READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
READING SET 8 ODTÜ İNGİLİZCE YETERLİK SINAVI OKUMA BÖLÜMÜ
SADECE BİREYSEL KULLANIM İÇİNDİR
Tüm hakları saklıdır. Bu eserin hiçbir bölümü telif hakkı sahibinin yazılı izni olmadan çoğaltılamaz veya herhangi bir şekilde, fotokopi dahil olmak üzere, elektronik veya mekanik hiçbir araçla ile kopyalanamaz, herhangi bir bilgi depolama aracında saklanamaz, başkalarıyla paylaşılamaz.
© Nükte DURHAN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or held within any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Page 1 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION I: SENTENCE COMPLETION Questions 1-4 On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best completes each sentence or thought. 1. A new theory of intelligence combines the importance of genes for our IQ with the influence of the environment: once people grow up and choose their lives, they are drawn to environments that suit their genes. In other words, _____________. a) b) c) d)
genes select environments that will improve their natural skills genetic differences between individuals appear dominant family environment really can make a difference we no longer believe that IQ measures some unchanging characteristic
2. Since the 1980s, wars between states have almost disappeared as a form of violent conflict. By contrast, _____________. a) b) c) d)
civil wars are no doubt the worst kind of conflict a country can ever experience Western Europe is a new battleground in the fight against terror civil wars and terrorist attacks are more common today than three decades ago many people feel that the world is becoming more insecure
3. While anything that encourages people to cut back on habits like handwashing is dangerous, we do not want to be too clean either. In particular, _____________. a) b) c) d)
being too dirty could hurt you, but so could being too clean the good news is that there is a growing number of experts who advocate “targeted hygiene� instead of striving for a sterile home, we need to focus only on removing harmful bacteria it is important to limit the use of antibacterial hand washes and laundry detergents
4. Some people admit that our planet is indeed warming but they insist that there is no proof that humans are the cause. Instead, ____________. a) they point out the natural heating and cooling cycles in Earth's history, and claim this period is one of them b) over the past century, the climate has heated up at a faster rate than at any time during the previous 11,300 years c) they believe that our modern industrial civilization must have something to do with the very high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere d) it is very unlikely that the changes in climate observed since the mid-20th century can be explained by natural processes alone
Page 2 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION II: PARAGRAPH COMPLETION Questions 5-7 Mark the alternative which best completes each paragraph. 5. In a Times newspaper survey of the best movie romances of the 21st century so far, readers tended to choose melodrama and favored stories of loss and longing rather than stories with happy endings. It is striking how many of the great love stories of our era are really breakup stories, meditations on love’s changeability rather than its permanence.____________. The film “500 Days of Summer,” which many readers mentioned, is also about a romance that doesn’t work out. a) I don’t know if it is the mood of the times or just the mood of Times readers. b) Even “La La Land,” the current romantic conversation piece, is about a relationship that can’t survive the tensions of professional ambition. c) An important feature common to most of the choices is the supremacy of Ryan Gosling as a leading man. d) The popularity of the film “Her” should not surprise us as in an age of great advances in artificial intelligence, what could be more attractive than the fantasy of a machine with a soul? 6. Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) ranking published by the World Economics Forum measures the overall quality of life in countries. ______________.Recent GCI results are proof that only countries with advanced and stable economies can endure such global socio economic challenges. Switzerland, the top country in this year’s GCI, experienced only a moderate recession since 2007 and its unemployment rate remained at around 3% during the financial crisis. At the same time, Greece’s economy (ranked in 86th place) decreased by 25% and its unemployment rate rose to 20% because of the financial crisis. a) The GCI ranking evaluates the effect of social institutes and the health of a country’s population b) Despite economic growth, countries like the Netherlands still have areas to improve in. c) GCI measures financial indicators, as well as taking into account the level of education and the quality of infrastructure. d) The world is suffering from global issues such as financial crises and geopolitical problems in different regions. 7. A recent survey carried out in France found that French people are the most pessimistic on Earth, with 81% complaining that the world is getting worse and only 3% saying that it is getting better. Much of that unhappiness is economic.____________. Its huge state, which absorbs 57% of GDP, has reduced the country’s vitality. A quarter of French youths are unemployed. Of those who have jobs, few can find permanent ones of the sort their parents enjoyed. In the face of high taxes and heavy regulation those with entrepreneurial spirit have long headed abroad, often to London. a) b) c) d)
Repeated terrorist attacks forced citizens to live under a state of emergency Many of these problems have built up over decades France’s economy has long been slow-moving or inactive. Mr. Macron thinks the way to get more French people working is to reduce France’s labour protections
Page 3 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
