Thầy Minh’s Education Studio

Reading

Practice Test 1
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Akira came directly, breaking all tradition 1

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when he approached Chie and asked to marry Which choice completes the text with the
her daughter. “We have an understanding. most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line Please don’t judge my candidacy by the
5 unseemliness of this proposal. I ask ______ A) frankly
because the use of a go-between takes much B) confidently
time. Either method comes down to the same C) without mediation
thing: a matter of parental approval. If you
D) with precision
give your consent, I become Naomi’s husband.
10 We’ll live in the House of Fuji. Without your
consent, I must go to America, to secure a new
home for my bride.”

Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. 2

Was that it? Had he followed ______—had he
Which choice completes the text with the
asked his mother to speak to his father to
most logical and precise word or phrase?
approach a go-between—would Chie have
been more receptive? A) appearance
B) custom
C) structure
D) nature

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Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion 3

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at retail stores in the month of December Which choice completes the text with the
alone. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line most people regularly buy presents for other
5 occasions throughout the year, including A) unrealistic
weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, B) conflicted
graduations, and baby showers. This frequent C) apprehensive
experience of gift-giving can engender ______
D) supportive
feelings in gift-givers. Many relish the
10 opportunity to buy presents because gift-
giving offers a powerful means to build
stronger bonds with one’s closest peers. At the
same time, many dread the thought of buying
gifts; they worry that their purchases will
15 disappoint rather than delight the intended
recipients.

Recent debates about the economy have 4

rediscovered the question, “is that right?”, Which choice completes the text with the
where “right” means more than just profits or most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line efficiency. Some argue that because the free
5 markets allow for personal choice, they are A) lovingly held
already ethical. Others have accepted the B) readily adopted
ethical critique and ______ corporate social C) eagerly hugged
responsibility. But before we can label any
market outcome as “immoral,” or sneer at D) reluctantly used
10 economists who try to put a price on being
ethical, we need to be clear on what we are
talking about.

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We know that the human brain is highly 5

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______; neurons and synapses change as Which choice completes the text with the
circumstances change. When we adapt to a most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line new cultural phenomenon, including the use
A) creative
5 of a new medium, we end up with a different
brain, says Michael Merzenich, a pioneer of B) artificial
the field of neuroplasticity. C) malleable
D) sculptural

Done right, public transport can be faster, 6

more comfortable, and cheaper than the
Which choice completes the text with the
private automobile. From Spain to Sweden,
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line Wi-Fi equipped high- peed trains seamlessly
5 connect with highly ramified metro networks, A) endow
allowing commuters to work on laptops as B) attribute
they prepare for same-day meetings in once
C) believe
distant capital cities. In Latin America, China,
and India, working people board fast-loading D) honor
10 buses that move like subway trains along
dedicated busways, leaving the sedans and
SUVs of the rich mired in dawn-to-dusk traffic
jams.
If you ______ the demographers, this
15 transit trend has legs. The “Millennials,” who
reached adulthood around the turn of the
century and now outnumber baby boomers,
tend to favor cities over suburbs, and are far
more willing than their parents to ride buses
20 and subways. Part of the reason is their ease
with iPads, MP3 players, Kindles, and
smartphones: you can get some serious texting
done when you’re not driving, and earbuds
offer effective insulation from all but the most
extreme commuting annoyances.

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At field sites around the world, Ken Dial 7

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saw a pattern in how young pheasants, quail, Which choice completes the text with the
tinamous, and other ground birds ran along most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line behind their parents. “They jumped up like
5 popcorn,” he said, describing how they would A) dared
flap their half-formed wings and take short B) required
hops into the air. So when a group of graduate C) disputed with
students ______ him to come up with new
D) competed with
data on the age-old ground-up-tree-down
10 debate, he designed a project to see what clues
might lie in how baby game birds learned to
fly.

My emotions are complicated and ______. I 8

feel a vast yearning that is simultaneously a
Which choice completes the text with the
pleasure and a pain. I am certain of the
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line consummation of this yearning, but I don’t
5 know yet what form it will take, since I do not A) unable to be authenticated
understand quite what it is that the yearning B) likely to be contradicted
desires. For the first time there is borne in
upon me the full truth of what I myself said to C) without empirical support
the doctor only an hour ago: that my motives D) not completely understood
10 in this undertaking are not entirely clear.

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What I don’t understand is why I am so 9

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intent on going to this particular place. Who Which choice completes the text with the
wants the North Pole! What good is it! Can most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line you eat it? And suppose you were to find it in
5 spite of all, this wonderful place that A) accept responsibility for
everybody is so anxious to stand on! What B) possess little regard for
would you find? Exactly nothing. A point C) pay no attention to
precisely identical to all the others in a
D) have curiosity about
completely featureless wasteland stretching
10 around it for hundreds of miles. It is an
abstraction, a mathematical fiction. No one
but I, a Swedish madman, could ______ in
it. Here I am. The wind is still from the
south, bearing us steadily northward at the
15 speed of a trotting dog.

It is important to remember that 10

demographic inversion is not a proxy for
Which choice completes the text with the
population growth; it can occur in cities that
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line are growing, those whose numbers are
5 ______, and even in those undergoing a A) static
modest decline in size. B) deflated
C) featureless
D) obscure

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Society is indeed a contract. Subordinate 11

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contracts for objects of mere occasional Which choice completes the text with the
interest may be dissolved at pleasure—but the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line state ought not to be considered as nothing
5 better than a partnership agreement in a trade A) petty
of pepper and coffee, calico or tobacco, or B) weak
some other such ______ concern, to be taken C) inadequate
up for a little temporary interest, and to be
D) depleted
dissolved by the fancy of the parties.

