Information and ideas (Main Idea)

1- The following text is from Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. Elinor lives with her
younger sisters and her mother, Mrs. Dashwood.

Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and
coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother,
and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs.
Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;—her disposition
was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge
which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

According to the text, what is true about Elinor?

A. Elinor often argues with her mother but fails to change her mind.
B. Elinor can be overly sensitive with regard to family matters.
C. Elinor thinks her mother is a bad role model.
D. Elinor is remarkably mature for her age

2- The following text is adapted from Johanna Spyri’s 1881 novel Heidi (translated by
Elisabeth Stork in 1915). Eight-year-old Heidi and her friend’s grandmother are looking at
some illustrated books.
Heidi had come and was looking with wondering eyes at the splendid pictures in the large books, that
Grandmama was showing her. Suddenly she screamed aloud, for there on the picture she saw a
peaceful flock grazing on a green pasture. In the middle a shepherd was standing, leaning on his crook.
The setting sun was shedding a golden light over everything. With glowing eyes Heidi devoured the
scene.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Heidi is upset until she sees a serene image of a pasture in one of Grandmama’s
books.
B. Heidi is delighted and fascinated by an image she sees in one of Grandmama’s
books.
C. Heidi is initially frightened by an image in one of Grandmama’s books but quickly
comes to appreciate its beauty.
D. Heidi is inspecting an image in one of Grandmama’s books because she has
never seen a shepherd with his sheep before.
3- Scent is tightly interwoven with our daily lives, often evoking significant memories and important
social events. This connection is of growing interest to archaeologists who hope to use it to better
understand ancient rituals, trade, social hierarchies, and medicine. Although the speed at which odor
molecules dissipate makes identifying ancient scents challenging, advancements in biomolecular
technologies show promise in unlocking ancient aromas from preserved artifacts. Archaeological
studies making use of these advancements may provide new insights into past societies.

According to the text, what is one reason some archaeologists are interested in recovering scents from
ancient artifacts?

A. They are investigating whether people’s sense of smell has declined in recent
centuries.
B. They believe the scents could illuminate important aspects of ancient life.
C. They think that ancient scents would be enjoyable to people today.
D. They hope to develop new medicines using ancient scent molecules.

4- The following text is adapted from Edith Nesbit’s 1906 novel The Railway Children.
Mother did not spend all her time in paying dull [visits] to dull ladies, and sitting dully at
home waiting for dull ladies to pay [visits] to her. She was almost always there, ready to play
with the children, and read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons. Besides this she
used to write stories for them while they were at school, and read them aloud after tea, and
she always made up funny pieces of poetry for their birthdays and for other great occasions.

According to the text, what is true about Mother?

A. She wishes that more ladies would visit her.

B. Birthdays are her favorite special occasion.
C. She creates stories and poems for her children.
D. Reading to her children is her favorite activity.

5- The following text is adapted from Christina Rossetti’s 1881 poem “Monna Innominata 2.”
I wish I could remember that first day,
First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
If bright or dim the season, it might be
Summer or Winter for [all] I can say;
So unrecorded did it slip away,
So blind was I to see and to foresee,
 So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom yet for many a May.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. The speaker celebrates how the passage of time has strengthened a relationship
that once seemed unimportant.
B. Because the speaker did not anticipate how important a relationship would
become, she cannot recall how the relationship began, which she regrets.
C. As the anniversary of the beginning of an important relationship approaches, the
speaker feels conflicted about how best to commemorate it.
D. After years of neglecting a once valuable relationship, the speaker worries it may
be too late for her to salvage the relationship.

6- A common assumption among art historians is that the invention of photography in the
mid-nineteenth century displaced the painted portrait in the public consciousness. The
diminishing popularity of the portrait miniature, which coincided with the rise of
photography, seems to support this claim. However, photography’s impact on the portrait
miniature may be overstated. Although records from art exhibitions in the Netherlands from
1820 to 1892 show a decrease in the number of both full-sized and miniature portraits
submitted, this trend was established before the invention of photography.
Based on the text, what can be concluded about the diminishing popularity of the portrait
miniature in the nineteenth century?

A. Factors other than the rise of photography may be more directly responsible for
the portrait miniature’s decline.
B. Although portrait miniatures became less common than photographs, they were
widely regarded as having more artistic merit.
C. The popularity of the portrait miniature likely persisted for longer than art
historians have assumed.
D. As demand for portrait miniatures decreased, portrait artists likely shifted their
creative focus to photography.

7- Believing that living in an impractical space can heighten awareness and even improve
health, conceptual artists Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa designed an apartment
building in Japan to be more fanciful than functional. A kitchen counter is chest-high on one
side and knee-high on the other; a ceiling has a door to nowhere. The effect is disorienting
but invigorating: after four years there, filmmaker Nobu Yamaoka reported significant health
benefits.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Although inhabiting a home surrounded by fanciful features such as those

designed by Gins and Arakawa can be rejuvenating, it is unsustainable.
B. Designing disorienting spaces like those in the Gins and Arakawa building is the
most effective way to create a physically stimulating environment.
C. As a filmmaker, Yamaoka has long supported the designs of conceptual artists
such as Gins and Arakawa.
D. Although impractical, the design of the apartment building by Gins and Arakawa
may improve the well-being of the building’s residents.

