Read the following passages and then choose the best answer for each question

Passage 5

Most sources of illumination generate light over an appreciable period, and indeed if an object is lit for a very brief time(less that 1/25 second), the human eye will not react in time to see the object. A photographic emulsion—that is, a light-sensitive coating on photographic film, paper, or glass—will, however, record much shorter bursts of light. A photographic flash can therefore be used to capture high-speed movement on film as well as to correct deficiencies of the normal surrounding lighting. Photoflash is now generated electronically, but the earliest form, first used in 1864, was a paper bag containing magnesium wire and some oxygen-rich substance, such as potassium chlorate. When the bag was ignited, the metal burned with an intense flash. A contemporary observer reported that “this quite unsafe device seems to have done nothing worse that engulf the room in dense smoke and lead to pictures of dubious quality and odd poses.”

The evolution of the photoflash was slow, flashbulbs, containing fine wire made of a metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, capable of being ignited in an atmosphere of pure oxygen at low pressure, were introduced only in the 1920’s. In the earliest type, the metal was separated from the oxygen by a thin glass bulb. The flash was fired by piercing the bulb and allowing the oxygen to come into contact with the metal, which ignited spontaneously. Later bulbs were fired by an electric battery, which heated the wire by passing a small current through it. Other combinations, such as the pairing of oxygen difluoride with zirconium, have also been used. In each case enough energy is given out to heat the oxidizable metal momentarily to a white-hot emission of visible light. The smoke particles are so small that they cool rapidly; but since they are white, they contribute to the brilliance by reflecting the light from their still-glowing neighbors. A slightly bigger form of the metal will burn for a longer time.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss? 

2. According to the passage,1/25 second is the minimum amount of time required for the………………

3. According to the passage, an advantage of using a photoflash is that it ………………

4. The word “ignited” in line 7 is closest in meaning to……………

5. Which of the following phrases is defined in paragraph 1? 

6. The word “evolution” in line 10 is closest in meaning to …..

7. The function of the glass in the first flashbulbs was to …………..

8. The word “it” in line 15 refers to ………….

9. The word “momentarily” in line 16 is closest in meaning to ………………..

10. According to the passage, the white color of the smoke particles generated by a flashbulb contributes to B

11. According to the passage, a flashbulb can be made to burn longer by using 

Passage 6

The stylistic innovation in paining known as Impressionism began in the 1870’s. The Impressionists wanted to depict what they saw in nature, but they were inspired to portray fragmentary moments by the increasingly fast pace of modern life. They concentrated on the play of light over objects, people, and nature, breaking up seemingly solid surfaces, stressing vivid contrast between colors in sunlight and shade, and depiction reflected light in all of its possibilities. Unlike earlier artists, they did not want to observe the world from indoors. They abandoned the studio, painting in the open air and recording spontaneous Impressions of their subjects instead of making outside sketches and then moving indoors to complete the work form memory.

Some of the Impressionists’ painting methods were affected by technological advances. For example, the shift from the studio to the open air was made possible in part by the advent of cheap rail travel, which permitted easy and quick access to the countryside or seashore, as well as by newly developed chemical dyes and oils that led to collapsible paint tubes, which enabled artists to finish their paintings on the spot.

Impressionism acquired its name not from supporters but from angry art lovers who felt threatened by the new painting. The term “Impressionism” was born in 1874,when a group of artists who had been working together organized an exhibition of their paintings in order to draw public attention to their work. Reaction from the public and press was immediate, and derisive. Among the 165 paintings exhibited was one called Impression: Sunrise, by Claude Monet(1840-1926),Viewed through hostile eyes, Monet’s painting of a rising sun over a misty, watery scene seemed messy, slapdash, and an affront to good taste. Borrowing Monet’s title, art critics extended the term “Impressionism” to the entire exhibit. In response, Monet and his 29 fellow artists in the exhibit adopted the same name as a badge of their unity, despite individual differences.

From then until 1886 Impressionism had all the zeal of a “church”, as the painter Renoir put it. Monet was faithful to the Impressionist creed until his death, although many of the others moved on to new styles.

1. What aspect of painting in the nineteenth century does the passage mainly discuss? 

2. The word “depict” in line 2 is closest in meaning to C

3. According to the passage, which of the following was one of the distinguishing characteristics of Impressionist painting? 

4. Which of the following is a significant way in which Impressionists were different from the artists that preceded them? 

