TOEFL EXERCISE 4
Study each of the passages, and choose the best answers to the questions that follow.
PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-3)
Until 1996 the Sears Tower was the tall est building in the world,
worl d, with more than a
hundred stories. It is located in Chicago, whose nickname is the Wi ndy City. The
combination of a very tall building in a city with such weather conditions leads to a lot
of swaying in the breeze.
On a windy day, the top of the building can move back and forth as much as three
feet every few seconds. The inside doors at the top of the building open and close, and
water in sinks sloshes back and forth.
1. The Sears Tower is probably 3. It is implied in the passage that the upper-
(A) as tall as the Empire State Building level doors in the Sears Tower open and
(B) no longer the tallest building in the close because
world (A) the building was poorly constructed
(C) taller than any other building (B) people go in and out so often
(D) still the highest building in the world (C) the building moves in the wind
(D) there is water in the sinks
2. It can be inferred from the passage that
Chicago
(A) has moderate weather
(B) is generally warm
(C) has humid weather
(D) usually has a lot of wind
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PASSAGE TWO (Questions 4 - 6)
The most common last name in the English-speaking world is Smith, which was
taken from the job of working with metals. A sil versmith, for example, is someone who
works with the metal silver. Historical records indicate that the use of this last name is
at least 700 years old. Today, there are more than 3.3 million Smiths living in the United
States and perhaps another million Smiths living in other English-speaking countries
worldwide.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that 6. In England there are probably
family names (A) more Smiths than there are i n the
(A) were always taken from the area United States
where a family lived (B) more than a million Smiths
(B) were short names (C) fewer than a million Smiths
(C) had little or no meaning (D) no families with the name of Smith
(D) could be taken from jobs
5. Which of the following is implied about
the Smith family name?
(A) it is definitely not more than 700
years old.
(B) it existed 600 years ago.
(C) It did not exist 500 years ago.
(D) it definitely was not in use 1,000
years ago.
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PASSAGE THREE (Questions 7 - 9)
On the hardness scale, corundum immediately follows diamond, whi ch is the
hardest mineral in the world. Corundum is perhaps better known by the names of its
gemstones, ruby and sapphire. Basically, gem corundu m is divided into two groups:
corundum that is red in color is called ruby, and corundum that is any other color is
called sapphire.
Pure corundum is clear, but pure corundum is rarely found in nature. If small
amounts of the chemical substance chromic oxide (Cr 2 O2) got into the crystal structure
when it formed millions of years ago, then the corundum tur.ned a deep, rich red and
became ruby.
Red is not the only col or that corundum can take on. Ot her chemical substances
enter into the crystal structure of corundum, and it can take on a variety of other colors.
Most people associate blue with sapphires, and certainly when corundum contains
impurities that turn it blue, it is called sapphire. However, corundum can have a variety
of other colors—e.g., green or purple—and still be called sapphire.
7. It can be inferred from the passage 9. Yellow corundum is most likely called
that corundum is (A) gold
(A) the hardest mineral in the world (B) chromic oxide
(B) not as hard as sapphire (C) ruby
(C) the second hardest mineral (D) sapphire
(D) a rather soft mineral
8. Chromic oxide is probably what color?
(A) Clear
(B) Blue
(C) Red
(D) Green
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11. The subject of this passage is
(A) two different kinds of relationships
among living things
(B) parasitic relationships
(C) relationships that are mutually
beneficial to living things
(D) symbiosis
12. Which of the following is NOT true about parasitic relationships?
(A) There are two partners in a parasitic
relationship.
(B) One partner in a parasitic relationship
hurts the other.
(C) The stone crab can b e part of a
parasitic relationship.
(D) A parasitic relationship is usually
symbiotic.
13. According to the passage, what does sa cculina eat?
(A) The stone crab
(B) Barnacles
(C) Food dropped by the crab
(D) Other parasites
14. The calliactis anemone
(A) is a parasite
(B) harms the hermit crab
(C) eats into the hermit crab
(D) assists the hermit crab
15. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) All crabs are involved in parasitic
relationships.
(B) All crabs are involved in symbiotic
relationships.
(C) Some crabs are involved in s ymbiotic
relationships, while others are not.
(D) Crabs are involved in neither parasitic
nor symbiotic relationships.
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