MINITEST 3
1. While many people refer to the Arctic as being covered in a "solid sheet of ice,"
this trite expression is also incorrect. Ice, a nearly pure solid, contains few foreign ions
in its structure. It contains particles of matter and gases, which are trapped in bubbles
within the ice. A change in makeup of these materials over time is recorded in the
successive layers of ice. This has been used to interpret the history of the environment of
Earth's surface and the influence of human activities on the environment.
The word trite in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. complex
B. ambiguous
C. cliché
D. important
2. Wang Wei was a Chinese poet, painter, and scholar of the Tang dynasty. He left
behind both a significant body of lyrical poetry and delicately depicted landscape
paintings.
These paintings reflected a love of nature and an inner tranquility derived from
Buddhism and meditation. He is traditionally credited with founding the Southern
School of Chinese landscape painting.
The word tranquility in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. peacefulness
B. amusement
C. fulfillment
D. security
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3. The problem of ocean pollution has been acknowledged at national and
international levels. The U.S. Congress passed an act in 1988 that phased in a complete
prohibition of ocean dumping by 1991. Also in 1988, 65 nations agreed to stop burning
toxic waste at sea by 1994. The legality of the latter measure remains debatable and may
be proven unenforceable, mirroring the experience of a 1977 law that attempted the same
prohibition.
The word toxic in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. inordinate
B. debilitating
C. poisonous
D. dispersed
4. So-called prophetic dreams in ancient Middle Eastern cultures were often used to
help the sick. In classical Greece, ailing people came to dream in special temples where
priests and priestesses advised them about their dreams' curative benefits. A similar
practice known as dream incubation is known to have existed in the ancient cultures of
Babylon and Ewpt.
The word curative in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. corrective
B. fertile
C. healing
D. ample
5. Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disorder characterized by at least six months of
debilitating fatigue that begins abruptly and is usually accompanied by mild fever, sore
throat, tender muscles, joint pain, headache, sleep disorders, confusion, memory loss, and
vision problems. Once considered an imagined rather than a specific physical condition,
chronic fatigue syndrome remains controversial.
The word debilitating in the passage is closest in meaning to
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A. weakening
B. disruptive
C. tangible
D. persistent
6. A journey to Mariana trench, the deepest crevice on earth’s surface, reveals the great
Pacific tectonic plate, descending deep into the planet where it recycles back into mantle
rock. This recycling of old tectonic plates, called subduction, drives plate tectonics, and is
nothing new to scientists, but exactly when the process got started is a hot debate. A new
study might put that to rest by unmasking a sequence of 4.4-million-year-old lavas as the
remnants of the first subduction zone on earth. If correct, the discovery marks the dawn
of plate tectonics Anthos, several geological processes critical to Earth’s environment and
perhaps even its life.
The main purpose of the passage is to
A. analyze competing theories about the lava sequences that formed the Mariana trench
B. explain how a recent study contributes to scientists’ understanding of the origins of
tectonic plates
C. summarize a series of studies conducted on the subject of subduction
D. recount the discoveries of the Mariana trench and of the its life greenstone belt
7. Rapid brain growth during the first year of life is connected with an unusual future
of newborn human infants: their striking plumpness. In an average human newborn,
weighing some seven and a half pounds, around 14% of body weight, our babies are
among the plumpish found among mammals. Human babies at birth look markedly
different from the scrawny newborns of other primates, such as chimpanzees and rhesus
monkeys. The proportion of fat tissue in a newborn human match that in mammals living
under artic conditions and actually exceeds the level found in baby seals. As
anthropologist Christopher has shown, a newborn human has about four times as much fat
as expected for a standard newborn mammal of the same body size. In fact, the proportion
of body fat in a baby increases further over the first nine months after birth, building up
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to about a quarter of body weight. During that, round 70% of the energy allocated to
growth is used to deposit fat. In short, healthy babies do not lose their baby fat after birth
but consolidate it and maintain it for up to three years. A mother's investment in building
up her infant’s fat reserves continues long after birth, largely thanks to nursing.
