Practice Test C – Reading

Question 1- 9

Around the year 1500, hunting people occupied the entire northern third of North
America. They lived well from the animals with whom they shared these lands. Hunters
of sea mammals had colonized the Arctic coasts of Canada and Greenland between
Line four and five thousand years before. Land-hunting people had lived throughout much of
(5) the northern interior for at least 12,000 years.
Northern North America is part of a larger circumpolar ecological domain that
continues across the narrow Bering Strait into Siberia and northern Europe. The overall
circumpolar environment in the 1500’s was not very different from the environment of
the present. This vast landmass had a continental climate and was dominated by cold
(10) arctic air throughout a long winter and spring season. Summer temperatures ranged
from near freezing to the mid-20's Celsius, while winter temperatures were often as low
as 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
Geographers divide the overall circumpolar domain into two zones, the Arctic and
below it, the Subarctic. They refer to the landforms of these areas as tundra and taiga,
(15) respectively.
Temperatures in the northern lands were below freezing for eight or nine months of
the year. Subsurface soil in the Arctic's tundra remained permanently frozen. Even
when summer temperatures were above freezing and the top inches of earth became
saturated with water, the soil below remained frozen into a permafrost, as hard as rock.
(20) When water flowed upon the surface of permanently frozen tundra, it made overland
travel extremely difficult. Summer travel in the boggy lands, or muskeg country, of the
Subarctic's taiga was also slow and arduous. Tracking animals was more difficult than
it was during the winter when the swampy ground was frozen solid and covered with
snow. In both tundra and taiga, hordes of mosquitoes and biting flies bred in the
(25) standing pools of water. Clothing lost its thermal efficiency when it became damp.
Northern people looked forward to the turn of the season to bring the easier traveling
conditions associated with cold weather. In the Arctic, they could haul food and
supplies by dogsled while in the Subarctic, people could travel quickly and efficiently by
snowshoes and toboggan.

1. The word "domain" in line 6 is 2. Which of the following terms is used

closest in meaning to to describe the landforms of the
Arctic region?
(A) temperature
(B) period (A) Subarctic
(C) region (B) Taiga
(D) process (C) Tundra
(D) Muskeg
3. For how many months of the year 7. All of the following are mentioned as
were temperatures below freezing in having made travel in the summer
the circumpolar region? difficult EXCEPT

(A) 4-5 months (A) insects

(B) 6 months (B) wet clothing
(C) 8-9 months (C) swampy lands
(D) 12 months (D) lack of supplies

4. The word "saturated" in line 19 is 8. The subsurface soil in the Arctic's

closest in meaning to tundra is most comparable to which
of the following?
(A) enriched
(B) dissolved (A) Cement
(C) removed (B) A bog
(D) soaked (C) A pond
(D) Sand

5. The word "arduous" in line 22 is

closest in meaning to 9. Where in the passage does the
author mention a means by which
(A) humid people traveled in the northern
(B) difficult lands?
(C) indirect
(D) unnecessary (A) Lines 2-4
(B) Lines 6-7
(C) Lines 20-21
6. The word "standing" in line 25 is (D) Lines 27-29
closest in meaning to

(A) not flowing

(B) very deep
(C) numerous
(D) contaminated
 Questions 10-19

Social parasitism involves one species relying on another to raise its young. Among
vertebrates, the best known social parasites are such birds as cuckoos and cowbirds; the
female lays an egg in a nest belonging to another species and leaves it for the host to
Line rear.
(5) The dulotic species of ants, however, are the supreme social parasites. Consider, for
example, the unusual behavior of ants belonging to the genus Polyergus. All species of this
ant have lost the ability to care for themselves. The workers do not forage for food.
feed their brood or queen, or even dean their own nest. To compensate for these
deficits, Polyergus has become specialized at obtaining workers from the related genus
(10) Formica to do these chores.
In a raid, several thousand Polyergus workers will travel up to 500 feet in search of a
Formica nest, penetrate it, drive off the queen and tier workers, capture the pupal
brood, and transport it back to their nest. The captured brood is then reared by the
resident Formica workers until the developing pupae emerge to add to the Formica
(15) population, which maintains the mixed-species nest The Formica workers forage for food
and give it to colony members of both species. They also remove wastes and excavate
new chambers as the population increases.
The true extent of the Polyergus ants' dependence on the Formica becomes apparent
when the worker population grows too large for the existing nest. Formica scouts locate
(20) a new nesting site, return to the mixed-species colony, and recruit additional Formica
nest mates. During a period that may last seven days, the Formica workers carry to the
new nest all the Polyergus eggs, larvae, and pupae, every Polyergus adult, and even the
Polyergus queen.
Of the approximately 8,000 species of ants in the world, all 5 species of Polyergus
(25) and some 200 species in other genera have evolved some degree of parasitic
relationship with other ants.

