Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 26 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

 

1. D The passage does not give the type of mineral as a factor in mass wasting. All of the other answers are given: …the angle of the slope is a major factor in the potential for mass wasting…; Water plays a significant role…; …absence of vegetation…. (1.2)

2. B The name of a mass wasting process is a reflection of the material that is moved and the way it moves. Clues: One way to classify mass wasting processes is on the basis of the material involved…rock, debris, earth, or mud. The manner in which the material moves is also important…a fall, a slide, or a flow. (1.1)

3. C Trigger means cause in this context. Clues: Rain or snowmelt can trigger a rockslide by wetting the underlying surface…can no longer hold the rock in place. The water from the rain or snowmelt causes a rockslide to occur. (1.4)

4. A A rock avalanche moves faster than other types of rockslides because the rock moves over a layer of compressed air. Clues: The fastest type of slide is a rock avalanche, in which a mass of rock literally floats on air as it moves downslope. The high speed of a rock avalanche is the result of air becoming trapped and compressed beneath the falling mass of debris…. (1.1)

5. A Buoyant means floating in this context. Clues: …a mass of rock literally floats on air as it moves downslope; …air becoming trapped and compressed beneath the falling mass of debris…. (1.4)

6. C Anchor means hold in this context. Clues: …rainstorms in semiarid regions…; When a rainstorm or rapidly melting snow creates a sudden flood, large quantities of soil and loose rock are washed into nearby stream channels because there is usually little or no vegetation to anchor the surface material. (1.4)

7. B The referent of that is something of wet concrete to which the consistency of the mudflow may be similar. Logic tells you that that refers to consistency. (1.3)

8. A The removal of native vegetation by brush fires… is paraphrased in Fire has destroyed much of the original vegetation…’, …has increased the probability of these destructive events is paraphrased in …so mudflows are now more likely. (1.7)

9. D You can infer that mudflows are so dangerous because people do not expect them to occur. Clues: …mudflows are a serious hazard to development on and near canyon hillsides;… because mudflows occur infrequently, homeowners are often unaware of the potential danger of building on the site of a previous mudflow. (1.5)

10. B You can infer that lahars occur in Indonesia. Clues: Mudflows containing volcanic debris are called lahars, a word originating in Indonesia, a region that experiences many volcanic eruptions. (1.5)

11. C The author’s purpose is to emphasize the fast speed of lahars. Clues: …altering the landscape in a relatively short period. One meaning of race is to move at a high speed. (1.6)

12. C In the added sentence, Thus is a transition that shows result. Thus links Rain or snowmelt can trigger a rockslide in the previous sentence with rockslides occur more frequently during the spring, when heavy rains and melting snow are most prevalent in the added sentence. (1.8)

13. A, D, G Rockslides: Rockslides occur when a coherent mass of rock breaks loose and slides down a slope as a unit; … where there are joints and fractures in the rock that are parallel to the slope; …a mass of rock literally floats on air as it moves downslope.

B, C, H, I Mudflows: Mudflows…involve soil and a large amount of water; The consistency of the mudflow may be similar to that of wet concrete, or it may be a soupy mixture…; When a mudflow is dense, it moves more slowly, but it can easily carry or push large boulders, trees, and even houses along with it; Mudflows containing volcanic debris are called lahars…; Lahars occur when highly unstable layers of ash and debris become saturated with water…. Answers (E) and (F) refer to neither rockslides nor mudflows. (1.10)

14. C The passage does not state that a strong labor union was a characteristic of the Triangle Waist Company’s factory. All of the other answers are given: …the inhumane working conditions…an unsanitary and dangerous work environment; Most of the workers were women…; The shirt factory occupied the top three floors…. (1.2)

15. D Already struggling with a new language and culture… is paraphrased in The workers experienced cultural difficulties…’, …these workers could not speak out about working conditions for fear of losing their desperately needed jobs… is paraphrased in …without complaint because they needed their jobs; …and this forced them to endure exploitation by the factory owners is paraphrased in .. .poor conditions, and exploitation…. (1.7)

16. B Ignited means caught fire in this context. Clues: …a rag bin…was on fire; …tried to extinguish the flames, but their efforts proved futile…;… the fire spread. (1.4)

17. A The author’s purpose is to emphasize the unsafe working conditions. Clues: The incident highlighted the inhumane working conditions faced by many industrial workers, including…an unsanitary and dangerous work environment; …they found it rotted and useless. (1.6)

18. C Many workers on the top floor managed to escape the fire on ladders. Clues: …the ten-story Asch Building; The seventy employees who worked on the tenth floor escaped the fire… by climbing onto the roof where students from New York University, located across the street, stretched ladders over to the Asch Building. (1.1)

19. C The referent of Still others is something or someone that climbed onto the fire escape. The previous three sentences discuss the efforts of the ninth-floor workers to escape the fire, and the pronouns their, they, some, and Others in these sentences refer to ninth-floor workers. Logic tells you that Still others also refers to ninth-floor workers. (1.3)

20. A Spindly means weak in this context. Clues: …inadequately constructed fire escape;…it bent under the weight of hundreds of workers…; …separated from the wall, falling to the ground…. (1.4)

21. C You can infer that the women on the window ledges did not escape. Clues: The young women trapped on the ninth floor waited on the window ledges to be rescued, only to discover that the ladder, fully raised, stopped far below them at the sixth floor; …killing 146 workers, mostly immigrant women. (1.5)

22. D The author argues that the cause of the disaster was the lack of fire safety measures. Clues: …the Triangle fire tragically illustrated that fire inspections and safety precautions were very inadequate. The victims of the fire were trapped by the lack of fire escapes…. (1.1)

23. B The statement that an era of progressive reform began to sweep the nation means that the idea of reform became widespread. Clues: The incident had a profound impact…affecting local and national politics in the process;.. .people decided that government had a responsibility…; …a public outcry for laws to regulate workplace safety. (1.4)

24. C You can infer that the author believes the Triangle fire increased awareness of workplace safety and led to necessary reform. Clues: The incident had a profound impact on…job safety…; An era of progressive reform began to sweep the nation…; There was a public outcry for laws to regulate workplace safety;…led to many new regulations in the years following the fire. (1.5)

25. C The added sentence further develops the idea that The incident had a profound impact on women s unionism and job safety, mentioned in the previous sentence. (1.8)

26. C, D, F Key information: Within minutes, the factory was consumed by flame, killing 146 workers, mostly immigrant women; The incident highlighted the inhumane working conditions faced by many industrial workers, including… dangerous work environment;

…the Triangle fire tragically illustrated that fire inspections and safety precautions were very inadequate; There was a public outcry for laws to regulate workplace safety;… their report led to many new regulations in the years following the fire. Answer (A) is a minor idea; answers (B) and (E) are not mentioned. (1.9)

27. B You can infer that music and poetry were part of Greek culture from very early times. Clues: Long before the ancient Greeks could read and write, they learned of their history and culture through epic poetry…; The bards chanted stories in standard musical phrases that were accompanied by musical instruments such as the lyre…. (1.5)

28. C Both Homer and Sappho were skilled lyre players. Clues: Homer, was a…master of the lyre; Another famous…lyre player was Sappho…. (1.1)

29. B The author’s purpose is to show that the period was a high point in Greek civilization. Clues: …during the fifth century BC, when politics, philosophy, art, architecture, and theater thrived, as they never had before. (1.6)

30. D Outgrowth means product in this context. Clues: Early drama…was an outgrowth of the choral songs and dances…; A chorus of singers, dancers, and musicians…performed stories that educated and entertained the audience…. The prefix out- = beyond. Drama was a new product that developed from choral songs and dances and grew beyond them. (1.4)

31. A The passage does not state that an emphasis on costumes and makeup characterized Greek drama. All of the other answers are given: The famous outdoor Theater of Dionysus in Athens showed the importance of drama to the Greeks; …a masked actor; …recited verses as a character in the story…spoken verses…; …the chorus sang the narrative passages. (1.2)

