UTBK Preparation Meeting 1

Text 1 is for questions 1 to 6

To many, it may seem that the lobsters' most natural habitat is on a large, oval plate between a cup of draw butter and a lemon wedge. In fact, only a few of the hundreds of types of lobsters are caught commercially. But those few species are some of the most heavily harvested creatures in the sea, and generate a multi-million-dollar industry, with more than 200,000 tons (181,436 metric tons) of annual global catch.

The lobsters that most people know from their dinner plates are in the American and European claw lobster Homarus americanus and Homarus gammanus. These are cold water species that live on either sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean. There are also tropical lobsters that are widely consumed, but these are generally clawless varieties called spiny and slipper lobsters.

Lobsters are ten-legged crustaceans closely related to shrimps and crabs. These benthic, or bottom- dwelling, creatures are found in all of the world's ocean, as well as brackish environments and even fresh water. They have poor eyesight but highly developed senses of taste and smell. They feed primarily on fish and mollusks, but will consume algae and other plant life and even other lobsters.

Female lobsters carry their eggs under their abdomens for up to a year before releasing them as larvae into the water. The larvae go through several stages in the water column before settling on the bottom, where they spend the rest of their lives. They generally prefer to live in self-dug burrows, in rocky crevices, or hidden among sea grasses. Lobsters must shed their shells in order to grow, and some species can live to be 50 years old or more, growing continually throughout their lives.

Lobsters have not always been considered chic eats. In the 17th and 18th century, they were so abundant in the northeast of America that they were often used as fertilizer. Laws were even passed forbidding people to feed servants lobster more than twice a week. However, improvements in the US. transportation infrastructure in the 19th nd 20th century brought fresh lobster to distant urban areas, and its reputation as a delicacy grew.

Populations of commercially important lobster species are thought to be declining, and overfishing, particularly of clawed lobsters in Europe, is taking a toll. Additionally, pollution is causing shell rot and other illnesses in normally disease-resistant species.

 

1. The phrase 'taking a toll' in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to....

• A. alarming

   

• B. affecting

• C. flourishing

• D. damaging

• E. calming

2. What happened to the lobster larvae after they are released into the water?

• A. They shed in their shells.

• B. They stay in the water column.

• C. They settle on the ocean floor.

• D. They live in self-dug burrows.

• E. They survive on sandy beaches.

3. What is the writer's purpose in writing the passage?

• A. To introduce the nature of lobsters

• B. To describe the luxury of lobsters

• C. To compare the similarities among lobsters

• D. To present an opinion about lobsters

• E. To recount how lobsters become expensive

4. What does the pronoun 'them' in Paragraph 4 refer to?

• A. Lobsters  

• B. Eggs  

• C. Abdomens

• D. Larvae

• E. Water

5. What is not mentioned in the passage a about lobsters?

 

• A. They reproduce by laying eggs.

• B. Their habitat is in the bottom of the sea.

• C. They can see better than smell.

• D. Their primary sources of diet are fish.

• E. They closely related to shrimp and crabs.

6. The sentences describing the stages of the larvae can be found in ....

• A. Paragraph 1

• B. Paragraph 2

• C. Paragraph 3

• D. Paragraph 4

• E. Paragraph 5

7. Since the 1994 FIFA World Cup, FIFA... an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert.

• A. adopts   

• B. adopted    

•  C. has adopted

• D. was adopting

8……with the consequence of his attitude, Michel signed his resign letter.

• A. Embarrassed  

• B. Embarrass         

•  C. Embarrassing

• D. Embarasses

9…..She finishes the daily report, she leaves the office.

• A. that   

• B. once 

•  C. while

• D. unless

10. During his career, Luther Van dross,,….., sold over twenty-five millions album and won eight Grammy Awards.

• A. which and American singer and producer

• B. was an American singer and singer and producer

• C. an American singer and producer

• D. an American singer and producer