Today’s organic farming practices are 12

probably best deployed in fruit and vegetable
Which choice completes the text with the
farms, where growing nutrition (not just bulk
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line calories) is the primary goal. But for
5 delivering ______ calories, especially in our A) transparent
staple crops of wheat, rice, maize, soybeans
B) abrupt
and so on, conventional farms have the
advantage right now. C) steep
D) pure

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The news is a form of public knowledge. 13

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Unlike personal or private knowledge (such as Which choice completes the text with the
the health of one’s friends and family; the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line conduct of a private hobby; a secret liaison),
5 public knowledge increases in value as it is A) numerous
shared by more people. The production, B) familiar
circulation, and reception of public knowledge C) widespread
is a complex process. It is generally accepted
D) ordinary
that public knowledge should be authoritative,
10 but there is not always ______ agreement
about what the public needs to know, who is
best placed to relate and explain it, and how
authoritative reputations should be
determined and evaluated.

There is a growing feeling, as expressed by 14

several of our focus group participants, that
Which choice completes the text with the
the news media should be informative rather
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line than authoritative; the job of journalists should
5 be to give the news as ______ as it is, without A) unfiltered
putting their slant on it; and people should be B) exposed
given sufficient information from which we
C) harsh
would be able to form opinions of our own.
D) inexperienced

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The Texas gourd vine’s main pollinators 15

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are honey bees and specialized squash bees, Which choice completes the text with the
which respond to its floral scent. The aroma most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line includes 10 compounds, and intuition
5 suggests that more of that aroma should be A) altered
even more appealing to bees. “We have this B) restored
assumption that a really fragrant flower is C) provided
going to attract a lot of pollinators,” says
D) preserved
Theis, a chemical ecologist at Elms College in
10 Chicopee, Massachusetts. But, she adds, that
idea hasn’t really been tested. To find out, she
planted 168 Texas gourd vines in an Iowa field
and made half the plants more fragrant by
tucking dimethoxybenzene-treated swabs
15 deep inside their flowers. Each ______ flower
emitted about 45 times more fragrance than a
normal one; the other half of the plants got
swabs without fragrance.

Let every American, every lover of liberty, 16

every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the Which choice completes the text with the
blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line least particular, the laws of the country; and
5 never to tolerate their violation by others. Let A) hasten
every American pledge his life, his property, B) stimulate
and his sacred honor;—let every man
C) require
remember that to violate the law, is to trample
on the blood of his father, and to tear the D) advocate
10 character of his own, and his children’s liberty.
Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every
American mother; let it be taught in schools,
in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written
in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs.
15 When I so pressingly ______ a strict
observance of all the laws, let me not be
understood as saying there are no bad laws,
nor that grievances may not arise, for the
redress of which, no legal provisions have
20 been made. I mean to say no such thing.

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When I so pressingly urge a strict 17

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observance of all the laws, let me not be Which choice completes the text with the
understood as saying there are no bad laws, most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line nor that grievances may not arise, for the
5 redress of which, no legal provisions have A) followed
been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I B) scrutinized
do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if C) contemplated
they exist, should be repealed as soon as
D) noticed
possible, still while they continue in force, for
10 the sake of example, they should be religiously
______. So also in unprovided cases. If such
arise, let proper legal provisions be made for
them with the least possible delay; but, till
then, let them if not too intolerable, be borne
15 with.

Pople in the solar panel manufacturing 18

industry remain optimistic about its long-term
Which choice completes the text with the
prospects. The technology that’s surprised
most logical and precise word or phrase?
Line almost everyone is conventional crystalline
5 silicon. A few years ago, silicon solar panels A) dabbling in
cost $4 per watt. “Now it’s down to something B) gambling with
like 50 cents a watt, and there’s talk of hitting
C) switching from
36 cents per watt,” says Martin Green,
professor at the University of New South D) optimistic about
10 Wales. Even longer-term, Green is ______
silicon, aiming to take advantage of the huge
reductions in cost already seen with the
technology. He hopes to greatly increase the
efficiency of silicon solar panels by combining
15 silicon with one or two other semiconductors,
each selected to efficiently convert a part of the
solar spectrum that silicon doesn’t convert
efficiently.

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The American people have an incorrect 19

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understanding of what it means to be at war. At What is the main idea of the text?
least, so argues T. H. Pickett in his conservative
interpretation of American military history. A) Pickett’s study overturned the
Line Pickett does present a wealth of examples, conventional understanding of why
5 along with a refreshingly candid argument that America engages in warfare.
America often goes to war for an abstract ideal B) Pickett’s study is valuable primarily
such as the democratization of societies, world because it provides a thorough
peace, liberty, or freedom. For instance, the understanding of the causes of American
Spanish-American War of 1898 was ostensibly a warfare.
10 consequence of national enthusiasm for the C) Pickett provides a cogent rationale for why
cause of Cuban liberty. And, more obviously, America engages in warfare; however, he
America's entry into World War I stemmed draws conclusions that the author does not
from a desire to "make the world safe for fully support.
democracy." Although these observations are
15 supportable, Pickett overstates the case when he D) Pickett’s analysis of American military
argues that these abstract causes typically lead history provides the definitive historical
to a war hysteria in which American leadership record of the period from the Spanish-
can no longer enforce any measured policies. American War to World War I.