32. C The addition of an actor who spoke was a major development that changed choral performance into drama. Clues: The crucial innovation that turned choral performance into drama is attributed to Thespis…; Thespis would enter the theater as a masked actor; …he recited verses…and these spoken verses changed what had been a choral monologue into a dialogue between the actor and the chorus. (1.1)

33. B Legacy means contribution in this context. Clues: The crucial innovation that turned choral performance into drama is attributed to Thespis…; …the term “thespian,” which now describes anything relating to drama. The actor’s contribution to drama is honored by a word derived from his name. (1.4)

34. A The referent of which is something with a device like a speaking trumpet inside. Logic tells you that which refers to mask. (1.3)

35. A Still, despite the attention the actor received… is paraphrased in …even though the actor was also important; …the chorus and its music continued to dominate dramatic performances with the combined power of singing and dancing is paraphrased in The singers, dancers, and musicians remained at the center of drama…. (1.7)

36. D Adding a second and a third actor led to the actors becoming more important than the chorus. Clues: Now audience attention could be directed to the interplay between the two actors…; The addition of actors shifted the focus of drama away from the chorus toward the action and dialogue of the characters. (1.1)

37. C Adhered to means followed in this context. Clues: Playwrights continued to introduce innovations, but essentially they adhered to prescribed conventions. But shows contrast between the idea of introducing innovations (new developments) and adhering to prescribed conventions (established practices or rules). (1.4)

38. A The added sentence introduces the topic of standard forms and dramatic conventionsy which the rest of the paragraph develops with examples: One of these conventions…; The drama always took place…; Another convention…; … still another convention…. (1.8)

39. A, D, E Key information: …they learned of their history and culture through epic poetry chanted by bards or singers; Early drama was associated with the worship of the god Dionysus and was an outgrowth of the choral songs and dances performed in honor of the god; …enter the theater as a masked actor; …recited verses as a character in the story…; The addition of actors shifted the focus of drama away from the chorus toward the action and dialogue of the characters; …they adhered to prescribed conventions; Another convention reflected the society’s sense of balance and order…; The Greek concept of moderation is reflected in still another convention…. Answer (B) is not mentioned; answers (C) and F) are minor ideas. (1.9)

Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 25 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

 

1. A Population ecology is.. .concerned.. .with… is paraphrased in …can be studied in population ecology; …not…solely with the human population is paraphrased in Any species of life… (1.7)

2. C A large number of other species competing for food might cause the population of a species to decrease in size. Clues: Factors that decrease populations are… too many competitors for resources…. (1.1)

3. B The number of nests in a given area is an indirect indicator of a population’s density. Clues: …indirect indicators, such as the number of nests…. (1.1)

4. D The distribution pattern of individuals within a population’s geographical boundaries is called population dispersion. Clues: …dispersion, is the pattern of spacing among individuals within the population s geographical boundaries. (1.1)

5. A Range means territory in this context. Clues: …within the population s geographical boundaries; …habitats…; …areas…. (1.4)

6. D Patches means small areas in this context. Clues: …gathered…; clumped under logs…; …swarm in great numbers…; …swim in large schools…. A patch is a small piece or part of something; in this context, it is a small part of a habitat. (1.4)

7. C The referent of their is something that likes the humidity under logs. The clause states that many forest insects are clumped under logs. Logic tells you that their refers to forest insects. (1.3)

8. B The passage does not give territorial disputes as a reason for clumping. All of the other answers are given: Clumping often results from the irregular distribution of resources…; Clumping may also be associated with mating, safety… Crane flies, for example, swarm in great numbers, a behavior that increases mating chances, and some fish swim in large schools so they are less likely to be eaten by predators. (1.2)

9. B Set up means establish in this context. Clues: …uniform distribution is usually caused…by social interactions that set up individual territories for feeding, breeding, or resting. Animals establish territories that result in uniform spacing of individuals. (1.4)

10. A You can infer that birds competing for a place to build their nests would probably result in a uniform dispersion pattern. Clues: In animal populations, uniform distribution is usually caused by competition for some resource or by social interactions that set up individual territories for feeding, breeding, or resting. (1.5)

11. A The author’s purpose is to identify factors affecting population dispersion. Clues: …by emigrating from one area and immigrating to another with more favorable environmental conditions, thus altering the population s dispersion. (1.6)

12. D In the added sentence, For example is a transition that introduces the example of one of the sampling techniques to estimate densities and total population sizes, mentioned in the previous sentence. In the added sentence, they refers to Ecologists in a previous sentence. (1.8)

13. A, B, E Key information: The characteristics of a population are shaped by its size and by the interactions among individuals and between individuals and their environment; An important characteristic of any population is its density; Another important population characteristic, dispersion…; Three possible patterns of dispersion are clumped, uniform, and random; … often results from the irregular distribution of resources…; …may also be associated with mating, safety, or other social behavior; Populations change in size, structure, and distribution as they respond to changes in environmental conditions. Answers (C) and (D) are minor ideas; answer (F) is not mentioned. (1.9)

14. C The author means that many technologies were very influential. Clues: Communication technology influences the ways in which we think about the world. It changes the things we think about…. (1.4)

15. A You can infer that certain advances in technology have greatly changed communication. Clues: Communication technology influences…; It changes…; In the history of communication, there have been many revolutionary technologies…. (1.5)

16. B Writing began to have a major effect on communication when books became available.

Clues: …before books and the printing press, written language was limited…; It was not until books became available that writing made a major impact. (1.1)

17. C The referent of one is something that was handwritten. The subject of the sentence is books. Logic tells you that one refers to book. (1.3)

18. A The printing press opened to large groups of people… is paraphrased in Numerous people had access to… because of the printing press; …a body of information that had previously been confined to the educated few is paraphrased in … books and education…. (1.7)

19. D Proliferation means spread in this context. Clues: The printing press brought books to the common people, increasing the ranks of the literate. The prefix pro- = forward. (1.4)

20. B Signaled means announced in this context. Clues: …significant revolution in communication technology began…; …invention of the telegraph… a new era in communication technology. (1.4)

21. D The electronic era got its name from the fact that technology sent electrical signals along electrical wires. Clues: …the electronic era—so called because the telegraph used electrical signals to carry information along an electrical wire. (1.1)

22. B The passage does not give the computer as an example of electronic media. All of the other answers are given: …the electronic era—so called because the telegraph used electrical signals to carry information along an electrical wire; …movies…radio…. (1.2)

23. C The author’s purpose is to show that both were initially confined to a few users. Clues: As with the earliest handwritten books, radio technology was at first restricted to the educated few…. (1.6)

24. C The added sentence introduces the idea that electronic technologies had an ability to convey a sense of reality. The next sentence develops this idea with the idea that Voices or pictures could create ideas that appeared authentic. (1.8)

25. A, D, G Printing Press: …the printing press in the fifteenth century…; The printing press with movable type made it possible to produce hundreds of copies of a book in a single day; The printing press brought books to the common people, increasing the ranks of the literate.

