Craft and Structure

Some scientists believe that the main function of a zebra's stripes is to keep the animal cool. However, a recent study showed that the stripes actually prevent biting flies from landing on the zebra. The researchers found that flies are confused by the striped pattern and avoid it. This discovery has helped scientists understand how physical traits can protect animals from pests.

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

Many psychologists have investigated how social environments influence decision-making. In a recent study, researcher Elena Vance observed teenagers performing risk-assessment tasks in groups. Vance noted that participants were significantly more likely to choose high-risk options when they believed their peers were watching them. This finding suggests that adolescent risk-taking is not solely an individual trait but is heavily mediated by social context. Consequently, intervention programs may be more effective if they target peer group dynamics rather than focusing only on individual behaviors.

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

Text 1
Many cognitive linguists argue that primary metaphors (like "knowing is seeing") are universal because they stem from shared human embodied experiences. They contend that because all humans possess similar sensory-motor apparatuses and interact with the physical world in comparable ways, these foundational conceptual mappings develop identically across all cultures. Furthermore, they assert that language merely reflects these pre-existing, biologically determined cognitive links.

Text 2
Linguist Dr. Aris Thorne argues that while physical embodiment shapes cognition, the universality of primary metaphors is overstated. Thorne points out that cultural practices and environment significantly alter how bodily experiences are conceptualized. Furthermore, Thorne argues that linguistic structures themselves actively feedback into and reshape spatial cognition, rather than simply reflecting passive biological mappings.

Based on the passages, match each claim from Text 1 with the corresponding counterclaim or qualification offered by Dr. Thorne in Text 2.

For decades, oceanographers believed that deep-sea ecosystems relied entirely on organic matter sinking from the sunlit surface. However, the discovery of hydrothermal vents in 1977 challenged this paradigm by revealing thriving communities independent of sunlight. Rather than utilizing photosynthesis, bacteria near these vents perform chemosynthesis, converting toxic chemicals into energy. This process forms the foundation of a unique food web, supporting organisms like giant tube worms. Consequently, researchers have revised their understanding of life’s metabolic boundaries, demonstrating that geothermal energy can sustain complex ecosystems in absolute darkness.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Text 1
Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat argues that ancient Near Eastern clay tokens represent a direct, linear precursor to cuneiform writing. According to her model, simple geometric tokens representing agricultural goods evolved over millennia into complex, incised tokens. To secure transactions, these tokens were eventually sealed inside clay envelopes (bullae); impressing the tokens onto the envelopes' exteriors to indicate their contents directly inspired the creation of the first written tablets.

Text 2
Linguist Stephen Lieberman and other critics argue that this evolutionary trajectory is oversimplified. They contend that plain and complex tokens served distinct, parallel administrative functions and coexisted for centuries rather than representing successive stages. Furthermore, they note that only a minor fraction of cuneiform signs correspond to token shapes, suggesting that writing emerged primarily as a novel graphic system rather than a direct derivation of tokens.

Match each argument or claim made by Schmandt-Besserat in Text 1 with the corresponding counterargument or qualification presented by Lieberman and other critics in Text 2.

For decades, conservationists viewed peatlands primarily as static carbon sinks, prioritizing their preservation solely for their ability to lock away atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, recent biogeochemical modeling has revealed a more complex dynamic: fluctuating water tables can rapidly transform these ecosystems from net sinks into significant sources of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This discovery has prompted ecology researchers to advocate for active water-level management rather than passive land preservation. By regulating local hydrology to maintain stable water levels, conservationists can prevent the anaerobic decomposition that triggers methane release. Consequently, modern wetland conservation strategies are shifting from simple land acquisition to complex hydrological engineering.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Text 1
Planetary scientist Dr. Joseph Meade argues that the majority of the water ice found in the Moon's permanently shadowed polar craters was delivered by water-rich comets during the early history of the solar system. According to Meade, chemical analyses of lunar soil samples reveal hydrogen isotope ratios that closely match those observed in cometary ice, suggesting that these sporadic cosmic impacts are the primary source of lunar water deposits. He maintains that alternative mechanisms are insufficient to explain the large volumes of ice concentrated in these craters.

Text 2
Planetary geologist Dr. Sarah Vance contends that the solar wind—a continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun—is the primary source of the Moon's surface water. Vance suggests that hydrogen ions from the solar wind constantly bombard the lunar regolith, reacting with oxygen atoms in the soil to form hydroxyl and water molecules. She points out that while comets may deliver water, solar wind bombardment is a steady, ongoing process that can easily account for the widespread distribution of water molecules across the lunar surface over billions of years.

Based on the passages, how would Vance (Text 2) most likely characterize Meade's claim (Text 1) regarding the origin of the Moon's water?

In his seminal study of the eighteenth-century public sphere, sociologist Jürgen Habermas argued that coffeehouses functioned as critical democratic spaces where social hierarchies were temporarily suspended, allowing citizens to engage in rational-critical debate. However, recent historians have pointed out that access to these spaces was highly stratified, noting that women and the working class were routinely excluded from participation. By highlighting these demographic barriers, these scholars do not seek to deny the collaborative nature of early modern intellectual exchange. Rather, they aim to refine Habermas's model by demonstrating that the 'universal' public sphere was, in practice, a bourgeois construct that reinforced existing class and gender boundaries.

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

Text 1
Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt proposed that the monumental T-shaped limestone pillars at Göbekli Tepe, dating to the 10th millennium BCE, served an exclusively ritualistic function, constituting the world's earliest temple. Schmidt asserted that the site entirely lacked signs of domestic habitation, such as hearths or permanent roofed dwellings, implying that it was a sacred sanctuary built by nomadic hunter-gatherers who did not reside there.

Text 2
Anthropologist Ted Banning challenges this interpretation, arguing that the distinction between sacred and domestic spaces in Neolithic archaeology is often overstated. Banning suggests that the large pillars could have served as structural supports for roofs of multi-family residential dwellings. He points to the high density of food-processing tools and organic domestic debris at the site as evidence of long-term habitation.

Match each claim or assumption from Text 1 with its corresponding counterargument or qualification from Text 2.

Text 1
Many botanists have long asserted that the development of agriculture in Mesoamerica was initiated solely by the domestication of maize. According to this traditional view, the high caloric yield of early maize varieties provided the necessary food surplus that allowed nomadic hunter-gatherers to establish permanent settlements. Consequently, other local plant species are viewed as minor additions that were only domesticated long after maize agriculture was already well established.

Text 2
Archaeologist Dr. Elena Ruiz argues that the focus on maize overlooks the crucial role of squash. Ruiz points out that archaeological remains of domesticated squash seeds in Mesoamerica date back to 8000 BCE, nearly two thousand years before the earliest evidence of domesticated maize. Thus, Ruiz contends that squash domestication, rather than maize, was the initial catalyst for the transition to sedentary agricultural life in the region.

Based on the texts, is the statement that the author of Text 2 agrees with the traditional view presented in Text 1 regarding which plant species initiated Mesoamerican agriculture true or false?

For decades, oceanographers viewed the abyssal plains—the vast, flat areas of the deep ocean floor—as biological deserts. However, the discovery of hydrothermal vent ecosystems in 1977 revealed that these environments, far from being barren, support ______ communities of specialized organisms that thrive without sunlight.

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?

Text 1
Many evolutionary biologists argue that the rapid diversification of angiosperms (flowering plants) during the Cretaceous period, often referred to as Darwin’s "abominable mystery," is best explained by co-evolutionary relationships with insect pollinators. They contend that the emergence of specialized pollinators catalyzed angiosperm speciation, creating a feedback loop that allowed flowering plants to dominate terrestrial ecosystems.

Text 2
While insect pollination was certainly a factor, paleobotanist Dr. Marcus Vance argues that angiosperm success was primarily driven by environmental shifts. Vance points out that during the Cretaceous period, rising global temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide levels favored the high-rate photosynthesis and fast-growing physiology of early angiosperms over gymnosperms, meaning they would have diversified rapidly even without insect assistance.

Based on the passages, how would Dr. Vance (Text 2) most likely respond to the evolutionary biologists’ claim in Text 1?

For years, evolutionary biologists assumed that the domestication of dogs (*Canis lupus familiaris*) from wolves was driven primarily by shared hunting behaviors and social bonding. However, recent genomic analyses have revealed a crucial genetic shift: domestic dogs possess significantly more copies of the *AMY2B* gene, which codes for amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch. While wolves carry only $2$ copies of this gene, domestic dogs can have up to $30$. This genetic expansion suggests that the transition of dogs from wild carnivores to domesticated companions was heavily dependent on their ability to digest starch-rich agricultural waste. By highlighting this metabolic adaptation, geneticists have reframed dog domestication not just as a behavioral alignment, but as an evolutionary response to the rise of human agriculture.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Text 1
Dr. Angela Rossi and colleagues argue that as environmental stress increases, the relationship between neighboring plant species shifts from competitive to facilitative. In their study of *Artemisia* shrubs in desert ecosystems, they found that under high drought stress, the presence of mature "nurse" plants significantly increased seedling survival rates by shading the soil and retaining moisture. Rossi concludes that environmental stress universally promotes cooperative ecological dynamics.

Text 2
Ecologist Dr. Liam Chen investigated interactions between subalpine herbs under high wind stress. Chen observed that while hardy species provided wind shelter to delicate seedlings, this apparent facilitation was offset by severe underground nutrient competition in the resource-poor subalpine soil, ultimately resulting in net negative growth for the sheltered seedlings. Chen suggests that abiotic stress does not inherently guarantee positive or cooperative outcomes.

Based on the passages, how would Chen (Text 2) most likely respond to Rossi’s (Text 1) conclusion that environmental stress universally promotes cooperative ecological dynamics?

Ecologists studying cryptic forest mammals often struggle to estimate population densities because traditional camera-trap surveys fail to detect nocturnal or highly mobile species. To address this monitoring limitation, researcher Sarah Jenkins and her team proposed utilizing arboreal environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, which retrieves genetic material shed by animals into the canopy air. By analyzing air filters deployed in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, the researchers successfully identified several rare mammalian species that had eluded camera detection. While Jenkins acknowledges that atmospheric conditions can affect eDNA dispersal, she maintains that canopy air sampling represents a significant advancement in biodiversity monitoring.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Text 1
For decades, researchers assumed that forest dynamics were governed solely by competition for light and soil nutrients. However, ecologist Dr. Evelyn Reed argues that trees are connected in an underground cooperative network mediated by mycorrhizal fungi. Reed’s research suggests that older, established "mother trees" use these fungal conduits to actively allocate carbon and defensive signals to younger seedlings, particularly their own kin. According to Reed, this resource sharing is an evolutionary adaptation that enhances the collective resilience of the forest community, showing that cooperation, rather than competition, is central to forest survival.

Text 2
While Dr. Evelyn Reed views mycorrhizal networks as conduits for mutual aid among trees, evolutionary biologist Dr. Julian Martinez offers a more skeptical interpretation. Martinez contends that the transfer of carbon between trees is not an act of altruistic sharing by the trees themselves. Instead, Martinez argues that the fungi controlling the network act as selfish intermediaries, actively extracting carbon from donor trees and distributing it to other plants only to ensure their own survival and maintain a diverse host pool. In Martinez's view, what appears to be tree-to-tree cooperation is merely the byproduct of fungal exploitation.

Based on the passages, how would Martinez (Text 2) most likely characterize the claim of cooperation among trees described in Text 1?

While the extensive road networks of the Inca Empire have long dominated discussions of pre-Columbian engineering, recent archaeological research highlights the foundational infrastructure of the earlier Wari Empire (600–1000 CE). Excavations and aerial surveys reveal that many routes attributed to the Inca were actually built by the Wari. These early highways did not simply predate the Inca system; they operated under a different logic, connecting administrative hubs to distribute local resources rather than facilitating the military conquests and direct tribute collection characteristic of the Inca. By examining these networks, scholars are uncovering how the Wari maintained territorial integration through decentralized regional partnerships rather than highly centralized imperial control.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Text 1
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins argues that eusociality—exemplified by sterile worker castes in ants—is best explained by kin selection theory. Because workers share a high proportion of genes with siblings, helping the queen reproduce is genetically advantageous, even if the workers themselves do not reproduce. Under this view, altruistic behavior is driven by gene-level self-interest, rendering group selection models obsolete.

Text 2
E. O. Wilson contends that kin selection relies on highly restrictive parameters, such as haplodiploidy, which are absent in many eusocial species. Instead, Wilson posits that eusociality arose through multilevel selection: cooperative groups outcompeted less cooperative groups, driving the evolution of altruism. The genetic relatedness observed within colonies is a consequence of eusocial structure, rather than its primary evolutionary driver.

Based on the passages, how would E. O. Wilson (Text 2) most likely respond to Richard Dawkins's claim in Text 1 regarding the genetic relatedness of workers and siblings?

Text 1
Paleontologist Dr. Aris Vance argues that the extinct ground sloth *Mylodon darwinii* was a strict herbivore. Vance points to fossilized dung samples retrieved from South American caves, which contain exclusively plant matter, such as grasses, sedges, and leaves. According to Vance, the sloth's specialized, low-crowned teeth and large digestive system were evolutionary adaptations optimized solely for processing fibrous vegetation. He contends that these physiological traits would have made the digestion of animal proteins highly inefficient, if not impossible. Consequently, Vance asserts that the species relied entirely on plant resources for its survival.

Text 2
Ecologist Dr. Sarah Jenkins agrees that *Mylodon darwinii* consumed a vast amount of plant material, but she argues that the species likely scavenged animal carcasses to supplement its diet when vegetation was scarce. Jenkins highlights recent isotopic analyses of the sloth's fossilized bone collagen, which revealed nitrogen-15 levels that are significantly higher than those typically found in strict herbivores. Jenkins suggests that these chemical signatures can only be explained by the periodic ingestion of animal proteins, suggesting that *Mylodon darwinii* was an opportunistic omnivore rather than a dedicated herbivore.

Based on the passages, how would Dr. Vance (Text 1) most likely respond to Dr. Jenkins's characterization of *Mylodon darwinii* as an opportunistic omnivore (Text 2)?