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RC Session 1 – GMAT Intensive Batch

By Sandeep Gupta | GMAT 800/800, Harvard Final Admit
Passage 1
Native American stories often feature a character called the
trickster, a comic figure who has both mortal weaknesses and
supernatural powers. Recently, the term “trickster” has also
appeared in criticism of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century
European literature, particularly in reference to the
picaresque novel and its central character, the picaro
(Spanish for “rogue”): both the picaro and the trickster are
heroes of episodic adventures, and both live on the
peripheries of society and are morally flawed.
Yet closer examination reveals that applying the term
“trickster” to both characters obscures essential differences
between them. The picaro—typically a male character—
operates primarily as an agent of satire. Most commonly, the
picaro’s adventures begin when he spontaneously yields to
his own roguish, though innocent, impulses. The picaro
indulges in vices and follies with relish and freedom, much to
the outrage of other members of society, who often secretly
indulge in similar pastimes out of a habitual compulsion.
Thus, the picaro’s authenticity serves as a foil to the
perceived hypocrisy of conventional society. To such a
society, the picaro can represent a dangerous, disruptive
freedom, and it reacts by marginalizing him. It is in that
distance—between the ostensibly disreputable freedom of
the picaro and the hypocrisy of the safely ensconced social
being—that the satire occurs.
But the trickster, usually an animal acting as a human agent,
does not serve a satiric function. For while the picaresque
novel takes place in and satirizes human society, the trickster
operates in the ahistorical world of myth; where the targets
of the picaresque novel are the idiosyncrasies and
inconsistencies of a historical human society, trickster stories
seek, using the trickster’s negative example, to instruct
listeners about moral behavior of individuals. In fact,
whatever flaws the trickster reveals are thoroughly the
trickster’s own. They are not a foil to a corrupt society; they
are instead essential to who the trickster is. The trickster is a
comic figure precisely because of these somewhat irrational,
compulsive, and foolish—in short, mortal—actions.
Similarly, the trickster is a socially peripheral character not
by being forced to the periphery by a hypocritical society, but
rather because the trickster’s thoroughly flawed character
makes the trickster fundamentally antisocial, even anarchic,
all the while helping listeners to avoid these flaws.
It is this combination of mythic setting and mortal weakness
that determines the particular targets of the trickster’s comic
high jinks: the eternal and unchanging foibles of mortal
beings. In one story, for example, a coyote trickster falls in
love with a star. The trickster is quite tenacious and human,
even though the object of desire is beyond reasonable mortal
possibility. In the end the star takes the trickster up into the
sky, only to let the trickster fall back to Earth; the story’s
listeners realize that the trickster has gotten a comeuppance
for reaching beyond proper limits, but all the while they
recognize in themselves the trickster’s extravagant hopes.
1. The passage provides the most support for inferring
that conventional society as portrayed in picaresque
novels perceives the picaro as representing a
dangerous, disruptive freedom for which one of the
following reasons?
A. The picaro has the potential to inflict physical injury on
society members.
B. The picaro threatens to upset long-standing political
structures.
C. The picaro has been marginalized by conventional
society.
D. The picaro threatens to force society to face its hypocrisy.
E. The picaro suffers no consequences for indulging in his
vices.
2. Based on the author’s view in the passage, applying
the term “trickster” to the character of the picaro is
most similar to which one of the following?
A. claiming that someone supports an extreme political view
when it is clear that the person supports a centrist view
B. characterizing the panda as a bear based on superficial
similarities when a deeper understanding shows it to be
related instead to the raccoon
C. calling a court decision a milestone as a way of suggesting
metaphorically that the decision is significant
D. classifying a species of pine tree as an evergreen even
though many of its needles turn brown and fall off during
certain seasons
E. describing a common weed as aggressive because it
outcompetes certain garden flowers for sun and water
3. The author of the passage states that the flaws of the
trickster are not a foil to a corrupt society primarily
in order to
A. demonstrate that the trickster is a comic figure with
supernatural powers
B. allude to the functional similarities between the trickster
and the picaro
C. contrast the role of the trickster with that of the picaro
D. illustrate how the trickster is used to engage in social
commentary
E. emphasize the disruptive, anarchic character of the
trickster
4. Based on the passage, the author would be most likely
to agree with which one of the following statements
about the criticism mentioned in the second sentence
of the first paragraph?
