CCQG Trình Độ C - Pretest 04

1. For him, life was always full of a sense of wonder, each day brought a new _______ (puzzle), a new theory, a new explanation.

ingenuity

mystery

enigma

marvel

2. Then you would be _________ (confronted) by his unending enthusiasm for anything and everything mysterious and strange.

defied

challenged

faced

daunted

3. I was living in a small town where he bred _________ (pedigree) spaniels, rode an ancient bicycle, and practised medicine.

foreign

well-bred

offspring

pure bred

4. At last the bell would ring, and you would enter his office, which was as _______ (scruffy), warm and comfortable as its occupant.

untidy

snug

pleasant

amiable

5. Like many of the modern games Pac-Man attempts to _______ (instil) some humour into the contest.

inject

infuse

inspire

permeate

6. The games were _______ (banned) in the Philippines.

officially forbidden

restricted

confined

downsized

7. The bar closed at seven o'clock that night. I was the last to leave, tired but _______ (content).

surfeited

refreshed

happy

rehabilitated

8. But video games have a natural tendency to become _______ (obsolete).

sophisticated

replete

in vogue

out of date

9. Difficulty in distinguishing between colors, particularly red and green, is an inherited _____ (defect).

imperfection

incident

malady

trait

10. He suffers from frequent _____ (bouts) of hiccups.

strokes

attacks

waves

problems

11. I read a very good _________ of the film that's on at the local cinema this week.

comment

observation

criticism

review

12. There's a lot of ice on the roads today. If you're travelling by car, be careful you don't _________.

slip

slide

skid

slope

13. According to the electric wiring code, brown is ________, blue is neutral, and green-and-white is the earth.

alive

lively

active

live

14. They had nowhere to sleep so we _________ for the night.

put up with them

put them up

put them on

put in to them

15. Mozart composed music when he was jsut a child. He had a great ________ for it.

skill

ability

gift

force

16. It took him two _________ years to write his books.

entire

complete

all

whole

17. Anna wanted to buy a dress when she was in England, but she didn't know her ________.

cut

waist

height

size

18. If you bring luxury goods into the country, you must pay ____________ on them.

duty

tax

toll

fees

19. ___________ (interfering) with someone's mail is a serious crime in the United States.

Assisting

Tampering

Gambling

Intimidating

20. Trees that ______ (block) the view of oncoming traffic should be cut down.

alter

obstruct

improve

spoil

21. Computer scientists are now working on the next _________ of computers.

generation

episode

epoch

age

22. At Standford University a computer has been developed for medical _________.

malady

malaise

diagnosis

diaphragm

23. Professor Fredken thinks that the ___________ intelligences of the future will be concerned with "weighty" problems that humans cannot understand.

false

artificial

untrue

adulterated

24. There have been protests from animal rights groups about __________ on animals for many years.

experience

specimens

experiments

species

25. Attitudes to animals ___________ greatly between two extremes.

commute

modify

alter

vary

26. Fox-hunting and other blood sports are under __________ in Britain.

discussion

talk

conference

symposium

27. He went to a seaside resort because he was ________ on water-skiing.

keen

enthusiastic

interested

affectionate

28. Students in hostels are _________ to keep their rooms clean and tidy.

hoped

expected

wanted

desired

29. Generally the advantages of exams ___________ the disadvantages.

overbalance

outweigh

dismiss

outplay

30. Houses in big cities are expensive because land is in __________ supply.

brief

slight

little

short

31. Progressive farmers use several methods to prevent top soil ________________.

from running off

to run off

from to run off

to running off

32. Not until the mid-nineteenth century _____________________ achieve recognition.

had El Greco's work

did El Greco's work

El Greco's work

El Greco's work did

33. They had gone to New York, ________ the six copies were already in store.

which

the place which

where

there in

34. Nobody knows why we sleep, but we all _______________.

need to sleep

need to

need sleep

need this

35. ________________ about how much sleep is necessary.

No rules are

There are no rules

No rules discuss

No rules are required

36. __________________, Hong Kong acts as a gateway into and out of China.

