November 27, 2011

Reading Comprehension - Test - 5


Passage # 1:
Criticism of research lays a significant foundation for future investigative work, but when students begin their own projects, they are likely to find that the standards of validity in field work are considerably more rigorous than the standards for most library research. When students are faced with the concrete problem of proof by field demonstration, they usually discover that many of the "important relationships" they may have criticized other researchers for failing to demonstrate are very elusive indeed. They will find, if they submit an outline or questionnaire to their classmates for criticism, that other students make comments similar to some they themselves may have made in discussing previously published research. For example, student researchers are likely to begin with a general question but find themselves forced to narrow its focus. They may learn that questions whose meanings seem perfectly obvious to them are not clearly understood by other, or those questions that seemed entirely objective to them appear to be highly biased to someone else. They• usually find that the formulation of good research questions is a much more subtle and frustrating task than is generally believed by those who have not actually attempted it.

1. What does the author think about trying to find weaknesses in other people's research?
    A. It should only be attempted by experienced researchers.
    B. It may cause researchers to avoid publishing good work.
    C. It is currently being done to excess.
    D. It can be useful in planning future research.

2. According to the passage, what is one major criticism students often make of published research?
    A. The research has not been written in an interesting way,
    B. The research has been done in unimportant fields.
    C. The researchers did not adequately establish the relationships involved.
    D. The researchers failed to provide an appropriate summary.

3. According to the passage, how do students in class often react to another students research?
    A. They react the way they do to any other research.
    B. They are especially critical of the quality of the research.
    C. They offer unusually good suggestions for improving the work.
    D. They show a lot of sympathy for the student researcher.

4. According to the passage, what do student researchers often learn when they discuss their work in class?
    A. Other students rarely have objective comments about it.
    B. Other students do not believe the researchers did the work themselves.
    C. Some students feel that the conclusions are too obvious.
    D. Some students do not understand the meaning of the researchers questions.

5. According to the passage, student researchers may have to change their research projects because
    A. their budgets are too high
    B. their original questions are too broad
    C. their teachers do not give adequate advice
    D. their time is very limited

Passage # 2:
The scientific name of the koala is Phascolarctos cinereous, from the Greek for “Pouched bear" and "ash gray." The koala lives in trees, specifically in some 35 of the more than 600' species of the genus Eucalyptus that grow in Australia. The diet of the adult koala is almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves. However, the oils of eucalyptus leaves are toxic to most other mammals.

6. According to the passage, how many species of Eucalyptus does the mature koala feed on?
    A. Less than 25
    B. Approximately 40
    C. Approximately 600
    D. Exactly 635

7. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true about the adult koala's food?
    A. It is very difficult to obtain.
    B. It consists of both leaves and bark.
    C. It is almost completely restricted to eucalyptus leaves.
    D. It varies according to the season.

Passage # 3:
Droplets and ice crystals behave somewhat like dust in the air made visible in a shaft of sunlight. To the casual observer, dust seems to act in a totally random fashion, moving about chaotically without fixed direction. But in fact dust particles are much larger than water droplets and they finally fall. The average cloud droplets only 1/16 inch in diameter. It is so small that it would take sixteen hours to fall half a mile in perfectly still air, and it does not fall out of moving air at all. Only when the 1/125 droplet grows to a diameter of an inch or larger can it fall from the cloud. The average contains a million times as much better as a tiny cloud droplet. The growth of a cloud droplet to a size large enough to fall out is the cause of rain and other forms of precipitation. This important growth process is called "coalescence."

8. What can be inferred about drops of water larger than 1/125 inch in diameter?
    A. They never occur.
    B. They are not affected by the force of gravity.
    C. In still air they would fall to earth.
    D. In moving air they fall at a speed of thirty-two miles per hour

9. In this passage, what does the term "coalescence" refer to?
    A. The gathering of small clouds to form larger clouds
    B. The growth of droplets
    C. The fall of raindrops and other precipitation
    D. The movement of dust particles in the sunlight

10. What is the diameter of the average cloud droplet?
    A. 1/16 inch
    B. 1/125 inch
    C. 1 1/2500 inch
    D. One millionth of an inch

ANSWERS
Question
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Answer
D
D
B
A
B
C
C
C
C
C

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