C, E Electronic Media: The invention of the telegraph in 1843 signaled a new era in communication technology, the electronic era…; Radio was the first mass broadcast medium…; Voices or pictures…. Answers (B) and (F) describe neither the printing press nor electronic media. (1.10)

26. C You can infer that the Icelandic sagas may not be historically accurate. Clues: …historians have long expressed skepticism about their accuracy. (1.5)

27. B Set eyes on means observe in this context. Clues: … discovered…;… did not go ashore…;… the first European to set eyes on the continent of North America. Heijolfsson discovered the continent, but did not go ashore (walk on land). He was the first to see, or observe, North America. (1.4)

28. B Leif Eriksson was probably the first European to step on the continent of North America. Clues: …Eriksson landed in a place he called Stone land, which was probably the rocky, barren Labrador coast of North America. (1.1)

29. A Abundant means numerous in this context. Clues: …Vinland…; …land of abundant vines and wild grapes. Eriksson may have named the place Vinland because there were a lot of vines and grapes there. (1.4)

30. D They established the first European colony in North America at Vinland… is paraphrased in Eriksson s Vinland was the first European colony in North America…; …the precise location of which remains a subject of scholarly dispute to this day is paraphrased in …but scholars still disagree over exactly where it was. (1.7)

next –> Solution 31 – 63

Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 24 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

 

1. B Before information can be stored in memory, an object or idea must be perceived. Clues: …an immediate sensory perception of an object or idea that occurs before the image is stored(1.1)

2. C One difference between short-term memory and long-term memory is the amount of information they hold. Clues: Short-term memory and long-term memory can be thought of as memory structures, each varying as to how much information it can hold…. (1.1)

3. B Attend to means focus on in this context. Clues: … recognize…; … meaningful or relevant…. Information must be recognized as meaningful if it is to be processed further. If you do not focus on the information as being meaningful or relevant, it will not be stored in memory. (1.4)

4. A You can infer that something is not likely to be remembered if it is not considered important. Clues: Information that you do not selectively attend to will disappear from the system. However, if you recognize and attend to the information as meaningful or relevant, it is sent to short-term memory. (1.5)

5. D Information can be lost from short-term memory when a person is distracted for 20 seconds. Clues: …were then distracted by something else for 20 seconds, you probably would have forgotten the number at that point. (1.1)

6. B Make it to means arrive at in this context. Clues: … unless the information is processed further, it is quickly forgotten; Unless information in short-term memory is processed further, it does not make it to long-term memory. If something is not processed any more, it disappears or is forgotten; thus, it does not arrive at long-term memory. (1.4)

7. A The purpose behind such behavior is usually… is paraphrased in Usually information is rehearsed so….to memorize information for later use… is paraphrased in …so it can be used later…; …although sometimes it is simply to hold information in short-term memory for immediate use is paraphrased in … but sometimes it is rehearsed so it can be used right away. (1.7)

8. B The author’s purpose is to give an example of knowledge already stored in long-term memory. “Card sense” is the previously learned information about other card games, which is stored in long-term memory. Clues: …association of new data with data previously learned and stored in long-term memory; … “card sense” from playing other games. (1.6)

9. C The referent of They is something that affects whether you process information for short-term or long-term storage. The subject of the previous sentence is interests, attitudes, skills, and knowledge of the world. Logic tells you that They refers to interests, attitudes, skills, and knowledge of the world. (1.3)

10. A Deciding that information is not meaningful or relevant does not enhance the transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory; in fact, it decreases the likelihood of the information being sent to memory at all. All of the other answers are given: Several control processes enable the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory\ One such process is rehearsal… Rehearsal is when you repeat something to yourself over and over; Another process that enables the transfer of information to long-term memory is the association of new data with data previously learned and stored in long-term memory; …skill memory usually involves motor activities that you learn by repetition…. (1.2)

11. B You can infer that skill memory exists in long-term memory because of repeated practice. Clues: Longterm memory…; …holds skills such as knowing how to ride a bicycle; …skill memory usually involves motor activities that you learn by repetition…. (1.5)

12. A The added sentence introduces the topic of the types of information stored in long-term memory. The next two sentences develop this topic with details: …recollections of personal experiences.factual knowledge acquired through other means…; …skills…. (1.8)

13. B, F, H Short-term Memory: Short-term memory reflects an immediate sensory perception of an object or idea that occurs before the image is stored; Short-term memory is often called working memory because it holds information that you are working with at a given moment, but only for about 20 seconds; Short-term memory can hold approximately seven unrelated bits of information at a time.

A, D, E, I Long-term Memory: …the storage

capacity of long-term memory is unlimited and contains a permanent record of everything you have learned; Long-term memory plays an influential role throughout the information processing system; … influence what you perceive and how you interpret your perceptions; Long-term memory can hold recollections of personal experiences as well as factual knowledge…. Answer (C) describes the sensory register; answer (G) describes any of the senses. (1.10)

14. A The world market…was confined to the coasts and along rivers… is paraphrased in International trade had to take place near oceans and rivers…; …and its effects were rarely felt a hundred miles inland is paraphrased in …and did not extend to interior regions. (1.7)

15. D Zenith means high point in this context. Clues: …the main instrument…; The age of sailing ships reached its zenith…the era of the great ocean-plying clippers that carried the majority of international trade. (1.4)

16. B The need to move large quantities of coal led to an increase in canal building. Clues: …it was the demands of the Industrial Revolution, particularly the need to transport huge quantities of coal, that stimulated large-scale canal building…. (1.1)

17. A Impetus means push in this context. Clues: …the demands of the Industrial Revolution…; …stimulated large-scale canal building…; …an additional impetus to river navigation and canal construction. (1.4)

18. D A reason given for the rise of the steamship over the sailing ship was that technical advances made the steamship require less coal. Clues: The steamship rose in stature in the 1870s, when technical progress reduced the amount of coal the steam engine consumed. Technical innovation… enabled the steamship to surpass the sailing ship as the chief instrument of international trade. (1.1)

19. C Boom means rapid growth in this context. Clues: …slow, uncertain, and expensive until…; In 1840 there were 5,500 miles of rail track throughout the world; just twenty years later, there were 66,000 miles. (1.4)

20. B The referent of these is something of which 50 percent were in North America and 47 percent were in Europe. The previous sentence discusses the miles of rail track in the world. Logic tells you that these refers to miles of rail track. (1.3)

21. D A major result of railroad building in the nineteenth century was that large parts of the world became populated and economically developed. Clues ..the building of railroads remained… the main method of developing new territories; The U.S. transcontinental railroad played a key role in populating and developing huge tracts of land in North America, as did the Trans-Siberian Railway in Asia. (1.1)

22. C The author’s purpose is to give an example of an innovation that expanded markets. Clues: …opened huge markets for meat, dairy products, and fruit in North America and Europe. (1.6)

23. C The passage does not state that population decline in major cities was an effect of the transportation revolution. All of the other answers are given: The expansion of economic activity… and its spread…;

… was largely accomplished through a revolution in transportation…; …inventions that made railroads a leading source of technical innovation in the nineteenth century; …the railroad…the steamship; …these two innovations…;…the effect of increasing the size of markets as well as the amount of economic activity worldwide. (1.2)

24. B You can infer that the author believes improvements in transportation had a direct impact on world economics. Clues: The expansion of economic activity into the interior… was a major development of the nineteenth century. It was largely accomplished through a revolution in transportation…; In the course of the nineteenth century, around 9 million square miles of land were settled in North and South America and Oceania. This was made possible by the decline in transportation costs…; …the rise of the railroad…the steamship; Both had the effect of increasing the size of markets as well as the amount of economic activity worldwide. (1.5)

25. A The added sentence introduces the topic of how railroad construction was financed. The rest of the paragraph develops this topic with facts and details:

.. .private companies…;… a concern of the state…; British capital financed the majority of the railroads…. (1.8)

26. B, C, F Key information: …it was the demands of the Industrial Revolution… that stimulated large-scale canal building…; The introduction of steamboats gave an additional impetus to river navigation and canal construction; …the steamship to surpass the sailing ship as the chief instrument of international trade; …the building of railroads remained… the main method of developing new territories; …the adoption of steel rails, electric signals, compressed-air brakes, and other inventions that made railroads a leading source of technical innovation…. Answers (A) and (D) are minor ideas; answer (E) is not mentioned. (1.9)

27. A Fostered means inspired in this context. Clues: …a rugged landscape…; … her passion for nature, animals, and painting; …decided to become an artist…. The British Columbia landscape inspired Carr and became the subject of her paintings. (1.4)

