Description: Encircle the letter corresponding to the words which most logically complete the

paragraph.

A. The battle of Stalingrad proved to be one of the most 1 battles in world history, and
certainly the key battles in World War II. Against the evidence of his generals, Hitler had decided
upon a 2 offensive in Russia, thus dividing and 3 his eastern armies.
4 committed to the siege of Stalingrad in his hopeless 5 , he refused to allow
retreat or surrender.

1. a. Decisive
b. Historical
c. Serious
d. Histrionical
2. a. two-faced
b. two-sided
c. two-handed
d. two-pronged

3. a. dissolving

b. weakening

c. disintegrating

d. augmenting

4. a. physiologically

b. emotionally

c. pathologically

d. enigmatically

5. a. approach

b. system

c. strategy

d. scheme

B. Banishing genetic disability must be therefore our 6 concern. We would not worry
about testing for a 7 gene for Alzheimer’s disease if we already had the cure. In this case,
knowing that an individual is seriously predisposed might allow drug therapy to begin before brain
functioning is 8 diminished. The recent discovery of several genes whose 9 leads
to Alzheimer’s provides the pharmaceutical industry with important molecular targets for drug
development. Only through the discovery of these kinds of genes can biomedical research stop this most
10 cause of human senility.

6. a. minor b. cultivating c. primary d. secondary

7. a. inducing b. cultivating c. predisposing d. priming

8. a. irrevocably b. invariably c. constantly d. irreversibly

9. a. disruption b. malfunctioning c. failure d. collapse

10. a. detrimental b. malicious c. virulent d. pernicious

C. The great extinction of the past, many scientists believe were caused not by volcanism, disease or
long-term climatic changes but by giant asteroids or comets smashing into the Earth. These impacts
according to 11 theory, not only destroyed life for hundreds even thousands of miles around,
but also 12 enough dust into the atmosphere to 13 the entire globe for moths. In
the 14 darkness and 15 temperatures, animal and plant life around the world perished.

11. a. efficacious 13. a. envelop 15. a. plummeting

b. rampant b. shroud b. submerging

c. prevailing c. save c. falling

d. popular d. rescue d. waning

12. a. blighted 14. a. resultant

b. shot b. ensuing

c. discharged c. following

d. blashed d. consequent

D. How ironic that it took the collapse of Russia’s corrupt style of laissez-faire capitalism to bring about
the ultimate results of Marxism. Russia has finally achieved a classless and cashless society. A 16
economic existence has created one 17 class of poor people, and the worthless of the 18
has virtually eliminated it as Russia’s medium of exchange. Karl Marx’s 19 vision has been
realized, but it is no Shangri-la. Instead, it is a nightmarish world of 20 .

16. a. marginal 18. a. ruble 20. a. revolution

b. nonessential b. shilling b. turmoil

c. nominal c. deutsche mark c. anarchy

 d. meager d. pound d. pandemonium

17. a. coalesced 19. a. quixotic

b. fused b. ideological

c. homogenized c. utopian

d. anglicized d. perfect

Directions: Read carefully the following selections, then answer the questions that follow. Encircle the
letter of the best answer. Write E if the answer is not among the given choices.

PASSAGE 1

Want to sop up an oil spill, filter toxic metals from water, scrub pesticides off fields, or maybe
even feed fish in space? Algae might do the job.

Using primitive blue-green Algae, two Clark Atlanta University researchers are making microbial
mats that munch all kinds of muck, from landfill leachate to radioactive waste.

Grass clippings in an airtight container serve as a feedstock for the microbial mats. As the grass
ferments, it produces anaerobic bacteria. Organic acids generated by these bacteria help preserve the
grass. The ‘’canned’’ grass is then shipped to a contaminated area and inoculated with blue-green Algae
native to the area. Dumped into a pond, the grass clippings and algae form a slimy mat on the water’s
surface. The algae snack on the pond’s pollutants as well as the grass, transforming organic
contaminants into carbon dioxide.

Originally developed as cheap fish food, microbial mats have been tested on wetlands
contaminated with acidic runoff from coal mines. The mats removed five times more manganese than
conventional clean up techniques says microbiologist Judith Bender. In the lab, mats striped ninety nine
percent of the uranium from a groundwater sample, and Bender says they show promise for removing
other metals. ‘’we’ve never challenged the mats with anything they couldn’t handle,’’ she boasts.

