Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The following sentences test your ability to recognize 24. Each time a significant advance is made in com-
grammar and usage errors. Each sentence contains either A. B
a single error or no error at all. No sentence contains more
puter technology, some pundit declares that it
than one error. The error, ifthere is one, is underlined
and lettered. If the sentence contains an error, select the
one underlined part that must be changed to make the will have altered the course of human history.
sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice E.
C D
In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard
written English. No error
E
EXAMPLE:
The other delegates and him immediately 25. Neither the president or the secretary thinks that
ABC A B
accepted the resolution drafted by the the corporation has sufficient information on which
D C D
neutral states. No error
to base a conclusion. No error
E
E
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29. The Russian count, like his British and Spanish 32. The Teutonic Knights took Gdansk in 1308
A
counterparts, prided themselves on being part of and renamed it Danzig; by 1466, however, Polish
A B B
the official delegation that would negotiate the . . kings were sovereign there once again and had
C C D
treaty with France. No error restored the city's original name. No error
D E E
30. The decision about which emergency routes to 33. He was somewhat uncertain about how to use
A A B
use should be made quick and judicious' by the the new machine and asked for more specific
B C C D
government if the refugees are to leave the city instructions be sent. No error
E
in time. No error
D E 34. Aerial photography is thought to be
A
31. Despite the claims of its devotees, sunbathing the most efficient. technique to gather accurate
A B B C
is not always healthful; prolonged exposure to it information about the use of the land. No error
C D E
can sometimes cause skin cancer. No error
D E
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38. In context, which is the best way to phrase sentence 9 39. Which of the folIowing concluding sentences, if added
(reproduced below) ? after sentence 15, would be most consistent with the
passage?
Another example is in the home.
(A) BasicalIy, this is one more indication that our
(A) (As it is now) .
society is in trouble.
(B) More examples of this would be found in the
(B) Apparently, technological progress alone cannot
home.
guarantee quality oflife.
(C) Technological progress also affects life in our
(C) Therefore; we are healthier today, but has greater
homes.
happiness been achieved?
(D) Home life is another way this modem trend
(D) This is why the advantages of technology are
would be manifested.
insignificant compared to the drawbacks.
(E) In addition, home life is an example of this
(E) As has been shown in the previous examples,
technological problem.
the dangers of technology are very great.
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section in the test.
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12
Writing and Language Test
35 MINUTES, 44 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage below is accomr:1anied by a number of questions. For some questions, you
will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For
other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in
sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied by
one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make revising
and editing decisions.
Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will
direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.
After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively
improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the
conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a "NO CHANGE" option.
Choose thatoption if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion ofthe
passage as it is.
[1] Sixty miles north of Guam and more than C) observe to see
D) visually watch
1,700 feet under the ocean's surface is the summit of
.,.
magma, and the heat drives chemical reactions that
D) similarly,
remove oxygen, sulfates, 11 and remove other chemicals
from the water. Once the superheated water (up to 750°F)
-A) NO CHANGE
B) it also removes
C) also removing
D) and
Questions 9·10 are based on the following passage. Questions 11-12 are based on the following passage.
My grandmother told dozens of stories about emigrat- ,One model of lunar origin had the Moon fQrming at
ing west toward Oregon in Conestoga wagons during the the same time and place as Earth, by condensing from an
.. 1850's. She and the other women in my family were a enormous disk of gas and dust surrounding the early Sun.
'ne spirited lot. They cooked, sewed, complained, nurtured- Line But the Moon's density is little more than half that of Earth.
5 all the while living their lives under unbelievably hard 5 That difference in density had led some to propose that the
circumstances. It never occurred to me to question their Moon lacks an iron core like the one in Earth's innards, and
absence from history as taught in school. At the time we indeed; seismic readings from the Moon confirmed that the
learned only about the men who clashed at the Alamo, lunar core is small to nonexistent. If the Moon was born at
the men who forged across the mountains and mapped the same time and in the same region of the solar system
'0 out the Northwest Passage. History seldom tells the 10 as Earth, why doesn't it have a core like that of Earth?
stories of the eight hundred thousand women who also
came west, lively stories of courtship, love, inventive- 11. The main purpose of the passage is to
ness, humor, skulduggery, passion.
