Passage 1:

Read the passage. Then answer the questions below

When we are young, we learn that tigers and sharks are dangerous animals. We
might be scared of them because they are big and powerful. As we get older,
however, we learn that sometimes the most dangerous animals are also the
smallest animals. In fact, the animal that kills the most people every year is one
that you have probably killed yourself many times: the mosquito.
While it may seem that all mosquitoes are biters, this is not actually the case.
Male mosquitoes eat plant nectar. On the other hand, female mosquitoes feed on
animal blood. They need this blood to live and produce eggs. When a female
mosquito bites a human being, it transmits a small amount of saliva into the
blood. This saliva may or may not contain a deadly disease. The result of the bite
can be as minor as an itchy bump or as serious as death.
Because a mosquito can bite many people in the course of its life, it can carry
diseases from one person to another very easily. Two of the most deadly diseases
carried by mosquitoes are malaria and yellow fever. More than 700 million people
become sick from these diseases every year. At least 2 million of these people will
die from these diseases.
Many scientists are working on safer and better ways to kill mosquitoes, but so far,
there is no sure way to protect everyone in the world from their deadly bites.
Mosquito nets can be placed over beds to protect people against being bitten.
These nets help people stay safe at night, but they do not kill any mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes have many natural enemies like bats, birds, dragonflies, and certain
kinds of fish. Bringing more of these animals into places where mosquitoes live
might help to cut down the amount of mosquitoes in that area. This is a natural
solution, but it does not always work very well. Mosquitoes can also be killed with
poisons or sprays. Even though these sprays kill mosquitoes, they may also harm
other plants or animals.
Although mosquitoes may not seem as scary as larger, more powerful animals,
they are far more dangerous to human beings. But things are changing. It is highly
likely that one day scientists will find a way to keep everyone safe from
mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.
Questions
1) According to the author, some people are more afraid of tigers and sharks than mosquitoes because
tigers and sharks

A. kill more people than mosquitoes

B. are big and powerful
C. are found all over the world
D. have no natural enemies

2) Based on the information in paragraph 2, we can understand that

I. male mosquitoes and female mosquitoes have different eating habits

II. male mosquitoes are harmless to humans
III. female mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting diseases to humans

A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III

3) In paragraph 2 the author writes, "This saliva may or may not contain a deadly disease." The purpose
of this statement is to

A. oppose a previous argument

B. question an upcoming conclusion
C. confirm a hypothesis
D. support a later statement

4) As used in paragraph 2, minor most nearly means

A. insignificant
B. deadly
C. frustrating
D. dangerous

5) Based on information in paragraph 3, it can be understood that if you get sick with malaria or yellow
fever, your chances of survival are

A. terrible
B. mediocre
C. good
D. excellent

6) It can be understood that the introduction of dragonflies might reduce the number of flies in a given
area because dragonflies

A. work together with mosquitoes

B. kill mosquitoes
C. cannot be killed by poisons or sprays
D. attract bats

7) Which of the following best summarizes the information in paragraph 4?

A. Mosquito nets provide adequate protection from deadly mosquitoes.

B. Poisons and sprays provide adequate protection from deadly mosquitoes.
C. The introduction of the mosquito's natural enemies provides adequate protection from deadly
mosquitoes.
D. There is no perfect solution to the mosquito problem.

8) Which of the following words best describes the author's overall attitude towards the prospect of
solving the mosquito problem?

A. despondent, meaning hopeless or dejected

B. exasperated, meaning extremely irritated or annoyed
C. equivocal, meaning doubtful or uncertain
D. optimistic, meaning hopeful or taking a favorable view Ans : 1b,2d,3d,4a,5d,6b,7d,8d
Passage 2:
Read the passage. Then answer the questions below

It is bad to have food stuck between your teeth for long periods of time. This is
because food attracts germs, germs produce acid, and acid hurts your teeth and
gums. Flossing helps to remove the food that gets stuck between your teeth. This
explains why flossing helps to keep your mouth healthy, but some doctors say that
flossing can be also good for your heart.
It may seem strange that something you do for your teeth can have any effect on
your heart. Doctors have come up with a few ideas about how flossing works to
keep your heart healthy. One idea is that the germs that hurt your teeth can leave
the mouth and travel into your blood. Germs that get into the blood can then
attack your heart. Another idea is based on the fact that when there are too many
germs in your mouth, the body tries to fight against these germs. For some
reason, the way the body fights these mouth germs may end up weakening the
heart over time.
Not every doctor agrees about these ideas. Some doctors think that the link
between good flossing habits and good heart health is only a coincidence. A
coincidence is the occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by
mere chance. The incidence of these events is completely random, as they do not
admit of any reliable cause and effect relationship between them. For example,
every time I wash my car, it rains. This does not mean that when I wash my car, I
somehow change the weather. This is only a coincidence. Likewise, some doctors
think that people who have bad flossing habits just happen to also have heart
problems, and people who have good flossing habits just happen to have healthy
hearts.
The theory that flossing your teeth helps to keep your heart healthy might not be
true. But every doctor agrees that flossing is a great way to keep your teeth
healthy. So even if flossing does not help your heart, it is sure to help your teeth.
This is enough of a reason for everyone to floss their teeth every day.
Questions
1) Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A. Why Doctors Disagree about Flossing

