READING SET 4 ODTÜ İNGİLİZCE YETERLİK SINAVI OKUMA BÖLÜMÜ
SADECE BİREYSEL KULLANIM İÇİNDİR
Tüm hakları saklıdır. Bu eserin hiçbir bölümü telif hakkı sahibinin yazılı izni olmadan çoğaltılamaz veya herhangi bir şekilde, fotokopi dahil olmak üzere, elektronik veya mekanik hiçbir araçla ile kopyalanamaz, herhangi bir bilgi depolama aracında saklanamaz, başkalarıyla paylaşılamaz.
© Nükte DURHAN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or held within any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION I: SENTENCE COMPLETION Questions 1-4 Mark the alternative which best completes each sentence or thought. 1. The exported Turkish soap operas rely on storylines full of passion and intrigue, beautiful actors and actresses, and iconic Turkish locations. For example, __________. a) “Magnificent Century” looks back 500 years to the era when Turkish Sultans ruled much of the Balkans and the Middle East b) “Forbidden Love” is set in a mansion on the Bosphorus and tells the story of the forbidden passion between a handsome young man, Behlul, and a beautiful young woman, Bihter, who is married to his uncle. c) like “Magnificent Century” ,“Forbidden Love” has its fair dose of love scenes, which may seem not so exciting to a Western audience, but are eye-catching by the standards of Arab countries. d) the sight on TV screens of Muslims drinking alcohol or conducting adulterous relationships is becoming commonplace. 2. During its three-century rule, the royal house of Medici gathered large amounts of wealth and influence, producing four popes, two queens of France and the largest financial institution in all of Europe. However, __________. a) modern banks use the accounting method invented by the Medici b) the Medici’s greatest heritage was not in finance and politics, but rather in art c) the list of scholars and artists receiving Medici support ranged from da Vinci to Galileo to Botticelli d) the same well-known dynasty dominated the politics in Florence in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 3. The British, just like those facing extreme weather conditions around the world, need to adapt so that they are personally better prepared for the bad times. More than that, __________. a) they are mostly unused to dramatic weather and generally unprepared for the sudden failure of transport and power networks b) the money needed to defend the UK’s flooded lands is beyond reach c) they have to accept that the climate, and with it their country, is changing d) rebuilding the defenses of British towns affected by this winter’s weather will be a slow and expensive process
Page 1 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
4. When nutrition scientists talk about the harms of sugar they do not mean the sugars found naturally in food such as fruit and vegetables or the lactose in milk. Rather, __________. a) they are pressing food companies to reduce sugar and be more open about how much they add b) processed food of any kind that you eat probably contains added sugar c) some researchers think that sugar isn’t just a source of excess calories: it is a poison d) they are worried about added sugar, usually in the form of sucrose – table sugar
Page 2 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION II: PARAGRAPH COMPLETION Questions 5-7 Mark the alternative which best completes each paragraph. 5. In Japan, the divorce rate is rising. __________. Although a portion of young women want old-fashioned gender roles, the rest, including the “parasite singles” who prefer living with their parents to marriage, want change. a) The long economic boom that began in the 1950s was a national priority, so nobody questioned traditional roles b) More Japanese women are leaving marriages to overworked and mostly absent salary-men, their husbands c) Japanese women worry that having a family will be almost impossible to combine with a demanding career d) Japan educates its women to a higher level than nearly anywhere else in the world 6. In the months leading up to the release of Noah - the biblical epic by director Darren Aronofsky and starring Russell Crowe - Paramount Pictures showed half a dozen versions of the film, some more openly religious than others. __________. And it wasn’t only nonbelievers who had wrong ideas about the tale of a man who built an ark to survive a great flood. It was Christians too. a) In some of the screenings, people expressed concerns because Noah got drunk b) The studio wanted Noah to be popular with the general public, but more important, it needed to win over tens of millions of U.S. Christians c) The studio was surprised to discover that people didn’t really know the story d) A statement was released saying the movie was not 100 % biblically correct but was true to the essence of the story 7. Child psychiatrists observe that French parents love their children just as much as American parents. They give them piano lessons, take them to sports practice, and encourage them to make the most of their talents.____________. Consistently enforced limits, in the French view, make children feel safer and happier. French parents believe that hearing the word "no" rescues children from the "tyranny of their own desires”. a) b) c) d)
In this way, French children learn self-control early in their lives Thus, the approaches to child-rearing are very different in the United States and France However, French parents have a different philosophy of discipline Moreover, French children are expected to conform to limits set by parents