Strategically located

It is located strategically

Where strategically located

Because located strategically

37. The traditional goal of science is to discover how things are, not how they ought _________.

are

be

can be

to be

38. ____________ undergraduate programs, American universities also offer graduate and professional courses.

Except for

Moreover

Besides

As

39. On no account _________________ be removed from the library.

reference books may

may reference books

reference books cannot

reference books

40. Precautions are taken ___________ a hurricane threatens to strike the coast of the United States.

whenever

however

always

whether

41. We can imagine ___________ from the pressures of modern life to an image of simplicity and tranquillity.

escaping

escape

escaped

to escape

42. There is something appealing in the story of Philip Quarrel, an Englishman ________________ on an island off the Pacific Coast of Mexico in 1675.

shipwrecking

who was shipwrecked

to shipwreck

that shipwrecked

43. ____________________ working on the film "Mutiny on the Bountry", he bought an island, Tetiaroa, in the Thitian group.

Marlon Brando finished

Marlon Brando had finished

After finished

After Marlon Brando had finished

44. The examiner made us ________ our identification in order to be admitted to the test centre.

showing

show

showed

to show

45. ______________ the Christmas season begins.

That is after Thanksgiving

After Thanksgiving it is

It is after Thanksgiving that

It is Thanksgiving that

46. The All Pueblo Council is said ________ from 1598.

to date

it dates

dating

dated

47. _____________________ to find stars in pairs.

It is very common

Being very common

Very common is

That is very common

48. For the first time _____________, large portions of the universe can be observed simultaneously.

since history

in history

history began

of the beginning of history

49. In 1939 the Ohio and Mississippi rivers overflowed ___________ the worst flood ever known in the United States.

the cause of

which caused

and caused

they caused

50. Through out history, the moon has inspired not only song and dance ____________.

and also poetry and prose

but poetry also prose

together with poetry and prose

but poetry and prose as well

51. Often a team of engineers are _________________.

work on one project

on one project work

working on one project

to working on one project

52. To release pain caused by severe burns, prevent infection, and treat for shock, _________________.

taking immediate steps

to take immediate steps

take immediate steps

taken steps immediately

53. Nancy hasn't begun working on her Ph.D. ____________________ working on her master's.

still because she is yet

yet as a result she is still

yet because she is still

still while she is already

54. The students liked that professor's course because ________________________.

there was few if any homework

not a lot of homework

of there wasn't a great amount of homework

there was little or no homework

55. _________________ received law degrees as today.

Never so many women have

Never have so many women

The women aren't ever

Women who have never

56. One of the Professor's greatest attributes is _____________________.

when he gives lectures

how in the manner that he lectures

the way to give lectures

his ability to lecture

57. Tears ___________ anger and tension naturally.

are relieved

relieving

relieve

what they relieve

58. _________________, all matter is formed of molecules.

It doesn't matter if the complex

No matter how complex

How complex is not a matter

It's not a complex matter

59. The committee has met and ___________________________.

they have reached a decision

it has formulated themselves some opinions

its decision was reached at

it has reached a decision

60. Having been served lunch, ____________________________________.

the problem was discussed by the members of the committee

the committee members discussed the problem

it was discussed by the committee members the problem

a discussion of the problem was made by the members of the committee.

61. Questions 61-64: The returning boomerang is constructed in such a way that it sails on a circular trajectory and returns to the thrower. A trained hunter can throw a boomerang so that it will sweep up to a height of 50 feet, complete a circle 50 feet in diameter, and then spin along several smaller, iterative circles before it lands near the thrower. Experts can make boomerangs ricochet off the ground, circle, and come back. Hunters use them to drive birds into nets by making the boomerangs spin above the flock sufficiently high to fool the birds into reacting to it as if it were a predator. Ordinarily, a returning boomerang is 12 to 30 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, and less than half an inch thick. Its notorious pointed ends are not honed enough to allow the boomerang to serve as a weapon or to be even remotely threatening. By contrast, the nonreturning boomerang is substantially heavier and can be used as a weapon. This type of boomerang is made to be 3 to 5 inches in diameter and 2 to 3 feet long, and may weigh up to 2 pounds. The power with which the boomerang hits its target is sufficient to kill or maim either an animal or a foe. All boomerangs are hurled in the same manner. The thrower grasps one end, pointing both ends outward. Having positioned the boomerang above and behind the shoulder, the thrower propels it toward with a snapping wrist motion to give it a twirl. The quality of the inial twirl conveys the propulsion to the weapon and provides its distinctive momentum. 61. The author of the passage implies that throwing boomerangs ...

creates a circular air channel near the ground.

can be useful in devising sailing trajectories.

entails skill and requires practiced coordination.

makes them pause in mid-air before they rise to a certain height.

