Reading Comprehension A
Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the passage?
A. Deep-well injection of hazardous wastes is unsafe when expensive precautionary measures are not taken.
B. Although deep-well injection of hazardous wastes can be unsafe, it is generally safe when proper procedures are followed and sites are carefully selected.
C. Because of the high cost and extensive regulations associated with other methods, deep well injection has wholly supplanted alternative methods of hazardous-waste disposal.
D. The increasing use of deep-well injection as a method of hazardous-waste disposal is seriously problematic.
E. Careful design and location of deep-well-injection facilities are important because communities commonly rely on groundwater for drinking.
D. The increasing use of deep-well injection as a method of hazardous-waste disposal is seriously problematic.
According to the passage, deep-well injection of hazardous wastes has become...
A. More controversial because of an increased dependence on underground sources of drinking water
B. More controversial because of an increase in toxin-related illnesses near deep-well-injection areas.
C. More widely accepted because newly developed alternatives are more expensive than deep-well injection.
D. More widely accepted because of increasing public awareness of environmental issues.
E. More widely accepted because of the relatively high toxicity of wastes that are disposed of by deep-well injection.
A. More controversial because of an increased dependence on underground sources of drinking water
The authors of the two passages would be most likely to agree that...
A. Despite widely held beliefs to the contrary, there is no significant difference between plagiarism and imitation.
B. The fact that no moral position is universal suggests that moral standards are ultimately little more than manifestations of power.
C. Currently, widespread views regarding plagiarism are more stringent than the views held by most of our predecessors.
D. Historical scholarship that focuses on changes in attitudes toward plagiarism ultimately absolves plagiarists of responsibility for their actions.
E. An inferior kind of historical scholarship practiced today has a tendency to project current ideological preoccupations inappropriately onto the past.
E. An inferior kind of historical scholarship practiced today has a tendency to project current ideological preoccupations inappropriately onto the past.
Aisha: Vadim is going to be laid off. Vadim's work as a programmer has been exemplary since joining the firm. But management has already made the decision to lay off a programmer. And this firm strictly follows a policy of laying off the most recently hired programmer in such cases.
Aisha's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
A. The firm values experience in its programmers more highly than any other quality.
B. When Vadim was hired, the policy of laying off the most recently hired programmer was clearly explained.
C. Vadim is the most recently hired programmer at the firm.
D. Every other programmer at the firm has done better work than Vadim.
E. It is bad policy that the firm always lays off the most recently hired programmer.
C. Vadim is the most recently hired programmer at the firm.
The passage most strongly suggests that which one of the following is true?
A. The use of landfills and incinerators for the disposal of hazardous wastes is no longer considered safe.
B. Injections of hazardous wastes at depths of more than 1,800 meters are less expensive but more dangerous than the injection of such wastes at 300 meters.
C. Deep-well injection of hazardous wastes can contaminate aquifers of drinking water that are great distances from the deep-well-injection site.
D. Disposal of hazardous wastes in landfills involves various risks, but-unlike deep-well injection, it does not involve the risk of contaminating groundwater.
E. Drinking-water wells are usually deeper than the wells that are drilled for deep-well injections of hazardous wastes.
C. Deep-well injection of hazardous wastes can contaminate aquifers of drinking water that are great distances from the deep-well-injection site.
Based on the passage, which one of the following most accurately describes the ideal characteristics of an underground area suitable for the deep-well injection of hazardous wastes?
A. At 300 meters or more below the surface, the area contains a layer of impermeable rock below which there are no permeable layers.
B. At 300 meters or more below the surface, the area contains a layer of permeable rock above which there is a layer of impermeable rock.
C. The area contains one or more layers of impermeable rock extending from near the surface to a depth of at least 300 meters.
D. At a depth of 300 meters or less, the area contains an aquifer into which water flows.
B. At 300 meters or more below the surface, the area contains a layer of permeable rock above which there is a layer of impermeable rock.
Which one of the following is a central purpose common to both passages?
A. To trace the historical development of an important idea.
B. To find fault with a way of approaching a scholarly topic.
C. To examine shifting scholarly attitudes toward a particular topic.
D. To explain why a type of scholarship has become dominant.
E. To argue that a particular book is deeply problematic.
B. To find fault with a way of approaching a scholarly topic.
Wanda: It is common sense that one cannot create visual art without visual stimuli in one's work area, just as a writer needs written stimuli. A stark, empty work area would hinder my creativity. This is why there are so many things in my studio.
Vernon: But a writer needs to read good writing, not supermarket tabloids. Are you inspired by the piles of laundry and empty soda bottles in your studio?
