Question 1-8

When Jules Verne wrote Journey to the Center of the 

Earth in 1864, there were many conflicting theories about the 

nature of the Earth’s interior. Some geologists thought that it 

contained a highly compressed ball of incandescent gas, while 

others suspected that it consisted of separate shells, each made 

of a different material. Today, well over a century later, there 

is still little direct evidence of what lies beneath our feet. Most 

of our knowledge of the Earth’s interior comes not from mines 

or boreholes, but from the study of seismic waves - powerful 

pulses of energy released by earthquakes.

The way that seismic waves travel shows that the Earth’s 

interior is far from uniform. The continents and the seabed 

are formed by the crust - a thin sphere of relatively light, solid 

rock. Beneath the crust lies the mantle, a very different layer 

that extends approximately halfway to the Earth’s center. 

There the rock is the subject of a battle between increasing 
heat and growing pressure.

In its high levels, the mantle is relatively cool; At greater 

depths, high temperatures make the rock behave more like a 

liquid than a solid. Deeper still, the pressure is even more 

intense, preventing the rock from melting in spite of a 

higher temperature.

Beyond a depth of around 2,900 kilometers, a great 

change takes place and the mantle gives way to the core. Some 

seismic waves cannot pass through the core and others are bent 

by it. From this and other evidence, geologists conclude that 

the outer core is probably liquid, with a solid center. It is 

almost certainly made of iron, mixed with smaller amounts 

of other elements such as nickel.

The conditions in the Earth’s core make it a far more 

alien world than space. Its solid iron heart is subjected to 

unimaginable pressure and has a temperature of about 9,000oF. 

Although scientists can speculate about its nature, neither 

humans nor machines will ever be able to visit it.
1. The word "conflicting" in line 2 is closest in meaning to

(A) controlling

(B) outdated

(C) opposing

(D) important

2. What is today’s richest source of information about the Earth’s interior for geologists?

(A) Boreholes

(B) Shells

(C) Seismic waves

(D) Mines

3. The word "There" in line 16 refers to the 

(A) mantle

(B) crust

(C) seabed

(D) Earth’s center.

4. Which of the following is a primary characteristic of the Earth’s mantle?

(A) Light, solid rock

(B) Uniformity of composition

(C) Dramatically increasing pressure

(D) Compressed, incandescent gas

5. The phrase "gives way to" in line 24 is closest in meaning to

(A) runs along

(B) rubs against

(C) turns into

(D) floats on

6. The word "it" in line 26 refers to

(A) mantle

(B) core

(C) change

(D) depth

7. Why does the author state in line 30-31 that the Earth’s core is "more alien" than space?

(A) Government funds are not available to study the Earth’s core.
(B) Scientists aren’t interested in the characteristics of the Earth’s core.

(C) It is impossible to go to the Earth’s core to do research.

(D) The Earth’s core is made of elements that are dangerous to humans.

8. The word "speculate" in line 33 is closest in meaning to

(A) report

(B) learn

(C) worry

(D) hypothesize

Question 9-20

Despite the road improvements of the turnpike era (1790-

1830). Americans continued as in colonial times to depend 

wherever possible on water routes for travel and transportation.

The larger rivers, especially the Mississippi and the 

Ohio, became increasingly useful as steamboats grew in 

number and improved in design.

River boats carried to New Orleans the corn and other 

crops of northwestern farmers, the cotton and tobacco of 

southwestern planters. From New Orleans, ships took the 

cargoes on to eastern seaports. Neither the farmers of the west 

nor the merchants of the east were completely satisfied with 

this pattern of trade. Farmers could get better prices for their
crops if the alternative existed of sending them directly eastward 

to market and merchants could sell larger quantities of 

their manufactured goods if these could be transported more 

directly and more economically to the west. 

New waterways were needed. Sectional jealousies and 

constitutional scruples stood in the way of action by the federal 

government and necessary expenditures were too great for 

private enterprise. If extensive canals were to be dug, the job 

would be up to the various states.

New York was the first to act. It had the natural advantage 

of a comparatively level route between the Hudson River 

and Lake Erie, through the only break in the entire 

Appalachian Mountain chain. Yet the engineering tasks were 

imposing. The distance was more than 350 miles and there 

were ridges to cross and a wilderness of woods and swamps to 

penetrate. The Erie Canal begun in 1817 and completed in 

1825, was by far the greatest construction job that Americans 
had ever undertaken. It quickly proved a financial success as 

well. The prosperity of the Erie encouraged the state to 

enlarge its canal system by building several branches.

