READING SKILL 2: RECOGNIZE REFERENTS

READING SKILL 1: UNDERSTAND VOCABULARY FROM CONTEXT

QUESTIONS ABOUT VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	The word (or phrase) XXX is closest in meaning to … The word (or phrase) XXX could be best replaced by …
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	In the context surrounding the word or phrase
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1. Find the word or phrase in the passage 2. Read the sentence carefully 3. Look for context clues 4. Choose the answer

READING EXERCISE 1:

Study each of the passages, and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

 

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-5)

Smog

1   The oxidation of exhaust gases is one of the primary sources of the world's pollution. The brown haze that is poised over some of the world's largest cities is properly called photochemical smog; it results from chemical reactions that take place in the air, using the energy of sunlight. The production of smog begins when gases are created in the cylinders of vehicle engines. It is there that oxygen and nitrogen gas combine as the fuel burns to form nitric oxide (NO), a colorless gas. The nitric oxide is forced out into the air through the vehicle tailpipe along with other gases.

2   When the gas reaches the air, it comes into contact with available oxygen from the atmosphere and combines with the oxygen to produce nitrogen dioxide (N02), which is a gas with a brownish hue. This nitrogen dioxide plays a role in the formation of acid rain in wetter or more humid climates and tends to decompose back into nitric oxide as it releases an oxygen atom from each molecule; the released oxygen atoms quickly combine with oxygen (0₂) molecules to form ozone (0₃), The brownish colored nitrogen dioxide is partially responsible for the brown color in smoggy air; the ozone is the toxic substance that causes irritation to eyes.

 

1. The word poised in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. Interacting

B. Sitting

C. Blowing

D. Poisoning

 

2. The phrase take place in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. position themselves

B. put

C. are seated

D. occur

 

3. The word forced in paragraph 1 could best be replaced by

A. obliged

B. required

C. pushed

D. commanded

 

4. The word hue in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. color

B. odor

C. thickness

D. smoke

 

5. The phrase plays a role in in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. makes fun of

B. serves a function in

C. acts the part of

D. moves about in

 

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 6-10)

Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by severe behavioral abnormalities across all primary areas of functioning. Its onset is often early; it generally makes itself known by the age of two and one-half. It is not a single disease entity but is instead a syndrome defined by patterns and characteristics of behavior; it, therefore, most likely has multiple etiologies rather than a causative factor. Autism is not fully understood and thus is controversial with respect to diagnosis, etiology, and treatment strategies.

 

6. The word primary in the passage could best be replaced by

A. elementary

B. main

C. introductory

D. primitive

 

7. The word onset in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. placement

B. arrangement

C. support

D. beginning

 

8. The word syndrome in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. concurrent set of symptoms

B. feeling of euphoria

C. mental breakdown

D. repetitive task

 

9. The word etiologies in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. symptoms

B. patterns

C. causes

D. onsets

 

10. The phrase with respect to in the passage could best be replaced by

A. with dignity toward

B. in regard to

C. irrespective of

D. out of politeness for

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 11-15)

Parasitic Plants

1 Parasitic plants are plants that survive by using food produced by host plants rather than by producing their own food from the Sun's energy. Because they do not need sunlight to survive, parasitic plants are generally found in umbrageous areas rather than in areas exposed to direct sunlight. Parasitic plants attach themselves to host plants, often to the stems or roots, by means of haustoria, which the parasite uses to make its way into the food channels of the host plant and absorb the nutrients that it needs to survive from the host plant.

2. The world's heaviest flower, a species of rafflesia, is a parasite that flourishes among, and lives off of, the roots of jungle vines. Each of these ponderous blooms can weigh up to 15 pounds (7 kg) and can measure up to 3 feet (1 m) across.

