Reading and Writing Module 1

27 QUESTIONS

Domesticated thousands of years ago in South America, the tomatillo deviates structurally from the wild plant it is descended
from. Summer squash, another domesticated crop from the Americas, doesn't closely resemble any wild plant, and genetic
research only recently ______ its ancestor to be the wild Johnny gourd.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) revealed

B) encouraged

C) petitioned

D) expanded

Even among fast animals, top speeds can vary significantly. For example, the quarter horse can run up to 89 kilometers per
hour (km/hr), whereas the golden eagle is much faster, flying up to 320 km/hr. This difference is largely because the features
that are ______ for running on land restrict top speeds more than the features needed for flying through the air.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) approved

B) essential

C) challenging

D) trivial

When minor planets are discovered, each is given a unique identification number, and some may be given a unique name, as
in the case of 1250 Galanthus, which was named after the plant genus that includes snowdrops. But naming a minor planet is
not _____: whether to assign it a name is entirely the choice of whoever discovers it.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) mandatory

B) permissible

C) selective

D) feasible

Agglomeration economies arise when multiple firms in related industries ______ an area, as with textile finishing firms and
knitted clothing manufacturers in Leicester, UK. Economists have assumed that companies cluster for the same reasons, but
Giulia Faggio et al. found that factors driving agglomeration in some cases are only weakly correlated with agglomeration in
others.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) intercede in

B) appeal to

C) concur with

D) amass in

5
 The following text is adapted from George Eliot's 1857 short story “The Sad Fortunes of the Rev, Amos Barton." Mr. Ely is a
clergyman in the town of Milby.

By the laity of Milby and its neighbourhood [Mr. Ely] was regarded as a man of quite remarkable powers and learning, who
must make a considerable sensation in London pulpits and drawing-rooms on his occasional visit to the metropolis; and by his
brother clergy he was regarded as a discreet and agreeable fellow. Mr. Ely never got into a warm discussion; he suggested
what might be thought, but rarely said what he thought himself; he never let either men or women see that he was laughing at
them, and he never gave any one an opportunity of laughing at him.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It presents the favorable opinion of Mr. Ely that other people hold and then describes the behaviors of Mr. Ely that enable
him to maintain that favorable opinion.

B) It indicates that Mr. Ely was once universally admired by his friends and then relates the circumstances that led to a
change in their views.

C) It implies that Mr. Ely's neighbors are more naive in their estimation of him than people in London are and then explains
why his neighbors have been so easily misled.

D) It illuminates how Mr. Ely conducts himself differently in public and in private and then touches on why he is cautious to
reveal some aspects of his character to other people.

Mexican architect Luis Barragán's prolifc career, which spanned the 1920s to the 1980s, evolved through distinct phases. After
traveling to the United States and Europe in the early 1930s and immersing himself in a broader architectural discourse,
Barragan shifted his style to incorporate principles of modernism, as seen in the apartment building for José Mojica. The
project's unadorned geometric forms, typical of the modernist aesthetic, contrasted with the historically inspired architecture
seen in his earlier projects in Guadalajara, such as the Harper de Garibi House.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It explains the design aesthetic of a particular architect, acknowledges the sources of those design choices, and then
contrasts that aesthetic with the designs of earlier architects.

B) It summarizes the career of a particular architect, states how a journey influenced that architect's career and then
emphasizes how influential that architect's career has been.

C) It presents a general claim about a particular architect's career describes the early stages of the architect's career, and
then explains a later shift in that career.

D) It provides a general statement about the career of a particular architect, highlights a transition in that career, and then
expounds on the ways that transition is evident in the architect's work.

In response to concerns that some recent financial crises were exacerbated by consumers misunderstanding risks associated
with credit cards, loans, and other financial products, policymakers in many countries have instituted risk-disclosure
requirements on sellers of those products. Enrique Seira et al. investigated a variety of risk-disclosure messages sent to
thousands of credit card customers and found that the messages had only small and short-lived effects on behavior. Seira et al.
asserted that such effects may nevertheless be worth pursuing, given the negligible cost of messaging.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as whole?

A) It acknowledges a type of risk-disclosure messaging that Seira et al. may not have fully accounted for in their study.

B) It notes a factor that led Seira et al. to not dismiss risk-disclosure messaging altogether despite their evidence of its
limited utility.

C) It points out a circumstance that Seira et al. conceded may make risk-disclosure messaging more effective than their
study suggests.

D) It describes a consideration that explains why Seira et al. recommended risk-disclosure messaging even though its effects
maybe small relative to its costs.

Humans aren't the only ones who use tools. Other animals also find tools helpful. Octopuses use two halves of a seashell to
provide protection or a place to hide. And despite sometimes being thought of as simple, many birds make clever use of tools
as well. Egyptian vultures have been observed using pebbles to break open ostrich egg shells.

