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Assignment Reading Comprehensio1

The passage summarizes 5 short passages about various topics. It provides background information on hypnosis and its increasing mainstream uses. It discusses the history of new communication mediums and predictions of their impact. It notes a link between gum disease and heart issues. It describes encounters with jellyfish in oceans. And it provides details on the Khyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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79 views

Assignment Reading Comprehensio1

The passage summarizes 5 short passages about various topics. It provides background information on hypnosis and its increasing mainstream uses. It discusses the history of new communication mediums and predictions of their impact. It notes a link between gum disease and heart issues. It describes encounters with jellyfish in oceans. And it provides details on the Khyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Uploaded by

wisemove2050
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reading Comprehension – Practice Passage

Passage 1
Until Quite recently, hypnosis has been a specialized – and often controversial – technique
used only in marginal areas of medicine. However, hypnosis is now increasingly finding mainstream
use. For example, mental health experts have found that the suggestions of a skilled therapist are often
remarkably effective in countering anxiety and depression. The benefits of hyponosis, though, are not
limited to the emotional and psychological realm. Hyponosis helps burn center patients to manage
excruciating pain, and a recent research study found that hypnosis can dramatically shorten the time
required for bone fractures to heal, often by several weeks.

1. The passage indicates that hypnosis:


(a) Is the most effective means to manage pain
(b) Was formerly regarded with some suspicion
(c) Is still a controversial means to treat anxiety and depression
(d) Is limited primarily to mental health medicine
(e) is used in many areas of mainstream medicine
2. The word “manage” in line 6 most nearly means:
(a) direct
(b) administer
(c) bring about
(d) cope with
(e) remedy
Passage 2
The history of communication is a chronicle of prophecies as well as of inventions. The
appearance of each new medium has provoked the pronouncement that its procedure is now absolute.
Yet such forebodings have seldom proved accurate. Television has failed to bury radio, for example,
and email has not yet replaced letters or fax. Such a historical (5) perspective should make us wary of
the prediction that computers will soon replace the book. Whole libraries may be available on a single
CD – ROM, but there remains the deep seated sensory pleasure of taking down a volume from the
shelves or spreading out on a beach blanket with a page-turner.

1. From the evidence of the passage, what would the author’s reaction likely be to the videophone,
which combines picture and sound?
(a) a warm welcome to such a technological breakthrough
(b) a stern warning about the threat posed by such an instrument
(c) a philosophical remainder that the days of the conventional telephone aren’t yet over
(d) a puzzled question about the need for such a complex device
(e) a disgruntled complaint that such high-tech inventions do not address society’s needs
2. In line 2, the word “ pronouncement” most nearly means:

(a) speech (b) prediction (c) declaration

(d) plea (e) command


Passage 3
Surprisingly, recent studies have demonstrated that sufferers from gum disease are actually at
increased risk atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries that may lead to heart attack and stroke.
Though scientists are not yet sure about the reasons, some researchers have hypothesized that bacteria
in the gums may enter the bloodstream and establish themselves in the arteries, contributing to the
formation of plague, the material that helps to create blockage. Three specific types of bacterial, in
fact, have been identified in an analysis of plaque. It now seems that regular brushing and flossing
may result in health benefits extending far beyond the teeth and gums.

1. Which of the following is introduced by the author to help confirm the hypothesis cited in
lines 4-6?
(a) Regular brushing and flossing promote good dental hygiene.
(b) Plaque helps create the blockages associated with atherosclerosis.
(c) Suffers from gum disease are at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
(d) Three types of bacterial have been identified in an analysis of plaque.
(e) Atherosclerosis is characterized by a narrowing of the arteries

The author’s purpose in writing this passage was most likely to

(a) entertain (b) persuade (c) inform

(d) amuse (e) argue

Passage 4
One of the hazards of swimming in the ocean is an unexpected encounter with a jellyfish.
Contact with the poison in a jellyfish’s tentacles can result in sharp, lingering pain, or even death if
the person stung is highly allergic. While everyone, including the jellyfish, would like to avoid these
encounters they are not uncommon. This is hardly surprising (5) considering that jellyfish live in
every ocean in the word and have done so for more than 650 million years. The animals are likely so
widespread because of their extreme adaptability - they are quite hardy and can withstand a wide
range of temperature and conditions in their environment.

1. The author uses the phrase “including the jellyfish” line 3 in order to
(a) introduce a small note of humour to an otherwise serious discussion
(b) encourage the reader’s sympathy for the jellyfish
(c) ridicule human’s fear of jellyfish
(d) emphasize the danger the jellyfish for swimmers
(e) contrast the jellyfish’s reaction to the encounter to that of humans
2. According to the passage, encounters between humans and jellyfish in the ocean are
relatively common because jellyfish
(a) are more than 650 million year old
(b) line in all the world’s oceans
(c) are extremely robust
(d) have poisonous tentacles
(e) can endure a ranger of temperatures
Passage 5
Connecting the northern frontier of Pakistan with Afghanistan, the Khyber Pass is one of the most
noteworthy mountain passes in the world. At its narrowest point in the north, the pass is walled on
either side by precipitous cliffs up to 300 meters in height, though the pass itself is only 3 meters
wide. Because it is only 53 kilometers long, the pass offers (5) the best land route between India and
Pakistan. This has led to a long and often violent history - conquering armies have used they Khyber
as an entry point for their invasions of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Today there are two
highways that snake their way through the Khyber Pass, one for motor traffic and another for
traditional caravans.

1. Which of the following topics is NOT addressed by the passage?


(a) The origin of the pass
(b) The countries that border the pass
(c) The length of the pass
(d) The role of the pass in history
(e) The uses of the pass today
2. In line 7, the word snake most directly emphasized the
(a) Function of the Khyber Pass as a means to connect two points
(b) Danger of crossing the Khyber Pass
(c) Khyber Pass as a direct route through the Hindu Kush mountains
(d) Relatively short length of the Khyber Pass
(e) Winding quality of the Khyber Pass

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