Knowledge of Language

In 1746, a group of London booksellers commissioned Samuel Johnson to write an authoritative dictionary of the English language. Johnson spent nearly nine years compiling the work, defining over 40,000 words. Unlike modern lexicographers who work in large teams, Johnson completed the monumental task almost entirely on his own. Throughout the process, he carefully selected illustrative quotations from famous authors, which helped demonstrate how words were used in context. Upon its publication in 1755, the dictionary was widely praised for its comprehensive scope and became the standard reference for over a century, reaping massive props from contemporary scholars who thought it was totally awesome.

Which choice best maintains the established tone and style of the passage?

The following passage is adapted from an essay about astrophysics.

In 1967, astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell noticed a series of anomalous, highly regular radio pulses while analyzing data from a radio telescope. While some colleagues initially dismissed the signals as man-made interference, Burnell painstakingly ruled out terrestrial sources. Her meticulous observations eventually led to the discovery of pulsars, which are rotating neutron stars that dump beams of electromagnetic radiation into space.

Which of the following options most precisely and clearly replaces the underlined word 'dump' to maintain the formal, academic tone of the passage?

In the high-altitude expanse of Chile's Atacama Desert, astronomers utilize advanced telescopes to observe distant galaxies. The dry atmosphere of this arid region provides unparalleled clarity, allowing researchers to capture light that has traveled for billions of years.

Which choice most effectively eliminates the redundant information in the underlined portion of the sentence?

Read the passage below. Which precise word best completes the blank to maintain the academic tone of the passage?

Designed in the early twentieth century, Hearst Castle stands as a testament to the brilliance of California architect Julia Morgan. Over a career spanning three decades, Morgan integrated diverse architectural styles to create a cohesive masterpiece. She worked closely with media mogul William Randolph Hearst, translating his grand ideas into stone and mortar. While Hearst was known for his demanding nature, Morgan handled the pressure with remarkable grace. Indeed, she worked like a dog on the project, supervising every detail of the construction to ensure the structural integrity of the complex.

Which choice most effectively maintains the formal, professional tone of the passage?

For centuries, Polynesian navigators traversed thousands of miles of open ocean without the aid of modern instruments. Instead of relying on compasses or charts, these wayfinders memorized the paths of stars, analyzed ocean swells, and observed the flights of nesting birds. By synthesizing these diverse natural cues, they were able to pinpoint tiny islands scattered across the vast Pacific.

Which option best completes the sentence with the most precise and contextually appropriate word?

In the late nineteenth century, Thomas Edison’s phonograph introduced the wax cylinder, the first commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Today, these fragile cylinders present a formidable challenge for archivists. Made of soft organic compounds, they are highly susceptible to mold growth, temperature fluctuations, and physical wear. Traditional playback methods, which require a physical stylus to trace the grooves, risk scraping away the historic audio entirely. Consequently, preservationists have turned to non-contact optical scanning technologies. These advanced systems use lasers to scan the cylinders' surfaces, creating high-resolution digital 3D models that can be played back digitally. This method ensures that the delicate cylinders are preserved for future generations without being [ruined by being played over and over again].

Which choice best maintains the established tone of the passage?

During the Renaissance, artists developed a technique called chiaroscuro, which uses strong contrasts between light and dark. This artistic method, which was a technique used by painters of the era, allowed them to create a sense of three-dimensional volume on a flat canvas.

Which choice is the best replacement for the underlined portion in the passage?

The following passage is adapted from a historical account of early scientific photography. Read the passage and determine which single, precise verb best completes the blank to maintain the academic and professional tone of the passage.

In 1938, museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was examining the catch of a local fisherman in South Africa when a brilliant blue fish caught her eye. This creature was later identified as a coelacanth, a prehistoric fish thought to have gone extinct over 66 million years ago. Scientists were absolutely blown away by the discovery, which fundamentally challenged their understanding of vertebrate evolution. The coelacanth, often referred to as a 'living fossil,' possesses lobed fins that resemble the limbs of land-dwelling vertebrates, providing a crucial link in the evolutionary transition from water to land.

Which of the following choices best maintains the established tone and style of the passage?

Choose the option that best fits the underlined portion of the passage.

When restoring historical oil paintings, conservators must work with extreme caution to avoid damaging the original pigment. Over time, layers of varnish can discolor, obscuring the artist's original color palette. To address this, conservators apply chemical solvents that eat the yellowed varnish without affecting the underlying paint layers. This delicate process requires a deep understanding of chemistry to ensure the artwork is preserved for future generations.

Which of the following options most precisely and clearly replaces the underlined word in the passage?

Marie Tharp’s work mapping the ocean floor in the mid-twentieth century revolutionized geology. While her colleague Bruce Heezen collected sonar data at sea, Tharp remained in the lab, meticulously plotting the depth profiles. Through this painstaking process, she discovered a massive rift valley running down the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This discovery, which Heezen initially dismissed, proved to be a total game-changer for the geological community, ultimately leading to the acceptance of plate tectonics.

Which of the following choices best maintains the formal, academic tone of the passage?

Which precise verb best completes the blank in the passage below to maintain a formal, scientific tone?

In 1856, Eunice Foote, an American scientist and women's rights activist, conducted groundbreaking experiments on the interaction of sunlight with different gases. Utilizing simple equipment—specifically, glass cylinders, thermometers, and an air pump—she demonstrated that carbon dioxide and moist air trapped more heat than dry atmospheric air. In her paper, she hypothesized that an atmosphere containing higher concentrations of carbon dioxide would result in a warmer Earth. Although her work was presented at an academic conference, it was totally sidelined and ignored by dudes in the scientific establishment for decades. Despite this lack of recognition, Foote’s experiments laid the essential foundation for modern climate science.

Which of the following choices best restores stylistic consistency and appropriate tone to the passage?

Deep within the ocean, hydrothermal vents support unique ecosystems that thrive without sunlight. Currently, these specialized communities are at this present time dependent on chemical synthesis rather than photosynthesis.

Which of the following options is the best version of the underlined portion of the sentence?

In 132 CE, the Chinese polymath Zhang Heng introduced a device that could detect earthquakes from hundreds of miles away. This invention, a large bronze vessel adorned with dragons and frogs, was initially met with skepticism by the imperial court. However, its utility became clear when one of the dragons dropped a bronze ball into a frog's mouth, indicating an earthquake had occurred to the west. A messenger arrived days later to verify the disaster, proving the device's ability to spot seismic activity that could not be felt locally.

Which choice provides the most precise and clear wording for the underlined portion?

In 1947, computer pioneer Grace Hopper was working on the Harvard Mark II computer when her team encountered a mysterious system failure. Upon investigating the hardware, they discovered a moth trapped in a relay, impeding the electrical signals. Hopper taped the insect into the logbook, labeling it the 'first actual case of bug being found.' Throughout her career, Hopper remained a trailblazer, continuously seeking new ways to make technology accessible. She believed that programming languages should be written in English rather than machine code. Hopper's work revolutionized the programming landscape, enabling developers to write code using English-like commands instead of binary numbers. This innovation meant that program design was no longer confined to mathematical specialists, allowing regular folks to construct software on their own. Ultimately, this breakthrough laid the foundation for modern programming languages.

Which choice best maintains the established tone and style of the passage?

During his expedition to the Arctic in 1909, Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole, a monumental achievement that was met with both skepticism and acclaim. At that period of time, many scholars disputed his measurements, leading to a decades-long debate.

Which option is the best replacement for the underlined portion of the sentence?

The passage below describes how astronomers study the light from distant stars. Based on the context of the passage, which single, precise verb should be written in the blank to maintain a formal, academic tone and avoid repeating verbs already used in the paragraph?

Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist of the eighteenth century, revolutionized the biological sciences by creating a standardized system for naming organisms. Before Linnaeus, scientific names were long, descriptive Latin phrases that were difficult to remember and use. Linnaeus introduced binomial nomenclature, assigning each species a two-word Latin name consisting of its genus and specific epithet. While some contemporary scholars argued that this system was too simplistic, it quickly gained widespread acceptance because it was super easy for scientists to share their findings. Today, this elegant naming system remains the global standard for biological classification.

Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion to maintain the formal, academic tone of the passage?