English Task#7 : Exercise about Coordinate Connectors

1. A spacecraft is freed from fiction ___ launched into space.
A. It
B. It is
C. After is
D. After it is
The clause above is adverb clause, “after” is the connector and followed by the subject “it”

2. ___ with their surroundings, or they hide in crevices for protection.
A. Lobsters
B. Lobsters blend
C. Lobsters blending
D. Because lobsters blend
The clause above is using coordinate connectors “or” and followed by the subject “they”

3. _____ a ball-and-socket joint, the elbow is a simple hinge joint.
A. While the shoulder
B. While the shoulder is
C. The shoulder is
D. The shoulder
The clause above is using adverb of time, “while” is the connector and it’s followed by the subject “the shoulder”

4. A car has several sections with moving parts, ___ of those parts is essential.
A. Good lubrication
B. Well lubricated
C. And good lubrication
D. And well lubricated
The clause above is using coordinate connectors, “and” is the connector and it’s followed by  the subject “good lubrication”

5. Bears cannot see well ___ small eyes.
A. Bears have
B. Because having
C. Because they have
D. Because of bears
The clause above is adverb clause, “because” is the connector and followed by the subject “they”

6. ____ at the isthmus of Panama, so animals were able to migrate between North and South America.
A. A land bridge existed
B. When a land bridge existed
C. A land bridge
D. With a land bridge
The clause above is coordinate connector “at” and followed by the subject “the isthmus of Panama”

7. ____ mostly made of granite, it also contains some human-made materials.
A. The Empire State Building
B. The Empire State Building is
C. Although the Empire State Building is
D. Although the Empire State Building is built
The clause above is ……, “although” is connector and followed by the subject “the Empire State Building”

8. Pressure differences make the eardrum vibrate ____ the ear.
A. Enters the sound wave
B. As sound wave
C. Sound waves enter
D. As sound waves enter
The clause above is adverb of time, “as” is the connector and followed by the subject “sound waves”

9. An optical microscope magnifies as much as 2, 000 times, but an electron microscope ___ as much as a million times.
A. Magnifying
B. It magnifies
C. Can magnify
D. Magnify it
The clause above is coordinate connector “but” and followed by the subject “an electron microscope”

10. If scientific estimates are accurate, ____ with the Earth about 20, 000 years ago.
A. The Canon Diablo meteorite collided
B. The collision of the Canon Diablo meteorite
C. The Canon Diablo meteorite colliding
D. Colliding the Canon Diablo meteorite
The clause above is adverb of condition, “if” is connector and followed by subject “scientific estimate are accurate”

11. Nuclear power can be produced by fusion, ____ produced by fission.
A. It can also be
B. It can also
C. And it can also be
D. And it can also
The clause above is coordinate connector “and” and followed by the subject “ it”

12. ____ igneous rocks may be changed into gneisses,
A. The temperature is high
B. If the temperature is high
C. High temperatures
D. If high temperature
The clause above is adverb of condition, “if” is the connector and followed by the   subject “ the temperature”

13. Because a family of birds set up housekeeping in Joel Chandler Harris’s mailbox when the birds were on need of a place to stay, ___ the Wren’s Nest.
A. The home is named
B. So the home is named
C. Naming the home
D. The home’s name
The clause above is adverb of condition, “because” is connector and followed by the subject “a family of birds”

14. Today the true story of ___ at Little Bighorn remains a mystery.
A. Happened
B. It happened
C. What happened
D. What happening
The clause above is noun clause, “what” is connector and subject, and followed by verb “happened”

15. For more than a decade, ___ that certain species are becoming scarce.
A. The warning or bird-watchers
B. Warn the bird-watchers
C. Bird-watchers have warned
D. A warning for bird-watchers
The clause above is noun clause, “that" is connector and followed by the subject "certain species"

16. Early in the eighteen century, Halley accurately predicted when ___ of the 1682 would return.
A. The comet
B. Was the comet
C. The comet was
D. Had the comet
The clause above is noun clause, “when” is connector and followed by the subject “the comet of the 1682”

17. No single factor explains why ___ vary so greatly among individuals.
A. Aging affects
B. The effects of aging
C. Aging has an effect
D. The aging effect
The clause above is noun clause, “why” is connector and subject, and followed by “single factor”

18. Lack of clarity about ___ the party in the coming year will be removed at the party’s convention.
A. Will lead
B. Lead
C. They will lead
D. Who will lead
The clause above is noun clause, “who” is connector and subject followed by verb “will lead”

19. We do not ___ the bow drill was first developed for woodworking or fire making.
A. Whether it
B. Know whether it
C. Know whether
D. Sure whether
The clause above is adverb clause, "whether" is connector and subject followed by subject "the bow drill"

20. Minute Man National Historical Park is a monument to where ____.
A. The beginning of the Revolutionary War
B. In the beginning of the Revolutionary War
C. The Revolutionary War to begin
D. The Revolutionary War to begin
The clause above is coordinate connector “where” and followed by the the subject “the revolutionary”

21. Test on the colors of cars were conducted at the University of California to determine ___ the safest colors for cars.
A. Which
B. Which were
C. If
D. How were
The clause above is adjective clause, “which” is connector and subject,  and followed by verb “were”

