Sporting Futures USA | SAT Prep | Critical Reading 1.4

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 We shall not understand what a book is, and why a 2 book has the value many persons have, and is even 3 less replaceable than a person, if we forget how 4 important to it is its body, the building that has been 5 built to hold its line of language safely together 6 through many adventures and a long time. Words on 7 a screen have visual qualities, to be sure, and these 8 darkly limn their shape, but they have no materiality, 9 they are only shadows, and when the light shifts they'll 10 be gone. Off the screen they do not exist as words. 11 They do not wait to be reseen, reread; they only wait 12 to be remade, relit. I cannot carry them beneath a tree 13 or onto a side porch; I cannot argue in their margins; 14 I cannot enjoy the memory of my dismay when, 15 perhaps after years, I return to my treasured copy of 16 Treasure Island to find the jam I inadvertently smeared 17 there still spotting a page precisely at the place where 18 Billy Bones chases Black Dog out of the Admiral 19 Benbow with a volley of oaths and where his cutlass 20 misses its mark to notch the inn's wide sign instead. 21 My copy, which I still possess, was of the cheapest. 22 Published by M. A. Donohue & Co. of Chicago, it bears 23 no date, and its coarse pages are jaundiced and brit- 24 tle, yet they've outlived their manufacturer; they will out- 25 live their reader--always comforting yet a bit sad. The 26 pages, in fact, smell their age, their decrepitude, and 27 the jam smear is like an ancient bruise; but like a scar 28 recalling its accident, I remember the pounding in my 29 chest when the black spot was pressed into Billy 30 Bones's palm and Blind Pew appeared on the road 31 in a passage that I knew even then was a piece of 32 exemplary prose. 33 That book and I loved each other, and I don't mean 34 just its text: that book, which then was new, its cover 35 slick and shiny, its paper agleam with the tossing sea 36 and armed, as Long John Silver was, for a fight, its 37 binding tight as the elastic of new underwear, not 38 slack as it is now, after so many openings and clos- 39 ings, so many dry years; that book would be borne off 40 to my room, where it lived through my high school 41 miseries in a dime-store bookcase, and it would 42 accompany me to college too, and be packed in the 43 duffel bag I carried as a sailor. 44 Should we put these feelings for the object and its 45 vicissitudes down to simple sentimental nostalgia? 46 I think not; but even as a stimulus for reminiscence, 47 a treasure more important than a dance card, or the 48 photo that freezes you in at the edge of the Grand 49 Canyon, because such a book can be a significant 50 event in the history of your reading, and your reading 51 (provided you are significant) should be an essential 52 segment of your character and your life. Unlike the 53 the love we've made or meals we've eaten, books 54 congregate to form a record around us of what they've 55 fed our stomachs or our brains. These are not a 56 hunter's trophies but the living animals themselves. 57 In the ideal logotopia, every person would possess 58 his own library and add at least weekly if not daily to it. 59 The walls of each home would seem made of books; 60 wherever one looked one would only see spines; 61 because every real book (as opposed to dictionaries, 62 almanacs, and other compilations) is a mind, an 63 imagination, a consciousness. Together they com- 64 pose a civilization, or even several. 65 A few of us are fortunate enough to live in Logotopia, 66 to own our own library, but for many this is not possi- 67 ble, and for them we need a free and open public 68 institution with a balanced collection of books that it 69 cares for and loans, with stacks where a visitor may 70 wander, browse, and make discoveries; such an insti- 71 tution empowers its public as few do. In fact, it has no 72 rival, for the books in the public library are the books 73 that may take temporary residence in yours or mine. 74 We share their wealth the way we share the space of a 75 public park. My high school had no library worthy of 76 the name "book," so I would walk about a mile down- 77 town to the public one to borrow, in almost every case, 78 a new world. That's what a library does for its patrons. 79 It extends the self. It is pure empowerment. 80 The sciences, it is alleged, no longer use books; 81 neither do the professions, since what everyone 82 needs is data, data day and night, because data, like 83 drugs, soothe the senses and encourage us to think 84 we are, when at the peak of their heap, on top of the 85 world. Of course, libraries contain books, and books 86 contain information, but information has always been 87 of minor importance, except to minor minds. What 88 matters is how the information is arranged, how it is 89 understood, and to what uses it is put. In short, what 90 matters is the book the data's in. 91 Frequently, one comes across comparisons of the 92 electronic revolution with that of writing and printing, 93 and these are usually accompanied by warnings to 94 those suspicious of technology that objections to these 95 forward marches are both fuddy-duddy and futile. But 96 Plato's worries that writing would not reveal the writer 97 the way the soul of a speaker was exposed; that 98 spontaneity would be compromised; that words would 99 be stolen, and words would be put in other mouths 100 than those of their authors; that writing does not hear 101 its reader's response; that lying, hypocrisy, false 102 borrowing, ghostwriting, would increase so that the 103 hollow heads of state would echo with hired words; 104 and that, oddly, the advantages and powers of the book 105 would give power and advantage to the rich, who would 106 learn to read and would have the funds to acquire 107 and keep such precious volumes safe: these fears 108 were overwhelmingly realized. 109 The advent of printing was opposed (as writing was) 110 for a number of mean and self-serving reasons, but 111 the fear that it would lead to the making of a million 112 half-baked brains, and cause the illicit turning of a 113 multitude of untrained heads, as a consequence of the 114 unhindered spread of nonsense was a fear that was 115 also well founded. The boast that the placement of 116 books in many hands would finally overthrow supersti- 117 tion was not entirely a hollow hope, however. The gift 118 gave a million minds a chance at independence. Question: The primary purpose of the passage is to...

