In this section of the test, you will read six tests and answer 42 questions. Choose the correct answer to each question and mark the letter of the correct answer on your answer sheet.

Before you start, read the sample text and the sample question below.

Sample text

Erosion is one of nature's most power forces. It can happen in many ways, includ-ing through the wind, rain, snow, and ice, Erosion frequently takes place over a long period of time. This is how canyons and deserts are often created. Yet it is also pos-sible for erosion to take place overnight.

Sample Question 1

What is this text mostly about?

(A) How deserts are created

(B) A natural force

(C) Canyons and deserts

(D) Wind erosion

The correct answer is (B), "A natural force."

Sample Question 2

Which of the following is true regarding erosion?

(A) It can happen in many ways

(B) Water most commonly causes it

(C) It can create deserts overnight

(D) It is stronger than anything in nature

The correct answers is (A), "It can happen in many ways"

Questions 1-6 are about the following advertisement.

                                            Visit Carter's Department Store! 

     It's that time of the year for school to start again. So that means you need to start stocking up on the supplies you need for the school year. Fortunately, you don't have to visit four or five different stores to get everything necessary. Instead, take a trip to Carter's Department Store. We've got everything that a student could possibly need.

     We have all kinds of standard school supplies: pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, and more. We also carry art supplies, such as paint, paintbrushes, and easels. You can pur-chase all sorts of electronic equipment, including calculators, desktop computers, and notebook computers. We even sell musical instruments. 

     And here's the best part: From now until the beginning of the school year, we are having a back-to-school sale. Everything we carry that is related to school is on sale for at least 25% off. Art supplies are 30% off while electronic goods are available at 40% discounts. And be sure to visit our boys' and girls' clothing departments, where you will find savings up to a whopping 60% off. You simply can't beat Carter's Department Store for quality and price. 

Questions 7-12 

To all students enrolled in any science laboratory class:

     There have been a couple of alterations in all of our science laboratory classes since the beginning of the semester.

     To begin with, the laboratory fee for each class has changed. Students enrolled in biology classes must now pay $250 per semester, physiology students must pay $275, and chemistry students must pay $325. Physics students only need to pay $100 since they rarely use the lab. The reason for this is that there has been a general increase in the prices of the supplies needed for each class. The lab fees must be paid in fuII no later than Friday, September 29.

     In addition, all students must purchase the requisite safety gear for their classes. In the past two weeks, four pairs of safety glasses and two lab coats have gone miss-ing. The school simply cannot afford to continue replacing this equipment, so now all students must have their own items, which they will be expected to hold on to. While it may not seem fair to punish everyone for the actions of a few, this is the only option we seem to have.

Doris Williamson

Head of the Science Department

Questions 13-18 are about the following letter

Dear Parents,

     It's that time of the year to start thinking about our annual spring festival. As you know, the school holds the festival for a couple of reasons. The first is to engender a sense of community between the school and the residents of the neighborhood. The second is to help raise money for the school to use in a variety of manners.

     This spring, the festival will run from April 3 to 5 (Thursday to Saturday). All of the festival events are going to take place on the school campus. They will primarily be held in the school gym and auditorium as well as on the football field. This year, we have a large number of special activities planned. Please consult the attached sheet to see the events that have been scheduled.

     Since we have so many activities planned, we are counting on you, our students' parents, to assist us. We need at least twenty-five volunteers to help out during the festival. If you can spare even one or two hours of your time, we would appreciate it. Please contact Mrs. Voss at 555-1212 if you can lend a helping hand at the festival.

Sincerely,

Jeanie Richards

Headmaster

Milton Academy

Questions 19-26 are about the following passage

     Coral reefs are rocklike protrusions that extend from a coastline into the ocean. They are made from coral, a living organism. Coral polyps appear to be small plants to many people, but they are in actuality a type of marine life. They grow in clusters and secrete a substance made of calcium carbonate that protects their bodies. This substance, in turn, forms a rocky structure that creates the reef itself.

     Coral reefs form some of the ocean's most unique ecosystems. They are vibrant places which attract a wide variety of marine plants and animals. There are a cou-ple of reasons that many sea creatures, particularly fish, live in coral reefs. The first is that the reefs are rich in nutrients, so there is an abundance of food for them to eat. The next is that coral reefs provide protection from large predators. The hard, rocky reefs can wound large fish, such as sharks, that try to enter. Due to the ab-sence of many voracious predators, smaller fish often lay their eggs in coral reefs. When the fish hatch, the reefs act as sanctuaries for them as they become adults.

