Reading Comprehension

Hiya,

I just started out with reading comprehension.

As i was going through the appended passages i realised that i was unable to concentrate in reading the passages as they use heavy language and topics that i havn't read abot much. I tried reading them with the slow pace but still couldn't manage to retain much.

Need your expert advice on how to attack such passages, which are like maze and you get lost in the details and difficult vocab.

Thanx


PASSAGE
Woodrow Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the economic market when he said that the free enterprise system is the most efficient economic system. Maximum freedom means maximum productiveness; our "openness" is to be the measure of our stability. Fascination with this ideal has made Americans defy the "Old World" categories of settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation, the cupidity of retention versus the cupidity of seizure, a "status quo" defended or attacked. The United States, it was believed, had no status quo ante. Our only "station" was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and faster. We did not base our system on property but opportunity-which meant we based it not on stability but on mobility. The more things changed, that is, the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be. The conventional picture of class politics is composed of the Haves, who want a stability to keep what they have, and the Have-Nots, who want a touch of instability and change in which to scramble for the things they have not. But Americans imagined a condition in which speculators, self-makers, runners are always using the new opportunities given by our land. These economic leaders (front-runners) would thus be mainly agents of change. The nonstarters were considered the ones who wanted stability, a strong referee to give them some position in the race, a regulative hand to calm manic speculation; an authority that can call things to a halt, begin things again from compensatorily staggered "starting lines."

"Reform" in America has been sterile because it can imagine no change except through the extension of this metaphor of a race, wider inclusion of competitors, "a piece of the action," as it were, for the disenfranchised. There is no attempt to call off the race. Since our only stability is change, America seems not to honor the quiet work that achieves social interdependence and stability. There is, in our legends, no heroism of the office clerk, no stable industrial work force of the people who actually make the system work. There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for a return to the time when everyone was an employer). There has been no boasting about our social workers-they are merely signs of the system's failure, of opportunity denied or not taken, of things to be eliminated. We have no pride in our growing interdependence, in the fact that our system can serve others, that we are able to help those in need; empty boasts from the past make us ashamed of our present achievements, make us try to forget or deny them, move away from them. There is no honor but in the Wonderland race we must all run, all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end).

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) criticize the inflexibility of American economic mythology
(B) contrast "Old World" and "New World" economic ideologies
(C) challenge the integrity of traditional political leaders
(D) champion those Americans whom the author deems to be neglected
(E) suggest a substitute for the traditional metaphor of a race

2. According to the passage, "Old World" values were based on
(A) ability
(B) property
(C) family connections
(D) guild hierarchies
(E) education

3. In the context of the author's discussion of regulating change, which of the following could be most probably regarded as a "strong referee" (line 30) in the United States?
(A) A school principal
(B) A political theorist
(C) A federal court judge
(D) A social worker
(E) A government inspector

4. The author sets off the word "Reform" (line 35) with quotation marks in order to
(A) emphasize its departure from the concept of settled possessiveness
(B) show his support for a systematic program of change
(C) underscore the flexibility and even amorphousness of United States society
(D) indicate that the term was one of Wilson's favorites
(E) assert that reform in the United States has not been fundamental

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised "a piece of the action" (line 38) is
(A) a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure
(B) an example of Americans' resistance to profound social change
(C) an innovative program for genuine social reform
(D) a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers
(E) a surprisingly "Old World" remedy for social ills

6. Which of the following metaphors could the author most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system (lines 35-60)?
(A) A windmill
(B) A waterfall
(C) A treadmill
(D) A gyroscope
(E) A bellows

7. It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson's ideas about the economic market
(A) encouraged those who "make the system work" (lines 45-46)
(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America
(C) revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy
(D) foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929
(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics

8. The passage contains information that would answer which of the following questions?
I. What techniques have industrialists used to manipulate a free market?
II. In what ways are "New World" and "Old World" economic policies similar?
III. Has economic policy in the United States tended to reward independent action?
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) II and III only

9. Which of the following best expresses the author's main point?
(A) Americans' pride in their jobs continues to give them stamina today.
(B) The absence of a status quo ante has undermined United States economic structure.
(C) The free enterprise system has been only a useless concept in the United States.
(D) The myth of the American free enterprise system is seriously flawed.
(E) Fascination with the ideal of "openness" has made Americans a progressive people.

