READING QUESTIONS
1.
But in September 1965, a cry for justice went forth from Delano. It was a cry of outrage and a cry of hope. The picket lines and the
crowded strikers' meetings, the excitement in the air, spelled out a _________ longing: just because things were bad last year, and
the year before, and the year before that-they did not have to be the same this year, or in the years to come.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) routine.
B) shared.
C) standard.
D) causal.
2.
The Delano strikers began a long, uphill fight in 1965. They began to chip away at the old ___________ of the rural farm economy
in order to build a new life for themselves and their families. It was an almost impossible task. They withdrew their labor from the
vineyards and were replaced by foreign labor. They set up their picket lines and had them weakened by powerful injunction. They
pledged themselves to nonviolence and had to face violence and hatred from the grower agents and the institutionalized violence of
corrupt courts, brutal policemen, and self-seeking politicians.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) association.
B) underpinning.
C) justification.
D) genesis.
3.
A ______________ explanation for plump babies has been that natural selection favored an increase in body fat to offset the loss of
insulating body hair. It is known that the optimal temperature for a human infant kept in an incubator is about 90 °F, so cooling
could be a problem. Baby fat is distinctively distributed, being mainly located just beneath the skin. In contrast to adult fat stores,
there is relatively little fat in the belly cavity. Anthropologist Boguslaw Pawlowski supported this view, arguing that various feature
of human newborn evolved in early humans to counter excessive cooling during nights spent sleeping in open savannah. Those
features include relatively large size as well as a greater proportion of subcutaneous fat.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) definitive.
B) accepted.
C) uniform.
D) technical.
4.
Anthropologist Boguslaw Pawlowski supported this view, arguing that various feature of human newborn evolved in early humans
to counter excessive cooling during nights spent sleeping in ____________ savannah. Those features include relatively large size as
well as a greater proportion of subcutaneous fat.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) porous.
B) accessible.
C) uncovered.
D) vacant.
5.
After Obama's victory in November 2008, this same voter might look back, see the victory as more predictable than it was before
the 10 outcome was known, and conclude that Obama's chances were at least 80% at the time of the convention. Sometimes termed
the "Knew it all along effect," hindsight bias involves the inability to recapture the feeling of uncertainty that preceded an event.
When there is a need to understand past events as they were experienced at the time, hindsight bias thwarts ___________ appraisal.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) accurate.
B) positive.
C) thorough.
D) firm.
6.
A journey to the Mariana Trench, the deepest crevice on Earth's surface, reveals the great Pacific tectonic plate descending deep
into the planet where e it recycles back into mantle rock. This recycling of old tectonic plate, called subduction, drives plate
tectonics and is nothing new to scientists, but exactly when the process got started is a hot debate. A new study may put that to rest
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by unmasking a sequence of 4.4-billion-year-old lavas as the remnants of the first subduction zone on Earth. If correct, the
discovery marks the dawn of plate tectonics and thus several geological processes ______________ to Earth's environment and
perhaps even its life.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) negative.
B) faulty.
C) essential
D) unstable.
7.
Rosa had gotten her start in comics soon after Sammy's return to the business, after the war. Upon taking over the editor's desk at
Gold Star, Sammy's first move had been to clear out many of the subcompetents who littered the staff there. It was a bold and
necessary step, but it left him with an acute shortage of artists, in particular of inkers.
According to the text, why was Sammy so desperate for Rosa to help him?
A) He had no artists with comic book experience.
B) He was not confident that he would be able to do the work himself.
C) He had a shortage of artists at Gold Star after firing many members of the staff.
D) He felt it would be beneficial for Rosa to spend time working on a project.
8.
Tommy had started kindergarten, and Rosa was just beginning to understand the true horror of her destiny, the arrant
purposelessness of her life whenever her son was not around, one day when Sammy came home at lunch, harried and frantic, with
an armload of Bristol board, a bottle of Higgins ink, and a bunch of 3 brushes, and begged Rosa to help him by doing what she
could. She had stayed up all night with the pages- it was some dreadful Gold Star superhero strip, The Human Grenade or The
Phantom Stallion—and had the job finished by the time Sammy left for work the next morning.
Based on the text, helping Sammy ink comics was especially important to Rosa because she
A) had a passion for comic books.
B) was feeling an emptiness in her life.
C) liked to support her husband's goals.
D) wanted to find an interesting hobby.
9.
A standard explanation for our plump babies has been that natural selection favored an increase in body fat to offset the loss of
insulating body hair. It is known that the optimal temperature for a human infant kept in an incubator is about 90 °F, so cooling
could be a problem. Baby fat is distinctively distributed, being mainly located just beneath the skin. Anthropologist Boguslaw
Pawlowski supported this view, arguing that various features of the human newborn evolved in early humans to counter excessive
cooling during nights spent sleeping in open savannah. Those features include relatively large size as well as a greater proportion of
subcutaneous fat. However, Kuzawa's studies yielded only weak evidence for the role of subcutaneous fat proposed by Pawlowski.
The author suggest that Kuzawa rejected Pawlowski's hypothesis about human baby fat because Kuzawa
A) believed that Pawlowski had not studied a large enough number of subjects.
B) determined that Pawlowski had misrepresented data.
C) considered the data on which Pawlowski based his hypothesis outdated.
D) found insufficient support for Pawlowski's conclusion.
10.
Kuzawa went on to explore an explanation for our exceptioally plump babies: increased fat reserves as a crucial energy buffer. This
would be particularly advantageous during the period of rapid brain growth in the first year of life. It could offset any disruption in
the flow of resources to the growing infant. Going a step further, a 2003 paper by two nutritionists, Stephen Cunnane and Michael
Crawford, argued that plump babies are the key to the evolution of the large human brain, and not only because of energy supply.
About half the brain consists of fat, and a baby's fat reserves contain special fats-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs)
that are essential for normal brain development.
The description of Cunnane and Crawford's work serves mainly to
A) suggest that earlier hypotheses about fat reserves are incomplete.
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B) further support Kuzawa's hypothesis about the effect of fat reserves on brain growth.
C) raise additional questions about the function of fatty acids found in babies.
D) reconcile conflicting theories about the role of fat reserves in premature newborns.
11.
Hindsight bias is defined as the belief that an event is more predictable after it becomes known than it was before it became known.
The reality of hindsight bias is sometimes difficult to convey to seasoned decision makers because hindsight bias can be confused
with simple learning from experience. Individual and organizations innovate, thrive, and prosper when they analyze mistakes and
adjust their strategies accordingly.
The text most strongly suggests that some people have trouble recognizing hindsight bias as a problem because they
A) do not expect people to make accurate predictions about the future.
B) do not understand the extent to which hindsight bias affects people's lives.
C) have never experienced the consequences of hindsight bias firsthand.
D) believe that revising one's views based on experience is never wrong.
12.
Sometimes termed the "Knew it all along effect," hindsight bias involves the inability to recapture the feeling of uncertainty that
preceded an event. When there is a need to understand past events as they were experienced at the time, hindsight bias thwarts
sound appraisal.
The text indicates that applying one's knowledge of outcome of an event is most likely to be inappropriate when
A) weighing one's current options.
B) planning a new strategy.
C) judging a past decision.
D) conducting an ongoing experiment.
13.
In 2008, scientists studying ancient lavas in northern Quebec, known to geologists as the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt, saw that
they had the same geochemical signature as lavas from modern subduction zones like the Mariana. This meant that they must have
mixed with briny fluids squeezed up through subduction zones and only there. The geochemistry of those rocks could be used as a
sort of fingerprint to help identify subduction zone lavas.
The author uses the phrase "a sort of fingerprint" mainly to
A) illustrate the resemblance of the patterns of a subduction zone to those of a fingerprint.
B) highlight the similarity between ridges in fingerprints and the warping of rock in subduction zones.
C) imply that the research conducted in northern Quebec is unlike research described in other studies.
D) emphasize how geochemistry might be used to identify unique properties of subduction zone lavas.
14.
How rocks and their chemistry change with each successive layer is important. As the oceanic slab descends, magma begins rising
up and erupts on the surface in layers atop one another, creating a rising sequence of igneous rocks. With increasing depth, heat and
pressure begin squeezing different elements out of the slab in fluids. Over time, these fluids change the chemical composition of the
lavas so that they become rich in rare earth elements like ytterbium, but poor in the element niobium. The first layer in the sequence
erupts before the fluids can escape the slab, but the next layer in the sequence gets just enough fluid to make a partial signature. The
final layer carries huge amounts of rare earth elements and very little niobium, together making the clarion mark of subduction zone
lava.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A) as subduction zones form, the chemical composition of the lava changes.
B) the subduction process involves a sequence of cooling and heating lava.
C) increase depth, heat, and pressure can accelerate the subduction process.
D) Rushmer and Turner were primarily concerned with the chemistry of rocks.
15.
Rushmer and Turner's research findings bolstered the theory that the Nuvvuagittuq sequence is an ancient subduction zone.
Geochemist Julian Pearce of Cardiff University in the United Kindom still isn't completely convinced, though. He says the
Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt might just be too old and warped to have a reliable signal from 4.4 billion years ago. "The evidence
would be compelling if the rocks were young, undeformed, and fresh," Pearce says. As they are now, the Nuvvuagittuq rocks have
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been modified by intense heat and pressure "which can mask and modify geochemical signal" though contamination from nearby
rocks.
Which choice summarizes a counterclaim posed in the text in response to Rushmer and Turner's research
A) Scientists have recently discovered a subduction zone with characteristics that contradict Rushmer and Turner's findings.
B) The rocks Rushmer and Turner studied were so old and deformed that they might not have yielded reliable data.
C) The lava sequence that Rushmer and Turner studied are unique and do not apply to other subduction zones.
D) Geochemists at Stanford University have found key differences between the geochemical signatures of the Nuwuagittuq lava
and the Mariana Trench lava.
16.
Our constitution is excellent, our administration is wise and honest and has no _____________ separate from that of the people. On
the support of such an administration of such a government depends our liberty. But let me repeat, no administration or government
can stand against the corruption of public opinion, and let me, therefore, solemnly admonish you as you value the peace and liberty
of yourselves and your posterity seriously to reflect on the truth of this.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) charge.
B) diversion.
C) significance.
D) concern.
17.
Led by immunologist Maureen McGargill of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the team gave
rapamycin, which helps prevent immunologic rejection in kidney transplant patients, to mice before immunizing them. The result:
The mice produced a broader array of antibodies, defeating ____________ of the influenza virus that differed dramatically from the
one used in the vaccine. The finding suggests a novel path to a long-sought "universal" flu immunization that can protect against
many variants. It may also offer a way to elicit more effective antibody responses against myriad other diseases.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) struggles.
B) varieties.
C) tunes.
D) injuries.
18.
McGargill and co-workers envisioned a different __________ for rapamycin when they set out to explore how the strain-specific
influenza vaccines used today--which must be updated each year to keep up with the ever-changing virus-might be transformed into
a universal shot. They sought ways to bolster one of the immune system's two virus-fighting arms: "cytotoxic" T cells-designated as
CD8s because of receptors on their surfaces-which destroy cells that a virus has managed to infect. Antibodies, the immune
system's other arm, target viruses directly and may work against only one strain of influenza, but CD8 T cells are less
discriminating and can target many viral variants.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) character.
B) function.
C) position.
D) designation.
19.
For most of history, people have worked with relatively small amounts of data because the tools for collection, organizing, storing,
and analyzing e information were poor. People __________ the information they relied on to the barest minimum so that they could
examine it more easily. This was the genius of modern-day statistics, which first came to the fore in the late nineteenth century and
enabled society to understand complex realities even when little data existed.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) pared.
B) extracted.
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C) designated.
D) appraised.
20.
Yet the obsession with accuracy and precision is in some ways an artifact of an information-constrained environment. When there
was not that much data around, researchers had to make sure that the figures they bothered to collect were as exact as possible.
_____________ vastly more data means that we can now allow some inaccuracies to slip in (provided the data set is not completely
incorrect), in return for benefiting from the insights that a massive body of data provides.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) draining.
B) spouting.
C) pumping out.
D) drawing on.
21.
Now, new research indicates that chimps' vocalized communications are a bit closer in __________ to our own spoken languages as
well. A new study published in PLOS ONE shows that, when chimps warn each other about impending danger, the noises they
make are much more than the instinctive expression of fear-they're intentionally produced, exclusively in the presence of other
chimps, and cease when these other chimps are safe from danger.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) type.
B) behavior.
C) wilderness.
D) environment.
22.
The authors argue that these characteristics— specifically, the fact that alternate vocalizations were employed in different
circumstances, that they were made with the attention of the audience in mind and that they were goal-directed, continuing until
they'd successfully warned other chimps so they fled -show that the noises are more than ___________ of instinctive fear. Rather,
they're a tactical, intentional form of communication.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) likenesses.
B) replications.
C) expressions.
D) considerations.
23.
I think, if a play is good, there's no need to bother with actors for it to make the proper impression; it's enough simply to read it.
And if a play is bad, no performance will make it good.
The narrator would most fully agree with which statement about plays?