(A) challenge the reliability of an observation
(B) shake the foundations of a science.
9. The main idea of the passage is that
(C) indicate the weakness of a theory
(A) the author's grandmother sometimes exaggerated (D) question the validity of an experiment
when telling stories about the West (E) expose the implausibility of a prediction
(B) many of the women in the author's family lived
under very trying circumstances 12. The question about the Moon in lines 8-10 is based
(C~ men and women shared many responsibilities on which underlying assumption?
during the westward migration of the 1850' s
(D) historians have focused more on the men than (A) The larger a celestial body is, the greater its
. on the \yomen who emigrated west density will'be. .
(E) more women than men emigrated west, according (B) Bodies formed simultaneously from the same
.to most historians 'substance have similar internal structures.
(C) The planets of the solar system wer~ all formed
at the same time from a disk of gas and dust.
10. The author refers to "the men who clashed at the
(D) A seismic reading is possible only on a celestial
Alamo" (line 8) as an example of
body that has an iron core.
(A) men whose experiences became part of the (E) A planet necessarily contains a higher concen-
history taught in school tration of iron than does its satellite.
(B) men who were just as successful as those
who charted the Northwest Passage
(C) pioneers whose role in our nation's history
deserves more att,ention
(D) settlers who were accompanied westward
by wives, sisters, and mothers
(E) soldiers whose efforts are long forgotten
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1 1 1
Questions 13-24 are based on the following passages. . doubt that she was referring to a performance of Don
Giovanni we'd seen together several years earlier: the
Those who accept the idea of telepathy believe that highly idealized representation of a brace of elephantine
thoughts can be 'exchanged without using the five senses. In peacocks had been an element of the set decoration. .
Passage 1, the author recounts his experience with a young 50 Well, an observer would say, maybe our seats were next
man who claims to be a telepathist; in Passage 2, the to a poster of a flamingo. Or oia peacock. Maybe we'djust
author reflects on her own perceptions oftelepathy. heard some Mozart* on the radio. Somehow, an observer
would argue that my mother and I must have been reacting
Passage 1 to a common'clue. And of course I can't prove that this
55 wasn't so. I can only say that if it was so, then it happened
We began with an experiment. The man asked me to all the time.
make a drawing on a blank piece of paper. I made a sketch In fact, the largest part of any real communication
of a creature I had invented some time ago to amuse my between my mother and me occurred on an unspoken level:
Line children. When I had finished, he asked me to cover the as far as the eye could see or the ear could hear, we did not
5 drawing with my hand. Then he asked me to concentrate 60 get on well at all. It was, like many misunderstandings, a
hard and to try to transmit the thought of what I had circular affair-I thought I disliked her largely because she
sketched. A minute went by with no result. He shook his seemed determined to disapprove of me: to disapprove not
head. "It seems very complicated; is it a kind of amoeba?" merely of what I did but of the way I did it.
Slowly and hesitantly he began to draw the creature's right In telepathic communication, however, all such
10 ear-the spot where I always begin the drawing. "You've 65 problems vanish. Telepathy seems to operate along the
got it," I said. "Go on!" He completed the drawing quickly. same principles as an emergency generator: it only works
I had carefully redrawn the picture in my mind as I tried to as a backup system when the primary-that is, the intel-
transmit it-which probably accounts for the identical lectual, the conscious-machinery has been turned off.
starting point. My mother and I were always taken unaware by it. When
15 The man then demonstrated other powers. He made the 70 we'd forgotten about each other-when we'd escaped our
hands of my watch tum back'two hours and the date go customary impulse to make merciless judgments and
forward two days by stroking a coin placed over its face, counterjudgments and were thinking about something else,
explaining afterward that he derives power from metal. He like putting suitcases in a luggage rack-that was exactly
had a little trouble trying to break my car key. However, he the time a flash of semaphore would blink between us. It
20 placed it against a metal radiator, and after a few seconds 75 would happen without warning, and suddenly, inexplicably,
said, "It's starting to go." Tile key snapped in two. there we would be, united in a common understanding in
Then he tried to transmit a picture to me by telepathy. I spite of ourselves.
attempted to make my mind receptive, but no image came
into it. Feeling rather embarrassed, I just drew the first *composer of the opera Don Giovanni
25 thing that came into my head: check mark. The man
showed me the piece of paper he was holding. It contained
a mirror image of the symbol I had drawn. It could be 13. Which is the most accurate comparison of the two
significant in this connection that the man is left-handed. passages?
After I left the room, I began to sift my impressions.
30 Only the day before, an acquaintance had warned me to (A) Passages I and 2 both endorse telepathy without
watch carefully for sleight-of-hand tricks, especially as the reservations.
man had earlier been a stage conjuror. I had to admit that (B) Passages I and 2 both idealize telepathy in a
most of the things he had done could have been tricks. For subjective manner.
instance, snapping the key with his fingers and altering the (C) Passage I serves as an apology for telepathy,
35 han'ds and date on my watch with the winder would have whereas Passage 2 argues against it. .
been well within the ability of a skilled conjuror. But how (D) Passage I debates a theory, whereas Passage 2
could he have faked the drawing of what I had drawn? And. rejects it without argument.
if that feat was due to genuine telepathic powers, the other (E) Passage I reports an event, whereas Passage 2
demonstrations could also be genUine. ' . functions as a personal reminiscence.
Passage 2
40 My mother and I communicated most clearly when we
communicated telepathically. I remember once getting onto
a train with her, and as we were putting our suitcases on the
luggage rack, she said, out of the blue, "They're tropical,
aren't they?" And I said, "You're probably thinking of
45 flamingos. These were peacocks." I didn't for one moment
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14. In line 18, "derives" most nearly means 19. The phrases "I thought" (line 61) and "she seemed"
(lines 61-62) primarily convey the author's belief that
(A) obtains
(B) infers (A) her mother intentionally sent her mixed messages
(C) connects (B) she and her mother were not fundamentally at
(D) traces odds
(E) originates (C) mothers and daughters should strive to speak
candidly
15. It can be inferred from lines 30-36 that the telepathist's (D) generational differences are largely superficial
demonstrations would appear most convincing to a (E) people trust their senses at their own peril
critical observer if the telepathist were to
20. Which of the following hypothetical statements
(A) provide more infonnation about his background
would best counter the claim that the nonverbal
(B) critique the performances of other telepathists
communication between mother and daughter was
(C) perfonn in a rigorously controlled environment
a result of environmental cues?
(D) explain the reason for his reputation
(E) talk about what he is doing as he performs (A) The two women favored different leisure-time
activities.
16. The "acquaintance" mentioned in line 30 can best be (B) The two wornen had trouble understanding each
described as a other's needs and desires. .
(C) Thetwo women communicated telepathically
(A) skeptic when they were apart.
(B) hypocrite
(D) The two women preferred to communicate
(C) hoaxer
telepathically.
(D) confidant
(E) The two women seldom agreed about the impor-
(E) mystic
tance of what was going on around them.
17. Which phrase best characterizes the author's general
21. Which statement about telepathy agrees most
attitude in Passage 1 ? .
closely with the situation described by the author
(A) Complete indifference of Passage 2 ?
(B) Escalating anxiety
(A) Telepathy as a means of communication does
(C) Righteous indignation
not operate at the will of the telepathist.
(D) Cynical amusement
(B) Telepathy as a means of communication could
(E) . Guarded acceptance·
be used more widely if people made the effort
to do so.