10. Which of the following statements 11. The word "raise" in line 1 is closest
best represents the main idea of the in meaning to
passage?
(A) rear
(A) Ants belonging to the genus (B) lift
Formica are incapable of (C) collect
performing certain tasks. (D) increase
(B) The genus Polyergus is quite
similar to the genus Formica.
(C) Ants belonging to the genus
Polyergus have an unusual
relationship with ants belonging
to the genus Formica.
(D) Polyergus ants frequently leave
their nests to build new colonies.
12. The author mentions cuckoos and 16. The word "excavate" in line 17 is
cowbirds in line 2 because they closest in meaning to
(A) find
(A) share their nests with each (B) clean
other (C) repair
(B) are closely related species (D) dig
(C) raise the young of other birds
(D) are social parasites
17. The word "recruit" in line 20 is
closest in meaning
13. The word "it" in line 3 refers to (A) create
(B) enlist
(A) species (C) endure
(B) nest (D) capture
(C) egg
(D) female
18. What happens when a mixed colony
of Polyergus and Formica ants
14. What does the author mean by becomes too large?
stating that “The dulotic species of
lifts... are die supreme social (A) The Polyergus workers enlarge
parasites" (line 5) ? the existing nest.
(B) The captured Formica workers
(A) The Polyergus are more highly return to their original nest.
developed than die Formica. (C) The Polyergus and the Formica
(B) The Formica have developed build separate nests.
specialized roles. (D) The Polyergus and the Formica
(C) The Polyergus are heavily move to a new nest.
dependent on the Formica.
(D) The Formica do not reproduce
rapidly enough to care for 19. According to the information in the
themselves passage, all of the following terms
refer to ants belonging to the genus
Formica EXCEPT the
15. Which of the following is a task that
an ant of the genus Polyergus might (A) dulotic species of ants (line 5)
do? (B) captured brood (line 13)
(C) developing pupae (line 14)
(A) Look for food. (D) worker population (line 19)
(B) Raid another nest
(C) Care for the young.
(D) Clean its own nest.
 Questions 20-29

The Winterthur Museum is a collection and a house. There are many museums
devoted to the decorative arts and many house museums, but rarely in the United States
is a great collection displayed in a great country house. Passing through successive
Line generations of a single family, Winterthur has been a private estate for more than a
(5) century. Even after the extensive renovations made to it between 1929 and 1931, the
house remained a family residence. This fact is of importance to the atmosphere and
effect of the museum. The impression of a lived-in house is apparent to the visitor; the
rooms look as if they were vacated only a short while ago whether by the original
owners of the furniture or the most recent residents of the house can be a matter of
(10) personal interpretation. Winterthur remains, then, a house in which a collection of
furniture and architectural elements has been assembled. Like an English country
house, it is an organic structure; the house, as well as the collection and manner of
displaying it to the visitor, has changed over the years. The changes have coincided
with developing concepts of the American arts, increased knowledge on the part of
(15) collectors and students, and a progression toward the achievement of a historical effect
in period-room displays. The rooms at Winterthur have followed this current, yet still
retained the character of a private house.
The concept of a period room as a display technique has developed gradually over
the years in an effort to present works of art in a context that would show them to
(20) greater effect and would give them more meaning for the viewer. Comparable to the
habitat group in a natural history museum, the period room represents the decorative
arts in a lively and interesting manner and provides an opportunity to assemble objects
related by style, date, or place of manufacture.

20. What does the passage mainly 21. The phrase "devoted to" in line 2 is
discuss? closest in meaning to

(A) The reason that Winterthur was (A) surrounded by

redesigned (B) specializing in
(B) Elements that make Winterthur (C) successful with
an unusual museum (D) sentimental about
(C) How Winterthur compares to
English country houses
(D) Historical furniture contained in
Winterthur
22. What happened at Winterthur 26. The word "developing" in line 14 is
between 1929 and 1931? closest in meaning to

(A) The owners moved out. (A) traditional

(B) The house was repaired. (B) exhibiting
(C) The old furniture was replaced. (C) informative
(D) The estate became a museum. (D) evolving

