TOEFL Junior Practice Test 19 - Reading Comprehension (có giải thích đáp án chi tiết)

Read the notice and answer the questions.

Hello, everyone. Halloween is a very fun night, but in the last few years there have been a lot of problems in Sillsburg. This year, the town has decided to set some new rules.

First of all, no children under the age of twelve are allowed to be out trick-or-treating without an adult. Also, after 11:30 P.M., no one should be on the streets. The police will be taking anyone found outside back to their houses or to the police station. We do not want any trouble this year and the police have promised to watch everything closely.

We thank you for reading this notice. We want this year to be a great Halloween and we hope that everyone respects the new rules we have made. We are also sorry for any planning problems this might cause parents, but that's why we posted this notice so far in advance. 

Read the e-mail and answer the questions.

Hey Sheri,

We need to talk about our science project. It is due in two weeks but we have not even set a time to start it yet. I have Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings available because I have piano lessons on Tuesdays and soccer practice on Fridays. You said Mondays and Wednesdays are OK for you, so let's work those days after school.

After school on Monday, we can work in my room on our fireball project. We can work until almost 7:00 P.M. My family has dinner then. You should ask your mom to pick you up by 6:50. I bought all the materials we need. I need you to pay for your half on Monday.

E-mail me back and tell me if this plan is OK with you. I think our classmates will be shocked to see us hold fire in our hands!

Bye,

Kim

Read the story and answer the questions.

"Today is your first day of school and I want you to look handsome," my mom said as she forced a collared shirt over my head.

"I don't want to wear the blue one. I like the red one. It is more comfortable," I said as I tried to grab my favorite shirt.

"The red one is old and has stains. It is the first day of school, so you have to wear a new shirt."

I hated the way the shirt looked, but she would not be defeated. I didn't like the first day of school because everyone expected you to be dressed up. All I wanted to do was wear my normal clothes.

"Here is your lunch box. I packed you all healthy foods — a sandwich, juice, and two apples. You can share one of the apples if you want, but I don't want you to eat sweets. Don't try and trade with the other kids. I have already told your teachers to watch out, so don't even try," she said.

"Defeated again," I thought to myself. I hated never having sweet things in my lunch box, but my mom never packed them.

When I got to school, my best friend was waiting for me outside the playground. There was a soccer game being started and we hurried to join. We only got to play ten minutes before the bell rang but it was awesome. I scored three goals.

Then I looked down at my shirt. It was torn apart. I had ripped part of it and it was covered in dirt.

"My mom is going to kill me!" I said to my friend. "She told me I had to look neat for my first day of class."

"It's okay. The soccer coach was watching you play and he is definitely going to ask you to try out for the team now. Just tell your mom you had to," my friend said, smiling.

He was right. My mom was mad when she picked me up but she was excited that I got picked for the team. I think that it was a pretty good first day. 

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous presidents ever elected in the United States. He is also one of only two American presidents to ever be assassinated. He was born in 1809 in Kentucky on the western frontier. He worked hard and was considered a very strong man. He was self-educated and eventually became a lawyer in the country region of Kentucky.

After that, he started his career in politics. He was elected to the Illinois Legislature. Lincoln was very outspoken against slavery. In 1860 his anti-slavery campaign won him the Republican nomination for president. He won the election but the American Civil War began shortly after. During the war, Lincoln declared the "Emancipation Proclamation," a speech which introduced the law he is most famous for. This law stated that slavery in America was to be abolished; all slaves were to be freed.

After the North was victorious over the southern states, Lincoln was very happy to finally get to govern his country in relative peace. However, Lincoln's presidency and life would not last much longer. On April 14th, 1865, while attending a play in Washington, D.C., Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. Booth, believing the Civil War was still being fought, assassinated the president to further the cause of the Confederate Army. He was tracked down and killed ten days later by Unionist soldiers. 

Read the passage and answer the questions.

The human heart is responsible for pumping blood through your body. It would be impossible to live without it. That's why heart attacks are so dangerous. Every time a healthy heart beats, it is sending blood throughout the body. The average human heart beats about seventy-two times per minute. Electricity causes the four parts of the heart to work together to create heartbeats.

A heart attack happens when the blood supply cannot get in or out of the heart. Usually, this happens when fat and white blood cells get clogged in an artery. An artery is a pathway to the heart. When blood flow to the heart is stopped, heart cells begin to die. People feel chest pain and sweat when they're having a heart attack. Often they have trouble breathing or begin vomiting.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death all over the world, but there are certain things we can do to prevent them from happening to us. First of all, eating healthy and exercising can stop heart disease. Also, we should not smoke. Smoking increases the chance of having a heart attack. 

Read the passage and answer the questions.

The Civil War happened just as the art of photography was growing. Many people believe that photography had a big effect on the war. People were able to see images of their president, Abraham Lincoln. They were also able to have photographs of their sons, fathers, brothers, and husbands who fought or died in the war.

Not only that, but many photographs of battlefields were shown in galleries in New York and Washington D.C. These photographs made people understand just how terrible the war was. The pictures show piles of dead bodies in empty fields.

Army generals also used photographers as part of their staff. They sent photographers to take pictures of enemy areas and bases. They took pictures of roads, railroads, and bridges so that they could have information about what everything looked like. They wanted to have information so that they could win the war. The war ended in 1865, but we still have the pictures. The photos from the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg are particularly sad. Even today, they make us remember the horrors of war.