Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.

Word Pretest

For each italicized word, choose the best meaning below.

1. I interpreted his silence as a refusal.
A. understood
B. examined
C. remembered
2. He was more involved in sports than in scholastic achievements.
A. professional
B. vocational
C. academic
3. She showed great aptitude for learning languages.
A. natural ability
B. keen interest
C. great passion
4. The purpose of the social reform is to achieve a fairer distribution of wealth.
A. accumulation
B. division
C. pursuit
5. They accept that what you are doing is relevant to their problems.
A. troublesome
B. helpful
C. important
6. It was a contest in verbal skills.
A. using words              
B. using signs
C. using strength
7. You are distorting his argument.
A. giving a truthful account of
B. giving a false account of
C. giving an exaggerated account of
8. Can you see what this note says -- his writing is almost illegible.
A. illiterate
B. unreadable
C. illegal

Text A
Types of Examinations

An examination falls into one of two main categories: the objective exam and the subjective exam. Each type has certain advantages and disadvantages, depending upon the course, content, and purpose of the exam.
OBJECTIVE EXAMINATIONS. There are numerous variations of this type of exam. Basically, in an objective exam you are limited to selecting the right answer from a group of possible answers. You do not write anything; you merely decide whether the answer opposite A, B, C, or D is correct. This exam is considered to be objective in two ways: (1) Each student has an equal chance; he must merely choose the correct answer from the same list of alternatives, therefore he has no opportunity to express a different attitude or personal opinion. (2) The judgment and personality of the teacher cannot influence the correction in any way. Indeed, many objective tests are scored by machines.
This type 'of exam may be graded more quickly and objectively than the subjective type, but it is not necessarily more reliable. An objective exam requires you only to recognize rather than to reproduce what you have learned. Although a well-constructed objective exam can require you to think through a complicated problem, evaluating alternatives before selecting an answer, it is generally not as effective as the subjective type in measuring your ability to assimilate or interpret information.
Objective exams are usually true-false, multiple choice, matching, or sentence    completion questions.
Standard Exams: A standard exam is an objective type that is used widely and    often repeatedly. You may have taken an English exam of this kind; for example,    TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), or the English Proficiency Test. The Scholastic Aptitude Test and the Graduate Record Examination are other examples.
On exams of this type, you are not expected to answer all of the questions or get a perfect score. Your result is reported as a standard score, based on the results of    thousands of students. Because these exams are corrected by machine, you do not    indicate answers on the exam paper itself. Instead you mark a separate answer sheet, usually by blackening a space or letter that corresponds with the letter of the answer    on the exam paper. Whatever the specific directions may be, follow them exactly. A    machine cannot guess what answers you intended. Also, because you must read    questions on one paper and record answers on another paper, under the pressure of    time you may become confused and misplace an answer. Be sure that the number of the answer corresponds with the number of the question.
On any type of objective exam, it is important to read the directions carefully and follow them exactly. They will differ from exam to exam, and sometimes within an exam. Be sure you understand how you should indicate your answer and that you do it exactly as required. Otherwise your answer is likely to be counted wrong.
When you take an exam of this kind, look over the whole exam first to get a   general idea of the type and range of questions, the method of indicating your answers, and any suggested distribution of time. Check to see if there are any directions about guessing. Often a wrong answer counts off double while an omitted answer counts off only one. Avoid wild guessing, but if you have a vague idea of the answer, or if you are sure that several of the choices are obviously wrong, it may be to your advantage to guess.
When you are sure that you understand the directions, begin. Do not spend too   much time on any one question. If you are not sure of it, omit it and go on to others,   coming back to it later if you have time.
Read the statements carefully. Look for important key words such as all, none,   never, affrays, sometimes, least, best. Words of this kind are modifiers on which the   correctness of a statement depends.
When you have finished the exam, check your paper over. Ask yourself:

1. Have I followed directions exactly?
2. Have I answered all the questions I possibly can?
3. Have I recorded the answers accurately and clearly?

SUBJECTIVE (OR ESSAY-TYPE) EXAMINATIONS. This type of exam is   considered to be subjective because you are able to express your own opinions freely and interpret information in any way you wish. In the same way, your teacher is able to evaluate the quality of your opinions and interpretations, as well as the organization and logic of your presentation.
An essay exam allows you to select, organize, and present information in  whatever way you choose.
In this kind of exam, be sure you know how much time you are permitted. Plan   to write only as much as you can write well in the time allowed.
Before you begin to write anything, organize your thoughts by outlining a   possible answer. Check your outline to see that it has a pattern of development. When you feel sure that you have included as much information as required, and only information that is relevant, begin to write.
Your English is an important part of the essay. While writing exams for courses    other than English, you may tend to neglect the quality of your English. An essay    examination is a kind of verbal communication. The clarity of the message depends    upon your expression. If your grammar is imprecise, if your vocabulary is ambiguous, if your organization is distorted, if your handwriting is illegible, there is likely to be a breakdown in communication. Even if the message comes through, your teacher may unconsciously deduct credit for straining his eyesight and patience. Use the very best English you know at all times. It will help in your work in other courses, and it will reinforce correct language habits in English.

