Day 1 Reading

Passages Questions

1. The word "modifying" in line 5 is

The geology of the Earth's surface is dominated by the closest in meaning to
particular properties of water. Present on Earth in solid, (A) changing
liquid, and gaseous states, water is exceptionally reactive. (B) traveling
It dissolves, transports, and precipitates many chemical (C) describing
compounds and is constantly modifying the face of the (D) destroying
Earth.

2. The word "which" in line 8 refers to

(A) clouds
(B) oceans
Evaporated from the oceans, water vapor forms clouds, (C) continents
some of which are transported by wind over the continents. (D) compounds
Condensation from the clouds provides the essential agent
of continental erosion: rain. Precipitated onto the ground, 3. According to the passage, clouds are
the water trickles down to form brooks, streams, and primarily formed by water
rivers, constituting what are called the hydrographic (A) precipitating onto the ground
network. This immense polarized network channels the (B) changing from a solid to a liquid
water toward a single receptacle: an ocean. Gravity state
dominates this entire step in the cycle because water tends (C) evaporating from the oceans
to minimize its potential energy by running from high (D) being carried by wind
altitudes toward the reference point, that is, sea level.
4. The passage suggests that the purpose of
the "hydrographic network" (line 12) is
to
(A) determine the size of molecules of
water
(B) prevent soil erosion caused by
flooding
(C) move water from the Earth's surface
to the oceans
(D) regulate the rate of water flow from
streams and rivers
 5. What determines the rate at which a
molecule of water moves through the
cycle, as discussed in the third
The rate at which a molecule of water passes though the paragraph?
cycle is not random but is a measure of the relative size of (A) The potential energy contained in
the various reservoirs. If we define residence time as the water
average time for a water molecule to pass through one of (B) The effects of atmospheric pressure
the three reservoirs — atmosphere, continent, and ocean on chemical compounds
— we see that the times are very different. A water (C) The amounts of rainfall that fall on
molecule stays, on average, eleven days in the atmosphere, the continents
one hundred years on a continent and forty thousand years (D) The relative size of the water storage
in the ocean. This last figure shows the importance of the areas
ocean as the principal reservoir of the hydrosphere but also
the rapidity of water transport on the continents. 6. The word "rapidity" in line 28 is closest
in meaning to
(A) significance
(B) method
(C) swiftness
(D) reliability

7. The word "they" in line 33 refers to

A vast chemical separation process takes places during the (A) insoluble ions
flow of water over the continents. Soluble ions such as (B) soluble ions
calcium, sodium, potassium, and some magnesium are (C) soils
dissolved and transported. Insoluble ions such as (D) continents
aluminum, iron, and silicon stay where they are and form
the thin, fertile skin of soil on which vegetation can grow. 8. All of the following are example of
Sometimes soils are destroyed and transported soluble ions EXCEPT
mechanically during flooding. The erosion of the (A) magnesium
continents thus results from two closely linked and (B) iron
interdependent processes, chemical erosion and (C) potassium
mechanical erosion. Their respective interactions and (D) calcium
efficiency depend on different factors.
9. The word "efficiency" in line 40 is
closest in meaning to
(A) relationship
(B) growth
(C) influence
(D) effectiveness