The main purpose of the passage is to
A. provide data to challenge a hypothesis about human growth.
B. evaluate the validity of research findings regarding early brain development
C. examine research comparing traits of human newborns to traits of other newborn
mammals
D. Explore new hypothesizes about the importance of fat in human infants
8. As part of the general process of the transformation of authority, whereby there has
been a reluctance to uncritically accept traditional sources of public knowledge, the
demand has been for all authority too much explicit the frames of value which determine
their decisions. Centers of news production, as our focus groups show, have not been
exempt from this process. Not surprisingly, perhaps some news journalists feel uneasy
about this re-negotiation of their authority.
The main purpose of the passage is to
A. analyze the technological developments that have affected the production,
circulation and reception of news stories.
B. discuss changes in the possession of the news media as a source of public knowledge
C. show how journalists’ frames of value influence the production of news stories
D. challenge the conventional view that news is a form of public knowledge
9. When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be
understood as saying that no bad laws, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have
been made. I mean to say no such thing, but I do mean to say that although bad laws, if
they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the
sake of examples, they should be religiously observed.
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If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let
it go; perchance it will wear smooth - certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice
has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then, perhaps you
might consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but it is of such a nature
that it requires you to be at the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let
your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate,
that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. make an argument about the difference between legal duties and moral imperatives.
B. discuss how laws should be enacted and changed in a democracy
C. advance a view regarding whether individuals should follow all of the country’s
laws
D. articulate standards by which laws can be evaluated as just or unjust
10. In one recent study, Nina and Lynn took on the specific problem of the Texas gourd
- how to attract enough pollinators, but not too many beetles. The Texas gourd vine’s male
pollinators are honeybees and specialized squash bees, which respond to its floral scent. The
aroma includes 10 compounds, but the most abundant - and the only one that lures squash
bees into traps - is 1.4 dimethoxybenzene.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. discuss the assumptions and reasoning behind a theory
B. describe the aim, method and results of an experiment
C. present and analyze conflicting data about a phenomenon
D. show the innovative nature of a procedure used in a study
11. Within the earth’s core, which is iron, pressure increases with depth. Because the
temperature at which iron melts increases with pressure, the inner core is solid, and the
outer core is molten. Physicists can determine the melting temperature of iron at any given
pressure and the pressure for any given depth in the earth. Therefore, the actual temperature
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at the boundary of the earth’s outer and inner cores - the melting temperature of iron there
- can be determined, since ….......................
A. the depth beneath the earth’s surface of the boundary between the outer and inner
cores is known.
B. some of the heat from the earth’s core flows to the surface of the Earth.
C. pressure within the earth’s outer core are much greater than pressures above the
outer core.
D. nowhere in the earth’s core can the temperature be measured directly.
12. Either food scarcity or excessive hunting can threaten a population of animals. If
the group faces food scarcity, individuals in the group will reach reproductive maturity
later than otherwise. If the group faces excessive hunting, individuals that reach
reproductive maturity earlier will come to predominate. Therefore, it should be possible
to determine whether prehistoric mastodons became extinct because of food scarcity or
human hunting, since there are fossilized mastodon remains from both before and after
mastodon populations declined, and…............
Which of the following most logically completes the reasoning?
A. there are more fossilized mastodons remains from the period before mastodon
populations began to decline than from after that.
B. the average age at which mastodons from a given period reach reproductive maturity
can be established from the fossilized remains.
C. it can be accurately estimated from fossilized remains when mastodons became
extinct
D. It is not known when humans first began hunting mastodons
13. The price of pecan is high when pecans are comparatively scarce but drops sharply
when pecans are abundant. Thus, in high yield years, growers often store parts of the crops
in refrigerated warehouses until the next year’s harvest, hoping for higher prices then.
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Because of bad weather, this year's pecan crop will be very small. Nevertheless, pecan
prices this year will not be significantly higher than last year, since…...............................
