WRITING AND LANGUAGE TEST

35 MINUTES, 44 QUESTIONS

Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.

Directions: Questions follow each of the passages below. Some questions ask
you how the passage might be changed to improve the expression of ideas.
Other questions ask you how the passage might be altered to correct errors in
grammar, usage, and punctuation. One or more graphics accompany some
passages. You will be required to consider these graphics as you answer
questions about editing the passage.
There are three types of questions. In the first type, a part of the passage is
underlined. The second type is based on a certain part of the passage. The third
type is based on the entire passage.
Read each passage. Then, choose the answer to each question that changes
the passage so that it is consistent with the conventions of standard written
English. One of the answer choices for many questions is “NO CHANGE.”
Choosing this answer means that you believe the best answer is to make no
change in the passage.

Questions 1–11 are based on the following passage and

supplementary material.

Policing Our Planet

Once completely oblivious of the damages to the environment caused

by pollution, waste, and overpopulation, the world had now began to
look seriously upon the depletion of our natural resources. Whether we
scrutinize the harmful exhaust gases that pollute our air—
carbondioxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, among others—or turn to
deforestation and chemical effluents, the situation is clearly out of control.
For example, scientists have proven that all of the threats to the Great
Lakes come as a result of human activity. Furthermore, it is no longer a
question limited to a certain population or government, but a matter of
global concern. The recognition of its severity is undoubtedly behind the
rise in demand for environmental engineers.

1. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) has now began
(C) has now begun
(D) have now begun

2. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) air, carbon dioxide sulfur dioxide, ammonia among others, or
(C) air—carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia among others, or
(D) air, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, among others—or

Environmental engineers use the principles of biology, chemistry, and

engineering to develop solutions to environmental problems and consider
global issues such as potable water, climate change, and sustainability.
Typically, the work of an environmental engineer involves inspecting
facilities for compliance with state and federal regulations, preparing and
reviewing environmental investigation reports, designing projects to
protect and conserve the environment, and advising corporations in
regard to contamination clean-up. Unexpectedly, environmental
engineers may collaborate with specialists of science, law, or business to
address specific concerns such as acid rain, soil degradation, or
hazardous wastes.
For those interested in pursuing a career as an environmental engineer,
a bachelor’s degree is a must. While a degree in environmental
engineering is necessary, related fields such as general or civil
engineering can be acceptable as well. Even then, the four-year degree is
mandatory for even an entry-level position, and many employers seek
out those who have differentiated themselves with previous experience,
graduate degrees, and/or licensing. At the top of the list for preferred skills
for candidates are strong critical thinking skills and complex problem
solving, followed closely by problem sensitivity and deductive reasoning.
You can be expected to have strengths in analyzing, evaluating, and
interpreting highly complex data. For management or supervisor positions,
a master’s degree is required.

3. Which choice offers an accurate interpretation of the data in the

chart?
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) For example, the vast majority of the threats to the Great Lakes
comes as a result of human activity.
(C) For example, approximately 24 percent of the threats to the Great
Lakes comes as a result of human activity.
(D) For example, environmental regulations have successfully
negated human activity as a source of threats to the Great Lakes.

4. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) principals
(C) principle concepts
(D) principal ideas

5. Which choice provides the most logical introduction to this sentence?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) Habitually,
(C) Other times,
(D) Possibly,
 6. Which choice gives the most logical contrast with the second part of
the sentence?
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) educational,
(C) preferable,
(D) adequate,

Your commitment to education in environmental engineering does

not go unrewarded. The median annual income is recorded at well over
$80,000, and the outlook is promising. Tightening federal regulations to
meet environmental safe standards and for the purpose of the cleaning of
contaminated sites are expected to only stimulate the need for
environmental engineers over the next decade. According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, environmental degradation is increasing at an
exponential rate, with up to 30 percent of current species becoming
extinct in the coming years. With wages climbing and job prospects high,
environmental engineering seems a promising occupation for one
interested in remedying the current damage and preventing further harm
to our planet.

7. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) a starting gig,
(C) a position acquired at the outset of one’s career,
(D) a job,

8. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) I can be
(C) One can be
(D) She can be

9. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) You’re commitment
(C) One’s commitment
(D) Ones’ commitment
10. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) to meet environmentally safe standards and clean up

contaminated sites is
(C) in order to meet environmentally safe standards and in order to
clean up contaminated sites are
(D) to meeting environmentally safe standards and cleaning up
contaminated sites were

11. Which choice provides the most fitting and specific justification for the
argument in the sentences before and after?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) job prospects for high-technology jobs are going up.
(C) the need for environmental specialists is increasing at an
alarming pace.
(D) there are 21,100 projected job openings in environmental
engineering by the year 2022.

Questions 12–22 are based on the following passage.

The Bullroarer

Apart from the drum, there is perhaps no instrument more widespread

among the world’s ancient cultures than the curious noisemaker known
severally as the “bullroarer,” rhombus’, “tundun,” or “whizzing-stick.” In
construction and operation it is perhaps only slightly more sophisticated
than the simple percussive instruments of antiquity. It is suspicious that
this instrument’s significance to bygone peoples, much like the drum, was
principally ritual, but perhaps also communicative. Even into modern
times, tunduns were commonly used by the Australian Aboriginal cultures
during hunting and gathering on the plains of Australia.
The oldest known bullroarers were discovered in the Ukraine, and are
estimated to date from the Paleolithic era, approximately 17,000 B.C., but
slightly more recent bullroarers have been discovered at archeological
sites on every continent apart of Antarctica. Not surprisingly, the
instrument exhibits a fairly wide variation in size, shape and
ornamentation across history and cultures; but, the essential design is
unmistakable: a wooden slat generally measuring between six to twenty-
four inches in length affixed at one end to a length of twisted cord.
When one swings the slat by the cord in a circle around the head, the
untwisting and re-twisting of the rope caused the slat to rotate laterally.
The result is a unique vibrato sound that has been likened both to an
animal’s roar, and the approach of a distant thunderstorm. Pitch
modulation can be achieved by altering the speed of rotation, or the length
of the cord. The capacity for pitch modulation has lent credence to the
idea that bullroarers could be used to communicate coded messages, with
certain meanings attached to certain pitches. This would make
bullroarers, like the telegraph machines of the modern era, that
transmitted Morse code messages over long distances.

12. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) “rhombus,”
(C) rhombus,
(D) rhombus
13. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) suspected
(C) suspect
(D) superstitious

14. The writer would like to express that tunduns played a role in
significant transitional life events in Aboriginal culture. Which choice
best conveys this idea?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) the daily preparation of meals.
(C) rites of passage and burial ceremonies.
(D) creating fires used for both cooking and protection.
15. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) a part of
(C) apart from
(D) a part from
16. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) had caused
(C) have been causing
(D) cause

17. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) lended credibility
(C) loaned credibility
(D) lending credence

Though we can only speculate on its use among preliterate peoples,

some historical anthropologists have suggested that the bullroarer’s
ubiquity across the world’s ancient cultures suggests that its primary
function must have been practical rather than ritual. The most common
application cited by such scholars is that of long-distance communication.
For the reason that no scientific studies on the subject have been
published, many witnesses claim that the lower audible frequencies
emitted by the bullroarer can travel impressive distances, with listeners
clearly discerning its sound from up to two miles away. If indeed
bullroarers can be used as musical instruments by early civilizations,
then this usefulness would be a logical justification as to why this
instrument was invented by the greatest musician in the history of the
Aboriginal peoples.

18. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) This would make bullroarers like, the telegraph machines of the
modern era that transmitted Morse code messages over long
distances.
(C) This would make bullroarers like the telegraph machines of the
modern era, that transmitted Morse code messages, over long
distances.
(D) This would make bullroarers like the telegraph machines of the
modern era that transmitted Morse code messages over long
distances.

19. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) it’s
 (C) its’
(D) their
20. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) Because
(C) Since
(D) Though

21. Which choice is most consistent with the argument in the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) to communicate over long distances with relatively high accuracy,
(C) to discover the breeding grounds of prey to be hunted,
(D) to symbolize the vibrancy of Aboriginal musical expression,

22. The writer wants to express that there was NOT a single inventor of
the bullroarer. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) as a means to communicate easily between one group and
another.
(C) independently by prehistoric peoples all over the world.
(D) for peoples in the Americas, Asia, and Australia.