Which choice best states the main topic of the text?

 A) A study of Egyptian vultures

B) Tool use in animals

C) Intelligence in octopuses

D) How to observe animals in the wild

Conservationists worldwide are working to protect ecosystems from habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, and in many
cases, initiatives that rely on natural features or processes can help address such challenges. In response to a rapidly dwindling
population of blueback salmon, the Quinault Indian Nation (a tribe in Washington State) partnered with the conservation
organization Wild Salmon Center to restore naturally occurring logjams in the Quinault River. The logjams create shady pools
where the blueback salmon can rest and spawn, thus promoting blueback population recovery.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A) Nature-based approaches can be effective ways to achieve conservation goals.

B) Scientists now realize that nature-based conservation methods offer better long-term solutions to environmental issues
than methods that are not nature-based do.

C) A partnership between the Quinault Indian Nation and Wild Salmon Center shows the importance of collaborative
approaches to preserving biodiversity

D) As indicated by a recent project, logjams help the blueback salmon thrive and reproduce.

10

Janet Echelman is a sculptor and fiber artist. She has installed giant sculptures all over the world. Echelman uses bright and
flowing materials, which mimic the wind. However, while her sculptures appear as delicate as a breeze, they are actually very
durable.

Which quotation from an article about Echelman's sculptures, if true, would most effectively illustrate the underlined claim?

A) Each sculpture is designed to reflect local landmarks from the area in which it is eventually installed.

B) “Echelman uses a special program that makes a 3D model of the sculpture."

C) The first part of planning a new sculpture is done using paper and pencil, and then a digital program is used to finalize
the design.

D) “The material that Echelman uses to build her sculptures are both flexible and strong.”

11

The Underdogs is a 1915 novel by Mariano Azuela, originally written in Spanish. In the novel, Azuela depicts a traveling group
of soldiers as having a renewed sense of agency and authority as they set off on a new stage of their journey: ______

Which quotation from a translation of The Underdogs most effectively illustrates the claim?

A) “The men threw out their chests as if to breathe the widening horizon, the immensity of the sky, the blue from the
mountains and the fresh air, redolent with the various odors of the sierra. They spurred their horses to a gallop as if in that
mad race they laid claims of possession to the earth."

B) Some women, traveling with the soldiers, occupy two or three seats with baggage, dogs, cats, parrots.

C) “At last, when the ultimate faint rays of the moon were spent in the rosy dimness of the dawn, the silhouette of a soldier
loomed at the end of the trail.”

D) “All day long [the soldiers] rode through the canyon, up and down the steep, round hills, dirty and bald as a man's
head, hill after hill in endless succession. At last, late in the afternoon, they descried several stone church towers in the heart
of a bluish ridge, and, beyond, the white road with its curling spirals of dust and its gray telegraph poles."

12
 To measure whether countries in free trade agreements (FTAs) --- agreements among nations to reduce tariffs, dut¼ies, and
other trade barriers --- experience changes in total agricultural exports, economist Kayode Ajewole and colleagues calculated
average export growth rates for several countries over the five years before and the five years after entering an FTA with the
United States. The graph shows the results for three countries in the study. Consulting the graph, a student claims that joining
an FTA increases the rate of growth of a country's total agricultural exports.

Which choice best describes data from the graph that weaken the student's claim?

A) Although agricultural exports from Mexico decreased over the five years before NAFTA, a reversal in this trend was
observed over the five years after Mexico joined NAFTA.

B) Although agricultural exports from Chile grew over the five years after Chile joined CLFTA, their growth rate was even
higher in the five years before CLFTA.

C) All the countries shown had positive growth in agricultural exports over the five years after joining their respective FTAs,
but their rates of export growth varied.

D) Over the five years after Honduras joined CAFTA-DR, agricultural exports from Honduras grew at a rate of about 28.8
percent, which is higher than the rate over the five years before Honduras joined the agreement.

13

Many films in a language other than English grow to be financially successful over the course of their time in movie theaters in
the United States, but some become immediate successes in their opening weekends. A journalist claims that a film's reception
can greatly influence its long-term success. Indications that the film is of high quality, such as an Oscar nomination, can
dramatically boost public interest in the film and thus its overall earnings, even with a relatively modest opening weekend
performance: for example, ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?
 A) the opening weekend earnings for Fearless were $10,564,000 and $904,998 for The Girl Who Played with Fire.

B) The Girl Who Played with Fire earned more money in its opening weekend than Pan's Labyrinth earned, but Pan 's
Labyrinth had higher lifetime earnings.

