarm the colonists and arrest the leaders of
the rebellion, namely John Hancock and Samuel Adams. After learning of the existence of
a large colonial arsenal in Concord, about 20 miles northwest of Boston, General Gage
sent a detachment of 700 troops under Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord for the
purposes of seizing and destroying artillery and ammunition. The Colonists, however,
already knew their weapons were in jeopardy and had moved most of them to secret
locations before the arrival of the Redcoats.

As British troops mobilized in Boston, Dr. Joseph Warren alerted members of the Sons of
Liberty - Paul Revere and William Dawes. Dawes promptly rode to Concord to warn
Hancock and Adams and Revere rode through the countryside yelling “The Regulars are
Coming” or “The Regulars are Out.” By dawn, about 70 armed minutemen (Massachusetts
militia) had gathered in the Lexington town common awaiting the arrival of the Redcoats.
Gage’s own wife, Margaret Kemble Gage, is thought to have given Warren information
about her husband’s planned raid in sympathy to the Revolution.

When the British arrived on the scene, someone fired a shot that would become known as
“The Shot Heard Round’ the World.” To this day, historians disagree on which side fired
first, or, if the shot came from a spectator. Nevertheless, the Redcoats subsequently
unleashed devastating volleys before charging the minutemen with their bayonets. As the
Redcoats marched on to Concord, eight minutemen were killed and ten wounded. As the
march continued, the numbers of Minutemen arriving from surrounding towns swelled and
the substantial militia retreated to a ridge about a mile from Concord across the North
Bridge. Meanwhile, British troops had occupied Concord, destroyed several cannons, and
burned leftover ammunition. A gun battle erupted as the two sides crossed at the North
Bridge. In a stunning turn of events, the Minutemen held the bridge, forcing the Redcoats
to retreat. As the Redcoats exited Concord on their way back to Boston, hundreds or even
thousands of farmers and other colonial workers had positioned themselves behind trees,
rocks, in pastures, under bridges, and in places they could not be seen by the Redcoats,
firing at them as they marched on. Desperate Redcoats, frustrated by an enemy they could
not see, and in revenge for the brutal scalping of one of their dead, sometimes pillaged
houses and communities along the way, killing dozens of colonists. Colonial militias,
however, continued to snipe away the lines of Redcoats. By the time they finally had made
it back to Boston, 73 Redcoats were killed and 174 were wounded. The American
Revolution had officially begun.

11. When did British troops begin their occupation of Boston?

A. During the search for weapons
B. 1768
C. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord
D. Following resolutions made by the Continental Congress
12. What does “in jeopardy” mean in the following sentence:
The Colonists, however, already knew their weapons were in jeopardy and had moved
most of them to secret locations before the arrival of the Redcoats.
A. damaged
B. safe
C. destroyed
D. threatened
13. Which of the following was NOT a reason General Gage was sent to Boston?
A. To arrest Benjamin Franklin
B. To disarm the colonists
C. To arrest John Hancock
D. To arrest Samuel Adams
14. Which of the following best describes Margaret Kemble Gage?
A. Concerned for the colonists
B. Concerned for her husband
C. Concerned for no one
D. Concerned for herself
15. Why was the first shot of the Revolutionary War known as the ‘Shot Heard Round’ the
World?
A. Many people lost their lives
B. Shots occurred all around the world
C. The cannons fired were very loud
D. It changed the course of world history
16. Who fired the first shot?

A. No one knows
B. The British
C. The Patriots
D. A spectator

17. What happened as the Redcoats marched on to Concord?

A. None of the above

B. The militia grew
C. The minutemen fled
D. The Americans were defeated

18. Which of the following happened first?

A. The confrontation at the North Bridge

B. Minutemen gathered on the Lexington Town Common
C. The American Revolution had begun
D. The Redcoats marched from Concord back to Boston

