When Queen Victoria died in 1901, the world was entering a new and exciting period of change. For instance, in that year, for the first time, wireless signals had crossed the Atlantic and, in the following year, an airship flew from Europe to America. Already the motor car had come into use and was making life much easier. Telephones, also, were becoming fairly common. Politically and economically, people looked forward to a time of peace, wealth and progress. In fact, nothing seemed to stand in the way of such a future.
  
  1. It is obvious from the passage that the twentieth century _____ .
  A) opened with a decline in industrial and economic activity.
  B) inherited, from the previous century, very many serious social
  and political problems.
  C) began in a spirit of hope and confidence which was more or less
  world-wide.
  D) was ushered in by a wave of despair and discontent.
  E) introduced a period of economic and political unrest.
  2. At the beginning of the twentieth century, people _____ .
  A) were still not fully aware of the benefits of the telephone.
  B) believed that technological and economic progress could not be
  halted.
  C) preferred to make their long distance journeys by airship.
  D) were extremely upset by the death of Queen Victoria.
  E) felt ill at ease in the face of so much change.
  3. From the passage one can conclude that at the turn of the new
  century _____ .
  A) the drawbacks of industrialization became evident.
  B) it seemed that nothing more could be invented.
  C) progress and change were to be seen on every side.
  D) Technological progress was hampered by an economic crisis.
  E) The main emphasis was on improved communications.

  A great many books have been written on computers, computer programming languages, particularly Fortran. To produce another book on Fortran, even the newest Fortran IV, probably seems unreasonable to most, and it is with mild trepidation that, I, the author, embark on this project. However, several good reasons can be stated for doing just that. Most computer professionals will agree that the field of computer and information science has quickly become a valid discipline for academia and that rapid changes are occurring in computer programming languages. Both of these facts demand that a new direction be taken in presenting the subject.
  
  1. From the passage we understand that the writer is somewhat apprehensive in case _____ .
  A) computer sales should drop sharply
  B) developments in computer programming will become more and more costly
  C) his book will be felt, by many people, to be superfluous
  D) computer programming should be taken over by professionals
  E) programming languages should become far more complicated
  2. According to the passage, publications on computer technology _____ .
  A) are only concerned with Fortran computer programming
  B) have already reached a very high number
  C) are brought out by academia for academia
  D) invariably cause a great deal of public reaction
  E) are largely repetitive and very costly
  3. The writer of this passage feels that his new book on Fortran is justified because _____ .
  A) computer science is a new science with little relevant literature
  B) computer professionals have not as yet recognized the changes taking place in computer science
  C) it will boost the sale of computers throughout the world
  D) it introduces a new approach to computer programming languages
  E) it will change the concept of computer science among academia

  How Does Brain Work?
  
  Theories about how brain works remain a topic of debate. It is agreed, though, that the hippocampus, a part of the brain, is undeniably important for memory. When we experience something, the information is sent via our senses to the hippocampus, where it is processed. Scientists believe that brain cells called neurons first transform the sensory stimuli we experience into images in our immediate memory. Then, these images are sent to the hippocampus and stored temporarily in short term memory. In the hippocampus information is organized, and it is during this process that parts of the image of our experience fade away. Finally, certain information is then transferred to long term memory in a section in the frontal lobe of the brain known as the cerebral cortex. Scientists think this process may happen while we are sleeping, but exactly how the information is transferred from one area of the brain to another is a mystery.
  
  
  1. This reading is mainly concerned with _____.
   A) how to improve our memory
   B) why some of the information in short term memory fades away
   C) illness that results in severe memory loss
   D) how human brain processes and stores information
   E) the importance of neurons in transferring sensory stimuli
  
  2. According to the passage scientists _____.
   A) know that information is sent from the long term memory to the hippocampus
   B) have found out why some of the information is lost in the hippocampus
   C) don't know exactly how the information is transferred from one area of the brain to another
   D) agree on how the brain works
   E) still debate whether the hippocampus is important for memory
  
  3. It is pointed out in the reading that _____.
   A) the brain was not considered as a highly complex organ in the past
   B) damage to hippocampus doesn't cause memory loss
   C) all of the information stored in the short term is transferred to long time memory
   D) hippocampus is in the frontal lobe of he brain
   E) scientists agree that the hippocampus is important in processing information

  Most people take it for granted prices will always rise and understandably so. A 60-year-old American has seen them go up by more than 1.000 % in his life time. Yet prolonged inflation is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Until about 60 years ago prices in general were as likely to fall as to rise. On the eve of the First World War, for example, prices in Britain, over all, were almost exactly the same as they had been at the time of London in 1666. Now the world may be reverting to that earlier normality. The prices of many things have fallen over the past 12 months or so. Not only computers and video players, but a wide range of goods- from cars and clothes to coffee and petrol - are in many countries, cheaper than they were a year ago.
  
  1. It is emphasized in the passage that, up to the last half century or so, _____ .
  A) a period of prolonged inflation was a rare occurrence
  B) prices were rigidly controlled to avoid inflation
  C) Britain was one of the few countries to suffer from inflation
  D) people were more disturbed by a fall in prices than by a rise in prices
  E) it was extremely unusual for prices either to rise or to fall
  2. We understand from the passage that the experience of average Americans over the last 60 years or so, _____ .
  A) has made them one of the most economy-conscious nations in the world
  B) has taught them to expect continual price increases
  C) has impressed on them the need to produce more and more goods
  D) has encouraged them to cut down on expenditure
  E) has made them fear deflation more than inflation
  3. The writer of this passage suggests that, economic trends, worldwide, _____ .
  A) can rarely be accurately predicted
  B) have been characterized by ever-increasing inflation
  C) have not been affected by a drop in prices in a few countries
  D) have been affected by the danger of deflation
  E) seem to be changing as the prices of many goods are falling