Part 1: Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D)

according to the text. Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the corresponding

numbered boxes. (10 pts) (Toefl Ibt Int 331-334/812)
The Challenge of Technology and Equity
Information technology is influencing the way many of us live and work today.
We use the Internet to look and apply for jobs, shop, conduct research, make airline
reservations, and explore areas of interest. We use e-mail and the Internet to
communicate instantaneously with friends and business associates around the world.
Computers are commonplace in homes and the workplace.
Although the number of Internet users is growing exponentially each year, most
of the world's population does not have access to computers or the Internet. Only 6
percent of the population in developing countries are connected to telephones.
Although more than 94 percent of U.S. households have a telephone, only 42 percent
have personal computers at home and 26 percent have Internet access. The lack of
what most of us would consider a basic communications necessity - the telephone -
does not occur just in developing nations. On some Native American reservations only
60 percent of the residents have a telephone. The move to wireless connections may
eliminate the need for telephone lines, but it does not remove the barrier to equipment
costs.
Who has Internet access? Fifty percent of the children in urban households with
an income over $75,000 have Internet access, compared with 2 percent of the children
in low-income, rural households. Nearly half of college-educated people have Internet
access, compared to 6 percent of those with only some high school education. Forty
percent of households with two parents have access; 15 percent of female,
single-parent households do. Thirty percent of white households, 11 percent of black
households, and 13 percent of Hispanic households have access. Teens and children
are the two fastest-growing segments of Internet users. The digital divide between the
populations who have access to the Internet and information technology tools is based
on income, race, education, household type, and geographic location. Only 16 percent
of the rural poor, rural and central city minorities, young householders, and
singleparent female households are connected.
Another problem that exacerbates these disparities is that African-Americans,
Hispanics, and Native Americans hold few of the jobs in information technology.
Women hold about 20 percent of these jobs and are receiving fewer than 30 percent of
the computer science degrees. The result is that women and members of the most
oppressed ethnic groups are not eligible for the jobs with the highest salaries at
graduation. Baccalaureate candidates with degrees in computer science were offered
the highest salaries of all new college graduates in 1998 at $44,949.
Do similar disparities exist in schools? (A) More than 90 percent of all schools
in the country are wired with at least one Internet connection. (B) The number of
classrooms with Internet connections differs by the income level of students. Using
the percentage of students who are eligible for free lunches at a school to determine
income level, we see that nearly twice as many of the schools with more affluent
students have wired classrooms as those with high concentrations of low-income
students.(C)
 Access to computers and the Internet will be important in reducing disparities
between groups.(D) It will require greater equality across diverse groups whose
members develop knowledge and skills in computer and information technologies. If
computers and the Internet are to be used to promote equality, they will have to
become accessible to populations that cannot currently afford the equipment which
needs to be updated every three years or so. However, access alone is not enough.
Students will have to be interacting with the technology in authentic settings. As
technology becomes a tool for learning in almost all courses taken by students, it will
be seen as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. If it is used in culturally
relevant ways, all students can benefit from its power.