Passage 2
No very satisfactory account of the mechanism that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given. The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the mid-ocean ridges and sinking currents under the continents. Theoretically, this convection would carry the continental plates along as though they were on a conveyor belt and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge. This view may be correct: it has the advantage that the currents are driven by temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a back-coupling, in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it, could produce complicated and varying motions.

On the other hand, the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines, and it certainly does not occur along lines broken by frequent offsets or changes in direction, as the ridge is. Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. This plate is growing on both sides, and since there is no intermediate trench, the two ridges must be moving apart. It would be odd if the rising convection currents kept exact pace with them. An alternative theory is that the sinking part of the plate, which is denser than the hotter surrounding mantle, pulls the rest of the plate after it. Again it is difficult to see how this applies to the ridge in the South Atlantic, where neither the African nor the American plate has a sinking part.

Another possibility is that the sinking plate cools the neighboring mantle and produces convection currents that move the plates. This last theory is attractive because it gives some hope of explaining the enclosed seas, such as the Sea of Japan. These seas have a typical oceanic floor, except that the floor is overlaid by several kilometers of sediment. Their floors have probably been sinking for long periods. It seems possible that a sinking current of cooled mantle material on the upper side of the plate might be the cause of such deep basins. The enclosed seas are an important feature of the earth's surface, and seriously require explanation because, in addition to the enclosed seas that are developing at present behind island arcs, there are a number of older ones of possibly similar origin, such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Black Sea, and perhaps the North Sea.

1. According to the traditional view of the origin of the ocean basins, which of the following is sufficient to move the continental plates?
(A) Increases in sedimentation on ocean floors
(B) Spreading of ocean trenches
(C) Movement of mid-ocean ridges
(D) Sinking of ocean basins
(E) Differences in temperature under oceans and continents

2. It can be inferred from the passage that, of the following, the deepest sediments would be found in the
(A) Indian Ocean
(B) Black Sea
(C) Mid-Atlantic
(D) South Atlantic
(E) Pacific

3. The author refers to a "conveyor belt" in line 13 in order to
(A) illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle
(B) show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents
(C) demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
(D) describe the complicated motions made possible by back-coupling
(E) account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges

4. The author regards the traditional view of the origin of the oceans with
(A) slight apprehension
(B) absolute indifference
(C) indignant anger
(D) complete disbelief
(E) guarded skepticism

5. According to the passage, which of the following are separated by a plate that is growing on both sides?
(A) The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan
(B) The South Atlantic Ridge and the North Sea Ridge
(C) The Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Ridge
(D) The Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Indian Ocean Ridge
(E) The Black Sea and the Sea of Japan

6. Which of the following, if it could be demonstrated, would most support the traditional view of ocean formation?
(A) Convection usually occurs along lines.
(B) The upper mantle behaves as a dense solid.
(C) Sedimentation occurs at a constant rate.
(D) Sinking plates cool the mantle.
(E) Island arcs surround enclosed seas.

7. According to the passage, the floor of the Black Sea can best be compared to a
(A) rapidly moving conveyor belt
(B) slowly settling foundation
(C) rapidly expanding balloon
(D) violently erupting volcano
(E) slowly eroding mountain

8. Which of the following titles would best describe the content of the passage?
(A) A Description of the Oceans of the World
(B) Several Theories of Ocean Basin Formation
(C) The Traditional View of the Oceans
(D) Convection and Ocean Currents
(E) Temperature Differences among the Oceans of the World

as being non-native speaker I face the same situation with these particular passages, so it would be very nice if someone could give some tips and strategies

People Comm'on. Show some way out....

let me try for passage 2:

No very satisfactory account of the mechanism that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given. The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the mid-ocean ridges and sinking currents under the continents. Theoretically, this convection would carry the continental plates along as though they were on a conveyor belt and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge. This view may be correct: it has the advantage that the currents are driven by temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a back-coupling, in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it, could produce complicated and varying motions.