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 We shall not understand what a book is, and why a 2 book has the value many persons have, and is even 3 less replaceable than a person, if we forget how 4 important to it is its body, the building that has been 5 built to hold its line of language safely together 6 through many adventures and a long time. Words on 7 a screen have visual qualities, to be sure, and these 8 darkly limn their shape, but they have no materiality, 9 they are only shadows, and when the light shifts they'll 10 be gone. Off the screen they do not exist as words. 11 They do not wait to be reseen, reread; they only wait 12 to be remade, relit. I cannot carry them beneath a tree 13 or onto a side porch; I cannot argue in their margins; 14 I cannot enjoy the memory of my dismay when, 15 perhaps after years, I return to my treasured copy of 16 Treasure Island to find the jam I inadvertently smeared 17 there still spotting a page precisely at the place where 18 Billy Bones chases Black Dog out of the Admiral 19 Benbow with a volley of oaths and where his cutlass 20 misses its mark to notch the inn's wide sign instead. 21 My copy, which I still possess, was of the cheapest. 22 Published by M. A. Donohue & Co. of Chicago, it bears 23 no date, and its coarse pages are jaundiced and brit- 24 tle, yet they've outlived their manufacturer; they will out- 25 live their reader--always comforting yet a bit sad. The 26 pages, in fact, smell their age, their decrepitude, and 27 the jam smear is like an ancient bruise; but like a scar 28 recalling its accident, I remember the pounding in my 29 chest when the black spot was pressed into Billy 30 Bones's palm and Blind Pew appeared on the road 31 in a passage that I knew even then was a piece of 32 exemplary prose. 33 That book and I loved each other, and I don't mean 34 just its text: that book, which then was new, its cover 35 slick and shiny, its paper agleam with the tossing sea 36 and armed, as Long John Silver was, for a fight, its 37 binding tight as the elastic of new underwear, not 38 slack as it is now, after so many openings and clos- 39 ings, so many dry years; that book would be borne off 40 to my room, where it lived through my high school 41 miseries in a dime-store bookcase, and it would 42 accompany me to college too, and be packed in the 43 duffel bag I carried as a sailor. 44 Should we put these feelings for the object and its 45 vicissitudes down to simple sentimental nostalgia? 46 I think not; but even as a stimulus for reminiscence, 47 a treasure more important than a dance card, or the 48 photo that freezes you in at the edge of the Grand 49 Canyon, because such a book can be a significant 50 event in the history of your reading, and your reading 51 (provided you are significant) should be an essential 52 segment of your character and your life. Unlike the 53 the love we've made or meals we've eaten, books 54 congregate to form a record around us of what they've 55 fed our stomachs or our brains. These are not a 56 hunter's trophies but the living animals themselves. 57 In the ideal logotopia, every person would possess 58 his own library and add at least weekly if not daily to it. 59 The walls of each home would seem made of books; 60 wherever one looked one would only see spines; 61 because every real book (as opposed to dictionaries, 62 almanacs, and other compilations) is a mind, an 63 imagination, a consciousness. Together they com- 64 pose a civilization, or even several. 65 A few of us are fortunate enough to live in Logotopia, 66 to own our own library, but for many this is not possi- 67 ble, and for them we need a free and open public 68 institution with a balanced collection of books that it 69 cares for and loans, with stacks where a visitor may 70 wander, browse, and make discoveries; such an insti- 71 tution empowers its public as few do. In fact, it has no 72 rival, for the books in the public library are the books 73 that may take temporary residence in yours or mine. 74 We share their wealth the way we share the space of a 75 public park. My high school had no library worthy of 76 the name "book," so I would walk about a mile down- 77 town to the public one to borrow, in almost every case, 78 a new world. That's what a library does for its patrons. 79 It extends the self. It is pure empowerment. 80 The sciences, it is alleged, no longer use books; 81 neither do the professions, since what everyone 82 needs is data, data day and night, because data, like 83 drugs, soothe the senses and encourage us to think 84 we are, when at the peak of their heap, on top of the 85 world. Of course, libraries contain books, and books 86 contain information, but information has always been 87 of minor importance, except to minor minds. What 88 matters is how the information is arranged, how it is 89 understood, and to what uses it is put. In short, what 90 matters is the book the data's in. 91 Frequently, one comes across comparisons of the 92 electronic revolution with that of writing and printing, 93 and these are usually accompanied by warnings to 94 those suspicious of technology that objections to these 95 forward marches are both fuddy-duddy and futile. But 96 Plato's worries that writing would not reveal the writer 97 the way the soul of a speaker was exposed; that 98 spontaneity would be compromised; that words would 99 be stolen, and words would be put in other mouths 100 than those of their authors; that writing does not hear 101 its reader's response; that lying, hypocrisy, false 102 borrowing, ghostwriting, would increase so that the 103 hollow heads of state would echo with hired words; 104 and that, oddly, the advantages and powers of the book 105 would give power and advantage to the rich, who would 106 learn to read and would have the funds to acquire 107 and keep such precious volumes safe: these fears 108 were overwhelmingly realized. 109 The advent of printing was opposed (as writing was) 110 for a number of mean and self-serving reasons, but 111 the fear that it would lead to the making of a million 112 half-baked brains, and cause the illicit turning of a 113 multitude of untrained heads, as a consequence of the 114 unhindered spread of nonsense was a fear that was 115 also well founded. The boast that the placement of 116 books in many hands would finally overthrow supersti- 117 tion was not entirely a hollow hope, however. The gift 118 gave a million minds a chance at independence. Question: The author mentions all of the following as examples of "Plato's worries" (line 96) about writing except that:

Read the following 2 passages carefully and answer the question. Passage 1 1 Who will be the next American Idol? Rather, who will 2 be the next target of suppressed American dreams, a 3 vehicle through whom Americans experience vicar- 4 ious catharsis? Perhaps the popularity of this national 5 rock-star contest stems from our denial of our need 6 for self-expression, a denial which is exacerbated by 7 fifty-hour work weeks and the demands of our 8 spouses, children, and family. The once-a-week 9 hour-long session spent admiring talented youth 10 seems to be the only time we allot ourselves to 11 cleanse our emotional selves. Singing is, of course, 12 historically understood to be the heart of human 13 expression; perhaps many Americans have simply 14 found the empathetic outlet they need in their 15 stressful lives. Passage 2 16 Last year, the hit show "American Idol," in which 17 talented singers compete in hopes of signing a record 18 deal, had over 10,000 discussion-based websites 19 devoted to it. "There have never been so many web- 20 sites created for a single show before," said Pat 21 Mildred, an expert on Internet trafficking. Ironically, 22 the majority of the posts were not show-related. 23 "There was a lot of online dating," added Mildred. "It 24 was more of a social-networking spot than anything 25 else." Any long-time fan can attest to the social 26 bonds that the show creates. "My family and I 27 watched it every night," said Anne, a local eighth 28 grader. "We never spend that much time together." Question: Which generalization about "American Idol" is supported by both passages?

