DIRECTIONS: In the passages that follow, some words and phrases are underlined and numbered. In the answer column, you will find alternatives for the words and phrases that are underlined. Choose the alternative that you think is best, and fill in the corresponding bubble on your answer sheet. If you think that the original version is best, choose “NO CHANGE,” which will always be either answer choice A or F. You will also find questions about a particular section of the passage, or about the entire passage. These questions will be identified either by an underlined portion or by a number in a box. Look for the answer that clearly expresses the idea, is consistent with the style and tone of the passage, and makes the correct use of standard written English. Read the passage through once before answering the questions. For some questions, you should read beyond the indicated portion before you answer.
The Fruit of the Vine
It is difficult to imagine a human diet without tomatoes in some form, whether a fresh tomato right off the vine or in a spaghetti sauce over pasta. Having become a staple of the American kitchen, tomatoes are Q1 even when out of season and of inferior quality.
During the growing season, tomatoes of every variety abound in grocery stores, roadside stands, and even on tables in front of peoples’ homes. Q2 With tomatoes so readily available during the growing season, it’s easy to run out of things to do with them. Q3 Luckily, there are some plenty Q4 ways to use and enjoy this surplus of fresh tomatoes. While all are delicious, recipes for using fresh tomatoes Q5 range from a basic tomato salad (sliced tomatoes with oil and vinegar) to complicated sauces requiring hours to simmer and stew. Many cooks prefer to peel and deseed the tomatoes, while Q6 using them in a cooking recipe. Peeling can be easily accomplished Q7 by first scoring one end of the tomato with a sharp knife, making a small crosshatch, and then dropping the fruit into boiling water for approximately 30 seconds. Whomever chooses Q8 this method should be careful not to splash the hot water when placing the tomato into the pot. After the time is up, the cook can use tongs to remove the tomato from the boiling water and set it aside. Waiting until it is cool enough to handle. Q9 The skin can then be easily removed with a sharp kitchen knife, and the tomato’s seeds can be collected in a strainer. This is an important step, as the tomato may still be very hot. Q10
Even green tomatoes harvested before the first frost can be ripened indoors or used in a green tomato recipe, green Q11 tomatoes placed on a kitchen shelf will ripen nicely in just a short amount of time. Once a tomato is a bright red color, it Q12 can be used for cooking or stored for later use. A fresh tomato won’t last long, even in the refrigerator, so it’s best to decide early on which tomatoes should become salsa or sauce and which should be served raw in a salad or sandwich. Q13
There is truly only one way to eat a fresh tomato and experience its ultimate taste. Go into a garden, pluck a tomato off the vine, brush off any dirt, and then eat it like an apple. The Italians may have rejected the tomato when it was first introduced to their diets, believing it to be poisonous, but it certainly didn’t take one Q14 long to incorporate this delicious fruit into nearly every homemade dish. Biting into a freshly picked, red tomato irrefutably explains why.