62. According to the passage, the boomerang can be used to ...

train birds

position a flock

flank birds

stupefy a flock

63. It can be inferred from the passage that whether or not a boomerang can serve as a weapon depends primarily on ...

its perimeter

its weight

the propulsion of its ends

the power of the thrower

64. The author of the passage implies that boomerangs ....

can disarm an energy.

can locate a target.

are alike in shape.

are monumental in flight

65. Questions 65-69: Almon Strowger, an American engineer, constructed the first automatic telephone switching system, which had a horizontal, bladelike contact arm, in 1891. The first commercial switchboard based on his invention opened in La Porte, Indiana, a year later and was an instant success with business users. To access the system, the caller pressed buttons to reach the desired number and turned the handle to activate the telephone ringer. During the same year, Strowger's step-by-step call advancement technology was implemented in the long-distance service between New York and Chicago when it proved to have the capacity of carrying signals through cable-joint extensions. The first actual dial telephones, patented by Lee De Forest in 1907, were installed in Milwaukee in 1896. In 1912, their sound transmittal apparatus adapted an electronic tube to function as an amplifier. Transatlantic radio-telephone service linked New York and London in 1927. However, the long distance coaxial cable. which was hailed as unprecedented, came on the scene in 1936 connecting New York and Philadelphia. The Bell Laboratories research facility came up with the transistor to replace the cumbersome vacuum tube, thus diminishing the size of the electronic switch system to about 10 per cent of that of the original. Crossbar switching, installed in terminals in 1938, operated on the principle of an electromagnetic force, which rotated horizontal and

vertical bars within a rectangular frame and brought contacts together in a split second. A technological break-through in the form of underseas cables between the United States and Hawaii was implemented almost twenty years later. An extension was connected to Japan in 1964. 65. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

The Patent History of the Telephone

A link between Research and Technology

The Telephone: A Technological Fantasy

The Developing Sophistication of the Telephone

66. It can be inferred from the passage that initially telephones ...

utilized human operators.

did not have a bell.

were limited to businesses.

revitalized business in La Porte, Indiana.

67. Why did Strowger's switchboard find application in long-distance lines?

It could carry connections through cable extensions.

It could handle a large volume of simultaneous calls.

It required the caller to activate switches.

It was prevalent in commercial enterprises.

68. How did Lee De Forest improve the existing telephone?

He integrated the mouthpiece and the receiver.

He modified a pipe to transmit sound.

He created a device to boost the reception quality.

He made implementation of the dial system possible.

69. The author of the passage implies that telephone networks expanded because of ...

a series of breakthroughs.

the work of a few inventors.

multiple technical blunders.

staunch public and private support.

70. Questions 70-74: Many people think there is no need to take special care over home security. " I'm all right, I'm insured" Maybe - if you're fully insured. EVen then you can never recover the real value you place upon your possessions. But you can't insure against the upset and unhappiness that we all feel if our homes are torn aprt by some stranger. Our windows and doors smashed, our precious possessions ruined. "It won't happen to me" Won't it? A home is broken into every minute or so of the day. Thefts of all kinds, including cars and property stolen from cars, happen twice as frequently. "I've nothing worth stealing" You may think not. But in fact everyone has something worth a thief's attention. And we all have things of special value to us even if they're worth little or nothing in cash terms. "I'm only a tenant here" The thief doesn't care whether you're a tenant or an owner-occupier. You're just as likely to be robbed. Have a word with the owner of the house if you think extra locks and fastenings are necessary. "They'll get in anyway" Most thieves are on the lookout for easy jobs. They are soon discouraged by houses they can't get into quickly and easily. So it's worth taking care. This booklet will help you - It's based on the practical experience of police forces throughout the country. Most of the suggestions will cost you only a few minutes extra time and thought. A few may involve some expense, but this is small compared with the loss and unhappiness you might otherwise suffer. If you are in doubt, ask for free advice from teh crime Prevention Office at your local police station. 70. Why should you still worry about protecting your possessions when you have insured them?

