Upper Level ISEE Reading Practice Test 67

1 He is one of the greatest living
2 scientists of this age. In fact, he is perhaps
3 one of the greatest scientists of any age.
4 Yet he owes much of his success not to
5 mathematics or physics or any other science
6 but to a disease. He is Stephen Hawking.
7 Born in 1942, three hundred years after
8 the death of Galileo, Stephen Hawking
9 had an unimpressive start to his scholarly
10 pursuits. At his revered English primary
11 school, St. Albans, he was considered by
12 his teachers a good, but not exceptional,
13 student. It was not evident at the time that
14 he would become internationally acclaimed
15 as a leader in several scientific fields.
16 He continued this moderately successful
17 academic trend at University College in
18 Oxford. Again, his professors thought him
19 to be intelligent, but not extraordinary in
20 his efforts. Both his cleverness and lack
21 of diligence were noticed by some of his
22 instructors.
23 After graduating from Oxford, he
24 continued to Cambridge, another excellent
25 school. Clearly, Hawking was moving
26 forward into a good science career.
27 However, it was at this time that he
28 encountered a life-changing challenge. He
29 was diagnosed with a disease that affects
30 and damages the nervous system. That
31 meant that he was eventually going to lose
32 control of his muscles and spend his life in
33 a wheelchair. Surprisingly though, Hawking
34 credits this event with making his outlook
35 on life strong again. He claims that until
36 then, he was often bored by life. For a man
37 with such a powerful mind, that makes
38 sense. He was talented, but he saw little use
39 for his talent and felt no pressure to work
40 hard. His diagnosis and impending physical
41 problems forced him to start living life to
42 the fullest.
43 Most of Stephen Hawking's
44 contributions to science have come after
45 learning of his disease. His work in the
46 field of physics has influenced the greatest
47 scientists alive. If the technology ever
48 becomes possible, he plans a trip into
49 space with the help of influential friends.
50 Though he now moves only with a special
51 wheelchair and speaks only with the help
52 of a computerized speech enhancer, he still
53 has the ability to contribute to the world. He
54 credits his disease with forcing him to face
55 the limited time available in one lifetime.
56 Stephen Hawking has made a crippling
57 disease the source of one of the greatest
58 scientific careers the world has known.
59 Through his misfortune, he learned to reach
60 his greatest potential.

1. The author's tone is best described as

• A. nostalgic
• B. admiring
• C. pitying
• D. scornful

2. The purpose of the last line of the first paragraph ("He is Stephen Hawking") is to

• A. reveal an answer to a riddle
• B. specify a subject who has already been introduced
• C. answer a question the author asked earlier
• D. name the greatest living scientist

3. Which of the following describes Stephen Hawking's attitude toward his disease?

• A. Actively nonchalant
• B. Bitterly irate
• C. Ironically appreciative
• D. Unreservedly giddy

4. According to the second paragraph, Stephen Hawking was seen by some as

• A. often disrespectful
• B. particularly brilliant
• C. somewhat lazy
• D. uniquely energetic

5. The passage does all of the following EXCEPT

• A. demonstrate a connection between Stephen Hawking's disease and his success as a physicist
• B. describe a goal Hawking hopes to achieve
• C. note particular theories developed by Hawking
• D. set forth educational institutions attended by Hawking

6. The passage can best be described as focusing primarily on

• A. biographical details
• B. medical diagnoses
• C. scientific discoveries
• D. technological advancements