The Bible, while mainly a theological document written with the purpose of explaining the nature and moral imperatives of the Christian and Jewish God, is secondarily a book of history and geography. Selected historical materials were included in the text for the purpose of illustrating and underlining the religious teaching of the Bible. Historians and archaeologists have learned to rely upon the amazing accuracy of historical memory in the Bible. The smallest references to persons and places and events contained in the accounts of the Exodus, for instance, or the bibliographies of such Biblical heroes as Abraham and Moses and David, can lead, if properly considered and pursued, to extremely important historical discoveries. The archaeologists' efforts are not directed at "proving" the correctness of the Bible, which is neither necessary nor possible, any more than belief in God can be scientifically demonstrated. The historical clues in the Bible can lead the archaeologists to a knowledge of the civilizations of the ancient world in which the Bible developed and with whose religious concepts and practices the Bible so radically differed. It can be considered as an almost unfailing indicator, revealing to the experts the locations and characteristics of lost cities and civilizations.
1. The main idea of the passage is that ..... .
A) the holy writings of the world's religions can provide valuable geographical information
B) the Bible is primarily a religious document
C) the Bible was intended by its authors to be a record of the history of the ancient world
D) the Bible, though primarily a religious text, is a valuable tool for people interested in history
E) the Bible, while it may present some information about ancient people and their way of life, was in fact intended for Christian and Jewish people only

2. According to the information given in the passage, which of the following is not true?
A) Archaeologists have been trying find proofs for the correctness of the Bible.
B) Archaeologists often make use make of the historical clues given in the Bible.
C) It is not necessary, nor is it possible to prove that the Bible is correct.
D) Belief in God cannot be scientifically demonstrated.
E) Historical clues in the Bible, if they are to be used for scientific purposes, should be studied with great care.
3. Which of the following sentences would be used if a second paragraph were to follow this paragraph about the Bible?
A) Today the Bible is studied and analyzed by many scientists with utmost care.
B) The ancient city of Babylon, mentioned in the Bible, is a good example.
C) This is to say that both Christian and Jewish people believe in the same God.
D) The Bible naturally differs a lot from the teachings of its time.
E) A holy book in origin, the Bible is a useful tool for the archaeologist if it is used properly.

Today is the anniversary of that afternoon in April a year ago that I saw the strange and appealing doll in the window of a toy and stationary shop just around the corner from my office. The plate on the door wrote: Dr. Samuel Amory. I quite clearly remember the day: the first hint of the spring, mixing with the soft-coal smoke from factories, floated across the East River. As I turned the corner on my way to work and came to the shop, I was made once more aware of the poor collection of toys in the dusty window, and I remembered the approaching birthday of a small niece of mine, to whom I was in the habit of sending modest gifts. Therefore, I stopped and examined the window to see if there might be anything I could buy, and looked at the confusing collection of appealing objects. And thus it was that my eyes finally came to rest upon a doll tucked away in one corner, a doll with the strangest, the most charming expression on her face. Due to the shadows and the film through which I was looking, I could not wholly make her out. Yet, I was aware that a tremendous impression had been made upon me as though I had run into a person, as one does sometimes with a stranger, with whose personality one is deeply impressed.

4. The thing which made an impression on the author was ..... .
A) the doll's unusual face
B) the collection of toys
C) a stranger he met at the shop.
D) the resemblance of the doll to his niece
E) the untidy shop-window

5. The story takes place ..... .
A) early summer
B) midsummer
C) early spring
D) late spring
E) early winter

6. The reason why the author went past the shop was that ..... .
A) he was on his way to work
B) he was looking for a present for a niece
C) he wanted to buy some stationery
D) he liked the look in the window
E) he was impressed by a doll

In science the meaning of the word "explain" suffers with civilization's every step in search of reality. Science cannot really explain electricity, magnetism, and gravitation; their effects can be measured and predicted, but of their nature no more is known to the modern scientist than to Thales who first speculated on the electrification of amber. Most contemporary physicists reject the notion that man can ever discover what these mysterious really are. Aristotle, whose natural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years, believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning for self-evident principles. He felt, for example, that it is a self-evident principle that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that objects fall to the ground because that's where they belong, and smoke goes up because that's where it belongs. The goal of Aristotelian science was to explain why things happen. Modern science was born when Galileo began trying to explain how things happen and thus originated the method of controlled experiment which now forms the basis of scientific investigation.

7. The aim of controlled scientific experiment is to ..... .
A) explain why things happen
B) explain how things happen
C) describe self-evident principles
D) support Aristotelian principle
E) prove that everything in the universe has a proper place

8. The principles that most influenced scientific thought for two thousand years were ..... .
A) the speculations of Thales
B) the forces of electricity, magnetism, and gravity
C) Aristotle's natural science
D) Galileo's discoveries
E) the notion of how things are

9. The passage says that until recently scientists disagreed with the idea that ...... .
A) there are mysterious forces in the universe
B) man cannot discover what these forces really are
C) there are self-evident principles
D) we can discover how things behave as they do
E) it is not essential to know how things behave as they do

KEY
1-d 2-a 3-b 4-a 5-c 6-a 7-b 8-c 9-d