You tend to undervalue your possessions.

You cannot insure against damage to property.

A robbery can ruin your happiness at home.

It takes a long time to recover all your money.

71. What should a tenant do if he is worried about the security of his home?

fit new locks on all the doors

discuss the matter with the owner

complain to the police

increase his own insurance

72. The advertisement says that most thieves ...

prefer stealing from offices

like causing a lot of damage

will break in anywhere they want to

are put off by good security arrangements

73. It seems that many people think that ...

the police will protect them from thieves.

their houses ought to be more secure.

thieves will not choose to steal from them.

thieves only steal from house-owners.

74. This advertisement for a booklet aims to influence people who ...

have had their houses broken into.

are not properly insured.

are afraid of what thieves might do.

have not thought much about security.

75. Questions 75-78: I hated almost every day of my time at boarding school and, in any case, my first term was a disaster. I found it very difficult to settle down and my unhappiness was made worse because I was also unhappy at home. A happy home life gives you a base from which you can go into the world with confidence. But if life at home is difficult, life away at boarding-school is almost impossible. Apart from having to keep a great many rules and customs, many of which seemed to me stupid, we were never allowed to be alone. You had to be with another boy at all times. I am extremely dependent on being alone part of every day, so daily life at school was very hard for me, though the other boys managed fairly well. In the middle of the first term, I developed a cough. The school nurse

said it was a " stomach cough", whatever that may be, and gave me some pills. However, afterwards, playing football in a snowstorm, I suddenly could not breathe properly and was taken to hospital ill with bronchitis and pneumonia. Almost at once I was put into a small room with another boy who was also very ill. He died and I nearly did. My main memory of my stay at the hospital was that the night-nurses used to get together in my rooms and played cards and chat. Keeping the light on and keepping me awake when I was seriously ill didn't bother them. When I had recovered I was sent home for a few weeks and missed a term. When I returned to school, I was sent to bed early because of my illness, and so managed to get a brief period alone every day. Later on, when I went into the Senior part of the school, I was allowed to go to the school library by myself, which was a great improvement. The day I left the school, the headmaster said goodbye and asked whether it was a sad day for me. I replied that it was the happiest day of my life. He said I would come to think of my time at the school very differently. I said I was sure that I would not. Though I have had unhappy days since that day, I have found that my conclusions then - that nothing afterwards could ever be so bad as boarding school - have been proved true. 75. The author's illness during teh first term was ...

so serious he nearly died.

caused by getting cold when playing games.

not so bad as he had feared.

not treated by the school nurse.

76. In the hospital he ...

felt very sorry for the other patients.

was afraid to bother the nurses.

didn't notice whether it was night or day.

found the nurses' behaviour disturbed him.

77. The result of his illness was that he ...

was away from school for a year.

was taught in the school library

had some private time for himself

had to do his homework in bed.

78. When the author was leaving school, the headmaster believed the author would ...

realise how good school life had been.

be unhappy after he left school.

be thankful to be leaving school.

regret his last day at school.

79. Questions 79-90: As many as one thousand years ago in the Southwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of North America were building with adobe-sun-baked brick plastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkably like modern apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for perhaps a thousand people, along with store rooms for grain and other goods. These buildings were usually put up against cliffs both to make construction easier and for defense against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, as later Spanish explorers must have realized since they call them "pueblos," which is Spanish for town. The people of the pueblos raised what are called "the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash. They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens though irrigation ditches. Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and religious rituals to bring rain. They way of life of less-settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as teh Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gather seeds and hunted small animals such as rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today's Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos built of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly caribou. The Chyene, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and the covering of their tents and tipis. 79. What does the passage mainly discuss?

The architecture of early American Indian buildings

The movement of American Indians across North America

Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians

The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America

80. According to the passage, the Hopi and Zuni typically built their homes ...

in valleys.

next to streams.

on open plains.

against cliffs.

