שאלה 1

Urban trees do more than make streets attractive. Their leaves provide shade, which lowers the temperature of nearby surfaces. Trees also absorb some air pollutants and offer shelter to birds and insects. However, planting trees requires planning: species must fit the local climate, and their roots need enough space to grow. Cities that neglect these conditions may spend more on maintenance and achieve fewer environmental benefits.

What is the main idea of the passage?

1. Trees should never be planted in cities.
2. Urban trees are useful but require careful planning.
3. All cities have identical climates.
4. Tree roots are more important than leaves.

התשובה: Urban trees are useful but require careful planning.

שאלה 2

According to the passage, shade from trees can help to…

1. increase local air pollution
2. eliminate all insects
3. prevent all maintenance
4. lower the temperature of nearby surfaces

התשובה: lower the temperature of nearby surfaces

שאלה 3

The word “neglect” most nearly means…

1. measure accurately
2. openly celebrate
3. carefully improve
4. fail to pay attention to

התשובה: fail to pay attention to

שאלה 4

Which condition is important when planting urban trees?

1. The climate is irrelevant.
2. All trees must be the same species.
3. Roots must have sufficient growing space.
4. Birds must be removed.

התשובה: Roots must have sufficient growing space.

שאלה 5

Which conclusion about an urban tree project is best supported by the passage?

1. Its success depends partly on choosing suitable trees and giving their roots enough space.
2. Any tree species will provide equal benefits in every city.
3. A project can avoid all maintenance simply by planting more trees.
4. The only purpose of urban trees is to improve appearance.

התשובה: Its success depends partly on choosing suitable trees and giving their roots enough space.

שאלה 6

For many years, scientists assumed that sleep was a passive state. Research now shows that the brain remains active during sleep and performs important functions. Some studies suggest that sleep supports memory by strengthening useful connections between nerve cells. However, researchers still debate the exact mechanisms. Useful findings about sleep can therefore coexist with uncertainty about exactly how its benefits arise.

What changed in scientists’ understanding of sleep?

1. Sleep is now seen as involving important brain activity.
2. Sleep is unrelated to memory.
3. Sleep has become less common.
4. Sleep was discovered to stop brain activity entirely.

התשובה: Sleep is now seen as involving important brain activity.

שאלה 7

According to some studies, sleep may support memory by…

1. blocking learning
2. reducing all brain activity
3. removing all nerve cells
4. strengthening useful neural connections

התשובה: strengthening useful neural connections

שאלה 8

Which issue remains debated?

1. The meaning of consistent
2. Whether people sleep at night
3. The exact mechanisms linking sleep and memory
4. Whether the brain exists

התשובה: The exact mechanisms linking sleep and memory

שאלה 9

What is the purpose of the final sentence?

1. To show that useful findings can exist alongside unresolved questions.
2. To claim that all sleep research has ended.
3. To reject the possibility of a link between sleep and memory.
4. To describe a new laboratory instrument.

התשובה: To show that useful findings can exist alongside unresolved questions.

שאלה 10

The tone of the second passage is best described as…

1. angry and accusatory
2. humorous and fictional
3. completely dismissive
4. balanced and informative

התשובה: balanced and informative

שאלה 11

A city introduced a congestion charge and reported a decline in traffic during the following year. Officials attributed the entire decline to the charge. However, a large employer had also moved out of the city during that period, and fuel prices had risen. To evaluate the charge more reliably, researchers compared the city with similar cities that had experienced changes in fuel prices but had not introduced a charge. This comparison cannot remove every possible source of bias, but it is more informative than looking at a single city before and after the policy.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

1. To describe how cars are manufactured.
2. To argue that employers should remain in cities.
3. To prove that congestion charges never work.
4. To explain why assessing a policy requires considering alternative explanations.

התשובה: To explain why assessing a policy requires considering alternative explanations.

שאלה 12

Which factor could also explain the decline in traffic?

1. The removal of all public transport.
2. A major employer leaving the city.
3. A decrease in fuel prices.
4. The opening of more offices.

התשובה: A major employer leaving the city.

שאלה 13

Why did researchers use similar cities without a charge?

1. To avoid collecting any data.
2. To make fuel prices rise.
3. To obtain a comparison that helps separate possible causes.
4. To prove all cities are identical.

התשובה: To obtain a comparison that helps separate possible causes.

שאלה 14

What does the final sentence acknowledge?

1. The comparison is useful but still has limitations.
2. The original officials were certainly correct.
3. No research on traffic is possible.
4. The comparison eliminates all bias.

התשובה: The comparison is useful but still has limitations.

שאלה 15

The word “attributed” most nearly means…

1. measured
2. ascribed
3. reduced
4. prevented

התשובה: ascribed

שאלה 16

A small museum began putting photographs of its objects online so that people who could not visit could still study the collection. Volunteers copied information from handwritten labels into a searchable catalogue. Because some labels were faded or incomplete, volunteers marked uncertain entries instead of guessing. Curators then checked these records before publishing them. The museum also described the online catalogue as provisional: dates and descriptions could change when new evidence emerged. Researchers welcomed the wider access, but the museum stressed that photographs did not preserve every feature of an object. A picture might show a pattern clearly while hiding its texture or exact size. The project therefore widened access to the collection without making visits to the physical museum unnecessary.

What is the main idea of the passage?

1. Museums should stop allowing people to visit their buildings.
2. Digital access can make a collection easier to study, but careful checking and physical inspection still matter.
3. Online photographs reveal every feature of a museum object.
4. Volunteers should replace all museum curators.

