WIXLIB

TOEFL iBT Practice Test 1READINGDir ections: This sectio n meas ur es yo ur ability to unders ta nd academic pass ages inEnglis h.The Reading sectio n is divid ed into separa tely timed par ts.Most q ues tio ns are wor th 1 po int, but the las t q ues tion for ea ch pass age is wor thmore tha n 1 point. The directio ns for the las t q uestio n ind ica te ho w ma ny points yo uma y receive.You will no w begin the Reading sectio n. There are three passa ges in the sectio n. Yousho uld a llo w 20 Minut es to read ea ch pass age a nd a ns wer the questio ns abo ut it.You s ho uld a llo w 60 Minutes to co mplete the entire sectio n.At the end of this Practice Test yo u’ll find expla na tio ns of the a ns wers and infor mationto help yo u determine yo ur s core.NINETEENTH-CENTURY POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATESThe develop ment of the mod ern pres idency in the United Sta tes bega n with AndrewJa cks o n who s wep t to po wer in 1829 at the head of the Demo cratic Par ty and s er veduntil 1837. Dur ing his ad ministra tion he immeas ur ab ly enlarged the po wer of thepresidency. “ The Pres ident is the d irect representa tive of the Amer ica n p eop le,” helectured the Sena te when it opposed him. “He was elected by the peop le, and isrespons ib le to them.” With this d eclaratio n, J a cks o n redefined the character of thepresidentia l office a nd its rela tio ns hip to the peop le.Dur ing J a ckso n’s second ter m, his opponents had grad ua lly come together toform the Whig par ty. Whigs a nd Democra ts held different attitud es to ward thecha nges broug ht about b y the mar ket, banks, a nd co mmer ce. The Demo cra ts tendedto view society a s a continuing conflict between “the p eople”—far mers, p la nters, a ndworkers—a nd a set of greedy ar isto cra ts. This “pap er money ar is to cra cy” of bankersand inves tors ma nip ulated the banking s ys tem for their o wn profit, Democra tscla imed, and sapped the na tio n’s vir tue b y enco uraging speculatio n a nd the d esire forsudd en, unear ned wea lth. The Demo crats wa nted the rewards of the market witho utsacrificing the fea tures of a s imple agraria n rep ublic. They wa nted the wealth that themarket offered witho ut the co mpetitive, cha ng ing society; the co mplex dealing; thedomina nce of urba n centers; and the loss of independence tha t ca me with it.Whigs, o n the o ther ha nd, were more co mfor table with the market. For them,233