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 Rebecca Benefiel stepped into the tiny dark room on 2 the first floor of the House of Maius Castricius. Mosqui- 3 toes whined. Huge moths flapped around her head. 4 And - much higher on the ick meter - her flashlight 5 revealed a desiccated corpse that looked as if it was 6 struggling to rise from the floor. Nonetheless, she 7 moved closer to the walls and searched for aberra- 8 tions in the stucco. She soon found what she was 9 looking for: a string of names and a cluster of num- 10 bers, part of the vibrant graffiti chitchat carried on by the 11 citizens of Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted in 12 A.D. 79 and buried their city in a light pumice stone 13 called lapilli. 14 "There are a few hazards to this work," laughs Benefiel, 15 a 35-year old classicist from Washington and Lee 16 University who has spent part of the past six summers 17 in Pompeii. "Sometimes the guards forget to let me out 18 of the buildings at the end of the day!" Regardless, 19 she's always eager to return. 20 Vesuvius dumped ashes and lapilli on Pompeii for 36 21 hours, sealing the entire city up to an average height of 22 20 feet. Since the 18th century, archaeologists have 23 excavated about two-thirds, including some 109 acres 24 of public buildings, stores and homes. The city's well- 25 preserved first level has given archaeologists, 26 historians and classicists an unparalleled view of the 27 ancient world, brought to a halt in the middle of an 28 ordinary day. 29 From the very beginning, archaeologists noticed copi- 30 ous amounts of graffiti on the outsides of buildings. 31 In the late 1800s, scholars began making careful 32 copies of Latin inscriptions throughout the ancient 33 Roman world, including Pompeii, and cataloging them. 34 This effort is a boon to scholars like Benefiel, since 35 more than 90 percent of Pompeii's recorded graffiti 36 have since been erased by exposure to the elements. 37 Even though she studies this vast collection of 38 inscriptions, Benefiel prefers to wander the ancient 39 city and examine the remaining graffiti in context. 40 Much of what remains is on protected interior walls, 41 where servants, visitors and others took sharp 42 instruments to the stucco and left their mark. "The 43 graffiti would have been much more visible then 44 than they are now," she says. "Many of these walls 45 were brightly painted and highly decorated, and the 46 graffiti let the underlying white plaster show through." 47 In the ancient Roman world, graffiti was a respected 48 form of writing - often interactive - not the kind of 49 defacement we now see on rocky cliffs and bathroom 50 stalls. Inside elite dwellings like that of Maius Castri- 51 cius - a four-story home with panoramic windows 52 overlooking the Bay of Naples that was excavated in 53 the 1960s - she's examined 85 graffito. Some were 54 greetings from friends, carefully incised around the 55 edges of frescoes in the home's finest room. In a stair- 56 well, people took turns quoting popular poems and 57 adding their own clever twists. In other places, the 58 graffiti include drawings: a boat, a peacock, a leaping 59 deer. 60 The 19th century effort to document ancient graffiti 61 notwithstanding, scholars have historically ignored 62 the phenomenon. The prevailing attitude was 63 expressed by August Mau in 1899, who wrote, "The 64 people with whom we should most eagerly desire to 65 come into contact, the cultivated men and women of 66 the ancient city, were not accustomed to scratch their 67 names upon stucco or to confide their reflections and 68 experiences to the surface of a wall." But Benefiel's 69 observations show the opposite. "Everyone was doing 70 it," she says. 71 Benefiel's study of Pompeii's graffiti has revealed a 72 number of surprises. She's found that declarations of 73 love were every bit as common then as they are today 74 and that it was acceptable for visitors to carve their 75 opinions about the city into its walls. She's discovered 76 that the people of Pompeii loved displaying their 77 cleverness via graffiti, from poetry contests to playful 78 recombinations of the letters that form Roman 79 numerals. 80 And she's found that Pompeians expressed far more 81 goodwill than ill will. "They were much nicer in their 82 graffiti than we are," she says. "There are lots of pair- 83 ings with the word 'felicter,' which means 'happily.' 84 When you pair it with someone's name, it means 85 you're hoping things go well for that person. There are 86 lots of graffiti that say 'Felicter Pompeii,' wishing the 87 whole town well." Question: In which paragraph of the passage would the following sentence best fit? "Many scholars of the time felt that the inscriptions were an unreliable source upon which the societal composition of Pompeii could be reconstructed."

Read The following passage carefully and answer. 1 The Clean Water Act of 1990 makes a distinction 2 between point and non-point sources of pollution. A 3 point source is one that can be easily quantified, such 4 as the discharge from a factory or from an electric- 5 generating facility; point sources also include sources 6 of urban runoff. A non-point source is more difficult to 7 quantify and usually encompasses a greater area; for 8 instance, pollution from agricultural fields is a non- 9 point source. Point sources have more strict regulation 10 and enforcement; therefore, cleaning up point sources 11 of pollution has progressed more quickly. Non-point 12 sources have been slower to improve, since looser 13 laws govern their discharge. Question: As lines 2-6 and lines 6-9 are constructed, which of the following word(s) from lines 2-6 serves as a parallel to "agricultural fields" (line 8)?

