der. One part of critical reading, as you have discovered, is distinguishing between facts and opinions. Facts can be checked by evidence. Opinions are one’s own personal reactions.

Another part of critical reading is judging sources. Still another part is drawing accurate inferences.

16.   If you cannot remember what you read or study, ________.

[A] it is no surprise

[B] it means you have not really learned anything

[C] it means you have not chosen the right book

[D] you realize it is of no importance

17.   Before you start reading, it is important ________.

[A] to make sure why you are reading

[B] to relate the information to your purpose

[C] to remember what you read

[D] to choose an interesting book

18.   Reading activity involves ________.

[A] only two simultaneous processes

[B] primarily learning about ideas and evaluating them critically

[C] merely distinguishing between facts and opinions

[D] mainly drawing accurate inferences

19.   A good reader is one who ________.

[A] relates what he reads to his own knowledge about the subject matter

[B] does lots of thinking in his reading

[C] takes a critical attitude in his reading

[D] is able to check the facts presented against what he has already known

Text 2

If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of noise, but because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the extent of its influence on human behavior. Although everyone more or less knows what noise is, i.e., it is sounds that one would rather not hear, it is perhaps best to define it more precisely for scientific purposes. One such definition is that noise is sounds that are unrelated to the task at hand. Thus stimuli that at one time might be considered relevant will at another time be considered noise, depending on what one is doing at the moment. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the effects of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “noise pollution” have arisen, together with movements to reduce noise.

Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the noise. Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock bands are playing. In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels (a measure of the loudness of sound) can be considered dangerous. Decibel values correspond to various sounds. Sounds above about 85 decibels may, if exposure is for a sufficient period of time, produce significant hearing loss. Actual loss will depend upon the particular frequencies to which one is exposed, and whether the sound is continuous or intermittent.

Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance, in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind (e.g., watching a radar screen for the appearance of aircraft).

Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. If you have ridden in the rear of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of your speech to compensate for the effect. The problem is noise.

20.   Noise differs from sound in that ________.

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

21.   One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

22.   The purpose of this passage is ________.

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

Text 3

The traditional belief that a woman’s place is in the home and that a woman ought not to go out to work can hardly be reasonably maintained in present conditions. It is said that it is a woman’s task to care for the children, but families today tend to be small and with a year or two between children. Thus a woman’s whole period of childbearing may occur within five years. Furthermore, with compulsory education from the age of five or six her role as chief educator of her children soon ceases. Thus, even if we agree that a woman should stay at home to look after her children before they are of school age, for many women, this period would extend only for about ten years.

It might be argued that the house-proud woman would still find plenty to do about the home. That may be so, but it is certainly no longer necessary for a woman to spend her whole life cooking, cleaning, mending and sewing. Washing machines take the drudgery out of laundry, the latest models being entirely automatic and able to wash and dry a large quantity of clothes in a few minutes. Refrigerators have made it possible to store food for long periods and many pre-cooked foods are obtainable in tins. Shopping, instead of being a daily task, can be completed in one day a week. The new man-made fibers a

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