Information and Ideas
The following text is from Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. Elinor lives with her younger sisters and her mother, Mrs. Dashwood.
Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.
According to the text, what is true about Elinor?
Correct Answer: D
Choice D is the best answer because it provides a detail about Elinor that is established in the text. The text indicates that although Elinor is “only nineteen,” she gives good advice and exhibits such a high level of understanding and judgment that she serves as “the counsellor of her mother.” Thus, Elinor is mature beyond her years.
Choice A is incorrect because it isn’t supported by the text: although the text says that Elinor advises her mother and often counteracts her mother’s impulses, there’s no mention of Elinor arguing with her mother or failing to change her mother’s mind. Choice B is incorrect because it isn’t supported by the text: although the text mentions that Elinor has strong feelings, it doesn’t indicate that she’s excessively sensitive when it comes to family issues. Choice C is incorrect because it isn’t supported by the text: there’s no mention of what Elinor thinks about her mother and no suggestion that she thinks her mother is a bad role model. Because she’s described as having “an excellent heart,” Elinor likely doesn’t think ill of her mother.
In 1929 the Atlantic Monthly published several articles based on newly discovered letters allegedly exchanged between President Abraham Lincoln and a woman named Ann Rutledge. Historians were unable to ______blank the authenticity of the letters, however, and quickly dismissed them as a hoax.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of letters allegedly exchanged between President Lincoln and Rutledge. In this context, “validate” means to confirm that something is real or correct. According to the text, it was alleged, or claimed, that the newly discovered letters had been written by Lincoln and Rutledge. The text also indicates that historians ultimately decided the letters were a hoax, or fraudulent. This context suggests that the historians couldn’t confirm that the letters were authentic.
Choice B is incorrect. The text focuses on the authenticity of the letters, which were claimed to have been written by Lincoln and Rutledge and were then quickly dismissed as fraudulent by historians. Rather than conveying that the historians simply weren’t able to “interpret,” or explain in an understandable way, the letters’ authenticity, the text suggests that the historians decided the letters lacked authenticity altogether. Choice C is incorrect. The text states that the historians quickly dismissed the letters claimed to have been written by Lincoln and Rutledge as fraudulent; this suggests that rather than being unable to “relate,” or tell others about, the letters’ authenticity, the historians were able to share what they’d decided about the letters. Choice D is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense to suggest that the historians couldn’t “accommodate,” or give consideration to, the authenticity of the letters claimed to have been written by Lincoln and Rutledge; the text states that the historians decided that the letters were fraudulent, which indicates that they did consider whether the letters were authentic.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The student wants to emphasize how many islands in Komodo National Park have Komodo dragons living on them. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes the number of islands in Komodo National Park that have Komodo dragons living on them, noting that four of the park’s twenty-nine islands have Komodo dragons.
Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence does explain that Komodo dragons live on the islands of Komodo National Park, it doesn’t emphasize how many of those islands Komodo dragons live on. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence explains that Komodo National Park contains the world’s largest lizards; it doesn’t identify these lizards as Komodo dragons or emphasize how many of the park’s islands the lizards live on. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence specifies the total number of islands in Komodo National Park; it doesn’t emphasize how many of those islands have Komodo dragons.
A subseasonal weather forecast attempts to predict weather conditions three to four weeks in ______blank its predictions are therefore more short-term than those of the seasonal forecast, which attempts to predict the weather more than a month in advance.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. The clause “A subseasonal…advance” and the clause “its predictions…forecast” are both independent clauses, so using a semicolon to separate them is grammatically correct.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. The clause “A subseasonal…advance” and the clause “its predictions…forecast” are both independent clauses, so a comma is not enough to separate them. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. The clause “A subseasonal…advance” and the clause “its predictions…forecast” are both independent clauses, so they need to be separated with specific punctuation (a period, a semi-colon, a colon, a dash, or a comma + a coordinating conjunction). Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. The clause “A subseasonal…advance” and the clause “its predictions…forecast” are both independent clauses, so the word “and” by itself is not enough to separate them. There would need to be a comma before “and” for this choice to work.