 

11. The word umbrageous in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. moist

B. well lit

C. shaded

D. buried

 

12. Haustoria in paragraph 1 are most likely

A. offshoots from the parasite

B. seeds of the host plant

C. fruits from the host plant

D. food for the parasite

 

13. The phrase make its way into in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. develop

B. penetrate

C. outline

D. eat

 

14. The word ponderous in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. smelly

B. hidden

C. mature

D. heavy

 

15. The word across in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by

A. in diameter

B. on the other side

C. at a distance

D. inside and out

 

PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 16-24)

Edna Ferber

1   Edna Ferber (1887-1968) was a popular American novelist in the first half of the twentieth century. She embarked on her career by working as a newspaper reporter in Wisconsin and soon began writing novels. Her first novel, Dawn O'Hara, the Girl Who Laughed, was published in 1911, when she was only twenty-four years old.

2   Her big break came with the novel So Big (1924), which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. The main conflict in the novel is between a mother who places a high value on hard work and honor and a son who repudiates his mother's values, instead preferring the easier path to fortune and celebrity. Like many of Ferber's novels, this novel features a tenacious female protagonist with strong character who struggles to deal with ethical dilemmas about the importance of status and money.

3   Probably the best known of Ferber's novels was Show Boat (1926), which tells the story of a Southern woman married to a charismatic but irresponsible man who leaves her with a daughter must take great pains to support. In 1927, the novel was made into a musical that has endured to the present.

4   Other well-known novels by Ferber include Cimarron (1930) and Giant (1952), both of which were made into movies. These were epic novels about the settlement and growth of the West, centering on strong female lead characters who marry men lacking the same strength of character.

 

16. The phrase embarked on in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. took a trip to

B. started out on

C. improved upon

D. had an opinion about

 

17. The word break in paragraph 2 could best be replaced

A. rupture

B. revelation

C. opportunity

D. rest

 

18. The word places in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by

A. locates

B. puts

C. recites

D. positions

 

19. The word repudiates in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. refuses to accept

B. lives up to

C. tries to understand

D. makes the best of

 

20. The word protagonist in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. arch enemy

B. voracious reader

C. skilled worker

D. lead character

 

21. The phrase take great pains in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. work diligently

B. recognize hurtfully

C. accept unequivocally

D. hurt agonizingly

 

22. The word endured in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. lasted

B. tested

C. waited

D. limited

 

23. The word epic in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by

A. lengthy narrative

B. detailed non-fictional

C. emotionally romantic

D. rousing Western

 

24. The phrase centering on in paragraph 4 could be replaced by

A. circling around

B. pointing to

C. focusing on

D. arranging for

 

READING SKILL 2: RECOGNIZE REFERENTS

QUESTIONS ABOUT REFERENTS
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTION	The word XXX refers to …
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER	The pronoun or adjective is highlighted in the passage. The referent is generally in front of the highlighted word.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION	1. Locate the highlighted pronoun or adjective 2. Look BEFORE the highlighted word for nouns that agree with the highlighted word 3. Try each of the nouns in the context around the highlighted word 4. Eliminate any definitely wrong answers, and choose the best answer from the remaining choices

READING EXERCISE 2:

Study each of the passages, and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.

 

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-4)

Animal Congregation

       Many types ofanimals combine the advantages of family association with those conferred by membership in still larger groups. Bees congregate in hives; some fish move in schools; ants gather in mounds; wolves live in packs; deer associate in herds. The main advantage of membership in a mass community is the safety that it provides. A large group of prey may be easier for a predator to find at any given point than is a small one, a predator may think twice before taking on such a group; if a predator does decide to challenge a large group, it may merely encounter a confusing mass of moving bodies and possibly may not succeed in its primary goal.

 

1. The word those in the passage refers to

A. types

B. animals

C. advantages

D. groups

 

2. The word it in line 4 refers to

A. advantage

B. membership

C. community

D. safety

 

3. The word one in the passage refers to

A. group

B. prey

C. predator

D. point

 

4. The word it in line 6 refers to

A. predator

B. group

C. mass

D. goal

 

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 5-9)

Chromium Compounds

1   Most chromium compounds have brightly colored hues, and as a result they are widely used as coloring agents, or pigments, in paints. In addition to having a pleasing color, a paint must protect the surface to which it is applied and be easy to apply in a thin, uniform coat.