The range of the New York canal system was still further 

extended when the states of Ohio and Indiana, inspired by the 

success of the Erie Canal, provided water connections between 

Lake Erie and the Ohio River.

9. What does the passage suggest was the principal route for transporting crops to the east prior in 1825?

(A) River to road

(B) Canal to river

(C) River to ocean

(D) Road to canal.

10.It can be inferred from the passage that shipping cargo east by way of New Orleans was

(A) Advantageous for manufactures

(B) Inexpensive for merchants

(C) Not economical for farmers

(D) Considered economical by the government

11.The word "alternative" in line 13 is closest in meaning to

(A) option

(B) transition

(C) intention

(D) authorization

12.The word "them" in line 9 refers to 
(A) crops

(B) farmers

(C) prices

(D) merchants

13.Which of the following products would a northwestern farmer in the early nineteenth century be most likely to purchase from the east?

(A) Grain

(B) Vegetables

(C) Textiles

(D) Fruit.

14.According to the passage, where was the Erie Canal located?

(A) Between Ohio and Indiana.

(B) Along the Appalachian Mountains

(C) Between Lake Erie and the Ohio River

(D) Across New York State.

15.The word "imposing" in line 26 could best be replaced by 

(A) impractical

(B) successful

(C) demanding

(D) misleading

16.The word "penetrate" in line 28 is closest in meaning to

(A) cut down

(B) go through

(C) fill up

(D) take over

17.The word "its" in line 32 refers to

(A) prosperity

(B) Erie

(C) System

(D) State

18.The word "extended" in line 34 is closest in meaning to

(A) increased

(B) constructed

(C) deepened

(D) measured

19.According to the passage, Indiana and Ohio supported the development of the New York canal system by
(A) helping to build the Erie Canal.

(B) Building branches to connect it with the Ohio River

(C) Providing much of the water for the Erie Canal.

(D) Contributing financially to the construction costs

20.What does the paragraph following the passage probably discuss?

(A) Industry on Lake Erie

(B) Canals in Ohio and Indiana

(C) Sectional jealousies in Indiana and Ohio

(D) Travel on the Erie Canal.

Question 21-31

Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil 

War (1861-1865) a government train carrying oxen traveling 

through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in 

a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned 

the next spring to see what had become of his cargo. Instead 

of the skeletons he had expected to find, he saw his oxen, 

living, fat, and healthy. How had they survived?

The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans 

lands trampled underfoot in their haste to cross the "Great 

American Desert" to reach lands that sometimes proved 
barren. In the eastern parts of the United States, the preferred 

grass for forage was a cultivated plant. It grew well with 

enough rain, then when cut and stored it would cure and 

become nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing 

lands of the West that familiar bluejoint grass was often killed 

by drought. To raise cattle out there seemed risky or even 

hopeless.

Who could imagine a fairy-tale grass that required no rain 

and somehow made it possible for cattle to feed themselves all 

winter? But the surprising western wild grasses did just that. 

They had wonderfully convenient features that made them 

superior to the cultivated eastern grasses. Variously known as 

buffalo grass, grama grass, or mesquite grass, not only were 

they immune to drought; but they were actually preserved by 

the lack of summer and autumn rains. They were not juicy 

like the cultivated eastern grasses, but had short, hard stems. 

And they did not need to be cured in a barn, but dried right 
where they grew on the ground. When they dried in this way, 

they remained naturally sweet and nourishing through the 

winter. Cattle left outdoors to fend for themselves thrived on 

this hay. And the cattle themselves helped plant the fresh 

grass year after year for they trampled the natural seeds 

firmly into the soil to be watered by the melting snows of winter 

and the occasional rains of spring. The dry summer air cured 

them much as storing in a barn cured the cultivated grasses.

21.What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) Western migration after the Civil War

(B) The climate of the western United States

(C) The raising of cattle.

(D) A type of wild vegetation

22.What can be inferred by the phrase "Legend has it" in line 1?

(A) The story of the train may not be completely factual.

(B) Most history books include the story of the train.

(C) The driver of the train invented the story.

(D) The story of the train is similar to other ones from that time period.