5. The word “advent” in line 9 is closest in meaning to 

6.The exhibition of paintings organized in 1874 resulted in all of the following EXCEPT 

7. The word “affront” in line 17 is closest in meaning to 

8. The rejection of the Impressionist exhibition by critics was caused by which of the following? 

9. The author mentions Renoir in line 20 to give an example of an artist who 

10. The word “others” in line 21 refers to …………….

Passage 7

Europa is the smallest of planet Jupiter’s four largest moons and the second moon out from Jupiter. Until 1979, it was just another astronomy textbook statistic. Then came the close-up images obtained by the exploratory spacecraft Voyager 2, and within days, Europa was transformed-in our perception, at least-into one of the solar system’s most intriguing worlds. The biggest initial surprise was the almost total lack of detail, especially from far away. Even at close range, the only visible features are thin, kinked brown lines resembling cracks in an eggshell. And this analogy is not far off the mark.

The surface of Europa is almost pure water ice, but a nearly complete absence of craters indicates that Europa’s surface ice resembles Earth’s Antarctic ice cap. The eggshell analogy may be quite accurate since the ice could be as little as a few kilometers thick –a true shell around what is likely a subsurface liquid ocean that , in turn, encases a rocky core. The interior of Europa has been kept warm over the eons by tidal forces generated by the varying gravitational tugs of the other big moons as they wheel around Jupiter. The tides on Europa pull and relax in an endless cycle. The resulting internal heat keeps what would otherwise be ice melted almost to the surface. The cracklike marks on Europa’s icy face appear to be fractures where water or slush oozes from below.

Soon after Voyager 2’s encounter with Jupiter in 1979, when the best images of Europa were obtained, researchers advanced the startling idea that Europa’s subsurface ocean might harbor life. Life processes could have begun when Jupiter was releasing a vast store of internal heat. Jupiter’s early heat was produced by the compression of the material forming the giant planet. Just as the Sun is far less radiant today than the primal Sun, so the internal heat generated by Jupiter is minor compared to its former intensity. During this warm phase, some 4.6 billion years ago, Europa’s ocean may have been liquid right to the surface, making it a crucible for life.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

2. The word “intriguing” in line 4 is closest in meaning to 

3. In line 6, the another mentions “cracks in an eggshell” in order to help readers 

4. It can be inferred from the passage that astronomy textbooks prior to 1979 

5. what does the author mean by stating in line 6 that “this analogy is not far off the mark”? 

6. It can be inferred from the passage that Europa and Antarctica have in common which of the following? 

7. The word “endless” in line 12 is closest in meaning to 

8. According to the passage, what is the effect of Jupiter’s other large moons on Europa? 

9. According to the passage, what is believed to cause the thin lines seen on Europa’s surface? 

passage 8

Many ants forage across the countryside in large numbers and undertake mass migrations; these activities proceed because one ant lays a trail on the ground for the others to follow. As a worker ant returns home after finding a source of food, it marks the route by intermittently touching its stinger to the ground and depositing a tiny amount of trail pheromone—a mixture of chemicals that delivers diverse messages as the context changes. These trails incorporate no directional information and may be followed by other ants in either direction.

Unlike some other messages, such as the one arising from a dead ant, a food trail has to be kept secret from members of other species. It is not surprising then that ant species use a wide variety of compounds as trail pheromones. Ants can be extremely sensitive to these signals. Investigators working with the trail pheromone of the leafcutter ant Atta texana calculated that one milligram of this substance would suffice to lead a column of ants three times around Earth.

The vapor of the evaporating pheromone over the trail guides an ant along the way, and the ant detects this signal with receptors in its antennae. A trail pheromone will evaporate to furnish the highest concentration of vapor right over the trail, in what is called a vapor space. In following the trail, the ant moves to the right and left, oscillating from side to side across the line of the trail itself, bringing first one and then the other antenna into the vapor space. As the ant moves to the right, its left antenna arrives in the vapor space. The signal it receives causes it to swing to the left, and the ant then pursues this new course until its right antenna reaches the vapor space. It then swings back to the right, and so weaves back and forth down the trail.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss? 

2. The word “forage” in line 1 is closest in meaning to ……………..

3. The word “intermittently” in line 3 is closest in meaning to …………

4. The phrase “the one” in line 7 refers to a single …………

5. According to the passage, why do ants use different compounds as trail pheromones?

6. The author mentions the trail pheromone of the leaf cutter ant in line 10 to point out 

7. According to the passage, how are ants guided by trail pheromones?

8. The word “furnish” in line 13 is closest in meaning to 

9. The word “ oscillating“ in line 15 is closest in meaning to 

10. According to the passage, the highest amount of pheromone vapor is found …………………