Page 3 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION III: SUPPORTING IDEAS Questions 8-10 In the following items, three of the alternatives support the main statement or idea and one does not. Mark the alternative that DOES NOT support the given topic statement. 8. Thanks to the rise in their processing power, computers are increasingly able to perform complicated tasks more cheaply and effectively than people. a) Computer-games designers invented the games that humanity never knew it needed, but now cannot do without. b) One recent study suggests that 47% of today’s jobs could be computerized in the next two decades. c) Computers can already detect intruders in a closed-circuit camera picture more reliably than a human can. d) By comparing large quantity of biometric data, computers can often diagnose illness more accurately than any number of doctors. 9. Recent archaeological digs in Israel show that camels in the Bible do not really belong to the times and places mentioned there. a) Camels had no role in the lives of such early Jewish patriarchs as Abraham and Jacob mentioned in the Bible because they didn’t exist in the second millennium B.C. b) Radiocarbon dating reveals that the earliest known domesticated camels in Israel appeared in 10th century B.C., centuries after the events narrated in the Bible. c) The origin of domesticated camel was in Arabian Peninsula and it was introduced in Israel much later than the events told in the Bible. d) Archaeologists point out that Egyptians exploited the copper resources in the Arabian Peninsula and introduced the camels there for the first time.
10. Self-control is an important indicator of success and has lifelong benefits. a) Children who exhibit greater self-control in childhood are better off financially in adulthood. b) Self-control is a better predictor of exam results among adolescents than IQ scores. c) Self-control is key to focused practice which is necessary for the development of any skill. d) A remarkable feature of self-control is that it can be improved through practice.
Page 4 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
SECTION IV: TEXT COMPREHENSION Questions 11-30 On your answer sheet, mark the alternative which best answers the question or completes the statement about the text. Reading 1: Thomas Piketty- Marx 2.0 (1) It is not often that a 685-page economics book fascinates Main Street, Wall Street and the cream of Washington’s policymakers almost overnight. But that is what has happened with Capital in the Twenty-First Century and its 43-year-old author, Thomas Piketty. Just a few days after its February release, the massive study of global inequality hit No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list. With more than 200,000 copies sold–the most ever during a book’s first year in the history of Harvard University Press–hardbacks are hard to come by. It is safe to say the French academic is now the most talked-about economist on the planet. (2) The sudden approval only partly describes the impact Piketty’s book–the title is a confirmation of Marx’s Das Kapital–is having. On a recent trip to the U.S., Piketty met with Nobel laureates, billionaire financiers and such top policymakers as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Council of Economic Advisers head Jason Furman. Liberal economist Paul Krugman has already hailed the book as the economic work of the decade, and many influential economists agree with him. (3) Of all those who have condemned widening economic inequality in recent years – Occupy Wall Street, Barack Obama, the Pope – how is it that a math wizard working hard away in Paris found a way to get global elites to pay attention to, and even worry about, the divide between rich and poor? Perhaps it is because Capital is not rooted in theoretical abstractions. Rather, it analyzes hundreds of years of tax records from France, the U.K., the U.S., Germany and Japan to prove a simple idea: The rich really are getting richer. And their wealth doesn’t go down. It goes up. Adapted from www.time.com 11. The kind of record that Thomas Piketty’s book has broken is that it is ____________. a) the bulkiest economics book published in recent years b) the first time a book on economics reaches No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list c) the first time a Harvard University Press book sells so many copies in its first year d) the most controversial book that has caused disagreement among the leaders in the US 12. Top policymakers’ reaction towards Piketty’s book is that they ____________. a) b) c) d)
praise the book because it reveals important facts feel threatened by the knowledge it contains criticize it because of the way wealth and poverty are examined consider taking action so that inequality does not get worse
Page 5 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
13. The writer is surprised that Piketty’s book has drawn so much attention so quickly particularly because ____________. a) Piketty excels in mathematics rather than in economy b) the French economist seems to know little about the global economy c) the book is extremely long and the data it contains about inequality is hard to analyze d) some prominent people have not been able to get the elites interested in inequality 14. According to the writer, the main strength of the book is that it ____________. a) b) c) d)
draws a parallelism between the trends in France and other developed countries. is based on Marx’s “Das Kapital”. proves its claims with a lot of real data. provides a solution to the increasing economic inequality.