B. How to Keep Your Teeth Healthy
C. Flossing Your Way to a Healthy Heart
D. Flossing by Coincidence

2) Flossing effectively helps to keep your mouth healthy by preventing

A. germs from producing acid

B. food from entering your body
C. germs from entering into your blood
D. acid from contacting your teeth and gums

3) In paragraph 2, the author introduces ideas about how flossing works to keep your heart healthy.
Exactly how many of these ideas does the author put forth in this paragraph?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

4) Based on information in paragraph 2, it can be understood that germs in the mouth may harm your
heart by

I. getting into the blood that flows to the heart

II. forcing the body to fight against too many of them
III. causing food to get stuck in the arteries

A. l only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III

5) In paragraph 2, the author explains how having too many germs in your mouth can "end up weakening
the heart." Using the passage as a guide, it can be understood that with respect to the actual way in which
this occurs, doctors are

A. reluctant to hypothesize
B. confident in their estimations
C. extremely knowledgeable
D. uncertain but speculative

6) In paragraph 3 the author writes, "Not every doctor agrees about these ideas." The author's purpose in
writing this sentence is to

A. provide an example
B. introduce a new topic
C. change a previous statement
D. clarify an earlier assertion
7) Using information in paragraph 3 as a guide, which of the following is the best example of a
coincidence?

A. Jim wakes up with a sore throat. He eats a piece of bacon for breakfast. By noon, he feels much better.
Jim decides that the bacon has cured his sore throat.
B. Laura remembers to brush her teeth every day, but she only remembers to floss once a week. She
writes a note to herself, reminding herself to floss and sticks it to her bathroom mirror.
C. Mario is not very good at baseball. He practices playing every day. After a several months of practice,
he is a much better baseball player.
D. Jai has a bad heart. Her doctor tells her to eat more vegetables and less junk food. After nearly a year
of doing this, the doctor tells Jai that her heart is doing much better.

8) Based on its use in the final paragraph, it can be inferred that theory belongs to which of the following
word groups?

A. query, question, interrogation

B. assertion, declaration, affirmation
C. hypothesis, supposition, belief
D. idea, thought, notion

9) Which of the following best states the main idea of the final paragraph?

A. Because doctors do not agree that flossing will help your heart, it is useless to floss.
B. It is a fact that flossing can help your heart as well as your teeth.
C. Even if flossing is only good for your teeth, you should still do it every day.
D. There is no good reason to believe that flossing will help your heart, but it is still a good idea to do it
every day.

Ans: 1c,2d,3b,4b,5d,6d,7a,8c,9c.
Passage 3:
First AOL and Time Warner announced their intention to combine. Then came
Time Warner/EMI and Tribune/ Times Mirror. Even more significant, however, has
been the speculation that these mergers have caused: If these transactions are
consummated, a large number of additional media mergers are expected. There is
even the possibility of a nightmare scenario-a wave of media mergers so large that
within a decade most of our information will be supplied by perhaps six of these
huge conglomerates and a fringe of much smaller firms.

It's time to ask two critical questions. Is this kind of media oligopoly what we, as a
society, want? And if not, can the antitrust laws effectively prevent the threatened
merger wave? The answer to the first question is clear. We do not want a media
oligopoly. The answer to the second question, however, is far less certain. We
should distrust a media oligopoly because it would give undue control to a small
number of individuals. This need not manifest itself in a price rise for the daily
newspaper or AOL's monthly fee. Rather, it could consist of a change in editorial
viewpoints, a shift in the relative prominence of links to certain websites or a
decision not to cover certain topics, because they are not "newsworthy". These
problems could exist without any improper intent on the part of the media barons.
Even if they try to be fair and objective, they will necessarily bring their own
worldview to the job. And in time some of these conglomerates may be controlled
by people who are not fair or objective.

