Reading Comprehension

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games have not been staged without interruption since their birth. Instead, there have been two periods in the history of the Olympic Games, with a long hiatus in between.
The first Olympic Games began more than two and a half millennia ago and continued to the latter part of the fourth century. They were first played in Greece in 776 B.C. The first Olympics consisted of only one event, the marathon. Other sports were added later. The early Greek Olympics eventually also included wrestling, boxing, a chariot race, and the pentathlon. These early Olympic Games were held every four years for more than 1,000 years. They were discontinued in 393 A.D. by a ruling from the Roman Emperor.
The Olympic Games were not played again until the end of the nineteenth century. In 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin undertook the organization of the International Olympic Committee. Two years later, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. More than 300 athletes from 13 different countries competed in nine sports: cycling, shooting, fencing, swimming, wrestling, weight lifting, gymnastics, tennis, and track and field.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that the Olympics
A. have run continuously from the start
B. were discontinued for 1,500 years
C. were started in 776 A.D.
D. started 250 years ago

2. The early Olympics were most likely held
A. only once
B. only twice
C. about a hundred times
D. more than 200 times

3. The early Olympic Games were most probably stopped in 393 A.D. because
A. they were declared illegal
B. people were not interested in them
C. they caused a lot of injuries
D. people were afraid of them

4. It is implied in the passage that the first modern Olympics were held
A. in 1800
B. in 1894
C. in 1896
D. in 1900

5. The first modern Olympics most likely included
A. the same events as the early Olympics
B. all of the events from the early Olympics, plus a few more
C. none of the same events as the early Olympics
D. some of the events from the early Olympics, plus a few more

STRUCTCTURE

STRUCTURE 5

1. An acre originally represented the area that a yoke of oxen _____ in a single day.
A. a plow
B. to plow
C. plowing
D. could plow

2. _____ the chemicals that make water hard.
A. For carbonates to be
B. Carbonates are
C. Carbonates
D. In carbonates

3. _____ that we see is made up of all the colors of the spectrum.
A. In the light
B. The light
C. It lights
D. Because the light

4. Only beryl _____ deep green in color can be called emerald.
A. that is
B. is
C. it is
D. that

5. Unlike paints, _____ into the material that they color.
A. dyes dispersing
B. the dispersion of dyes
C. dyes are dispersed
D. to disperse dyes

6. A baseball _____ a cork and rubber core that is tightly wrapped with yarn.
A. which has
B. having
C. it has
D. has

7. The muscle that the fiddler crab uses to pull its pincer shut _____.
A. with extreme strength
B. must be extremely strong
C. it must be extremely strong
D. extreme strength

8. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which _____, was proclaimed on December 18, 1865.
A. abolishing slavery
B. slavery to abolish
C. the abolition of slavery
D. abolished slavery

9. President Herbert Hoover, for whom _____, was educated as an engineer.
A. Hoover Dam's name
B. the name of Hoover Dam
C. Hoover Dam was named
D. naming Hoover Dam

10. _____, which formed in the crater of an extinct volcano, is the deepest lake in the United States.
A. In Crater Lake
B. Crater Lake is a lake
C. Crater Lake
D. The lake has a crater

11. _____ in which most carnivorous plants live do not provide the plants with enough nourishment.
A. The poor soils
B. Within the poor soils
C. The soils are poor
D. The poor soils are

12. Most tundra plants are mosses and lichens _____ the ground for warmth.
A. that hug
B. hug
C. they hug
D. that a hug

13. In 1705, Edmond Halley, for whom Halley's Comet is named, _____ the 1758 return of the comet.
A. accurate prediction
B. prediction with accuracy
C. he predicted accurately
D. accurately predicted

14. George Washington's _____ on the balcony of the Federal Hall in New York City, which was then the national capital.
A. the place of the inauguration
B. inauguration took place
C. was inaugurated in a place
D. took the place of an inauguration

15. _____ of serving lemon with fish derived from the belief that the acid in lemon juice would dissolve fish bones.
A. The custom
B. Because it is customary
C. It is customary
D. The custom is

16. Pandas have a thumb-like sixth finger _____ really an extension of the wrist bone.
A. is
B. it is
C. which
D. which is

17. Hawks have excellent eyesight that they _____ even tiny prey on the ground from high in the air.
A. using to spot
B. to spot a use
C. use to spot
D. a use on spots

18. Keno, an early form of bingo, _____ of chance which dates from the early nineteenth century.
A. it is a game
B. which is a game
C. is a game
D. a game

19. The first reigning king for whom the U.S. _____ an official reception was David Kalakaua, king of the Sandwich Islands.
A. government's hold
B. government held
C. the hold of the government
D. holding the government

20. The people who _____ in North America during colonial times commonly ate cornmeal mush or boiled rice for breakfast.
A. settled
B. settling
C. to settle
D. the settlement