In 2014, Amelia Quon and her team at NASA set out to build a helicopter capable of flying on Mars. Because Mars’s atmosphere is only one percent as dense as Earth’s, the air of Mars would not provide enough resistance to the rotating blades of a standard helicopter for the aircraft to stay aloft. For five years, Quon’s team tested designs in a lab that mimicked Mars’s atmospheric conditions. The craft the team ultimately designed can fly on Mars because its blades are longer and rotate faster than those of a helicopter of the same size built for Earth.
According to the text, why would a helicopter built for Earth be unable to fly on Mars?
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer because it presents an explanation about a helicopter that is directly supported by the text. The text states that Mars’s atmosphere is much less dense than Earth’s, and as a result, the air on Mars doesn’t provide the resistance required to support the blades of a helicopter built for Earth and to keep the helicopter aloft. In other words, a helicopter built for Earth can’t fly on Mars because of the differences in the two planets’ atmospheres.
Choice B is incorrect because instead of stating that the blades of helicopters built for Earth are too large to work on Mars, the text indicates that the helicopter built to fly on Mars actually has even longer blades than a helicopter built for Earth. Choice C is incorrect because the text never addresses the role of gravity on Mars or on Earth; instead, it focuses on atmospheric conditions. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that helicopters built for Earth are too small to operate in the conditions on Mars. In fact, the text states that the size of the helicopter built to fly on Mars is the same size as a helicopter built for Earth, even though it has longer blades that rotate faster.
Text 1
In a study of the benefits of having free time, Marissa Sharif found that the reported sense of life satisfaction tended to plateau when participants had two hours of free time per day and actually began to fall when they had five hours of free time per day. After further research, Sharif concluded that this dip in life satisfaction mainly occurred when individuals spent all their free time unproductively, such as by watching TV or playing games.
Text 2
Psychologist James Maddux cautions against suggesting an ideal amount of free time. The human desire for both free time and productivity is universal, but Maddux asserts that individuals have unique needs for life satisfaction. Furthermore, he points out that there is no objective definition for what constitutes productivity; reading a book might be considered a productive activity by some, but idleness by others.
Based on the texts, how would Maddux (Text 2) most likely respond to the conclusion Sharif (Text 1) reached after her further research?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer because it characterizes how Maddux would most likely respond to the conclusion Sharif reached after her research. Text 1 describes Sharif’s study of the benefits of free time, saying that the reported sense of satisfaction plateaued at two hours per day and began to decline at five hours per day. Further research led Sharif to conclude that time spent doing tasks she defines as unproductive, such as watching TV or playing games, correlated with a drop in life satisfaction. However, in Text 2 Maddux says that there is no objective definition of what constitutes productive behavior, giving the example that reading a book might be considered productive by some but unproductive by others. It can be inferred that Maddux would also assert that whether watching TV or playing games is productive or unproductive is a matter of subjective judgment. Thus, Maddux would most likely caution against making an overly broad assumption, as there is no clear consensus in distinguishing between productive and unproductive activities.
Choice A is incorrect because Maddux asserts that individuals have unique needs for life satisfaction: some may want to spend that time productively, others unproductively, and what counts as productive is subjective. Therefore, Maddux would likely not consider it universally true that free time is more likely to enhance life satisfaction when it is spent productively. Choice B is incorrect because the study described in Text 1 concerns whether free time contributes to life satisfaction, not whether productivity contributes to life satisfaction. The dip in life satisfaction that Sharif claims to observe in Text 1 happens only after five hours, and mainly if the time is spent unproductively—that is, two hours of free time spent productively might increase life satisfaction just as much as two hours spent unproductively. Choice D is incorrect because Maddux holds the opinion that whether an activity is productive or unproductive is subjective and depends on the individual; therefore, he would most likely claim that watching TV or playing games might be productive for some and unproductive for others.