                        Total words: 1019
Total reading time: __ minutes    seconds            
             
The text is based on "Preparing to Pass Examinations," in Study Skills by Richard C. Yorkey. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980.

◆Reading Skill ——Outlining

Write an outline of the text in Section A. Certain items have been provided as a    clue to the structure.

Title:
Main Idea:
I.  Objective examinations
A. Objective in two ways
1.
2.
B.
C. Standard exams
1.
2.
3.
4.
II. Subjective Examinations
A.
B.
C.
D.

◆ Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. In an objective exam you can               .
A. express your different attitude or personal opinion
B. only choose the correct answer from a group of possible answers
C. write anything you like
2. Since objective exams are scored by machines, they are          .
A. more reliable
B. unreliable
C. not necessarily reliable
3. A standard exam is                 .
A. a mixture of objective and subjective exams
B. different from objective and subjective exams
C. an objective exam such as TOEFL, EPT or GRE
4. Which of the following statements is not true concerning a standard exam?
A. You should not answer all the questions.
B. You should not write the answers on the exam paper
C. Your answer might be counted wrong if you misread the directions
5. In a subjective exam,          can have the freedom to express their opinions.
A. only teachers
B. only students
C. both teachers and students
6. If your handwriting is illegible, your teacher may deduct your credit               .
A. knowingly
B. unconsciously
C. angrily

◆ Vocabulary Building
① Word Search
Find a word in the texts which means:

1. understand completely and be able to use properly (A: 19)
2. a verbal report (A: 62)
3. take away an amount from a total (A: 77)
4. make stronger or firmer (A: 79)
5. a collection of quantitative data (B: 12)
6. one who has committed a crime (B: 35)
7. prevent from (B: 55)
8. freedom from punishment (B: 69)
9. copy someone else's idea and use it as one's own (B: 71)
10. serious criticism (B: 106)
11. something used for cheating in an examination (B: 114)
12. causing disagreement between people (B: 120)

②Semantic Variations
For each italicized word, decide which semantic variation best expresses the meaning of the author. Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. score (A: 13)
A. to win a success, victory, prize, etc.
B. to give a certain number of points
C. a written copy of a piece of music
2. count (A: 39)
A. to consider
B. to calculate
C. total
3. check (A: 42)
A. to examine
B. to stop
C. a written order to a bank
4. issue (B:53)
A. an important subject
B. a particular edition
C. to publish or deliver
5. performance (B: 88)
A. dramatic production
B. the quality of functioning
C. achievement
6. yield (B: 89)
A. to stop resisting
B. to produce
C. the profit from an investment

Stems
Study the following stems and their meanings. List some more examples in the space provided.

broad        1.           2.           3.           4:                      
cap/cei(v)/cup 1.           2.           3.           4:                         
5.           6.           7.           8:                        

Read each of the ;following sentences, and write the meaning of the italicized word in the space provided

1. ——What is your occupation?
——I'm a doctor.
occupation:

2. The BBC broadcasts to all parts of the world.
broadcast:

3. He was held captive for 3 months in World Ward II.
captive:

4. Education expenditures will capture about 8 percent of gross national product.
capture:

5. We welcome all businessmen, home or abroad, to invest here.
abroad:

6. According to psychologists, an emotion is around when someone perceives something as either good or bad.
perceive:
7. We cannot conceive of living without electricity.
conceive:
8. His experience has broadened his mind.
broaden:

Synonyms
On each line in Column H there is one word which is a synonym of the word in Column I. Circle the synonyms.
I                    II
1. frustrate            thwart        encourage        help
2. tremendous         tiny          huge             insignificant
3. breach             conform      observe           break
4. apparent           obvious       doubtful          ambiguous
5. attain              abandon      fail              accomplish

◆Cloze
Fill in each blank with a word given below. Change the form of the word if necessary.

subject       giving       advantage    meaningful    reading
picture       unsatisfactory express       arise         disadvantage

One advantage of the essay test is that it reduces the element of luck. The student cannot get a high score just by making a lucky guess. Another         is that it shows the examiner more about the student's ability to put facts together into a             whole. It should show how deeply he has thought about the subject. Sometimes, though, essay tests have        , too. Some students are able to write rather good answers without really knowing much about the         , while other students who actually know the material have trouble         their ideas in essay form. Besides, on an essay test the student's score may depend upon the examiner's feelings at the time of         the answer.
Most teachers and students would probably agree that examinations are                  .Students dislike taking them; teachers dislike         them and scoring students' answers. Whether an objective test or an essay test is used, problems               When some objective questions are used along with some essay questions, however, a fairly clear         of the student knowledge can usually be obtained.