Questions 23–33 are based on the following passage.

Astrochemistry

Do ever you remember hearing in school that the sun—by far the
largest body in our solar system—is composed almost entirely of the two
smallest elements, hydrogen, and helium. Or perhaps that the
distinctive blue hues of Neptune and Uranus arise from an unusual
abundance of organic methane? At the time, it may have seemed curious
to you that scientists were able to make such bold hypotheses about the
chemical compositions of things using space-based telescopes for
data-gathering; after all, we can hardly gather a gas sample from the
surface of the sun. And yet we know with surprising certainty not only the
composition of the bodies in our solar system, from also that of many
interstellar bodies, and even some intergalactic ones as well.
The key principle that connects astronomy and chemistry is the
emission spectrum. When struck by a wave of electromagnetic radiation,
every element enter an “excited state,” in which the electrons
surrounding the nucleus “jump” to higher energy levels. Eventually, the
complex returns to its ground state, and the excess energy is released
once again as electromagnetic radiation. However, this new photon
carries with it a sort of chemical “signature” called an emission spectrum,
which is one of the only of its kind to the element from which it was
emitted.

23. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) hydrogen and helium.
(C) hydrogen, and helium?
(D) hydrogen and helium?

24. The writer wants to highlight that scientists are able to determine the
chemical makeup of stars far from our solar system. Which choice
would most specifically support this aim?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) 93 million miles away or more;
(C) that are a prodigious distance from Mother Earth;
(D) capturing the imaginations of young and old alike;
25. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) but also
(C) also
(D) and

26. Which choice would best introduce this paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) Electromagnetic radiation is one of the major physical forces
underlying the universe.
(C) Photons are smaller than protons, representing quanta of light.
 (D) Perhaps one day, mankind will be able to move beyond
observation of distant stars to exploration of faraway solar
systems.

27. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) entering
(C) enters
(D) entries

A spectrometer is an instrument that spreads a wave of

electromagnetic radiation into its component frequencies. When you look
through a spectrometer at a beam of white light, and you see a
continuous band of colors shifting like a rainbow from red to violet.
However, when a spectrometer is used to examine the flame test of, say,
sodium carbonate or cobalt, the band is broken into a series of lines which
represent the very specific frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that
are shot forth of the compound. Because emission spectra are unique
to each element and constant throughout the universe, scientists are able
to attach a spectrometer to a telescope, locate a celestial body, and
determine, the chemical composition of that body simply, by comparing
the resulting spectrum to those of known compounds on Earth.
Over the past one hundred years astrochemical spectroscopy has
revealed some fascinating information about our galaxy. It is because of
spectroscopy, however, that we know of the existence of interstellar
complex organic compounds—such as ketones, aldehydes, alcohols,
carboxylic acids, and even the amino acid glycine. Though it seems
paradoxical that we use the smallest units of matter to study the
largest, astrochemical spectroscopy is sure to have a hand in our
expanding knowledge of the universe for a very long time to come.

28. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) partial
(C) uniquely
(D) specific

29. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) and one can see
 (C) and he or she can find
(D) you see
30. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) emitted by
(C) providing
(D) linear for

31. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) determine the chemical composition, of that body simply by
comparing, the resulting spectrum to those of known compounds
on Earth.
(C) determine the chemical composition of that body simply by
comparing the resulting spectrum to those of known compounds
on Earth.
(D) determine the chemical composition of that body, simply by
comparing the resulting spectrum to those of known, compounds
on Earth.

32. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) on the other hand,
(C) consequently,
(D) for instance,
33. What would most logically follow the first part of this sentence while
being consistent with the passage as a whole?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) seek to understand the universe,
(C) look for astronomical order among the chaos,
(D) use chemistry to analyze the makeup of stars,

Questions 34–44 are based on the following passage.

