1

The damming of river systems in the northwestern United States has had devastating effects on
salmon.

In the spring young salmon, called smolts, drift into rivers from smaller streams. They swim with
the current downstream heading for the Pacific Ocean. Before the large-scale construction of dams,
the young salmon used the strong flow from melting snows to get to the sea in between six and
twenty days. It is necessary to do this because during these days the smolts' bodies undergo the
physiological changes

for adaptation to salt water.

2

Unfortunately, the current has become very slow due to the construction of numerous dams. Companies
operating the dams also intentionally slow the current. They store the water from the melting snow
until the winter, when more electric power is needed. The net result is that many of the young fish
do not survive the now sixty-day trip to the sea. Consequently, there are fewer adult salmon to
migrate back up the rivers for breeding. When it comes time for the salmon to return, they again
face the problem of dams. As fewer adult salmon are able to get back to their cool upstream


water, they fail to produce a sufficiently numerous new generation of salmon. This cycle could
eventually lead to extinction of the fish.

3

Attempts are being made to transport the young salmon downriver by barge. However, many scientists
think that this artificial method of getting the fish to the sea kills more than it saves. Another
suggestion, recently proposed by environmentalists, is to increase the rate of water flow. This
would be a partial

solution to the declining salmon numbers. One method of doing this would call for releasing water
from upstream reservoirs. This would speed up the downstream movement of the smolts.

4

Another method would be to reduce the water level in the reservoirs for a period in the spring when
the smolts are migrating downstream. This would also increase the flow rate temporarily without
requiring massive amounts of water and, thus, enable the young salmon to move downstream faster.
Unfortunately, both of these proposals have met with criticism from the power companies.


(355 words)


1.      Paragraph 1: Which word is closest in meaning to the world current?


2.      Paragraph 2: Find the synonym of the word return.


3.      Paragraph 3: Select the word in the passage that refers to the word it.


4.      Paragraph 3: The underlined sentence means

a.       Saving fish is artificial.

b.      More fish die when transported than would die otherwise.

c.       Artificial methods of transportation save the lives of many fish.

d.      The sea kills more fish than are saved by transportation.


5.      The passage discusses all the following methods of dealing with this problem EXCEPT

a.       carrying the fish in boats

b.      allowing water to be released from upstream reservoirs

c.       dropping water levels in reservoirs

d.      breeding salmon

6.      With which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?

a.       Controversy about the salmon issue is likely to continue.

b.      A solution to the salmon will probably be found in the near future.

c.       Salmon will become extinct within the next decade.

d.      Selective breeding for longer physiological maturation is a possibility.


7.      Select the number of the paragraph that best outlines  the salmon's dilemma.


8.      Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

a.       The failure of adult salmon to reproduce.

b.      The impotence of smolts returning upstream.

c.       The need for smolts reach salt water quickly.

d.      The harm caused to salmon by river damming.





Reference: TOEFL