A. It has systematically denigrated the literary traditions of
Native Americans.
B. Its use of the trickster appellation has nothing to do with
the Native American trickster character.
C. Its reading of picaresque novels is at odds with its reading
of Native American trickster stories.
D. It reflects an attempt to be precise in the use of literary
terminology.
E. It bases its analysis on an incomplete understanding of
trickster stories.
Native American stories often feature a character called the
trickster, a comic figure who has both mortal weaknesses and
supernatural powers. Recently, the term “trickster” has also
appeared in criticism of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century
European literature, particularly in reference to the
picaresque novel and its central character, the picaro
(Spanish for “rogue”): both the picaro and the trickster are
heroes of episodic adventures, and both live on the
peripheries of society and are morally flawed.
5. In the context of the passage, which one of the
following most accurately captures the meaning of
the term “authenticity” in the middle of the second
paragraph?
A. conforming to an original
B. having certain essential features
C. behaving as others do
D. inspiring absolute trust
E. following one’s natural inclinations

Yet closer examination reveals that applying the term
“trickster” to both characters obscures essential differences
between them. The picaro—typically a male character—
operates primarily as an agent of satire. Most commonly, the
picaro’s adventures begin when he spontaneously yields to
his own roguish, though innocent, impulses. The picaro
indulges in vices and follies with relish and freedom, much to
the outrage of other members of society, who often secretly
indulge in similar pastimes out of a habitual compulsion.
Thus the picaro’s authenticity serves as a foil to the
perceived hypocrisy of conventional society. To such a
society, the picaro can represent a dangerous, disruptive
freedom, and it reacts by marginalizing him. It is in that
distance—between the ostensibly disreputable freedom of
the picaro and the hypocrisy of the safely ensconced social
being—that the satire occurs.
6. The author refers to the story concerning the coyote
trickster and the star for each of the following
reasons EXCEPT:
A. It provides evidence showing why coyotes make
particularly poignant trickster characters.
B. It illustrates the claim that the targets of trickster stories
are human foibles.
C. It supports the assertion that tricksters are comic figures.
D. It illustrates a way in which human listeners can identify
with the trickster figure.
E. It indicates that one typically human trait tricksters can
have is extravagant desire.

But the trickster, usually an animal acting as a human agent,

does not serve a satiric function. For while the picaresque
novel takes place in and satirizes human society, the trickster
operates in the ahistorical world of myth; where the targets
of the picaresque novel are the idiosyncrasies and
inconsistencies of a historical human society, trickster stories
seek, using the trickster’s negative example, to instruct
listeners about moral behavior of individuals. In fact,
whatever flaws the trickster reveals are thoroughly the
trickster’s own. They are not a foil to a corrupt society; they
are instead essential to who the trickster is. The trickster is a
comic figure precisely because of these somewhat irrational,
compulsive, and foolish—in short, mortal—actions.
Similarly, the trickster is a socially peripheral character not
by being forced to the periphery by a hypocritical society, but
rather because the trickster’s thoroughly flawed character
makes the trickster fundamentally antisocial, even anarchic,
all the while helping listeners to avoid these flaws.

It is this combination of mythic setting and mortal weakness

that determines the particular targets of the trickster’s comic
high jinks: the eternal and unchanging foibles of mortal
beings. In one story, for example, a coyote trickster falls in
love with a star. The trickster is quite tenacious and human,
even though the object of desire is beyond reasonable mortal
possibility. In the end the star takes the trickster up into the
sky, only to let the trickster fall back to Earth; the story’s
listeners realize that the trickster has gotten a comeuppance
for reaching beyond proper limits, but all the while they
recognize in themselves the trickster’s extravagant hopes.
Passage 2
The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is well
established, but the practice has recently come under fire
from legal theorists who maintain that corporations should
be held civilly rather than criminally liable for wrongdoing.
Civil liability, these theorists argue, shares important
features with criminal liability: both impose punishment on a
company, both aim at deterrence, and both degrade a
company’s reputation. Yet, they claim, civil liability is better
able to determine appropriate levels of damages.
Furthermore, because criminal liability causes a greater loss
of reputation, its overall cost to corporations is far higher
than that of civil liability; this additional cost is borne by
society at large in the form of higher product prices. Finally,
civil liability is also more cost-effective from the point of view
of the government: the greater procedural protections of
criminal law make deterrence through criminal prosecution
extremely expensive.
