Passage I

I live and dwell 1 in an old house, its 2 not a particularly large or showy or expensive house. It needs paint, I like the color
red, 3 a new roof, and a more efficient furnace. But it has one outstanding feature: beautiful old oak floors. Human
ingenuity has contrived many coverings for floors, from linoleum to carpeting to tiles made from space-age plastics. To
me, though, nothing is as satisfying as 4 the color and texture of real wood.

When I moved to this house, the wood was covered with carpet because over the years they had become 5 stained,
worn, and marred. Now, however, 6 I've had the floors restored to their original condition. They shine with such richness
and brilliance that you'd never know they'd been so near ruin. It's as though they've been granted a second life.

Of course, these old oak floors don't present a uniform, as it were, 7 appearance. The planks differ slightly in color
from 8 one another. The grain of the wood changes from board to board. Knots and other such imperfections should have
been 9 easily found. Yet these minor variations, typical of natural materials, are pleasing in their overall effect; they reflect
the unity within variety which characterizes all of the natural world, which is not made by humans. 10

I often wonder what these old floors have lived through. I imagine that the inhabitants of this house have displayed
imperfections just like the wood over the years 11 upon which they daily walked. Doubtless these floors have been the
scene of childhood tantrums, adolescent pouts, and frustrated and afraid adults. 12 But doubtless they've also been the
scene of many joyful moments—moments of kidness, hospitality, and love. The restoration of these oak and
wood 13 planks to their original beauty gives me hope for the future. I take them as an emblem of reclamation, proof that
all natural things can preserve a richness of spirit beneath temporary grief and pain. I hope my family and I will do the
same.

1. B
2. H)
3. (D)
4.  (F)
5.  (D)
6.  (F)
7.  (Б)
8.  (F)
9. (с)
10. (J)
11.  (C)
12. (G)
13. (D)
14. (H)
15. (C)

Passage II
[1]

In his 1841 essay "Self-Reliance, "Ralph Waldo Emerson who was born,in Boston, 16 wrote: " The civilized man has built
a coach, but has lost the use of his feet." For Emerson, civilization's "advances" may make our lives easier, but they also
led us further from a fundamental understanding of ourselves and the world. What might the philosopher think of the
technological dependence we contemporary Americans have? 17

[2]

If we are hungry, wanting 18 something to eat,we don't have to cultivate our food; we simply hop in the car and drive to
the nearest fast-food restaurant. Even if we're feeling more domestic and wanted 19 to cook at home. The 20 food comes
not from our own fields and labor, but from the supermarket. In our kitchen, we pop a frozen dinner into our microwave,
and in minutes we're ready to eat. Therefore, 21 we could save ourselves even this minimal effort by calling out and
having a pizza delivered.

[3]

We no longer have to rely on ourselves for providing us with 22 entertainment. Rather than 23 playing music and telling
stories in the living room after dinner, we huddle around our color TV and choose from scores of channel selections. And
if we happen to be occupied with something else when our favorite show comes on, we only need set our VCR for the
desired time and channel, and the program will be recorded for us.

[4]

Education is the foundation upon which all technology rests. 24 Rather than chalk and a dusty blackboard, the computer
keyboard and video display monitor are increasingly the means to our knowledge. Classrooms
are interconnected 25 sometimes over thousands of miles—by telecommunications systems, we 26 can even take classes
in our homes, watching the instructor on our TV—while eating a delivered pizza, if we like.

[5]

Few people would argue that technological progress has made our lives easier. But if Emerson were imbued with
life 27 today, he would probably voice a few words of doubt, reminds 28 us just how far we have come.

16.  (J)
17.  (A)
18.  (J)
19.  (Б)
20. г
21.  (с)
22.  (J)
23. (A)
24.  (G)
25. (B)
26.  (H)
27. (D)
28.  (H)
29. (A)
30. (H)

Passage III
[1]

Geographical factors are crucial in the development of a city. This was particularly so in ancient times. Travel by
land was 31 difficult,and cities flourished where water transportation was readily available. The classical Greek city of
Corinth, for example, owed its prominence to geographical elements. A 32 good water supply, mountains protecting it
from potentially hostile neighbors,and most important it's 33 location on a isthmus.  34 

[2]

The isthmus of Corinth, is 35 a narrow neck of land connecting the Peloponnisos, the southernmost region Of Greece, to
the northern regions. Passage east or west across the isthmus would save mariners over 200 miles, for they
could long 36 avoid the route around the Peloponnisos.

[3]
Enterprising Corinthians searched for a way to exploit the strategic location of their city. They attempted to build a canal,
but had neither the technology nor ultimately the patience to cut through four miles of rocky terrain. They do
have, 37 however, the ingenuity to devise another plan, one that might at first have seemed highly improbable. Ships
arriving at Corinth were placed on rollers then 38 teams of workers dragged the ships by rope along a stone carriageway
across the four-mile-wide isthmus.

