SECTION III: READING (5.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the following
questions. Write your answer (A, B, C, or D) in the numbered boxes.
Since ancient times, one of the most common materials people have utilized to make things
with is wood. Wood is used to make houses, buildings, and other structures. People also
make a large number of smaller objects with it.
The desire to make finished products more beautiful appears to be ingrained in huma n
nature. On account of this fact, for thousands of years, people have carved and shaped
wooden objects to make them more appealing to the eye. Humans have additionally tended
to create both religious and ceremonial objects from wood. In fact, all around the world,
countless cultures have made use of ceremonial wood carvings. These objects often reflect
the spirit of the people who made them, and each of them tends to hold a special
significance as well.
One of the most common types of wood carvings is the mask. People in many cultures in
Asia, Africa, and North America have made ceremonial wooden masks. In Africa, for
instance, large numbers of tribes use wooden masks for vari ous spiritual rituals. These
masks are often in the form of animals that are sacred to the tribes. In other cases, the masks
have human forms. The faces, however, may not be exactly humanlike. For instance, the
faces can be distorted, having wider, longer, smaller, or larger features than normal. The
masks may be carved to give them ugly or frightening appearances as well. And, on other
occasions, the masks are made to look as beautiful as possible.
While masks tend to be fairly small, other wood carvings can be enormous. Among the
largest of all ceremonial wood carvings is the totem p ole. Totem poles have been built by
several Native American tribes that reside in the northwestern part of North America. They
are normally made to represent families, or they may honor significant historical events.
Some even tell stories. A typical totem pole has several individual carvings on it. Each
carving represents a different part of the family history, event, or story. Most totem poles
have human or animal faces, as well as other figures, carved in them. They are so large that
they are made from e ntire trees. Once the trees are cut down, master craftsmen work on
them. When completed, they may or may not be painted. Then, the totem poles are
positioned in places of honor and placed upright.

1. What is this passage mainly about?
A. The ways wood can be used to make buildings B. The purposes of masks in some cultures
C. The types of wood carvings some people make D. Totem poles and their significance
2. In line 4, the word ingrained is closest in meaning to _________.
A. embedded B. disturbed C. initiated D. consistent
3. Why have some people carved wooden objects?
A. To give them to others as gifts B. To worship them as idols
C. To employ them as weapons D. To utilize them in ceremonies
4. In line 14, the phrase sacred to is closest in meaning to _________.
A. important to B. hunted by C. revered by D. necessary for
5. What does the author say about masks?
A. They always resemble human faces. B. It takes a great deal of effort to make them.
C. People make them on several continents. D. Animal masks are more popular than human ones.
6. The author uses totem poles as an example of _________.
A. wood carvings that are large in size B. a type of wood carving older than masks
C. the most impressive of all wood carvings D. the wood carvings favored by all Native Americans
7. In line 22, the word they refers to _________.
A. several Native American tribes B. totem poles C. families D. significant historical events
8. What does the author imply about wood carvings?
A. They take years to learn how to make. B. They are expensive to buy.
C. They need special types of wood. D. They may vary in size.
9. The author mentions all of the following about totem poles EXCEPT _________.
A. what they look like B. what they represent
C. which trees are used to make them D. who usually carves them

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that, compared to other firewood, "oven wood" produced _____. 

A. fewer embers 

B. more heat 

C. lower flames 

D. less smoke 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

The word "obtain" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____. 

A. manufacture 

B. acquire 

C. maintain 

D. reinforce 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

The word "scorched" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ______. 

A. cut 

B. bent 

C.enlarged 

D. burned 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

According to paragraph 3, all of the following were true of a colonial oven EXCEPT ______. 

A. It was used to heat the kitchen every day 

B. The smoke it generated went out through the main chimney 

C. It was built as part of the main fireplace 

D. It was heated with maple sticks 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

The word "it" in the first paragraph refers to ______. 

A. the mantel tree 

B. the fireplace opening 

C. the rising column of heat 

D. the stonework 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. By and large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching fire.

Two ledges were built across from each other on the inside of the chimney. On these rested the ends of a "lug pole" from which pots were suspended when cooking. Wood from a freshly cut tree was used for the lug pole, so it would resist heat, but it had to be replaced frequently because it dried out and charred, and was thus weakened. Sometimes the pole broke and the dinner fell into the fire. When iron became easier to obtain, it was used instead of wood for lug poles, and later fireplaces had pivoting metal rods to hang pots from.

Beside the fireplace and built as part of it was the oven. It was made like a small, secondary fireplace with a flue leading into the main chimney to draw out smoke. Sometimes the door of the oven faced the room, but most ovens were built with the opening facing into the fireplace. On baking days (usually once or twice a week) a roaring fire of "oven wood," consisting of brown maple sticks, was maintained in the oven until its walls were extremely hot. The embers were later removed, bread dough was put into the oven, and the oven was sealed shut until the bread was fully baked.

Not all baking was done in a big oven, however. Also used was an iron "bake kettle," which looked like a stewpot on legs and which had an iron lid. This is said to have worked well when it was placed in the fireplace, surrounded by glowing wood embers, with more embers piled on its lid

Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph 2 as a disadvantage of using a wooden lug pole? 

A. It was made of wood not readily available

B. It was difficult to move or rotate

C. It occasionally broke

D. It became too hot to touch

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 3 to 9.

        Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memory. How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory.

        There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memory. The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

        When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly. Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal". This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.

        Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?

A. A memory is kept alive through constant repetition

B. Multiple choice exams are the most difficult

C. The working memory is the same as the short term memory

D. Cues help people to recognize information

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 3 to 9.

        Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memory. How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory.

        There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memory. The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage.

        When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly. Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal". This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.

        Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization.

Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?

A. A memory is kept alive through constant repetition. 

B. Multiple choice exams are the most difficult. 

C. The working memory is the same as the short term memory. 

D. Cues help people to recognize information.