On the other hand, the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines, and it certainly does not occur along lines broken by frequent offsets or changes in direction, as the ridge is. Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. This plate is growing on both sides, and since there is no intermediate trench, the two ridges must be moving apart. It would be odd if the rising convection currents kept exact pace with them. An alternative theory is that the sinking part of the plate, which is denser than the hotter surrounding mantle, pulls the rest of the plate after it. Again it is difficult to see how this applies to the ridge in the South Atlantic, where neither the African nor the American plate has a sinking part.

Another possibility is that the sinking plate cools the neighboring mantle and produces convection currents that move the plates. This last theory is attractive because it gives some hope of explaining the enclosed seas, such as the Sea of Japan. These seas have a typical oceanic floor, except that the floor is overlaid by several kilometers of sediment. Their floors have probably been sinking for long periods. It seems possible that a sinking current of cooled mantle material on the upper side of the plate might be the cause of such deep basins. The enclosed seas are an important feature of the earth's surface, and seriously require explanation because, in addition to the enclosed seas that are developing at present behind island arcs, there are a number of older ones of possibly similar origin, such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Black Sea, and perhaps the North Sea.

1. According to the traditional view of the origin of the ocean basins, which of the following is sufficient to move the continental plates?
(A) Increases in sedimentation on ocean floors
(B) Spreading of ocean trenches
(C) Movement of mid-ocean ridges
(D) Sinking of ocean basins
(E) Differences in temperature under oceans and continents - convection currents is the traditional view

2. It can be inferred from the passage that, of the following, the deepest sediments would be found in the
(A) Indian Ocean
(B) Black Sea - probably since they have similar origin as sea of Japan - not sure
(C) Mid-Atlantic
(D) South Atlantic
(E) Pacific

3. The author refers to a "conveyor belt" in line 13 in order to
(A) illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle - conveyor belt is an illustration to show the movement of surface
(B) show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents
(C) demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
(D) describe the complicated motions made possible by back-coupling
(E) account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges

4. The author regards the traditional view of the origin of the oceans with
(A) slight apprehension - no particular verdict is given as such
(B) absolute indifference
(C) indignant anger - a bit too personal and strong
(D) complete disbelief - not true since in first para he concedes that theory may be correct
(E) guarded skepticism - he has lot of doubts regarding the utility of it and hence skeptic

5. According to the passage, which of the following are separated by a plate that is growing on both sides?
(A) The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan
(B) The South Atlantic Ridge and the North Sea Ridge
(C) The Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Ridge
(D) The Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Indian Ocean Ridge - direct pick from second para
(E) The Black Sea and the Sea of Japan

6. Which of the following, if it could be demonstrated, would most support the traditional view of ocean formation?
(A) Convection usually occurs along lines.
(B) The upper mantle behaves as a dense solid.
(C) Sedimentation occurs at a constant rate.
(D) Sinking plates cool the mantle. - from third para first 2 lines
(E) Island arcs surround enclosed seas.

7. According to the passage, the floor of the Black Sea can best be compared to a
(A) rapidly moving conveyor belt
(B) slowly settling foundation - since theory says floor must be sinking for longer periods
(C) rapidly expanding balloon
(D) violently erupting volcano
(E) slowly eroding mountain

8. Which of the following titles would best describe the content of the passage?
(A) A Description of the Oceans of the World
(B) Several Theories of Ocean Basin Formation - theories are discussed ( the traditional and some alternative theories )
(C) The Traditional View of the Oceans
(D) Convection and Ocean Currents
(E) Temperature Differences among the Oceans of the World

First Passage:

1. B
2. B
3. E
4. A/C - C
5. C
6. B
7. B

OA please ?

consider passage 2

According to the traditional view of the origin of the ocean basins, which of the following is sufficient to move the continental plates?
(A) Increases in sedimentation on ocean floors
(B) Spreading of ocean trenches
(C) Movement of mid-ocean ridges
(D) Sinking of ocean basins
(E) Differences in temperature under oceans and continents

[spoiler]

"This plate is growing on both sides, and since there is no intermediate trench, the two ridges must be moving apart."
Looking at this sentence can you make out whether the answer is B or C, I chose C but B is the OA[/spoiler]