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Name:___________________

SECTION 1 CRITICAL READING Time: 25 minutes 32 Questions

1. The candidate _____ when asked why he had left his last job; he did not want to admit that he had been ____ . A. demurred - promoted B. confided - banned C. dissembled - dismissed D. rejoiced - wrong E. hesitated - lauded 2. Tennyson was a well-loved poet; no other poet since has been so ____ . A. lionized B. attacked C. decried D. poetical E. abhorred 3. The parliamentary session degenerated into ____ with politicians hurling ____ at each other and refusing to come to order. A. mayhem - banter B. disarray - pleasantries C. tranquillity - invectives D. chaos - aphorisms E. anarchy - insults 4. The admiral ____ his order to attack when he saw the white flag raised by the enemy sailors; he was relieved that he could bring an end to the ____ . A. reiterated - hostilities B. countermanded - fighting C. commandeered - truce D. renounced - hiatus E. confirmed - aggression 5. In a fit of ____ she threw out the valuable statue simply because it had belonged to her exhusband. A. pique B. goodwill C. contrition

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D. pedantry E. prudence 6. Many 17th century buildings that are still in existence have been so ____ by successive owners that the original layout is no longer ____ . A. preserved - visible B. modified - apparent C. decimated - enshrouded D. salvaged - required E. neglected - appropriate 7. Since ancient times sculpture has been considered the ____ of men; women sculptors have, until recently, consistently met with ____. A. right - acceptance B. domain - approbation C. domicile - ridicule D. realm - condolence E. prerogative - opposition 8. ____ action at this time would be inadvisable; we have not yet accumulated sufficient expertise to warrant anything other than a ____ approach. A. precipitate - cautious B. hesitant - wary C. vacillating - circuitous D. decisive - firm E. ponderous - direct 9. Many biologists have attempted to ____ the conditions on earth before life evolved in order to answer questions about the ____ of biological molecules. A. mimic - fitness B. standardize - shapes C. replicate - reactions D. simulate - origin E. ameliorate - evolution 10. Harding was unable to ____ the results of the survey; although entirely unexpected, the figures were obtained by a market research firm with an ____ reputation. A. accept - peerless B. discount - impeccable C. fault - mediocre

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D. counter - unenviable E. believe - fine 11. The quantum theory was initially regarded as absurd, unnatural and ____ with common sense. A. consanguineous B. discernible C. incompatible D. decipherable E. consistent 12. Do not be fooled by her ____ manner; her superficial ____ belies her worldliness. A. ingenuous - proficiency B. worldly - simplicity C. unsophisticated - naivet D. gregarious - isolation E. off-hand serious Questions 13-18 refer to the following passage, which is a draft of an essay: (1)I recently revisited the city which I was born in, which is a place well known for a castle built on a rock overlooking the surrounding plains, and even better known for a legendary figure who robbed the rich to give to the poor. (2)As I toured the castle and its museum, visited the town center, and roamed around old haunts, I reflected on how the buildings that people of different eras build reflect their central preoccupations. (3)The castle was originally built in the eleventh century, and remained important for several centuries. (4)Throughout the medieval period castles and fortified houses were built. (5)The powerful landowners surveyed and dominated the surrounding lands, the source of their wealth and prestige. (6)Once the industrial era began, castles were sidelined. (7)The merchants and factory owners built town halls, churches, factories and imposing office buildings. (7)The town center reflects this era. (8)An imposing town hall, complete with massive pillars and monumental lions, overlooks the town square. (9)The square is surrounded by equally massive blocks of shops, banks and offices, built to reflect the power of trade in the heyday of the British Empire. (10)Most people who enter the city today never visit the castle or the old market square, they head for the two shopping malls situated at either end of the city center. (11)Here the visitor can shop to their hearts content in an environment of glass and polished chrome. (12)Modern man is no longer a warrior defending his land, or a builder of churches, or a governor of people: he is primarily a consumer. (13)The buildings our generation leaves to posterity will reflect our predominant interest shopping. 13. The author's approach to the topic can best be described as A. rhetorical B. a reminiscence C. a specific example to illustrate a general point D. personal narrative E. several examples used to contradict a viewpoint