A) Words are only one component in determining the success of a play.
B) A play that is praised by one generation may seem foolish to the next.
C) The accomplishments of performers do not contribute to the quality of a play.
D) Even the most skilled actor may fundamentally misunderstand a classic play.
24.
In my opinion, the theater has become no better than it was thirty or forty years ago. As before, I can never find a glass of clean
water either in the corridors or in the theater lobby. As before, the ushers fine me twenty kopecks for my coat, though there's
nothing reprehensible about wearing warm clothes in winter. As before, they needlessly play music during the intermissions, adding
to the impression of the play a new and unwanted one.
But Katya was of quite a different opinion. She assured me that the theater, even in its present state, was higher than the auditorium,
higher than books, higher than anything in the world. The theater was a force that united all the arts in itself, and actors were
missionaries. No art or science by itself was capable of having so strong and so sure an effect on the human soul as the stage.
Katya would most likely respond to the list of shortcomings as in underlined portions by noting that they are
A) regrettable for actors hoping to please an audience.
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B) exasperating for theater employees and patrons.
C) incidental to the narrator's enjoyment of the theater.
D) irrelevant to the elevating power of the theater.
25.
I don’t know what will happen in fifty or a hundred years, but in the present circumstances the theater can serve only as
entertainment. But this entertainment is too expensive for us to go on resorting to it. It robs the country of thousands of young,
healthy, and talented men and women, who, if they had not devoted themselves to the theater, might have been good doctors, tillers
of the soil, teachers, army officers; It robs the public of the evening hours—the best hours for mental labor and friendly
conversation.
The narrator views the effect of the theater on society as
A) harmful, because it wastes valuable resources.
B) alarming, because it challenges traditional customs.
C) insignificant, because only foolish people take it seriously.
D) beneficial, because it provides entertainment.
26.
Led by immunologist Maureen McGargill of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the team gave
rapamycin, which helps prevent immunologic rejection in kidney transplant patients, to mice before immunising them. The result:
The mice produced a broader array of antibodies, defeating strains of the influenza virus that differed dramatically from the one
used in the vaccine. The finding suggests a novel path to a long-sought “universal” flu immunization that can protect against many
variants. It may also offer a way to elicit more effective antibody responses against myriad other diseases.
Results in mice, of course, often don’t translate into humans, and rapamycin, a potent drug that has a somewhat murky mechanism
of action, can have serious side effects. Still, the finding has immunologists talking
What function does the second paragraph serve in the text as a whole?
A) It introduces the second of two studies of rapamycin use in mice that are discussed in the text.
B) It calls into question the account of how mice respond to rapamycin described in the first and second paragraphs.
C) It identifies the dangers of rapamycin use in humans that are overlooked by McGargill's study.
D) It notes reasons for being cautious about extrapolating from research results discussed in the text.
27.
Mice treated with rapamycin had significantly higher levels of CD8 T cells against influenza and better survival than control
animals not given the immune-suppressing drug. But the mechanism was not what the researchers expected. “The biggest surprise
was that the protection wasn’t mediated by the CD8 T cells,” says McGargill, who collaborated with Peter Doherty, an
immunologist at her institution who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to elucidate how CD8s kill virally
infected cells.
The author mentions Doherty primarily to
A) highlight the expertise of a substantial contributor to McGargill’s research.
B) introduce an important discovery in the field of immunology.
C) describe an individual’s major contribution to McGargill’s study.
D) suggest that scientific collaboration is key to understanding immunology.
28.
Discovered from a soil sample taken from Rapa Nui, the Polynesian name of Easter Island, rapamycin was first developed as an
antifungal agent and later found to have immune suppressant and antitumor properties. Then a 2009 study showed that rapamycin
also increased
lifespan in mice. Ahmed says that he initially studied the drug to see whether long-term use in transplant patients might damage the
immune system. “We really wanted to look at whether rapamycin might be screwing up established immunologic memory,” he
says. “We had the totally opposite result.”
The text suggests that the results of the 2009 study were
A) trivial.
B) unanticipated.
C) debatable.
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D) inconclusive
29.
For most of history, people have worked with relatively small amounts of data because the tools for collection, organizing, storing,
and analyzing information were poor. People winnowed the information they relied on to the barest minimum so that they could
examine it more easily. This was the genius of modern—day statistics, which first came to the fore in the late nineteenth century
and enabled society to understand complex realities even when little data existed. Today, the technical environment has shifted 179
degrees. There still is, and always will be, a constraint on how much data we can manage, but it is far less limiting than it used to be
and will become even less so as time goes on.
Overall, the authors view the growth of big data as
A) a useful development.
B) a pointless distraction.
C) an impending disaster.
D) an ominous portent.
30.
Modern—day statistics first came to the fore in the late nineteenth century and enabled society to understand complex realities even
when little data existed. Today, the technical environment has shifted 179 degrees. There still is, and always will be, a constraint on
how much data we can manage, but it is far less limiting than it used to be and will become even less so as time goes on.
According to the text, the volume of data that can be managed with contemporary methods is
A) smaller than the amount that is collected every day.
B) enhanced by the use of sampling techniques.
C) increasing very slowly.
D) somewhat restricted.
31.
Big data is a matter not just of creating somewhat larger samples but of harnessing as much of the existing data as possible about
what is being studied. We still need statistics; we just no longer need to rely on small samples. There is a tradeoff to make, however.
When we increase the scale by orders of magnitude, we might have to give up on clean, carefully curated data and tolerate some
messiness. This idea runs counter to how people have tried to work with data for centuries. Yet the obsession with accuracy and
precision is in some ways an artifact of an information-constrained environment. When there was not that much data around,
researchers had to make sure that the figures they bothered to collect were as exact as possible. Tapping vastly more data means that
we can now allow some inaccuracies to slip in (provided the data set is not completely incorrect), in return for benefiting from the
insights that a massive body of data provides. These two shifts in how we think about data—from some to all and from clean to
messy—give rise to a third change: from causation to correlation
The authors make the claim that the change "from causation to correlation" is a consequence of
A) using data that are complete but likely to contain some errors.
B) using sampling to estimate characteristics of a population.
C) a deeper understanding of the reasons for events.
D) an inherent tendency of human nature.
32.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are capable of all sorts of human-like behaviors
that go far beyond tool use. Now, new research indicates that chimps’ vocalized communications are a bit closer in nature to our
own spoken languages as well.
Which of the following does the author imply about tool use?
A) It is an example of the type of intentionality studied by linguists.
B) It is a known behavior that has been observed among chimpanzees.
C) It is a skill that has been documented among many nonhuman animals.
D) It is a complex activity that chimpanzees can learn with instruction.
33.
Now, new research indicates that chimps’ vocalized communications are a bit closer in nature to our own spoken languages as well.
A new study published in PLOS ONE shows that, when chimps warn each other about impending danger, the noises they make are
much more than the instinctive expression of fear—they’re infenfionally produced, exclusively in the presence of other chimps, and
178
cease when these other chimps are safe from danger.
This might not sound like much, but linguists use intentionality as a key hallmark of language. Those who argue that apes aren’t
capable of language—and that the apes who’ve been trained in sign language are merely engaging in rote memorization, not true
language acquisition—point to a lack of intentionality as one of the reasons why. So the study shows that, in their natural
environment, chimps do use vocalizations in a way more similar to language than previously thought.
What is the main purpose of the underlined portion?
A) detail two distinct theories about language.
B) provide evidence in support of a view held by linguists.
C) question a widespread belief about memorization.
D) clarify the significance of a recent study.
34.
The chimps clearly observed the location of other chimps and whether they were paying attention, and kept sounding the alarm until
the others had fled and were safe from danger. The length of time they sounded the alarm, meanwhile, wasn’t linked with their own
distance from the snake, further supporting the idea that the call was an intentional warning to others.
Based on the text, which choice best describes the relationship between a chimpanzee's distance from a predator and the
chimpanzee's alarm call?
A) The distance primarily influences the type of alarm call the chimpanzee makes.
B) The distance does not determine the duration of the chimpanzee's alarm calls.
C) If the chimpanzee is very close to the predator, it will make increasingly urgent calls.
D) If the chimpanzee is not close enough to see the predator, it will make only soft calls.
35.
The researchers also took note of the pre-existing relationships among chimps and found that closer relationships were more likely
to trigger alarms. “It was particularly striking when new individuals who had not seen the snake yet, arrived in the area,” Schel said
in a press statement. “If a chimpanzee who had actually seen the snake enjoyed a close friendship with this arriving individual, they
would give alarm calls, warning their friend of the danger. It really seemed the chimpanzees directed their alarm calls at specific
individuals.”
Based on the text, which of the following can reasonably be inferred about relationships among chimpanzees?
A) Chimpanzees form different kinds of relationships with various individuals.
B) Chimpanzees often form friendships with members of different chimpanzee communities.
C) The strongest relationships tend to form between individuals in a family of chimpanzees.
D) A close friendship often develops after one chimpanzee has protected another.
36.
The researchers studied a community of 73 chimps that lives in Uganda’s Budongo Forest Reserve. To simulate danger, they used
the skin of a naturally deceased African Rock Python—one of the chimps’ natural predators—to create a fake python, with fishing
line attached to its head so they could make it move realistically. Over the course of nearly a year in the field, they repeatedly
placed this artificial predator in the forest with a camera rolling, waiting for unsuspecting chimps, so they could closely study their
response. Typically, when the chimps saw the snake, they were startled, and made one of two different vocalizations, which the
researchers identified as “huus” (softer calls, with less alarm) or “waas” (louder, more alarmed calls).
When the researchers analyzed the specific responses, they found that when other chimps were around, the startled chimps were
much more likely to make the “waas” rather than “huus.”
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Which statement best describes the relationship between the graph and the study results as described in the text?
A) The graph underscores the study’s finding that a chimpanzee’s distance from a predator determines the type of call the
chimpanzee makes.
B) The graph contradicts the conclusion that the chimpanzee will select its calls based on its relationships with the other
chimpanzees in the area.
C) The graph supports the explanation of the results by showing that chimpanzees tend to make loud calls when they observe other
chimpanzees nearby.
D) The graph and the text provide the same information about chimpanzee calls with the same level of detail
37.
I have heard it asserted by some that, as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same
___________ is necessary me toward her future happiness and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious
than this kind of argument. We may as well assert that, because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat, or that
the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) physical link.
B) means of communication.
C) recognized relationship.
D) influential person.
38.
Every year, billions of tons of rock and soil vanish from Earth's surface, scoured from mountains and plains and swept away by
wind, rain, and other elements. The chief _________ this dramatic resurfacing is climate, according to a new study. And when the
global temperature falls, erosion kicks into overdrive.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) leader of.
B) operator of.
C) factor in.
D) transmitter in.
39.
The new findings, and especially their global ___________, "confirms for me that [the increases in erosion rates] are a climate
signal," says David Egholm, a geophysicist at Aarhus University in Denmark. In particular, he notes, the latitude-dependent
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variation in erosion rates "most probably" can be attributed to glaciers.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) balance.
B) extent.
C) climb.
D) weight.
40.
We all know that cities are great engines of innovation. One reason that's the case is that cities grow "superlinearly": interpersonal
connections grow at a greater rate than _____________ population, and with that super proximity comes a super exchange of ideas.
The secrets of industry, as economist Alfred Marshall once wrote, are truly "in the air."
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) pure.
B) overt.
C) steep.
D) transparent.
41.
But innovation is a blanket term that can encompass very different things. Scholars who study the subject typically limit it to the
urban proliferation of patents. For sure, the creation of original concepts and products is a sign of innovation. At the same time, it
could also __________ a new way of doing business-applied from some other sector, perhaps, or even adapted from a competitor
for some other purpose.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) produce.
B) consider.
C) imitate.
D) indicate.
42.
Previously, scientists either invoked an oxygen increase or an arms race to account for the Cambrian explosion, says Guy Narbonne,
a paleobiologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Linking oxygen to carnivores provides __________ evidence that the
explanations are "intimately interrelated," he says.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) competent.
B) willful.
C) persuasive.
D) energetic.
43.
Led by an international team of researchers, the report reveals that the oxygen content was __________ the same 2.1 billion years
ago as 500 million years ago. The finding challenges a long-held theory that the Cambrian explosion was in part triggered by a
sudden uptick in the element required by all higher organisms.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) coarsely.
B) approximately.
C) violently.
D) unevenly.
44.
Editorial: Consumers in North America think that by drinking frozen concentrated orange juice, they are saving energy, because it
takes fewer truckloads to transport it than it takes to transport an equivalent amount of not-from-concentrate juice. But they are
mistaken, for the amount of energy required to concentrate the juice is far greater than the energy difference in the juices' transport.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the greatest additional support for the editorial's conclusions
(A) Freezer trucks use substantially more energy per mile driven than do any other types of trucks.
(B) Frozen juice can be stored for several years, while not-from-concentrate juice lasts a much shorter time.
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(C) Oranges grown in Brazil make up an increasing percentage of the fruit used in not-from- concentrate juice production.
