Module I: Reading and Writing

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A study by Augusta D. Gaspar and Joana Carneiro Pinto found that a bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, including environmental and social campaigns, improve its corporate image. When CSR was mentioned in bank marketing strategies, favorability scores assigned by study participants tended to ______ the scores assigned by participants when CSR wasn’t mentioned.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
1
Mark for Review
identify
disturb
replace
exceed
Researchers have long debated the origins of silver used in European coins from the 600s through the early 800s CE. Geochemical analysis by Kershaw et al. of 49 coins dating to 660–820 CE provides concrete evidence that reconciles two competing theories: early coins were made from Byzantine silver, and later coins used Frankish silver, findings that provide firm details in a previously ______ area of study.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
2
Mark for Review
esoteric
authoritative
solitary
speculative
The following text is adapted from Alice Dunbar Nelson’s 1899 short story “The Fisherman of Pass Christian.” Pass Christian is a city in the US state of Mississippi.
The swift breezes on the beach at Pass Christian meet and conflict as though each strove for the mastery of the air. The land-breeze blows down through the pines, resinous, fragrant, cold, bringing breath-like memories of dim, dark woods shaded by myriad pine-needles. The breeze from the Gulf is warm and soft and languorous, blowing up from the south with its suggestion of tropical warmth.
As used in the text, what does the word “mastery” most nearly mean?
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Mark for Review
Familiarity
Domination
Comprehension
Skillfulness
Science fiction has long served as a ______ real-world technological advancements. Indeed, from Jules Verne’s 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon inspiring developments in aerospace engineering to the television show Star Trek sparking the design of the ancestor of today’s smartphones, these narratives have spurred many actual innovations.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
4
Mark for Review
diversion from
catalyst of
constraint to
sponsor of
Any effort to raise the toll that drivers must pay to use the Lewis and Clark Bridge, which spans the Ohio River to connect Indiana and Kentucky, should explain why a higher toll is necessary; no amount of justification, however, is likely to persuade some drivers who believe the current toll is ______.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
5
Mark for Review
exorbitant
contentious
equivocal
warranted
Moving beyond a simple “present or absent” designation, researchers created a new classification system that allows for a nuanced understanding of bioluminescence in marine organisms that was unavailable under binary classification systems. The new six-point scale considers varying levels of supporting evidence used to identify bioluminescent species. For example, the firefly squid scores 1 because of inconsistent reports, the emperor squid scores 4 because of its anatomical similarity to known luminous relatives, and the shaggy anglerfish scores 6 because of substantiated direct observations.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
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Mark for Review
It emphasizes the thoroughness of the research conducted.
It explains how the new classification system was derived from the previous binary system.
It justifies the need for a new classification system for marine species.
It explains the basis for the new system’s scoring criteria.
Postcranial skeletal pneumaticity (PSP) refers to the presence of extensions of an animal’s lungs and air sacs inside its bones. These extensions are known as pneumatic diverticula. Vascularity and other identifying characteristics of pneumatic diverticula tend not to fossilize, so paleontologists have relied on studies of living bird species to document these qualities, augmenting their findings from fossil analysis to glean additional insights into the respiratory systems of extinct genera such as Tyrannosaurus, Euhelopus, and other Cretaceous theropods and sauropods that may have also exhibited PSP.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
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Mark for Review
It presents information about the fossilization of pneumatic diverticula that has led paleontologists to question the applicability of studies of certain living species.
It accounts for disagreements among paleontologists about how the respiratory systems of certain extinct genera functioned.
It highlights an issue with fossils that previously led paleontologists to misidentify certain characteristics of pneumatic diverticula.
It indicates why paleontologists have used another approach in addition to fossil analysis to learn about certain aspects of pneumatic diverticula.
Adult glass eels can be found off the coast of Maine, but the eels begin their lives in the Sargasso Sea, a biodiverse area in the North Atlantic Ocean where they are born and later return to breed. Though biologists believe they have identified the general area in the Sargasso Sea that is crucial to the endangered eels’ survival, little is yet known about how the animals spawn there. Scientists believe that solving the mystery will lead to better conservation of glass eels and their habitat, helping in turn to sustain several other species that rely on them as a food source.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
8
Mark for Review
It suggests that scientists are more concerned about other species than about glass eels’ habitat.
It indicates that the benefit of understanding glass eels’ spawning behavior extends beyond the eels.
It discusses a role that glass eels and other species serve in supporting the ecosystem of the Sargasso Sea.
It presents a finding from a study that identifies the circumstances required to ensure the survival of glass eels.
Seesaw Girl was Linda Sue Park’s debut novel. It was published in 1999. A debut novel is the first book that an author has published. Debut novels are especially interesting to literary critics (people whose job it is to evaluate books) and readers because these books offer a look at new voices in the literary world.
According to the text, what is someone who professionally evaluates books called?
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Mark for Review
A book publisher
A literary critic
A bookseller
An author
Millions of Metric Tons of Copper Mined in 1995 and 2020
Country19952020
Indonesia0.440.51
Mexico0.330.73
Peru0.382.15
United States1.851.20
While doing research for a paper about metal exports, a student finds a table indicating how much copper was mined in each of four countries in 1995 and 2020. The student notes that in 1995, Mexico mined ______
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
10
Mark for Review
0.38 million metric tons of copper.
0.33 million metric tons of copper.
1.85 million metric tons of copper.
0.44 million metric tons of copper.
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