8- Utah is home to Pando, a colony of about 47,000 quaking aspen trees that all share a single
root system. Pando is one of the largest single organisms by mass on Earth, but ecologists are
worried that its growth is declining in part because of grazing by animals. The ecologists say
that strong fences could prevent deer from eating young trees and help Pando start thriving
again.
According to the text, why are ecologists worried about Pando?

A. It isn’t growing at the same rate it used to.

B. It isn’t producing young trees anymore.
C. It can’t grow into new areas because it is blocked by fences.
D. Its root system can’t support many more new trees.

9- Biologists have predicted that birds’ feather structures vary with habitat temperature, but
this hadn’t been tested in mountain environments. Ornithologist Sahas Barve studied feathers
from 249 songbird species inhabiting different elevations—and thus experiencing different
temperatures—in the Himalaya Mountains. He found that feathers of high-elevation species
not only have a greater proportion of warming downy sections to flat and smooth sections
than do feathers of low-elevation species, but high-elevation species’ feathers also tend to be
longer, providing a thicker layer of insulation.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. Barve’s investigation shows that some species of Himalayan songbirds have
evolved feathers that better regulate body temperature than do the feathers of
other species, contradicting previous predictions.
B. Barve found an association between habitat temperature and feather structure
among Himalayan songbirds, lending new support to a general prediction.
C. Barve discovered that songbirds have adapted to their environment by growing
feathers without flat and smooth sections, complicating an earlier hypothesis.
D. The results of Barve’s study suggest that the ability of birds to withstand cold
temperatures is determined more strongly by feather length than feather
structure, challenging an established belief.

10- In 2014, Amelia Quon and her team at NASA set out to build a helicopter capable of flying
on Mars. Because Mars’s atmosphere is only one percent as dense as Earth’s, the air of Mars
would not provide enough resistance to the rotating blades of a standard helicopter for the
aircraft to stay aloft. For five years, Quon’s team tested designs in a lab that mimicked Mars’s
atmospheric conditions. The craft the team ultimately designed can fly on Mars because its
blades are longer and rotate faster than those of a helicopter of the same size built for Earth.
According to the text, why would a helicopter built for Earth be unable to fly on Mars?

A. Because Mars and Earth have different atmospheric conditions

B. Because the blades of helicopters built for Earth are too large to work on Mars
C. Because the gravity of Mars is much weaker than the gravity of Earth
D. Because helicopters built for Earth are too small to handle the conditions on Mars

11- Bicycles were first mass-produced in the late nineteenth century throughout Europe and
North America, allowing individuals remarkable freedom to travel longer distances quickly
and comfortably. This freedom, coupled with the affordability of the vehicle, made the bicycle
immensely popular. Individuals were able to live farther from their workplaces, easily visit
neighboring towns, and participate in new leisure and sport activities. Bicycling quickly
became a popular social endeavor, with enthusiasts forming local cycling clubs to enjoy these
newfound activities with others.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. The widespread adoption of the bicycle in the late nineteenth century provided
new opportunities for people.
B. The affordability of the bicycle in the late nineteenth century made it the
preferred way to travel.
C. The popularity of the bicycle in the late nineteenth century gave rise to the first
cycling clubs.
D. The mass production of the bicycle in the late nineteenth century made it safer
for people to use.

12- Paleontologists searching for signs of ancient life have found many fossilized specimens
of prehistoric human ancestors, including several from the Pleistocene era discovered in a
geological formation in the Minatogawa quarry in Japan. However, to study the emergence of
the earliest multicellular organisms to appear on Earth, researchers must turn elsewhere, such
as to the Ediacaran geological formation at Mistaken Point in Canada. A UNESCO World
Heritage Site, the 146-hectare reserve contains more than 10,000 fossils that together
document a critical moment in evolutionary history.
What does the text indicate about the geological formation at Mistaken Point?

A. It holds a greater number of fossils but from a smaller variety of species than the
formation in the Minatogawa quarry does.
B. It has provided evidence that the earliest human species may have emerged
before the Pleistocene era.
C. It is widely considered by paleontologists to be the most valuable source of
information about prehistoric life forms.
D. It contains specimens from an older time period than those found in the
formation in the Minatogawa quarry.