Even if it is less economical, however, criminal liability is a
much stronger deterrent. The considerable enforcement
powers involved, including the ability to detain and question
corporate officials, are themselves significant deterrents.
Furthermore, the fact that private civil litigation requires an
identifiable victim with the necessary resources to
commence litigation weakens its deterrent impact. Most
importantly, the main function of criminal law is to censure
wrongdoing and to emphasize that society forcefully rejects
such conduct. Civil liability is ill suited for this purpose.
Other legal theorists who do not object to criminal sanctions
per se argue that individuals within corporations, rather than
corporations themselves, are the appropriate target of
criminal prosecution in cases involving corporate
wrongdoing. They maintain that individuals within
corporations are more responsive to deterrence because they
generally fear prosecution and the loss of employment that
can result from it. Additionally, they say, punishment of a
corporation, in the form of a fine, essentially punishes
shareholders, creditors, employees who may be laid off, and
ultimately the public, which is forced to absorb higher prices.
However, this approach is also misguided. Corporations often
bury responsibility within complex hierarchies, with the
result that no individual responsible for corporate misdeeds
can be identified. Another problem is that under this
approach, a corporation will often find it cheaper to designate
and compensate an internal scapegoat to face prosecution
than to refrain from wrongdoing. The most effective way to
ensure that corporations improve their practices is to hold
corporations themselves criminally liable for their conduct.
Indeed, criminal liability works on shareholders as well as
corporate officers and employees: because criminal
punishment of corporations decreases their wealth, it can
motivate shareholders to push for better corporate practices.
Arguments that shareholders and employees need economic
protection are outweighed by the greater societal interest in
ensuring the safety of employees, the public, and the
environment.
7. Which one of the following most accurately expresses
the main point of the passage?
A. Although the use of criminal sanctions against
corporations has recently faced criticism, it remains the
more effective way of deterring corporate wrongdoing
than civil liability.
B. While civil sanctions against corporations would be more
cost-effective than criminal sanctions, it is difficult to
identify victims of corporate wrongdoing who have the
resources to file civil suits.
C. Neither civil sanctions against corporations nor criminal
sanctions against individuals within corporations are
capable of deterring corporate wrongdoing.
D. The best way to ensure that corporations improve their
practices is to use criminal sanctions against both
corporations and individuals within corporations.
E. The use of criminal sanctions against individuals within
corporations is preferable to the use of civil sanctions
because the latter fails to censure wrongdoing
adequately.
8. Which one of the following most accurately describes
the author’s purpose in saying that corporations
often bury responsibility within complex
hierarchies?
A. to explain why corporations might find it advantageous to
appoint an internal scapegoat
B. to highlight the reasons why individuals are, according to
critics of corporate criminal liability, more responsive to
deterrence
C. to underscore the extent to which corporate criminal
liability penalizes certain people unfairly
D. to indicate that the proposal that individuals be subject to
criminal liability for corporate wrongdoing is likely to be
impracticable
E. to suggest that critics of criminal corporate liability have
misunderstood the legal definition of criminal liability
9. Suppose a corporation has for decades polluted a
river on which a major city is located with toxic waste
known to increase the incidence of certain forms of
cancer. Which one of the following scenarios would
most closely conform to the author’s views regarding
how corporate wrongdoing is most effectively
addressed?
A. In response to criminal prosecution of the corporation,
several of the corporation’s shareholders put pressure on
the corporation’s board of directors to ensure that the
corporation will dispose of waste in an environmentally
sound manner.
B. In order to assist in civil litigation against the corporation,
the federal government moves to expand the use of
enforcement powers traditionally reserved for criminal
prosecution.
C. The corporation’s largest shareholders are sued by
several residents of the city who suffer from a form of
cancer associated with the toxic waste dumped by the
corporation.
D. The city prosecutes the corporation’s top executives for
violating several city ordinances when they ordered the
dumping of toxic waste into the river.
E. The city government and several residents of the city hold
a press conference in which they attempt to undermine
the reputation of the corporation and thereby pressure
the corporation to change its practices.
Passage 3

Two impressive studies have reexamined Eric Williams’ 10. Which one of the following best describes the main
conclusion that Britain’s abolition of the slave trade in 1807 idea of the passage?
and its emancipation of slaves in its colonies in 1834 were A. Although they disagree about the degree to which
driven primarily by economic rather than humanitarian economic motives influenced Britain’s abolition of
motives. Blighted by depleted soil, indebtedness, and the slavery, Drescher and Eltis both concede that moral
inefficiency of coerced labor, these colonies, according to persuasion by abolitionists was a significant factor.
