TOEFL Experts Reading Practice 21

 
Reading Section
 
 
This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English. You can skip questions and go back to them later as long as there is time remaining.
 
 
 
 
Now begin the Reading section.
 
Reading Section
 
 
This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English. You can skip questions and go back to them later as long as there is time remaining.
 
 
 
 
Now begin the Reading section.
The Black Death
 
blackdeath_3182858k

  Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is endemic in wild rodents, including rats. When these animals are present in great numbers and density, a “plague reservoir” provides a springboard for epidemics. As the infected rat population dies, their fleas migrate to humans and spread the disease. Such a reservoir has long existed in the central steppes of Asia. Consequently, China, India, and much of the Middle East have long endured epidemics, including the Justinian plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire in 541. However, Europe was spared, at least on a grand scale, for another 800 years.

  In 1346, the central steppes of Asia were part of the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde; a Mongol army besieged the Italian trading outpost in Kaffa, a Black Sea port. The Mongol force suffered from plague, and during the siege the bodies of those dead were catapulted into the town. The following spring, the Italians fled home by ship and brought the plague to Europe. At that time, Europe was exceedingly vulnerable to such an epidemic. Burgeoning medieval trade networks allowed the disease to spread rapidly by ship, up to several hundred kilometers a week. The lack of modern medical knowledge ensured that no effective measures were taken to curb its spread. In 1347, the Adriatic-Italian seaports were infected, and from there the plague followed the sailing routes to Sicily and then Marseilles; after a lull during the winter, when cold temperatures inhibit the flea population, 1348 saw the plague spread to Spain, the rest of France, and then England and northern Europe. From Norway, the trading ships of the Hanseatic League carried it to the Baltic cities and Russia. By the time the epidemic had run its course in 1353, all of Europe had been significantly ravaged.

  While the fragmentary nature of medieval records has hindered scholars, recent research has caused an upward revision in the already horrific estimate of the mortality rate. It is now thought that more than half of the population perished. While some more northern or isolated regions were less afflicted, the Italian cities may have lost as many as 80 percent of their people. All told, perhaps 50 million died, a number comparable with global deaths caused by the Second World War. One of the first acknowledged great books of Western literature, The Decameron, chronicles the impact as it describes the plight of a group of Italian gentry that fled to the countryside in a vain attempt to avoid infection. The cities became cemeteries, in which streets were littered with unburied dead, and houses were abandoned or occupied only by the dying.

  It would be 300 years before the population returned to its 1347 peak. Thus, it is little wonder that this plague, named the Black Death, remains in the human consciousness hundreds of years later, as the disruption of such depopulation greatly affected the development of European society. Some of the changes actually brought unforeseen benefits: the resulting labor shortage raised wages and the standard of living for the surviving peasantry, many of whom then acquired land left vacant by the deaths of the previous owners and tenants. It has also been theorized that this disruption spurred the development of modern capitalism, since labor-intensive feudal organization was no longer practical.

  Other consequences were much darker. The epidemic struck swiftly and terribly; people sickened within days of infection and died within a week. Naturally enough, panic, fear, and anger quickly tore the social fabric apart. As neither government nor religious leaders had any factual understanding of the terrifying malady that had befallen them, these leaders did not oppose the inevitable scapegoating of members of religious or ethnic minorities, beggars, foreigners, or those with disfiguring diseases other than plague. In 1349, authority figures condoned, or even encouraged, the extermination of many Jewish communities in central Europe.

  Today, in developed countries, it is easy to view the plague as a relic of the medieval past, especially since the disease can be treated with modern antibiotics. However, less celebrated outbreaks regularly occurred in Europe into the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, another bubonic plague epidemic killed tens of millions. Much more recently, panic reminiscent of the fourteenth century quickly asserted itself when many quickly succumbed during the Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016.

The Black Death
 
blackdeath_3182858k

  Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is endemic in wild rodents, including rats. When these animals are present in great numbers and density, a “plague reservoir” provides a springboard for epidemics. As the infected rat population dies, their fleas migrate to humans and spread the disease. Such a reservoir has long existed in the central steppes of Asia. Consequently, China, India, and much of the Middle East have long endured epidemics, including the Justinian plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire in 541. However, Europe was spared, at least on a grand scale, for another 800 years.

  In 1346, the central steppes of Asia were part of the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde; a Mongol army besieged the Italian trading outpost in Kaffa, a Black Sea port. The Mongol force suffered from plague, and during the siege the bodies of those dead were catapulted into the town. The following spring, the Italians fled home by ship and brought the plague to Europe. At that time, Europe was exceedingly vulnerable to such an epidemic. Burgeoning medieval trade networks allowed the disease to spread rapidly by ship, up to several hundred kilometers a week. The lack of modern medical knowledge ensured that no effective measures were taken to curb its spread. In 1347, the Adriatic-Italian seaports were infected, and from there the plague followed the sailing routes to Sicily and then Marseilles; after a lull during the winter, when cold temperatures inhibit the flea population, 1348 saw the plague spread to Spain, the rest of France, and then England and northern Europe. From Norway, the trading ships of the Hanseatic League carried it to the Baltic cities and Russia. By the time the epidemic had run its course in 1353, all of Europe had been significantly ravaged.

