Thầy Minh’s Education Studio

Reading

Practice Test 2
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The following text is adapted from Nathaniel 1

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Hawthorne’s 1837 story “Dr. Heidegger’s
As used in the text, what does the phrase “a
Experiment.” The main character, a physician, is
singular” most nearly mean?
experimenting with rehydrating a dried flower.
A) A lonely
At first [the rose] lay lightly on the surface B) A disagreeable
of the fluid, appearing to imbibe none of its C) An acceptable
moisture. Soon, however, a singular change D) An extraordinary
Line began to be visible. The crushed and dried
5 petals stirred and assumed a deepening tinge
of crimson, as if the flower were reviving from
a deathlike slumber.

The following text is adapted from Nathaniel 2

Hawthorne’s 1844 short story “Drowne’s Wooden
Image.” Drowne, a young man, is carving a As used in the text, what does the word
wooden figure to decorate the front of a ship. “assumed” most nearly mean?
A) Acquired
B) Acknowledged
Day by day, the work assumed greater
precision, and settled its irregular and misty C) Imitated
outline into distincter grace and beauty. The D) Speculated
Line general design was now obvious to the
5 common eye.

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Although science fiction was dominated 3

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mostly by white male authors when Octavia Which choice completes the text with the
Butler, a Black woman, began writing, she did most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line not view the genre as ______: Butler broke
5 into the field with the publication of several A) legitimate
short stories and her 1976 novel B) impenetrable
Patternmaster, and she later became the first C) compelling
science fiction writer to win a prestigious
D) indecipherable
MacArthur Fellowship.

The work of molecular biophysicist Enrique 4

M. De La Cruz is known for ______ Which choice completes the text with the
traditional boundaries between academic most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line disciplines. The university laboratory that De
5 La Cruz runs includes engineers, biologists, A) epitomizing
chemists, and physicists, and the research the B) transcending
lab produces makes use of insights and
C) anticipating
techniques from all those fields.
D) reinforcing

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The following text is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 5

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1925 novel The Great Gatsby. As used in the text, what does the word
“quality” most nearly mean?

[Jay Gatsby] was balancing himself on the A) Standard

dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness B) Prestige
of movement that is so peculiarly American— C) Characteristic
Line that comes, I suppose, with the absence of
D) Accomplishment
5 lifting work in youth and, even more, with the
formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games.
This quality was continually breaking through
his punctilious manner in the shape of
restlessness.

To develop a method for measuring snow 6

depth with laser beams, NASA physicist
Which choice completes the text with the
Yongxiang Hu relied on ______; identifying
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line broad similarities between two seemingly
5 different phenomena, Hu used information A) a collaboration
about how ants move inside colonies to B) an accessory
calculate how the particles of light that make
up laser beams travel through snow. C) a contradiction
D) an analogy

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A journalist and well-respected art critic of 7

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nineteenth-century Britain, Lady Elizabeth Which choice completes the text with the
Rigby Eastlake did not hesitate to publish most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line reviews that went against popular opinion. One
5 of her most divisive works was an essay A) exposed
questioning the idea of photography as an B) asserted
emerging medium for fine art: in the essay, C) discovered
Eastlake ______ that the value of photographs
D) doubted
was informational rather than creative.

In a recent study, researchers (Kim Lewis 8

and others) found that they could isolate and
Which choice completes the text with the
grow individual soil bacteria in soil itself, which
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line supplied critical nutrients and minerals. Once
5 the bacteria reached a critical mass they could A) exceptions
be transferred to the lab and their cultivation B) restrictions
continued. This methodology is their most
important finding to my mind. The first new C) misgivings
antibiotic that they’ve found by this approach, D) explanations
10 teixobactin, is less exciting to my mind, though
it doesn’t look bad. Teixobactin killed Gram-
positive bacteria and cured experimental
infection in mice. It also killed
the tuberculosis bacterium, which is important
15 because there is a real problem with resistant
tuberculosis in the developing world.
So, what are my ______? Well, I see three.
First, teixobactin doesn’t kill the Gram-negative
opportunists as it is too big to cross their
20 complex cell wall. Secondly, scaling to
commercial manufacture will be challenging.
And, thirdly, it’s early days yet.

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Stephen Hannock’s luminous 9

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landscape paintings are appealing to Which choice completes the text with the
viewers but have elicited little commentary most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line from contemporary critics, a phenomenon
5 that may be due to the very fact that the A) innovative
paintings seem so ______. Many critics focus B) subversive
their attention on art that is cryptic or overtly C) profound
challenging.
D) accessible

Writers blessed with talent to spare go 10

through this process unconsciously, in some Which choice completes the text with the
cases oblivious to it. Especially when they’re most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line young, as long as they have a certain level of
5 talent it’s not so difficult for them to write a A) supply
novel. The remaining majority of writers who B) value
can’t reach such heights (including me,
C) abundance
of course) have to supplement what’s
missing from their ______ of talent through D) source
whatever means they can.

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Bicycle sharing systems allow users to rent a 11

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bicycle at one location within a city and return Which choice completes the text with the
it to any other designated location in that city, most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line which can cause serious problems of bicycle
5 supply and user demand within the city’s A) susceptible to
system. Tohru Ikeguchi uses open-source data B) contingent on
and statistical modeling to identify when a high C) saturated with
number of users making one-way trips is likely
D) depleted of
to leave some locations within the system
10 ______ bicycles and other areas with
insufficient supply.

In 2008 a complete set of ancient pessoi 12

(glass game pieces) was uncovered from
Which choice completes the text with the
beneath a paving stone in modern-day Israel.
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line Due to their small size, pessoi were easily
5 misplaced, making a whole set a rare find. This A) speculate about
has led some experts to suggest that the set may B) dismiss
have been buried intentionally; however,
C) expand on
without clear evidence, archaeologists are left to
______ what happened. D) catalog

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Some researchers believe that the genes that 13

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enable groundhogs and certain other mammals Which choice completes the text with the
to hibernate through the winter by slowing most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line their breathing and heart rates and lowering
5 their body temperature may be ______ in A) decisive
humans: present yet having essentially no effect B) lacking
on our bodily processes. C) variable
D) dormant

The following text is adapted from Zora 14

Neale Hurston’s 1921 short story “John
As used in the text, what does the phrase
Redding Goes to Sea.” John wants to travel far
“reconcile his mother to” most nearly mean?
beyond the village where he lives near his
mother, Matty. A) Get his mother to accept
B) Get his mother to apologize for
C) Get his mother to match
[John] had on several occasions attempted to
reconcile his mother to the notion, but found it D) Get his mother to reunite with
a difficult task. Matty always took refuge in self-
Line pity and tears. Her son’s desires were
5 incomprehensible to her, that was all.

