Ch05 MCAT Passages 11-20.docx

Chapter 5 MCAT Verbal Reasoning Exercises Passage 11 In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about a half a dozen generate the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people. The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent circling disturbances hundreds - even thousands - of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds. When conditions are just right, warm, moist air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance, moves upward through it and comes out at the top. In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat that is converted to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to swirl in a counter-clockwise motion. The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane’s rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, not wind, is the main source of death and destruction in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6- to 12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea—the mountains of water moving toward the low-pressure hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore. 1. When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane? A. when it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas B. when it hits the coastline C. when it is more than 75 miles wide D. when its winds reach 75 miles per hour 2. What is the worst thing about hurricanes? A. the destructive effects of water B. the heat they release C. that they last about nine days on the average D. their strong winds 3. The counter-clockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by A. the low-pressure area in the center of the storm. B. the force of waves of water. C. the trade winds. D. the increasing heat. 4. Apparently the word downpour means A. heavy rainfall. B. dangerous waves. C. the progress of water to the hurricane center. D. the energy produced by the hurricane. Passage 12 The great advance in rocket theory 40 years ago showed that liquid-fuel rockets were far superior in every respect to the skyrocket with its weak solid fuel, the only kind of rocket then known. However, during the last decade, large solid-fuel rockets with solid fuels about as powerful as liquid fuels have made their appearance, and it is a favorite layman’s question to inquire which one is “better.” The question is meaningless; one might as well ask whether a gasoline or a diesel engine is “better.” It all depends on the purpose. A liquid-fuel rocket is complicated, but has the advantage that it can be controlled beautifully. The burning of the rocket engine can be stopped completely; it can be re-ignited when desired. In addition, the thrust can be made to vary by adjusting the speed of the fuel pumps. A solid fuel rocket, on the other hand, is rather simple in construction, though hard to build when a really large size is desired. But once you have a solid-fuel rocket, it is ready for action at very short notice. A liquid-fuel rocket has to be fueled first and cannot be held in readiness for very long after it has been fueled. However, once a solid-fuel rocket has been ignited, it will keep burning. It cannot be stopped and re-ignited whenever desired (it could conceivably be stopped and re-ignited after a pre-calculated time of burning has elapsed) and its thrust cannot be varied. Because a solid-fuel rocket can be kept ready for a long time, most military missiles employ solid fuels, but manned space flight needs the fine adjustments that can only be provided by liquid fuels. It may be added that a liquid-fuel rocket is an expensive device; a large solid-fuel rocket is, by comparison, cheap. But the solid fuel, pound per pound, costs about 10 times as much as the liquid fuel. So you have, on the one hand, an expensive rocket with a cheap fuel and on the other hand a comparatively cheap rocket with an expensive fuel. 1. The author feels that a comparison of liquid- and solid-fuel rockets shows that A. neither type is very economical. B. the liquid-fuel rocket is best. C. each type has certain advantages. D. the solid-fuel rocket is best. 2. The most important consideration for manned space flight is that the rocket be A. inexpensive to construct. B. capable of lifting heavy spacecraft into orbit. C. easily controlled. D. inexpensive to operate. 3. Solid-fuel rockets are expensive to operate because of their A. size. B. fuel. C. burning time. D. complicated engines. 4. Which of the following statements is not characteristic of liquid-fuel rockets? A. The fuel is cheap. B. They can be stopped and re-ignited. C. They are cheap to build. D. They must be used soon after fueling. Preparation for MCAT Verbal Reasoning Passage 13 The cicada exemplifies an insect species which uses a combinatorial communication system. In their life cycle, communication is very important, for only through the exchange of sounds do cicadas know where to meet and when to mate. Three different calls are employed for this purpose. Because of their limited sound producing mechanisms, cicadas can make only ticks and buzzes. The only way they can distinguish between congregation and courtship calls is by varying the rate with which they make ticks and buzzes. The congregation call consists of 12 to 40 ticks, delivered rapidly, followed by a two-second buzz. It is given by males but attracts cicadas of both sexes. Once they are all together, the males use courtship calls. The preliminary call, a prolonged, slow ticking, is given when the male notices a female near him. The advanced call, a prolonged series of short buzzes at the same slow rate, is given when a female is almost within grasp. The preliminary call almost invariably occurs before the advanced call, although the latter is given without the preliminary call occurring first if a female is suddenly discovered very near by. During typical courtship, though, the two calls together result in ticking followed by a buzzing—the same pattern which comprises the congregation call but delivered at a slower rate. In this way, cicadas show efficient use of their minimal sound producing ability, organizing two sounds delivered at a high rate as one call and the same sounds delivered at a slow rate as two more calls. 1. The cicada congregation call A. attracts only males. B. is given by both sexes. C. is given only by males. D. attracts only females. 2. During typical courtship, when a male first notices a female near him, he gives A. the two courtship calls together. B. a series of slow ticks. C. 12 to 40 rapid ticks. D. a two-second buzz. 3. How does the congregation call differ from the two courtship calls together? A. It is delivered at a slower rate. B. It is delivered at a faster rate. C. The ticks precede the buzzes. D. The buzzes precede the ticks. 4. According to this passage, why is communication so important for cicadas? A. It helps them defend themselves against other insect species. B. It warns them of approaching danger. C. It separates the males from the females. D. It is necessary for the continuation of the 28 species. Passage 14 Robert Spring, a 19th century forger, was so good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he prospered by selling his small but genuine collection of early U.S. autographs. Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of detection, he sent his forgeries to England and Canada for sale and circulation. Forgers have a hard time selling their products. A forger can’t approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don’t have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways to make their work look real. For example, they buy old books to use the aged paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemicals. In Spring’s time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the Southern states, so Spring invented a respectable maiden lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny’s financial problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. All this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his forgeries from the originals. 1. Why did Spring sell his false autographs in England and Canada? A. There was a greater demand there than in America. B. There was less chance of being detected there. C. Britain was Spring’s birthplace. D. The prices were higher in England and Canada. 2. After the Civil War, there was a great demand in Britain for A. Southern money. B. signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin. C. Southern manuscripts and letters. D. Civil War battle plans. 3. Robert Spring spent 15 years A. running a bookstore in Philadelphia. B. as a forger. C. corresponding with Miss Fanny Jackson. D. as a respectable dealer. 4. According to the passage, forgeries are usually sold to A. sharp-eyed experts. B. persons who aren’t experts. C. book dealers. D. owners of old books. 5. Who was Miss Fanny Jackson? A. the only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson B. a little-known girl who sold her father’s papers to Robert Spring C. Robert Spring’s daughter D. an imaginary person created by Spring Passage 15 In science the meaning of the word “explain” suffers with civilization’s every step in search of reality. Science cannot really explain electricity, magnetism, and gravitation; their effects can be measured and predicted, but of their nature no more is known to the modern scientist than to Thales who first speculated on the electrification of amber. Most contemporary physicists reject the notion that man can ever discover what these mysterious forces “really” are. “Electricity,” Bertrand Russell says, “is not a thing, like St. Paul’s Cathedral; it is a way in which things behave. When we have told how things behave when they are electrified, and under what circumstances they are electrified, we have told all there is to tell.” Until recently scientists would have disapproved of such an idea. Aristotle, for example, whose natural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years, believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evident principles. He felt, for example, that it is a self-evident principle that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that objects fall to the ground because that’s where they belong, and smoke goes up because that’s where it belongs. The goal of Aristotelian science was to explain why things happen. Modern science was born when Galileo began trying to explain how things happen and thus originated the method of controlled experiment which now forms the basis of scientific investigation. 1. The aim of controlled scientific experiments is A. to explain why things happen. B. to explain how things happen. C. to describe self-evident principles. D. to support Aristotelian science. 2. What principles most influenced scientific thought for two thousand years? A. the speculations of Thales B. the forces of electricity, magnetism, and gravity C. Aristotle’s natural science D. Galileo’s discoveries 3. Bertrand Russell’s notion about electricity is A. disapproved of by most modern scientists. B. in agreement with Aristotle’s theory of self-evident principles. C. in agreement with scientific investigation directed toward “how” things happen. D. in agreement with scientific investigation directed toward “why” things happen. 4. The passage says that until recently scientists disagreed with the idea A. that there are mysterious forces in the universe. B. that man cannot discover what forces “really” are. C. that there are self-evident principles. D. that we can discover why things behave as they do. Passage 16 Dice, the plural of die, are small cubes used in games. They are usually made of ivory, bone, wood, bakelite, or similar materials. The six sides are numbered by dots from 1 to 6, so placed that the sum of the dots on a side and the opposite side equals 7. A simple form of play with dice is for each player to throw, or shoot, for the highest sum. However, the most popular dice game in the United States is called craps. It is played with 2 dice and the underlying principle of the game is the fact that the most probable throw is a 7. On the first throw, if a player shoots a 7 or 11 (called a natural), he wins and begins again, but if he shoots 2, 3, or 12 (called craps) on the first throw, he loses. If on the first throw he shoots 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes his point. He continues to throw until he shoots that number again (makes his point), in which case he wins and begins again. However, if he shoots a 7 before he makes his point, he loses and relinquishes the dice to the next player. Usually all others in the game bet against the thrower, and in gambling halls bets are made against the house. 1. In craps, a throw of 11 A. always wins. B. sometimes loses. C. sometimes wins. D. becomes the point. 2. If one side of a die has three dots on it, the opposite side has A. 6 . B. 4 . C. 3 . D. 7 . 3. To shoot the dice means to A. throw them. B. lose. C. make a natural. D. make one’s point. 4. In a game of craps, if a player throws a 5 and then a 3, he A. wins. B. loses. C. shoots again. D. makes his point. 5. In a game of craps, if a player throws a 6, 3, 4, 4, 6, 11, in that order, he has A. won twice. B. made his point twice. C. made two naturals. D. shot craps. 6. In a game of craps, if the player throws a 12 on his first throw A. he has the highest sum, so he wins. B. that number is his point. C. he has shot craps. D. he has made a natural. 7. What number is most probable on a throw of the dice? A. 7 and 11 have equal probabilities B. 7 C. 11 D. craps Passage 17 Between 1347 and 1351, one-third of the European population died. The cause of death of all these people was the Bubonic Plague, better known as ‘the Black Death.’ Those few who survived developed an immunity to the disease. An attack of the plague usually began suddenly with chills. This was followed by fever, and then headache and body pain. At the same time, the lymph glands would swell and people developed open sores. During the epidemic in Europe, spots of blood appeared under the skin from broken blood vessels. These spots turned black and led to the nickname Black Death. The Bubonic Plague was brought to Europe by people returning from the wars fought to free the Holy Lands. These wars were called the Crusades. It struck at a time when the population in Europe was exploding and the amount of farmland was not sufficient to grow enough food. Farmland became overworked and crop yields dropped. Many people died of starvation during these times. By 1350, the plague had spread all through Europe and one in three people were dead. Whole families and villages were wiped out. People infected with the disease often died in a matter of hours or days. Shops and factories closed. Nothing was more dreaded than the cry, “The Black Death is here.” The bacteria of the disease lived in fleas that lived and fed on rats. Since rats and fleas were everywhere in Europe at this time, people accepted them as commonly as we accept flies today. No one thought to control the rats to stop the Black Death. The only group to escape the plague were the kings and nobility. Each time the plague was near, the kings moved to another town. Sometimes, these moves were made only hours before the plague struck the town. Many changes were caused by the disease. The problems of overpopulation and not enough food were solved. Since so many people died, there was enough food for those who were left. The plague also helped improve wages. With less people to do the work, those still alive were paid higher wages. Today, Bubonic Plague is still found in the world. However, sulfur drugs, along with improved health standards, limit the number of people infected. 1. What does the word exploding in paragraph 3 mean? A. blowing up B. growing rapidly C. dying D. using dynamite 2. Why did the phrase “the Black Death is here” cause fear? A. B. C. D. 3. The problem of overpopulation was solved by the Black Death due to A. people leaving the villages and towns when the Black Death arrived. B. people being able to have children after they caught the Black Death. C. the Black Death killing over one-third of the people living in Europe. D. the Black Death improving both the food supplyand wages. Preparation for MCAT Verbal Reasoning 4. Why was the Bubonic Plague called the Black Death? A. It killed many people. B. People only died at night. C. The Bubonic Plague caused a very slow, painful death. D. People with the plague had black spots all over their bodies. 