Passage 1

The term "print" has several meanings, so it is important to understand exactly what is meant by the artistic terminology. A print in the artistic sense is not a reproduction of a work of art done in some other medium, such as painting or drawing. That can in no sense be considered a work of art, since the artist had no involvement with it. A print is an original work of art created by an indirect method. Instead of making an image directly on a surface, as in drawing or painting, the artist works on a master surface, which may be a sheet of metal, a block of stone, wood, plastic, or linoleum. From this master surface, numerous impressions may be made by inking the surface, laying a sheet of paper on it, and then subjecting both surface and paper to pressure, generally by means of a printing press.

A print may exist in several versions. Sometimes the printmaker alters the image between impressions, so that each print is slightly different from the others. Any series of such prints is referred to as multiples. The number of impressions (known as the edition) that are possible from a single original varies with the material. Prints made from linoleum, which wears readily, will be fewer than those made from a metal plate, which is capable of striking fine-quality prints in the thousands. It is customary to number prints as they come off the press, the earlier impressions being the finest and therefore the most desirable.

Prints incorporate the same compositional principles, as paintings. Line, shape, or texture may be the predominant element according to the printing technique used. Some prints have obvious decorative qualities while others may be filled with emotional impact.

Printmaking derives from two historical sources: early woodblocks into which an image was cut and used to illustrate a book or playing cards, and the medieval practice of decorating metal with incised designs, as in armor. Today most techniques fall into one of four categories: relief( intaglio, lithography, and serigraphy. However, there are many variations, combinations with photographic techniques, and considerable overlapping.

 

 

 

 

Passage 2

One area of paleoanthropological study involves the eating and dietary habits of hominids, erect bipedal primates—including early humans. It is clear that at some stage of history, humans began to carry their food to central places, called home bases, where it was shared and consumed with the young and other adults. The use of home bases is a fundamental component of human social behavior; the common meal served at a common hearth is a powerful symbol, a mark of social unity. Home base behavior does not occur among nonhuman primates and is rare among mammals. It is unclear when humans began to use home bases, what kind of communications and social relations were involved, and what the ecological and food-choice contexts of the shift were. Work on early tools, surveys of paleoanthropological sites, development and testing of broad ecological theories, and advances in comparative primatology are contributing to knowledge about this central chapter in human prehistory.

One innovative approach to these issues involves studying damage and wear on stone tools. Researchers make tools that replicate excavated specimens as closely as possible and then try to use them as the originals might have been used, in woodcutting, hunting, or cultivation. Depending on how the tool is used, characteristic chippage patterns and microscopically distinguishable polishes develop near the edges. The first application of this method of analysis to stone tools that are 1.5 million to 2 million years old indicates that, from the start, an important function of early stone tools was to extract highly nutritious food—meat and marrow-from large animal carcasses. Fossil bones with cut marks caused by stone tools have been discovered lying in the same 2-million-year-old layers that yielded the oldest such tools and the oldest hominid specimens (including humans) with larger than ape-sized brains. This discovery increases scientists' certainty about when human ancestors began to eat more meat than present-day nonhuman primates. But several questions remain unanswered: how frequently meat eating occurred; what the social implications of meat eating were; and whether the increased use of meat coincides with the beginnings of the use of home bases.

 

 

 

 

 

Passage 3

The cane toad is a large (1.8 kg) amphibian species native to Central and South America. It was deliberately introduced to Australia in 1935 with the expectation that it would protect farmers’ crops by eating harmful insects. Unfortunately, the toad multiplied rapidly, and a large cane toad population now threatens small native animals that are not pest. Several measures have been proposed to stop the spread of the cane toad in Australia.

One way to prevent the spread of the toad would be to build a national fence. A fence that blocks the advance of the toads will prevent them from moving into those parts of Australia that they have not yet colonized. This approach has been used before: a national fence was erected in the early part of the twentieth century to prevent the spread of rabbits, another animal species that was introduced in Australia from abroad and had a harmful impact on its native ecosystems.