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Like the 1945 play it reimagines—Federico 15

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García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba— Which choice completes the text with the
Marcus Gardley’s 2014 play The House That most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line Will Not Stand prominently features women.
5 In both plays, the all-female cast ______ an A) engulfs
array of female characters, including a strong B) encourages
mother and several daughters dealing with C) comprises
individual struggles.
D) provokes

The following text is adapted from Karel 16

Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal
As used in the text, what does the word
Robots), translated by Paul Selver and Nigel
“answers” most nearly mean?
Playfair in 1923. Fabry and Busman are telling
Miss Glory why their company manufactures A) Explains
robots. B) Rebuts
C) Defends
FABRY: One Robot can replace two and a D) Fulfills
half workmen. The human machine, Miss
Glory, was terribly imperfect. It had to be
Line removed sooner or later.
5 BUSMAN: It was too expensive.
FABRY: It was not effective. It no longer
answers the requirements of modern
engineering. Nature has no idea of keeping
pace with modern labor.

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Business researcher Melanie Brucks and 17

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colleagues found that remote video conference Which choice completes the text with the
meetings may be less conducive to most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line brainstorming than in-person meetings are.
5 The researchers suspect that video meeting A) recommend
participants are focused on staring at the B) criticize
speaker on the screen and don’t allow their C) impede
eyes or mind to wander as much, which may
D) construct
ultimately ______ creativity.

Set in a world where science fiction tropes 18

exist as everyday realities, Charles Yu’s 2010
Which choice completes the text with the
novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line Universe traces a time traveler’s quest to find
5 his father. Because the journey at the novel’s A) haphazard
center is so ______, with the protagonist B) premeditated
ricocheting chaotically across time, the reader
C) inspirational
often wonders whether the pair will ever be
reunited. D) fruitless

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A person who agrees to serve as a 19

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mediator between two warring factions at What is the main idea of the text?
the request of both abandons by so agreeing
the right to take sides later. To take sides at a A) Mediators should try to form no opinions
later point would be to suggest that the of their own about any issue that is
earlier presumptive impartiality was a sham. related to the dispute.
B) Mediators should not agree to serve
unless they are committed to maintaining
a stance of impartiality.
C) Mediators should not agree to serve
unless they are equally acceptable to all
parties to a dispute.
D) Mediators should reserve the right to
abandon their impartiality so as not to be
open to the charge of having been
deceitful.

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America’s long romance with technology 20

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and science fiction is fizzling, and fascination Which choice best states the main purpose of
with fantasy movies like The Lord of the Rings, the text?
Line Harry Potter, and Shrek is growing. According
5 to Vivian Sobchack, a professor at UCLA, A) To demonstrate that blockbuster movies
“change and technology are such a pervasive shape general attitudes toward science.
part of daily life that for the most part there is B) To show how the fantasy genre evolved
no magic to it anymore. The promise of from science fiction.
science, science fiction, and technology to C) To explain a shift of interest occurring in
10 deliver us has been normalized. The utopian popular culture.
vision we had did not come to pass.” The
D) To expose growing disillusionment with
magic will have to come from somewhere else,
America’s film industry.
and we seem to have found it in fantasy.
Swords, not lasers. Magic, not electricity.
15 Villages, not cities. The past, not the future.

Around 320 B.C. the ancient Greek 21

geographer Pytheas made a remarkable sea Which choice best states the main purpose of
journey around the distant Atlantic fringe of the text?
Line northern Europe. Afterward, some of his
5 contemporaries regarded him as a brilliant A) To discuss the views of ancient Greeks
scientist; others, as an outright liar. Scholars and modern scholars regarding Pytheas’
who have more recently examined the journey.
evidence compare him to explorers like B) To recount a key event that happened to
Captain Cook and Columbus. Few now doubt Pytheas on his journey around ancient
10 the truth of his claims to have journeyed to Europe.
the very limits of the ancient European world,
C) To summarize the evidence gathered by
but how he traveled, where exactly he went,
scholars that supports Pytheas’ claims.
and what he saw are issues still as shrouded in
mystery as the frightening North Atlantic D) To present a brief biography of an
15 shore was in the minds of his fellow Greeks. important ancient mariner and
geographer.

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The common belief of some linguists that 22

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each language is a perfect vehicle for the Which choice best states the main purpose of
thoughts of the nation speaking it is in some the text?
Line ways the exact counterpart of the conviction
5 of the Manchester school of economics that A) To analyze an interesting feature of the
supply and demand will regulate everything English language.
for the best. Just as economists were blind to B) To refute a belief held by some linguists.
the numerous cases in which the law of supply C) To show that economic theory is relevant
and demand left actual wants unsatisfied, so to linguistic study.
10 also many linguists are deaf to those instances
D) To illustrate the confusion that can result
in which the very nature of a language calls
from the improper use of language.
forth misunderstandings in everyday
conversation, and in which, consequently, a
word has to be modified or defined in order to
15 present the idea intended by the speaker: “He
took his stick—no, not John’s, but his own.”
No language is perfect, and if we admit this
truth, we must also admit that it is not
unreasonable to investigate the relative merits
20 of different languages or of different details in
languages.

