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PASSAGE 3

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the

correct answer to each of the questions from 1 to 8.

For many people, mushroom are strange, colorless, incomprehensible plants that should be avoided.

Quaint tales and scary stories surround mushrooms become some are extremely poisonous. In reality,

however, mushrooms are fungi that are simple plants without developed roots, leaves, stems, flowers, or

seeds. They grow in wetlands, grassy meadows, and woods. Certain types of mushrooms are delicious

and are included as ingredients in many recipes and trendy snacks. For example, morels are considered

one of the choicest foods, and truffles, related to morels, are highly prized in Europe. Their shape is tube-

like, and they remain entirely underground, a foot or more below the surface. In the old days, dogs and

pigs were specially trained to hunt them by scent.

Mushrooms stand out among other plants because they have no chlorophyll and cannot generate

their own nourishment. The part of the fungus that rises above the ground is the fruiting body, and the

vegetative part that produces growth is hidden under the ground. It can be usually dug up in the form of

dense, white tangled filaments, which, depending on the food supply and moisture, can live for hundreds

of years. In fact, mushrooms, as well as the rest of the fungus genus species, are one of the few remaining

simple plants that are believed to be among the oldest living organisms. When their environment is not

conductive to growth, filaments stop proliferating and can lie dormant for dozens of years.

Although mushrooms are rich in flavor and texture, they have little food value. Picking mushrooms

requires a thorough knowledge of environments where they are most likely to grow and an ability to tell

between edible and poisonous plants. Most mushrooms thrive in temperatures from 680 to 860 (F) with

plenty of moisture, and nearly complete darkness produces the best crop. The entire mushroom should be

picked, the stem, the cap, and whatever part that is underground. Brightly colored mushroom caps usually

indicate that the plant is not fit for consumption, and the more the mushroom attracts attention, the more

poisonous it is. Mushrooms with beautiful red or orange spotted caps that grow under large trees after a

good rain are particularly poisonous. If milky or white juices seep from a break in the body of plant,

chances are it should not be picked. Old mushrooms with brown caps are also not very safe.

Question 1. The word “quaint” is closest in meaning to

A. convoluted

B. fanciful

C. irritating

D. perfunctory

Question 2. The word “trendy” is closest meaning to

A. tender

B. experimental

C. fashionable

D. trusted

Question 3. With which of the following statements is the author of the passage most likely to agree?

A. In the old days, when the food was scarce, people chose mushrooms as food.

B. Mushrooms should be treated as all other plants.

C. Because they are poisonous, people should stay away from mushrooms.

D. Mushrooms have different forms of roots, stems, and leaves.

Question 4. It can be inferred from the passage that mushrooms multiply mostly by means of

A. moisture

B. fruiting bodies

C. nourishment

D. root systems

Question 5. The word “Their” refers to

A. morels

B. foods

C. truffles

D. morels and truffles