22. The National Institute of Dental Research estimates ___ in fluoridated areas have about 25 percent less tooth decay when children elsewhere.
A. For school children
B. School children’s
C. That school children
D. That for school children
The clause above is noun clause, “when” is connector and followed by the subject “school chidren’s”

23. The process of photosynthesis explains how ___ able to use the energy in sunlight to manufacture foods from the simple chemicals in air and water.
A. Green plants
B. Green plants are
C. Planting greens
D. With green plants are
The clause above is noun clause. “how” is connector and followed by the subject “green plants”

24. The Moon’s gravity pulls water on the near side of the Earth toward the Moon, and this is what ____ tides to occur.
A. The cause
B. Causes
C. Causing
D. The cause of
The clause above is coordinate connector “and”, and followed by the subject “this”

25. It is not clear whether the subdivisions of the neocortex ___ units.
A. Individual
B. Are individual
C. They are individual
D. Individually
The clause above is noun clause, “whether” is connector and followed by the subject “the subdivision of the cortex”

26. Modern humans, who first appeared about 600, 000 years ago, ____ Homo sapiens.
A. callin.
B. were called
C. they called
D. they were called
The clause above is noun clause, “who” is connector and followed by the subject “first”

27. The first writing ___ evidence of is on Mesopotamian clay tablets.
A. We
B. That we
C. Has
D. That we have
The clause above is adjective clause. “that” is connector and followed by the subject “we”

28. ___ drought-resistant plants which store water in fleshy tissue.
A. Succulents are
B. Succulents
C. They are succulents
D. Succulents which are
The clause above is noun clause “which” is connector and followed by the subject “store water”

29. Benjamin Kablesky, whom ___ as Jack Benny, was a famous comedian in vaudeville and on radio and television.
A. Most people’s knowledge
B. Most people know
C. Knowing most people
D. The knowledge of most people
The clause above is adjective clause, “who” is connector and followed by the subject “most people”

30. ___ the hunted other animals tended to have very narrow, sharp, curved claws.
A. For dinosaurs
B. Dinosaurs are known
C. Dinosaurs
D. Like dinosaurs
The clause above is noun clause, “that” is connector and subject, and followed by verb “hunted”

31. The first eyeglasses had convex lenses for the aged who ___ farsighted.
A. Had become
B. They had become
C. Becoming
D. It became
The clause above is adjective clause, “who is connector and subject, and followed by verb “had”

32. Chimney Rock, ___ 500 feet above the North Platte River, has eroded considerably in the last two centuries.
A. Stands
B. Is standing
C. It stands
D. Which stands
The clause above is adjective clause, “which” is connector and suject, and followed by verb “stands”

33. ____ that accompany recurring bouts of severe depression reduce bone density.
A. It changes hormones
B. Hormonal changes
C. The hormones change
D. The changes in hormones is
The clause above is adjective clause, “that” is is connector and subject, and followed by verb “accompany”

34. Willa Cather is an author ___ for her evocative and memorable vision of frontier prairie life.
A. Whom readers
B. The praise of readers
C. Whom praising
D. Whom readers praise
The clause above is adjective clause, “ whom” is connector and followed by the subject “readers”

35. Mars’s tiny moon Phobos is a small mountain of rock that ___ from the asteroid belt by Mars’s gravitational pull.
A. Was probably captured
B. It probably
C. The probable capture
D. Probably the capture
The clause above is adjective clause, “that” is connector and subject, and followed by verb “was”

36. Some scientists think ___ be a planet but a moon of Neptune.
A. That Pluto does not seem
B. Not Pluto
C. Pluto that might not
D. That Pluto might not
The clause above is adjective clause, “that” is connector and followed by the subject “was”

37. Fort Union was the site of what ___ principal fur-trading post on the upper Missouri River.
A. The
B. Being the
C. Was the
D. It was the
The clause above is noun clause, “what” is connector and subject, and followed by verb “was”

38. Since ___ commercial risk, it has to appeal to a large audience to justify its cost.
A. The face of the movie
B. Moving faces
C. A movie faces
D. To face a movie
The clause above is adverb clause, “since” is connector and followed by the subject “a movie”

English Task#5 : Present/Past Participle after "Be" and Base Form Verbs after Modals

Note :      SUBJECT          VERB

Sentence of Present/Past Participle after "Be"

Mei is usually served the dinner from 18:00 to 20:00.

Natsuki is bringing some her cupcakes to the clubroom.

Today Monika is allowing her member to leave the clubroom a few minutes early.

A coast guard is trying to save Sayori since she almost drowning.

The Member of Literature Club is always sharing their poem as a daily club activity.

Yuri has been caught by her teacher due unusual behavior towards her classmate.

Monika and Sayori are preparing a plan for school festival later.

Sayori was writing a poem all night long.

Monika is falling in love with a boy that a new member of Literature Club

Theresa and her friends were visiting the beach for the first time.

Natsuki is getting angry when someone trying to steal her cookie.

Sayori has been eaten so much cookies until she full up.

Yuri was found a new unique knife in Supermarket for her knife collection.