(D) A serving of not-from-concentrate juice takes up to six times more space than a serving of frozen concentrated juice.
45.
A child learning to play the piano will not succeed unless the child has an instrument at home on which to practice. However, good
quality pianos, whether new or secondhand, are costly. Buying one is justified only if the child has the necessary talent and
perseverance, which is precisely what one cannot know in advance. Consequently, parents should buy an inexpensive secondhand
instrument at first and upgrade if and when the child's ability and inclination are proven.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the course of action recommended for parents?
A. Learners, particularly those with genuine musical talent, are apt to lose interest in the instrument if they have to play on a piano
that fails to produce a pleasing sound.
B. Reputable piano teachers do not accept children as pupils unless they know that the children can practice on a piano at home.
C. ideally, the piano on which a child practices at home should be located in a room away from family activities going on at the
same time.
D. Very young beginners often make remarkable progress at playing the piano at first, but then appear to stand still for a
considerable period of time.
46.
When officials in Tannersburg released their plan to widen the city's main roads, environmentalists protested that widened roads
would attract more traffic and lead to increased air pollution. In response, city officials pointed out that today's pollution-control
devices are at their most effective in vehicles traveling at higher speeds and that widening roads would increase the average speed
of traffic. However, this effect can hardly be expected to offset the effect pointed out by environmentalists, since ____
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
(A) increases in traffic volume generally produce decreases in the average speed of traffic unless roads are widened
(B) several of the roads that are slated for widening will have to be closed temporariIy'whiIe construction is underway
(C) most of the air pollution generated by urban traffic comes from vehicles that do not have functioning pollution-control devices
(D) the newly widened roads will not have increased traffic volume if the roads that must be used to reach them are inadequate
47.
Donations of imported food will be distributed to children in famine stricken countries in the form of free school meals. The process
is efficient because the children are easy to reach at the schools and cooking facilities are often available on site.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the efficiency of the proposed process?
(A) The emphasis on food will detract from the major function of the schools, which is to educate the children. .
(B) A massive influx of donated food will tend to lower the price of food in the areas near the schools.
(C) Supplies of fuel needed for cooking at the schools arrive there only intermittently and in inadequate quantities.
(D) The reduction in farm surpluses in donor countries benefits the donor countries to a greater extent than the recipient countries
are bene5ted by the donations.
48.
Jane Eyre is a governess at the Thornfield Hall estate. Governesses were employed to live in private homes and teach the children
there. Adéle is Jane’s student.
My pupil was a lively child, who had been spoilt and indulged, and therefore was sometimes wayward; but as she was committed
entirely to my care, and no injudicious interference from any quarter ever thwarted my plans for her improvement, she soon forgot
her little freaks, and became obedient and teachable. She had no great talents, no marked traits of character, no peculiar
development of feeling or taste, which raised her one inch above the ordinary level of childhood; but neither had she any deficiency
or vice which sunk her below it. She made reasonable progress, entertained for me a vivacious, though perhaps not very profound,
affection; and by her simplicity, gay prattle, and efforts to please, inspired me, in return, with a degree of attachment sufficient to
make us both content in each other's society.
The narrator mentions Adèle's "simplicity" and "prattle" primarily to
A) acknowledge certain endearing qualities.
B) highlight particular deficiencies.
C) emphasize the child's teachable nature.
D) suggest the child's need for improvement.
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49.
I am merely telling the truth. I felt a conscientious solicitude for Adéle’s welfare and progress, and a quiet liking to her little serf
just as I cherished towards Mrs. Fairfax a thankfulness for her kindness, and a pleasure in her society proportionate to the tranquil
regard she had for me, and the moderation of her mind and character.
According to the text, the narrator primarily presents herself as being
A) cool and unforgiving.
B) loving and attentive.
C) insightful and sophisticated.
D) forthright and unbiased.
50.
Who blames me? Many, no doubt; and I shall be called discontented. I could not help it; the restlessness was in my ______; it
agitated me to pain sometimes. Then my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backwards and forwards, safe
in the silence and solitude of the spot, and allow my mind’s eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it—and, certainly,
there were many and glowing; to let my heart be heaved by the exultant movement, which, while it swelled it in trouble, expanded it
with life; and, best of all, to open my inward ear to a tale that was never ended—a tale my imagination created, and narrated
continuously; quickened with all of incident, life, fire, feeling, that I desired and had not in my actual existence.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) physical vitality.
B) essential character.
C) controlling force.
D) uncivilized state.
51.
Scientists have long debated what drives most of the world’s erosion: Is it predominantly triggered by climate, or is it the result of
mountain—building, tectonic activity? Most previous studies of erosion have relied on measuring the amounts of sediment that
accumulate somewhere after being carried away from their sources and deposited elsewhere. But such analyses focus on the
aftereffects of erosion, not the process itself, says Frédéric Herman, a geophysicist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
And most research has looked at limited regions of Earth—a particular mountain range, say, and not the planet as a whole.
According to the text, one objection to the methods used in previous studies of erosion is that they
A) studied only the effects triggered by climate.
B) provided information about results rather than processes.
C) did not record temperatures of sediment samples.
D) failed to investigate glaciers.
52.
To more directly estimate rates of erosion, researchers use techniques generally known as thermochronometry, or the measure of
how a rock’s temperature has changed through time. Many such techniques rely on assessing how the decay of radioactive elements
within a rock has affected its minerals.
According to the text, the main function of thermochronometry is to
A) use changes in the temperature of rock to estimate rates of erosion.
B) better understand how helium diffusion in rock occurs.
C) develop better protection methods against radioactivity.
D) predict why there are occasional interglacial periods.
53.
To more directly estimate rates of erosion, researchers use techniques generally known as thermochronometry, or the measure of
how a rock’s temperature has changed through time. For their new study, Herman and his colleagues used four such techniques. In
two of them, the researchers measured how much decay-produced helium had built up in a rock’s minerals. (Once the rock falls
below a certain temperature, the helium stops diffusing out of the minerals efficiently.) In the other two, the team tallied the amount
of microscopic damage produced by radioactive decay. (Once the rock falls below a certain temperature, the atoms in a crystal
aren’t able to shifi and heal the damage.) Using these approaches, the researchers could estimate the dates at which the rocks cooled
to temperatures between 250°C and 70 °C – and therefore track the speed at which the rocks rose toward ground level as the
overlying strata eroded away.
183
According to the text, when the temperature of rock is above 250°C, it is reasonable to conclude that
A) crystals in minerals can no longer repair radioactive damage.
B) radioactive decay stops occurring in minerals.
C) helium can easily diffuse out of minerals.
D) helium stops diffusing out of minerals.
We know cities innovate, but we don’t necessarily know what that innovation means.
Well, we have a slightly better idea now thanks to the recent work of economists Neil Lee of Lancaster University Management
School and Andrés Rodriguez—Pose of the London School of Economics. Lee and Rodriguez-Pose used a sweeping 2010 business
survey to study the innovation patterns of roughly 1,600 small and medium enterprises across the United Kingdom.
The author discusses the work of Lee and Rodríguez-Pose primarily to show that
A) scholars are beginning to understand more about how cities innovate.
B) although it is assumed that cities foster innovation, the evidence suggests otherwise.
C) contemporary researchers use a single definition of innovation in cities.
D) compared to urban firms, nonurban firms are at a disadvantage due to lack of innovation.
54.
Innovation is a blanket term that can encompass very different things. Scholars who study the subject typically limit it to the urban
proliferation of patents. For sure, the creation of original concepts and products is a sign of innovation. At the same time, it could
also reflect a new way of doing business—applied from some other sector, perhaps, or even adapted from a competitor for some
other purpose.
The author indicates that studies of urban business have tended to
A) emphasize a distinction between two types of innovation.
B) base their conclusions on a small sample of urban businesses.
C) focus on only one manifestation of innovation.
D) underestimate urban businesses' dependence on interpersonal connections.
55.
When it came to new business processes, however, the urban advantage seemed to rely almost entirely on ideas learned from
neighboring firms (as opposed to original ideas). Here the city itself would appear to play its greatest role in innovation. Greater
proximity to other firms, and perhaps also greater employee movement from company to company, no doubt increases the flow of
outside information and leads to new ways of working.
According to the text, truly original business processes are
A) a by-product of the greater interpersonal connections found in cities.
B) seldom created by employees moving from one firm to another.
C) not as common as are new processes borrowed from other companies.
D) necessary to the survival of urban businesses.
56.
We all know that cities are great engines of innovation. One reason that’s the case is that cities grow "superlinearly”: interpersonal
connections grow at a greater rate than sheer population, and with that super proximity comes a super exchange of ideas. The
secrets of industy, as economist Alfred lvlarshall once wrote, are truly “in the air.”
So there may well be secrets of industry wafting through the city air, but they don’t stay secret for long.
The last sentence of the text serves mainly to
A) reiterate a problem identified earlier.
B) respond to an observation presented earlier.
C) cast doubt on a theory proposed earlier.
D) present a justification for a proposal offered earlier.
57.
The major groups of modern animals— everything from insects to creatures with a backbone—popped up 540 million to 500
million years ago in a proliferation known as the Cambrian explosion. Fossil and molecular evidence hint that the most primitive
animals appeared a couple hundred million years earlier, leading scientists to wonder about the cause of the lag.
Now scientists have stitched together earlier theories to come to a comprehensive explanation. Erik Sperling, an earth scientist at
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Harvard University, and colleagues say an increase in oxygen in the geologic record at the onset of the Cambrian period allowed
carnivores to evolve.
According to the text, Sperling's work helped to address which question scientists have had about the Cambrian explosion?
A) Why were oxygen levels so high during the Cambrian explosion?
B) Why was the proportion of carnivores higher during the Cambrian explosion than it was later?
C) Why did insects proliferate faster than did animals with a backbone during the Cambrian explosion?
D) Why did the Cambrian explosion occur when it did rather than earlier?
58.
Led by an international team of researchers, the report reveals that the oxygen content was roughly the same 2.1 billion years ago as
500 million years ago. The finding challenges a long-held theory that the Cambrian explosion was in part triggered by a sudden
uptick in the element required by all higher organisms.
Not only does the discovery potentially rewrite the history of evolution, it also offers a new narrative regarding Earth’s
development. Atmospheric oxygen, it shows, has fluctuated several times throughout history, rising to 25 percent between 250
million—300 million years ago, up from 21 percent today and more than double the estimated 10 percent of the Cambrian
explosion.
The second paragraph serves mainly to
A) provide an expert corroboration of the importance of the study discussed in the text.
B) acknowledge an exception to generalizations drawn from the study discussed in the text.
C) point out the scientific significance of the study discussed in the text.
D) concede that the conclusions of the study discussed in the text are disputed by some scientists.
59.
Text 1
Erik Sperling, an earth scientist at Harvard University, and colleagues say an increase in oxygen in the geologic record at the onset
of the Cambrian period allowed carnivores to evolve. The oxygen boost could have accommodated the high energy costs of
pursuing and digesting prey, Sperilng says. Once carnivores arrived, an evolutionary arms race broke out between predators and
prey, the team suggests. As prey evolved new defenses and predators developed new weapons, new kinds of animals sprung up.
Text 2
Led by an international team of researchers, the report reveals that the oxygen content was roughly the same 2.1 billion years ago as
500 million years ago. The finding challenges a long-held theory that the Cambrian explosion was in part triggered by a sudden
uptick in the element required by all higher organisms.
The primary purpose of both texts is to
A) describe fossil evidence of animal species that emerged during the Cambrian explosion.
B) argue that changing geological conditions were a factor in the Cambrian explosion.
C) advance a position on whether the Cambrian explosion actually took place.
D) discuss research regarding the role of oxygen in the Cambrian explosion.
60.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found new evidence that a subsurface ocean within Jupiter s icy moon Europa
may be intermittently venting plumes of water vapor into outer space. Afterward, however, the putative plumes observed by Roth’s
team vanished, failing to manifest in archival data or in every new search by other telescopes. Perhaps, some thought, the plumes
only appeared when Europa reached the farthest edge of its orbit, where the collective gravitational tugs of Jupiter and its other
moons could flex and “tidally heat” Europa’s interior, opening fissures and melting ice to vent water into space.
With the new detections reported by Sparks’s 60 team, the “tidal heating” hypothesis seems weaker than before - the possible
plumes they spotted do not seem to occur when Europa’s tidal heating should be strongest. This means that, if the plumes do exist,
they now lack an obvious source of heating that could also explain their observed dimensions and mysterious intermittency.
Based on the text, which hypothetical discovery would most strongly support Sparks and his team’s potential identification of
plumes on Europa?
A) Evidence of a recent major asteroid impact on Europa’s surface is discovered through more advanced imaging techniques.
B) A phenomenon other than tidal heating is found to heat Europa’s interior with a frequency corresponding to that of the plumes’
manifestations.
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C) The effect of Jupiter’s magnetic field on its moons is determined to be weaker than originally thought.
D) Tidal heating is demonstrated to account for the occurrence of plumes on other moons and planets.
61.
