PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11–20

In 1969, a key milestone in space travel was reached when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. In 2001, another landmark event took place when the first civilian traveled into space as a paying tourist.

As a teenager, Dennis Tito dreamed of visiting outer space. He aspired to become an astronaut and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering. However, Tito did not have all the qualities necessary to become a professional astronaut, so instead he worked as a space engineer in one of NASA’s laboratories for five years. Later, he founded his own financial investment company and became a multi-millionaire. Still passionate about space travel, Tito began looking into ways to make a trip into space.

In the early 1990s, the Soviet Space Agency offered tickets for visits to the Mir space station to anyone who could afford them. Tito seized the opportunity for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, due to political and economic changes in the former Soviet Union, Tito’s trip was postponed, and later, Mir was decommissioned. In 2001, Tito’s dream finally came true when he paid a reported $20 million to board a Soyuz rocket delivering supplies to the International Space Station — a joint venture between the space agencies of Japan, Canada, Europe, Russia, and the United States.

In preparation for the trip, Tito trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City in Russia. There, he underwent eight months of physical fitness training, weightless simulations, and other exercises to prepare for space travel. Although Russian officials believed Tito was adequately prepared, NASA disagreed. Dennis Tito had to sign an agreement taking financial responsibility for any equipment he damaged during the trip and was barred from entering U.S.-owned sections of the station unless escorted.

Although Tito made history and paved the way for future space tourism, factors such as cost and the amount of training required stand in the way of space vacations becoming accessible to most people. Still, market data from Japan and North America shows strong public interest. A 1993 survey of 3,030 Japanese found that 80 percent of those under forty wished to visit space at least once, with 70 percent willing to pay up to three months’ salary for the trip. Similarly, a 1995 survey of 1,020 North American households found 60 percent were interested, most under forty. Of these, 45 percent would pay three months’ salary, 18 percent six months’, and 11 percent a full year’s salary. Two-thirds of potential travelers said they would like to go several times. Because this type of travel remains hazardous, it must be limited to those who are physically fit and capable of accepting its risks.

11. According to the passage, what was the main event in 1969?

PASSAGE 3 – Questions 21–30

During the heyday of the railroads, when America’s rail system provided the bulk of the nation’s passenger and freight transportation, various types of railroad cars were in service to handle different tasks. One type of car not available for public use before the Civil War, however, was a sleeping car. Although ideas for sleeping cars abounded, none proved workable. It unfortunately took the death of a president to make the sleeping car a viable reality.

Cabinet-maker George M. Pullman had long recognized the demand for sleeping cars and spent years developing experimental models in the decade before the Civil War. Despite successful test runs on the Chicago and Alton Railroads, he failed to sell his design because his cars were too wide and high for existing stations and bridges. In 1863, after working as a storekeeper in a Colorado mining town, Pullman invested his entire savings of twenty thousand dollars—a huge fortune at that time—into building a luxurious sleeping car named the Pioneer. Pullman and his friend Ben Field built the Pioneer on the site of what is now Chicago Union Station. For two years, however, the Pioneer sat idle on a railroad siding because it could not pass through train stations or under bridges.

Following President Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, Illinois—Lincoln’s home state—sought to transport the presidential casket in the finest fashion possible. The Pullman Pioneer was the most elegant car available. To include it in the funeral train from Springfield to Chicago, the state lowered station platforms and raised bridges to accommodate the car. The Pullman car impressed the funeral party, which included General Ulysses S. Grant, Lincoln’s successor. Grant later requested the Pioneer for his trip from Detroit to Chicago. To fulfill his request, the Michigan Central Railroad modified its line to fit the wide car, and other railroads soon followed. George Pullman went on to found the Pullman Palace Car Company with financier Andrew Carnegie and eventually became a millionaire.

Pullman cars were normally painted dark “Pullman green,” though some carried the host railroad’s colors. Each car bore an individual name but no visible number. In the 1920s, the Pullman Company underwent a series of restructurings that ultimately resulted in a parent firm, Pullman Incorporated, controlling both the Pullman Company (which operated the sleeping cars) and the Pullman–Standard Car Manufacturing Company.

21. Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?

PASSAGE 4 – Questions 31–40

Garbage cans are not magical portals—trash does not disappear when you toss it in a can. Yet, the average American throws away about 1,600 pounds of waste each year. If there are no magic garbage fairies, where does all that trash go? There are four main methods of managing waste: recycling, landfilling, composting, and incinerating. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Recycling is the process of turning waste into new materials. For example, used paper can be turned into paperboard, which can then be used to make book covers. Recycling reduces pollution, saves materials, and lowers energy use. However, some argue that recycling wastes energy, claiming that collecting, processing, and converting waste can use more energy than it saves. Still, most people agree that recycling is better for the planet than landfilling.

Landfilling is the oldest method of waste management. In its simplest form, it involves burying garbage in a hole. Over time, the practice has advanced: garbage is compacted before being buried so more waste can fit in each site, and large liners are installed to prevent toxic liquids from contaminating groundwater. Unfortunately, these liners do not always work, and landfills may pollute nearby water supplies. Moreover, landfills emit unpleasant odors, making it difficult to find new locations for them.

As landfill space decreases, interest in composting grows. Composting involves piling up organic matter such as food waste and allowing it to decompose. The product of this process—compost—can enrich soil and improve crop yields. While composting is easy to do at home or school, it becomes difficult once garbage is mixed, since plastics and other non-organic materials must be removed to avoid soil pollution. Because of the large amount of plastic in household waste, large-scale composting remains challenging.

Another approach is incineration, or burning garbage. There are two main methods: producing a fuel such as methane gas from waste and burning it, or burning the waste directly. The heat generated by incineration can boil water and power steam generators. However, burning waste pollutes the air, and critics worry that incinerators destroy valuable resources that could otherwise be recycled.

Usually, local communities manage waste collection. Once you put your garbage in the bin, its fate is beyond your control—but your choices before disposal still matter. You can choose to recycle, compost, or simply let others handle it. The choice is yours.

31. Which best explains why the author begins the text by talking about magical garbage fairies?