READ - 1
MAIN IDEA DRILL
Read the following passages and write the main idea for each passage in the space.
One of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy was made by a computer in 1908. This may sound like an anachronism; computing machines of the early twentieth century, predecessors of our modem PC's, were nowhere near advanced enough to be making discoveries.
Main Idea
With the invention of photography, observatories could now produce records of the images their telescopes captured. This meant the astronomers could leave the tedious work of data collection to low paid workers without wasting valuable telescope time.
Main Idea
Henrietta Leavitt was one such computer. Having graduated from Radcliffe College in 1892, she developed an interest in astronomy. The opportunities open to women in the scientific world being few and far between, she joined the photographic photometry department at the Harvard College Observatory as a computer. Her particular task was to search for "variables", stars whose brightness would vary over regular intervals, like a flashing street light. This sort of work resonated with her meticulous disposition, and she catalogued thousands of variables at an incredible rate.
Main Idea
The opportunities open to women in the scientific world being few and far between, she joined the photographic photometry department at the Harvard College Observatory as a computer.
Main Idea
Her particular task was to search for "variables", stars whose brightness would vary over regular intervals, like a flashing street light. This sort of work resonated with her meticulous disposition, and she catalogued thousands of variables at an, incredible rate.
Main Idea
Brightness alone, however, can be deceptive without a frame of reference. To the casual observer, Venus seems about as bright as the North Star. But Venus is a planet, and is therefore much dimmer than any star. It only seems brighter because it is much, much closer to us.
Main Idea
Leavitt never produced any other important work. She only worked sporadically, since she was plagued by poor health for most of her life. The most obvious factors working against her were her position and her sex. As a computer, she had no autonomy and could only work on what she was assigned, and as a woman, she had no chance for advancement. The tide of women's rights had begun to turn-Harvard would award a PhD in astronomy to a woman for the first time in 1925-but these changes came too late for Leavitt, who died of cancer in 1921
Main Idea
Later astronomers such as Hubble and Hertzsprung acknowledged how indebted their work was to her discovery, and she was even nominated for a Nobel Prize five years after her death. Yet outside of academia, she remains little more than a footnote of history.
Main Idea
READ - 2
EXPLICIT QUESTIONS
Questions 1 and 2 are share the following passage.
The German filmmaker F.W. Murnau's silent film The Last Laugh may be less widely known today than his darkly expressionist Nosferatu, but it is arguably the more important film because of its technical accomplishments. It was in this film that Murnau first experimented with the "unchained camera technique,” in which the camera moved around during filming, mounted on a trolley, a crane, and even the cameraman's stomach. This allowed Murnau not only to tell' the story from the literal perspective of the protagonist but also to reflect his shifting mental state in the camera angles. This kind of camerawork was unheard of at a time when cameras were very bulky and very heavy. Despite the film's lackluster box office performance, this innovation was hugely influential with other directors at the time.
MAIN IDEA:
1. According to the passage, one reason The Last Laugh was "arguably the more important film" was because of its
ANTICIPATION:
A) method of filming.
B) dark lighting.
C) complex protagonist.
D) innovative script.
2. The passage states that the "unchained camera technique"
ANTICIPATION:
A) was the primary explanation for the box-office success of The Last Laugh
B) provided the director with new methods of expression
C) contributed to the uniquely dark mood of Nosferatu
D) was dismissed by other directors as too impractical
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READ - 3
VOCAB IN CONTEXT QUESTIONS
Questions 3 and 4 share the following passage. Allegiances during the Civil War were far more complex than a simple dichotomy of North versus South. Some people from Northern states were sympathetic to and fought for the South, and vice versa. Letters from soldiers in battle primarily reveal concerns not of loyalty to country or political ideals but of returning to their homes and providing for their families. Personal conflicts of duty and conscience were not unique to low-level soldiers. President Lincoln himself openly mourned the death of Confederate brigadier general Benjamin Helm, his own brother-in-law.
MAIN IDEA:
3. As used in the passage, "sympathetic to" most nearly means
ANTICIPATION:
A) supportive of.
B) affectionate with.
C) cordial with.
D) consolatory for.
4. As used in the passage, "unique" most nearly means
ANTICIPATION:
A) eccentric.
B) bizarre.
C) inexplicable.
D) exclusive.
EVIDENCE QUESTIONS
Questions 5 and 6 share the following passage. It is difficult for modern eyes to see why Manet’s Olympia was so scandalous in 1863. It simply depicts a reclining nude. Hadn't artists been painting nudes for centuries? A museum goer today might walk past it without looking twice. Two factors contributed to the outrage. The nude, traditionally an ideal of perfect beauty, was here a woman of ill repute, staring at the viewer with. cold, accusatory eyes. Furthermore, it was painted in a deliberately flat style that flouted the conventions of artistic representation. These elements seem tame by today's standards, in which provocation is ubiquitous in art, and conventions of representation have been all but flouted out of existence. It was Olympia, however, that opened the modernist floodgates for taboo.