The heavy traffic in Masana is a growing drain on the city’s economy—the clogging of the streets of the central business district
alone cost the economy more than 51.2 billion over the past year. In order to address this problem, officials plan to introduce
congestion pricing, by which drivers would pay to enter the city’s most heavily trafficked areas during the busiest times of the day.
Which of the following, if true, would most strongly indicate that the plan will be a success?
(A)
Approximately one-fifth of the vehicles in the central business district are in transit from one side of the city to the other.
(B)
Planners expect that, without congestion pricing, traffic in Masana is likely to grow by 6 percent in the next five years.
(C)
In other urban areas, congestion pricing has strongly encouraged carpooling (sharing of rides by private commuters).
(D)
Several studies have shown that a reduction in traffic of 15 percent in Masana could result in 5,500 or more new jobs
62.
Previously, Autoco designed all of its cars itself and then contracted with specialized parts suppliers to build parts according to its
specifications. Now it plans to include its suppliers in designing the parts they are to build. Since many parts suppliers have more
designers with specialized experience than Autoco has, Autoco expects this shift to reduce the overall time and cost of the design of
its next new car.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports Autoco’s expectation?
A. When suppliers provide their own designs, Autoco often needs to modify its overall design
B. In order to provide designs for Autoco, several of the parts suppliers will have to add to their existing staffs of designers.
C. Parts and services provided by outside suppliers account for more than 50 percent of Autoco’s total costs.
D. Most of Autoco’s suppliers have on hand a wide range of previously prepared parts designs that can readily be modified
for a new car.
63.
Fast-food restaurants make up 45 percent of all restaurants in Canatria. Customers at these restaurants tend to be young; in fact,
studies have shown that the older people get, the less likely they are to eat in fast-food restaurants. Since the average age of the
Canatrian population is gradually rising and will continue to do so, the number of fast-food restaurants is likely to decrease.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A)
Fast-food restaurants in Canatria are getting bigger, so each one can serve more customers.
(B)
Some older people eat at fast-food restaurants more frequently than the average young person.
(C)
Many people who rarely eat in fast-food restaurants nevertheless eat regularly in restaurants.
(D)
The overall population of Canatria is growing steadily.
64.
Last year a chain of fast-food restaurants, whose menu had always centered on hamburgers, added its first vegetarian sandwich,
much lower in fat than the chain’s other offerings. Despite heavy marketing, the new sandwich accounts for a very small proportion
of the chain’s sales. The sandwich’s sales would have to quadruple to cover the costs associated with including it
on the menu. Since such an increase is unlikely, the chain would be more profitable if it dropped the sandwich.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A)
Although many of the chain’s customers have never tried the vegetarian sandwich, in a market research survey most of
those who had tried it reported that they were very satisfied with it.
(B)
Many of the people who eat at the chain’s restaurants also eat at the restaurants of competing chains and report no strong
preference among the competitors.
(C)
Among fast-food chains in general, there has been little or no growth in hamburger sales over the past several years as the
range of competing offerings at other restaurants has grown.
(D)
When even one member of a group of diners is a vegetarian or has a preference for low-fat food, the group tends to avoid
restaurants that lack vegetarian or low-fat menu options
65.
NowNews, although still the most popular magazine covering cultural events in Kalopolis, has recently suffered a significant drop
in advertising revenue because of falling circulation. Many readers have begun buying a competing magazine that, at 50 cents per
copy, costs less than NowNews at $1.50 per copy. In order to boost circulation and thus increase advertising revenue, NowNews’s
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publisher has proposed making it available at no charge. However, this proposal has a serious drawback, since
_______________________
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
(A)
those Kalopolis residents with the greatest interest in cultural events are regular readers of both magazines.
(B)
one reason NowNews’s circulation fell was that its competitor’s reporting on cultural events was superior.
(C)
the newsstands and stores that currently sell NowNews will no longer carry it if it is being given away for free.
(D)
at present, 10 percent of the total number of copies of each issue of NowNews are distributed free to students on college
campuses in the Kalopolis area
66.
Lucy's father, a prosperous local solicitor, had built Windy Corner, as a speculation at the time the district was opening up, and,
falling in love with his own creation, had ended by living there himself. Soon after his marriage, the social atmosphere began to
alter. Other houses were built on the brow of that steep southern slope, and others, again, among the pine-trees behind, and
northward on the chalk barrier of the downs. Most of these houses were larger than Windy Corner, and were filled by people who
came, not from the district, but from London, and who mistook the Honeychurches for the remnants of an indigenous aristocracy.
He was inclined to be frightened, but his wife accepted the situation without either pride or humility. “I cannot think what people
are doing,” she would say, “but it is extremely fortunate for the children.”
According to the narrator, Mr. and Mrs. Honeychurch differ primarily with regard to their
A) Responses to their neighbors' mistaken assumptions.
B) Attitudes toward Lucy's travels in Italy.
C) Inclinations toward speculating on others' motives.
D) Impulses to maintain public appearances.
67.
Certainly many of the immigrants were rather dull, and Lucy realized this more vividly since her return from Italy. She learnt to
speak with horror of Suburbia. Life, so far as she troubled to conceive it, was a circle of rich, pleasant people, with identical
interests and identical foes. In this circle, one thought, married, and died. Outside it were poverty and vulgarity for ever trying to
enter, just as the London fog tries to enter the pine-woods pouring through the gaps in the northern hills. But, in Italy, where any
one who chooses may warm himself in equality, as in the sun, this conception of life vanished. Her senses expanded; she felt that
there was no one whom she might not get to like, that social barriers were irremovable, doubtless, but not particularly high.
The narrator indicates that, before her experience of life in Italy, Lucy regarded economic deprivation as
A) an inexplicable problem
B) an irrelevant factor
C) an intrusive element
D) a tragic consequence
68.
Cecil did not realize that Lucy had consecrated her environment by the thousand little civilities that create a tenderness in time, and
that though her eyes saw its defects, her heart refused to despise it entirely. Nor did he realize a more important point—that if she
was too great for this society, she was too great for all society, and had reached the stage where personal intercourse would alone
satisfy her. A rebel she was, but not of the kind he understood—a rebel who desired, not a wider dwelling-room, but equality beside
the man she loved.
The narrator characterizes Cecil as someone who
A) is limited in his comprehension of Lucy
B) is indisputably heroic in his efforts to rescue Lucy
C) has a tendency to conceal his emotions
D) prefers seclusion to public interaction
69.
In earlier work, Sasaki and Pratt have shown that, as a group, the ants are better at picking the best of two closely-matched
locations, even if most of the workers have only seen one of the options. But Sasaki showed that this only happens if their choice is
difficult. If one nest site is clearly better than the other, individual ants actually outperform colonies.
When a worker finds a new potential home, it judges the quality for itself. Temnothorax ants love dark nests, in particular; with
187
fewer holes, it’s easier to control their temperature or defend them. If the worker decides that it likes the spot, it returns to the
colony and leads a single follower to the new location. If the follower agrees, it does the same. Through these “tandem-runs,” sites
build up support, and better ones do so more quickly than poorer ones. When enough ants have been convinced of the worth of a
site, their migration gathers pace. Workers just start picking up their nestmates and carrying them to the new site.
According to the text, the most important aspect of Temnothorax ants was their
A) Unusual strength
B) Visual acuity
C) Nest preferences
D) Large numbers
70.
When a worker finds a new potential home, it judges the quality for itself. Temnothorax ants love dark nests, in particular; with
fewer holes, it’s easier to control their temperature or defend them. If the worker decides that it likes the spot, it returns to the
colony and leads a single follower to the new location. If the follower agrees, it does the same. Through these “tandem-runs,” sites
build up support, and better ones do so more quickly than poorer ones. When enough ants have been convinced of the worth of a
site, their migration gathers pace. Workers just start picking up their nestmates and carrying them to the new site.
The author uses the term "tandem-runs" to convey a sense of how
A) The behaviors of individual ants contribute to a collective action
B) The efforts of individual ants are sometimes negated
C) An individual ant deserts its colony and joins another
D) A colony of ants works together to build its nest
71.
In past experiments, Sasaki and Pratt have always found that ant colonies make better decisions than individual workers. Even
though each worker might only visit one or two possible sites, the colony collectively explores all the options and weighs them
against one another. And since many individuals need to “vote” for a particular site, “this prevents any one ant’s poor choice from
misleading the entire colony,” says Sasaki.
This time, the team wanted to see if the colony keeps its superiority for easy tasks as well as difficult ones. They presented
Temnothorax ants with two possible nests—one held in constant darkness and another whose brightness could be adjusted.
Sometimes, the ants had an easy choice between a dark nest and a blindingly illuminated one. Sometimes, they had to choose
between two similar sites, one just marginally dimmer than the other.
In what way did the conditions of the primary experiment described in the text differ from those of Sasaki and Pratt's past
experiments?
A) The researchers manipulated the amount of light to vary nest selection difficulty.
B) The researchers positioned new nest sites at a remote distance from existing ones.
C) The researchers observed the behaviour of individual ants in relation to colonies
D) The researchers disrupted some of the ant nests soon after they were built
72.
The researchers presented Temnothorax ants with two possible nests—one held in constant darkness and another whose brightness
could be adjusted. Sometimes, the ants had an easy choice between a dark nest and a blindingly illuminated one. Sometimes, they
had to choose between two similar sites, one just marginally dimmer than the other.
As the light difference between the nests got bigger and the task became easier, the ants, whether as individuals or colonies, made
more accurate choices. The team expected as much. But to their surprise, the single workers showed the greatest improvements and
eventually outperformed their collective peers. In the easiest tasks, they chose the darker nest 90 percent of the time, while the
colonies peaked at 80 percent accuracy. To understand why this happens, consider how the ants choose their nests.
According to the text, why does the reseachers need to explain how the ants choose their nests?
A) evoke a sense of awe for ants' industriousness
B) summarize the result of a discredited experiment
C) provide context for an unexpected finding
D) establish how scientists monitor ant behaviour.
188
73.
Consider a clever study by psychologists Nancy Carter and Mark Weber, who presented business professionals with a scenario
about an organization struggling with dishonesty in its hiring interviews. They had the chance to choose one of two highly
competent senior managers to be the company’s job interviewer. The major difference between the two managers wasn’t experience
or skill, it was a matter of personality. One manager was skeptical and suspicious, whereas the other manager had a habit of trusting
others. Eighty-five percent chose the skeptical manager to make the hiring decisions, expecting the trusting manager to be naive and
easily duped.
The senior manager who “was skeptical and suspicious” would likely fall into which section of figure 1?
A) “don’t know” or “very often”
B) “never” or “not very often”
C) “somewhat often” or “not very often”
D) “very often” or “somewhat often”
74.
Carter and Weber created videotapes of eight business students interviewing for a job. Half of the interviewees told the truth
throughout the interview, while the other half was instructed to tell three significant lies apiece.
Carter and Weber recruited a group of people to watch the videos. Several days beforehand, they had completed a survey about
whether they were generally skeptical or trusting of others. After watching the videos, the participants placed their bets about which
candidates lied and which told the truth, and then made a choice about which ones they would hire. The results were surprising. The
more trusting evaluators better identified the liars among the group than the skeptics did, and were also less likely to hire those liars.
Based on the text, what is indicated by the study of people who watched the interview videos?
A) Skeptics are quite hard to distinguish from people who are trusting of others.
B) About half of job applicants are truthful in their interviews and about half are deceitful
C) Individuals who are trusting tend to make more informed hiring decisions than do those who are sceptical
D) Trying to predict the outcome of science research is unlikely to enhance the results of the research
75.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it’s the skeptics who are easiest to fool. Why would this be? One possibility, according to Carter
and Weber, is that lie-detection skills cause people to become more trusting. If you’re good at spotting lies, you need to worry less
about being deceived by others, because you can often catch them in the act. The other possibility is that by trusting others, we
sharpen our skills in reading people. Skeptics assume that most people are hiding or misrepresenting something. This makes them
interpersonally risk-averse, whereas people who habitually trust others get to see a wider range of actions—from honesty to
deception and generosity to selfishness. Over time, this creates more opportunities to learn about the signals that distinguish liars
189
from truth tellers.
The main distinction between the two possibilities is that the second possibility considers
A) honesty to be of primary rather than secondary importance.
B) scepticism to be a desirable trait rather than an undesirable one.
C) interpersonal skills to be difficult rather than easy to assess.
D) trusting people to be a cause rather than an effect of reliable lie detection.
76.
Some geologists have for decades taken the presence of the mineral hematite in a so-called banded iron formation (BIF) in
northwestern Australia as a sign that 2.5 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere had at least a trace of oxygen. A study of that BIF,
using the latest analytical techniques, suggests that this rock record has been misread. If this suggestion is true, oxygen actually may
have appeared in the atmosphere hundreds of millions of years later than this BIF suggested. Geologists say the study raises serious
questions about a supposedly reliable test. “People are recognizing that we have to be more careful,” says geochemist Timothy
Lyons.
The author's main purpose in writing about the recent study of the Dales Gorge BIF is to
A) give a detailed view of the advanced techniques the study employed.