Reading 2: Mindfulness (1) Technology has made it easier than ever to fracture attention into smaller and smaller bits. We answer a colleague’s question from the stands at a child’s soccer game; we pay the bills why watching TV; we order groceries while stuck in traffic. In a time when no one seems to have enough time, our devices allow us to be many places at once – but at the cost of being unable to fully inhabit the place where we actually want to be. (2) Mindfulness techniques say we can do better. Those techniques are part of a curriculum called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) developed in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn, an MIT-educated scientist. There are nearly 1000 certified MBSR instructors teaching mindfulness techniques (including meditation) in more than 30 countries. At one level, the techniques are intended to help practitioners quiet a busy mind, becoming more aware of the present moment and less caught up in what happened earlier or what’s to come. Many cognitive therapists recommend mindfulness to patients as a way to help cope with anxiety and depression. More broadly, it is seen as a means to deal with stress. (3) But we mustn’t view mindfulness simply as the latest self-help fashion. If we do so, we may miss the point of why it is gaining acceptance with those who might otherwise dismiss mental training techniques closely tied to meditation- Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, FORTUNE 500 titans, Pentagon chiefs and more. If distraction is the most important condition of our age, then mindfulness, in the eyes of its enthusiasts, is the most logical response. Its strength lies in its universality. Although meditation is considered an essential means to achieving mindfulness, the ultimate goal is simply to give your attention fully to what you’re doing. One can work mindfully, parent mindfully, and learn mindfully. One can exercise and even eat mindfully. (4) There are no signs that the forces splitting our attention into ever smaller slices will be reduced. To the contrary, they are getting stronger, with recent arrival of smart watches and
Page 6 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
eyeglasses that will constantly beam notifications into our vision. Already, many devotees see mindfulness as an indispensable tool for coping – both emotionally and practically- with this daily attack. The ability to focus for a few minutes on a very basic activity is important if the skills it requires are the keys to surviving and succeeding in the 21st century. Adopted from www.time.com 15. As we understand from the text, mindfulness techniques basically help people to ____________. a) concentrate on the present moment b) avoid stressful situations c) carry out several activities at the same time d) split their attention into smaller pieces 16. According to the text, those who adopt the mindfulness techniques are the ones who ____________. a) already practice some meditation techniques b) aim at being able to completely focus on the task they are doing c) want to increase their wealth and power in their society d) usually have the goal of becoming better users of technological devices 17. The writer thinks that mindfulness techniques equip us with the skills needed in the 21st century because they ____________. a) b) c) d)
facilitate the effective use of smart watches and eyeglasses help us squeeze a wide range of activities in our timetable help us cope with increasing distractions in our daily lives combine the demands of work with those of personal life
18. “they” in paragraph 4 refers to ____________. a) b) c) d)
signs forces slices notifications
19. With the expression “devotees” (para 4) the writer refers to those who ____________. a) b) c) d)
criticize mindfulness believe in mindfulness have gained the necessary skills to cope with stress are expected to become successful in the 21st century
Page 7 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
Reading 3: Does Religion Bring Health and Happiness? (1) The past 20 years have seen a great deal of research into the benefits of being religious, and most studies claim to find a small association between religiosity, health and happiness. This is usually explained by religious people leading healthier lifestyles and having strong social support networks. (2) Some researchers have therefore jumped to the conclusion that if religion brings health and happiness, then atheism must come at a corresponding cost. Yet the link between religion and health is nowhere near as well established as is often claimed. A metaanalysis of 226 such studies, for example, found many methodological problems and wrong conclusions. What’s more, the little research that has been done on atheists’ physical and psychological health found no difference between them and religious people. (3) Also, at a societal level, a greater proportion of atheism is associated with better public health. It is interesting to note that the world’s least religious countries – Denmark, Sweden and Norway, for example, are consistently rated as among the most irreligious – are also among the wealthiest, the most stable and safe, with widespread healthcare and social security. (4) But if you think an atheist world would be a paradise of rationality and reason, think again. “When people no longer believe in god, it doesn’t mean they don’t have intuitions that are powerfully connected to the supernatural”, says Ara Norenzayan, a psychologist at the university of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. “Even in societies that