13- The following text is adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 story “Landor’s Cottage.”
During a pedestrian trip last summer, through one or two of the river counties of New York, I
found myself, as the day declined, somewhat embarrassed about the road I was pursuing. The
land undulated very remarkably; and my path, for the last hour, had wound about and about
so confusedly, in its effort to keep in the valleys, that I no longer knew in what direction lay
the sweet village of B——, where I had determined to stop for the night.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. The narrator remembers a trip he took and admits to getting lost.
B. The narrator recalls fond memories of a journey that he took through some
beautiful river counties.
C. The narrator describes what he saw during a long trip through a frequently
visited location.
D. The narrator explains the difficulties he encountered on a trip and how he
overcame them.

14- In 1934 physicist Eugene Wigner posited the existence of a crystal consisting entirely of
electrons in a honeycomb-like structure. The so-called Wigner crystal remained largely
conjecture, however, until Feng Wang and colleagues announced in 2021 that they had
captured an image of one. The researchers trapped electrons between two semiconductors
and then cooled the apparatus, causing the electrons to settle into a crystalline structure. By
inserting an ultrathin sheet of graphene above the crystal, the researchers obtained an
impression—the first visual confirmation of the Wigner crystal.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Researchers have obtained the most definitive evidence to date of the existence
of the Wigner crystal.
B. Researchers have identified an innovative new method for working with unusual
crystalline structures.
C. Graphene is the most important of the components required to capture an image
of a Wigner crystal.
D. It’s difficult to acquire an image of a Wigner crystal because of the crystal’s
honeycomb structure.

15- The most recent iteration of the immersive theater experience Sleep No More, which
premiered in New York City in 2011, transforms its performance space—a five-story
warehouse—into a 1930s-era hotel. Audience members, who wander through the labyrinthine
venue at their own pace and follow the actors as they play out simultaneous, interweaving
narrative loops, confront the impossibility of experiencing the production in its entirety. The
play’s refusal of narrative coherence thus hinges on the sense of spatial fragmentation that
the venue’s immense and intricate layout generates.
What does the text most strongly suggest about Sleep No More’s use of its performance
space?
 A. The choice of a New York City venue likely enabled the play’s creators to
experiment with the use of theatrical space in a way that venues from earlier
productions could not.
B. Audience members likely find the experience of the play disappointing because
they generally cannot make their way through the entire venue.
C. The production’s dependence on a particular performance environment would
likely make it difficult to reproduce exactly in a different theatrical space.
D. Audience members who navigate the space according to a recommended
itinerary will likely have a better grasp of the play’s narrative than audience
members who depart from that itinerary.

16- The following text is adapted from María Cristina Mena’s 1914 short story “The Vine-Leaf.”
It is a saying in the capital of Mexico that Dr. Malsufrido carries more family secrets under his
hat than any archbishop.
The doctor’s hat is, appropriately enough, uncommonly capacious, rising very high, and
sinking so low that it seems to be supported by his ears and eyebrows, and it has a furry look,
as if it had been brushed the wrong way, which is perhaps what happens to it if it is ever
brushed at all. When the doctor takes it off, the family secrets do not fly out like a flock of
parrots, but remain nicely bottled up beneath a dome of old and highly polished ivory.
Based on the text, how do people in the capital of Mexico most likely regard Dr. Malsufrido?

A. Many have come to tolerate him despite his disheveled appearance.

B. Few feel concerned that he will divulge their confidences.
C. Some dislike how freely he discusses his own family.
D. Most would be unimpressed by him were it not for his professional expertise.

17- Choctaw/Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson turns punching bags used by boxers into art by
decorating them with beadwork and elements of Native dressmaking. These elements include
leather fringe and jingles, the metal cones that cover the dresses worn in the jingle dance, a
women’s dance of the Ojibwe people. Thus, Gibson combines an object commonly associated
with masculinity (a punching bag) with art forms traditionally practiced by women in most
Native communities (beadwork and dressmaking). In this way, he rejects the division of male
and female gender roles.
Which choice best describes Gibson’s approach to art, as presented in the text?
 A. He draws from traditional Native art forms to create his original works.
B. He has been influenced by Native and non-Native artists equally.
C. He finds inspiration from boxing in designing the dresses he makes.
D. He rejects expectations about color and pattern when incorporating beadwork.

18- NASA’s Aspera mission, led by Carlos Vargas, will investigate the circumgalactic medium
(CGM), the huge swaths of low-density gas that fill and surround galaxies. Specifically, the
team will focus on portions of the gas that exist in a “warm-hot” phase: these portions haven’t
previously been observable but are thought to fuel new star formation and hold most of the
mass that makes up a galaxy. Using a telescope capable of revealing these parts of the CGM,
the Aspera mission should help answer long-standing questions about how galaxies emerge,
change, and even interact.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. As the leader of NASA’s Aspera mission, Vargas will be the first person to
investigate the makeup of the CGM.
B. Although galaxies that are surrounded by the CGM have been studied,
researchers have been unable to directly observe low-density gas in the CGM in
the “warm-hot” phase.
C. Researchers don’t yet have a complete understanding of the process of galaxy
evolution but have raised the possibility that galaxies interact with each other at
times.
D. The Aspera mission is expected to produce the first direct observations of CGM
gas in the “warm-hot” phase, which likely has an important role in the evolution
of galaxies.