B) chastise researchers for relying too heavily on the work of their predecessors.
C) suggest that scientific breakthroughs sometimes happen by chance.
D) show how the study has led geologist to reconsider certain assumptions.
77.
Because the Dales Gorge BIF has plenty of oxygen-rich hematite, earlier researchers concluded that oxygen gas from the
atmosphere must have already been dissolved in the ocean and in the underlying sediments 2.5 billion years ago, when the makings
of this BIF first settled to the ocean bottom. But the Australian researchers see signs that the BIF’s hematite appeared later. Other
iron-rich minerals—ones that, unlike hematite, form in the absence of oxygen gas—were there in the original seafioor sediments,
the group argues. But they conclude that this iron was probably not oxidized, producing the hematite, until about 300 million years
later, after tectonic forces crumpled the sea floor into mountains and drove oxygen-laden water down into the rock.
The purpose of the underlined sentence is to
A) support earlier research of BIF.
B) introduce the unexpected conclusion from the Dales Gorge study.
C) show that the researchers are inherently biased against the study.
D) provide evidence which is later proved false
78.
Given that western Australia hosts the archetypal examples of BIFs in that early time, Rasmussen says, the Dales Gorge formation
“probably records fundamental processes that also affected other BIFs at some time in their history.”
Others are not ready to go quite that far. BIF geologist Bruce Simonson praises the team’s “careful study and reasonable
conclusions” but adds that “it would be premature to extrapolate their conclusions to all BIFs everywhere.” Even so, both he and
Lyons see the new work as a warning shot. “Big stories of oxygen’s history] have been told by small amounts of data,” Lyons says.
Lately, “by being more careful, we’re seeing a more nuanced, more coherent picture.”
The text indicates that a possible weakness of the Dale Gorge BIF study is that it
A) fails to consider alternative approaches
B) overstates the implications of its results
C) relies excessively on complicated technology
D) examines a sample that was too varied
79.
The delay of this Declaration to this time has many great advantages ___________ it. The hopes of reconciliation, which were
fondly entertained by multitudes of honest and well meaning, though weak and mistaken people, have been gradually and, at last,
totally extinguished. Time has been given for the whole people maturely to consider the great question of independence, and to
ripen their judgment, dissipate their fears, and allure their hopes, by discussing it in newspapers and pamphlets, by debating it in
assemblies, conventions, Committees of safety and inspection, in town and country meetings, as well as in private conversations, so
that the whole people, in every colony of the thirteen, have now adopted it as their own act.
190
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) Accompanying
B) Viewing
C) Receiving
D) Addressing
80.
To understand why this happens, consider how the ants choose their nests. If an individual is working by herself, she might visit a
few sites in a row and gauge the difference between them. If they're very similar, there's a good chance she'll make the wrong
decision. But the colony doesn't work off the recommendations of any individual; it relies on a quorum, just like the up- and downvoting ____________ of some social websites. Together, the colony can amplify small differences between closely- matched sites
and smooth out bad choices from errant individuals.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) Method
B) Plot
C) Grouping
D) Tendency
81.
Consider a clever study by psychologists Nancy Carter and Mark Weber, who presented business professionals with a scenario
about an organization struggling with dishonesty in its hiring interviews. They had the chance to choose one of two highly
competent senior managers to be the company's job interviewer. The major difference between the two managers wasn't experience
or skill, it was a __________ of personality. One manager was sceptical and suspicious, whereas the other manager had a habit of
trusting others.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) issue.
B) topic.
C) substance.
D) amount.
82.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it's the skeptics who are easiest to fool. Why would this be? One possibility, according to Carter
and Weber, is that lie-detection skills cause people to become more trusting. If you're good at __________ lies, you need to worry
less about being deceived by others, because you can often catch them in the act.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) shaming.
B) discerning.
C) scheduling.
D) locating.
83.
Geologists trying to sniff out signs of oxygen in Earth's early air have long struggled with a major obstacle eons-old rocks that
provide only a ragged, fragmentary record of the gas. Even so, some have for decades taken the presence of the mineral hematite in
a so-called banded iron formation (BIF) in northwestern Australia as a sign that 2.5 billion years ago, Earth's atmosphere had at
least a ___________ of oxygen.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) established pattern
B) marked path
C) tiny amount
D) direct route
84.
The team took 400 translucent slivers of Dales Gorge rock from four deep-drill cores and studied 5them with several kinds of
modern optical microscopes, as well as with a scanning electron microscope equipped with an x-ray spectrometer for element
analysis. That let the researchers see where each microscopic mineral in the rock formed and get a sense of the order of their
191
creation. Knowing the __________ under which each mineral could form, the researchers could tell a tale about conditions in the
ocean beneath which the BIF was first laid down - a time when oxygen gas may have been making its first, tentative appearance on
Earth.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) agreements
B) stipulations
C) circumstances
D) qualifications
85.
This text is adapted from Elizabeth Gilbert, Stern Men. 1 2000 by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ruth Thomas spent her childhood on Fort Niles
Island with her father and now, as a teenager, attends a boarding school arranged for by her mother.
More than anything, Ruth’s passion for Fort Niles an expression of protest. It was her resistance against those who would send her
away, supposedly for her own good. Ruth would have much preferred to determine what was good for her. She had great
confidence that she knew herself best and that, given free rein, would have made more correct choices. She certainly wouldn’t have
elected to send herself to an elite private school hundreds of miles away, where girls were concerned primarily with the care of their
skin and horses. No horses for Ruth, thank you. She was not that kind of girl. She was more rugged.
According to the text, Ruth as the type of person who
A) realizes clearly what she really likes in life.
B) prefers to live in a close-knit community.
C) greatly enjoys spending time in nature.
D) prizes independence and self determination.
86.
It was important to Ruth in principle that she feel happy on Fort Niles, although, for the most part, she was pretty bored there. She
missed the island when she was asvay from it, but when she returned, she immediately found herself at a loss for diversion. She
made a point of taking a long walk around the shoreline the minute she came home (“I’ve been thinking about this all year!” she
would say), but the walk took only a few hours, and what did she think about on that walk? Not much. There was a seagull; there
was a seal; there was another seagull. The scenery to her as her bedroom ceiling. When Ruth w'as away from Fort Niles, the island
became endowed with the characteristics of a distant paradise, but when she returned to it, she found her home cold and damp and
windy and uncomfortable.
The reference to Ruth's bedroom ceiling supports the narrator's claim that Ruth found the island
A) hospitable and welcoming.
B) domestic and cozy.
C) unpretentious and authentic.
D) predictable and unexciting.
87.
Ruth had spent time working with her father on his lobster boat, and it had never been a terrific experience. She was strong enough
to do the work, but the monotony killed her. Working as a sternman meant standing in the back of the boat, hauling up traps,
picking out lobsters, baiting traps and so shoving them back in the water, and hauling up more traps. And more traps and more
traps. It meant getting up before dawn and eating sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. It meant seeing the same scenery again and
again, day after day, and rarely venturing more than two miles from shore. It meant spending hour upon hour alone with her father
on a small boat, where the two of them never seemed to get along.
The pattern of starting three consecutive sentences with "It meant..." mainly has the effect of
A) imitating the frequency of Ruth's complaints to her father.
B) disrupting the predictable sequence of night, dawn, and daytime.
C) emphasizing the repetitiveness in Ruth's days spent fishing.
D) representing the physical stamina required to work on a fishing boat.
88.
In 1995, a U.S. News & World Report survey posed the following question to readers: "If someone sues you and you win the case,
should he pay your legal costs?" Eighty-five percent of respondents said yes. Others got this question: "If you sue someone and lose
192
the case, should you pay his costs?" This time, only 44 percent said yes. As this turnabout illustrates, one's sense of fairness is easily
tainted by self-interest. This is considered biased fairness, rather than simple bias, because people are genuinely motivated to be
fair. Suppose the magazine had posed both versions of the question simultaneously. Few respondents would have said, "The loser
should pay if I'm the winner, but the winner should pay if I'm the loser." We genuinely want to be fair, but in most disputes there is
a range of options that might be seen as fair, and we tend to favor the ones that suit us best.
The author implies that the survey by U.S. News and World Report would likely have produced different results had it
A) been distributed to a different group of readers.
B) proceeded from the assumption that people consciously act out of self-interest.
C) discussed similar legal cases that occurred in states other than Texas
D) framed the question in a manner that made a moral issue apparent.
89.
A series of negotiation experiments by Linda Babcock, George Loewenstein, and colleagues illuminates the underlying psychology
of biased fairness. In some of these experiments, pairs of people negotiated over a settlement for a motorcyclist who had been hit by
a car. The details of the hypothetical case were based on a real case that had been tried by a judge in Texas. At the start of the
experiment, the subjects were randomly assigned to their roles as plaintiff and defendant. Before negotiating, they separately read
twenty-seven pages of material about the case, including witness testimony, maps, police reports, and the testimonies of the real
defendant and plaintiff. After reading this material, they were asked to guess what the real judge had awarded the plaintiff, and they
did this knowing which side they would be on. They were given a financial incentive to guess accurately, and their guesses were not
revealed to the opponents, lest they weaken their bargaining positions.
It can reasonably be inferred from the text that the negotiation experiments were designed in such a way that subjects
A) had little incentive to study the background material on the real case.
B) felt pressured to use dishonest means to reach settlement quickly.
C) lacked key pieces of information when negotiations began.
D) had a compelling reason to estimate the judge's award correctly.
90.
The basic properties of friction are simple to grasp. To move a solid object from rest on top of a solid surface, a minimum force has
to be applied to overcame the force of friction. This force is proportional to the compressive force pushing the two surfaces
together, in this case the weight of the object. Intriguingly, this minimum force is independent of the area of contact between the
body and the surface. So the friction force on a rectangular solid resting on a table is the same whichever face is in contact with the
surface. These laws have been known since the mid 1700s. It is one of the dirty little secrets of physics that while we physicists can
tell you a lot about quarks, quasars and other exotica, there is still no universally accepted explanation of the basic laws of friction.
According to the text, what is the current state of scientists' understanding of friction?
A) Friction's strength can be calculated by computer programs based on the standard theory of friction.
B) Friction between rough surfaces is better understood than friction between smooth surfaces.
C) Friction between clean surfaces is better understood than friction between dirty surfaces.
D) Friction's properties are familiar, but its explanation remains elusive.
91.
For years, physicists have tried to explain this large- scale behavior in terms of atomic-scale events. They've had some success by
portraying surfaces as jagged on an atomic scale. That way, very little material actually touches. However, scientists still struggle to
explain why protrusions from two surfaces would stick together at all.
There's incentive to find out. A better understanding of friction could improve scientists' grasp of countless phenomena, such as
engine performance and tool wear. Moreover, friction is particularly vexing for developers of micromachines.
According tothe tex, friction especially affects the making of
A) small machines.
B) automobile engines.
C) high-speed tools.
D) floor coverings.
193
92.
Text 1
To move a solid object from rest on top of a solid surface, a minimum force has to be applied to overcome the force of friction. This
force is proportional to the compressive force pushing the two surfaces together, in this case the weight of the object. Intriguingly,
this minimum force is independent of the area of contact between the body and the surface. So the friction force on a rectangular
solid resting on a table is the same whichever face is in contact with the surface. These laws have been known since the mid 1700s.
Text 2
In the new mathematical model, Eric Gerde and Michael P. Marder build upon the physics of how cracks form and propagate
through solids. Think of a bump in a rug, says Marder. As people know from everyday experience, pushing such bumps along can
move a big rug over a floor. Something similar may be happening at the atomic scale between sliding surfaces. A plus for this
hypothesis is that it predicts the simple relationship between compressive forces, like weight, and frictional forces. Yet it doesn’t
require the surfaces to be rough on an atomic scale, as previous models do.
According to Text 1, what is the precise nature of the “simple relationship” mentioned in Text 2?
A) Frictional forces are proportional to compressive forces.
B) Frictional forces are weaker than compressive forces.
C) Frictional fores simulated from compressive forces.
D) Frictional forces are less common than compressive forces.
93.
Text 1
The standard picture of friction is that the solid surfaces are not really planar, but are rough on a microscopic scale. The presence of
these tiny surface features, or asperities as they are known, prevents the surfaces from coming into full contact. So the true contact
area is much smaller than its apparent value, and is proportional to the compressive force between the surfaces, in much the same
way that the contact area between a car tire and the road increases when you load your car.
Text 2
In the new mathematical model, Eric Gerde and Michael P. Marder build upon the physics of how cracks form and propagate
through solids. Think of a bump in a rug, says Marder. As people know from everyday experience, pushing such bumps along can
move a big rug over a floor. Something similar may be happening at the atomic scale between sliding surfaces. Marder says that the
combination of downward and sideways forces on an object sliding along an underlying surface can translate into upward forces
that open "cracks" at the interface, akin to bumps in a rug. These cracks amount to a series of arches, each a few atomic diameters
across. As these waves of separation advance along the interface, the overlying surface comes back down behind each wave and
reconnects with the surface below.
Which of the following statements correctly compares the Texts’ use of analogies?