Williams, had by 1807 become an impediment to British B. Although both Drescher and Eltis have questioned
economic progress. Williams’ analysis of the motivation behind Britain’s
abolition of slavery, there is support for part of Williams’
Seymour Drescher provides a more balanced view. Rejecting conclusion.
interpretations based either on economic interest or the C. Because he has taken into account the populist
moral vision of abolitionists, Drescher has reconstructed the characteristics of British abolitionism, Drescher’s
populist characteristics of British abolitionism, which explanation of what motivated Britain’s abolition of
appears to have cut across lines of class, party, and religion. slavery is finally more persuasive than that of Eltis.
Noting that between 1780 and 1830 antislavery petitions D. Neither Eltis nor Drescher has succeeded in explaining
outnumbered those on any other issue, including why support for Britain’s abolition of slavery appears to
parliamentary reform, Drescher concludes that such support have cut across lines of party, class, and religion.
cannot be explained by economic interest alone, especially E. Although flawed in certain respects, Williams’
when much of it came from the unenfranchised masses. Yet, conclusions regarding the economic condition of British
aside from demonstrating that such support must have slave colonies early in the nineteenth century have been
resulted at least in part from widespread literacy and a largely vindicated.
tradition of political activism, Drescher does not finally
explain how England, a nation deeply divided by class 11. It can be inferred that Eltis cites the views of “certain
struggles, could mobilize popular support for antislavery notables” in order to
measures proposed by otherwise conservative politicians in A. support the claim that British traditions of liberty were
the House of Lords and approved there with little dissent. not as strong as Drescher believed them to be
B. support the contention that a strong labor force was
David Eltis’ answer to that question actually supports some important to Britain’s economy
of Williams’ insights. Eschewing Drescher’s idealization of C. emphasize the importance of slavery as an institution in
British traditions of liberty, Eltis points to continuing use of preindustrial Britain
low wages and Draconian vagrancy laws in the seventeenth D. indicate that the laboring classes provided little support
and eighteenth centuries to ensure the industriousness of for the abolition of slavery
British workers. Indeed, certain notables even called for the E. establish that laborers in preindustrial Britain had few
enslavement of unemployed laborers who roamed the British civil rights
countryside—an acceptance of coerced labor that Eltis
attributes to a preindustrial desire to keep labor costs low
and exports competitive. By the late eighteenth century,
however, a growing home market began to alert capitalists to
the importance of “want creation” and to incentives such as
higher wages as a means of increasing both worker
productivity and the number of consumers. Significantly, it
was products grown by slaves, such as sugar, coffee, and
tobacco, that stimulated new wants at all levels of British
society and were the forerunners of products intended in
modern capitalist societies to satisfy what Eltis describes as
“non-subsistence or psychological needs.” Eltis concludes
that in an economy that had begun to rely on voluntary labor
to satisfy such needs, forced labor necessarily began to
appear both inappropriate and counterproductive to
employers. Eltis thus concludes that, while Williams may well
have underestimated the economic viability of the British
colonies employing forced labor in the early 1800s, his
insight into the economic motives for abolition was partly
accurate. British leaders became committed to colonial labor
reform only when they became convinced, for reasons other
than those cited by Williams, that free labor was more
beneficial to the imperial economy.
Two impressive studies have reexamined Eric Williams’
conclusion that Britain’s abolition of the slave trade in 1807
and its emancipation of slaves in its colonies in 1834 were
driven primarily by economic rather than humanitarian
motives. Blighted by depleted soil, indebtedness, and the
inefficiency of coerced labor, these colonies, according to
Williams, had by 1807 become an impediment to British
economic progress.
Seymour Drescher provides a more balanced view. Rejecting
interpretations based either on economic interest or the
moral vision of abolitionists, Drescher has reconstructed the
populist characteristics of British abolitionism, which
appears to have cut across lines of class, party, and religion.
