Task 2 : Reading Comprehension
part 2
Passage For Questions 1-9
At the time Jane Austen's novels were published –
between 1811 and 1818 – English literature was not part of any academic
curriculum. In addition, fiction was under strenuous attack. Certain religious
and political groups felt novels had the power to make so called immoral
characters so interesting young readers would identify with them; these groups
also considered novels to be of little practical use. Even Cole-ridge,
certainly no literary reactionary, spoke for many when he asserted that
"novel-reading occasions the destruction of the mind's power. These
attitudes towards novels help explain why Ausjten received little attention
from early nineteenth century literary critics. (In any case, a novelist
published anonymously, as Austin was, would not be likely to receive much
critical attention). The literary response that was accorded her, however, was
often as incisive as twentieth century criticism. In his attack in 1816 on
novelistic portrayals "outside of ordinary experience, " for example,
Scott made an insightful remarks about the merits of Austen;'s fiction. Her
novels, wrote Scott, "present to the reader an accurate and exact. picture
of ordinary everyday people and places, reminiscent of seventeenth –century
Flemish painting. " Scott did not use the word "realistic probability
in judging novels. The critic whitely did not use the word realism either, but
he expressed agreement with Scott's evaluation, and went on to suggest the
possibilities for moral instruction in what we have called Austen's realistic
method. Her characters, wrote whitely, are persuasive agents for moral truth
since they are ordinary persons "so clearly evoked that was feel an
interest in their fate as if it were our own Moral instruction, explained
Whitely, is more likely to be effective when conveyed through recognizably
human and interesting characters then when imparted by a sermonizing narrator.
Whately especially praised Austen's ability to create characters who
"mingle goodness and villainy, weakness and virtue, as in life they are
always mingled. "Whately concluded his remarks by comparing Austen's art
of characterization to Sicken's, stating his preference for Austin's. often
anticipated the reservations of twentieth-century critics. An example of such a
response was Lewes' complaint in 1859 that Austen's range of subjects and
characters was too narrow. Praising her verisimilitude, Lewes added that
nonetheless her focus was too often upon only the unlofty and the common place.
(Twentieth-century Marxists, on the other hand, were to complain about what
they saw as her exclusive emphasis on a lofty upper-middle class) in any case,
having been rescued by some literary critics from neglect and indeed gradually
lionized by them, Austen's steadily reached, by the mid-nineteenth century, the
enviable pinnacle of being considered controversial.
1. The primary purpose of
the passage is to…
3. The authors mentions that English literature "was not part of any academic curriculum " in the early nineteenth century in order to…
4. The passage supplies
information to suggest that the religious and political groups mentioned and
Whately might have agreed that a novel…
5. The author quotes
Coleridge in order to…
6. The passage suggests
that twentieth century Marxists would have admired Jane Austen's noels more if
the novels, a he Marxists understood them, had…
7. It can be inferred from
the passage that Whately found Dickens character to be…
8. According to the
passage, the lack of critical attention paid to Jane Austen can be explained by
all of the following nineteenth-century attitudes towards the novel EXCEPT the…
9. The author would most likely agree that which of the following ios the
best measure of a writer's literary success?
18. The author's purpose in citing those who are repeatedly unemployed during a twelve-month period is most probably to show that…
19. The
author states that the mitigating effect of social programs involving income
transfers on the income level of low-income people is often not felt by…
20. According
to the passage, one factor that causes unemployment and earnings figures to
overpredict the amount of economic hardship is the…
21. The
conclusion stated about the number of people who suffer as a result of forced
idleness depends primarily on the point that…
23. According
to the passage, which of the following is true about the number and general
nature of figures sung by the indigo bunting?
24. It can be
inferred that a dummy of a male indigo bunting was placed near the tape
recorder that played the songs of different species in order to try to…
25. According
to the passage, the authors played a normal indigo bunting song backwards in
order to determine which of the following?
a. demonstrate the nineteenth-century preference for realistic novels rather than romantic ones.
b. Explain why Jane Austen's novels were not included in any academic curriculum in the early nineteenth century
c. Urge a reassessment of Jane Austen's novels by twentieth-century literary critics
d. Describe some of the responses of nineteenth – century critics tol Jane Austen's novels as well as to fiction in general
e. Argue that realistic character portrayal is the novelist's most difficult task as well as the aspect of novel most likely to elicit critical response.
Correct Answer : d. Describe some of the responses of nineteenth – century critics tol Jane Austen's novels as well as to fiction in general.
