Reading passages

30- The writer wants us to accept the idea that primitive cave pictures ............... .

A) always represent animals in a single colour

B) are of a poor colour owing to the use of coloured earth
C) have little artistic value for us, but we still feel we ought to preserve them
D) are no less works of art than modern paintings and advertisement designs
E) were made in a style very similar to that of modern painting


In The Call of the Wild, Jack London tells the story of a dog named Buck, which is kidnapped from the safety of his California home and turned by the brutality of humans into a leader in a sled dog in the Klondike, and finally into a leader of the wolves. Powerfully written and deeply disturbing, the book calls attention to the hidden forces – in both human beings and beasts – that come to the surface in a struggle for survival. London unconsciously shows his sense of identification with nature of the wolf, both as a lone animal and, through strength and cunning, as the leader of the pack.


31- We can infer from the passage that Buck.............. .

A) was a pet dog before he was kidnapped

B) abandoned his home in California to join his own species
C) originally came from wolf parents
D) escaped from California because of humans’ brutality
E) used to be a sled dog before his escape


32- The writer of the passage believes that TheCall of the Wild ............ .

A) is Jack London’s most powerfully-written book

B) also reflects the characteristics London attributes to the wolf
C) disturbed all those who read it
D) basically deals with the brutality of human towards animals
E) shows how human beings destroyed wolves


33- According to the passage, the main idea of London’s story is that .............. .

A) wild animals will, at all costs, try to return to their own environment

B) hidden powers in humans and animals are revealed when they struggle to survive
C) human being have treated animals throughout their history
D) not only humans but also animals can be kidnapped
E) a wolf has to be strong and cunning in order to be the leader of the pack


Many early adventurers and settlers in the New World withstood the rigors of a long, dangerous Atlantic crossing in the hope of finding treasure in America. But there were no mountains of gold – only a vast, silent land covered with unbroken forests, and penetrated from the Atlantic seaboard by a series of short rivers. North America offered millions of acres of virgin soil and luxuriant forests, huge mineral deposits, fur of many animals, and fish and game in abundance. Its position within the temperate zone, while guaranteeing a variety of climate, freed it from the extremes of arctic cold and tropical heat. Rainfall varied but was sufficient for raising a large variety of crops.