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. For the first time in history, the world’s youngsters form a common culture, so they also share the same youthful complaints. a) Around the world, young people moan that it is too hard to find a job and a place to live. b) Many governments favor the old as an ever greater share of public spending goes on pensions and health care for them. c) In many developed countries the net flow of resources is now from young to old, which makes the old much richer. d) With the whole world to explore and nothing to tie them down, young people move around more often than their elders. 9. Recently, Paris has had several problems that resulted in a crushing blow to the city’s tourist industry, which attracts people from all across the world. a) Paris has been struggling with deadly terrorist attacks. b) It is experiencing the worst air-pollution in a decade. c) Roughly 6 million rats are rushing around the city, forcing the shutdown of several tourist attractions. d) Visitors to Paris spend around 17 billion dollars a year, the third highest sum after London and New York. 10. The yellow cab may be as synonymous with New York as pizza, Broadway and the Empire State Building, but more and more it is no longer the ride of choice. a) Yellow cabs have lost significant ground to a growing number of black cars summoned by ride- calling apps such as Uber and Lyft. b) The new e-dispatch services offer discounts and promotions along with options such as car pools, the ability to rate drivers and GPS tracking. c) Cabdrivers are the ambassadors of the streets, welcoming newcomers, passing along city tradition and giving advice. d) Many yellow-cab owners and drivers are struggling in a city with more transportation options than ever.
Page 4 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION V: TEXT COMPREHENSION Questions 11-30 Mark the alternative which best answers the question or completes the statement about the text. Reading 1: Jamie Oliver’s battle against McDonalds (1) Hamburger chef Jamie Oliver has won his long-fought battle against one of the largest fast food chains in the world – McDonalds. After Oliver showed how McDonald’s hamburgers are made, the franchise finally announced that it will alter its recipe, and remove a processed food type used in its burgers in the USA. (2) Oliver repeatedly explained to the public, over several years – in documentaries, television shows and interviews – that the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is considered unfit for human consumption. According to the chef and hamburger enthusiast, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry, “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.” (3) Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver famously called this the “pink slime” process. “Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” Oliver asked. Adapted from: www.dailymail.co.uk 11. According to the text, Jamie Oliver accused Mc Donald’s of producing hamburgers ____________. a) by using ingredients that are not suitable for humans b) without revealing the recipe to the public c) by mainly using the fatty parts of beef rather than lean meat d) that contain too many chemical products 12. It can be inferred from the text that as a result of Oliver’s fight against the fast food chain, Mc Donald’s will ____________. a) b) c) d)
wash the beef fat in ammonium hydroxide before making it ready for consumption have to remove the “pink slime” process from their burger recipe diversify their recipes by including food more suitable for children use several processes to increase the quality of the meat in the filling of the burger
Page 5 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
Reading 2: Brentry - How Norman rule reshaped England (1) The Norman conquest of England, led exactly 950 years ago by William, Duke of Normandy (“the Conqueror”), was the single greatest political change England has ever seen. It was also very brutal. The Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was stripped of its advantages, and many of its members suffered the humiliation of being forced to work on land they had once owned. Even today, conquest by the French is still a touchy subject in some circles. (2) Nigel Farage, the on-and-off leader of the UK Independence Party, is known to wear a tie representing the Bayeux tapestry, a 70-metre long piece of embroidery depicting this event, to remind Britons of “the last time we were invaded and taken over”. The tapestry is sprinkled with cut off limbs and heads of defeated Englishmen. Just like Nigel Farage, other supporters of Brexit—Britain’s exit from the European Union—use the language of the conquest to describe the nation’s “domination” by faceless EU institutions. Academics have held similar opinions. “From the Englishman’s point of view, the Norman conquest was a catastrophe,” argued Rex Welldon Finn of Cambridge University in 1971. (3) But, while the blood and guts were horrifying, the conquest also did a lot of good. It transformed the English economy. Institutions, trade patterns and investment all improved. It brought some of the British Isles into European circles of trade (“Brentry”, in other words, Britain’s entry into Europe) and sparked a long economic boom in England which made the country comparatively rich. The conquest and its aftermath also set a wealthy south apart from a poor north, a geographical divide that continues to this day. From those turbulent decades on, England was permanently European—and a lot stronger with it. The Norman Conquest made England. Adapted from www.economist.com 13. According to the text, the conquest of England by the French 950 years ago is a sensitive topic even now because it ____________. a) b) c) d)
created an Anglo-Saxon aristocracy that forced the local population to hard labor was a ruthless invasion that caused the English lose a lot of power is still an indication of the domination of French institutions led to the creation of artwork like the Bayeux tapestry constantly reminding Britons of their suffering
