ISEE Reading Comprehension Practice Test 6

"Sophistication by the reel" is the motto of Peretz Johannes, who selects juvenile films for Saturday viewing at the Museum of the City of New York. Sampling the intellectual climate of the young fans in this city for the past two years has convinced him that many people underestimate the taste level of young New Yorkers. Consequently, a year ago he began to show films ordinarily restricted to art movie distribution. The series proved enormously successful, and in September, when the program commenced for this season, youngsters from the five boroughs filled the theater.

As a student of history, Mr. Johannes has not confined himself to productions given awards in recent years, but has spent many hours among dusty reels ferreting out such pre-war favorites as the silhouette films of Lotte Reiniger that were made in Germany. One program included two films based on children's stories, "The Little Red Lighthouse" and "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." The movies are shown at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., with a short program of stories and a demonstration of toys presented during the intermission.

1. Mr. Johannes found that the children's taste in motion pictures

• A. was more varied than had been thought.
• B. ruled out pictures made before their own day.
• C. was limited to cartoons.
• D. was even poorer than adults had suspected.

2. Admission to the program described is

• A. limited to children in the neighborhood of the museum.
• B. for Manhattan residents only.
• C. available for all the city.
• D. for teenagers only.

3. Mr. Johannes

• A. followed an established policy in planning his programs.
• B. has failed so far to secure a good audience.
• C. limits his programs to the newest award-winning pictures.
• D. evidently is a good judge of children's tastes.

4. Ferreting out a picture is

• A. giving it a trial run.
• B. searching diligently for it.
• C. reviving it.
• D. banning it.

About 86 percent of the total weight of a glass of milk is water. The remaining 14 percent is a combination of nutritious solids suspended in the water. The solids consist of milk sugar, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Milk is a unique food because it meets most of the body's requirements for growth and health. It is especially rich in Vitamins A and B and the minerals calcium and phosphorus, none of which can be easily obtained from other foods. These substances are essential for normal development and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth.

In spite of this, it is fortunate for us that we do not have to live on milk alone, as it does not supply us with the iron we need to prevent anemia. In its natural state, milk also lacks Vitamin D, whose production within the body can be stimulated by sunshine, and the commercial preparation of milk eliminates its Vitamin C. It is therefore necessary to get these essential vitamins and minerals from other food sources.

5. The largest part of milk is

• A. water.
• B. sugar.
• C. vitamins.
• D. minerals.

6. Milk is an especially important food because

• A. it is cheap.
• B. it is easily available.
• C. it contains so much protein.
• D. a number of its nutrients are not easily obtained from other food sources.

7. Milk does not contain

• A. phosphorus.
• B. iron.
• C. fat.
• D. Vitamin A.

8. According to the article, sunshine is important in the production of

• A. Vitamin A.
• B. Vitamin C.
• C. Vitamin D.
• D. calcium.

In August of 1814, when news came that the British were advancing on Washington, three State Department clerks stuffed all records and valuable papers—including the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution—into coarse linen sacks and smuggled them in carts to an unoccupied gristmill on the Virginia side of the Potomac. Later, fearing that a cannon factory nearby might attract a raiding party of the enemy, the clerks procured wagons from neighboring farmers, took the papers 35 miles away to Leesburg, and locked them in an empty house. It was not until the British fleet had left the waters of the Chesapeake that it was considered safe to return the papers to Washington.

On December 26, 1941, the five pages of the Constitution together with the single leaf of the Declaration of Independence were taken from the Library of Congress, where they had been kept for many years and were stored in the vaults of the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Here they "rode out the war" safely during World War II.

Since 1952, visitors to Washington may view these historic documents at the Exhibition Hall of the National Archives. Sealed in bronze and glass cases filled with helium, the documents are protected from touch, light, heat, dust, and moisture. At a moment's notice, they can be lowered into a large safe that is bombproof, shockproof, and fireproof.

9. Before the War of 1812, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were most likely kept in

• A. Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
• B. Fort Knox, Kentucky.
• C. an office of the State Department.
• D. a gristmill in Virginia.

10. Nowadays, these documents are on view in the

• A. National Archives' Exhibition Hall.
• B. Library of Congress.
• C. United States Bullion Depository.
• D. United States Treasury Building.

11. An important reason for the installation of a device to facilitate the quick removal of the documents is most likely the

• A. possibility of a sudden disaster.
• B. increasing number of tourists.
• C. need for more storage space.
• D. lack of respect for the documents.

12. According to the passage, the documents have been removed from Washington at least twice in order to preserve them from

• A. dust, heat, and moisture.
• B. careless handling.
• C. possible war damage.
• D. sale to foreign governments.