TOEFL reading test 10 with answers

The Origin of the Pacific Island People

The greater Pacific region, traditionally called Oceania, consists of three cultural areas: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Melanesia, in the southwest Pacific, contains the large islands of New Guinea, the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Micronesia, the area north of Melanesia, consists primarily of small scattered islands. Polynesia is the central Pacific area in the great triangle defined by Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. Before the arrival of Europeans, the islands in the two largest cultural areas, Polynesia and Micronesia, together contained a population estimated at 700,000.

Speculation on the origin of these Pacific islanders began as soon as outsiders encountered them, in the absence of solid linguistic, archaeological, and biological data, many fanciful and mutually exclusive theories were devised. Pacific islanders are variously thought to have come from North America, South America, Egypt, Israel, and India, as well as Southeast Asia. [■] Many older theories implicitly deprecated the navigational abilities and overall cultural creativity of the Pacific islanders. [■] For example, British anthropologists G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry assumed that only Egyptians would have been skilled enough to navigate and colonize the Pacific. [■] They inferred that the Egyptians even crossed the Pacific to found the great civilizations of the New World (North and South America). [■] In 1947 Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl drifted on a balsa-log raft westward with the winds and currents across the Pacific from South America to prove his theory that Pacific islanders were Native Americans (also called American Indians). Later Heyerdahl suggested that the Pacific was peopled by three migrations: by Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest of North America drifting to Hawaii, by Peruvians drifting to Easter Island, and by Melanesians. In 1969 he crossed the Atlantic in an Egyptian-style reed boat to prove Egyptian influences in the Americas. Contrary to these theorists, the overwhelming evidence of physical anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology shows that the Pacific islanders came from Southeast Asia and were skilled enough as navigators to sail against the prevailing winds and currents.

The basic cultural requirements for the successful colonization of the Pacific islands include the appropriate boat-building, sailing, and navigation skills to get to the islands in the first place, domesticated plants and gardening skills suited to often marginal conditions, and a varied inventory of fishing implements and techniques. It is now generally believed that these prerequisites originated with peoples speaking Austronesian languages (a group of several hundred related languages) and began to emerge in Southeast Asia by about 5000 B.C.E. The culture of that time, based on archaeology and linguistic reconstruction, is assumed to have had a broad inventory of cultivated plants including taro, yarns, banana, sugarcane, breadfruit, coconut, sago, and rice. Just as important, the culture also possessed the basic foundation for an effective maritime adaptation, including outrigger canoes and a variety of fishing techniques that could be effective for overseas voyaging.

Contrary to the arguments of some that much of the pacific was settled by Polynesians accidentally marooned after being lost and adrift, it seems reasonable that this feat was accomplished by deliberate colonization expeditions that set out fully stocked with food and domesticated plants and animals. Detailed studies of the winds and currents using computer simulations suggest that drifting canoes would have been a most unlikely means of colonizing the Pacific. These expeditions were likely driven by population growth and political dynamics on the home islands, as well as the challenge and excitement of exploring unknown waters. Because all Polynesians, Micronesians, and many Melanesians speak Austronesian languages and grow crops derived from Southeast Asia, all these peoples most certainly derived from that region and not the New World or elsewhere. The undisputed pre-Columbian presence in Oceania of the sweet potato, which is a New World domesticate, has sometimes been used to support Heyerdahl’s “American Indians in the Pacific” theories. However, this is one plant out of a long list of Southeast Asian domesticates. As Patrick Kirch, an American anthropologist, points out, rather than being brought by rafting South Americans, sweet potatoes might just have easily been brought back by returning Polynesian navigators who could have reached the west coast of South America.

Questions:

1. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are true statements about Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia EXCEPT:

A. Collectively, these regions are traditionally known as Oceania.

B. These islands of Micronesia are small and spread out.

C. Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand mark the boundaries of Polynesia.

