Passage 1

In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he served the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire of political intrigue at court and lost the king’s favor. After he was dismissed from service by the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain. A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water route across the continent.

This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South America. Finally they found the passage they sought near 50 degrees S latitude. Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is known as the Strait of Magellan. One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian now known as the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan’s men died of starvation and disease. Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17 sailors under the command of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge.

The 16th century was an age of great _________ exploration.

2- Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political _________.

3-The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one side or the other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _________ direction.

4-One of Magellan’s ships explored the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.

5-Four of the ships sought a passage along a southern _________.

6-The passage was found near 50 degrees S of _________.

7- In the spring of 1521, the ships crossed the _________ now called the International Date Line.

8-The word “deserted” in paragraph 3 means _________.

Passage 2

Marie Curie was one of the most accomplished scientists in history. Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered radium, an element widely used for treating cancer, and studied uranium and other radioactive substances. Pierre and Marie’s amicable collaboration later helped to unlock the secrets of the atom.

Marie was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father was a professor of physics. At an early age, she displayed a brilliant mind and a blithe personality. Her great exuberance for learning prompted her to continue with her studies after high school. She became disgruntled, however, when she learned that the university in Warsaw was closed to women. Determined to receive a higher education, she defiantly left Poland and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a French university, where she earned her master’s degree and doctorate in physics.

Marie was fortunate to have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest scientists of her day, one of whom was Pierre Curie. Marie and Pierre were married in 1895 and spent many productive years working together in the physics laboratory. A short time after they discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon in 1906. Marie was stunned by this horrible misfortune and endured heartbreaking anguish. Despondently she recalled their close relationship and the joy that they had shared in scientific research. The fact that she had two young daughters to raise by herself greatly increased her distress.

Curie’s feeling of desolation finally began to fade when she was asked to succeed her husband as a physics professor at the Sorbonne. She was the first woman to be given a professorship at the world-famous university. In 1911 she received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating radium. Although Marie Curie eventually suffered a fatal illness from her long exposure to radium, she never became disillusioned about her work. Regardless of the consequences, she had dedicated herself to science and to revealing the mysteries of the physical world.

1-   The Curies’ _________ collaboration helped to unlock the secrets of the atom.

2-   Marie had a bright mind and a _________ personality.

3-   When she learned that she could not attend the university in Warsaw, she felt _________.

4-   Marie _________ by leaving Poland and traveling to France to enter the Sorbonne.

5-   Marie remembered the joy of scientific research she shared with her husband _________.

6-   Her _________ began to fade when she returned to the Sorbonne to succeed her husband.

7-   Even though she became fatally ill from working with radium, Marie Curie was never _________.

Passage 3

The human criterion for perfect vision is 20/20 for reading the standard lines on a Snellen eye chart without a hitch. The score is determined by how well you read lines of letters of different sizes from 20 feet away. But being able to read the bottom line on the eye chart does not approximate perfection as far as other species are concerned. Most birds would consider us very visually handicapped. The hawk, for instance, has such sharp eyes that it can spot a dime on the sidewalk while perched on top of the Empire State Building. It can make fine visual distinctions because it is blessed with one million cones per square millimeter in its retina. And in water, humans are farsighted, while the kingfisher, swooping down to spear fish, can see well in both the air and water because it is endowed with two foveae – areas of the eye, consisting mostly of cones, that provide visual distinctions. One foveae permits the bird, while in the air, to scan the water below with one eye at a time. This is called monocular vision. Once it hits the water, the other fovea joins in, allowing the kingfisher to focus both eyes, like binoculars, on its prey at the same time. A frog’s vision is distinguished by its ability to perceive things as a constant motion picture. Known as “bug detectors”, a highly developed set of cells in a frog’s eyes responds mainly to moving objects. So, it is said that a frog sitting in a field of dead bugs wouldn’t see them as food and would starve.

The bee has a “compound” eye, which is used for navigation. It has 15,000 facets that divide what it sees into a pattern of dots, or mosaic. With this kind of vision, the bee sees the sun only as a single dot, a constant point of reference. Thus, the eye is a superb navigational instrument that constantly measures the angle of its line of flight in relation to the sun. A bee’s eye also gauges flight speed. And if that is not enough to leave our 20/20 “perfect vision” paling into insignificance, the bee is capable of seeing something we can’t – ultraviolet light. Thus, what humans consider to be “perfect vision” is in fact rather limited when we look at other species. However, there is still much to be said for the human eye. Of all the mammals, only humans and some primates can enjoy the pleasures of color vision.

1- What does the passage mainly discuss?

2- The word “criterion” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.

3- The phrase “without a hitch” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.

4- According to the passage, why might birds and animals consider humans very visually handicapped?

5- According to the passage, “bug detectors” are useful for _________.

6- According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

7- The phrase “paling into insignificance” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _________.

8- Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

Passage 4

Exquisite patterns and surface ornamentation were an integral part of the aesthetics of the late Victorian era. In America, these developments were incorporated into the themes of national expositions and artistic movements, as cottage industries grew and productivity in the decorative arts flourished. The last three decades of the 19th century saw a change in sensibility that resulted in new stylistic approaches in American decorative arts, a departure from the previous era of Rococo and Renaissance Revival excess. Shapes became more angular, smoother and less flamboyant. The popular carvings and deep modeling of earlier years disappeared as ornamentation became more linear and lighter in appearance. Decoration focused on the surface with rich and elegant patterns adorning furniture, objects of every sort, and architectural and interior decorations. This artistic reawakening was prompted by the effects of the Industrial Revolution on contemporary design.

This new attitude, with its focus on ornament and the decorative, was later referred to as the Aesthetic Movement, but it also encompassed the early Arts and Crafts Movement as well. The purpose was to bring a refined sensibility and components of “good taste” to the domestic interior. Art and good taste not only denoted good character, but also could be used to induce proper moral conduct and actions, thereby contributing to the betterment of society. This placed a heavy burden on designers/decorators as well as on women as keepers of the home. Americans drew inspiration from the writing and work of English artists. This was a period of great eclecticism. Tastes ranged from the Modern Gothic through the Persian, Greek and Islamic, to the Japanese, and with more than a nod to Mother Nature. Yet, regardless of the influence, surface pattern reigned supreme. English reformers dictated that ornament should be derived from nature, and pattern should be flat and stylized. Forms were accentuated by colored outlines, or often with touches of gold. The emphasis was on art and on development of a refined sensibility. It was all a matter of taste.

1- What is the main topic of the passage?

2- The word “integral” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.

3- According to the passage, during the Aesthetic Movement popular carvings and deep modeling of earlier years _________.

4- According to the passage, the purpose of the Aesthetic Movement was to _________.

4- According to the passage, the purpose of the Aesthetic Movement was to _________.

5- Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

6- According to the passage, which of the following remained most important, regardless of influences from other countries?

7- Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a feature of the Aesthetic Movement?