Short Passages
Short Passages
Short Passages
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping
drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins,
the more we realize that their society is more complex than people previously imagined.
They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the
weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a
language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without
needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the
most common argument in favor of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more
easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover
about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.
5. The fact that the writer of the passage thinks that we can kill dolphins more
easily than they can kill us ----.
A) means that they are better adapted to their environment than we are
B) shows that dolphins have a very sophisticated form of communication
C) proves that dolphins are not the most intelligent species at sea
D) does not mean that we are superior to them
E) proves that Dolphins have linguistic skills far beyond what we
previously thought
C) dolphins have skills that no other living creatures have such as the
ability to think
D) it is not usual for dolphins to communicate with each other
E) dolphins have some social traits that are similar to those of humans
Unsinkable Ship
Naval architects never claim that a ship is unsinkable, but the sinking of the passenger-andcar ferry Estonia in the Baltic surely should have never have happened. It was well designed
and carefully maintained. It carried the proper number of lifeboats. It had been thoroughly
inspected the day of its fatal voyage. Yet hours later, the Estonia rolled over and sank in a
cold, stormy night. It went down so quickly that most of those on board, caught in their
dark, flooding cabins, had no chance to save themselves: Of those who managed to
scramble overboard, only 139 survived. The rest died of hypothermia before the rescuers
could pluck them from the cold sea. The final death toll amounted to 912 souls. However,
there were an unpleasant number of questions about why the Estonia sank and why so
many survivors were men in the prime of life, while most of the dead were women, children
and the elderly.
C) 139 people managed to leave the vessel but died in freezing water
D) naval architects claimed that the Estonia was unsinkable
E) most victims were trapped inside the boat as they were in their cabins
8. It is clear from the passage that the survivors of the accident ----.
A) helped one another to overcome the tragedy that had affected them
all
B) were mostly young men but women, children and the elderly stood little
chance
C) helped save hundreds of lives
D) are still suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder
E) told the investigators nothing about the accident
Erosion in America
Erosion of America's farmland by wind and water has been a problem since settlers first put
the prairies and grasslands under the plow in the nineteenth century. By the 1930s, more
than 282 million acres of farmland were damaged by erosion. After 40 years of conservation
efforts, soil erosion has accelerated due to new demands placed on the land by heavy crop
production. In the years ahead, soil erosion and the pollution problems it causes are likely
to replace petroleum scarcity as the nation's most critical natural resource problem.
10. As we understand from the reading, today, soil erosion in America ----.
A) causes humans to place new demands on the land
B) is worse than it was in the nineteenth century
C) happens so slowly that it is hardly noticed
D) is the most critical problem that the nation faces
E) is worse in areas which have a lot of petroleum production
11. The author points out in the passage that erosion in America ----.
A) has damaged 282 million acres ever since settlers first put the prairies
and grasslands under the plow
B) has been so severe that it has forced people to abandon their
settlements
C) occurs only in areas with no vegetation
D) can become a more serious problem in the future
E) was on the decline before 1930s
prevent a disaster
C) soil erosion has been hastened due to the overuse of farming lands
2. A pilot ----.
TV Effects on Children
A recent opinion poll discovered that many people were very concerned about the amount of
sex and violence depicted in movies, television shows, and popular music. This poll also
discovered, however, that most people thought that individuals should take responsibility to
correct the problems. The vast majority favored such solutions as tighter parental
supervision, warning labels on records, and voluntary self-restraints by entertainment
companies. Only 27 per cent favored government censorship. At the same time, there was
growing concern about the impact of television on children. Research has shown that by the
time our children reach age 18, they have spent more time watching television than in
school. The problem was that our television system was attuned to the marketplace.
Children are treated as a market to be sold to advertisers at so much money per thousand
eyeballs.
1. According to the reading, to prevent the bad effects of television, only a
minority ----.