When the same parameters and quantitative 20

theory are used to analyze both termite colonies
What is the main idea of the text?
and troops of rhesus macaques, we will have a
Line unified science of sociobiology. Can this ever A) Oversimplified comparisons of animal
5 really happen? As my own studies have societies could diminish the likelihood of
advanced, I have been increasingly impressed developing a unified science of
with the functional similarities between insect sociobiology.
and vertebrate societies and less so with the B) Understanding the ways in which animals
structural differences that seem, at first glance, as different as termites and rhesus
10 to constitute such an immense gulf between macaques resemble each other requires
them. Consider for a moment termites and training in both biology and sociology.
macaques. Both form cooperative groups that
C) Animals as different as termites and rhesus
occupy territories. In both kinds of society there
macaques follow certain similar and
is a well-marked division of labor. Members of
predictable patterns of behavior.
15 both groups communicate to each other hunger,
alarm, hostility, caste status or rank, and D) A study of the similarities between insect
reproductive status. From the specialist's point and vertebrate societies could provide the
of view, this comparison may at first seem basis for a unified science of sociobiology.
facile-or worse. But it is out of such deliberate
20 oversimplification that the beginnings of a
general theory are made.

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In my 1983 essay, “Lifting the Veil, 21

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Shattering the Silence: Black Women’s Which choice best states the main purpose of
History in Slavery and Freedom,” I noted the the text?
Line limited number of primary sources about
5 Black women. The essay is based largely upon A) To encourage more schools to
the few available secondary sources, incorporate Black women’s studies into
unpublished dissertations, and the rare their curricula.
manuscript collections that were available to B) To discuss the content, purpose, and
me. Actually, that essay was written with ramifications of a particular essay.
10 several purposes in mind. Certainly, raising C) To caution historians against ignoring
the awareness of neglect was uppermost, but key primary source materials.
an equally important task was to indicate the
D) To present a new historical theory about
topics in need of further research. It is
Black women in the United States.
encouraging that in recent years many
15 historians and graduate students have taken
up these challenges.

Because of the rooted Spanish aristocratic 22

prejudice against commerce and manual
labor, the work of painters in the colonies of Which choice best states the main purpose of
New Spain was not highly valued in the 1600s. the text?
Line
5 Painting was considered an artisan activity, A) To trace the history of guilds in New
more physical than intellectual, much like that Spain.
of tailors or blacksmiths. The persistence of B) To describe some particular works of art
guilds (trade associations), also inherited from created in New Spain in the 1600s.
Spain and maintaining their vitality overseas,
10 contributed decisively to keeping such feudal C) To criticize the Spanish beliefs about
beliefs about painting in force. However, the manual labor.
guilds and the workshop system they fostered D) To describe the influence of Spanish
also set the stage for the development of attitudes and practices on the painting of
distinctive works of art determined by local New Spain.
15 rather than European conditions and specific
to the various communities of the Hispanic
American world.

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The initial exhibition of quilts by the 23

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women of Gee’s Bend exploded into the world Which choice best states the main purpose of
of modern art with great fanfare, rocking the text?
Line critics who generally dismiss cloth art. The
5 quilts are made by descendants of slaves, who A) To recount the historical origins of a
live in the small rural community in Alabama rural community.
called Gee’s Bend, once the site of cotton B) To explain the technique of quilt
plantations. These women spend their spare making to beginners.
time splicing scraps of old cloth to make C) To call attention to a set of impressive
10 robust objects of refined, abstract designs. The works of art.
best of them, unusually minimalist and spare,
D) To argue for a greater appreciation of
are so gorgeous that it is hard to know how to
cloth art.
begin to account for them. But then, good art
can never be fully accounted for, just
15 described.

A great many animals are discovering that 24

city living can be less stressful than a career in
Which choice best states the main purpose of
the wild. Ecologists know that big cities like
the text?
Line New York are far more friendly to wildlife than
5 small ones because the potential habitat is both A) To explain why large cities offer attractive
immense and varied. Parks and greenways and environments to wildlife.
suburban gardens offer ideal hiding places and B) To identify specific cities that are
travel corridors; urban creeks and backyard lap especially appealing to wild animals.
pools and corporate fountains yield reliable
C) To reveal how towns are surprisingly safe
10 fresh water. To a twenty-first-century raccoon
for raccoons and deer.
or deer, New York (or Atlanta, or Frankfurt)
looks like a fine big animal sanctuary, with the D) To discuss both the advantages and
prime food sources in the middle of town. disadvantages of city living for animals.

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The chemical formula of deoxyribonucleic 25

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acid (DNA) is now well established. The Which choice best describes the function of
molecule is a very long chain, the backbone of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line which consists of a regular alternation of sugar
5 and phosphate groups. To each sugar is attached A) To establish that DNA is the molecule that
a nitrogenous base, which can be of four different carries the genetic information.
types. Two of the possible bases—adenine and B) To present an alternate hypothesis about
guanine—are purines, and the other two— the composition of a nucleotide.
hymine and cytosine—are pyrimidines. C) To provide support for the authors’ claim
10 The first feature of our structure which is of about the number of chains in a molecule
biological interest is that it consists not of one of DNA.
chain, but of two. These two chains are both
D) To confirm the relationship between the
coiled around a common fiber axis. It has often
density of DNA and the known chemical
been assumed that since there was only one chain
formula of DNA.
15 in the chemical formula there would only be one
in the structural unit. However, the density, taken
with the X-ray evidence, suggests very strongly
that there are two.