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 From his studies of the British Constitution, French 2 political philosopher Montesquieu developed the the- 3 ory of separation of powers. Montesquieu argued that 4 the government, in order to guard against the arbitrary 5 exercise of power, should be divided into three distinct 6 departments: the executive, judiciary and legislature. 7 The Founding Fathers utilized separation of powers as 8 a basic tenet in forming the U.S. Constitution, which 9 vests legislative powers in Congress, judicial powers 10 in the Supreme Court and subsidiary courts, and 11 executive powers in the president and his delegates. 12 According to separation of powers, each branch has its 13 own functions, which theoretically prevents any branch 14 from encroaching upon another. Practice, however, 15 necessitates some overlap between branches. The 16 legislature may oppose and impeach members of the 17 executive, and the president may veto legislation. The 18 Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the 19 president and approved by Congress, can judge the 20 actions of the other branches. Although one branch 21 tends to dominate the others historically, the "checks 22 and balances" of separation of powers ensures that 23 power shifts between them. Question: From lines 1-3, we can infer that:

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 Introversion is a personality attitude identified by the 2 Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung. For people with a 3 preference for introversion, internal processing of an 4 experience is more important than the experience 5 itself; hence, introverts seek a lot of time alone to do 6 that processing. They can process in the presence of 7 others, but they must be detached and quiet so their 8 attention can be turned inward. A crucial thing to 9 understand about a relationship with an introvert 10 is not to take his or her need for "cave time" personally. 11 It is like a need for food or sleep. 12 Extroversion is also a personality attitude identified 13 by Carl Jung. Extroverts are talkative, enthusiastic, 14 sociable, and confident; they often have many friends. 15 They are very interested in the external world and want 16 to spend lots of their energy exploring it. They tend 17 to act first and think later, unlike introverts, who usually 18 do the opposite. They recharge by getting out of the 19 house, going out and being active. 20 Since we all have both an introvert and an extrovert 21 inside of us, we may be presented with only the extro- 22 verted side of someone when we first meet him or 23 her. Once you get to know an introvert better, he or she 24 may seem like a different person. The primary way to 25 identify a preference for introversion is to look at where 26 the person goes to recharge. If the person seeks soli- 27 tude, he or she is probably an introvert. (Note that extro- 28 verts have an introverted side that needs some quiet 29 time too; it's just not their primary orientation.) 30 Probably seventy-five percent of Americans are 31 extroverts, as you might guess from even a cursory 32 inspection of our advertising, news, and other 33 aspects of our culture. Not all societies are so 34 biased toward extroversion. American children 35 with a propensity for introversion may not be allowed 36 to indulge their preference; instead, they may be 37 encouraged to put their books down and go outside, 38 told by their parents to "get out there," "get involved," 39 and "just do it." 40 Different eras and occasions of our life require us 41 to be more extroverted than others. For example, 42 adolescents, who are preparing to leave home 43 and meet new people, tend to be extroverts. However, 44 if an adolescent extrovert has not yet discovered 45 his or her introverted self, he or she will probably 46 find a healthy need for more downtime as he or she 47 ages. Jung believed that the psyche seeks balance. A 48 Jungian scholar writes, "Until we become thoroughly 49 aware of the inadequacy of our extroverted state and of 50 its insufficiency in regard to our deeper spiritual needs, 51 we shall not achieve even a measure of individuation, 52 through which a wider and more mature personality 53 emerges." Question: Which statement best summarizes the description of introverts compared to that of extroverts?

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 Being ashamed is a more ambivalent phenomenon 2 than the sense of shame. If discretion-shame sustains 3 the social ordering of the world, disgrace-shame is a 4 painful experience of the disintegration of one's world. 5 A break occurs in the self's relationship with itself 6 and/or others. The self is no longer whole, but divided. 7 It feels less than it wants to be, less than at its best it 8 knows itself to be. Sartre finds the effect of this 9 disruption so radical that he calls it an "internal 10 hemorrhage, the regrouping of all the objects in my 11 universe." Even when the advent of shame is less 12 dramatic, there is a disruption nonetheless that 13 manifests itself in a sense of confusion. The 14 disorientation that triggers shame always involves a 15 reflexive movement of consciousness. What is 16 actually experienced is a relation of distance. In some 17 cases the relation is interpersonal, between the self 18 and others who look at it; at other times the relation 19 occurs intrapersonally, as the self sees itself. In these 20 instances, the persons concerned are initially unself- 21 conscious, involved in, and given over to, an external 22 situation. They are conscious not of themselves, but of 23 the objects before them. But suddenly, the situation 24 changes, the mood is broken, and they are made 25 acutely aware of themselves as they are at that mo- 26 ment. Something happens that turns their attention to 27 themselves in such a way that they are not simply 28 there, but see themselves there, and this seeing 29 arouses shame. 30 Shame opens up a new level of consciousness of the 31 self. The undivided self in action gives way to the 32 doubled self. Shame is an act of self-attention. Each of 33 these elements of shame (disruption, disorientation, 34 and painful self-consciousness) manifests the rela- 35 tional character of the shame experience. This 36 relational nature of shame, in turn, contains a revel- 37 atory capacity. In the reflexive movement of conscious- 38 ness, a part of the self is revealed to the self. Sartre 39 has captured this quality of shame: "[Its] structure is 40 intentional; it is a shameful apprehension of some- 41 thing and this something is me. I am ashamed of 42 what I am. Shame therefore realizes an intimate rela- 43 tion of myself to myself. Through shame I have discov- 44 ered an aspect of my being. I recognize that I am as the 45 Other sees me." Question: The best meaning of the word "radical" (line 9) is ________.