Kiana is being accused of cheating the game.

Yuri has been taken to the clinic of accidentally hitting a pole while reading a book.

Base Form Verbs after Modals

Monika will always ask the new comer some questions as a requirement before joining the club

Fukari knew that she could forget her first name.

There's a possibility Rikku could buy a new scooter if she able managing her finance

Sayori must save her finance to survive at least for a month

Every student must follow the school rule to avoid the detention

Theresa may loses her position if she make a mistake that ruin the company

Mei may have desserts prepared after dinner

Fukari might have kept her salary balanced if she had shown up on time

Natsuki might buy lot of food to hide her malnourishment if she win the lottery

Yuri may get another piece of cake before Sayori took them all

Monika might have her literature club broken if she had a boyfriend

Sayori must take Yuri to the psychiatrist to find her right path

Yuri may take a medicine to heal her sickness

Monika might have her weight raised if she eats something that not related with vegetable

Theresa might needs to keep her petite body as well to stay her cuteness look

Source

http://www.toeflskill.com/2011/06/problems-with-modals-skill-18.html
https://writingexplained.org/may-vs-might-difference

http://www.toeflskill.com/2011/05/problem-with-present-participle-or.html
https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/confusing-words-being-and-been

English Task#4 : Agreement after Certain Words and Past Participle After "Have"

Note :      SUBJECT          VERB

Sentences of Certain Words

Everybody in the club room must do their daily club activity.

Everyone in the Literature Club that doing their conversation looks incredibly cute and beauty.

Everything that relate with vegetables are Monika's like.

Nobody is capable to clean up the mess in the house.

Every rule in the school must be followed to avoid the detention

Sayori looks confident when reciting every available poems that are not her.

Anybody is welcome to join the Anime club.

No one even dared to touch that snake.

Everyone in the club room eats cupcake and drinks tea.

Nothing even the police could stop the riot.

Anyone that willing to donate the Literature Club will be fully appreciated.

Every boy in the school should cut their long hair before an inspection begins.

Nothing could stop Monika when she is in angry.

Anyone who ever to judge a Cinnamon roll must be looking for a suicide.

Each member of Literature Club must finish their poem before the sharing begins.

Sentences of Past Participle after "Have"

One of club member has already started to recite a poem in club room.

Sayori has done her poem before she sleeps.

Yuri has found her missing pen under the mat.

She has ridden her scooter to college every day.

Sayori has allowed to sleepover in her childhood friend's house this night.

He has ran out the token in his saving account.

Fukari has ran away from her parent's home when she's still in teenage.

They have spent their money already to donate the anime club.

Natsuki has made cupcakes already for her fellow member of Literature Club.

They have seen a ghost this night.

They have got their way out to pass through the maze.

Monika has offered an opportunity for student to join her club with a good benefit.

She has watered her favorite plant in her dorm this week.

Theresa has drunk the wine too much until she feel dizzy

She have never asked how much she love her fellow member that a boy.

Content Source

http://www.toeflskill.com/2011/03/agreement-after-certain-words-skill-13.html

http://www.toeflskill.com/2011/05/problems-with-past-paticiple-after-have.html

https://www.slideshare.net/mastermo55/verb-agreement-after-certain-words

http://kelasbahasainggris.com/penjelasan-lengkap-subject-verb-agreement/

English Task#3 : Agreement after Prepositional Phrases and Expressions of Quantity

Note :      SUBJECT          VERB

Sentences of Prepositional Phrases

Sayori will meet Monika in the clubroom after class is over.

She adopted a cat with white and orange fur

The driver needs to take a left once he saw a sign.

The clothing store is closed temporarily

The student must complete the task to get a good grade

In the literature clubroom, the boy will find the most popular girl in the school.

Natsuki is hiding Yuri's phone under the mat.

They don't know what they ate last night until they got a serious stomachache

He needs to go the market as quick as possible.

Employees must follow company rules to stay last longer.

The mechanics is fixing a car for the customer

Citizens saw a thief entering Monika's house

Yuri looked under the bed to see if she could find her pen

Natsuki accidentally thrown a book due of her madness and until now it never found.

Theresa was feeling annoyed when people making a bad word to her

Sentences of Expression of Quantity

Monika has donated plenty of chairs for her clubroom.

Everyday, there is lot of member of literature club must share their poems.

Natsuki needs some milk and some flour to bake a cake.

Sayori unintentionally drank too much wine until she fainted.

Theresa couldn't has accepted that most people keeps calling her short 2 days ago.

The new member of politic club surprisingly has a little experience of reciting a poem.

Natsuki feels annoyed that some students keeps calling her cute.

She patting her cat lot of time inside of her house.

Monika couldn't has imagined how much fans she has this time.

Sayori promises she'll bring lot of new members to join the club.

Some people still in discussing whether Natsuki or Theresa is cutest girl.

He has a few dogs playing around in his backyard.

Fukari cannot thinks what should we do if she has a lot of money in her wallet.

Yuri is keeping lot of unique knifes in her collection.

Sayori needs at least 2 pair of shoes for her vacation later.

