Tüm alıştırma soruları

For decades, scholars of Maya hieroglyphs viewed the inscriptions as purely mystical, representing astronomical calendars and religious symbols rather than historical records. This perspective shifted in 1960 when art historian Tatiana Proskouriakoff published a groundbreaking study of the stelae—carved stone slabs—at the site of Piedras Negras. By arranging the monuments chronologically based on their carved dates, she noticed that the life spans of the figures depicted corresponded to average human lifespans, suggesting the carvings actually recorded the histories of rulers.

The writer wants to conclude the paragraph by reinforcing the impact of Proskouriakoff’s discovery on the scholarly understanding of Maya writing. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

To prevent unwanted echoes in a performance space, acoustic engineers design modern concert halls using a variety of specialized materials including: sound-absorbing panels, wooden diffusers, and heavy drapery to control sound reverberation.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the history of the chocolate chip cookie. For the sake of the logic and cohesion of this essay, in what order should the numbered paragraphs be arranged?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the history of synthetic chemistry.

Paragraph 1
In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a treatment for malaria, in his home laboratory. Instead of obtaining the clear drug, his experiments resulted in a dark, sludge-like residue. When cleaning the beaker with alcohol, Perkin noticed that the substance left behind a vibrant, purple wash. He had accidentally created mauveine, the world's first synthetic aniline dye. At the time, purple clothing was a luxury reserved exclusively for the wealthy, as natural purple dye had to be painstakingly harvested from thousands of Mediterranean sea snails.

Paragraph 2
[1] Soon, the streets of London and Paris were awash in mauve garments, sparking a fashion revolution. This breakthrough did not merely change the fashion industry; it also laid the foundation for the modern chemical industry, showing that valuable organic compounds could be synthesized from cheap, abundant coal tar.

Which choice provides the most effective transition from the preceding paragraph to the rest of the passage at the underlined portion [1]?

Refer to the underlined portion marked [1] in the following passage:

'Many people believe that camels store water in their humps. [1] Furthermore, these humps are actually filled with fat, which provides the animals with energy when food is scarce.'

Which choice provides the most logical transition between the two sentences?

The following passage is an excerpt from an article about modern engineering challenges.

Constructed deep inside a sandstone mountain on a remote Arctic island, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was designed to preserve the world's crop diversity against global catastrophes. The facility was built there specifically because the surrounding permafrost was expected to act as a natural, fail-safe coolant even if the vault's mechanical refrigeration systems failed. Consequently, rising Arctic temperatures in 2017 caused the permafrost to melt, sending meltwater rushing into the entrance tunnel and forcing engineers to install waterproof walls.

Which choice provides the most logical transition between the two sentences?

During the stress test of the experimental titanium alloy, the materials scientist observed that the lightweight, durable, metal, deformed under extreme pressure, she decided to adjust the chemical composition for the next trial.

Which option represents the correct punctuation for the underlined portion?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the history of the potato in Europe. Arrange the paragraphs in the most logical order to create a cohesive passage.

The sentences below are from a draft of an essay about historical preservation. To ensure the paragraph logically builds its claim that optical scanning technologies safely retrieve sound from fragile wax cylinders, arrange the sentences in the most logical order.

In the late nineteenth century, bicycling was a privilege reserved primarily for athletic young men who could navigate the precarious "ordinary" bicycle—popularly known as the penny-farthing. With its massive front wheel and lack of brakes, the penny-farthing was notoriously difficult to mount and prone to sending riders headfirst over the handlebars.

[1] __________________________________________________. This new design featured two wheels of equal size, a steerable front wheel, and a chain drive connected to the rear wheel, making cycling accessible to the general public. As a result, millions of people, particularly women, gained a new sense of independence and mobility.

Given that all the choices are true, which one, if inserted at [1], provides the most effective introduction to the second paragraph and best establishes the focus of the remainder of the passage?

Passage:

In 1964, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were using a large horn antenna in Holmdel, New Jersey, to detect weak radio waves bounced off balloon satellites. To their frustration, they kept detecting a persistent, low-level hum in the microwave spectrum that seemed to come from all directions in the sky. They spent months checking their equipment, going so far as to clean out nesting pigeons and their waste from the horn, but the static remained. Ultimately, this mysterious noise was identified not as a technical malfunction, but as the cosmic microwave background radiation—the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang.

The writer wants to add a concluding sentence at the end of the passage to emphasize the significance of the scientists' discovery. Which of the following sentences best accomplishes this goal?

During their long voyages across the Pacific Ocean, ancient Polynesian wayfinders navigated without instruments; instead, they relied on a variety of natural clues, such as: the patterns of ocean swells, the flight paths of nesting seabirds, and the positions of stars.

Which of the following options is the correct way to write the underlined portion?

A writer is drafting an essay about concert hall design.

Concert hall design relies heavily on the strategic placement of acoustic clouds—suspended overhead panels that reflect sound waves toward the audience. In large halls, sound traveling directly from the stage can dissipate before reaching the rear seats, resulting in a muffled listening experience. Acoustic clouds solve this by intercepting upward-traveling sound waves and directing them downward. These panels are typically constructed from dense materials like glass-reinforced gypsum or hardwood to ensure they reflect rather than absorb sound. By carefully adjusting the angle and height of these panels, acousticians can customize the sound distribution to suit different musical performances, from intimate chamber ensembles to full orchestras.

The writer is considering deleting the bolded sentence. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

[1] __________________________________________________

[2] For generations, Western epigraphers had treated Maya hieroglyphs as purely ideographic symbols representing abstract concepts rather than phonetic sounds. This consensus was largely enforced by the prominent archaeologist J. Eric S. Thompson, who dismissed any phonetic interpretations as groundless speculation.

In 1952, Soviet linguist Yuri Knorozov challenged this dogma by publishing a paper proposing that the writing system was logo-syllabic, combining logograms with phonetic syllables. By applying this syllable-based reading to the 16th-century manuscripts of Bishop Diego de Landa, Knorozov successfully decoded glyphs phonetically. This breakthrough ultimately unlocked the rich historical records of the Maya civilization, proving that their writing was a fully functional, spoken language.

Which of the following sentences, if placed at the beginning of the passage (replacing the placeholder [1]), would most effectively introduce the main topic of the passage?

Passage

In the early twentieth century, astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt made a groundbreaking discovery while analyzing photographic plates at the Harvard College Observatory. By studying Cepheid variable stars, she established that a star’s intrinsic luminosity is directly related to the period of its pulsations. This relationship became a vital tool, enabling astronomers to calculate the distance to far-off galaxies. Indeed, Edwin Hubble used Leavitt’s law to determine the distance to the Andromeda Nebula, showing that it lay far outside our own galaxy.

Given that all the choices are true, the writer wants to revise the bolded sentence to provide the most specific, concrete details that support the claim that Leavitt's discovery was essential in measuring the vast scale of the universe. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

The following paragraph may or may not be in the most logical order.

[1] In the 1970s, cognitive scientists began investigating how the human brain processes metaphors, challenging the traditional view that metaphor is merely a decorative literary device. [2] According to this conventional perspective, metaphors are secondary linguistic tools that are processed only after a literal interpretation has been analyzed and rejected as nonsensical. [3] To explain this immediacy, researchers proposed the conceptual mapping hypothesis, which asserts that we automatically understand abstract domains in terms of concrete physical experiences. [4] Later psycholinguistic experiments, however, demonstrated that participants comprehended metaphorical expressions just as quickly as literal ones. [5] This surprising speed suggests that metaphors are processed automatically and are fundamental to everyday communication.

For the sake of the logic and cohesion of the paragraph, where is the most logical placement for Sentence 3?

If $a$, $b$, and $c$ are positive real numbers such that $a(b + c) = 20$, $b(c + a) = 13$, and $c(a + b) = 25$, what is the value of the product $abc$?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about the architectural design of the dome of Florence Cathedral.

Paragraph 1
In the early fifteenth century, Florence's cathedral committee faced a monumental engineering crisis: the massive octagonal expanse of Santa Maria del Fiore remained completely open to the sky. No existing scaffolding technology could support the weight of a stone dome of such unprecedented span, nor could the forest of timber required for traditional centring be sourced. Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith by training rather than a master builder, proposed a revolutionary double-shelled design that would build itself upward without any temporary wooden support structure. By laying bricks in a self-supporting herringbone pattern, Brunelleschi managed to distribute the weight outward and downward, solving the structural puzzle that had baffled Italy's greatest minds for decades.

[1]

Paragraph 2
Today, visitors who climb the narrow passageways between the two brick shells can still observe this herringbone masonry, which serves as a testament to the dome's structural stability. Far from being a relic of the past, this architectural marvel continues to inspire modern engineers seeking sustainable, self-supporting building methods. Brunelleschi's fusion of aesthetics and structural mathematics proved that physical limitations could be overcome through sheer innovation.

Which choice provides the most effective transition at [1] from the preceding paragraph to the paragraph that follows?

The following paragraphs are from an essay about a major discovery in marine biology.

[1]
In 1977, a team of oceanographers aboard the research submersible *Alvin* descended into the Pacific Ocean near the Galápagos Islands. They expected to find a barren, freezing desert at the ocean floor, where sunlight could not reach. Instead, they discovered a bustling ecosystem of giant tube worms, blind crabs, and vast fields of clams thriving in the pitch-black waters.

[2]
To sustain this vibrant community without sunlight, a process entirely different from photosynthesis had to be occurring. Geochemists quickly identified that specialized bacteria were oxidizing toxic hydrogen sulfide spewing from the hydrothermal vents, converting the chemical energy into organic matter. This ground-breaking discovery of chemosynthesis challenged the long-held biological dogma that all life ultimately relies on solar energy.

[3]
Prior to this expedition, marine biologists had assumed that the deep ocean depended solely on a sparse "rain" of organic debris drifting down from the sunlit surface. The discovery of hydrothermal vents completely upended this model, proving that planetary heat could also fuel complex life.

[4]
Consequently, these hydrothermal vent communities became a primary model for studying how life might arise on other worlds, such as Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Before scientists could speculate about extraterrestrial life, however, they had to understand how this ecosystem survived in such extreme conditions.

For the sake of the logic and cohesion of this essay, where is the most appropriate place to position Paragraph 2?

For centuries, the ancient city of Petra remained hidden from the Western world behind a wall of sandstone cliffs. In 1812, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a scholar who was fluent in Arabic finally gained entry to the valley. Disguised as a Bedouin, he successfully bypassed local guards to document the breathtaking ruins.

Which of the following options represents the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the passage?