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom 1 Don Hedger had lived for four years on the top floor of 2 an old house on the south side of Washington Square, 3 and nobody had ever disturbed him. He occupied 4 one big room with no outside exposure except on the 5 north. His room was very cheerless, since he never 6 got a ray of direct sunlight; the south corners were 7 always in shadow. In the front corner, the one farther 8 from the window, was a sink, and a table with two 9 gas burners where he sometimes cooked his food. 10 There, too, in the perpetual dusk, was the dog's bed, 11 and often a bone or two for his comfort. 12 The dog was a Boston bull terrier, and Hedger 13 explained his surly disposition by the fact that he had 14 been bred to the point where it told on his nerves. His 15 name was Caesar III, and he had taken prizes at very 16 exclusive dog shows. When he and his master went 17 out to prowl about University Place, or to promenade 18 along West Street, Caesar III was invariably fresh and 19 shining. His pink skin showed through his mottled 20 coat, which glistened as if it had just been rubbed with 21 olive oil, and he wore a brass-studded collar, bought 22 at the smartest saddler's. Hedger, as often as not, was 23 hunched up in an old striped blanket coat, with a 24 shapeless felt hat pulled over his bushy hair, wearing 25 black shoes that had become gray, or brown ones 26 that had become black, and he never put on gloves 27 unless the day was biting cold. 28 Early in May, Hedger learned that he was to have a 29 new neighbor in the rear apartment. His studio was 30 shut off from these rooms by double doors, which, 31 though they were fairly tight, left him a good deal 32 at the mercy of the occupant. The rooms had been 33 leased, long before he came there, by a trained nurse 34 who considered herself knowing in old furniture. She 35 went to auction sales and bought up mahogany and 36 dirty brass and stored it away here, where she meant 37 to live when she retired from nursing. Meanwhile, 38 she sub-let her rooms, with the precious furniture, to 39 young people who came to New York to "write" or 40 "paint"--who proposed to live by the sweat of the 41 brow rather than of the hand, and who desired artistic 42 surroundings. When Hedger first moved in, these 43 rooms were occupied by a young man who tried to 44 write plays,--and who kept on trying until a week ago, 45 when the nurse had put him out for unpaid rent. 46 A few days after the playwright left, Hedger heard 47 an ominous murmur of voices through the bolted 48 double doors: the lady-like intonation of the nurse-- 49 doubtless exhibiting her treasures--and another voice, 50 also a woman's, but very different; young, fresh, 51 unguarded, confident. All the same, it would be very 52 annoying to have a woman in there. The only bath- 53 room on the floor was at the top of the stairs in the 54 front hall, and he would always be running into her 55 as he came or went from his bath. He would have to 56 be more careful to see that Caesar didn't leave bones 57 about the hall, too; and she might object when he 58 cooked steak and onions on his gas burner. 59 As soon as the talking ceased and the women left, 60 he forgot them. He was absorbed in a study of para- 61 dise fish at the Aquarium, staring out at people through 62 the glass and green water of their tank. It was a 63 highly gratifying idea; the incommunicability of one 64 stratum of animal life with another,--though Hedger 65 pretended it was only an experiment with unusual 66 lighting. When he heard trunks knocking against the 67 sides of the narrow hall, then he realized that she was 68 moving in at once. Toward noon, groans and deep 69 gasps and the creaking of ropes, made him aware 70 that a piano was arriving. After the tramp of the 71 movers died away down the stairs, somebody touched 72 off a few scales and chords on the instrument, and 73 then there was peace. Presently he heard her lock her 74 door and go down the hall humming something; going 75 out to lunch, probably. He stuck his brushes in a can 76 of turpentine and put on his hat, not stopping to wash 77 his hands. Caesar was smelling along the crack 78 under the bolted doors. 79 Hedger encouraged him. "Come along, Caesar. 80 You'll soon get used to a new smell." 81 In the hall stood an enormous trunk, behind the 82 ladder that led to the roof, just opposite Hedger's 83 door. The dog flew at it with a growl of hurt amaze- 84 ment. They went down three flights of stairs and out 85 into the brilliant May afternoon. 86 Hedger strolled about the Square for the dog's health. 87 The fountain had but lately begun operations for the 88 season and was throwing up a mist of rainbow water. 89 Plump robins were hopping about on the soil; the 90 grass was newly cut and blindingly green. Looking 91 up the Avenue through the Arch, one could see the 92 young poplars with their bright, sticky leaves, and 93 shining horses and carriages,--occasionally an auto- 94 mobile, mis-shapen and sullen, like an ugly threat in 95 a stream of things that were bright and beautiful and 96 alive. 97 While Caesar and his master were standing by the 98 fountain, a girl approached them, crossing the Square. 99 Hedger noticed her because she wore a lavender cloth 100 suit and carried in her arms a big bunch of fresh lilacs. 101 He saw that she was young and handsome,--beautiful, 102 in fact. She, too, paused by the fountain and looked 103 back through the Arch up the Avenue. She smiled 104 rather patronizingly as she looked, and at the same 105 time seemed delighted. Her slowly curving upper lip 106 and half-closed eyes seemed to say: "You're gay, 107 you're exciting, you are quite the right sort of thing; 108 but you're none too fine for me!" 109 In the moment she tarried, Caesar stealthily ap- 110 proached her and sniffed at the hem of her lavender 111 skirt, then he ran back to his master and lifted a face 112 full of emotion and alarm, his lower lip twitching under 113 his sharp white teeth and his hazel eyes pointed with 114 a very definite discovery. He stood thus, motionless, 115 while Hedger watched the lavender girl go up the 116 steps and through the door of the house in which he 117 lived. 118 "You're right, my boy, it's she!" Question: Which of the following phrases, if read figuratively, helps develop the author's characterization of Hedger?

