TEST-1

ENTRANCE TEST – 2020

ECAT – ENGLISH
(Test # 1 Main Idea & Title)
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions below.
Passage# 01
Universities are a main social pointer. In universities, an atmosphere where students live, eat, and
study together, racial and social diversities converge most congenially. Among all the American
institutions, perhaps only the military brings people of such varied backgrounds into more friendly
acquaintance.
91. The best title for this paragraph is
A. "The University Environment"
B. "Democratization on American College Campuses"
C. "The University vs. the Military"
D. "The University as a Microcosm of Society"

Passage# 02
Plato, the eminent Greek philosopher, utilized a metaphor of individuals living inside a cave to
express his concepts. The individuals inside the cave couldn't see the world outside, they could just
observe shadows of individuals and animals as they passed by. Plato was recommending that the
shadows would appear to be genuine and alive to the people inside the cavern since that was all they had
ever observed of the outside world.
92. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. Life in a Cave. B. Making Shadow Puppets.
C. Plato’s Cave Analogy. D. Is There Life After Death?

Passage# 03
Animals are marvelous. You will unearth numerous startles if you observe meticulously at how
they live. It is difficult to take a gander at insects because they are miniature. Additionally, a lot of them
fly away when you draw close. But if you get an opportunity to observe them, you will discern how they
live. Watching animals is a job that scientists do, called making observations. They have learned a lot
about animals.
Scientists learn about small animals, and they have studied insects. They found that insects have
tools, and they use those tools to survive. For example, they learned about the sawfly. This is just one
animal they have studied.
They call it the sawfly because it possesses a kind of saw. It's not a real saw, but it resembles
one, and it works like one. It is actually a part of the sawfly’s anatomy. The sawfly uses the saw to make
places where the eggs will be safe. It saws at plants in order to create a space where eggs can go.
Afterward, the sawfly does something very special. It makes a sort of homemade glue that fastens the
eggs where they are laid. We are not exactly sure how it does that, but if you can watch the sawfly you
will see this happen.
Some insects have cutting instruments that work in a similar way to scissors. The poppy-bee is
one of these insects. It is a bee that makes its home in wood. This bee has a boring tool, and it uses the
tool to bore into old wood. It looks like a tool that a carpenter might use. Carpenters make things out of
wood, and like carpenters, poppy- bees makes their nests out of wood.
In addition to insects, scientists observe birds, too. They have studied birds using their bills to
get what they need. Some birds use their bills to cut into wood. They have sharp bills, and are able to cut
a hole in a tree. So, they will use their sharp bills to drill a hole to get inside the tree where insects live,
and then they eat the insects.
Every animal is amazing. Even dogs and cats can surprise you. The more you observe animals,
the more you will learn. Nature is full of surprises. Every part of every animal has a purpose. Scientists
learn more about them every day. Nature is a wonderful part of our world.

ECAT TEST #1 Page 1 of 3

93. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. Insects are small.
B. You need to be careful to watch insects.
C. You can learn by observing animals.
D. It is hard to study insects.
94. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. Scientists observe animals. B. Insects have tools.
C. The sawfly has a kind of saw. D. Sawflies are like parrots.
95. What is the main idea of the whole passage?
A. Animals are wonderful. B. Birds eat insects.
C. Scientists learn about animals. D. Animals do many things.
96. What is a good title for this passage?
A. How Insects Live B. Insects and Birds
C. Learning about Nature D. Tools of Insects

Passage# 04
The more you know about plants and foods, the healthier you will be. Some foods can provide
you with essential vitamins to keep you healthy, but some foods can make you sick. It is very important
to know how to distinguish between the two. You also need to learn how to keep foods safe and prevent
them from spoiling. There’s so much to learn.
There is a lot to learn about plants people eat, such as how to grow them and how to prepare them
for eating. Scientists can learn how to keep them safe to eat. Sometimes people who don’t know
something can make a mistake. For example, some mushrooms are poisonous, and people need to know
which those are so they don’t eat them. People need to know about plants in order to stay healthy.
If you don’t know about foods and plants, you can make a big mistake. You need to know which
plants are safe to eat. At one time, people feared the tomato because they believed it to be poisonous.
They thought it was dangerous because it grows on a vine that looks like a poisonous plant called
nightshade.
Therefore, in the early 1800s, people in the United States were afraid to eat it. It took several
years before the tomato was accepted as a food in the United States. Today, it is a big part of the
American diet. It's found in things like soup and ketchup.
Any food can become a source of sickness if it's not stored safely. Tomatoes can be dangerous
if they rot, and so can most other foods if they are not stored properly. One way to store food safely is
to dry it. Before people invented cans, they used to dry food to store it for long periods of time. For
example, they would dry tomatoes in the sun. Today, people still eat sun-dried tomatoes.
Some plants actually help keep people safe, for example, cloves. No one really knows how people
figured that out, but it was most likely from someone trying to use cloves to flavour their food. Cloves
have a nice, spicy taste.
The clove plant was first found on islands sometimes called the Spice Islands. A tree grows there;
it's a tree that makes cloves. These cloves actually are buds from that tree. The people on the islands
picked the buds; the buds were pink when people picked them, and then they dried and turned dark.
When they were dried, people put them with food, and they made the food taste great. Probably, the
people found that they also helped to preserve foods. Cloves help meat and other foods keep from
spoiling.
Today we know why cloves help food stay safe. Scientists have studied cloves and have
discovered that cloves contain a kind of oil in them called eugenol. That oil is an antiseptic. Antiseptic
is a word with two important parts. The prefix anti means against, and the root sepsis means poisoning.
In other words, eugenol helps prevent poisoning. It’s a good thing we have scientists to help us stay safe.
Scientists are people who have careers learning about plants and food. They study the history of plants,
and they observe them in order to learn how to make them grow better. They study how to keep them
safe, which in turn helps people live healthier lives.

ECAT TEST #1 Page 2 of 3

97. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. People need to know about plants and food.
B. Mushrooms are poisonous.
C. People eat plants.
D. People cook plants.
98. What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. People thought tomatoes were poison.
B. Some people do not eat tomatoes.
C. Tomatoes grow on vines.
D. You need to know what foods to eat.
99. What is the main idea of the whole passage?
A. You should study plants.
B. Knowing about plants helps people.
C. There are many plants you can eat.
D. Scientists study plants.
100. What is a suitable title for the whole passage?
A. The Many Plants We Eat B. Learning about Tomatoes
C. Staying Healthy with Plants D. How Scientists Work

ECAT TEST #1 Page 3 of 3