Central Ideas and Details Flashcards
Some animal-behavior studies involve observing wild animals in their natural habitat, and some involve capturing wildanimals and observing them in a laboratory. Each approach has advantages over the other. In wild studies, researchers canmore easily presume that the animals are behaving normally, and in lab studies, researchers can more easily control factorsthat might affect the results. But if, for example, the results from a wild study and a lab study of Western scrub-jays(
Aphelocoma californica
) contradict each other, one or both of the studies must have failed to account for some factor thatwas relevant to the birds’ behavior.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A.
When the results of a natural-habitat study and those from a lab study of a wild animal such as the Western scrub-jayconfl ict, the study in the natural habitat is more likely than the lab study to have accurate results.
B.
Studying wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay in both their natural habitat and lab settings is likely to yieldconfl icting results that researchers cannot fully resolve.
C.
Wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay can be effectively studied in their natural habitat and in the lab, but eachapproach has drawbacks that could affect the accuracy of the fi ndings.
D.
Differing results between natural-habitat and lab studies of wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay are a strongindication that both of the studies had design fl aws that affected the accuracy of their results.
C
Algae living within the tissues of corals play a critical role in keeping corals, and the marine ecosystems they are part of,thriving. Some coral species appear brown in color when healthy due to the algae colonies living in their tissues. In theevent of an environmental stressor, the algae can die or be expelled, causing the corals to appear white. To recover thealgae, the bleached corals then begin to produce bright colors, which block intense sunlight, encouraging the light-sensitivealgae to recolonize the corals.
What does the text most strongly suggest about corals that produce bright colors?
A.
These corals have likely been subjected to stressful environmental conditions.
B.
These corals are likely more vulnerable to exposure from intense sunlight than white corals are.
C.
These corals have likely recovered from an environmental event without the assistance of algae colonies.
D.
These corals are more likely to survive without algae colonies than brown corals are.
A
The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen’s 1926 poem “Thoughts in a Zoo.”
They in their cruel traps, and we in ours,
Survey each other’s rage, and pass the hours
Commiserating each the other’s woe,
To mitigate his own pain’s fi ery glow.
Man could but little proffer in exchange
Save that his cages have a larger range.
That lion with his lordly, untamed heart
Has in some man his human counterpart,
Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped,
But in the stifl ing fl esh securely trapped.
Based on the text, what challenge do humans sometimes experience?
A.
They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion.
B.
They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation.
C.
They quickly become frustrated when faced with diffi cult tasks because of a lack of self-control.
D.
They have aspirations that cannot be fulfi lled because of certain limitations.
D
Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century. But as scholars have argued,the genre is far less superfi cial than many people believe. Take the case of disco icon Donna Summer: she may have beenassociated with popular songs about love and heartbreak (subjects hardly unique to disco, by the way), but like many Blackwomen singers before her, much of her music also refl ects concerns about community and identity. These concerns arepresent in many of the genre’s greatest songs, and they generally don’t require much digging to reveal.
What does the text most strongly suggest about the disco genre?
A.
It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many of the genre’ssongs.
B.
It evolved over time from a superfi cial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious concerns.
C.
It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical genres.
D.
It gave rise to a Black women’s musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in the late twentiethcentury.
C
The most recent iteration of the immersive theater experience
Sleep No More
, which premiered in New York City in 2011,transforms its performance space—a fi ve-story warehouse—into a 1930s-era hotel. Audience members, who wanderthrough the labyrinthine venue at their own pace and follow the actors as they play out simultaneous, interweaving narrativeloops, confront the impossibility of experiencing the production in its entirety. The play’s refusal of narrative coherence thushinges on the sense of spatial fragmentation that the venue’s immense and intricate layout generates.
What does the text most strongly suggest about
Sleep No More
’s use of its performance space?
A.
The choice of a New York City venue likely enabled the play’s creators to experiment with the use of theatrical space in away that venues from earlier productions could not.
B.
Audience members likely fi nd the experience of the play disappointing because they generally cannot make their waythrough the entire venue.
C.
The production’s dependence on a particular performance environment would likely make it diffi cult to reproduce exactlyin a different theatrical space.
D.
Audience members who navigate the space according to a recommended itinerary will likely have a better grasp of theplay’s narrative than audience members who depart from that itinerary.
C
In superfl uorescence, electrical charges known as dipoles emit light in synchronized bursts so intense that they are visibleto the eye. Until recently, this phenomenon has only been observed at extremely cold temperatures because dipoles cannotsynchronize at higher temperatures. But in a study, Melike Biliroglu and colleagues observed superfl uorescence at roomtemperature in thin fi lms made of perovskite and other similarly crystalline materials; the researchers propose that theformation of shock-absorbing quasiparticles called polarons in the material protects dipoles from thermal interference.
Based on the text, how are polarons believed to be involved in the superfl uorescence observed in Biliroglu and colleagues’study?
A.
Polarons enable superfl uorescent bursts to cross from one crystalline material to another.
B.
Polarons allow for the dipoles to synchronize despite higher temperatures.
C.
Polarons accelerate the dipoles’ release of superfl uorescent bursts.
D.
Polarons decrease the intensity of the superfl uorescent burst.
B
The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll’s 1889 satirical novel
Sylvie and Bruno
. A crowd has gathered outside aroom belonging to the Warden, an offi cial who reports to the Lord Chancellor.
One man, who was more excited than the rest, fl ung his hat high into the air, and shouted (as well as I could make out)“Who roar for the Sub-Warden?” Everybody roared, but whether it was for the Sub-Warden, or not, did not clearly appear:some were shouting “Bread!” and some “Taxes!”, but no one seemed to know what it was they really wanted.
All this I saw from the open window of the Warden’s breakfast-saloon, looking across the shoulder of the Lord Chancellor.
“What can it all mean?” he kept repeating to himself. “I never heard such shouting before—and at this time of the morning,too! And with such unanimity!”
Based on the text, how does the Lord Chancellor respond to the crowd?
A.
He asks about the meaning of the crowd’s shouting, even though he claims to know what the crowd wants.
B.
He indicates a desire to speak to the crowd, even though the crowd has asked to speak to the Sub-Warden.
C.
He expresses sympathy for the crowd’s demands, even though the crowd’s shouting annoys him.
D.
He describes the crowd as being united, even though the crowd clearly appears otherwise.
D
The following text is from Maggie Pogue Johnson’s 1910 poem “Poet of Our Race.” In this poem, the speaker is addressingPaul Laurence Dunbar, a Black author.
Thou, with stroke of mighty pen,
Hast told of joy and mirth,
And read the hearts and souls of men
As cradled from their birth.
The language of the fl owers,
Thou hast read them all,
And e’en the little brook
Responded to thy call.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A.
To praise a certain writer for being especially perceptive regarding people and nature
B.
To establish that a certain writer has read extensively about a variety of topics
C.
To call attention to a certain writer’s careful and elaborately detailed writing process
D.
To recount fond memories of an afternoon spent in nature with a certain writer
A
For centuries, the widespread acknowledgment of the involvement of the cerebellum—a dense brain structure in vertebrates—in coordinating motor control in humans has hindered recognition of other possible functions of the structure.Neuroscience research from the last two decades now suggests that the cerebellum regulates emotion and social behavior,and recent research by Ilaria Carta and colleagues has identifi ed a pathway connecting the cerebellum to a center formotivation and reward processing known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA).
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A.
The recent verifi cation of a pathway between the VTA and the cerebellum confi rms the cerebellum’s long-suspected rolein motor coordination.
B.
Recent advances in the fi eld of neuroscience have challenged widely accepted claims about the function of a pathwayconnecting the VTA and the cerebellum.
C.
The cerebellum has primarily been thought to regulate motor functioning, but in recent years neuroscience researchershave been uncovering additional functions.
D.
Technological limitations have historically hindered the study of the cerebellum, but the recent development of newtechnologies has led to greater insights into its functions.
C
Paleontologist Lucas E. Fiorelli and colleagues have reported the discovery at a mine in Brazil of several egg clutches,partially preserved single eggs, and egg shells from the Late Cretaceous period. The researchers have concluded that thearea was once a nesting and breeding site for titanosaurs, a group of sauropod dinosaurs. The fi nding is signifi cant giventhe previous lack of known nesting sites in northern regions of South America, which led many paleontologists to assumethat titanosaurs migrated south to lay eggs.
What does the text most strongly suggest about the site discovered by the researchers?
A.
It is the earliest known example of a titanosaur nesting and breeding site.
B.
It was very diffi cult to excavate given that it was discovered in a mine.
C.
It may have been occupied by other sauropods in addition to titanosaurs.
D.
It is farther north than any other nesting site discovered in South America.
D
The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s 1609 poem “Sonnet 27.” The poem is addressed to a close friendas if he were physically present.
Weary with toil, I [hurry] to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired:
For then my thoughts—from far where I abide—
[Begin] a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
What is the main idea of the text?
A.
The speaker is asleep and dreaming about traveling to see the friend.
B.
The speaker is planning an upcoming trip to the friend’s house.
C.
The speaker is too fatigued to continue a discussion with the friend.
D.
The speaker is thinking about the friend instead of immediately falling asleep.
D
Modern dog breeds are largely the result of 160 years of owners crossbreeding certain dogs in order to select for particularphysical appearances. Owners often say that some breeds are also more likely than others to have particular personalitytraits—basset hounds are affectionate; boxers are easy to train—but Kathleen Morrill and colleagues found through acombination of owner surveys and DNA sequencing of 2,000 dogs that while physical traits are predictably heritable amongpurebred dogs, behavior varies widely among dogs of the same breed.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A.
Dog breeds would not exist without many years of human intervention in dogs’ reproduction.
B.
Research fails to confi rm a commonly held belief about dog breeds and behavior.
C.
The dog breeds most popular among owners have often changed over the past 160 years.
D.
A study of dog breeds is notable for its usage of both opinion surveys and DNA sequencing.
B
For many years, the only existing fossil evidence of mixopterid eurypterids—an extinct family of large aquatic arthropodsknown as sea scorpions and related to modern arachnids and horseshoe crabs—came from four species living on thepaleocontinent of Laurussia. In a discovery that expands our understanding of the geographical distribution of mixopterids,paleontologist Bo Wang and others have identifi ed fossilized remains of a new mixopterid species,
Terropterusxiushanensis
, that lived over 400 million years ago on the paleocontinent of Gondwana.
According to the text, why was Wang and his team’s discovery of the
Terropterus xiushanensis
fossil signifi cant?
A.
The fossil constitutes the fi rst evidence found by scientists that mixopterids lived more than 400 million years ago.
B.
The fossil helps establish that mixopterids are more closely related to modern arachnids and horseshoe crabs thanpreviously thought.
C.
The fossil helps establish a more accurate timeline of the evolution of mixopterids on the paleocontinents of Laurussiaand Gondwana.
D.
The fossil constitutes the fi rst evidence found by scientists that mixopterids existed outside the paleocontinent ofLaurussia.
D
Optical tweezers are specialized scientifi c tools—particularly useful in biology and medicine—that use high-powered beamsof light to trap and manipulate minuscule particles for study. Use of the tool has led to several scientifi c and medicalbreakthroughs over the last few decades, but the particles are often under prolonged exposure to the intense heat of thelight beams. To overcome the risk of overheating, and thereby damage, researchers sometimes attach nano-sized glassbeads to particles, allowing the light to focus on the beads instead of the particles.
Based on the text, what is one advantage of attaching glass beads to particles when using optical tweezers?
A.
It decreases the time it takes for the optical tweezers to locate and capture the particles.
B.
It facilitates the maneuvering of particles without directly heating the particles themselves.
C.
It allows researchers to use weaker light beams to manipulate particles.
D.
It adds a material to which particles can transfer any heat absorbed from the optical tweezers’ light beam.
B
In a paper about p-i-n planar perovskite solar cells (one of several perovskite cell architectures designed to collect and storesolar power), Lyndsey McMillon-Brown et al. describe a method for fabricating the cell’s electronic transport layer (ETL)using a spray coating. Conventional ETL fabrication is accomplished using a solution of nanoparticles. The process canresult in a loss of up to 80% of the solution, increasing the cost of manufacturing at scale—an issue that may be obviated byspray coating fabrication, which the researchers describe as “highly reproducible, concise, and practical.”
What does the text most strongly suggest about conventional ETL fabrication?
A.
It is less suitable for manufacturing large volumes of planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells than an alternative fabricationmethod may be.
B.
It is more expensive when manufacturing at scale than are processes for fabricating ETLs used in other perovskite solarcell architectures.
C.
It typically entails a greater loss of nanoparticle solution than do other established approaches for ETL fabrication.
D.
It is somewhat imprecise and therefore limits the potential effectiveness of p-i-n planar perovskite solar cells atcapturing and storing solar power.
A