     Unfortunately, many of the planet's coral reefs are in danger of disappearing due to both natural and manmade reasons. Coral requires ideal conditions to live. It can only survive in warm water, which means that it is virtually only found in tropical location. The water that coral resides in must also be shallow since it needs access to sunlight in order to survive. Yet the ocean is not static but is in a constant state of change. Sometimes the water temperature in a place where coral grows may become too hot or too cold. This can result in the destruction of an entire reef.

     As for manmade problems, there are two major ones. First. pollution caused by humans - such as the dumping of chemicals in the water - can kill coral. which is quite sensitive. Second, some humans actively destroy coral reefs. Many are fisher-men. Some of them eschew nets in favor of dynamite. They kill numerous fish with explosives but damage the reefs in the process. On, a smaller scale, some people cut off coral from reefs to make jewelry from or to use for home aquariums. All of these factors combine to endanger many of the world's coral reefs.

Questions 27-34 are about the following passage

     There have been many famous detectives in literature. But one of the first -and certainly the most famous - is Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was created by the British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late nineteenth century.

     Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in the work A Study in Scarlet, which was published in 1887. Holmes instantly became a popular literary figure with the general populace, who demanded that Doyle write more stories involving him. Doyle complied and eventually wound up writing fifty-six short stories and four novels that featured Holmes. While he took a break of several years from creating stories about Holmes, Doyle continued to write Holmes stories until 1927. Among the most famous of all the works featuring Holmes are The Hound of the Basker-vllies, The Blue Carbuncle, and A Scandal in Bohemia.

     One of the reasons that Sherlock Holmes was so popular concerns the method he employs to solve his cases: logic. Together with his partner, Dr. Watson, Holmes uses his powers of observation to detect clues that can help him solve the cases he accepts. Holmes has an incredibly sharp mind that enables him to determine who the guilty party is or what the problem is. Holmes also is a master of disguise, which he proves many times, and he is skilled at boxing as well as sword fighting.

     While Holmes often solves cases that are unrelated to one another, he has a nemesis with whom he comes into both direct and indirect conflict in several sto-ries. That person is Professor Moriarty, the leader of a crime ring In London. In one of the stories, The Final Problem, Holmes and Moriarty fight one another and fall to their deaths by plunging down a steep cliff near a waterfall. When he wrote that story, Doyle had tired of Holmes and wanted to kill off the character. He then refrained from writing about Holmes for many years, but public demand for more stories induced him to bring Holmes hack from the dead and to continue writing detective stories.

Questions 35-42 are about the following passage

     Earth orbits the sun while the moon orbits Earth. Occasionally, all three of them become aligned with one another. When this happens, an eclipse occurs. There are two types of eclipses: solar and lunar. Both are rare events simply because, due to the movement of all three celestial bodies, the times when they line up with one another are infrequent.

     Solar eclipses are easily the more spectacular of the two. For a solar eclipse to occur, the moon's orbit must take it between Earth and the sun. While the sun is much larger than the moon, the relative nearness of the moon to Earth makes it appear to be the same size as the sun when viewed from the ground. Thus, when the sun, Earth, and moon are perfectly aligned, the moon appears to cover the entire sun. This is a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse may be either total or partial. When a total eclipse happens, the sun is completely obscured by the moon. The sky darkens, and it appears to be nighttime. However, most solar eclipses are partial ones. When they take place, the sun is only partly covered by the moon.

     When a solar eclipse happens, it is observable from a fairly small area on the planet. Thus, when there is a solar eclipse in North America, it is highly unlikely that it will be visible in Africa or Australia. A solar eclipse only lasts for a few minutes since all three heavenly bodies are in continual motion. People must also take care when viewing a solar eclipse since looking directly at tt can cause damage - including blindness - to their eyes.

Lunar eclipses happen when Earth moves directly between the sun and the moon. When this occurs, the planet blocks sunlight from reflecting off the moon. Lunar eclipses take place at night. During one, the moon appears very orange and is practically red in color. There are two different types of lunar eclipses. Taken together, the result is that lunar eclipses happen more frequently than so-lar eclipses. In addition, lunar eclipses may last for hours and can be seen from a wider area on the planet. There is no harm in directly observing a lunar eclipse either, so looking at one will not damage a person's eyes.