TOEFL Reading Practice Questions: 1-10

DIRECTIONS: Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by several questions. After reading each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or implied in the passage or passages.

Passage 1

The ancient city of Caral, located approximately 200 kilometers north of Lima, Peru, is considered one of the oldest urban centers in the Americas. Founded around 2600 B.C., Caral flourished for over a millennium. At its zenith, the city likely housed thousands of residents for more than 60 hectares. The city was well-planned, featuring complex residential units, monumental architecture, including six large pyramidal structures, and an intricate system of irrigation for agriculture.

Caral was a significant hub in the trade networks that linked the Peruvian coast to the Andean highlands. The presence of marine shell beads and remnants of distant plants and animals indicates broad trading connections. Moreover, archaeological evidence suggests that Caral might have had a profound religious and cultural influence on surrounding regions. The discovery of musical instruments and the layout of the city, which aligns with astronomical events, underscores its cultural complexity and significance.

Despite the absence of warfare artifacts, which is unusual for pre-Columbian sites in the Americas, Caral appears to have maintained its prominence and growth through trade and a focus on cultural development. The eventual decline of Caral, around 1800 B.C., remains a topic of research, with theories pointing to environmental changes and shifts in trade routes as possible causes.

Questions:

1. What was a major factor in the growth of Caral?

A. Extensive warfare with neighboring regions.

B. Trade networks linking the coast and highlands.

C. Isolation from other cultural centers.

D. Lack of religious and cultural development.

2. Which statement is true about Caral based on the passage?

A. The city was characterized by frequent warfare.

B. Caral was primarily an agricultural community with little trade.

C. The city layout suggests an alignment with astronomical events.

D. Caral lacked any form of monumental architecture.

3. What likely contributed to the decline of Caral?

A. Overpopulation and excessive urban sprawl.

B. Environmental changes and shifts in trade routes.

C. Invasion by neighboring city-states.

D. A sudden lack of natural resources.

Answers and Explanations:

Answer: B – Trade networks linking the coast and highlands.

Explanation: The passage indicates that Caral’s significant role in trade networks, especially linking the coastal and highland regions, was crucial for its growth. This is in contrast to warfare, isolation, or lack of cultural development, which were not mentioned as growth factors.

Answer: C – The city layout suggests an alignment with astronomical events.

Explanation: The passage highlights the discovery of Caral’s city layout aligning with astronomical events, which indicates a sophisticated understanding of astronomy and its cultural importance, differentiating it from the other choices which are either incorrect or not supported by the passage.

Answer: B – Environmental changes and shifts in trade routes.

Explanation: The passage suggests that the decline of Caral might have been influenced by environmental changes and shifts in trade routes, which are common factors in the decline of ancient civilizations. The other options do not align with the information provided in the passage.

Passage 2

The medieval town of Cahokia, situated near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri, was once the largest and most influential urban settlement of the Mississippian culture, which thrived from about A.D. 600 to 1400. Established around A.D. 1050, Cahokia’s population is estimated to have reached up to 20,000 inhabitants at its peak between the 11th and 13th centuries. The city covered over 16 square kilometers and included approximately 120 manmade earthen mounds, the largest of which, Monks Mound, covered 14 acres and was 100 feet high.

Cahokia was a major center for trade due to its strategic location near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. This advantageous positioning allowed it to become a central hub for trade networks that extended across the North American continent. Goods such as copper from the Great Lakes, seashells from the Gulf Coast, and obsidian from the Rocky Mountains have been found at the site, indicating a wide trade network.

The town was also known for its sophisticated engineering and urban planning. It featured a centrally planned grid system, woodhenge sun calendars, and extensive agricultural fields that supported its large population. However, the reasons for Cahokia’s sudden decline in the 14th century remain a subject of debate among archaeologists. Theories range from environmental degradation, such as deforestation and floods, to societal factors like political instability and warfare.

Questions

What is indicated by the presence of goods from distant regions in Cahokia?

A. The town was a recipient of international aid.

B. Cahokia was a major trading hub.

C. The inhabitants traveled extensively across continents.

D. Cahokia was isolated from other cultural groups.

Which feature of Cahokia reflects its advanced engineering and planning?

A. The location near three rivers.

B. The use of woodhenge sun calendars and a grid system.

C. The decline in the 14th century.

D. The presence of 120 residential buildings.

What are possible reasons for Cahokia’s decline?

A. Invasion by European settlers.

B. Environmental and societal challenges.

C. Lack of trade networks.

D. Overpopulation leading to famine.

Answers and Explanations

1. Ans B – Cahokia was a major trading hub.

Explanation: The discovery of materials such as copper, seashells, and obsidian from far-flung areas of North America suggests that Cahokia was integral in extensive trade networks. This excludes it being merely a recipient of aid, inhabitants traveling extensively, or being culturally isolated.

2. Ans B – The use of woodhenge sun calendars and a grid system.

Explanation: Cahokia’s advanced urban planning is evidenced by its systematic grid layout and the use of woodhenge structures for astronomical observations, showcasing sophisticated engineering capabilities that go beyond mere geographic advantages or the number of its mounds.