2. The passage supplies
information for answering which of the following questions?
a. Ws Whately
aware of Scott's remarks about Jane Austen's novels?
b. Who is an
example of a twentieth-century Marxist critic?
c. Who is an
example of twentieth-century critic who admired Jane Aujsten's novels?
d. What is the
author's judgment of Dickens?
e. Did Jane
Austen's express her opinion of those nineteenth-century critics who admired
her novels.
Correct Answer : a. Ws Whately aware of Scott's remarks about Jane Austen's novels?3. The authors mentions that English literature "was not part of any academic curriculum " in the early nineteenth century in order to…
a. emphasize the need for Jane Austen to increate ordinary, everyday character in her novels.
b. give support to those religious and political groups that had attacked fiction
c. give one reason why Jane Austen's novels received little critical attention in the early nineteenth century.
d. Suggest the superiority of an informal and unsystematized approach to the study of literature
e. contrast nineteenth-century attitudes towards English literature with those towards classical literature
Correct Answer : c. give one reason why Jane Austen's novels received little critical attention in the early nineteenth century.
a. has little practical use
b. has the ability to influence the moral values of its readers
c. is of most interest to readers when representing ordinary human characters.
d. should not be read by young readers.
e. Needs the sermonizing of a narrator in order to impart moral truths
Correct Answer : b. has the ability to influence the moral values of its readers
a. refute the literary opinions of certain religious and political groups
b. make a case for the inferiority of novels to poetry
c. give an example of a writer who was not a literary reactionary
d. illustrate the early nineteenth-century belief that fiction was especially appealing to young readers
e. indicate how widespread was the attack on novels in the early nineteenth century
Correct Answer : e. indicate how widespread was the attack on novels in the early nineteenth century
a. described the values of upper-middle class society
b. avoided moral instruction and sermonizing
c. depicted ordinary society in a more flattering light portrayed characters from more than one class of society
d. portrayed characters from more than one class of society
e. anticipated some of controversial social problems of the twentieth century.
Correct Answer : d. portrayed characters from more than one class of society
a. especially interest to you readers
b. ordinary persons in recognizably human situations
c. less liable than Jane Aujten's characters to have a realistic mixture of moral qualities
d. more often villainous and week than virtuous and good
e. less susceptible than Jane Austen's characters to the m oral judgments of sermonizing narrator.
Correct Answer : c. less liable than Jane Aujten's characters to have a realistic mixture of moral qualities
a. assurance felt by many people that novels weakened the mind
b. certainly shared by many political commentators that the range of novels was too narrow
c. lack of interest shown by some critics in novels that were published anonymously
d. fear exhibited by some religious and political groups that novels had the power to portray immoral characters attractively
e. belief held by some religious and political groups that novels had no practical value.
Correct Answer : b. certainly shared by many political commentators that the range of novels was too narrow
a. Inclusion of the writer's work in an academic curriculum
b. Publication of the writer's work in the writer's own name
c. Existence of debate among critics about the writers work
d. Praise of the writers work by religious and political groups
e. Ability of the writers work to appeal to ordinary people.
Correct Anwer : c. Existence of debate among critics about the writers work
Passage For Questions 10-15
Woodraw Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the economic
market when he said that the free enterprise system is the most efficient
economic system. Maximum freedom means maximum productiveness; our
"openness" is to be the measure of our stability. Fascination with
this ideal has made Americans defy the "Old World" categories of
settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation., the cupidity of
retention versus the cupidity of seizure, a "status quo" defended of
attacked. The United States, it was believed, had no status quo ante. Our only
"station" was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and
faster. We did not base our system on property but opportunity-which meant we
based it not on stability but on mobility. The more things changed, that is,
the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be. The conventional
picture of class politics is composed of the Haves, who want a stability to keep
what they have, and Have-Nots, who want a touch of instability and change in
which to scramble for the things they have not. But Americans imagined a
condition in which speculators, self-makers, runners are always using the new
opportunities given by our land. These economic leaders (front-runners) would
thus be mainly agents of Change. The nonstarters were considered the ones who
wanted stability, a strong referee to give them some position in the race, a
regulative hand to calm manic speculation; an authority that can call things to
a half begin things again from compensatorily staggered "starting
lines".:Reform" in America has been sterile because it can imagine no
change except through the extension of this metaphor of the race, wider inclusion
of competitors, "a piece of the action." As it were, of the
disenfranchised. There is no attempt to call off the race. Since our only
stability is change. America seems not to honor the quite work that achieves
social interdependence and stability. There is, in our legends, no heroism of
the office clerk, no stable industrial work force of the people who actually
make the system work. There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for
a return to the time when everyone was an employer). There has been no boasting
about our social workers-they are need; empty boasts from the past make us
ashamed of our present achievements, make us try to forget or deny the, move
away from them. There is no honor but in the wonderland race we must all run,
all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end).
