NorthStar Placement Test Reading 2 Name:
PART 1:
1.1 Read the passage about Tim Stark. Choose the best prediction of
whatTim will do. There
is only one right answer.
Tim Stark was a busy and successful management consultant in New York
City. He
was under a lot of stress from his job. His back hurt. To relax on weekends,
Tim
started growing tomatoes in his apartment. First he grew a few tomatoes.
Then he
grew more. A year later, his apartment was full of 3,000 healthy red tomato
plants!
someone who gives business advice to companies
management consultant:
A. Tim will buy a smaller apartment.
B. Tim will become a farmer.
C. Tim will stop growing tomatoes.
D. Tim will try to fix his back.
1.2 Now, read the entire story. Use the information to choose the correct
answers.
Tim Stark was a busy and successful management consultant in New York
City. He
was under a lot of stress from his job. His back hurt. To relax on weekends,
Tim
started growing tomatoes in his apartment. First he grew a few tomatoes.
Then he
grew more. A year later, his apartment was full of 3,000 healthy red tomato
plants!
Then, one day, Tim made a decision that needed a lot of courage. He quit his
management consultant job to become a farmer. Now Tim raises a variety of
crops
on a small farm in Pennsylvania, two hours away from New York. He is still
under a
lot of stress: he often works until sunset, and has a lot of responsibilities,
such as
watering his crops, harvesting2 them, and bringing them to the market in his
old
white truck. Tim says his back still hurts, but he likes living close to nature
and
working in his fields. Tim believes being a farmer has many advantages. “My
tomatoes need me, and I need them,” he says.
1
management consultant: someone who gives business advice to companies
collecting a crop when it is ready to eat
2 harvesting:
1. Now, Tim lives….
A. in an apartment in Pennsylvania
B. in an apartment in New York
C. on a farm in Pennsylvania
D. on a farm in New York
2. Tim’s favorite part of being a farmer is probably…..
A. working until sunset
B. driving his truck
C. walking in his fields
D. watering his crops
1.3 Read the passage by Christopher [Link] whether the main idea
describes Tim
Stark, Scott Halley, or both men. One answer is already given.
Scott Halley was a farmer . . . until a year ago. But the farm kept losing
money. With
a heavy heart but a clear head, Mr. Halley became one of the thousands of
American farmers who sell their land each year. What surprised Mr. Halley
and
others is that the move to the city was so easy. The farmers are finding jobs,
and
their families are enjoying the city way of life.
Mr. Halley found a good job working as a scientist at North Dakota State
University. His salary is now twice what it was when he was a farmer. But
even for
those farmers who find good jobs, there is a price to pay for leaving farming.
“It’s not
just about making money but about the other rewards that farming can bring
...
working land your parents’ parents worked, spending your days in nature,
caring for
animals,” said Dr. Michael Rosmann, a farmer and psychologist who helps
farmers.
Mr. Halley feels the pull of the land every day. Once a week, he drives eight
hours to
work a small piece of his old farm, just to keep his connection to the land.
It was hard to leave, but Mr. Halley knows he did the right thing. For most
families that leave the land, salary goes up and the stress from having little
money
goes down. Both parents and children are happier.
Example: It is sometimes necessary to change careers.
Answer: Both men
1. Farmers don’t make enough money to live.
Answer:_Scott Halley
2. It is important to be connected to the land.
Answer: Both men
3. Farmers are under a lot of stress.
Answer: Both men
4. Working in the city doesn’t have many rewards.
Answer: Scott Halley
PART 2:
2 Read the article. Use the information to choose the correct answers.
In the words of most scientists, global warming works something like this:
humans
burn fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a
result,
the atmosphere becomes thicker and traps more of the sun’s energy.
Consequently,
the Earth gets warmer, and various environmental problems result. If one
accepts
this explanation, then the problem of climate change begins with the use of
fossil
fuels.
Supporters of not using fossil fuels say it would bring both environmental and
economic benefits. If cars used less fuel, people would save money by not
having to
go to the gas station as oen. Furthermore, cars would emit less carbon
dioxide, a
greenhouse gas. Currently, 6% of the carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere
comes from cars in the United States. Supporters say this number could
easily be
reduced to 4%. Currently, the average car in the U.S. gets 27 miles per
gallon of gas.