Second, the toads could be captured and destroyed by volunteers. Cane toads can easily be caught in simple traps and can even be captured by hand. Young toads and cane toad eggs are even easier to gather and destroy, since they are restricted to the water. If the Australian government were to organize a campaign among Australian citizens to join forces to destroy the toads, the collective effort might stop the toad from spreading.

Third, researchers are developing a disease-causing virus to control the cane toad populations. This virus will be specially designed: although it will be able to infect a number of reptile and amphibian species, it will not harm most of the infected species; it will specifically harm only the cane toads. The virus will control the population of cane toads by preventing them from maturing and reproducing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passage 4

Of all modern instruments, the violin is apparently one of the simplest. It consists in essence of a hollow, varnished wooden sound box, or resonator, and a long neck, covered with a fingerboard, along which four strings are stretched at high tension. The beauty of design, shape, and decoration is no accident: the proportions of the instrument are determined almost entirely by acoustical considerations. Its simplicity of appearance is deceptive. About 70 parts are involved in the construction of a violin, Its tone and its outstanding range of expressiveness make it an ideal solo instrument. No less important. However, is its role as an orchestral and chamber instrument. In combination with the larger and deeper-sounding members of the same family, the violins form the nucleus of the modern symphony orchestra.

The violin has been in existence since about 1550. Its importance as an instrument in its own right dates from the early 1600's, when it first became standard in Italian opera orchestras. Its stature as an orchestral instrument was raised further when in 1626 Louis XIII of France established at his court the orchestra known as Les vingt-quatre violons du Roy (The King's 24 Violins), which was to become widely famous later in the century.

In its early history, the violin had a dull and rather quiet tone resulting from the fact that the strings were thick and were attached to the body of the instrument very loosely. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, exciting technical changes were inspired by such composer-violinists as Vivaldi and Tartini. Their instrumental compositions demanded a fuller, clearer, and more brilliant tone that was produced by using thinner strings and a far higher string tension. Small changes had to be made to the violin's internal structure and to the fingerboard so that they could withstand the extra strain.

Accordingly, a higher standard of performance was achieved, in terms of both facility and interpretation. Left-hand technique was considerably elaborated, and new fingering patterns on the fingerboard were developed for very high notes.

 

 

 

 

 

Passage 5

The mineral particles found in soil range in size from microscopic clay particles to large boulders. The most abundant particles—sand, silt, and clay—are the focus of examination in studies of soil texture. Texture is the term used to describe the composite sizes of particles in a soil sample, typically several representative handfuls. To measure soil texture, the sand, silt, and clay particles are sorted out by size and weight. The weights of each size are then expressed as a percentage of the sample weight.

In the field, soil texture can be estimated by extracting a handful of sod and squeezing the damp soil into three basic shapes; (1) cast, a lump formed by squeezing a sample in a clenched fist; (2) thread, a pencil shape formed by rolling soil between the palms; and (3) ribbon, a flatfish shape formed by squeezing a small sample between the thumb and index finger. The behavioral characteristics of the soil when molded into each of these shapes, if they can be formed at all, provides the basis for a general textural classification. The behavior of the soil in the hand test is determined by the amount of clay in the sample. Clay particles are highly cohesive, and when dampened, behave as a plastic. Therefore the higher the clay content in a sample, the more refined and durable the shapes into which it can be molded.

Another method of determining soil texture involves the use of devices called sediment sieves, screens built with a specified mesh size. When the soil is filtered through a group of sieves, each with a different mesh size, the particles become grouped in corresponding size categories. Each category can be weighed to make a textural determination. Although sieves work well for silt, sand, and larger particles, they are not appropriate for clay particles. Clay is far too small to sieve accurately; therefore, in soils with a high proportion of clay, the fine particles are measured on the basis of their settling velocity when suspended in water. Since clays settle so slowly, they are easily segregated from sand and silt. The water can be drawn off and evaporated, leaving a residue of clay, which can be weighed.

