Reading quiz v2

Parthenogenesis is not limited to lizards and sharks but is common ininsects, crayfish, flatworms, snails, snakes, and even some birds. The exception is mammals. Although parthenogenesis can be artificially induced in a science laboratory, it has never been known to have occurred in mammals naturally.

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

• To transition to a clarification

• To define an unfamiliar term

• To give ethical reasoning

• To analyze an economic impact

I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect I must have been born somewhere and at some time. As nearly as I have been able to learn, I was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale’s Ford, and the year was 1858 or 1859. I do not know the month or the day. The earliest impressions I can now recall are of the plantation and the slave quarters—the latter being the part of the plantation where the slaves had their cabins.

Washington’s primary purpose in the text above is most likely

• to lament his increased senility.

• to express his identity.

• to critique his familial relations

• to underscore his rootlessness.

Though not the first to utilize encryption, Roman emperor Julius Caesar is perhaps the most notable early adopter. A man of many secrets, Caesar would send messages to his generals in which the letters of the alphabet had been shifted a set number of places (A became D, B became E, and so forth). The recipient of the message would be alerted to the cipher in advance and would thus decode the message upon delivery. The Caesar Shift was simplistic by today’s standards, but in an era in which very few could read in the first place, the encryption was effective.The text most strongly suggests that the encryption used by Julius Caesarwas successful in large part due to

• its mathematical complexity.

• a lack of widespread literacy at the time.

• its ancient historical roots

• its incapacity to be physically intercepted

Text 1

Many historians find that general trends tend to repeat themselves if you

look far enough back through the records of humanity. It truly can be said

that there is nothing new under the sun. Perhaps this is simply a function of

how long humans have been around, but perhaps it also says something

about just how similar all humans are, even across thousands of years.

Text 2

Studying fashion history is a lot like listening to remixes of your favorite

songs. As you examine textiles from around the world and through time,

you’ll constantly see that most “new”fashions are just old ideas remade.

And so, women’s high-waisted shirts from the early 2000s weren’t anything

new or different: they were simply 18th-century empire-style gowns

remixed for a new generation.

What best describes the relationship between the two texts?

• Text 2 provides a specific example to illustrate the broad claim made in

  Text 1.

• Text 2 presents arguments that are generally opposed to the primary

  position made in Text 1.

• Text 1 emphasizes a modern approach to the study of history, whereasText 2 is more antiquated.

• Text 1 addresses the major objection to the study of history that is raisedby Text 2.

FedEx and UPS now provide online tracking of packages for the

consumer. It is interesting to log on and see the journey that a purchase has

traveled to go from source to destination. Each time an arrival and a

departure are scanned, that item must be picked up by an employee, placed

on a moving belt to take to a sortation system, and then placed on another

vehicle for its next leg in the sojourn. Holiday seasons put these logistics

systems to a severe test each year, and companies in the business of

logistics are constantly investing in new ways to handle the information and

the items as they flow through the pipelines. Billions of dollars have been

invested in these types of service industries, and the activity behind the

scenes is something to behold.

The author’s attitude toward the process of logistical distribution can bestbe described as

• skeptical

• positive

• neutral

• bellicose

Those who make a trade out of foretelling the future rarely grow rich. Their

attempts to deceive are too easily found out and arouse detestation. And yet

it would be necessary to detest them much, much more if they foretold the

future correctly. For a man’s life would become intolerable, if he knew what

was going to happen to him. He would be made aware of future evils, and

would suffer their agonies in advance, while he would get no joy of present

blessings since he would know how they would end. Ignorance is the

necessary condition of human happiness, and it must be admitted that on the

whole mankind observes that condition well. We are almost entirely

ignorant of ourselves, absolutely of others. In ignorance, we find our bliss,

in illusions, our happiness.

The main idea conveyed in the above monologue can best be summarized

as

• let bygones be bygones

• the truth will set you free.

• focus on the moment

• do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Sense and Sensibility is an 1811 novel by Jane Austen. In the novel, Austen describes Marianne Dashwood’s ability to persuade others of the rightness of her artistic judgments, as is evident when Marianne visits with John Willoughby, a potential suitor: ______

Which quotation from Sense and Sensibility most effectively illustrates the claim?

• Above all, when she heard him declare, that of music and dancing he was passionately fond, she gave him such a look of approbation as secured the largest share of his discourse to herself for the rest of his stay.

• Their taste was strikingly alike. The same books, the same passages were idolized by each—or if any difference appeared, any objection arose, it lasted no longer than till the force of her arguments and the brightness of her eyes could be displayed

• It was only necessary to mention any favourite amusement to engage her to talk. She could not be silent when such points were introduced, and she had neither shyness nor reserve in their discussion

• They speedily discovered that their enjoyment of dancing and music was mutual, and that it arose from a general conformity of judgment in all that related to either. Encouraged by this to a further examination of his opinions, she proceeded to question him on the subject of books

Hip-hop pedagogy is a form of teaching that’s gaining popularity across school subjects. It involves incorporating hip-hop and rap music into lessons as well as using hip-hop elements when teaching other subject matters. For example, Quan Neloms’s students look for college-level vocabulary and historical events in rap songs. Researchers claim that in addition to developing students’ social justice awareness, hip-hop pedagogy encourages student success by raising students’ interest and engagement.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the underlined claim?

• Courses that incorporate hip-hop and rap music are among the courses with the highest enrollment and attendance rates

• Educators report that they enjoy teaching courses that involve hip-hop and rap music more than teaching courses that don't.

• Students tend to be more enthusiastic about rap music than they are about hip-hop music.

• Students who are highly interested in social justice issues typically don't sign up for courses that incorporate hip-hop and rap music

If the United States were to shift to a majority vote system, the way

presidential candidates campaign for office would fundamentally change.

Right now, candidates have little reason to bother campaigning in states that

typically go strongly for one political party. There is little logic in a

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Republican trying to win New York, or a Democrat trying to win Texas.

Instead, candidates focus their energies on “swing states,” like Florida and

Ohio, that are relatively balanced along party lines. Floridians and Ohioans

currently receive far more candidate visits and attention than New Yorkers

or Texans. _____________________ This would ensure that all U.S.

citizens have an equal voice not just in theory but in reality.

Which sentence, if inserted in the underlined portion, would best strengthen

the argument of the paragraph by transitioning between the previous and the

following sentences?

• Ohio has a smaller population relative to Texas, although Ohio does have a greater population density than Texas.

• If the Electoral College were abolished in favor of a majority votesystem, candidates would have a much stronger incentive to campaignnationwide

• It is inherently unjust that candidates want to spend their timecampaigning in places where they will inevitably emerge victorious whileignoring states with undecided voters.

• Nationwide polls indicate that the average voters in states from high tolow electoral college representation uniformly agree that the time has comefor a seismic shift in the political landscape.

That entire summer, I pounded baseballs. Swing and ping, swing and

ping, swing, and ping—_____________________ the interminable blunt-

force trauma of tens of thousands of baseballs had misshapen my Louisville

Slugger into something resembling more of a deformed soda can.

Which of the following completes the text with the most specific expression

of the great extent to which the narrator played and practiced baseball that

summer?

• sixty games and ninety batting practice sessions later,

• after quite a few games and extensive time working in the practice area,

• spending nearly ten times as much time playing and practicing as wouldbe expected,

• trying my hardest to bat a .325 average