The chemical formula of deoxyribonucleic 26

acid (DNA) is now well established. The
Which choice best describes the function of
molecule is a very long chain, the backbone of
the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line which consists of a regular alternation of sugar
5 and phosphate groups. To each sugar is attached A) To confirm that the nucleotide sequences
a nitrogenous base, which can be of four different are known for most molecules of DNA.
types. The bases are joined together in pairs. The B) To counter the claim that the sequences of
phosphate-sugar backbone of our model is bases along a chain can occur in any order.
completely regular, but any sequence of the pairs
C) To support the claim that the phosphate-
10 of bases can fit into the structure. It follows that
sugar backbone of the authors’ model is
in a long molecule many different permutations
completely regular.
are possible, and it therefore seems likely that the
precise sequence of bases is the code which D) To emphasize how one chain of DNA may
carries the genetical information. If the actual serve as a template to be copied during
15 order of the bases on one of the pair of chains DNA replication.
were given, one could write down the exact order
of the bases on the other one, because of the
specific pairing. Thus one chain is, as it were, the
complement of the other, and it is this feature
20 which suggests how the deoxyribonucleic acid
molecule might duplicate itself.

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No man likes to acknowledge that he has 27

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made a mistake in the choice of his profession, Which choice best describes the function of
and every man, worthy of the name, will row the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line long against wind and tide before he allows
5 himself to cry out, “I am baffled!” and submits A) To establish the narrator’s perspective on
to be floated passively back to land. From the a controversy.
first week of my residence in X— I felt my B) To provide context useful in
occupation irksome. The thing itself—the understanding the narrator’s emotional
work of copying and translating business- state.
10 letters— was a dry and tedious task enough, C) To offer a symbolic representation of the
but had that been all, I should long have borne narrator’s employer's plight.
with the nuisance; I should have endured in D) To contrast the narrator’s good
silence the rust and cramp of my best faculties; intentions with his malicious conduct.
I should not have whispered, even inwardly,
15 that I longed for liberty. But this was not all;
the antipathy which had sprung up between
myself and my employer striking deeper root
and spreading denser shade daily, excluded me
from every glimpse of the sunshine of life; and
20 I began to feel like a plant growing in humid
darkness out of the slimy walls of a well.

Let every American, every lover of liberty, 28

every well wisher to his posterity never to
Which choice best describes the function of
violate in the least particular, the laws of the
the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
Line country. Let every man remember that to
5 violate the law, is to trample on the blood of A) It raises and refutes a potential
his father, and to tear the character of his own, counterargument to the author’s
and his children’s liberty. Let reverence for the argument.
laws be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in B) It identifies and concedes a crucial
colleges. shortcoming of the author’s argument.
10 When I so pressingly urge a strict
C) It acknowledges and substantiates a
observance of all the laws, let me not be
central assumption of the author’s
understood as saying there are no bad laws,
argument.
nor that grievances may not arise, for the
redress of which, no legal provisions have been D) It anticipates and corrects a possible
15 made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do misinterpretation of the author’s
mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they argument.
exist, should be repealed as soon as possible,
still while they continue in force, for the sake
of example, they should be religiously
20 observed.
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Some of the largest ocean waves in the 29

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world are nearly impossible to see. Unlike Based on information in the passage, it can
other large waves, these rollers, called internal reasonably be said that all internal waves
Line waves, do not ride the ocean surface. Instead,
5 they move underwater, undetectable without A) reach approximately the same height
the use of sophisticated monitoring even though the locations and depths of
equipment. The researchers focused on continental shelves vary.
internal waves generated in the Luzon Strait, B) may be caused by similar factors but are
which separates Taiwan and the Philippines. influenced by the distinct topographies of
10 Internal waves in this region are thought to be different regions.
some of the largest in the world. The Luzon C) can be traced to inconsistencies in the
Strait’s underwater topography, with a distinct tidal patterns of deep ocean water located
double-ridge shape, turns out to be near islands.
responsible for generating the underwater
D) are generated by the movement of dense
15 waves. The researchers were also able to devise
water over a relatively flat section of the
a mathematical model that describes the
ocean floor.
movement and formation of these waves.
Whereas the model is specific to the Luzon
Strait, it can still help researchers understand
20 how internal waves are generated in other
places around the world.

Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial 30

expression, was knocked off her perch. She
was one of those imperfectly self-assured As presented in the passage, Mrs. Quabarl is
individuals who are magnificent and best described as
Line
5 autocratic as long as they are not seriously A) superficially kind but actually selfish.
opposed. The least show of unexpected
B) outwardly imposing but easily defied.
resistance goes a long way towards rendering
them cowed and apologetic. When her friend C) socially successful but irrationally bitter.
failed to express wondering admiration of her D) naturally generous but frequently
10 large newly-purchased and expensive car, the imprudent.
discomfiture of her patroness became almost
abject. Her feelings were those which might
have animated a general of ancient warfaring
days, on beholding his heaviest battle-
15 elephant ignominiously driven off the field by
slingers and javelin throwers.