Noting that between 1780 and 1830 antislavery petitions
outnumbered those on any other issue, including
parliamentary reform, Drescher concludes that such support
cannot be explained by economic interest alone, especially
when much of it came from the unenfranchised masses. Yet,
aside from demonstrating that such support must have
resulted at least in part from widespread literacy and a
tradition of political activism, Drescher does not finally
explain how England, a nation deeply divided by class
struggles, could mobilize popular support for antislavery
measures proposed by otherwise conservative politicians in
the House of Lords and approved there with little dissent.
12. The information in the passage suggests that Eltis and
Drescher agree that
A. people of all classes in Britain supported the abolition of
slavery
B. the motives behind Britain’s abolition of slavery were
primarily economic
C. the moral vision of abolitionists played a vital part in
Britain’s abolition of slavery
D. British traditions of liberty have been idealized by
historians
E. Britain’s tradition of political activism was primarily
responsible for Britain’s abolition of slavery
13. According to the passage, Eltis argues against which
one of the following contentions?
A. Popular support for antislavery measures existed in
Britain in the early nineteenth century.
B. In the early nineteenth century, colonies that employed
forced labor were still economically viable.
C. British views concerning personal liberty motivated
nineteenth-century British opposition to slavery.
D. Widespread literacy in Britain contributed to public
opposition to slavery in the early nineteenth century.
E. Antislavery measures proposed by conservative
politicians in the early nineteenth century met with little
opposition.

David Eltis’ answer to that question actually supports some

of Williams’ insights. Eschewing Drescher’s idealization of
British traditions of liberty, Eltis points to continuing use of
low wages and Draconian vagrancy laws in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries to ensure the industriousness of
British workers. Indeed, certain notables even called for the
enslavement of unemployed laborers who roamed the British
countryside—an acceptance of coerced labor that Eltis
attributes to a preindustrial desire to keep labor costs low
and exports competitive. By the late eighteenth century,
however, a growing home market began to alert capitalists to
the importance of “want creation” and to incentives such as
higher wages as a means of increasing both worker
productivity and the number of consumers. Significantly, it
was products grown by slaves, such as sugar, coffee, and
tobacco, that stimulated new wants at all levels of British
society and were the forerunners of products intended in
modern capitalist societies to satisfy what Eltis describes as
“non-subsistence or psychological needs.” Eltis concludes
that in an economy that had begun to rely on voluntary labor
to satisfy such needs, forced labor necessarily began to
appear both inappropriate and counterproductive to
employers. Eltis thus concludes that, while Williams may well
have underestimated the economic viability of the British
colonies employing forced labor in the early 1800s, his
insight into the economic motives for abolition was partly
accurate. British leaders became committed to colonial labor
reform only when they became convinced, for reasons other
than those cited by Williams, that free labor was more
beneficial to the imperial economy.
Passage 4
Historical documents have revealed that among the Timucua
of Florida, a Native American people, the best from the hunt
or the harvest was given to families of high social status, even
in times of economic stress. Archaeological research suggests
a similar relationship between social status and diet in the
Dallas communities of eastern Tennessee, prehistoric Native
American groups with a social organization and economy
similar to that of the Timucua. The first real clue came when
archaeologists discovered that skeletons of higher-status
individuals tended to be several centimeters taller than those
of people of lower status.
In the largest Dallas communities, some individuals were
buried in the earthen mounds that served as substructures
for buildings important to civic and religious affairs. These
burials included quantities of finely crafted items made of
nonlocal material, denoting the high political standing of
those interred. Burials of lower-status individuals contained
primarily utilitarian items such as cooking vessels and
chipped Stone tools and are located in more remote sections
of the settlements. The burials actually formed a pattern, the
tallest skeletons being found in the mounds, and the heights
declining as burials became more distant from the mounds.
While it is possible that taller people were simply more
successful in achieving high social standing, it is more
likely that a number of stresses, including those resulting
from a relatively poor diet, which could affect stature, were
common among the lower-status groups.
Excavations indicate that three food categories made up the
bulk of the population's diet: agricultural crops cultivated in
the fertile alluvial soils where the communities were located,
game, and wild edible plants, primarily nuts. Information
about dietary variation among community members is
derived by analyzing trace elements in human bone. Higher
than normal levels of manganese, strontium, and vanadium
probably indicate a less nutritious diet heavily dependent on
edible plants. Very low concentrations of vanadium, which is
scarce in meats and somewhat lower in nuts than in other
plant resources, are good evidence of meat consumption and
thus a better balanced-diet. As expected, vanadium was
found in considerably greater quantities in skeletons in the
burials of lower-status groups.