In her 2012 analysis of tree rings from Japan’s Yaku Island, cosmic ray physicist Fusa Miyake noted an anomalous carbon-14 spike dating to 774–775 CE, indicating that a massive burst of radiation reached Earth during that time. ______blank this unprecedented radiocarbon surge was dubbed a “Miyake event” in honor of its discoverer.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Choice A is the best answer. "Fittingly" logically signals that the naming of an unprecedented radiocarbon surge for Fusa Miyake is appropriate to the situation, since Miyake is the person who identified the surge (through her Yaku Island tree-ring analysis).
Choice B is incorrect because "similarly" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is similar to the previous information about Miyake’s identification of a massive radiation burst through tree-ring analysis. Instead, the naming of the event for its discoverer is a fitting and appropriate outcome. Choice C is incorrect because "however" illogically signals that the information in this sentence contrasts with the previous information about Miyake’s identification of a massive radiation burst through tree-ring analysis. Instead, the naming of the event for its discoverer is a fitting and appropriate outcome. Choice D is incorrect because "in other words" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is a paraphrase or restatement of the previous information about Miyake’s identification of a massive radiation burst through tree-ring analysis. Instead, the naming of the event for its discoverer is a fitting and appropriate outcome.
In 1930, Japanese American artist Chiura Obata depicted the natural beauty of Yosemite National Park in two memorable woodcuts: Evening at Carl Inn and Lake Basin in the High Sierra. In 2019, ______blank exhibited alongside 150 of Obata’s other works in a single-artist show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Correct Answer: B
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun–antecedent agreement. The plural pronoun “they” agrees in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts” and clearly identifies what was exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Choice A is incorrect because the singular pronoun “it” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts.” Choice C is incorrect because the singular pronoun “this” doesn’t agree in number with the plural antecedent “woodcuts.” Choice D is incorrect because the plural pronoun “some” is illogical in this context (referring to “some” of two woodcuts).
Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth. Mary Beth Wilhelm and other astrobiologists search for life, or its remains, in this harsh place because the desert closely mirrors the extreme environment on Mars. The algae and bacteria found in Atacama’s driest regions may offer clues about Martian life. By studying how these and other microorganisms survive such extreme conditions on Earth, Wilhelm’s team hopes to determine whether similar life might have existed on Mars and to develop the best tools to look for evidence of it.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole. The first sentence describes a unique location on Earth, the Atacama Desert. The next sentence, which is the underlined sentence, states that the reason why astrobiologists study life, or its remains, in this unique location is that Atacama is a harsh environment that closely resembles the extreme environment of Mars. The remainder of the text explains that the researchers hope their work in Atacama will support inquiry into life on Mars. Thus, the underlined portion functions mainly to indicate why astrobiologists choose to conduct research in the Atacama Desert.
Choice A is incorrect because to contrast two things means to show the differences between them, and the phrase "closely mirrors" in the underlined sentence indicates that the extreme environment in the Atacama Desert is similar to, not different from, that on Mars. This similarity is why, according to the underlined sentence, astrobiologists conduct research in Atacama. Choice B is incorrect because the underlined sentence doesn’t address forms of life that are unable to survive the harsh environment of the Atacama Desert. Instead, the underlined sentence explains why astrobiologists study life, or its remains, in this environment. Choice D is incorrect because the underlined sentence doesn’t suggest that the scientific research in the Atacama Desert is limited in any way; instead, the sentence explains that the similarity between the environments of Atacama and Mars is the reason why astrobiologists search for life, or its remains, in Atacama.
The following text is adapted from Charles Dickens’s 1854 novel Hard Times. Coketown is a fictional town in England.