81. The word "They" in line 8 refers to ...

goods

buildings

cliffs

enemies

82. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were ...

very small

highly advanced

difficult to defend

quickly constructed

83. The author uses the phrase "the three sisters" in lines 11 to refer to ...

Hopi women

family members

important crops

rain ceremonies

84. The word "scarce" in line 15 is closest in meaning to ...

limited

hidden

pure

necessary

85. Which of the following is true of the Shoshone and Ute?

They were not as settled as the Hopi and Zuni.

They hunted caribou.

They built their homes with adobe.

They did not have many religious ceremonies.

86. According to the passage, which of the following tribes lived in the grasslands?

The Shoshone and Ute

The Cheyenne and Sioux

The Hopi and Zuni

The Pawnee and Inuit

87. Which of the following animals was most important to the Plains Indians?

The salmon

The caribou

The seal

The buffalo

88. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a dwelling place of early North Americans?

Log cabins

Adobe houses

Tipis

Igloos

89. The author gives an explanation for all of the following words EXCEPT...

adobe

pueblos

caribou

bison

90. The author groups North American Indians according to their ...

tribes and geographical regions

arts and crafts

rituals and ceremonies

date of appearance on the continent

91. Questions 91-100: People appear to be born to compute. The numerical skills of children develop so early and so inexorably that it is easy to imagine an internal clock of mathematical maturity guiding their growth. Not long after learning to walk and talk, they can set the table with impressive accuracy - one plate, one knife, one spoon, one fork, for each of the five chairs. Soon they are capable of noting that they have placed five knives, spoons, and forks on the table and, a bit later, that this amounts to fifteen pieces of silverware. Having thus mastered addition, they move on to subtraction. It seems almost reasonable to expect that if the child were secluded on a desert island at birth and retrieved seven years later, he or she could enter a second-grade mathematics class without any serious probelms of intellectual adjustment. Of course, the truth is not so simple. This century, the work of cognitive psychologists has illuminated the subtle forms of daily learning on which intellectual progress depends. Children were observed as they slowly grasped, or , as the case may be, bumped into - concepts that adults take for granted, as they refused, for instance, to concede that quantity is unchanged as water pours from a short stout glass into a tall thin one. Psychologists have since demonstrated that young children, asked to count the pencils in a pile, readily report the number of blue or red pencils, but must be coaxed into finding the total. Such studies have suggested that the rudiments of mathematics are mastered gradually, and with effort. They have also suggested that the very concept of abstract numbers - the idea of a oneness, a twoness, a threeness that applies to any class of objects and is a prerequisite for doing anything more mathematically demanding than setting a table - is itself far from innate. 91. What does the passage mainly discuss?

Trends in teaching mathematics to children

The use of mathematics in child psychology

The development of mathematical ability in children

The fundamental concepts of mathematcis that children must learn.

92. It can be inferred from the passage that children normally learn simple counting ...

soon after they learn to talk

by looking at the clock

when they begin to be mathematically mature

after they reach second grade in school

93. The word "illuminated" in line 15 is closest in meaning to ...

illustrated

accepted

clarified

lighted

94. The author implies that most small children believe that the quantity of water changes when it is transferred to a container of a different ...

color

quality

weight

shape

95. According to the passage, when small children were asked to count a pile of red and blue pencils, they ...

counted the number of pencils of each color

guessed a total number of pencils

counted only the pencils of their favorite color

subtracted the number of red pencils from the number of blue pencils.

96. The word "They" in line 24 refers to ...

mathematicians

children

pencils

studies

97. The word "prerequisite" in line 27 is closest in meaning to ...

reason

theory

requirement

technique

98. The word "itself" in line 28 refers to ...

the total

the concept of abstract numbers

any class of objects

setting a table

99. With which of the following statements would the author be LEAST likely to agree?

Children naturally and easily learn mathematics.

Children learn to add before they learn to subtract.

Most people follow the same pattern of mathematical development.

Mathematical development is subtle and gradual

100. Where in the passage does the author give an example of a hypothetical experiment?

Lines 4-9

Lines 9-13

Lines 16-20

Lines 23-29