C) both Pan's Labyrinth and Eat Drink Man Woman were recognized by the Oscars, but Pan's Labyrinth had higher lifetime
earnings.

D) Eat Drink Man Woman was recognized by the Oscars, but Fearless, which was not recognized, had higher lifetime
earnings.

14

A group of primate conservationists recently began a long-term study of the effects of different conservation strategies on the
black crested gibbon (Nomascusconcolor). The species population is currently estimated to be around 2,000. It is challenging
to accurately count these primates, however, which makes it difficult to tell whether the population is increasing, decreasing, or
staying stable. The study may thus ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) risk making inaccurate conclusions about the effectiveness of different conservation strategies.

B) cause other conservationists to adopt a new methodology for counting populations.

C) benefit from including species beyond the black crested gibbon.

D) fail to consider less-well-known conservation approaches for the black crested gibbon.

15

With the ongoing expansion of e-commerce, consumers are expecting faster and faster delivery of goods, but delivery
companies continue to struggle with last-mile logistics (the final step in delivery to consumers) due to challenges such as the
increasing congestion of roadways. Innovations to mitigate these challenges have been emerging the use of autonomous
delivery robots, for example --- but these innovations tend to engender their own complications (e.g.. robots are restricted to
existing pedestrian pathways), leading researchers to conclude that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) rapid delivery is a leading factor in consumer satisfaction, and therefore delivery companies would benefit from investing
resources in reducing delivery times.

B) consumers' expectations for reduced delivery times may be outstripping what is viable for delivery companies to provide.

C) a better understanding of consumers' expectations for delivery is needed so that companies can better plan for
fluctuations in delivery volume.

D) there may not be sufficient incentive for delivery companies to attempt to solve the problems associated with last-mile
logistics.

16

Museo el Cemi, a museum of art and artifacts in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, is one of more than eighty museums in the US territory.
Puerto Rico's museums ______ visitors about everything from the territory's art to its architecture to its coffee.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) having informed

B) informing

C) to inform

D) inform

17

Trustworthy machine learning is an approach that computer scientists like Kathy Meier-Hellstern use to engineer artificial
intelligence technologies. It involves training computer algorithms to be accurate, safe, and fair. Unsupervised machine
learning is another approach. ______ involves training computer algorithms to organize unlabeled data sets.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) It

B) They

C) Those
 D) Some

18

When a picture of Silas Wright was printed on $50 banknotes in ______ former governor of New York became just one of many
non-presidents to appear on US currency.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) 1882; the

B) 1882 the

C) 1882, the

D) 1882. The

19

In 1965, a group of student activists traveled by bus across the state of New South Wales to protest racial discrimination
against Aboriginal Australians. The activists drove to Wellington, where they interviewed locals; to Walgett, where they picketed
a segregated ______ where they staged a protest at a segregated public pool.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) cinema; and to Moree,

B) cinema: and to Moree,

C) cinema and to Moree;

D) cinema, and to Moree

20

Writing in hieroglyphs, ancient Egyptians recorded measurements using units such as the khefa, a unit of ______ and the sa, a
unit of area. The khefa, for instance, is written as a short, horizontal hieroglyph shaped like the back of a fist.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) length; the khar, a unit of volume;

B) length the khar, a unit of volume

C) length, the khar; a unit of volume,

D) length; the khar; a unit of volume;

21

The Austronesian language family comprises some 1,200 languages---including the ______ Tagalog and Malagasy, which are
spoken by 100 million and 17 million speakers, respectively --- and accounts for one-fifth of the world's languages, making it
of keen interest to linguists like Diane Massam.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) languages

B) languages---

C) languages:

D) languages,

22

Despite its great distance from Earth --- it is 550 light-years away --- the star Antares is one of the brightest stars in the sky,
ranking 15th. Although not as bright as Antares, the star Menkalinan also ranks among the 50 brightest stars (41lst, to be
exact). ______ Menkalinan's brightness is likely due to the star's relative proximity: Menkalinan is only 80 light-years from Earth.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) Granted,

B) As a result,

C) Indeed,

D) Similarly,
23

The near-Earth asteroid 1994 XD is orbited by the moonlet S/2005 (488453). In 2022 scientists studying asteroid deflection
intentionally crashed a probe into a similar moonlet, Dimorphos, shortening its orbital period by 32 minutes. ______ it used to
take Dimorphos 11 hours, 55 minutes to orbit the near-Earth asteroid Didymos; now it takes 11 hours, 23 minutes.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) Furthermore,

B) To be exact,

C) Meanwhile,

D) For example,

24

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- A supercontinent is a single landmass made up of most or all of Earth's continents.

- Over time, continents merge together to form supercontinents, which then break apart.

