Comprehension Passages

98-We can infer from the passage that some animals native to the Hawaiian Islands
A) feed exclusively on sugar cane
B) are declining in number because of the pesticides used against the mongoose
C) have been exterminated by the mongoose
D) form a bigger threat to sugar cane than the mongoose
E) eat insects and thus help reduce damage to sugar cane

99-Compared to the rat, the mongoose…….. .

A) eats more sugar cane
B) increases in number more quickly
C) was hunted by man in greater numbers
D)causes more damage in the long run
E) is not as good at surviving in a new environment

In the year 1920, the United States attempted a hold experiment: making the drinking of alcohol a crime. Many people, who felt that alcohol was the root of all evil, thought that this would bring about a new and happier age. There would be no more need for prisons, they felt, and slums would disappear. However, in the end, new prisons had to be built for all the new criminals created by the new law. "Prohibition", as the law was called, destroyed respect for the law and led to an increase in organised crime, but it did not stop people from drinking. On the contrary, drinking increased during the Prohibition period. In the end, the law had to be reversed.

100- The author of the passage states that…… .
A) Prohibition only helped increase the consumption of alcoholic drinks
B) Prohibition could have stopped people from drinking alcohol, had it been applied effectively
C) drinking alcohol is the cause of most crime and violence
D) there were fewer prisons in the United States after l920
E) drinking alcohol was the main reason for the emergence of slum areas

101-It is clear from the passage that…….. .

A) the law had the opposite effect from what was intended
B) the number of Americans who obeyed the law was smaller than those who didn't
C) the best way to stop people from doing something is to make a law against it
D) Prohibition was the main cause of the existence of slums in the 1920s
E) Americans in general like drinking alcohol

102- When the law was introduced, ………. .

A)no one thought that it would eliminate organised crime groups
B)the USA was the leading country in terms of the amount of alcohol consumed
C)some people were bold enough to fight against it
D)there were people who believed that it would really work
E)a noticeable decline was observed in the number of crimes committed by slum-dwellers

Around 8000 B.C. agriculture was developed. People had never before eaten so well, and a population increase followed. But this also meant that people had to give up their free, nomadic life, and remain tied to a single place. It also meant hard labour. Nomadism did not disappear, of course. Those who retained the old wandering way of life continued to regard themselves as freer and more noble than settled peoples, whom they would often raid. These divisions and conflicts between nomad and settled farmer continue in many parts of Africa and Asia right up to the end of the 20th century.

103-The passage states that one result of the development of agriculture was that ……… .

A)people didn't have to work as hard as they used to
B)people began to make inventions
C)there was an improvement in people's diet
D)nomadism gradually disappeared
E)people became less savage

104- It is clear from the passage that…….. .

A) was invented after long periods of hard work
B) was regarded as too difficult by nomads
C) was best carried out by the people in Asia and Africa
D) also helped develop people's way of thinking
E) prevented people from living as freely as before
105-From the information given in the passage, one can conclude that, in Africa and Asia ….. .
A) the nomadic way of life has gained in popularity in the 20th century
B) agriculture started earlier than in other continents
C) nomadism. which disappeared in ancient times, has been revived in modern times
D) there are still people leading a nomadic way of life
E) nomads can find m6re to eat than settled farmers
Around a quarter of all prescription drugs sold around the world are believed to be based on chemicals obtained from only forty plant species. So far, fewer than 1% of the world's 265,000 flowering plants have been tested for their powers to cure. In the past few years, however, breakthroughs in computer technology, genetic engineering and other realms of biology have led to a "gold rush" to the rain forests and mountain ranges of the tropics, home to uncounted plant species. Here, scientists hope to profit from the traditional knowledge of tribes, which had previously been looked down on as "primitive" and "backward".

106- From the figures in the passage, we learn that……. .

A) there are only about 2,650 known species of plant in the world
B) about 265,000 of the world's flowering plants can be used as medicine
C) breakthroughs in technology have diminished the interest in plants with medicinal value
D) plants that can be used as medicines are worth more than gold
E) around 25 percent of the world's prescription drugs are plant-based

107- The passage tells us that tropical rain forests and mountain ranges of the tropics……. .

A)have been destroyed by the natives
B)are a rich source of plants
C)own extremely rich gold mines
D)need to be protected from those rushing there for gold
E)are home to 265,000 plant species