are majority atheist, you find a lot of paranormal belief- astrology, karma, extraterrestrial life, things that don’t have any scientific evidence but are intuitively known to people.” (5) That, however, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is important to appreciate that there are powerful psychological reasons why we have religion. We can’t just say it is a superstition and that we need to get rid of it. We have to find alternative solutions to the deep and lasting problems of life that religion tries to solve. If societies can do that I think atheism is a workable alternative. Adapted from www.newscientist.com 20. The writer thinks that the studies carried out on the relation between religion and health ____________. a) are not recent enough to reflect the newest trends b) provide a lot of data on both religious people’s and atheists’ health c) are not reliable as there are errors in the way they are conducted
Page 8 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
d) show that religious people are healthier than atheists 21. It can be inferred from the text that religious feelings would be stronger in countries where ____________. a) b) c) d)
people feel insecure and uncertain there is an established healthcare system there has been an economic boom people enjoy peace and safety
22. The writer thinks that superstitious beliefs ____________. a) b) c) d)
would take a scientific form in an atheist society are more harmful for a society than religious practices are the main obstacle to the progress of science would still continue in a world dominated by atheists
23. The writer implies that human beings have evolved in such a way that ____________. a) b) c) d)
religion is deeply rooted in their psychology nothing can replace religion in terms of solving the problems of life in time they will get rid of their superstitious beliefs when superstition loses its influence, it is automatically replaced by atheism
24.“that” in paragraph 5 refers to ____________. a) not believing in things that don’t have any scientific evidence b) appreciating the powerful psychological reasons why we have religion c) getting rid of superstition d) finding alternative solutions to the deep and lasting problems of life
Page 9 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
Reading 4 Exotic Pet Ownership (1) All across the nation, in Americans’ backyards and garages and living rooms, in their beds and basements and bathrooms, wild animals kept as pets live side by side with their human owners. It’s believed that more exotic animals live in American homes than are cared for in American zoos. The exotic-pet business is a lucrative industry, one that has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates and wildlife conservationists alike. These people say it’s not only dangerous to bring captive-bred wildlife into the suburbs, but it’s cruel and it ought to be criminal too. Yet the issue is far from black or white. (2) Privately owning exotic animals is currently permitted in a handful of states with essentially no restrictions: You must have a license to own a dog, but you are free to purchase a lion or baboon and keep it as a pet. Even in the states where exotic-pet ownership is banned, “people break the law,” says Adam Roberts of Born Free USA, who keeps a running database of deaths and injuries attributed to exotic-pet ownership: In Texas a four-year-old attacked by a mountain lion his aunt kept as a pet, in Connecticut a 55-year-old woman’s face permanently disfigured by her friend’s lifelong pet chimpanzee, in Ohio an 80-year-old man attacked by a 200-pound kangaroo, in Nebraska a 34-year-old man strangled to death by his pet snake. And that list does not capture the number of people who become sick from coming into contact with zoonotic diseases. (3) The term exotic pet has no firm definition; it can refer to any wildlife kept in human households—or simply to a pet that’s more unusual than the standard dog or cat. Lack of supervision and regulation makes it difficult to pin down just how many exotics are out there. But it is estimated that the number of captive tigers alone is at least 5,000—most kept not by accredited zoos but by private owners. And while many owners tend to their exotic pets with great care and at no small expense, some keep their pets in cramped cages and poor conditions. (4) From his experience in providing shelter for exotic animals in need of new homes, often desperately, Roberts says that exotic-pet owners tend to fall into multiple overlapping categories. Some people treat their animals, especially primates, as substitutes for children, dressing them up in baby clothes, diapering them, and training them to use the toilet. Some own exotics as symbols of status and power, the exotic animal the next step up from a Doberman or pit-bull. There are impulse buyers who simply could not resist purchasing a cute baby exotic. And then there are wild animal lovers who may start out as volunteers at a wildlife shelter and end up adopting a rescued animal in need of a home. (5) Some people seek wild animals as pets as a way to reconnect with the natural world. They believe their exotics set them apart. Their relationship becomes more intense because of the unintended social isolation that is often the result of having an unpredictable beast as a companion. Though anyone can own a cat or dog, exotic-pet owners take pleasure in possessing an animal that has, for hundreds of thousands of years, refused the burden of domestication: They take the uncivilized into society and in doing so assert their power.