Read the following passage carefully and answer question at the bottom. 1 Don Hedger had lived for four years on the top floor of 2 an old house on the south side of Washington Square, 3 and nobody had ever disturbed him. He occupied 4 one big room with no outside exposure except on the 5 north. His room was very cheerless, since he never 6 got a ray of direct sunlight; the south corners were 7 always in shadow. In the front corner, the one farther 8 from the window, was a sink, and a table with two 9 gas burners where he sometimes cooked his food. 10 There, too, in the perpetual dusk, was the dog's bed, 11 and often a bone or two for his comfort. 12 The dog was a Boston bull terrier, and Hedger 13 explained his surly disposition by the fact that he had 14 been bred to the point where it told on his nerves. His 15 name was Caesar III, and he had taken prizes at very 16 exclusive dog shows. When he and his master went 17 out to prowl about University Place, or to promenade 18 along West Street, Caesar III was invariably fresh and 19 shining. His pink skin showed through his mottled 20 coat, which glistened as if it had just been rubbed with 21 olive oil, and he wore a brass-studded collar, bought 22 at the smartest saddler's. Hedger, as often as not, was 23 hunched up in an old striped blanket coat, with a 24 shapeless felt hat pulled over his bushy hair, wearing 25 black shoes that had become gray, or brown ones 26 that had become black, and he never put on gloves 27 unless the day was biting cold. 28 Early in May, Hedger learned that he was to have a 29 new neighbor in the rear apartment. His studio was 30 shut off from these rooms by double doors, which, 31 though they were fairly tight, left him a good deal 32 at the mercy of the occupant. The rooms had been 33 leased, long before he came there, by a trained nurse 34 who considered herself knowing in old furniture. She 35 went to auction sales and bought up mahogany and 36 dirty brass and stored it away here, where she meant 37 to live when she retired from nursing. Meanwhile, 38 she sub-let her rooms, with the precious furniture, to 39 young people who came to New York to "write" or 40 "paint"--who proposed to live by the sweat of the 41 brow rather than of the hand, and who desired artistic 42 surroundings. When Hedger first moved in, these 43 rooms were occupied by a young man who tried to 44 write plays,--and who kept on trying until a week ago, 45 when the nurse had put him out for unpaid rent. 46 A few days after the playwright left, Hedger heard 47 an ominous murmur of voices through the bolted 48 double doors: the lady-like intonation of the nurse-- 49 doubtless exhibiting her treasures--and another voice, 50 also a woman's, but very different; young, fresh, 51 unguarded, confident. All the same, it would be very 52 annoying to have a woman in there. The only bath- 53 room on the floor was at the top of the stairs in the 54 front hall, and he would always be running into her 55 as he came or went from his bath. He would have to 56 be more careful to see that Caesar didn't leave bones 57 about the hall, too; and she might object when he 58 cooked steak and onions on his gas burner. 59 As soon as the talking ceased and the women left, 60 he forgot them. He was absorbed in a study of para- 61 dise fish at the Aquarium, staring out at people through 62 the glass and green water of their tank. It was a 63 highly gratifying idea; the incommunicability of one 64 stratum of animal life with another,--though Hedger 65 pretended it was only an experiment with unusual 66 lighting. When he heard trunks knocking against the 67 sides of the narrow hall, then he realized that she was 68 moving in at once. Toward noon, groans and deep 69 gasps and the creaking of ropes, made him aware 70 that a piano was arriving. After the tramp of the 71 movers died away down the stairs, somebody touched 72 off a few scales and chords on the instrument, and 73 then there was peace. Presently he heard her lock her 74 door and go down the hall humming something; going 75 out to lunch, probably. He stuck his brushes in a can 76 of turpentine and put on his hat, not stopping to wash 77 his hands. Caesar was smelling along the crack 78 under the bolted doors. 79 Hedger encouraged him. "Come along, Caesar. 80 You'll soon get used to a new smell." 81 In the hall stood an enormous trunk, behind the 82 ladder that led to the roof, just opposite Hedger's 83 door. The dog flew at it with a growl of hurt amaze- 84 ment. They went down three flights of stairs and out 85 into the brilliant May afternoon. 86 Hedger strolled about the Square for the dog's health. 87 The fountain had but lately begun operations for the 88 season and was throwing up a mist of rainbow water. 89 Plump robins were hopping about on the soil; the 90 grass was newly cut and blindingly green. Looking 91 up the Avenue through the Arch, one could see the 92 young poplars with their bright, sticky leaves, and 93 shining horses and carriages,--occasionally an auto- 94 mobile, mis-shapen and sullen, like an ugly threat in 95 a stream of things that were bright and beautiful and 96 alive. 97 While Caesar and his master were standing by the 98 fountain, a girl approached them, crossing the Square. 99 Hedger noticed her because she wore a lavender cloth 100 suit and carried in her arms a big bunch of fresh lilacs. 101 He saw that she was young and handsome,--beautiful, 102 in fact. She, too, paused by the fountain and looked 103 back through the Arch up the Avenue. She smiled 104 rather patronizingly as she looked, and at the same 105 time seemed delighted. Her slowly curving upper lip 106 and half-closed eyes seemed to say: "You're gay, 107 you're exciting, you are quite the right sort of thing; 108 but you're none too fine for me!" 109 In the moment she tarried, Caesar stealthily ap- 110 proached her and sniffed at the hem of her lavender 111 skirt, then he ran back to his master and lifted a face 112 full of emotion and alarm, his lower lip twitching under 113 his sharp white teeth and his hazel eyes pointed with 114 a very definite discovery. He stood thus, motionless, 115 while Hedger watched the lavender girl go up the 116 steps and through the door of the house in which he 117 lived. 118 "You're right, my boy, it's she!" Question: Don Hedger's "room" (line 4) can best be described as ________.

1 It has long been known that dolphins are intelligent 2 creatures with complex brains; however, recent studies 3 have shown that dolphins may be able to recognize 4 themselves in a mirror. 5 Such a finding would have major implications in the 6 study of evolutionary development, since very few 7 animals have demonstrated this ability. Between the 8 ages of 18-24 months, humans develop a sense of 9 mirror-self recognition (MSR). Studies have shown 10 that some primates, such as the chimpanzee and the 11 great ape, share this ability; however, attempts to prove 12 that non-primates can recognize their own reflections 13 have been unconvincing until now. 14 In their experiment, scientists Diana Reiss and Lori 15 Marino placed mirrors inside a pool housing two 16 dolphins that had been raised in captivity. They then 17 conducted a three-stage experiment. In the first stage, 18 they used a black ink marker to draw a geometric 19 shape on the dolphins' bodies in a place that they 20 could not see without the aid of a mirror. In the second, 21 they pretended to mark the dolphins with a sham 22 marker--an inkless marker that emits water. In the 23 control stage, the dolphins were left unmarked. 24 When the dolphins were marked, they immediately 25 swam to the mirror and spent a long time investigating 26 the area that had been marked. Sometimes they even 27 twisted and turned as they attempted to make the 28 marking visible in the mirror. When the dolphins were 29 sham marked, they displayed the same MSR behav- 30 iors, but spent less time investigating the marking in 31 front of the mirror, suggesting that they came to under- 32 stand the mark was a sham. Most other animals 33 would not display such behavior. Most often, 34 animals presented with a mirror show aggressive 35 social behavior, suggesting they think the figure in the 36 reflection is another animal. 37 Reiss and Marino claim that their study offers definitive 38 evidence that dolphins are capable of MSR. Thus, they 39 conclude, dolphins apparently have a sense of self 40 and a sense of the other, pointing to a psychological 41 complexity that few animals share. They also note that 42 this discovery is especially provocative because, 43 while human and primate brains have much in 44 common, human and dolphin brains feature some 45 significant differences due to divergent evolutionary 46 patterns. Therefore, they recommend further study into 47 the mental abilities and psychological complexities of 48 dolphins. Question: The term "investigating" (line 25) most nearly means:

1 It has long been known that dolphins are intelligent 2 creatures with complex brains; however, recent studies 3 have shown that dolphins may be able to recognize 4 themselves in a mirror. 5 Such a finding would have major implications in the 6 study of evolutionary development, since very few 7 animals have demonstrated this ability. Between the 8 ages of 18-24 months, humans develop a sense of 9 mirror-self recognition (MSR). Studies have shown 10 that some primates, such as the chimpanzee and the 11 great ape, share this ability; however, attempts to prove 12 that non-primates can recognize their own reflections 13 have been unconvincing until now. 14 In their experiment, scientists Diana Reiss and Lori 15 Marino placed mirrors inside a pool housing two 16 dolphins that had been raised in captivity. They then 17 conducted a three-stage experiment. In the first stage, 18 they used a black ink marker to draw a geometric 19 shape on the dolphins' bodies in a place that they 20 could not see without the aid of a mirror. In the second, 21 they pretended to mark the dolphins with a sham 22 marker--an inkless marker that emits water. In the 23 control stage, the dolphins were left unmarked. 24 When the dolphins were marked, they immediately 25 swam to the mirror and spent a long time investigating 26 the area that had been marked. Sometimes they even 27 twisted and turned as they attempted to make the 28 marking visible in the mirror. When the dolphins were 29 sham marked, they displayed the same MSR behav- 30 iors, but spent less time investigating the marking in 31 front of the mirror, suggesting that they came to under- 32 stand the mark was a sham. Most other animals 33 would not display such behavior. Most often, 34 animals presented with a mirror show aggressive 35 social behavior, suggesting they think the figure in the 36 reflection is another animal. 37 Reiss and Marino claim that their study offers definitive 38 evidence that dolphins are capable of MSR. Thus, they 39 conclude, dolphins apparently have a sense of self 40 and a sense of the other, pointing to a psychological 41 complexity that few animals share. They also note that 42 this discovery is especially provocative because, 43 while human and primate brains have much in 44 common, human and dolphin brains feature some 45 significant differences due to divergent evolutionary 46 patterns. Therefore, they recommend further study into 47 the mental abilities and psychological complexities of 48 dolphins. Question: Why do Reiss and Marino think their finding is particularly exciting?

Even though Ms. Stevens had said she would not give any homework on the weekend of the prom, to her students' ________ she assigned a substantial amount. Select the word that best completes the sentence.

1 He wondered at his riot of emotions of an hour 2 before. From what had it proceeded? From his 3 aunt's supper, from his own foolish speech, from the 4 wine and dancing, the merry-making when saying 5 good-night in the hall, the pleasure of the walk along 6 the river in the snow. Poor Aunt Julia! She would 7 soon be a shade. He had caught that haggard look 8 upon her face for a moment when she was singing 9 "Arrayed for the Bridal." Soon, perhaps, he would 10 be sitting in that same drawing-room, dressed in 11 black, his silk hat on his knees. The blinds would be 12 drawn down and Aunt Kate would be sitting beside 13 him, crying and blowing her nose and telling him how 14 Julia had died. He would cast about in his mind for 15 some words that might console her, and would find 16 only lame and useless ones. Yes, yes: that would 17 happen very soon. Question: The change of mood in the passage from cheery to somber is best achieved by which of the following?

PASSAGE 1: 1 Research focused on Sesame Street has provided 2 ample evidence to suggest that young children can 3 learn skills from the show, and that these skills will 4 contribute to their early educational success. Many 5 other programs produced by the Children's Television 6 Workshop, by public broadcasting stations, indepen- 7 dent producers, and state departments of education 8 have been constructed to teach educational concepts 9 ranging from reading to international understanding. 10 Related to these educational programs are prosocial 11 programs which model socially valued responses for viewers. 12 Even with the knowledge gained from research fo- 13 cused on television's ability to teach specific skills, the 14 medium is frequently castigated for interfering in the 15 education of children. However, the relationship be- 16 tween television viewing and academic performance is 17 not clear cut. Children who spend a great deal of time 18 watching television do poorly in school but children 19 who spend a moderate amount of time with TV perform 20 better than non-viewers. The small negative relation- 21 ship between IQ and television viewing masks some 22 important subgroup differences, such as age (high IQ 23 is positively correlated with viewing until the teens) and 24 gender (with the negative relationship holding stronger 25 for boys than for girls). Reading and television viewing 26 are positively correlated up to a threshold of about ten 27 hours of viewing per week. Only when television view- 28 ing rises above a certain level does it seem to be 29 related to less reading. Overall, the data suggest that 30 television has a small adverse effect on learning. 31 Socialization, especially sex role socialization, has 32 been a continuing concern because television so fre- 33 quently presents basic images of gender. In prime 34 time programming men outnumber women two or 35 three to one. Women are younger than men and tend 36 to be cast in more stereotypic roles, and tend to be 37 less active, more likely to be victimized, less aggres- 38 sive, and more limited in employment than men. 39 Children's programs are similarly sex stereotyped with 40 women generally underrepresented, stereotyped, and 41 less central to the program. Cultivation analysis sug- 42 gests that a relationship exists between viewing and 43 stereotypical conceptions about gender roles. Some 44 research examining race role socialization shows 45 similar patterns, suggesting that limited portrayals and 46 stereotyped roles can contribute to skewed percep- 47 tions by race. Although African-Americans have 48 frequently been portrayed negatively, other minority 49 groups such as Asians and Hispanics have simply 50 been missing from the screen world--a process some- 51 times called symbolic annihilation. 52 Beyond the content of fictional representations, all 53 parents would agree that children learn from television 54 advertising. Researchers initially assumed children 55 had minimal comprehension of the selling intent of 56 advertising and children verbally described advertise- 57 ment as an "informational service." Nonverbal mea- 58 sures, however, demonstrated that children under- 59 stood that commercials persuaded them to buy 60 products. Social scientists have studied a number of 61 potential effects of advertising. These include the 62 frequent requests for products, the modification of self- 63 esteem, the relations of advertising to obesity, and to 64 alcohol and cigarette consumption. This research has 65 been dominated by a deficit model in which children 66 are defined as unable to distinguish selling intent, or 67 as easily misled by what they see. PASSAGE 2: 68 The average American child will witness 200,000 69 violent acts on television by age 18. TV violence 70 sometimes begs for imitation because violence is 71 often demonstrated and promoted as a fun and effec- 72 tive way to get what you want. And many violent acts 73 are perpetrated by the "good guys," whom children 74 have been taught to emulate. Even though children are 75 taught by their parents that it's not right to hit, television 76 says it's OK to bite, hit, or kick if you're the good guy. 77 Even the "bad guys" on TV aren't always held responsi- 78 ble or punished for their actions. 79 The images children absorb can also leave them 80 traumatized and vulnerable. According to research, 81 children ages 2 to 7 are particularly frightened by scary- 82 looking things like grotesque monsters. Simply telling 83 children that those images aren't real won't console 84 them, because they can't yet distinguish between fan- 85 tasy and reality. Kids ages 8 to 12 are frightened by the 86 threat of violence, natural disasters, and the victimi- 87 zation of children, whether those images appear on 88 fictional shows, the news, or reality-based shows. 89 Reasoning with children this age will help them, so it's 90 important to provide reassuring and honest inform- 91 ation to help ease your child's fears. However, you 92 may want to avoid letting your child view programs that 93 he or she may find frightening. 94 Alcohol ads on TV have actually increased over the last 95 few years and more underage children are being ex- 96 posed to them than ever. A recent study conducted by 97 the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at 98 Georgetown University found that the top 15 teen- 99 oriented programs in 2003 had alcohol ads. And 100 although they've banned cigarette ads on television, 101 kids and teens can still see plenty of people smoking 102 on programs and movies airing on TV. This kind of 103 "product placement" makes behaviors like smoking 104 and drinking alcohol seem acceptable. In fact, kids 105 who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far more 106 likely to begin smoking cigarettes than those who 107 watch less than the recommended 2 hours a day. 108 Health experts have long linked excessive TV-watching 109 to obesity - a significant health problem today. While 110 watching TV, children are inactive and tend to snack. 111 They're also bombarded with advertising messages 112 that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods such as 113 potato chips and empty-calorie soft drinks that often 114 become preferred snack foods. Too much educational 115 TV has the same indirect effect on children's health. 116 Even if children are watching 4 hours of quality edu- 117 cational television, that still means they're not exer- 118 cising, reading, socializing, or spending time outside. 119 But studies have shown that decreasing the amount 120 of TV children watched led to less weight gain and 121 lower body mass index (BMI - a measurement derived 122 from someone's weight and height). Question: Which of the following statements captures the main difference between Passage 1 and Passage 2?