  While the fragmentary nature of medieval records has hindered scholars, recent research has caused an upward revision in the already horrific estimate of the mortality rate. It is now thought that more than half of the population perished. While some more northern or isolated regions were less afflicted, the Italian cities may have lost as many as 80 percent of their people. All told, perhaps 50 million died, a number comparable with global deaths caused by the Second World War. One of the first acknowledged great books of Western literature, The Decameron, chronicles the impact as it describes the plight of a group of Italian gentry that fled to the countryside in a vain attempt to avoid infection. The cities became cemeteries, in which streets were littered with unburied dead, and houses were abandoned or occupied only by the dying.

  It would be 300 years before the population returned to its 1347 peak. Thus, it is little wonder that this plague, named the Black Death, remains in the human consciousness hundreds of years later, as the disruption of such depopulation greatly affected the development of European society. Some of the changes actually brought unforeseen benefits: the resulting labor shortage raised wages and the standard of living for the surviving peasantry, many of whom then acquired land left vacant by the deaths of the previous owners and tenants. It has also been theorized that this disruption spurred the development of modern capitalism, since labor-intensive feudal organization was no longer practical.

  Other consequences were much darker. The epidemic struck swiftly and terribly; people sickened within days of infection and died within a week. Naturally enough, panic, fear, and anger quickly tore the social fabric apart. As neither government nor religious leaders had any factual understanding of the terrifying malady that had befallen them, these leaders did not oppose the inevitable scapegoating of members of religious or ethnic minorities, beggars, foreigners, or those with disfiguring diseases other than plague. In 1349, authority figures condoned, or even encouraged, the extermination of many Jewish communities in central Europe.

  Today, in developed countries, it is easy to view the plague as a relic of the medieval past, especially since the disease can be treated with modern antibiotics. However, less celebrated outbreaks regularly occurred in Europe into the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, another bubonic plague epidemic killed tens of millions. Much more recently, panic reminiscent of the fourteenth century quickly asserted itself when many quickly succumbed during the Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016.

(P1)  Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is endemic in wild rodents, including rats. When these animals are present in great numbers and density, a “plague reservoir” provides a springboard for epidemics. As the infected rat population dies, their fleas migrate to humans and spread the disease. Such a reservoir has long existed in the central steppes of Asia. Consequently, China, India, and much of the Middle East have long endured epidemics, including the Justinian plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire in 541. However, Europe was spared, at least on a grand scale, for another 800 years.

Q:  According to paragraph 1, humans contract bubonic plague most directly when
A plague reservoir is present nearby
Infected fleas migrate from rats to humans
They live in the central steppes of Asia
They are bitten by rats
(P1)  Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is endemic in wild rodents, including rats. When these animals are present in great numbers and density, a “plague reservoir” provides a springboard for epidemics. As the infected rat population dies, their fleas migrate to humans and spread the disease. Such a reservoir has long existed in the central steppes of Asia. Consequently, China, India, and much of the Middle East have long endured epidemics, including the Justinian plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire in 541. However, Europe was spared, at least on a grand scale, for another 800 years.

Q:  The word “springboard” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Cure
Damper
Foundation
Explanation
(P1)  Bubonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which is endemic in wild rodents, including rats. When these animals are present in great numbers and density, a “plague reservoir” provides a springboard for epidemics. As the infected rat population dies, their fleas migrate to humans and spread the disease. Such a reservoir has long existed in the central steppes of Asia. Consequently, China, India, and much of the Middle East have long endured epidemics, including the Justinian plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire in 541. However, Europe was spared, at least on a grand scale, for another 800 years.

Q:  Paragraph 1 presents a fact and then goes on to
Detail how an epidemic from the Byzantine Empire infected the whole Middle East
Discuss how plague epidemics ultimately reached Europe
Discuss how plague epidemics ultimately reached Europe
Describe how plague is transmitted and cite historical examples
→(P2)   In 1346, the central steppes of Asia were part of the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde; a Mongol army besieged the Italian trading outpost in Kaffa, a Black Sea port. The Mongol force suffered from plague, and during the siege the bodies of those dead were catapulted into the town. The following spring, the Italians fled home by ship and brought the plague to Europe. At that time, Europe was exceedingly vulnerable to such an epidemic. Burgeoning medieval trade networks allowed the disease to spread rapidly by ship, up to several hundred kilometers a week. The lack of modern medical knowledge ensured that no effective measures were taken to curb its spread. In 1347, the Adriatic-Italian seaports were infected, and from there the plague followed the sailing routes to Sicily and then Marseilles; after a lull during the winter, when cold temperatures inhibit the flea population, 1348 saw the plague spread to Spain, the rest of France, and then England and northern Europe. From Norway, the trading ships of the Hanseatic League carried it to the Baltic cities and Russia. By the time the epidemic had run its course in 1353, all of Europe had been significantly ravaged.