19. Which of the following best describes the Redcoats as they marched back to Boston?

A. Confident
B. Bored
C. Vulnerable
D. Hungry

20. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The colonists had prepared for the confiscation of their weapons by the British
B. Many Redcoats were killed by Minutemen who hid behind rocks and trees
C. 73 Redcoats were killed by the time they made it back to Boston
D. The Ride of Paul Revere was nothing but a legend
PASSAGE 3- Questions 21-30

Line Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction

There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important
effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts
continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century,
large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth.
5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth
and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place
65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This
break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the
species on the planet 10 became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass
10 extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always
intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For
tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they
disappeared.
The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a
15 meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10
kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer
of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped the planet after the impact.
This sediment layer is enriched in the rare metal iridium and other elements that are
relatively abundant in a meteorite but very rare in the crust of Earth. Even diluted by
20 the terrestrial material excavated from the crater, this component of meteorites is
easily identified. By 1990 geologists had located the impact site itself in the Yucatan
region of Mexico. The crater, now deeply buried in sediment, was originally about
200 kilometers in diameter.
This impact released an enormous amount of energy, excavating a crater about
25 twice as large as the lunar crater Tycho. The explosion lifted about 100 trillion tons
of dust into the atmosphere, as can be determined by measuring the thickness of the
sediment layer formed when this dust settled to the surface. Such a quantity of
material would have blocked the sunlight completely from reaching the surface,
plunging Earth into a period of cold and darkness that lasted at least several months.
30 The explosion is also calculated to have produced vast quantities of nitric acid and
melted rock that sprayed out over much of Earth, starting widespread fires that must
have consumed most terrestrial forests and grassland. Presumably, those
 environmental disasters could have been responsible for the mass extinction,
including the death of the dinosaurs.
Several other mass extinctions in the geological record have been tentatively
35 identified with large impacts, but none is so dramatic as the Cretaceous event. But
even without such specific documentation, it is clear that impacts of this size do
occur and that their results can be catastrophic. What is a catastrophe for one group
of living things, however, may create opportunities for another group. Following
each mass extinction, there is a sudden evolutionary burst as new species develop to
40 fill the ecological niches opened by the event.
Impacts by meteorites represent one mechanism that could cause global
catastrophes and seriously influence the evolution of life all over the planet.
According to some estimates, the majority of all extinctions of species may be due
to such impacts. Such a perspective fundamentally changes our view of biological
45 evolution. The standard criterion for the survival of a species is its success in
competing with other species and adapting to slowly changing environments. Yet an
equally important criterion is the ability of a species to survive random global
ecological catastrophes due to impacts.
Earth is a target in a cosmic shooting gallery, subject to random violent events
50 that were unsuspected a few decades ago. In 1991 the United States Congress asked
NASA to investigate the hazard posed today by large impacts on Earth. The group
conducting the study concluded from a detailed analysis that impacts from
meteorites can indeed be hazardous. Although there is always some risk that a large
impact could occur, careful study shows that this risk is quite small.
55

21. The word “pose” on line 3 is closest in meaning to

A. claim
B. model
C. assume
D. present
22. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that dinosaurs had
flourished for tens of millions of years and then suddenly disappeared?
A. To support the claim that the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous is the
best-documented of the dozen or so mass extinctions in the geological record
 B. To explain why as many as half of the species on Earth at the time are believed to
have become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous
C. To explain why paleontologists have always been intrigued by the mass extinction
at the end of the Cretaceous
D. To provide evidence that an impact can be large enough to disturb the environment
of the entire planet and cause an ecological disaster
23. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the location of the
meteorite impact in Mexico?
A. The location of the impact site in Mexico was kept secret by geologists from 1980
to 1990.
B. It was a well-known fact that the impact had occurred in the Yucatan region.
C. Geologists knew that there had been an impact before they knew where it had
occurred.
D. The Yucatan region was chosen by geologists as the most probable impact site
because of its climate.
24. According to paragraph 3, how did scientists determine that a large meteorite had
impacted Earth?
A. They discovered a large crater in the Yucatan region of Mexico.
B. They found a unique layer of sediment worldwide.
C. They were alerted by archaeologists who had been excavating in the Yucatan
region.
D. They located a meteorite with a mass of over a trillion tons.
25. The word “excavating” on line 24 is closest in meaning to
A. digging out
B. extending
C. destroying
D. covering up
26. According to paragraph 4, all of the following statements are true of the impact at the
end of the Cretaceous period EXCEPT:
A. A large amount of dust blocked sunlight from Earth.
B. Earth became cold and dark for several months.
C. New elements were formed in Earth’s crust.
D. Large quantities of nitric acid were produced.
27. The phrase “tentatively identified” on line 35 is closest in meaning to

