DET Interactive Reading Practice
Try these practice questions:
Examples
Example 11
Passage: The ants climbing upward display remarkable eagerness, sometimes pausing to consult their companions about what is happening above and then resuming their climb with renewed determination when they hear good news. In contrast, the ants descending move in a leisurely manner, taking short steps and stopping frequently to rest or offer advice. The difference in their behavior becomes clear when you notice that the descending ants are noticeably heavy and deformed from a recent feast, while the asce...
Example 12
Passage: The picture represents a locomotive. The boiler, also known as the boiling pot, is the largest component where steam is generated. It is a large cylindrical structure that extends from one end to the other and rests on six wheels. It is constructed with solid iron plates that are securely fastened with large rivets. At the front, the boiler ends in a smokestack, while at the back it connects to a furnace with an open door. A man known as the stoker continuously shovels pit-coal into the furnace ...
Example 13
Passage: Imagine a plant louse that has just settled on the tender shoot of a rosebush. It is completely alone. A few days later, young plant lice gather around it as its offspring. How many are there? One might guess ten, twenty, or even a hundred. For the sake of discussion, let us say there are ten. But is this number sufficient to ensure the preservation of the species?
Example 14
Passage: Inside the mountains where copper is located, workers excavate deep tunnels. Miners, using lamps to guide them, strike the rock with heavy picks, while others remove the broken blocks from the tunnels. These chunks of stone that contain copper are known as ore. The ore is then heated to a very high temperature in special furnaces. The heat in these furnaces far exceeds that of a red-hot stove. At this temperature, the copper melts and separates from the remaining material. Then, water-powered ha...
Example 15
Passage: Tin and lead easily melt and can liquefy with the moderate heat of a home hearth. In contrast, zinc melts at a low temperature, but silver, copper, gold, and especially iron require much higher temperatures. Iron is particularly heat-resistant, a quality that makes it highly valued. Common tools such as shovels, tongs, grates, and stoves are made of iron because it remains solid even when exposed to fire. These iron objects do not melt or soften despite frequent contact with heat. However, to sh...
Example 16
Passage: On June 21, many regions experience the longest day and the shortest night, with the sun visible for 16 hours and hidden for 8 hours. Further north, the day becomes longer and the night shorter. In some countries, the sun rises as early as 2:00 AM and sets as late as 10:00 PM, while in others the sun barely dips below the horizon before reappearing. At the North Pole, where the land remains fixed as the Earth rotates like the end of a wheel, one can observe the remarkable phenomenon of a sun tha...
Example 17
Passage: A low, flat section of the seashore is selected, and shallow, extensive basins called salt marshes are dug. Sea water is then allowed to flow into these basins. Once the basins are full, their connection to the sea is closed. The work on these salt marshes takes place during the summer. As the sun heats the basins, the water gradually evaporates, leaving behind a crystalline layer of salt that is removed with rakes. Finally, the accumulated salt is piled into a large heap to allow it to drain.
Example 18
Passage: In contrast, iron appears unremarkable when it is first discovered. It is found as an earthy, reddish crust in which the metal’s presence is only suspected after detailed analysis, as it is essentially a form of rust mixed with other materials. Furthermore, discovering that this rusty stone contains metal is only the first step; a method must be developed to break down the ore and restore the iron to its pure metallic form. Numerous efforts were required to achieve this challenging goal. There w...
Example 19
Passage: Every flower attracts the specific insect it needs by offering a drop of sweet nectar at the bottom of its corolla. Bees use this nectar to make honey. To reach the nectar in deep, funnel-shaped petals, butterflies use their long proboscises, which unroll from a spiral when they feed. Although the insect cannot see the nectar, it instinctively finds it without hesitation. However, some flowers remain tightly closed, presenting a unique challenge. How can an insect access the hidden treasure insi...
Example 20
Passage: Several items of clothing, including trousers, vests, cravats, and stockings, are made from sheep wool. These garments represent valuable resources provided by the sheep. To protect ourselves from the cold, we use the wool that the sheep supplies. The sheep provides its fleece for our clothes, and its milk, flesh, and skin are used for nourishment and making gloves. We depend on our domestic animals for many essentials in our daily lives. For instance, the ox gives us strength, flesh, and hide, ...
Example 21
Passage: Like cod in the sea, plant lice on rosebushes and alders face many risks of destruction. They serve as the daily food for a wide variety of predators. To boost their numbers, plant lice reproduce rapidly using methods not seen in many other insects. Instead of laying eggs which develop slowly, they give birth to live young that grow quickly and start a new generation in just two weeks. This process repeats throughout at least half the year, resulting in no fewer than a dozen generations during t...
Example 22
Passage: A machine is built specifically to spin cotton. In rooms larger than the biggest church, hundreds of thousands of well-calibrated spinning machines equipped with hooks, spindles, and bobbins are installed. They all operate simultaneously with remarkable precision and high speed. The process produces a constant, nearly deafening noise. Thousands of hooks grab the cotton as endless threads move from one bobbin to another and wind onto spindles. In just a few hours, a huge amount of cotton is trans...
Example 23
Passage: The ant, like a dairymaid milking her cow, gently caresses an aphid. It uses its delicate antennae to pat the aphid’s body and stimulate the secretion of sugary liquid. The ant almost always succeeds in its efforts. This shows that gentleness can achieve remarkable results. The aphid eventually gives in, and a drop of sweet liquid appears, which the ant quickly drinks. The ant enjoys the reward with satisfaction. Since the aphid is not completely fed, the ant moves on to other aphids to offer th...
Example 24
Passage: The rags are washed thoroughly to remove impurities. Next, machines take over the process. Scissors cut the rags, metal claws tear them, and wheels shred them into pulp. Millstones grind the pulp further, and mixing it with water transforms it into a slurry. Since the pulp is gray, it must be whitened. Strong chemicals are then applied to bleach the pulp, quickly turning it white. The pulpy mass is now fully purified.
Example 25
Passage: In insects, the process of growth is different from that of other animals. For example, a swallowtail butterfly does not start small and then grow larger in stages. When it opens its wings for the first time, it is as large as it will ever be. Similarly, a June bug emerges from the ground as a fully formed adult, just as you see it. While mammals like cats are very small when born, there are no tiny swallowtail butterflies or June bugs. After metamorphosis, an insect remains the same size for th...
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- All DET Question Types Explained - Task types with practice links
- Complete Guide to DET Basics - Format overview