TOEFL Learning

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Hasanuddin University

Plants are subject to attack and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotic

species and have evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the
potential colonists. These can be divided into preformed or passive defense mechanisms
Line and inducible or active systems. Passive plant defense comprises physical and chemical
(5) barriers that prevent entry of pathogens, such as bacteria, or render tissues unpalatable
or toxic to the invader. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by
an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which
either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae. Other
trichomes are sticky and glandular and effectively trap and immobilize insects.

(10) If the physical barriers of the plant are breached, then preformed chemicals may
inhibit or kill the intruder, and plant tissues contain a diverse array of toxic or
potentially toxic substances, such as resins, tannins, glycosides, and alkaloids, many of
which are highly effective deterrents to insects that feed on plants. The success of the
Colorado beetle in infesting potatoes, for example, seems to be correlated with its high
(15) tolerance to alkaloids that normally repel potential pests. Other possible chemical
defenses, while not directly toxic to the parasite, may inhibit some essential step in the
establishment of a parasitic relationship. For example, glycoproteins in plant cell walls
may inactivate enzymes that degrade cell walls. These enzymes are often produced by
bacteria and fungi.

(20) Active plant defense mechanisms are comparable to the immune system of
vertebrate animals, although the cellular and molecular bases are fundamentally
different. Both, however, are triggered in reaction to intrusion, implying that the host
has some means of recognizing the presence of a foreign organism. The most dramatic
example of an inducible plant defense reaction is the hypersensitive response. In the
(25) hypersensitive response, cells undergo rapid necrosis ― that is, they become diseased
and die ― after being penetrated by a parasite ; the parasite itself subsequently ceases to
grow and is therefore restricted to one or a few cells around the entry site. Several
theories have been put forward to explain the bases of hypersensitive resistance.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A) The success of parasites in resisting plant defense mechanisms
(B) Theories on active plant defense mechanisms
(C) How plant defense mechanisms function
(D) How the immune system of animals and the defense mechanisms of plants differ

2. The phrase "subject to" in line 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) susceptible to
(B) classified by
(C) attractive to
(D) strengthened by
3. The word "puncture" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
(A) Pierce
(B) pinch
(C) surround
(D) cover

4. The word "which" in line 13 refers to

(A) tissues
(B) substances
(C) barriers
(D) insects

5. Which of the following substances does the author mention as NOT necessarily being toxic to the
Colorado beetle?
(A) Resins
(B) Tannins
(C) Glycosides
(D) Alkaloids

6. Why does the author mention "glycoproteins" in line 17?

(A) To compare plant defense mechanisms to the immune system of animals
(B) To introduce the discussion of active defense mechanisms in plants
(C) To illustrate how chemicals function in plant defense
(D) To emphasize the importance of physical barriers in plant defense

7. The word "dramatic" in line 23 could best be replaced by

(A) striking
(B) accurate
(C) consistent
(D) appealing

8. Where in the passage dose the author describe an active plant-defense reaction?
(A) Lines 1-3
(B) Lines 4-6
(C) Lines 15-17
(D) Lines 24-27
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(B) many species of organisms that

1. Because the wood of the dogwood tree is very hard,
_____ is used for objects, such as roller skate wheels,
in which hardness is desired.
(A) and
(B) it
(C) what
(D) thus
2. In hot, dry regions, the Sun’s heat causes the outer
layer of rocks _____, a process called exfoliation.
(A) are expanded and peeled away
(B) to expand and peel away
(C) expands and peels away
(D) they expand and peel away
3. The lower _____ in a room, the more slowly our
eyes focus.
(A) the level of lighting
(B) light level
(C) leveling of light
(D) lighting is level
4. _____ Sarah Orne Jewett, a nineteenth-century
writer, read widely in her family’s extensive library.
(A) That she received little education formally
(B) The little formal education that she received
(C) Little formal education that was received by
(D) Although she received little formal education
(C) many species of organisms are
(D) there are many organisms
14. Experiments related to the sense of smell are more
easily _____ than those related to perception of color.
(A) setting them up
(B) to set up
(C) set up
(D) sets up those
15. The Pulitzer Prize has been _____ in American
literature for more than seventy years.
(A) the award most prestigious that
(B) the most prestigious award
(C) a prestigious award that most
(D) most prestigious award
16. Diplomatic negotiations generally take place in
embassies or in the foreign offices of the countries
which in ambassadors are accredited.
17. The novelist Shirley Hazzard is noted for the
insight, poetic style, and sensitive she
demonstrates in her works.
18. Compare with the jagged estuaries of the Atlantic
coast, the Pacific coast seems almost uniformly
straight.

5. In the early twentieth century, the “Model T” 19. Because of its low cholesterol content, margarine
automobile was mass-produced and sold at a price is a widely used substitutefrom butter.
_____ could afford.
(A) the average person who 20 . After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, coffeehouses
(B) that the average person who in the North American colonies became centers
(C) and the average person for gossip, gamble, and political criticism.
(D) the average person
21. Studies by B.F. Skinner indicate that reward
positively reinforces behavior and makes that
11. Not only _____ all the positive charge of an atom, behavior likely more to recur.
it is also the site of the weight of every atom.
(A) does the nucleus hold 22. Mathematical puzzles are common into history
(B) the nucleus holding because they have been used aintelligence tests
(C) the nucleus does hold and amusements.
(D) holds the nucleus
23. Most authorities consider both dreaming while
12. The wind-rippled sand at California’s Kelso Dunes sleep and daydreaming to be forms of fantasy.
resembles _____.
(A) to be an ocean floor 24. Genetic engineering is helping researchers unravel
(B) as an ocean floor the mysteries of previously incurable diseases so
(C) an ocean floor that they can get to its root causes and find cures.
(D)being an ocean floor
25. The Montessori method of education stresses
13. Fossil records indicate _____ existing in the past initiative and self-reliance to permitting pupils to
have become extinct. pursue independently whatever interests them,
(A) that many species of organisms but within disciplined limits.