14. It can be inferred from the text that Nigel Farage wears a tie depicting the Norman invasion of England to ____________. a) b) c) d)
show how the British resisted the invasion by the French condemn the cruelty in wars show his support for Britain’s exit from EU encourage the British to fight against the French
15. The main point of the third paragraph is that the Norman conquest of England ____________. a) b) c) d)
was beneficial for the English economy was humiliating for the English aristocracy caused so much damage that the country could not recover divided the south and the north of the country
Page 6 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
Reading 3: A Lesson for India in a Fog So Thick It Could Kill a Cow (1) In December 1873, London was blanketed for a week in a yellow fog so thick that people could not see their feet. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mark Twain said in a public lecture at the time, “I hear you, and so know that you are here and I am here, too, notwithstanding I am not visible.” Some 780 people died and 50 prize cattle on display at the Smithfield Club panted and eventually died of asphyxia. Still, it took 83 more years of toxic air before the country passed the Clean Air Act in 1956. (2) This history, described in “London Fog: The Biography,” is a lesson in just how difficult it is for governments to put public health first when it comes into conflict with economic development, the political power of industry and even the polluting habits of their people. The government of India is up against all of those things. The capital, New Delhi, a sprawling city of 20 million, just lived through an extraordinary episode of air pollution that closed schools for three days. India is one of a number of middle-income countries, including China, struggling with pollution problems that have increased along with economic growth and rapidly expanding cities. (3) A decade ago, the scope of the problem was poorly understood because the numbers on air pollution levels and deaths were irregular. But that has changed. Satellites have given scientists far more detailed pictures, allowing them to perform ever more precise calculations. They did not like what they saw. Air pollution is the fourth top cause of death globally, after poor diet, high blood pressure and smoking, with more than one in 10 deaths linked to it in 2015, according to a large data trove compiled by more than 2,000 researchers led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. (4) The highest numbers of deaths from outdoor air pollution are in China, India and Russia, according to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. That is in part because they have the most people. The key ingredient in policy change is a strong desire for it on the part of the population, said Christine L. Corton, the author of “London Fog”. In England, that happened in 1952, when another heavy smog episode — this time from coal-burning fireplaces and cooking ranges — left as many as 12,000 dead. The 1952 smog was “a real knock to the psyche,” she said. “People had been through so much — the war, the Blitz. They said we didn’t go through all those deprivations to die from coal smoke. They were fed up. They wanted a better quality of life.” (5) Pollution seems like something that must have always provoked outrage, but in Britain that was not always the case. The famous London smog, engraved into history by writers like Dickens and Impressionist painters such as Monet, Turner and Whistler, was once a symbol of prosperity, Dr. Corton said. It signified home fires burning (in Dickens there are gloomy references to meager fireplaces with just a few lumps of coal) and factories working with a rhythmic humming sound. (6) As for India, Professor Apte said he believed public opinion had shifted, and that there was a much broader recognition of air pollution as a problem. He hopes comprehensive health data from hospitals is collected from this recent episode. That could take the issue out of the realm of abstract statistics and make it real. Adapted from www.nytimes.com Page 7 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
16. What does the writer want to emphasize by giving the historical background of the London fog? a) London fog has always been a part of city life and an inspiration for famous writers. b) It takes a long time for governments to give priority to public health when it clashes with economic development. c) Industrialized countries in the world have been trying hard to solve the air pollution problem since the 19th century. d) It takes decades for big cities to clear their air. 17. Air pollution has been a serious problem in India as ____________. a) b) c) d)
the Indian government does not want to deal with the issue the country does not have the technological means to cope with it it is a poor country heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as coal it is a country with rapid economic growth and very crowded cities
18. The extent of the problem of air pollution has not been understood well until recently because ____________. a) most of the research on global diseases was related to diet, high blood pressure or smoking b) the problem is only observed in megacities with a population of around 20 million c) there hasn’t been a developed technology to allow scientists to gather sufficient data d) middle-income countries became industrialized only in the last decade 19. Why did the writer characterize the 1952 London smog as a turning point in the history of outdoor pollution? a) b) c) d)
It caused the death of thousands of people. Coal smoke was particularly poisonous and caused great harm. It was when the public started to complain about a range deprivations in their lives. It was the time when the public forced the government to make a policy change.