Which of the following most logically completes the market forecaster’s argument?
A. the last time the pecan crop was as small as it was this year, the practice of holding
back part of one year's crop had not yet become widely established.
B. last year’s pecan harvest was the largest in the last 40 years
C. pecan prices have remained relatively stable in recent years
D. pecan yields for some farmers were as high this year as they had been last year
14. In between school days, we gathered hazelnuts, fished, had long deer hunting
weekends, went to powwows, beaded on looms, and made quilts. I did not question the
necessity of value of our school education, but somehow, I grew up, knowing it wasn't the
only education I would need. I'm thankful for those experiences of my Anishinaabe
heritage, because now I know by heart, not only the national anthem, but the ancient song
of the loon. I recognize not only the alphabet and the parts of an English sentence, but the
intricate language of a beaver’s teeth and tails.
Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?
A. The author succeeded in learning to speak many foreign languages.
B. The author valued knowledge of the natural world more than book learning
C. The author loved both family trips and tribal activities
D. The author learned many important things both in and out of school
15. During the late 19th century in the United States, many people though it’s improper
for a woman to be a professional artist. Alice Barber Stephens got around this prejudice:
she succeeded as a book and magazine illustrator by creating art and conducting business
with publishers, and authors from home. She sold engravings to national magazines and
illustrated the books of many novelists, including Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel
Hawthorne. As a young woman, Stephens studied at the Pennsylvania school of the Fine
Arts, a member of the first class to admit women. She petitioned for nude drawing classes
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for women, later instituting such a class at an art school for women. She also founded an
organization that fought prejudice against women artists.
According to the text, which of the following best characterizes Alice Barber
Stephens?
A. materialist and aesthete
B. perfectionist and egotist
C. pragmatist and activist
D. dreamer and revolutionary
16. Perceived as a cleaner, more attractive place to live and work, many trees bring a
city the added benefit of higher property values.
A. NO CHANGE
B. a city with many trees also benefits from higher property values
C. higher property values are another benefit brought to a city with many trees
D. in a city with many trees, higher property values are an added benefit
17. In 2016, engineer Vanessa Galvez oversaw the installations of 164 bioswales,
vegetated channels designed to absorb and divert storm water, along the streets of Queens,
New York. By reducing the runoff flowing into city sewers, …..............................
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard
English?
A. the mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby
waterways has been achieved by bioswales
B. the bioswales have mitigated both street flooding and the resulting pollution
of nearby waterways
C. the bioswales’ mitigation of both street flooding and the resulting pollution of
nearby waterways has been achieved
D. both street flooding and the resulting pollution of nearby waterways have been
mitigated by bioswales
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18. Based on genetic evidence, archaeologists have generally agreed that reindeer
domestication began in the 11th century CE. However, since uncovering fragments of 2000
- year - old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia, …….......... may have begun much
earlier.
Which choice complete the text so that it conforms to the convention of standard
English?
A. researcher Robert Losey has argued that domestication
B. researcher Robert Losey’s argument is that domestication
C. domestication, researcher Robert Losey has argued,
D. the argument researcher Robert Losey has made is that domestication
19. Art critic Lewis Hind described the atmosphere as one of “excitement and
stimulation”, crowded with people and controversial paintings, socializing, networking,
and debating had a forum at 27 Rue de Fleurus.
A. NO CHANGE
B. A forum for socializing, networking, and debating was found at 27 Rue de Fleurus.
C. the forum at 27 Rue de Fleurus was for socializing, networking, and debating
D. 27 Rue de Fleurus was a forum for socializing, networking, and debating.
20. Charitable activities can take many forms, and each company should decide how
much makes sense for its budget, workforce and time constraints. Whatever form the giving
takes, companies should consider approaches and ways to increase and expand it. Because
it can improve a company’s image and motivate employees, companies make good
business sense when they give to charity.
