Question 1-11 are based on the following passage. Dinosaur Disaster Roughly 65 million years iJ ago, dinosaurs along ‘with 65 to 70 percent of other plant and animal species on Earth, became extinct. This massive wave of extinctions—which makes the end of the Cretaceous geologic period—has long fascinated I is their proposal of numerous explanations for it. The most well known of these is the Alvarez hypothesis, which holds that a gigantic asteroid struck the planet, causing climate change and ecosystem collapse. A) B) ©). D) A) B) ©) Db) NO CHANGE ago, dinosaurs, along with ago dinosaurs, along with, ago dinosaurs along with, NO CHANGE scientists; proposing scientists, and they have proposed scientists, they have proposedIhe Alvarez hypothesis first ermerged in [EY 1980. In that year, scientists Luis and Walter Alvarez noted the high level of iridium, an element that is rare on Earth but abundant in asteroids, in layers of rock from the Cretaceous period. They proposed that iridium could be evidence of a massive asteroid strike. This hypothesis gained additional support in the 1990s, after researchers determined that a 110-mile-wide crater near the town of Chicxulub, Mexico, was likely caused by an asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous period. The asteroid’s impact would have ejected a tremendous amount of iridium-containing dust into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight &¥ and resulting in global cooling and a darkness that would have halted photosynthesis, These sudden environmental shifts would have rapidly driven many species to extinction, Gi a conclusion supported by sharp declines in the levels of plankton and pollen in the fossil record after the asteroid strike.‘The writer is considering deleting the underlined portion, adjusting the punctuation as needed. Should the underlined portion be kept or deleted? A) B) Cc) D) Kept, because it raises an objection to the Alvarez hypothesis that is discussed in more detail in the rest of the passage. Kept, because it provides evidence of the sudden environmental shifts mentioned earlier in the sentence, Deleted, because it describes effects of the asteroid impact that have already been discussed in sufficient detail. Deleted, because it shifts the overall focus of the passage by discussing extinctions of life-forms other than dinosaurs.‘The Fragments immediately captured the public’ imagination. Equally captivating was Macpherson’ hint in the preface that an epic poem (a poem chronicling heroic deeds of great significance to a culture) might be recovered through further study of ancient manuscripts in the Highlands. Excited patrons provided Macpherson with funds fo undertake a research HB trip. they were not disappointed. In spite of their contributions, Macpherson published two epic poems, Fingal and Temora, which recounted the feats of ancient and oral tradition: Gaelic warriors. Macpherson claimed that the poems had been written by Ossian, A) NO CHANGE B) trip, meanwhile, ©) trip.and D)_ trip: whereas A) NO CHANGE B) Because of this, C)_ Inthe years that followed, D) Toeveryone’ dismay,The public remained divided between those who believed in the poems’ authenticity and those who agreed with Johnson that the poems were a hoax. Today it is believed that Macpherson created the Ossian texts by combining poetry and stories he had heard on his travels with EJ] invented material of his own invention. Having set out to find an epic poet in the Highlands, he created one by attributing these amalgamated works to the mythic Ossian. Although many modern critics do not share Johnson's hostility toward Macpherson, Johnson was ultimately correct in thinking that poems such as Fingal and Temrora are better understood as the work of an eighteenth-century poet BJ than as a third-century one.A) B) Cc) D) NO CHANGE than those of than as that of compared withEithe vaporization process that separated the carbon from the hydrogen and oxygen left the surfaces of the carbon microsheets uneven and porous. According to Pol, openings in the surface made the anodes’ absorption of ions more efficient; [J on the other hand, the batteries charged faster. In addition, the anodes retained about 13 percent more [al of them than do conventional anodes which meant that the batteries could provide more electricity before needing to be recharged than conventional batteries can.A) B) C) D) NO CHANGE anodes; meaning anodes and this meant anodes, this meantaccept pay that is low {RJ relative to their educational achievements. Yet for many, a love of animals and a commitment to animal conservation {Z makes these sacrifices not just tolerable but meaningful. Which choice is most consistent with the style of the passage as a whole? A) B) ©) D) a A) B) ° D) NO CHANGE even when they are super educated. despite their having a whole bunch of education, when compared with their attainments of an educational nature. NO CHANGE make is making has madeQuestions 1-11 are based on the following passage. Peanut Power NO CHANGE as their