[Coketown] contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the same pavements, to do the same work, and to whom every day was the same as yesterday and tomorrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. The author describes Coketown as having streets that are all very similar and residents who live similarly and do the same work. This repetition of similarities emphasizes how everything in Coketown is alike.
Choice B is incorrect. While the text mentions that all the residents “do the same work,” it never explains what that work is or why everyone does it. Besides, the idea that they all do the same work is just one of several similarities among the townspeople described in the text. Choice C is incorrect. While the last sentence states that “every day was the same as yesterday and tomorrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next,” it never suggests that people actually “lose track of time.” This is also too narrow to be the main idea, since time is just one of many aspects of Coketown that the text describes as always being the same. Choice D is incorrect. The text never mentions whether life is simple in Coketown, and the town sounds as though it’s probably a pretty dull place to live, rather than a pleasant one.
In retrospect, one of the lessons of the 2003 Human Genome Project is that a gene is affected by many factors, not the least of which is its interactions with the protein products of other genes. ______blank rather than just focusing on the human genome, efforts to better understand gene mutations related to disease have begun to consider the human proteome, the complete set of proteins expressed by human genes.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Correct Answer: D
Choice D is the best answer. "Accordingly" logically signals that this sentence states a result or consequence of the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Taking into account an important lesson of the 2003 project (that a gene is affected by interactions with the protein products of other genes), research has begun to consider the human proteome instead of just the genome.
Choice A is incorrect because "in other words" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is a paraphrase or restatement of the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this sentence states a result or consequence of that information. Choice B is incorrect because "that said" illogically signals that the information in this sentence qualifies or contrasts with the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this sentence states a result or consequence of that information. Choice C is incorrect because "for example" illogically signals that this sentence provides an example supporting the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this sentence states a result or consequence of that information.
Unique among animal species, humans use our vocal apparatuses primarily for two separate communicative purposes: to talk and to sing. The question of what cross-cultural traits distinguish these distinct modes, and secondarily what pressures led humans to develop them in the first place, ______blank neuropsychologist Daniela Sammler’s 2024 study “Signatures of Speech and Song: ‘Universal’ Links despite Cultural Diversity.”
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "animates" agrees in number with the singular subject "question."
Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb "have animated" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "question." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "animate" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "question." Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle "animating" doesn’t supply the clause with a finite verb.
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 ______blank
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Correct Answer: D
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the morphology (form and structure) of sea stars, a type of echinoderm. The text indicates that echinoderms have radially symmetrical body plans (symmetrical around a central point, usually in the form of a star), whereas most animals have bilaterally symmetrical body plans (symmetrical along an axis running from head to tail through a trunk). According to the text, sea stars are unusual echinoderms because, despite their radial body plan, they descended from known bilateral ancestors. This shift in body plan was thought to be a process of losing the genetic markers associated with the head region. The text explains that by comparing the genes of one sea star species (P. miniata) to those of a close relative, the acorn worm, researchers determined that instead, anterior (head) genes are active across the sea star’s entire body, posterior (tail) genes are active in limited, peripheral locations of the body, and no trunk-related genes are active. This finding strongly suggests that, rather than becoming "headless" as they evolved from a bilateral ancestor, sea stars developed a body plan consisting almost entirely of a head region with a minimal tail region and no trunk region present.
Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t identify how any particular region of sea stars’ bodies influences the layout of sea stars’ radial symmetry. Moreover, the text indicates that the radial symmetry of echinoderms is "usually starlike," not that a starlike layout distinguishes sea stars from other echinoderms. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the idea that sea stars evolved from an ancestor with bilateral symmetry is incorrect (describing the bilateral origin as "known") and doesn’t address any body plans other than those with radial or bilateral symmetry. The text strongly suggests that rather than revealing something about sea stars’ origin, Formery et al.’s findings contradict the assumption that the current body plan of sea stars is "headless." Choice C is incorrect because the text suggests that Formery et al. were able to make determinations about P. miniata sea stars’ body plan based on the comparability of genetic markers between P. miniata and S. kowalevskii acorn worms. The text indicates only that little or no activity was observed in certain types of genes associated with body development in P. miniata, not that those genes turned out to largely differ from body-development genes in S. kowalevskii.