28. C The author does not connect birth into a family of artists to Emily Carr’s early interest in art. All of the other answers are given: …a rugged landscape that fostered her passion for nature, animals, and painting;

. ..she supported herself by teaching children s art classes…; Early in life, Carr developed an interest in painting the aboriginal culture…. (1.2)

29. D Fishing villages and totem poles are subjects that Carr painted frequently. Clues: Her paintings of the First Nations people documented their fishing villages, totem poles…; …a series of totem poles painted in a bold style…. (1.1)

30. B The author points out that Carr’s sketching trips to the forest were uncommon for a woman. Clues:

… Carr returned to the aboriginal villages to sketch and paint. These camping trips were unusual for a woman of her time…. (1.1)

31. C The author means that Carr needed to experience her subjects directly. Clues: …with all of her senses alert; …drew inspiration from the cold, raw dampness of the coast, the sounds of the forest, and the sting of the smoke from campfires— experiences…. (1.4)

32. D The author’s purpose is to show that the exhibition established Carr’s national reputation as an artist. Clues: Carr began to receive national recognition in 1927. At her first major exhibition outside of British Columbia…; The Toronto exhibition was a turning point for Carr, establishing her reputation as a leading figure in Canadian art. (1.6)

33. C The referent of Mem is something that Carr had lived deeply and which were still fresh in her mind. The sentence states that Carr recounted her days as Klee Wyck forty years earlier. Logic tells you that them refers to her days as Klee Wyck. (1.3)

34. D Credit means praise in this context. Clues: … recognized Carr…; … raising Canadian art to a new height; …combined to produce a vision…. In general, the passage praises Carr’s contributions to Canadian art. (1.4)

35. B Carr’s paintings endure as visual icons that Canadians can most easily associate with an individual artist… is paraphrased in …her paintings are instantly recognized as hers; …for this reason she is the best-known woman artist in Canadian history is paraphrased in Emily Carr remains Canadas most famous woman artist because… (1.7)

36. B Emily Carr’s paintings were unique because she painted regional subjects in a bold and transcendental style. Clues: …a series of totem poles painted in a bold style as Carr attempted to capture the spirit of the scene that would transcend its physical reality; …a powerful and unique visual landscape that captured the transcendental qualities of the wilderness; The subjects Carr chose to paint, the region of the country in which she painted, and her own ideas about art combined to produce a vision that distinguished her from other artists. (1.1)

37. A You can infer that the author believes Emily Carr deserves her position in Canadian cultural history. Clues: She combined modernism with aboriginal form and color to create a powerful and unique visual landscape that captured the transcendental qualities of the wilderness; …her first book, Klee Wyck…united art and literature in a highly original way…; The subjects Carr chose to paint, the region of the country in which she painted, and her own ideas about art combined to produce a vision that distinguished her from other artists; …she is the best-known woman artist in Canadian history. (1.5)

38. D In the added sentence, Her later paintings refers to the monumental paintings of totem poles that are her best-known works, mentioned in the previous sentence. The added sentence compares her later paintings to her earlier works, which further develops the idea that Carr revisited her earlier themes, mentioned in the previous sentence. The next sentence further develops the topic of her later paintings. (1.8)

39. B, D, E Key information: …developed an interest in painting the aboriginal culture of British Columbia; Her paintings of the First Nations people documented their fishing villages, totem poles, and life in the forest; …she began to write stories about the beautiful, calm places of her earlier life among her aboriginal friends; …monumental paintings of totem poles that are her best-known works; …a powerful and unique visual landscape that captured the transcendental qualities of the wilderness; The subjects Carr chose to paint…and her own ideas about art combined to produce a vision that distinguished her from other artists. Answers (A) and (C) are minor ideas; answer (F) is not mentioned. (1.9)

Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 23 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

1. B Thick walls of stone or brick were typical of tall buildings before the nineteenth century. Clues:

Until the nineteenth century; most tall buildings were constructed of load-bearing masonry walls. Masonry walls had to be thick…; Stoneworkers built these walls by placing stone upon stone or brick upon brick…. (1.1)

2. C Force means load in this context. Clues: …load-bearing masonry walls; …support a building’s great weight; …the major vertical force of buildings was supported by thick masonry walls. (1.4)

3. A The passage does not state that sturdy walls made of stone or brick were a benefit of iron-frame construction; in fact, such walls characterized masonry construction. All of the other answers are given: The introduction of metal construction made it possible to build larger interior spaces with fewer columns than before; An interior wrought iron skeleton supported all of the building’s weight; …walls that once bore weight evolved into thin curtain walls that would allow more windows. (1.2)

4. B As masonry yielded to concrete… is paraphrased in … now they were… made of concrete.walls that once bore weight… is paraphrased in Walls used to be made of load-bearing masonry…;… evolved into thin curtain walls that would allow more windows is paraphrased in …now they were thin…, so more windows were possible. (1.7)

5. B It is true that the earliest skyscrapers were eight or more stories high. Clues: …taller buildings that quickly became known as skyscrapers; Buildings of eight or more stories quickly transformed the city skyline…. (1.1)

6. D The author’s purpose is to show how an innovation contributed to architecture. Clues: The invention of the mechanical elevator made it possible to construct even taller buildings; The elevator made the upper floors as rentable as the first floor, liberating architecture from dependence on stairways and human muscle. (1.6)

7. D Rentable means desirable in this context. Clues: The elevator made the upper floors as rentable as the first floor…. The elevator meant that people no longer had to climb numerous stairways to the upper floors. Thus, people desired (wanted) to rent the upper floors as much as the first floor. (1.4)

8. A Tlie referent of they is something that erased the traditional architectural distinctions separating the different parts of a building. The subject of the previous clause is innovations. Logic tells you that they refers to innovations. (1.3)

9. D Refined means improved in this context. Clues:

Construction techniques were refined and extended…to produce… “true skyscrapers,” buildings over twenty stories high. The paragraph describes improvements in materials and techniques that enabled buildings to be taller than ever before. (1.4)

10. A Steel replaced iron in the construction of skyscrapers because steel is stronger than iron and resists fatigue better. Clues: …steel T-beams and I-beams replaced iron in these new structures; Steel…exceeds both masonry and iron in tension and compression strength as well as resistance to fatigue. (1.1)

11. B You can infer that the author believes cast iron technology and the elevator made the skyscraper possible. Clues: Skyscrapers differed from previous tall structures with their use of technical innovations such as cast iron and the elevator. The development of cast iron technology.. .made modem plumbing possible. Cast iron pipes, fittings, and valves could deliver pressurized water to the many floors of tall buildings…; The invention of the mechanical elevator made it possible to construct even taller buildings. Before the elevator, office buildings were rarely more than four or five stories high. (1.5)

12. B The added sentence discusses plumbing, a topic introduced in the previous sentence. The added sentence states that Sophisticated plumbing was needed to service bathrooms and also to heat buildings, which the next sentence develops further by stating that pipes, fittings, and valves could deliver pressurized water to the many floors of tall buildings. (1.8)

13. B, D, F Key information: …an alternative was emerging that would eliminate the need for exterior weight-bearing walls: a three-dimensional grid of metal beams and columns; An interior wrought iron skeleton supported all of the building’s weight. Exterior walls of reinforced concrete acted mainly as weatherproofing; The invention of the mechanical elevator made it possible to construct even taller buildings;… “true skyscrapers,” buildings over twenty stories high. The invention of steel was particularly significant, as steel T-beams and I-beams replaced iron in these new structures. Answers (A), (C), and (E) are minor ideas. (1.9)

14. D The passage does not state that the concept of systems involves the origin of the scientific method. All of the other answers are given: …scientists use the word “system ” to describe a collection of several components that are linked to one another by functional relationships; …the components of a system, their relationships with one another, and their relationships with other systems. (1.2)

15. C Although each science has its own systems with their own subject matter and networks of relationships… is paraphrased in System components and relationships differ for each science, yet…\ …the formal characteristics of systems are similar for all sciences is paraphrased in …systems in all sciences share similar properties. (1.7)

16. C The referent of them is something among which there are relations or forces. The last part of the sentence discusses the elements involved in systems, and the relations or forces among these elements. Logic tells you that them refers to elements. (1.3)

17. B Exhausted means used in this context. Clues: The energy supply of a closed system is limited and is progressively used up…; The ability of the system to function decreases as the available energy is exhausted. The prefix ex- = out. (1.4)

18. A The example of a mill wheel illustrates the point that the energy supply of a closed system is limited. Clues: The energy supply of a closed system is limited and is progressively used up by the processes operating within the system; Without any additional energy supplied from the outside, the system s processes stop altogether…; Once the container of water is empty, the wheel no longer turns because there is no water to turn it. (1.1)

19. C The Earth system as a whole is a closed system because no mass crosses the system boundary, but some energy does. Clues: …many define closed systems more broadly as those allowing energy but not mass to cross the system boundary. By this definition, the Earth system as a whole is a closed system; …energy passes across the Earth s system boundary, but mass does not, making it a closed system. (1.1)

20. A You can infer that living organisms are part of a larger system that receives and gives off energy. Clues: Living organisms are open systems; Each open system is part of a larger system that receives and gives off energy. (1.5)

21. D Dries up means stops flowing in this context. Clues: …the energy supply is halted…; …for example, the stream to the reservoir supplying the mill dries up for a long period…; The water in the reservoir is used up… (1.4)

22. B You can infer that the mill wheel is temporarily a closed system during long dry periods, when there is no new water supply. Clues: These can behave as closed systems temporarily if the energy supply is halted for a period. If, for example, the stream to the reservoir supplying the mill dries up for a long period…; The water in the reservoir is used up, and if the dry period is long enough, the mill wheel stops turning. (1.5)

23. B The author’s purpose is to illustrate the point that open systems are part of larger systems. The stream-reservoir-mill system is an open system when the stream flows again because the water comes from the surroundings—from the Earth’s larger water systems. Clues: …the stream-reservoir-mill system is itself a part of the Earth s much larger systems of water circulation and water budget…. (1.6)

24. A In the added sentence, For example is a transition that introduces the example of hot tea in a vacuum bottle. The hot tea does not interact with the environment outside the bottle, which illustrates the idea that A closed system is isolated from its surroundings, stated in the previous sentence. (1.8)

25. B, E Closed System: The energy supply of a closed system is limited and is progressively used up by the processes operating within the system; …not mass to cross the system boundary; …no mass is exchanged between the Earth system and the rest of the universe.

C, D, G Open System: In an open system, energy and mass can be transferred between the system and its surroundings; …relationships exist between the components of a system and its surroundings…; Each open system is part of a larger system that receives and gives off energy; …the energy is continually resupplied from sources outside the system. Answers (A) and (F) describe neither closed systems nor open systems. (1.10)

26. C The author makes the point that average levels of life satisfaction are similar for every age group. Clues: …average levels of life satisfaction do not change significantly with age. Generally speaking, older adults are as satisfied with their lives as are younger or middle-aged adults. (1.1)

27. B The passage does not state that age is a predictor of life satisfaction. In fact, average levels of life satisfaction do not change significantly with age. All of the other answers are given: One such predictor is health…; Another predictor of life satisfaction is a feeling of being in charge of one s own life…; The largest predictor of life satisfaction appears to be the adequacy of social relationships, especially marriage and family relationships. (1.2)

28. B In charge of means responsible for in this context.

Clues: …a sense of authority over oners own decisions;.. feel that they have some choices and options…. People who feel in charge of their lives feel responsible for their own decisions. (1.4)

29. C The referent of problem is something that signals a loss of control over the lives of older adults.

The sentence states that older adults experience financial strain. Logic tells you that problem refers to financial strain. (1.3)

30. D Adequacy means quality in this context. Clues: …perceivedquality…. (1.4)

31. A You can infer that close social relationships are likely to influence long-term health and happiness. Clues: The largest predictor of life satisfaction appears to be the adequacy of social relationships, especially marriage and family relationships; The quality of social support available in one s key relationships affects the ability to handle stress and life changes as well as one’s ongoing level of life satisfaction. (1.5)

32. D The author says that people who are well adjusted and successful at midlife probably had positive personal qualities as young adults. Clues: Well-adjusted or successful middle-aged adults began adulthood with more personal resources, including better psychological and physical health at college age; …had been practical and well organized…had shown greater intellectual competence. (1.1)

33. B However, no measure of early family environment or early-adult competence… is paraphrased in Neither family background nor qualities of early adulthood…-, …remained a significant predictor of psychological well being at the end of middle age is paraphrased in …can predict life satisfaction beyond middle age. (1.7)

34. A The author’s purpose is to illustrate a point about satisfaction late in life. Clues: …what did predict success and well being at age 65 was…; Late-life success is related more directly to…; …that determines long-term life satisfaction. (1.6)

35. C Preordained means determined in this context.

Clues: …a successful adult life is not something preordained from childhood or early adulthood but rather something created out of the opportunities available…; …it is what one does with the experiences… that determines long-term life satisfaction. The prefix pre- = before. (1.4)

36. A You can infer that the author believes long-term life satisfaction is affected by the decisions made throughout adulthood. Clues: …it is what one does with the experiences—both positive and negative— that determines long-term life satisfaction. The choices that people make in early adulthood help shape who they are at midlife, and those midlife qualities in turn influence who they become later in life. (1.5)

37. B The added sentence further develops the idea that the happiest and most successful middle-aged adults had grown up in warm, supportive, intellectually stimulating families, mentioned in the previous sentence. (1.8)

38. B, C, F Key information: …certain factors are reliable predictors of life satisfaction. One such predictor is health…; Another predictor of life satisfaction is a feeling of being in charge of one s own life and a sense of authority over one s own decisions; The largest predictor of life satisfaction appears to be the adequacy of social relationships…; The perceived quality rather than the quantity of social interactions is most strongly related to happiness; The choices that people make in early adulthood help shape who they are at midlife, and those midlife qualities in turn influence who they become later in life. Answers (A) and (E) are minor ideas; answer (D) is not mentioned. (1.9)

39. C The author’s purpose is to support the idea that film is an illusion. Clues: Film is an illusion because the moving pictures seen on the screen are not moving at all; They appear to be moving because…. (1.6)

40. A Catch up with means hurry to process in this context. Clues: …the image persists in the brains visual center for a fraction of a second. Then, the next frame comes along and the brain has to catch up with the new image. As the brain hurries to process each image, one image blends into the next image, so we think we see a moving picture. (1.4)

41. B The author primarily defines special effects as techniques and devices to create illusions in film. Clues: Another illusion of film is known collectively as special effects, the tricks and techniques that filmmakers use…. (1.1)

42. B Rolls means operates in this context. Clues: …a scene is filmed, the camera is stopped… and then the camera rolls again. (1.4)

43. D Simulate means create the appearance of in this context. Clues: …create an illusion…; …feathers or plastic chips to simulate snow, and wires to create the illusion that people are flying. (1.4)

44. C You can infer that silent films used sound effects to make scenes more convincing. Clues: Many sound effects are mechanical effects; During the silent film era, the music machine called the Kinemato phone was popular because it could produce the sounds of sirens, sleigh bells, gunfire, baby cries, and kisses…. (1.5)

45. B Filming each half of a frame separately would not necessarily involve mechanical effects but would involve optical effects. All of the other answers are given: …wires to create the illusion that people are flying; …a vibrating sheet of metal sounds like thunder;.. .tiny copies of buildings or cities. (1.2)

46. D To reduce the cost of studio sets or location photography… is paraphrased in …thus making filming less expensive; .. .special-effects technicians create painted or projected backgrounds, which replace the set or add to it is paraphrased in Painted and projected backgrounds are special effects that improve or replace sets…. (1.7)

47. B The referent of which is something that was filled with small charges of flash powder. The sentence states that carpenters drilled small holes. Holes can be filled. Logic tells you that which refers to holes. (1.3)

48. A The author makes the point that King Kong combined two different types of special effects. Clues: Sometimes optical and mechanical effects are used together; …a tiny movable model of the ape…; …stop-motion photography…. (1.1)

49. B In the added sentence, another example is a transition that introduces the example of an actor appearing to take off his head. This example naturally follows the example an actor’s clothes keep returning to his body, mentioned in the previous sentence. (1.8)

50. C, E Optical Effects: One category of special effects is called optical or visual effects, tricks made with the camera; Stop-motion photography can create the illusion of an actor disappearing on screen.

