Module I: Reading and Writing

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The following text is adapted from Mary Seacole's 1857 autobiography Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. That journey across the Isthmus [of Panama], insignificant in distance as it was, was by no means an easy one. It seemed as if nature had determined to throw every conceivable obstacle in the way of those who should seek to join the two great oceans of the world. As used in the text, what does the word "conceivable" most nearly mean?
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Imaginable
Obvious
Reasonable
Dependable
The following text is adapted from Charles Dickens's 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities. The time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there.
As used in the text, what does the word "stain" most nearly mean?
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Mark
Cleaner
Container
Symbol
Often, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is given to a single person, such as Theodore William Richards in 1914. But sometimes the Nobel Committee wants to reward work attributed to two or three individuals, in which case, the award is given ______. For instance, in 2020, Jennifer Doudna was among those awarded for “the development of a method for genome editing.” Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
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retroactively
jointly
ceremoniously
reluctantly
The following text is adapted from the 1895 poem “Ojistoh” by Emily Pauline Johnson, a Kanienkahagen (Mohawk) writer also known as Tekahlonwake. I am Ojistoh, I am she, the wife / Of him whose name breathes bravery and life / And courage to the tribe who calls him chief. As used in the text, what does the word “breathes” most nearly mean?
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Imparts
Renounces
Assents
Absorbs
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 difference between these speeds is largely ______ of the fact that the features that make flight possible do less to limit top speeds than the features suitable for swimming through water. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
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a consequence
an objective
a repudiation
an explanation
Though John Crowley, author of Engine Summer, is perhaps not as well known as the most commercially successful American writers of the past fifty years, influential figures have championed his work; including the poet James Merrill and the literary critic Harold Bloom. In his afterword to Crowley’s book Little, Big, Bloom praises the novels adroit blend of what [my]wright Friedrich Schiller termed the naive and sentimental modes—while Schiller thought works could be classified as either naive (seeking to describe reality) or sentimental (seeking to develop ideas). Little, Big demonstrates that a work can be both. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
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To argue that all writing must be classified as belonging to one of two categories
To compare the work of a writer with the work of a poet who admired him
To explain what inspired an author to write a particular work
To present a reason why a literary critic is impressed by a certain novel
Community science, which involves professional scientists collaborating with amateur science enthusiasts to study a topic, is often an effective and engaging way to conduct research. It can allow people to assist with conservation efforts, spark youth interest in science, and increase the amount of data researchers can collect. This approach was essential to the success of a study by biologist Abbigail Merrill and colleagues of how butterfly color relates to flower choice, which included findings from hundreds of students and community members in northwestern Arkansas. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
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It introduces the topic of a scientific study, describes the study’s importance, and then presents the study’s results.
It argues for a new approach to scientific research, comments on the public’s opinion about the approach, and then describes how that approach was applied in a certain study.
It identifies a particular approach to research, lists some benefits of that approach, and then mentions a study in which that approach was used.
It describes the development of a type of scientific collaboration, shows how that type of collaboration has been used in a particular field of study, and then suggests future collaborative projects.
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?
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To convey that crowded areas can cause people to experience feelings of sadness
To caution people not to be so quick to dismiss the natural beauty that can be found in rural areas
To illustrate the idea that most people tend to prefer hillsides in the country to certain aspects of towns and cities
To address common traits that motivate many people to choose to live in urban environments
“Tomato” is an example of a loanword—that is, a word that originated in one language and was later adopted by another. The word came to English indirectly from tomate, the Spanish word for the widely cultivated plant. Spanish had borrowed it from Nahuatl, an Indigenous language of Central Mexico, in which the words original form is tomat. “Maire” is also Indigenous in origin and entered English through Spanish. But in this case, the original source was Taino; a language of the Caribbean islands, in which the word for the corn plant is mathis. The author makes which point about the Spanish language?
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It has borrowed words from Indigenous languages and contributed words to them.
Its contribution to English vocabulary roughly equals the collective contribution by Indigenous languages.
It has served as a medium through which Indigenous languages have influenced English.
It adopted Nahuatl and Taino words in approximately equal numbers.
In a study by Mika R. Morari, Daniel A-Rodriguez, and colleagues, residents of Panama City, Panama, and Fortaleza, Brazil, were surveyed about parks in their cities. Of the 318 respondents from Panama City, 53.5% indicated that they use the city’s parks, and of the 938 respondents from Fortaleza, 35.7% indicated using city parks. Given that the percentage of Panama City respondents who reported having access to other desired amenities near parks was much lower than that reported by Fortaleza respondents, the difference in park use can’t be explained by Panama City residents having more access to desired nonpark amenities near parks. Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?
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Even though the study found that parks in Fortaleza are more likely to be close to other amenities than parks in Panama City are, Panama City has more amenities overall than Fortaleza does.
The study’s findings suggest that an increase in the number of amenities near city parks would likely increase park use in Panama City but not in Fortaleza.
The study’s finding that a greater proportion of residents use parks in Panama City than in Fortaleza is partly due to the greater prevalence of parks in Panama City.
Although the study found that a greater proportion of residents use parks in Panama City than in Fortaleza, that difference isn’t due to greater access to amenities near parks in Panama City.
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