TOEFL Exercise - Reading Comprehension
Question 1 - 8
from their inception, most rural neighborhood in colonial North America included at least one carpenter, joiner,sawyer and cooper in woodworking; a weaver and a tailor for clothing production; a tanner, currier and cordwainer (shoemaker) for fabricating leather objects; and a blacksmith metalwork, where stone was the local building material, a mason was sure to appear on the list of people who paid taxes. With only an apprentice as an assistant, the rural artisan provided the neighborhood with common goods from furniture t shoe to farm equipment in exchange for cash or for "goods in kind" from the customer's field, pasture or dairy. Sometimes artisan transformed material provided by the customer wove cloth of um spun at the farm from the wool of the family sheep; made chair or tables from wood cut in the customer's own woodlot; produced shoes or leather breeches from cow, deer or sheepskin tanned on the farm.
like their farming neighbor, rural artisans were part of an economy seen, by one historian, as "an orchestra conducted by nature". some task could be not done in the winter, other hand to be put off during harvest time and still others waited on raw material that only produced seasonally. as the days grew shorter, shop hours keep pace, since few artisans could afford enough artificial light to continue work when the sun went down. to the best of their ability, colonial artisan tried to keep their shops as efficient as possible to regularize their schedule and methods of production for the best return on their investment in time, tools and materials, while it is pleasant to imagine a woodworker, for example, carefully matching lumber, joining a chest together without resort to nail or glue and applying all thought and energy to carving beautiful designs on the finished piece, the time required was not justified unless the customers was willing to pa extra for the quality required and few in rural areas were, artisans, therefore, often found it necessary to employ as many shortcuts and economics as possible while still producing satisfactory product.
1. What aspect of rural colonial North America does the passage mainly discuss ?
A. Farming practice
b. The work of artisans
c. The character of rural neighborhoods
d. Type of furniture that were popular
Answer : b
2. The word "inception" in line 1 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Investigation
b. Location
c. Beginning
d. Records
Answer : c
tiga. The word "fabricatingdanquot; in line 3 is closest in meaning to ...
A. Constructing
b. Altering
c. Selecting
d. Demonstrating
Answer: a
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the use of artificial light in colonial time was....
A. Especially helpful to woodworkers
b. Popular in rural areas
c. Continues in winter
d. Expensive
Answer: d
5. Why did colonial artisans want to "regularize their schedule (line 18) ....
A. To enable them to produce high quality products
b. To enable them to duplicate an item many times
c. To improve their customers
d. To keep expenses low
Answer: d
6. The phrase "resort todanquot; in line 20 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Protecting with
b. Moving toward
c. Manufacturing
d. Using
Answer: d
7. The word "fewdanquot; in line 23 refers to ....
A. Woodworkers
b. Finished places
c. Customers
d. Chests
Answer: c
8. It can be referred that the artisans referred to in the passage usually produced products that were ....
A. Simple
b. Delicate
c. Beautifully decorated
d. Exceptionally long lasting
Answer: a
Question 9 - 19
Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions result directly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs of the local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to the city and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make a distinction between the situation and the site of the city. Situation refers to the general position in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physical characteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important to the continuing prosperity of the city. If a city is well situated in regard to it's hinterland, it's development is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that force east west transportation line to be compressed into it's vicinity, and at a meeting of significant land and water transport route. It also overlooks what is one of the world's finest large farming region. These factor ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardless of the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding during thunderstorms activity.
Similarly, it can be argued that much of new York Citys importantce stems from its early and continuing advantage of situation. Philadelphia and Boston both originated at about the same time as New York and shared New York's location at the westhern end of one of the world most important oceanic trade route, but only New York possesses an easy access functional connection (the Hudson Mohawk lowland) to the vast Midwestern hinterland. This account does not alone explain New Yorks primacy, but it does include several important factors. Among the many aspects of the situation that help to explain why some city grow and other do not, originally location on navigable waterway seems particularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power resources, river crossing, coastal shape and other physical characteristics help to determine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stages of city development than later.
9. What does The passage mainly discuss ?
A. The development on trade route through United States cities
b. Contrasts in settlement patterns in United States
c. Historical difference among three large United States cities
d. The importance of geographical situation in the growth of United States cities
Answer: d
10. The word "ingenuity" in line 2 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Wealth
b. Resourcefulness
c. Traditions
d. Organization
Answer: b
11. The passage suggest that the a geographers would consider a city's soil type part of its ....
A. Hinterland
b. Situation
c. Site
d. Function
Answer: c
12. According to the passage, a city's situation is more important than it's site in regard to the city's ....
A. Long term growth and prosperity
b. Ability to protect it's citizenry
c. Possession of favorable weather conditions
d. Need to import food supplies
Answer: a
13. The author mentions each of the following as an advantage of Chicago's location Except its ....
A. Hinterland
b. Nearness to a large lake
c. Position in regard to transport routes
d. Flat terrain
Answer: d
14. The word "characteristics" in line 14 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Choices
b. Attitudes
c. Qualities
d. Inhabitants
Answer: c
15. The primary purpose of paragraph 1 is to ....
A. Summarize past research and introduce a new study
b. Describe a historical period
c. Emphasize the advantages of one theory over another
d. Define a term and illustrated it with an example
Answer: d
16. According to the passage, Philadelphia and Boston are similar to New York City in ....
A. Size of population
b. Age
c. Site
d. Availability of rail transportation
Answer: b
17. The word "functional" in line 20 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Alternate
b. Unknown
c. Original
d. Useable
Answer: d
18. The word "itdanquot; in line 21 refers to ....
A. Account
b. Primacy
c. Connection
d. Hinterland
Answer: a
19. The word "significant" in line 26 is closest in meaning to ....
A. Threatening
b. Meaningful
c. Obvious
d. Available
Answer: b