19- Many intellectual histories of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s rely
heavily on essays and other explicitly ideological works as primary sources, a tendency that
can overrepresent the perspectives of a small number of thinkers, most of whom were male.
Historian Ashley D. Farmer has shown that expanding the array of primary sources to
encompass more types of print material—including political cartoons, advertisements, and
artwork—leads to a much better understanding of the movement and the crucial and diverse
roles that Black women played in shaping it.
Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?
 A. Farmer’s methods and research have enriched the historical understanding of the
Black Power movement and Black women’s contributions to it.
B. Before Farmer’s research, historians had largely ignored the intellectual
dimensions of the Black Power movement.
C. Other historians of the Black Power movement have criticized Farmer’s use of
unconventional primary sources.
D. The figures in the Black Power movement whom historians tend to cite would
have agreed with Farmer’s conclusions about women’s roles in the movement.

20- In many of his sculptures, artist Richard Hunt uses broad forms rather than extreme
accuracy to hint at specific people or ideas. In his first major work, Arachne (1956), Hunt
constructed the mythical character Arachne, a weaver who was changed into a spider, by
welding bits of steel together into something that, although vaguely human, is strange and
machine-like. And his large bronze sculpture The Light of Truth (2021) commemorates activist
and journalist Ida B. Wells using mainly flowing, curved pieces of metal that create stylized
flame.
Which choice best states the text’s main idea about Hunt?

A. He often depicts the subjects of his sculptures using an unrealistic style.

B. He uses different kinds of materials depending on what kind of sculpture he
plans to create.
C. He tends to base his art on important historical figures rather than on fictional
characters.
D. He has altered his approach to sculpture over time, and his works have become
increasingly abstract.

21- The following text is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island.
Bill is a sailor staying at the Admiral Benbow, an inn run by the narrator’s parents.
Every day when [Bill] came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by
along the road. At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him
ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them. When a seaman
did [stay] at the Admiral Benbow (as now and then some did) he would look in at him
through the curtained door before he entered the parlour; and he was always sure to be as
silent as a mouse when any such was present.
According to the text, why does Bill regularly ask about “seafaring men”?
 A. He’s hoping to find an old friend and fellow sailor.
B. He’s trying to secure a job as part of the crew on a new ship.
C. He isn’t sure that other guests at the inn will be welcoming of sailors.
D. He doesn’t want to encounter any other sailor unexpectedly.

22- The following text is adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s nineteenth-century short story
“The Trip of Le Horla” (translated by Albert M. C. McMaster, A. E. Henderson, Mme. Quesada,
et al.). The narrator is part of a group traveling in a hot-air balloon at night.
The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky vapors that resemble a sea. We are
now alone in space with the moon, which looks like another balloon travelling opposite us;
and our balloon, which shines in the air, appears like another, larger moon, a world wandering
in the sky amid the stars, through infinity. We no longer speak, think nor live; we float along
through space in delicious inertia. The air which is bearing us up has made of us all beings
which resemble itself, silent, joyous, irresponsible beings, peculiarly alert, although
motionless.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. The narrator feels a growing sense of isolation even though his companions are
nearby during the balloon ride.
B. The narrator and his companions are completely absorbed in the change in
perspective they gain while riding in the balloon.
C. The narrator and his companions are troubled by the disorienting effects of the
altitude while riding in the balloon.
D. The narrator is pleasantly surprised by his companions’ unrestrained enthusiasm
about the sensation of riding in the balloon.

23- The recovery of a 1,000-year-old Chinese shipwreck in the Java Sea near present-day
Indonesia has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts, including thousands of small ceramic
bowls. Using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer tool, Lisa Niziolek and her team were able
to detect the chemical composition of these bowls without damaging them. By comparing
the chemical signatures of the bowls with those of the materials still at old Chinese kiln sites,
Niziolek and her team can pinpoint which Chinese kilns likely produced the ceramic bowls.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Because of a new technology, researchers can locate and recover more

shipwrecks than they could in the past.
 B. Researchers have been able to identify the location of a number of Chinese kilns
in operation 1,000 years ago.
C. With the help of a special tool, researchers have determined the likely origin of
bowls recovered from a shipwreck.
D. Before the invention of portable X-ray fluorescence, researchers needed to take a
small piece out of an artifact to analyze its components.

24- Culinary anthropologist Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor may be known for her decades of
work in national public television and radio, but her book Vibration Cooking: or, the Travel
Notes of a Geechee Girl is likely her most influential project. The 1970 book, whose title refers
to Smart-Grosvenor’s roots in the Low Country of South Carolina, was unusual for its time. It
combined memoir, recipes, travel writing, and social commentary and challenged notions
about conventions of food and cooking. Long admired by many, the book and its author have
shaped contemporary approaches to writing about cuisine.
Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?