Source

http://www.softschools.com/examples/grammar/prepositional_phrases_examples/417/
http://www.k12reader.com/term/prepositional-phrase/
https://englishklaus.weebly.com/expressing-quantity.html
https://blogs.transparent.com/english/expressing-quantity-with-count-and-non-count-nouns/

English Task#2 : Reading Comprehension Part 2

This reading text applied for question no. 1 - 7.

There were two widely divergent influences on the early development of statistical methods. Statistics had a mother who was dedicated to keeping orderly records of governmental units (state and statistics come from the same Latin root. status) and a gentlemanly gambling father who relied on mathematics to increase his skill at playing the odds in games of chance. The influence of the mother on the offspring, statistics, is represented by counting, measuring, describing, tabulating, ordering, and the taking of censuses-all of which led to modern descriptive statistics. From the influence of the father came modern inferential statistics, which is based squarely on theories of probability.

Descriptive statistics involves tabulating, depicting, and describing collections of data. These data may be either quantitative, such as measures of height, intelligence, or grade level-159 variables that are characterized by an underlying continuum-or the data may represent qualitative variables, such as sex, college major, or personality type. Large masses of data must generally undergo a process of summarization or reduction before they are comprehensible. Descriptive statistics is a tool for describing or summarizing or reducing to comprehensible form the properties of an otherwise unwieldy mass of data.

Inferential statistics is a formalized body of methods for solving another class of problems that present great difficulties for the unaided human mind. This general class of problems characteristically involves attempts to make predictions using a sample of observations. For example a school superintendent wishes to determine the proportion of children in a large school system who come to scho6l without breakfast have been vaccinated for flu. or whatever. Having a little knowledge of statistics, the superintendent would know that it is unnecessary and inefficient to question each child; the proportion for the entire district could be estimated fairly accurately from a sample of as few as 100 children. Thus, the purpose of inferential statistics is to predict or estimate characteristics of a population from a knowledge of the characteristics of only a sample of the population.

1. With what is the passage mainly concerned?
(A) The drawbacks of descriptive and inferential statistics
(B) Applications of inferential statistics
(C) The development and use of statistics
(D) How to use descriptive statistics

2. According to the first paragraph, counting and describing are associated with
(A) inferential statistics
(B) descriptive statistics
(C) unknown variables
(D) quantitative changes

3. Why does the author mention the "mother" and "father" in the first paragraph?
(A) To point out that parents can teach their children statistics
(B) To introduce inferential statistics
(C) To explain that there are different kinds of variables
(D) To present the background of statistics in a humorous and understandable way

4. The word "squarely" in line 8 could best be replaced by which of the following?
(A) solidly
(B) geometrically
(C) rectangularly
(D) haphazardly

5. Which of the following is NOT given as an example of a qualitative variable?
(A) Gender
(B) Height
(C) College major
(D) Type personality

6. Which of the following statements about descriptive statistics is best supported by the passage?
(A) It simplifies unwieldy masses of data.
(B) It leads to increased variability
(C) It solves all numerical problems.
(D) It changes qualitative variables to quantitative variables.

7. According to the passage, what is the purpose of examining a sample of a population.?
(A) To compare different groups
(B) To predict characteristics of the entire population
(C) To consider all the quantitative variables
(D) To tabulate collections of data

This reading text applied for question no. 8 - 14.

What makes it rain? Rain falls from clouds for the same reason anything falls to Earth. The Earth's gravity pulls it. But every cloud is made of water droplets or ice crystals. Why doesn't rain or snow fall constantly from all clouds? The droplets or ice crystals in clouds are exceedingly small. The effect of gravity on them is minute. Air currents move and lift droplets so that the net downward displacement is zero, even though the droplets are in constant motion.

Droplets and ice crystals behave somewhat like dust in the air made visible in a shaft of sunlight. To the casual observer, dust seems to act in a totally random fashion, moving about chaotically without fixed direction. But in fact dust particles are much larger than water droplets and they finally fall. The cloud droplet of average size is only 1/2500 inch in diameter. It is so small that it would take sixteen hours to fall half a mile in perfectly still air, and it does not fall out of moving air at alt. Only when the droplet grows to a diameter of 1/125 inch or larger can it fall from the cloud. The average raindrop contains a million times as much water as a tiny cloud droplet. The growth of a cloud droplet to a size large enough to fall out is the cause of rain and other forms of precipitation. This important growth process is called "coalescence".

8. What is the main topic of the passage?
(A) The mechanics of rain
(B) The climate of North America
(C) How gravity affects agriculture
(D) Types of clouds

9. The word "minute" in line 4 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Second
(B) Tiny
(C) Slow
(D) Predictable

10. Why don' t all ice crystals in clouds immediately fall to earth?
(A) They are balanced by the pressure of rain droplets.
(B) The effect of gravity at high altitude is random.
(C) They are kept aloft by air currents.
(D) The heat from the sun' S rays melts them.

11. The word 'motion" in line 6 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Wind
(B) Descent
(C) Movement
(D) Humidity

12. What can be inferred about drops of water larger than 1/125 inch in diameter?
(A) They never occur.
(B) They are not affected by the force of gravity.
(C) In still air they would fall to earth.
(D) In moving air they fall at a speed of thirty-two miles per hour.

