Read the letter and answer the questions.
Dear Mom,
Dear Mom, I can't figure out how to express myself about my daughter's baptism. Where do I start? You were just so incredible! From getting her outfit ready to wear, complete with a hat and a coat, to bringing tons of delicious double-batch home-made food (and supplies), to serving the guests, to thinking of every detail, ... I can't even keep track of everything you did. On top of it all, you gave an amazingly generous gift and a precious bib. How does someone find the words to thank a person like you?
Mom, please know how much I appreciate everything you did. To say it was so much would be an understatement. You made a special event even more special and memorable, for me and everyone involved. I will always remember my daughter's baptism fondly and won't ever forget your role. Thank you so, so much!!
With love,
Mary
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
How does Mary feel about her Mom's support?
Read the notice and answer the questions.
Thank you, Accenture, for a computer lab and basement transformed!
On February 16th, 2015, volunteers from Accenture came to help beautify our AALEAD Building. Their missions: (1) to paint and build new furniture for the computer lab and (2) to help us clean our basement.
Our computer lab was old, with faded white walls and mismatched furniture. Our basement was filled with junk that had accumulated over several years.
The volunteers worked tirelessly the entire afternoon, taping, painting, hauling junk into our Dumpster, and they stayed long after their scheduled hours with us to finish the tasks!
The efforts of their hard work paid off! We were left with an amazingly vibrant computer lab and a clean basement!
Thank you, Accenture volunteers, for your time and dedication!
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
Read the passage and answer the questions.
I've always loved mythology of all types. The most memorable myths from my childhood were the story of Adam and Eve, which teaches that people will be punished severely for the search for knowledge, and the story of Daedalus and Icarus, in which a father and a son are imprisoned for knowing too much.
Hearing the story of Adam and Eve, I would question everyone around me. If God knew everything, He knew they would disobey. If He loved them, why tempted them? Why was wanting knowledge wrong? I finally decided that you had a choice between a tiny patch of paradise for remaining ignorant or the whole wide world for seeking knowledge. The whole world may contain struggles and strife, but it sounded much less boring.
From Daedalus and Icarus, I learned that you could overcome any obstacle, but you need knowledge tempered by self-control. Daedalus built an escape, but Icarus's lack of self-control was his undoing.
As you can imagine, the lessons I learned from these stories were not the ones my parents, teachers, and clergy wished me to learn. This taught me something else, much more personal. I don't see things exactly the way that others do, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Mythology helped me to see different sides of an argument and to go with what I felt was true. (It also taught me to never speak of religion around my mother or grandmother if I wanted to live a long and happy life!)
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
Read the story and answer the questions.
A man and a woman died in an apparent murder-suicide last night in Altadena. The man was 74-year-old Dominic Vittorio. The woman was his 70-year-old wife, Victoria. The couple had been married for 50 years. In fact, their 50th anniversary occurred just a month ago, according to their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Allen. The couple was childless and had no close friends. Mr. Vittorio was a retired carpenter who had emphysema and was blind in one eye because of a cataract. His wife was a diabetic who had already had one foot amputated because of complications from the disease. Her eyesight was almost completely gone.
"They were such a nice couple," said Mrs. Allen. "I've lived next to them for the last 20 years or so. I'm widowed, and Dom used to always help me with things like changing light bulbs and fixing appliances. They had no kids, but they were always friendly to the neighborhood kids. Every Halloween they handed out tons of candy and fresh fruit. Unfortunately, about eight years ago, Vicky came down with diabetes, and things just haven't been the same for her or Dom. They used to be so friendly and full of life, then they just seemed to get quieter and quieter."
"She used to come over to my place once or twice a week; we would talk about all kinds of things and have the nicest time. Later on, that happened less and less as she got sicker. So I would go over to her house about once a week, and we would talk. However, the conversations steadily got shorter, and she seemed to lose interest in listening and talking. She didn't say it, but you could tell she was in a lot of pain."
Mrs. Allen said she hadn't even talked to either of the Vittorios in almost a year. They never came out. Even food was delivered to them by a local agency. She said she heard two gunshots last night. "It scared me half to death!" She immediately called the police. "Such a sad ending for such nice people," she said. "Together in sickness, but alone in the world."