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Honey bees are hosts to the pathogenic 31

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mite Varroa destructor. These mites feed on The authors state that a certain hypothesis
bee blood and can kill bees directly or by “can best be tested by a trial.” Based on the
Line increasing their susceptibility to secondary passage, which of the following is a hypothesis
5 infection with fungi, bacteria or viruses. We the authors suggest be tested in a trial?
suspect that the bees of commercial bee
colonies which are fed mono-crops are A) Honeybees that are exposed to both
nutritionally deficient. In particular, we pyrethrums and mites are likely to develop
postulate that the problem is a diet a secondary infection by a virus, a
10 deficient in anti-mite toxins: pyrethrums. bacterium, or a fungus.
Without, at least, intermittent feeding on the B) Beekeepers who feed their honeybee
pyrethrum producing plants, bee colonies colonies a diet of a single crop need to
are susceptible to mite infestations increase the use of insecticides to prevent
which can become fatal either directly or mite infestations.
15 due to a secondary infection of C) A honeybee diet that includes pyrethrums
immunocompromised or nutritionally results in honeybee colonies that are more
deficient bees. This hypothesis can best be resistant to mite infestations.
tested by a trial wherein a small number of
D) Humans are more susceptible to varroa
commercial honey bee colonies are offered
mites as a result of consuming nutritionally
20 a number of pyrethrum producing plants,
deficient food crops.
as well as a typical bee food source such as
clover, while controls are offered only the clover.

Most environmentalists have embraced 32

organic food as better for the planet—and
According to the passage, a significant attribute
healthier and tastier, too—than the stuff
of conventional agriculture is its ability to
Line produced by conventional agriculture. They
5 disdain the enormous amounts of energy needed A) produce a wide variety of fruits and
and waste created by conventional farming, vegetables.
while organic practices—forgoing artificial
B) maximize the output of cultivated land.
fertilizers and chemical pesticides—are
considered far more sustainable. Yet a new meta- C) satisfy the dietary needs of the world’s
10 analysis in Nature does the math and comes to a population.
hard conclusion: organic farming yields 25% D) lessen the necessity of nitrogen in plant
fewer crops on average than conventional growth.
agriculture. More land is therefore needed to
produce fewer crops—and that means organic
15 farming may not be as good for the planet as we
think. In the Nature analysis, scientists found
that organic farming delivered a lower yield for
every crop type, though the disparity varied
widely.

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There are different views on where ethics 33

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should apply when someone makes an The author’s claim that there is common
economic decision. Consider Adam Smith, ground shared by the different approaches to
Line who justifies behavior by the outcome. ethics described in the passage. Which choice
5 Whenever planners use cost-benefit analysis best illustrates the author’s claim?
to justify a new railway line, or someone
retrains to boost his or her earning power, or a A) There are different views on where ethics
shopper buys one to get one free, they are should apply when someone makes an
using the same approach: empathizing with economic decision.
10 someone, and seeking an outcome that makes B) From a certain perspective, some things
that person as well off as possible. Instead of are right, some wrong—we should buy
judging consequences, Aristotle said ethics fair trade goods, we shouldn’t tell lies in
was about having the right character— advertisements.
displaying virtues like courage and honesty. It C) Take fair trade coffee (coffee that is sold
15 is a view put into practice whenever business with a certification that indicates the
leaders are chosen for their good character. farmers and workers who produced it
And there is yet another approach: instead of were paid a fair wage), for example:
rooting ethics in character or the buying it might have good consequences,
consequences of actions, we can focus on our be virtuous, and also be the right way to
20 actions themselves. act in a flawed market.
D) We behave like a herd; we fear losses
more than we hope for gains; rarely can
our brains process all the relevant facts.

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We know that the human brain is highly 34

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plastic; neurons and synapses change as A scholar claims that he would personally
circumstances change. When we adapt to a agree to some extent with Michael
Line new cultural phenomenon, including the use Merzenich. Which choice would best
5 of a new medium, we end up with a different illustrate the scholar’s claim?
brain, says Michael Merzenich, a pioneer of
the field of neuroplasticity. A) Critics of new media sometimes use
science itself to press their case, citing
research that shows how “experience can
change the brain.”
B) Yes, every time we learn a fact or skill the
wiring of the brain changes; it’s not as if
the information is stored in the pancreas.
C) But the existence of neural plasticity does
not mean the brain is a blob of clay
pounded into shape by experience.
D) Media critics write as if the brain takes on
the qualities of whatever it consumes, the
informational equivalent of “you are
what you eat.”

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Search engines have changed the way we 35

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use the Internet, putting vast sources of Which choice best illustrates professor
information just a few clicks away. Recent Wegner’s claim?
Line research proves that websites—and the
5 Internet—are changing the way our memories A) Harvard professor of psychologyDaniel
function. When people have access to search Wegner’s recent research proves that
engines, they remember fewer facts and less websites—and the Internet—are
information because they know they can rely changing much more than technology
on “search” as a readily available shortcut. itself. They are changing the way our
10 Now computers and technology as well are memories function.
becoming virtual extensions of our memory. B) Wegner points out that we never have to
But Harvard professor of psychology Daniel stretch our memories too far to
Wegner claims that reliance on computers remember the name of an obscure movie
does not necessarily diminish human memory. actor or the capital of Kyrgyzstan—we
just type our questions into Google.
C) Students who have trouble remembering
distinct facts, for example, may struggle
to employ those facts in critical thinking.
D) Even though we may not be taxing our
memories to recall distinct facts, we are
still using them to consider where the
facts are located and how to access them.

