Toefl ibt internet based test 2006 - 2007 part 49 ppsx

households have a telephone, only 42 percent have personal computers at home and 26 percenl have Inlemet access.. Fifty percent of the children in urban households with an income over $7

MODEL TEST nlEADING SECTION 33 1 PART III

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The Challenge of Technology and Equity

Information technology is influencing the way many 01 us live and work

today We use the Inlernet to look and apply lor jobs, shop, conduct research,

make airline reservations, and explore areas 01 Interest We use e-mail and the

Intemelto communicate instantaneously with friends and business associates

around the world Computers are commonplace in homes and the workplace

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IlrittmItJ Only 6 percent of the population in developing countries are

con-nected to telephones Although more than 94 percent of U.S households have

a telephone, only 42 percent have personal computers at home and 26 percenl

have Inlemet access The lack of what most of us would consider a basic

com-munications necessity-the telephone-does not occur Just In developing

nallons On some Native American reservations only 60 percent of the

JiiINlIi have a telephone The move to wireless coonections may j!!iii!iiItI

the need for telephone lines> 001 if does nol remove lhe barrier to equipmenl

costs

~ Who has Internet access? Fifty percent of the children in urban households

with an income over $75,000 have Internet access, compared with 2 percent of

lhe children In low-income, rural households Nearly half of college-educaled

people have Intemel access, compared 10 6 percenl of those with only some

high school educalion Forty percent of households with two parents have

access; 15 percent of lema Ie, single-parent households do Thirty percent of

while households, 11 percent of black households, and 13 percent of Hispanic

households have access Teens and children are the two fastest-growing

seg-ments of Intemet users The digital divide between the populallons who have

access to the Internet and Information technology tools Is based on income,

race, education, household type, and geographic location Only 16 percent of

the rural poor, rural and central city minorities, young householders, and single

-parent lemale hOuseholds are connected

~ Another problem that exacerbates these disparities is that African-Americans,

Hispanics, and Native Americans hold few of the jobs in in/ormation technology

Women hold about 20 percent 01 these jobs and are receiving fewer than 30

percent of the computer science degrees The result is that women and

mem-bers 01 the most oppressed ethnic groups are nol eligible lor the Jobs with the

highest salaries at graduation Baccalaureate candidates with degrees in

com-puter science were offered the highest salaries 0/ all new college graduates In

1998 at S44,949

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Do similar disparities exist in schools? Ilil More than 90 percent of all

schools In the country are wired with at least one Internet connectioo [Ell The

number of classrooms with Internet connections differs by the income level of

students Using the percentage of students who are eligible for free lunches at

schools with lTIOfe affluent students have wired classrooms as 1M with high

of low-Income students, ICl -+ Access to computers and the Internet will be Important In reducing dispari

ties belWeen groups, [DI lt will require greater equality across diverse groups

whose members develop knowledge and skills In computer and Information

technologies If computers and the internet are to be used to promote equality,

they will have to become accessible to populations thai cannol currently afford

the equipment which needs to be updated every three years or so However,

access alone is nol enough Students will have to be interacting with the

tech-nology in authentic settings As technology becomes a tool for learning in

almost all courses taken by students, It will be seen as a means to an end

rather than an end In Itsell If it Is used In culturally relevant ways, all studoots

can benefilfrom its power

40 Why does the author mention the telephone In paragraph 2?

<D To demonstrate that even technology like the telephone Is not available to all

<D To argue that basic telephone service Is a first step to using the tntemet

<D To contrast the absence of telephone usage with that of Internet usage

<D> To describe the development of communications from telephone to Internet

Paragraph 21s marked with an arrow 1 -+1

41 Which of the sentences below besl expresses the Information In the highlighted statement

in the passage? The other choices change the meaning or leave out important information

<D Most of the people in the world use the Internet now because the number 0 1 comput·

ers has been increasing every year

<D The number of people who use computers and the Internet Is Increasing every year,

but most people in the world still do not have connections

<D The number of computers that can make the Internet available to most of the people in

the wofld is not increasing fast enough

<D> The Internet Is available to most oflhe people In the world, even though they don't

have their own computer terminals

42 The word residents in the passage is closest In meaning to

<D homes

<D towns

<D people

<D> locations

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MODEL TEST 4IREADING SEC TION 333

43 The word eliminate in the passage is closest in meaning to

CD accept

(J) dispute

<P define

<1> remove

44 Based on information in paragraph 3, which of the following best explains the term "digital

divide?"

<D The number of Internet users in developing nations

(J) The disparity In the opportunity to use the Internet

<P Differences in socioeconomic levels among Internet users

(JtI Segments oltha population with Internel access

Paragraph 3 is mar1<ed with an arrow [-+)

45 Why does the author give details about the percentages of tnternet users in paragraph 3?

<D To prove that there are differences in opportunities among social groups

CD To argue lor more Internet connections at all levels 01 society

<P To suggeslthatlmprovements in Internet access are beginning 10 take place

<1> To explain why many people have Internet connections now

Paragraph 3 is mar1<ed with an arrow [ +]

46 According to paragraph 3, which of the following households would be least likely to have access to the Internet?

CD A household with one parent

CD A black household

CD A Hispanic househOld

<1> A household with both parents

Paragraph 31s mar1<ed with an arrow [ + ]

47 The word 1bWi§ In the passage relers to

<D classrooms

CD students

CD schools

<1> concentrations

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48 According to paragraph 4, why are fewer women and minorities employed In the field of

o® They are not admitted to the degree programs

CD They do not possess the educational qualifications

CD They do not have an interest in technology

a> They prefer training for jobs with higher salaries

Paragraph 4 is marked with an arrow [ ]

49 The word cooceOlratjoos in the passage is closest in meaning to

o® protections

<l:) conlldence

a> suppan

so What can be inferred from paragraph 6 aboot Internet access?

o® Betler computers need to be designed

<l:) The cost of replacing equipment is a problem

a> Technology will be more helprul in three years

Paragraph 6 is marked with an arrow [ 1

the passage

Thu., the tudent who are mo.t unlikely to have accn at home al.o do not have

aceesa In their school., Inerea.lng the divide between group even further

Where could the sentence best be added?

