Reading Comprehension - Version A by Nukte Durhan

EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

(30 points)

SECTION I: SENTENCE COMPLETION Questions 1-4 Mark the alternative which best completes each sentence or thought. 1.

There are still uncertainties about what causes the continuing warming trend on the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. For instance, ____________. a) most uncertainties are caused by a lack of enough good-quality and long-term data b) some researchers argue that the warming may be caused not by man but by nature c) forming sensible policies towards climate change depends on knowing what is going on d) it is important to detect any changes caused by humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increased economic activity

Today science is revealing more and more about the chemistry of mental function. As a result,____________. a) diseases ranging from addiction to Alzheimer's are becoming as manageable as high blood pressure b) medical costs are exploding as technology expands and the population ages c) the important challenges of making medicine safe, affordable and accessible are becoming very visible d) you need only look back 20 years to see a world in which depression went largely untreated

As a civilization with more than 4000 years of history, China is proud of a long and impressive cultural heritage. Nevertheless, Chinese officials ____________. a) have embarked on a huge effort to popularize the Chinese language b) are looking for a success story that would reestablish China on the literary map of the world c) know that cultural expressions such as films, music and art can be profitable export items just like any other product d) complain that observers overseas get a biased view of China from existing art, culture and news reporting

New York City wants to use the sun's power to provide clean drinking water for its residents without adding the potentially harmful chlorine. More specifically,____________. a) the city currently uses chlorine to disinfect its drinking water, which is piped in from New York State's Delaware County watersheds about 100 miles north b) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has urged communities since 1996 to cut back on chlorine, which produces harmful by-products when added to water c) the city officials are building a water disinfection facility that will use ultraviolet light to destroy water-borne pathogens in reservoirs that serve city dwellers d) researchers say that there is a strong need for expanded use of technology that can clean water without the use of chemicals

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

SECTION II: PARAGRAPH COMPLETION Questions 5-7 Mark the alternative which best completes each paragraph. 5.

Space travel is costly and cash is short. Yet it would be so unfortunate if man were to give up exploring other planets and systems, especially if there is a possibility of meeting new life forms as a result.____________. Robots are better and cheaper than they have ever been. They can work tirelessly for years, beaming back data and images, and returning samples to Earth. They can also be sterilized, which germ-infested humans, who risk spreading disease around the solar system, cannot. a) Luckily, technology means that man can explore both the moon and Mars more fully without going there himself b) Humanity is driven by an urge to bravely go to places far beyond its crowded corner of the universe c) The possibility of life on Mars is too thrilling for mankind to ignore d) In the meantime, the President’s promise to “restore science to its rightful place” sounds like good news for the sort of curiosity-driven research

Cinema screens are filled with superheroes. In the 1980s just two films based on comicbook heroes made it into the annual lists of the top ten live-action films at the American box office. There were three in the 1990s. Since 2000 there have been ten. Seven of these are based on characters created by Stan Lee, the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. .____________.This year, Mr Lee’s characters dominate screens over the summer just as much as the director Steven Spielberg did in the late 1970s and early 1980s, or as the actors Kevin Costner and Arnold Schwarzenegger did in the early 1990s. a) Several attempts to create films or television series based on comic-book heroes failed b) Studio executives have learned that it is possible to cast little-known actors in key roles c) In the last decade Americans paid $2.7 billion to watch films based on his creations d) Stan Lee’s most celebrated creations appeared in the 1960s when comic books were widely read

This June marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the human genome project. Great advances in genomics may reveal that humans really are brothers and sisters under the skin. The species is young, so there has been little time for differences to evolve. Politically, that would be good news.__________. If those differences are in sensitive characteristics like personality or intelligence, real trouble could result. People must be prepared for this possibility, and ready to resist the excesses of racialism and nationalism that some will propose in response a) It is now possible to see the differences between Homo sapiens and his closest relative—the extinct Neanderthal b) Those who took a practical approach to the project were motivated by medical considerations c) The species’ history, from its shy beginning in north-east Africa to its current imperial dominance, has already been revealed d) It may turn out, however, that some differences both between and within groups are significant

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

SECTION III: SUPPORTING IDEAS Questions 8-10 In the following items, three of the alternatives support the main statement or idea and one does not. Mark the alternative that DOES NOT support the given topic statement. 8.

Long-established spending attitudes in India are changing rapidly. a) Branded clothes are becoming a necessity for the wealthiest Indians with the presence of Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Tommy Hilfiger in the country. b) Just like their western counterparts, a new generation of busy urban Indians is starting to appreciate the convenience of packaged food. c) Young Indians today are likely to see jewelry as a fashion statement, not as a safer way to save than banks. d) Compared to countries such as Indonesia, many of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new consumers still have relatively modest earnings.