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The coffee-berry borer is a pesky beetle. It is 23

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thought to destroy $500 million worth of Which choice best describes the function of
unpicked coffee beans a year. The borer spends the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line most of its life inside a coffee berry, feeding on
5 the beans within. To do so, it has to defy the A) To acknowledge a potential impediment
toxic effects of caffeine. Scientists have found to implementing a proposal supported by
that Pseudomonas fulva, the borer's gut the author.
bacteria, is blessed with an enzyme called B) To imply that current limitations on
caffeine demethylase, which converts caffeine adopting an approach the author favors
10 into something that can be dealt with by may soon be overcome.
normal metabolic enzymes. C) To call into question the intentions of
Kill P. fulva, then, and you would probably researchers who have suggested a plan
kill the borer. But that is easier said than done. that the author opposes.
Even if spraying coffee plantations with D) To emphasize the impracticality of a
15 antibiotics were feasible and would do the job course of action that the author describes
(by no means certain, for the larvae would have as harmful regardless.
to ingest sufficient antibiotic for the purpose),
it would be undesirable. The profligate use of
antibiotics encourages resistance, thus making
20 them less effective for saving human lives.

Charles Darwin was concerned with the 24

collective and cumulative impact of
Which choice best describes the function of
earthworms in the wild. On this count, he
the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line made large claims for them. He knew they were
5 numerous, powerful, and busy. In many parts A) To summarize a counterclaim to an
of England, he figured, the worm population argument presented earlier in the
swallowed and brought up ten tons of earth passage.
each year on each acre of land. Earthworms B) To stress the likelihood that the
therefore were not only creating the planet’s hypotheses predicted by the author
10 thin layer of fertile soil; they were also would occur.
constantly turning it inside out. They were
C) To offer competing interpretations of a
burying old Roman ruins; they were causing
fact presented in the passage.
the monoliths of Stonehenge to subside and
topple; and on sloping land, they were making D) To emphasize the potential significance
15 a huge contribution to erosion. No wonder of an observation noted earlier in the
Darwin concluded: “Worms have played a paragraph.
more important part in the history of the world
than most persons would at first suppose.”

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“How lifelike are they?” Many computer 25

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animators prioritize this question as they strive Which choice best describes the function of
to create ever more realistic environments and the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line lighting. Generally, while characters in
5 computer-animated films appear highly A) It reflects a primary goal that many
exaggerated, environments and lighting are computer animators have for certain
carefully engineered to mimic reality. But components of the animations they
some animators, such as Pixar’s Sanjay Patel, produce.
are focused on a different question. Rather B) It represents a concern of computer
10 than asking first whether the environments animators who are more interested in
and lighting they’re creating are convincingly creating unique backgrounds and lighting
lifelike, Patel and others are asking whether effects than realistic ones.
these elements reflect their films’ unique C) It conveys the uncertainty among many
stories. computer animators about how to create
realistic animations using current
technology.
D) It illustrates a reaction that audiences
typically have to the appearance of
characters created by computer
animators.

In Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park, an 26

almost imperceptible smile from potential
Which choice best describes the function of
suitor Henry Crawford causes the protagonist
the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Fanny Price to blush; her embarrassment
grows when she suspects that he is aware of it. A) It states a claim about Austen’s skill at
This moment—in which Fanny not only infers representing psychological complexity
Henry’s mental state through his gestures, but that is reinforced by an example presented
Line
also infers that he is drawing inferences about in the following sentence.
5
her mental state—illustrates what literary B) It advances an interpretation of an Austen
scholar George Butte calls “deep protagonist who is contrasted with
intersubjectivity,” a technique for representing protagonists from other Austen novels
interactions between consciousnesses through cited in the following sentence.
which Austen’s novels derive much of their
10 C) It describes a recurring theme in Austen’s
social and psychological drama.
novels that is the focus of a literary
scholar’s analysis summarized in the
following sentence.
D) It provides a synopsis of an interaction in
an Austen novel that illustrates a literary
concept discussed in the following
sentence.

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Although architecture is often defined in 27

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terms of abstractions such as space, light, and The list in lines 5-7 ("the grain ... brick“) is
volume, buildings are above all physical used mainly to emphasize architecture’s
Line artifacts. The experience of architecture is
5 palpable: the grain of the wood, the veined A) tangibility
surface of marble, the cold precision of steel, B) diversity
the textured pattern of brick. Details are the C) malleability
soul of architecture. That is why, just as an
D) utility
archaeologist can reconstruct a pot from a few
10 shard or a paleontologist can surmise the form
of a prehistoric animal from bone fragments, it
is possible to divine the architect's idea of a
building by examining its details.

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Apes raised by humans seem to pretend 28

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more frequently than do apes in the wild. Which theoretical statement about
Animal handlers see behaviors they interpret pretending behavior in apes would be
Line as pretending practically every day. But Anne supported most fully by the many researchers
5 Russon, a psychologist, says she has found mentioned in the passage?
only about 20 recorded cases of possible
pretending in free-ranging orangutans, culled A) Having the ability to pretend has enabled
from thousands of hours of observation. One apes, such as chimpanzees, to be trained
possible reason, she noted in an e-mail as performers.
10 interview from her field station in Borneo, is B) All types of apes, both wild and
that researchers have not been looking for domesticated, can pretend with human
such behavior. But many researchers believe companions.
that interaction with humans—and the C) Pretending behavior for wild apes may
encouragement to pretend that comes with it vary considerably by region and
15 may play a major role in why domesticated population.
apes playact more.
D) Wild apes living apart from humans
pretend only rarely.

“Diffusion theory” is an umbrella idea 29

encompassing various alternative theories of Based on the text, the strategy employed by
America’s discovery by explorers from other the diffusionists in making their claim is most
Line parts of the world. Columbus (and Leif evident in which assertion?
5 Ericsson and Zheng He) had a lot more
competitors than most people think: Prince A) Since nothing can be proven with
Madoc of Wales, the Zeni brothers of Venice, absolute certainty, we ultimately rely on
Corte Real of Portugal, Poland’s Jan of Kolno. faith.
The fact is, crossing the Atlantic was probably B) So many UFO sightings have been
10 not as big a deal as Columbus-centric reported that at least one of them must
historians thought. Diffusionists may not be be authentic.
able to pinpoint who beat Columbus to the C) Penicillin, like many other discoveries,
punch, yet they’re sure someone did. They was stumbled on by accident.
may well be right, but if you scrutinize any
D) Although folk medicine was at first
15 specific claim, it melts away. This is probably
derided by the medical establishment,
why diffusionists emphasize quantity over
people still relied on it.
quality.