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the principle underlying Vernon's response to Wanda?
A. It is unhealthy to work in a cluttered work area.
B. The quality of the stimuli in an artist's environment matters.
C. Supermarket tabloids should not be considered stimulating.
D. Messiness impairs artistic creativity.
E. One should be able to be created even in a stark, empty work area.
B. The quality of the stimuli in an artist's environment matters.
Which one of the following would, if true, most strengthen the author's position regarding the risk of deep-well injection of hazardous wastes?
A. Few of the rock formations that industries consider suitable for deep-well injection of hazardous wastes are adjacent to or connected to sources of drinkable groundwater.
B. Few of the toxic substances that are commonly disposed of through deep-well injection have been thoroughly tested for their effects on nonhuman organisms.
C. Many of the sites at which hazardous-waste-injection wells are drilled are many miles from the industrial facilities that use them for waste disposal.
D. The movement of underground water is even more rapid and less predictable than most geologists believe.
E. Methods of predicting and monitoring the movement of underground water have significantly improved in the time since the author gathered data.
D. The movement of underground water is even more rapid and less predictable than most geologists believe.
Based on the passage, which one of the following most accurately states the purpose of deep-well injection of hazardous waste?
A. It serves as a short-term storage method for wastes while their toxicity is neutralized.
B. It makes aboveground hazardous-waste disposal methods obsolete.
C. It contains hazardous wastes in saltwater-saturated underground areas.
D. It creates underground pools of waste that can easily be continuously and reliably monitored.
E. It recycles certain low-toxicity wastes.
C. It contains hazardous wastes in saltwater-saturated underground areas.
By using the phrase "political feveror" (first sentence of the second paragraph of passage A), the author of passage A suggests that Rosenthal exhibits...
A. A zealous determination to transform traditional caregories of thought.
B. An intense ambition to exercise influence over public policy.
C. A powerful desire to foster political revolution.
D. A passionate eagerness to provoke heated debate.
E. A heartfelt support for a political party.
A. A zealous determination to transform traditional caregories of thought.
The official listing of an animal species as endangered triggers the enforcement of legal safeguards designed to protect endangered species, such as tighter animal export and trade restrictions and stronger antipoaching laws. Nevertheless, there have been many cases in which the decline in the wild population of a species was more rapid after that species was listed as endangered than before it was so listed.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to account for the increase in the rate of population decline described above?
A. The process of officially listing a species as endangered can take many years.
B. Public campaigns to save endangered animal species often focus only on those species that garner the public's affection.
C. The number of animal species listed as endangered has recently increased dramatically.
D. Animals are more desirable to collectors when they are perceived to be rare.
E. Poachers find it progressively more difficult to locate animals of a particular species as that species' population declines.
D. Animals are more desirable to collectors when they are perceived to be rare.
According to the passage, which one of the following is true of underground water?
A. It can be suitable as a source of public drinking water even when contaminated by low levels of deep-well-injected wastes.
B. It can seldom be found at depths of less than 200 meters in regions in which deep-well injection is practiced.
C. It can seldom be used as a source of water for industrial processes.
D. It can contain a high concentration. of salt as a result of contamination by deep-well-injected wastes.
E. It can move from one underground formation to another due to factors other than gravity.
E. It can move from one underground formation to another due to factors other than gravity.
Both passages are concerned with answering which one of the following questions?
A. How did the modern concept of the author develop in previous centuries?
B. During what historical period did moral strictures against plagiarism originate?
C. How has the relationship between moral standards and power changed over time?
D. What are the significant differences between plagiarism and simple imitation?
E. How is the moral dimension of plagiarism to be understood historically?
E. How is the moral dimension of plagiarism to be understood historically?
It can be inferred that the author of passage B regards the histroical approach of the author of passage A as...
A. Irresponsible
B. Incomprehensible
C. Deceitful
D. Simplistic
E. Reprehensible
D. Simplistic
Annette: To persuade the town council to adopt your development plan, you should take them on a trip to visit other towns that have successfully implemented plans like yours.
David: But I have a vested interest in their votes. If council members were to accept a trip from me, it would give the appearance of undue influence.
The dialogue provides the most support for the claim that Annette and David disagree over whether ...
A. The council should adopt David's development plan.
B. David should take the council on a trip to visit other towns.
C. David has a vested interest in the council's votes
D. Other towns have successfully implemented similar development plans.
E. The appearance of undue influence should be avoided.
B. David should take the council on a trip to visit other towns.