A, D, G Mechanical Effects: Mechanical effects are objects or devices used during the filming to create an illusion…; Other mechanical effects are puppets, robots… tiny copies of buildings or cities; …small contact-rigged explosives…; In a 1916 silent film… mechanical effects created the appearance of an enemy invasion of the California seacoast. Answer (B) describes persistence of vision; answer (F) describes computer graphics. (1.10)

51. C Whether signs of water indicate that life has existed on Mars has been a major focus of research about Mars. Most of the passage discusses evidence of water on Mars. Clues: The presence or absence of water has a direct bearing on the possibility of life on other planets; …Mars was an obvious target in the search for life; …all of the available evidence does suggest that Mars meets all the requirements that are needed for life to exist. (1.1)

52. B Astronomers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries studied Mars mainly through photographic images. Clues: New photographic technology offered a way for astronomers to learn more about the red planet; Other photographic images of Mars revealed…; …a good photographic plate of the near-infrared spectrum of Mars. (1.1)

53. D You can infer that Schiaparelli’s observation of canals on Mars led to new questions about intelligent life on Mars. Clues: The strange appearance of the canals suggested to some scientists that they had been formed artificially rather than naturally. The mystery deepened…. (1.5)

54. B The discovery of ancient islands in a dry streambed led some scientists to think that the Martian atmosphere had produced heavy rains in the past. Clues: …features that appeared to be ancient islands located in what was now a dry streambed. When the islands were first discovered, some scientists speculated that a thick water-laden atmosphere capable of generating heavy rains had once existed on Mars. (1.1)

55. A Today, the presence of water vapor in the Martian

atmosphere is generally accepted… is paraphrased in Most scientists believe there is water vapor in the Martian atmosphere…; …as is the belief that the atmosphere was once much denser than it is now, with a much greater abundance of water vapor is paraphrased in …which is now less dense than it was in the past. (1.7)

56. C Filled up means became wet in this context. Clues: …water was once common…; …shallow lakes or seas that dried out and then filled up again. The next sentence mentions dry stages, which implies that there were wet stages and dry stages. (1.4)

57. B Habitable means suitable for life in this context. Clues: …seas and lakes extended across hundreds of thousands of square miles, creating habitable conditions…. A major idea in the passage is that the presence of water may indicate the possibility of life on Mars. (1.4)

58. C Layers of rock on the Martian plains are evidence that water was present there for a long time.

Clues: Rocks that clearly formed in water extend throughout 300 meters of layered materials in several locations across the Martian plains. The layers were built up over time, which means water was present, at least temporarily, for extended periods on ancient Mars. (1.1)

59. D Evidence of lava flows does not indicate the presence of water on Mars. All of the other answers are given: Other photographic images of Mars revealed its seasonally changing polar ice caps..,;

…in 1963, a team of astronomers obtained a good photographic plate…; …water vapor lines could be seen; …clay and gypsum deposits that were formed by water in the soil. (1.2)

60. A Ingredient means factor in this context. Clues:

Liquid water is the key ingredient for life as we know it; …the requirements that are needed for life to exist. (1.4)

61. B The author’s purpose is to point out that Mars has

the conditions for life to exist. Life exists on Earth, and since Mars is most like Earth, life may have existed on Mars. Clues: …all of the available evidence does suggest that Mars meets all the requirements that are needed for life to exist. (1.6)

62. B In the added sentence. Astronomers already knew

that Mars had some kind of atmosphere logically follows Mars was an obvious target in the search for life in the previous sentence. (1.8)

63. A, C, E Key information: …images that showed a network of long, thin, dark lines crossing the surface of Mars;… “canals ” or “channels ”…; Other photographic images of Mars revealed its seasonally changing polar ice caps and features that appeared to be ancient islands…; …the presence of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere is generally accepted…;…liquid water once flowed over the planet; Evidence of water includes the presence of various minerals.water was present… on ancient Mars; …astronomers have discovered a frozen sea…. Answers (B) and (D) are minor ideas; answer (F) is not mentioned. (1.9)

Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 22 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

1. C The passage states that the main goal of the Dada movement was to destroy traditional standards of art. Clues: Dada was a subversive movement in the arts…; … attempted to discover authentic reality through the destruction of traditional culture and aesthetic forms; Dadaists on both sides of the Atlantic had one goal in common: to demolish current aesthetic standards. (1.1)

2. A The author’s purpose is to explain the origin of the name “Dada.” Clues: The knife pointed to the word dada, a French baby—talk word for a hobby-horse… an appropriate term for their anti-art. (1.6)

3. C The Dadaists mocked society by using “found” objects in works of art. Clues: Dadaists used absurdity to create artworks that mocked society yet defied intellectual analysis, such as the use of “found” objects in sculptures and installations. (1.1)

4. B Forerunner means earliest artist in this context.

Clues: The forerunner of the Dadaists, and ultimately their leading member…; …in 1913 created his first “ready-made,”…. The prefix fore— = before; Duchamp’s first “ready-made” appeared just before the Dada movement was founded in 1916. (1.4)

5. C The passage does not give a soup can as an example of a “ready-made.” All of the other answers are given: …his first “ready-made,” the Bicycle Wheel, consisting of a wheel mounted on the seat of a stool;

… ready-mades—manufactured objects that he selected and exhibited—including a bottle rack and a comb. (1.2)

6. C The referent of them is something that the young artists of the Pop movement embraced. The first part of the sentence mentions ordinary things. Logic tells you that them refers to ordinary things. (1.3)

7. D You can infer that the Pop artists succeeded in changing ideas about art. Clues: … the barrier between “high ” and “low ” art collapsed, which… the Pop artists attained with an energy not seen before. (1.5)

8. B Pop art caught on quickly…eagerly consumed by the masses is paraphrased in The public enthusiastically accepted Pop art…; …it was art about mass consumption… is paraphrased in …which portrayed commercial culture. (1.7)

9. C Roy Lichtenstein created works based on the work of other artists, such as comic strip artists, and on other styles, such as Cubism and Art Deco. Clues: Lichtenstein painted enlarged copies of the least “arty” things he could find: romance and adventure comic strips; Lichtenstein also painted other pictorial styles, including blowups of other artists ’ brushstrokes and parodies of Cubism and Art Deco. (1.1)

10. D Took on means responded to in this context. Clues:

…took on the mind-numbing overload of American mass culture; …mimic the condition of mass advertising; …felt this and embodied it. Warhol’s art was a response to American mass culture. (1.4)

11. A Glut means excess in this context. Clues: … images that become meaningless by being repeated again and again…. (1.4)

12. A In the added sentence, the crisis refers to the First World War, mentioned in the previous sentence. The added sentence further develops the idea in the previous sentence that Dada was the first expression of protest against the war. (1.8)

13. B, E, H Dada: Dada was a subversive movement in the arts…; …an appropriate term for their anti—art; The Dada movement extended to literature and music…; Dada emerged from despair over the First World War…;

.. .protest against the war; … the use of “found” objects in sculptures and installations; …shocked the art establishment with these ready-mades….