A. identified after careful study

B. identified without certainty
C. occasionally identified
D. easily identified
28. Paragraph 6 supports which of the following statements about the factors that are
essential for the survival of a species?
A. The most important factor for the survival of a species is its ability to compete and
adapt to gradual changes in its environment.
B. The ability of a species to compete and adapt to a gradually changing environment
is not the only ability that is essential for survival.
C. Since most extinctions of species are due to major meteorite impacts, the ability to
survive such impacts is the most important factor for the survival of a species.
D. The factors that are most important for the survival of a species vary significantly
from one species to another.
29. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the following
sentence?
Earth is a target in a cosmic shooting gallery, subject to random violent events
that were unsuspected a few decades ago.
A. Until recently, nobody realized that Earth is exposed to unpredictable violent
impacts from space.
B. In the last few decades, the risk of a random violent impact from space has
increased.
C. Since most violent events on Earth occur randomly, nobody can predict when or
where they will happen.
D. A few decades ago, Earth became the target of random violent events originating in
outer space.
30. According to the passage, who conducted investigations about the current dangers
posed by large meteorite impacts on Earth?
A. Paleontologists
B. Geologists
C. The United States Congress
D. NASA
PASSAGE 4- Questions 31-40

Line RUNNING WATER ON MARS?

Photographic evidence suggests that liquid water once existed in great
quantity on the surface of Mars. Two types of flow features are seen: runoff
channels and outflow channels. Runoff channels are found in the southern
highlands. These flow features are extensive systems—sometimes hundreds of
5 kilometers in total length—of interconnecting, twisting channels that seem to merge
into larger, wider channels. They bear a strong resemblance to river systems on
Earth, and geologists think that they are dried-up beds of long-gone rivers that once
carried rainfall on Mars from the mountains down into the valleys. Runoff channels
on Mars speak of a time 4 billion years ago (the age of the Martian highlands), when
10 the atmosphere was thicker, the surface warmer, and liquid water widespread.
Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars long
ago. They appear only in equatorial regions and generally do not form extensive
interconnected networks. Instead, they are probably the paths taken by huge
volumes of water draining from the southern highlands into the northern plains. The
15 onrushing water arising from these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-
shaped “islands” (resembling the miniature versions seen in the wet sand of our
beaches at low tide) that have been found on the plains close to the ends of the
outflow channels. Judging from the width and depth of the channels, the flow rates
must have been truly enormous—perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than
20 the 105 tons per second carried by the great Amazon river. Flooding shaped the
outflow channels approximately 3 billion years ago, about the same time as the
northern volcanic plains formed.
Some scientists speculate that Mars may have enjoyed an extended early
period during which rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans adorned its surface. A
25 2003 Mars Global Surveyor image shows what mission specialists think may be a
delta—a fan-shaped network of channels and sediments where a river once flowed
into a larger body of water, in this case a lake filling a crater in the southern
highlands.
Other researchers go even further, suggesting that the data provide evidence
30 for large open expanses of water on the early Martian surface. A computer-
generated view of the Martian north polar region shows the extent of what may have
 been an ancient ocean covering much of the northern lowlands. The Hellas Basin,
which measures some 3,000 kilometers across and has a floor that lies nearly 9
kilometers below the basin’s rim, is another candidate for an ancient Martian sea.
35 These ideas remain controversial. Proponents point to features such as the
terraced “beaches” shown in one image, which could conceivably have been left
behind as a lake or ocean evaporated and the shoreline receded. But detractors
maintain that the terraces could also have been created by geological activity,
perhaps related to the geologic forces that depressed the Northern Hemisphere far
40 below the level of the south, in which case they have nothing whatever to do with
Martian water. Furthermore, Mars Global Surveyor data released in 2003 seem to
indicate that the Martian surface contains too few carbonate rock layers—layers
containing compounds of carbon and oxygen—that should have been formed in
abundance in an ancient ocean. Their absence supports the picture of a cold, dry
45 Mars that never experienced the extended mild period required to form lakes and
oceans. However, more recent data imply that at least some parts of the planet did in
fact experience long periods in the past during which liquid water existed on the
surface.
Aside from some small-scale gullies (channels) found since 2000, which are
50 inconclusive, astronomers have no direct evidence for liquid water anywhere on the
surface of Mars today, and the amount of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere is
tiny. Yet even setting aside the unproven hints of ancient oceans, the extent of the
outflow channels suggests that a huge total volume of water existed on Mars in the
past. Where did all the water go? The answer may be that virtually all the water on
55 Mars is now locked in the permafrost layer under the surface, with more contained
in the planet’s polar caps.
31. The word “merge” in line 5 is closest in meaning to
A. expand
B. separate
C. straighten out
D. combine
32. What does the discussion in paragraph 1 of runoff channels in the southern highlands
suggest about Mars?
A. The atmosphere of Mars was once thinner than it is today.
B. Large amounts of rain once fell on parts of Mars.
C. The river systems of Mars were once more extensive than Earth’s.
 D. The rivers of Mars began to dry up about 4 billion years ago.
33. The word “miniature” in line 16 is closest in meaning to
A. temporary
B. small
C. multiple
D. familiar
34. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that 105 tons of water
flow through the Amazon River per second?
A. To emphasize the great size of the volume of water that seems to have flowed
through Mars’ outflow channels
B. To indicate data used by scientists to estimate how long ago Mars’ outflow
channels were formed
C. To argue that flash floods on Mars may have been powerful enough to cause tear-
shaped “islands” to form
D. To argue that the force of flood waters on Mars was powerful enough to shape the
northern volcanic plains
36. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of the outflow channels on
Mars except:
A. They formed at around the same time that volcanic activity was occurring on the
northern plains.
B. They are found only on certain parts of the Martian surface.
C. They sometimes empty onto what appear to have once been the wet sands of tidal
beaches.
D. They are thought to have carried water northward from the equatorial regions.
36. All of the following questions about geological features on Mars are answered in
paragraph 3 EXCEPT:
A. What are some regions of Mars that may have once been covered with an ocean?
B. Where do mission scientists believe that the river forming the delta emptied?
C. Approximately how many craters on Mars do mission scientists believe may once
have been lakes filled with water?
D. During what period of Mars’ history do some scientists think it may have had
large bodies of water?
37. According to paragraph 3, images of Mars’ surface have been interpreted as support
for the idea that
A. the polar regions of Mars were once more extensive than they are now
B. a large part of the northern lowlands may once have been under water
C. deltas were once a common feature of the Martian landscape
D. the shape of the Hellas Basin has changed considerably over time
38. What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about liquid water on Mars?

A. If ancient oceans ever existed on Mars’ surface, it is likely that the water in them
has evaporated by now.
B. If there is any liquid water at all on Mars’ surface today, its quantity is much
smaller than the amount that likely existed there in the past.
C. Small-scale gullies on Mars provide convincing evidence that liquid water existed
on Mars in the recent past.
D. The small amount of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere suggests that there
has never been liquid water on Mars.
39. According to paragraph 4, what do the 2003 Global Surveyor data suggest about
Mars?
A. Ancient oceans on Mars contained only small amounts of carbon.
B. The climate of Mars may not have been suitable for the formation of large bodies
of water.
C. Liquid water may have existed on some parts of Mars’ surface for long periods of
time.
D. The ancient oceans that formed on Mars dried up during periods of cold, dry
weather.
40. The word “hints” in line 52 is closest in meaning to
A. clues
B. features
C. arguments
D. effects