Topic Development

In the early twentieth century, leprosy was considered a terminal and highly debilitating disease, with patients often exiled to isolated colonies. At the College of Hawaii, young chemist Alice Ball undertook the challenge of finding an effective treatment. She focused on chaulmoogra oil, a natural substance that had shown therapeutic promise but was extremely difficult for the body to absorb. Ball successfully developed a chemical method to isolate the active ethyl esters from the oil, creating the first water-soluble, injectable treatment for the disease. [1]

The writer wants to add a concluding sentence at point [1] that wraps up the discussion of Ball's scientific achievement and highlights its immediate impact on patients. Which of the following sentences best accomplishes this goal?

[1]
____________________________. Built primarily between the fifth and nineteenth centuries in the arid states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, these subterranean structures went far beyond simple utility. They served as temples, community centers, and cool refuges during the scorching summer months.

[2]
To reach the water, visitors descended a series of stone steps that led deep below the earth's surface. Unlike vertical wells, stepwells incorporated elaborate stone carvings, pillared pavilions, and intricate galleries that provided shade. As the water level fluctuated with the monsoon seasons, different levels of the stepwells became accessible, creating a dynamic public space where women gathered to fetch water and socialize.

Which of the following sentences, if added at the beginning of the passage, would best establish the main topic of the essay?

Passage Excerpt:
Conservators at the museum face a delicate task when preparing medieval tapestries for display. Over centuries, exposure to light and humidity weakens the organic fibers, making them prone to tearing under their own weight. To support these massive textiles, conservationists stitch a sturdy linen backing to the reverse side of the tapestry, [1] which distributes the stress evenly.

Given that all the choices are true, which one best fulfills the writer's goal of emphasizing the painstaking, time-consuming nature of the conservation process?

In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt uncovered a slab of dark stone covered in three distinct scripts: Ancient Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphs. This artifact, known as the Rosetta Stone, became the key to unlocking the written language of ancient Egypt, which had been dead for over a thousand years. Scholars across Europe rushed to translate the texts, but decryption proved incredibly difficult because hieroglyphs were not merely alphabetic symbols but a complex mixture of phonetic and ideographic signs. Jean-François Champollion, a brilliant French linguist, spent years comparing the Greek text to the hieroglyphs, eventually realizing that the Egyptian symbols represented sounds of the spoken Coptic language.

Which choice best concludes the paragraph by emphasizing the revolutionary impact of Champollion's work on our understanding of ancient Egyptian history?

For centuries, the hieroglyphic carvings on ancient Egyptian monuments remained unreadable, their meanings lost to time. The breakthrough came in 1799 when French soldiers discovered a dark stone slab near the town of Rosetta. [1] This artifact, later known as the Rosetta Stone, featured a royal decree inscribed in three distinct scripts: hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. Because scholars could already read Ancient Greek, they used this familiar text as a translation key to decipher the other two scripts. Jean-François Champollion eventually cracked the hieroglyphic code in 1822, opening a window into thousands of years of Egyptian history.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence at Point [1]:

"French troops in Egypt often encountered difficult desert conditions and suffered from various tropical diseases."

Should the writer make this addition here?

The following is an excerpt from a passage about the history of computer programming:

[1] __________________________________________________ In the early decades of the twentieth century, programming required writing tedious, highly specific sequences of numbers that directly controlled a computer's hardware. Grace Hopper, a mathematician and U.S. Navy officer, believed there was a better way. She envisioned a system where programmers could write instructions using English-like commands, which a program would then translate into machine code. Despite widespread skepticism from her peers, Hopper went on to create the compiler, laying the foundation for modern programming languages.

Which of the following choices, if placed in the blank at [1], most effectively introduces the passage by establishing its central focus on Grace Hopper’s revolutionary contribution to computer programming?

The following is an excerpt from an essay about the history of astronomy.

In the early twentieth century, the Harvard College Observatory employed a group of women, colloquially known as the "Harvard Computers," to analyze astronomical data on photographic plates. Among them was Henrietta Swan Leavitt, whose study of Cepheid variable stars would fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe.

[1] __________________________________________________ Prior to her discovery, astronomers had no reliable way to measure the distance to faraway stars, leaving the scale of the cosmos a subject of intense debate. By establishing that a star's brightness was directly related to its pulsation period, Leavitt provided the essential tool that Edwin Hubble later used to prove that galaxies exist beyond our own.

Which choice most effectively introduces the paragraph by establishing its main focus?

[1] In the late 1980s, engineering teams in Japan faced a daunting challenge with the high-speed Shinkansen trains. As the trains exited narrow tunnels at speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour, they compressed the air ahead of them, creating a deafening sound known as a "tunnel boom." This noise not only disturbed nearby residents but also threatened the structural integrity of the tunnels themselves. Eiji Nakatsu, the chief engineer and an avid birdwatcher, realized that the solution might lie in nature.

[2] Nakatsu observed the kingfisher, a bird that dives from the air into water to catch fish with barely a splash. He reasoned that the bird's wedge-shaped beak allowed it to transition smoothly between mediums of different densities. By redesigning the nose of the Shinkansen train to mimic the shape of the kingfisher's beak, the engineers reduced the train's air pressure by 30 percent and noise levels significantly. ________

Which of the following concluding sentences best wraps up the main idea of the passage?

Passage Excerpt:
In the early 1900s, botanist Ynes Mexia began her career in Mexico. She traveled across the rugged terrain of the Americas, collecting thousands of plant specimens. [1] Many of these specimens were later housed in herbariums around the world.

The writer wants to replace the sentence at [1] with a sentence that highlights the physical difficulties of Mexia's expeditions. Given that all the statements are true, which choice best accomplishes this goal?

In 1948, graduate student Bernard Silver overheard a supermarket executive asking a dean to develop a system to automatically capture product information at checkout. Silver mentioned this to his classmate Norman Joseph Woodland, who became obsessed with the problem. Woodland's first idea was to use patterns of ink that would glow under ultraviolet light, but the ink faded too quickly. Seeking a better solution, Woodland retreated to his grandfather’s apartment in Miami Beach, which was a popular tourist destination at the time. One day, while sitting on the sand, he let his fingers trail through it, leaving four parallel lines. By extending Morse code dots and dashes vertically, he realized he could create thick and thin lines that a scanner could read.

The writer is considering deleting the underlined portion from the preceding sentence. Should the writer make this deletion?

The following is an excerpt from a passage about the history of climate science.

In 1856, Eunice Foote, an American scientist and women's rights campaigner, conducted a series of simple experiments that would help shape modern climate science. Using two glass cylinders, a thermometer, and an air pump, Foote compared the heating effects of solar radiation on different gases. She discovered that a cylinder filled with moist air and carbon dioxide became significantly warmer than one filled with common air, and that it took much longer to cool down.

[1] __________________________________________________ Her paper, 'Circumstances affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays,' was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. However, because women were not permitted to speak at the conference, the paper was read aloud by Joseph Henry, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Despite the significance of her findings, Foote's contribution to climate science went largely unnoticed for more than a century, with credit for demonstrating the greenhouse effect typically assigned to John Tyndall, who published a more detailed study three years later.

Which of the following sentences, if inserted at the beginning of the second paragraph (at [1]), would provide the most effective and grammatically correct introduction to that paragraph?

In the late nineteenth century, sound was first captured on delicate wax cylinders and shellac discs. Over time, these historical recordings have degraded, making them too fragile to play with a traditional needle. To preserve these audio treasures, scientists developed the IRENE system, which uses high-resolution digital imaging to scan the physical grooves of a record. By converting these visual scans into digital sound files, researchers can reconstruct audio from damaged media without physical contact.

Which choice provides the most logical and effective concluding sentence for the paragraph?

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence from the following paragraph:

During a winter visit to New York City in 1903, Mary Anderson noticed that motormen on streetcars had to keep their window panes open, or even stop the car to clear falling sleet from the glass. Frustrated by this hazard and delay, she began sketching a design for a mechanical squeegee. Later that year, she was granted a patent for her window cleaning device, which was controlled by a lever inside the vehicle. Automobile manufacturers initially rejected her design, believing it would distract drivers. Underlined: In the early twentieth century, streetcar fares in New York City were typically five cents. Consequently, Anderson never profited from her patent, which expired before the automotive industry fully adopted her invention.

Should the writer delete the underlined sentence?

Passage Excerpt:

In the late 1890s, the Paris Metropolitan Railway Company sought to build entrances for its new underground transit system. The company selected architect Hector Guimard, whose designs reflected the emerging Art Nouveau movement. Rather than creating imposing stone structures, Guimard chose to construct delicate, organic-looking pavilions made of cast iron and glass. [1] These structures, characterized by sinuous lines and leaf-like glass awnings, integrated art into the daily commute of ordinary citizens.

Question:

Given that all the choices are true, which choice most effectively adds a detail at Point [1] that highlights the practical function of the glass awnings in shielding commuters from the weather?

Passage Excerpt:
Deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault serves as a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity. Designed to withstand natural and man-made disasters, the vault is located in an area with low tectonic activity and surrounded by permafrost. Since its opening in 2008, the facility has accumulated over one million unique seed samples from almost every country on Earth, ensuring that agricultural history is preserved.

Given that all the choices are true, which choice most clearly emphasizes the remote, arctic environment of the vault's location?

The following is an excerpt from a passage about the social impact of the safety bicycle:

In the late nineteenth century, the introduction of the safety bicycle completely transformed society, offering a level of personal mobility previously unimaginable to the general public. Unlike its predecessor, the high-wheeler (or 'ordinary' bicycle), which featured a massive front wheel that made it notoriously difficult and dangerous to ride, the safety bicycle featured two wheels of equal size and a chain-driven rear wheel. This design innovation allowed riders to easily mount the vehicle and touch their feet to the ground. Consequently, it democratized cycling, transitioning it from a hazardous hobby for daring young men to a practical mode of transportation for people of all genders and social classes.

[1] Because it provided a reliable, independent way to travel without chaperones, it allowed women to leave the domestic sphere and challenge traditional expectations of behavior and dress. Renowned women's rights advocate Susan B. Anthony even remarked that bicycling had 'done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.'

Which of the following sentences, if added at point [1], would best establish the main topic of the second paragraph?

Passage Segment:

In 1977, oceanographers aboard the research submersible *Alvin* made a startling discovery on the Pacific ocean floor: hydrothermal vents spewing mineral-rich water into the pitch-black depths. Rather than finding a barren wasteland, the scientists observed a thriving ecosystem teeming with giant tube worms and ghost-white crabs. This discovery revolutionized our understanding of biology, demonstrating that entire communities could flourish without a single ray of sunlight. [1] **Furthermore, the *Alvin* submersible had been upgraded recently with titanium hulls to withstand extreme pressure.**

Instead of utilizing photosynthesis, the organisms surrounding these vents rely on chemosynthesis, a process where bacteria convert dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas into organic matter. This geothermal energy pathway suggested that life on Earth might have originated in the deep sea rather than in shallow, sunlit waters.

Question:

Which choice most effectively concludes the first paragraph and provides a transition to the second paragraph?

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence from the following paragraph:

In 1951, computer scientist Grace Hopper developed the A-0 compiler, a revolutionary program that translated mathematical code into machine-readable instructions. Prior to Hopper’s breakthrough, programming required writing tedious sequences of binary numbers by hand. By allowing programmers to use English-like commands instead, the compiler made software development accessible to a much broader range of people. Hopper, who earned a PhD in mathematics from Yale University, also served in the United States Navy Reserve. Ultimately, Hopper's innovation laid the foundation for modern programming languages and transformed the future of computing.

Should the writer make this deletion?

In the early nineteenth century, timekeeping in the United States was a purely local affair. Every town set its own clocks based on the sun's position at midday, creating a confusing patchwork of hundreds of local times across the country. This system was manageable when travel was slow, but the rapid expansion of railroads after the Civil War made scheduling train routes and avoiding collisions nearly impossible. To solve this crisis, major railroad companies agreed to establish four standardized time zones across the continental United States in November 1883. Although the federal government did not officially adopt these zones until the passage of the Standard Time Act in 1918, the public quickly embraced the railroad-devised system, realizing its convenience for daily commerce and travel.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the paragraph (placed after the sentence ending with the word 'impossible'):

'At the time, railroad tracks were made of durable steel rather than iron, allowing for heavier trains and faster travel.'

Should the writer make this addition?

Passage Excerpt:
In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a scarce drug used to treat malaria, in his makeshift home laboratory. During one of his failed trials, he ended up with a dark, sludge-like residue at the bottom of his flask. Rather than discarding the mess, Perkin cleaned the flask with alcohol and noticed that the substance dissolved into a brilliant, deep purple liquid. Recognizing the commercial potential of this accidental creation, he patented the substance as the world's first synthetic dye, mauveine.

Given that all the choices are true, which one most effectively highlights the contrast between the cheap, synthetic source of Perkin's new dye and the expensive, natural sources of traditional dyes?