- This process is believed to take hundreds of millions of years and is known as the supercontinent cycle.

- Kenorland was a supercontinent that formed about 2.6 billion years ago.

- Gondwana was a supercontinent that formed about 510 million years ago

The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two supercontinents. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Forming and breaking apart over hundreds of millions of years, supercontinents are made up of most or all of Earth's
continents.

B) Kenorland and Gondwana were both supercontinents, single landmasses made up of most or all of Earth's continents.

C) Kenorland formed about 2.6 billion years ago but eventually broke apart.

D) Gondwana formed about 510 million years ago, but Kenorland formed much earlier about 2.6 billion years ago.

25

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- The Carnegie Prize is an international art competition.

- It is administered by the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

- One Carnegie Prize gold medal winner is Richard Serra of the US.

- Serra's sculpture Carnegie was honored in 1985.

The student wants to emphasize the year in which Serra won a Carnegie Prizegold medal. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) The Carnegie Prize is an international art competition administered by the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.

B) Serra won a Carnegie Prize gold medal in the year 1985.

C) The sculpture Carnegie earned Serra a Carnegie Prize gold medal.

D) The Carnegie Museum of Art awarded an artist from the US a gold medal for the sculpture Carnegie.

26

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- Most of the plant and bird species in Oahu, Hawaii, are non-native.

- In a 2019 study, researchers wanted to know what role non-native birds play in dispersing plant seeds in Oahu.

- Researchers catalogued plant seeds found in fecal samples from non-native birds.

- Touchardia latifolia, a flowering shrub, was one of fifteen native species catalogued.

- Cinnamomum burmannii, a tree, was one of twenty nine non-native species catalogued.
 - Researchers concluded that non-native birds play a vital role in dispersing the seeds of native and non-native plants.

The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two plants. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information
from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Most plant species found in Oahu, Hawaii, like Cinnamomum burmannii, are non-native.

B) A 2019 study catalogued plant seeds found in bird fecal samples in Oahu, Hawaii, to determine what role non-native bird
play in seed dispersal.

C) Seeds from Touchardia latifolia and Cinnamomum burmannii plants were found in the fecal samples of non-native
Hawaiian birds, according to a 2019 study.

D) Though Touchardia latifolia and Cinnamomum burmannii can both be found in Oahu, Hawaii, only the former plant is
native.

27

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- Tibetan mastiffs are large dogs native to the Himalayas.

- A mutation in their EPAS1 gene prevents excess hemoglobin production.

- A mutation in their HBB gene boosts hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying ability.

- These mutations enable the dogs to withstand hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions at high altitudes.

- In a 2016 study, Zhen Wang and colleagues noted that Tibetan wolves’ DNA has the same EPAS1 and HBB mutations.

- Wang and colleagues determined that the dogs first acquired these mutations by interbreeding with Tibetan wolves around
24,000 years ago.

The student wants to present the conclusion of Zhen Wang and colleagues' 2016 study. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) In addition to preventing excess hemoglobin production, a mutation in Tibetan mastiffs' HBB gene boosts hemoglobin's
oxygen-carrying ability.

B) By interbreeding with Tibetan wolves around 24,000 years ago, Tibetan mastiffs acquired the genetic mutations that
enable them to withstand hypoxic conditions.

C) Both Tibetan mastiffs and Tibetan wolves have mutations in theirEPSA1 and HBB genes, which prevent excess
hemoglobin production and boost hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying ability, respectively.

D) Like Tibetan mastiffs, Tibetan wolves can withstand hypoxic conditions at high altitudes.

Reading and Writing Module 2

27 QUESTIONS

Text corpora such as the American National Corpus are large collections of electronically stored texts that can be used to
determine the frequency of ______ words. (Words used mainly in specialized or academic publications, on the other hand, tend
to be poorly represented.) A corpus could reveal, for example, that the word “get" is the fifth most commonly used verb in
standard English.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) profound

B) trivial

C) accidental

D) conventional

2
 Diadromous fish migrate between freshwater and marine biomes during their life cycle. The migration's obligate nature is why
diadromous fish can be ______ those that are merely euryhaline (able to tolerate high salinity): the euryhaline blackchin tilapia
can survive high salinity, but its life cycle does not involve relocation to a different biome, as does that of the diadromous wild
salmon.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) demarcated from

B) conflated with

C) derived from

D) reconstituted as

In 2016, Gabriela Gonzàlez and team announced that a chirping sound captured by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory antennas was direct evidence of gravitational waves, which skeptics had argued would be too faint for detection.
Detailed statistical analysis helped preclude claims of the event's ______, confirming the signal at a confidence level of over 99%.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) probability

B) ambiguity

C) inconspicuousness

D) discretion

Vertical gene transfer involves the transmission of genetic material from a parent to offspring; horizontal gene transfer, on the
other hand, involves the exchange of genetic material between organisms not in a parent-offspring relationship. While
horizontal gene transfer is common among prokaryotes --- single-celled organisms, such as the bacteria Brevibacillus
borstelensis and Lactobacillus curvatus --- it has rarely been observed among eukaryotes (multicellular organisms). However,
new studies suggest that horizontal gene transfer is more common in eukaryotes than originally thought.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A) It argues that two biological phenomena are more similar than they may initially appear to be.

