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WorksheetsTOEFL Reading
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 30mins
1. Negative Factual – In paragraph 1, each of the following is mentioned as a feature of the city of Cahokia between A.D 1100 to 1200 EXCEPT:
Man-made mounds
Several large temples
A manufacturing workshop
Many public plazas
2. Negative Factual – Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a factor in the development of Cahokia?
The presence of chert close to the city
Its religious significance to non-residents
An exchange of agricultural tools with Mesoamerica
The city’s position along a natural trade route
3. Vocabulary – The word “ingenuity” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:
ambition
sincerity
faith
cleverness
4. Inference – What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about agricultural methods used in Cahokia in 1100?
They were not as advanced as those used in Mesoamerica.
They were sometimes unable to supply enough food for the city.
They were carried out by newly arrived immigrants.
They were seriously affected by environmental pollution.
5. Vocabulary – The phrase “this problem” in paragraph 3 refers to:
An unhealthy environment
An insufficient amount of immigrants
Unattractive social and political attractions
The population of the city
6. Factual Information – According to Paragraph 4, Which of the following “bolstered the population of the city”?
A highly-visible and attractive religious structure
The leadership of influential spiritual elites
Knowledge of complex construction techniques
The selection of a new paramount chief from elsewhere in the Mississippi area
7. Factual Information – According to paragraph 5, what has recent research on chert tools found at the Silvernail settlement site revealed?
Chert tools were started to be used after Cahokia became an important city.
The residents of Cahokia were the only producers of farming tools in the area.
Some of the tools used by people at the Silvernail settlement were made of materials from the area near Cahokia.
Agricultural tools were exchanged with people at the Silvernail settlement for copper and seashells.
8. Rhetorical Purpose – In paragraph 6, why does the author mention the location of the city’s defensive structures?
To suggest that the city was not abandoned due to warfare.
To explain why diseases spread so quickly in heavily populated areas.
To explain why the city was easily invaded by outside forces.
To present an example of why large cities often decline over time.
9. Sentence Insertion – In paragraph 1 of the passage, there is a missing sentence. The paragraph is repeated below and shows four letters (A, B, C, and D) that indicate where the following sentence could be added.
“In fact, artifacts and tools from Cahokia have been discovered in sites as far away as the shores of Lake Superior to the north, and Appalachia to the south.”
The ancient city of Cahokia was located at a site very close to modern St. Louis in the United States. At its apex from A.D. 1100 to 1200, Cahokia covered about 16 square kilometers and probably had a population that peaked at about 15,000, the largest in the surrounding region. A During this period the landscape of the city was dominated by the presence of a large number of public plazas separated by at least 120 man-made mounds, the largest of which was topped by a major temple. B Remains have also been found of an elaborate copper workshop that produced sophisticated metal goods traded with both nearby and distant settlements. Moreover, the city is noted for its significant economic and spiritual contacts with other settlements in the Mississippi area. C Although the inhabitants left no written records beyond symbols on pottery, shells, wood, and stone, the remains of the elaborately planned community reveal a complex society. D
A
B
C
D
10. Summary – Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage.
Cahokia was a large prosperous city in North America that reached its peak between about A.D. 1100 and 1200.
The large construction projects and signs of manufacturing and religious facilities that have been uncovered suggests that Cahokia was a complex and influential society.
Scholars in Cahokia may have used symbols recorded on pottery, shells, stones and other materials to record the city’s history.
Several factors account for the growth of Cahokia, including its location on a trade route, religious significance and access to valuable chert.
As a result of pollution caused by its extremely dense population, Cahokia suffered frequent crop failures.
The reason for the decline of Cahokia is unknown, but it may be connected to environmental factors or military conflict.
11. The word “merge” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) expand
(B) separate
(C) straighten out
(D) combine
12. The word “relics” in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) remains
(B) sites
(C) requirements
(D) sources
13. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that 105 tons of water flow through the Amazon river per second?
(A) To emphasize the great size of the volume of water that seems to have flowed through Mars’ outflow channels
(B) To indicate data used by scientists to estimate how long ago Mars’ outflow channels were formed
(C) To argue that flash floods on Mars may have been powerful enough to cause tear-shaped “islands” to form
(D) To argue that the force of flood waters on Mars was powerful enough to shape the northern volcanic plains
14. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of the outflow channels on Mars EXCEPT:
(A) They formed at around the same time that volcanic activity was occurring on the northern plains.
(B) They are found only on certain parts of the Martian surface.
(C) They sometimes empty onto what appear to have once been the wet sands of tidal beaches.
(D) They are thought to have carried water northward from the equatorial regions.
15. All of the following questions about geological features on Mars are answered in paragraph 3 EXCEPT:
(A) What are some regions of Mars that may have once been covered with an ocean?
(B) Where do mission scientists believe that the river forming the delta emptied?
(C) Approximately how many craters on Mars do mission scientists believe may once have been lakes filled with water?
(D) During what period of Mars’ history do some scientists think it may have had large bodies of water?
16. According to paragraph 3, images of Mars’ surface have been interpreted as support for the idea that
(A) the polar regions of Mars were once more extensive than they are now
(B) a large part of the northern lowlands may once have been under water
(C) deltas were once a common feature of the Martian landscape
(D) the shape of the Hellas Basin has changed considerably over time
17. What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about liquid water on Mars?
(A) Lakes on early Mars were likely as large as some on Earth’s surface today.
(B) If there is any liquid water at all on Mars’ surface today, its quantity is much smaller than the amount that likely existed there in the past.
(C) Small-scale gullies on Mars provide convincing evidence that liquid water existed on Mars in the recent past.
(D) The small amount of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere suggests that there has never been liquid water on Mars.
18. According to paragraph 4, what do the 2003 Global Surveyor data suggest about Mars?
(A) Ancient oceans on Mars contained only small amounts of carbon.
(B) The climate of Mars may not have been suitable for the formation of large bodies of water.
(C) Liquid water may have existed on some parts of Mars’ surface for long periods of time.
(D) The ancient oceans that formed on Mars dried up during periods of cold, dry weather.
19. In the paragraph below, there is a missing sentence. Look at the paragraph and indicate (A, B, C and D) where the following sentence could be added to the passage. These landscape features differ from runoff channels in a number of ways. Where would the sentence best fit?
Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars long ago. (A) They appear only in equatorial regions and generally do not form extensive interconnected networks. (B) Instead, they are probably the paths taken by huge volumes of water draining from the southern highlands into the northern plains. (C) The onrushing water arising from these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-shaped “islands” (resembling the miniature versions seen in the wet sand of our beaches at low tide) that have been found on the plains close to the ends of the outflow channels. (D) Judging from the width and depth of the channels, the flow rates must have been truly enormous—perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than the 105 tons per second carried by the great Amazon river. Flooding shaped the outflow channels approximately 3 billion years ago, about the same time as the northern volcanic plains formed.
A
B
C
D
An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage.
There is much debate concerning whether Mars once had water.
Mars’ runoff and outflow channels are large-scale, distinctive features that suggest that large quantities of liquid water once flowed on Mars.
Although some researchers claim that Mars may once have had oceans, others dispute this, pointing to an absence of evidence or offering alternative interpretations of evidence.
While numerous gullies have been discovered on Mars since 2000, many astronomers dismiss them as evidence that Mars once had liquid water.
There is very little evidence of liquid water on Mars today, and it is assumed that all the water that once existed on the planet is frozen beneath its surface