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Text 1 36

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The author of Text 1 would most likely argue
Foraging near the hut that he built himself, that the enthusiasm referred to in Text 2 is
cultivating beans whose properties invited
speculation, gazing into the depths of Walden A) supportive of the idea that Walden
Line Pond, Henry David Thoreau epitomizes a expresses regret about industrialization.
5 long-standing American worship of nature. B) a characteristic of Thoreau’s that is often
Generations of teachers have assigned emphasized by teachers.
Thoreau’s book Walden (1854), which C) an attitude that derives from Thoreau’s
recounts his experiment in living in solitary experiment in solitary living.
harmony with nature, as an illustration of the
D) atypical of Thoreau’s perceived attitude
10 intensity with which nineteenth-century
toward mechanization.
America protested the intrusion into pastoral
harmony of the forces of industrialization and
urbanization. In this sense, Walden is revered
as a text of regret, a lament for a world passing
15 out of existence.

Text 2

Although Thoreau, in Walden, was 37

sometimes ambivalent about the The author of Text 1 would probably agree
mechanization that he saw around him, at with which of the following statements about
other times he was downright enthusiastic, as the interpretation of Walden offered in Text
20 in his response to the railroad: “When I hear 2?
the iron horse make the hills echo with his
snort like thunder, shaking the earth with his A) It exaggerates the destructive power of
feet, and breathing fire and smoke from his the machine.
nostrils,... it seems as if the earth had got a B) It is overly influenced by the long-
25 race now worthy to inhabit it.” At Walden standing American worship of nature.
Pond, civilization and industrialization no C) It is not representative of the way
longer seemed threatening. Providing a full Walden is often taught in schools.
record of Thoreau’s purposeful energy,
Walden demonstrates that the power D) It overlooks Thoreau’s enthusiasm in
unleashed by the machine is not that different Walden for the railroad.
30
from the power required to transform the
wilderness into a productive garden.

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Text 1 38

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The author of Text 1 would most likely
Because chimpanzees exhibit behavior so respond to the statement "They feel! That
remarkably similar to some human behavior, was my discovery." in Text 2 by
scientists observing them in the wild often
Line develop a degree of empathy with the A) applauding the author for maintaining
5 individuals being studied. In itself this is not a scientific objectivity.
bad thing. Subtle communication cues among B) criticizing the author for having poorly
chimpanzees are more readily detected and defined research goals.
recorded once an observer has established this C) urging the author to rely less on
empathy. However, scientists must guard observations made in the wild.
10 against the constant danger of automatically
D) cautioning the author against failing to
interpreting what they see as if chimps act
verify a conclusion.
from human motivations. Their observations
must be as objective as possible. Intuitive
interpretations may initially be based on an
15 understanding stemming directly from
empathy, but they must be tested afterward
against the facts set out in the data.

Text 2

My first day observing a community of

forest chimpanzees showed me a richer and
20 more satisfying world than I had imagined. I
suddenly recognized why I, a nonscientist, or
anyone should care about what happens to
them: not, ultimately, because they use tools
and solve problems and are intellectual
25 beings, but because they are emotional beings,
as we are, and because their emotions are so
obviously similar to ours. I was moved by the
play, the adult male chasing a toddler round
and round a tree, the mother nibbling her
30 baby’s toes and looking blissful, the three
females playing with and adoring a single
infant. They feel! That was my discovery.

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Building good transit isn’t a bad idea, but it

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39
can actually backfire if the new trains and Do the data in the figure support or weaken
buses merely clear space on highway lanes for the argument of the author of the passage,
Line those who would prefer to drive—a group and why?
5 that, historically, has included almost
everyone with access to a car. To have A) Support, because the data show that
environmental value, new transit has to merely moving drivers out of cars can
replace and eliminate driving on a scale induce traffic.
sufficient to cut energy consumption overall. B) Support, because the data show that
10 That means that a new transit system has to be reducing road capacity can lead to a net
backed up by something that impels reduction in traffic.
complementary reductions in car use—say, C) Weaken, because the data show that in
the physical elimination of traffic lanes or the some cases road alterations lead to
conversion of existing roadways into bike or greater traffic on surrounding roads.
15 bus lanes, ideally in combination with higher
D) Weaken, because the data show that
fuel taxes, parking fees, and tolls. Needless to
traffic reductions due to road alterations
say, those ideas are not popular. But they’re
tend to be brief.
necessary, because you can’t make people
drive less, in the long run, by taking steps that
20 make driving more pleasant, economical, and
productive.

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40
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New research indicates that chimpanzees’

vocalized communications are a bit closer in Which statement best describes the
nature to our own spoken languages as well. relationship between the graph and the study
Line The researchers studied a community of 73 results as described in the passage?
5 chimps that lives in Uganda’s Budongo Forest
Reserve. To simulate danger, they used the A) The graph underscores the study’s
skin of one of the chimps’ natural predators to finding that a chimpanzee’s distance
create a fake python. Typically, when the from a predator determines the type of
chimps saw the snake, they were startled, and call the chimpanzee makes.
10 made one of two different vocalizations, B) The graph contradicts the conclusion
which the researchers identified as that the chimpanzee will select its calls
“huus” (softer calls, with less alarm) or based on its relationships with the other
“waas” (louder, more alarmed calls). The chimpanzees in the area.
researchers found that when other chimps C) The graph supports the explanation of
15 were around, the startled chimps were much the results by showing that chimpanzees
more likely to make the “waas” rather than tend to make loud calls when they
“huus.” Moreover, the chimps clearly observe other chimpanzees nearby.
observed the location of other chimps and D) The graph and the passage provide the
whether they were paying attention, and kept same information about chimpanzee
20 sounding the alarm until the others had fled calls with the same level of detail.
and were safe from danger.