cushiony material ensures that items that are shipped, Polystyrene packing peanuts—thousands of them. ‘That’s what surrounded members of a Purdue University which are commonly used because their cushiony led by ch ing prot research team, led by chemical engineering professor eee eee Vilas G. Pol, after they had finished unpacking new as their cushiony material guarantees and ensures equipment for a laboratory facility. Packing peanuts are that items, ‘a standard part of shipments, [FJ as their cushiony ensures that items, such as glassware, are not . Because most curbside recycling services will not collect packing peanuts, less than 10 percent of them are recycled per year, and millions of 18yin cuuise provaues une Vee uMnSitUE HUH He previous sentence to the sentences that follow in the network of post offices to provide essential financial paragraph? A) Ina country as large as the United States, the post office network is quite extensive and wide some countries, such as Brazil, post offices partner with reaching, A postal banking system would rely on the existing. services to residents throughout the United States. BEJin commercial banks. In others, such as Japan, the postal B) Such systems already exist in fifty countries and provide services to about one billion people. ©) According to a 2014 survey by the Pew savings accounts. The diverse array of successful postal Charitable Trusts, about 70 percent of those banking systems around the world shows that post offices i surveyed were indifferent to the idea of post offices offering financial services. D) _Ifimplemented, people could cash checks, buy stamps, and mail packages all in the same place: the post office, service itself acts as a full-scale bank, offering loans and can provide many of the same services Ej like banks. A) NO CHANGE B) ofbanks. ©) that banks provide. D) with those offered by banks.marble block and, moreover, had turned it into a technical and artistic masterpiece. E] Which choice gives a second reason and additional support for the main idea of the paragraph? A) NOCHANGE B) and depicted a favorite biblical story of the citizens of Florence Upon viewing the stunning statue, guild members discarded the plan to hoist the statue to an exterior buttress. It was far too beautiful (EJ and was unlike other Renaissance depictions of David) to be placed high 9°) and Hater ould come fe symbolize Florence's above its viewers, After meeting with city officials and D) and, at more than eight tons, far too heavyB) on the other hand, C) inaddition, D) for example, Parks and Re-creation " In US cities, open space is difficult to come by. In New York, [I likewise, nearly half of the districts have less than 1.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. For Ree this reason, cities must creatively use what is available, BG Saee A) NO CHANGE including repurposing landfills. Transforming landfills B) but into parks has its pitfalls, [EJ however, it is well worth the C) nonetheless effort for communities to invest in these spaces. D) howeverEE There is no official count of the number of parks i Biter: built on landfills nationwide, but it could be as many as Which choice best introduces the main idea of the raph? 1,000. Land formerly used for garbage is usually Parag sve to buy. Iisalso sie the A) NO CHANGE inexpensive to buy. Itis also IM prolific: B) For many environmental and logistical reasons, not all landfills can be repurposed as parks. ©) Reclaiming landfills for park space offers ‘multiple advantages to urban areas. D) Americans generated 251 million tons of trash in 2012, only 34.5 percent of which was recycled. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the United States has at least 10,000 closed municipal landfill. By restoring the landscape, these parks also hold‘One example of a successful landfill I park, is Freshkills, a space on the coast of Staten Island, ‘New York, that was once a2,200-acre dump. The park offers many recreational opportunities largely unavailable in the| ity; these occur on layers of plastic, soil, and grass atop the garbage. Coastline restoration introduces water-absorbing plants, protecting residential areas from flood damage. IJ Its design also features a solar station that will produce enough energy f{ffJ to power more than 2,000 homes. ‘The process of converting landfills into parks presents some challenges, but they are surmountable. When buried waste decomposes, it releases flammable eases such as methane. causing a potential health hazard. * A) NO CHANGE B) parkis ©). parks, D) parkis: Eee é Which version of the underlined portion provides the most relevant examples for the sentence? A) NO CHANGE B) city, such as horseback riding, nature trails, and kayaking, ) city; the park’s wetlands include coastal grassland and marshes. D) city, among such plants as switchgrass, purple coneflowers, and bugbane.The process of converting landfills into parks presents some challenges, but they are surmountable. When buried waste decomposes, it releases flammable gases such as