Q:  The word “burgeoning” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Flourishing
Unraveling
Dwindling
Branching
→(P2)  In 1346, the central steppes of Asia were part of the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde; a Mongol army besieged the Italian trading outpost in Kaffa, a Black Sea port. The Mongol force suffered from plague, and during the siege the bodies of those dead were catapulted into the town. The following spring, the Italians fled home by ship and brought the plague to Europe. At that time, Europe was exceedingly vulnerable to such an epidemic. Burgeoning medieval trade networks allowed the disease to spread rapidly by ship, up to several hundred kilometers a week. The lack of modern medical knowledge ensured that no effective measures were taken to curb its spread. In 1347, the Adriatic-Italian seaports were infected, and from there the plague followed the sailing routes to Sicily and then Marseilles; after a lull during the winter, when cold temperatures inhibit the flea population, 1348 saw the plague spread to Spain, the rest of France, and then England and northern Europe. From Norway, the trading ships of the Hanseatic League carried it to the Baltic cities and Russia. By the time the epidemic had run its course in 1353, all of Europe had been significantly ravaged.

Q:    Paragraph 2 supports the idea that the spread of the plague throughout Europe was facilitated by which of the following factors?
Ineffective medical countermeasures
Low temperatures in wintertime
The exclusion of plague-ridden corpses from Kaffa
Europe’s proximity to the central steppes of Asia
→(P2)  In 1346, the central steppes of Asia were part of the Mongol Khanate of the Golden Horde; a Mongol army besieged the Italian trading outpost in Kaffa, a Black Sea port. The Mongol force suffered from plague, and during the siege the bodies of those dead were catapulted into the town. The following spring, the Italians fled home by ship and brought the plague to Europe. At that time, Europe was exceedingly vulnerable to such an epidemic. Burgeoning medieval trade networks allowed the disease to spread rapidly by ship, up to several hundred kilometers a week. The lack of modern medical knowledge ensured that no effective measures were taken to curb its spread. In 1347, the Adriatic-Italian seaports were infected, and from there the plague followed the sailing routes to Sicily and then Marseilles; after a lull during the winter, when cold temperatures inhibit the flea population, 1348 saw the plague spread to Spain, the rest of France, and then England and northern Europe. From Norway, the trading ships of the Hanseatic League carried it to the Baltic cities and Russia. By the time the epidemic had run its course in 1353, all of Europe had been significantly ravaged.

Q:  Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 2? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
In 1347, after a winter lull due to inactivated fleas, plague infected Italian seaports and then spread to Sicily, Marseilles, and the rest of France, Spain, England, and northern Europe.
Plague, after landing in Adriatic Italian seaports in 1347, followed sailing routes to Sicily, Marseilles, then Spain, the rest of France, and finally England and northern Europe.
Even with winter briefly inactivating the fleas, plague swept through several European countries within a year of landing in Italian seaports in 1347, following travel routes and spreading north.
After infecting Italian seaports in 1347, plague blazed through cities, islands, and countries of Europe following well-traveled routes, only to be halted by winter, which leveled the flea population.
→(P3)  While the fragmentary nature of medieval records has hindered scholars, recent research has caused an upward revision in the already horrific estimate of the mortality rate. It is now thought that more than half of the population perished. While some more northern or isolated regions were less afflicted, the Italian cities may have lost as many as 80 percent of their people. All told, perhaps 50 million died, a number comparable with global deaths caused by the Second World War. One of the first acknowledged great books of Western literature, The Decameron, chronicles the impact as it describes the plight of a group of Italian gentry that fled to the countryside in a vain attempt to avoid infection. The cities became cemeteries, in which streets were littered with unburied dead, and houses were abandoned or occupied only by the dying.

Q:  The main purpose of paragraph 3 is to
Emphasize and illustrate the decimation of Europe
Explain why German principalities fared better than the Italian cities
Support the claim that The Decameron is a literary classic
Downplay the losses of the Second World War by comparison with those caused by plague
→(P4)  It would be 300 years before the population returned to its 1347 peak. Thus, it is little wonder that this plague, named the Black Death, remains in the human consciousness hundreds of years later, as the disruption of such depopulation greatly affected the development of European society. Some of the changes actually brought unforeseen benefits: the resulting labor shortage raised wages and the standard of living for the surviving peasantry, many of whom then acquired land left vacant by the deaths of the previous owners and tenants. It has also been theorized that this disruption spurred the development of modern capitalism, since labor-intensive feudal organization was no longer practical.

