Read the following passages and then answer the questions.

passage 1

Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea. Stories of them that help drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realize that their society is more complex than people have previously imagined. Dolphins look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers, and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language, but it is much more probable that they communicate with one another without needing words. Are dolphins more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favor of man’s superiority over them is that man can kill them more easily than they can kill us; however, this argument is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.

1.In line 11, “On the contrary” is closest in meaning to ……….. .

2.It is clear from the passage that dolphins …….…….. .

3.The fact that the writer of the passage thinks man can kill dolphins moreeasily than they can kill us ………………….  .

4.One can understand from the passage that ………..  .

5. In line 4, “look after” is the opposite of ……….. .

Passage 2

Modern scientific and technological developments in the practice of medicine and public health have drawn nursing into new and wider fields of activity, and its functions have been expanded accordingly. Therefore, nursing is no longer limited mainly to activities within the hospital or, to what is called, curative nursing. It has also become a community service in which preventive and rehabilitative functions are a vital part of its program. The modern concept of nursing considers the hospital, though central, as only one of many health agencies in the community.

1.According to the passage, the nurse’s function has been expanded because of ………….

2.In line 5, “vital” is closest in meaning to …….. .

3.As we understand from the passage, today …….. .

4.We can understand from the passage that ………….

Passage 3  

When early humans hunted and gathered food, they were not in control of their environment. They could only interact with their surroundings as lower organisms did. When humans learned to make fire, however, they became capable of altering their environment. To provide themselves with fuel, they stripped bark from trees, causing the trees to die. Clearings were burned in forests to increase the growth of grass and to provide a greater grazing area for the wild animals that humans fed upon. This development led to farming and the domestication of animals. Fire also provided the means for cooking plants which had previously been inedible. Only when the process of meeting the basic need for food reached a certain level of sophistication was it possible for humans to follow other pursuits, such as the founding of cities.

1.In line 9, “inedible” is closest in meaning to …………. .

2.In line 11, “founding” is closest in meaning to …………. .

3.This passage is mainly concerned with …………. .

4.One can understand from the passage that the discovery of how to makefire …………. .

5.According to the passage, early humans …………. .

6. In line 4, “their” refers to …………. .

Passage 4

People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. Two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. The two approaches are very different from each other. The controversy is often referred to as nature and nurture. Those who support the nature side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors. That our environment has little to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Proponents of the nurture theory claim that our environment is more important than our biologically-based instinct in determining how we will act. They see humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.

1. In line 8, “proponents” is closest in meaning to ………….

2. A good title for this passage is …………. .

3. One can understand from the passage that supporters of the nature theory believe that ………….

4. One point made by the writer in the passage is that ………..………. .

5. According to the nurture theory, …………. .