Read the following passage taken from Microsoft Encarta 2009, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 51 to 60.
Schools in the United States have not always had a large number of libraries. As (51)______ as 1958 about half of the public schools in the United States had no libraries at all. The (52)______ of public school libraries increased dramatically when the federal government passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, (53)______ provided funds for school districts to improve their education programs and facilities, including their libraries. (54)______, many educators claim that since the legislation was passed federal spending has not increased sufficiently to meet the rising (55)______ of new library technologies such as computer databases and Internet access.
Because the federal government provides only limited funds to schools, individual school districts (56)______ on funds from local property taxes to meet the vast majority of public school expenses. Therefore, the libraries of public schools tend to reflect the (57)______ capabilities of the communities in which they are located. Districts in wealthy suburbs often have fully staffed libraries (58)______ abundant resources, spacious facilities, and curricular and instructional support. In (59)______, school districts in many poor areas house their libraries in ordinary classrooms or in small rooms. The libraries in such areas are generally staffed by volunteers, who organize and (60)______ books that are often out-of-date, irrelevant, or damaged.
Read the following passage taken from Building skills for the TOEFL iBT – Advanced by Linda Robinson Fellag, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 61 to 70.
MICKEY MANTLE
Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He played for the New York Yankees in their years of glory. From the time Mantle began to play professionally in 1951 to his last year in 1968, baseball was the most popular game in the United States. For many people, Mantle symbolized the hope, prosperity, and confidence of America at that time.
Mantle was a fast and powerful player, a “switch-hitter” who could bat both right-handed and left-handed. He won game after game, one World Series championship after another, for his team. He was a wonderful athlete, but this alone cannot explain America’s fascination with him.
Perhaps it was because he was a handsome, red-haired country boy, the son of a poor miner from Oklahoma. His career, from the lead mines of the West to the heights of success and fame, was a fairy-tale version of the American dream. Or perhaps it was because America always loves a “natural”: a person who wins without seeming to try, whose talent appears to come from an inner grace. That was Mickey Mantle.
But like many celebrities, Mickey Mantle had a private life that was full of problems. He played without complaint despite constant pain from injuries. He lived to fulfill his father’s dreams and drank to forget his father’s early death.
It was a terrible addiction that finally destroyed his body. It gave him cirrhosis of the liver and accelerated the advance of liver cancer. Even when Mickey Mantle had turned away from his old life and warned young people not to follow his example, the destructive process could not be stopped. Despite a liver transplant operation that had all those who loved and admired him hoping for a recovery, Mickey Mantle died of cancer at the age of 63.
Read the following passage taken from Cultural Guide – Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th Edition, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 71 to 80.
The countryside of Britain is well known for its beauty and many contrasts: its bare mountains and moorland, its lakes, rivers and woods, and its long, often wild coastline. Many of the most beautiful areas are national parks and are protected from development. When British people think of the countryside they think of farmland, as well as open spaces. They imagine cows or sheep in green fields enclosed by hedges or stone walls, and fields of wheat and barley. Most farmland is privately owned but is crossed by a network of public footpaths.
Many people associate the countryside with peace and relaxation. They spend their free time walking or cycling there, or go to the country for a picnic or a pub lunch. In summer people go to fruit farms and pick strawberries and other fruit. Only a few people who live in the country work on farms. Many commute to work in towns. Many others dream of living in the country, where they believe they would have a better and healthier lifestyle.
The countryside faces many threats. Some are associated with modern farming practices, and the use of chemicals harmful to plants and wildlife. Land is also needed for new houses. The green belt, an area of land around many cities, is under increasing pressure. Plans to build new roads are strongly opposed by organizations trying to protect the countryside. Protesters set up camps to prevent, or at least delay, the building work.
America has many areas of wild and beautiful scenery, and there are many areas, especially in the West in states like Montana and Wyoming, where few people live. In the New England states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, it is common to see small farms surrounded by hills and green areas. In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other Midwestern states, fields of corn or wheat reach to the horizon and there are many miles between towns.
Only about 20% of Americans live outside cities and towns. Life may be difficult for people who live in the country. Services like hospitals and schools may be further away and going shopping can mean driving long distances. Some people even have to drive from their homes to the main road where their mail is left in a box. In spite of the disadvantages, many people who live in the country say that they like the safe, clean, attractive environment. But their children often move to a town or city as soon as they can.
As in Britain, Americans like to go out to the country at weekends. Some people go on camping or fishing trips, others go hiking in national parks.