1 Phonotactic rules, or constraints, govern which sounds 2 can or cannot combine in a given language. An English 3 speaker, for example, could easily decide, without 4 much thought, that "blong" is a possible English word, 5 and that "engob" is not, even though neither word 6 exists in the language. This is because the segment 7 "engob," though it is acceptable in other languages, 8 such as Burmese, is not acceptable in English. Knowl- 9 edge of phonotactic constraints arises from early 10 experience during infancy, but continues to grow and 11 change throughout life. In fact, one's phonotactic 12 knowledge may shift as one's language, or exposure 13 to that language, changes over a lifetime of linguistic 14 experience. Thus, a native speaker of English may 15 have a different representation of the phonotactic 16 constraints of his or her language later in life than he 17 or she did as an adolescent. Question: Based on the information in lines 14-17, which of the following could also be true?

He was very ________ and would not comply with the request. Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Alice may not have said anything, but because she continued to play the game, she gave ________ consent. Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Despite living in a hedonistic society, Alan chose to pursue a(n) ________ lifestyle, free from materialism. Select the word that best completes the sentence.

1 Since the dawn of fashion in the West some seven 2 hundred years ago, probably no other article of clothing 3 has in the course of its evolution more fully served as a 4 vehicle for the expression of ambivalences and 5 ambiguities than blue jeans. Some of the social history 6 supporting this statement is by now generally well 7 known. First fashioned in the mid-nineteenth-century 8 American West by Morris Levi Strauss, a Bavarian 9 Jewish peddler newly arrived in San Francisco, the 10 trousers, then as now, were made from a sturdy, 11 indigo-based cotton cloth said to have originated in 12 Nimes, France. A garment similar to that manufactured 13 by Levi Strauss for gold-miners and outdoor laborers 14 is said to have been worn earlier in France by sailors 15 and dockworkers from Genoa, Italy, who were referred 16 to as "genes;" hence the term "jeans." The distinctive 17 copper riveting at the pants pockets and other stress 18 points was the invention of Jacob Davis, a tailor from 19 Carson City, Nevada, who joined the Levi Strauss firm 20 in 1873, some twenty years after the garment's intro- 21 duction. Years later the working man's garment 22 attained the prominence and near-universal recogni- 23 tion it possesses today. For it was not until the late 24 1960s that blue jeans, after several failed moves in 25 previous decades into a broader mass market, strik- 26 ingly crossed over nearly all class, gender, age, 27 regional, national, and ideological lines to become the 28 universally worn and widely accepted item of apparel 29 they are today. And since the crossover, enthusiasm 30 for them has by no means been confined to North 31 America and Western Europe. In former Soviet bloc 32 countries and much of the Third World, too, where they 33 have generally been in short supply, they remain highly 34 sought after and hotly bargained over. 35 A critical feature of this cultural breakthrough is, of 36 course, blue jeans' identity change from a garment 37 associated exclusively with work (and hard work, at 38 that) to one invested with many of the symbolic 39 attributes of leisure: ease, comfort, casualness, 40 sociability, and the outdoors. Or, as the costume 41 historians Jasper and Roach-Higgins (1987) might put 42 it, the garment underwent a process of cultural 43 authentication that led to its acquisition of meanings 44 quite different from those with which it began. In 45 bridging the work/leisure divide when they did, jeans 46 tapped into the new, consumer-goods-oriented, 47 postindustrial affluence of the West on a massive 48 scale. Soon thereafter jeans penetrated those many 49 other parts of the world that emulate the West. Question: In line 29, the word "crossover" refers to: