READING COMPREHENSION

Questions 1-10

£ £ £ Alice Walker makes her living by writing, and her poems short stories, and novels
have won many awards and fellowships for her. She was born in Eatonton, Georgia. She
went to public schools there, and then to Spelman College in Atlanta before coming to
New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, from which she graduated in 1966. For a
time she lived in Jackson, Mississippi with her lawyer husband and small daughter.
About Langston Hughes, American Poet, her first book for children, she says ,"After my
first meeting with Langston Hughes I vowed I would write a boot about him for
children someday. Why? Became I, at twenty-two, knew next to nothing of his work,
and he didn't scold me; he just gave me a stack of his book. And he was kind to me; I
will always be grateful that in his absolute warmth and generosity he fulfilled my
deepest dream (and need) of what a poet should be.

£ £  "To me he is not dead at all. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him or speak
of him. Once, just before he died, when he was sick with the flu, I took him a sack full
of oranges. The joy I felt in giving that simple gift is undiminished by time. He said he
liked oranges, too."

1. What is the main topic of the passage?
(A) Alice Walker's reflections on Langston Hughes
(B) The influence of Alice Walker on the writing of Langston Hughes
(C) Langston Hughes' book about Alice Walker
(D) A comparison of the childhoods of Alice Walker and Langston Hughes

2. In the passage, Alice Walker is described as
(A) a research fellow at Spelman College
(B) a professor at Sarah Lawrence College
(C) a prize-winning writer of£ prose and poetry
(D) an author of£ plays for children

3. Before attending college, Alice Walker went to school in
(A) Atlanta, Georgia
(B) Eatonton, Georgia
(C) Jackson, Mississippi
(D) Lawrence, Massachusetts

4. The word "vowed" in line 7 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Confided
(B) Believed
(C) Denied
(D) Promised

5. It can be inferred from the passage that Alice Walker was twenty-two years old when
(A) she moved to Jackson, Mississippi
(B) she moved to New York
(C) she first met Langston Hughes
(D) Langston Hughes died

6. It can be inferred from lines 9-11 that Alice Walker's first impressions of£ Langston
Hughes were derived mostly from
(A) talking with his friends
(B) reading his autobiography
(C) studying his poetry
(D) meeting him

7. The word "dream" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(A) nightmare
(B) expectation
(C) sleep
(D) misconception

8. what does Alice Walker imply when she says Langston Hughes "is not dead at all"
(Line 12)?
(A) Langston Hughes believed in eternal life.
(B) She had not been informed of Langston Hughes' death.
(C) For her, Langston Hughes had never really existed.
(D) Langston Hughes is still present in her thoughts.

9. The word "undiminished" in line 14 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Not exaggerated
(B) Not lessened
(C) Disappointed
(D) Unequaled

10. According to the passage, what did Alice Walker give Langston Hughes before he died?
(A) A job
(B) An award
(C) Some oranges
(D) A stack of books

Question 11-21

£ £ £  Human vision, like that of other primates, has evolved in an arboreal environment. In
the dense, complex world of a tropical forest, it is more important to see well than to
develop an acute sense of smell. In the course of evolution, members of the primate line
have acquired large eyes while the snout has shrunk to give the eye an unimpeded view.
Of£ mammals, only humans and some primates enjoy color vision. The red flag is black
to the bull. Horses live in a monochrome world. Light visible to human eyes, however,
occupies only a very narrow band in the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Ultraviolet
rays are invisible to humans, though ants and honeybees are sensitive to them. Humans
have no direct perception of£ infrared rays, unlike the rattlesnake, which has receptors

11. What does the passage mainly discuss?.
(A )Ultraviolet rays
(B) Human vision
(C) Sight and smell
(D)The environment of primates

12. Why does the author mention the "tropical forest", in line 2 ?
(A) To explain why primates have developed keen vision
(B) To suggest that primates need to see only the color green
(C)To give an example of environmental change
(D)To indicate where large-eyed primates can be found

13. What does the author mean by stating that "the red flag is black to the bull"(lines 5-6)?
(A) Bulls are attracted to red objects.
(B) Bulls do not notice flags.
(C) Bulls attack all flags.
(D) Bulls do not see the color red

14. The word "monochrome" in line 6 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Monotonous
(B) Ultraviolet
(C) One-dimension
(D) One-color

15 In line 8 ,"them" refers to which of the following?
(A) Human eyes
(B) Ultraviolet rays
(C) Humans
(D) Wavelengths

16. According to the passage, which of the following can detect wavelengths of£ light
longer than 0.7 micron?
(A) Bulls >(B) Ants
(C) Horses
(D) Rattlesnakes

17. The word "eerily'' in line 10 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Strangely
(B) Increasingly
(C) Slightly
(D) Superficially

l8. It can be inferred from the passage that humans could move more easily at night if they
(A) had a narrower field of vision
(B) were color-blind
(C) had infrared vision
(D) lived in an arboreal environment

l9. The word "surpassed'' in line 15 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Recorded
(B) Exceeded
(C) Found
(D) Provided

20. According to the passage, the ability of humans to distinguish color differences is
(A) average
(B) weak
(C) excellent
(D) variable

21. Where in the passage does the author mention the development over time of certain
physical changes among primates ?
(A) Lines 3-4
(B) Lines 5-6
(C) Lines 7-10
(D) Lines 13-15

Questions22-31

£ £ £  Ancient people made clay pottery because they needed it for their survival. .They
used the pots they made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to
place, Pottery was so important to early cultures that scientists now study it to learn
more about ancient civilizations. The more advanced the pottery in terms of decoration,
materials, glazes, and manufacture, the more advanced the culture itself .

£ £ £  The artisan who makes pottery in North America today utilizes his or her skill and
imagination to create items that are beautiful as well as functional, transforming
something ordinary into something special and unique.

£ £ £  The potter uses one of the Earth 's most basic materials, clay. Clay can he found
almost anywhere. Good pottery clay must be free from all small stones and other hard
materials that would make the potting process difficult. Most North American artisan-
potters now purchase commercially proc>(B) Ants

17. The word "eerily'' in line 10 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Strangely
(B) Increasingly
(C) Slightly
(D) Superficially

l8. It can be inferred from the passage that humans could move more easily at night if they
(A) had a narrower field of vision
(B) were color-blind
(C) had infrared vision
(D) lived in an arboreal environment

l9. The word "surpassed'' in line 15 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Recorded
(B) Exceeded
(C) Found
(D) Provided

20. According to the passage, the ability of humans to distinguish color differences is
(A) average
(B) weak
(C) excellent
(D) variable

21. Where in the passage does the author mention the development over time of certain
physical changes among primates ?
(A) Lines 3-4
(B) Lines 5-6
(C) Lines 7-10
(D) Lines 13-15

Questions22-31

£ £ £  Ancient people made clay pottery because they needed it for their survival. .They
used the pots they made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to
place, Pottery was so important to early cultures that scientists now study it to learn
more about ancient civilizations. The more advanced the pottery in terms of decoration,
materials, glazes, and manufacture, the more advanced the culture itself .

£ £ £  The artisan who makes pottery in North America today utilizes his or her skill and
imagination to create items that are beautiful as well as functional, transforming
something ordinary into somethi

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