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In his work "The Conundrum: How 30

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Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Which quotation from a work by a city
Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and planner would best illustrate Owen’s
Climate Problems Worse," David Owen assumption?
assumes that, all things being equal, people
would rather drive than take mass transit. A) "Building good transit isn’t a bad idea,
but it can actually backfire if the new
trains and buses merely clear space on
highway lanes for those who would prefer
to drive, a group that, historically, has
included almost everyone with access to a
car."
B) "To have environmental value, new
transit has to replace and eliminate
driving on a scale sufficient to cut energy
consumption overall."
C) "You can’t make people drive less, in the
long run, by taking steps that make
driving more pleasant, economical, and
productive."
D) "One of the few forces with a proven
ability to slow the growth of suburban
sprawl has been the ultimately finite
tolerance of commuters for long,
annoying commutes."

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Every year, billions of tons of rock and soil 31

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vanish from Earth’s surface, scoured from Which quotation from a work by a
mountains and plains and swept away by geophysicist would best illustrate David
Line wind, rain, and other elements. The chief Egholm’s claim?
5 driver of this dramatic resurfacing is climate,
according to a new study. And when the A) "Using techniques generally known as
global temperature falls, erosion kicks into thermochronometry, the researchers
overdrive, says David Egholm, a geophysicist could estimate the dates at which the
at Aarhus University in Denmark. In rocks cooled to temperatures between
10 particular, he claims, the latitude-dependent 250°C and 70°C—and therefore track the
variation in erosion rates “most probably” can speed at which the rocks rose toward
be attributed to glaciers. ground level as the overlying strata
eroded away."
B) "Using data they’d gathered themselves,
as well as that gleaned from other studies,
the scientists compiled almost 18,000 data
points from across the globe."
C) "The big story lies in the global trends
seen as those 8 million years unfolded."
D) "Because erosion increased most
dramatically in midlatitude mountain
ranges—areas most likely to first
experience glaciers as climate gradually
cooled—scientists blame the acceleration
in erosion on glacial scouring."

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O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by Willa Cather. 32

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In the novel, Cather depicts Alexandra Which quotation from O Pioneers! most
Bergson as a person who takes comfort in effectively illustrates the claim?
understanding the world around her: ______
A) “She looked fixedly up the bleak street as
if she were gathering her strength to face
something, as if she were trying with all
her might to grasp a situation which, no
matter how painful, must be met and
dealt with somehow.“
B) “She had never known before how much
the country meant to her. The chirping of
the insects down in the long grass had
been like the sweetest music. She had felt
as if her heart were hiding down there,
somewhere, with the quail and the plover
and all the little wild things that crooned
or buzzed in the sun. Under the long
shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring.“
C) “Alexandra drove off alone. The rattle of
her wagon was lost in the howling of the
wind, but her lantern, held firmly
between her feet, made a moving point of
light along the highway, going deeper and
deeper into the dark country.”
D) “Alexandra drew her shawl closer about
her and stood leaning against the frame
of the mill, looking at the stars which
glittered so keenly through the frosty
autumn air. She always loved to watch
them, to think of their vastness and
distance, and of their ordered march. It
fortified her to reflect upon the great
operations of nature, and when she
thought of the law that lay behind them,
she felt a sense of personal security.”

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Text 1 33

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Text 1 suggests that Godwin would most
The writer William Godwin (1756-1836) likely qualify the claim that Coleridge was
was perplexed by what he saw as the “the most impressive talker of our time” in
deterioration in the character of his friend, Text 2 by noting that Coleridge
Line Samuel Taylor Coleridge—by the poet’s willful
5 laziness, the broken promises, the self-pity, A) presented the most valuable insights of
and the extravagant waste of Coleridge's other writers as his own.
prodigious talents. Endowed with the fatal gift B) seemed to be a poor listener, due to his
of charm, the mature Coleridge, Godwin excessive ego.
believed, preferred talk to thought, and much C) created a misleading appearance of
10 of what sounded like profound wisdom on having thought deeply and effectively.
first hearing turned out on examination to be
D) lacked the talent to convey his thoughts
worthless. Godwin wrote in exasperation,
in coherent texts.
“Look to his writings —the deeper he dives,
the more absolutely beyond all
comprehension.”

Text 2

If Mr. Coleridge had not been the most

impressive talker of our time, he would
probably have been the finest writer, but he
lays down his pen to make sure of an auditor,
20 and mortgages the admiration of posterity for
the stare of an idler. All that he has done of
importance, he did twenty years ago. Since
then, he may be said to have made his living
on the sound of his own voice. He is too rich
25 in intellectual wealth to need to task himself to
any drudgery: he has only to draw back the
sliders of his imagination, and a thousand
subjects expand before him, startling him with
their brilliancy or losing themselves in endless
30 obscurity.

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Text 1 34

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Which best describes how each text presents
Americans should not be taxed to fund the its argument?
Public Broadcasting Service, and Congress
should terminate funding for it. We wouldn't A) Text 1 makes a series of points to support
Line want the federal government to publish a a position, while Text 2 presents views
5 national newspaper. Neither should we have a that conflict with one another.
government television network and a B) Text 1 offers multiple examples to
government radio network. If anything should illustrate a point, while Text 2 discusses a
be kept separate from government and politics, situation in general terms.
it's the news and publicaffairs programming C) Text 1 includes personal anecdotes, while
10 that informs Americans about government and Text 2 relies on factual evidence.
its policies. When government brings us the
D) Text 1 provides technical explanations,
news—with all the inevitable bias and spin the
while Text 2 focuses on a familiar
government is putting its thumbs on the scales
hypothesis.
of democracy. Journalists should not work for
15 the government. Taxpayers should not be
forced to subsidize news and public-affairs
programming.