B) It explains why a common perception of a biological process is flawed

C) It contrasts the frequency with which a biological phenomenon has been detected in two categories of organisms.

D) It indicates a distinction between the mechanics of two kinds of biological processes.

Though John Crowley, author of Four Freedoms, is not as well known as the most widely read American writers of the past fifty
years, his work has had several influential champions, including the poet John Hollander and the literary critic Harold Bloom. In
his afterword to Crowley's book Little, Big, Bloom argues that the novel adroitly blends what playwright Friedrich Schiller
termed the naive and sentimental modes while Schiller thought works could be classified as either naive (seeking to describe
reality) or sentimental (seeking to develop ideas), Little, Big fuses both modes of writing.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It describes a writer's successful career, presents two literary figures who were supporters of that writer's career, and
explains why the writer was able to achieve what he did.

B) It mentions a writer whose work is not widely known, presents two people who hold a positive opinion of that writer, and
gives a reason why one of those people holds that opinion.

C) It identifies a writer whose work is regarded as difficult to read, brings up two admirers of that writer's work, and gives
information that may make the writer's work more accessible to new readers.

D) It accounts for a writer's lack of popular appeal, cites a literary figure who appreciates that writer, and summarizes the
qualities that make the writer's work unique.

Singapore has high pedestrian traffic, but simply replicating a feature of Singapore associated with walkability --- e.g., its dense
concentration of services --- may be insufficient to induce increased walking in other cities. As urbanist Mariela Alfonzo argues,
our understanding of individuals' decision-making about whether to walk is insufficiently robust: some studies emphasize the
 role of demographic characteristics, others the role of local norms, and so on, but walking decisions are made in complex
contexts in which multiple conditions and needs inform individuals' choices.

Which choice best describes the function of the references to "demographic characteristics" and "local norms" in the text as a
whole?

A) They illustrate factors that researchers believe people consider when making walking decisions in most contexts but that
the text argues are unique to walking decisions made by people in Singapore.

B) They identify factors that Alfonzo argues have been overemphasized in studies of decision-making about walking but
that the text asserts are relevant to most people's walking decisions.

C) They are examples of factors that studies suggest are important in people's decision-making about walking but that the
text claims most people rarely consider when making walking decisions.

D) They represent factors that have been identified as important influences on walking decisions but that the text suggests
are merely some of the many factors that may contribute to people's decision-making about walking.

Text 1

Isaac Asimov, author of The Robots of Dawn and The Currents of Space, is highly regarded despite his mediocre writing style,
His prose is workmanlike; his characters are flat and discuss ideas rather than emotions. That his work is enjoyable despite this
is a testament to his prodigious imagination --- even if people read his books only for the ideas, they will have plenty to
consider.

Text 2

Asimov is critiqued for his style, but it is wrong to fault a writer for failing to do what he never intended to do. For example,
although most of his novel Foundation consists of people discussing science and politics and we find out little about his
characters’ lives, Asimov wanted to convey the vast sweep of human history over centuries, and one of his points is that at such
a timescale, individuals don't matter, Thus his lack of characterization is central to his thematic aims.

Based on the texts, the author of Text 1 would most likely agree with the author of Text 2 on which point?

A) The Robots of Dawn is more representative of Asimov's writing style than Foundation is.

B) Asimov's characters can be concerned mainly with intellectual matters rather than emotions.

C) Asimov's writing style is often unfairly criticized.

D) Asimov was correct to suggest that individual humans have little influence over the course of human history.

The following text is from George Eliot's 1857 short story “The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton." In the text, the narrator
addresses the reader directly and alludes to a discussion among Rev, Amos Barton's neighbors.

It was happy for the Rev, Amos Barton that he did not, like us, overhear the conversation recorded in the last chapter. Indeed,
what mortal is there of us, who would find his satisfaction enhanced by an opportunity of comparing the picture he presents to
himself of his own doings, with the picture they make on the mental retina of his neighbors? We are poor plants buoyed up by
the air-vessels of our own conceit: alas for us, if we get a few pinches that empty us of that windy self-subsistence! The very
capacity for good would go out of us.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A) Although people recognize the value of honesty, they generally avoid giving their true opinion of others' flaws.