23. What does the author mean by 27. According lo the passage, objects in
stating "The impression of a lived-in a period room are related by all of
house is apparent to the visitor" (he following EXCEPT
(line 7)?
(A) date
(A) Winterthur is very old. (B) style
(B) Few people visit Winterthur. (C) place of manufacture
(C) Winterthur does not look like a (D) past ownership
typical museum.
(D) The furniture at Winterthur looks
28. What is die relationship between the
comfortable.
two paragraphs in the passage?
24. The word "assembled" in line 11 Is
(A) The second paragraph explains
closest in meaning to
a term that was mentioned in
(A) summoned the first paragraph.
(B) Each paragraph describes a
(B) appreciated
different approach to the display
(C) brought together
(D) fundamentally changed of objects in a museum.
(C) The second paragraph explains
a philosophy of art appreciation
25. The word "it" in line 12 refers to that contrasts with the
philosophy explained in me first
paragraph.
(A) Winterthur
(B) collection (D) Each paragraph describes a
different historical period.
(C) English country house
(D) visitor
29. Where in the passage does the
author explain why displays at
Winterthur have changed?

(A) lines 1-3

(B) lines 5-6
(C) lines 7-10
(D) lines 13-16
 Questions 30-39

The modem comic strip started out as ammunition in a newspaper war between
giants of the American press in the late nineteenth century. The first full-color comic
strip appeared in January 1894 in the New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. The
Line first regular weekly full-color comic supplement, similar to today's Sunday funnies,
(5) appeared two years later, in William Randolph Hearst's rival New York paper, the
Morning Journal.
Both were immensely popular, and publishers realized that supplementing the news
with comic relief boosted the sale of papers. The Morning Journal started another
feature in 1896, the "Yellow Kid," the first continuous comic character in the United
(10) States, whose creator, Richard Outcault, had been lured away from the World by the
ambitious Hearst. The "Yellow Kid" was in many ways a pioneer. Its comic dialogue
was the strictly urban farce that came to characterize later strips, and it introduced the
speech balloon inside the strip, usually placed above the characters' heads.
The first strip to incorporate all the elements of later comics was Rudolph Dirks's
(15) "Katzenjammer Kids," based on Wilhelm Busch's Max and Moritz, a European satire
of the nineteenth century. The "Kids" strip, first published in 1897, served as the
prototype for future American strips. It contained not only speech balloons, but a
continuous cast of characters, and was divided into small regular panels that did away
with the larger panoramic scenes of most earlier comics.
(20) Newspaper syndication played a major role in spreading the popularity of comic
strips throughout the country. Though weekly colored comics came first, daily black-
and-white strips were not far behind. They first appeared in the Chicago American in
1904. It was followed by many imitators, and by 1915 black-and-white comic strips
had become a staple of daily newspapers around the country.

30. What does the passage mainly 31. Why does the author mention
discuss? Joseph Pulitzer and William
Randolph Hearst?
(A) A comparison of two popular
comic strips (A) They established New York's
(B) The differences between early first newspaper.
and modern comic strips (B) They published comic strips
(C) The effects of newspapers on about the newspaper war.
comic strip stories (C) Their comic strips are still
(D) Features of early comic strips in published today.
the United States (D) They owned major competitive
newspapers.
32. The passage suggests that comic 36. The word "incorporate" in line 14 is
strips were popular for which of the closest in meaning to
following reasons?
(A) affect
(A) They provided a break from (B) create
serious news stories. (C) combine
(B) Readers enjoyed the unusual (D) mention
drawings.
(C) Readers could identify with
the characters. 37. The word "prototype" in line 17 is
(D) They were about real-life closest in meaning to
situations.
(A) story
(B) humor
33. To say that Richard Outcault had (C) drawing
been "lured away from” the World by (D) model
Hearst (line 10) means which of the
following?
38. The word "staple" in line 24 is closest
(A) Hearst convinced Outcault to in meaning to
leave the World.
(B) Hearst fired Outcault from the (A) regular feature
World. (B) popular edition
(C) Hearst warned Outcault to leave (C) new version
the World. (D) huge success
(D) Hearst wanted Outcault to work
for the World.
39. In what order does the author discuss
34. The word “it” in line 12 refer to various comic strips in the passage?

(A) The “Yellow Kid” (A) In alphabetical order by title

(B) dialogue (B) In the order in which they were
(C) farce created
(D) balloon (C) According to the newspaper in
which they appeared
(D) From most popular to least
35. According to the passage, the popular
“Yellow Kid” was the first comic strip
to do all of the following EXCEPT

(A) feature the same character in

each episode
(B) include dialogue inside a
balloon
(C) appear in a Chicago newspaper
(D) characterize city life in a
humorous way
 Questions 40-50

