Reading Comprehension Related

Blood Pressure Regulators The body is composed of systems that have evolved and diversified in order to maintain the natural functions and processes they regulate. One such system that has these regulators is the body’s cardiovascular system. The body’s pump, which regulates the flow of vitally needed oxygen to all cells of the body, as well as the discard of carbon dioxide and other waste products, is the heart. Because blood pressure varies at different points within the body, differing components are needed to keep the body’s blood pressure regulated. Three of the basic components are baroreceptors, chemoreceptors, and the kidneys. Baroreceptors are stretch receptors composed of fine branching nerve endings and are contained along the walls of the arteries near the heart and in other areas of the body as well. Impulses are related to this stretching along the arterial walls, which causes these baroreceptors to send out even more impulses to the heart, arteries, and veins, causing the blood pressure to go either up or down. Chemoreceptors are located along the walls of the arteries and monitor changes in oxygen level, carbon dioxide, and pH. Just think! A fall in oxygen causes receptors to send impulses to raise the blood pressure. The kidneys play a role in regulating blood pressure by absorbing salts and water and removing wastes. Hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex cause the kidney to keep or let go of any salt and water. This has an influence on blood volume and consequently on blood pressure.

What is a major difference in the way baroreceptors and chemoreceptors work from the way the kidneys work?

• A. Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors both work within the walls of the arteries sending out impulses to raise or lower blood pressure, whereas the kidneys help control blood volume.
• B. Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors both work to help maintain blood volume, whereas the kidneys take care of salts, water, and waste removal.
• C. Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors must work together to control blood pressure, whereas the kidneys work with the adrenal cortex.
• D. Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors are both located near the adrenal cortex, whereas the kidneys are located near the heart.

A Bit About Bicycles: Children begin to taste freedom on bicycles. Historians believe that bicycles began around 3500 B.C. in the Middle East although it took 53 centuries before bicycles were fashioned in the way we know them today.
With over 1500 moving parts, bicycles are complex yet simple machines and amazingly the basic design has not changed since the 1880s. A few tweaks have been added, such as gears and hand-operated brakes, but bicycles remain a steady source of exercise and entertainment for both children and adults. Some forms of bicycling are mountain biking and BMX biking which is similar to cross-country motorcycle racing.
In many countries around the world, bicycles are a necessary part of daily existence. Bicycling in China is imperative if you want to go places, due to the vast population in a relatively small area. Bicycles are coming back in high demand all over the world.

In this passage, the word 'taste' means

• A. Perceiving a sensation on the tongue.
• B. Liking.
• C. A sensation caused in the tongue.
• D. The ability to enjoy what is beautiful or harmonious.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease that is passed down through families. It is caused by a defective gene
that makes the body produce abnormally thick and sticky fluid, called mucus. This mucus builds
up in the breathing passages of the lungs and in the pancreas. The buildup of mucus results in
life-threatening lung infections and serious digestion problems. The disease may also affect the
sweat glands and a man's reproductive system. Millions of Americans carry a CF gene, but do
not have symptoms. This is because a person with CF must inherit two defective genes, one from
each parent. About 1 in 29 Caucasian Americans have the CF gene. It is more common among
those of northern or central European descent. Most children with CF are diagnosed by age 2.
For a small number, the disease is not detected until age 18 or older. These children often have a
milder form of the disease.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

• A. To describe the causes of cystic fibrosis
• B. To explain how cystic fibrosis is passed down through families
• C. To overview the causes of CF and how it is carried
• D. To review why some Americans have CF, but others do not

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of
Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draughtsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy
business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a few architectural firms, set up his own architectural office. For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs and ran a thriving architectural
practice of twelve or so draughts men downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with
giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the "Prairie" school - houses with low-pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of "organic
architecture".
By the age of forty-one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities and started his Taliesin Fellowship - a visionary social workshop. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a
two-cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo's Imperial Hotel (1915-22: demolished 1968), and New
York City's Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and
being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially
idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

What is the main focus of the passage?

• A. the development of modern architecture in America
• B. the contributions of the 'Prairie' School to modern architecture
• C. the life and achievements of a famous architect
• D. the influence of the style of 'organic architecture' in America

The Water Cycle
Water is needed to sustain practically all life functions on planet Earth. A single drop of this compound is composed of an oxygen atom that shares its electrons with each of the two hydrogen atoms.
The cycle starts when precipitation, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail, descends from the sky onto the ground. Water that is not absorbed immediately from the precipitation is known as runoff. The runoff flows across the land and collects in groundwater reservoirs, rivers, streams, and oceans.
Evaporation takes place when liquid water changes into water vapor, which is a gas. Water vapor returns to the air from surface water and plants.
Ultimately, condensation happens when this water vapor cools and changes back into droplets of liquid. In fact, the puffy, cotton clouds that we observe are formed by condensation. When the clouds become heavily laden with liquid droplets, precipitation ensues.

Knowing that the cooling of water vapor results in condensation, one could conclude that ______ is a factor in the evaporation process.

• A. Humidity
• B. Heat
• C. Electrons
• D. Runoff