Mats grown from crop waste could someday feed fish on a space station, says Bender. She and
co-inventor Peter Phillips have formed an Atlanta-based company, Microbial and Aquatic System, to
commercialize the technology.

1. Which of the following is not true about microbial mats?

a. the mats removed five times more manganese than conventional clean up techniques

b. they were originally developed as cheap fish food.

c. Mats can strip up to ninety percent of uranium from a groundwater sample.

d. Mats have been tested on wetlands contaminated with acidic runoff from coal mine.

2. In the second paragraph, what does the phrase ‘’munch all kinds of muck’’ mean?

a. eat all kinds of manure

b. eat all kinds of mud

c. eat all kinds of mess

d. eat all kinds of filth

3. According to the passage, the microbial mats help clean the following except.

a. crop waste

b. radioactive waste

c. oil spill

d. landfill leachate

4. Which of the following preserve the grass clippings inside the container?

a. algae

b. microbes

c. bacteria

d. organic acids

PASSAGE 2

In the olden days, there lived a boy whose ambition was to be a lawyer so he could defend
people, especially the poor, in court. But there was a great obstacle to his dream. He could not speak
well. He stammered so badly that he could hardly catch his breath.

‘’Aren’t you overestimating yourself?’’, some people commented when they heard of his
ambition.

The boy was unfazed by the remarks. Year of studies passed, and the boy became a lawyer. But
still he could not speak well. However, he did not give up hope of becoming a good speaker. He read
books of great thinkers so he could have good ideas to discuss and talk about. He watched plays to hear
how the famous actors of his time spoke. He made friends with noted lawyers, philosophers, ex-
seminarians, and writers to observe how they put their thoughts into words. Then, he went out to the
sea and open fields. With pebbles in his mouth, he would talk aloud to the winds and the waves. He
recited poems and speeches as well as dialogues and essays. At first, his efforts seemed unfruitful but he
kept on. He did everything he thought would improve his speech. That he didn’t leave any stone
unturned would be an understatement. Later, much later, he began to improve, until finally, his
stammering stopped. The ex-stammerer became a good speaker. Not only that. After many years, he
became a great orator, the best in time.
 The boy in our story in none other than Demonsthenes, said to be the world’s greatest orator
during his time.

5. The passage implies that .

a. we should follow Demonsthenes’ footsteps and become great orators

b. if we stammer, we should practice talking with pebbles in our mouths

c. when faced with obstacles, we should do everything to overcome them

d. we should not leave any stone unturned

6. In the third paragraph, what does the author mean when he wrote that Demonsthenes was unfazed
by the remarks of the people?

a. Demonsthenes was greatly bothered.

b. Demonsthenes was not feeling well.

c. the remarks made Demonsthenes feel inadequate.

d. he did not feel self-conscious.

7. according to the first paragraph, the greatest obstacle to Demonsthenes’ dream of becoming a lawyer
was that he stammered. From this, it can be inferred that .

a. stammerers can never become lawyers

b. a lawyer must be a good speaker

c. stammerers can never improve their manner of speaking

d. stammerer lawyers can never win cases

8. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

a. Demonsthenes became a lawyer despite his stammering.

b. He practiced talking with pebbles in his mouth

c. He became a great lawyer and speaker

d. He was the best orator during his time

9. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to .

a. teach us how to overcome stammering

b. discuss how Demonsthenes overcome his stammering

c. make us realize that we can overcome obstacles and still succeed

d. teach us how to become a great orator like Demonsthenes

PASSAGE 3

The symbolism of some flowers is clear, as in the case of the lily, which seem always to have
symbolized purity, and the violet, which stands for modesty. Other flowers have had different meanings
in various times and places. The rose has been a symbolic flower in every age. In ancient Egypt, it was
the emblem of virtue and loveliness. For the Greeks, it was the flower sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess
of love. To the Romans, it was the symbol of victory, triumph, pride and pomp, associated with feastings
and celebrations. The rose was used as the symbol of martyrdom and of divine love by the church, and
during the Middle Ages, it was the symbol of silence. This last meaning gave rise to the Latin phrase sub
rosa, under the rose. A rose, emblem of silence, was often included in the ceiling carving of medieval
banquet halls to remind the guests that conversation at table under the rose should not be repeated
elsewhere. Today the rose is the acknowledged symbol of love and beauty.