10. According to the
passage, "Old World" values were based on…
11. In the context of the
author's discussion of regulat ing change, which of the following could be most
probably regvarded as a "strong referee" (lin e 30) in the United
States?
12. The author sets off
the word "Reform" with quotation marks in order to…
15. It can be inferred
from the passage that Woodrow Wilson's idea's about the economic market…
Passage For Questions 16-21
17. Which of the
following proposals best responds to the issues raised by the author ?
a. Ability
b. property
c. family connections
d. guild hierarchies
e. education
Correct Answer : b. property
a. A school principle
b. A political theorist
c. A federal court judge
d. A social worker
e. A government inspector
Correct Answer : c. A federal court judge
a. emphasize
its departure from the concept of settled possessiveness
b. show
his support for a systematic program of change
c. underscore
the flexibility and even amorphousness of United States society
d. indicate
that the term was one of Wilson's favorites
e. assert
that reform in the United States has not been fundamental
Correct Answer : e. assert that reform
in the United States has not been fundamental
a. a compassionate, if
misdirected, legislative measure
b. an
example of American's resistance to profound social change
c. an
innovative program for genuine social reform
d. a
monument to the efforts of industrial reformers
e. a surprisingly " Old
World" remedy for social ills
Correct Answer : b. an
example of American's resistance to profound social change
a. A windmill
b. A
water fall
c. A
treadmill
d. A
gyroscope
e. A
bellows
Correct Answer : c. A treadmill
a. encouraged those who
"make the system work"
b. perpetuated
traditional legends about America
c. revealed
the prejudices of a man born wealthy
d. foreshadowed
the stock market crash of 1929
e. began a tradition of
presidential proclamations on economics
Correct Answer : b. perpetuated traditional legends about America
Passage For Questions 16-21
How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems ?
This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In
many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of har-ship.
Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the
1930's when most of the unemployed were primary bread-winners, when income and
earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there
were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market.
Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the
growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved
social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of
joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of
hard-ship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage
level, the overwhelming majority are from multiple-earner, relatively affluent
families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or
handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor
force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor
market pathologies. Yet there are also many ways our social statistics
underestimate the degree of labour-market-related hardship. The unemployment
counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low
that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged
unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support.
Since the number experiencing job-lessness at some time during the year is
several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer s a result
of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though
only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person
counted in the month unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time
because of the inability to find full-time work, or else outside the labor
force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always
focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the
working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does
not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately
protected. As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether
those suffering seriously as a result of labor market problems number in the
hundreds of thousands or the tens of millions, and hence, whether high levels
of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and
economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate-that the
existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of
their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.
16. The
author contrasts the 1930's with the present in order to show that…
a. more
people were unemployed in the 1930's
b. unemployment
now has less severe effects
c. social
programs are more needed now
d. there
now is a greater proportion of elderly and handicapped people among those in
poverty
e. poverty
has increased since the 1930's
Correct Answer : b. unemployment now has
less severe effects
a. Innovative
programs using multiple approaches should be set up to reduce the level of
unemployment.
b. A
compromise should be found between the positions of those who view joblessness
as an evil greater than economic control and those who hold the opposite view.
c. New
statistical indices should be developed to measure the degree to which
unemployment and inadequately paid employment cause suffering.
d. Consideration
showed be given to the ways in which statistics can act as partial causes of
the phenomena that they purport to measure.
e. The
labor force should be restructured so that it corresponds to the range of job
vacancies.
Correct
Answer : c. New statistical indices should be developed to measure the degree
to which unemployment
and inadequately paid employment cause suffering.18. The author's purpose in citing those who are repeatedly unemployed during a twelve-month period is most probably to show that…
a. there are several factors that
cause the payment of low wags to some members of the labor force
b. unemployment statistics can
underestimate the hardship resulting from joblessness
c. recurrent inadequacies in the
labor market can exist and can cause hardships for individual workers.
d. A majority of those who are
jobless at any one time do not suffer severe hardship
e. There are fewer individuals who
are without jobs at some time during a year than would be expected on the basis
of monthly unemployment figures
Correct
Answer : b. unemployment statistics can underestimate the hardship resulting
from joblessness
a. the
employed poor
b. dependent
children in single – earner families
c. workers
who become disabled
d. workers
who become disabled
e. full-time
workers who become unemployed
Correct
Answer : a. the employed poor
a. recurrence
of periods of unemployment for a group of low-wage workers
b. possibility
that earnings may be received from more than one job per workers.
