Section Three: Reading Comprehension

1.What aspect of life in the United States does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy
(B) The inventions that transformed life in the nineteenth century
(C) The problems associated with the earliest factories
(D) The difficulty of farm life in the nineteenth century

2. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, and candle makers are mentioned in lines 5-6 as examples of artisans who
(A) maintained their businesses at home
(B) were eventually able to use sophisticated technology
(C) produced unusual goods and commodities
(D) would employ only family members

3. The phrase “hinged on” in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) recovered from
(B) depended on
(C) started on
(D) contributed to

4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a reason for the industrial growth that occurred in the United States before 1914?
(A)The availability of natural resources found only in the United States
(B) The decrease in number of farms resulting from technological advances
(C) The replacement of canals and railroads by other forms of transportation
(D) The availability of a large immigrant work force

5. The word “l(fā)ured” in line 19 is closest in? meaning to
(A) attracted
(B) assigned
(C) restricted
(D) attached

6. The word “Others” in line 20 refers to other
(A) adults
(B) promises
(C) goods and services
(D) social opportunities

7.The word “expendable” in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) nonproductive
(B) unacceptable
(C) nonessential
(D) unprofitable

8. It can be inferred from the passage that industrialization affected farming in that industrialization
(A) increased the price of farm products
(B) limited the need for new farm machinery
(C) created new and interesting jobs on farms
(D) reduced the number of people willing to do farm work

9.What does the author mean when stating that certain inventions made farming “capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive”(lines 23-24)?
(A) Workers had to be trained to operate the new machines.
(B) Mechanized farming required more capital and fewer laborers.
(C) The new inventions were not helpful for all farming activities.
(D) Human labor could still accomplish as much work as the first machines.

10. According to the passage, factory workers differed from craft workers in that factory workers
(A) were required to be more creative
(B) worked extensively with raw materials
(C) changed jobs frequently
(D) specialized in one aspect of the finished product only

11.The passage mainly discusses how
(A) birds prepare for breeding
(B) bird feathers differ from species
(C) birds shed and replace their feathers
(D) birds are affected by seasonal changes

12.The word “Notwithstanding” in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) despite
(B) because of
(C) instead of
(D) regarding

13.The word “intricate” in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) regular
(B) complex
(C) interesting
(D) important

14.The word “random” in line 12 is closest in meaning to
(A) unfortunate
(B) unusual
(C) unobservable
(D) unpredictable

15.The word “optimal” in line 13 is closest in meaning to
(A) slow
(B) frequent
(C) best
(D) early

16.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that songbirds molt in the late summer?
(A) Fewer predators are in the woods.
(B) The weathers is still warm.
(C) The songbirds have finished breeding.
(D) Food is still available.

17. Some birds that are molting maintain balance during flight by
(A) constantly preening and caring for their remaining feathers
(B) dropping flight feathers on both sides at the same time
(C) adjusting the angle of their flight to compensate for lost feathers
(D) only losing one-third of their feathers

18.The word “Others” in line 21 refers to
(A) ducks
(B) sides
(C) species
(D) flight feathers

19.The author discusses ducks in order to provide an example of birds that
(A) grow replacement feathers that are very long
(B) shed all their wing feathers at one time
(C) keep their innermost feathers
(D) shed their outermost feathers first

20. It can inferred from the discussion about ducks that the molting of their flight feathers takes.
(A) a year
(B) a season
(C) several months
(D) a few weeks

21.What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) African American paintings in the 1920’s
(B) An arts movement of the 1920’s
(C) The influence of Alain Locke on African American art
(D) Some ways in which African culture inspired American literature, art and music

22. According to the passage, Tomas Eakins, Robert Henri, and George Luks were important because of
(A) the philosophical contributions they made to the Harlem Renaissance
(B) their development of a new style of African American art
(C) they way in which they depicted African Americans in their paintings
(D) their independence from European artistic traditions

23. The word “them” in line 11 refers to
(A) Americans of European descent
(B) paintings
(C) African American artists
(D) attitudes

24. According to the passage, African American artists of the 1920’s differed from earlier African American artists in terms of their feelings about
(A) themselves
(B) other artists
(C) their impact on American art
(D) stereotypes

25.The word “urged” in line 17 is closest in meaning to
(A) prepared
(B) defined
(C) permitted
(D) encouraged

26. Alain Locke believed all of the following to be important to the African American artistic movement EXCEPT
(A) pride in African art
(B) cultural pluralism
(C) collaboration with other artists
(D) withdrawal from American culture

27. In mentioning “the pulse and beat” (line24) of Harlem during the 1920’s, the author is characterizing the district as one that
(A) depended greatly on its interaction with other parts of the city
(B) grew economically in a short period of time
(C) was an exciting place to be
(D) was in danger of losing population

28.The word “convergence” in line 25 is closest in meaning to
(A) gathering
(B) promotion
(C) expression
(D) influence

29. According to the passage, all of the following were true of Harlem in the 1920’s EXCEPT:
(A) Some Caribbean artists and intellectuals lived there.
(B) It attracted people from various regions of United States.
(C) It was one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York City.
(D) It was a unique cultural center.