[4]

While their ship was being transported, the captain and his crew were able to enjoy a pleasant respite from their travels.
Commerce and the collection of fees and taxes enriched the Corinthians, who soon became known for their luxurious
standard of living. The city grew to be prosperous trade center and rivaled Athens and Sparta for power in classical
times.

[5]

Destroyed in 146 B.C., Corinth was rebuilt a century later as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar. 39

Because of this, ships only pass through, Corinth is still a busily traveled port, although now the ships do not stop
over. 40 This canal is more practical, and it is near the Greek theater of Epidarus, 41 but one's 42 imagination cannot help
but be stirred by their 43 image of ancient Corinth, filled with captains trading stories while their wooden ships rolled
heavily between seas.

31. (А)
32. (G)
33.  (C)
34.  (H)
35. В
36.  (H)
37.  (C)
38.  (J)
39. (B)
40.  (J)
41.  (D)
42.  (F)
43.  (B)
44.  (H)
45. (C

Passage IV
[1]

Unlike many other birds that can hop only clumsily, the killdeer is a relatively long-legged bird that walks, or runs 46 swiftly
across the ground. The killdeer, which is just slightly larger than a robin, characteristically runs a few feet and then stops
before going on. When motionless, the bird is camouflaged by its 47 brown and white feathers hide it despite the
existence of two bold black stripes across its breast. In contrast, the robin does not display such stripes at all.  48 

[2]

When killdeers breed, the male makes several shallow "scrapes," 49 bowl-shaped depressions in the bare ground. The
female chooses one in which to lay her four large gray-and-black-flecked eggs.Then, after laying them, the eggs are
incubated about twenty-six days. 50 If an enemy such as stalking cat approaches, the killdeer shows the ferocity of a
shark and 51 with a dramatic "broken wing" imitation lures it away from the nest.

[3]
After the egg-hatching-out process, 52 each chick lies in the nest only a few hours. The body of each is covered with
down, and 53 is marked exactly like its' parents 54 bodies. The chick's downy feathers soon dry, and it then gets up, walks
out of the nest, and begins to search for food. The chicks are vulnerable to predators during the three weeks before
their down, which unlike duck down is not used to fill parkas, 55 is replaced by the adult feathers that they make 56 flight
possible. The parents never have to feed their offspring; however, they attend to their young constantly—not an easy
task when four chicks are running around all day long. Viewing through 57 binoculars, the chicks look, at first, like moving
dots. At the warning cry of a parent, they freeze so quickly that they seem to vanish into thin air.  58  A killdeer
is luckiest 59 if two of the original four chicks survives 60 the three weeks on the ground and escape, full-fledged, into the
relative saftey of flight.

46.  (J)
47. (Б)
48. (J)
49.  (А)
50.  (G)
51.  (D)
52. (H)
53. С
54.  (J)
55. D
56.  (J)
57.  (C)
58.  (J)
59.  (C)
60.  (G)

Passage V
The Amish have great respect for Pennsylvania's Big Valley, of 61 which they have closely bound their lives for almost
two centuries. In response to the invitation of William Penn—William Penn founded the colony; and it is named for him
— 62 to immigrate the first Amish settlers, 63 arrived in Big Valley in 1971 and began a way of life that has gone on
virtually unchanged through the years. Sequestered 64 in Mifflin County, Big Valley currently supports a population of
1500 Amish—a gob of people! 65

Horse-drawn carts and buggies set the pace for vehicular traffic proceeding 66 on Route 655, which bisects Big Valley.
Spaced to allow time for meditation, signboards along the route keep travelers in touch with biblical quotations.
"Depart 67 from evil," one warns. On a hot midsummer day, the air carries the rich, earthy smells of black dirt and manure
and growing things. Aside from the clip-clop of horse's hooves 68 on the road, the loudest sounds came 69 from
grasshopers or breezes riffling the alfalfa and corn. In the fields, natural "horsepower" makes its progress quitely.

[1] Small hand-lettered signs nailed to fence posts identify households selling farm products and handicrafts for
sale. 70 [2] Eggs, quilts, rabbits, and splint-bottomed chairs predominate. [3] While making a purchase, the customer may
notice that the men wear high-necked shirts, one-strap suspenders,and wide-brimmed straw hats. [4] The women, who
cover their braided hair with either bonnets or black babushkas, wear long dresses and work shoes. [5] The customer
may also observe that the Amish can communicate easily in English, but among themselves they prefer their own
German dialect.  71 

Amish kitchens, and barns 72 reflect the simple but productive Amish lifestyle. For instance, in her spacious kitchen, the
Amish housewife makes delicious jellies, cheeses, sausages,and apple turnovers. Her butter churns, which 73 she makes
rich, thick butter, add 74 to the rustic charm. In the barn, the farmer works among his animals. Using farm implements that
have changed little from those of his ancestors, he raises his crops. Ever self-reliant, the farmer repairs the equipment
himself.

61. B)
62.  (J)
63.  (C)
64. (F)
65.  (D)
66.  (G)
67. (А)
68. H
69. В
70.  (J)
71.  (A)
72.  (G)
73. D
74.  (F)
75. (A)