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
In the second paragraph, the word "they" in bold refers to _____.
Read the story and answer the questions.
"My 10-year-old dog can't even walk up two steps to get into the house," Alicia told her new friend. "I have to carry Prince up those two steps. Late one night, I saw an ad on TV for Young Again Dog Beverage. They showed an old dog trying to get into an armchair. It got only partway into the chair before it slid back down to the floor. They showed another dog trying to catch a Frisbee. The poor dog couldn't even jump off the ground. They showed another dog going for a 'walk', but instead of actually walking, the dog was sitting in a baby carriage that its owner was pushing. These were all the 'before' pictures."
"Then they showed the 'after' pictures - after the animals had drunk the Young Again Dog Beverage for one week. It was a miracle! I couldn't believe my own two eyes! The first dog easily leaped up into the armchair. The second dog leaped almost four feet into the air to catch the Frisbee, and the third dog stood on its hind legs and pushed the family cat in the baby carriage!"
"Well, of course, I was sold! So, I sent in my $19.95 to the address on the TV screen. After it arrived, I put 10 drops into Prince's water dish each day for a week. Nothing happened. So I doubled the dosage for another two weeks, but Prince was still tired and weak."
"I called the company. They asked me what kind of dog I had. I told them that Prince was a mixed breed. They said the TV ad I saw was for purebreds only. They told me to order Young Again Mutt Beverage for $11.95. That was four days ago. I can't wait till it gets here so I can watch Prince run up and down those steps and start chasing cats again, just like the good old days!"
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
In the last paragraph, the word "it" refers to _____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
The panda is a large mammal which is about the same size as a black bear. Giant panda bears have a massive head, a heavy body, a short tail, rounded ears and plantigrade feet (both the heels and toes make contact with the ground when walking in a manner similar to humans). Adult pandas grow to be about 5-6 feet high. They weigh up to 276 pounds, and males weigh 10% to 20% more than females. Giant pandas, with their short claws, are capable of climbing trees very easily and effortlessly.
With few enemies other than people, the lifespan of a wild panda is about 25 years or more. The head of a panda is very large and has developed special molars for chewing plants and other things it likes to eat. It has powerful muscles which extend from the top of its head to the jaws, giving it the ability to crush very tough stalks.
The basic fur color of the giant panda is white with black eye patches, ears, legs, feet, chest, and shoulders. Within its natural environment (pandas live in the deep forest and at upper elevations, snow, and rock), its mottled coloring provides camouflage. There is also speculation that its striking color pattern may be a clear message to other pandas to stay away from one's territory.
The fur of the giant panda is thick and coarse. It consists of a coarse outer layer and very dense, wool-like underfur. To the touch, the fur feels oily. This oily protective coat helps protect pandas from the cool and damp climate in which they live.
The earliest pandas were found in the ice age, about 1 to 3 million years ago. Fossils of pandas have been found in Burma, Vietnam, and China. The closest relative to the giant panda is the red panda or the lesser panda, which exists in India, Nepal, and China. The red panda is rather small, and it lives mostly on trees and eats roots, fruits, nuts, and insects for food. Many scientists classify pandas as raccoons rather than bears. In their natural place of habitat, their main predators are snow leopards, and starvation is also a common occurrence when bamboos are not plentiful.
On average, a panda spends about 14 hours a day looking for food. When pandas are born, they are blind and very small. They weigh from 3 to 4 1/2 ounces, which is about the weight of a chipmunk. They start out with fine white fur and will get the correct colored fur within a month of birth or sometime later. Giant panda cubs start eating bamboo by the time they are 5 to 6 months old and are fully weaned by the time they are 9 months of age. At one year of age, the cubs normally weigh about 75 pounds.
Adult pandas can eat as much of bamboo as they can in hours' time. Occasionally, pandas eat grass, bark, stems, leaves, vines, tree fungus, and some wild roots. Sometimes they also catch or scavenge upon bamboo rats. Giant pandas do not hibernate in the winter. They continue to eat bamboo and thrive in the area.
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior 10 Practice Tests)
According to the passage, what does the author suggest about the color of pandas?