Craft and Structure

Text 1
Proponents of "assisted migration"—deliberately moving plant species to higher latitudes or elevations to escape warming climates—argue that active human intervention is necessary to prevent mass extinctions. Ecological researcher Dr. Aris Thorne contends that natural migration rates of slow-growing tree species are far outpaced by current climate shifts. Without targeted relocation programs, key forest species face severe habitat fragmentation and ultimate decline. Thorne suggests that the risks of inaction far outweigh the potential ecological disruptions of introducing species to new ranges.

Text 2
Ecologist Dr. Elena Vance urges caution regarding assisted migration, emphasizing the unpredictability of novel ecosystems. Vance points out that introducing non-local tree species can lead to unforeseen competition with native flora and alter soil chemistry, potentially harming established communities. Furthermore, she argues that focusing resources on relocations diverts critical funding from preserving existing habitats. Rather than manually redistributing species, Vance suggests, conservationists should prioritize reinforcing native habitats and connecting corridors to facilitate self-directed migration.

Based on the texts, how would Vance (Text 2) most likely characterize Thorne’s claim in Text 1 that the risks of inaction outweigh the potential disruptions of introducing species to new ranges?

For decades, planetary scientists hypothesized that Earth's water was delivered primarily by carbonaceous chondrite meteorites during the planet's late accretion phase, pointing to isotopic similarities between the water on Earth and in these meteorites. Recently, however, researchers analyzing samples from the asteroid Itokawa discovered that solar wind implanting hydrogen ions into surface minerals could represent a significant, previously overlooked source of water. While this new mechanism explains how water could form on dry space rocks, it has not yet supplanted the meteorite delivery model. Instead, scientists are now exploring how both processes may have concurrently contributed to Earth's early oceans.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Text 1
Archaeologist Maria Reiche argued that the Nazca Lines in Peru were created primarily as an astronomical calendar. She proposed that the giant geoglyphs—depicting animals, plants, and geometric patterns—marked the rising and setting points of key stars and constellations on the horizon. According to Reiche, these markers served a practical agricultural purpose, helping the Nazca people determine optimal planting and harvesting times by tracking seasonal changes through celestial alignments.

Text 2
Anthropologist Anthony Aveni has analyzed the Nazca geoglyphs using modern archaeoastronomical mapping software. Aveni’s team systematically measured the alignments of hundreds of lines against stellar movements over several centuries. Their findings revealed that only a small, statistically insignificant fraction of the lines align with astronomical phenomena. Aveni suggests instead that the lines were pathways walked during water-related religious rituals, as many lines run parallel to underground aqueducts or lead to ritual sites associated with water offerings.

Based on the passages, how would Aveni (Text 2) most likely respond to Reiche’s hypothesis (Text 1) regarding the primary function of the Nazca Lines?

Text 1
In a famous 2000 study, researchers established the "choice overload" hypothesis, demonstrating that consumers presented with a vast assortment of gourmet jams were less likely to make a purchase than those shown a limited selection. The authors concluded that an abundance of choices overwhelms individuals, causing cognitive paralysis and a decreased motivation to buy. This finding has widely shaped retail strategies, prompting businesses to streamline their product offerings to prevent buyer hesitation.

Text 2
Psychologist Benjamin Vance and colleagues attempted to replicate the choice overload effect across various product categories. Their meta-analysis revealed that the negative impact of large assortments on purchasing behavior is highly conditional, occurring primarily when consumers lack prior preferences or when the choice set is poorly organized. Vance argues that when individuals have established familiarity with a domain, an expansive selection actually enhances satisfaction, suggesting that choice abundance is not inherently detrimental to decision-making.

Based on the texts, how would Vance and colleagues (Text 2) most likely characterize the conclusion of the researchers discussed in Text 1?

For decades, sociologists treated urban and suburban communities as distinct, isolated domains with unique demographic profiles. However, recent studies of regional commuting networks and hybrid work patterns reveal that the divisions between these areas are increasingly ______.

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

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

For decades, materials scientists struggled to explain the extraordinary durability of ancient Roman concrete, which has survived for millennia in harsh marine environments. Traditional volcanic ash-based formulations do not fully account for this longevity. Recently, researchers analyzed mineral phases at the microscopic scale and discovered 'lime clasts'—small, white mineral chunks long dismissed as the result of poor mixing. Instead, these clasts served as a source of calcium that could dissolve and recrystallize, effectively self-healing cracks that developed over time. This finding reveals that the Romans did not merely benefit from high-quality raw materials, but deliberately employed sophisticated chemical engineering techniques to ensure their structures' endurance.

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

Text 1
Environmental economist Dr. Aris Thorne argues that product eco-labels are highly effective tools for reducing carbon emissions. Thorne points to survey data indicating that over 70% of shoppers express a strong preference for brands displaying third-party environmental certifications. Consequently, Thorne maintains that widespread eco-label adoption directly shifts market share toward sustainable manufacturers by altering consumer purchasing habits.

Text 2
Marketing researcher Dr. Maya Lin investigated real-world purchasing behavior in retail environments. Lin’s team tracked consumers who had previously expressed green preferences in surveys. When faced with actual choices on supermarket shelves, however, these consumers consistently prioritized price and brand familiarity over eco-labels. This discrepancy indicates that survey-stated intentions do not reliably predict actual buying decisions under normal market conditions.

Based on the two texts, match each claim or assumption from Text 1 with its corresponding counterargument or empirical finding from Text 2.

In architectural history, the technique of dendrochronology—dating wooden structures by analyzing tree-ring patterns—is often treated as a definitive tool for establishing when a building was constructed. However, architectural historian Kenji Tanaka cautions that this method can sometimes yield misleading timelines if the reuse of materials is not accounted for. In his study of the wooden structures in the Hōryū-ji temple complex, Tanaka noted that several structural cypress beams dated to decades before the temple's documented construction. This discrepancy, Tanaka argues, suggests that the temple's builders salvaged timber from older, demolished structures rather than harvesting fresh trees. Consequently, relying solely on tree-ring data without historical context can lead to an incorrect estimation of a structure's actual construction date.

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

Text 1
Many evolutionary biologists argue that human musicality is an evolutionary adaptation that functioned primarily to promote social cohesion and group bonding in early hominid communities. They emphasize that synchronized rhythmic activities, such as drumming and singing, trigger the release of endorphins and foster interpersonal trust among participants. Consequently, ancestral groups with strong musical traditions would have been more cooperative, unified, and better equipped to survive collective challenges. In this view, music-making is an evolutionary trait selected directly for its cooperative benefits.

Text 2
Cognitive scientists like Steven Pinker challenge this evolutionary view, characterizing music as a biological accident rather than an adaptation. They argue that music is a cultural technology that merely exploits pre-existing evolutionary developments, such as language processing, auditory scene analysis, and motor control. Because music does not directly increase individual reproductive success or survival, these researchers contend that treating it as a primary adaptation misinterprets the evolutionary process by confusing a pleasurable byproduct of other traits with a selected trait itself.

Based on the passages, how would the cognitive scientists discussed in Text 2 most likely characterize the claim in Text 1 that music-making was selected directly for its survival benefits?

Text 1
For decades, paleobotanists assumed that early angiosperms (flowering plants) coevolved in a mutually beneficial relationship with specialized insect pollinators during the Cretaceous period. According to this traditional view, the evolutionary emergence of complex flower structures directly catalyzed the rapid diversification of early bees and butterflies, as plants developed nectar guides and floral scents to attract specific insects, which in turn facilitated efficient pollination.

Text 2
In contrast, recent fossil evidence reveals that many specialized insect mouthparts suitable for flower feeding had already evolved millions of years before the first angiosperms appeared. Entomologist Dr. Kenji Sato argues that these early insects initially utilized these mouthpart structures to feed on gymnosperm secretions, suggesting that angiosperms did not initiate pollinator diversification but rather exploited existing insect adaptations that evolved earlier.

Based on the passages, how would Dr. Sato (the author of Text 2) most likely respond to the paleobotanists' view described in Text 1?

Although early twentieth-century educators often warned that learning two languages simultaneously would confuse young children and stunt their cognitive growth, modern research has thoroughly _______ this notion, demonstrating instead that bilingualism enhances executive function and mental flexibility.

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

The search for life on Mars has long focused on the detection of methane ($CH_4$), a gas frequently associated with biological activity on Earth. In $2018$, NASA's Curiosity rover detected a seasonal spike in atmospheric methane, sparking intense debate among planetary scientists. While some researchers immediately posited that this fluctuation was evidence of microbial methanogenesis beneath the Martian surface, others urged caution, noting that abiotic processes could produce identical signatures. Specifically, reactions between water ($H_2O$) and olivine-rich rocks—a process known as serpentinization—can release methane under Martian conditions. Consequently, confirming the origin of Martian methane requires analyzing the carbon isotopes within the gas, rather than merely measuring its concentration.

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

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

In analyzing the balance of state authority, many political theorists argue that the rapid expansion of executive power during national emergencies is an absolute necessity for maintaining public order. However, legal scholar Elena Rostova seeks to ________ this conventional view; while she concedes that swift decision-making is vital in times of crisis, she maintains that such authority must be bound by rigorous legislative oversight to prevent permanent overreach.

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

Text 1
Biologist Masanori Kohda's 2019 study demonstrated that cleaner wrasse fish passed the mirror self-recognition (MSR) test. When marked with a colored gel on their throats, the fish scraped their bodies against substrate after viewing their reflections. Kohda argues that this mark-directed behavior indicates that self-awareness is not restricted to large-brained mammals but is shared by teleost fish.

Text 2
Cognitive scientist Sarah Beck cautions against overinterpreting mark-scraping behaviors in MSR tests. She points out that cleaner wrasse are highly sensitive to ectoparasites and frequently scrape themselves against rocks to dislodge them. The visual stimulus of a throat mark might simply trigger a hardwired motor response rather than reflecting a cognitive concept of self-identity. Thus, passing the test does not confirm self-consciousness in fish.

Based on the passages, how would Beck (Text 2) most likely respond to Kohda's interpretation of the fish's behavior (Text 1)?

In her essays on translation, author Edith Grossman argues that a translator’s primary task is not to produce a literal, word-for-word copy of the original text, but to capture its cultural and emotional resonance. Thus, a successful translation is not a passive reproduction; rather, it is an active, ______ interpretation that re-creates the author’s voice in a new linguistic landscape.

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

For years, ornithologists believed that food caching among corvids was a purely instinctual behavior driven by seasonal scarcity. However, a study by Nicola Clayton challenged this view by observing Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) that had previously stolen food from others. Clayton observed that these experienced thieves, when being watched by another jay, would later return to re-cache their food in secret, whereas jays without a history of thievery did not alter their caching habits. This finding suggests that jays project their own past behaviors onto others, attributing potential thievish intent to onlookers. Consequently, the research offers compelling evidence for a primitive form of 'theory of mind' in non-human animals, suggesting that cognitive empathy may not be unique to primates.

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

Text 1
For decades, some archaeologists have argued that the geoglyphs of the Nazca Desert were constructed primarily as a giant astronomical calendar. According to this view, the straight lines and trapezoidal figures align with the rising and setting points of key celestial bodies, such as the Sun during solstices and specific stars associated with agricultural cycles. Proponents of this celestial alignment hypothesis suggest that the Nazca people mapped their cosmology onto the landscape to track seasonal changes, thereby coordinating planting and harvesting schedules vital to their survival in an arid environment.

Text 2
Conversely, recent archaeological research suggests that the Nazca geoglyphs served a ritual and ceremonial purpose related to water and fertility rather than astronomy. Excavations have revealed ceremonial offerings, such as shells and pottery, at the intersections of the lines. Furthermore, spatial analyses demonstrate that the vast majority of the geoglyphs do not exhibit significant celestial alignments. Instead, the pathways lead toward sacred hills or rivers, suggesting they were processed along by ritual participants praying for rain. Thus, the lines were likely holy paths constructed to appeal to deities controlling water resources.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely characterize the "celestial alignment hypothesis" presented in Text 1?

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