Odd Sentence: Meaning Tests: Coherence

in a Reading Passage

Passage 1
1. There have always been grand theories about suicide and attempted suicide. 2. Not all these 200,000 attempts
involved a serious risk of death, but many of them were a gamble with life and/or death. 3. The French sociologist,
Durkheim, divided suicides into ‘altruistic’ and ‘anomic’ ones. 4. An altruistic suicide is where one dies to save
others or for the good of society. 5. Anomie is far less heroic.

1) Which sentence in the passage is different in meaning?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

E. 5

Passage 2
1. The usual reason youngsters gave for drinking was because it’s fun and because their friends drink, though
nearly one in five of the girls said it helped them overcome shyness. 2. The girls may start drinking because the
pubs are where they find the boys. 3. Then they get to like alcohol for its own sake. 4. It’s the ‘in’ thing for groups
of girls to go on a binge once or twice a week. 5. They look so grown-up that even the most responsible landlord
can’t tell they’re under age.

2) Which sentence in the passage is different in meaning?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

E. 5

Passage 3
1. Within Hong Kong, a number of factors help the development of trade. 2. The average employee works harder
than his counterpart in some other countries. 3. There are highly developed banking, insurance and shipping
systems which help the local manufacturer and exporter. 4. A particular obstacle which local industrialists have to
overcome or learn to live with is the shortage of land and the high price which must be paid for suitable
manufacturing sites. 5. Income tax, too, is more favorable than in some of the countries with which Hong Kong
must compete in the search for overseas markets.
3) Which sentence in the passage is different in meaning?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

E. 5

Passage 4
1. In Siberia, the temperature can fall as low as seventy degrees centigrade below zero. 2. Though parts of the
region are colder than the North Pole itself, the temperature in summer may reach 40°C. 3. The intense cold
makes life immensely difficult and dangerous for anyone unaccustomed to it. 4. When this happens, the topsoil
thaws to a depth of about two meters and can support rich vegetation. 5. The summer days are so long that the
earth stores enough heat to bear a variety of flowers which blossom between the trees.

4) Which sentence in the passage is different in meaning?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

E. 5