A) The author of Text 1 uses an analogy to explain the conventional model of friction, while the author of Text 2 uses an analogy to
explain a new model of friction.
B) The author of Text 1 uses an analogy to explain different fields of physics, while the author of Text 2 uses an analogy to explain
industrial uses of friction.
C) The author of Text 1 uses all analogy to explain industrial uses of frict ion, while the author of Text 2 uses an analogy to explain
the shape of the sliding surface.
D) The author of Text 1 uses an analogy to explain the shape of the sliding surface, while the author of Text 2 uses an analogy to
explain the conventional model of friction.
94.
Natural selection then should not simply favor all xenophobia (a fear of strangers), but a xenophobia that is sensitive to the sex of
the stranger. In support of this, in trials in which the two individuals tested were a male and a female, Spinks and his colleagues
found that while aggression was still uncovered in the low-resource, arid population, the level of aggression decreased dramatically
when compared to aggression in same- sex interactions. In other words, natural selection has produced common mole rats that
temper their fear of strangers as a function of both where they live and the sex of the strangers.
194
Which of the following conclusions about common mole rats is suggested by both the text and the chart?
A) When common mole rats from arid populations encounter each other, aggressive interactions are very likely.
B) When one common mole rat from an arid environment and one common mole rat frona mesic environment encounter each other,
aggression will inevitably result.
C) When resources are scarce, male common mole rats exhibit far more aggressive behaviors than female common mole rats do.
D) When resources are scarce, the competition for resources will sometimes outweigh the fact that a stranger is of the opposite sex.
95.
Control experiments demonstrated that when two individuals who knew each other from the arid population were tested together,
aggression disappeared-thus it was the identification of a stranger that initiated the aggression. This is precisely the sort of behavior
that natural selection should favor.
According to the text, common mole rats are least likely to show aggression toward
A) common mole rats from mesic areas.
B) members of their own colonies.
C) common mole rats removed from their natural environments.
D) members of different species.
96.
She was bored by the books Raja brought her and tried not to disappoint him by showing her boredom but of course Raja saw and
was hurt. Bim began to read, laboriously, sitting up at a table with her elbows placed on either side of the book, Gibbon's Decline
and Fall¹ that she had found on the drawing-room bookshelf. Raja secretly admired her for it as he could not have __________ a
study of such length himself, but would not show it and said only that she did not know what she was missing, that she had no
imagination: to him, the saddest sin. That hurt and puzzled Bim: what need of imagination when one could have knowledge
instead? That created a gap between them a trough or a channel that the books they shared did not bridge.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) undertaken.
B) obstructed.
C) secured.
D) seized.
97.
It is in the nature of man, manifested by his whole history, that religious disputes are apt to become __________, and men's strength
of the conviction is proportionate to their views of the magintude of the questions. In all such disputes, there will sometimes be men
found with whom every thing is absolute- absolutely wrong, or absolutely right. They see the right clearly; they think others ought
so to see it, and they are disposed to establish a broad line of distinction between what is right and what is wrong.
195
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) moderate.
B) passionate.
C) cordial.
D) comfortable.
98.
Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality that it never ___________ any moral right, but considers merely what is
expedient? Chooses the available candidate-who is invariably the Devil-and what right have his constituents to be surprised,
because the Devil does not behave like an angel of light? What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity-who recognize a
higher law than the Constitution, or the decision of the majority.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) confines.
B) guarantees.
C) adjusts.
D) fastens.
99.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Haddrath says, molecular evidence showed that the flightless ratites were closely related to birds called
tinamous. Unlike the ratites, these small ground dwellers in Central and South America can fly (though they don't often choose to).
At the same time, scientists realized that everyplace ratites live or used to live (Australia, South America, Africa) was a piece of
land that once belonged to the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Perhaps the _________ ancestor of all ratites was a flightless bird on
Gondwanaland that had already split off from its flying relative the tinamou.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) popular.
B) shared.
C) everyday.
D) well known.
100. Although the Kyoto proceedings rapidly _________ an accord on paper, the real-world impact on global warming is small.
Industrialized nations, where the obligations are most demanding, have implemented restrictions in an uneven fashion. Key
countries-notably the U.S., but also Australia and Canada-have ignored the Kyoto strictures because they found them too costly or
politically inconvenient. The U.S. economy, for instance, grew rapidly in the late 1990s, which raised its emissions output, making
meeting the Kyoto targets even harder
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) produced.
B) surrendered.
C) slowed.
D) deferred.
101. History shows that broad international treaties usually fail to find solutions to difficult problems.That is because these pacts
normally reflect the interests of their least enthusiastic members and are often codified through ___________ commitments with
easy escape clauses for governments that will not readily honor their agreements. Pushing tougher constraints on unwilling
governments rarely works because reluctant nations can just remain aloof, as most developing countries and the U.S. have in the
Kyoto process.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) illogical.
B) flimsy.
C) ambivalent.
D) unskilled.
196
102. Studies recording electrical brain activity in animals have shown that neurons in the hippocampus signal particular moments in
time. But the hippocampus isn't always necessary for tracking time. Remarkably, people with damage to their hippocampuscan
accurately remember the text of short time periods, but are impaired at remembering long time intervals. These findings hint that the
hippocampus is important for signaling some - but not all - temporal information. If this is the case, what exactly is this time code
used for, and why is it so ___________?
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) restricted.
B) incompatible.
C) private.
D) absolute.
103. Sviatovin is a medieval Moringian text whose author and exact date of composition are unknown. However, the events in the life of
Prince Sviatov that the text describes occurred in 1165, and in the diagram of Sviatov’s family that accompanies the text his father,
who died in 1167, is identified as still living. Thus Sviatovin must have been written between 1165 and 1167, assuming that
________________
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
(A)
the life of Prince Sviatov is not the subject of any other medieval Moringian texts
(B)
the author of Sviatovin intended it to provide as accurate a report about Prince Sviatov's exploits as possible
(C)
the diagram accurately represents the composition of Sviatov’s family at the time Sviatovin was written
(D)
Sviatovin is the earliest Moringian text whose composition can be dated to within a few years
104. Although the number of large artitcial satellites orbiting the Earth is small compared to the number of small pieces of debris in
orbit, the large satellites interfere more seriously with telescope observations because of the strong reflections they produce.
Because many of those large satellites have ceased to function, the proposal has recently been made to eliminate interference from
nonfunctioning satellites by exploding them in space. This proposal, however, is ill conceived, since ______________
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
(A)
many nonfunctioning satellites remain in orbit for years
(B)
for satellites that have ceased to function, repairing them while they are in orbit would be prohibitively expensive
(C)
there are no known previous instances of satellites’ having been exploded on purpose
(D)
a greatly increased number of small particles in Earth’s orbit would result in a blanket of reflections that would make certain
valuable telescope observations impossible
105. In a typical year, Innovair’s airplanes are involved in 35 collisions while parked or being towed in airports, with a resulting yearly
cost of $1,000,000 for repairs.
To reduce the frequency of ground collisions, Innovair will begin giving its ground crews additional training, at an annual cost of
$500,000. Although this will cut the number of ground collisions by about half at best, the drop in repair costs can be expected to be
much greater, since _____________
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
(A)
most ground collisions happen when ground crews are rushing to minimize the time a delayed airplane spends on the
ground
(B)
a ground collision typically occurs when there are no passengers on the airplane
(C)
the additional training will focus on helping ground crews avoid those kinds of ground collisions that cause the most costly
damage
(D)
the 5500,000 cost figure for the additional training of ground crews includes the wages that those crews will earn during the
time spent in actual training
106. Political theorist: Even with the best spies, area experts, and satellite surveillance, foreign policy assessments can still lack
important information. In such circumstances intuitive judgment is vital. A national leader with such judgment can make good
decisions about foreign policy even when current information is incomplete, since _____________
197
Which of the following, if true, most logically completes the argument?
(A)
the central reason for failure in foreign policy decision making is the absence of critical information
(B)
those leaders whose foreign policy decisions have been highly ranked have also been found to have good intuitive judgment
(C)
both intuitive judgment and good information are required for sound decision making
(D)
intuitive judgment can produce good decisions based on past experience, even when there are important gaps in current
information
107. This text is adapted from Elizabeth Gilbert, Stern Men. © 2000 by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ruth Thomas spent her childhood on Fort
Niles Island with her father and now, as a teenager, attends a boarding school arranged for by her mother.
More than anything, Ruth's ____________ for Fort Niles was an expression of protest. It was her resistance against those who
would send her away, supposedly for her own good. Ruth would have much preferred to determine what was good for her. She had
great confidence that she knew herself best and that, given free rein, would have made more correct choices. She certainly wouldn't
have elected to send herself to an elite private school hundreds of miles away, where girls were concerned primarily with the care of
their skin and horses. No horses for Ruth, thank you.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) agitation.
B) anger.
C) vulnerability.
D) enthusiasm.
108. In 1995, a U.S. News & World Report survey posed the following question to readers: "If someone sues you and you win the case,
should he pay your e legal costs?" Eighty-five percent of respondents said yes. Others got this question: "If you sue someone and
lose the case, should you pay his costs?" This time, only 44 percent said yes. As this turnabout illustrates, one's sense of fairness is
easily tainted by self-interest. This is considered biased fairness, rather than simple bias, because people are genuinely motivated to
be _____________. Suppose the magazine had posed both versions of the question simultaneously. Few respondents would have
said, "The loser should pay if I'm the winner, but the winner should pay if I'm the loser."
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) pleasing.
B) adequate.
C) equitable.
D) legitimate.
109. Suppose the magazine had posed both versions of the question simultaneously. Few respondents would have said, "The loser should
pay if I'm the winner, but the winner should pay if I'm the loser." We genuinely want to be fair, but in most disputes there is a
_____________ of options that might be seen as fair, and we tend to favor the ones that suit us best. Many experiments have
documented this tendency in the lab. The title of a Dutch paper nicely summarizes the drift of these findings: "Performance-based
pay is fair, particularly when I perform better."
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) series.
B) distance.
C) sum.
D) region.
110. The basic properties are simple to grasp. To move a solid object from rest on top of a solid surface, a minimum force has to be
applied to overcome the force of friction. This force is proportional to the compressive force pushing the two surfaces together, in
this case the weight of the object. Intriguingly, this minimum force is __________ the area of contact between the body and the
surface. So the friction force on a rectangular solid resting on a table is the same whichever face is in contact with the surface.
These laws have been known since the mid 1700s. It is one of the dirty little secrets of physics that while we physicists can tell you
a lot about quarks, quasars and other exotica, there is still no universally accepted explanation of the basic laws of friction.
198
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) affiliated with.
B) proportional to.
C) caused by.
D) unrelated to.
111. Problems have arisen when physicists tried to confirm this picture using calculation from first principles. The goal is to construct,
either analytically or on the computer, a solid body and surface from atoms with __________ interactions, and calculate the friction
force directly. But previous attempts at this found that the two surfaces ride freely on top of each other because of the mismatch
between the asperities on the two surfaces, so there is no friction.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) approximated.
B) given.
C) written.
D) recommended.
112. Revolutions are sudden to the unthinking only. Strange rumblings and confused noises still precede these earthquakes and
hurricanes of the moral world. The process of revolution in France has been dreadful, and should incite us to examine with an
anxious eye the motives and _________ of those, whose conduct and opinions seem calculated to forward a similar event in our
own country. The oppositionists to " things as they are," are divided into many and different classes. To delineate them with an
unflattering accuracy may be a delicate, but it is a necessary, task, in order that we may enlighten, or at least be aware of, the
misguided men who have enlisted under the banners of liberty, from no principles or with bad ones....
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) behaviors.
B) properties.
C) traditions.
D) quirks.
113. As an example of natural selection acting on animal behavior, let's examine how individuals in social groups respond to strangers.
For animals that live in stable groups, strangers-unknown individuals from outside one's group-___________ a significant danger.
Such individuals may compete for scarce resources, disrupt group dynamics that have long been in place, and so on. As such,
ethologists are interested in whether animals from group-living species display a fear of strangers, a phenomenon technically known
as xenophobia. In particular ethologists hypothesize that xenophobia may be especially strong when resources are scarce, since
competition for such resources will be intense under such a scenario, and keeping strangers away may have a strong impact on the
lifetime reproductive success of group members.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) identify.
B) portray.
C) personify.
D) constitute.
114. Results were clear-cut: For both male vs. male and female vs. female, when the pair of individuals were from different colonies,
fear of strangers and aggression toward such strangers was much more pronounced in the common mole rats from the arid
environment, where resources were limited, than it was in the common mole rats from the mesic environment. This result was not a
function of individuals from arid populations just being more aggressive in general. Control experiments demonstrated that o when
two individuals who knew each other from the arid population were tested together, aggression disappeared-thus it was the
identification of a stranger that initiated the aggression. This is precisely the sort of behavior that natural selection should
_____________.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
199
A) approve.
B) promote.
C) regard.
D) indulge.
115. This text is adapted from Anita Desai, Clear Light of Day. @1980 by Anita Desai. Raja, Bim, and Tara are siblings living in Old
Delhi, India.