B) Although people wish to be thought of as generous, the smallest impediments will often deter them from being so.

C) People tend to fixate more often than they should on whether their acquaintances think highly of them.

D) People are better off not knowing about the discrepancy between their own self-image and what others think of them.

Biologist Grace Herzel and colleagues conducted a study of how butterfly color and weather conditions relate to butterfly
behavior, which wouldn't have been possible without data gathered by students and other amateur science enthusiasts in the
community. Considering over three years' worth of data, the researchers found that white butterflies were observed on green
flowers more often than any other butterflies were, and that butterflies were observed to feed more often on cloudy days than
on other days.

According to the text, which factors seemed to be linked to the behavior of butterflies in Grace Herzel and colleagues' study?

A) Weather conditions but not butterfly color

 B) Butterfly color but not weather conditions

C) Neither butterfly color nor weather conditions

D) Both butterfly color and weather conditions

10

Some researchers have characterized the flora and fauna of the South Pacific island of Grande Terre as members of clades that
inhabited nearby islands before Grande Terre completely emerged 37 million years ago. Thomas R. Buckley et al. found that the
crown age (the age of the most recent common ancestor of all living and extinct species in the clade) of the clade of stick
insects on Grande Terre is approximately 41.1 million years, while Rachel S. Jabaily et al. found that the crown age of the clade
of Goodeniaceae plants on Grande Terre is approximately 2.0 million years.

Which statement about the view put forward by "some researchers" is best supported by information in the text?

A) The view could be true of Grande Terre's stick insects but is not true of the island's Goodeniaceae plants.

B) The view depends on inaccurate assumptions about the crown ages of the clades of stick insects and Goodeniaceae
plants on Grande Terre.

C) The view suggests that Grande Terre may have emerged as early as 41.1 million years ago.

D) The view has some empirical support but is weakened by the findings of Buckley et al.

11

Poetry in Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire, relies on difrasismo, or a parallel noun construction that
conventionally operates as a single metaphor. For example, the common difrasismo in cuauhtli in ocelotl (literally, “the eagle,
the jaguar") signifies “warrior." The device's function is both formal --- providing structure to lines of verse and ritual: semantic
relations among the two nouns and the concept they signify can be tenuous, as in the previous example, such that difrasismos
are often only intelligible according to the conceptual associations observed in Aztec ceremonial culture.

Which statement about the difrasismo in cuauhtli in ocelotl is most strongly supported by the text?

A) Its unintelligibility may cause its formal function within a line of verse to go unnoticed by present-day readers

B) Its frequency in Classical Nahuatl poetry confirms its intelligibility to the Aztec audience.

C) Its metaphorical significance derives from the semantic equivalence of the two nouns constituting the difrasismo.

D) Its apparent obscurity can be resolved when considered in the proper cultural context.

12

Edinburgh, Scotland, has installed engineered structures along 89% of its shoreline to protect infrastructure from storm surges
and other hazards, a practice known as shoreline hardening. To evaluate the responses of waterbirds to two types of hardening
structures --- riprap and bulkheads --- Diann Prosser et al. surveyed waterbird communities consisting of the mute swan, the
Canada goose, and 62 other species at different sites in the Chesapeake Bay on the US East Coast. Utilizing the Index of
Waterbird Community Integrity (IWCl), on which a high score corresponds to high community integrity, the researchers found
that bulkheads are more strongly negatively correlated with waterbird community integrity than is riprap.

Which finding, if true, would most directly illustrate the researchers' finding?

A) Waterbird communities at Curtis, a site with a high percentage of shoreline consisting of bulkheads and riprap, had lower
average IWCI scores than did waterbird communities at Onancock, a site with a low percentage of shoreline consisting of
bulkheads and riprap.

B) The difference in average IWCl scores for waterbird communities at Stony and Old Road, two sites with a higher
percentage of shoreline consisting of bulkheads than of riprap, was statistically insignificant

C) Waterbird communities at Curtis, a site with equal percentages of shoreline consisting of bulkheads and riprap, had
higher average IWCI scores than did waterbird communities at Miles, a site with different percentages of shoreline consisting
of b& heads and riprap.

D) Waterbird communities at Old Road, a site with a relatively high percentage of shoreline consisting of bulkheads, had
lower average IWCI scores than did waterbird communities at Miles, a site with a relatively high percentage of shoreline
consisting of riprap.

13
 In a study of urban physical expansion, Richa Mahtta et al. conducted a meta-analysis of more than 300 cities worldwide to
determine whether urban land expansion (ULE) was more strongly influenced by urban population growth or by growth in
gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, a measure of economic activity. Because efficient national government is necessary
to provide urban services and infrastructure that attract economic investment, Mahtta et al. propose that absent other factors,
the importance of GDP per capita growth to ULE would likely increase relative to the importance of population growth as
governments become more efficient. If true, this suggests the possibility that ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the statement?