התשובה: Digital access can make a collection easier to study, but careful checking and physical inspection still matter.

שאלה 17

Why did volunteers mark some catalogue entries as uncertain?

1. The museum wanted to hide the collection from researchers.
2. Some handwritten labels could not provide clear and complete information.
3. The volunteers had been told to invent new dates.
4. Every object had lost its label entirely.

התשובה: Some handwritten labels could not provide clear and complete information.

שאלה 18

What does “these records” refer to?

1. The researchers’ travel plans.
2. The uncertain catalogue entries made from handwritten labels.
3. Photographs taken by visitors after publication.
4. The museum’s financial accounts.

התשובה: The uncertain catalogue entries made from handwritten labels.

שאלה 19

In the passage, “provisional” most nearly means…

1. unrelated to evidence
2. subject to later revision
3. permanently complete
4. unavailable to readers

התשובה: subject to later revision

שאלה 20

Which researcher would most clearly benefit from examining an object in person?

1. One who only wants to view a clearly photographed pattern.
2. One who wants to know whether the museum has an online catalogue.
3. One who needs to examine a surface texture that is not visible in the photograph.
4. One who needs to read an already verified catalogue date.

התשובה: One who needs to examine a surface texture that is not visible in the photograph.

שאלה 21

Citizen-science projects invite members of the public to collect information for research. A bird-monitoring project, for example, may receive thousands of observations from volunteers across a country. The large number of reports can reveal seasonal patterns that a small research team could not document alone. Yet more data do not automatically produce an unbiased picture. Volunteers tend to visit places that are easy to reach, and experienced birdwatchers may report rare species more accurately than beginners. Researchers therefore use statistical methods, training materials, and repeated observations to reduce these differences. Citizen science can greatly expand the scale of research, but its results are strongest when the way the data were collected is considered during analysis.

What is the main idea of the citizen-science passage?

1. Volunteer data are always more accurate than professional research.
2. Citizen science can broaden research, but collection patterns must be considered when interpreting the data.
3. Only expert birdwatchers should be allowed to report observations.
4. Large datasets completely remove bias.

התשובה: Citizen science can broaden research, but collection patterns must be considered when interpreting the data.

שאלה 22

Why does the passage mention places that are easy to reach?

1. To recommend that researchers study only urban parks.
2. To show that rare birds live only near roads.
3. To argue that volunteers should never travel.
4. To explain one reason volunteer observations may not represent all locations equally.

התשובה: To explain one reason volunteer observations may not represent all locations equally.

שאלה 23

The word “unbiased” most nearly means…

1. limited to rare species
2. impossible to analyze
3. free from systematic distortion
4. collected by beginners

התשובה: free from systematic distortion

שאלה 24

Which action is described as helping researchers reduce differences among volunteer reports?

1. Visiting only the easiest sites
2. Ignoring repeated observations
3. Using training materials and statistical methods
4. Removing all beginner observations

התשובה: Using training materials and statistical methods

שאלה 25

What can be inferred about a very large citizen-science dataset?

1. Its size alone does not guarantee that it represents the population perfectly.
2. It cannot reveal seasonal patterns.
3. It is useful only when all volunteers are professionals.
4. It is always less informative than a small laboratory study.

התשובה: Its size alone does not guarantee that it represents the population perfectly.

שאלה 26

Seed banks store seeds from many plant varieties so that genetic diversity is not lost when crops or wild populations decline. Some seed banks keep duplicate samples at distant facilities. This redundancy may appear inefficient, but it protects collections from fires, equipment failures, wars, or natural disasters at a single site. Storage alone, however, is not enough. Seeds gradually lose their ability to grow, so staff periodically test them and plant fresh generations when necessary. Banks must also record where each sample came from and under what conditions it was collected. Without reliable records, a preserved seed may have limited scientific value. The purpose of a seed bank is therefore not merely to keep seeds cold, but to preserve usable, well-documented biological material for the future.

What is the main purpose of the seed-bank passage?

1. To argue that every seed should be stored at one central facility.
2. To show that frozen seeds never lose their ability to grow.
3. To compare the prices of different crops.
4. To explain why preserving seeds requires both safe storage and careful long-term management.

התשובה: To explain why preserving seeds requires both safe storage and careful long-term management.

שאלה 27

Why are duplicate samples sometimes kept at distant facilities?

1. To avoid recording where samples came from.
2. To ensure all samples experience identical weather.
3. To make the same disaster less likely to destroy every copy.
4. To make seeds grow faster.

התשובה: To make the same disaster less likely to destroy every copy.

שאלה 28

In this passage, “redundancy” refers to…

1. testing the same seed every day
2. keeping additional copies as protection against loss
3. removing duplicate scientific records
4. storing seeds without labels

התשובה: keeping additional copies as protection against loss

שאלה 29

Why do staff periodically grow fresh generations of stored seeds?

1. Because stored seeds can gradually lose viability.
2. Because records are never useful.
3. Because every sample must be sold.
4. Because cold storage causes immediate growth.

התשובה: Because stored seeds can gradually lose viability.

שאלה 30

Which statement best reflects the author's view of documentation?

1. It is optional once a seed is kept cold.
2. It matters only for commercial crops.
3. It should be replaced by photographs.
4. It is essential because a seed with unknown origin may have limited scientific value.

התשובה: It is essential because a seed with unknown origin may have limited scientific value.