30.The phrase “carried on” in line 29 is closest in meaning to
(A) continued
(B) praised
(C) transformed
(D) connected

31.What was Darwin’s contribution to ethology?
(A) Darwin improved on the original principles of ethology.
(B) Darwin was the professor who taught Lorenz and Tinbergen.
(C) Darwin’s work provided the basis for ethology.
(D) Darwin was the first person to apply ethological theory to children.

32.The word “diverse” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
(A) small
(B) varied
(C) wild
(D) particular

33.The word “ensures” in line 8 is closest in meaning to
(A) guarantees
(B) proves
(C) teaches
(D) assumes

34. According to the passage, if a mother goose is not present during the time period when imprinting takes place, which of the following will most likely occur?
(A) The gosling will not imprint on any object.
(B) The gosling may not find a mate when it matures.
(C) The mother will later imprint on the gosling.
(D) The gosling may imprint on another object.

35.The word “it” in line 12 refers to
(A) development
(B) goose
(C) time
(D) object

36.The word “suitably” in line 15 is closest in meaning to
(A) willingly
(B) moderately
(C) appropriately
(D) emotionally

37.The author mentions all of the following as attachment behaviors of human infants EXCEPT
(A) grasping
(B) crying
(C) eating
(D) smiling

38.According to the passage, attachment behaviors of infants are intended to
(A) get the physical, emotional and social needs of the infant met
(B) allow the infant to become imprinted on objects that resemble the parent
(C) provide the infant with a means of self-stimulation
(D) prepare the infant to cope with separation

39.The phrase “affectional tie” in line 29 is closest in meaning to
(A) cognitive development
(B) emotional attachment
(C) psychological need
(D) behavioral change

40. It can be inferred from the passage that ethological theory assumes that
(A) to learn about human behavior only human subjects should be studied
(B) failure to imprint has no influence on inteligence
(C) the notion of critical periods applies only to animals
(D) there are similarities between animal and human behavior

41.Which of the following does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) How patterns in rock layers have been used to construct theories about the climate of the Proterozoic age
(B) What some rare fossils indicate about glacial conditions during the late Proterozoic age
(C) The varying characteristics of Proterozoic glacial varves in different parts of the world
(D) The number of glacial episodes that the Earth has experienced since the Proterozoic age

42. According to the passage, the fossil record of the Proterozoic con is
(A) highly regarded because it preserves the remains of many kinds of organisms
(B) less informative than the fossil record of more recent periods
(C) very difficult to interpret due to damage from bacteria
(D) more useful to researchers than other? aspects of the rock record

43.The word “scarce” in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A) ancient
(B) tiny
(C) available
(D) rare

44. It can be inferred from the passage that the principle of uniformitarianism indicates that
(A) similar conditions produce similar rock formations
(B) rock layers in a given region remain undisturbed over time
(C) different kinds of sedimentary rocks may
(D) each continent has its own distinctive pattern of sediment layers

45. The word “resemble” in line 14 is closest in meaning to
(A) result from
(B) penetrate
(C) look like
(D) replace have similar origins

46. According to the passage, the layers in varves are primarily formed by
(A) fossilized bacteria
(B) pieces of ancient dropstones
(C) a combination of ancient and recent sediments
(D) annual cycles of sediment transport and deposition

47. The phrase “the other” in line 17 refers to another
(A) annual cycle
(B) glacial lake
(C) layer of sediment
(D) season

48. According to the passage, the presence of dropstones indicates that
(A) the glacial environment has been unusually server
(B) the fine-grained sediment has built up very slowly
(C) there has been a global ice age
(D) coarse rock material has been carried great distances

49. Why does the author mention Canada, North America, Africa, India, and Europe in lines 23-24?
(A) To demonstrate the global spread of dropstones
(B) To explain the principles of varve formation
(C) To provide evidence for the theory that there was a global ice age in the early Proterozoic eon
(D) To illustrate the varied climatic changes of the Proterozoic con in different parts of the globe

50. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage?
(A) fossil record (line 3)
(B) laminae (line 13)
(C) varves (line14)
(D) glacial episodes (line 29)