A) national governments of countries in Region 1 experienced declines in efficiency in the period from 2000 to 2014, relative
to the period from 1970 to 2000.

B) countries in Region 1 experienced a slower rate of economic growth in the period from 2000 to 2014 than countries in
Region 2 did, despite increasing national government efficiency in Region 1.

C) national governments of most countries in Region 2 became more efficient in the period from 2000 to 2014 than they
had been in the period from 1970 to 2000, but those of several countries in this region did not.

D) national governments of countries in Region 1 and in Region 2 generally became more efficient in the period from 2000
to 2014 than they had been in the period from 1970 to 2000, but at different rates.

14

Designed by VTN Architects, Urban Farming Office demonstrates the increasing focus among architects on developing eco-
conscious and sustainable buildings. One way to accomplish this goal is through biophilic design, which incorporates elements
that establish a coherent physical and emotional relationship among nature, human biology, and the building. Architects
dedicated to this approach carefully contemplate every aspect of their projects from location characteristics and initial
materials selection to ultimate interior design choices and building installation. Thus, ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) architecture firms like VTN Architects aim to use unique building materials for each project that they design.

B) biophilic design prioritizes the emotional effects on inhabitants rather than the physical state of the natural surroundings.

C) biophilic design considerations are exercised during both the conception and execution of a new project.

D) architecture firms like VTN Architects typically work with large crews in order to expedite the time it takes to build a new
project.

15

The morphological novelty of echinoderms --- marine invertebrates with radial symmetry, usually starlike, around a central
point-impedes comparisons with most other animals, in which bilateral symmetry on an anterior-posterior (head to tail) axis
through a trunk is typical. Particularly puzzling are sea stars, thought to have evolved a headless layout from a known bilateral
origin. Applying genomic knowledge of Saccoglossus kowalevskii acorn worms (close relatives of sea stars, and thus expected
to have similar markers for corresponding anatomical regions) to the body patterning genes of Patiria miniata sea stars.
Laurent Formery et al. observed activity only in anterior genes across P miniata's entire body and some posterior genes limited
to the edges, suggesting that ______
 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) rather than undergoing changes resulting in the eventual elimination of a head region in their radial body plan, as
previously assumed, sea stars’ morphology evolved to completely lack a trunk and consist primarily of a head region.

B) contrary to the belief that they evolved from early ancestors with the bilateral form typical of many other animals, sea
stars instead originated with an atypical body layout that was neither bilaterally nor radially symmetrical.

C) despite the greater prevalence of anterior genes in sea stars' genetic makeup, posterior genes active at the body's
perieter are primarily responsible for the starlike layout that distinguishes sea stars' radial symmetry from that of other
echinoderms.

D) although the two species are closely related, there is only minimal correspondence in the genetic markers for head, tail,
and trunk region development in P miniata sea stars and S. kowalevskii acorn worms.

16

As computer engineer Sarah Tang can explain, deep learning (DL) and supervised machine learning (SML) take divergent
approaches in the development of AI technologies. DL pertains to the training of computers to process data in the same way a
human brain would, and SML _____ to the training of computer algorithms to organize large amounts of data.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) have pertained

B) are pertaining

C) pertains

D) pertain

17

The Proto-Mande language, common ancestor of fifty-five African languages with similar linguistic properties, _____ like all
protolanguages, hypothetical: there's no direct evidence these ancestral languages actually existed.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) are,

B) is,

C) have been,

D) were,

18

Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass first appeared in 1855 as a slim collection of twelve poems, but Whitman would revise and
expand it substantially over the next four decades. These extensive ______ the addition of hundreds of new poems, the removal
of some existing ones, and the insertion of prefatory material, reflected the poet's evolving literary perspective and experience
of the Us Civil War.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) changes, including

B) changes included

C) changes, include

D) changes would include

19

Though he's performed on many respected albums, including Small World by Tony Bunn, drummer Dennis Chambers may be
best known for his time as house drummer for the hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records. He did not play drums on the label's
classic song “Rapper's Delight," ______ joined the label after the song's release.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) however and he

B) however. He

C) however he

D) however, he
20

With the development of new technologies that use natural resources more efficiently, the overall consumption of those
resources might be expected to decrease. Economists have observed that improvements in efficiency often correlate negatively
with resource ______ efficiency gains, lowering the cost of use, may increase demand to the extent that resource consumption
ultimately rises.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) conservation; though

B) conservation, though

C) conservation, though;

