School House Flashcards
The parasitic dodder plant increases its reproductive success by flowering at the same time as the host plant it has latched onto. In 2020, Jianqiang Wu and his colleagues determined that the tiny dodder achieves this ______ with its host by absorbing and utilizing a protein the host produces when it is about to flower.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Synchronization
B. Hibernation
C. Prediction
D. Moderation
Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of a relationship between the dodder plant and its host plant. As used in this context, “synchronization” means the act of things happening at the same time. The text indicates that the dodder and its host plant flower in unison and that this synchronization occurs because the dodder makes use of a protein produced by the host shortly before flowering.
Given that the conditions in binary star systems should make planetary formation nearly impossible, it’s not surprising that the existence of planets in such systems has lacked ______ explanation. Roman Rafikov and Kedron Silsbee shed light on the subject when they used modeling to determine a complex set of factors that could support planets’ development.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. A discernible
B. A straightforward
C. An inconclusive
D. An unbiased
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s description of efforts to explain the existence of planets in binary star systems. As used in this context, describing an explanation as “a straightforward” one would mean that the explanation is direct and uncomplicated. The text asserts that since it should be “nearly impossible” for planets to form in binary star systems, it’s “not surprising” that there isn’t a straightforward explanation for the existence of planets in such systems; the fact that one potential approach involves “complex” factors offers further contextual support for this idea.
Seminole/Muscogee director Sterlin Harjo ______ television’s tendency to situate Native characters in the distant past: this rejection is evident in his series Reservation Dogs, which revolves around teenagers who dress in contemporary styles and whose dialogue is laced with current slang.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Repudiates
B. Proclaims
C. Foretells
D. Recants
Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Sterlin Harjo’s approach to representing Native characters on television. As used in this context, “repudiates” means rejects or refuses to have anything to do with. The text indicates that television shows tend to depict Native characters as living long ago, but that Harjo’s series Reservation Dogs focuses on Native teenagers in the present day, representing a “rejection” of the typical approach to depicting Native characters. This context thus indicates that Harjo repudiates television’s general tendency regarding Native characters.
The following text is from Maggie Pogue Johnson’s 1910 poem “Poet of Our Race.” In this poem, the speaker is addressing Paul 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 flowers,
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
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately states the main purpose of the text. In the first part of the text, the speaker addresses Paul Laurence Dunbar’s ability to understand people (he has “read the hearts and souls of men” and written of their “joy and mirth”). In the second part of the text, the speaker describes Dunbar’s thorough understanding of the natural world (he has read “the language of the flowers” and engaged with “the little brook”). Thus, the text mainly praises Dunbar for being especially perceptive about people and nature.
In the mountains of Brazil, Barbacenia tomentosa and Barbacenia macrantha—two plants in the Velloziaceae family—establish themselves on soilless, nutrient-poor patches of quartzite rock. Plant ecologists Anna Abrahão and Patricia de Britto Costa used microscopic analysis to determine that the roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha, which grow directly into the quartzite, have clusters of fine hairs near the root tip; further analysis indicated that these hairs secrete both malic and citric acids. The researchers hypothesize that the plants depend on dissolving underlying rock with these acids, as the process not only creates channels for continued growth but also releases phosphates that provide the vital nutrient phosphorus.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis?
A. Other species in the Velloziaceae family are found in terraind with more soil but have root structures similar to those of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha
B. Though B. tomentosa and B. macrantha both secrete citric and malic acids, each species produces the acids in different proportions
C. The roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha carve new entry points into rocks even when cracks in the surface are readily available
D. B. tomentosa and B. macrantha thrive even when transferred to the surfaces of rocks that do not contain phosphates
Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the researchers’ hypothesis about the plants’ dependence on dissolving rock.
Scholarly discussions of gender in Shakespeare’s comedies often celebrate the rebellion of the playwright’s characters against the rigid expectations ______ by Elizabethan society. Most of the comedies end in marriage, with characters returning to their socially dictated gender roles after previously defying them, but there are some notable exceptions.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Interjected
B. Committed
C. Illustrated
D. Prescribed
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of gender roles in Shakespeare’s comedies. As used in this context, “prescribed” would mean laid down as rules.
In studying the use of external stimuli to reduce the itching sensation caused by an allergic histamine response, Louise Ward and colleagues found that while harmless applications of vibration or warming can provide a temporary distraction, such ______ stimuli actually offer less relief than a stimulus that seems less benign, like a mild electric shock.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Deceptive
B. Innocuous
C. Novel
D. Impractical
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Ward and colleagues’ findings. As used in this context, “innocuous” means mild or unharmful.
The province of Xoconochco was situated on the Pacific coast, hundreds of kilometers southeast of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Because Xoconochco’s location within the empire was so ______, cacao and other trade goods produced there could reach the capital only after a long overland journey.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Unobtrusive
B. Concealed
C. Approximate
D. Peripheral
Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the location of the province of Xoconochco within the Aztec Empire.
Born in 1891 to a Quechua-speaking family in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Martín Chambi is today considered to be one of the most renowned figures of Latin American photography. In a paper for an art history class, a student claims that Chambi’s photographs have considerable ethnographic value—in his work, Chambi was able to capture diverse elements of Peruvian society, representing his subjects with both dignity and authenticity.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the student’s claim?
A) Chambi took many commissioned portraits of wealthy Peruvians, but he also produced hundreds of images carefully documenting the peoples, sites, and customs of Indigenous communities of the Andes.
B) Chambi’s photographs demonstrate a high level of technical skill, as seen in his strategic use of illumination to create dramatic light and shadow contrasts.
C) During his lifetime, Chambi was known and celebrated both within and outside his native Peru, as his work was published in places like Argentina, Spain, and Mexico.
D) Some of the peoples and places Chambi photographed had long been popular subjects for Peruvian photographers.
Choice A is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the claim about Chambi’s photographs. The text describes a student advancing the claim that Chambi’s photographs “have considerable ethnographic value”—meaning that they are valuable as records of cultures—and that they “capture diverse elements of Peruvian society” in a respectful way.
Credited Film Output of James Young Deer, Dark Cloud, Edwin Carewe, and Lillian St. Cyr
Individual | Years Active | Number of Films (Known and Commonly Credited)
- James Young Deer | 1909-1924 | 33 (actor), 35 (director), 10 (writer)
- Dark Cloud | 1910-1920 | 35 (actor), 1 (writer)
- Edwin Carewe | 1912-1934 | 47 (actor), 58 (director), 20 (producer), 4 (writer)
- Lillian St. Cyr (Red Wing) | 1908-1921 | 66 (actor)
Some researchers studying Indigenous actors and filmmakers in the United States have turned their attention to the early days of cinema, particularly the 1910s and 1920s, when people like James Young Deer, Dark Cloud, Edwin Carewe, and Lillian St. Cyr (known professionally as Red Wing) were involved in one way or another with numerous films. In fact, so many films and associated records for this era have been lost that counts of those four figures’ output should be taken as bare minimums rather than totals; it’s entirely possible, for example, that ______
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?
A) Dark Cloud acted in significantly fewer films than did Lillian St. Cyr, who is credited with 66 performances.
B) Edwin Carewe’s 47 credited acting roles includes only films made after 1934.
C) Lillian St. Cyr acted in far more than 66 films and Edwin Carewe directed more than 58.
D) James Young Deer actually directed 33 films and acted in only 10.
Choice C is the best answer because it uses data from the table to effectively exemplify the idea that the film outputs of the four individuals included in the table should be considered bare minimums—that is, that we should assume that the individuals actually had higher outputs than those recorded.
Many archaeologists will tell you that categorizing excavated fragments of pottery by style, period, and what objects they belong to relies not only on standard criteria, but also on instinct developed over years of practice. In a recent study, however, researchers trained a deep-learning computer model on thousands of images of pottery fragments and found that it could categorize them as accurately as a team of expert archaeologists. Some archaeologists have expressed concern that they might be replaced by such computer models, but the researchers claim that outcome is highly unlikely.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ claim?
A) In the researchers’ study, the model was able to categorize the pottery fragments much more quickly than the archaeologists could.
B) In the researchers’ study, neither the model nor the archaeologists were able to accurately categorize all the pottery fragments that were presented.
C) A survey of archaeologists showed that categorizing pottery fragments limits the amount of time they can dedicate to other important tasks that only human experts can do.
D) A survey of archaeologists showed that few of them received dedicated training in how to properly categorize pottery fragments.
Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models.
The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare’s 1609 poem “Sonnet 27.” The poem is addressed to a close friend as 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.
Choice D is the best answer it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The speaker describes going to bed for “repose” (rest) but finding that his thoughts are focused on the friend the speaker is addressing, and the thoughts are keeping the speaker awake.
The following text is adapted from Lewis Carroll’s 1889 satirical novel Sylvie and Bruno. A crowd has gathered outside a room belonging to the Warden, an official who reports to the Lord Chancellor.
One man, who was more excited than the rest, flung 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, the Lord Chancellor responds to the crowd by:
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 disunited.
Choice D is the best answer because it presents a statement about how the Lord Chancellor responds to the crowd that is supported by the text.
Herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs could grow more than 100 feet long and weigh up to 80 tons, and some researchers have attributed the evolution of sauropods to such massive sizes to increased plant production resulting from high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the Mesozoic era. However, there is no evidence of significant spikes in carbon dioxide levels coinciding with relevant periods in sauropod evolution, such as when the first large sauropods appeared, when several sauropod lineages underwent further evolution toward gigantism, or when sauropods reached their maximum known sizes, suggesting that ______
A) Fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide affected different sauropod lineages differently.
B) The evolution of larger body sizes in sauropods did not depend on increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.
C) Atmospheric carbon dioxide was higher when the largest known sauropods lived than it was when the first sauropods appeared.
D) Sauropods probably would not have evolved to such immense sizes if atmospheric carbon dioxide had been even slightly higher.
B) the evolution of larger body sizes in sauropods did not depend on increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Birds of many species ingest foods containing carotenoids, pigmented molecules that are converted into feather coloration. Coloration tends to be especially saturated in male birds’ feathers, and because carotenoids also confer health benefits, the deeply saturated colors generally serve to communicate what is known as an honest signal of a bird’s overall fitness to potential mates. However, ornithologist Allison J. Shultz and others have found that males in several species of the tanager genus Ramphocelus use microstructures in their feathers to manipulate light, creating the appearance of deeper saturation without the birds necessarily having to maintain a carotenoid-rich diet. These findings suggest that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text
A) Individual male tanagers can engage in honest signaling without relying on carotenoid consumption.
B) Feather microstructures may be less effective than deeply saturated feathers for signaling overall fitness.
C) Scientists have yet to determine why tanagers have a preference for mates with colorful appearances.
D) A male tanager’s appearance may function as a dishonest signal of the individual’s overall fitness.
D) a male tanager’s appearance may function as a dishonest signal of the individual’s overall fitness.
