Inferences & Logical Completion

The following text is from David Barclay Moore’s 2022 novel Holler of the Fireflies. The narrator has just arrived at summer camp, which is far away from his home.

This place was different than I thought it would be. I’d never been somewhere like this before. I did feel scared, but also excited.
©2022 by David Barclay Moore

According to the text, how does the narrator feel about being at summer camp?

A) He feels overjoyed.

B) He feels peaceful.

C) He feels both scared and excited.

D) He feels both angry and jealous.

A) Incorrect – The narrator does not express pure joy; he states that he feels both scared and excited.

B) Incorrect – The narrator does not describe his feelings as peaceful; rather, he has a mix of emotions.

C) Correct – The passage explicitly states, "I did feel scared, but also excited," which perfectly matches this answer choice.

D) Incorrect – There is no indication that the narrator feels anger or jealousy.

The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is taking his first look at a portrait that Hallward has painted of him.

Dorian passed listlessly in front of his picture and turned towards it. When he saw it he drew back, and his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure. A look of joy came into his eyes, as if he had recognized himself for the first time. He stood there motionless and in wonder, dimly conscious that Hallward was speaking to him, but not catching the meaning of his words. The sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation. He had never felt it before.

According to the text, what is true about Dorian?

A) He wants to know Hallward’s opinion of the portrait.

B) He is delighted by what he sees in the portrait.

C) He prefers portraits to other types of paintings.

D) He is uncertain of Hallward’s talent as an artist.

A) Incorrect – The passage does not mention Dorian asking for Hallward’s opinion on the painting.

B) Correct – The passage describes Dorian’s joy and admiration for his own beauty, indicating that he is pleased with the portrait.

C) Incorrect – There is no mention of Dorian comparing portraits to other types of art.

D) Incorrect – Dorian’s reaction is about his own appearance, not about questioning Hallward’s skill as an artist.

"Choctaw/Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson turns punching bags used by boxers into art by decorating them with beadwork and elements of Native dressmaking. These elements include leather fringe and jingles, the metal cones that cover the dresses worn in the jingle dance, a women’s dance of the Ojibwe people. Thus, Gibson combines an object commonly associated with masculinity (a punching bag) with art forms traditionally practiced by women in most Native communities (beadwork and dressmaking). In this way, he rejects the division of male and female gender roles."

Which choice best describes Gibson’s approach to art, as presented in the text?

A) He draws from traditional Native art forms to create his original works.

B) He has been influenced by Native and non-Native artists equally.

C) He finds inspiration from boxing in designing the dresses he makes.

D) He rejects expectations about color and pattern when incorporating beadwork."

A) Correct – The passage explains how Gibson uses beadwork, fringe, and jingles from Native dressmaking to create his original artwork.

B) Incorrect – The passage does not mention non-Native influences or compare them to Native ones.

C) Incorrect – Gibson modifies punching bags, but the passage does not say he designs dresses inspired by boxing.

D) Incorrect – The passage focuses on gender roles, not on color or pattern expectations.

Euphorbia esula (leafy spurge) is a Eurasian plant that has become invasive in North America, where it displaces native vegetation and sickens cattle. E. esula can be controlled with chemical herbicides, but that approach can also kill harmless plants nearby. Recent research on introducing engineered DNA into plant species to inhibit their reproduction may offer a path toward exclusively targeting E. esula, consequently _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) making individual E. esula plants more susceptible to existing chemical herbicides.

B) enhancing the ecological benefits of E. esula in North America.

C) enabling cattle to consume E. esula without becoming sick.

D) reducing invasive E. esula numbers without harming other organisms.

(A) Incorrect – The passage does not suggest that genetically modifying E. esula would make it more vulnerable to herbicides; rather, it implies an alternative to herbicides.

(B) Incorrect – The passage states that E. esula is an invasive species that displaces native vegetation and sickens cattle, meaning it does not have ecological benefits that should be enhanced.

(C) Incorrect – The passage does not suggest that the genetic modification would make E. esula safe for cattle consumption—only that it would reduce the plant’s numbers.

(D) Correct – The passage highlights the downside of chemical herbicides harming other plants. The proposed genetic approach would specifically target E. esula, reducing its numbers without harming other organisms, making this the best choice.

A team of biologists led by Jae-Hoon Jung, Antonio D. Barbosa, and Stephanie Hutin investigated the mechanism that allows Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) plants to accelerate flowering at high temperatures. They replaced the protein ELF3 in the plants with a similar protein found in another species (stiff brome) that, unlike A. thaliana, displays no acceleration in flowering with increased temperature. A comparison of unmodified A. thaliana plants with the altered plants showed no difference in flowering at 22° Celsius, but at 27° Celsius, the unmodified plants exhibited accelerated flowering while the altered ones did not, which suggests that _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) Temperature-sensitive accelerated flowering is unique to A. thaliana.

B) A. thaliana increases ELF3 production as temperatures rise.

C) ELF3 enables A. thaliana to respond to increased temperatures.

D) Temperatures of at least 22° Celsius are required for A. thaliana to flower.

A) Incorrect – The passage does not say A. thaliana is the only plant with this response, just that stiff brome does not have it.

B) Incorrect – The experiment does not suggest A. thaliana increases ELF3 production at higher temperatures.

C) Correct – Since only unmodified A. thaliana exhibited temperature-dependent flowering, it suggests ELF3 is responsible for this response.

D) Incorrect – The plants flowered at both temperatures; what changed was the flowering speed, not the minimum required temperature.

The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll’s 1889 satirical novel Sylvie and Bruno. A crowd has gathered outside a room belonging to the Warden, an official who reports to the Lord Chancellor.

 One man, who was more excited than the rest, flung his hat high into the air, and shouted (as well as I could make out) “Who roar for the Sub-Warden?” Everybody roared, but whether it was for the Sub-Warden, or not, did not clearly appear: some were shouting “Bread!” and some “Taxes!”, but no one seemed to know what it was they really wanted.

All this I saw from the open window of the Warden’s breakfast-saloon, looking across the shoulder of the Lord Chancellor.

“What can it all mean?” he kept repeating to himself. “I never heard such shouting before—and at this time of the morning, too! And with such unanimity!”

 Based on the text, how does the Lord Chancellor respond to the crowd?

A) He asks about the meaning of the crowd’s shouting, even though he claims to know what the crowd wants.

B) He indicates a desire to speak to the crowd, even though the crowd has asked to speak to the Sub-Warden.

C) He expresses sympathy for the crowd’s demands, even though the crowd’s shouting annoys him.

D) He describes the crowd as being united, even though the crowd clearly appears otherwise.

A) Incorrect – The Lord Chancellor repeats "What can it all mean?", showing that he is genuinely confused. He does not pretend to understand the crowd’s demands, so this choice is incorrect.

B) Incorrect – The passage never states that the Lord Chancellor wants to address the crowd. Instead, he observes the shouting from the window, which makes this choice incorrect.

C) Incorrect – There is no indication that the Lord Chancellor sympathizes with the crowd. Instead, he finds the situation surprising and confusing, which contradicts this option.

D) Correct – The Lord Chancellor calls the shouting "unanimous" (meaning united), but the text clearly shows that the crowd is shouting about different things (e.g., "Bread!" and "Taxes!"), which makes this choice the best answer.

Archaeologist Christiana Kohler and her team excavated the Egyptian tomb of Queen Merneith, the wife of a First Dynasty pharaoh. Some scholars claim that she also ruled Egypt on her own and was actually the first female pharaoh. The team found a tablet in Merneith’s tomb with writing suggesting that she was in charge of the country’s treasury and other central offices. Whether Merneith was a pharaoh or not, this discovery supports the idea that Merneith likely _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) had an important role in Egypt’s government.

B) lived after rather than before the First Dynasty of Egypt.

C) traveled beyond Egypt’s borders often.

D) created a new form of writing in Egypt.

A) Correct – The tablet describes Merneith overseeing the treasury and central offices, strongly suggesting an important governmental role.

B) Incorrect – The text states that she was part of the First Dynasty, so there is no suggestion she lived after it.

C) Incorrect – The passage says nothing about Merneith traveling beyond Egypt.

D) Incorrect – The text mentions writing, but not that she created a new writing system.

In a study of the cognitive abilities of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator), researchers neglected to control for the physical difficulty of the tasks they used to evaluate the monkeys. The cognitive abilities of monkeys given problems requiring little dexterity, such as sliding a panel to retrieve food, were judged by the same criteria as were those of monkeys given physically demanding problems, such as unscrewing a bottle and inserting a straw. The results of the study, therefore, ______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) could suggest that there are differences in cognitive ability among the monkeys even though such differences may not actually exist.

B) are useful for identifying tasks that the monkeys lack the cognitive capacity to perform but not for identifying tasks that the monkeys can perform.

C) should not be taken as indicative of the cognitive abilities of any monkey species other than C. imitator.

D) reveal more about the monkeys’ cognitive abilities when solving artificial problems than when solving problems encountered in the wild.

A) Correct – The lack of control for physical difficulty means that perceived cognitive differences could actually be due to dexterity, not intelligence.

B) Incorrect – The study does not focus on identifying tasks the monkeys cannot perform.

C) Incorrect – The passage only discusses white-faced capuchin monkeys, not whether findings apply to other species.

D) Incorrect – The study is about task difficulty, not real-world vs. artificial problem-solving.

In documents called judicial opinions, judges explain the reasoning behind their legal rulings, and in those explanations they sometimes cite and discuss historical and contemporary philosophers. Legal scholar and philosopher Anita L. Allen argues that while judges are naturally inclined to mention philosophers whose views align with their own positions, the strongest judicial opinions consider and rebut potential objections; discussing philosophers whose views conflict with judges’ views could therefore _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

(A) allow judges to craft judicial opinions without needing to consult philosophical works.

(B) help judges improve the arguments they put forward in their judicial opinions.

(C) make judicial opinions more comprehensible to readers without legal or philosophical training.

(D) bring judicial opinions in line with views that are broadly held among philosophers.

(A) Incorrect – Judges citing philosophers who oppose their views would require consulting philosophical works, not avoiding them.

(B) Correct – Considering opposing views strengthens judicial arguments by requiring judges to refine their reasoning and defend their positions effectively.

(C) Incorrect – The passage does not discuss making judicial opinions more understandable for the general public.

(D) Incorrect – The focus is on improving argumentation, not aligning judicial opinions with philosophers’ general consensus.

Although military veterans make up a small proportion of the total population of the United States, they occupy a significantly higher proportion of the jobs in the civilian government. One possible explanation for this disproportionate representation is that military service familiarizes people with certain organizational structures that are also reflected in the civilian government bureaucracy, and this familiarity thus _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

(A) makes civilian government jobs especially appealing to military veterans.

(B) alters the typical relationship between military service and subsequent career preferences.

(C) encourages nonveterans applying for civilian government jobs to consider military service instead.

(D) increases the number of civilian government jobs that require some amount of military experience to perform.

(A) Correct – If military service makes veterans familiar with government structures, it logically follows that they would be more drawn to such jobs.

(B) Incorrect – The passage does not establish what the "typical" relationship is between military service and career choices.

(C) Incorrect – The passage is about veterans choosing government jobs, not nonveterans reconsidering their career paths.

(D) Incorrect – The passage does not suggest that more government jobs require military experience.

In the 1960s, Gloria Richardson led a movement to promote racial equality. Her involvement in this effort was inspired by her daughter, Donna Richardson. In 1961, Donna joined protests organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Cambridge, Maryland. Following her daughter, Gloria joined these protests too. Gloria soon became the cochair of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee. She was also the leader of what became known as the Cambridge movement.

 According to the text, what did Gloria Richardson lead?

A) The Cambridge movement

B) Her daughter Donna’s high school

C) Protests to support environmental protections

D) A new business in Cambridge, Maryland

A) Correct – The passage explicitly states, "She was also the leader of what became known as the Cambridge movement."

B) Incorrect – There is no mention of Gloria leading a high school.

C) Incorrect – The passage focuses on racial equality, not environmental protections.

D) Incorrect – There is no mention of Gloria leading a business.

The following text is from Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. Elinor lives with her younger sisters and her mother, Mrs. Dashwood.

Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

 According to the text, what is true about Elinor?

A) Elinor often argues with her mother but fails to change her mind.

B) Elinor can be overly sensitive with regard to family matters.

C) Elinor thinks her mother is a bad role model.

D) Elinor is remarkably mature for her age.

A) Incorrect – The passage states that Elinor’s advice was "effectual", meaning it had an impact.

B) Incorrect – The passage says Elinor "knew how to govern" her feelings, indicating self-control, not oversensitivity.

C) Incorrect – While Elinor is more rational than her mother, she does not view her mother as a bad role model.

D) Correct – The passage describes her "coolness of judgment" and states that, despite being only nineteen, she is a trusted counselor to her family.

The following text is adapted from Charles W. Chesnutt’s 1901 novel The Marrow of Tradition.

Mrs. Ochiltree was a woman of strong individuality, whose comments upon her acquaintance[s], present or absent, were marked by a frankness at times no less than startling. This characteristic caused her to be more or less avoided. Mrs. Ochiltree was aware of this sentiment on the part of her acquaintance[s], and rather exulted in it.

 Based on the text, what is true about Mrs. Ochiltree’s acquaintances?

A) They try to refrain from discussing topics that would upset Mrs. Ochiltree.

B) They are unable to spend as much time with Mrs. Ochiltree as she would like.

C) They are too preoccupied with their own concerns to speak with Mrs. Ochiltree.

D) They are likely offended by what Mrs. Ochiltree has said about them.

A) Incorrect – The passage does not suggest they avoid topics, just her presence.

B) Incorrect – There is no evidence that Mrs. Ochiltree wants more interaction.

C) Incorrect – The passage states that she is avoided due to her blunt remarks, not because others are preoccupied.

D) Correct – Her "frankness at times no less than startling" caused people to avoid her, suggesting they found her comments offensive.

Among social animals that care for their young, such as chickens, macaque monkeys, and humans, newborns appear to show an innate attraction to faces and face-like stimuli. Elisabetta Versace and her colleagues used an image of three black dots arranged in the shape of eyes and a nose or mouth to test whether this trait also occurs in Testudo tortoises, which live alone and do not engage in parental care. They found that tortoise hatchlings showed a significant preference for the image, suggesting that ______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) face-like stimuli are likely perceived as harmless by newborns of social species that practice parental care but as threatening by newborns of solitary species without parental care.

B) researchers should not assume that an innate attraction to face-like stimuli is necessarily an adaptation related to social interaction or parental care.

C) researchers can assume that the attraction to face-like stimuli that is seen in social species that practice parental care is learned rather than innate.

D) newly hatched Testudo tortoises show a stronger preference for face-like stimuli than adult Testudo tortoises do.

A) Incorrect – The passage does not mention tortoises finding the stimuli threatening.

B) Correct – The findings show that even a solitary species like tortoises exhibits this preference, meaning it may not be tied to social interaction.

C) Incorrect – The passage does not suggest that the trait is learned rather than innate.