 

What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) Characteristics of high quality soil                                  

(B) Particles typically found in most soils

(C) How a high clay content affects the texture of soil             

(D) Ways to determine the texture of soil

 

 

 

 

 

Passage 6

People living today in the northwestern state of Washington who have many sources of news in addition to newspapers must stretch their imaginations to understand the importance of the press during much of the state's history. Beginning in 1852 with The Columbian. the first paper in Washington Territory, newspapers served to connect settlers in frontier communities with each other and with the major events of their times. Unlike many mid-century papers, The Columbian, published every Saturday in Olympia, one of Washington's larger towns, was "neutral in politics," meaning that it was not the organ of a particular political party or religious group. For its first few years, it was the only newspaper in the territory, but during the following decades, enterprising Washingtonians founded many other papers. Few of these papers lasted long. Until the turn of the century, most were the production of an individual editor, who might begin with insufficient capital or fail to attract a steady readership. Often working with no staff at all, these editors wrote copy, set type, delivered papers, oversaw billing, and sold advertising. Their highly personal journals reflected their own tastes, politics, and known as the "Oregon style"--graphic, torrid, and potentially libelous.

Early newspapers were thick with print, carrying no illustrations or cartoons. Advertising was generally confined to the back pages and simply listed commodities received by local stores. Toward the end of the century, newspapers in Washington began to carry national advertising, especially from patent medicine companies, which bought space from agencies that brokered ads in papers all over the country. By 1900, Washington boasted 19 daily and 176 weekly papers. Especially in the larger cities, they reflected less the personal opinions of the editor than the interests of the large businesses they had become. They subscribed to the Associated Press and United Press news services, and new technology permitted illustrations. Concentrating on features, crime reporting, and sensationalism, they imitated the new mass-circulation papers that William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were making popular throughout the United States.

What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Ways in which various newspapers were advertised in Washington
(B) The history of newspapers in Washington
(C) Editors of the first Washington newspapers
(D) The illustrations in early Washington newspapers

 

Passage 7

The atmosphere that originally surrounded Earth was probably much different from the air we breathe today. Earth's first atmosphere (some 4.6 billion years ago) was most likely hy-ogen and helium--.the two most abundant gasses found in the universe—as well as hydrogen compounds, such as methane and ammonia, Most scientists feel that 5 this early atmosphere escaped into space from the Earth's hot surface.

A second, more dense atmosphere, however, gradually enveloped Earth as gasses from molten rocks within its hot interior escaped through volcanoes and steam vents. We assume that volcanoes spewed out the same gasses then as they do today: mostly water vapor (about g0 percent), carbon dioxide (about ten percent), and up to a few percent nitrogen. These same gasses probably created Earth's second atmosphere.

As millions of years passed, the constant outpouring of gasses from the hot interior--known as outgassing--provided a rich supply of water vapor, which formed into clouds. Rain fell upon Earth for many thousands or years, forming the rivers, lakes, and oceans of the world. During this Lime, large amounts of carbon dioxide were dissolved in the oceans. Through chemical and biological processes, much of the carbon dioxide became locked up in carbon sedimentary rocks, such as limestone. With much  of the water vapor already condensed into water and the concentration of carbon dioxide  dwindling, the atmosphere gradually became rich nitrogen.

It appears that oxygen, the second most abundant gas in today's atmosphere, probably began an extremely slow increase in concentration as energetic rays from the sun split water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen during a process called photo dissociation. The hydrogen, being lighter, probably rose and escaped into space, while the oxygen remained in the atmosphere.

This slow increase in oxygen may have provided enough of this gas for primitive plants to evolve, perhaps two to three billion years ago. Or the plants may have evolved in an almost oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment. At any rate, plant growth greatly enriched our atmosphere with oxygen. The reason for this enrichment is that plants, in the presence of sunlight, process carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen.

 

What is the main idea of the passage?

(A) The original atmosphere on Earth was unstable.         

(B) The atmosphere on Earth has changed over time.

(C) Hot underground gasses created clouds, which formed the Earth's atmosphere.