20. Until 1952, the London smog was used in literature and art ____________. a) b) c) d)
as a representation of wealth and development to show people’s deficient life after the war as a way of describing people’s suffering to demonstrate the negative effects of industrialization
Page 8 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
Reading 4: Legalizing marijuana (1) Cannabis is going legitimate. This year, Canada will become the latest country to join a small but growing number of regions where it is legal to smoke marijuana. But some fear that this global trend could lead to the plant’s growers and sellers taking control of the market to maximize profits and recruit new users, and fighting any controls on its sales and marketing techniques. One worry is that, left unchecked, the cannabis industry might become as rich and powerful as the tobacco and alcohol industries did in the last century. (2) While cannabis is relatively safe, some users experience ill effects, including addiction and schizophrenia. That is not an argument against legalization, says Steve Rolles of the UK drugs think-tank Transform – in fact, it is precisely why it needs to be legalized. (3) For one thing, a legal, regulated marketplace should make cannabis less accessible to teenagers. Legalization tends to go hand in hand with minimum age limits for use, similar to how most regions legislate alcohol. Some marijuana will still be accessible to teens, as happens now with alcoholic drinks, but it should be thinner on the ground as high street shops start to pull illegal dealers out of business. (4) Another benefit of legalization is a return of milder kinds of marijuana. Currently, illegal dealers have no incentive to sell these as the stronger stuff is more lucrative. That is why the strength of the average joint sold on the street has risen over the past few decades from 3 per cent THC – the compound in that gets you high – to about 15 per cent. “It’s like going to a pub and being obliged to drink vodka when you just want a beer,” says Rolles. In fact, this is exactly what happened during alcohol prohibition in the US in the 1920s; illegal dealers mainly sold spirits because they made more profit. (5) In Colorado, where cannabis has been legal since 2014, you can now buy marijuana in a range of strengths, and it’s all clearly labelled. For this reason, Rolles says Colorado’s approach is better than prohibition. But it may not do as much to protect users. Adapted from: www.newscientist.com
21. The general trend to make the smoking of marijuana legal causes fear among some people because they think that ____________. a) b) c) d)
marijuana has more negative effects on young people than beneficial effects the move will make marijuana as widespread as tobacco and alcohol marijuana industry may become very powerful and reject any regulations marijuana is as addictive as tobacco and alcohol
Page 9 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
22. Why will it be more beneficial for teenagers if marijuana is sold legally? a) Illegal dealers will be punished by law. b) Shops will only sell milder kinds of marijuana. c) Minimum age limits will restrict teenagers’ access. d) It will not be possible to openly advertise marijuana. 23. The word “lucrative” in paragraph 4 probably means ____________. a) dangerous b) easily reached c) difficult to find d) profitable 24. The writer points out that the average marijuana sold by illegal dealers on the market ____________. a) b) c) d)
is much stronger than it used to be contains 3 per cent of THC will have 15 per cent of THC if it is legalized has labels indicating the strength of each type
Reading 5: From too few girls to too many men
(1) A few years ago it looked like the curse that would never lift. In China, north India and other parts of Asia, ever more girls were being destroyed by their parents. Many were detected in utero by ultrasound scans and aborted; others died young as a result of neglect; some were murdered. In 2010 this newspaper put a pair of empty pink shoes on the cover and called it gendercide. In retrospect, we were too pessimistic. Today more girls are quietly being allowed to survive. (2) Gendercide happens where families are small and the desire for sons is overwhelming. In places where women are expected to move out of their parents’ homes upon marriage and into their husbands’ households, raising a girl can seem like an act of pure charity. So many parents have avoided it that, by one careful estimate, at least 130m girls and women are missing worldwide. It is as if the entire female population of Britain, France, Germany and Spain had been wiped out. (3) Fortunately, pro-girl talk and economic growth have at last begun to reverse this terrible trend. Now that women are more likely than before to earn good money, parents see girls as more valuable. And the craving for boys has diminished as parents realize that they will be hard to marry off (since there are too few brides to go around). So the imbalance between girls and boys at birth is diminishing in several countries, including China and India. In South Korea, where a highly unnatural 115 boys were being born for every 100 girls two decades ago, there is no longer any evidence of sex selection—and some parents prefer girls. Page 10 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
