Module I: Reading and Writing

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To assist with the development of new water-repellant materials for aviation and other applications, a team including both engineers and entomologists conducted a study of the water-repellant properties of cicada wings. The team explained that the ______ experts in these two disciplines resulted in a more comprehensive approach than independent efforts by experts in either discipline could have achieved.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
1
Mark for Review
skepticism toward
exaggeration of
distrust among
collaboration between
The following text is adapted from John Matheus’s 1926 short story, “Mr. Bradford Teaches Sunday School.” Mr. Bradford is driving through the countryside in Florida.
The moss in the towering water oaks had become enlivened with a verdant sheen of silver and hung like festoons of carnival or like funeral decorations for the mourning of the dead. The pine green was resplendent. The bald cypresses spread themselves along the water courses while the willows wept as they always did.
Mr. Bradford was conscious of this gorgeous display of nature.
As used in the text, what does the word “display” most nearly mean?
2
Mark for Review
Reproduction
Concealment
Pretentiousness
Exhibition
Both sharks and crayfish can detect electrical fields around them, but the ______ of their sensitivities differs substantially. Whereas crayfish can detect fields emitted by household electronics, those are many times stronger than the fields created by water moving through Earth’s magnetic field, which sharks are sensitive enough to detect.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
3
Mark for Review
magnitude
firmness
gathering
orientation
New and interesting research conducted by Suleiman A. Al-Sweedan and Moath Alhaj is inspired by their observation that though studies of the effect of high altitude on blood chemistry are _____, the effect on blood chemistry of living in locations below sea level, such as the California towns of Niland and Heber, has received comparatively little notice.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
4
Mark for Review
abundant
equivocal
sporadic
preliminary

The following text is adapted from Adib Khorram’s 2018 novel _Darius the Great Is Not Okay._ The narrator, Darius, is a teenager visiting family in Iran. He and his friend Sohrab are at the entrance of the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis.
“The Gate of All Nations,” Sohrab said. He gestured to the lamassus [sculptures] and pillars surrounding us. “That’s the name in English.”
It wasn’t much of a gate anymore, since anyone of any nation could have easily stepped around it instead of walking through. But it was still amazing.
Behind the lamassu, more columns sprouted from the ground like ancient trees in a petrified forest, forty feet tall, spindly but still miraculously upright. Giant stone slabs formed the remains of what must once have been a breathtaking structure.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion of the text?
 

5
Mark for Review
It presents an image to illustrate what one part of the ruins looks like.
It emphasizes that the narrator already knows a lot about the city.
It suggests that the narrator had expected to visit a forest.
It indicates the specific time in the past when the buildings became ruins.
A team investigating frugivorous (fruit–eating) birds found that their feeding patterns vary depending on where they live within their habitat range. At the geographic boundaries of their natural range, these birds become highly selective, choosing fruits that closely match their beak size to maximize energy intake while minimizing effort. However, this fruit–selection strategy doesn’t occur at elevation boundaries (the highest and lowest altitudes of their range). In these areas, other factors, such as territorial competition among species, have a stronger influence on feeding patterns.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
6
Mark for Review
To discuss how competition among frugivorous bird species influences their habitat boundaries
To describe research methods that can be used to study the habitat preferences of frugivorous birds
To present research findings concerning how location within a habitat affects the feeding patterns of frugivorous birds
To explain why habitat boundaries are more important than beak size in determining the feeding patterns of frugivorous birds
Can field mustard plants grow on Mars? Can pea plants? You might think the answer to these questions is obviously no, but researchers in the Netherlands recently showed that the seeds of many common plant species can germinate in soil designed to simulate Martian conditions, as long as water is supplied. In fact, some species actually did better in Martian soil than in Earth soil: 30 percent of field mustard seeds sprouted when planted in simulated Martian soil, compared with 4 percent that did when planted in soil from their home planet.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
7
Mark for Review
To answer long-standing questions about how Martian soil conditions can be simulated on Earth
To present a surprising finding about plants grown in soil intended to be similar to Martian soil
To discuss an unexpected result about the role of water in plants grown in simulated Martian soil

To explain an important study of differences in the composition of Martian soil and the composition of Earth soil
The following text is adapted from Jerome K. Jerome’s 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
We [people] are creatures of the sun. We love light and life. That is why we crowd into the towns and cities, and the country grows more and more deserted every year. In the sunlight—in the daytime, when Nature is alive and busy all around us, we like the open hill-sides and the deep woods well enough: but in the night, when our Mother Earth has gone to sleep, and left us waking, oh! the world seems so lonesome, and we get frightened, like children in a silent house. Then we sit and sob, and long for the gas-lit streets, and the sound of human voices, and the answering throb of human life.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
8
Mark for Review
To address common traits that motivate many people to choose to live in urban environments
To indicate that people sometimes experience feelings of isolation in crowded areas
To illustrate the idea that most people tend to prefer hillsides in the country to certain aspects of towns and cities
To caution people not to be so quick to dismiss the natural beauty that can be found in rural areas
The epic poem The Legend of Keret dates back to the 14th century BCE. Originally ______ blank in Ugaritic, it has since been translated into other languages.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
9
Mark for Review
is written
written
was written
had been written
Millions of Metric Tons of Copper Mined in 1995 and 2020
Country19952020
Mexico0.330.73
United States1.851.20
Peru0.382.15
Poland0.380.39
While doing research for a paper about metal exports, a student finds information about copper mining in different countries in 1995 and 2020. The student notes that Peru produced 0.38 million metric tons of copper in 1995 and ______.
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
10
Mark for Review
1.20 million metric tons of copper in 2020.
0.39 million metric tons of copper in 2020.
2.15 million metric tons of copper in 2020.
0.73 million metric tons of copper in 2020.
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