A, D, F, I Pop Art: Pop artists were curious about the commercial media of ads, billboards, newsprint, television, and all aspects of popular culture; …considered Pop to be the culture of the mass media…; The subject matter of Pop art was derivative, depicting something that had already been published or produced…; … the first American artist to react to comic strips, finding beauty in these crude designs…; The thirty-two soup cans are about sameness: same brand…; …a famous brand name or the image of a famous person…. Answers (C) and (G) describe neither Dada nor Pop Art. (1.10)

14. A The author makes the point that deforestation in North America occurred mostly within a single century. Clues: …in the eighteenth century, almost one—third of that area was covered with old—growth forests; … nearly 90 percent of the land was thick with forests…; By the end of the nineteenth century, after several decades of intensive deforestation, only half of the original forests remained. (1.1)

15. B The passage does not state that an increase in forest fires contributed to deforestation. All of the other answers are given: Land for agriculture came almost exclusively from clearing forests; …iron makers relied on charcoal, or charred wood, to fire their furnaces; The river steamboats that came into operation after 1830 had a voracious appetite for wood. (1.2)

16. B The referent of they is something that was reduced to concentrated carbon. The previous clause states that charcoal burners made charcoal by burning logs. Logic tells you that they refers to logs.

17. D The author’s purpose is to emphasize that large areas of woodland were eliminated. In this context, toll refers to loss because many trees had to be cut to make charcoal. Clues: …countless acres were cut to feed the furnaces of the iron industry. (1.6)

18. B Voracious means greedy in this context. Clues: …contributed greatly to deforestation; …a voracious appetite for wood; …consumption of wood on riverboats continued to increase…; …stripped of their forests. (1.4)

19. C “Wood hawks ” means people who sold wood in this

context. Clues: The wood was supplied by thousands of… stacks of cut firewood. (1.4)

20. D Surged means increased in this context. Clues:

… immigration and westward expansion surged… railroads swept over the continent; Railroads in the United States and Canada stretched from coast to coast…. (1.4)

21. C You can infer that “iron horses” were steam engines that moved trains. Clues: …hardwood was the preferred fuel of the “iron horses,”…; Not only did wood fuel the steam engines…. (1.5)

22. D More than four out of five of the houses constructed in the early nineteenth century—from log cabins to clapboard cottages… is paraphrased in …the vast majority of houses built in the early nineteenth century:; …were built mainly of wood and roofed with wooden shingles is paraphrased in Wood was the primary construction material…. (1.7)

23. D You can infer that home heating was a major reason for cutting trees in the early nineteenth century. Clues: Two-thirds of all households in North America were heated by open, wood-burning fireplaces, and it took between 10 and 20 acres of forest to keep a single fireplace burning for one year (1.5)

24. C The tremendous increase in the production of lumber was primarily due to innovations in technology. Clues: …the annual production of lumber rose from 1.6 million to 8 billion board feet. This increase was made possible by the widespread application of steam power. Wood-fueled steam engines…; Railroad lines…; These innovations had their greatest impact…. (1.1)

25. A The added sentence introduces the idea that the timber industry led all others in the exploitation of North American forests. The rest of the paragraph develops this idea with facts and details: …the timber industry continued to supply the single most valuable raw material…; …the annual production of lumber rose…; …the widespread application of steam power. (1.8)

26. B, C, F Key information: The demand for farmland and timber continued to soar…more than 100 million acres of old-growth forest had been cut or burned off…; …iron makers relied on charcoal, or charred wood, to fire their furnaces; …countless acres were cut to feed the furnaces of the iron industry; The river steamboats…had a voracious appetite for wood; …the “iron horses,” which required the cutting of 215,000 acres of woodland…; More than four out of five of the houses constructed in the early nineteenth century… were built mainly of wood and roofed with wooden shingles; …the annual production of lumber rose…; This increase was made possible by the widespread application of steam power; …the technology of the timber industry had triumphed over the natural abundance of the forests, and woodlands that had once seemed endless were now depleted. Answers (A) and (D) are minor ideas; answer (E) is not mentioned.

27. D Only in recent years have health professionals begun to realize… is paraphrased in Health professionals have just started to understand…; …the prevalence and severity of sleep deprivation in the working population is paraphrased in … that sleep deprivation in workers is a serious problem. (1.7)

28. C The passage does not give boring work as a cause of sleep deprivation. All of the other answers are given: A significant number of people work at night, work long shifts, or suffer from.. jet lag. (1.2)

29. C Deprived of means kept from in this context. Clues: ,1.sleep deprivation…; …work at night, work long shifts, or suffer from insomnia or jet lag; …deprived of sleep because they work too hard, stay out too late, or try to do too many things in a day; …sleep six hours or less…. (1.4)

30. B Adversely means negatively in this context. Clues: … certain patterns of electrical and chemical activity that occur during sleep are interrupted and the brain cannot function normally. The passage mainly discusses the negative effects of sleep deprivation. (1.4)

31. D The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of sleep deprivation on brain activity. Clues: The scans recorded each subject’s brain activity from a rested state through various stages of sleep deprivation…. (1.1)

32. C The referent of others is something in which there was decreased activity. The sentence states that the images showed increased activity in some regions of the brain and decreased activity in others. Logic tells you that others refers to regions of the brain. (1.3)

33. B The researchers learned that subjects who had gone several hours without sleep had no activity in part of the brain during verbal tasks. Clues: …the temporal lobe of the brain, the region involved in language processing, was activated during verbal tasks in rested subjects but not in sleep-deprived subjects; …after several hours without sleep, there was no activity within this region. (1.1)

34. B The author’s purpose is to compare the effects of sleep deprivation and alcohol. Clues: …researchers reported that sleep deprivation had some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk; …people who drove after being awake for 17 to 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of. 05 percent…. (1.6)

35. A You can infer that medical personnel and other emergency workers are at risk for experiencing anxiety and depression. Clues: Drivers who get too little sleep may have higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression…. These dangers affect not only drivers but also people who work long shifts or night shifts, such as medical personnel and other emergency workers. (1.5)

36. C Sleep deprivation can affect the body’s immune system by reducing the body’s ability to make or use insulin. Clues: Sleep deprivation has been linked to a decrease in the body 3? production of hormones such as insulin; …the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body is unable to use the insulin that is present. (1.1)

37. D Setting the stage means providing the conditions in this context. Clues: Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, making an individual more prone to diseases…; …glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes and heart disease. (1.4)

38. B The added sentence introduces the topic of drivers, which the next sentence develops by discussing a study of drivers. (1.8)

39. C, E, F Key information : …the brain is a affected by sleep deprivation because certain patterns of electrical and chemical activity that occur during sleep are interrupted and the brain cannot function normally; …after several hours without sleep, there was no activity within this region. The effects of the inactivity included slurred speech…; …getting fewer than six hours of sleep a night can impair… coordination, reaction time, and judgment…;

In one study of drivers, researchers reported that sleep deprivation had some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk; The dangers of sleep deprivation… undermine all areas of an individual s physical and mental health;

Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, making an individual more prone to diseases…. Answers (A) and (D) are minor ideas; answer (B) is not mentioned. (1.9)

 

Solution & Explanation for TOEFL iBT Reading Practice Test 21 from Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test – Six Practice Tests for the iBT by Nancy Gallagher

1. B The passage does not state that an unbroken prairie now extends from the western mountains to the eastern forest. All of the other answers are given: …temperatures can vary widely from very hot in summer to bitter cold in winter; The wetlands were soon surrounded by fluttering waves of grasses: shortgrass, mixed grass, and tall grass; An important feature of the northern Great Plains grasslands is the presence of millions of glacial depressions that are now small ponds known as prairie potholes. (1.2)

