Module I: Reading and Writing

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The swordfish can swim very fast—up to 97 kilometers per hour (km/hr)—but it is significantly slower than the golden eagle, which can fly at speeds up to 320 km/hr. The ______ between these two speeds is not surprising, however, because the features that are most useful for swimming through water tend to be more limiting on top speeds than the features that are best suited for flying through the air.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

1
Mark for Review
competition
equivalence
interaction
disparity

The early British postal system required the cost of mail delivery to be paid upon receipt, a system which encouraged inventive strategies by the intended recipient to avoid payment. To improve this system, ______ were proposed in 1837, including the use of a postage stamp, a small receipt pasted to the mail indicating that delivery costs had been paid by the sender.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

2
Mark for Review
investigations
expansions
reforms
possessions

Consumers usually ______ rising prices of nonessential products, such as video games or jewelry, by purchasing fewer of those products. When the prices fall, consumers usually react the opposite way, by purchasing more of those products.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

3
Mark for Review
differ from
think of
respond to
agree with
Cuttlefish appear to be surprisingly ______ at exercising self-control: in a 2021 study conducted by behavioral ecologist Alexandra Schnell, these cephalopods routinely demonstrated restraint by delaying gratification, waiting for a favorite treat instead of instantly devouring a readily available meal.
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Mark for Review
awkward
imaginative
manageable
competent
Baleen whales eat up to 30 percent of their total body mass in krill (tiny shrimplike creatures) per day. So in one day, a humpback whale weighing 30,000 kg could eat 9,000 kg, while a blue whale weighing 150,000 kg could ingest a whopping 45,000 kg. Over the last century, baleen whale populations have declined, and contrary to some scientific expectations, so have krill populations. Matthews’s Savcoe and colleagues resolve this apparent discrepancy by pointing out that baleen whales cycle from in the ocean, helping support phytoplankton populations, which, in turn, sustain krill populations.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
5
Mark for Review
It presents instances that seem to refute a claim presented earlier in the text.
It provides examples of a phenomenon described earlier in the text.
It introduces a surprising series of events that is explained later in the text.
It describes a long-standing belief about baleen whales that the text goes on to refute.
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