A. Smart-Grosvenor’s unconventional book Vibration Cooking: or, the Travel Notes of

a Geechee Girl is an important contribution to food writing.
B. Smart-Grosvenor held many different positions over her life, including reporter
and food writer.
C. Smart-Grosvenor’s groundbreaking book Vibration Cooking: or, the Travel Notes
of a Geechee Girl didn’t receive the praise it deserved when it was first published
in 1970.
D. Smart-Grosvenor was a talented chef whose work inspired many people to start
cooking for themselves.

25- The following text is from Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 novel Funny Boy. The seven-year-old
narrator lives with his family in Sri Lanka. Radha Aunty is the narrator’s aunt.
Radha Aunty, who was the youngest in my father’s family, had left for America four years ago
when I was three, and I could not remember what she looked like. I went into the corridor to
look at the family photographs that were hung there. But all the pictures were old ones, taken
when Radha Aunty was a baby or young girl. Try as I might, I couldn’t get an idea of what she
looked like now. My imagination, however, was quick to fill in this void.
©1994 by Shyam Selvadurai.
According to the text, why does the narrator consult some family photographs?
 A. He wants to use the photographs as inspiration for a story he is writing.
B. He is curious about how his father dressed a long time ago.
C. He hopes the photographs will help him recall what his aunt looked like.
D. He wants to remind his aunt of an event that is shown in an old photograph.
26- NASA’s Cassini probe has detected an unusual wobble in the rotation of Mimas, Saturn’s
smallest moon. Using a computer model to study Mimas’s gravitational interactions with
Saturn and tidal forces, geophysicist Alyssa Rhoden and colleagues have proposed that this
wobble could be due to a liquid ocean moving beneath the moon’s icy surface. The
researchers believe other moons should be examined to see if they too might have oceans
hidden beneath their surfaces.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Rhoden and colleagues were the first to confirm that several of Saturn’s moons
contain hidden oceans.
B. Research has failed to identify signs that there is an ocean hidden beneath the
surface of Mimas.
C. Rhoden and colleagues created a new computer model that identifies moons
with hidden oceans without needing to analyze the moons’ rotation.
D. Research has revealed that an oddity in the rotation of Mimas could be explained
by an ocean hidden beneath its surface.

27- The following text is adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret
Garden. Mary, a young girl, recently found an overgrown hidden garden.
Mary was an odd, determined little person, and now she had something interesting to be
determined about, she was very much absorbed, indeed. She worked and dug and pulled up
weeds steadily, only becoming more pleased with her work every hour instead of tiring of it. It
seemed to her like a fascinating sort of play.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Mary hides in the garden to avoid doing her chores.

B. Mary is getting bored with pulling up so many weeds in the garden.
C. Mary is clearing out the garden to create a space to play.
D. Mary feels very satisfied when she’s taking care of the garden.
28- Shimmering is a collective defense behavior that researchers have observed in giant
honeybee colonies. When shimmering, different groups of bees flip their bodies up and down
in what looks like waves. This defense is initiated when hornets hover near a colony, serving
to deter the hornets from approaching the bees. Researchers hypothesize that this behavior is
a specialized defense response to hornets, as it is not observed when other, larger predators
approach the colony.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Researchers are unsure how giant honeybees defend against predators larger
than hornets.
B. Researchers think that shimmering in giant honeybees is a specific defense
against hornets.
C. Hornets are known to be the main predator of giant honeybees.
D. Several different species of insects use shimmering to defend against hornets.

29- Oluwaseyi Moejoh cofounded U-recycle Initiative Africa when she was only a teenager.
Moejoh and her team founded the organization to teach young people how their actions
affect the environment and why recycling is important. For example, the organization put on
an exhibit of art made using recycled materials.
According to the text, what is one reason Moejoh and others founded U-recycle Initiative
Africa?

A. To bring attention to overlooked African artists

B. To teach young people why recycling is important
C. To help adults gain important outdoor skills
D. To give teenagers advice about starting businesses

30- Microplastics are pieces of plastic that are smaller than a grain of rice. These small plastics
can be found in large quantities in ocean waters. Ecologist Jessica Reichert and her team are
studying the role reef-building corals have in capturing microplastics from ocean waters.
Through research, her team has found that these corals may be storing up to 20 million
kilograms of microplastics each year in their skeletons and tissues.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. Ecologists are interested in learning more about how certain corals build large
reefs.
B. Questions remain around the impact certain corals have on ocean ecosystems.
C. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that can be found in ocean waters.
D. Ecologists predict that corals store large amounts of microplastics from ocean
waters.

