All practice questions

If $(x, y)$ is the solution to the system of equations below, what is the value of $x$?

The following sentences describe the historical development of the scientific understanding of dark matter. Arrange the sentences in the correct chronological and logical sequence.

For decades, translation theorists operated under the assumption that a translator's primary duty was to achieve complete transparency, effectively rendering their own presence invisible in the translated text to preserve the original author's voice. However, translation scholar Lawrence Venuti challenged this paradigm by introducing the concept of 'foreignization'—a strategy that deliberately retains culture-specific elements and unconventional grammatical structures of the source text. Venuti argued that rather than performing a seamless transfer of meaning, translation should highlight the linguistic and cultural differences between the source and target languages. By resisting the domesticating impulse to make a text sound completely natural to target readers, foreignization forces readers to confront the foreign origin of the text and acknowledges the translator's active role in shaping the cross-cultural encounter.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

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

In many languages, grammatical gender systems simplify over time due to contact with other languages whose speakers do not share those systems. When adult learners acquire a second language, they often struggle with complex inflectional morphology, omitting gender markers in speech. Languages spoken in highly multilingual regions, ________, show a marked reduction in grammatical gender complexity compared to their isolated relatives.

Which choice completes the passage with the most logical transition?

Complete the passage with the transition word or phrase that best shows a similarity between the two groups of animals.

Many desert plants adapt to dry climates by storing water in their stems or leaves to survive prolonged periods without rain. The resurrection fern (*Pleopeltis polypodioides*), _______, takes a different approach: it can lose up to 97% of its water content and survive in a desiccated, dormant state for years. When exposed to moisture, the shriveled, brown leaves of the fern absorb water and return to their vibrant green color within hours.

Which choice completes the passage with the most logical transition?

Text 1
Anthropologist Richard Wrangham argues that the control of fire and cooking food was a critical driver of early human evolution. Wrangham posits that cooking gelatinizes starch and denatures protein, vastly increasing the energy yield of food. This dietary efficiency supposedly allowed our ancestor, *Homo erectus*, to develop a significantly larger brain while reducing the size of the digestive tract.

Text 2
Archaeologists Sarah Hlubik and colleagues note that definitive, widespread evidence of controlled fire, such as hearths and charred bone, is scarce in the fossil record prior to $400{}000$ years ago. While *Homo erectus* brain size began expanding nearly $1.8$ million years ago, early sites show only sporadic patches of burned sediment. Thus, Hlubik suggests that early brain growth was likely sustained by high-quality raw foods, like meat, rather than cooked meals.

Based on the passages, how would Hlubik and colleagues (Text 2) most likely characterize the hypothesis advanced by Wrangham in Text 1?

Historian Dr. Nina Patel investigated the late adoption of the printing press in the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire. While some scholars argue that the delay was primarily driven by religious opposition to print technology, Patel contends that the barrier was economic: because the production of hand-copied manuscripts was highly decentralized and supported by a vast guild system, the high initial capital required to establish print shops made printed books financially uncompetitive against cheap, scribe-produced manuscripts.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Patel's contention?

To reconstruct ancient ocean pH, scientists measure boron isotopes in fossil shells of marine organisms. However, these organisms alter their internal chemistry during shell growth—a phenomenon known as the 'vital effect'���which skews isotope ratios away from seawater equilibrium. Scientists correct for this skew by using calibration curves based on modern specimens of the same species grown in controlled environments. A recent study of the benthic foraminifer *Marginopora vertebralis* revealed that its vital effect is heavily influenced by the photosynthetic activity of its symbiotic algae, which varies with light exposure. Therefore, applying a calibration curve to fossil *M. vertebralis* specimens without accounting for the light levels they experienced is likely to ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Text 1
Planetary protection protocols for Mars missions are excessively conservative, relying on the premise that terrestrial microbes could easily propagate on the Martian surface. Given the sterilizing ultraviolet radiation, extreme aridity, and pervasive perchlorates in the soil, the likelihood of Earth organisms surviving—let alone proliferating—is negligible. Consequently, the high costs of sterile assembly processes unnecessarily hinder space exploration.

Text 2
It is true that Mars's surface is highly hostile to life. However, subterranean environments present a different scenario. Terrestrial endolithic bacteria, which inhabit the interiors of rocks, have demonstrated survival in simulated Martian subsurface conditions. Since upcoming missions aim to drill deep into the Martian regolith to search for biosignatures, ignoring the risk of introducing subterranean contaminants could permanently compromise future astrobiological discoveries.

Based on the passages, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim in Text 1 that the sterilization of Mars-bound spacecraft is an unnecessary expense?

To reconstruct the history of the Earth's magnetic field, geophysicists analyze the alignment of magnetic minerals preserved in ancient volcanic rocks. Because these minerals lock in the orientation of the field at the time the lava cooled, they provide a reliable record of geomagnetic reversals over millions of years. This fossilized record can be distorted by subsequent chemical alterations or thermal events that reset the minerals' magnetic orientation long after their initial formation. ______ many geophysicists maintain that when appropriate demagnetization techniques are applied in the laboratory, the primary magnetic signal can still be reliably isolated and utilized for tectonic reconstructions.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In the early nineteenth century, astronomers noticed unexplained anomalies in the orbit of Uranus, suggesting the presence of an unseen outer body. In 1845, English mathematician John Couch Adams calculated the coordinates of this hypothetical planet, though his findings were initially shelved by colleagues. ___________, French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier independently published his own mathematical predictions in 1846, leading directly to the observational discovery of Neptune by Johann Gottfried Galle.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The following sentences describe the historical process of deciphering the Maya glyphs. Arrange the sentences in the correct chronological and logical sequence to form a coherent narrative.

What transition word or phrase best completes the blank to establish the correct relationship between the sentences?

For years, marine biologists debated the primary function of the narwhal’s elongated tusk, with early hypotheses suggesting it was used exclusively as a weapon for defense. However, recent drone footage has challenged this assumption by showing narwhals using their tusks to tap and stun small fish. Furthermore, anatomical analyses reveal that the tusk is actually a highly sensitive sensory organ containing millions of nerve endings, allowing the animal to detect changes in water salinity and temperature. Consequently, researchers now believe that the tusk serves a dual purpose, functioning both as a tactile tool for foraging and as an environmental sensor.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

While researching prehistoric predators, a student took the following notes:

* *Giganotosaurus* was a theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period.
* *Giganotosaurus* is estimated to have reached lengths of $12$ to $13$ meters.
* *Tyrannosaurus rex* was a theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period.
* *Tyrannosaurus rex* is estimated to have reached lengths of $12$ to $13$ meters.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity in the size of the two dinosaurs. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

Complete the passage with the transition word or phrase that most logically connects the ideas.

Historically, parchment was made from animal skins, preserving genetic material from the livestock of the eras in which they were produced. Recently, biocodicologists have begun using high-throughput DNA sequencing on centuries-old manuscripts to extract this genetic data. While traditional historians analyze the text of these documents to understand cultural history, biocodicological analysis of the parchment itself reveals details about historical livestock breeds, agricultural practices, and trade routes. By examining these organic substrates, researchers can map the geographic distribution and evolutionary history of animals, providing a physical record that complements or even challenges written histories.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

In the mid-nineteenth century, early portrait photographers relied almost exclusively on daguerreotypes, which required subjects to remain completely still for several minutes to prevent blurry images. ________, the introduction of the wet collodion process in 1851 reduced exposure times to just a few seconds, transforming portraiture into a much more accessible medium for the general public.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?