Passage 1
GROUNDWATER
Groundwater is the word used to describe water that saturates the ground, filling all the available spaces. By far the most abundant type of groundwater is meteoric water; this is the groundwater that circulates as part of the water cycle. Ordinary meteoric water is water that has soaked into the ground from the surface, from precipitation (rain and snow) and from lakes and streams. There it remains, sometimes for long periods, before emerging at the surface again. At first thought it seems incredible that there can be enough space in the "solid" ground underfoot to hold all this water. The necessary space is there, however, in many forms. The commonest spaces are those among the particles—sand grains and tiny pebbles—of loose, unconsolidated sand and gravel. Beds of this material, out of sight beneath the soil, are common.They are found wherever fast rivers carrying loads of coarse sediment once flowed.for example as the great ice sheets that covered North America during the last ice age steadily melted away, huge volumes of water flowed from them. The water was always laden with pebbles, gravel, and sand, known as glacial outwash, that was deposited as the flow slowed down.
1. Which of the following can be inferred from the paragraph about the ground that we walk on?
A. It cannot hold rainwater for long periods of time.
B. It prevents most groundwater from circulating.
C. It has the capacity to store large amounts of water.
D. It absorbs most of the water it contains from rivers.
2. The word out of sight in the passage is closest in meaning to:
A. far away
B. hidden
C. partly visible
D. discovered
3. According to the paragraph, where is groundwater usually found?
A. Inside pieces of sand and gravel
B. On top of beds of rock
C. In fast rivers that are flowing beneath the soil "s
D. In spaces between pieces of sediment
4. The phrase glacial outwash in the passage refers to:
A. fast rivers
B. glaciers
C. the huge volumes of water created by glacial
D. the particles carried in water from melting glaciers
In lowland country almost any spot on the ground may overlie what was once the bed of a river that has since become buried by soil; if they are now below the water’s upper surface (the water table), the gravels and sands of the former riverbed, and its sandbars, will be saturated with groundwater. So much for unconsolidated sediments. Consolidated (or cemented) sediments. too,contain millions of minute water-holding pores. This is because the gaps among the original grains are often not totally plugged ,with cementing chemicals; also, parts of the original grains may become dissolved by 'percolating groundwater, either while consolidation is taking place or at any time afterwards. The result is that sandstone, for example, can be as porous as the loose sand from which it was formed.
Thus a proportion of the total volume of any sediment, loose or cemented, consists of empty space. Most crystalline rocks are much more solid; a common exception is basalt, a form of solidified volcanic lava, which is sometimes full of tiny bubbles that make it very porous. The proportion of empty space in a rock is known as its porosity. But note that porosity is not the same as permeability, which measures the ease with which water can flow through a material; this depends on the sizes of the individual cavities and the crevices linking them.
The relative amount of these two kinds of water varies greatly from one kind of rock or sediment to another, even though their
porosities may be the same. What happens depends on pore size. If the pores are large, the water in them will exist as drops too heavy for surface tension to hold, and it will drain away; but if the pores are small enough, the water in them will exist as thin films, too light to overcome the force of surface tension holding them in place; then the water will be firmly held.
5: The word plugged in the passage is closest in meaning to:
A. washed
B. dragged.
C. filled up
D. drained
6. According to the paragraph 2, why is basalt unlike most crystalline forms of rock?
A. It is unusually solid.
B. It often has high porosity.
C. It has a low proportion of empty space.
D. It is highly permeable
7. What is the main purpose of paragraph 2?
A. To explain why water can flow through rock
B. To emphasize the large amount of empty space in all rock
C. To point out that a rock cannot be both porous and pern
D. To distinguish between two related properties of rock
8. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage?
A. Surface tension is not strong enough to retain drops of water in rocks with large pores but it strong enough to hold on to thin films of water in rocks with small pores.
B. Water in rocks is held in place by large pores and drains away from small size pores through surface tension.
C. Small pores and large pores both interact with surface tension to determine whether a rock will hold water as heavy drops or as a thin film.
D. If the force of surface tension is too weak to hold water in place as heavy drops, the water will continue to be held firmly in place as thin film when large pores exist.
Much of the water in a sample of water-saturated sediment or rock will drain from it if the sample is put in a suitable dry
place. [A] But some will remain, clinging to all solid surfaces. [B] It is held there by the force of surface tension without which water would drain instantly from any wet surface, leaving it totally dry. [C] The total volume of water in the saturated sample must therefore be thought of as consisting of water that can, and water that cannot, drain away. [D]
9. Look at the four letters [A], [B], [C], [C], that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. What, then, determines what proportion of the water stays and what proportion drains away? Where would the sentence best fit?