Text 2

Should the government fund a national

public broadcasting system? While many
20 artistically minded people choose to support
the appropriation of their tax dollars to PBS,
others consider the financial entwining of
journalism and the government inappropriate.
Some claim that since PBS is no longer the
25 fledgling weakling that it was when it was
founded, there is no longer any need for
taxpayers to continue to fund it. Arts
supporters counter that without government
money, PBS will not be able to sustain its
30 financial commitment to the creation of
television that deals with nonmainstream,
culturally diverse topics and art forms.

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35

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Information in the figure is most useful for
addressing which question provoked by the
passage?
A) What determined the traits that
researchers tended to focus on in the
experiments being analyzed?
B) Why are individuals more likely to
accurately predict the impressions of
groups than of specific individuals within
groups?
C) To what degree are people able to predict
how individual acquaintances perceive
them?
D) Is one person’s understanding of
trustworthiness really so different from
another person’s understanding of that
trait?

In an experiment, people working in a group

would be asked to predict how the other group
members would rate them on a series of different
Line traits. Researchers then compared these predicted
5 ratings to the other group members’ actual ratings.
The members of some groups were fairly
unfamiliar with one another while the members of
other groups were very familiar with one another.
If people knew exactly what others were thinking,
10 then there would be a perfect correspondence (a
correlation of 1) between predicted and actual
ratings. If people were clueless, then there would be
no correspondence between the two.
This experiment suggested that people are pretty
15 good, overall, at guessing how a group of others
would evaluate them, on average. The experiment
also found that people are only slightly better than
chance at guessing which particular individual likes
them and who does not, and they appear to have
20 no clue about which coworkers in particular find
them smart and trustworthy and which do not.

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36
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Does Pluto have a wayward cousin lurking

in the inner solar system? The dwarf planet Which choice best describes data from the
Ceres—and other icy chunks—may have been table that support McKinnon’ claim?
Line born in the same realm as Pluto, but travelled
5 all the way to the asteroid belt between the A) The average density of Pluto is similar to
orbits of Mars and Jupiter. that of Ceres.
At 950 kilometres in diameter, Ceres is by B) Neptune is located much farther from
far the largest object in the asteroid belt. And the Sun than is Ceres.
that’s not the only reason it doesn’t quite fit in C) The mass of Ceres is only slightly greater
10 with many of its companions, according to than that of Juno.
William McKinnon of Washington D) Ceres is denser, on average, than either
University. He points out that Ceres has a low Neptune or Uranus.
density, which suggests it is 25 to 30 per cent
water ice. That’s a high proportion for an
15 asteroid, but closely matches Pluto and other
icy objects native to the outer solar system,
known as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
What’s more, a dip in Ceres’s light spectrum
may be a sign of ammonium-rich clay at the
20 surface. This material has never been found in
the fragments of asteroids that have fallen to
Earth, but fits the expected ammonia-rich
composition of a TNO.

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37

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Which choice best describes data from the
graph that weaken the team’s hypothesis?

A) A large majority of the municipalities that

received an inquiry mentioning plans for
an announcement before the next election
didn’t respond to the inquiry.
B) The proportion of municipalities that
responded to the inquiry or offered
incentives didn’t substantially differ
across the announcement timing
conditions.
C) Only around half the municipalities that
responded to inquiries mentioning plans
for an announcement before the next
election offered incentives.
D) Of the municipalities that received an
inquiry mentioning plans for an
announcement date after the next
election, more than 1,200 didn’t respond
and only around 100 offered incentives.

In the United States, firms often seek

incentives from municipal governments to
expand to those municipalities. A team of
Line political scientists hypothesized that
5 municipalities are much more likely to respond
to firms and offer incentives if expansions can
be announced in time to benefit local elected
officials than if they can’t. The team contacted
officials in thousands of municipalities,
10 inquiring about incentives for a firm looking to
expand and indicating that the firm would
announce its expansion on a date either just
before or just after the next election.

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38
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People can be cynical to a fault. They

underestimate how often others respond Which choice best describes data from the table
generously to requests for help and overestimate that support the researchers’ claim?
Line how much others’ attitudes and actions are
5 driven by selfish concerns. A) If a truster gives money to a trustee, then
We have previously shown this cynicism most the amount of money available multiplies.
clearly in experiments using the “trust” or B) Trusters tend to undervalue the
“investment” game. In the game, the truster is trustworthiness of trustees.
given money that can be kept or handed to a C) Trustee’s trustworthiness decreases when
10 completely random and anonymous stranger, the trusters can impose penalties.
trustee. If the truster hands his or her money
over, the amount of money is quadrupled (e.g., $5 D) The accuracy of predictions of
becomes $20), and trustees have two options: trustworthiness is improved when
They can either split the money evenly between predictors have material incentives.
15 themselves and the truster (e.g., give $10 back and
keep $10 for themselves), or they can keep all the
money for themselves.
In a number of studies, we have shown that the
vast majority of trustees honor the trust that is
20 offered them, giving money back even when their
identities are anonymous and they are under no
compulsion to act generously. However, most
trusters severely underestimate their fellow
participants’ trustworthiness. Although 80% to
25 90% of trustees honor trust, trusters on average
estimate that this rate will be only 45% to 60%.

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Geographer Adebayo Oluwole Eludoyin 39

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and his colleagues surveyed small-scale Which choice most effectively uses data from
farmers in three locations in Ondo State, the graph to complete the example?
Line Nigeria—which has mountainous terrain in
5 the north, an urbanized center, and coastal A) most of the farmers who mainly cultivated
terrain in the south—to learn more about cereals and most of the farmers who
their practices, like the types of crops they mainly cultivated non–root vegetables in
mainly cultivated. In some regions, female south Ondo were women.
farmers were found to be especially prominent B) more women in central Ondo mainly
10 in the cultivation of specific types of crops and cultivated root crops than mainly
even constituted the majority of farmers who cultivated cereals.
cultivated those crops; for instance, ______ C) most of the farmers who mainly cultivated
non–root vegetables in north and south
Ondo were women.
D) a relatively equal proportion of women
across the three regions of Ondo mainly
cultivated cereals.