SET 1 14. The sentence (or sentences) which most clearly expresses the author's primary purpose is A. (1) B. (2) C. (12) D. (13) E. (1) and (13) 15. Which is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence (1), (reproduced below)? I recently revisited the city which I was born in, which is a place well known for a castle built on a rock overlooking the surrounding plains, and even better known for a legendary figure who robbed the rich to give to the poor. A. I recently revisited the city which I was born in, which is a place B. I recently revisited the city in which I was born in, which is C. I recently revisited the city in which I was born, a city D. Recently I revisited the place which I was born in, which is a city E. Recently I revisited the city which I was born in, which is 16. The best way to rewrite the underlined parts of sentences 4 and 5 (reproduced below) in order to combine the sentences is: Throughout the medieval period castles and fortified houses were built. The powerful landowners surveyed and dominated the surrounding lands, the source of their wealth and prestige. A. Throughout the medieval period castles and fortified houses were built from which powerful landowners surveyed and dominated B. Castles and fortified houses were built throughout the medieval period, from which powerful landowners surveyed and dominated C. Castles and fortified houses were built throughout the medieval period, when powerful landowners surveyed and dominated D. Throughout the medieval period, powerful landowners built castles and fortified houses from which to survey and dominate E. Throughout the medieval period, powerful landowners built castles and fortified houses from which they would have surveyed and dominated 17. The change most needed in sentence 10 is A. change or to nor B. change either end to both ends C. change the comma to a semicolon D. avoid the repetition of the word city E. change people to persons 18. Sentence 11 has faulty A. pronoun usage B. parallelism C. verb tenses

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D. diction E. verb agreement Questions 19-24 refer to the following passage, which is a draft of an essay: (1)Nowadays we tend to use the expression plain vanilla in a derogatory sense for something simple and unadorned. (2)But have you ever thought about the ways in which the vanilla bean has improved the taste of what we eat? (3)One of the most used, and presumably, most appreciated, flavors known to man, worldwide we use more than one thousand tons of vanilla beans every year, mainly to flavor ice cream, cakes and confectionery. (4)Since the 1930s chemical companies have also been making huge amounts of synthetic vanilla essence mainly from the byproducts of the paper pulp industry. (5)In fact, most of the vanilla flavor products on the supermarket shelves have never seen a vanilla pod. (6)However, good cooks keep real vanilla pods in their sugar to enhance the taste of their cakes and cookies and would not buy synthetic vanilla. (7)Natural vanilla is the product of a creeper that grows best in hot wet climates. (8)It requires hand pollinating and the growing, harvesting and curing need skill and are labor intensive. (9)With the advent of biotechnology it remains to be seen how long the traditional growing and production methods would survive. (10)But whatever the source, vanilla has become essential to the human palate. (11)Think about it: do you even know what plain ice cream would taste like without vanilla? 19. The writer uses all of the following techniques except A. rhetorical questions B. statement of facts C. speculation D. address to the reader E. personal experience 20. Which version of the underlined part best corrects and improves sentence 3 (reproduced below)? One of the most used, and presumably, most appreciated, flavors known to man, worldwide we use more than one thousand tons of vanilla beans every year, mainly to flavor ice cream, cakes and confectionery. A. Vanilla is certainly one of the most used, and presumably most appreciated, flavors known to man. Worldwide B. Vanilla is certainly one of the most used, and presumably most appreciated, flavors known to man, worldwide C. Vanilla is certainly one of the most used, and presumably most appreciated, flavors known to man worldwide: D. One of the most used, and presumably most appreciated, flavors known to man worldwide, vanilla E. Worldwide vanilla is certainly one of the most used, and presumably most appreciated, flavors known to man. 21. The best replacement for the word it in sentence 8 is A. vanilla B. the pod