TOEFL iBT Practice Test 1commerce a nd eco no mic development wer e agents of civiliza tio n. Nor did the Whigsenvisio n any co nflict in society between farmers a nd workers on the one ha nd a ndbus inesspeo ple a nd ba nkers on the other. Eco no mic gro wth wo uld benefit ever yo neby ra ising na tiona l inco me a nd expanding opportunity. The go ver nment’s responsibility wa s to provide a well-reg ula ted eco no my that g uaranteed opportunity for citizensof ability.Whigs a nd Demo cra ts differed no t o nly in their attitudes to ward the market butalso about ho w active the centra l go ver nment s ho uld be in people’s lives. Despite Andrew J a cks o n’s inclinatio n to be a stro ng Pres ident, Demo crats a s a rule b elieved inlimited government. Government’s role in the eco no my wa s to promote co mpetitionby des troying monopolies 1 and sp ecial privileg es. In keeping with this p hilosop hy oflimited go ver nment, Demo cra ts also rejected the idea that mora l beliefs wer e theproper sphere of go vernment a ctio n. Religio n a nd politics, they believed, should bekept clearly s eparate, a nd they g enerally opposed huma nitaria n leg isla tion.The Whigs, in co ntrast, viewed government po wer pos itively. They believed tha t itsho uld be used to protect individua l rig hts and p ublic liberty, and that it had a specialrole wher e individ ual effor t wa s ineffective. By regulating the eco no my and co mpetitio n, the go ver nment could ens ure equa l opportunity. Indeed , for Whigs the conceptof government promo ting the g eneral welfare went beyond the eco no my. In particular, Whigs in the nor thern sections of the United Sta tes a lso b elieved that g over nmentpower s ho uld be us ed to foster the mora l welfare of the co untr y. They wer e muchmore likely to fa vor social-reform leg isla tio n and aid to educatio n.In so me wa ys the socia l ma keup of the two parties wa s similar. To be competitivein winning vo tes , Whigs a nd Democra ts both had to ha ve sig nifica nt suppo rt a mo ngfar mers , the largest gro up in society, a nd wor kers. Neither par ty co uld win a n electionby ap pealing exclus ively to the rich or the poor. The Whigs , ho wever, enjo yed disproportio nate s treng th a mong the b us iness a nd co mmercial cla ss es. Whigs appea led toplanters who need ed credit to finance their cotton a nd rice trade in the world market,to far mers who were eag er to sell their surp luses , and to wor kers who wis hed to improve themselves . Demo cra ts attracted far mers iso lated fro m the mar ket or unco mfortable with it, wor kers aliena ted fro m the emerg ing indus tr ia l s ys tem, and ris ingentrepreneurs who wa nted to break mo nopolies and open the eco no my to newcomers like thems elves. The Whigs wer e stro ngest in the to wns, cities, a nd those r uralareas that were fully integrated into the mar ket eco no my, wher eas Democra ts dominated ar eas of s emis ubs istence far ming that were more isola ted and la ng uis hing econo mica lly.1. Monopolies—Companies or individuals that exclusi vel y own or control commer cial enterpriseswith no co mpetitors234

Reading#1The develop ment of the mod ern pres idency in the United Sta tes bega n with AndrewJa cks o n who s wep t to po wer in 1829 at the head of the Demo cratic Par ty and s er veduntil 1837. Dur ing his ad ministra tion he immeas ur ab ly enlarged the po wer of thepresidency. “ The Pres ident is the d irect representa tive of the Amer ica n p eop le,” helectured the Sena te when it opposed him. “He was elected by the peop le, and isrespons ib le to them.” With this d eclaratio n, J a cks o n redefined the character of thepresidentia l office a nd its rela tio ns hip to the peop le.Directions: Mark your answer by filling in the oval next to your choice.1.The word immeas urab ly in thepassage is closes t in mea ning tofrequentlygreatlyrapidlyreportedly2.According to paragraph 1, thepresidency of Andrew J a cks o n wasespecia lly s ignifica nt for which ofthe fo llo wing reaso ns?The President gra nted a por tio n ofhis po wer to the Sena teThe President bega n to ad dress theSenate o n a reg ular bas is .It wa s the beginning of the moder npresidency in the United Sta tes.It wa s the first time that the Sena tehad been kno wn to oppose thePresident.# 2Dur ing J a ckso n’s second ter m, his oppo nents ha d grad ua lly come together to for mthe Whig par ty. Whigs a nd Demo cra ts held different a ttitudes to ward the cha ng esbrought about b y the mar ket, ba nks, a nd co mmer ce. The Demo crats tended to viewsociety a s a continuing co nflict between “the peop le”—far mers, p la nters, a nd workers—a nd a set of greedy ar is tocra ts . This “pa per money a r is to cra cy” of bankers a ndinves tors ma nip ula ted the banking s ys tem for their o wn profit, Democra ts cla imed,and sapped the na tio n’s vir tue by enco uraging sp ecula tio n a nd the desire for s udden,unear ned wea lth. The Democra ts wa nted the rewards of the mar ket without sacr ificing the features of a simp le agrar ia n rep ub lic. They wa nted the wea lth that the marketoffered witho ut the co mpetitive, chang ing so ciety; the co mp lex dealing; the domina nce of urba n centers; a nd the loss of indep endence that ca me with it.3.The author mentio ns ba nkers a nd investors in the passag e a s an exa mple ofwhich of the follo wing?The Democra tic Pa rty’s ma in so urce of s uppor tThe peop le tha t Democra ts cla imed were unfa irly beco ming richThe people mos t interested in a retur n to a s imple agrar ia n rep ublicOne of the groups in favor of Andr ew Ja cks o n’s presidencyGO ON TO THE NEXT PA G E g235

