Analogies
MATCH : FIRE
A) bag : wallet
B) key : car
C) gas : machine
D) cookie : mouth
B) key : car
A key is used to start a car.
The student requested that the professor excuses her absence, but the professor refused.
The professor denied the student’s request for an excused absence.
What is the main idea?
Costs were low that year and the output high. There was a good person for each job and the market remained firm. There were no losses from fire. All in all it was the best years in the history of the company.
It was the best years in the history of the company.
FAME : OBSCURITY
A) peace : harmony
B) music : art
C) knowledge : wisdom
D) sorrow : joy
D) sorrow : joy
International Center is hosting English Conversation classes. They help non-native speakers of English practice their English speaking skills.
English non-native speakers can improve their English by taking classes at International Center.
What is the main idea?
Advertising affects our lives every day. Brand names are common household words. We start each day using the toothpaste, soap, and breakfast foods promoted by advertisers. Ads have made the cars we drive signs of our success. Our choices of food, dress, and entertainment are swayed by ads. Not one aspect of American life is untouched by advertising.
Advertising affects our lives every day.
REMEMBER : PREDICT
A) hear : listen
B) scrutinize : ignore
C) repeat : copy
D) interrogate : question
B) scrutinize : ignore
To scrutinize is the opposite of to ignore.
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.
a. In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
b. Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.
A.
European zoos of the late 19th and early 20th centuries incorporated the visual cultures of their animals’ native homes into ornate buildings - reflections of their nations’ colonial aspirations. The Berlin Zoo’s ostrich house resembled an Egyptian temple, with large columns flanking the entrance and scenes of ostrich hunts decorating the exterior. Berlin’s elephant enclosure was built in the spirit of a Hindu temple; the home for its giraffes adopted an Islamic architectural style. Zoos in Cologne, Lisbon, Antwerp, and Budapest, among others, created similar exhibits. These zoos were no home for subtlety: The animals they contained were exotic to most visitors; the buildings that did the containing reinforced the sensation.
1. Which of the following best states the main idea of the paragraph?
A. Buildings in the late 19th and early 20th European zoos emphasized the exotic origins of the animals they housed
B. Many buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries European zoos were built to resemble Egyptian temples
C. European zoos in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sought to evoke subtle emotions in their visitors
D. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most of the animals in European zoos came from outside of Europe
1. A - The main idea essentially states that European zoo buildings looked something like buildings in the animals’ native countries. Even if you’re not 100% sure about the point, you can probably figure out that it’s talking about buildings. So, you can assume that the correct answer must have something to do with buildings. Only A and B mention buildings, so C and D can be eliminated immediately. Option B states that many European zoos had buildings that resembled Egyptian temples, whereas the passage only states that the Berlin zoo’s ostrich house resembled an Egyptian temple. Option A is consistent with both the first and the last sentences: the buildings “reinforced” the sensation that the animals were exotic. So that fits. Answer A is correct.
BELIEVABLE : CREDIBLE
A) chilly : freezing
B) horrible : monstrous
C) visible : obvious
D) eternal : endless
D) eternal : endless
By definition, something that is eternal is endless.
Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.
The use of a helmet is the key to reducing bicycling fatalities, which are due to head injuries 75% of the time. By cushioning the head upon impact, a helmet can reduce accidental injury by as much as 85%, saving the lives of hundreds of victims annually, half of whom are school children ("Bike Helmets" 348).
HELIUM : GAS
A) Christianity : religion
B) truth : knowledge
C) courage : bravery
D) polarity : magnet
A) Christianity : religion
Helium is a type of gas. Christianity is a type of religion.
"The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.
According to Jacques Cousteau, the activity of people in Antarctica is jeopardizing a delicate natural mechanism that controls the earth's climate. He fears that human activity could interfere with the balance between the sun, the source of the earth's heat, and the important source of cold from Antarctic waters that flow north and cool the oceans and atmosphere ("Captain Cousteau" 17).