Standardized Test of English Proficiency (STEP): free practice test

(1) Last night I had a frightening dream. I should explain that just before I went to bed, I ate an apple. I mention that because my mother always told me that if I ate right before going to sleep, I would not sleep well and might even have a bad dream. But let me tell you about my dream.

(2) I found myself in what seemed to be a familiar outdoor area, but I couldn't remember ever having been there before, in my waking life, I mean. There were lots of huge trees and vines and greenery, more or less like I would imagine a jungle in Brazil to be. It was very humid, but I was dressed for winter. That made me even more uncomfortable, and I remember thinking that I should go home and change my clothes. But where was home, and how could I get there? I didn't know the answer to either question, nor did I know how I had ended up where I was. It never occurred to me in the dream that I could remove the heavy winter coat, hat, and gloves that I was wearing. It just didn't seem to be an option.

(3) In the dream I was all alone. No one was with me. Suddenly I heard voices and saw some people who had been my classmates in high school. They were much older and looked quite different, but I instinctively knew who they were. There were four of them, and they seemed very concerned for me. They were dressed in loose, light-colored clothing appropriate for this jungle, but my attire didn't attract their attention at all, nor did they mention anything about it being out of place. One of them approached me, and I knew he was speaking for all of them. He said they had been sent to warn me not to eat the fruit from the tree in front of me nor to drink any of the water from the stream nearby. As he told me this, I realized that I had something in my hand. It was fruit from the very tree he was warning me about, and I had already eaten more than half of it. Without him saying so, I knew that this fruit was poisonous and probably also the water from the stream.

(4) At that point I awoke in a heavy sweat, having thrown off my covers. I went to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face to cool down a bit, then returned to bed. How strange, I thought, that an apple tree was growing in the midst of that jungle.

(1) More than 1,000 years ago, people tried to capture images using the pinhole camera. These inventions helped people understand how light behaved in different situations, but they couldn't put a picture onto a physical object. In 1694, a scientist named Wilhelm Homberg discovered that light darkened certain chemicals. This discovery helped others begin creating photographs.

(2) In 1826, the first photograph was taken by the French inventor Nicéphore Niépce. He used a polished metal plate and an oil called bitumen, which reacts to light. Photographic technology then advanced quickly, and ways of taking and developing pictures became cheaper and easier. Photography studios began to pop up in urban areas, and "photographer" became a real profession.

(3) In 1900, George Eastman invented the Brownie camera, a small, portable camera that was easy to use. Before its invention, photography was done by professionals. Now, anyone could capture a moment with a photograph.

(4) Though color photography was invented in the late 1800s, color film didn't take off until the 1950s. The digital camera was invented in 1975, and digital cameras became available on the market in 1990. Today, more digital cameras are sold than traditional film cameras.

(1) The legend of the mysterious Bermuda Triangle is one of the strangest of all sea stories. The Bermuda Triangle is a section of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern coast of Florida. A line drawn from Florida to Bermuda, then to Puerto Rico and back to Florida, forms a rough triangle. Within this triangle, or very near it, more than fifty ships and airplanes have vanished.

(2) The legend began in 1945, when five American Navy bombers vanished while flying over the area. They were flying during the day, under clear weather conditions. The commander of the five planes was talking to his base by radio. He announced that they seemed to be lost. After that, the planes were never heard from again. A search plane was sent out to find the five. It too disappeared.

(3) In 1948, an airliner flying toward Miami vanished over the Triangle. A few months later, another plane disappeared. In 1950, still another airplane flew into the Triangle, never to be seen again. In 1953, a ship sailing north of the Triangle sent out distress signals that were suddenly cut off. Ships and planes were sent to search for it, but they never found it.

(4) There have been many explanations for these mysterious happenings. Some people believe that there is a strange force at work in this part of the ocean. Some suggest there may be a kind of "hole" in the Triangle that ships and planes go through into another world. Others think that UFOs steal the planes, ships, and their crews, and take them away.

(1) A species is the name for a group of animals that are alike, such as lions and tigers. If a species is endangered, it means there are very few of those animals left in the world. If all the animals in a species die, the species becomes extinct, and those animals are gone forever. Many species are protected, which means governments have made laws against killing the animals.

(2) We are at a point where many of the world's animals and plants are on the verge of becoming extinct. This has reached such an alarming rate that some species are already gone, and if this trend continues, we will lose even more of them. There are several reasons for this, and some of them are discussed below, along with possible solutions.

(3) The most important reason for the decrease in animal species is the hunting of endangered animals for their skin or body parts. For instance, elephants are still being hunted for their tusks, which are used to make ivory products and sold at a high price. Another reason is deforestation. As cities become overcrowded, they expand by cutting down trees to make room for new houses.

(4) There are several things that can be done to prevent this from happening. Firstly, there should be strict laws against catching rare sea creatures such as lobsters and shrimps. In some countries, the government already allows fishing for shrimps for only two months a year. This gives the animals enough time to breed, so marine life stays stable.

(1) Vesuvius ("Vesuvio" in Italian) is probably not only the most famous, but also one, if not the most, dangerous volcano on Earth. The first eyewitness account of a volcanic eruption that has been preserved has come to us from Vesuvius: In 79 AD, after a century-long slumber, the volcano woke up with terrifying power in an eruption that buried several Roman towns like Pompeii and Herculaneum under several meters of ash. Today, parts of these cities have been excavated and are among the most remarkable archaeological sites of the world, allowing us to have an excellent view of Roman life and culture, where time and life had been frozen in a moment.

(2) When one thinks about Vesuvius volcano today, one fact is clear: due to the dense population surrounding it, and ever climbing higher and higher up on its slopes, it is certainly among Earth's most dangerous volcanoes. It is estimated that more than 500,000 people live in the zone immediately threatened by a future eruption. When this happens is not known; it is possible that Vesuvius has entered into one of its typically century-long lasting phases of dormancy, but volcanoes can be unpredictable.