c. Fact
that unemployment counts do not include those who work for low wages and remain
poor
d. Establishment
of system of record-keeping that makes it possible to compile poverty
statistics
e. Prevalence,
among low-wage workers and the unemployed, of members of families in which
other are employed
Correct
Answer : e. Prevalence, among low-wage workers and the unemployed, of members
of families in which other are employed
a. in
times of high unemployment, there are some people who do not remain unemployed
for long
b. the
capacity for self-support depends on receiving moderate-to-high wages
c. those
in forced idleness include, besides the unemployed, both underemployed
part-time workers and those not actively seeking work
d. at
different times during the year, different people are unemployed
e. many
of those who are affected by unemployment ae dependents of unemployed workers.
Correct
Answer : d. at different times during the year, different people are unemployed
Passage For Questions 22-25
In strongly territorial birds such
as the indigo bunting, song is the main mechanism for securing g, defining, and
defending an adequate breeding are. When population density is high, only the
strongest males can retain a suitable area. The weakest males do not breed or
are forced to nest on poor or marginal territories.During the breeding season,
the male indigo bunting sings in his territory; each song lasts two or three
seconds with a very short pause between songs, Melodic and rhythmic
characteristics are produced by rapid changes in sound frequency and some
regularity of silent periods between sounds. These modulated sounds form
recognizable units, called figures, each of which is reproduced again and again
with remarkable consistency. Despite the large frequency range of these sounds
and the rapid frequency changes that the birds makes, the n umber of figures is
very limited. Further, although we found some unique figures in different
geographical populations, more than 90 percent of all Indigo bunting figures
are extremely stable on the geographic basis . In our studies of isolated
buntings we found that male indigo buntings are capable of singing many more
types of figures than they usually do. Thus, it would seem that they copy their
figures from other buntings they hear signing.Realizing that the ability to
distinguish the songs of one species from those of another could be an
important factor in the volition of the figures, we tested species recognition
of a song. When we played a tape recording of a lazuli bunting or a painted
bunting, male indigo bunting did not respond; Even when a dummy of male indigo
bunting was placed near the tape recorder. Playing an indigo bunting song,
however, usually brought an immediate response, making it clear that a male
indigo bunting can readily distinguished songs of its own species from those of
other species.The role of the songs figures in interspecies recognition was
then examined. We created experimental songs composed of new figures by playing
a normal song backwards, which changed the detailed forms of the figures
without altering frequency ranges or gross temporal features. Since the male
indigos gave almost a full response to the backward song, we concluded that a
wide range of figures shapes can evoke positive responses. It seems likely,
therefore, that a specific configuration is not essential for interspecies
recognition, but it is clear that song figures must confirm to a particular
frequency range, must be within narrow limits of duration, and must be spaced
at particular intervals.There is evident that new figures may arise within a
population through a slow process of change and selection. This variety is
probably a valuable adaptation for survival: if every bird sang only a few
types of figures, in dense woods or underbrush a female might have difficulty
recognizing her mate’s song and a male might not be able to distinguished a
neighbor from a stranger. Our studies led us to conclude that there must be a
balance between song stability and conservatism, which lead to clear-cut
species recognition, and song variation, which leads to individual recognition.
22. The
primary purpose of passage is to…
a. raise
new issues
b. explain
an enigma
c. refute
misconceptions
d. reconcile
differing theories
e. analyze
a phenomenon
Correct
Answer : e. analyze a phenomenon
a. They
are established at birth
b. They
evolve slowly as the bird learns
c. They
are learned from other indigo buntings.
d. They
develop after the bird has been forced onto marginal breeding areas.
e. The
gradually develop through contact with prospective mates
Correct
Answer : c. They are learned from other indigo buntings.
a. simulate the conditions in nature
b. Rule
out visual cues as a factor in species recognition
c. Supply
an additional clue to species recognition for the indigo bunting
d. Provide
data on the habits of bunting species other than then indigo bunting
e. Confound
the indigo buntings in the experiment
Correct
Answer : b. Rule out visual cues as a factor in species recognition
a. What
are the limits of the frequency range that will provide recognition by the
indigo bunting.
b. What
is the time duration necessary for recognition by the indigo bunting?
c. How
specific must a figure shape be for it to be recognized by the indigo bunting?
d. How
does variation in the pacing of song figures?
e. Is
the indigo bunting responding to cues other than those in the song figures?
Correct
Answer : c. How specific must a figure shape be for it to be recognized by the
indigo bunting?
REFERENSI
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