14. According to the passage, which of the following
statements regarding earthen mounds in the Dallas
communities is accurate?
A. They served primarily as burial grounds.
B. They were constructed in key locations on the perimeter
of the village.
C. They were elements in important structures in the
community.
D. They were used as storehouses for keeping valuable
possessions safe.
E. They contained utilitarian items made of nonlocal
materials.
15. In the highlighted text in the second paragraph, the
author of the passage raises the possibility that taller
people achieved greater success most probably in
order to
A. suggest that two explanations for a phenomenon are
equally plausible
B. introduce empirical data supporting a position
C. anticipate an objection to an argument
D. question the usefulness of relying solely on physical
evidence
E. point out a weakness in a traditional argument
16. The passage suggests that the “relationship”
mentioned in the highlighted text was initially
recognized when archaeologists
A. attempted to trace the ancestry of the Timucua of Florida
B. discovered a height differential among members of
subgroups in the Dallas community
C. realized that the Dallas communities endured periods of
nutritional deprivation
D. began to compare the social organization and economies
of the Timucua with that of the Dallas communities
E. became curious about differences in trace elements found
in the bones of Dallas community members
17. The passage suggests which of the following about the
diet of the Dallas communities?
A. Wild edible plants were a relatively minor element in the
diet.
B. Game was less likely to be available to lower-status
individuals than were edible plants.
C. The diet was composed primarily of agricultural crops
when game was scarce.
D. The diet was obtained entirely from local food sources.
E. The diet was well balanced, especially at harvest time.
Passage 5
The impressionist painters expressly disavowed any interest
in philosophy, yet their new approach to art had far-reaching
philosophical implications. For the view of matter that the
Impressionists assumed differed profoundly from the view
that had previously prevailed among artists. This view helped
to unify the artistic works created in the new style.
The ancient Greeks had conceived of the world in concrete
terms, even endowing abstract qualities with bodies. This
Greek view of matter persisted, so far as painting was
concerned, into the nineteenth century. The Impressionists,
on the other hand, viewed light, not matter, as the ultimate
visual reality. The philosopher Taine expressed the
Impressionist view of things when he said, “The chief ‘person’
in a picture is the light in which everything is bathed.”
In Impressionist painting, solid bodies became mere
reflectors of light, and distinctions between one object and
another became arbitrary conventions; for by light all things
were welded together. The treatment of both color and
outline was transformed as well. Color, formerly considered a
property inherent in an object, was seen to be merely the
result of vibrations of light on the object’s colorless surface.
And outline, whose function had formerly been to indicate the
limits of objects, now marked instead merely the boundary
between units of pattern, which often merged into one
another.
The Impressionist world was composed not of separate
objects but of many surfaces on which light struck and was
reflected with varying intensity to the eye through the
atmosphere, which modified it. It was this process that
produced the mosaic of colors that formed an Impressionist
canvas. “Light becomes the sole subject of the picture,” writes
Mauclair. “The interest of the object upon which it plays is
secondary. Painting thus conceived becomes a purely optic
art.”
From this profoundly revolutionary form of art, then, all
ideas—religious, moral, psychological—were excluded, and
so were all emotions except certain aesthetic ones. The
people, places, and things depicted in an Impressionist
picture do not tell story or convey any special meaning; they
are, instead, merely parts of pattern of light drawn from
nature and captured on canvas by the artist.
18. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
A. explaining how the Impressionists were influenced by
scientific studies of light and color
B. discussing the philosophical implications of the
Impressionist style of painting
C. identifying the revolutionary artistic techniques
developed by the Impressionist painters
D. analyzing the influence of thinkers like Taine and Mauclair
on Impressionist painting
E. defending the importance of the Impressionist painters in
the history of modern art
19. The author’s quotation of a statement by Taine serves
which of the following functions in the passage?
A. It furnishes a specific example of an Impressionist
painting that features light as its chief subject.
B. It resolves an apparent contradiction in the philosophy of
the Impressionists.
C. It qualifies the statement that the ancient Greeks viewed
the world in concrete terms.
D. It summarizes the unique perspective that the
Impressionists brought to painting.
E. It provides a concrete illustration of the far-reaching
philosophical implications of Impressionism.
20. According to the passage, the Impressionists believed
that the atmosphere
A. reflects light with varying intensity
B. creates the illusion of color in colorless surfaces
C. modifies the shapes of objects
D. is the result of vibrations of light
E. affects the way we perceived color
21. The passage contains information that answers which
of the following questions?
I. How did the Impressionists perceive matter?
II. What is the unifying element in a typical
Impressionist painting?
III. How did the Impressionists’ view of color differ
from that of eighteenth-century artists?
A. I only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I, II, and III
22. The ideas attributed to the Impressionists in the
passage suggest that an Impressionist painter would
be most likely to agree with which of the following?
A. A picture is significant primarily as a manifestation of the
artist’s mental state.
B. The highest purpose of art is to teach religious truths.
C. The quality of a picture has nothing to do with the nature
of the objects it depicts.
D. An artist should strive to recreate on canvas the inner
nature of objects from real life.
E. It is futile to attempt to paint pictures that aim to copy the
optical appearance of the world.
Passage 6
Scientists generally credit violent collisions between tectonic
plates, the mobile fragments of Earth’s rocky outer shell, with
sculpting the planet’s surface, as, for example, when what is
now the Indian subcontinent collided with Asia, producing
the Himalayan Mountains. However, plate tectonics cannot
fully explain certain massive surface features, such as the
“superswell” of southern Africa, a vast plateau over 1,000
miles across and nearly a mile high. Geologic evidence shows
that southern African has been slowly rising for the past 100
million years, yet it has not experienced a tectonic collision
for nearly 400 million years. The explanation may be in
Earth’s mantle, the layer of rock underlying the tectonic
plates and extending down over 1,800 miles to the outer edge
of Earth’s iron core.
Since the early twentieth century, geophysicists have
understood that the mantle churns and roils like a thick soup.
The relative low density of the hottest rock makes that
material buoyant, so it slowly ascends, while cooler, denser
rock sinks until heat escaping the molten core warms it
enough to make it rise again. While this process of
convection was known to enable the horizontal movement
of tectonic plates, until recently geophysicists were skeptical
of its ability to lift or lower the planet’s surface vertically.
However, recent technological advances have allowed
geophysicists to make three-dimensional “snapshots” of the
mantle by measuring vibrations, or seismic waves, set in
motion by earthquakes originating in the planet’s outer shell
and recording the time it takes for them to travel from an
earthquake’s epicenter to a particular recording station at the
surface. Because geophysicists know that seismic waves
become sluggish in hot, low-density rock, and speed up in
colder, denser regions, they can now infer the temperatures
and densities in a given segment of the interior. By compiling
a map of seismic velocities from thousands of earthquakes
across the globe, they can also begin to map temperatures
and densities throughout the mantle. These methods have
revealed some unexpectedly immense formations in the
deepest parts of the mantle; the largest of these is a buoyant
mass of hot rock directly below Africa’s southern tip.
Dispelling researchers’ initial doubts, computer models have
confirmed that this formation is buoyant enough to rise
slowly within the mantle and strong enough to push Africa
upward as it rises.
23. The author mentions the Himalayan Mountains most
likely in order to
A. highlight certain similarities between the southern
African superswell and other massive features on Earth's
surface
B. identify a feature of Earth's surface that predates the
origins of the southern African superswell
C. provide an example of a feature of Earth's surface that can
be explained by plate tectonics
D. suggest that geophysicists are correct in attributing the
sculpting of Earth's surface to violent collisions between
tectonic plates
E. give an example of a feature of Earth's surface that
scientists are unable to explain fully
24. It can be Inferred from the passage that prior to the
recent technological advances, geophysicist were
unable to
A. understand exactly how the collisions of tectonic plates
created the Earth's mountains
B. establish that mantle material becomes more buoyant as
it heats and more sluggish as it cools
C. start mapping the densities and temperatures of rock
throughout the mantle
D. connect the phenomenon of convection within the mantle
to the horizontal movement of tectonic plates
E. prove that different types of rock within the mantle have
different densities
25. According to the passage, the process of convection
mentioned in the highlighted text was regarded until
recently by geophysicists as
A. a process unlikely to occur deep within Earth's mantle
B. a probable explanation for the rising of the southern
African plateau
C. an improbable explanation for the horizontal movement
of tectonic plates
D. unlikely to account for the vertical rising or lowering of
Earth's surface
E. unrelated to the creation of Earth's most massive surface
features
26. According to the passage, which of the following
pieces of geological evidence makes plate tectonics an
inadequate explanation for the existence of the
superswell of southern Africa?