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40

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Based on the passage and table, what was
most likely occurring during the years
between the Bretton Woods and the floating
exchange systems?
A) Inflation rates in the United States and
Britain were returning to the rates of the
interwar period.
B) The US inflation rate was increasing to
the point that the US dollar had to be
devalued.
C) The World Bank was losing the support
of Keynesian economists.
Lord Keynes, the world’s most celebrated D) Britain’s inflation rate was surpassing
economist, had proposed a radical new that of the United States.
monetary system to free the world from the
Line deflationary pressures that had caused and
5 prolonged the Great Depression. Bretton
Woods, he hoped, would be the international
anchor for the suite of domestic measures that
use public spending to cure depression and the
regulation of financial markets to prevent
10 downturns caused by failed private financial
speculation.
The Bretton Woods system was hailed as a
vast improvement over both the rigid gold
standard of pre-1914 and the monetary
15 anarchy of the interwar period. For a quarter-
century, Bretton Woods undergirded a rare
period of steady growth, full employment, and
financial stability. But in the early 1970s, the
Bretton Woods system came crashing down
20 when domestic inflation forced the United
States to devalue its own currency and cease
playing the hegemonic role. Monetary
instability and slower growth followed. By the
1980s, laissez-faire was enjoying renewed
prestige.

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In 1534 CE, King Henry VIII of England 41

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split with the Catholic Church and declared Which quotation from a scholarly article best
himself head of the Church of England, in part supports the assertion of the historians
Line because Pope Clement VII refused to annul his mentioned in the text?
5 marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Two years
later, Henry VIII introduced a policy titled the A) “At the time of the Dissolution of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries that by 1540 Monasteries, about 2 percent of the adult
had resulted in the closure of all Catholic male population of England were monks;
monasteries in England and the confiscation of by 1690, the proportion of the adult male
10 their estates. Some historians assert that the population who were monks was less than
enactment of the policy was primarily 1 percent.”
motivated by perceived financial opportunities. B) “A contemporary description of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, Michael
Sherbrook’s Falle of the Religious Howses,
recounts witness testimony that monks
were allowed to keep the contents of their
cells and that the monastery timber was
purchased by local yeomen.”
C) “In 1535, the year before enacting the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry
commissioned a survey of the value of
church holdings in England—the work,
performed by sheriffs, bishops, and
magistrates, began that January and was
swiftly completed by the summer.”
D) “The October 1536 revolt known as the
Pilgrimage of Grace had several economic
motives: high food prices due to a poor
harvest the prior year; the Dissolution of
the Monasteries, which closed reliable
sources of food and shelter for many; and
rents and taxes throughout Northern
England that were not merely high but
predatory.”

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In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists 42
in the English-speaking world began to draw Which finding about mbaqanga and quan họ,
attention to music from around the globe— if true, would most directly support Zheng’s
Line such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan claim?
5 họ from Vietnam—that can’t be easily
categorized according to British or North A) Mbaqanga and quan họ developed
American popular music genres, typically independently of each other and have
referring to such music as “world music.” While little in common musically.
some scholars have welcomed this development B) Mbaqanga is significantly more popular
10 for bringing diverse musical forms to in the English-speaking world than quan
prominence in countries where they’d họ is.
previously been overlooked, musicologist Su C) Mbaqanga and quan họ are now
Zheng claims that the concept of world music performed by a diverse array of musicians
homogenizes highly distinct traditions by with no direct connections to South
15 reducing them all to a single category. Africa or Vietnam.
D) Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly
distinct from British and North American
popular music genres but similar to each
other.

Archaeologists have held that the Casarabe 43

culture, which emerged in the southwestern Which finding about the remote-sensing
Amazon basin in the first millennium CE, was images, if true, would most directly support
Line characterized by a sparse, widely distributed Prümers and colleagues’ conclusion?
5 population and little intervention in the
surrounding wilderness. Recently, however, A) They show shapes consistent with widely
archaeologist Heiko Prümers and colleagues separated settlements of roughly equal
conducted a study of the region using remote- small size surrounded by uncultivated
sensing technology that enabled them to create jungle.
10 three-dimensional images of the jungle-covered B) They show shapes consistent with long-
landscape from above, and the researchers distance footpaths running from Casarabe
concluded that the Casarabe people developed a territories to large cities outside the region
form of urbanism in the Amazon basin. inhabited by the Casarabe people.
C) They show shapes consistent with
scattered small farms created by clearing
jungle areas near sources of fresh water.
D) They show shapes consistent with
monumental platforms and dense central
settlements linked to smaller settlements
by a system of canals and roadways.

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Boldly mixing elements of poetry, fiction, 44
drama, philosophy, and manifesto, Puerto Which quotation from a scholarly review of
Rican writer Giannina Braschi creates cross- Braschi’s work best supports the student’s
Line genre literature that explores themes such as claim?
5 immigration and independence. Her works
have inspired responses from individuals across A) “Braschi is the focus of a 2020 collection
different fields and in a wide range of formats, of essays in which fifteen scholars from
from musical compositions and a comic book to seven different countries delved into the
architecture and furniture design. In an essay, a linguistic and structural patterns of her
10 student asserts that the production of these writings.”
diverse creations by others is reflective of B) “Braschi’s eagerness to push boundaries
Braschi’s own approach to crafting literature. and blend genres within literature invites
us to consider how other art forms might
also engage with literature.”
C) “Before settling in New York City, where
she would go on to become a college
professor, Braschi studied both literature
and philosophy in several cities around
the world.”
D) “In addition to her creative literary
works, Braschi has produced academic
pieces analyzing writings by Miguel de
Cervantes, Federico García Lorca, and
other authors.”

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Many governments that regularly transfer 45

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
money to individuals—to provide supplemental Which finding from the study, if true, would
incomes for senior citizens, for example—have most directly weaken the potential
Line long done so electronically, but other countries explanation?
5 typically have distributed physical money and
have only recently developed electronic transfer A) Recipients of electronic transfers
infrastructure. Researchers studied the typically spent their funds at a slower rate
introduction of an electronic transfer system in than recipients of physical transfers did.
one such location and found that recipients of B) Nearly every recipient of an electronic
10 electronic transfers consumed a different array transfer withdrew the entire amount in
of foods than recipients of physical transfers of physical money shortly after receiving
the same amount did. One potential the transfer.
explanation for this result is that individuals C) Recipients of physical transfers tended to
conceive of and allocate funds in physical purchase food about as frequently as
15 money differently than they conceive of and recipients of electronic transfers did.
allocate funds in electronic form.
D) Some recipients of physical transfers
received small amounts of money
relatively frequently, while others
received large amounts relatively
infrequently.