Cilek on a square (_jto insert the sentence in the passage

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MODEL TEST 41l'1EADING SECTION 335

52 Directions: An introduction for a short summary of the passage appears below Complete the summary by selecting the THAEE answer choices that mention the most important points In the passage Some sentences do not belong In the summary because Ihey express ideas that are not included in the passage 01" are minor points from the passage

This qUB8t1on Is worth 2 po i nts

The availability of technology is unequal throughout the world

•

•

•

Answer Choices

tal Currently, only about 10 percent of all the

schools in the United States are not

wired fOl" Inlemet access

IDl Internet access is limited by education, income, geographic location, race, and the age and marital status 01 the head 01

household

(B] Less aHluent schools have fewer Internet

connections, and minorities as well as

women hold lewer computer science

degrees

ICl Children and teenagers are the two

fastest growing segments 01 the

popula-tion gaining access to the Internet

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Birds Began as Feathered Aaptllas

lEI Computer science graduates can earn

almost $50 ,00 0

!EI Access to the Internet is one way to encourage equality among diverse groups

Birds evolved during the great reptilian radlallon of the Mesozoic era

Amni-otic eggs and scales on the legs are just two of the reptilian features we see in

birds But modem birds look quite different from modem reptiles because 01

their leathers and other distinctive flight equipment

Characteristics 01 Birds

-+ Almost every part 01 a typical bird's anatomy Is iDiiIfIiiIln some way Ihat

enhances lIight The bones have an Internal structure that is honeycombed

making them strong but light The skeleton of a frigate bird, lor instance, has a

wingspan of more than 2 meters but weighs only about 113 grams Another

adaptation reducing the weight of birds is the absence of some organs

Females, for Instance, have only one ovary Also, modern birds are toothtess,

an adaptation that trims the weight of the head Food is not chewed in the

mouth but ground in the gizzard, a digestive organ near the stomach

(Croco-dlles also have giuards, as did some dinosaurs.) The bird's beak, made of

ker-M ", "",,,

alin, has proven 10 be very adaplable during avian evolulJon, laking on a great

variety 01 shapes suitable lor different diets

Birds are endothermic; they use their own metabolic heat to maintain a warm,

constant body temperature Feathers and, in some species, layers of fal pi'll'"

vide insulatiOn that enables birds to retein W metabolically generated heat

An efficient respiratory system and a circulatory system with a lour-chambered

sacs that help dissipate heat and reduce the density 01 the body

For safe flighl, senses, especially vision, must be acute Birds have

are well developed, as are the motor areas; Itlght also requires e)(cellent

coor-dination

With brains proportionately larger than lhose of reptiles and amphibians,

birds generally display very comple)( behavior Avian behavior Is partlC\Jlarly

intricate during breeding season, when birds engage in lIilXliili riluals 01

courtship Because eggs ate shelled when laid, fertilization must be internal

Copulation Involves contact between the males' vents, the openings to their

cloacas Alter eggs are laid, Ihe avian embryo must be kept warm through

-+ A bird's most obvious adaplation lor flight Is its wings Bird wings are airfoils

thai illustrate Ihe same principles of aerodynamics as the wings of an airplane

Providing power for flight birds flap their wings by contractions of large pectoral

(breast) muscles anchored to a keel on the sternum (breastbone) Some birds,

such as eagles and hawks, have wings adapted for soaring on air currents and

flap their wings only occasionally; other birds, Including hummingbirds, must

ffap conlinuously 10 stay aloft In either case, Il ls the shape and arrangement 01

tho loathors thol form Iho wings into nn airfoil Tho Inslost birds oro Iho nppro

-priately named swilts, which can fly 170 kmlhr

remarkable 01 vertebrate adaptations Feathers are made 01 keratin, the same

protein that forms our hair and fingernailS and the scales of reptiles Feathers

later being co-opted as flighl equipment

The evolution of flight required~ alteration in body lorm, ut flight

pro-vides many benelits !AI It enhances hunting and scavenging: many birds

e)(ploit flying insects, an abundant, highly nutritious food resouroo 1m Flight

also provides ready escape from earthbound predators and enables some

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MODEL TEST 4IREA01NG SECTION 337 birds to migrate great distances to utilize different food resources and seasonal

breeding areas ICJ The bird that travels farthest in its annual migration is the

arctic tem, which flies round-trip between the North Pole and South Pole each

year !OJ

-+ Analyses of fossilized skeletons support the hypothesis that the closest

reptilian relatives of birds were the theropods, a group 01 relatively small,

I carnivorous dinosaurs Most researchers that the ancestor

;;,;;~,;;;;;,.,.;;;;.;; birds undoubtedly bring us closer to understanding how these masters 01 the sky evolved from nonflying reptiles

Glossary

brooding: to hatch eggs by sitting on the nest

cloacas: the opening to the reproductive and intestinaltracl

53 According to paragraph 2, how did birds adapllO achieve efficient flight?

eD Their organs became smaJleroverlime

<D Most 01 their weight was distributed in their heads

(l) Teeth were replaced by a beak made 01 keratin

Paragraph 21s marked with an arrow [-+)

54 The word modWed in the passage is closest In meaning to

<D made different

eD made better

<D made smaller

CD> made modem

(D feathers

CD species

<D layers

CD> birds

56 The w()(d elaborate in the passage is opposite in meaning to

<D simple

(I) quiet

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