Blood Ties
 William Faulkner is one of the most highly recognized American
authors of all time. He is celebrated for his use of “stream of
consciousness” writing to give life to Southern U.S. culture, and was
considered one of the best people ever to put pen to paper. While The
Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying are some of Faulkner’s best
known novels, his plethora of short stories are perhaps lesser known
because of a lack of public awareness about them. A particular short
story, “Barn Burning,” tells the story of Colonel Sartoris Snopes, a young
protagonist who struggles to develop into his own man under his father’s
malevolent eyes. Colonel Sartoris, or “Sarty,” is trapped in a world stricken
by fear, grief, and misery. While physically similar and often volatile like
his father, Sarty is continually faced with the paradox of detesting the man
who raised him, while also feeling an inherent fidelity to him. Sarty’s
personal growth is stunted by this ubiquitous inconsistency in his
character.
Sarty’s father, Abner, is a rigid man—set in his ways and seemingly
vengeful toward everyone outside of his own family. Constantly unhappy,
Abner lauds anyone who surpasses him in joy, health, or wealth. He
is particularly fond of offending and stealing from others. He then likes to
burn the barns of those who dare to question his conduct. Interestingly,
Faulkner first introduces Sarty at his father’s trial where he is accused of
burning a local farm. It is through Sarty’s inner toil which the reader
becomes distinctly aware of Abner’s guilt. Rather than being oblivious to
his father’s evil disposition, Sarty wishfully, and somewhat naively, hopes
that his father will overcome it. The story continues not as a battle for
integrity within Abner, but within Sarty, who must choose the man he is to
become.

34. Which choice would give the most logical and specific support to the
assertion made in the first sentence of the passage?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) was thought of as a true American hero, not in the traditional, but
literary sense.
(C) was revered as one of the best executors of the “stream of
consciousness” style.
(D) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949.
35. What should be done with the underlined portion?

(A) Keep it, because it provides a relevant clarification.

(B) Keep it, because it gives specific evidentiary support.
(C) Delete it, because it repeats an assertion.
(D) Delete it, because it is inconsistent with the other information in
the paragraph.

36. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) While physically similar, and often, volatile, like his

(C) While physically similar, and often volatile like his
(D) While physically similar and often, volatile like his

37. Which word would most likely capture Abner’s mentality based on the
context?

(A) NO CHANGE
(B) invokes
(C) despises
(D) reveres

Sarty’s internal conflict is made more challenging by the fact that he

has to remain faithful to his kin and a fear of the consequences in turning
away from them. Throughout the short piece, Sarty becomes almost two
separate characters, his thoughts as divided as his loyalty. On certain
occasions, he is brutally ashamed of his father’s deceit, on others he
overcompensates for his treachery by defending his father at all costs.

38. Which choice provides the best combination of the underlined

sentences?
(A) He is particularly fond of offending and stealing from others, and
then burning the barns of those who dare to question his conduct.
(B) He is particularly fond of offending and stealing from others;
subsequently, he enjoys the process of the burning of the barns of
those who dare to question his conduct.
 (C) In particular, he is quite fond of the stealing and offending of
others, while he also has an affinity for burning the barns of those
who question what he has chosen to do.
(D) To a large degree, he enjoys the acts of stealing and offending;
burning is also something he considers a pastime.
39. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) from
(C) for
(D) that

40. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) overcome these.
(C) overcoming this.
(D) overcoming those.

41. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) pretentiously made more oppressive
(C) complicated by a desire
(D) OMIT the underlined portion.

42. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) fathers deceit: on others he
(C) father’s deceit; on others, he
(D) fathers’ deceit—on others, he

[1] So it comes as little shock to the reader when his father decides
to burn the barn of his newest employers. [2] When enlisted to help with
the crime, Sarty weighs his options, hesitant to disobey his father. [3]
Eventually, Sarty betrays his father by revealing the plan. [4] Sarty’s act of
defiance allows him to make a character transition and wholly resist the
life his father has led. [5] This story is a beautiful portrayal of a conflicted
heart and its battle to follow its own path.

43. Which choice provides the best transition from the theme of the
previous paragraph to the topic of this new paragraph?
 (A) NO CHANGE
(B) Sarty has little difficulty deciding what to do
(C) Therefore, the accumulated lies of his father surprise Sarty
(D) Perhaps the best illustration of Sarty’s divided nature is
44. To make the previous paragraph most logical, sentence 4 should be
placed

(A) where it is now.

(B) before sentence 2.
(C) before sentence 3.
(D) after sentence 5.

If there is still time remaining, you may review your answers.