Icebergs generally appear to be mostly white 46

or blue, depending on how the ice reflects Which finding, if true, would most directly
sunlight. Ice with air bubbles trapped in it looks weaken the team’s hypothesis?
Line white because much of the light reflects off the
5 bubbles. Ice without air bubbles usually looks A) White ice doesn’t change color when
blue because the light travels deep into the ice mixed with dissolved organic carbon due
and only a little of it is reflected. However, some to the air bubbles in the ice.
icebergs in the sea around Antarctica appear to B) Dissolved organic carbon has a stronger
be green. One team of scientists hypothesized yellow color in Antarctic waters than it
10 that this phenomenon is the result of yellow- does in other places.
tinted dissolved organic carbon in Antarctic C) Blue icebergs and green icebergs are
waters mixing with blue ice to produce the color rarely found near each other.
green.
D) Blue icebergs and green icebergs contain
similarly small traces of dissolved organic
carbon.

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A member of the Otomi, an Indigenous 47

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people in Central Mexico, Octavio Medellín Which quotation from an art critic most
immigrated to the United States as a child, and directly challenges the underlined claim in
Line his sculpture bears the impress of traditions on the text?
5 both sides of the border: US-based modernist
sculpture, Mexican modernist painting, Otomi A) “Although a number of ancient
art, and the ancient sculpture of other Mexican Indigenous artistic traditions pictured
Indigenous peoples, including the Maya. In his human forms in profile, the forms
1950 masterpiece History of Mexico, Medellín populating the surface of A History of
10 fuses these influences into a style so Mexico suggest a specifically Maya
idiosyncratic that it resists efforts to view his influence.”
work through the lens of nationality or cultural B) “In A History of Mexico, the synthesis of
identity. Artists, he insisted, should strive for ancient and modernist traditions
individual expression, even as they draw functions as a stylistic parallel to the
15 inspiration from their heritage and the work’s subject matter: a survey of
communities where they live and work. centuries of Mexican history.”
C) “Many critics focus on Indigenous
influences in A History of Mexico and
other key works by Medellín to the
exclusion of influences from non-
Indigenous art.”
D) “While A History of Mexico features
modernist motifs, it relies primarily on
angular human forms in profile—a staple
of Maya sculpture—and thus invites
classification as Indigenous art.”

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In the 1970s, a roughly 60,000-year-old piece 48

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
of hyena bone marked with nine notches was Which finding, if true, would most directly
discovered at a site in western France once weaken the underlined claim?
Line inhabited by Neanderthals. Although many
5 believe that only modern humans developed A) Parallel lines are a common feature in
systems for notating numbers, one modern humans’ early systems for
archaeologist asserts that this artifact may be a recording numerical information.
sign that Neanderthals also recorded numerical B) More than nine approximately parallel
information. The notches on the bone are notches made with a different stone tool
10 unevenly spaced but approximately parallel, are present on another artifact found at a
and microscopic analysis reveals that they were site in western France.
made with a single stone tool; according to the C) It would have taken careful effort to make
archaeologist, this suggests that the notches evenly spaced lines on bone with the
were all made at one time by one individual as stone tools typically used by
15 a means of counting something. Neanderthals.
D) Decorative art discovered at another
Neanderthal site in western France
primarily features patterns of unevenly
spaced parallel lines.

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Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 49

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Mediterranean Sea biodiversity census reported Which choice most logically completes
approximately 17,000 species, nearly double the the text?
Line number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla
5 Morri’s 2000 census—a difference only partly A) Coll and colleagues reported a much
attributable to the description of new higher number of species than Bianchi
invertebrate species in the interim. Another and Morri did largely due to the inclusion
factor is that the morphological variability of of invertebrate species that had not been
microorganisms is poorly understood described at the time of Bianchi and
10 compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, Morri’s census.
plants, and algae, creating uncertainty about B) some differences observed in
how to evaluate microorganisms as species. microorganisms may have been treated as
Researchers’ decisions on such matters variations within species by Bianchi and
therefore can be highly consequential. Indeed, Morri but treated as indicative of distinct
15 the two censuses reported similar counts of species by Coll and colleagues.
vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting C) Bianchi and Morri may have been less
that ______ sensitive to the degree of morphological
variation displayed within a typical
species of microorganism than Coll and
colleagues were.
D) the absence of clarity regarding how to
differentiate among species of
microorganisms may have resulted in
Coll and colleagues underestimating the
number of microorganism species.

Researchers recently found that disruptions 50

to an enjoyable experience, like a short series of Which choice most logically completes
advertisements during a television show, often the text?
Line increase viewers’ reported enjoyment.
5 Suspecting that disruptions to an unpleasant A) find the disruptions more irritating as
experience would have the opposite effect, the time went on.
researchers had participants listen to B) rate the listening experience as more
construction noise for 30 minutes and negative than those whose listening
anticipated that those whose listening experience was uninterrupted.
10 experience was frequently interrupted with C) rate the experience of listening to
short breaks of silence would thus ______ construction noise as lasting for less time
than it actually lasted.
D) perceive the volume of the construction
noise as growing softer over time.

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One theory behind human bipedalism 51
speculates that it originated in a mostly Which choice most logically completes
ground-based ancestor that practiced the text?
Line fourlegged “knuckle-walking,” like
5 chimpanzees and gorillas do today, and A) bipedalism evolved because it was
eventually evolved into moving upright on two advantageous to a tree-dwelling ancestor
legs. But recently, researchers observed of humans.
orangutans, another relative of humans, B) bipedalism must have evolved
standing on two legs on tree branches and simultaneously with knuckle-walking and
10 using their arms for balance while they reached tree-climbing.
for fruits. These observations may suggest that
C) moving between the ground and the trees
______
would have been difficult without
bipedalism.
D) a knuckle-walking human ancestor could
have easily moved bipedally in trees.