3. Ans B – Environmental and societal challenges.

Explanation: The passage mentions theories suggesting that Cahokia’s decline could have been due to environmental issues like deforestation and floods, as well as societal factors such as political instability and possible warfare. This choice comprehensively covers the probable reasons for its decline, unlike the other options which are either too specific or not supported by the passage.

Passage 3

Paleontologists have long debated that the extinction of the dinosaurs was likely due to climatic shifts linked with the gradual changes in the position of continents and oceans driven by plate tectonics. During the Cretaceous period, the last era of the Mesozoic when dinosaurs thrived, vast shallow seas covered significant portions of the continents. Various forms of data, including geochemical markers found in seafloor sediments, suggest that the climate during the late Cretaceous was milder than it is today, with temperate days and nights, as well as moderate summers and winters. These shallow continental seas may have helped stabilize the surrounding air temperature, maintaining it relatively constant.

At the end of the Cretaceous, geological evidence indicates these seas receded back to the major ocean basins for reasons unknown. Over about 100,000 years, as the seas receded, global climates shifted to become more severe—with hotter days and colder nights, and more extreme seasons. It’s speculated that dinosaurs could not adapt to these drastic temperature fluctuations and went extinct.

However, if this theory holds, the question arises: why did cold-blooded animals like snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles survive these harsh conditions? These animals depend heavily on the ambient climate for body temperature regulation. It seems puzzling that they weren’t as adversely affected as the dinosaurs, especially considering that some scientists propose dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics of this theory also note that shallow seas had advanced and receded multiple times during the Mesozoic without causing dinosaur extinction. Therefore, the idea that mere climatic changes related to sea levels led to dinosaur extinction seems insufficient.

In pursuit of other explanations, scientists made a striking observation that led to a new hypothesis. There’s a noticeable absence of many plant and animal species in the fossil record immediately transitioning from the Cretaceous to the Cenozoic era. This transition is marked by a thin layer of clay between rock layers. By analyzing the clay’s iridium (Ir) content—a rare element more common in meteorites—scientists speculated about the duration of the extinctions. Despite initial estimates suggesting a million years for the clay’s deposition based on iridium content, other evidence contradicted this timeframe. This anomaly suggested that the high iridium levels could have resulted from an extraordinary event.

Consequently, the hypothesis was formed that a massive asteroid impact, which led to a dust cloud that blocked sunlight for months, disrupted photosynthesis, and significantly altered the climate, might explain the swift extinction of dinosaurs and other species within a mere fifty years.

Questions

1. What was the initial hypothesis regarding the extinction of the dinosaurs according to the passage?

A) A giant asteroid impact ended the dinosaur era.

B) Dinosaurs could not adapt to severe temperature fluctuations.

C) Climatic changes due to the movement of continents and seas.

D) A sudden increase in volcanic activity.

2. Why do critics find the climate change hypothesis insufficient to explain the extinction of dinosaurs?

A) Dinosaurs were able to survive previous climatic fluctuations.

B) There is no evidence of climatic changes during the Cretaceous period.

C) Cold-blooded animals would have been affected more than dinosaurs.

D) The geological record does not show significant climatic shifts.

3. What led scientists to propose the asteroid impact hypothesis for the extinction of dinosaurs?

A) Discovery of high levels of iridium in boundary clay.

B) Evidence of severe volcanic activity at the end of the Cretaceous.

C) Lack of fossil evidence for dinosaurs before the Cenozoic era.

D) Observation of increased ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

4. How did the shallow seas of the Cretaceous period likely affect the climate according to the passage?

A) They caused extreme weather patterns and harsh winters.

B) They led to a decrease in global temperatures.

C) They stabilized the temperature of the nearby air.

D) They increased humidity and caused frequent rainfall

Answers and Explanations

Answer: C) Climatic changes due to the movement of continents and seas.

Explanation: The passage initially discusses the long-held belief that gradual climatic changes, influenced by the movement of continents and seas due to plate tectonics, were responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Answer: A) Dinosaurs were able to survive previous climatic fluctuations.

Explanation: Critics argue that since dinosaurs had previously survived multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and associated climatic changes during the Mesozoic, the hypothesis that the climatic shifts at the end of the Cretaceous alone caused their extinction seems insufficient.

Answer: A) Discovery of high levels of iridium in boundary clay.

Explanation: The passage describes how an unexpected high concentration of iridium, an element commonly found in meteorites, in the boundary clay layer led scientists to hypothesize a massive asteroid impact as the cause of rapid and widespread extinction events at the end of the Cretaceous period

Answer: C) They stabilized the temperature of the nearby air.

Explanation: The passage explains that during the Cretaceous period, extensive shallow seas covered large areas of the continents. These seas likely acted as temperature buffers for the air above them, maintaining a more constant climate that was neither too hot nor too cold, which in turn may have made the environment more habitable for diverse forms of life, including the dinosaurs.

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