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C. vanilla flowers D. the plant E. pods 22. The change most needed in sentence 9 is A. change would to will B. change methods to method C. rewrite to avoid to be D. insert for in front of how E. substitute arrival for advent 23. One reason the writer uses the word plain in the last sentence is probably A. to contrast with vanilla B. to link to the use of the same word in the first sentence C. to emphasis an opposite D. to clarify what is meant by flavor E. to add more force to the argument 24. Which sentence best states the author's contention about vanilla? A. 1 B. 2 C. 9 D. 10 E. 11 The following passage is taken from 'The Rule of the Road', an essay written by a twentieth century essayist. A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied: 'I'm going 5 to walk where I like. We've got liberty now.' It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road, then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in everybody else's way and nobody would get anywhere. 10 Individual liberty would have become social anarchy. There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the 15 liberties of everybody must be curtailed. When the policeman, say, at Piccadilly Circus steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand, he is the symbol not of tyranny, but of liberty. You may not think so. You may, being in a hurry, and seeing

SET 1 your car pulled up by this insolence of office, feel that your 20 liberty has been outraged. How dare this fellow interfere with your free use of the public highway? Then, if you are a reasonable person, you will reflect that if he did not interfere with you, he would interfere with no one, and the result would be that Piccadilly Circus would be a maelstrom that you would never 25 cross at all. You have submitted to a curtailment of private liberty in order that you may enjoy a social order which makes your liberty a reality. Liberty is not a personal affair only, but a social contract. It is an accommodation of interests. In matters which do 30 not touch anybody else's liberty, of course, I may be as free as I like. If I choose to go down the road in a dressing-gown who shall say me nay? You have liberty to laugh at me, but I have liberty to be indifferent to you. And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair, or waxing my moustache (which heaven forbid), or 35 wearing an overcoat and sandals, or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall follow my fancy and ask no man's permission. I shall not inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my mutton. And you will not ask me whether you may follow this religion or that, whether you may prefer Ella Wheeler Wilcox to 40 Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy. In all these and a thousand other details you and I please ourselves and ask no one's leave. We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone, can do what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy, conventional or odd. But directly we 45 step out of that kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people's liberty. I might like to practice on the trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went on to the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but if I do it in my bedroom my family will object, and if I do it out in the streets 50 the neighbors will remind me that my liberty to blow the trombone must not interfere with their liberty to sleep in quiet. There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to accommodate my liberty to their liberties. We are all liable to forget this, and unfortunately we are much 55 more conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the foundation of social conduct. It is in the small matters of conduct, in the observance of the rule of the road, that we pass judgment upon ourselves, and 60 declare that we are civilized or uncivilized. The great moments of heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey. Adapted from an essay by George Orwell 25. The author might have stated his rule of the road as A. do not walk in the middle of the road B. follow the orders of policemen

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C. do not behave inconsiderately in public D. do what you like in private E. liberty is more important than anarchy 26. The authors attitude to the old lady in paragraph one is A. condescending B. intolerant C. objective D. sardonic E. supportive 27. The sentence It means....curtailed (lines 13-15) is an example of A. hyperbole B. clich C. simile D. paradox E. consonance 28. Which sentence best sums up the authors main point? A. There is a danger....lines 11-13 B. A reasonable.... lines 56-57 C. It is in the small matters....lines 58-60 D. The great moments....lines 60-61 E. It is the little....lines 61-63 29. A situation analogous to the insolence of office described in paragraph 2 would be A. a teacher correcting grammar errors B. an editor shortening the text of an article C. a tax inspector demanding to see someones accounts D. an army office giving orders to a soldier E. a gaoler locking up a prisoner 30. Qualified (line 46) most nearly means A. accredited B. improved C. limited D. stymied E. educated 31. The author assumes that he may be as free as he likes in

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A. all matters of dress and food B. any situation which does not interfere with the liberty of others C. anything that is not against the law D. his own home E. public places as long as no one sees him 32. In the sentence We are all liable.... (lines 54-56) the author is A. pointing out a general weakness B. emphasizing his main point C. countering a general misconception D. suggesting a remedy E. modifying his point of view