(D) Plant growth depended on oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

Passage 9

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 ahnost 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 tree 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 cons 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 crack like 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.

What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The effect of the tides on Europa's interior          

(B) Temperature variations on Jupiter's moons
(C) Discoveries leading to a theory about one of Jupiter's moons

(D) Techniques used by Voyager 2 to obtain close-up images

Passage 8

By far the most important United States export product in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was cotton, favored by the European textile industry over flax or wool because it was easy to process and soft to tile touch. Mechanization of spinning and weaving allowed significant centralization and expansion in the textile industry during this period, and at the same time the demand for cotton increased dramatically. American producers were able to meet this demand largely because of tile invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Cotton could be grown throughout the South, but separating the fiber---or lint--from the seed was a laborious process. Sea island cotton was relatively easy to process by hand, because its fibers were long and seeds were concentrated at the base of the flower, but it demanded a long growing season, available only along the nation's eastern seacoast. Short-staple cotton required a much shorter growing season, but the shortness of the fibers and their mixture with seeds meant that a worker could hand-process only about one pound per day. Whitney's gin was a hand-powered machine with Urevolving drums and metal teeth to pull cotton fibers away from seeds. sing the gin, a worker could produce up to '50 pounds of lint a day. The later development of larger gins, powered by horses, water, or steam, multiplied productivity further.

The interaction of improved processing and high demand led to the rapid spread of the cultivation of cotton and to a surge in production. It became the main American export, dwarfing all others. In 1802, cotton composed 14 percent of total American exports by value. Cotton had a 36 percent share by 1810 and over a 50 percent share in 1830. In 1860, 61 percent of the value of American exports was represented by cotton. In contrast, wheat and wheat flour composed only 6 percent of the value of American exports in that year. Clearly, cotton was king in the trade of the young republic. The growing market for cotton and other American agricultural products led to an unprecedented expansion of agricultural settlement, mostly in the eastern half of the United States---west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River.

The main point of the passage is that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a time when

(A) the European textile industry increased its demand for American export products

(B) mechanization of spinning and weaving dramatically changed the textile industry

(C) cotton became a profitable crop but was still time-consuming to process

(D) cotton became the most important American export product

 

Passage 10

The tern “art deco” has come to encompass three distinct but related design trends of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The first was what is frequently referred to as “zigzag moderne” –the exotically ornamental style of such skyscrapers as the Chrysler Building in New York City and related structures such as the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California The word “zigzag” alludes to the geometric and stylized ornamentation of zigzags, angular patterns, abstracted plant and animal motifs, sunbursts, astrological imagery, formalized fountains, and related themes that were applied in mosaic relief. and mural form to the exterior and interior of the buildings. Many of these buildings were shaped in the ziggurat form, a design resembling an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower that recedes in progressively smaller stages to the summit, creating a staircase-like effect.

The second manifestation of art deco was the 1930’s streamlined modern” style—a Futuristic-looking aerodynamic style of rounded corners and horizontal bands known as “speed stripes.” In architecture, these elements were frequently accompanied by round windows, extensive use of glass block, and flat rooftops.

The third style, referred to as either “ international stripped classicism,” or simply “ classical modern,” also came to the forefront during the Depression, a period of severe economic difficult in the 1930’s. This was amore conservative style, blending a simplified modernistic style with a more austere form of geometric and stylized relief sculpture and other ornament, including interior murals. May buildings in this style were erected nationwide through government programs during the Depression .

Although art deco in its many forms was largely perceived as thoroughly modern, it was strongly influenced by the decorative arts movements that immediately preceded it. For example, like “art nouveau” (1890-1910), art deco also used plant motifs, but regularized the forms into abstracted repetitive patterns rather than presenting them as flowing, asymmetrical foliage, Like the Viennese craftspeople of the Wiener Werkstatte, art deco designers worked with exotic materials, geometricized shapes, and colorfully ornate patterns. Furthermore, like the artisans of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England and the United States, art deep practitioners considered it their mission to transform the domestic environment through well-designed furniture and household accessories.