D. Melanesia is situated to the north of Micronesia.

2. By stating that the theories are “mutually exclusive” the author means that

A. if one of the theories is true, then all the others must be false

B. the differences between the theories are unimportant

C. taken together, the theories cover all possibilities

D. the theories support each other

3. The word “overwhelming” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. powerful

B. favorable

C. current

D. reasonable

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following led some early researchers to believe that the Pacific islanders originally came from Egypt?

A. Egyptians were known to have founded other great civilizations.

B. Sailors from other parts of the world were believed to lack the skills needed to travel across the ocean.

C. Linguistic, archaeological, and biological data connected the islands to Egypt.

D. Egyptian accounts claimed responsibility for colonizing the Pacific as well as the Americas.

5. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about early theories of where the first inhabitants of the Pacific islands came from?

A. They were generally based on solid evidence.

B. They tried to account for the origin of the characteristic features of the languages spoken by Pacific islanders.

C. They assumed that the peoples living in Southeast Asia did not have the skills needed to sail to the Pacific islands.

D. They questioned the ideas of Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry.

6. The word “implements” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. skills

B. tools

C. opportunities

D. practices

7. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 as required for successful colonization of the Pacific islands EXCEPT

A. knowledge of various Austronesian languages

B. a variety of fishing techniques

C. navigational skills

D. knowledge of plant cultivation

8. In paragraph 3, why does the author provide information about the types of crops grown and boats used in Southeast Asia during the period around 5000 B.C.E.?

A. To evaluate the relative importance of agriculture and fishing to early Austronesian peoples

B. To illustrate the effectiveness of archaeological and linguistic methods in discovering details about life in ancient times

C. To contrast living conditions on the continent of Asia with living conditions on the Pacific islands

D. To demonstrate that people from this region had the skills and resources necessary to travel to and survive on the Pacific islands

9. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. Some people have argued that the Pacific was settled by traders who became lost while transporting domesticated plants and animals.

B. The original Polynesian settlers were probably marooned on the islands, but they may have been joined later by carefully prepared colonization expeditions.

C. Although it seems reasonable to believe that colonization expeditions would set out fully stocked, this is contradicted by much of the evidence.

D. The settlement of the Pacific islands was probably intentional and well planned rather than accidental as some people have proposed.

10. The word “undisputed” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. mysterious

B. unexpected

C. acknowledged

D. significant

11. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is NOT an explanation for why a group of people might have wanted to colonize the Pacific islands?

A. As their numbers increased, they needed additional territory.

B. The winds and currents made the islands easy to reach.

C. The political situation at home made emigration desirable.

D. They found exploration challenging and exciting.

12. Why does the author mention the views of “Patrick Kirch"

A. To present evidence in favor of Heyerdahl’s idea about American Indians reaching Oceania

B. To emphasize the familiarity of Pacific islanders with crops from many different regions of the world

C. To indicate that supposed proof for Heyerdahl’s theory has an alternative explanation

D. To demonstrate that some of the same crops were cultivated in both South America and Oceania

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

     Later theories concentrate on journeys in the other direction.

14. Directions: Choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Together, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia make up the region described as the Pacific islands, or Oceania.

A. The first Europeans to reach the area assumed that the islands’ original inhabitants must have drifted to Oceania, perhaps from Egypt or the Americas.

B. It is now believed that the process of colonization required a great deal of skill, determination, and planning and could not have happened by chance.

C. Using linguistic and archaeological evidence, anthropologists have determined that the first Pacific islanders were Austronesian people from Southeast Asia.

D. New evidence suggests that, rather than being isolated, Pacific islanders engaged in trade and social interaction with peoples living in Southeast Asia.

E. Computer simulations of the winds and currents in the Pacific have shown that reaching the Pacific islands was probably much easier than previously thought.

F. Although early colonizers of the islands probably came from agriculture-based societies, they were obliged to adopt an economy based on fishing.

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Answers:

1.D, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.C, 6.B, 7.A, 8.D, 9.D, 10.C, 11.B, 12.C, 13.D, 14.ABC