2   All paints consist of two parts. One is a powder of solid particles that is the source of the color and the opaqueness and is known as the pigment. The other, called the binder, is the liquid into which pigment is blended. The binder used in some paints is made from oily solvents such as those derived from petroleum resources. When applied, these solvents evaporate, leaving deposits of pigment on the surface.

 

5. The word they in paragraph 1 refers to

1. chromium compounds
2. brightly colored hues
3. coloring agents
4. pigments

 

6. The word it in paragraph 1 refers to

1. a pleasing color
2. a paint
3. the surface
4. a thin, uniform coat

 

7. The word that in paragraph 2 refers to

1. a powder
2. solid particles
3. the source
4. the color

 

8. The word which in paragraph 2 refers to

1. powder
2. paint
3. liquid
4. pigment

 

9. The word those in paragraph 2 refers to

A. some paints

B. oily solvents

C. petroleum resources

D. deposits of pigment

 

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 10-13)

New World Epidemics

     A huge loss of life resulted from the introduction of Old World diseases into the Americas in the early sixteenth century. The inhabitants of the Americas were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe by rising oceans following the Ice Ages, and, as a result, they were isolated by means of this watery barrier from numerous virulent epidemic diseases that had developed across the ocean, such as measles, smallpox, pneumonia, and malaria. Pre-Columbian Americans had a relatively disease-free environment but also lacked the antibodies needed to protect them from bacteria and viruses brought to America by European explorers and colonists. A devastating outbreak of disease that strikes for the first time against a completely unprotected population is known as a virgin soil epidemic. Virgin soil epidemics contributed to an unbelievable decline in the population of native inhabitants of the Americas, one that has been estimated at as much as an 80 percent decrease of the native population the centuries following the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.

 

10. The word they in the passage refers to

1. the inhabitants
2. epidemic diseases
3. rising oceans
4. the Ice Ages

 

11. The word that in the passage refers to

1. a disease-free environment
2. this watery barrier
3. virulent epidemic diseases
4. the ocean

 

12. The word them in the passage refers to

1. pre-Columbian Americans
2. the antibodies
3. bacteria and viruses
4. European explorers and colonists

 

13. The word one in the passage refers to

1. a virgin soil epidemic
2. an unbelievable decline
3. the population of native inhabitants
4. the arrival of Europeans

PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 14-18)

Horatio Alger, Jr.

1   Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) was the author of more than 100 books for boys in the second half of the nineteenth century that focused on the theme of success coming to those who work hard to achieve it. The son of a minister, Alger came from a prominent Massachusetts family. He graduated with honors from Harvard in 1852 and graduated from the Cambridge Divinity School eight years later. He served as a minister for a short time before moving to New York City in 1866 to devote his time to writing inspirational books for boys.

2   In many of his books, he wrote about the poor and homeless children of the slums of New York City, seeing them as unfortunate pawns of society who, if only given the opportunity, could improve their lot. A general plotline that he followed often was of a poor boy who managed to achieve a respectable and successful life by working hard and taking advantage of opportunities presented. Though his writing style was characterized by simplicity and repetition, it was well received by his target audience; his books were enormously popular, selling millions of copies well into the first few decades of the twentieth century.

14. The word that in paragraph 1 refers to

1. author
2. books
3. boys
4. half

 

15. The word it in paragraph 1 refers to

A. the second half

B. the nineteenth century

C. 100

D. Success

 

16. The word them in paragraph 2 refers to

1. Books
2. Children
3. Slums
4. Pawns

17. The word who in paragraph 2 refers to

1. Slums
2. Society
3. Pawns
4. Opportunity

 

18. The word it in paragraph 2 refers to

1. Style
2. Simplicity
3. Repetition
4. Audience

 

READING EXERCISE (Skills 1-2): Read the passage.

PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 14-18)

Coral Colonies

1   Coral colonies require a series of complicated events and circumstances to develop into the characteristically intricate reef structures for which they are known. These events and circumstances involve physical and chemical processes as well as delicate interactions among various animals and plants for coral colonies to thrive.