13. In this passage, what does the term "coalescence" refer to?
(A) The gathering of small clouds to form larger clouds
(B) The growth of droplets
(C) The fall of raindrops and other precipitation
(D) The movement of dust particles in the sunlight

14. What is the diameter of the average cloud droplet?
(A) 1/16 inch
(B) 1/125 inch
(C) 1/2500 inch
(D) One million of an inch

This reading text applied for question no. 15 - 20.

The term 'virus is derived from the Latin word for poison. or slime. It was originally applied to the noxious stench emanating from swamps that was thought to cause a variety of diseases in the centuries before microbes were discovered and specifically linked to illness. But it was not until almost the end of the nineteenth century that a true virus was proven to be the cause of a disease.

The nature of viruses made them impossible to detect for many years even after bacteria had been discovered and studied. Not only are viruses too small to be seen with a light microscope, they also cannot be detected through their biological activity, except as it occurs in conjunction with other organisms. In fact, viruses show no traces of biological activity by themselves. Unlike bacteria, they are not living agents in the strictest sense Viruses are very simple pieces of organic material composed only of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, enclosed in a coat of protein made up of simple structural units.(Some viruses also contain carbohydrates and lipids.) They are parasites, requiring human, animal, or plant cells to live. The virus replicates by attaching to a cell and injecting its nucleic acid.' once inside the cell, the DNA or RNA that contains the virus' genetic information takes over the cell's biological machinery, and the cell begins to manufacture viral proteins rather than its own.

15. Which of the following is the best title for the passage.
(A) New Developments in Viral Research
(B) Exploring the Causes of Disease
(C) DNA: Nature’s Building Block
(D) Understanding Viruses

16. Before microbes were discovered It was believed that some diseases were caused by
(A) germ-carrying insects
(B) certain strains of bacteria
(C) foul odors released from swamps
(D) slimy creatures living near swamps

17. The word "proven" in line 4 is closest meaning to which of the following.
(A) Shown
(B) Feared
(C) Imagined
(D) Considered

18. The word  nature" in line 6 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Self-sufficiency
(B) Shapes
(C) Characteristics
(D) Speed

19. The author implies that bacteria were investigated earlier than viruses because
(A) bacteria are easier to detect
(B) bacteria are harder to eradicate
(C) viruses are extremely poisonous
(D) viruses are found only in hot climates

20. All of the following may be components of a virus EXCEPT
(A) RNA
(B) plant cells
(C) carbohydrates
(D) a coat of protein

This reading text applied for question no. 21 - 25.

The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in flickering candlelight. Cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators.

Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for millions of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity.

All living cells sent out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats. it send out pulses of recorded electricity; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small-of-ten so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cells are linked together, the effects can be astonishing.

The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it lives. An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as four  fifths of all the cells in the electric eel’s body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to the length of its body.

21. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Electric eels are potentially dangerous
(B) Biology and electricity appear to be closely related
(C) People would be at a loss without electricity
(D) Scientists still have much to discover about electricity

22. The author mentions all of the following as results of a blackout EXCEPT
(A) refrigerated food items may go bad
(B) traffic lights do not work
(C) people must rely on candlelight
(D) elevators and escalators do not function

23. Why does the author mention electric eels?
(A) To warn the reader to stay away from them
(B) To compare their voltage to that used in houses
(C) To give an example of a living electrical generator
(D) To describe a new source of electrical power

24. How many volts of electricity can an electric eel emit?
(A) 1,000
(B) 800
(C) 200
(D) 120

25. It can be inferred from the passage that the longer an eel is the
(A) more beneficial it will be to science
(B) more powerful will be its electrical charge
(C) easier it will be to find
(D) tougher it will be to eat

Answer Key :

1. C

2. B

3. D

4. A

5. B

6. A

7. B

8. A

9. B

10. C

11. C

12. C

13. B

14. C

15. D

16. C

17. A

18. C

19. A

20. B

21. B

22. D

23. C

24. B

25. B

Content Source :

http://www.cvauni.edu.vn/imgupload_dinhkem/file/ThanhHa/A%20colection%20of%20TOEFL%20Reading%20Comprehension%204.doc

English Task#1 : Reading Comprehension Part 1

This reading text applies for question no. 1 - 10

"The evolution of the banana, star of the Western fruit bowl" By Rosie Mestel

Did you hear? The genome of the banana has been sequenced, an important development in scientist's efforts to produce better bananas.

A look at that genome has revealed curious things, said Pat Heslop-Harrison, a plant geneticist at the University of Leicester in England who was a coauthor of the report published this week in the journal Nature. 

For example, there are regions of the banana genome that don't seem to be involved in making proteins but are shared by many different species of plants, far beyond bananas. What, he wonders, are they doing? 

There are remnants of bits of banana streak virus spliced into the banana genome (too broken-up to cause disease, however). 

There are whole sets of DNA repeats that plants normally have but bananas do not. And, intriguingly, three times since this genus of giant herbs took an evolutionary turn away from its relatives -- the grasses -- it has duplicated its entire set of chromosomes. 