D) Incorrect – There is no mention of a comparison between hatchlings and adults in the study.

Aptamers—synthetic DNA or RNA molecules that bind to target molecules—can be used to test for foodborne bacterial pathogens, though their specificity (the probability of returning a negative result in the absence of the focal pathogen) in real-world foods has been unclear. Sandeep Somvanshi et al. fabricated test paper incorporating aptamers targeting strain O157:H7 of the bacteria Escherichia coli ; the paper shifts from pink to purple as the aptamers bind to target molecules. Somvanshi et al. tested the paper in store-bought pear juice they treated with E. coli O157:H7, other strains of E. coli, or other bacteria species. Following exposure, the paper from the O157:H7 test was purple while papers from the other tests were pink, suggesting that ______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) aptamer-based tests in real-world foods are more likely to show a high degree of specificity if the focal pathogen is E. coli O157:H7 than if the focal pathogen is another strain of E. coli or another species.

B) uncertainty about the specificity of aptamer-based tests for pathogens in real-world foods may be due to the similarity between E. coli O157:H7 and other E. coli strains.

C) the specificity of the tests in a real-world food was unaffected by the aptamers’ tendency to bind to different strains of E. coli.

D) the aptamers successfully bound to E. coli O157:H7 and the tests displayed a high degree of specificity in a real-world food.

A) Incorrect – The passage suggests high specificity for O157:H7 but does not compare it to other focal pathogens.

B) Incorrect – The study does not mention uncertainty about specificity due to similarity between strains.

C) Incorrect – The specificity of the test was demonstrated, meaning it was not affected by cross-binding.

D) Correct – The test results confirmed that aptamers bound only to O157:H7, showing high specificity.

For many years, the only existing fossil evidence of mixopterid eurypterids—an extinct family of large aquatic arthropods known as sea scorpions and related to modern arachnids and horseshoe crabs—came from four species living on the paleocontinent of Laurussia. In a discovery that expands our understanding of the geographical distribution of mixopterids, paleontologist Bo Wang and others have identified fossilized remains of a new mixopterid species, Terropterus xiushanensis, that lived over 400 million years ago on the paleocontinent of Gondwana.

 According to the text, why was Wang and his team’s discovery of the Terropterus xiushanensis fossil significant?

A) The fossil constitutes the first evidence found by scientists that mixopterids lived more than 400 million years ago.

B) The fossil helps establish that mixopterids are more closely related to modern arachnids and horseshoe crabs than previously thought.

C) The fossil helps establish a more accurate timeline of the evolution of mixopterids on the paleocontinents of Laurussia and Gondwana.

D) The fossil constitutes the first evidence found by scientists that mixopterids existed outside the paleocontinent of Laurussia.

A) Incorrect – The text states that mixopterids were already known to have lived 400 million years ago.

B) Incorrect – The passage does not mention new insights into evolutionary relationships.

C) Incorrect – While the discovery expands geographical knowledge, it does not specifically revise the evolutionary timeline.

D) Correct – The passage highlights that previous fossils were only found in Laurussia, making this the first discovery from Gondwana.

Many mosquito repellents contain natural components that work by activating multiple odor receptors on mosquitoes’ antennae. As the insects develop resistance, new repellents are needed. Ke Dong and her team found that EBF, a molecular component of a chrysanthemum-flower extract, can repel mosquitoes by activating just one odor receptor—and this receptor, Or31, is present in all mosquito species known to carry diseases. Therefore, the researchers suggest that in developing new repellents, it would be most useful to _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) identify molecular components similar to EBF that target the activation of Or31 receptors.

B) investigate alternative methods for extracting EBF molecules from chrysanthemums.

C) verify the precise locations of Or31 and other odor receptors on mosquitoes’ antennae.

D) determine the maximum number of different odor receptors that can be activated by a single molecule.

A) Correct – Since Or31 is present in all disease-carrying mosquitoes, finding similar molecules that activate it would help develop effective repellents.

B) Incorrect – Extraction methods do not relate to creating new repellents.

C) Incorrect – Knowing the receptor’s location does not help design new molecules.

D) Incorrect – The goal is to focus on Or31, not maximize activation across receptors.

Birds of many species ingest foods containing carotenoids, pigmented molecules that are converted into feather coloration. Coloration tends to be especially saturated in male birds’ feathers, and because carotenoids also confer health benefits, the deeply saturated colors generally serve to communicate what is known as an honest signal of a bird’s overall fitness to potential mates. However, ornithologist Allison J. Shultz and others have found that males in several species of the tanager genus Ramphocelus use microstructures in their feathers to manipulate light, creating the appearance of deeper saturation without the birds necessarily having to maintain a carotenoid-rich diet. These findings suggest that _______

 Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) individual male tanagers can engage in honest signaling without relying on carotenoid consumption.

B) feather microstructures may be less effective than deeply saturated feathers for signaling overall fitness.

C) scientists have yet to determine why tanagers have a preference for mates with colorful appearances.

D) a male tanager’s appearance may function as a dishonest signal of the individual’s overall fitness.

A) Incorrect – Honest signaling is tied to health benefits from carotenoids, but these birds are bypassing that.

B) Incorrect – The passage does not compare effectiveness; it discusses a deceptive strategy.

C) Incorrect – The passage is about how tanagers create color, not why mates prefer color.

D) Correct – The passage states that tanagers can create the appearance of deeper saturation without actually being healthier, making their signals "dishonest."

The following text is adapted from Sylvia Acevedo’s 2018 memoir Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist.

"Mario and I played games to see how many different license plates we could spot, and Laura liked to look for children in the back seats of the cars we passed. We were used to the forty-five-minute drive to El Paso and familiar with the six-hour ride to Chihuahua, but I wondered what the long journey to Mexico City would be like."

According to the text, what did the narrator and Mario do while riding in the car?

A) They read books.

B) They sang songs.

C) They went to sleep.

D) They played games.

A) Incorrect – The text does not mention them reading.

B) Incorrect – There is no mention of them singing.

C) Incorrect – There is no mention of them sleeping.

D) Correct – The text explicitly states that they played a game spotting license plates.

The domestic sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) descends from a wild plant native to South America. It also populates the Polynesian Islands, where evidence confirms that Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples were cultivating the plant centuries before seafaring first occurred over the thousands of miles of ocean separating them from South America. To explain how the sweet potato was first introduced in Polynesia, botanist Pablo Muñoz-Rodríguez and colleagues analyzed the DNA of numerous varieties of the plant, concluding that Polynesian varieties diverged from South American ones over 100,000 years ago. Given that Polynesia was peopled only in the last three thousand years, the team concluded that____________________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the cultivation of the sweet potato in Polynesia likely predates its cultivation in South America.

B) Polynesian peoples likely acquired the sweet potato from South American peoples only within the last three thousand years.

C) human activity likely played no role in the introduction of the sweet potato in Polynesia.

D) Polynesian sweet potato varieties likely descended from a single South American variety that was domesticated, not wild.

A) Incorrect – The text gives no evidence regarding the timing of cultivation in South America.

B) Incorrect – The divergence of Polynesian varieties occurred over 100,000 years ago, long before humans arrived in Polynesia; thus, acquisition from South America within the last 3,000 years is not supported.

C) Correct – Because the genetic split happened far before humans settled in Polynesia, it suggests that natural mechanisms (not human introduction) spread the sweet potato.

D) Incorrect – The text clearly states that the domestic sweet potato descends from a wild South American plant.

The morphological novelty of echinoderms—marine invertebrates with radial symmetry, usually starlike, around a central point—impedes comparisons with most other animals, in which bilateral symmetry on an anterior-posterior (head to tail) axis through a trunk is typical. Particularly puzzling are sea stars, thought to have evolved a headless layout from a known bilateral origin. Applying genomic knowledge of Saccoglossus kowalevskii acorn worms (close relatives of sea stars, and thus expected to have similar markers for corresponding anatomical regions) to the body patterning genes of Patiria miniata sea stars, Laurent Formery et al. observed activity only in anterior genes across P. miniata’s entire body and some posterior genes limited to the edges, suggesting that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) despite the greater prevalence of anterior genes in sea stars’ genetic makeup, posterior genes active at the body’s perimeter are primarily responsible for the starlike layout that distinguishes sea stars’ radial symmetry from that of other echinoderms.

B) contrary to the belief that they evolved from early ancestors with the bilateral form typical of many other animals, sea stars instead originated with an atypical body layout that was neither bilaterally nor radially symmetrical.

C) although the two species are closely related, there is only minimal correspondence in the genetic markers for head, tail, and trunk region development in P. miniata sea stars and S. kowalevskii acorn worms.

D) rather than undergoing changes resulting in the eventual elimination of a head region in their radial body plan, as previously assumed, sea stars’ morphology evolved to completely lack a trunk and consist primarily of a head region.

A) Incorrect – The text does not indicate that the posterior genes are responsible for the starlike shape.

B) Incorrect – The passage confirms the bilateral origin of sea stars; it does not dispute it.

C) Incorrect – The text does not say there is minimal correspondence; it focuses on the gene activity pattern in sea stars.

D) Correct – The evidence shows that sea stars express anterior genes across their entire bodies, suggesting they evolved to be composed mostly of head-like tissue without a distinct trunk.

On the basis of extensive calculations and models, astronomers in the 1990s predicted that the collision of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole could release a massive burst of gamma rays in an event called a kilonova. This _______ was confirmed with observations in 2017.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) theory

B) evidence

C) constant

D) experiment

A) Correct – “Theory” best fits because the text describes a scientifically based prediction that was later confirmed. In this context, a theory is a well-supported explanation, not merely evidence or an experiment.

B) Incorrect – “Evidence” would refer to data or proof, but the sentence describes the prediction itself, not the supporting data.

C) Incorrect – “Constant” does not logically describe a prediction; it implies unchanging or regular occurrence.

D) Incorrect – “Experiment” implies a controlled test, which does not match the context of a predictive model.

In 2018, scientists discovered an immense aggregation of Muusoctopus robustus (pearl octopuses) along a hydrothermal vent 3,200 meters beneath the ocean’s surface. Water temperatures at this site—named the Octopus Garden—climb as high as 11°C, much warmer than the ambient 1.6°C typical at this depth. Based on observations made over three years, scientists concluded that temperatures at the site likely confer reproductive benefits and that the site is used exclusively for reproduction—6,000 M. robustus adults, hatchlings, and eggs were observed at the garden, but no juveniles were present.

Which statement about M. robustus and the Octopus Garden is best supported by the text?

(A) M. robustus leave the Octopus Garden upon reaching an intermediary stage of development.

(B) The M. robustus population at the Octopus Garden remains stable despite variations in water temperature.

(C) M. robustus nests in the Octopus Garden contain on average fewer but larger eggs than nests at similar ocean depths.

(D) The Octopus Garden provides an ideal feeding ground for M. robustus hatchlings.

(A) Correct – The absence of juveniles suggests that M. robustus hatchlings leave the Octopus Garden upon reaching an intermediary stage.

(B) Incorrect – The text does not mention population stability or changes over time.

(C) Incorrect – The text does not compare egg size or number to those found at other depths.

(D) Incorrect – The text does not state that the Octopus Garden provides food, only that it offers reproductive benefits.

The following text is from Thomas Mann’s 1924 novel The Magic Mountain, translated by John E. Woods in 1995.

The story of Hans Castorp that we intend to tell here—not for his sake (for the reader will come to know him as a perfectly ordinary, if engaging young man), but for the sake of the story itself, which seems to us to be very much worth telling (although in Hans Castorp’s favor it should be noted that it is his story, and that not every story happens to everybody)—is a story that took place long ago, and is, so to speak, covered with the patina of history and must necessarily be told with verbs whose tense is that of the deepest past.

What does the text most strongly suggest about the story of Hans Castorp?

(A) Though it is true that stories of even the most uninteresting people are themselves interesting because all people are unique, the reason this story is interesting is nonetheless difficult to understand because of the passage of time.

(B) Even though it is a story of a person of no particular importance, its age and the manner in which it therefore must be told are both indicators that the story itself is important.

(C) Like all stories about the lives of inconsequential people, this story must necessarily be related in a particular way if the reason the story is consequential is to be made evident to the audience.

(D) It is a remarkable story that happened to an unremarkable person, though one could plausibly argue that because the story is valuable, some of its value accrues to the person at its center. The narrator states that Hans Castorp is an "ordinary" person, but the story itself is "very much worth telling." The passage also suggests that Hans benefits from being at the center of an exceptional story, implying that the significance of the story lends some significance to its protagonist.

(A) Incorrect – The passage does not say that all people are unique or that the story is difficult to understand due to the passage of time.

(B) Incorrect – While the story is old, its age is not cited as a reason for its importance.

(C) Incorrect – The narrator does not suggest that all stories about ordinary people must be told in a special way to show their importance.

(D) Correct – The passage emphasizes that the story is remarkable even if its protagonist is ordinary, and it hints that Hans Castorp benefits from being at its center.

Narwhals are shy whales that live in the remote Arctic Ocean. Some of them have a long tusk, like a unicorn horn, with sensitive nerves. Narwhals are known for this tusk, but many actually don’t have one and its purpose is unknown. One group of scientists came up with a possible purpose in 2014. The scientists suggested that the tusk may help narwhals determine when water around them is likely to start freezing and become dangerous for them. Marine biologist Kristin Laidre disagrees with that idea, though. She reasons that if the narwhal’s tusk serves such an important purpose, then it’s most likely that ______

A) some narwhals would seek a new habitat.

B) fewer marine animals would also have tusks.

C) more narwhals would have a tusk.

D) narwhals would become less shy over time.

A) Incorrect – The option does not logically follow Laidre’s reasoning; habitat change isn’t implied by the function of the tusk.

B) Incorrect – The text focuses on narwhals only; no inference about other marine animals is made.

C) Correct – If the tusk served a crucial function like detecting freezing water, it would be expected to be more common among narwhals.

D) Incorrect – The text does not link the presence of a tusk to narwhals’ shyness.

To address the susceptibility of materials used in components of high-performance machinery, such as aircraft engines, to creep (deformation induced by persistent mechanical stress at elevated temperatures), materials researchers have developed silicon carbide (SiC) fibers for producing aerospace composites. Testing the thermomechanical properties of several commercially available SiC fibers, Ramakrishna T. Bhatt et al. found that in comparison with two polymer-derived SiC fibers, a nitrogen-treated SiC fiber exhibited a lower minimum creep rate, a measure of the rate at which a stress-exposed material deforms at a constant temperature and uniaxial load. The finding suggests that ______

A) unlike the two polymer-derived SiC fibers, the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber can substantially inhibit creep, provided that temperatures and loads are consistent.

B) the two polymer-derived SiC fibers likely hold similar potential for reducing the creep resistance of materials exposed to stress and elevated temperatures, thus prolonging the life span of aerospace machinery.

C) composites based on the two polymer-derived SiC fibers have chemical properties that may improve the mechanical and thermal stability of aerospace equipment to a greater extent than do composites based on the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber.

