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Time–35 minutes
Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions about a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
1 The house style that dominated American housing during the 1880s and 1890s was known as Queen Anne, a curious name for an American style. The name was, in fact, a historical accident, originating with fashionable architects in Victorian England who coined it with apparently no reason other than its pleasing sound. The Queen Anne style was loosely based on medieval structures built long before 1702, the beginning year of Queen Anne’s reign.
2 A distinctive characteristic found in most Queen Anne houses is the unusual roof shape—a steeply pitched, hipped central portion with protruding lower front and side extensions that end in gables. It is often possible to spot these distinctive roof forms from several blocks away. Another feature of this style is the detailing, shown in the wood shingle siding cut into fanciful decorative patterns of scallops, curves, diamonds, or triangles. Queen Anne houses are almost always asymmetrical . If you draw an imaginary line down the middle of one, you will see how drastically different the right and left sides are, all the way from ground level to roof peak. A final characteristic is the inviting wraparound porch that includes the front door area and then extends around to either the right or left side of the house.
3 Queen Anne houses faded from fashion early in the twentieth century as the public’s taste shifted toward the more modern Prairie and Craftsman style houses. Today, however, Queen Anne houses are favorite symbols of the past, painstakingly and lovingly restored by old–house buffs and reproduced by builders who give faithful attention to the distinctive shapes and detailing that were first popularized more than one hundred years ago.
1. Why does the author use the word curious in describing the name of an American style?
A The style was invented before Queen Anne’s reign.
B The name was accidentally misspelled.
C The style was more popular in Victorian England.
D The name did not originate in America.
2. The word asymmetrical in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A inefficient
B bold
C strange
D unbalanced
3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a characteristic feature of Queen Anne houses?
A Decorative windows
B Wood shingle exterior walls
C Large porch
D Steeply pitched roof
4. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2?
A The Queen Anne style combined several other styles.
B The Queen Anne style had to be built in the city.
C The Queen Anne style was elaborate and ornate.
D The Queen Anne style was not popular.
5. According to the passage, why did Queen Anne houses go out of style?
A People came to see them as a symbol of the past.
B People started moving to the suburbs and the prairies.
C People were more interested in newer house styles.
D People could no longer afford to build such large houses.
6. The word buffs in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A experts
B sellers
C critics
D painters
1 One of the most interesting and distinctive of all uses of language is commentary. An oral reporting of ongoing activity, commentary is used in such public arenas as political ceremonies, parades, funerals, fashion shows, and cooking demonstrations. The most frequently occurring type of commentary may be that connected with sports and games. In sports there are two kinds of commentary, and both are often used for the same sporting event. “Play–by–play” commentary narrates the sports event, while “color–adding” or “color” commentary provides the audience with pre–event background , during–event interpretation, and post–event evaluation. Color commentary is usually conversational in style and can be a dialogue with two or more commentators.
2 Play–by–play commentary is of interest to linguists because it is unlike other kinds of narrative, which are typically reported in past tense. Play–by–play commentary is reported in present tense. Some examples are “he takes the lead by four” and “she’s in position.” One linguist characterizes radio play–by–play commentary as “a monologue directed at an unknown, unseen mass audience who voluntarily choose to listen…and provide no feedback to the speaker.” It is these characteristics that make this kind of commentary unlike any other type of speech situation.
3 The chief feature of play–by–play commentary is a highly formulaic style of presentation. There is distinctive grammar not only in the use of the present tense but also in the omission of certain elements of sentence structure. For example, “Smith in close” eliminates the verb, as some newspaper headlines do. Another example is inverted word order, as in “over at third is Johnson.” Play–by–play commentary is very fluent, keeping up with the pace of the action. The rate is steady and there is little silence. The structure of the commentary is cyclical, reflecting the way most games consist of recurring sequences of short activities—as in tennis and baseball—or a limited number of activity options—as in the various kinds of football. In racing, the structure is even simpler, with the commentator informing the listener of the varying order of the competitors in a “state of play” summary, which is crucial for listeners or viewers who have just tuned in.
7. The word arenas in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
A settings
B holidays
C properties
D journals
8. The word background in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
A artwork
B amusement
C knowledge
D criticism
9. Which of the following statements is true of color commentary?
A It narrates the action of the event in real time, using the present tense.
B It is a monologue given to an audience that does not respond to the speaker.
C It is steady and fluent because it must keep up with the action of the event.
D It gives background on the event, and interprets and evaluates the event.
10. How is play–by–play commentary distinct from other types of narrative?
A It is not published in magazines.
B It is not spoken in past tense.
C It involves only one reporter.
D It takes place after the event.
11. Why does the author quote a linguist in paragraph 2?
A To describe the uniqueness of radio play–by–play
B To show how technical sports commentary is
C To give examples of play–by–play commentary
D To criticize past trends in sports commentary
12. All of the following are examples of play–by–play commentary EXCEPT:
A “He pitched for Chicago.”
