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Practice Exercises 2
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There are five paragraphs below. After each paragraph are two questions about the topic of the paragraph. Read the paragraphs and answer the questions. The correct answers and explanation follow the five paragraphs.

a2A. Thanks to technology, a new kind of toll road is likely to become more popular in the future. The new toll roads will not have toll booths. As the driver approaches the toll road, an overhead sign will indicate the fare. A second sign at the entry to the toll road will contain a tiny electronic device that will record the driver's identification number that is attached to the car's rear-view mirror. The driver's account will then be billed automatically. If a car does not have an identification card, a camera will photograph the car's license number, and a fine will be sent to the violator by mail.

1. As a topic of this paragraph, "Toll roads" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

2. As a topic of this paragraph, "A new kind of toll road" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

b2B. For the past fifty years, the most powerful telescope in the world was the Hale telescope atop Mt. Palomar in rural Southern California. Recently, it was replaced as the most powerful telescope by one installed in Hawaii. Plans are underway for even more powerful telescopes to be built around the globe. By the end of the decade, it is estimated that the Hale telescope will be only the seventh most powerful telescope in the world.

3. As a topic of this paragraph, "Telescopes" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

4. As a topic of this paragraph, "The world's most powerful telescopes" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

c2C. Making a home safe for toddlers requires careful planning. Here are ideas that experts have suggested. Appliances should have child locks so that children can't turn them on. Drawers in the bathroom and kitchen should have special latches that make them impossible for children to open. All medicine and kitchen cleaning products should be stored in locked boxes, such as fishing tackle boxes. Tables or counters with sharp edges should be rounded or fitted with thick vinyl pads. Electrical outlets should be covered with a spring-like mechanism that snaps shut when the outlet is not in use. And gates that are screwed into the wall should be installed at the bottom and top of all flights of stairs.

5. As a topic of this paragraph, "Making a home safe for toddlers" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

6. As a topic of this paragraph, "Covering electrical outlets" is

    a. too general       b. just right        c. too specific

d2D. A centenarian is a person who is at least 100 years old. Centenarians are honored by television shows such as NBC's Today show, where, each day, a person of at least 100 is shown during the weather report. When this practice first started a number of years ago, there were days when no one was honored. Recently, however, the number of centenarians has increased so dramatically that those shown are selected in a random drawing. The last census reported that there were over 35,000 centenarians living in the United States, more than double the number ten years ago. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that within a hundred years, there will be more than one million centenarians in the country.

7. As a topic of this paragraph, "The growing number of centenarians" is

    a. too general        b. just right        c. too specific

8. As a topic of this paragraph, "Honoring centenarians on the Today show" is

    a. too general        b. just right        c. too specific

e2E. Publicists at the Disney Corporation are always on the lookout for natural yet unusual places where the image of Mickey Mouse's head and ears appear. So far there have been some extraordinary sightings of Mickey's silhouette in some remarkable places. A potato found in Nebraska looked just like Mickey. So does a tomato taken from New Jersey. A Texas longhorn cow has the familiar head and ears on its side. So does a pot-bellied pig in Chicago. A Michigan woman recently sent in a photo of her newborn baby's bottom. Clearly visible on the baby's backside is a birthmark that looks just like Mickey.

9. As a topic of this paragraph, "Mickey Mouse" is

    a. too general          b. just right        c. too specific

10. As a topic of this paragraph, "Unusual places where Mickey Mouse's image has been found" is

    a. too general          b. just right        c. too specific

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Last update: 04/07/06