D) aerospace composites containing the nitrogen-treated SiC fiber may have the ability to withstand mechanical stress for a longer period of time than can aerospace composites containing either of the two polymer-derived SiC fibers.

A) Incorrect – Overstates the finding; it focuses on inhibiting creep rather than on the material’s ability to withstand stress over time.

B) Incorrect – This option misinterprets “creep resistance” and implies a negative effect, contrary to the study’s finding.

C) Incorrect – The text does not compare chemical properties or suggest that the polymer-derived fibers improve stability more than the nitrogen-treated fiber.

D) Correct – A lower creep rate indicates slower deformation; thus, composites with the nitrogen-treated fiber would likely withstand stress longer.

The Uto-Aztecan language family is divided into a northern branch, which includes the Shoshone language of present-day Idaho and Utah, and a southern one, whose best-known representative is Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire in Mexico. Lexical similarities across the family, including of botanical terms, confirm descent from a single language spoken millennia ago, and the family’s geographical distribution suggests an origin in what is now the US Southwest. However, vocabulary pertaining to maize isn’t shared between northern and southern branches, despite the crop’s universal cultivation among Uto-Aztecan tribes. Given archaeological evidence that maize originated in Mexico and diffused northward into what became the US Southwest, some linguists reason that _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

(A) northern Uto-Aztecan tribes likely obtained the crop directly from a southern Uto-Aztecan tribe rather than from a non-Uto-Aztecan tribe.

(B) variation in maize-related vocabulary within each branch of the Uto-Aztecan family likely reflects regionally specific methods for cultivating the crop.

(C) southern Uto-Aztecan tribes likely acquired maize at roughly the same time as northern Uto-Aztecan tribes did, though from different sources.

(D) the family’s division into northern and southern branches likely preceded the acquisition of the crop by the Uto-Aztecan tribes.

(A) Incorrect – If northern Uto-Aztecan tribes got maize from southern tribes, they likely would have adopted maize-related vocabulary from them, which contradicts the premise of the question.

(B) Incorrect – The passage discusses differences between branches, not differences within each branch.

(C) Incorrect – The text suggests maize spread from Mexico northward, meaning southern Uto-Aztecan tribes likely acquired it first.

(D) Correct – If the Uto-Aztecan family had already split before maize reached their region, it makes sense that the two branches developed different maize-related vocabulary.

An analysis by Alain Elayi and colleagues of coins minted in Sidon in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE reveals a change in their composition over time: while a coin from circa 450 BCE contains about 98% silver and copper, a coin from 367 BCE (the end of Ba’alšillem II’s reign) contains silver and copper, giving it a relatively yellowish appearance that traders would have noticed. Because coins with a silver content below were widely considered unsuitable for trade, Elayi et al. speculate that a crisis in confidence in the currency occurred in Sidon around 367 BCE, which was likely relieved—despite Sidon’s persistent oppressive financial obligations—as a result of Ba’alšillem II’s successor Abd’aštart I’s decision to _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) proclaim that the percentage of silver in coins suitable for trade would be raised to a threshold higher than 80%.

B) keep the amount of silver in Sidonian coins consistent with that in coins minted in 367 BCE but decrease their weight.

C) begin minting heavier coins with a proportion of silver to copper similar to that in coins minted in 367 BCE.

D) fund the mining of some copper deposits that were not available to Ba’alšillem II.

(A) Incorrect – Raising the silver percentage threshold beyond 80% would likely worsen the crisis, as Sidon was already struggling with financial obligations and had limited silver.

(B) Correct – Reducing the weight while maintaining the same silver content would increase the percentage of silver in each coin, making them more acceptable for trade.

(C) Incorrect – Keeping the same silver-to-copper ratio in heavier coins would not address the crisis in confidence, as the percentage of silver would still be too low.

(D) Incorrect – The passage gives no indication that increasing copper mining would help restore confidence in the currency.

“To You” is a 1856 poem by Walt Whitman. In the poem, Whitman suggests that he deeply understands the reader, whom he addresses directly, writing.

Which quotation from “To You” most effectively illustrates the claim?

A) “Your true soul and body appear before me.”

B) “Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem.”

C) “I should have made my way straight to you long ago.”

D) “Whoever you are, I fear you are walking the walks of dreams.”

Choice A is the best answer because it most directly illustrates the text’s claim about Whitman’s poem, “To You.” The text says that in this poem, Whitman suggests that he deeply understands the poem’s reader. This quotation says that the reader’s “true soul and body appear before” Whitman, thereby asserting that he can see the reader as the reader truly is, suggesting that he deeply understands the reader.

Choice B is incorrect because this quotation describes Whitman making the reader the subject of the poem (“you be my poem”), not Whitman deeply understanding the reader.

Choice C is incorrect because instead of suggesting that Whitman deeply understands the reader, it emphasizes Whitman’s regret at not having addressed the reader sooner.

Choice D is incorrect. Although this quotation shows Whitman directly addressing the reader and expressing concern about the reader, it doesn’t illustrate the idea that Whitman suggests that he deeply understands the reader. The quotation is simply expressing concern about the reader, which doesn’t necessarily imply understanding of the reader.

Although military veterans make up a small proportion of the total population of the United States, they occupy a significantly higher proportion of the jobs in the civilian government. One possible explanation for this disproportionate representation is that military service familiarizes people with certain organizational structures that are also reflected in the civilian government bureaucracy, and this familiarity thus.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) makes civilian government jobs especially appealing to military veterans.

B) alters the typical relationship between military service and subsequent career preferences.

C) encourages nonveterans applying for civilian government jobs to consider military service instead.

D) increases the number of civilian government jobs that require some amount of military experience to perform.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of military veterans working in civilian government jobs in the United States. The text indicates that the proportion of military veterans working in civilian government jobs is considerably higher than the proportion of military veterans in the population as a whole. The text also notes that the unusually high representation of military veterans in these jobs may be a result of the organizational structures shared by civilian government entities and the military. Hence, it’s reasonable to infer that it’s the familiarity of the structures of civilian government that makes jobs there particularly attractive to military veterans.

Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t address what a typical relationship between military service and later career preferences would be, and there’s no indication that it’s atypical for veterans to work in civilian government jobs after they’ve left the military. On the contrary, the text suggests that many military veterans are drawn to such jobs.

Choice C is incorrect because the text is focused on the high representation of military veterans in civilian government jobs and doesn’t address nonveterans or their possible interest in military service.

Choice D is incorrect because the text conveys that military veterans may be particularly interested in civilian government jobs due to the familiarity of organizational structures that are already in place, but there’s no reason to think that this interest would mean that more civilian government jobs will start to require military experience.

The following text is adapted from Edith Nesbitt’s 1906 novel The Railway Children.

Mother did not spend all her time in paying dull [visits] to dull ladies, and sitting idly at home waiting for dull ladies to pay visits to her. She was almost always there, ready to play with the children, and read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons. Besides this she used to write stories for them while they were at school, and read them aloud after tea, and she always made up funny pieces of poetry for their birthdays and for other great occasions.

According to the text, what is true about Mother?

A) She wishes that more ladies would visit her.

B) Birthdays are her favorite special occasion.

C) She creates stories and poems for her children.

D) Reading to her children is her favorite activity.

Choice C is the best answer because it describes something that is true of Mother, as presented in the text. The text indicates that in addition to other activities, Mother writes stories for her children while they are at school and makes up "funny pieces of poetry" for certain occasions.

Choice A is incorrect because the text suggests that Mother prefers to spend time with her children and doesn’t set at home hoping that ladies will visit her.

Choice B is incorrect because the text says only that Mother makes up poetry for the children’s birthdays, not that she likes birthdays more than special occasions.

Choice D is incorrect because the text conveys that Mother prefers reading to her children over the other activities she does with them, such as playing with them and writing stories and poems for them.

Ancestral Puebloans, the civilization from which present-day Pueblo tribes descended, emerged as early as 1500 B.C.E. in an area of what is now the southwestern United States and dispersed suddenly in the late 1200s C.E., abandoning established villages with systems for farming crops and turkeys. Recent analysis comparing turkey remains at Mesa Verde, one such village in southern Colorado, to samples from modern turkey populations in the Rio Grande Valley of north central New Mexico determined that the latter birds descended in part from turkeys cultivated at Mesa Verde, with shared genetic markers appearing only after 1280. Thus, researchers concluded that

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) conditions of the terrains in the Rio Grande Valley and Mesa Verde had greater similarities in the past than they do today.

B) some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried farming practices with them.

C) Indigenous peoples living in the Rio Grande Valley primarily planted crops and did not cultivate turkeys before 1280.

D) The Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde likely adopted the farming practices of Indigenous peoples living in other regions.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of Ancestral Puebloans’ migration to the Rio Grande Valley. The text states that in the late 1200s C.E., the Ancestral Puebloan civilization abandoned villages in its original homeland, which included the Mesa Verde site. The text goes on to say that recent genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande Valley descends partly from the ancient turkeys raised at Mesa Verde, and that the genetic markers shared by the two turkey populations first appeared at Mesa Verde only after 1280 C.E. Therefore, it can reasonably be concluded that some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried their agricultural practices—including the farming of turkeys—to their new home.

Choice A is incorrect because the text never compares the condition of the Rio Grande Valley’s terrain to that of Mesa Verde’s terrain, either in the present or in the past.

Choice C is incorrect. Although genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande valley descended in part from the turkey population raised by the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde before their migration to the valley in 1280, this finding doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Indigenous peoples living in the valley before 1280 might also have farmed turkeys.

Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t consider the possibility that Indigenous peoples in the Rio Grande Valley before 1280 might have adopted turkey farming from an outside Indigenous civilization in another region; instead, the text provides evidence suggesting that the Ancestral Puebloans brought turkey farming to another region—the Rio Grande Valley—after 1280.

Ratified by more than 90 countries, the Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement ensuring that Indigenous communities are compensated when their agricultural resources and knowledge of wild plants and animals are utilized by agricultural corporations. However, the protocol has shortcomings. For example, it allows corporations to insist that their agreements with communities to conduct research on the commercial uses of the communities’ resources and knowledge remain confidential. Therefore, some Indigenous advocates express concern that the protocol may have the unintended effect of ...

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) diminishing the monetary reward that corporations might derive from their agreements with Indigenous communities.

B) limiting the research that corporations conduct on the resources of the Indigenous communities with which they have signed agreements.

C) preventing independent observers from determining whether the agreements guarantee equitable compensation for Indigenous communities.

D) discouraging Indigenous communities from learning new methods for harvesting plants and animals from their corporate partners.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the argument about an unintended effect of the Nagoya Protocol. The text explains that the Nagoya Protocol is an agreement ensuring that Indigenous communities are compensated when their agricultural resources and knowledge are used by corporations. The text then states that the protocol allows corporations to keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential, about which some Indigenous advocates express concern. Choice C, when inserted into the blank, gives a good justification for the advocates’ concern: such secrecy could mean that the public is unable to determine whether participating Indigenous communities were properly compensated under these agreements.

Choice A is incorrect because the text suggests that because corporations can keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential, Indigenous communities, not corporations, might not be compensated fairly.

Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the ability of corporations to keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential would place limits on how much research corporations can undertake.

Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that Indigenous communities aim to learn new harvesting methods from their corporate partners. Rather, the text suggests that corporations use the knowledge of Indigenous communities for their research.

The domestic sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) descends from a wild plant native to South America. It also populates the Polynesian Islands, where evidence confirms that Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples were cultivating the plant centuries before seafaring first occurred over the thousands of miles of ocean separating them from South America. To explain how the sweet potato was first introduced in Polynesia, botanist Pablo Muñoz-Rodriguez and colleagues analyzed the DNA of numerous varieties of the plant, concluding that Polynesian varieties diverged from South American ones over 100,000 years ago. Given that Polynesia was populated only in the last three thousand years, the team concluded that ...

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the cultivation of the sweet potato in Polynesia likely predates its cultivation in South America.

B) Polynesian peoples likely acquired the sweet potato from South American peoples only within the last three thousand years.

C) human activity likely played no role in the introduction of the sweet potato to Polynesia.

D) Polynesian sweet potato varieties likely descend from a single South American variety that was domesticated, not wild.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the sweet potato in Polynesia. The text indicates that the sweet potato is found in Polynesia but originated in South America, and that the sweet potato was being cultivated by Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples in Polynesia long before sea voyages between South America and Polynesia began. The text goes on to note that research by Muñoz-Rodriguez and colleagues has established that the Polynesian varieties of sweet potato split from South American varieties more than 100,000 years ago, which is thousands of years before humans settled in Polynesia. If Polynesian peoples were cultivating the sweet potato before sea voyages between Polynesia and South America began, and if Polynesian varieties of sweet potato diverged from South American varieties well before people were in Polynesia, it can reasonably be concluded that humans didn’t play a role in bringing the sweet potato to Polynesia.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide any information about when the sweet potato began to be cultivated in South America, so there’s no support for the conclusion that cultivation began in Polynesia before it began in South America.

Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that the sweet potato was being cultivated in Polynesia long before sea journeys between Polynesia and South America began. Therefore, it wouldn’t be reasonable to conclude that Polynesian peoples acquired the sweet potato from South American peoples.

Choice D is incorrect because the text states that the domestic sweet potato, which is found in Polynesia, descends from a wild South American plant, not from a domesticated South American plant. The only people that the text describes as cultivating the sweet potato are Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples of Polynesia.

Utah is home to Pando, a colony of about 47,000 quaking aspen trees that all share a single root system. Pando is one of the largest single organisms by mass on Earth, but ecologists are worried that its growth is declining in part because of grazing by animals. The ecologists say that strong fences could prevent deer from eating young trees and help Pando start thriving again.

According to the text, why are ecologists worried about Pando?

A) It isn't growing at the same rate it used to.

B) It isn't producing young trees anymore.

C) It can't grow into new areas because it is blocked by fences.

D) Its root system can't support many more new trees.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents an explanation that is directly stated in the text for why ecologists are worried about Pando. The text states that Pando is a colony of about 47,000 quaking aspen trees that represents one of the largest organisms on Earth. According to the text, ecologists are worried that Pando's growth is declining, partly because animals are feeding on the trees. In other words, the ecologists are worried that Pando isn’t growing at the same rate it used to.

Choice B is incorrect. Rather than indicating that Pando isn’t producing young trees anymore, the text reveals that Pando is indeed producing young trees, stating that those trees can be protected from grazing deer by strong fences.

Choice C is incorrect because the text states that fences can be used to prevent deer from eating Pando’s young trees, not that Pando itself can’t grow in new areas because it’s blocked by fences.

Choice D is incorrect because the text offers no evidence that Pando’s root system is incapable of supporting new trees or is otherwise a cause of worry for ecologists.

Cats can judge unseen people's positions in space by the sound of their voices and thus react with surprise when the same person calls to them from two different locations in a short span of time.

Saho Takagi and colleagues reached this conclusion by measuring cats' levels of surprise based on their ear and head movements while the cats heard recordings of their owners' voices from two speakers spaced far apart. Cats exhibited a low level of surprise when owners' voices were played twice from the same speaker, but they showed a high level of surprise when the voice was played once each from the two different speakers.

According to the text, how did the researchers determine the level of surprise displayed by the cats in the study?

A) They watched how each cat moved its ears and head.

B) They examined how each cat reacted to the voice of a stranger.

C) They studied how each cat physically interacted with its owner.

D) They tracked how each cat moved around the room.

Choice A is the best answer because it explains how the researchers determined the level of surprise displayed by the cats in the study. The text states that Saho Takagi and colleagues played recordings of the voice of each cat's owner and measured how surprised the cat was by the recording based on how it moved its ears and head.

Choice B is incorrect because, as the text explains, the recordings played for each cat in the study were of the voice of the cat's owner, not a stranger's voice.

Choice C is incorrect because the text explains that during the study, the cats didn’t interact directly with their owners; instead, the cats listened to recordings of their owners’ voices.

Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that the researchers monitored the cats’ movement around the room in which the study was conducted.

Several artworks found among the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii depict a female figure fishing with a cupid nearby. Some scholars have asserted that the figure is the goddess Venus, since she is known to have been linked with cupids in Roman culture, but University of Leicester archaeologist Carla Brain suggests that cupids may have also been associated with fishing generally. The fact that a cupid is shown near the female figure, therefore,

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) is not conclusive evidence that the figure is Venus.

B) suggests that Venus was often depicted fishing.

C) eliminates the possibility that the figure is Venus.

D) would be difficult to account for if the figure is not Venus.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically completes the text’s discussion about the significance of the cupid found at Pompeii. The text indicates that the cupid is near a statue of a female figure who is fishing, and it goes on to indicate that because Venus is associated with cupids, some scholars believe the female figure to be the goddess Venus. But the text then says that, according to archaeologist Carla Brain, cupids may have also been associated with the activity of fishing, which, if true, would suggest that the mere appearance of a cupid near a female figure engaged in fishing does not indicate with certainty that the figure is Venus (that is, the cupid might be associated with fishing, and the figure might be anyone at all).

Choice B is incorrect because the text says nothing about how often Venus was depicted fishing in Roman art; it only implies that in certain instances a female figure may or may not be Venus.

Choice C is incorrect because Carla Brain’s proposed explanation for the presence of the cupids makes no reference to the female figure, and so the possibility that the figure in the artworks is, in fact, Venus cannot be definitively eliminated.

Choice D is incorrect because there is nothing in the text to suggest that the only reasonable way to interpret the figure is as Venus.

In documents called judicial opinions, judges explain the reasoning behind their legal rulings, and in those explanations, they sometimes cite and discuss historical and contemporary philosophers. Legal scholar and philosopher Anita L. Allen argues that while judges are naturally inclined to mention philosophers whose views align with their own positions, the strongest judicial opinions consider and rebut potential objections; discussing philosophers whose views conflict with judges' views could therefore

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) allow judges to craft judicial opinions without needing to consult philosophical works.

B) help judges improve the arguments they put forward in their judicial opinions.

C) make judicial opinions more comprehensible to readers without legal or philosophical training.

D) bring judicial opinions in line with views that are broadly held among philosophers.

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Anita Allen’s argument about judges citing philosophers in their judicial opinions. The text indicates that judges sometimes cite philosophers when writing their judicial opinions and that, according to Allen, judges tend to cite philosophers whose views are in agreement with those of the judges themselves. Allen claims, however, that the best judicial opinions consider potential objections and rebut them, which suggests that judges may be able to strengthen their opinions by including discussions of philosophers with views contrary to their own.

Choice A is incorrect because Allen’s claim is that judges could improve their judicial opinions by citing philosophers who disagree with the views expressed in the opinions, which would necessarily require judges to consult philosophical works.

Choice C is incorrect because there’s no discussion in the text about making judicial opinions more easily understood by any particular group of readers. The focus of the text is on Allen’s claim that judicial opinions could be strengthened by the inclusion of discussions of philosophers whose views disagree with those of the judges authoring the opinions.

Choice D is incorrect because the text presents Allen’s argument that discussing philosophers whose views judges disagree with could strengthen judicial opinions, not that doing so could bring those opinions into line with views that are popular among philosophers.

Many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that still appeal to today’s audiences. For instance, Romeo and Juliet, which is set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time, tackles the themes of parents versus children and love versus hate, and the play continues to be read and produced widely around the world. But understanding Shakespeare’s so-called history plays can require a knowledge of several centuries of English history. Consequently,_________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) many theatergoers and readers today are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than the tragedies.

B) some of Shakespeare’s tragedies are more relevant to today’s audiences than twentieth-century plays.

C) Romeo and Juliet is the most thematically accessible of all Shakespeare’s tragedies.

D) experts in English history tend to prefer Shakespeare’s history plays to his other works.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the relative appeal of different kinds of plays by Shakespeare to today’s audiences. According to the text, Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that continue to appeal to today’s audiences. Indeed, the text suggests that these themes are timeless, as illustrated by the example of Romeo and Juliet, which the text states is still read and widely performed despite being set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time. In contrast, the text indicates that audiences and readers may need to be familiar with several centuries of English history in order to understand Shakespeare’s history plays. Because many theatergoers and readers are unlikely to possess such extensive historical knowledge, it follows that they are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than his more accessible tragedies.

Choice B is incorrect because the text never introduces a comparison between Shakespeare’s tragedies and twentieth-century plays, only between Shakespeare’s tragedies and his history plays. Since twentieth-century plays aren’t mentioned, there’s no basis in the text for the idea that some of Shakespeare’s tragedies are more relevant than twentieth-century plays to today’s audiences.

Choice C is incorrect. Although the text indicates that Romeo and Juliet is thematically accessible to today’s audiences, it doesn’t suggest that Romeo and Juliet is more accessible than Shakespeare’s other tragedies. Rather, the text presents Romeo and Juliet as an example to support the idea that Shakespeare’s tragedies hold continued appeal for today’s readers and theatergoers.

Choice D is incorrect. Although experts in English history would likely possess the knowledge needed to understand Shakespeare’s history plays, the text never mentions such experts or suggests that they would enjoy the history plays more than Shakespeare’s other works.

The following text is from Ezra Pound’s 1909 poem “Hymn III,” based on the work of Marcantonio Flaminio.

As a fragile and lovely flower unfolds its gleaming foliage on the breast of the fostering earth, if the dew and the rain draw it forth;
So doth my tender mind flourish, if it be fed with the sweet dew of the fostering spirit.
Lacking this, it beginneth straightway to languish, even as a flower born upon dry earth, if the dew and the rain tend it not.

Based on the text, in what way is the human mind like a flower?

A) It becomes increasingly vigorous with the passage of time.

B) It draws strength from changes in the weather.

C) It requires proper nourishment in order to thrive.

D) It perseveres despite challenging circumstances.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a description of how the human mind is like a flower that is directly supported by the text. The text compares the needs of a “fragile and lovely flower” to those of the speaker's “tender mind”; both need to be fed if they’re going to survive. Without such feeding, they’ll "beginneth straightway to languish," or weaken. Thus, the text suggests that the human mind is like a flower in that they both need proper nourishment in order to thrive.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t address the passage of time or describe either the human mind or a flower as becoming increasingly vigorous.

Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that human minds or flowers draw strength from changes in weather. The references to rain in the text pertain to a flower’s need for water rather than the general effects of changing weather.

Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the human mind or a flower will persist regardless of challenging circumstances. In fact, the text indicates that they’ll both languish right away if not given what they need.

In the “language nest” model of education, Indigenous children learn the language of their people by using it as the medium of instruction and socialization at pre-K or elementary levels. In their 2016 study of a school in an Anishinaabe community in Ontario, Canada, scholars Lindsay Morcom and Stephanie Roy (who are Anishinaabe themselves) found that the model not only imparted fluency in the Anishinaabe language but also enhanced students' pride in Anishinaabe culture overall. Given these positive effects, Morcom and Roy predict that the model increases the probability that as adults, former students of the school will transmit the language to younger generations in their community.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the researchers' prediction?

A) Anishinaabe adults who didn’t attend the school feel roughly the same degree of cultural pride as the former students of the school feel.

B) After transferring to the school, new students experience an increase in both fluency and academic performance overall.

C) As adults, former students of the school are just as likely to continue living in their community as individuals who didn’t attend the school.

D) As they complete secondary and higher education, former students of the school experience no less fluency or cultural pride.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the researchers’ prediction about the language nest model of education. The text states that Morcom and Roy studied the effects of the language nest model of education on students at an Anishinaabe school, and they found that the model—which is used with students during pre-K or elementary school—increased students’ fluency in the Anishinaabe language and pride in Anishinaabe culture. The researchers predicted that the students’ positive early experiences with the Anishinaabe language would lead them to be more likely to later share the language with younger generations. If former students maintain full fluency and cultural pride after finishing secondary and higher education, it follows that they would be both able and motivated to share what they know with others; this would likely result in a higher probability of transmitting the language to younger generations, as the researchers predict.

Choice A is incorrect because finding that Anishinaabe adults who didn’t attend the school feel approximately the same degree of cultural pride as those adults who did attend wouldn’t support the researchers’ prediction that former students will be more likely to share their knowledge with younger generations. This finding would identify a similarity between the groups rather than a factor that might make former students more likely than other adults to transmit the language to younger people.

Choice B is incorrect because finding that new students experience increased performance in language fluency and academics would suggest that the school has a positive effect on students when they attended but wouldn’t reveal anything about those students’ later actions as adults (such as their likelihood of sharing their knowledge with younger generations).

Choice C is incorrect because finding that Anishinaabe adults who attended the school are equally likely to stay in the community as adults who didn’t attend the school wouldn’t support the researchers’ prediction that former students will be more likely to share their knowledge with younger generations. This finding would identify a similarity between the groups rather than a factor that might make former students more likely than other adults to transmit the language to younger people.

Choctaw/Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson turns punching bags used by boxers into art by decorating them with beadwork and elements of Native dressmaking. These elements include leather fringe and jingles, the metal cones that cover the dresses worn in the jingle dance, a women’s dance of the Ojibwe people. Thus, Gibson combines an object commonly associated with masculinity (a punching bag) with art forms traditionally practiced by women in most Native communities (beadwork and dressmaking). In this way, he rejects the division of male and female gender roles.

Which choice best describes Gibson's approach to art, as presented in the text?

A) He draws from traditional Native art forms to create his original works.

B) He finds inspiration from boxing in designing the dresses he makes.

C) He rejects expectations about color and pattern when incorporating beadwork.

D) He has been influenced by Native and non-Native artists equally.

Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes Gibson's approach to art. As the text explains, Gibson, who is Cherokee and Choctaw, transforms punching bags into art pieces by applying (or attaching) to them beadwork and elements of Native dressmaking, including leather fringe and the jingles of the jingle dress. The text goes on to say that in most Native communities, the art forms of beadwork and dressmaking are traditionally practiced by women. Therefore, Gibson's approach to art consists of creating original works by drawing from traditional Native art forms.

Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that Gibson designs dresses influenced by boxing but instead that he turns punching bags, which are used in boxing, into works of art by applying elements of Native dressmaking to them.

Choice C is incorrect. Although Gibson does incorporate beadwork into his art, the text never mentions the colors or patterns that he uses or suggests that his art defies the expectations that people might have about color and pattern in beadwork.

Choice D is incorrect. Because Gibson incorporates Native art forms into his own original artwork, it can be inferred that he has been influenced by other Native artists, but the text never suggests that non-Native artists have influenced him.

The mimosa tree evolved in East Asia, where the beetle Bruchidius terrenus preys on its seeds. In 1785, mimosa trees were introduced to North America, far from any B. terrenus. But evolutionary links between predators and their prey can persist across centuries and continents. Around 2001, B. terrenus was introduced in southeastern North America near where botanist Shu-Mei Chang and colleagues had been monitoring mimosa trees. Within a year, 93 percent of the trees had been attacked by the beetles.

Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the overall structure of the text?

A) It states the hypothesis that Chang and colleagues had set out to investigate using mimosa trees and B. terrenus.

B) It presents a generalization that is exemplified by the discussion of the mimosa trees and B. terrenus.

C) It offers an alternative explanation for the findings of Chang and colleagues.

D) It provides context that clarifies why the species mentioned spread to new locations.

Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the third sentence within the overall structure of the text. The third sentence makes a generalization, asserting that evolutionary links between predators and prey can persist across great expanses of time and distance. This generalization is exemplified by the text’s discussion of the relationship between mimosa trees and B. terrenus beetles. When mimosa trees were introduced to North America in 1785, no B. terrenus beetles were present, so the relationship between the trees and the beetles that exists in their native East Asia was disrupted. When the beetles were introduced to North America more than 200 years later, however, they quickly attacked mimosa trees, illustrating the generalization that links between predators and prey “can persist across centuries and continents.”

Choice A is incorrect because the third sentence doesn’t indicate that Chang and colleagues were investigating any particular hypothesis. According to the text, Chang and colleagues were simply monitoring mimosa trees when the beetles happened to be introduced to the area.

Choice C is incorrect because the third sentence offers a generalization about the relationship between predators and prey, not an explanation for the findings of Chang and colleagues that differs from an explanation presented elsewhere in the text.

Choice D is incorrect because the third sentence doesn’t discuss any particular species (either the species mentioned elsewhere in the text or any other) and doesn’t help explain why species spread to new locations.

Artificially delivering biomolecules to plant cells is an important component of protecting plants from pathogens, but it is difficult to transmit biomolecules through the layers of the plant cell wall. Markita del Carpio Landry and her colleagues have shown that it may be possible to __________ this problem by transmitting molecules through carbon nanotubes, which can cross cell walls.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) conceptualize

B) neglect

C) illustrate

D) overcome

Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of delivering biomolecules to plant cells. In this context, "overcome" means to succeed in dealing with an obstacle. The text suggests that although it’s difficult to move biomolecules through plant cell walls, Landry and her colleagues have shown that carbon nanotubes may be useful, since they can cross cell walls. This context conveys that Landry and her colleagues think it’s possible, using carbon nanotubes, to succeed in dealing with the obstacle of transmitting biomolecules to plant cells.

Choice A is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense in context to say that Landry and her colleagues have shown that it may be possible to "conceptualize," or form an idea of, the difficulty of transmitting biomolecules through the walls of plant cells. The text presents this difficulty as a known problem that Landry and her colleagues think they may have solved, not as a mysterious occurrence that they have yet to form ideas about. 

Choice B is incorrect because the text suggests that Landry and her colleagues think it may be possible to successfully deal with the problem of transmitting biomolecules through the walls of plant cells, not that Landry and her colleagues think it may be possible to "neglect," or simply to disregard and ignore the problem. 

Choice C is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense in context to say that Landry and her colleagues have shown that it may be possible to "illustrate," or demonstrate, the difficulty of transmitting biomolecules through the walls of plant cells by using carbon nanotubes. According to the text, carbon nanotubes allow molecules to be transmitted to plant cells—something that is otherwise difficult to do. The text therefore, presents carbon nanotubes as a way of possibly solving a problem, not as a means of demonstrating the problem.

Some bird species don’t raise their own chicks. Instead, adult females lay their eggs in other nests, next to another bird species’ own eggs. Female cuckoos have been seen quickly laying eggs in the nests of other bird species when those birds are out looking for food. After the eggs hatch, the noncuckoo parents will typically raise the cuckoo chicks as if they were their own offspring, even if the cuckoos look very different from the other chicks.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A) It introduces a physical feature of female cuckoos that is described later in the text.

B) It describes the appearance of the cuckoo nests mentioned earlier in the text.

C) It offers a detail about how female cuckoos carry out the behavior discussed in the text.

D) It explains how other birds react to the female cuckoo behavior discussed in the text.

Choice C is the best answer because it best describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole. The first two sentences establish that birds of some species don’t raise their own young; instead, they lay their eggs in the nests of other species. The underlined sentence then states that female cuckoos engage in this behavior, having been observed specifically laying their eggs in other nests while the other birds are out finding food. According to the text, the cuckoo chicks are then raised by the other birds. Thus, the underlined sentence provides a particular detail about how female cuckoos carry out the behavior of laying eggs for other birds to raise.

Choice A is incorrect. Rather than mentioning a physical feature of female cuckoos, the underlined sentence introduces a specific behavior of female cuckoos: laying eggs in the nests of birds of other species when the other birds are away. The only reference to physical features is the last sentence’s general mention of cuckoo chicks looking different from chicks of other species.

Choice B is incorrect because the underlined sentence refers to the nests of birds other than cuckoos and doesn’t describe how any nests look, cuckoo or otherwise. Instead, the sentence addresses how female cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

Choice D is incorrect because the underlined sentence describes only female cuckoo behavior (laying eggs in the nests of birds of other species when the other birds are away); it’s the last sentence of the text that addresses the other birds' reaction, indicating that those birds usually raise the cuckoo chicks once they’ve hatched.

A student performs an experiment testing her hypothesis that a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth of the plant Brassica rapa parachinensis (a vegetable commonly known as choy sum) than a neutral soil environment. She plants sixteen seeds of choy sum in a mixture of equal amounts of coffee grounds (which are highly acidic) and potting soil and another sixteen seeds in potting soil without coffee grounds as the control for the experiment. The two groups of seeds were exposed to the same growing conditions and monitored for three weeks.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the student’s hypothesis?

A) The choy sum planted in the soil without coffee grounds was significantly taller at the end of the experiment than the choy sum planted in the mixture of soil and coffee grounds.

B) The choy sum grown in the soil without coffee grounds weighed significantly less at the end of the experiment than the choy sum grown in the mixture of soil and coffee grounds.

C) The choy sum seeds planted in the soil without coffee grounds sprouted significantly later in the experiment than did the seeds planted in the mixture of soil and coffee grounds.

D) Significantly fewer of the choy sum seeds planted in the soil without coffee grounds sprouted plants than did the seeds planted in the mixture of soil and coffee grounds.

Choice A is the best answer because it describes an experimental outcome that would most directly weaken the student's hypothesis. According to the text, the student hypothesizes that Brassica rapa parachinensis (choy sum) will benefit more from acidic soil than from neutral soil. The text then explains that the student planted 16 choy sum seeds in potting soil with coffee grounds added to increase acidity and another 16 seeds in soil without coffee grounds as a control (a group identical to the experimental group except for the experimental modification being tested). If the hypothesis were correct, the plants in the more acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture would grow faster than those in the control group. However, choice A proposes a scenario in which the plants in soil without coffee grounds were "significantly taller" than those in the more acidic mixture—an outcome that weakens the hypothesis that acidity is beneficial to the plants' growth.

Choice B is incorrect. If the choy sum planted in the neutral soil produced less plant matter and therefore weighed less than the choy sum planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture, this finding would strengthen the student's hypothesis, not weaken it. 

Choice C is incorrect. If seeds planted in neutral soil (without coffee grounds) sprouted significantly later than seeds planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture, this finding would strengthen, not weaken, the student's hypothesis that acidic soil benefits choy sum. 

Choice D is incorrect. If seeds planted in the neutral soil (without coffee grounds) sprouted significantly fewer plants than seeds planted in the acidic soil-and-coffee-grounds mixture, this finding would strengthen, not weaken, the student's hypothesis that choy sum benefits from acidic soil.

Ancestral Puebloans, the civilization from which present-day Pueblo tribes descended, emerged as early as 1500 B.C.E. in an area of what is now the southwestern United States and dispersed suddenly in the late 1200s C.E., abandoning established villages with systems for farming crops and turkeys. Recent analysis comparing turkey remains at Mesa Verde, one such village in southern Colorado, to samples from modern turkey populations in the Rio Grande Valley of north central New Mexico determined that the latter birds descended in part from turkeys cultivated at Mesa Verde, with shared genetic markers appearing only after 1280. Thus, researchers concluded that ________________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) conditions of the terrains in the Rio Grande Valley and Mesa Verde had greater similarities in the past than they do today.

B) some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried farming practices with them.

C) Indigenous peoples living in the Rio Grande Valley primarily planted crops and did not cultivate turkeys before 1280.

D) the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde likely adopted the farming practices of Indigenous peoples living in other regions.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of Ancestral Puebloans’ migration to the Rio Grande Valley. The text states that in the late 1200s C.E., the Ancestral Puebloan civilization abandoned villages in its original homeland, which included the Mesa Verde site. The text goes on to say that recent genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande Valley descends partly from the ancient turkeys raised at Mesa Verde, and that the genetic markers shared by the two turkey populations first appeared at Mesa Verde only after 1280 C.E. Therefore, it can reasonably be concluded that some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried their agricultural practices—including the farming of turkeys—to their new homes.

Choice A is incorrect because the text never compares the condition of the Rio Grande Valley’s terrain to that of Mesa Verde’s terrain, either in the present or in the past. 

Choice C is incorrect. Although genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande valley descended in part from the turkey population raised by the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde before their migration to the valley in 1280, this finding doesn’t eliminate the possibility that indigenous peoples living in the valley before 1280 might also have farmed turkeys. 

Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t consider the possibility that before their migration to the Rio Grande Valley after 1280, the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde might have adopted turkey farming from an outside Indigenous civilization in another region; instead, the text provides evidence suggesting that the Ancestral Puebloans brought turkey farming to another region—the Rio Grande Valley—after 1280.

One challenge when researching whether holding elected office changes a person’s behavior is the problem of ensuring that the experiment has an appropriate control group. To reveal the effect of holding office, researchers must compare people who hold elected office with people who do not hold office but who are otherwise similar to the office-holders. Since researchers are unable to control which politicians win elections, they therefore _________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) struggle to find valid data about the behavior of politicians who do not currently hold office.

B) can only conduct valid studies with people who have previously held office rather than people who presently hold office.

C) should select a control group of people who differ from office holders in several significant ways.

D) will find it difficult to identify a group of people who can function as an appropriate control group for their studies.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of the challenge researchers face when studying the effects of holding elected office on a person’s behavior. The text explains that it’s hard for researchers to test the effects that elected office has on people because finding people to serve as a control group is difficult. The text indicates that a control group needs to be made up of people who share characteristics of the group being tested but don’t have the variable being tested (in this case, holding elected office). Because researchers aren’t able to influence who wins elections, they’re also unable to determine who would serve as an appropriately similar member of a control group. Thus, it logically follows that researchers will find it difficult to identify a group of people who can function as an appropriate control group for their studies.

Choice A is incorrect because the text focuses on the struggle to put together a control group for experiments; it doesn’t suggest that finding information about politicians’ behavior is difficult. 

Choice B is incorrect because the experiments mentioned in the text are testing the effects of holding elected office on a person’s behavior. Studying people who have already held elected office would provide an opportunity to analyze how behavioral changes that the position might cause. 

Choice C is incorrect because the text defines people in a control group as those "who are otherwise similar to the office-holders"; selecting people who differ from the office-holders wouldn’t fit the criteria for an appropriate control group.

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The calendar used by most of the world (the Gregorian calendar) has 365 days.
• Because 365 days can’t be evenly divided by 7 (the number of days in a week), calendar dates fall on a different day of the week each year.
• The Hanke-Henry permanent calendar, developed as an alternative to the Gregorian calendar, has 364 days.
• Because 364 can be divided evenly by 7, calendar dates fall on the same day of the week each year, which supports more predictable scheduling.

The student wants to explain an advantage of the Hanke-Henry calendar. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) The Gregorian calendar has 365 days, which is one day longer than the Hanke-Henry permanent calendar.

B) Adopting the Hanke-Henry permanent calendar would help solve a problem with the Gregorian calendar.

C) Designed so calendar dates would occur on the same day of the week each year, the Hanke-Henry calendar supports more predictable scheduling than does the Gregorian calendar.

D) The Hanke-Henry permanent calendar was developed as an alternative to the Gregorian calendar, which is currently the most-used calendar in the world.

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence explains an advantage of the Hanke-Henry calendar, noting that it supports more predictable scheduling than does the Gregorian calendar and describing how it does so (by having calendar dates occur on the same day each year).

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence compares the number of days in the Gregorian and Hanke-Henry calendars; it doesn’t explain an advantage of the Hanke-Henry calendar. 

Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence refers to a possible reason to adopt the Hanke-Henry calendar—that doing so would help solve a problem with the Gregorian calendar—it doesn’t identify the problem or the solution, and thus doesn’t explain the advantage of the Hanke-Henry calendar. 

Choice D is incorrect. The sentence describes the origins of the Hanke-Henry calendar; it doesn’t explain an advantage of it.

Recently, scientists looked at data collected by NASA’s InSight lander to learn more about seismic activity on Mars, known as marsquakes. The data show that the marsquakes all started from the same location on the planet. This discovery was surprising to scientists, as they expected that the marsquakes would originate from all over the planet because of the cooling of the planet’s surface. Now, scientists believe that there could be areas of active magma flows deep beneath the planet’s surface that trigger the marsquakes.

According to the text, what was surprising to scientists studying the seismic activity data from NASA’s InSight lander?

A) The surface temperature of Mars has been rising.

B) There were different types of seismic waves causing marsquakes.

C) NASA’s InSight lander collected less data than scientists had expected.

D) All the marsquakes started from the same location on the planet.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a statement about what surprised the scientists that is supported by the text. The text states that the marsquakes described in the data from NASA’s InSight lander originated from the same location on Mars. The text goes on to say that because they had expected the opposite (that marsquakes would originate from all over the planet) this discovery surprised the scientists.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t say that the data from NASA’s InSight lander revealed any surprising information about the planet’s surface temperature. Instead, the text mentions the cooling of Mars’s surface as a reason the scientists expected that marsquakes had multiple origins. In addition, cooling would indicate that the temperature has been falling rather than rising.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that by studying seismic activity scientists would find a possible explanation for what causes marsquakes, the text doesn’t say that they discovered that marsquakes are caused by different types of seismic waves. Rather, the text states that based on the data from NASA’s InSight lander, scientists now believe that this seismic activity happens because of areas of active magma that flow below the planet’s surface.

Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss the amount of data NASA’s InSight lander collected or the number of scientists who studied the data that amounted to the best expected. Instead, the text focuses on the data revealed about where on Mars the marsquakes originate.

The ancient writing system used in the Maya kingdoms of southern Mexico and Central America had a symbol for the number zero. The earliest known example of the symbol dates to more than 2,000 years ago. At that time, almost none of the writing systems elsewhere in the world possessed a zero symbol. And the use of zero in Mexico and Central America may be even more ancient. Some historians suggest that Maya mathematicians inherited it from the Olmec civilization, which flourished in the region 2,400–3,600 years ago.

According to the text, what do some historians suggest about Maya civilization?

A) Maya civilization acquired the use of zero from the Olmec civilization.

B) Maya civilization respected its historians more than it respected its mathematicians.

C) Maya civilization was highly secretive about its intellectual achievements.

D) Maya civilization tried to introduce its writing system to other civilizations.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents information about Maya civilization that is supported by the text. The text states that the writing system used in the Maya kingdoms had a symbol for the number zero. It goes on to say that at the time of the zero symbol’s earliest example, more than 2,000 years ago, almost no other writing systems in the world featured such a symbol. The text also points out that some historians suggest that Maya mathematicians inherited the use of zero from the Olmec civilization, which existed in the same area as the Maya civilization at an earlier date. Thus, according to the text, some historians suggest that the Maya civilization acquired the use of zero from the Olmec civilization.

Choice B is incorrect because although the text mentions present-day historians and Maya mathematicians, it does not say anything about how much the Maya civilization respected its historians and mathematicians.

Choice C is incorrect because the text does not indicate that the Maya civilization treated its use of the zero symbol, or any other intellectual achievements, as secrets to be kept from other civilizations.

Choice D is incorrect because although the text mentions historians who suggest that the writing system of the Maya civilization inherited some features from the earlier Olmec civilization, the text does not describe any attempts ofthe  Maya civilization to introduce its writing system to other civilizations.

The Younger Dryas was a period of extreme cooling from 11,700 to 12,900 years ago in the Northern Hemisphere. Some scientists argue that a comet fragment hitting Earth brought about the cooling. Others disagree, partly because there is no known crater from such an impact that dates to the beginning of the period. In 2015, a team led by Kurt Kjær detected a 19-mile-wide crater beneath a glacier in Greenland. The scientists who believe an impact caused the Younger Dryas claim that this discovery supports their view. However, Kjær’s team hasn’t yet been able to determine the age of the crater. Therefore, the team suggests that ________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) it can’t be concluded that the impact that made the crater was connected to the beginning of the Younger Dryas.

B) it can’t be determined whether a comet fragment could make a crater as large as 19 miles wide.

C) scientists have ignored the possibility that something other than a comet fragment could have made the crater.

D) the scientists who believe an impact caused the Younger Dryas have made incorrect assumptions about when the period began.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text's discussion of a crater’s connection to the start of the Younger Dryas. According to the text, some scientists believe that a comet fragment hitting Earth caused the cooling of the Younger Dryas period to come about. The text mentions a team of scientists found a crater in Greenland, which some believe supports the theory of a comet fragment hitting Earth to initiate the Younger Dryas. However, the text also notes that the team was unable to determine the age of the crater. If the age of the crater can’t be determined, then its connection to the Younger Dryas period of time can’t be confirmed either. Thus, it can’t be concluded that the impact that made the crater was connected to the beginning of the Younger Dryas.

Choice B is incorrect because though the text suggests that the age of the comet crater found by a team of scientists is uncertain, it doesn’t address whether a comet fragment can make a crater as large as 19 miles wide. The text doesn’t consider the size of comet fragments and how they relate to the size of craters they might make.

Choice C is incorrect because the debate in the text centers on the age of the crater found, not the cause of the crater. The text doesn’t indicate uncertainty about what caused the discovered crater.