A. The depth of the mantle underlying the tectonic plates
surrounding southern Africa
B. The absence of any significant mountain ranges in the
vicinity of the superswell
C. The vast size of the plateau comprising the superswell's
most visible feature
D. The rate at whit the superswell has been rising above sea
level over the past 100 million years
E. The absence of any tectonic collisions in southern Africa
for several hundred million years prior to the origin of the
superswell
Passage 7
Labeling Zora Neale Hurston "a writer of the Harlem
Renaissance" is a characterization that may, at first glance,
obscure, rather than clarify, the particularities of her career.
The Harlem Renaissance was a spirit more than a movement,
and because a spirit is ephemeral, generalizations about the
Harlem Renaissance and its writers are either too hard or too
easy. They have come easily enough to a whole generation of
critics, but their pithy summaries seldom reflect the wide
divisions between Blacks and Whites, the Black intelligentsia
and Black workers, Black writers and their middle-class
audience, that marked the era. When one studies in depth the
phenomenon of what was then called the Negro Renaissance
or the New Negro Renaissance, and what is now called the
Harlem Renaissance, one comes away with a bewildering
complex of notions, statements, affirmations, and manifestos.
Although there is general agreement that the Harlem
Renaissance is bounded by the 1918 armistice ending the
First World War and the beginning of the Great Depression in
1930, some historians have stretched the boundaries to
before the war (1914) and after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
second term (1941). There has been a widespread tendency
to regard the Harlem Renaissance as a monolithic cultural
movement, capable of reduction to one orthodoxy or another
or to a set of characteristic principles. This presumption
reflects the bias in most American scholarship that postulates
Black people as a united entity and then poses theories
ignoring individuation of thought and feeling.
Sometimes, however, an individual career can be best
assessed in the context of an age, and this is largely the case
with the writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. She
spends exactly two paragraphs on the Renaissance in her
autobiography, and her other writing, public and private,
offers a very little discussion of what the Harlem Renaissance
meant to her. Yet her part in the Renaissance is well
documented in the reminiscences of others, with unanimous
agreement that she was one of the most memorable
personages of the period. As Langston Hughes put it in The
Big Sea, she "was certainly the most amusing" of the Harlem
Renaissance artists, "full of side-splitting anecdotes,
humorous tales, and tragicomic stories." Hughes's words
should not imply that she was solely an entertainer. Although
she was independent and scornful of literary movements, she
shared in the historical and cultural forces that made the
Harlem Renaissance an identifiable moment in American
intellectual history, a part of a historical process that, as
most critics recognize, altered Black life in America. She, in
turn, responded to and helped to shape the aesthetic
assumptions of that era.
Between 1919 and 1930, Black writers were published in
greater numbers than in any single decade in American life
prior to the 1960's. Hurston's awareness of this literary
ferment certainly contributed to her development as a writer.
27. The main purpose of the passage is to
A. define the Harlem Renaissance as a distinct period in
Afro-American culture and American culture as a whole
B. demonstrate that the Harlem Renaissance included more
varied points of view than scholars generally assume
C. dispute the accepted estimation of Zora Neale Hurston's
contribution to Afro-American culture
D. acknowledge the conflicts and contradictions that were a
distinct part of the cultural life of the Harlem Renaissance
E. place Zora Neale Hurston within a historical and
intellectual context
28. It can be inferred from the passage that the author
would regard which of the following as characteristic
of a movement but not of a spirit?
A. Individual statements of purpose
B. Conflicts between rivals
C. The cultivation of notoriety
D. The development of new ideas
E. An explicit ideology
29. Which of the following facts, mentioned in the
passage, supports the author's statement that the
Harlem Renaissance was "an identifiable moment in
American intellectual history" in the highlighted text?
A. During this period, scholars who had previously been
unaware of Black literary tradition began to assess that
tradition.
B. Widespread social reform took place during this period.
C. During this period, Black people acted upon common
concerns for the first time in the twentieth century.
D. The number of published works by Black writers
increased dramatically during this period.
E. The armistice ending the First World War began a period
of increased prosperity for Americans.
30. The author implies that Hurston's account of her role
in the Harlem Renaissance is
A. embellished
B. unenlightening
C. comic
D. sardonic
E. sentimental