Page 10 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
(6) Many exotic-pet owners and private breeders say they are motivated by a desire to preserve and protect threatened species. “Climate change and human population growth could wipe out a species in record time, so having a backup population is a good idea,” says Lynn Culver, a private breeder of felines and executive director of the Feline Conservation Federation who believes that “those who do it right should have the right to do it.” (7) But advocacy groups like Born Free USA and the World Wildlife Fund say that captive breeding of endangered species by private owners—whether for commercial, conservation, or educational reasons—serves only to perpetuate a thriving market for exotic animals. That, in turn, results in a greater risk to animals still living in their natural habitat. Conservation efforts should focus on protecting animals in the wild, they assert, not on preserving what are often inbred animals in private zoos. Adapted from www.nationalgeographic.com 25. What can be understood from the first paragraph about keeping wild animals as pets? a) Wild animal owners agree that their pets form a risk. b) Animal welfare groups and wild life conservatives succeeded in criminalizing exotic pet ownership. c) The arguments on the topic have not been settled yet. d) The writer is convinced that keeping wild animals as pets is harmful for both animals and their owners. 26. The data collected about exotic pet ownership in the United States shows that ____________. a) b) c) d)
lions and snakes are more dangerous than other exotic animals there is a variety of exotic pets that cause serious harm to people exotic animals kept at homes cause severe injuries only in rare cases in states with restrictions attacks by exotic pets have been reduced
27. An important problem about wild animals kept in homes is that ____________. a) b) c) d)
private owners do not have the permission to buy those animals from zoos there are too many rescued animals that need shelter, but not enough homes wild animal ownership is not supervised enough by authorities most owners cannot afford keeping wild animals at home
28. Which one of the following is an important factor that motivates owners to adopt an exotic pet? a) Feeling special and different from other people thanks to their pets. b) Not being able to get a license to buy certain breeds of dogs. c) Training the rescued animals in order to release them back into wildlife. d) Having children who desperately want a cute exotic pet.
Page 11 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
(30 points)
29. Which one of the following is the point made by the private breeder Lynn Culver? a) b) c) d)
She disapproves of the breeders who keep animals for commercial reasons. She defends exotic pet ownership as an effort to preserve endangered species. She encourages wild animal owners to return the animals to their natural habitat. She supports conservation projects if they are carried out in the wild.
30. The word “perpetuate� in paragraph 7 probably means to ____________. a) b) c) d)
limit control continue risk
Page 12 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
READING SET 4
EPE PRACTICE
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
ANSWER KEY 1. b 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. b 6. c 7. c 8. a 9. d 10. d 11. c 12. a 13. d 14. c 15. a 16. b 17. c 18. b 19. b 20. c 21. a 22. d 23. a 24. d 25. c 26. b 27. c 28. a 29. b 30. c
Page 13 of 13
EPE Practice Materials by Nukte Durhan
(30 points)