Choice D is incorrect because the text suggests that the dates of the Younger Dryas are uncertain or unknown. The text states that “the Younger Dryas was a period of extreme cooling from 11,700 to 12,900 years ago” but doesn’t indicate any debate about the timing of the period.

In 2016, biological anthropologist Heather F. Smith and her team investigated the evolution of the appendix, an intestinal organ that is present in some mammals, including humans, but is generally thought to have no function. Studying 533 mammal species, the team found that the appendix has emerged independently across multiple lineages in separate instances, and significantly, hasn’t disappeared after emerging in specific lineages. Moreover, the team determined that species with the organ tend to have higher concentrations of lymphoid tissue, which supports immune responses, in the cecum, the organ the appendix is attached to. Therefore, the team hypothesized that the appendix likely ________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) was once present in many nonmammal species but has since disappeared from those lineages.

B) has been preserved in certain mammal species because it benefits their immune systems.

C) will emerge in a greater number of mammal species because it may serve a necessary function in the immune system.

D) produced higher concentrations of lymphoid tissue in mammals in the past than it does currently.

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Smith and colleagues’ investigation of the evolution and biological role of the appendix. The text indicates that the team found several instances of the appendix emerging and not disappearing in the lineages of various mammal species the team examined. Furthermore, the text states that species that possess an appendix also tend to have relatively high amounts of lymphoid tissue—a type of tissue that supports immune system function. Taken together, these details strongly support the hypothesis that the appendix has persisted in some species because it has a function that contributes to effective immune responses in those species.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t address any nonmammal species.

Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t make predictions about the evolutionary future of the species Smith and colleagues examined, and although the preliminary conclusion of the text is that the appendix likely does serve a function in the immune system, nothing in the text indicates that the appendix will become more widespread in the future.

Choice D is incorrect. Although the text does suggest an association between having an appendix and relatively high lymphoid tissue, it doesn’t claim that the appendix causes the tissue to grow, nor does it discuss the relative production of the tissue at different periods of time.

Some ethicists hold that the moral goodness of an individual’s actions depends solely on whether the actions themselves are good, irrespective of the context in which they are carried out. Philosopher L. Sebastian Purcell has shown that surviving works of Aztec (Nahua) philosophy express a very different view. Purcell reveals that these works post an ethical system in which an individual’s actions are judged in light of how they accord with the individual’s role in society and how well they contribute to the community. To the extent that these works are representative of Aztec thought, Purcell’s analysis suggests that ________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the Aztecs would have disputed the idea that the morality of an individual’s actions can be assessed by appealing to standards of behavior that are independent of the individual’s social circumstances.

B) the Aztecs would not have accepted the notion that the morality of an individual’s actions can be fairly evaluated by people who do not live in the same society as that individual.

C) actions by members of Aztec society who contributed a great deal to their community could be judged as morally good even if those actions were inconsistent with behaviors the Aztecs regarded as good in all contexts.

D) similar actions performed by people in different social roles in Aztec society would have been regarded as morally equivalent unless those actions led to different outcomes for the people involved.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text's discussion about Aztec (Nahua) ethics. The text indicates that, according to Purcell's interpretation of available Aztec philosophical works, the Aztec ethical system views an individual's actions in relation to that individual's societal role and how they affect the community. The text suggests that the Aztecs would have asserted that the morality of an individual's actions is rooted in that person's position in the community and the actions' effects, and therefore cannot be determined in the absence of that context.

Choice B is incorrect because although the text suggests that moral judging in Aztec ethics requires an understanding of the action’s effects on the individual’s social circumstances, it does not specify that only members of that society can acquire this information.

Choice C is incorrect because it implies that the Aztecs considered some actions good or bad regardless of the surrounding context, which contradicts the text’s claim that the Aztecs believed that the morality of an individual's action is dependent on the action’s effects on the community and the person’s specific circumstances.

Choice D is incorrect because the text does not address the idea that the Aztecs would have made incorrect assumptions about when the period began.

Since its completion in 2014, Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest)—a pair of residential towers in Milan, Italy, covered by vegetation—has become a striking symbol of environmental sustainability in architecture. Stefano Boeri intended his design, which features balconies that are home to hundreds of trees, to serve as a model for promoting urban biodiversity. However, the concept has faced skepticism: critics note that although the trees used in Bosco Verticale were specifically cultivated for the project, it’s too early to tell if they can thrive in this unusual setting.

According to the text, why are some critics skeptical of the concept behind Bosco Verticale?

A) Some essential aspects of Bosco Verticale’s design are difficult to adapt to locations other than Milan.

B) The plant life on Bosco Verticale ended up being less varied than Boeri had envisioned it would be.

C) The construction of Bosco Verticale was no less environmentally damaging than the construction of more conventional buildings is.

D) It is unclear whether Bosco Verticale can support the plant life included in its design.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a statement about critics' skepticism of Bosco Verticale that is supported by the text. The text states that Boeri's design for Bosco Verticale features hundreds of trees on balconies and is intended to serve as a model for promoting urban biodiversity. But the text goes on to state that some critics believe that it is too early to determine if the trees planted on Bosco Verticale can thrive there. Therefore, according to the text, critics are skeptical of the concept behind Bosco Verticale because it is unclear whether Bosco Verticale can support the plant life included in its design.

Choice A is incorrect. Although the text states that one of Boeri’s goals was for Bosco Verticale to serve as a model for promoting biodiversity architecture, which suggests that Boeri would likely support the idea of reproducing the same concept in other locations, the text does not discuss whether it is feasible to adapt the design to locations other than Milan. Instead, the text describes critics' concerns that the plant life that currently exists on Bosco Verticale might not thrive in its current setting.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text states that one of Boeri’s goals in creating Bosco Verticale was to promote biodiversity, which implies a goal of including varied plant life in the design, it does not mention whether the hundreds of trees that were planted on its balconies failed to meet this goal. Rather, the text states that some critics are concerned that the trees on Bosco Verticale's balconies may not thrive in this setting.

Choice C is incorrect because the text does not mention how Bosco Verticale was constructed, let alone how environmentally destructive its construction may have been relative to the construction of more conventional buildings.

“Poetry” is a 1919 poem by Marianne Moore. The poem highlights an ambivalence toward poetry as the speaker acknowledges its merits while also expressing a sense of displeasure, writing ______.

Which quotation from “Poetry” most effectively illustrates the claim?

A) “nor is it valid / to discriminate against ‘business documents and / school-books’; all these phenomena are important.”

B) “One must make a distinction / however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not / poetry.”

C) “when [poems] become so derivative as to become unintelligible, the / same thing may be said for all of us—that we / do not admire what / we cannot understand.”

D) “Reading [poetry], however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers that there is in it / after all, a place for the genuine.”

Choice D is the best answer because it most effectively uses a quotation from "Poetry" to illustrate the claim that the poem highlights an ambivalence, or a conflicted attitude, toward poetry. In the quotation, the speaker suggests that one might read poetry with "contempt," or disdain, for it, but even with this negative attitude, one will find "a place for the genuine." Because the quotation expresses conflicting attitudes toward poetry, it effectively illustrates the speaker’s ambivalence in discussing the merits and displeasure of reading poetry.

Choice A is incorrect because it doesn’t mention poetry or show ambivalence.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the idea of “half poets” may seem to relate to ambivalence, the speaker mentions only negative attitudes toward certain works and the quotation therefore lacks a contrasting positive or neutral attitude that would be needed to indicate ambivalence.

Choice C is incorrect because the speaker mentions only negative attitudes toward certain works, and the quotation therefore lacks a contrasting positive or neutral attitude that would be needed to indicate ambivalence.

In dialects of English spoken in Scotland, the “r” sound is strongly emphasized when it appears at the end of syllables (as in “car”) or before other consonant sounds (as in “bird”). English dialects of the Upland South, a region stretching from Oklahoma to western Virginia, place similar emphasis on “r” at the ends of syllables and before other consonant sounds. Historical records show that the Upland South was colonized largely by people whose ancestors came from Scotland. Thus, linguists have concluded that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) the English dialects spoken in the Upland South acquired their emphasis on the “r” sound from dialects spoken in Scotland.

B) emphasis on the “r” sound will eventually spread from English dialects spoken in the Upland South to dialects spoken elsewhere.

C) the English dialects spoken in Scotland were influenced by dialects spoken in the Upland South.

D) people from Scotland abandoned their emphasis on the “r” sound after relocating to the Upland South.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of English dialects spoken in Scotland and the Upland South. The text indicates that these dialects share a feature: putting emphasis on the “r” sound when it appears in certain positions in words. The text goes on to state that records indicate the Upland South was colonized largely by people of Scottish ancestry. It is reasonable to assume that the English dialects spoken by these colonizers were influenced by the English dialects spoken by their ancestors in Scotland. It follows, then, that the emphasis on the “r” sound in the dialects in Scotland carried over to the Upland South as they developed—that is, that the Upland South dialects likely acquired it from dialects spoken in Scotland.

Choice B is incorrect because the text suggests that Scottish ancestry explains the origin of the emphasis on the “r” sound in English dialects spoken in the Upland South, since that linguistic feature is also found in dialects spoken in Scotland; the text doesn’t address any other dialects or suggest that the feature will spread elsewhere.

Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates that many Upland South colonizers were the descendants of Scottish people, suggesting that the English dialects spoken by these colonizers had been influenced by the English dialects spoken by the colonizers’ ancestors in Scotland and had acquired their emphasis on the “r” sound from those ancestors’ dialects—not the other way around.

Choice D is incorrect because the text indicates that the emphasis on the “r” sound is part of English dialects spoken in the Upland South today, which almost certainly wouldn’t be the case if people from Scotland, who were the main colonizers of the Upland South, had eliminated that linguistic feature from their dialects.

Researchers and conservationists stress that biodiversity loss due to invasive species is ________. For example, people can take simple steps such as washing their footwear after travel to avoid introducing potentially invasive organisms into new environments. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) preventable

B) undeniable

C) common

D) concerning 

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text's discussion of how biodiversity loss due to invasive species can be avoided. As used in this context, "preventable" means able to be stopped or kept from happening. The text indicates that "people can take simple steps" to avoid bringing possible invasive species into new environments. It presents these steps as an example of how biodiversity loss due to invasive species is preventable.

Choice B is incorrect because it wouldn't make sense to say that a simple step like washing your shoes after traveling is an example of biodiversity loss due to invasive species being "undeniable", or something that can't be proved to be wrong. Although the text may suggest that biodiversity loss due to invasive species is something that really happens, the word that completes the text must make the first sentence into an assertation that is illustrated by the second sentence, and the second sentence illustrates the idea that biodiversity loss due to invasive species is preventable, not undeniable.

Choice C is incorrect because it wouldn't make sense to say that a simple step like washing your shoes after traveling is an example of biodiversity loss due to invasive species being "common", or something that happens regularly. Additionally, the text doesn't provide any information about how frequently invasive species cause biodiversity loss.

Choice D is incorrect because it wouldn't make sense to say that a simple step like washing your shoes after traveling is an example of biodiversity loss due to invasive species being "concerning", or something that is troubling or causes worry. Although the text implies that the phenomenon of biodiversity loss due to invasive species is itself a concerning phenomenon, the word that completes the text must make the first sentence into an assertation that is illustrated by the second sentence, and the second sentence illustrates the idea that biodiversity loss due to invasive species is preventable, not concerning.

Text 1
When companies in the same industry propose merging with one another, they often claim that the merger will benefit consumers by increasing efficiency and therefore lowering prices. Economist Ying Fan investigated this notion in the context of the United States newspaper market. She modeled a hypothetical merger of the Minneapolis-area newspapers and found that subscription prices would rise following a merger.

Text 2
Economists Dario Focarelli and Fabio Panetta have argued that research on the effect of mergers on prices has focused excessively on short-term effects, which tend to be adverse for consumers. Using the case of consumer banking in Italy, they show that over the long term (several years, in their study), the efficiency gains realized by merged companies do result in economic benefits for consumers.

Based on the texts, how would Focarelli and Panetta (Text 2) most likely respond to Fan's findings (Text 1)?

A) They would argue that over the long term, the expenses incurred by the merged newspaper company will also increase

B) They would recommend that Fan compare the near-term effect of a merger on subscription prices in the Minneapolis area with the effect of a merger in another newspaper market.

C) They would encourage Fan to investigate whether the projected effect on subscription prices persists over an extended period.

D) They would claim that mergers have a different effect on consumer prices in the newspaper industry than in most other industries. 

Choice C is the best answer because, based on the information presented in the texts, it represents how Focarelli and Panetta would most likely respond to Fan's findings. Text 1 indicates that Fan found that a newspaper merger would result in a rise in subscription prices. This rise wouldn't benefit customers, who would have to pay more for news after a merger. Text 2 presents Focarelli and Panetta's argument that merger research tends to focus too much on what happens immediately after the merger. Text 2 goes on to describe their finding that mergers can be economically beneficial for consumers over the long term. This suggests that Focarelli and Panetta would encourage Fan to investigate the long-term effect of the hypothetical newspaper merger on subscription prices. 

Choice A is incorrect because Text 2 indicates that Focarelli and Panetta found that merged companies experience "efficiency gains" over the long term, meaning that their expenses go down relative to their output, not that their expenses increase. 

Choice B is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't indicate that Focarelli and Panetta connect the effects of mergers to specific locations. Instead, Focarelli and Panetta focus on the length ò time over which the effects of mergers should be evaluated.

Choice D is incorrect because there's no indication in Text 2 that Focarelli and Panetta believe that the newspaper industry is different from any other industry when it comes to the effects of mergers. Although their own research was about consumer banking, Text 2 suggests that they view their conclusions as applicable to mergers in general.

The following text is from Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility.

Elinor lives with her younger sisters and her mother, Mrs. Dashwood. Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the cousellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generallyt have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart; her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong, but she knew how to govern them; it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.

According to the text, what is true about Elinor?

A) Elinor often argues with her mother but fails to change her mind

B) Elinor can be overly sensitive with regard to family matters

C) Elinor thinks her mother is a bad role model

D) Elinor is remarkably mature for her age

Choice D is the best answer because it provides a detail about Elinor that is established in the text. The text indicates that although Elinor is "only nineteen," she gives good advice and exhibits such a high level of understanding and judgment that she serves as "the counselor of her mother." Thus, Elinor is mature beyond her years.

Choice A is incorrect because it isn't supported by the text: although the text says that Elinor advises her mother and often counteracts her mother's impulses, there's no mention of Elinor arguing with her mother or failing to change her mother's mind. 

Choice B is incorrect because it isn't supported by the text: although the text mentions that Elinor has strong feelings, it doesn't indicate that she's excessively sensitive when it comes to family issues. 

Choice C is incorrect because it isn't supported by the text: there's no mention of what Elinor thinks about her mother and no suggestion that she thinks her mother is a bad role model. Because she's described as having "an excellent heart," Elinor likely doesn't think ill of her mother

The following text is adapted from Charles W. Chesnutt's 1901 novel The Marrow of Tradition.

Mrs. Ochiltree was a woman of strong individuality, whose comments upon her acquaintance[s], present or absent, were marked by a frankness at times no less than startling. This characteristic caused her to be more or less avoided. Mrs. Ochiltree was aware of this sentiment on the part of her acquaintance[s], and rather exulted in it.

Based on the text, what is true about Mrs. Ochiltree's acquaintances?

A) They try to refrain from discussing topics that would upset Mrs. Ochiltree

B) They are unable to spend as much time with Mrs. Ochiltree as she would like

C) They are too preoccupied with their own concerns to speak with Mrs. Ochiltres.

D) They are likely offended by what Mrs. Ochiltree has said about them

Choice D is the best answer because it presents a statement about Mrs. Ochiltree's acquaintances that is supported by the text. The text indicates that Mrs. Ochiltree makes comments about her acquaintances that are frank, direct, and blunt, and sometimes startling. It also states that because of this behavior, the acquaintances tend to avoid Mrs. Ochiltree. Together, these details suggest that the acquaintances choose not to be around Mrs. Ochiltree because they are offered by the things she has said about them.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn't suggest that Mrs. Ochiltree's acquaintances avoid discussing topics that would upset Mrs. Ochiltree; instead, it states that they avoid being around Mrs. Ochiltree.

Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that Mrs. Ochiltree knows her acquaintances often avoid her and is pleased about it (she "rather exulted in it"), not that she wants to spend more time with them.

Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn't suggest that Mrs. Ochiltree's acquaintances avoid speaking with Mrs. Ochiltree because they are too focused on their own concerns, but rather because they don't like the frank comments she makes.

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare's 1609 poem "Sonnet 27." The poem is addressed to a close friend as if he were physically present. 

Weary with toil, I [hurry] to my bed,  
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mid, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts-from far where I abide -
[Begin] a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,

What is the main idea of the text?

A) The speaker is asleep and dreaming about traveling to see the friend

B) The speaker is planning an upcoming trip to the friend's house

C) The speaker is too fatigued to continue a discussion with the friend

D) The speaker is thinking about the friend instead of immediately falling asleep

Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The speaker describes the experience of being "weary" and "tired" and going to bed to seek "dear respose" (that is, sleep), but instead of sleeping, the speaker is kept awake ("keep my drooping eyelids open wide") by thoughts of a friend ("my thoughts...[Begin] a zealous pilgrimage to thee").

Choice A is incorrect because the text makes it clear that the speaker isn't asleep; thoughts about the friend are keeping the speaker awake ("keep my drooping eyelids open wide").

Choice B is incorrect because the speaker isn't talking about taking a literal trip when referring to "a zealous pilgrimage". Rather, the speaker is referring to the experience of thinking about the friend, of taking "a journey in my head."

Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates that the speaker and the friend aren't in the same place and having a conversation. Rather, the speaker is at home and thinking of the friend, who is somewhere else ("from far where I abide").

Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a nutritionally dense food, but they are difficult to digest in part because of their high levels of soluble fiber and compounds like raffinose. They also contain antinutrients like tannins and trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the body's ability to extract nutrients from foods. In a research article, Marisela Granito and Glenda Aslvarez from Smimón Bolívả University in Venezuela claim that inducing fermentation of black beans using lactic acid bacteria improves the digestibility of the beans and makes them more nutritious.

Which finding from Granito and Álvarez's research, if true, would most directly support their claim

A) When cooked, fermented beans contained significantly more trypsin inhibitors and tannins but significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans

B) Fermented beans contained significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans, and when cooked, the fermented beans also displayed a significant reduction in trypsin inhibitors and tannins

C) When the fermented beans were analyzed, they were found to contain two microorganisms, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, that are theorized to increase the amount of nitrogen absorbed by the gut after eating beans.

D) Both fermented and nonfermented black beans contained significantly fewer trypsin inhibitors and tannins after being cooked at high pressure. 

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that would best support Granito and Álvarez's claim that fermenting black beans makes them easier to digest and more nutritious. The text indicates that high levels of soluble fiber and raffinose in black beans make the beans hard to digest and that tannins and trypsin inhibitors make it harder for the body to extract nutrients from the beans. If it were found that fermenting the beans significantly reduces their levels of soluble fiber, raffinose, trypsin inhibitors, and tannins when cooked, this would directly support the claim that fermentation improves the digestibility of the beans and makes them more nutritious.

Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that trypsin inhibitors and tannins interfere with the body's ability to extract nutrients from black beans; if fermentation and cooking were found to increase these antinutrients, fermented beans would likely be less nutritious than unfermented ones, not more nutritious (as Granito and Álvarez claim).

Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn't address the idea that greater nitrogen absorption in the gut has an effect on a food's digestibility or level of nutritions, so the discovery of the presence of microorganisms that may increase nitrogen absorption wouldn't provide relevant support for the claim that fermentation makes black beans easier to digest and more nutritious.

Choice D is incorrect because Granito and Álvarez's claim focuses on the effect of fermenting black beans, but the finding that nonfermented black beans also have fewer trypsin inhibitors and tannins when cooked at high pressure would suggest that the role of the cooking method could be significant when it comes to nutrition; further, the finding wouldn't address the beans' digestibility. 

Euphorbia esula (leafy spurge) is a Eurasian plant that has become invasive in North America, where it displaces native vegetation and sickens cattle. E. esula can be controlled with chemical herbicides, but that approach can also kill harmless plants nearby. Recent research on introducing engineered DNA into plant species to inhibit their reproduction may offer a path toward exclusively targeting E. esula, consequently __________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) making individual E. esula plants more susceptible to existing chemical herbicides.

B) enhancing the ecological benefits of E. esula in North America.

C) enabling cattle to consume E. esula without becoming sick.

D) reducing invasive E. esula numbers without harming other organisms.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of leafy spurge and engineered DNA. The text establishes that using chemical herbicides to control leafy spurge in North America can also harm other plants nearby. The text then indicates that it might be possible to use engineered DNA to prevent plants from reproducing, which would be useful for "exclusively targeting" leafy spurge. If it's possible to exclusively target leafy spurge with engineered DNA—meaning that only leafy spurge is affected by the engineered DNA—and prevent the plant from reproducing, then leafy spurge numbers could be reduced "without harming other organisms."

Choice A is incorrect because the text raises the possibility of using engineered DNA to prevent leafy spurge from reproducing, not to make individual leafy spurge plants more vulnerable to chemical herbicides that already exist.

Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t describe any ecological benefits of leafy spurge in North America; instead, the text is focused on using engineered DNA to prevent leafy spurge from reproducing and thereby reducing its numbers. The only ecological effects of leafy spurge in North America that are described in the text are harmful.

Choice C is incorrect because the text describes the possibility of using engineered DNA to prevent leafy spurge from reproducing; it doesn’t offer a way to enable cattle to eat leafy spurge without becoming sick.

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In 2013, archaeologists studied cat bone fragments they had found in the ruins of Quanhucun, a Chinese farming village.
• The fragments were estimated to be 5,300 years old.
• A chemical analysis of the fragments revealed that the cats had consumed large amounts of grain.
• The grain consumption is evidence that the Quanhucun cats may have been domesticated.

The student wants to present the Quanhucun study and its conclusions. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) As part of a 2013 study of cat domestication, a chemical analysis was conducted on cat bone fragments found in Quanhucun, China.

B) A 2013 analysis of cat bone fragments found in Quanhucun, China, suggests that cats there may have been domesticated 5,300 years ago.

C) In 2013, archaeologists studied what cats in Quanhucun, China, had eaten more than 5,000 years ago.

D) Cat bone fragments estimated to be 5,300 years old were found in Quanhucun, China, in 2013.

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence presents the study, describing it as a 2013 analysis of Quanhucun cat bone fragments, and its conclusions, indicating what the analysis suggests about cat domestication in Quanhucun.

Choice A is incorrect because the sentence focuses on the study’s methodology; it doesn’t present conclusions from the study.

Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence provides a general overview of the study, it doesn’t present conclusions from the study.

Choice D is incorrect. The sentence describes a finding from the study; it doesn’t present conclusions from the study.

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Started in 1925, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is a US-based spelling competition.
• The words used in the competition have diverse linguistic origins.
• In 2008, Sameer Mishra won by correctly spelling the word “guerdon.”
• “Guerdon” derives from the Anglo-French word “guerdon.”
• In 2009, Kavya Shivashankar won by correctly spelling the word “Laodicean.”
• “Laodicean” derives from the ancient Greek word “Laodikeia.”

The student wants to emphasize a difference in the origins of the two words. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A) “Guerdon,” the final word of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee, is of Anglo-French origin, while the following year’s final word, “Laodicean,” derives from ancient Greek.

B) In 2008, Sameer Mishra won the Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word “guerdon”; however, the following year, Kavya Shivashankar won based on spelling the word “Laodicean.”

C) Kavya Shivashankar won the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling “Laodicean,” which derives from the ancient Greek word “Laodikeia.”

D) The Scripps National Spelling Bee uses words from diverse linguistic origins, such as “guerdon” and “Laodicean.”

Choice A is the best answer. Noting that “guerdon” is of Anglo-French origin and “Laodicean” is of ancient Greek origin, the sentence uses “while” to emphasize a difference in the origins of the two words.

Choice B is incorrect because the sentence emphasizes two words used in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but it doesn’t emphasize (or mention) the words’ linguistic origins.

Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence specifies the linguistic origin of one word used in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, it doesn’t mention the other word or emphasize a difference in the two words’ origins.

Choice D is incorrect because the sentence makes a generalization about words used in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but it doesn’t emphasize a difference in the words’ origins.

Due to their often strange images, highly experimental syntax, and opaque subject matter, many of John Ashbery’s poems can be quite difficult to __________ and thus are the object of heated debate among scholars.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) delegate

B) compose

C) interpret

D) renounce

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of John Ashbery’s poems. As used in this context, "interpret" would mean to decipher the meaning of the text. The text is focused only on the difficulty that readers have interpreting Ashbery’s poems due to their many unusual features; it’s difficult to tell what exactly the poems’ subject matter is, and scholars strongly disagree about the poems. This context conveys the idea that it’s difficult to interpret Ashbery’s poems.

Choice A is incorrect because "delegate" means to assign someone as a representative of another person or to entrust something to someone else, neither of which would make sense in context. The text is focused only on the difficulty that readers have in interpreting Ashbery’s poems due to their being difficult to delegate.

Choice B is incorrect because describing Ashbery’s poems as difficult to "compose," or put together or produce, would make sense only if the text were about Ashbery’s experience of writing the poems. But the text doesn’t discuss how readers interpret and engage with the poems.

Choice D is incorrect because describing Ashbery’s poems as difficult to "renounce," or give up or refuse, wouldn’t make sense in context. The text focuses on the idea that features of Ashbery’s poems are unclear and have caused heated scholarly debate. This context suggests that the poems are difficult to interpret, not that the poems are difficult to renounce.

Mónica Lopes-Ferreira and others at Brazil’s Butantan Institute are studying the freshwater stingray species Potamotrygon rex to determine whether biological characteristics such as the rays’ age and sex have __________ effect on the toxicity of their venom—that is, to see if differences in these traits are associated with considerable variations in venom potency.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical word or phrase?

A) a disconcerting

B) an acceptable

C) an imperceptible

D) a substantial

Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the research Lopes-Ferreira and her colleagues are conducting on the stingray species Potamotrygon rex. As used in this context, "a substantial" effect means an effect that is big enough to make a significant difference. The text indicates that the researchers are seeking to determine whether there are “considerable variations” in the toxicity of stingray venom, and this context suggests that the researchers want to find significant differences in the stingrays’ age and sex.

Choice A is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text that suggests that the researchers have been studying whether the stingrays’ age and sex have “a disconcerting,” or an unsettling and disturbing, effect on the stingrays’ venom.

Choice B is incorrect because “an acceptable,” or a satisfactory, effect on venom wouldn’t make sense in context. The text makes no mention of what would make an effect on venom "acceptable" or “good enough.”

Choice C is incorrect because "an imperceptible" effect wouldn’t supply enough evidence to determine whether the stingrays’ age and sex cause variations in venom potency.

Former astronaut Ellen Ochoa says that although she doesn’t have a definite idea of when it might happen, she should be able to __________ that humans will someday need to be able to live in other environments than those found on Earth. This conjecture informs her interest in future research missions to the moon.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) demands

B) speculates

C) doubts

D) establishes

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Ochoa’s prediction that humans will only need to live in places other than Earth. As used in this context, “speculates” would mean puts forward an idea without firm evidence. The text states that Ochoa “doesn’t have a definite idea” about when humans might need to live in other environments and characterizes Ochoa’s prediction as a “conjecture,” or a conclusion presented without convincing evidence. This context indicates that Ochoa speculates when she makes this prediction.

Choice A is incorrect because saying that Ochoa “demands,” or insists or requires, that humans will one day need to live in other environments than Earth’s wouldn’t make sense in context. The text indicates that she’s unsure about the timing but hypothesizes that it will someday happen.

Choice C is incorrect because saying that Ochoa “doubts,” or questions or disbelieves, that humans will one day need to live in other environments than Earth’s wouldn’t make sense in context. The text indicates that although Ochoa is unsure about the timing, she hypothesizes that humans will need to live in places other than Earth and encourages research into future travel to the moon.

Choice D is incorrect because saying that Ochoa “establishes,” or proves, that humans will one day need to live in other environments than Earth’s wouldn’t make sense in context. Rather than stating that Ochoa discusses her idea with certainty and supports it with evidence, the text indicates that Ochoa is unsure about when humans might need to live in other environments.

Following the principles of community-based participatory research, tribal nations and research institutions are equal partners in health studies conducted on reservations. A collaboration between the Crow Tribe and Montana State University uses this model: tribal citizens worked __________ this model: tribal citizens worked alongside scientists to design the methodology and continue to assist in data collection.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) circumvents

B) fabricates

C) exemplifies

D) assists

Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the collaboration between the Crow Tribe and Montana State University. As used in this context, “exemplifies” means demonstrates. The text conveys how the Crow Tribe–Montana State University collaboration serves to illustrate the model of community-based participatory research introduced earlier in the text and expanded on later in the text.

Choice A is incorrect because referring to “circumvents,” or avoids, wouldn’t make sense in context. The text suggests that the Crow Tribe–Montana State University collaboration serves as an example of the principles of community-based participatory research, not that the collaboration avoids the model.

Choice B is incorrect because saying the collaboration “fabricates,” or creates, the model wouldn’t make sense in context. The text indicates that the Crow Tribe–Montana State University collaboration serves as an example of the model, not that it created the model.

Choice C is incorrect because saying that the collaboration “overshadows,” or diminishes the model, wouldn’t make sense in context. The text describes the Crow Tribe–Montana State University collaboration as an equal partnership, which indicates that it’s an example of the community-based participatory research model, not that it overshadows the model.

The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is taking his first look at a portrait that Hallward has painted of him.

Dorian passed listlessly in front of his picture and turned towards it. When he saw it, he drew back, and his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure. A look of joy came into his eyes, as if he had recognized himself for the first time. He stood there motionless and in wonder, dimly conscious that Hallward was speaking to him, but not catching the meaning of his words. The sense of his own beauty came in him like a revelation. He had never felt it before.

