The extinction of many species of birds has undoubtedly been hastened by
modern man;since 1600 it has been estimated that approximately 100 bird species
have become extinct er the world. In North America, the first species known to be
annihilated was the great auk, a flightless bird that served as an easy source of food
and bait for Atlantic fishermen through the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Shortly after the great auk’s extinction, two other North American species, the
Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon, began dwindling noticeably in
numbers.The last Carolina parakeet and the last passenger pigeon in captivity both
died in September 1914. In addition to these extinct species, several others such as the
bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, and the California condor are today recognized as
endangered;steps are being taken to prevent their extinction.
1. The number of bird species that have become extinct in the United States since
1600 most probably is
(A) more than 100
(B) exactly 100
(C) less than 100
(D) exactly three
2. The passage implies that the greatauk disappeared
(A) before 1600
(B) in the 1600’s
(C) in the 1800’s
(D) in the last fifty year
3. It can be inferred from the passage that the great auk was killed because
(A) It was eating thefishermen’s catch
(B) fishermen wanted to eat it
(C) it flew over fishing areas
(D) it baited fishermen
Carnivorous plants, such as the sundew and the Venus-Flytrap, are generally found in
humid areas where there is an inadequate supply of nitrogen in the soil.In order to
survive, these plants have developed mechanisms to trap insects within their
foliage.They have digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the
insects.These plants trap the insects in a variety of ways.The sundew has sticky hairs
on its leaves;when an insect lands on these leaves, it gets caught up in the sticky hairs,
and the leaf wraps itself around the insect.The leaves of the Venus-Flytrap function
more like a trap, snapping suddenly and forcefully shut around an insect.
The questions:
1. the pronoun the in line 4 refers to
(A) humid areas
(B) these plants
(C) insects
(D) digestive fluids
2. the pronoun it in line 8 refers to
(A) avariety
(B) the sundew
(C) an insect
(D) the leaf
The Hawaiian language is a melodious language in which all words are derived
from an alphabet of only twelve letters, the five vowels a, e, i, o, u and the seven
consonants h, k, l, m, n, p, w. Each syllable in the language ends in a vowel, and two
consonants never appear together, so vowels have a much higher frequency in the
Hawaiian language than they do in English.
This musical-sounding language can be heard regularly by visitors to the islands.
Most Hawaiian speak English, but it is quite common to hear English that is liberally
spiced with words and expressions from the traditional language of the culture. A
visitor may be greeted with the expression aloha and may be referred to as a malihini
because he is a newcomer to the island. The visitor may attend an outside luau where
everyone eats too much and be invited afterwards to dance hula.
The questions:
1. Which of the following is probably NOT a Hawaiian word?
(A) mahalo
(B) mahimahi
(C) meklea
(D) moana
2. It is implied that a luau is
(A) a dance
(B) a feast
(C) a concert
(D) a language
