Directions: The passages below are followed by questions based on their content.
Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passages.
QUESTIONS 1–6 ARE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE.
The Federal Surface Mining Act was passed in 1977 for the laudable purpose of protecting the environment from the ravages of strip-mining of coal. For many years environmentalists had fought to get the bill passed. Strip-mining men- aces the habitat of wildlife and causes incalculable damage to the environment. The law is explicit on such matters as where strip-mining is prohibited, the disposal of toxic waste, the placement of power lines, and the rights of the public to take part in the control of strip-min- ing. However, the Secretary of the Inte- rior has recently incurred the wrath of environmentalists by advocating numer- ous proposals that repudiate the exist- ing law.
According to the law, strip-mining is prohibited in national forests, national wildlife refuges, public parks, historic places, and within a specified number of feet from roads, cemeteries, parks, houses, and schools. The exception to this prohibition is stated in the words valid existing rights, referring to those miners who had rights in protected lands before the law was passed. By redefin- ing “valid existing rights,” the local gov- ernment could infringe upon the law by opening over a million acres of national forest and wildlife refuges to strip-min- ing. Naturally, the National Wildlife Fed- eration is appalled. This proposal does not augur well for wildlife, which will be destroyed by such latent killers as power lines and tainted ponds near strip-mines. It doesn’t require a sage to foresee the wrangle that is forthcoming between proponents of conservation and the gov- ernment. The consensus among envi- ronmentalists is that unless they obstruct the regulations, this land will
be ravaged and our wildlife severely maimed by strip-mining companies for the sake of a few pennies’ profit.
1. From the context of the passage, the mean-
ing of strip-mining is
(A) the mining of coal on public lands (B) surface mining
(C) shaft mining (D) illegal mining
2. The Federal Surface Mining Act
(A) limits coal production (B) prohibits strip-mining
(C) restricts strip-mining to specific loca-
tions
(D) menaces wildlife
3. The expression existing valid rights re-
fers to
(A) mining rights in existence before 1977 (B) miners’ rights that cannot be violated (C) the right to mine coal any place in the
United States
(D) the right to mine on protected land
4. Wildlife is endangered by
(A) coal mining
(B) the Secretary of the Interior (C) toxic waste in bodies of water (D) migration paths
5. The proposed regulations will
(A) curtail the rights of environmentalists (B) increase the area of strip-mining (C) help clean up the environment (D) cost miners a lot of money
(5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45)
6. The main idea of this passage is that
(A) changes in the present law would be
detrimental to the environment
(B) a powerful government official can
change laws
(C) environmentalists protect our land (D) laws are made to be broken
QUESTIONS 7–11 ARE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE.
The nuclear industry is beset by con- troversy and mischance. Partially con- structed plants have been closed down for several reasons. Construction costs have escalated, the demand for power has decreased, and the number of an- tagonists to nuclear plants has increased tremendously. Nuclear energy, once hailed with hope for a future with cheap, plentiful power, has reached an impasse. The major cause of the deterioration in the nuclear industry is the fiasco at Three Mile Island in 1979. Ordinary machines break down, and humans are prone to error, but a nuclear power plant accident can cause widespread catastro- phe. The most significant factor about the accident is, however, that it has jeopardized the whole future of nuclear energy. Public dissent, present though dormant when the first nuclear plants were constructed, has solidified after the deplorable chaos at Three Mile Is- land.
Nevertheless, the nuclear plants built earlier continue to operate safely and economically. Smaller than more re- cently built plants, they have produced power that is consistently less expen- sive than power from coal or oil.
The investigaton of the Three Mile Island accident revealed that supervi- sors and management alike were inad- equately trained to cope with a crucial mechanical failure in the nuclear sys- tem. Training programs today are de- veloped more precisely. Now, prospective operators take years of classroom work and spend months under supervision in
a control room and more months at the simulator, a computer programmed to recreate the Three Mile Island disaster, before returning to additional months in the classroom. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission administers oral and writ- ten exams before licensing new opera- tors. Every six weeks compulsory refresher courses are given. Presum- ably, more scrupulous training requi- sites will reduce the chances of another Three Mile Island debacle.
7. What is the public’s biggest objection to
nuclear plants?
(A) Their cost
(B) The length of time it takes to con-
struct them
(C) The amount of electricity they generate (D) Their danger
8. Why has construction on new nuclear
plants been stopped?
(A) They cost too much to build. (B) People are using less electricity. (C) The plants are potentially unsafe. (D) All of the above.
9. Why has the Three Mile Island accident
jeopardized the future of nuclear energy?
(A) The public saw the potential danger
of nuclear plants and has united to protest their use.
(B) It cost more than a billion dollars to
clean up the debris.
(C) It took twenty years to get the plant
running again.
(D) Nuclear energy is too expensive.
(5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50)
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Chapter 3: Developing Reading Comprehension Skills
10. Why are the older plants still in operation? (A) They were built twenty years ago. (B) They have better supervision than
the new plants.
(C) They are cheap to operate.
(D) They are relatively safe, produce
cheap electricity, and have efficient personnel.
11. What must the United States do before
nuclear plants can be considered accept- able to their antagonists?
(A) Nuclear plants must be nationalized. (B) Nuclear plants must be less expen-
sive to build.
(C) Waste disposal and safety must be
assured.
(D) Antinuclear groups must conceal their