DIRECTIONS: Read each sentence or short passage and mark the answer choice that is a valid

inference based on the information that you read.

1. If a metalworker from 3,000 years ago could somehow travel forward in time. he would
recognize virtually every step of the lost-wax process that today is used to cast titanium
for jet engines.
A. Titanium has been forged for thousands of years.
B. The lost-wax method of casting metal is very old.
C. Metalworking has changed very little in 3,000 years.
2. When apple growers talk about new varieties of apples, they don't mean some- thing
developed last month, last year, or even in the last decade.
A. Apple growers have not developed any new varieties in recent decades.
B. Some varieties of apples can be developed in a short time, but others take a
long time.
C. New varieties of apples take a long time to develop.
3. High levels of serum cholesterol used to be thought of as a problem only for adults.
A. High levels of serum cholesterol are no longer a problem for adults.
B. Only children have a problem with high levels of serum cholesterol.
C. High serum cholesterol affects both adults and children.
4. Alpha Centauri, one of the closest stars to Earth, is just 4.3 light years away. It can be seen
only from the Southern Hemisphere. However, the closest star (other than our own Sun,
of course) is a tiny red star, Proxima Centauri, which is not visible without a telescope.
A. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Earth.
B. Alpha Centauri is invisible from Earth without a telescope.
C. Proxima Centauri is closer than 4.3 light years from the Earth.
5. Compared with the rest of its brain, the visual area of a turtle's brain is quite small, since
turtles, like all other reptiles, depend mainly on senses other than vsta/ sight.
A. No reptile uses sight as its primary sense.
B. Animals that depend on sight all have larger visual areas in their brain than
turtles do.
C. The visual area of other reptiles' brains is smaller than that of turtles.
6. An old but still useful proverb says, "Beware of oak, it draws the stroke." In gen- eral, trees
with deep roots that tap into groundwater attract more lightning than do trees with
shallow, dry roots. Oaks are fifty times more likely to be struck than beeches. Pines are not
as safe as beeches but are still much safer than oaks.
A. The roots of oaks are fifty times deeper than those of beeches.
B. Pines' roots are deeper than beeches', but not as deep as those of oaks.
C. The deeper the root, the safer the tree.
7. Illegible handwriting does not indicate weakness of character, as even a quick glance at
the penmanship of Franklin D. Roosevelt or John E. Kennedy reveals.
A. Roosevelt and Kennedy both had handwriting that was difficult to read.
B. Roosevelt's handwriting was more illegible than that of Kennedy.
C. The author believes both Roosevelt and Kennedy had weak characters.
8. Jack London spent only a year prospecting for gold in Alaska. However, nearly half of his
forty books are set there.
A. London was successful in his search for gold in Alaska.
B. Although London worked in Alaska for only a short time, he wrote almost
twenty books while he lived there.
C. London's experiences in Alaska had a strong influence on his writing.
9. Most fish take on the coloration of their natural surroundings to a certain degree. It's not
surprising, therefore, that fish inhabiting the warm, shallow waters around tropical reefs
are colored all the brilliant hues of the rainbow.
A. Tropical fish are unlike other fish because they take on the coloration of their
environment.
B. Tropical reefs are brightly colored environments.
C. Tropical fish are brightly colored because they inhabit warm waters.
10. Although sheep herding is an older and more beloved occupation, shepherds never caught
the attention of filmmakers the way cowboys did.
A. There have been more films about cowboys than about shepherds.
B. Films about shepherds are older and more beloved than films about cowboys.
C. Cowboys are generally younger than shepherds.
11. The Okefenokee Swamp is a fascinating realm that both confirms and contradicts popular
notions of a swamp. Along with huge cypresses, dangerous quagmires, and dim
waterways, the Okefenokee has sandy pine islands, sunlit prairies, and clear lakes.
A. Although most swamps are not very interesting, the Okefenokee is an
exception.
B. The Okefenokee has features that are not commonly associated with swamps.
C. Unlike most swamps, the Okefenokee does not have huge cypresses, dangerous
quagmires, or dim waterways.
12. Thomas Jefferson preferred the Roman style of architecture, as seen in the buildings at the
University of Virginia, to the English style favored by Charles Bullfinch.
A The architecture of the University of Virginia was influenced by the Roman style.
B. Bullfinch was an English architect.
C. Jefferson preferred to build in the English style of architecture.
13. In all cultures, gestures are used as a form of communication, but the same gestures may
have very different meanings in different cultures.
A. No two cultures use the same gestures.
B. One gesture almost never has the same meaning in two cultures.
C. A person from one culture may misunderstand the gestures used by a person
from another.
14. Even spiders that do not build webs from silk use it for a variety of purposes, such as
constructing egg sacs and nursery tents.
A. All spiders build webs.
B. Spiders that build webs don't build egg sacs or nursery tents.
C. Silk is used by all spiders.
15. In theory, a good screwdriver should last a lifetime, but it seldom does, usually because it
is used as a substitute for other tools.
A Using a screwdriver for purposes other than those for which it was intended can
shorten its life.
B. All screwdrivers, if they are really good, last a lifetime.
C. If you want a screwdriver to last a lifetime, use other tools to substitute for it.