It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer, but that rule is no longer true. a) The introduction of female-friendly employment policies in most developed countries allows women to have more children. b) One of the paradoxes of human biology is that the rich world has fewer children than the poor world. c) New data suggests that the ultimate result of development may be population growth rather than a collapse in population. d) One explanation for this trend is that only when the environment becomes superfavorable can parents afford more children.

10. By the time Cleopatra VII ascended the Egyptian throne in 51 B.C. at age 18, the empire was collapsing. a) b) c) d)

The lands of Cyprus, eastern Libya, and parts of Syria had been lost. Roman troops were soon to occupy Alexandria, the Egyptian capital, itself. Despite the civil war, Alexandria was a glittering city compared to provincial Rome. In 30 B.C., Cleopatra committed suicide and the Egyptian empire came to an end.

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

SECTION IV: TEXT COMPREHENSION Questions 11-30 On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best answers the question or completes the statement about the text. Reading text 1 (1) Two pressing problems face the world: economic meltdown and global warming. Rather conveniently, a solution presents itself that apparently solves both. By investing heavily in green technology, governments can boost demand while transforming the energy business. This notion is gaining credibility around the world, but it is in America that the idea is really taking off. The United States Conference of Mayors considers that green investment should lead to the formation of 2.5m jobs. The Centre for American Progress, a leftish think-tank, claims that $100 billion worth of spending in the area would generate 2m jobs. The president tops both of these claims. He proposes to spend $150 billion over ten years, thus helping, to create 5m jobs. (2) There is a historical parallel to this synergy between two worthy aims. Just as military spending at the end of the 1930s defeated both fascism and the Depression, so spending on fighting climate change should both wean mankind off fossil fuels and prevent what might otherwise turn into the most serious recession since the 1930s. Wouldn’t that be convenient? (3) While there is a case for giving the economy a boost through government spending, and the president’s commitment to solving climate change is sincerely to be welcomed, the combining of the two by promoting renewable energy is, like many easy answers, the wrong one. Adapted from: http://www.economist.com 11. The writer points out that there is a parallel between ______. a) military spending, fascism and the Depression b) investing in green technology and creating jobs c) the president’s commitment to solving climate change and his willingness to finance renewable energy d) the ways of fighting the Depression in the 1930s and overcoming today’s economic e) decline 12. The main point made by the writer is that it is wrong _______. a) that governments invest in green technology b) to think that there are similarities between the downturn of 1930s and today’s economic problems c) to try to find a single solution to the world’s economic and climatic problems d) that governments give financial support to renewable energy 13. In paragraph 3, the expression “wean mankind off” probably means ______. a) b) c) d)

breaking mankind’s habit of using making mankind accustomed to depriving mankind of increasing mankind’s consumption of

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Reading text 2 (1) Science fiction is the literature of change. It is not by accident that it became known as a recognizable genre with writers such as Jules Verne in the late 19th century. This was an era when, for the first time in history, children could expect to grow up in a world radically different from that of their parents. As change accelerated in the 20th century, science fiction developed very quickly. As long as change is an essential part of our lives, science fiction is likely to survive. Even the fact that science may be stranger than science fiction should not discourage writers. "We simply have to keep our thought processes active so as to avoid a weakening in our imagination," says Cramer. "It's something we 'hard' science fiction writers do as something natural and inevitableâ&#x20AC;?. (2) There is, though, a sense in which science fiction, rather than dying, is changing. From the 1930s to the 1950s, science fiction existed in the ghetto of the cheap magazines, with their covers illustrating bug-eyed aliens pursuing half-naked heroines. After that it managed to break free of these chains, and the modern, semi-respectable science fiction novel was born. Recently, we have not only seen sci-fi novels hit the mainstream best-seller lists, but the genre has reached truly huge audiences through gaming and films such as Star Wars and The Matrix. (3) Sci-fi themes have penetrated mainstream fiction too. The lines between what we define as science fiction and "mainstream literature" may be increasingly unclear, but the genre will no doubt always have its own section in the bookstore. Like the dinosaurs that, far from disappearing from the Earth, changed into the birds which still populate the planet, science fiction has transformed into a multitude of forms, many of which are alive and kicking. The speed of change has simply raised the bar for the imagination of the current generation of writers. There is no reason to believe that they will not rise to the challenge. Adapted from : http://www.newscientist.com 14. It is stated in the passage that the science fiction genre ______. a) was divided into different categories in the 20th century b) appeared when the world started to change at a quick pace c) was not considered as a separate type of literature in Jules Verneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time d) suffered from a lack of creative thinking in the earlier periods 15. According to the passage, science fiction written from the 1930s to the 1950s ______. a) included strong heroines b) was literature of poor quality c) appealed to a large audience d) was more interesting than science itself 16. The main point made by the writer is that todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s science fiction ______. a) has become very different from mainstream literature b) is not changing as quickly as in the 1930s c) is remaining a strong and lively genre d) cannot predict scientific developments any longer 17. The writer thinks that the new generation of science fiction writers______. a) prefer to include pre-historic animals in their stories b) are challenged by the rising standards in this type of literature c) can no longer define what science fiction is d) are not as imaginative as the ones who came before them Page 5 of 11

EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Reading text 3 (1) "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is a phrase often used to explain the strength of people who have experienced hardships. Like many sayings it contains more than a small amount of truth. It describes the theory of hormesis - a process through which living things exposed to low levels of stress or toxins become more resistant to tougher challenges. (2) The theory of hormesis has been around for decades, but has long been met with disbelief or doubt. In recent years, however, biologists have pieced together a clear molecular explanation of how it works, and hormesis has finally been accepted as a fundamental principle of biology and biomedicine. The question now is how to take advantage of hormesis to live longer and healthier lives. (3) The defining characteristic of hormesis is the “biphasic dose response”, in which high doses of a substance are toxic but low doses are beneficial. This is very different from the standard dose-response model used in toxicology, in which something is assumed to be neutral up to a certain level, with toxicity directly proportional to dose. When it comes to assessing risks from chemicals and physical agents such as radiation, this model is seriously challenged by hormesis. In head-to-head comparisons, hormesis performs much better in predicting the effect of various doses for most chemicals and physical agents, especially at low doses. Yet toxicologists and the regulatory agencies that use their guidance continue to shun hormesis, and stick stubbornly to the threshold (standard dose-response) model. (4) In part this is a matter of convenience. It is a lot easier to recommend eliminating a “toxin” from the environment, or at least minimizing exposure to it, than to recommend exposure to lower, beneficial, doses. It is our belief that the hormetic model should become the default in risk assessment. Exactly how this would affect environmental standards remains to be seen, but a first step would be for an objective panel of scientists to fully evaluate the hormetic dose response model. Adapted from: http://www.newscientist.com 18. According to the writer, the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” _______. a) was considered a principle in medicine in the past b) has recently been made a lot of fun by biologists c) is now accepted as a scientific truth in biology d) is presented as a challenge to the theory of hormesis 19. According to the “biphasic dose” model in toxicology, ________. a) substances are neutral up to a certain dose b) the risk of a toxin rises in direct proportion to dose c) organisms respond to substances after they reach a certain threshold d) a toxin considered harmful is beneficial at low doses 20. We understand from the text that if toxicologists used the theory of hormesis, they _____. a) could detect and eliminate toxins more easily b) would not allow toxins to reach harmful levels c) would find better ways of minimizing exposure to toxins d) could determine better the effects of toxic substances at low doses 21. In paragraph 4 the expression “shun hormesis”, means that toxicologists _________. a) stay away from hormesis for convenience b) have been willing to adopt hormesis c) continue to compare hormesis with other models d) are aware that hormesis performs better than the other models Page 6 of 11

EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Reading text 4 (1) For years the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as a terra incognita of little economic value or importance. But this perception may be headed for a radical change. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean are beginning to focus on the Sahara's potential to power Europe for centuries to come. These people believe the 8.6 million sq km desert's true worth lies in the very thing long regarded as its biggest liability: its dry emptiness. Some areas of the Sahara reach 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) on many afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy. (2) A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara holds. They were amazed at the answer. In theory, a 90,600 sq km chunk of the Sahara — smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area — could produce the same amount of electricity as the entire world's power plants combined. A smaller square of 15,500 sq km– about the size of Connecticut–could provide electricity for Europe's 500 million people. (3) At this point, no one is proposing the creation of a solar power station the size of a small country. But a relatively well developed technology exists, which proponents say could turn the Sahara's heat and sunlight into a major electrical source–concentrated solar power (CSP). Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP uses mirrors to focus light on water pipes or boilers, generating superheated steam to operate the turbines of generators. Small CSP plants have produced power in California's Mojave Desert since the 1980s. The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants below sea level (the Sahara has several such depressions) so that seawater can flow into them and be condensed into distilled water for powering turbines and washing dust off the mirrors. Wastewater would be used to irrigate areas around the stations, creating fertile oases. This is where the word “forest” in the group's name comes from. Adapted from: http://www.time.com 22. In the passage, the writer emphasizes that the Sahara desert _______. a) is now hotter because of global warming b) will no longer stay as a big and dry land c) causes less concern for scientists because of better means of controlling the heat d) has increased in importance because of the amount of electricity it could produce 23. In paragraph 1, the word “liability” probably means _______. a) disadvantage b) attraction c) component d) mystery 24. The writer points out that the scientists were very surprised when they found out that ___. a) a little over 1% of the Sahara could provide enough electricity for Europe b) a small portion of the Sahara could produce as much power as the sum of the world’s power plants c) to produce enough electricity, they would have to build a solar power station the size of a small country in the Sahara d) most parts of the Sahara reach 113 degrees F on many days. 25. How does CSP technology differ from technologies that use solar panels? The CSP __. a) heats the water that operates the turbines of generators b) requires the creation of huge solar power stations c) functions more efficiently if seawater is used d) does not require any sophisticated and costly equipment Page 7 of 11

EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Reading text 5 (1) What is so striking about the ruins of Persepolis in southern Iran, an ancient capital of the Persian Empire that was burned down after being conquered by Alexander the Great, is the lack of violent images on its stone walls. Among the carvings there are soldiers, but they are not fighting; there are weapons, but they are not drawn. Mainly you see emblems suggesting that something humane went on here instead — people of different nations gathering peacefully, bearing gifts, putting their hands kindly on one another's shoulders. In an era noted for its brutality, Persepolis, it seems, was a relatively cosmopolitan place — and for many Iranians today its ruins are an incredible reminder of who their Persian ancestors were and what they did. (2) The recorded history of the country itself extends over some 2,500 years, closing in today's Islamic Republic of Iran, formed in 1979 after conservative clergymen cast out the Western-backed shah. It is possibly the world's first modern constitutional theocracy and a grand experiment: Can a country be run effectively by holy men imposing an extreme version of Islam on a people who have such a rich and peaceful Persian past? (3) Persia was a conquering empire but also regarded in some ways as one of the more glorious and kind civilizations of ancient times. So I wondered how strongly people might still identify with the part of their history that is illustrated in those surviving decorative borders. So I set out to explore what "Persian" means to Iranians, who at the time of my two visits last year were being rejected by the international community, their culture shown as evil in Western cinema, and their leaders presented, in an increasing war of words with Washington, D.C., as threatening potential terrorists. (4) You can't really separate out Iranian identity as one thing or another — broadly speaking, it is part Persian, part Islamic, and part Western, and the contradictions all exist together. But there is a Persian identity that has nothing to do with Islam, which at the same time has mixed with the culture of Islam. This would be a story about those Iranians who still, at least in part, identify with their Persian roots. Perhaps the period of thousand years has some kind of effect on the composition of what is now one of the world’s hottest spots. Is the remainder of the life-loving Persian nature (wine, love, poetry, song) woven into the cloth of self-restraint, moderation, prayer, and the belief in fate often associated with Islam? Are these traces of the Persian nature running quietly in the background like a secret computer program? Adapted from http://www.nationalgeographic.com 26. The writer believes that Persepolis was a peaceful city _________. a) until it fought against Alexander the Great b) although its stone walls depict some violent scenes c) although it belonged to a time when there was a lot of cruelty d) until it became a cosmopolitan place where people of different nations lived together 27. In the text, the writer implies that today’s extreme Islamic rule in Iran ________. a) contrasts with Iran’s humanistic Persian past b) is a natural continuation of 2,500 years of recorded history c) was unthinkable before 1979, during the shah’s reign d) had its roots in ancient times in the Persian Empire

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

28. As we understand from the text, the writer’s aim, in her research, is to find out ______. a) why Westerners keep avoiding Iranians b) how much today’s Iranians are influenced by their Persian ancestors c) whether some Iranians will join terrorist groups in the future d) when exactly in history Persians adopted an Islamic culture 29. The writer makes the point that Iranian identity ________. a) will be in danger if the Islamic rule continues b) is well-known to the Western world c) will be damaged because of the contradictions that exist in it d) is a blend of the Islamic, Persian and Western cultures 30. The writer is wondering if what remains from Iranians’ Persian past _______. a) is being destroyed through the influence of Islam b) makes it hard for Iranians to adopt Islamic principles c) encourages them to lead a life based on self-restraint d) may still be found in Iranians’ approach to life

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EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Answer recording sheet Question A B C D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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(30 points)

EPE PRACTICE

PART B: READING COMPREHENSION

Answer Key Question A B C D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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