What aspect of art deco does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The influence of art deco on the design of furniture and household accessories

B. Ways in which government programs encouraged the development of art deco

C. Architectural manifestations of art deco during the 1920’s and 1930’s

D. Reasons for the popularity of art deco in New York and California

Passage 11

The languages spoken by early Europeans are still shrouded in mystery. There is no linguistic continuity between the languages of Old Europe (a term sometimes used for Europe between 7000 and 3000 B.C.) and the languages of the modem world, and we cannot yet translate the Old European script, Scholars have deciphered other ancient languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian, which used the cuneiform script, because of the fortuitous discovery of bilingual inscriptions, When cuneiform tablets were first discovered in the eighteenth century, scholars could not decipher them.

Then inscriptions found in baa at the end of the eighteenth century provided a link: these inscriptions were written in cuneiform and in two other ancient languages, Old Persian and New Elamite--languages that had already been deciphered. It took several decades, but scholars eventually translated the ancient cuneiform script via the more familiar Old Persian language.

Similarly, the hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians remained a mystery until French troops unearthed the famous Rosetta stone in the late eighteenth century. The stone carried the same message written in ancient Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Egyptian hieratic, a simplified form of hieroglyphs. The Rosetta stone thwarted scholars' efforts for several decades until the early nineteenth century when several key hieroglyphic phrases were decoded using the Greek inscriptions. Unfortunately, we have no Old European Rosetta stone to chart correspondences between Old European script and the languages that replaced it.

 Tim incursions of Indo-European tribes into Old Europe from the late fifth to the early third millennia B.C. caused a linguistic and cultural discontinuity. These incursions disrupted the Old European sedentary farming lifestyle that had existed for 3,000 years As the Indo-Europeans encroached on Old Europe from the east, the continent underwent upheavals. These severely affected the Balkans, where the Old European cultures abundantly employed script. The Old European way of life deteriorated rapidly, although pockets of Old European culture remained for several millennia, ~ new peoples spoke completely different languages belonging to the Indo-European linguistic family. The Old European language or languages, and the script used to write them, declined and eventually vanished.

22. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A)Reasons for the failure to understand the written records of Old European culture

(B) Influences on the development of Old European script

(C) Similarities between Old European script and other ancient writing systems

(D) Events leading to the discovery of Old European script

 

 

 

Passage 12

Lichens. probably the hardiest of all plants, live where virtually nothing else can---not just on rugged mountain peaks but also on sunbaked desert rocks. They are usually the first life to appear on a mountainside that has been scraped bare by an avalanche.

Unlike other members of the plant kingdom, lichens are actually a partnership between two plants. The framework of a lichen is usually a network of minute hairlike fungus that anchors the plant, The other component is an alga (similar to the green film of plant life that grows on stagnant pools) that is distributed throughout the fungus. Being green plants, algae are capable of photosynthesis--that is, using energy from the Sun to manufacture their own food. The fungi are believed to supply water, minerals, and physical support to the partnership.

Lichens are famous for their ability to survive -- water shortage. When water is scarce (as is often the case on a mountain), lichens may become dormant and remain in that condition for prolonged periods of time. Some lichens can even grow where there is no rain at all, surviving on only occasional dew--the moisture that condenses on the surface of the plants at night, And unlike most other plants, lichens are little affected by the strong ultraviolet rays in the mountains. Lichens use little energy, for they grow slowly. Some grow so slowly and are so old that they are called "time stains." You may find lichens that are centuries old; certain of these lichen colonies have been established for an estimated 2,000 years.

For decades, scientists wondered how the offspring of an alga and a fungus got together to form a new lichen, it seemed unlikely that they would just happen to encounter one another. It was finally discovered that in many cases the two partners have never been separated. Stalklike "buds" that form on certain lichens are broken off by the wind or by animals; these toll or are blown to a new location.

11. Which of the following questions does the passage answer?

(A) Where can the oldest lichens be found?

(B) How long does it take for lichens to establish themselves?

(C) How large can lichens be?

(D) Where do lichens usually occur?