Every drop of water in the ocean, even in the deepest parts, responds to the forces
that create the tides. No other force that affects the sea is so strong. Compared with the
tides, the waves created by the wind are surface movements felt no more than a
Line hundred fathoms below the surface. The currents also seldom involve more than the
(5) upper several hundred fathoms despite their impressive sweep.
The tides are a response of the waters of the ocean to the pull of the Moon and the
more distant Sun. In theory, there is a gravitational attraction between the water and
even the outermost star of the universe. In reality, however, the pull of remote stars is
so slight as to be obliterated by the control of the Moon and, to a lesser extent, the Sun.
(10) Just as the Moon rises later each day by fifty minutes, on the average, so, in most
places, the time of high tide is correspondingly later each day. And as the Moon waxes
and wanes in its monthly cycle, so the height of the tide varies. The tidal movements
are strongest when the Moon is a sliver in the sky, and when it is full. These are the
highest flood tides and the lowest ebb tides of the lunar month and are called the spring
(15) tides. At these times the Sun, Moon, and Earth are nearly in line and the pull of the two
heavenly bodies is added together to bring the water high on the beaches, to send its
surf upward against the sea cliffs, and to draw a high tide into the harbors. Twice each
month, at the quarters of the Moon, when the Sun, Moon and Earth lie at the apexes of
a triangular configuration and the pull of the Sun and Moon are opposed, the moderate
(20) tidal movements called neap tides occur. Then the difference between high and low
water is less than at any other time during the month.

40. What is the main point of the first 42. The words "In reality" in line 8 are
paragraph? closest in meaning to

(A) The waves created by ocean (A) surprisingly

currents are very large. (B) actually
(B) Despite the strength of the wind, (C) characteristically
it only moves surface water. (D) similarly
(C) Deep ocean water is seldom
affected by forces that move
water. 43. It can be inferred from the passage
(D) The tides are the most that the most important factor in
powerful force to affect the determining how much gravitational
movement of ocean water. effect one object in space has on the
tides is

41. The word "felt" in line 3 is closest in (A) size

meaning to (B) distance
(C) temperature
(A) based (D) density
(B) dropped
(C) detected
(D) explored
44. The word "correspondingly" in line 11 47. The word "configuration" in line 19 is
is closest in meaning to closest in meaning to

(A) unpredictably (A) unit

(B) interestingly (B) center
(C) similarly (C) surface
(D) unusually (D) arrangement

45. What is the cause of spring tides? 48. Neap tides occur when

(A) Seasonal changes in the (A) the Sun counteracts the Moon's
weather gravitational attraction
(B) The gravitational pull of the Sun (B) the Moon is full
and the Moon when nearly in line (C) the Moon is farthest from the
with the Earth Sun
(C) The Earth's movement around (D) waves created by the wind
the Sun combine with the Moon's
(D) The triangular arrangement of gravitational attraction
the Earth, Sun, and Moon

49. According to the passage, all of the

46. Which of the following pictures best following statements about tides are
represents the position of the Sun, true EXCEPT:
Moon, and Earth during spring tides?
(A) The time of high tide is later
(A) each day.
(B) Tides have a greater effect on
the sea than waves do.
(C) The strongest tides occur at the
quarters of the Moon.
(D) Neap tides are more moderate
than spring tides.
(B)
50. Where in the passage does the
author mention movements of ocean
water other than those caused by
tides?

(A) Lines 2-5

(C) (B) Lines 10-11
(C) Lines 12-13
(D) Lines 17-20

(D)
 Practice Test C – Answers

Question Number Answer Level of Difficulty Answered Correctly

1 C Easy 82%
2 C Medium 64%
3 C Easy 86%
4 D Difficult 44%
5 B Medium 76%
6 A Medium 63%
7 D Medium 54%
8 A Difficult 46%
9 D Medium 65%
10 C Medium 69%
11 A Medium 49%
12 D Medium 66%
13 C Easy 84%
14 C Medium 55%
15 B Medium 66%
16 D Medium 53%
17 B Difficult 27%
18 D Medium 59%
19 A Difficult 43%
20 B Medium 72%
21 B Medium 60%
22 B Medium 62%
23 C Medium 71%
24 C Medium 65%
25 A Medium 60%
26 D Medium 61%
27 D Easy 82%
28 A Difficult 37%
29 D Medium 72%
30 D Medium 49%
31 D Difficult 48%
32 A Difficult 39%
33 A Difficult 33%
34 A Medium 68%
35 C Medium 70%
36 C Medium 64%
37 D Medium 76%
38 A Medium 58%
39 B Medium 60%
40 D Medium 64%
41 C Medium 49%
42 B Easy 86%
43 B Medium 65%
44 C Medium 68%
45 B Medium 68%
46 D Medium 65%
47 D Medium 64%
48 A Difficult 43%
49 C Medium 56%
50 A Medium 65%