methane, causing a potential health hazard. Also, while landfills are inexpensive to purchase, maintenance costs can be high. However, technological advanices allow park designers to address both concerns. Turning the [J disgusting problem into an advantage, Freshkills uses a gas-collection system that converts methane into enough energy to heat 22,000 homes, a process that will generate $12 million in revenue to offset the cost of park construction. Clearly, the advantages of converting landfills into parks dramatically outweigh the . drawbacks. With such innovations in place, there is little reason for communities not to create a park from what would otherwise be a wasteland,A) NO CHANGE B) noxious C) gross D) foul ieAfter nearly eight years, however, Conan Doyle BEGseseEBeHenes: i caved. The Hound of the Baskervilles, a novel set Which choice best maintains the tone of the passage? before Holmes’s death, was serialized in The Strand from A) NO (CHANGE ‘August 1901 to April 1902. Soon after, exorbitant sums B) sold out. , ©) loosened up. offered by the magazine convinced Conan Doyle to D) relented reverse Holmes’s death sentence and continue the series[1] This filtering effect explains why performers are 80 easy to hear in the theater. (2} Low-frequency sounds such as wind, rustling trees, and other noises coming from the area around the theater are reduced when they bounce off the seats, whereas the high-frequency sounds coming from the actors remain relatively unchanged, [3] Performers’ voices also contain low tones, and these too are muted by the theater’s seats. [4] But this sound reduction doesn’t impair actors’ audibility because of a neurological phenomenon called “virtual pitch.” [5] This capacity helps people hear human voices more clearly than {JJ hearing less important sounds. [6] When exposed to speech that lacks [JJ their typical lower tones, . the human brain automatically reconstructs the missing frequencies. [7] At Epidaurus, the combination of virtual pitch and the sound-dampening effect ofthe seats Bilallow performers’ voices to be heard filly and clearly from any seat. EE A) NO CHANGE B) have been allowing ©) are allowing D) allows ‘To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 7 should be placed A) where it is now. B) before sentence 1. ©) after sentence 1. D) after sentence 2.|Because some power companies don’t provide information about saving money over helping the environment, technological and economic developments in the solar-power industry ensure they are doing both. ‘Consumers are not the only ones for whom solar power is a win-win scenario, [J though as a result of their own, efforts, industry employees can meet demand for an environmentally friendly service while [J also making good living for themselves. A) NOCHANGE B) though, asa result, ©) though: asa result D) though—as a result,New National Parks Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Organic Act of 1916, and other federal laws, the US government has the power to take custody of land MJ when having historical significance or great natural beauty. The designation of a territory as a national park, national monument, or other [J types of protected area can limit activities such as oil drilling and logging and provide funding for staff to work on preservation, maintenance, and visitor assistance. Federally protected lands are A) NO CHANGE B) for its having ©) that has D) forit has B) type of protected area C) type of protected areas D) protected area typesSome commentators claim that there J is an excess of too many pressing constraints on the federal budget to commit funds to federal land protection. But the 2014 budgets of the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management totaled significantly less than 1 percent of the national budget—hardly enough to make a considerable difference in overall government spending. Where protection does havea major economic impact is in local Ed communities visitors to protected lands need food, fuel, and lodging, and businesses that cater to these needs provide job opportunities in the surrounding communities. A) 8) ° D) NO CHANGE communities; while visitors communities, visitors communities. Visitorsthat “filmmakers have a great responsi present the past is how it gets remembered.” Historical responsibility seriously. As films continue to engage with history, historical consultants will continue to preserve history's intricacies. from the previous paragraph? A) B) ©) D) a) B) ° D) NO CHANGE What about directors who are less concerned about historical accuracy? Consequently, do movies that take place in the very recent past require historical consultants? What sources should filmmakers consult to ensure historical accuracy in their films? NO CHANGE historian historian, historian;Legal Nonrepresentation “All my life,” the sculptor Constantin Brancusi remarked, “I have been seeking to capture the essence of flight.” EJ Bird in Space is a work of abstract art: it is not a readily recognizable representation of the bird in its title but rather a polished arc of bronze that calls to mind the animal's graceful airborne motion. With BJ it’s end’s tapering into points, much of the slender 53-inch curve appear suspended in the air above its marble base. More than just a visually arresting sculpture, BJg then, Bird in Space was responsible for changing how the US government recognizes art.Ek: A) NO CHANGE B) atany rate, C) though, D) therefore,‘The importation of the sculpture brought it to the i attention of the US Customs Bureau. The agency's view SSS SS TRESS: reflected that ofthe general public: when Bird in Space A) NOCHANGE came to the United States from France, the Customs i B) its Bureau classified it not as a work of art but as an ©) one's D) his industrial object. That classification carried with it substantial consequences. Works of [Bj art, could be imported to the United States duty-free, but industrial materials were taxed at rates of up to 40 percent of BB their purchase value. As a result, Bird in Space faced an import tax of $229.35—more than a third of the $600 Steichen paid for it.Brancusi, in turn, sued the US government, aiming to score recognition of his sculpture as art. The resultant 1927 court case, Brancusi v. United States, attempted to answer for the American public the question of whether abstract works like Brancusi’s should be considered art. After hearing a lineup of well-known, famous art critics testify to the aesthetic value and originality of nonrepresentational art like Bird in Space, KJ the court’s ruling was in favor of Brancusi. The decision [J meant that the public had finally come to recognize the artistic value of nonrepresentational art.The writer wants a conclusion that reiterates the main idea expressed in the passage. Which choice best accomplishes this goal? A) NO CHANGE B) was a great victory for art collectors like Steichen: a major impediment to their ability to import artworks from Europe had been eliminated. C) would forever broaden the range of art acknowledged by the US government: from then on, customs law would recognize both abstract and traditional works within the category of art. D) concerning the value of abstract works such as Bird in Space would take many more years to be made in the court of public opinion, however.Petrified Lightning Scientists estimate that [J two thousand is roughly the number of thunderstorms that rage over Earth at any given time and that lightning strikes the ground twenty times every second, Lightning bolts can be up to five times hotter than the surface of the EE Sun. This is far hotter than the melting point of silica, the compound that is the primary constituent of sand and most types of rock. (Silica is also the essential ingredient used in making lass.) Under certain circumstances, when lightning strikes sand or rock, evidence of the strike is left behind in the form of a fulgurite, sometimes called petrified lightning. B) approximately two thousand thunderstorms ©) rightaround two thousand thunderstorms D) two thousand is approximately how many | thunderstorms | Aah su Li Which choice most effectively combines the sentences at the underlined portion? ‘A) Sun; this temperature of the lightning bolts is B) Sun, and this temperature is C) Sun; however, this is D) Sun—(1] First discovered in 1706, these formations are found in two varieties: sand fulgurites and the much less common rock fulgurites. [2] As it cools, the silica lining forms a glass-walled cavity that may look like Mj] a plants’ root system. [3] Sand that adhered to the molten silica as it solidified forms a casing around the fragile glassy structure, [4] Sand fulgurites form when the intense energy of lightning bolt rapidly heats moist air trapped in sandy soil and the resulting explosive expansion creates a void lined with melted silica, (5) Rock fulgurites, ound almost exclusively on the peaks of mountains, appear asa thin, glassy crust on Bj the surface of a rock or along fractures within them. Because glass is very resistant to weathering, fulgurites may last a very long [ff time; the oldest example is estimated to be 250 million years old—and give scientists a unique window into the past. The formation of a fulgurite occurs in only a fraction of a A) NO CHANGE B) the rocky surface ©) arock’s surface D) the surface of rocksunderground power systems because the strikes keep moving below ground. Examination of fulgurites around buried power systems [J help scientists determine the most effective shielding materials for power lines. Florida averages about twenty-five to forty lightning strikes per ‘square mile each [IZ] year, so the scientists hope their work can help mitigate the strikes. caused by so many A) NO CHANGE B) have helped ©) are helping D) ishelping Which choice most effectively completes the paragraph? A) NO CHANGE B) year, and lightning strikes are dangerous to residents of the state as well as damaging to its infrastructure. ©) year, butitis difficult to determine precisely how many of those strikes leave behind fulgurites. D) year,