1. Why does the author mention the telephone in paragraph 2?

A. To demonstrate that even technology like the telephone is not available to all
B. To argue that basic telephone service is a first step to using the Internet
C. To contrast the absence of telephone usage with that of Internet usage
D. To describe the development of communications from telephone to Internet
2. Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted
statement in the passage?
A. Most of the people in the world use the Internet now because the number of
computers has been increasing every year.
B. The number of people who use computers and the Internet is increasing every
year, but most people in the world still do not have connections.
C. The number of computers that can make the Internet available to most of the
people in the world is not increasing fast enough.
B. The Internet is available to most of the people in the world, even though they
don t have their own computer terminals.
3. The word residents in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. homes B. towns C. people D. locations
4. The word eliminate in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. accept B. dispute C. define D. remove
5. Based on information in paragraph 3, which of the following best explains the term
“digital divide?"
A. The number of Internet users in developing nations
B. The disparity in the opportunity to use the Internet
C. Differences in socioeconomic levels among Internet users
D. Segments of the population with Internet access
6. Why does the author give details about the percentages of Internet users in paragraph
3?
A. To prove that there are differences in opportunities among social groups
B. To argue for more Internet connections at all levels of society
C. To suggest that improvements in Internet access are beginning to take place
 D. To explain why many people have Internet connections now
7. According to paragraph 3, which of the following households would be least likely
to have access to the Internet?
A. A household with one parent B. A black household
C. A Hispanic household D. A household with both
parents
8. The word those in the passage refers to
A. classrooms B. students C. schools D. concentrations
9. According to paragraph 4, why are fewer women and minorities emplyed in this
field of
computer technology?
A. They are not admitted to the degree programs
B. They do not possess the educational qualifications
C. They do not have an interest in technology.
D. They prefer training for jobs with higher salaries.
10. What can be inferred from paragraph 6 about Internet access?
A. Better computers need to be designed.
B. Schools should provide newer computers for students.
C. The cost of replacing equipment is a problem.
D. Technology will be more helpful in three years.
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Part 2: Read the following passages and choose the best answer for each for
the questions below. (10 points)
DESERT PLANTS
On the surface, a desert appears to be one of the harshest environments on
Earth yet a remarkable variety of plants have adapted to thrive in this dry
climate. Despite their origins in different locations around the globe, desert
plants have developed similar strategies for surviving in arid environments.
Some plants have adapted in such a way that it is hard to tell them apart, even
though they belong to very different biological families. One evolution of
certain survival strategies, which are shared across geographic and biological
boundaries.
In general, the survival strategies of desert plants can be divided into two
kinds: adaptation for quick use of ephemeral resources ( “maximum variance
behavior”) and adaptation for the best use of poor but more permanent resources
(“minimum variance behavior”). The former strategy involves adaptation to
environmental changes, such as seasonal availability of water. This is observed
in desert annuals and perennials alike. Such plants tend to grow rapidly and
produce many seeds under the right conditions. The patter strategy involves
adaptation to the worst possible conditions, which can be seen in succulents,
true xerophytes, and grasses. These plants usually grow slowly, use water
efficiently, and exhibit passive cooling.
Water scarcity and heat are the key factors limiting the survival of desert
plants. Plants that have adapted to the worst possible conditions have evolved
ways for quickly acquiring and storing water to ensure their survival.
Depending on strategies and physical adaptations, they can be divided into
either succulents or drought-resistant plants. for the most part, succulents have
evolved extensive, shallow root systems to quickly absorb water during brief
periods of heavy rainfall. Water is then stored in the fleshy tissue of their thick
trunks or lobes, as well as in the roots. The cactus is a good example of a
succulent. To retain water, succulents have waxy coatings on their skin and a
modified system of respiration. The stomata (surface pores), through which
the plant takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, open only at night when
temperatures are cooler and less water from the plant will evaporate. Unlike
most other plants, a succulent stores all or most of its chlorophyll, the chemical
essential to photosynthesis, in its stem, skin, or other outer tissues, rather than
concentrating it in the leaves. Doing this places it in a strong, well-watered part
of the plant, rather than in an appendage susceptible to drying out and dropping
off.
Drought-resistant plants, or xerophytes, come in many form including
true xerophytes, deciduous plants, and grasses. Xerophytic shrubs, such as the
five species of creosote bush , are the most abundant type of vegetation in most
arid environments. They are able to withstand desiccation in severe droughts
without dying . Some have evolved small leaves with special coatings to reduce
loss of water through evaporation. Others have replaces leaves with thorns or
spines. While succulent roots form shallow, dense webs, xerophytes tend to
develop deep root networks that pull water out of soil other desert plants
cannot reach. For example, the roots of the mesquite bush, said to have the
deepest root systems among desert plants, can reach depths of up to eighty feet.
Succulents and xerophytes, on one hand, have physically adapted to
gather and retain water to survive long periods of drought. Drought - avoiding
plants, on the other hand, escape unfavorable conditions by perishing. These
include annuals and perennials. Because profuse seed development is crucial to
the survival of most annual species, they tend to produce far more flowers than
other types of desert plants. The desert marigold of the American southwest, for
example, has adapted to seasonal changes in rainfall by growing rapidly,
bursting into a brilliant display of yellow flowers, and then dropping a cascade
of seeds before dying. In some cases, annuals complete their entire life cycle in
a matter of a few weeks or months. Their seeds may remain inactive for up to
ten years while waiting for wetter conditions. Perennials, such as the ocotillo,
may go dormant during dry periods, spring to life when it rains, and then return
to dormancy in a process that may occur up to five times per year.
1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of desert plants?
A. They are hard to see in the harsh desert landscape
B. They have evolved similar features, regardless of geographic origins
C. They have evolved from different families that exchanged survival strategies
D. They all look essentially the same.
2. The word ephemeral in the passage is closest in meaning to ___________.
A. minimal B. yearly C. short- lived D.
abundant
3. The word respiration in the passage is closest in meaning to___________.
A. nutrition B. breathing C. growing D.
coloration
4. Why does the author mention the action of stomata in the passage?
A. to explain how chlorophyll works
B. To emphasize a unique adaptation of succulents
C. To illustrate that cacti have no leaves.
D. To describe the basic parts of a succulent
5. The word desiccation in the passage is closest in meaning to __________.
A. destruction B. growth C. adaptation D. drying
6. The word others in the passage refers to ___________.
A. grasses B. shrubs C. coatings D. leaves
7. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
A. At the same time that xerophytes evolved their thick webs of low-lying
roots, succulents formed thin networks to reach surface water.
B. Both succulents and xerophytes form long, dense networks of roots in order
to reach water within the soil that non-developed plants could not reach.
C. Because of their long roots systems developed to reach water deep within
the soil, xerophytes have become more dominant in desert environments than
succulents
D. In contrast to xerophytes, which produce long root systems to tap water deep
within the soil, succulents develop a thick web of roots just below the soil
surface.
8. According to paragraph 4, thorns on xerophytes____________.
A. are similar to blades of grass.
B. can reach water very far underground
C. are what some plants have instead of leaves
D. help keep the plants from being eaten by animals
9. In what form do drought - avoiding annuals wait for wetter weather?
A. stems B. flowers C. roots D. seeds
10. According to the author, all of the following are associated with plants that
exhibit “minimum variance behavior” EXCEPT
A. slow growth B. modified respiration
C. rapid seed production D. deep root systems