SHL Reading Comprehension Test.doc

At garage sales, people sell items they no longer need or use. People clean out their garage and arrange a system, to put merchandise in the best light, price it fairly but reasonably and then decide what to do with the leftovers. Some people have a garage sale every two years, with a specific goal in mind. For example, selling an old lawn mower to buy a new one with the garage sale profits. Some people keep a box in their house with prospective items for the garage sale, to avoid scrounging for items the night before the sale. Which of these is not one of the procedures to prepare for a garage sale?Which of these is not one of the procedures to prepare for a garage sale?a Putting merchandise in the best lightb Price it fairlyc Polish the merchandised Decide what to do with the leftoversAt garage sales, people sell items they no longer need or use. People clean out their garage and arrange a system, to put merchandise in the best light, price it fairly but reasonably and then decide what to do with the leftovers. Some people have a garage sale every two years, with a specific goal in mind. For example, selling an old lawn mower to buy a new one with the garage sale profits. Some people keep a box in their house with prospective items for the garage sale, to avoid scrounging for items the night before the sale. Which of these is not recommended to be done before you have a garage sale?a Clean out the garageb Present merchandise wellc Price merchandise fairlyd Present best merchandise most clearlyPresident Nixon resigned from office in 1974, following slanderous reports and damaging accusations. There was an investigation of his involvement in an attempt to place a listening device in Democratic headquarters. At the time, these headquarters were at the Watergate hotel. Nixon claimed innocence for months. He then submitted a tape-recorded conversation, in which it was clear that he was involved in the crime. New legislation was introduced due to the break-in and President Nixons involvement in the crime. This legislation concerned campaign reform. Positions for special prosecutors of crimes committed by those in political office were also created as a result. What was the purpose of the break-in at Watergate?a To install a listening deviceb To steal Democratic campaign fundsc To generate new legislationsd To ensure prosecutorial positionsOne of the most well-known American literary authors is Henry David Thoreau. His most popular piece of literature was Walden. His inspiration for each composition varies. A boating trip he took with his brother in 1839 was the basis for A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Thoreaus contributions to literature include The Maine Woods, Cape Cod and Excursions, including Walking. His most recent published work was Faith in a Seed, which contains a collection of his natural history compositions including The Dispersion of Seeds. Only A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden were published while he was alive. How many of Thoreaus works were published while he was alive?a 2b 3c 6d 9In passive voice sentence construction, the form of the auxiliary verb, to be, usually precedes the verb then followed by a preposition, usually by. These words add clutter and take away the directness of an action. Without a direct verb, a sentence is often listless. Passive voice can also make a sentence awkward by reversing the who did what to whom relationship. Subject-verb-object is the clearest and most concise sentence construction. Use of passive voice to create formality may come from academic writing and reading. It is the favourite construction for politicians and scientists. The passive voice can be useful when the recipient is more important than the subject or the subject is unknown. In what situation is the use of passive voice justified?a The recipient is unknownb The subject cannot carry the actionc The recipient is more importantd The subject is more importantAcupuncture has been practised by Far Eastern healers since ancient times. It is only in recent years that it has become popular in the West, as its benefits for certain conditions have become recognised. Evidence indicates that people treated with acupuncture have a lower incidence of relapses and side-effects than do people treated with conventional medicine. People who use acupuncture take fewer prescription medicines and use more self-diagnosis treatments. They adopt this approach both to manage illness and to maintain good health.Which of the following does not explain the recent popularity of acupuncture?a Fewer side-effectsb Use in treating some conditionsc Fewer prescription medicinesd Higher chance of relapseAcupuncture has been practised by Far Eastern healers since ancient times. It is only in recent years that it has become popular in the West, as its benefits for certain conditions have become recognised. Evidence indicates that people treated with acupuncture have a lower incidence of relapses and side-effects than do people treated with conventional medicine. People who use acupuncture take fewer prescription medicines and use more self-diagnosis treatments. They adopt this approach both to manage illness and to maintain good health.How likely are people treated with conventional medicine to suffer relapses in comparison to people treated with acupuncture?a Less likelyb More likelyc As likelyd Very likelyRecent developments in medicine have made stress-related back pain a subject of intense interest. A new test has now been developed to assess the chances of people suffering from back pain by measuring stress levels. Respondents reporting high stress levels experience more backache and muscular tension than others. Stress counselling reduces the frequency of these complaints and reported stress levels. People with lower stress levels are less likely to have related back pain. They are also less likely to respond to stress counselling.What does the new test measure?a Stress levelsb Muscular tensionc Back paind The frequency of complaintsAn international protocol on climate change has been approved by the EU, Japan, Canada, and now Russia. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the more serious effects of global warming. Attention is focused on the development of technologies that will give us low-cost renewable energy over the short and longer-term. This will provide the economic incentive to replace fossil fuels in developed and developing countries. This will lead to a low-carbon economy. This is crucial to slow the rate of climate change which can have devastating effects on the flora and fauna of our planet.Where has the protocol on climate change not been sanctioned?a Japanb USAc EUd RussiaIn passive voice sentence construction, the form of the auxiliary verb, to be, usually precedes the verb then followed by a preposition, usually by. These words add clutter and take away the directness of an action. Without a direct verb, a sentence is often listless. Passive voice can also make a sentence awkward by reversing the who did what to whom relationship. Subject-verb-object is the clearest and most concise sentence construction. Use of passive voice to create formality may come from academic writing and reading. It is the favourite construction for politicians and scientists. The passive voice can be useful when the recipient is more important than the subject or the subject is unknown.Which sentence structure is the clearest, most concise sentence construction?a Subject-verb-objectb Verb-object-subjectc Recipient-subject-verbd Recipient-verb-subjectEmission controls in Europe have improved in the last 20 years. The emissions in Austria, Finland and Sweden have dropped by 80 percent. However, more steps need to be taken to reach an acceptable level. The three main acidifying substances are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia. These will decrease by 58 percent, 36 percent and 16 percent respectively, by 2011. Critical loads would still exceed by approximately 75 percent. If pollution reduction became a higher priority and the best emission control techniques were used, further improvements could be made by 2011. Sulphur dioxide emissions could decrease by 90 percent. Nitrogen oxide could also drop by 70 percent and ammonia by 45 percent.Where have emissions not dropped by 80 percent?a Austriab Finlandc Swedend EuropeAlluvium is the sediment carried by rivers. It includes deposits from estuaries, lakes and other freshwater bodies draining into a river. The particles of sediment are generally smaller than 0.02 millimetres. Their size depends on certain factors. These include valley side slopes in the watershed, distance carried and progressive wear on the particles as they move downstream. Alluvium deposits can be found at the mouths of certain rivers. One example is the Mississippi River in the Louisiana Delta of the United States.Approximately how large are sediment particles?a 0.02 mb 0.02 cmc 0.02 mmd 0.03 mmWater, the most common liquid used for cleaning, has a property called surface tension. Molecules in the body of the water are surrounded by other molecules, but at the surface a tension is created as molecules are only surrounded on the waterside. This inhibits the cleaning process, as it slows the wetting of surfaces due to tension causing the water to bead up. This is where water droplets hold their shape and do not spread. For effective cleaning to take place surface tension must be reduced so that water can spread. Surface-active agents, or surfactants, are chemicals which are able to do this.What effect do molecules on the waterside have?a Surfaces become wet fasterb Cleaning is made harderc Cleaning is made easierd They have no effectThe company expects the new service centre, its first in the North, to begin answering queries early next month. It aims to respond to 50,000 calls during its first month of operation. Full capacity will be achieved about two months later. By this time monthly throughput will be about 2 million calls. It will be the companys largest call centre nationwide. The move to open such a large call centre facility stemmed from the availability of labour within the region, low start-up costs and marketing by the local authority to encourage new business, good service and transport links. Demand for customer service locally was also increasing.Before the new service centre, how many service centres did the company have in the North?a Noneb Onec Twod ThreeMost employees are attracted by flexible working arrangements. Many employers now provide flexi-time systems for staff. These systems are popular with employees because of the ability to turn credit hours into flexi-leave. It is always to an employees advantage to take their accrued time off each month that would otherwise be lost if not used. Unfortunately most of these systems are expensive. This sometimes depends on the number of employees within an organisation and the type of system purchased. The cost of purchasing flexi-time computer systems, however, is likely to be offset by improvements to staff morale.What is the reason that employees are attracted to flexi-leave systems?a Taking accrued time offb Increased moralec Low costd They are commonly usedThe Great Depression was initiated by the stock market crash on October 29, 1929. The date is known as Black Tuesday. 24.9 percent of the workforce were unemployed. Many people migrated from their homes to find jobs. Farmers lost their land because farm prices fell to record low levels. An increase of shantytowns known as Hoovervilles came about, since people could not afford their homes. The victims of the drought and dust storms in the Great Plains, who were otherwise known as Okies, left their homes, heading for California, where they believed that food was plentiful.What percentage of people were unemployed in 1939?a Less than 20%b Nearly 25%c Between 25 and 30%d 42.5%Autumn is marked by the changing of the leaves, a temperature drop and the invasion of Asian lady beetles into homes and buildings. To reduce beetle infestation, residents are encouraged to check for loose weather stripping, fill gaps around doors and windows with caulk and to repair screens on sliding doors, windows and vents. Lower temperatures tend to reduce bee