B “Junior out of bounds.”
C “Straight away it’s Owens.”
D “He can’t make the shot.”
13. The word pace in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A plan
B score
C cause
D speed
14. The word crucial in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A fascinating
B important
C confusing
D generous
15. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most likely agrees with which of the following statements about sports commentary?
A Color commentary is more important than play–by–play commentary.
B Sports commentators do not need special knowledge of the sport.
C Commentary enhances the excitement and enjoyment of sports.
D Sports commentators should study to improve their grammar.
1 Inside the tree’s protective outer bark is the circulatory system, consisting of two cellular pipelines that transport water, mineral nutrients, and other organic substances to all living tissues of the tree. One pipeline, called the xylem—or sapwood—transports water and nutrients up from the roots to the leaves. The other, the phloem—or inner bark—carries the downward flow of foodstuffs from the leaves to the branches, trunk, and roots. Between these two pipelines is the vascular cambium, a single–cell layer too thin to be seen by the naked eye. This is the tree’s major growth organ, responsible for the outward widening of the trunk, branches, twigs, and roots. During each growing season, the vascular cambium produces new phloem cells on its outer surface and new xylem cells on its inner surface.
2 Xylem cells in the roots draw water molecules into the tree, taking in hydrogen and oxygen and also carrying chemical nutrients from the soil. The xylem pipeline transports this life–sustaining mixture upward as xylem sap, all the way from the roots to the leaves. Xylem sap flows upward at rates of 15 meters per hour or faster. Xylem veins branch throughout each leaf, bringing xylem sap to thirsty cells. Leaves depend on this delivery system for their water supply because trees lose a tremendous amount of water through transpiration, evaporation of water from air spaces in the leaves. Unless the transpired water is replaced by water transported up from the roots, the leaves will wilt and eventually die.
3 How a tree manages to lift several liters of water so high into the air against the pull of gravity is an amazing feat of hydraulics . Water moves through the tree because it is driven by negative pressure—tension—in the leaves due to the physical properties of water. Transpiration, the evaporation of water from leaves, creates the tension that drives long–distance transport up through the xylem pipeline. Transpiration provides the pull, and the cohesion of water due to hydrogen bonding transmits the pull along the entire length of xylem. Within the xylem cells, water molecules adhere to each other and are pulled upward through the trunk, into the branches, and toward the cells and air spaces of the leaves.
4 Late in the growing season, xylem cells diminish in size and develop thicker skins, but they retain their capacity to carry water. Over time the innermost xylem cells become clogged with hard or gummy waste products and can no longer transport fluids. A similar situation occurs in the clogging of arteries in the aging human body . However, since the vascular cambium manufactures healthy new xylem cells each year, the death of the old cells does not mean the death of the tree. When they cease to function as living sapwood, the dead xylem cells become part of the central column of heartwood, the supportive structure of the tree.
Glossary:
hydraulics: the science of the movement of water and other fluids
16. What are the primary components of the tree’s circulatory system?
A Water, minerals, and organic substances
B Xylem and phloem
C Leaves, branches, and trunk
D Roots and heartwood
17. The function of the vascular cambium is to
A lift water from the roots to the leaves
B deliver food to the whole tree
C manufacture the tree’s food supply
D produce new cells for the tree to grow
18. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that the xylem is located
A on the surface of the outer bark
B inside the phloem and the vascular cambium
C next to the inner bark
D between the vascular cambium and the phloem
19. What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about xylem sap?
A It is composed mainly of water.
B It causes water loss by transpiration.
C It gives leaves their green color.
D It is manufactured in the leaves.
20. The word wilt in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A melt
B grow
C swell
D sag
21. Why is the process of transpiration essential to the tree’s circulatory system?
A It supplies the hydrogen and oxygen that trees need to live and grow.
B It produces new phloem and xylem in the trunk, branches, and roots.
C It causes the negative pressure that moves water through the xylem.
D It replaces the water vapor that is lost through the leaves’ air spaces.
22. The phrase adhere to in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A depend on
B stick to
C warm up
D respond to
23. The word gummy in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
A sticky
B liquid
C smelly
D fluffy
24. Why does the author mention arteries in the aging human body in paragraph 4?
A To show that trees and people get the same diseases
B To imply that trees might provide a solution to human problems
C To compare what happens in two aging circulatory systems
D To explain the cause of death in most trees
25. All of the following are functions of the xylem EXCEPT
A transporting food from the leaves to the trunk
B taking in chemical nutrients from the soil
C forming part of the tree’s structural support
D moving water upward through the trunk
Answers to Reading Quiz 6 are on page 642.
Record your score on the Progress Chart on page 790.
PROGRESS–1.4 through 1.5