D) conservation, though,

21

On January 21, 2014, English astronomers detected a supernova (the explosion of a massive star) in the constellation Ursa
Major, 11.5 million light-years from Earth. The powerful blast _____ from the collapse of the star's core under the force of its
own gravity ejected particles at speeds of thousands of miles per second.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) resulted

B) had resulted

C) results

D) resulting

22

The Madison is a type of line dance that involves neat rows of dancers performing a repeated sequence of steps in unison.
______ many other dances are also defined by order, repetition, and synchronicity, but the Madison is distinguished by its
extreme uniformity; when an auditorium full of dancers performs the Madison, one almost gets the impression of a military
march.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) Of course,

B) Specifically,

C) Moreover,

D) However,

23

On August 24, 1971, the Apollo 15 crew were recognized with a ticker-tape parade in New York City. This was just one of a
number of space program-related parades over the years. ______ between 1886 and 2022, there were ten ticker-tape parades
held in New York to honor astronauts.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) Nevertheless,

B) Hence,

C) In other words,

D) In sum,

24

In 2015, geologist Peter Rogerson calculated that the geographic center of North Dakota was a point 2.7 miles southwest of
the municipality of McClusky. Rogerson's calculation was more accurate than the one from 1920 by the US Geological Survey.
______ this earlier calculation was made using far more rudimentary equipment --- only cardboard and string.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A) Ultimately,

B) Likewise,

C) To that end,
 D) Of course,

25

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- Generally, an object will heat up when twisted.

- The twisting of an object is known as torsion.

- A 2019 study led by Zunfeng Liu and Ray Baughman tested the torsional heating of various fibers.

- When a sample of dimethicone fiber was twisted, its average surface temperature increased by 1.8°C.

- When a sample of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fiber was twisted, its average surface temperature increased by 6°C.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between dimethicone and TPU fibers. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Twisting an object will generally cause its temperature to increase, a process known as torsional heating.

B) Both dimethicone and TPU fibers heat up when twisted, according to a2019 study.

C) Researchers determined that when the fibers were twisted, the average surface temperature of TPU increased more than
that of dimethicone.

D) In 2019, two research teams observed the effects of torsional heating on various fibers, including dimethicone and TPU.

26

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- Merle Oberon (1911-1979) was an actress born in Mumbai (then known as Bombay), India.

- She was of Indian, Maori, and Irish heritage.

- She was the first Indian-born actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

- Early in her career, she played many nameless, uncredited roles, such as her role in Strange Evidence (1933).

- Later, she played many named, credited roles, such as Jessica Warren in The Price of Fear (1956).

The student wants to emphasize the order in which the two films were released. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Early in her career, Merle Oberon wasn't listed in some film credits, such as the credits for the film Strange Evidence,
where she played a nameless, uncredited role.

B) Strange Evidence (1933) was released early in Merle Oberon's career, whereas The Price of Fear (1956) came out years
later.

C) In Strange Evidence (1933), actress Merle Oberon played a nameless uncredited role; however, in The Price of Fear (1956),
she played a credited role --- that of Jessica Warren.

D) Merle Oberon was famous for her roles in films like Strange Evidence (1933) and The Price of Fear (1956).

27

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

- Bird Spirit is a 1981 black-and-white relief print by Inuit artist Kootoo Munno.

- It features a pair of long-necked birds.

- Intaglio and relief are printmaking techniques in which an image is carved onto a printing block, covered in ink, and stamped
onto paper.

- In intaglio printing, ink is applied to the grooved, carved portions of the block.

- In relief printing, ink is applied to the raised, uncarved portions of the block.

The student wants to contrast intaglio and relief printing. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

A) Relief printing, rather than intaglio, is the technique Munno used to depict a pair of long-necked birds in the 1981 work
Bird Spirit.

B) Relief printing is intaglio's reverse: the ink is applied not to the carved grooves of the printing block but to its raised,
uncarved portions.
 C) In both relief printing and intaglio, an image is carved onto a printing block, leaving grooves onto which ink is applied.

D) In contrast to relief printing, in which ink is applied to the uncarved portions of the block, intaglio printing uses the
printing block to stamp the image onto paper

Reading and Writing Module 1 Answers

1. A
2. B
3. A
4. D
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. A
10. D
11. A
12. B
13. B
14. A
15. B
16. D
17. A
18. C
19. A
20. A
21. A
22. A
23. B
24. D
25. B
26. D
27. C

Reading and Writing Module 2 Answers

1. D
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. B
6. D
7. B
8. D
9. D
10. B
11. D
12. D
13. A
14. C
15. B
16. C
17. B
18. A
19. D
20. C
21. D
22. A
23. D
24. D
25. B
26. B
27. A