As they grew into adolescence it seemed to Raja, Bim and Tara that they were suffocating in some great grey mass through which
they tried to thrust as Raja had thrust through the thorny hedge, and emerge into a different atmosphere. How was it to be different?
Oh, they thought, it should have colour and event and company, be rich and vibrant with possibilities. Only they could not—the
greyness was so massed as to baffle them and defeat their attempts to fight through. Only Raja sometimes did. Raja also had the
faculty of coming alive to ideas, to images picked up in the books he read. The usual boyhood adventure stories, Robin Hood and
Beau Geste, set him on fire till he almost blazed with enthusiasm as he showed Hamid how to fashion swords out of bamboo poles
and battle with him, or pictured himself in the desert, in the Foreign Legion, playing some outsize, heroic role in a splendid battle.
The narrator suggests that Raja sometimes overcomes the "great grey mass" by
A) engaging in playful activities.
B) fleeing the company of his sisters.
C) focusing on school.
D) constructing a false identity.
116. This text is adapted from Anita Desai, Clear Light of Day. @1980 by Anita Desai. Raja, Bim, and Tara are siblings living in Old
Delhi, India.
The sisters, however, read themselves not into a blaze but a stupor, sinking lower and lower under the dreadful weight of Gone with
the Wind and Lorna Doone, their eyes growing glazed so that characters never quite emerged into the bright light of day and only
made vague, blurred impressions on their drowsy, drugged minds, rather than vivid and clear-cut ones. They hadn’t the vitality that
Raja had, to participate in what they read—they were passive receivers, bulging with all they read, sinking with its weight like
water-logged rafts.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A) point out the types of books that Bim and Tara are accustomed to reading.
B) explain the negative attitudes of Bim and Tara toward the novels Raja brings them.
C) contrast the effect reading has on Bim and Tara with the effect it has on Raja.
D) imply that Bim and Tara read literature that is less interesting than the literature Raja reads.
117. Bim was bored by the books Raja brought her and tried not to disappoint him by showing her boredom but of course Raja saw and
was hurt. Bim began to read, laboriously, sitting up at a table with her elbow placed on either side of the book, Gibbon’s Decline
and Fall that she had found on the drawing—room bookshelf. Raja secretly admired her for it as he could not have tackled a study
of such length himself, but would not show it and said only that she did not know what she was missing, that she had no
imagination: to him, the saddest sin. That hurt and puzzled Bim: what need of imagination when one could have knowledge
instead?
According to the text, Raja reacts to Bim's choice of reading material by
A) praising the ideas in her books while faulting their lack of literary style.
B) resenting Bim's contempt for the books he gave her.
C) sharing in Bim's academic interests despite finding the texts very difficult to follow.
D) criticizing Bim's actions aloud while privately respecting her.
118. Watching an ostrich sprint across the plain like a mean two-legged dust mop, you might think a mistake has been made. Surely this
isn’t one of evolution’s prouder moments? But new genetic evidence says that the group of birds including ostriches, emus, and
other ungainly birds all came from flying ancestors. They lost the ability to fly not once, but over and over again. Something must
have been working.
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In the first paragraph, the author uses the phrase "mean two-legged dust mop" primarily to
A) present an amusing depiction of the awkward appearance of ostriches.
B) present an image that helps explain why ostriches are unable to fly.
C) suggest that genetic evidence about the ostrich's ancestor is likely misleading.
D) imply a link between the appearance of ostriches and their behavior.
119. The ratites are a group of birds that includes the ostrich and emu, as well as the kiwi, rhea (like a smaller, South American ostrich),
and cassowary (with a bright blue face and what looks like a toenail on its head). There were also the moa of New Zealand and the
elephant bird of Madagascar— gigantic Big Bird types that went extinct within the past several hundred years, likely due to
humans.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A) reveal recently discovered finding about a certain group of birds
B) identify the members of a certain group of birds in some detail.
C) compare and contrast the characteristics that define a certain group of birds.
D) outline the research approaches aimed at understanding a certain group of birds.
120. Text 1
In the 1960s and 1970s, Haddrath says, molecular evidence showed that the flightless ratites were closely related to birds called
tinamous. Unlike the ratites, these small ground dwellers in Central and South America can fly (though they don’t often choose to).
At the same time, scientists realized that everyplace ratites live or used to live (Australia, South America, Africa) was a piece of
land that once belonged to the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Perhaps the common ancestor of all ratites was a flightless bird on
Gondwanaland that had already split off from its flying relative the tinamou.
Text 2
Haddrath and his coauthorsused DNA from the extinct moa, as well as updated DNA-sequencing technology that let them gather
large amounts of data at once. “We used over 1 million base pairs” of DNA, Haddrath says, “to test whether the tinamou was closer
to the moa than the moa was to the emu and ostrich.” They found that the tinamou isn’t a distant cousin after all, but a sibling smack
in the middle of the ratite family tree. This suggests that the common ancestor of the ratites and the tinamou could fly, and while the
tinamou held onto this skill, the branches leading to other ratites became flightless again and again.
Text 2 suggests that Haddrath's studies have challenged the scientific understanding advanced in the Text 1 on which point?
A) Whether ratites and tinamous are related
B) Whether all tinamous once lived on the same continent
C) Whether tinamous lost and regained the ability to fly
D) Whether the common ancestor of ratites was flightless
121. Without any practical way to force developing nations to control their emissions, the Kyoto signers instead reached a compromise
known as the clean development mechanism. Under this scheme, investors could earn credits for projects that cut emissions in
developing nations even though the host country faced no binding restriction on its output of these gases. A British firm that faces
strict (and thus costly) limits on its emissions at home, for example, might invest to build wind turbines in China. The company
would then accrue credits for the difference between the “baseline” emissions that would have been released had the Chinese
burned coal to generate electricity and the essentially zero emissions discharged by the wind farm. China would gain foreign
investment and energy infrastructure, while the British firm could meet its environmental obligations at lower cost because credits
earned overseas are often less expensive than reducing emissions at home.
The authors discuss a "British firm" primarily to
A) acknowledge a significant exception to a trend.
B) note a prominent instance of a common phenomenon.
C) substantiate an assumption that is central to an argument.
D) illustrate a practice with a hypothetical example.
122. History shows that broad international treaties usually fail to find solutions to difficult problems. That is because these pacts
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normally reflect the interests of their least enthusiastic members and are often codified through weak commitments with easy escape
clauses for governments that will not readily honor their agreements. Pushing tougher constraints on unwilling governments rarely
works because reluctant nations can just remain aloof, as most developing countries and the U.S. have in the Kyoto process.
The author makes which claim about international climate treaties?
A) They are difficult to enforce because of the lack of international regulatory bodies.
B) They tend to be hard to achieve but effective once implemented.
C) They are generally constrained by the approach preferred by the participants least committed to addressing climate change.
D) They typically fail because the restrictions that they put on emissions lead to economic contraction rather than to economic
growth.
123. Pushing tougher constraints on unwilling governments rarely works because reluctant nations can just remain aloof, as most
developing countries and the U.S. have in the Kyoto process. (By contrast, the successful efforts to protect Earth’s ozone layer were
created with U.S. leadership. They also hinged on a special financing scheme to pay recalcitrant developing countries for the cost of
instituting deep cuts in emissions, an option that is an essential part of addressing the climate change problem, but one that is much
harder to carry out because the price tag is dramatically larger.)
The author indicates that the "special financing scheme" would be difficult to apply in the case of climate change because of its
A) great expense.
B) logistical complexity.
C) limited popularity.
D) technological requirements.
124. Rats with nonfunctional hippocampi were not just normal at discriminating between similar time periods at short scales (e.g., 1
versus 1.5 minutes), but they in fact performed better. The hippocampus might be oblivious to events that happen on a second-bysecond scale, but we’re certainly able to track the rapid text of these moments. Considering that the brain region called the striatum
is believed to track time on the order of seconds, the authors propose that the hippocampus and striatum might actually compete
with one another, such that when the hippocampus is quieted, the striatum is freed to function even more effectively than usual.
The text most strongly suggests that the experimental results described in underlined portion may have resulted from
A) variations in the sensitivity of the rats' hippocampi to time at different scales.
B) improvements in the rats' ability to recognize subtle distinctions between odors.
C) the rats' striata having greater freedom to perform specialized timekeeping functions.
D) short time periods being too similar for any brain structure to distinguish them.
125. In a new study, researchers from the University of California, Irvine tried to train rats to discriminate between different time
intervals. Before some of the trials the scientists injected a chemical that temporarily inactivates the hippocampus. This allowed
them to test whether a functional hippocampus is necessary to distinguish between different time intervals. The rats with inactive
hippocampi could tell the difference between vastly different time intervals (e.g., 3 versus 12 minutes) just as well as the control
rats, but performed no better than chance at detecting differences between similar periods of time (e.g., 8 versus 12 minutes). This
suggests that the hippocampus is important for distinguishing between similar time intervals, but isn’t needed when the intervals are
very different. But oddly enough, this pattern only held up at long time periods; rats with nonfunctional hippocampi were not just
normal at discriminating between similar time periods at short scales (e.g., 1 versus 1.5 minutes), but they in fact performed better.
The author most likely places the word "better" in italics to
A) emphasize the unexpectedness of an outcome.
B) stress the firmness of a conviction.
C) call attention to the importance of an approach.
D) clarify a potential misunderstanding.
126. While the hippocampus does signal elapsed time, it has a very particular role in doing so. It specifically discriminates between
similar time periods at long time scales—on the order of several minutes. When you can tell that you’ve been showering for 10
minutes, and not 15, you can thank your hippocampus. While it may seem odd for the hippocampus to perform such a highly
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specialized function, this is perfectly consistent with what we know it does in other domains. The hippocampus is renowned for its
ability to discriminate between overlapping objects or experiences—a process known as pattern separation. This study suggests it
pattern separates many features of an experience, detecting subtle differences between objects, places and time periods.
The author includes a discussion of the process of pattern separation most likely to
A) imply that damage to the hippocampus that affects its timekeeping ability does not affect its ability to distinguish other subtle
differences.
B) suggest that the timekeeping activity of the hippocampus is a specific manifestation of a general activity that the hippocampus
performs.
C) draw a comparison between the timekeeping role of the hippocampus and the timekeeping role of the striatum.
D) illustrate the idea that the hippocampus's timekeeping ability varies depending on the amount of time being tracked.
127. Considering that the brain region called the striatum is believed to track time on the order of seconds, the authors propose that the
hippocampus and striatum might actually compete with one another, such that when the hippocampus is quieted, the striatum is
freed to function even more effectively than usual. Although I wouldn’t advise intentionally damaging your hippocampus (you’ll
develop a significantly graver problem), doing so could theoretically boost your ability to track the text of short time periods.
But it’s unclear whether this inhibitory relationship is reciprocal or unidirectional. If the hippocampus and striatum indeed function
as separate, antagonistic clocks, does the striatum suppress the hippocampus, just as the hippocampus appears to impair the
striatum? Scientists know that damaging the striatum leads to a host of problems processing time. But could it also confer one
particular time-telling superpower—that of distinguishing between similar long time intervals—by launching the hippocampus into
high- gear? Only further research will tell.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the second paragraph?
A) discuss potential problems associated with certain parts of the brain.
B) identify some approaches to brain research that have proven especially promising.
C) lament the lack of consensus in current research on the brain.
D) suggest an area of brain research that is worthy of additional investigation.
128. "Thanks, Baba," Gogol says, eager to return to lyrics. Lately he's been __________, addressing his parent English though they
continue to speak to him in Bengali. Occasionally he wanders through the house with his running sneakers on. At dinner he
sometimes uses a fork.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) negligent
B) passive.
C) lethargic.
D) slow.
129. Historical linguists are enthusiastic about a language-dating technique called linguistic paleontology. The ___________ is to
reconstruct words for objects of material culture in a language family and date the language by noting the times at which such
objects first appear in the archaeological record.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) belief.
B) approach.
C) image.
D) option.
130. Linguistic paleontologists claim they can spot such borrowed words. It's true that "Coca-Cola" is easy enough to recognize as a
foreign borrowing in many languages, but the more ancient the borrowing, the more a word may take on the __________ of its host
language. One of the criticisms linguists level at glottochronology [a rival language-dating method that does not employ
archaeological research] is that it is confounded by unrecognized borrowed words.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
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A) characteristic quality.
B) vivid intensity.
C) artistic appearance.
D) deliberate arrangement.
131. "We live in the Milky Way,and as a result, we have a certain perspective about what we might call a star cluster," says Rupali
Chandar, an astronomer at the University of Toledo, Ohio. In our parochial view, star clusters come in two _________ open and
globular-that at first glance could not be more different.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) qualities
B) enhancements.
C) varieties.
D) surroundings
132. Globulars typically contain 100,000 solar masses, all of it packed into a spherical or elliptical volume 100 or so light-years across.
With ages around 12 billion years, globular clusters are truly ancient objects, a fact ________ in the low metallicity of their stars.