18; According to the author of Passage 2, the most signifi- (C) Telepathy is a natural reaction to elements in
cant aspect of her mother's statement, "They' re tropical, our immediate environment.
aren't they?" (lines 43-44) is that (D) Telepathy is a particularly effective means of
(A) her mother is referring to peacocks, which are not communication that allows us to transmit
tropical birds detailed and specific infonnation.
(B) the remark appears out of context, but the author (E) Telepathy is a special means of communication
can still decipher its meaning that has been unfairly maligned.
(C) the author and her mother both remember the
perfonnance of Don Giovanni they saw several 22. With which of the following statements would the
years earlier authors of both passages be most likely to agree?
(D) the author and her mother both recognize the . (A) Telepathy requires concentration.
symbolism of the highly idealized birds in the
(B) Telepathy o.ccurs when people are closely related.
stage set (C) Telepathy has been proven scientifically.
(E) her mother starts the conversation on the train
(D) .Telepathy between people is possible,
rather than waiting until later
(E) Telepathy is nothing more than a conjuror's trick.
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only,
Do not turn to any other section in the test.
2004 S -6-
Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
•m#iiMWi
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table or
graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following The glass was very shiny and not one pane was
passage. broken. Within those glass cases were our silk-
30 wrapped boxes, all our hard work. They looked so
This passage is adapted from Amy Tan, The Bonesetter's
Daughter. ©2001 by Amy Tan. much nicer than they had in the ink-making studio
at Immortal Heart village.
At last, Old Widow Lau was done haggling with I saw that Father had opened several of the boxes.
the driver and we stepped inside Father's shop. It was He set sticks and cakes and other shapes on a silk
north-facing, quite dim inside, and perhaps this was 35 cloth covering a glass case that served as a table on
Line why Father did not see us at first. He was busy with a which he and the customer leaned. First he pointed
5 customer, a man who was distinguished-looking, like to a stick with a top shaped like a fairy boat and said
the scholars of two decades before. The two men with graceful importance, "Your writing will flow as
were bent over a glass case, discussing the different smoothly as a keel cutting through a glassy lake."
qualities of inksticks. Big Uncle welcomed us and 40 He picked up a bird shape: "Your mind will soar into
invited us to be seated. From his formal tone, I knew the clouds of higher thought." He waved toward a
10 he did not recognize who we were. So I called his row of ink cakes embellished with designs of peonies
name in a shy voice. And he squinted at me, then and bamboo: "Your ledgers will blossom into
laughed and announced our arrival to Little Uncle, abundance while bamboo surrounds your quiet
who apologized many times for not rushing over 45 mind."
sooner to greet us. They rushed us to be seated at one As he said this, Precious Auntie came back into
15 of two tea tables for customers. Old Widow Lau mind. I was remembering how she taught me that
refused their invitation three times, exclaiming that everything, even ink, had a purpose and a meaning:
my father and uncles must be too busy for visitors. Good ink cannot be the quick kind, ready to pour out
She made weak efforts to leave. On the fourth 50 of a bottle. You can never be an artist if your work
insistence, we finally sat. Then Little Uncle brought comes without effort. That is the problem of modern
20 us hot tea and sweet oranges, as well as bamboo ink from a bottle. You do not have to think. You
latticework fans with which to cool ourselves. simply write what is swimming on the top of your
I tried to notice everything so I could later tell brain. And the top is nothing but pond scum, dead
GaoLing what I had seen, and tease out her envy. The 55 leaves, and mosquito spawn. But when you push an
floors of the shop were of dark wood, polished and inkstick along an inkstone, you take the first step to
25 clean, no dirty footprints, even though this was cleansing your mind and your heart. You push and
during the dustiest part of the summer. And along you ask yourself, What are my intentions? What is in
the walls were display cases made of wood and glass. my heart that matches my mind?
-
C) Lines 15-18 ("Old .. . leave")
D) Lines 19-21 ("Then ... ourselves")