According to the text, what is true about Dorian?

A) He wants to know Hallward’s opinion of the portrait.

B) He is delighted by what he sees in the portrait.

C) He prefers portraits to other types of paintings.

D) He is uncertain of Hallward’s talent as an artist.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a statement about Dorian that is directly supported by the text. The narrator of the text says that when Dorian sees his portrait, “his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure” and “a look of joy came into his eyes.” The narrator goes on to say that Dorian looked at the portrait "in wonder" and presents him as being so entranced by the portrait that he doesn’t notice what Hallward is saying to him. These details support the description of Dorian as being delighted by what he sees in the portrait.

Choice A is incorrect because Dorian isn’t depicted as interested in Hallward’s opinion of the portrait; rather, he is so enraptured by the painting that he’s hardly even aware of Hallward.

Choice C is incorrect because the portrait of Dorian is the only painting mentioned in the text. Although Dorian is depicted as being delighted with this particular portrait, there’s no evidence in the text that he likes portraits better than other kinds of paintings.

Choice D is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that Dorian is uncertain about Hallward’s talent. Instead, the text is focused on Dorian’s delight with the portrait.

“Often Rebuked, Yet Always Back Returning” is a 1846 poem by Emily Brontë. The poem conveys the speaker’s determination to experience the countryside around her:

Which quotation from the poem most effectively illustrates the claim?

A) “Often rebuked, yet always back returning / To those first feelings that were born with me, / And leaving busy chase of wealth and learning / For idle dreams of things which cannot be.”

B) “I’ll walk, but not in heroic traces, / And not in paths of high morality, / And not among the half-distinguished faces, / The clouded forms of long-past history.”

C) “I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading: / It frees me to choose another guide; / Where the grey flocks in ferny glens are feeding; / Where the wild winds blow on the mountain side.”

D) “To-day, I will seek not the shadowy region; / Its unstainging talents are lost to me; / And visions rising, legion after legion, / Bring the unreal world strong memories.”

Choice C is the best answer because it presents the quotation that best illustrates the claim that the speaker is determined to experience the countryside around her. In the quotation, the speaker makes it clear that she plans to walk somewhere based on her own wishes ("where my own nature would be leading") rather than follow anything else ("another guide"), and that she’ll walk "in ferny glens" alongside the mountain.

Choice A is incorrect because this quotation suggests that the speaker wants to avoid pursuing money and education ("busy chase of wealth and learning") and instead return to some earlier interests her "first feelings"; the quotation doesn’t address her determination to experience the countryside.

Choice B is incorrect because the quotation suggests the speaker is describing the circumstances under which she won’t walk, which doesn’t address her desire to experience the countryside.

Choice D is incorrect because this quotation shows the speaker’s lack of certainty in finding out what will happen, and it doesn't express her determination to experience the countryside.

If some artifacts recovered from excavations of the settlement of Kuulo Kataa, in modern Ghana, date from the thirteenth century CE, that may lend credence to claims that the settlement was founded before or around that time. There is other evidence, however, strongly supporting a fourteenth-century CE founding date for Kuulo Kataa. If both the artifact dates and the fourteenth century CE founding date are correct, that would imply that:

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) artifacts from the fourteenth century CE are more commonly recovered than are artifacts from the thirteenth century CE.

B) the artifacts originated elsewhere and eventually reached Kuulo Kataa through trade or migration.

C) Kuulo Kataa was founded by people from a different region than had previously been assumed.

D) excavations at Kuulo Kataa may have inadvertently damaged some artifacts dating to the fourteenth century CE.

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of artifacts and Kuulo Kataa’s founding date. If it were true that Kuulo Kataa was founded in the fourteenth century CE and that artifacts found in excavations of the settlement are from the thirteenth century CE, it would be reasonable to conclude that the artifacts weren’t created in the Kuulo Kataa settlement. That would suggest, then, that the artifacts originated somewhere else and eventually reached the settlement through trading or as people migrated.

Choice A is incorrect because the existence of thirteenth-century CE artifacts recovered during excavations of a settlement founded in the fourteenth century CE isn’t logically connected to artifacts from one century being more commonly recovered than artifacts from another century. Rather than suggesting anything about how frequently artifacts from different times are found, the existence of artifacts confirmed as predating the settlement’s founding suggests that those items arrived in Kuulo Kataa during or after its establishment.

Choice C is incorrect because the text focuses on time periods and says nothing about which region the founders of Kuulo Kataa have been thought to come from; similarly, the text doesn’t suggest anything about where the thirteenth-century CE artifacts originated other than not from Kuulo Kataa. Therefore, it isn’t logical to conclude that the mere existence of artifacts confirmed as predating the Kuulo Kataa settlement suggests that the founders of the settlement came from a particular region other than previously assumed.

Choice D is incorrect because the existence of artifacts from the thirteenth century CE at a site dated to the fourteenth century CE doesn’t imply that fourteenth-century objects were damaged during excavations. There’s nothing in the text to suggest that any artifacts were damaged; rather, the existence of artifacts confirmed as predating the settlement’s founding suggests that those items were brought to Kuulo Kataa during or after its establishment.

One theory behind human bipedalism speculates that it originated in a mostly ground-based ancestor that practiced four-legged “knuckle-walking,” like chimpanzees and gorillas do today, and eventually evolved into moving upright on two legs. But recently, researchers observed orangutans, another relative of humans, standing on two legs on tree branches and using their arms for balance while they reached for fruits. These observations may suggest that:

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) bipedalism evolved because it was advantageous to a tree-dwelling ancestor of humans.

B) bipedalism must have evolved simultaneously with knuckle-walking and tree-climbing.

C) moving between the ground and the trees would have been efficient without bipedalism.

D) a knuckle-walking human ancestor could have easily moved bipedally in trees.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the evolution of bipedalism in humans. According to the text, one potential explanation for humans walking upright on two legs is that the behavior evolved from an ancestor that mostly stayed on the ground and walked on four limbs, as modern chimpanzees and gorillas do. However, the text adds that recently, researchers observed orangutans, a human relative, also standing on two legs in trees and using their arms for balance while they reached for fruits. These observations suggest that bipedalism evolved because it was advantageous to a tree-dwelling ancestor of humans.

Choice B is incorrect because the text focuses on lowered production costs that occurred after authoring had taken place; there’s no indication in the text that bipedalism must have evolved simultaneously with knuckle-walking and tree-climbing behavior.

Choice C is incorrect because the text focuses broadly on how humans evolved to move between the ground and trees; it does not suggest that moving between the ground and the trees would have been efficient without bipedalism.

Choice D is incorrect because the text emphasizes the difficulty orangutans have when moving on two legs in trees, indicating that it isn’t easy to move bipedally in trees.

In a study of the cognitive abilities of white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator), researchers neglected to control for the physical difficulty of the tasks they used to evaluate the monkeys. The cognitive abilities of monkeys given problems requiring little dexterity, such as sliding a panel to retrieve food, were judged by the same criteria as were those of monkeys given physically demanding problems, such as unscrewing a bottle and inserting a straw. The results of the study, therefore,

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) could suggest that there are differences in cognitive ability among the monkeys even though such differences may not actually exist.

B) are useful for identifying tasks that the monkeys lack the cognitive capacity to perform but not for identifying tasks that the monkeys can perform.

C) should not be taken as indicative of the cognitive abilities of any monkey species other than C. imitator.

D) reveal more about the monkeys’ cognitive abilities when solving artificial problems than when solving problems encountered in the wild.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of the study of capuchin monkeys’ cognitive abilities. The text explains that the study failed to distinguish between outcomes for the tasks performed by the capuchin monkeys, such that simpler tasks requiring less dexterity, or skill, were judged by the same criteria as tasks that demanded more dexterity. Because the study didn’t account for this discrepancy, the researchers might have assumed that observable differences in performance were due to the abilities of the monkeys rather than the complexity of the tasks. In other words, the results may suggest varying differences among the monkeys even though such differences may not really exist.

Choice B is incorrect because the text focuses on the difficulty of the tasks assigned to the capuchin monkeys in the study varied in difficulty and that the variety wasn’t taken into consideration. The text doesn’t suggest that the monkeys weren’t able to perform certain tasks, just that some tasks were more difficult to do.

Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the study’s results are indicative of the abilities of capuchin monkeys but of other monkey species; instead, the text suggests that the results may not even be an accurate reflection of capuchin monkeys’ abilities.

Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that the researchers compared results for artificial tasks with those for tasks encountered in the wild, although the tasks described in the text—sliding a panel and putting a straw in a bottle—are presumably artificial.

The increased integration of digital technologies throughout the process of book creation in the late 20th and early 21st centuries lowered the costs of book production, but those decreased costs have been most significant in the manufacturing and distribution process, which occurs after the authoring, editing, and design of the book are complete. This suggests that in the late 20th and early 21st centuries:

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) digital technologies made it easier than it had been previously for authors to write very long works and get them published.

B) customers generally expected the cost of books to decline relative to the cost of other consumer goods.

C) publishers increased the variety of their offerings by printing more unique titles but produced fewer copies of each title.

D) the costs of writing, editing, and designing a book were less affected by the technologies used than the costs of manufacturing and distribution.

Choice D is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of how digital technologies affected the process of book creation. The text points out that while digital technologies lowered production costs most significantly in manufacturing and distribution, these changes occurred distinctively after the authoring, editing, and design of the book were complete. This suggests that in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, technologies had the greatest impact on manufacturing and distribution.

Choice A is incorrect because it focuses on how digital technologies made writing and publishing easier, but the text focuses on how they lowered costs in manufacturing and distribution.

Choice B is incorrect because customers’ expectations for the cost of books or other consumer goods aren’t addressed by the text.

Choice C is incorrect because the text focuses broadly on how digital technologies have affected the cost of the publishing process; it doesn’t address the kinds of books being published or how many copies are printed.

To understand how temperature change affects microorganism-mediated cycling of soil nutrients in alpine ecosystems, Eva Kaštovská et al. collected plant-soil cores in the Tatra Mountains at elevations around 2,100 meters and transplanted them to elevations of 1,700–1,800 meters, where the mean air temperature was warmer by 2°C. Microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling was accelerated in the transplanted cores; crucially, microorganism community composition was unchanged, allowing Kaštovská et al. to attribute the acceleration to temperature-induced increases in microorganism activity.

It can most reasonably be inferred from the text that the finding about the microorganism community composition was important for which reason?

A) It provided preliminary evidence that microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling was accelerated in the transplanted cores.

B) It suggested that temperature-induced changes in microorganism activity may be occurring at increasingly high elevations.

C) It ruled out a potential alternative explanation for the acceleration in microorganism-mediated nutrient cycling.

D) It clarified that microorganism activity levels in the plant-soil cores varied depending on which microorganisms comprised the community.

A) Incorrect – The acceleration itself is a separate finding, not the role of composition.

B) Incorrect – The study compares different elevations but not ongoing changes at those elevations.

C) Correct – It shows the cause was temperature, not a change in species.

D) Incorrect – There was no variation in the community, so this wasn't a factor.

Some astronomers searching for extraterrestrial life have proposed that atmospheric NH₃ (ammonia) can serve as a biosignature gas—an indication that a planet harbors life. Jingcheng Huang, Sara Seager, and colleagues evaluated this possibility, finding that on rocky planets, atmospheric NH₃ likely couldn’t reach detectably high levels in the absence of biological activity. But the team also found that on so-called mini-Neptunes—gas planets smaller than Neptune but with atmospheres similar to Neptune’s—atmospheric pressure and temperature can be high enough to produce atmospheric NH₃.

Based on the text, Huang, Seager, and colleagues would most likely agree with which statement about atmospheric NH₃?

A) Its presence is more likely to indicate that a planet is a mini-Neptune than that the planet is a rocky planet that could support life.

B) Its absence from a planet that’s not a mini-Neptune indicates that the planet probably doesn’t have life.

C) It should be treated as a biosignature gas if detected in the atmosphere of a rocky planet but not if detected in the atmosphere of a mini-Neptune.

D) It doesn’t reliably reach high enough concentrations in the atmospheres of rocky planets or mini-Neptunes to be treated as a biosignature gas.

A) Incorrect – Presence of NH₃ does not imply planet type but potential for biological or nonbiological origins.

B) Incorrect – The absence of NH₃ doesn’t allow any certain conclusions.

C) Correct – The passage draws this exact distinction.

D) Incorrect – Detectable levels can be reached, especially on mini-Neptunes.

The practice of logging (cutting down trees for commercial and other uses) is often thought to be at odds with forest conservation (the work of preserving forests). However, a massive study in forest management and preservation spanning 700,000 hectares in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest calls that view into question. So far, results of the study suggest that forest plots that have undergone limited logging (the careful removal of a controlled number of trees) may be more robust than plots that haven’t been logged at all. These results, in turn, suggest that _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) logging may be useful for maintaining healthy forests, provided it is limited.

B) other forest management strategies are more effective than limited logging.

C) as time passes, it will be difficult to know whether limited logging has any benefits.

D) the best way to support forest health may be to leave large forests entirely untouched.

A) Correct – This logically follows from the evidence that limited logging may improve forest health.

B) Incorrect – The passage doesn’t compare limited logging to other strategies.

C) Incorrect – The results already suggest benefits; the passage doesn’t say benefits are unclear.

D) Incorrect – This contradicts the idea that some logging might help forest health.

Even with the widespread adoption of personal computers, many authors still choose to write and revise their novels by hand and only then transcribe the final version on a computer. It may be tempting to speculate about how a novel written this way would be affected if it had been exclusively typed instead, but each novel is a unique entity resulting from a specific set of circumstances. Therefore, _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A) in order to increase their efficiency, authors who currently write their novels largely by hand should instead work only on a computer.

B) authors who do most of their drafting and revising by hand likely have more success than those who work entirely on a computer.

C) novels written by hand take less time to produce, on average, than novels written on a computer do.

D) there is no way to reasonably evaluate how a work would be different if it had been written by other means.

A) Incorrect – The passage doesn’t suggest hand-writing is inefficient or recommend changing methods.

B) Incorrect – No claim is made about success linked to writing method.

C) Incorrect – Time to produce is not mentioned.

D) Correct – Since novels are uniquely shaped by their creation conditions, we can’t reasonably judge how they'd differ if written another way.

In forecasting weather events, meteorologists sometimes discuss the role of atmospheric rivers. What are atmospheric rivers, and how _______
Part of the water cycle, atmospheric rivers are narrow channels of moisture moving through the atmosphere. In certain conditions, these “rivers” can release some of their moisture as precipitation.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A) do they affect our weather.

B) they do affect our weather.

C) do they affect our weather?

D) they do affect our weather?

A) Incorrect – This is an interrogative sentence but ends in a period, which is incorrect.

B) Incorrect – This is a statement, not a question, and does not match the question structure.

C) Correct – The sentence has a question structure and needs a question mark.

D) Incorrect – This is a statement with a question mark, which is grammatically incorrect.