MAIN IDEA:
The author suggests that, compared to people in Manet's time, people today
ANTICIPATION:
A. prefer art that is more conventional.
B. are less concerned with moral values.
C. have a different idea of what is offensive.
D. are less offended by nudity in art. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
ANTICIPATION:
A. Lines 1-2 ("It ... centuries")
B. Lines 3-4 ("The nude ... eyes")
C. Lines 5-6 ("Furthermore ... representation")
D. Lines 6-8 ("These elements ... existence")
READ - 5
MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS
Questions 7 and 8 share the following passage. Given the multitude of wastes and toxins that permeate modern life, it is a moral imperative for all of us to live environmentally friendly lives. If we are not attentive to the way we consume we are in real danger of using up precious resources, poisoning our air and water, and putting future generations at risk. But what exactly does it mean to be environmentally friendly? Is it better to use paper towels that kill trees, or electric hand dryers that use electricity (which, in most areas, means burning coal)? Is it worse to use light bulbs that draw a lot of power and must ' be replaced frequently, or long-lasting bulbs that contain deadly mercury?
MAIN IDEA:
7. The primary purpose of the first paragraph is to
ANTICIPATION:
A) detail the damage that toxins can inflict on natural habitats.
B) explain how best to live an environmentally friendly life.
C) convey the significant of the impact mode��n life has on environmental concerns.
D) foretell the inescapable hazards that modernity will cause for future generations.
8. The main idea of the second paragraph is
ANTICIPATION:
A) Daily household decisions have a negligible impact on the environment.
B) consuming excess energy is ultimately more detrimental than creating excess waste.
C) determining the most environmentally ethical choice can be difficult.
D) earlier warnings about the; dangers of wastefulness were exaggerated.
- 6
INFERENTIAL QUESTIONS
Questions 9 and 10 share the following passage.
The so-called "Spanish" flu of 1918 claimed more victims in a single year than the Black Death claimed in a century. However, as the disease raged, most were unaware of the extent of the destruction. Countries fighting in World War I suppressed news of the flu's devastation in order to protect morale. Spain, neutral during the war, was the lone country in Europe producing accurate coverage of the disease's toll, so it got the blame for the outbreak. In reality, dentists now believe that the disease likely emerged near Fort Riley, Kansas, where it spread from U.S. military encampments to battlefields worldwide.
MAIN IDEA:
9. The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
ANTICIPATION:
A) Spain was the only nation to accurately report its war deaths.
B) During the Black Death most countries were not significantly affected by war.
C) The name of a disease does not necessarily reflect its actual origin.
D) The unsanitary conditions of the war allowed the flu to spread more rapidly.
10. It can be inferred from ("Countries ... outbreak.") that some people
ANTICIPATION:
A) were unhappy with Spain's neutrality during the war.
B) tried to prevent Spain from accurately reporting its death toll.
C) lacked technology necessary to calculate the death toll of the disease.
D) erroneously believed that Spain had higher flu casualties than the rest of Europe.
READ - 7
STRATEGY QUESTIONS
Questions 11 and 12 are based on the following passage. The trend towards multiculturalism in the academy has been a positive one. Multiculturalism is clearly beneficial to fostering understanding and tolerance. But multiculturalism is utterly irrelevant to scientific inquiry. There's no such thing as "Western medicine" and "alternative medicine"; there is medicine and there is nonsense. It is important for me to respect your culture's traditions and customs, but not if you're making claims about medicine. When your culture claims that a certain herb relieves headaches, that's an empirical question: either it works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, then I'm not taking the herb. If it works, then you should be able to rigorously prove it. That's science: a formalized way to distinguish truth from rubbish.
MAIN IDEA:
11. The author uses quotation marks in lines 3-4 in order to
ANTICIPATION:
A) quote an authority on the topic.
B) characterize terms as illegitimate.
C) emphasize an important distinction.
D) identify expressions that are defined later.
12. With respect to the rest of the passage, the first two sentences (The trend ... tolerance."} serve as a
ANTICIPATION:
A) clarification of the scope of the author's argument.
B) thesis statement for which evidence is later given.
C) counterpoint that is refuted by the rest of the passage.
D) personal anecdote that demonstrates the author's point.
READ - 8
TONE QUESTIONS
Questions 13 and 14 are based on the following passage. One consequence of the sudden outpouring of precious minerals in the West was an unusual confluence of wealth and wildness. Take, for example, the city of Leadville, Colorado, founded in 1877 after the discovery of huge silver deposits nearby. It was the second most populous city in Colorado and had a renowned opera house that often hosted celebrities, including the writer Oscar Wilde. Yet it was still very mud\ a city of the West. Wilde, who called Leadville "the richest city in the world", spent one evening in a saloon where he reported seeing "the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice: 'Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best."
MAIN IDEA:
13. The tone of the passage as a whole is
ANTICIPATION:
A) hostile.
B) nostalgic.
C) objective.
D) reverent.
14. Wilde's statement "the only ... across" can best be described as ANTICIPATION:
A) earnest.
B) disrespectful
C) ironic.
D) analytical.
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DATA QUESTIONS
Questions 15 and 16 are based on the following passage and supplementary material
15. Which of the following statements is true for the information depicted in the graph?
A) The percentage of French residents was lowest in 1900.
B) The percentage of Norwegian ·residents peaked in 1950.
C) The percentage of Norwegian residents grew steadily over the years shown.
D) The percentage of Polish residents grew at a constant rate over the years shown.
16. Which of the following statements about the population of Knoblauch County in 2000 is supported by the graph?
A) The number of residents from Norway was lower than in 1950.
B) The residents from France made! up 10% of the immigrant population.
C) The number of resident�� from Poland increased by 30% since 1950.
D) There were almost twice as many immigrants from Poland as from Norway.