31- Psychologists wanted to test how young children think about rewards and fairness. In an
experiment, two teachers handed out rewards while children (ages four to six) watched. The
teachers gave out the same number of rewards, but one of them counted the rewards out
loud. The children were then asked who was fairer. 73% chose the teacher who counted. The
psychologists think that counting showed the children that the teacher wanted to be fair. The
children may have believed that the teacher who did not count did not care about fairness.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Psychologists think children cannot understand the concept of fairness until they
are six years old.
B. An experiment found that counting out loud is the best way to teach
mathematical concepts to children.
C. Psychologists think young children expect to be rewarded when the children
show that they care about fairness.
D. An experiment showed that the way rewards are given out may affect whether
young children think the situation is fair.

32- Scrapbooks of saved fabric pieces were commonly kept by women in the nineteenth-
century United States, but few are as meticulously detailed as Hannah Ditzler Alspaugh’s
work. Alongside each piece of fabric, Alspaugh recorded intimate memories, such as
dressmaking with her sister. Additionally, she listed the prices and how she used the fabric.
Historians note that by representing fifty years of changing textures, patterns, and dress
styles, the scrapbook is a record of nineteenth-century textiles and dressmaking as well as
Alspaugh’s life.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. Alspaugh inspired other women to save pieces of fabric in scrapbooks and
provide historical records of nineteenth-century fashions in the United States.
B. Historians rely on fabric scrapbooks to understand how fashions changed
throughout the nineteenth-century United States.
C. Fabric scrapbooks were a popular hobby for many women in the nineteenth-
century United States.
D. Alspaugh’s scrapbook provides a detailed account of her life and historical record
of fashion trends in the nineteenth-century United States.

33- To make her art more widely available, graphic artist Elizabeth Catlett turned to linocuts.
In linocut printing, an artist carves an image into a sheet of linoleum to create a stamp that is
used to mass-produce prints. In the linocut series The Black Woman (1946–1947), Catlett
depicts the everyday experiences of Black women alongside the achievements of well-known
Black women. This pairing invites the viewer to draw connections among the women. The
linocut process enabled Catlett’s work to reach a wide audience and supported her aim to
unite Black women through her art.
According to the text, what is significant about Catlett’s use of linocut printing?

A. Linocut printing involved using materials that were readily available to Catlett.
B. Linocut printing helped Catlett use art to connect people, especially Black
women.
C. Catlett became commercially successful once she started using linocut printing.
D. Catlett was one of the first Black artists to use linocut printing.

34- In superfluorescence, electrical charges known as dipoles emit light in synchronized bursts
so intense that they are visible to the eye. Until recently, this phenomenon has only been
observed at extremely cold temperatures because dipoles cannot synchronize at higher
temperatures. But in a study, Melike Biliroglu and colleagues observed superfluorescence at
room temperature in thin films made of perovskite and other similarly crystalline materials;
the researchers propose that the formation of shock-absorbing quasiparticles called polarons
in the material protects dipoles from thermal interference.
Based on the text, how are polarons believed to be involved in the superfluorescence
observed in Biliroglu and colleagues’ study?
 A. Polarons enable superfluorescent bursts to cross from one crystalline material to
another.
B. Polarons allow for the dipoles to synchronize despite higher temperatures.
C. Polarons accelerate the dipoles’ release of superfluorescent bursts.
D. Polarons decrease the intensity of the superfluorescent burst.

35- Several scholars have argued that conditions in England in the late ninth through early
eleventh centuries—namely, burgeoning literacy amid running conflicts between England’s
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Danish invaders—were especially conducive to the production of
the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and they have dated the poem’s composition accordingly.
It is not inconceivable that Beowulf emerged from such a context, but privileging contextual
fit over the linguistic evidence of an eighth- or even seventh-century composition requires a
level of justification that thus far has not been presented.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Although there are some grounds for believing that Beowulf was composed
between the late ninth and early eleventh centuries, advocates for that view tend
to rely on evidence that has been called into question by advocates for an earlier
date.
B. Although several scholars have dated Beowulf to the late ninth through early
eleventh centuries, others have argued that doing so privileges a controversial
interpretation of the social conditions of the period.
C. Although Beowulf fits well with the historical context of England in the late ninth
through early eleventh centuries, it fits equally well with the historical context of
England in the seventh and eighth centuries.
D. Although the claim of a late ninth- through early eleventh-century composition
date for Beowulf has some plausibility, advocates for the claim have not
compellingly addressed evidence suggesting an earlier date.

36- In West Africa, jalis have traditionally been keepers of information about family histories
and records of important events. They have often served as teachers and advisers, too. New
technologies may have changed some aspects of the role today, but jalis continue to be
valued for knowing and protecting their peoples’ stories.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
 A. Even though there have been some changes in their role, jalis continue to
preserve their communities’ histories.
B. Although jalis have many roles, many of them like teaching best.
C. Jalis have been entertaining the people within their communities for centuries.
D. Technology can now do some of the things jalis used to be responsible for.

37- To dye wool, Navajo (Diné) weaver Lillie Taylor uses plants and vegetables from Arizona,
where she lives. For example, she achieved the deep reds and browns featured in her 2003
rug In the Path of the Four Seasons by using Arizona dock roots, drying and grinding them
before mixing the powder with water to create a dye bath. To intensify the appearance of
certain colors, Taylor also sometimes mixes in clay obtained from nearby soil.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Reds and browns are not commonly featured in most of Taylor’s rugs.
B. Taylor draws on local resources in the approach she uses to dye wool.
C. Taylor finds it difficult to locate Arizona dock root in the desert.
D. In the Path of the Four Seasons is widely acclaimed for its many colors and
innovative weaving techniques.

38- The painter María Izquierdo played an important role in the development of twentieth-
century Mexican art, but her work has never been well-known in the United States except
among art historians. One reason for Izquierdo’s relative obscurity is the enormous popularity
of some of her peers. In particular, the painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera have so
captivated the interest of US audiences that Izquierdo and other Mexican artists from the
period often get overlooked, despite the high quality of their work.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Izquierdo’s work is not as well-known in the United States as it should be because

Kahlo and Rivera draw so much of the public’s attention.
B. During Izquierdo’s lifetime, her paintings were displayed in galleries in the United
States much more frequently than paintings by Kahlo and Rivera were.
C. Izquierdo painted some of the same subjects that Kahlo and Rivera painted but
used different techniques than they used.
D. Few of Izquierdo’s works are in galleries today because she produced only a small
number of paintings
39- Microbes that live in shallow lakes and ponds produce methane, a harmful greenhouse
gas. Ecologist Ralf Aben and his team wanted to see how different types of shallow-water
plants might affect the amount of methane that escapes into the atmosphere. Aben’s team
set up some water tanks with soil and microbes from local ponds. Some tanks had a type of
underwater plant that grows in the soil called watermilfoil. Other tanks had either duckweed,
a type of plant that floats on the water’s surface, or algae. Aben and his team found that tanks
with duckweed and algae released higher levels of methane than tanks with watermilfoil did.
This finding suggests that ______blank
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. the presence of some kinds of underwater plants like watermilfoil helps prevent
methane from escaping shallow lakes and ponds.
B. shallow lakes and ponds release more methane than deeper bodies of water
because shallow bodies of water usually have more plants than deep bodies of
water do.
C. shallow lakes and ponds are more likely to contain algae than to contain either
watermilfoil or duckweed.
D. having a mix of algae, underwater plants, and floating plants is the best way to
reduce the amount of methane in shallow lakes and ponds.

40- In their book Smart Pricing, Jagmohan Raju and Z. John Zhang consider musicians’ use of
the nontraditional “pay as you wish” pricing model. This model generally offers listeners the
choice to pay more or less than a suggested price for a song or album—or even to pay
nothing at all. As the authors note, that’s the option most listeners chose for an album by the
band Harvey Danger. Only about 1% opted to pay for the album, resulting in earnings below
the band’s expectations. But the authors also discuss musician Jane Siberry, who saw
significant earnings from her “pay as you wish” online music store as a result of many listeners
choosing to pay more than the store’s suggested prices. Hence, the “pay as you wish” model
may ______blank
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. prove financially successful for some musicians but disappointing for others.
B. hold greater financial appeal for bands than for individual musicians.
C. cause most musicians who use the model to lower the suggested prices of their
songs and albums over time.
 D. more strongly reflect differences in certain musicians’ popularity than traditional
pricing models do.

41- Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about detective Sherlock Holmes were published between
1887 and 1927. They have inspired countless successful adaptations, including comic strips,
movies, and a television series Sherlock Hound, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who is celebrated
for his animated movies. Until 2014, these stories were copyrighted. The right to adapt was
only available to those who could afford the copyright fee and gain approval from the strict
copyright holders of Doyle’s estate. Some journalists predict that the number of Sherlock
Holmes adaptations is likely to increase since the end of copyright means that ______blank
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. Doyle’s original stories will become hard to find.

B. people will become more interested in detective stories than they were in the
1800s.
C. producing adaptations will become easier and less expensive.
D. the former copyright holders of Doyle’s estate will return fees they collected.

42- In her 2021 article “Throwaway History: Towards a Historiography of Ephemera,” scholar
Anne Garner discusses John Johnson (1882–1956), a devoted collector of items intended to
be discarded, including bus tickets and campaign pamphlets. Johnson recognized that
scholarly institutions considered his expansive collection of ephemera to be worthless—
indeed, it wasn’t until 1968, after Johnson’s death, that Oxford University’s Bodleian Library
acquired the collection, having grasped the items’ potential value to historians and other
researchers. Hence, the example of Johnson serves to ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. demonstrate the difficulties faced by contemporary historians in conducting

research at the Bodleian Library without access to ephemera.
B. represent the challenge of incorporating examples of ephemera into the
collections of libraries and other scholarly institutions.
C. lend support to arguments by historians and other researchers who continue to
assert that ephemera holds no value for scholars.
D. illustrate both the relatively low scholarly regard in which ephemera was once
held and the later recognition of ephemera’s possible utility.
43- Some businesses believe that when employees are interrupted while doing their work,
they experience a decrease in energy and productivity. However, a team led by Harshad
Puranik, who studies management, has found that interruptions by colleagues can have a
social component that increases employees’ sense of belonging, resulting in greater job
satisfaction that benefits employees and employers. Therefore, businesses should recognize
that ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A. the interpersonal benefits of some interruptions in the workplace may offset the
perceived negative effects.
B. in order to maximize productivity, employers should be willing to interrupt
employees frequently throughout the day.
C. most employees avoid interrupting colleagues because they don’t appreciate
being interrupted themselves.
D. in order to cultivate an ideal workplace environment, interruptions of work
should be discouraged.

44- Scholars have noted that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writings were likely influenced in part by his
marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald, but many don’t recognize Zelda as a writer in her own right.
Indeed, Zelda authored several works herself, such as the novel Save Me the Waltz and
numerous short stories. Thus, those who primarily view Zelda as an inspiration for F. Scott’s
writings ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. overlook the many other factors that motivated F. Scott to write.

B. risk misrepresenting the full range of Zelda’s contributions to literature.
C. may draw inaccurate conclusions about how F. Scott and Zelda viewed each
other’s works.
D. tend to read the works of F. Scott and Zelda in an overly autobiographical light.

45- Songbirds learn to respond to and imitate their species’ songs from an early age. With
each generation, small differences are introduced that result in distinct variations—called
dialects—among geographically isolated populations of the same species. A research study
examined whether twelve-day-old Ficedula hypoleuca (pied flycatcher) nestlings prefer local
dialects over the unfamiliar dialects of nonlocal F. hypoleuca populations: the more begging
calls the nestlings made in response to a song, the stronger their preference. The researchers
found that nestlings produced more begging calls in response to their own dialect than to
nonlocal dialects. Since song preference plays a role in songbird mate selection, the finding
suggests that ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. F. hypoleuca nestlings’ preference for their own dialect likely disappears as they
mature to promote socialization between different F. hypoleuca populations.
B. F. hypoleuca nestlings who show an early preference for their own dialect are
likely to receive more food from their caretakers than nestlings who show no
preferences among any F. hypoleuca dialects.
C. F. hypoleuca nestlings’ preference for their own dialect likely drives them when
they mature to reproduce with other F. hypoleuca from local rather than nonlocal
populations.
D. F. hypoleuca nestlings show a preference for both local F. hypoleuca dialects and
the songs of other local songbirds over the songs of nonlocal birds of any
species.

46- Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity census reported
approximately 17,000 species, nearly double the number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla
Morri’s 2000 census—a difference only partly attributable to the description of new
invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the morphological variability of
microorganisms is poorly understood compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants,
and algae, creating uncertainty about how to evaluate microorganisms as species.
Researchers’ decisions on such matters therefore can be highly consequential. Indeed, the
two censuses reported similar counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting
that ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. Coll and colleagues reported a much higher number of species than Bianchi and
Morri did largely due to the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been
described at the time of Bianchi and Morri’s census.
B. some differences observed in microorganisms may have been treated as
variations within species by Bianchi and Morri but treated as indicative of distinct
species by Coll and colleagues.
C. Bianchi and Morri may have been less 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.

47- Researchers recently found that disruptions to an enjoyable experience, like a short series
of advertisements during a television show, often increase viewers’ reported enjoyment.
Suspecting that disruptions to an unpleasant experience would have the opposite effect, the
researchers had participants listen to construction noise for 30 minutes and anticipated that
those whose listening experience was frequently interrupted with short breaks of silence
would thus ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. find the disruptions more irritating as time went on.

B. rate the listening experience as more negative than those whose listening
experience was uninterrupted.
C. rate the experience of listening to construction noise as lasting for less time than
it actually lasted.
D. perceive the volume of the construction noise as growing softer over time.

48- Off-off-Broadway theaters emerged in the late 1950s as a rebellion against mainstream
Broadway theaters in New York, freeing artists to create productions that were more
experimental than typical Broadway shows. One such artist was playwright María Irene Fornés.
Working with off-off Broadway theaters enabled Fornés not only to direct her own plays but
also to direct them exactly as she intended them to be staged, regardless of how strange the
results might have seemed to audiences accustomed to Broadway shows. In this way,
Fornés ______.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. wrote plays that would have been too expensive to produce if someone else had
directed the production.
B. recognized that staging an off-off-Broadway play was more complicated than
staging a Broadway play.
C. would have been more famous if she had created plays that were mainstream
instead of experimental.
D. illustrates the artistic opportunity offered by off-off Broadway theaters.