TOEFL iBT Practice Test 1#3Whigs, o n the other ha nd , wer e more co mfor tab le with the market. For them, commerce and eco no mic develop ment were agents of civilizatio n. Nor did the Whigs envisio n a ny co nflict in so ciety between far mers a nd wor ker s on the o ne hand andbus inesspeo ple a nd ba nkers on the other. Eco no mic gro wth wo uld benefit ever yo neby ra ising na tiona l inco me a nd expanding opportunity. The go ver nment’s responsibility wa s to provide a well-reg ula ted eco no my that g uaranteed opportunity for citizensof ability.4.According to paragraph 3, Whigs believed that commerce and economic development would ha ve which of the follo wing effects o n society?They wo uldThey wo uldThey wo uldThey wo uld5.promote the adva ncement of so ciety a s a who le.ca us e d isagreements between Whigs a nd Demo crats.s upp ly new positions for Whig Pa rty members .prevent conflict between far mers and wor kers.According to paragraph 3, which of the fo llo wing d escrib es the Whig Par ty’s viewof the role of go ver nment?To regulate the co ntinuing conflict between far mers a nd b us inesspeop leTo restrict the cha nges broug ht about b y the marketTo mainta in a n eco no my that allo we d a ll capable citizens to benefitTo reduce the emp hasis on economic develop ment#4Whigs a nd Demo cra ts differed no t o nly in their attitud es to ward the mar ket b ut als oabout ho w a ctive the central go vernment sho uld be in people’s lives . Despite Andr ewJackso n’s inclina tio n to be a strong President, Demo cra ts a s a rule believed in limitedgover nment. Go ver nment’s role in the eco no my wa s to promote co mpetition by destroying mo nopolies 1 and special privileges. In keeping with this p hilosop hy of limitedgover nment, Democra ts als o rejected the id ea that mora l beliefs were the propersphere of go vernment action. Religio n and politics, they believed, s ho uld be keptclear ly separa te, a nd they genera lly opposed huma nitar ia n leg isla tio n.6.The word inclina tio n in the passa ge is closes t in mea ning toargumenttendencyexa mp lewar ning7.According to paragraph 4, a Democra t wo uld be most likely to suppor t government actio n in which of the follo wing areas?Creating a s tate religio nSuppo r ting huma nitarian leg isla tio nDestro ying mo nopo liesRecommend ing par ticular mora l beliefs1. Monopolies—Companies or individuals that exclusi vel y own or control commer cial enterpriseswith no co mpetitors236

Reading#5The Whigs, in co ntras t, viewed gover nment po wer positively. They believed tha t itsho uld be used to protect individua l rig hts and p ublic liberty, and that it had a specialrole wher e individ ual effor t wa s ineffective. By regulating the eco no my and co mpetitio n, the go ver nment could ens ure equa l opportunity. Indeed , for Whigs the conceptof government promo ting the g eneral welfare went beyond the eco no my. In particular, Whigs in the nor thern sections of the United Sta tes a lso b elieved that g over nmentpower s ho uld be us ed to foster the mora l welfare of the co untr y. They wer e muchmore likely to fa vor social-reform leg isla tio n and aid to educatio n.8.The word co ncep t in the passage is closes t in meaning topowerrealitydifficultyidea9.Which of the follo wing ca n be inferred fro m paragrap h 5 about variatio ns inpolitical beliefs within the Whig Pa rty?They were focused on iss ues of p ub lic liberty.They caused so me members to leave the Whig party.They were unimpo rta nt to most Whigs.They reflected regio nal interests .GO ON TO THE NEXT PA G E g237