Reading 03 - 05

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5 10 15	Every drop of water in the ocean, even in the deepest parts, responds to the forces  that create the tides. No other force that affects the sea is so strong. Compared with the  tides, the waves created by the wind are surface movements felt no more than a  Line hundred fathoms below the surface. The currents also seldom involve more than the upper several hundred fathoms despite their impressive sweep.      The tides are a response of the waters of the ocean to the pull of the Moon and the  more distant Sun. In theory, there is a gravitational attraction between the water and  even the outermost star of the universe. In reality, however, the pull of remote stars is  so slight as to be obliterated by the control of the Moon and, to a lesser extent, the Sun. Just as the Moon rises later each day by fifty minutes, on the average, so, in most  places, the time of high tide is correspondingly later each day. And as the Moon waxes  and wanes in its monthly cycle, so the height of the tide varies. The tidal movements  are strongest when the Moon is a sliver in the sky, and when it is full. These are the  highest flood tides and the lowest ebb tides of the lunar month and are called the spring tides. At these times the Sun, Moon, and Earth are nearly in line and the pull of the two  heavenly bodies is added together to bring the water high on the beaches, to send its  surf upward against the sea cliffs, and to draw a high tide into the harbors. Twice each  month, at the quarters of the Moon, when the Sun, Moon, and Earth lie at the apexes of  a triangular configuration and the pull of the Sun and Moon are opposed, the moderate tidal movements called neap tides occur. Then the difference between high and low  water is less than at any other time during the month.
41. What is the main point of the first paragraph? (A) The waves created by ocean currents are very large. (B) Despite the strength of the wind, it only moves surface water. (C) Deep ocean water is seldom affected by forces that move water. (D) The tides are the most powerful force to affect the movement of ocean water. 42. The word "felt" in line 3 is closest in meaning to (A) based (B) dropped (C) detected (D) explored 43. The words "In reality" in line 8 are closest in meaning to (A) surprisingly (B) actually (C) characteristically (D) similarly 44. It can be inferred from the passage that the most important factor in determining how much gravitational effect one object in space has on the tides is (A) size (B) distance (C) temperature (D) density 45. The word "correspondingly" in line 11 is closest in meaning to (A) unpredictably (B) interestingly (C) similarly (D) unusually 46. What is the cause of spring tides? (A) Seasonal change in the weather (B) The gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon when nearly in line with the Earth (C) The Earth's movement around the Sun (D) The triangular arrangement of the Earth, Sun, and Moon 47. Which of the following pictures best represents the position of the Sun, Moon, and Earth during spring tides? 48. The word "configuration" in line 19 is closest in meaning to (A) unit (B) center (C) surface (D) arrangement 49. Neap tides occur when (A) the Sun counteracts the Moon's gravitational attraction (B) the Moon is full (C) the Moon is farthest from the Sun (D) waves created by the wind combine with the Moon's gravitational attraction 50. According to the passage, all of the following statements about tides are true EXCEPT: (A) The time of high tide is later each day. (B) Tides have a greater effect on the sea than waves do. (C) The strongest tides occur at the quarters of the Moon. (D) Neap tides are more moderate than spring tides.
41. D 42. C 43. B 44. B 45. C 46. B 47. D 48. D 49. A 50. C