CBEST-Section-2-Reading – California Basic Educational Skills Test - Reading

(1) Milton Hershey was born near the small village of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, in 1857. It was a modest beginning that did not foretell his later popularity. Milton only attended school through the fourth grade; at that point, he was apprenticed to a printer in a nearby town. Fortunately for all chocolate lovers,Milton did not excel as a printer. After a while, he left the printing business and was apprenticed to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, candy maker. It was apparent he had found his calling in life and, at the age of eighteen, he opened his own candy store in Philadelphia. In spite of his talents as a candy maker, the shop failed after six years. (2)Milton Hershey’s fans today may be surprised to learn that his first candy success came with the manufacture of caramel. After the failure of his Philadelphia store, Milton headed for Denver, where he learned the art of caramel making. There he took a job with a local manufacturer who insisted on using fresh milk in making his caramels; Milton saw that this made the caramels especially tasty. After a time in Denver, he once again attempted to open his own candy-making businesses, in Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City. Finally, in 1886, he went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he raised the money necessary to try again. This company—the Lancaster Caramel Company—made Milton’s reputation as a master candy maker. (3) In 1893, Milton attended the Chicago International Exposition, where he saw a display of German chocolate-making implements. Captivated by the equipment, he purchased it for his Lancaster candy factory and began producing chocolate, which he used for coating his caramels. By the next year, production had grown to include cocoa, sweet chocolate, and baking chocolate. The Hershey Chocolate company was born in 1894 as a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company. Six years later, Milton sold the caramel company, but retained the rights, and the equipment, to make chocolate. He believed that a large market of chocolate consumers was waiting for someone to produce reasonably priced candy. He was right. (4)Milton Hershey returned to the village where he had been born, in the heart of dairy country, and opened his chocolate-manufacturing plant. With access to all the fresh milk he needed, he began producing the finest milk chocolate. The plant that opened in a small Pennsylvania village in 1905 is today the largest chocolate factory in the world. The confections created at this facility are favorites in the U.S. and internationally. (5) The area where the factory is located is now known as Hershey, Pennsylvania. Within the first decades of its existence, the town thrived, as did the chocolate business. A bank, a school, churches, a department store, even a park and a trolley system all appeared in short order. Soon, the town even had a zoo. Today, a visit to the area reveals the Hershey Medical Center, Milton Hershey School, and Hershey’s Chocolate World, a theme park where visitors are greeted by a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. All of these things—and a huge number of happy chocolate lovers—were made possible because a caramel maker visited the Chicago Exposition of 1893!

On the basis of above passage please answer the following question

As it is used in paragraph 1, the underlined phrase found his calling in life most nearly means

A healthy diet with proper nutrition is essential for maintaining good overall health. Since vitamins were discovered earlier in this century, people have routinely been taking vitamin supplements for this purpose. The Recommended Dietary Allowance

(RDA) is a frequently used nutritional standard for maintaining optimal health. The RDA specifies the recommended amount of a number of nutrients for people of both sexes and in many different age groups. The National Research Council’s Committee on Diet and Health has proposed a definition of the RDA to be that amount of a nutrient which meets the needs of 98 percent of the population. The RDA approach ______________________. First, it is based on the assumption that it is possible to accurately define nutritional requirements for a given group. However, individual nutritional requirements can vary widely within each group. The efficiency with which a person converts food intake into nutrients can also vary widely. Certain foods when eaten in combination actually prevent the absorption of nutrients. For example, spinach combined with milk reduces the amount of calcium available to the body from the milk. Also, the RDA approach specifies a different dietary requirement for each age and sex; however, it is clearly unrealistic to expect a homemaker to prepare a different menu for each family member. Still, although we cannot rely solely upon RDA to ensure our overall long-term health, it can be a useful guide so long as its limitations are recognized.

On the basis of above passage please answer the following question

Which of the following would best fit in the blank in the first sentence of paragraph two?

(1) Milton Hershey was born near the small village of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, in 1857. It was a modest beginning that did not foretell his later popularity. Milton only attended school through the fourth grade; at that point, he was apprenticed to a printer in a nearby town. Fortunately for all chocolate lovers,Milton did not excel as a printer. After a while, he left the printing business and was apprenticed to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, candy maker. It was apparent he had found his calling in life and, at the age of eighteen, he opened his own candy store in Philadelphia. In spite of his talents as a candy maker, the shop failed after six years. (2)Milton Hershey’s fans today may be surprised to learn that his first candy success came with the manufacture of caramel. After the failure of his Philadelphia store, Milton headed for Denver, where he learned the art of caramel making. There he took a job with a local manufacturer who insisted on using fresh milk in making his caramels; Milton saw that this made the caramels especially tasty. After a time in Denver, he once again attempted to open his own candy-making businesses, in Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City. Finally, in 1886, he went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he raised the money necessary to try again. This company—the Lancaster Caramel Company—made Milton’s reputation as a master candy maker. (3) In 1893, Milton attended the Chicago International Exposition, where he saw a display of German chocolate-making implements. Captivated by the equipment, he purchased it for his Lancaster candy factory and began producing chocolate, which he used for coating his caramels. By the next year, production had grown to include cocoa, sweet chocolate, and baking chocolate. The Hershey Chocolate company was born in 1894 as a subsidiary of the Lancaster Caramel Company. Six years later, Milton sold the caramel company, but retained the rights, and the equipment, to make chocolate. He believed that a large market of chocolate consumers was waiting for someone to produce reasonably priced candy. He was right. (4)Milton Hershey returned to the village where he had been born, in the heart of dairy country, and opened his chocolate-manufacturing plant. With access to all the fresh milk he needed, he began producing the finest milk chocolate. The plant that opened in a small Pennsylvania village in 1905 is today the largest chocolate factory in the world. The confections created at this facility are favorites in the U.S. and internationally. (5) The area where the factory is located is now known as Hershey, Pennsylvania. Within the first decades of its existence, the town thrived, as did the chocolate business. A bank, a school, churches, a department store, even a park and a trolley system all appeared in short order. Soon, the town even had a zoo. Today, a visit to the area reveals the Hershey Medical Center, Milton Hershey School, and Hershey’s Chocolate World, a theme park where visitors are greeted by a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. All of these things—and a huge number of happy chocolate lovers—were made possible because a caramel maker visited the Chicago Exposition of 1893!

On the basis of above passage please answer the following question

Which of the following words best describes Milton Hershey’s character, as he is presented in the passage?