At first it might appear that the antitrust laws can be of little help in grappling with
the issues presented by large media mergers. The anti-merger laws are commonly
understood as protecting price competition, and a relatively small number of firms-
to greatly oversimplify, let's say at most half a dozen-are normally thought to be
enough to keep a market price-competitive. In industry after industry firms merge
until there is only a handful left, and the antitrust enforcers are normally unable to
do anything to prevent this. (In former years mergers were governed by an
"incipiency" standard that prevented mergers and merger waves well before they
would have led to very large or likely anti-competitive problems.) Even if a
handful of firms are enough to insure effective competition in most industries,
would six conglomerate media firms be sufficient for the diversity of viewpoints
necessary to democracy? Would we be reassured if they could somehow guarantee
that they would sell their magazines and Internet advertisements at competitive
prices?
I am hopeful that the antitrust laws, if correctly and vigorously interpreted, are
adaptable enough to meet this challenge. This is because antitrust is not exclusively
about price. It is essentially about choice-about giving consumers a competitive
range of options in the marketplace so that they can make their own, effective
selection from the market's offerings. Consumers should be able to make their
choices along any dimension important to them-including price, variety and
editorial viewpoint.

Communications media compete in part by offering independent editorial

viewpoints and an independent gatekeeper function. Six media firms cannot
effectively respond to the demand for choice or diversity competition by extending
their product lines, because new media products will inevitably bear, to some
degree, the perspective of their corporate parent. For these reasons competition in
terms of editorial viewpoint or gate-keeping can be guaranteed only by insuring
that a media market contains a significantly larger number of firms than is required
for price competition in other, more conventional markets.

It is unclear, however, whether this interpretation of the anti-trust laws will be

applied by the enforcement agencies and the courts. What is needed, therefore, is a
much more careful look at the challenges that will be raised by future media
mergers.

This could best be accomplished if Congress created a Temporary Committee to

Study Media Mergers and Media Convergence. This committee could include
members of Congress; the heads of the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal
Communications Commission and the Justice Department's antitrust division;
CEOs of media companies; and representatives of consumer groups. The
committee would identify problems that may be caused by large media mergers and
by media convergence. If the committee concludes that existing antitrust laws are
inadequate, it should recommend to Congress that new anti-merger legislation be
enacted. This may be the only way to prevent the nightmare scenario of a media
oligopoly.
1. A wave of media mergers could

1. be a threat to democracy

2. result in limiting editorial viewpoints

3. result in misuse of certain laws

4. both (1) and (2)

5. none of the above

2. According to the passage, what could be the most significant outcome of media oligopoly?

1. An increase in the cost of newspapers

2. The fact that in the long run, there will be a shift of power to people who might not be
balanced and fair in the way they deal with the media

3. Certain websites may get more prominence than others

4. There will be no competition among the newspapers

5. There will soon exist only six media conglomerates

3. Which of the following statements, according to the author, are true?

a. Half a dozen firms are enough to keep the market price - competitive

b. Half a dozen companies are not enough to provide a democratic media

c. Enforcement agencies may not interpret the ant-trust laws correctly

d. Half a dozen companies will be inadequate to meet the consumer demand for product
diversity

1. a, b

2. a, b, c

3. a, b, c, d

4. b, c, d
 5. a, c, d

4. The current anti- trust laws

1. are not sufficient to deal with issues relating to large scale media mergers

2. can prevent mergers from happening

3. will be effective if properly interpreted

4. favour a particular company or group of companies

5. none of the above

5. To get a clear picture of the challenges posed by media mergers, the author recommends:

1. creation of strict laws

2. strengthening the enforcement agencies

3. creation of a study committee by the congress

4. none of the above

5. all of the above

Correct Answer
1. 4
2. 2
3. 3
4. 3
5. 3
Explanatory Answer

1. The author talks about the necessity of diversity of viewpoints being essential for
democracy. Therefore, a lack of it could be a threat to democracy. So (1) can be inferred.
Choice (2) is clearly mentioned in the passage. Choice (3) cannot be inferred from the
passage. Choice (4) is the correct answer.

2. In the last line of the third paragraph, the author voices the contents of choice (2) as the
serious threat to medial oligopoly. While the author refers to the possibility of only six
conglomerates, he uses the number six figuratively and not factually. Choice (2).

3. In the third paragraph, the author answers that media mergers may not results in prices
increasing. Statement (a) is mentioned. In the same paragraph, he clearly puts forth the
 case that the oligopoly will not be able to provide a democratic media. And in the sixth
paragraph, the author mentions statement (c) and (d). Choice (3) is correct.

4. In the first line of the fifth paragraph, the author mentions that the existing anti trust laws,
if interpreted properly, are adequate to meet the media merger challenge. Choice (3).

5. The last paragraph of the passage provides a clear suggestion. Choice (3) is correct.