Two of the doublings took place at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary 65 million years ago, back when the dinosaurs and lots of other species went extinct, Heslop-Harrison noted. 

Duplications like this are known to have happened in other plant groups at this same time but haven't occurred since, Heslop-Harrison said. Scientists don't know why, but they believe having extra copies of genes may have imparted some stability to plants during a time of rapid climate change after an asteroid hit Earth. 

Having more than one gene of each type means that if one gene of a set loses function, the plant still has another one that works. And there's more room for adaptability to new circumstances, because one gene could be altered and co-opted for new purposes and there would still be the other one left to perform the original job. 

"Perhaps it's the reason [bananas have] done so well in the subsequent millions of years," Heslop-Harrison said. "One can ask, will changes occurring in the world's climate now mean there's going to be a whole set of new genome duplications that will enable plants to survive? We don't know that, but it's interesting to consider." 

The banana genome sequenced by the French scientists was from the Pahang, a wild Malaysian banana of the species Musa acuminata. It's a key species in the complicated evolution of the bananas and plantains people eat around the world, including the Cavendish banana that we buy at the supermarket.

The sterile Cavendish is a so-called triploid: It has three sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two. One of those genomes came from Pahang. The others came from other subspecies of Musa acuminata. 

The changes occurred stepwise, and went something like this:

• Thousands of years ago, two wild banana species from different parts of the islands of Southeast Asia were brought into the same range by people. They formed hybrids. A bit like mules, the hybrids were vigorous but fairly sterile.
• The hybrids were kept going without sex through propagation of their shoots.
• At some point, the hybrids developed the ability to set fruit without being fertilized.
• Then (for most bananas, including the Cavendish) came another chance event that caused the hybrids to end up with three sets of chromosomes. Every now and again, the few viable eggs and pollen that they made would mistakenly contain two sets of chromosomes instead of just one.

When a double-chromosome pollen combined with a single-chromosome egg (or vice versa), the result was a hopelessly sterile plant with even more vigorous fruit. 

Events like this happened more than once and sometimes included other types of ancestral banana species. 

Some scientists, in fact, have made a whole study of banana domestication and movement around the world. They've pieced the story together using quite different strands of information, including the genomes of wild and cultivated bananas, the microscopic relics of banana leaf material found at archaeological sites, and even the word for "banana" in different languages.

1. In paragraph 2, the word "curious" is closest in meaning to...

A. inquisitive 

B. peculiar 

C. nosy 

D. intricate

2. What does paragraph 5 suggest about bananas?

A. The banana genus may not yet be classifiable into a traditional category 

B. Bananas are actually a species of grass 

C. Bananas may now be categorized as "herbs" in supermarkets 

D. Because banana chromosomes duplicate themselves, they have better potential for successful cloning 

3. Why does the author use "intriguingly" to describe the phenomenon in paragraph 5?

A. To imply that bananas are far more interesting than other fruits 

B. To make readers doubt the claims scientists are making about bananas 

C. To suggest that duplication of chromosomes is a rare and interesting occurrence in the plant world 

D. To encourage questions about whether bananas are grasses or herbs 

4. Why is the observation in paragraph 6 important?

A. It suggests that the banana mutated its genetic structure for survival 

B. It shows that bananas can be traced as far back as dinosaurs 

C. It suggests that bananas were fatal to dinosaurs and other species 

D. It proves that bananas are immune to atmospheric changes 

5. The word "co-opted" in paragraph 8 is closest in meaning to...

A. decided upon together 

B. argued against 

C. removed from the study 

D. adopted 

6. The quote in paragraph 9 most closely suggests...

A. Bananas may be an example of ways that species might alter their genetics to survive changes in the earth's climate and atmosphere 

B. That the genetic mutations of bananas have no implications for other species 

C. That genetic structure is the only factor that should be considered when predicting survival 

D. Though bananas have made it this far, there is no proof that they will survive the next wave of significant atmospheric changes. 

7. According to the article, all are steps in the evolution of the banana EXCEPT...

A. Some banana hybrids began to develop three sets of chromosomes 

B. The merging of two different banana species 

C. Bananas reproduced widely and easily through fertilization 

D. Bananas developed the ability to develop fruit without fertilization 

8. The word "chance" in paragraph 16 is closest in meaning to...

A. random 

B. gamble 

C. risky 

D. opportune 

9. All are variations of banana mentioned in the article EXCEPT...

A. the Cavendish 

B. Dolus mundi 

C. Musa acuminata 

D. plantains 

10. The word "domestication" in the final paragraph is closest in meaning to...

A. housebroken 

B. well-controlled 

C. adapted for human consumption 

D. accepted within the culture

This reading text applies for question no. 11 - 20

"Excerpted from What Video Games Have to Teach us about Learning and Literacy" by James Paul Gee

When people learn to play video games, they are learning a new literacy. Of course, this is not the way the word "literacy" is normally used. Traditionally, people think of literacy as the ability to read and write. Why, then, should we think of literacy more broadly, in regard to video games or anything else, for that matter? There are two reasons.