Q:  The word “spurred” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Accompanied
Halted
Affected
Promoted
→(P4)  It would be 300 years before the population returned to its 1347 peak. Thus, it is little wonder that this plague, named the Black Death, remains in the human consciousness hundreds of years later, as the disruption of such depopulation greatly affected the development of European society. Some of the changes actually brought unforeseen benefits: the resulting labor shortage raised wages and the standard of living for the surviving peasantry, many of whom then acquired land left vacant by the deaths of the previous owners and tenants. It has also been theorized that this disruption spurred the development of modern capitalism, since labor-intensive feudal organization was no longer practical.

Q:  According to paragraph 4, which of the following is mentioned as an unexpected benefit of the plague?
Feudalism recovered as a social structure.
Many peasants subsequently acquired real estate.
The epidemic left a lasting impact on human consciousness.
Overcrowded urban areas were reduced in population.
→(P5)  Other consequences were much darker. The epidemic struck swiftly and terribly; people sickened within days of infection and died within a week. Naturally enough, panic, fear, and anger quickly tore the social fabric apart. As neither government nor religious leaders had any factual understanding of the terrifying malady that had befallen them, these leaders did not oppose the inevitable scapegoating of members of religious or ethnic minorities, beggars, foreigners, or those with disfiguring diseases other than plague. In 1349, authority figures condoned, or even encouraged, the extermination of many Jewish communities in central Europe.

Q:  The word disfiguring in the passage is closest in meaning to
Debilitating
Marring
Infectious
Incurable
→(P5)  Other consequences were much darker. The epidemic struck swiftly and terribly; people sickened within days of infection and died within a week. Naturally enough, panic, fear, and anger quickly tore the social fabric apart. As neither government nor religious leaders had any factual understanding of the terrifying malady that had befallen them, these leaders did not oppose the inevitable scapegoating of members of religious or ethnic minorities, beggars, foreigners, or those with disfiguring diseases other than plague. In 1349, authority figures condoned, or even encouraged, the extermination of many Jewish communities in central Europe.

Q:  According to paragraph 5, which of the following is true about government and religious leaders at the time of the Black Death?
Their comprehension of the disease was based on hard facts.
They allowed vulnerable, marginal groups to be victimized.
Their mortality rate was lower than that of ordinary citizens.
They strove to preserve social tranquility and justice.
→(P6)  Today, in developed countries, it is easy to view the plague as a relic of the medieval past, especially since the disease can be treated with modern antibiotics. However, less celebrated outbreaks regularly occurred in Europe into the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, another bubonic plague epidemic killed tens of millions. Much more recently, panic reminiscent of the fourteenth century quickly asserted itself when many quickly succumbed during the Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016.

Q:  The phrase “reminiscent of” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Suspicious of
Sensitive to
Commemorative of
Suggestive of
In paragraph 3 of the passage, there is a missing sentence. The paragraph is repeated below and shows four letters [A], [B], [C], and [D] that indicate where the following sentence could be added.
 
The fictional stories presented therein run the gamut from erotica to tragedy, but most contrast the bucolic countryside to the urban horror.
 
Where would the sentence best fit?

→(P3)  While the fragmentary nature of medieval records has hindered scholars, recent research has caused an upward revision in the already horrific estimate of the mortality rate.[A] It is now thought that more than half of the population perished. While some more northern or isolated regions were less afflicted, the Italian cities may have lost as many as 80 percent of their people.[B] All told, perhaps 50 million died, a number comparable with global deaths caused by the Second World War. [C]One of the first acknowledged great books of Western literature, The Decameron, chronicles the impact as it describes the plight of a group of Italian gentry that fled to the countryside in a vain attempt to avoid infection.[D] The cities became cemeteries, in which streets were littered with unburied dead, and houses were abandoned or occupied only by the dying.
 
Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points

 
  • The Black Death, the outbreak of bubonic plague that ravaged Europe in the fourteenth century, not only caused horrific suffering but also altered the course of social history.
The Black Death inspired the poets and writers of the period, spurring a renaissance of Western literature.
The plague’s devastation created both positive and negative reverberations throughout the social order.
When plague-ridden Italians returned from war, trade networks and medical ignorance enabled the epidemic’s rapid sweep through Europe.
Some areas of Europe, such as Italian cities, were far more afflicted than other areas.
More recent plague outbreaks and parallel epidemics imply that modern society is not immune to similar disruptions.
In medieval European cities, rats were far more numerous than they are today, and their fleas spread the disease to humans.
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