DIAGNOSTIC PRE-TEST

SECTION 2
STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION
Time—25 minutes
(Including the reading of the directions)
Now set your clock for 25 minutes.

This section is designed to measure your ability to recognize language that is appropriate for
standard written English. There are two types of questions in this section, with special direction
for each type.

Structure

Directions: these questions are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see four
words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Choose the one word or phrase that best
completes the sentences. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill
in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

Look at the following examples.

Example 1 Sample Answer

The president _________ the election by a landslide

B C D
(A) won
(B) he won
(C) yesterday
(D) fortunately

The sentence should read, “The president won the election by a

landslide.” Therefore, you should choose answer (A).

Example II Sample Answer

When ________ the conference?

A C D
(A) the doctor attended
(B) did the doctor attend
(C) the doctor will attend
(D) the doctor’s attendance

The sentence should read, “When did the doctor attend the
conference?” Therefore, you should choose answer (B).
1. The North Pole _____ a latitude of 6. Experiments _____ represents a
90 degrees north. giant step into the medicine of the
future.
(A) has (A) using gene therapy
(B) is having (B) use gene therapy
(C) which is having (C) they use
(D) it has (D) gene therapy uses

2. _____ greyhound, can achieve 7. _____ off the Hawaiian coastline

speeds up to thirty-six miles per are living, others are dead.
hour.
(A) Coral reefs
(A) The (B) Some types of coral reefs
(B) The fastest (C) There are many types of coral
(C) The fastest dog reefs
(D) The fastest dog, the (D) While some types of coral
reefs
3. The Mayflower was bound for
Virginia, but a hurricane _____ off 8. People who reverse the letters of
course. words _____ to read suffer from
dyslexia.
(A) blew it
(B) to blow it (A) if they tried
(C) it blew (B) when trying
(D) blowing it (C) when tried
(D) if he tries
4. The greenhouse effect occurs _____
heat radiating from the sun. 9. Featured at the Henry Ford Museum
_____ of antique cars dating from
(A) when does the Earth’s 1865.
atmosphere trap
(B) does the Earth’s atmosphere (A) an exhibit is
trap (B) an exhibit
(C) when the Earth’s atmosphere (C) is an exhibit
traps (D) which is an exhibit
(D) the Earth’s atmosphere traps
10. Rubber _____ from vulcanized
5. The Rose Bowl, _____ place on silicones with a high molecular
New Year’s Day, is the oldest weight is difficult to distinguish
postseason collegiate football game from natural rubber.
in the United States.
(A) is produced
(A) takes (B) producing
(B) which takes (C) that produces
(C) it takes (D) produced
(D) took
11. _____ in scope, romanticism was a 14. _____ appears considerably larger
reaction against neoclassical at the horizon than it does overhead
principles. is merely an optical illusion.

(A) Mainly literary (A) The Moon

(B) It was mainly literary (B) That the Moon
(C) The main literature was (C) When the Moon
(D) The literature was mainly (D) The Moon which

12. The Central Intelligence Agency 15. According to the World Health
(CIA) _____ came about as a result Organization, _____ there to be an
of the National Security Act of outbreak of any of the six most
1947. dangerous diseases, this could be
cause for quarantine.
(A) what
(B) it was (A) were
(C) was what (B) they were
(D) it was what (C) there were
(D) were they
13. Oil shale is a soft, fine-grained
sedimentary rock _____ oil and
natural gas are obtained.

(A) from
(B) is from
(C) is which
(D) from which
 Written Expression

Directions: In these questions, each sentence has four underlined word or phrases. The four
underlined parts of the sentences are marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Identify the one underlined
word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct. Then, on your
answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter
of the answer you have chosen.

Look at the following examples.

Example 1 Sample Answer

The four string on a violin are tuned in fifhts.

A C D
A B C D

The sentence should read, “The four strings on a violin are tuned in fifths.” Therefore, you
should choose answer (B).

Example II Sample Answer

The research for the book Roots taking Alex Haley twelve years.
A B D
A B C D

The sentence should read, “The research for the book Roots took Alex Haley twelve years.”
Therefore, you should choose answer (C).
16. Segregation in public schools was declare unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in
A B C D
1954.

17. Sirius, the Dog Star, is the most brightest star in the sky with an absolute magnitude
A B
about twenty-three times that of the Sun.
C D

18. Killer whales tend to wander in family clusters that hunt, play, and resting together.
A B C D

19. Some of the most useful resistor material are carbon, metals, and metallic alloys.
A B C D

20. The community of Bethesda, Maryland, was previous known as Darcy’s Store.
A B C D

21. J. H. Pratt used group therapy early in the past century when he brought tuberculosis
A B C
patients together to discuss its disease.
D

22. Alloys of gold and copper have been widely using in various types of coins.
A B C D

23. The United States has import all carpet wools in recent years because domestic wools
A B C
are too fine and soft for carpets.
D

24. Banks are rushing to merge because consolidations enable them to slash theirs costs
A B C
and expand.
D

25. Very high specific heat means that, without a large temperature change,
A B
water can add or lose a large number of heat.
C D

26. Benny Goodman was equally talented as both a jazz performance as well as a classical
A B C
musician.
D

27. No longer satisfied with the emphasis of the Denishwan School, Martha Graham is
A B C
moving to the staff of the Eastman School in 1925.
D
28. Irving Berlin wrote “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” while serving in a U.S.
A B C
Army during World War I.
D

29. Shortly before the Allied invasion of Normandy, Ernest Hemingway has gone to
A B C
London as a war correspondent for Collier’s.
D

30. During the 1960s, the Berkeley campus of the University of California came to national
A
attention as a result its radical political activity.
B C D

31. Because of the flourish with which John Hancock signed the Declaration of
A
Independence, his name become synonymous with signature.
B C D

32. On the floor of the Pacific Ocean is hundreds of flat-topped mountains more than a mile
A B C D
beneath sea level.

33. William Hart was an act best known for his role as western heros in silent films.
A B C D

34. Prior to an extermination program early in the last century, alive wolves roamed across
A B C
nearly all of North America.
D

35. The state seal still used in Massachusetts designed by Paul Revere, who also designed
A B C
the first Continental currency.
D

36. Artist Gutzon Borglum designed the Mount Rushmore Memorial and worked on project
A B
from 1925 until his death in 1941.
C D

37. It is proving less costly and more profitably for drugmakers to market directly to
A B C D
patients.

38. Sapphires weighing as much as two pounds have on occasion mined.

A B C D
39. Like snakes, lizards can be found on all other continents except Antartica.
A B C D

40. Banks, saving and loans, and finance companies have recently been doing home equity
A B
loans with greater frequency than ever before.
C D

This is the end of the Structure and Written Expression Pre-Test.