Quiz 4 Reading Review

In the Indigenous intercropping system known as the Three Sisters, maize, squash, and beans form an ______ web of relations: maize provides the structure on which the bean vines grow; the squash vines cover the soil, discouraging competition from weeds; and the beans aid their two “sisters” by enriching the soil with essential nitrogen.

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

• indecipherable

• ornamental

• obscure

• intricate

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It is by no means ______ to recognize the influence of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch on Ali Banisadr’s paintings; indeed, Banisadr himself cites Bosch as an inspiration. However, some scholars have suggested that the ancient Mesopotamian poem Epic of Gilgamesh may have had a far greater impact on Banisadr’s work.

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

• substantial

• satisfying

• unimportant

• appropriate

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In a research paper, a student criticizes some historians of modern African politics, claiming that they have evaluated Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, primarily as a symbol rather than in terms of his actions.

Which quotation from a work by a historian would best illustrate the student’s claim

• "Lumumba is a difficult figure to evaluate due to the starkly conflicting opinions he inspired during his life and continues to inspire today.”

• “The available information makes it clear that Lumumba’s political beliefs and values were largely consistent throughout his career.”

• “Lumumba’s practical accomplishments can be passed over quickly; it is mainly as the personification of Congolese independence that he warrants scholarly attention.”

• “Many questions remain about Lumumba’s ultimate vision for an independent Congo; without new evidence coming to light, these questions are likely to remain unanswered."

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Herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs could grow more than 100 feet long and weigh up to 80 tons, and some researchers have attributed the evolution of sauropods to such massive sizes to increased plant production resulting from high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the Mesozoic era. However, there is no evidence of significant spikes in carbon dioxide levels coinciding with relevant periods in sauropod evolution, such as when the first large sauropods appeared, when several sauropod lineages underwent further evolution toward gigantism, or when sauropods reached their maximum known sizes, suggesting that _____

Which choice most logically completes the text

• fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide affected different sauropod lineages differently. 

• the evolution of larger body sizes in sauropods did not depend on increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.

• atmospheric carbon dioxide was higher when the largest known sauropods lived than it was when the first sauropods appeared.

• sauropods probably would not have evolved to such immense sizes if atmospheric carbon dioxide had been even slightly higher.

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Geoglyphs are large-scale designs of lines or shapes created in a natural landscape. The Nazca Lines were created in the Nazca Desert in Peru by several Indigenous civilizations over a period of many centuries. Peruvian archaeologist Johny Isla specializes in these geoglyphs. At a German exhibit about the Nazca Lines, he saw an old photograph of a large geoglyph of a whalelike figure and was surprised that he didn’t recognize it. Isla returned to Peru and used a drone to search a wide area, looking for the figure from the air. This approach suggests that Isla thought that if he hadn’t already seen it, the whalelike geoglyph ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• must represent a species of whale that went extinct before there were any people in Peru.

• is actually located in Germany, not Peru, and isn’t part of the Nazca Lines at all.

• is probably in a location Isla hadn’t ever come across while on the ground.

• was almost certainly created a long time after the other Nazca Lines geoglyphs were created.

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?

• Reds and browns are not commonly featured in most of Taylor’s rugs.

• Taylor draws on local resources in the approach she uses to dye wool.

• Taylor finds it difficult to locate Arizona dock root in the desert.

• In the Path of the Four Seasons is widely acclaimed for its many colors and innovative weaving techniques.

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Many insects are iridescent, or have colors that appear to shimmer and change when seen from different angles. Scientists have assumed that this feature helps to attract mates but could also attract predators. But biologist Karin Kjernsmo and a team had the idea that the shifting appearance of colors might actually make it harder for other animals to see iridescent insects. To test this idea, the team put beetle forewings on leaves along a forest path and then asked human participants to look for them. Some of the wings were naturally iridescent. Others were painted with a nonchanging color from the iridescent spectrum, such as purple or blue.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the team’s idea?

• On average, participants found most of the purple wings and blue wings and far fewer of the iridescent wings.

• On average, participants found the iridescent wings faster than they found the purple wings or blue wings.

• Some participants reported that the purple wings were easier to see than the blue wings.

• Some participants successfully found all of the wings on the leaves.

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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?

• He draws from traditional Native art forms to create his original works.

• He has been influenced by Native and non-Native artists equally.

• He finds inspiration from boxing in designing the dresses he makes.

• He rejects expectations about color and pattern when incorporating beadwork.

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The Haitian Declaration of Independence was issued in 1804, bringing to an end the revolution against colonial France that began in 1791. Written in French, which was not the first language of most Haitians but which was used throughout Europe as the language of international diplomacy, the declaration notes that Haiti will not bring rebellion to other Caribbean nations, promises to respect the sovereignty of its neighbors—widely understood as a reassurance to the United States—and sets up Haiti as an example for future struggles against colonizers (an implicit reference to the many colonies then found in the Americas). So even though the declaration is explicitly addressed to the Haitian people, it’s reasonable to conclude that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• aspects of the declaration were modeled on similar documents from other countries.

• the French government may have been surprised by the declaration.

• many Haitian people opposed the revolution and the declaration.

• the declaration actually had several intended audiences.

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“The Poet Walt Whitman” is an 1887 essay by José Martí, a Cuban author and political activist, originally written in Spanish. In the essay, Martí explores the value of literature, arguing that a society’s spiritual well-being depends on the character of its literary culture: ______

Which quotation from a translation of “The Poet Walt Whitman” most effectively illustrates the claim?

• “Poetry, which brings together or separates, which fortifies or brings anguish, which shores up or demolishes souls, which gives or robs men of faith and vigor, is more necessary to a people than industry itself, for industry provides them with a means of subsistence, while literature gives them the desire and strength for life.”

• “Every society brings to literature its own form of expression, and the history of the nations can be told with greater truth by the stages of literature than by chronicles and decades.”

• “Where will a race of men go when they have lost the habit of thinking with faith about the scope and meaning of their actions? The best among them, those who consecrate Nature with their sacred desire for the future, will lose, in a sordid and painful annihilation, all stimulus to alleviate the ugliness of humanity.”

• “Listen to the song of this hardworking and satisfied nation; listen to Walt Whitman. The exercise of himself exalts him to majesty, tolerance exalts him to justice, and order to joy."

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