2. B During the last century, large parts of the prairie have been converted to agricultural use. Clues: One hundred years ago, the Great Plains grasslands were one vast, unbroken prairie. Much of the prairie is now farmland…. (1.1)

3. D Alien means imported in this context. Clues:…virtually all the major native grasses have been replaced by alien species. Imported grasses have replaced the original, native grasses. (1.4)

4. B The prairie potholes owe their origins mainly to the glaciers that melted at the end of the last Ice Age. Clues: They were formed during the most recent Ice Age…. When the Ice Age ended around ago, the retreating glaciers created about 25 million depressions…. (1.1)

5. D Today these small wetlands still cover the prairies…is paraphrased in …the small ponds remain; …although much of the landscape… has been transformed to cropland and grassland for grazing is paraphrased in Even though a large portion of the prairies is used for crops and grazing…. (1.7)

6. A Dot means cover in this context. Clues: Today these small wetlands still cover the prairies…; …the seasonal wetlands that dot portions of Minnesota, Iowa…. (1.4)

7. B The author’s purpose is to emphasize the area’s value as a breeding ground for ducks. Clues: …serves as an important breeding area for more than 500 bird species, including large numbers of migrating shorebirds and waterfowl; Every spring, birds arrive in great numbers…to mate in the seasonal wetlands…; Prairie pothole country produces half of North America ‘s 35 to 40million ducks. …(1.6)

8. D A carbon sink removes carbon dioxide naturally from the atmosphere. Clue: …a vast carbon sink: a natural sponge that absorbs carbon dioxide emissions from cars, factories, and power plants.(1.1)

9. C The referent of this is something that scientists have termed “carbon sequestration.” The previous sentence states that carbon dioxide is captured naturally and stored in trees, soil, and plants. Logic tells you that this refers to the capture and storage of carbon dioxide in trees, soil, and plants. (1.3)

10. A You can infer that carbon sequestration in the prairie pothole region depends on the land not being disturbed by agriculture. Clues: …prairie potholes hold an average of 2.5 tons of carbon per acre per year when not being farmed;…if the entire pothole region in the United States and Canada were to stop being farmed, the region would store about 400 million tons of carbon over 10 years…. (1.5)

11. C Offset means counteract in this context. Clues: …the region would store about 400 million tons of carbon over 10 years—the equivalent of taking almost 4 million cars off the road. Thus, preserving the potholes could be a way to offset greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. The prefix counter- = against; preserving the potholes would act against greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. (1.4)

12. A In the added sentence, Today is a time expression that logically follows One hundred years ago in the previous sentence. In the added sentence, however is a transition that shows contrast between the Great Plains grasslands were one vast, unbroken prairie in the previous sentence and the original grassland associations of plants and animals have been almost completely destroyed in the added sentence. (1.8)

13. B, C, E Key information: Much of the prairie is now farmland…dominated by monocultures of cereal grains; In areas given over to grazing lands…virtually all the major native grasses have been replaced by alien species; An important feature of the northern Great Plains grasslands is the presence of millions of glacial depressions that are now small ponds known as prairie potholes; …serves as an important breeding area for more than 300 bird species…; … the prairie pothole region is potentially a vast carbon sink…. Answer (A) is not mentioned; answers (D) and (F) are minor ideas. (1.9)

14. B The author makes the point that monarchs did not have real power but were symbols of national unity. Clues: …while monarchs remained symbols of national unity, real power had passed to constitutional assemblies. (1.1)

15. A Survived means remained in this context. Clues: At the start of the twentieth century, monarchs ruled over most of the world, but by the middle of the century, only a handful remained; …while monarchs remained symbols of national unity…; It lasted longer in the few small states…; the stem -vzv- = alive. (1.4)

16. B The referent of The term is something that applies to a broad group of states with a parliamentary or representative political tradition. The subject of the previous sentence is liberal democracy. Logic tells you that The term refers to liberal democracy. (1.3)

17. A The author’s purpose is to contrast two concepts of where political authority rests. In liberal democracies, political authority rests in the people acting through elected representatives. In people’s democracies, political authority rests in the Communist party. Clues: Liberal democracies differ from… in which the Communist party holds the ultimate authority. (1.6)

18. C Pattern means model in this context. Clues: …some form of liberal democracy…; …with the executive power vested in a cabinet responsible to the parliament…. The passage describes various forms or models of democracies: people’s democracies, parliamentary democracies, and presidential democracies. (1.4)

19. D The passage mentions a bill of rights stated in a constitution as a limit on state control. Clues: The liberal democratic state claimed the right to control every aspect of human life…except where limits on state control were directly stated in a bill of rights in a democratic constitution…. (1.1)

20. D Every democratic state changed during the twentieth century in the way that state activity expanded to promote the well being of the people. Clues: The expansion of state activity and extension of state services involved a new view of legislation and its role in society. The passing of laws came to be seen as a way to promote the well being of the people.(1.1)

21. C In these cases, some form of totalitarian dictatorship emerged… is paraphrased in Totalitarian dictatorships took over some democracies…;… replacing popular sovereignty with the total power of the state is paraphrased in … took over some democracies with the idea that the state, not the people, held all power. (1.7)

22. B The authority of the people through elected representatives is not a characteristic of authoritarian governments; it is a characteristic of liberal democracies. All of the other answers are given: …a system that prohibited parties opposed to the regime…; …a head of state or leader with exceptional powers…;… a bureaucratic administration that was in no way subject to popular control. (1.2)

23. A You can infer that the author believes there was a general movement away from monarchy toward democracy, with some cases of authoritarian rule. Clues: In most states where monarchical authority was removed, some form of liberal democracy took its place; The trend toward liberal democracy continued throughout the century, but at various times there was also a tendency toward a revival of authoritarian rule. (1.5)

24. D In the added sentence, for example is a transition that introduces the example of the British Parliament passing more laws in the first half of the twentieth century than in all its previous history. This example develops the idea that the number of new laws increased immensely, mentioned in the previous sentence. (1.8)

25. A, E Monarchy: …a monarch, whose right to rule is generally hereditary and lifelong; Monarchy survived as a form in Europe only where the king or queen functioned as the symbolic head of a parliamentary state….

B, F Liberal Democracy: …an elected executive is responsible to the will of the people as a whole; The doctrine that all of the people had effective authority, or sovereignty, became the basis for the functioning of democratic states. This doctrine of popular sovereignty….

D Dictatorship: …some form of totalitarian dictatorship emerged, replacing popular sovereignty with the total power of the state;

…a head of state or leader with exceptional powers, with a party to support him. Answers (C) and (G) are not mentioned. (1.10)

26. B The author’s purpose is to emphasize the close connection between smell and the brain. Clues:

Smell is the most direct of all the senses; The olfactory nerve, which manages the perception of smells, is essentially an extension of the brain; …a direct link from receptors at the top of the nose to the portion of the brain…. (1.6)

27. A Detects means notices in this context. Clues: ..receptors at the top of the nose…; …olfactory system detects certain airborne chemicals that enter the nose…; …chemical information…. The prefix de- = from. The olfactory system notices information from chemicals that enter the nose. (1.4)

28. D The color of the olfactory region at the upper end of each nostril shows the strength of the ability to smell. Clues: The shade of yellow indicates the strength of the sense of smell…; Animals have a very strong sense of smell, so their olfactory regions are dark yellow to reddish brown…. (1.1)

29. B Diffuse means flow in this context. Clues: When an odorous substance enters the nose…; Odor molecules diffuse into this region…; …odor molecules float up into the nasal cavity…. (1.4)

30. C When the cilia of the olfactory receptor cells absorb odor molecules, the olfactory nerve sends impulses to the brain. Clues: Odor molecules diffuse into this region and are absorbed by the cilia of the olfactory receptor cells; The receptor cells alert the olfactory nerve, which sends impulses to the brain s olfactory bulb, or smell center. (1.1)