German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht 52

(1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit Which choice most logically completes the
an intellectual rather than an emotional text?
Line response from audiences, provoking them to
5 consider social and political realities that A) focus on the characters’ beliefs about social
extend beyond the characters and events and political issues as revealed by the
depicted onstage. Brecht’s influence can be characters’ actions.
seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill’s B) reflect on social and political phenomena
1979 play Cloud 9: although the play not directly related to patriarchy and
10 sometimes invites empathetic reactions, it colonialism.
primarily works to engage audiences in an C) recognize pertinent social and political
interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism, parallels between Germany during
which it does by placing audiences at a Brecht’s time and England at the time
distance, thereby encouraging them to ______ when Churchill was writing Cloud 9.
D) be dispassionate as they think critically
about the social and political questions
raised by the play.

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Extra Vocab
 1 1
The grief and sadness of parting and the 1

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
sorrows that seem eternal are ______ by time, Which choice completes the text with the
but they leave their scars. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) revived
B) nurtured
C) mitigated
D) concocted

The traditional process of producing an oil 2

painting requires so many steps that it seems Which choice completes the text with the
______ to artists who prefer to work quickly. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) provocative
B) consummate
C) interminable
D) prolific

Photography as an art form often seeks the 3

______ in its subjects, those qualities that Which choice completes the text with the
cannot be expressed in words. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) ineffable
B) mundane
C) onerous
D) auspicious

The female subject of this painting by 4

Henri Matisse seems ______ as if Matisse Which choice completes the text with the
sought to portray an unconquerable, female most logical and precise word or phrase?
spirit.
A) ephemeral
B) indomitable
C) opulent
D) morose

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 1 1
Even though some people feel historians 5

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
have an exclusive right to act as the Which choice completes the text with the
interpreters of bygone eras, most historians most logical and precise word or phrase?
insist their profession has no ______
interpreting the past. A) responsibility in
B) consensus for
C) monopoly on
D) misgivings about

Each male mockingbird views his territory 6

as ______; no other male of the same species Which choice completes the text with the
is tolerated within its boundaries. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) inviolable
B) dissipated
C) unparalleled
D) mandated

According to the report, the investment 7

firm had ______ several customers, swindling Which choice completes the text with the
them out of thousands of dollars. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) harassed
B) bilked
C) investigated
D) incriminated

Contemptuous of official myths about great 8

men and women that had been taught to them Which choice completes the text with the
in school, many postwar writers, with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
skepticism expected of ______, advanced the
idea that there was no such thing as greatness. A) idealists
B) well-wishers
C) dissemblers
D) debunkers

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 1 1
Rodolfo Gonzales was once described as 9

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
______ in body and mind because of the Which choice completes the text with the
flexibility and grace apparent in both his most logical and precise word or phrase?
boxing and his writing of poetry and plays.
A) unyielding
B) emphatic
C) lithe
D) fickle

Galloping technological progress has made 10

consumers ______: advances undreamed of a Which choice completes the text with the
generation ago are so common that they seem most logical and precise word or phrase?
humdrum.
A) miffed
B) jaded
C) wary
D) embittered

Laila performed her tasks at the office with 11

______, completing all her projects in record Which choice completes the text with the
time. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) alacrity
B) deliberation
C) recrimination
D) exasperation

The treasurer was intimidated by the 12

______ demeanor of the auditors who neither Which choice completes the text with the
spoke nor smiled when they arrived. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) amiable
B) ethical
C) glacial
D) nondescript

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Critics say that the autobiographical work 13

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Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Which choice completes the text with the
Wideman is surprising in that it celebrates most logical and precise word or phrase?
and yet ______ his own role in the life of his
brother. A) censures
B) exacerbates
C) explores
D) delineates

That Virginia Woolf's criticism of prose is 14

more astute than her criticism of poetry is Which choice completes the text with the
most likely due to her ability, as a novelist and most logical and precise word or phrase?
essayist, to approach prose as one of its
______. A) novices
B) interpreters
C) practitioners
D) detractors

It is perilously easy to decry so ______ a 15

historical figure without trying to Which choice completes the text with the
understand the motives for his reprehensible most logical and precise word or phrase?
actions.
A) exemplary
B) astute
C) efficacious
D) villainous

Because that testimony had been the 16

______ the prosecutor's case, when it was Which choice completes the text with the
ruled inadmissible the case collapsed. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) linchpin of
B) bane of
C) conundrum of
D) buffer against

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Samantha's distinguishing trait is her 17

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______: she gives liberally to those less Which choice completes the text with the
fortunate than herself. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) amicability
B) inexorableness
C) munificence
D) venerability

The new concert hall proved to be a 18

______: it was costly, acoustically Which choice completes the text with the
unsatisfactory, and far too small. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) colossus
B) debacle
C) consecration
D) fabrication

The review was ______, recounting the 19

play's felicities and its flaws without unduly Which choice completes the text with the
emphasizing one or the other. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) equitable
B) immoderate
C) cumulative
D) unproductive

Rosita Peru, who rose to become the 20

highest-ranking female in the television Which choice completes the text with the
industry, was ______ recruited: Spanish most logical and precise word or phrase?
language program producers courted her
persistently. A) indiscriminately
B) enigmatically
C) vicariously
D) assiduously

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The meal had ______ effect on the 21

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
famished travelers: their energy was restored Which choice completes the text with the
almost instantly. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) a tonic
B) an indefinite
C) a debilitating
D) an intemperate

While cynics may ______ the goal of 22

international disarmament as utopian, others Which choice completes the text with the
believe that laughing contemptuously at most logical and precise word or phrase?
idealism leads nowhere.
A) confirm
B) renew
C) deride
D) defend

Although his memoirs contained scathing 23

criticisms of his opponents, the politician Which choice completes the text with the
______ vindictiveness as his motive. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) disavowed
B) claimed
C) disparaged
D) substantiated

Even in her most casual conversation, one 24

detects the impulse to ______ to impart Which choice completes the text with the
knowledge systematically to her listener. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) mystify
B) instruct
C) embellish
D) meditate

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