2   The basic element in the development of coralline reef structures is a group of animals from the Anthozoa class, called stony corals, that is closely related to jellyfish and sea anemones. These small polyps (the individual animals that make up the coral reef), which are for the most part only a fraction of an inch in length, live in colonies made up of an immeasurable number of polyps clustered together. Each individual polyp obtains calcium from the seawater where it lives to create a skeleton around the lower part of its body, and the polyps attach themselves both to the living tissue and to the external skeletons of other polyps. Many polyps tend to retreat inside of their skeletons during hours of daylight and then stretch partially outside of their skeletons during hours of darkness to feed on minute plankton from the water around them. The mouth at the top of each body is surrounded by rings of tentacles used to grab onto food, and these rings of tentacles make the polyps look like flowers with rings of clustered petals; because of this, biologists for years thought that corals were plants rather than animals.

3   Once these coralline structures are established, they reproduce very quickly. They build in upward and outward directions to create a fringe of living coral surrounding the skeletal remnants of once-living coral. That coralline structures are commonplace in tropical waters around the world is due to the fact that they reproduce so quickly rather than the fact that they are hardy life-forms easily able to withstand external forces of nature. They cannot survive in water that is too dirty, and they need water that is at least 72° F (or 22° C) to exist, so they are formed only in waters ranging from 30° north to 30° south of the equator. They need a significant amount of sunlight, so they live only within an area between the surface of the ocean and a few meters beneath it. In addition, they require specific types of microscopic algae for their existence, and their skeletal shells are delicate in nature and are easily damaged or fragmented. They are also prey to other sea animals such as sponges and dams that bore into their skeletal structures and weaken them.

4   Coral colonies cannot build reef structures without considerable assistance. The many openings in and among the skeletons must be filled in and cemented together by material from around the colonies. The filling material often consists of fine sediments created either from the borings and waste of other animals around the coral or from the skeletons, shells, and remnants of dead plants and animals. The material that is used to cement the coral reefs comes from algae and other microscopic forms of seaweed.

5   An additional part of the process of reef formation is the ongoing compaction and cementation that occurs throughout the process. Because of the soluble and delicate nature of the material from which coral is created, the relatively unstable crystals of corals and shells break down over time and are then rearranged as a more stable form of limestone.

6   The coralline structures that are created through these complicated processes are extremely variable in form. They may, for example, be treelike and branching, or they may have more rounded and compact shapes. What they share in common, however, is the extraordinary variety of plant and animal life-forms that are a necessary part of the ongoing process of their formation.

 

GLOSSARY

Polyps: simple sea animals with tube-shaped bodies

 

Questions

 

1. The word they in paragraph 1 refers to

1. coral colonies
2. events and circumstances
3. intricate reef structures
4. chemical processes

 

2. The word that in paragraph 2 refers to

1. the basic element
2. the development of coralline reef structures
3. a group of animals
4. the Anthozoa class

 

3. The phrase an immeasurable number in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

A. an exact integer

B. a huge quantity

C. a surprising total

D. a changing sum

 

4. The word minute in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by

1. tiny
2. light
3. timely
4. soft

 

5. The phrase once-living in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

1. aging
2. dead
3. growing
4. solitary

 

6. The word hardy in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

1. difficult
2. fragile
3. scarce
4. rugged

 

7. The word They in paragraph 3 refers to

1. coralline structures
2. upward and outward directions
3. skeletal remnants
4. external forces of nature

 

8. The word them in paragraph 3 refers to

A. sea animals

B. sponges and clams

C. skeletal structures

D. many openings

 

9. The word borings in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

1. dull pieces
2. strange creations
3. living beings
4. powdery remnants

 

10. The word ongoing in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

1. mobile
2. continuous
3. increasing
4. periodic

 

11. The phrase break down in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

1. cease functioning
2. interrupt
3. descend
4. decompose

 

12. The word that in paragraph 6 refers to

1. variety
2. life-forms
3. part
4. process

 

13. The word their in paragraph 6 refers to

1. coralline structures
2. complicated processes
3. rounded and more compact shapes
4. plant and animal life-forms

 

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