A. NO CHANGE
B. a company makes a savvy business decision by engaging in charity
C. charitable companies are just being practical
D. charity simply makes good business sense
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21. Federally protected lands are extremely popular, with 70 million visitors each year
to national parks alone, but in recent years, critics have complained that these public lands
are a burden on the federal budget that limits economic development.
A. NO CHANGE
B. being
C. to have
D. some
22. As I enter the central gallery of the Arms and Armor collection at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City, an unimposing area of heraldry flags flies above me,
each flag is bearing a coat of arms.
A. NO CHANGE
B. are bearing
C. bearing
D. bears
23. Over a 4 - week period, patients were given nine sessions of either a traditional
acupuncture treatment, with needles inserted at known acupoints or a “sham” acupuncture
treatment, in which needles were placed in incorrect locations.
A. NO CHANGE
B. treatment: with needles inserted at known acupoints,
C. treatment, with needles inserted at known acupoints,
D. treatment with needles inserted at known acupoints:
24. With much at stake for companies, if their products don't sell, merchandise buyers
make purchasing decisions based on careful deliberation.
A. NO CHANGE
B. companies’,
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C. companies:
D. companies
25. In the first half of the 20th century, indigenous peoples living in what was then the
US territory of Alaska was subject to purposive discrimination.
A. NO CHANGE
B. is
C. has been
D. were
26. After her arrest, Schenck was encouraged by a family friend to contact Alaska
territorial governor Gruening, who was sympathetic to equal rights causes. Moved by her
story, Gruening supported Schenck, securing an apology from the mayor of Nome for her
treatment. Schenck’s influence did not end there, in other words. In 1945, when the Alaska
territorial legislature was debating an equal rights bill. Her experience was cited as a “prime
example” of the unfair treatment of minority groups.
A. NO CHANGE.
B. consequently
C. however
D. after all
27. In 1945, when the Alaska territorial legislature was debating an equal rights bill.
Schenck’s experience was cited as a “prime example” of the unfair treatment of minority
groups.
A. NO CHANGE
B. bill, Schenck’s
C. bill and Schenck’s
D. bill; in which Schenck’s
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28. Superhero films - the best ones, at least ruminate on the nature of power and
responsibility.
A. NO CHANGE
B. least, ruminate
C. least ruminate-
D. least – ruminate
29. As the story goes, it was 1948, a musicologist Remo was about to junk a stack of
unneeded documents from his research on Venetian composer Tomaso when a stray scrap
of paper fell to the floor.
A. NO CHANGE
B. do away with
C. banish
D. discard
30. The piece of music has provided the musical backdrop to dozens of films, from Flash
dance (1983) to Manchester by the Sea (2016). In fact, it has saturated the soundtrack of
so many movies that New Yorker film critic Anthony jested that the work should be banned
on screen altogether.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Even so,
C. In addition,
D. All the while,
31. Giazitto never furnished that original scrap of paper on which he had based the famous
Adagio, leading scholars to question if any of Albinoni’s was Albinoni’s at all.
Additionally, musicologist Caroline revealed in 1982 that other scholarship of Giazitto’s
is suspect. Because Giazitto has long mentioned that the Adagio was an inspired tribute,
he finally admitted that he was indeed its only author. In contrast, Adagio in G minor is
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now attributed solely to Giazitto. With decade of mislabeled recordings, perpetuating the
error; however, the fiction of Giazitto’s great discoveries lives on.
A. NO CHANGE
B. When
C. While
D. Since
32. Giazitto has long mentioned that the Adagio was an inspired tribute, he finally admitted
that he was indeed its only author. In contrast, Adagio in G minor is now attributed solely
to Giazitto. With decade of mislabeled recordings, perpetuating the error; however, the
fiction of Giazitto’s great discoveries lives on.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Nevertheless,
C.Furthermore,
D.Consequently,
33. Adagio in G minor is now attributed solely to Giazitto. With decades of mislabeled
recordings, perpetuating the error; however, the fiction of Giazitto’s great discoveries lives
on.
A. NO CHANGE
B. error, however,
C. error. However,
D. error, however;
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