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41

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How do the data in the graph support the
author’s argument about the hippocampus?
A) They show that deactivating the
hippocampus has a negative effect on
distinguishing between similar time
intervals at both short and long time
periods.
B) They show that the hippocampus is only
somewhat important in distinguishing
between similar time intervals at both
short and long time periods.
C) They show that the hippocampus is
essential to distinguishing between
similar time intervals at relatively short
Scientists now believe that a part of the brain time periods.
called the hippocampus might play a role in
D) They show that the hippocampus is
remembering the passage of time. In a new
important in distinguishing between
Line study, researchers from the University of
similar time intervals at relatively long
5 California, Irvine tried to train rats to
time periods.
discriminate between different time intervals.
They then rewarded the rats with treats when
they indicated, by choosing between different
odors, that they could tell how much time had
10 passed. 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
15 similar periods of time (e.g., 8 versus 12
minutes). 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
20 periods at short scales (e.g., 1 versus 1.5
minutes), but they in fact performed better.

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42

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Which choice best describes data from the
graph that support the researchers’ finding?

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 from a 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
Interested in whether animals from group- competition for resources will sometimes
living species display xenophobia (a fear of outweigh the fact that a stranger is of the
strangers), Andrew Spinks and his colleagues opposite sex.
Line examined the common mole rat and hypothesized
5 that xenophobia may be especially strong when
resources are scarce. Some common mole rat
populations inhabit mesic (moderately moist)
environments that present only mild resource
limitations, while other populations live in arid
10 environments and face intense limitations on their
resources. To examine whether populations from
arid areas were more xenophobic than those from
mesic environments, Andrew placed two mole rats
together, and any aggression that occurred
15 between them was recorded. 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
20 common mole rats from the arid environment,
where resources were limited, than it was in the
common mole rats from the mesic environment.
In trials in which the two individuals tested were a
male and a female, Andrew and his colleagues
25 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.

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Star clusters have been objects of intense 43

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study for more than a century. Previous Which choice best describes data from the
studies show that star clusters come in two graph that support the astronomers’ finding?
Line flavors—open and globular—that at first
5 glance could not be more different. Open A) The youngest open clusters are less than 1
clusters typically contain stars no older than a billion years old.
billion years, and hold a few hundred to B) NGC 6791 and Rup 106 are both about 10
perhaps a few thousand solar masses. Their billion years old.
stars exhibit metallicity similar to or greater
C) Most globular clusters are between 8 and
10 than our Sun’s. On the other hand, globular
12 billion years old.
clusters typically contain 100,000 solar masses.
With ages around 12 billion years, globular D) The metallicity of NGC 4590 is less than
clusters are truly ancient objects, a fact the metallicity of Pal 4.
reflected in the low metallicity of their stars.
15 However, when astronomers re-examine
the Milky Way’s cluster system, they find that
the once-clear distinction between open and
globular clusters becomes blurred. At 10
billion years old, Berkeley 17 is considered the
20 oldest open cluster, but it overlaps the range of
globular-cluster ages (8 to 12 billion years).
The two cluster types show a slight overlap in
metal content as well.

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 1 1

By plotting the age of each dinosaur 44

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against its mass—conservatively estimated Which of the following choices best identifies
from the circumference of its femur— a point of disagreement between the figure
Line scientists constructed growth curves for each and the passage?
5 species. Gorgosaurus and Albertosaurus, both
more primitive tyrannosaurids, began to put A) The passage lists the adult Albertosaurus
on weight more rapidly at about age 12. For 4 as being equal in size to the adult
years or so, they added 310 to 480 grams per Daspletosaurus, but the figure indicates
day. By about age 15, they were full-grown at that at full size Daspletosaurus was
10 about 1100 kilograms. The more advanced heavier than Albertosaurus.
Daspletosaurus followed the same trend but B) The passage states that Albertosaurus and
grew faster and maxed out at roughly 1800 Gorgosaurus reached full size at about age
kilograms. 15, but the figure indicates that neither
Tyrannosaurus rex, in comparison, was species reached full size until after 18.
15 almost off the chart. The team discovered C) The passage asserts that the four species
that it underwent a gigantic growth spurt lived at the same time, but the figure
starting at age 14 and packed on 2 kilograms indicates that Tyrannosaurus lived at a
a day. By age 18.5 years, the heaviest of the lot later period than the other three species
weighed more than 5600 kilograms. did.
D) The passage implies that Tyrannosaurus
had a faster rate of metabolism than the
other three species, but the figure
indicates that all four species shared the
same rate of metabolism.

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Extra Vocab
 1 1
Pablo Picasso was ______ youth: his 1

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extraordinary artistic talent was obvious at a Which choice completes the text with the
very early age. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) an articulate
B) an immature
C) a disturbed
D) a precocious

Although Virginia Woolf was a central 2

figure in London’s established literary scene, Which choice completes the text with the
she nevertheless perceived herself as being most logical and precise word or phrase?
______.
A) renowned
B) rational
C) salutary
D) marginal

Although strangers compliment the 3

comedian on her work repeatedly, almost Which choice completes the text with the
______, she is always moved by such most logical and precise word or phrase?
enthusiastic encouragement.
A) tenuously
B) staunchly
C) incessantly
D) inimitably

In contrast to the ______ maneuvers of his 4

colleagues, Roberto’s business relations were Which choice completes the text with the
always open and aboveboard. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) convivial
B) clandestine
C) steadfast
D) frank

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 1 1
This medical study shuns ______ in 5

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describing the drug’s dangers; the appeal is to Which choice completes the text with the
rational evaluation rather than to fear. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) obfuscation
B) certitude
C) sensationalism
D) plausibility

Alexis complained that Jim ______ too 6

quickly when their parents imposed a curfew: Which choice completes the text with the
instead of negotiating, he complied without most logical and precise word or phrase?
protest.
A) capitulated
B) compromised
C) interceded
D) equivocated

To end his lecture on time, Professor Burke 7

decided to ______ his final point and address Which choice completes the text with the
it instead at the next class meeting. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) improvise
B) amend
C) forgo
D) reiterate

Jason was truly ______, for he squandered 8

a great deal of money with no thought for the Which choice completes the text with the
future. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) prescient
B) infallible
C) reticent
D) improvident

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 1 1
Because he had decided not to ______ 9

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himself through the sales of his new product, Which choice completes the text with the
the inventor anonymously donated all profits most logical and precise word or phrase?
to charity.
A) compromise
B) invigorate
C) impoverish
D) aggrandize

Since her personal pleas had failed to make 10

her noisy neighbors change their ways, the Which choice completes the text with the
homeowner felt that her only ______ was to most logical and precise word or phrase?
notify the police.
A) backlash
B) recourse
C) reckoning
D) forbearance

Anthropology was much more than ______ 11

for the novelist Zora Neale Hurston: she Which choice completes the text with the
studied at Barnard College with Franz Boas, most logical and precise word or phrase?
who is often called the “Father of American
Anthropology.” A) an obsession
B) a career
C) an avocation
D) a commitment

Raul’s game-winning goal in the closing 12

minutes of the game ______ his well-known Which choice completes the text with the
ability to excel under stressful conditions. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) clarified
B) solidified
C) identified
D) epitomized

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The employer blamed the staff member's 13

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lack of productivity on ______ rather than Which choice completes the text with the
incompetence, claiming that the man knew most logical and precise word or phrase?
how to do his job but was too lazy to apply
himself. A) infatuation
B) tension
C) indolence
D) ineptitude

After David left him waiting for the third 14

consecutive time, Kirk realized that the same Which choice completes the text with the
behavior he had initially valued as most logical and precise word or phrase?
spontaneous and carefree was, in fact, simply
______. A) capricious
B) extraneous
C) captivating
D) inscrutable

Named in honor of the school’s founder, 15

the Richard Brownstone Community Service Which choice completes the text with the
Fellowship is one of the highest awards most logical and precise word or phrase?
______ Brownstone School graduates.
A) redeemed for
B) conferred on
C) relegated to
D) deprived of

As if intended to squelch rumors of 16

cutbacks, the company’s annual celebration Which choice completes the text with the
was as ______ as ever. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) sparing
B) belated
C) lavish
D) sated

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 1 1
He was always ______ in performing his 17

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tasks, waiting until the last moment to finish Which choice completes the text with the
them. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) dilatory
B) incompetent
C) extroverted
D) obtrusive

In effect, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 18

______ African Americans in the southern Which choice completes the text with the
United States by outlawing restrictions that most logical and precise word or phrase?
had barred them from voting.
A) inspired
B) enfranchised
C) preserved
D) proliferated

A ______ is concerned not with whether a 19

political program is liberal or conservative but Which choice completes the text with the
with whether it will work. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) radical
B) pragmatist
C) partisan
D) reactionary

Despite Atlanta's large Black community, 20

African American theater companies in that Which choice completes the text with the
city are anything but ______ ; in fact, in 1993 most logical and precise word or phrase?
there was only one, Jomandi Productions.
A) legion
B) advantageous
C) bourgeois
D) nondescript

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The use of gospel music in the modern 21

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production of the ancient Greek tragedy is Which choice completes the text with the
effective, in spite of seeming ______ to critics most logical and precise word or phrase?
interested only in historical accuracy.
A) inevitable
B) anachronistic
C) timeless
D) exemplary

It has been suggested that the detailed 22

listings of animals, plants, and minerals by Which choice completes the text with the
their usefulness to humans indicate the ______ most logical and precise word or phrase?
of the ancient Mesopotamians.
A) irrationality
B) humanity
C) serendipity
D) anthropocentrism

Many healing practices that doctors once 23

derided as ______ have now been sanctioned Which choice completes the text with the
by the medical community. most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) diagnostic
B) inefficacious
C) discretionary
D) therapeutic

Sometimes forgetting that rationality is 24

only one part of a person's experience, Which choice completes the text with the
Andrew takes an excessively ______ approach most logical and precise word or phrase?
to life.
A) cerebral
B) sensitive
C) pretentious
D) enervated

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