10. The word it refers to in the passage.
A. Water
B. Rocks
C. Winds
D. solids
PASSAGE 2
THE AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
In 1852 American Commodore Matthew C. Perry set sail to Nagasaki, Japan, in the hopes of securing a trade treaty with the isolationist country. Two years later he succeeded, and nearly instantly a flood of exports hitherto unseen by westerners streamed into Europe and America.[A] Citizens in both countries were soon astonished to learn of the use of shape, color, and devotion to understatement and unadorned space that dominated the Japanese
artisans' work.[B] Admiration soon turned to inspiration, and later, revolution, as western artists began incorporating eastern art in the creation of a variety of artistic endeavors, including interior design, furniture, ceramics, textiles, architecture, and even Literature.[C] By
early 1870, British artisans largely influenced by this influx of Japanese art—but also influenced by the Pre- Raphaelites and Italy's Decadentismo—formed a philosophy known as the Aesthetic Movement.[D] Importantly its devotees embraced the premise that art should exist independently of utilitarian use, a rallying cry made famous by french philosopher vincent cousin when he coined the phrase"art for art's sake."
11. The word understatement is closest in meaning to:
A. gaudiness
B. excess
C. restraint
D. solitude
12 . Look at the four letters [A], [B], [C], [D], that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.Broadly speaking, it represents the same tendencies that Symbolism or Decadence stood for in France and may be considered the English branch of the same movement.
Where would the sentence best fit?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
13. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence?
A. Devotees of the Aesthetic Movement agreed with Vincent Cousin that art was something to be admired rather than used.
B. French philosopher Vincent Cousin coined the motto of the Aesthetic Movement, which emphasized art's usefulness.
C. Aesthetic Movement devotees believed average people could not understand art and agreed with \fincent Cousin that they shouldn‘t try.
D. 'Vincent Cousin emphasized art for the people's sake, a rallying cry quickly adopted by Aesthetic Movement devotees.
That art should hold no moral purpose, and be revered on its own accord simply for the beauty it affords, was indeed a radical notion for Victorian-era England, whose population was accustomed to sacrificing sensuality and pleasure for the sake of didacticism." Such a rigid belief system was manifest in many aspects of society— architecture of the period took the form of Gothic Revival and medievalism, and the visual arts were marked by an ornate, overly decorated style. In contrast, visual artists working in the Aesthetic Movement often used a single brushstroke to note form or content, and bold, bright colors and nature-themed motifs such as sunflowers, butterflies and peacocks were enthusiastically embraced. The Aesthetes’ goal was to forefront beauty above all else by creating a sensuous, pleasurable experience. Early supporters of the movement included artist and author William Morris, poet Algernon Swinburne and writer Oscar Wilde, who while on trial for libel at the close of the 19th Century, declared his belief that there is no such thing as an immoral book.
14. The word radical is closest in meaning to:
A. surprisingly conservative
B. warmly received
C. unexpectedly sudden
D. extremely unusual
15. What can be inferred from the paragraph about the people of Victorian-era England?
A. They valued science more highly than art.
B. Their art reflected their moral beliefs.
C. They loved to dance, party, and have fun.
D. Their pleasure was no sacrifice for didacticism.
16. Why does the author mention butterflies and peacocks in the paragraph?
A. To exemplify a form of Gothic Revival art
B. To help illustrate a contrast between visual artists
C. To demonstrate the influence of Oscar Wilde
D. To argue against Aesthetic Movement tastes
Years before that, however, it was Wilde who set off for America in 1882 to promote the Aesthetic Movement. His lectures were heavily attended, and as the movement swept across America, its tenets rapidly gained prominence in both urban and rural households, witnessed in the ubiquity of black-lacquered tables and dining chairs to blue-on-white painted china and Oriental rugs. It was believed that beautiful surroundings could enhance one's life, and inasmuch as a person’s home was decorated with an artful flourish, so, too, was the furniture, which had its own set of aesthetic tendencies, including use of contrasting materials, flat surface decoration, and| ebonized wood with gilt highlights. In no time the movements success had undercut the country’s notion of class,promoting the idea that a home could be beautiful independent of its owner's socioeconomic status though one of the most arguably famously decorated interiors to emerge from the movement belonged to Frederick R.leyland a British shipping magnate.
In 1876, Leyland asked American artist James McNeill Whistler his opinion on what color to paint his dining room, and was soon shocked to discover that Whistler had, without consent, painted every square inch of wall and ceiling in true Aesthete style, replete with golden peacocks on the room's shutters and peacock feathers on every inch of wall and ceiling. Today, visitors to the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC, can view the famous “Peacock Room,” which, after undergoing a painstaking transplant and restoration, has become an enduring hallmark of the grandiosity and lush decadence associated with the Aesthetic Movement. Though it lasted just thirty years, the movement remains an important period in art history, serving as a distinguished bridge between the Victorian era and what was to become the popular arts-and- craft style of the early 20th century, itself a precursor to art deco.
17. The word tenets is closest in meaning to
A. renters
B. believers
C. principles
D. goals
18. According the paragraph, what is true of the Aesthetic Movement?
A. It was equally popular in the cities and countryside.
B. Its primary feature was black-lacquered furniture.
C. It was an indicator of a household's economic status.
D. It became popular in America before spreading to England.
19. All of the following are mentioned in the paragraph 2 EXCEPT:
A. James Whistler
B. peacocks
C. Freer Gallery
D. Washington state
20. The word which in paragraph 4 refers to:
A. Freer Gallery
B. Washington, DC
C. Peacock Room -
D. transplant