(4) This is wonderful news, and it will be still more wonderful if the progress continues. Ending the war on baby girls would not only cut abortions, which are controversial in themselves and can entail medical complications, especially in poor countries. It would also show that girls and women are valued. Yet gendercide will leave an awful legacy. Today’s problem is a shortage of girls; tomorrow’s will be an excess of young men. (5) As large groups of Asians reach marriageable age, all of them containing too few women, a huge number of men will struggle to find partners. Some will import foreign brides, thereby unbalancing the sex ratio in other, poorer countries. A great many will remain single. Some women will benefit from being more in demand. But the consequences are bad for societies as a whole, because young, single, sex-starved men are dangerous. Stable relationships calm them down. Some studies (though not all) suggest that more unattached men means more crime, more rape and more chance of political violence. The worst-affected districts will be poor, rural ones, because eligible women will leave them to find husbands in the cities. Parts of Asia could come to resemble America’s Wild West. (Many polygamous societies already do: think of Sudan or northern Nigeria, where rich men marry several women and leave poor men with none.)
(6) There are no easy answers. Historians note that rulers used to deal with surpluses of young men by sending them off to war, but such a cure would obviously be worse than the disease. Some say governments should tolerate a larger sex industry. Prostitution is often lawless and exploitative, but it would be less so if governments legalized and regulated it. One Chinese academic has suggested allowing polyandry (i.e. letting women take more than one husband). In the most unbalanced areas something like this may happen, regardless of the law. (7) Above all, governments should be cautious and humble. They have an awful record of forcing demography. China’s one-child policy, though recently relaxed, has aggravated the national sex imbalance—and been coercive, brutal and less effective than its admirers claim. Without it, the birth rate in China would have fallen too—perhaps just as fast. Bad policies often outlast the problems they are supposed to solve. It will be for Asian societies to deal with the excess male lump they have created. But whatever policymakers do now, the sex imbalance will cause trouble for decades. The old preference for boys will hurt men and women alike. Adapted from www.economist.com 25. As we understand from the text, a few years ago, the Economist thought that the killing of baby girls in many parts of Asia ____________. a) b) c) d)
could be reversed because of the economic growth in the regions could be prevented thanks to technological developments was no longer a common practice was not likely to end in the coming decades
Page 11 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
26. Which one of the following is NOT a reason for a decrease in preference for boys in some Asian countries? a) b) c) d)
It has become less expensive to raise a girl. Now women too can earn good money. Boys are more and more difficult to marry off. There have been campaigns promoting baby girls.
27. What does the writer mean by “gendercide will leave an awful legacy” in paragraph 4? a) b) c) d)
There will be legal consequences of killing baby girls. There will be long-term negative effects of the practice of killing baby girls. Gendercide will still be practiced in poor countries in the coming decades. Gendercide will continue to be a controversial topic in some parts of the world.
28. Which one of the following is a negative effect of the unbalanced sex ratio on Asian societies? a) b) c) d)
Poor women will not be able to find husbands. Polygamy will increase in different layers of society. Unmarried men will become more violent. Prostitution will become more widespread.
29. “this” in paragraph 6 refers to ____________. a) b) c) d)
regulating prostitution tolerating a larger sex industry allowing polyandry unbalancing the sex ratio
30. The writer believes that China’s one-child policy ____________. a) b) c) d)
has not produced the desired result speeded up the fall in the birth rate helped control the national sex imbalance will not have long-lasting effects
Page 12 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 8
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
ANSWER KEY FOR READING SET 8 1. a 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. b 6. d 7. c 8. d 9. d 10. c 11. a 12. b 13. b 14. c 15. a 16. b 17. d 18. c 19. d 20. a 21. c 22. c 23. d 24. a 25. d 26. a 27. b 28. c 29. c 30. a This and other reading sets can be found on the Internet: http://metuepepractice.blogspot.com.tr/ or https://www.facebook.com/metuepe
Page 13 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
(30 points)