Twenty years ago, it was only 17 miles per gallon. Now, the technology
exists for
cars to get 36 or more miles per gallon.
Other people are not so sure. Some economists say there is no evidence that
carbon dioxide causes global warming. They also argue such rules could
seriously
harm U.S. carmakers and make cars too expensive for the average person.
According to General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, following these rules
would
cost $5,000 to $7,000 more per car.
Environmentalists are quick to disagree with Lutz’s opinion. “Everyone has to
adapt to climate change,” says Marie Lefferts of Earth First, an organization
that
studies climate change. “That includes the car companies.”
1. Most scientists think the origin of global warming is….
A. warmer temperatures in the ocean
B. the increasingly thin atmosphere
C. humans’ use of fossil fuels
D. heat from the sun’s energy
2. Scientists know that carbon dioxide…..
A. is a useful fossil fuel
B. leads to cooler temperatures
C. could help the environment
D. comes from the burning of fossil fuels
3. Today most cars in the U.S. get …. miles per gallon.
A. 36
B. 27
C. 20
D. 17
PART 3:
3.1 Read the beginning of an interview in a magazine. Choose the best
prediction of what
the reading will be [Link] is only one right answer.
INTERVIEWER: Welcome to Teen Counseling, Denny.
DENNY: ank you. For a long time, I yearned for a job where I would feel
that I was part of a family, and that’s how I feel here at the
Counseling Center.
INTERVIEWER: You’ve had an interesting career path. Can you tell us about
how you
got interested in counseling?
A. Denny’s career in counseling
B. the Teen Counseling Center
C. the importance of family
D. Denny’s interest in teenagers
3.2 Now, read the entire interview with Denny. Use the information to
choose the best
answers.
INTERVIEWER: Welcome to Teen Counseling, Denny.
DENNY: ank you. For a long time, I yearned for a job where I would feel
that I was part of a family, and that’s how I feel here at the
Counseling Center.
INTERVIEWER: You’ve had an interesting career path. Can you tell us about
how you
got interested in counseling?
DENNY: Well, I originally studied business in college. I was raised to think
that I’d end up in a business-related career, like my parents. In fact, I
did work at a small import-export firm for a few years, crunching
numbers, working on contracts. In that job, though, I always felt so
isolated.
INTERVIEWER: It sounds like you really struggled to find meaning in your desk
job.
DENNY: I did. It was confusing for me. Over time, I started feeling real
hopelessness in my job. Finally, I quit the import-export company
and started working in my parents’ restaurant. at was a dead-end 1
too.
INTERVIEWER: How did you get from your restaurant job into counseling?
DENNY: Well, one day, an extraordinary thing happened. I was in the
restaurant, and I overheard a couple of the waitresses chatting about
various things—school, their parents, their friends, their jobs. I
immediately related to their issues, and I wanted to help them. at
night, I went home and got online and started researching careers in
counseling. Immediately, I felt this sense of freedom. I knew that I
needed to go back to school and become a counselor.
INTERVIEWER: en you enrolled in the Clover Hill Community College?
DENNY: I did, and as soon as I started school, my world was transformed. I
loved my instructors and my classes. I was eager to do my homework
and learn more. I could hardly wait to start actually counseling kids.
INTERVIEWER: at’s when you ended up here at Teen Counseling?
DENNY: Right. Teen Counseling had an opening for an intern. For me, the
position was a dream-come-true. Now, every day, I get the chance to
talk with young people about their lives . . . and I get paid for it! I feel
that I am making a real connection with them, literally touching
their lives, and it is like paradise2 for me.
1 dead-end: a path that ends, or an uninteresting path
2
paradise: something that is beautiful and perfect
1. Denny talks a lot about his….
A. parents’ careers
B. need for a family
C. job in the import-export firm
D. path to a counseling career
2. At his job with the import-export firm, Denny…..
A. traveled a lot
B. sat in an office
C. worked on ships and planes
D. coordinated his work with a college
3. Denny started looking for another career for all of the following reasons
except…..
A. he felt isolated
B. he wanted to earn more money
C. he wasn’t interested in working in his parents’ business
D. the waitress’s conversation drew him in
4. When he started to study counseling, Denny felt…..
A. enthusiastic
B. nervous
C. isolated
D. stuck
5. Denny’s world was transformed because he…..
A. was confused about his job
B. had to go back to school
C. found something he liked doing
D. began counseling young children