First, in the modern world, language is not the only important communicational system. Today images, symbols, graphs, diagrams, artifacts, and many other visual symbols are particularly significant. Thus, the idea of different types of "visual literacy" would seem to be an important one. For example, being able to "read" the images in advertising is one type of visual literacy. And, of course, there are different ways to read such images, ways that are more or less aligned with the intentions and interests of the advertisers. Knowing how to read interior designs in homes, modernist art in museums, and videos on MTV are other forms of visual literacy.

Furthermore, very often today words and images of various sorts are juxtaposed and integrated in a variety of ways. In newspaper and magazines as well as in textbooks, images take up more and more of the space alongside words. In fact, in many modern high school and college textbooks in the sciences images not only take up more space, they now carry meanings that are independent of the words in the text. If you can't read these images, you will not be able to recover their meanings from the words in the text as was more usual in the past. In such multimodal texts (texts that mix words and images), the images often communicate different things from the words. And the combination of the two modes communicates things that neither of the modes does separately. Thus, the idea of different sorts of multimodal literacy seems an important one. Both modes and multimodality go far beyond images and words to include sounds, music, movement, bodily sensations, and smells.

None of this news today, of course. We very obviously live in a world awash with images. It is our first answer to the question why we should think of literacy more broadly. The second answer is this: Even though reading and writing seem so central to what literacy means traditionally, reading and writing are not such general and obvious matters as they might at first seem. After all, we never just read or write; rather, we always read or write something in some way.

So there are different ways to read different types of texts. Literacy is multiple, then, in the sense that the legal literacy needed for reading law books is not the same as the literacy needed for reading physics texts or superhero comic books. And we should not be too quick to dismiss the latter form of literacy. Many a superhero comic is replete with post-Freudian irony of a sort that would make a modern literary critic's heart beat fast and confuse any otherwise normal adult. Literacy, then, even as traditionally conceived to involve only print, is not a unitary thing but a multiple matter. There are, even in regard to printed texts and even leaving aside images and multimodal texts, different "literacies."

Once we see this multiplicity of literacy (literacies), we realize that when we think about reading and writing, we have to think beyond print. Reading and writing in any domain, whether it is law, rap songs, academic essays, superhero comics, or whatever, are not just ways of decoding print, they are also caught up with and in social practices... Video games are a new form of art. They will not replace books; they will sit beside them, interact with them, and change them and their role in society in various ways, as, indeed, they are already doing strongly with movies. (Today many movies are based on video games and many more are influenced by them.) We have no idea yet how people "read" video games, what meanings they make from them. Still less do we know how they will "read" them in the future.

11. According to the first paragraph, the broadest definition of "literacy" is...

A. The ability to analyze literature

B. The ability comprehend basic cultural cues

C. The ability to read and write 

D. The ability to compose poetry

12. All are mentioned as being types of "visual literacy" EXCEPT...

A. Musical tones

B. Interior Design

C. Diagrams

D. Modern Art

13. An example from a science textbook of the phenomenon the author describes in the third paragraph could be...

A. A genetic tree that coincides with the discussion of specific mammal classes in the text

B. A diagram of a specific chemical reaction that is used to explain a broad definition in the text

C. An illustration of a plant cycle that accompanies a chapter on photosynthesis

D. A cartoon that references the same methods discussed in the text about laboratory safety

14. What is an example of a "multimodal" text?

A. A dictionary

B. A movie script

C. A photo album

D. An art book that describes the art as well as reproduces images of the original prints

15. The idiom in the sixth paragraph, "read against the grain of the text" is closest in meaning to...

A. Reading to understand the underlying meanings and themes of the author's words-not just a literal interpretation

B. Reading text that defines different types of wheat and grains

C. To read the text from right to left rather than left to right

D.    To read books that use recycled paper and other green alternatives

16. In the seventh paragraph, the author suggests that literacy is multiple, meaning that...

A. To be "literate" can mean participating in any form of expression

B. One's literacy increases exponentially as greater mastery of reading and writing is achieved

C. Different genres and modes of expression require different background knowledge and perspectives to understand them

D. Literacy can only be gained by exploring every type of media and expression

17. Why does the author give the example of superhero comics to explain multiple literacies?

A. To explain that comic books are written for children and purely for entertainment. They require only a basic knowledge of the action that occurs in the story

B. To once again refer to his earlier points about "multimodal" texts

C. To insist that even when an author may intend multiple meanings and interpretations, they are rarely successful in conveying those to readers

D. Things that may seem on the surface to be only meant for a particular group of people can actually have very profound meanings to those who possess other types of literacy

18. The author suggests that all of the following require different types of literacy and the ability to decode meaning EXCEPT...

A. Rap music

B. Comic books

C. Academic papers

D. Symphonies

19. The author says that video games...

A. Are not yet entirely understood in terms of literacy, but are already impacting other forms of expression such as filmmaking 

B. Are unrealistic and should not fall into the same categories as the other texts he describes

C. Are too violent to risk experimenting with for the purposes of understanding literacy

D. Are irrelevant in academic discussion because no one has yet determined how to explain the ways that people understand them

20. What would be the most logical information for the next paragraph to contain if the article continued?

A. A technological definition of video games, how they are made, and how they are played

B. A historical explanation of the very first video game and its evolution

C. Examples of the way that some people currently interpret video games and what they mean to them

D. A price comparison of video game consoles and whether or not quality has a direct impact on literacy

This reading text applies for question no. 21 - 25

"Research: Change in walking may indicate cognitive decline" By Janice Lloyd

Subtle changes in the way a person walks can be an early warning sign of cognitive decline and a signal for advanced testing, according to research out at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012. 

The findings are the first to link a physical symptom to disease, which up until now, required doctors to begin a diagnosis by focusing on cognition and administering lengthy neurological exams. The evidence in the five studies is "robust," say experts, adding walking changes can occur even before cognition decline surfaces. The presentation on the opening day of the weeklong meetings follows a government plan announced in May to help train doctors to detect the disease earlier and to find a cure by 2025. 

"Monitoring deterioration and other changes in a person's gait is ideal because it doesn't require any expensive technology or take a lot of time to assess,'' says Bill Thies, chief medical and scientific officer for the Alzheimer's Association. 

The disease affects 5.4 million mostly older people in the USA, numbers expected to spike to 16 million in 2050 as the Baby Boomers age. Nearly 5,000 researchers are attending the meetings in Vancouver, where dozens of studies will address new treatments currently being tested in trials and how lifestyle influences the disease. 

"Walking and movements require a perfect and simultaneous integration of multiple areas of the brain,'' says Rodolfo Savica, author of a study done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. 

Walking changes occur because the disease interferes with the circuitry between these areas of brain. Savica ruled out other diseases (Parkinson's, arthritis) as possible causes of gait change. 

In the Mayo Clinic study, researchers measured the stride length, cadence and velocity of more than 1,341 participants through a computerized gait instrument at two or more visits roughly 15 months apart. They found that study participants with lower cadence, velocity and length of stride experienced significantly larger declines in global cognition, memory and executive function.

"These changes support a possible role of gait changes as an early predictor of cognitive impairment,'' Savica says.

Another large study of 1,153 adults with a mean age of 78 done by researchers at the Basel Mobility Center in Basel Switzerland found gait became "slower and more variable as cognition decline progressed.''

Participants were divided into groups based on their cognitive diagnoses: cognitively healthy, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's dementia. Gait was measured using a walkway with nearly 30,000 integrated sensors. 

"Those with Alzheimer's dementia walked slower than those with MCI, who in turn walked slower that those who were cognitively healthy,'' says Stephanie Bridenbaugh, lead researcher. 

Bridenbaugh says analysis of walking could also be used to show if treatments to treat the disease are working. 

"At the annual wellness visit required by Medicare, a physician could add a walking test to the checklist without adding a lot of extra time,'' says Thies. 

Yet, one of the study's researchers said that one annual test wouldn't work with everyone. 

"You'd be surprised how many people say to me 'He doesn't walk that well at home,' when I give them a gait test in the office,'' says physician Lisa Silbert. 

Silbert conducted research on 19 dementia-free volunteers enrolled in the Intelligent Systems for Assessment of Aging Changes study at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. They measured gait speed during MRIs and gait speeds at home. Participants walked faster when measured once in person than when walking in their home. Slower in-home walking speed was associated with smaller total brain size. Dementias cause brain shrinkage. 

"Walking speed taken at a single time point may overestimate the walking abilities in the elderly,'' she says.

21. The word "robust" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to...

A. durable 

B. healthy 

C. full-bodied 

D. strong 

22. Why is the statistic in paragraph 4 about the potential spike in Alzheimer's patients significant? 

A. It shows that, because Alzheimer's primarily impacts older people, as largest generation (the Baby Boomers) ages, the number of cases will likely rise dramatically 

B. It suggests that if the next generation wants to be healthy, they must have their gait tested now 

C. It is of no real concern to the younger generation because Social Security will pay for medical care 

D. The lifestyle of older generations is significantly poorer than that of younger generations 

23. What is the most significant discovery of the Mayo Clinic study described in paragraph 7? 

A. Cadence, velocity, and length of stride are all independent variables that impact cognitive function in different ways. 

B. The slower the participant's walk, the greater their memory capacity 

C. The pace of participant's walk demonstrated no correlation to brain activity 

D. The ways in which the participants walked had a definitive relationship to cognitive functioning 

24. Throughout the article, "gait" is mostly often used to refer to...

A. walking speed 

B. the time it takes to transition from a walk to a run 

C. a combination of cadence, length of stride, and velocity 

D. the posture used while walking 

25. What best summarizes the overarching idea of the article? 

A. The speed at which we walk and potential decline in cognitive function as we age is clearly proven by the studies presented in the article 

B. Whatever your current walking speed is, the better shape you are in and the faster you become can both directly lower your chance of developing Alzheimer's 

C. Annual gait tests are an expensive and ineffective test to add to Alzheimer's screenings 

D. There is a definite probability that aspects of human gait and cognitive function are related, but the evidence is far from definitive.

Answer :

1. B
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. A
7. C
8. A
9. B
10. C
11. C
12. A
13. B
14. D
15. A
16. C
17. D
18. D
19. A
20. C
21. D
22. A
23. D
24. C
25. D

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