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While scholars believe many Mesoamerican cities influenced each other, direct evidence of such influence is difficult to ascertain. However, recent excavations in a sector of Tikal (Guatemala) unearthed a citadel that shows ______blank Teotihuacán (Mexico) architecture—including a near replica of a famed Teotihuacán temple—providing tangible evidence of outside influence in portions of Tikal.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of architectural influences among Mesoamerican cities. In this context, “commonalities with” means similarities to or shared attributes with. The text indicates that a recently discovered citadel in Tikal includes a close imitation of a famous temple in Teotihuacán (another Mesoamerican city) and other evidence of Teotihuacán influence, which suggests that the citadel possesses features that resemble architectural features found in Teotihuacán. This context thus indicates that the Tikal citadel shows commonalities with Teotihuacán architecture.
Choice A is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text that suggests that the Tikal citadel shows “refinements of,” or improvements on, Teotihuacán architecture. Although the text suggests that the architecture of Teotihuacán influenced the architecture of the Tikal citadel, and although it’s possible that later architectural designs could make improvements on earlier designs, the text doesn’t discuss whether, in imitating Teotihuacán architecture, the Tikal citadel’s builders improved on it. Choice B is incorrect because describing the citadel in Tikal as showing “precursors of” Teotihuacán architecture—or features that preceded and foreshadowed those of Teotihuacán architecture—would imply the opposite of what the text suggests about the relationship between the architecture found in Tikal and Teotihuacán. The text claims that the discovery of similarities between the Tikal citadel and the architecture of Teotihuacán, including a replica of a temple in Teotihuacán, provides evidence of outside influences on Tikal architecture. If the Tikal citadel was influenced by Teotihuacán architecture, then the Teotihuacán architecture must predate the citadel, not the other way around. In this context, therefore, it wouldn’t make sense to say that the Tikal citadel shows precursors of Teotihuacán architecture. Choice D is incorrect because the text discusses how the citadel in Tikal indicates the influence of Teotihuacán architecture, which implies that the makers of the Tikal citadel likely admired aspects of Teotihuacán architecture enough to imitate it. Thus, there’s no reason to think that the Tikal citadel provides evidence of the Tikal people’s “animosities toward,” or feelings of strong dislike or hostility toward, Teotihuacán architecture.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The student wants to emphasize the duration and purpose of Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s work. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes both the duration (the length of time) and the purpose of Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s work by noting that the women have been working since 2003 to preserve Gullah culture.
Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence emphasizes what visitors to Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s museums can learn, it doesn’t mention the duration or purpose of the women’s work. Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence emphasizes the purpose of Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s work, it doesn’t mention the duration of that work (the length of time the women have been working to preserve Gullah culture). Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence emphasizes where and when Gullah culture developed, it doesn’t mention the duration or purpose of Cohen’s and Rodrigues’s work.
Along with carbon dioxide concentration and temperature, light intensity affects the chemical reaction rate of ______blank as light intensity increases, so does the rate at which the reactants (water and carbon dioxide) are converted into their products (glucose and oxygen).
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of punctuation in a sentence. In this choice, a colon is correctly used to mark the boundary between one main clause ("Along with...photosynthesis") and another main clause ("as light...oxygen") and to introduce the following explanation of how light intensity affects photosynthesis.
Choice A is incorrect because when coordinating two longer main clauses such as these, it’s conventional to use a comma before the coordinating conjunction ("and"). Choice B is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. Without a coordinating conjunction following it, a comma can’t be used in this way to join two main clauses ("Along with...photosynthesis" and "as light...oxygen"). Choice D is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The two main clauses ("Along with...photosynthesis" and "as light...oxygen") are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction.