GMAT Reasoning Test 28.docx

GMAT Reasoning Test 28 No. 1998 1998 04 SECTION A Much of the research on hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD has focused on the neurotransmitter serotonin, a chemical that when released from a presynaptic serotonin-secreting neuron causes the transmission of a nerve impulse across a synapse to an adjacent postsynaptic, or target, neuron. There are two major reasons for this emphasis. First, it was discovered early on (early on: adv ???) that many of the major hallucinogens have a molecular structure similar to that of serotonin. In addition, animal studies of brain neurochemistry following administration of hallucinogens invariably reported changes in serotonin levels. Early investigators correctly reasoned that the structural similarity to the serotonin molecule might imply that LSD’s effects are brought about by an action on the neurotransmission of serotonin in the brain. Unfortunately, the level of technical expertise in the field of brain research was such that this hypothesis had to be tested on peripheral tissue (tissue outside the brain). Two different groups of scientists reported that LSD powerfully blockaded serotonin’s action. Their conclusions were quickly challenged, however. We now know that the action of a drug at one site in the body does not necessarily correspond to the drug’s action at another site, especially when one site is in the brain and the other is not. By the 1960’s, technical advances permitted the direct testing of the hypothesis that LSD and related hallucinogens act by directly suppressing the activity of serotonin-secreting neurons themselves—the so-called presynaptic hypothesis. Researchers reasoned that if the hallucinogenic drugs act by suppressing the activity of serotonin-secreting neurons, then drugs administered after these neurons had been destroyed should have no effect on behavior, because the system would already be maximally suppressed. Contrary to their expectations, neuron destruction enhanced the effect of LSD and related hallucinogens on behavior. Thus, hallucinogenic drugs apparently do not act directly on serotonin-secreting neurons. However, these and other available data do support an alternative hypothesis that LSD and related drugs act directly at receptor sites on serotonin target neurons (the postsynaptic hypothesis). The fact that LSD elicits “serotonin syndrome”—that is, causes the same kinds of behaviors as does the administration of serotonin—in animals whose brains are depleted of serotonin indicates that LSD acts directly on serotonin receptors, rather than indirectly through the release of stores of serotonin. The enhanced effect of LSD reported after serotonin depletion could be due to a proliferation of serotonin receptor sites on serotonin target neurons. This phenomenon often follows neuron destruction or neurotransmitter depletion; the increase in the number of receptor sites appears to be a compensatory response to decreased input. Significantly, this hypothesis is supported by data from a number of different laboratories. 17. According to the passage, which of the following is one of the primary factors that led researchers studying hallucinogenic drugs to focus on serotonin? (A) The suppression of the activity of serotonin-secreting neurons by the administration of hallucinogens (B) The observed similarities in the chemical structures of serotonin and hallucinogens (C) The effects the administration of hallucinogens has on serotonin production in the human brain (D) Serotonin-induced changes in the effects of hallucinogens on behavior?B? (E) Hallucinogen-induced changes in the effects of serotonin on behavior 18. It can be inferred that researchers abandoned the presynaptic hypothesis because (A) a new and more attractive hypothesis was suggested (B) no research was reported that supported the hypothesis (C) research results provided evidence to counter the hypothesis (D) the hypothesis was supported only by studies of animals and not by studies of human beings?C? (E) the level of technical expertise in the field of brain research did not permit adequate testing of the hypothesis 19. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? (A) Research has suggested that the neurotransmitter serotonin is responsible for the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the brain and on behavior. (B) Researchers have spent an inadequate amount of time developing theories concerning the way in which the effects of hallucinogenic drugs occur. (C) Research results strongly suggest that hallucinogenic drugs create their effects by acting on the serotonin receptor sites located on target neurons in the brain. (D) Researchers have recently made valuable discoveries concerning the effects of depleting the amount of serotonin in the brain.?C? (E) Researchers have concluded that hallucinogenic drugs suppress the activity of serotonin-secreting neurons. 20. The research described in the passage is primarily concerned with answering which of the following questions? (A) How can researchers control the effects that LSD has on behavior? (B) How are animals’ reactions to LSD different from those of human beings? (C) What triggers the effects that LSD has on human behavior? (D) What technical advances would permit researchers to predict more accurately the effects of LSD on behavior??C? (E) What relationship does the suppression of neuron activity have to the occurrence of “serotonin syndrome”? 21. Which of the following best defines “serotonin syndrome” (line 46) as the term is used in the passage? (A) The series of behaviors, usually associated with the administration of serotonin, that also occurs when LSD is administered to animals whose brains are depleted of serotonin (B) The series of behaviors, usually associated with the administration of LSD, that also occurs when the amount of serotonin in the brain is reduced (C) The maximal suppression of neuron activity that results from the destruction of serotonin-secreting neurons (D) The release of stores of serotonin from serotonin-secreting neurons in the brain?A? (E) The proliferation of serotonin receptor sites that follows depletion of serotonin supplies in the brain 22. Which of the following best describes the organization of the argument that the author of the passage presents in the last two paragraphs? (A) Two approaches to testing a hypothesis are described, and the greater merits of one approach are indicated. (B) The assumptions underlying two hypotheses are outlined, and evidence for and against each hypothesis is discussed. (C) A phenomenon is described, and hypotheses concerning its occurrence are considered and rejected. (D) The reasoning behind a hypothesis is summarized, evidence supporting the hypothesis is presented, and research that counters the supporting evidence is described.?E? (E) A hypothesis is discussed, evidence undermining the hypothesis is revealed, and a further hypothesis based on the undermining evidence is explained. 23. The author’s attitude toward early researchers’ reasoning concerning the implications of similarities in the structures of serotonin and LSD molecules can best be described as one of (A) complete agreement (B) reluctant support (C) subtle condescension (D) irreverent dismissal?B? (E) strong opposition When literary periods are defined on the basis of men’s writing, women’s writing must be forcibly assimilated into an irrelevant grid: a Renaissance that is not a renaissance for women, a Romantic period in which women played very little part, a modernism with which women conflict. Simultaneously, the history of women’s writing has been suppressed, leaving large, mysterious gaps in accounts of the development of various genres. Feminist criticism is beginning to correct this situation. Margaret Anne Doody, for example, suggests that during “the period between the death of Richardson and the appearance of the novels of Scott and Austen,” which has “been regarded as a dead period,” late-eighteenth-century women writers actually developed “the paradigm for women’s fiction of the nineteenth century—something hardly less than the paradigm of the nineteenth-century novel itself.” Feminist critics have also pointed out that the twentieth-century writer Virginia Woolf belonged to a tradition other than modernism and that this tradition surfaces in her work precisely where criticism has hitherto found obscurities, evasions, implausibilities, and imperfections. 24. It can be inferred from the passage that the author views the division of literature into periods based on men’s writing as an approach that (A) makes distinctions among literary periods ambiguous (B) is appropriate for evaluating only premodern literature (C) was misunderstood until the advent of feminist criticism (D) provides a valuable basis from which feminist criticism has evolved?E? (E) obscures women’s contributions to literature 25. The passage suggests which of the following about Virginia Woolf’s work? I. Nonfeminist criticism of it has been flawed. II. Critics have treated it as part of modernism. III. It is based on the work of late-eighteenth-century women writers. (A) I only (B) II only (C) I and II only (D) II and III only?C? (E) I, II and III 26. The author quotes Doody most probably in order to illustrate (A) a contribution that feminist criticism can make to literary criticism (B) a modernist approach that conflicts with women’s writing (C) writing by a woman which had previously been ignored (D) the hitherto overlooked significance of Scott’s and Austen’s novels?A? (E) a standard system of defining literary periods 27. The passage provides information that answers which of the following questions? (A) In what tradition do feminist critics usually place Virginia Woolf? (B) What are the main themes of women’s fiction of the nineteenth century? (C) What events motivated the feminist reinterpretation of literary history? (D) How has the period between Richardson’s death and Scott’s and Austen’s novels traditionally been regarded by critics??D? (E) How was the development of the nineteenth-century novel affected by women’s fiction in the same century? SECTION B The origin of the theory that major geologic events may occur at regular intervals can be traced back not to a study of volcanism or plate tectonics but to an investigation of marine extinctions. In the early 1980’s, scientists began to look closely at the question of how these extinctions occur. Two paleontologists, Raup and Sepkoski, compiled a master list of marine species that died out during the past 268 million years and noted that there were brief periods during which many species disappeared at once. These mass extinctions occurred at surprisingly regular intervals. Later studies revealed that extinctions of terrestrial reptiles and mammals also occurred periodically. These findings, combined with the research of Raup and Sepkoski, led scientists to hypothesize the existence of some kind of cyclically recurring force powerful enough to affect living things profoundly. Speculation that so powerful a force might affect geologic events as well led geologists to search for evidence of periodicity in episodes of volcanism, seafloor spreading, and plate movement. 17. According to the passage, Raup and Sepkoski’s research was concerned with (A) learning more about the habitats of marine species (B) studying plate tectonics and the occurrence of volcanism over the past 268 million years (C) examining extinctions of marine species over the past 268 million years (D) finding out whether a rhythmically recurring geologic force exists?C? (E) confirming previous evidence suggesting that extinction of terrestrial species occurred regularly 18. The author of the passage would most likely describe the findings of Raup and Sepkoski as (A) plausible, because the findings supported the theories of previous researchers (B) significant, because the findings were an impetus for subsequent research (C) controversial, because the findings contradicted the theories of previous researchers (D) questionable, because the authors were not working in their field of expertise?B? (E) definitive, because the findings confirmed the existence of a rhythmically recurring force 19. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with (A) determining the dates of various geologic events (B) defending the conclusions reached by Raup and Sepkoski (C) establishing a link between the disciplines of paleontology and geology (D) proving that mass extinctions of marine animals occur periodically?E? (E) explaining how a theory concerning geologic events was formulated 20. The passage suggests which of the following about the “force” mentioned in lines 16 and 18? (A) It is responsible for most of the major geologic events that have occurred. (B) It is responsible for most of the marine extinctions that have occurred. (C) Its recurrence is unlikely to be able to be predicted by scientists. (D) Its existence was not seriously considered by scientists before Raup and Sepkoski did their research.?D? (E) Its existence was confirmed by the research of Raup and Sepkoski. A recent history of the Chicago meat-packing industry and its workers examines how the industry grew from its appearance in the 1830’s through the early 1890’s. Meat-packers, the author argues, had good wages, working conditions, and prospects for advancement within the packinghouses, and did not cooperate with labor agitators since labor relations were so harmonious. Because the history maintains that conditions were above standard for the era, the frequency of labor disputes, especially in the mid-1880’s, is not accounted for. The work ignores the fact that the 1880’s were crucial years in American labor history, and that the packinghouse workers’ efforts were part of the national movement for labor reform. In fact, other historical sources for the late nineteenth century record deteriorating housing and high disease and infant mortality rates in the industrial community, due to low wages and unhealthy working conditions. Additional data from the University of Chicago suggest that the packinghouses were dangerous places to work. The government investigation commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt which eventually led to the adoption of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act found the packinghouses unsanitary, while social workers observed that most of the workers were poorly paid and overworked. The history may be too optimistic because most of its data date from the 1880’s at the latest (at the latest: adv.??), and the information provided from that decade is insufficiently analyzed. Conditions actually declined in the 1880’s, and continued to decline after the 1880’s, due to a reorganization of the packing process and a massive influx of unskilled workers. The deterioration in worker status, partly a result of the new availability of unskilled and hence cheap labor, is not discussed. Though a detailed account of work in the packing-houses is attempted, the author fails to distinguish between the wages and conditions for skilled workers and for those unskilled laborers who comprised the majority of the industry’s workers from the 1880’s on. While conditions for the former were arguably tolerable due to the strategic importance of skilled workers in the complicated slaughtering, cutting, and packing process (though worker complaints about the rate and conditions of work were frequent), pay and conditions for the latter were wretched. The author’s misinterpretation of the origins of the feelings the meat-packers had for their industrial neighborhood may account for the history’s faulty generalizations. The pride and contentment the author remarks upon were, arguably, less the products of the industrial world of the packers—the giant yards and the intricate plants—than of the unity and vibrance of the ethnic cultures that formed a viable community on Chicago’s South Side. Indeed, the strength of this community succeeded in generating a social movement that effectively confronted the problems of the industry that provided its livelihood. 21. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing (A) how historians ought to explain the origins of the conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry (B) why it is difficult to determine the actual nature of the conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry (C) why a particular account of the conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry is inaccurate (D) what ought to be included in any account of the Chicago meat-packers’ role in the national labor movement?C? (E) what data are most relevant for an accurate account of the relations between Chicago meat-packers and local labor agitators 22. The author of the passage mentions all of the following as describing negative conditions in the meat-packing industry EXCEPT: (A) data from the University of Chicago (B) a recent history of the meat-packing industry (C) social workers (D) historical sources for the late nineteenth century?B? (E) government records 23. The author of the passage mentions the “social movement” (line 57) generated by Chicago’s South Side community primarily in order to (A) inform the reader of events that occurred in the meat-packing industry after the period of time covered by the history (B) suggest the history’s limitations by pointing out a situation that the history failed to explain adequately (C) salvage the history’s point of view by suggesting that there were positive developments in the meat-packing industry due to worker unity (D) introduce a new issue designed to elaborate on the good relationship between the meat-packers and Chicago’s ethnic communities?B? (E) suggest that the history should have focused more on the general issue of the relationship between labor movements and healthy industrial communities 24. According to the passage, the working conditions of skilled workers in the meat-packing industry during the 1880’s were influenced by (A) the workers’ determined complaints about the rate and conditions of their work (B) the efforts of social workers to improve sanitation in the packinghouses (C) the workers’ ability to perform the industry’s complex tasks (D) improvements in the industry’s packing process that occurred in the 1880’s?C? (E) opportunities for job advancement due to the filling of less desirable positions by increasing numbers of unskilled workers 25. The author of the passage uses the second paragraph to (A) summarize the main point of the history discussed in the passage (B) explain why the history discussed in the passage has been disparaged by critics (C) evaluate the findings of recent studies that undermine the premises of the history discussed in the passage (D) introduce a hypothesis that will be discussed in detail later in the passage?E? (E) present evidence that is intended to refute the argument of the history discussed in the passage 26. The tone of the author of the passage in discussing the meat-packer community on Chicago’s South Side can best be described as one of (A) appreciation of the community’s ability to cope with difficult conditions (B) admiration for the community’s refusal to cooperate with labor agitators (C) indignation at the kinds of social conditions the community faced (D) annoyance at the community’s inability to abolish discrimination in the meat-packing industry?A? (E) concern that the meat-packers’ feelings for their community have not been documented 27. The information in the passage suggests that the author of the history discussed in the passage made which of the following errors? (A) Failing to recognize the effect of the diversity of the South Side community on the meat-packers’ efforts to reform the industry (B) Attributing good working conditions in the meat-packing industry to the efforts of labor agitators (C) Overemphasizing the importance of the availability of unskilled labor as an influence on conditions in the meat packing industry (D) Interpreting the meat-packers’ feelings for their community as appreciation of their industry?D? (E) Failing to observe the pride and contentment felt by the meat-packers 1998 11 SECTION A (This passage is from a book published in 1960.) When we consider great painters of the past, the study of art and the study of illusion cannot always be separated. By illusion I mean those contrivances of color, line, shape, and so forth (and so forth: ??) that lead us to see marks on a flat surface as depicting three-dimensional objects in space. I must emphasize that I am not making a plea, disguised or otherwise (or otherwise: ???), for the exercise of illusionist tricks in painting today, although I am, in fact, rather critical of certain theories of non-representational art. But to argue over (argue over: ??[??]??) these theories would be to miss the point. That the discoveries and effects of representation that were the pride of earlier artists have become trivial today I would not deny for a moment (for a moment: ???, ??). Yet I believe that we are in real danger of losing contact with past masters if we accept the fashionable doctrine that such matters never had anything to do with art. The very reason why the representation of nature can now be considered something commonplace should be of the greatest interest to art historians. Never before has there been an age when the visual image was so cheap in every sense of the word. We are surrounded and assailed by posters and advertisements, comics (a: COMIC STRIP b: COMIC BOOK c plural: the part of a newspaper devoted to comic strips) and magazine illustrations. We see aspects of reality represented on television, postage stamps, and food packages. Painting is taught in school and practiced as a pastime, and many modest amateurs have mastered tricks that would have looked like sheer magic to the fourteenth-century painter Giotto (Giotto: ??(Giotto di Bondone, 1266?-1337, ?????????????)). Even the crude colored renderings on a cereal box might have made Giotto’s contemporaries gasp. Perhaps there are people who conclude from this that the cereal box is superior to a Giotto; I do not. But I think that the victory and vulgarization (vulgarize: to diffuse generally: POPULARIZE) of representational skills create a problem for both art historians and critics. In this connection (in this connection: ?????? ????) it is instructive to remember the Greek saying that to marvel is the beginning of knowledge and if we cease to marvel we may be in danger of ceasing to know. I believe we must restore our sense of wonder at the capacity to conjure up by forms, lines, shades, or colors those mysterious phantoms of visual reality we call “pictures.” Even comics and advertisements, rightly viewed, provide food for thought (food for thought: ????). Just as the study of poetry remains incomplete without an awareness of the language of prose, so, I believe, the study of art will be increasingly supplemented by inquiry into the “linguistics” of the visual image. The way the language of art refers to the visible world is both so obvious and so mysterious that it is still largely unknown except to artists, who use it as we use all language—without needing to know its grammar and semantics. 17. The author of the passage explicitly disagrees with which of the following statements’ (A) In modern society even nonartists can master techniques that great artists of the fourteenth century did not employ. (B) The ability to represent a three-dimensional object on a flat surface has nothing to do with art. (C) In modern society the victory of representational skills has created a problem for art critics. (D) The way that artists are able to represent the visible world is an area that needs a great deal more study before it can be fully understood.?B? (E) Modern painters do not frequently make use of illusionist tricks in their work. 18. The author suggests which of the following about art historians? (A) They do not believe that illusionist tricks have become trivial. (B) They generally spend little time studying contemporary artists. (C) They have not given enough consideration to how the representation of nature has become commonplace. (D) They generally tend to argue about theories rather than address substantive issues.?C? (E) They are less likely than art critics to study comics or advertisements. 19. Which of the following best states the author’s attitude toward comics, as expressed in the passage? (A) They constitute an innovative art form. (B) They can be a worthwhile subject for study. (C) They are critically important to an understanding of modem art. (D) Their visual structure is more complex than that of medieval art.?B? (E) They can be understood best if they are examined in conjunction with (in conjunction with: adv.?...??) advertisements. 20. The author’s statement regarding how artists use the language of art (lines 48-52) implies that (A) artists are better equipped than are art historians to provide detailed evaluations of other artists’ work (B) many artists have an unusually quick, intuitive understanding of language (C) artists can produce works of art even if they cannot analyze their methods of doing so (D) artists of the past, such as Giotto, were better educated about artistic issues than were artists of the author’s time?A? (E) most artists probably consider the processes involved in their work to be closely akin to those involved in writing poetry 21. The passage asserts which of the following about commercial art? (A) There are many examples of commercial art whose artistic merit is equal to that of great works of art of the past. (B) Commercial art is heavily influenced by whatever doctrines are fashionable in the serious art world of the time. (C) The line between commercial art and great art lies primarily in how an image is used, not in the motivation for its creation. (D) The level of technical skill required to produce representational imagery in commercial art and in other kinds of art cannot be compared.?E? (E) The pervasiveness of contemporary commercial art has led art historians to undervalue representational skills. 22. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the adherents of “certain theories of nonrepresentational art” (lines 9-10)? (A) They consider the use of illusion to be inappropriate in contemporary art. (B) They do not agree that marks on a flat surface can ever satisfactorily convey the illusion of three-dimensional space. (C) They do not discuss important works of art created in the past. (D) They do not think that the representation of nature was ever the primary goal of past painters.?A? (E) They concern themselves more with types of art such as advertisements and magazine illustrations than with traditional art. 23. It can be inferred from the passage that someone who wanted to analyze the “grammar and semantics” (line 52) of the language of art would most appropriately comment on which of the following? (A) The relationship between the drawings in a comic strip and the accompanying text (B) The amount of detail that can be included in a tiny illustration on a postage stamp (C) The sociological implications of the images chosen to advertise a particular product (D) The degree to which various colors used in different versions of the same poster would attract the attention of passersby (one who passes by)?E? (E) The particular juxtaposition of shapes in an illustration that makes one shape look as though it were behind another The 1973 Endangered Species Act made into legal policy the concept that endangered species of wildlife are precious as part of a natural ecosystem. The nearly unanimous passage of this act in the United States Congress, reflecting the rising national popularity of environmentalism, masked a bitter debate. Affected industries clung to the former wildlife policy of valuing individual species according to their economic usefulness. They fought to minimize the law’s impact by limiting definitions of key terms, but they lost on nearly every issue. The act defined “wildlife” as almost all kinds of animals—from large mammals to invertebrates—and plants. “Taking” wildlife was defined broadly as any action that threatened an endangered species; areas vital to a species’ survival could be federally protected as “critical habitats.” Though these definitions legislated strong environmentalist goals, political compromises made in the enforcement of the act were to determine just what economic interests would be set aside (set aside: v.??, ??, ??, ??1: to put to one side: DISCARD 2: to reserve for a purpose: SAVE) for the sake of ecological stabilization. 24. According to the passage, which of the following does the Endangered Species Act define as a “critical habitat”? (A) A natural ecosystem that is threatened by imminent development (B) An industrial or urban area in which wildlife species have almost ceased to live among humans (C) A natural area that is crucial to the survival of a species and thus eligible for federal protection (D) A wilderness area in which the “taking” of wildlife species is permitted rarely and only under strict federal regulation?C? (E) A natural environment that is protected under law because its wildlife has a high economic value 25. According to the passage, which of the following is an explanation for the degree of support that the Endangered Species Act received in Congress? (A) Concern for the environment had gained increasing national popularity. (B) Ecological research had created new economic opportunities dependent on the survival of certain species. (C) Congress had long wanted to change the existing wildlife policy. (D) The growth of industry had endangered increasing numbers of wildlife species.?A? (E) Legislators did not anticipate that the act could be effectively enforced. 26. It can be inferred from the passage that if business interests had won the debate on provisions of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which of the following would have resulted? (A) Environmentalist concepts would not have become widely popular. (B) The definitions of key terms of the act would have been more restricted. (C) Enforcement of the act would have been more difficult. (D) The act would have had stronger support from Congressional leaders.?B? (E) The public would have boycotted the industries that had the greatest impact in defining the act. 27. The author refers to the terms “wildlife” (line 11), “taking” (line 13), and “critical habitats” (line 16) most likely in order to (A) illustrate the misuse of scientific language and concepts in political processes (B) emphasize the importance of selecting precise language in transforming scientific concepts into law (C) represent terminology whose definition was crucial in writing environmentalist goals into law (D) demonstrate the triviality of the issues debated by industries before Congress passed the Endangered Species Act?C? (E) show that broad definitions of key terms in many types of laws resulted in ambiguity and thus left room for disagreement about how the law should be enforced SECTION B From the 1900’s through the 1950’s waitresses in the United States developed a form of unionism based on the unions’ defining the skills that their occupation included and enforcing standards for the performance of those skills. This “occupational unionism” differed substantially from the “worksite unionism” prevalent among factory workers. Rather than unionizing the workforces of particular employers, waitress locals ((?)??????) sought to control their occupation throughout a city. Occupational unionism operated through union hiring halls, which provided free placement (????) services to employers who agreed to hire their personnel only through the union. Hiring halls offered union waitresses collective employment security, not individual job security—a basic protection offered by worksite unions. That is, when a waitress lost her job, the local did not intervene with her employer but placed her elsewhere; and when jobs were scarce, the work hours available were distributed fairly among all members rather than being assigned according to seniority. 17. The primary purpose of the passage is to (A) analyze a current trend in relation to the past (B) discuss a particular solution to a longstanding problem (C) analyze changes in the way that certain standards have been enforced (D) apply a generalization to an unusual situation?E? (E) describe an approach by contrasting it with another approach 18. Which of the following statements best summarizes a distinction mentioned in the passage between waitress unions and factory workers’ unions? (A) Waitress unions were more successful than factory workers’ unions in that they were able to unionize whole cities. (B) Waitress unions had an impact on only certain local areas, whereas the impact of factory workers’ unions was national. (C) Waitress union members held primarily part-time positions, whereas factory workers’ unions placed their members in full-time jobs. (D) Waitress unions emphasized the occupation of workers, whereas factory workers’ unions emphasized the worksite at which workers were employed.?D? (E) Waitress unions defined the skills of their trade, whereas the skills of factory trades were determined by employers’ groups. 19. According to the passage, which of the following was characteristic of the form of union that United States waitresses developed in the first half of the twentieth century? (A) The union represented a wide variety of restaurant and hotel service occupations. (B) The union defined the skills required of waitresses and disciplined its members to meet certain standards. (C) The union billed employers for its members’ work and distributed the earnings among all members. (D) The union negotiated the enforcement of occupational standards with each employer whose workforce joined the union.?B? (E) The union ensured that a worker could not be laid off arbitrarily by an employer. 20. The author of the passage mentions “particular employers” (line 8) primarily in order to (A) suggest that occupational unions found some employers difficult to satisfy (B) indicate that the occupational unions served some employers but not others (C) emphasize the unique focus of occupational unionism (D) accentuate the hostility of some employers toward occupational unionism?C? (E) point out a weakness of worksite unionism In prehistoric times brachiopods (brachiopod: n.????????any of a phylum (Brachiopoda) of marine invertebrates with bivalve shells within which is a pair of arms bearing tentacles by which a current of water is made to bring microscopic food to the mouth) were one of the most abundant and diverse forms of life on Earth: more than 30,000 species of this clamlike creature have been cataloged from fossil records. Today brachiopods are not as numerous, and existing species are not well studied, partly because neither the animal’s fleshy inner tissue nor its shell has any commercial value. Moreover, in contrast to the greater diversity of the extinct species, the approximately 300 known surviving species are relatively uniform in appearance. Many zoologists have interpreted this as a sign that the animal has been unable to compete successfully with other marine organisms in the evolutionary struggle. Several things, however, suggest that the conventional view needs revising. For example, the genus Lingula has an unbroken fossil record extending over more than half a billion years to the present. Thus, if longevity is any measure, brachiopods are the most successful organisms extant. Further, recent studies suggest that diversity among species is a less important measure of evolutionary success than is the ability to withstand environmental change, such as when a layer of clay replaces sand on the ocean bottom. The relatively greater uniformity among the existing brachiopod species may offer greater protection from environmental change and hence may reflect highly successful adaptive behavior. The adaptive advantages of uniformity for brachiopods can be seen by considering specialization, a process that occurs as a result of prolonged colonization of a uniform substrate. Those that can survive on many surfaces are called generalists, while those that can survive on a limited range of substrates are called specialists. One specialist species, for example, has valves weighted at the base, a characteristic that assures that the organism is properly positioned for feeding in mud and similar substrates; other species secrete glue allowing them to survive on the face of underwater cliffs. The fossil record demonstrates that most brachiopod lineages have followed a trend toward increased specialization. However, during periods of environmental instability, when a particular substrate to which a specialist species has adapted is no longer available, the species quickly dies out. Generalists, on the other hand, are not dependent on a particular substrate, and are thus less vulnerable to environmental change. One study of the fossil record revealed a mass extinction of brachiopods following a change in sedimentation from chalk (a soft white, gray, or buff limestone composed chiefly of the shells of foraminifers) to clay. Of the 35 brachiopod species found in the chalk, only 6 survived in the clay, all of them generalists. As long as enough generalist species are maintained, and studies of arctic and subarctic seas suggest that generalists are often dominant members of the marine communities there, it seems unlikely that the phylum is close to extinction. 21. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with (A) rejecting an earlier explanation for the longevity of certain brachiopod species (B) reevaluating the implications of uniformity among existing brachiopod species (C) describing the varieties of environmental change to which brachiopods are vulnerable (D) reconciling opposing explanations for brachiopods’ lack of evolutionary success?B? (E) elaborating the mechanisms responsible for the tendency among brachiopod species toward specialization 22. It can be inferred from the passage that many zoologists assume that a large diversity among species of a given class of organisms typically leads to which of the following? (A) Difficulty in classification (B) A discontinuous fossil record (C) A greater chance of survival over time (D) Numerical abundance?C? (E) A longer life span 23. The second paragraph makes use of which of the following? (A) Specific examples (B) Analogy (C) Metaphor (D) Quotation?A? (E) Exaggeration 24. The author suggests that the scientists holding the conventional view mentioned in lines 15-16 make which of the following errors? (A) They mistakenly emphasize survival rather than diversity. (B) They misunderstand the causes of specialization. (C) They misuse zoological terminology. (D) They catalog fossilized remains improperly.?E? (E) They overlook an alternative criterion of evolutionary success. 25. It can be inferred from the passage that the decision to study an organism may sometimes be influenced by (A) its practical or commercial benefits to society (B) the nature and prevalence of its fossilized remains (C) the relative convenience of its geographical distribution (D) its similarity to one or more better-known species?A? (E) the degree of its physiological complexity 26. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author’s claim (lines 56-57) that “it seems unlikely that the phylum is close to extinction”? (A) Generalist species now living in arctic water give few if any indications of a tendency towards significant future specialization. (B) Zoologists have recently discovered that a common marine organism is a natural predator of brachiopods. (C) It was recently discovered that certain brachiopod species are almost always concentrated near areas rich in offshore oil deposits. (D) The ratio of specialist to Generalist species is slowly but steadily increasing.?A? (E) It is easier for a brachiopod to survive a change in sedimentation than a change in water temperature. 27. Information in the passage supports which of the following statements about brachiopods?(?????) I. Few brachiopods living in prehistoric times were specialists. II. A tendency toward specialization, though typical, is not inevitable. III. Specialist species dominate in all but arctic and subarctic waters. (A) I only (B) II only (C) II and III only (D) I and III only?B? (E) I, II and III 1999 04 SECTION A This passage is based on an article published in 1990. Eight times within the past million years, something in the Earth’s climatic equation has changed, allowing snow in the mountains and the northern latitudes to accumulate from one season to the next instead of melting away. Each time, the enormous ice sheets resulting from this continual buildup lasted tens of thousands of years until the end of each particular glacial cycle brought a warmer climate. Scientists speculated that these glacial cycles were ultimately driven by astronomical factors: slow, cyclic changes in the eccentricity (eccentricity: n. [?]???) of the Earth’s orbit and in the tilt and orientation of its spin axis. But up until around 30 years ago, the lack of an independent record of ice-age timing made the hypothesis untestable. Then in the early 1950’s Emiliani produced the first complete record of the waxings and wanings of past glaciations. It came from a seemingly odd place, the seafloor. Single-cell marine organisms called “foraminifera” house themselves in shells made from calcium carbonate (calcium carbonate: n.[?]???). When the foraminifera die, sink to the bottom, and become part of seafloor sediments, the carbonate of their shells preserves certain characteristics of the seawater they inhabited. In particular, the ratio of a heavy isotope of oxygen (oxygen-18) to ordinary oxygen (oxygen-16) in the carbonate preserves the ratio of the two oxygens in water molecules. It is now understood that the ratio of oxygen isotopes in seawater closely reflects the proportion of the world’s water locked up in glaciers and ice sheets. A kind of meteorological distillation accounts for the link. Water molecules containing the heavier isotope tend to condense and fall as precipitation slightly sooner than molecules containing the lighter isotope. Hence, as water vapor evaporated from warm oceans moves away from its source, its oxygen-18 returns more quickly to the oceans than does its oxygen-16. What falls as snow on distant ice sheets and mountain glaciers is relatively depleted of oxygen-18. As the oxygen-18-poor ice builds up, the oceans become relatively enriched in the isotope. The larger the ice sheets grow, the higher the proportion of oxygen-18 becomes in seawater—and hence in the sediments. Analyzing cores drilled from seafloor sediments, Emiliani found that the isotopic ratio rose and fell in rough accord with the Earth’s astronomical cycles. Since that pioneering observation, oxygen-isotope measurements have been made on hundreds of cores. A chronology for the combined record enables scientists to show that the record contains the very same periodicities as the orbital processes. Over the past 800,000 years, the global ice volume has peaked every 100,000 years, matching the period of the orbital eccentricity variation. In addition, “wrinkles” superposed on each cycle—small decreases or surges in ice volume—have come at intervals of roughly 23,000 and 41,000 years, in keeping with (in keeping with: adv.?...??) the precession and tilt frequencies of the Earth’s spin axis. 17. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? (A) Marine sediments have allowed scientists to amass evidence tending to confirm that astronomical cycles drive the Earth’s glacial cycles. (B) The ratio between two different isotopes of oxygen in seawater correlates closely with the size of the Earth’s ice sheets. (C) Surprisingly, single-cell marine organisms provide a record of the Earth’s ice ages. (D) The Earth’s astronomical cycles have recently been revealed to have an unexpectedly large impact on the Earth’s climate.?A? (E) The earth has experienced eight periods of intense glaciation in the past million years, primarily as a result of substantial changes in its orbit. 18. The passage asserts that one reason that oceans become enriched in oxygen-18 as ice sheets grow is because (A) water molecules containing oxygen-18 condense and fall as precipitation slightly sooner than those containing oxygen-16 (B) the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 in water vapor evaporated from oceans is different from that of these isotopes in seawater (C) growing ice sheets tend to lose their oxygen-18 as the temperature of the oceans near them gradually decreases (D) less water vapor evaporates from oceans during glacial periods and therefore less oxygen-18 is removed from the seawater?A? (E) the freezing point of seawater rich in oxygen-18 is slightly lower than that of seawater poor in oxygen-18 19. According to the passage, the large ice sheets typical of glacial cycles are most directly caused by (A) changes in the average temperatures in the tropics and over open oceans (B) prolonged increases in the rate at which water evaporates from the oceans (C) extreme seasonal variations in temperature in northern latitudes and in mountainous areas (D) steadily increasing precipitation rates in northern latitudes and in mountainous areas?E? (E) the continual failure of snow to melt completely during the warmer seasons in northern latitudes and in mountainous areas 20. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of the water locked in glaciers and ice sheets today? (A) It is richer in oxygen-18 than frozen water was during past glacial periods. (B) It is primarily located in the northern latitudes of the Earth. (C) Its ratio of oxygen isotopes is the same as that prevalent in seawater during the last ice age. (D) It is steadily decreasing in amount due to increased thawing during summer months.?E? (E) In comparison with (in comparison with: adv.?...??) seawater, it is relatively poor in oxygen-18. 21. The discussion of the oxygen-isotope ratios in paragraph three of the passage suggests that which of the following must be assumed if the conclusions described in lines 49-58 are to be validly drawn? (A) The Earth’s overall annual precipitation rates do not dramatically increase or decrease over time. (B) The various chemicals dissolved in seawater have had the same concentrations over the past million years. (C) Natural processes unrelated to ice formation do not result in the formation of large quantities of oxygen-18. (D) Water molecules falling as precipitation usually fall on the open ocean rather than on continents or polar ice packs.?C? (E) Increases in global temperature do not increase the amount of water that evaporates from the oceans. 22. The passage suggests that the scientists who first constructed a coherent, continuous picture of past variations in marine-sediment isotope ratios did which of the following? (A) Relied primarily on the data obtained from the analysis of Emiliani’s core samples. (B) Combined data derived from the analysis of many different core samples. (C) Matched the data obtained by geologists with that provided by astronomers. (D) Evaluated the isotope-ratio data obtained in several areas in order to eliminate all but the most reliable data.?B? (E) Compared data obtained from core samples in many different marine environments with data samples derived from polar ice caps. 23. The passage suggests that the scientists mentioned in line 8 considered their reconstruction of past astronomical cycles to be (A) unreliable because astronomical observations have been made and recorded for only a few thousand years (B) adequate enough to allow that reconstruction’s use in explaining glacial cycles if a record of the latter could be found (C) in need of confirmation through comparison with an independent source of information about astronomical phenomena (D) incomplete and therefore unusable for the purposes of explaining the causes of ice ages?B? (E) adequate enough for scientists to support conclusively the idea that ice ages were caused by astronomical changes Although Victor Turner’s writings have proved fruitful for fields beyond anthropology, his definition of ritual is overly restrictive. Ritual, he says, is “prescribed formal behavior for occasions not given over (give over: to set apart for a particular purpose or use) to technological routine, having reference to beliefs in mystical beings or powers.” “Technological routine” refers to the means by which a social group provides for its material needs. Turner’s differentiating ritual from technology helps us recognize that festivals and celebrations may have little purpose other than play, but it obscures the practical aims, such as making crops grow or healing patients, of other rituals. Further, Turner’s definition implies a necessary relationship between ritual and mystical beliefs. However, not all rituals are religious; some religions have no reference to mystical beings; and individuals may be required only to participate in, not necessarily believe in, a ritual. Turner’s assumption that ritual behavior follows belief thus limits the usefulness of his definition in studying ritual across cultures. 24. According to the passage, which of the following does Turner exclude from his conception of ritual? (A) Behavior based on beliefs (B) Behavior based on formal rules (C) Celebrations whose purpose is play (D) Routines directed toward practical ends?D? (E) Festivals honoring supernatural beings 25. The passage suggests that an assumption underlying Turner’s definition of ritual is that (A) anthropological concepts apply to other fields (B) festivals and ceremonies are related cultural phenomena (C) there is a relationship between play and practical ends (D) rituals refer only to belief in mystical beings or powers?D? (E) mystical beings and powers have certain common attributes across cultures 26. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes each of the following concerning rituals EXCEPT: (A) Some are unrelated to religious belief. (B) Some are intended to have practical consequences. (C) Some have no purpose other than play. (D) They sometimes involve reference to mystical beings.?E? (E) They are predominantly focused on agricultural ends. 27. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage? (A) Factual data are presented and a hypothesis is proposed. (B) A distinction is introduced then shown not to be a true distinction. (C) A statement is quoted, and two assumptions on which it is based are clarified. (D) A definition is challenged, and two reasons for the challenge are given.?D? (E) An opinion is offered and then placed within a historical framework. SECTION B Benjamin Franklin established that lightning is the transfer of positive or negative electrical charge between regions of a cloud or from cloud to earth. Such transfers require that electrically neutral clouds, with uniform charge distributions, become electrified by separation of charges into distinct regions. The greater this separation is, the greater the voltage, or electrical potential of the cloud. Scientists still do not now the precise distribution of charges in thunderclouds nor how separation adequate to support the huge voltages typical of lightning bolts arises. According to one theory, the precipitation hypothesis, charge separation occurs as a result of precipitation. Larger droplets in a thundercloud (thundercloud: n.[?]???) precipitate downward past smaller suspended droplets. Collisions among droplets transfer negative charge to precipitating droplets, leaving the suspended droplets with a positive charge, thus producing a positive dipole (dipole: n.[?]???, ??) in which the lower region of the thundercloud is filled with negatively charged raindrops and the upper with positively charged suspended droplets. 17. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing which of the following? (A) A central issue in the explanation of how lightning occurs (B) Benjamin Franklin’s activities as a scientist (C) Research into the strength and distribution of thunderstorms (D) The direction of movement of electrical charges in thunderclouds?A? (E) The relation between a cloud’s charge distribution and its voltage 18. The passage suggests that lightning bolts typically (A) produce a distribution of charges called a positive dipole in the clouds where they originate (B) result in the movement of negative charges to the centers of the clouds where they originate (C) result in the suspension of large, positively charged raindrops at the tops of the clouds where they originate (D) originate in clouds that have large numbers of negatively charged droplets in their upper regions?E? (E) originate in clouds in which the positive and negative charges are not uniformly distributed 19. According to the passage, Benjamin Franklin contributed to the scientific study of lightning by (A) testing a theory proposed earlier, showing it to be false, and developing an alternative, far more successful theory of his own (B) making an important discovery that is still important for scientific investigations of lightning (C) introducing a hypothesis that, though recently shown to be false, proved to be a useful source of insights for scientists studying lightning (D) developing a technique that has enabled scientists to measure more precisely the phenomena that affect the strength and location of lightning bolts?B? (E) predicting correctly that two factors previously thought unrelated to lightning would eventually be shown to contribute jointly to the strength and location of lightning bolts 20. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the precipitation hypothesis, as it is set forth in the passage? (A) Larger clouds are more likely than smaller clouds to be characterized by complete separation of positive and negative charges. (B) In smaller clouds lightning more often occurs within the cloud than between the cloud and the earth. (C) Large raindrops move more rapidly in small clouds than they do in large clouds. (D) Clouds that are smaller than average in size rarely, if ever, produce lightning bolts.?E? (E) In clouds of all sizes negative charges concentrate in the center of the clouds when the clouds become electrically charged. Before Laura Gilpin (1891-1979), few women in the history of photography had so devoted themselves to chronicling the landscape. Other women had photographed the land, but none can be regarded as a landscape photographer with a sustained body of work documenting the physical terrain. Anne Brigman often photographed woodlands and coastal areas, but they were generally settings for her artfully placed subjects. Dorothea Lange’s landscapes were always conceived of as counterparts to her portraits of rural women. At the same time that Gilpin’s interest in landscape work distinguished her from most other women photographers, her approach to landscape photography set her apart (set apart: ?????,...??????) from men photographers who, like Gilpin, documented the western United States. Western American landscape photography grew out of a male tradition, pioneered by photographers attached to government and commercial survey teams that went west in the 1860’s and 1870’s. These explorer-photographers documented the West that their employers wanted to see: an exotic and majestic land shaped by awesome natural forces, unpopulated and ready for American settlement. The next generation of male photographers, represented by Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter, often worked with conservationist groups rather than government agencies or commercial companies, but they nonetheless preserved the “heroic” style and maintained the role of respectful outsider peering in with reverence at a fragile natural world. For Gilpin, by contrast, the landscape was neither an empty vista awaiting human settlement nor a jewel-like scene resisting human intrusion, but a peopled landscape with a rich history and tradition of its own, an environment that shaped and molded the lives of its inhabitants. Her photographs of the Rio Grande, for example, consistently depict the river in terms of its significance to human culture: as a source of irrigation water, a source of food for livestock, and a provider of town sites. Also instructive is Gilpin’s general avoidance of extreme close-ups (a photograph or movie shot taken at close range) of her natural subjects: for her, emblematic details could never suggest the intricacies of the interrelationship between people and nature that made the landscape a compelling subject. While it is dangerous to draw conclusions about a “feminine” way of seeing from the work of one woman, it can nonetheless be argued that Gilpin’s unique approach to landscape photography was analogous to the work of many women writers who, far more than their male counterparts, described the landscape in terms of its potential to sustain human life. Gilpin never spoke of herself as a photographer with a feminine perspective: she eschewed any discussion of gender as it related to her work and maintained little interest in interpretations that relied on the concept of a “woman’s eye.” Thus it is ironic that her photographic evocation of a historical landscape should so clearly present a distinctively feminine approach to landscape photography. 21. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? (A) Gilpin’s landscape photographs more accurately documented the Southwest than did the photographs of explorers and conservationists. (B) Gilpin’s style of landscape photography substantially influenced the heroic style practiced by her male counterparts. (C) The labeling of Gilpin’s style of landscape photography as feminine ignores important ties between it and the heroic style. (D) Gilpin’s work exemplifies an arguably feminine style of landscape photography that contrasts with the style used by her male predecessors.?D? (E) Gilpin’s style was strongly influenced by the work of women writers who described the landscape in terms of its relationship to people. 22. It can be inferred from the passage that the teams mentioned in line 19 were most interested in which of the following aspects of the land in the western United States? (A) Its fragility in the face of increased human intrusion (B) Its role in shaping the lives of indigenous peoples (C) Its potential for sustaining future settlements (D) Its importance as an environment for rare plants and animals?C? (E) Its unusual vulnerability to extreme natural forces 23. The author of the passage claims that which of the following is the primary reason why Gilpin generally avoided extreme close-ups of natural subjects? (A) Gilpin believed that pictures of natural details could not depict the interrelationship between the land and humans. (B) Gilpin considered close-up photography to be too closely associated with her predecessors. (C) Gilpin believed that all of her photographs should include people in them. (D) Gilpin associated close-up techniques with photography used for commercial purposes.?A? (E) Gilpin feared that pictures of small details would suggest an indifference to the fragility of the land as a whole. 24. The passage suggests that a photographer who practiced the heroic style would be most likely to emphasize which of the following in a photographic series focusing on the Rio Grande? (A) Indigenous people and their ancient customs relating to the river (B) The exploits of navigators and explorers (C) Unpopulated, pristine parts of the river and its surroundings (D) Existing commercial ventures that relied heavily on the river?C? (E) The dams and other monumental engineering structures built on the river 25. It can be inferred from the passage that the first two generations of landscape photographers in the western United States had which of the following in common? (A) They photographed the land as an entity that had little interaction with human culture. (B) They advanced the philosophy that photographers should resist alliances with political or commercial groups. (C) They were convinced that the pristine condition of the land needed to be preserved by government action. (D) They photographed the land as a place ready for increased settlement.?A? (E) They photographed only those locations where humans had settled. 26. Based on the description of her works in the passage, which of the following would most likely be a subject for a photograph taken by Gilpin? (A) A vista of a canyon still untouched by human culture (B) A portrait of a visitor to the West against a desert backdrop (C) A view of historic Native American dwellings carved into the side of a natural cliff (D) A picture of artifacts from the West being transported to the eastern United States for retail sale?C? (E) An abstract pattern created by the shadows of clouds on the desert 27. The author of the passage mentions women writers in line 50 most likely in order to (A) counter a widely held criticism of her argument (B) bolster her argument that Gilpin’s style can be characterized as a feminine style (C) suggest that Gilpin took some of her ideas for photographs from landscape descriptions by women writers (D) clarify the interrelationship between human culture and the land that Gilpin was attempting to capture?B? (E) offer an analogy between photographic close-ups and literary descriptions of small details ANSWERS 1998 04 SECTION A B C C C A E B E C A D SECTION B C B E D C B B C E A D 1998 11 SECTION A B C B A E A E C A B C SECTION B E D B C B C A E A A B 1999 04 SECTION A A A E E C B B D D E D SECTION B A E B E D C A C A C B