About 150 globulars-including several visible to the Unaided eye-orbit the Milky Way.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) examined.
B) pondered.
C) exhibited.
D) speculated.
133. Parasites are everywhere. Yet despite this ubiquity, they are not in all places at all times. For a particular host-parasite pairing,
infections vary greatly over space and time, with some but not all host populations suffering infections in a given year. What drives
this variation? This question is important not just because parasites can have major ecological and evolutionary impacts, but also
because disease outbreaks can have devastating impacts in agricultural systems and on species of conservation concern.
According to the text, a high incidence of parasitic infection in a host species may
A) promote the spread of disease in other host-parasite pairings.
B) impact cultivated plants less significantly than it impacts wild plants.
C) pose a distinct threat to species whose population sizes are decreasing.
D) cause the host population to become a fragmented metapopulation.
134. Gogol sits cross-legged on the bed, hunched over the lyrics, when he hears a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he hollers, expecting it to be his sister Sonia in her pajamas, asking if she can borrow his Magic 8 Ball or his Rubik’s
Cube. He is surprised to see his father, standing in stocking feet, a small potbelly visible beneath his oat-colored sweater vest, his
mustache turning gray. Gogol is especially surprised to see a gift in his father’s hands. His father has never given him birthday
presents apart from whatever his mother buys, but this year, his father says, walking across the room to where Gogol is sitting, he
has something special.
According to the text, which choice best describes the relationship between Gogol and his father?
A) They rarely interact on an intimate level.
B) They confide in each other.
C) There is hostility between them.
D) They are affectionate toward each other.
135. A long-term, large-scale study of a common weedy plant, Plantago lanceolata, and its fungal pathogen, powdery mildew, conducted
by Jussi Jousimo ef al., involved a small army of about 40 field assistants who conducted annual censuses of 4000 populations over
a 12-year period. The pattern revealed by this remarkable effort was surprising: The more connected a Plantago population was to
other populations, the less likely it was to be colonized by the fungal pathogen.
The phrases "large-scale" and "small army," mainly serve to emphasize the study's
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A) extensive scope.
B) paradoxical objectives.
C) unwieldy methods.
D) scientific importance.
136. I ordered it from the bookstore, just for you,” his father says, his voice raised in order to be heard over the music. “It’s difficult to
find in hardcover these days. It’s a British publication, a very small press. It took four months to arrive. I hope you like it.”
Thanks, Baba,” Gogol says, eager to return to his lyrics.
His father is still standing there in his room, watching expectantly, his hands clasped together behind his back, so Gogol flips
through the book. A single picture at the front, on smoother paper than the rest of the pages, shows a pencil drawing of the author,
sporting a velvet jacket, a billowy white shirt and cravat.
According to the text, Gogol opens the book he received mainly because
A) wants to see a picture of the author.
B) is so thrilled that his father bought him a gift.
C) has lost interest in the music lyrics he was studying.
D) knows that it is what his father wants him to do.
137. A single picture at the front, on smoother paper than the rest of the pages, shows a pencil drawing of the author, sporting a velvet
jacket, a billowy white shirt and cravat. The face is foxlike, with small, dark eyes, a thin, neat mustache, an extremely large pointy
nose. Dark hair slants steeply across his forehead and is plastered to either side of his head, and there is a disturbing, vaguely
supercilious smile set into long, narrow lips. Gogol Ganguli is relieved to see no resemblance. True, his nose is long but not so long,
his hair dark but surely not so dark, his skin pale but certainly not so pale. The style of his own hair is altogether different—thick
Beatle-like bangs that conceal his brows. Gogol Ganguli wears a Harvard sweatshirt and gray Levi’s corduroys. He has worn a tie
once in his life, to attend a friend’s bar mitzvah. No, he concludes confidently, there is no resemblance at all.
In the text, the sharpest contrast drawn between the individual pictured in the book and Gogol Ganguli is in terms of their
A) signs of aging.
B) facial hair and expression.
C) clothing and hairstyle.
D) facial features.
138. Most stars probably form within clusters, so the problem of understanding star formation is inextricably linked to understanding
how clusters form. Clusters are important because they provide a sample of stars at the same age, with about the same chemical
content, and at the same distance from Earth—which makes them useful for testing theories of stellar evolution. Because observers
can identify and study star clusters in other galaxies at distances where individual stars can no longer be distinguished, astronomers
gain insight into star-formation processes across a broad expanse of space and time.
According to the text, models describing how stars change over time are best tested using stars that
A) have a set of characteristics in common with each other.
B) orbit in the halo and bulge components of the Milky Way.
C) were first studied more than 100 years ago.
D) exhibit a metal content similar to that of the Sun.
139. “The main result [of work over the past 15 years] is that any time you look at starburst and merging galaxies, you see very rich
systems of young, compact clusters,” Chandar explains. “The most massive end of these, the brightest end, has all the properties—
masses, sizes, current luminosities—we would expect of young globular clusters.” If we could look at these massive young clusters
far in the future, when the universe is twice its current age, they’d resemble the globular clusters we see orbiting the Milky Way
today. Moreover, these objects aren’t unique to disturbed galactic environments. They occur in normal spirals.
What does the text state about the young globular clusters seen in starburst and merging galaxies?
A) They are composed entirely of stars that ore more massive than the Sun.
B) They will eventually dissipate, and their stars will spread through the host galaxy.
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C) They contain stars with a variety of chemical compositions.
D) They will someday resemble the globular cluster we see today In the Milky Way.
140. Open clusters reside in our galaxy’s disk, typically contain stars no older than a billion years, and hold a few hundred to perhaps a
few thousand solar masses. Their stars exhibit metallicity—the complement of elements heavier than helium—similar to or greater
than our Sun’s. Open clusters range in size from several to more than 50 light-years across and appear diffuse and irregularly
shaped. About 1,000 have been cataloged, with the most famous examples being the familiar Pleiades and Hyades in Taurus.
Thousands more likely exist beyond our ability to detect them.
The author indicates that the metallicity of a star cluster is directly related to the
A) distance of the duster from the Sun.
B) sizes of the stars in the duster.
C) degree to which the duster is gravitationally bound
D) ages of the stars in the cluster.
141. Historical linguists are enthusiastic about a language-dating technique called linguistic paleontology. The idea is to reconstruct
words for objects of material culture in a language family and date the language by noting the times at which such objects first
appear in the archaeological record.
Which statement best identifies the role in linguistic paleontology of physical evidence of past human life and activity?
A) The evidence provides a standard of the technological prowess of a culture.
B) The evidence helps researchers estimate when specific words emerged in ancient languages.
C) The evidence supplies clues as to how words in ancient languages were pronounced.
D) The evidence allows linguists to distinguish among words of closely related meanings.
142. Now, the earliest known wheels in the archaeological record date from 3400 BC (5,400 years ago). The Proto-Indo-European
language must have split into its daughter languages sometime after this date, the argument goes, since how else could the daughter
languages, spoken over an enormous region, all have cognate words for wheel?
According to the text, scholars who follow the linguistic paleontological technique generally believe that the daughter languages of
Proto-Indo-European arose
A) no earlier than 5,400 years ago.
B) before their speakers adopted the wheel.
C) as Proto-Indo-European culture declined.
D) over a period of a century or less.
143. The results of the study by Jousimo et al suggest that, in some cases, fragmentation might increase the likelihood of a population
suffering disease outbreaks.
It also remains to be shown whether the observed pattern holds for less fragmented metapopulations.
The Plantago metapopulation studied by Jousimo et al. on the Aland archipelago in Finland is highly fragmented; do
metapopulations with higher rates of migration between populations show similar patterns?
Which choice best describes how the second paragraph functions in the text?
A) It identifies the need for research that builds on that described in the tẽt.
B) It summarizes the key observations that are presented in the text.
C) It challenges the validity of the explanations offered by the scientists discussed in the text.
D) It presents an alternative explanation for a phenomenon that is noted in the text.
144. With seventeen casinos, Moneyland operates the most casinos in a certain state. Although intent on expanding, it was
outmaneuvered by Apex Casinos in negotiations to acquire the Eldorado chain. To complete its acquisition of Eldorado, Apex must
sell five casinos to comply with a state law forbidding any owner to operate more than one casino per county. Since Apex will still
be left operating twenty casinos in the state, it will then have the most casinos in the state.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the prediction?
(A)
Apex, Eldorado, and Moneyland are the only organizations licensed to operate casinos in the state.
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(B)
(C)
D)
The majority of Eldorado’s casinos in the state will need extensive renovations if they are to continue to operate profitably
Some of the state’s counties do not permit casinos.
Moneyland already operates casinos in the majority of the state’s counties
145. In Colorado subalpine meadows, nonnative dandelions co-occur with a native flower, the larkspur. Bumblebees visit both species,
creating the potential for pollination. In a recent study, researchers selected 16 plots containing both species; all dandelions were
removed from eight plots; the remaining eight control plots were left undisturbed. The control plots yielded significantly more
larkspur seeds than the dandelion- free plots, leading the researchers to conclude that the presence of dandelions facilitates
pollination land hence seed production) in the native species by attracting more pollinators to the mixed plots.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the researchers’ reasoning?
(A)
Bumblebees preferentially visit”dandeIions over larkspurs in mixed plots.
(B)
In mixed plots, pollinators can transfer pollen from one species to another to augment seed production.
(C)
If left unchecked, nonnative species like dandelions quickly crowd out native species.
(D)
Soil disturbances can result in fewer blooms, and hence lower seed production.
146. Asthma, a chronic breathing disorder, is significantly more common today among adult competitive swimmers than it is among
competitive athletes who specialize in other sports. Although chlorine is now known to be a lung irritant and swimming pool water
is generally chlorinated, it would be rash to assume that frequent exposure to chlorine is the explanation of the high incidence of
asthma among these swimmers, since
______________
Which of the following most logically completes the argument given?
(A)
young people who have asthma are no more likely to become competitive athletes than are young people who do not have
asthma
(B)
competitive athletes who specialize in sports other than swimming are rarely exposed to chlorine
(C)
competitive athletes as a group have a significantly lower incidence of asthma than do people who do not participate in
competitive athletics
(D)
until a few years ago, physicians routinely recommended competitive swimming to children with asthma, in the belief that
this form of exercise could alleviate asthma symptoms
147. According to the last pre-election poll in Whippleton, most voters believe that the three problems government needs to address, in
order of importance, are pollution, crime, and unemployment. Yet in the election, candidates from parties perceived as strongly
against pollution were defeated, while those elected were all from parties with a history of opposing legislation designed to reduce
pollution. These results should not be taken to indicate that the poll was inaccurate, however, since _________________
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
(A)
some voters in Whippleton do not believe that pollution needs to be reduced
(B)
every candidate who was defeated had a strong antipollution record
(C)
there were no issues other than crime, unemployment, and pollution on which the candidates had signitcant differences of
opinion
(D)
all the candidates who were elected were perceived as being stronger against both crime and unemployment than the
candidates who were defeated
148. The attribution of the choral work Lacrimae to the composer Pescard (1400—1474) has been regarded as tentative, since it was
based on a single treatise from the early 1500s that named Pescard as the composer. Recently, several musical treatises from the late
1500s have come to light, all of which name Pescard as the composer of Lacrimae. Unfortunately, these newly discovered treatises
lend no support to the attribution of Lacrimae to Pescard, since ________
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
A. the author of the treatise from the early 1500s had no very strong evidence on which to base the identification of Pescard as the
composer of Lacrimae
B. there are works that can conclusively be attributed to Pescard that are not even mentioned in the treatise from the early 1500s
C. the later treatises probably had no source for their attribution other than the earlier treatise
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D. no known treatises from the 1600s identify Pescard as the composer of Lacrimae
149. Using broad-spectrum weed killers on weeds that are competing with crops for sunlight, water, and nutrients presents a diNculty:
how to keep the crop from being killed along with the weeds. For at least some food crops, specially treated seed that produces
plants resistant to weed killers is under development. This resistance wears off as the plants mature. Therefore, the special seed
treatment will be especially useful for plants that__________
Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
(A)
produce their crop over an extended period of time, as summer squash does
(B)
produce large seeds that are easy to treat individually, as corn and beans do
(C)
provide, as they approach maturity, shade dense enough to keep weeds from growing
(D)
are typically grown in large tracts devoted to a single crop
150. The novel approach is based on aerosol science and engineering principles that allow the generation of monodisperse nanoparticles,
which can deposit on upper regions of the nasal cavity via diffusion. Working with Assistant Vice Chancellor Pratim Biswas,
Raliya developed an aerosol consisting of gold nanoparticles of controlled size, shape and surface charge. The nanoparticles were
tagged with fluorescent markers, allowing the researchers to track their movement
Which of the following statements about research study can most reasonably be inferred from the text?
A) The study aimed to devise a delivery system that could administer medicine at a consistent rate over a long period of time.
B) The researchers tested a method for delivering medicine without it first passing through the blood-brain barrier.
C) The study was the first to show that nanoparticles could be used safely in an experimental situation.
D) The researchers were not able to monitor the movement of the nanoparticles unless the particles were specially marked.
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