5. Who or what brought the Bubonic Plague to Europe? A. people returning from the Crusades B. rats eating the garbage C. fleas living on the rats D. bacteria living in the fleas 6. What symptom happens second when a person catches the Bubonic Plague? A. chills over the body B. headache C. fever D. swelling 7. What is the central purpose of this passage? A. to show how the Bubonic Plague came to Europe B. to show how the Bubonic Plague began C. to show the causes of the Bubonic Plague D. to show the effect of the Bubonic Plague on Europe 8. Why would controlling rats stop the spread of the Black Death? A. Rats carried the fleas that spread the disease. B. Fleas live and feed on garbage. C. Rats caused the Black Death. D. Controlling rats would involve cleaning up the garbage. Passage 18 The next time Halley’s Comet will be seen in the United States will be in the year 2062. Because it passes within sight of the earth only about once every 76 years, most people see it only once in their lives. The comet that bears Edmund Halley’s name was first noticed by him in 1682, the year he was married. At that time, it lit up the night sky for weeks and caused many people to wonder if the world would end. People were afraid it would hit the earth and kill many people. However, Halley knew people had nothing to fear. In fact, using his friend Newton’s new theories on gravity, he predicted this comet would return about the year 1758. Halley died in 1742 and never lived to see if his comet would return as he predicted. But it did return on Christmas night in 1758 and was again seen by minions of people. Since Halley had predicted the return of the comet, people began calling it Halley’s Comet. Throughout early history, Halley’s Comet had been called “The Flaming Sword” because of its shape and the legends that surrounded its sightings. Every appearance of the comet had supposedly caused war, famine, disease, and/or death of important people. To many people, Halley’s Comet was an evil star, the bearer of bad tidings. One of the first recorded sightings was in 451 B.C. when Attila the Hun won a great victory over a country. Another was at the time of the war between Rome and Pompeii in 48 B.C. In fact, some Roman historians blamed the war on the comet. In 66 A.D., the comet appeared again, when the city of Jerusalem fell to the Romans. For the next 1000 years, war, disease, unusually cold winters, and famine continued to occur around the time the comet appeared. Only since the 1800’s have people begun to realize that Halley’s Comet is not evil. Halley’s Comet is not the only comet in the sky. There are thousands of comets in our solar system. However, none has generated the tales of evil deeds or received publicity like Halley’s Comet. Today, we watch Halley’s Comet through telescopes for scientific information. By examining the head of the comet and the particles in its tail, scientists think they can learn about how our universe was formed. 1. This passage is about A. the legends of Halley’s Comet. B. how Halley’s comet was predicted. C. the naming of Halley’s Comet. D. the history and legends of Halley’s Comet. 2. Which statement best describes the type of man Halley was? A. He was a gifted genius who developed many new ideas. B. He was a man who predicted the coming of a comet that bears his name. C. He was a friend and confidant of Newton. D. He was a famous scientist in his day who was not sure he was correct in his predictions. 3. How were Newton and Halley alike? A. Newton developed the theory of gravity while Halley identified the comet. B. Newton and Halley were scientists. C. Both men watched the comet that bears Halley’s name in 1682. D. Both men were friends and studied together. 4. The phrase “the bearer of bad tidings” means A. a person who brings bad news. B. something that causes the tides to rise. C. something that causes problems to occur. D. a person who makes everything fine. 5. Which of the following statements is not a fact? A. The comet caused war, famine, and disease. B. The comet comes every 76 years. C. The comet appeared when Attila the Hun won a big victory. D. Some Roman historians blamed one war between Rome and Pompeii on the comet. 6. Halley was able to predict the coming of the comet because he A. knew it would return 76 years after he was married. B. guessed the time based on historical records. C. counted the number of years it had been to earth before. D. applied Newton’s theory of gravity to the comet’s path. 7. Halley’s comet is important to the scientific community because A. when it appears, major problems usually occur somewhere in the world. B. scientists think they can learn about the formation of our universe by studying the comet. C. Halley’s Comet is the only comet that comes near the earth. D. people have begun to realize that Halley’s Comet is not an evil star. 8. One of the first recorded sightings of Halley’s comet was A. B. C. D. 9. Halley’s name was given to the comet because A. it appeared in the year he was married. B. Halley first noticed the comet in 1682. C. Halley predicted the coming of the comet in 1758. D. Halley told people not to be afraid of the comet. Passage 19 People turn to history to learn about the past. However, many events that have great effects upon people are seldom found in history books. These events are natural disasters. They receive coverage in newspapers, on radio, and on TV, but they are not usually recorded in textbooks. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions cause some of the greatest problems to people, yet they are usually remembered many years later by only a small number of people. The Chicago fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 are possible exceptions. They do receive mention in some texts. However, one wonders if the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the recent numerous California earthquakes, or Hurricane Andrew in 1992 will ever receive similar attention. The devastation caused in a matter of hours by Hurricane Andrew makes it the most costly natural disaster in United States history. With winds that reached 164 miles per hour, the storm left whole towns in ruin. Andrew’s effects were most evident in a 20-35 mile wide area south of Miami, Florida. However, it also swept across the Gulf of Mexico and continued its destruction in the low-lying lands of Louisiana. Around Miami, not only were homes and businesses damaged and destroyed, but water, sewage, and electricity were affected. Without air conditioning and refrigeration, food spoiled and living conditions became very difficult. Food, water, medicine, and gasoline were desperately needed, but the roads were closed because of the debris from the storm. In Louisiana, the damage was somewhat lessened when the path of the storm veered away from the city of New Orleans. Nevertheless, the state was hit hard by the winds and rains of Andrew. Farmers were especially affected. Their sugar cane fields were badly damaged by the hurricane. This was an especially devastating blow for them because they had had several years of poor production. They were afraid that they might lose their farms. Will this particular catastrophe be recorded in future history books? Probably not. It will probably fade from the memory of those who only read about the damage caused by the storm. But, it will remain a lasting memory for those who lived through this costly natural disaster. They will remember both the power of nature and the response of people to their plight. 1. What is the central idea of this passage? A. that natural disasters can cause a large amount of damage. B. that history books do not always record every natural disaster. C. that history books include the most important disasters. D. that natural disasters are important events in the lives of all people. 2. According to the passage, why would the Chicago Fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 be included in some history texts while other, more recent, natural disasters are not? A. The two events brought major changes to these two important cities. B. There are more natural disasters today and we can’t learn about all of them. C. Students don’t need to know about natural disasters as much now as they once did. D. Writers don’t want to write about disasters in today’s textbooks. 3. Months after Andrew, why was the Miami area still feeling the effects of the hurricane? A. The winds were still blowing very hard. B. The waters were still flooding some of the low-lying areas. C. The people were still talking about the storm. D. People were still repairing damage to homes and businesses. 4. What would be the first thing people would do after the storm? A. rebuild their homes B. clear the roads of debris C. go to the stores for food D. turn on the electricity 5. What was a major concern of the Louisiana farmers? A. They lost their electricity. B. They had no food. C. Their sugar cane fields were destroyed. D. They could lose their farms. Passage 20 Certain diseases have indirect methods of transmission, frequently living in alternate hosts. Malaria, a disease that has almost disappeared from the United States but is still among the most common plagues of the tropics, passes from person to person via an insect vector, the Anopheles mosquito. The malarial parasite has a complex life history. It enters the bloodstream of a human through the bite of a mosquito and travels to the liver. Here it multiplies. The offspring move back into the bloodstream where they enter red blood cells and continue to multiply, destroying red cells as they do so. The parasite usually multiplies by simply dividing, but from time to time special forms are produced that can be “male” and “female.” If the normal forms are picked up by a mosquito while it is sucking blood, they die in the mosquito’s stomach. If the male and female forms are picked up, a male parasite may form a flagellated structure that unites with a female parasite, producing a single new individual. This new form then squeezes through the stomach wall of the mosquito and starts to divide, eventually forming hundreds of individuals within the insect. These individuals eventually migrate through the mosquito’s body to the salivary glands, where they remain until the mosquito next takes a blood meal. When a mosquito “bites,” it probes through the skin until it locates a blood vessel or, by breaking several vessels, forms a small pool of blood. Blood, of course, clots, and thus might plug up the mosquito’s mouth parts. But this usually does not happen. The mosquito injects some saliva into the blood, and in most species this saliva contains a substance that prevents clotting. If the mosquito has malarial parasites in its salivary glands, these are injected along with the saliva, and the parasite finds a new human host. 1. Malaria is transmitted from one person to another by A. an insect. B. eating infected food. C. coughing and sneezing. D. All of the above. 2. A man is bitten by an Anopheles mosquito that, on the previous day, bit another man who was suffering from malaria. The chances of the man bitten last becoming infected with malaria are A. good. B. uncertain. C. poor. D. absolutely certain. 3. When a mosquito bites, it injects saliva into its victim. This is of advantage to the mosquito because it A. poisons the victim. B. transmits malaria. C. prevents the victim’s blood from clotting in the mosquito’s mouth parts. D. causes the bite to itch. 4. If mosquitoes worried about malaria, they would call a person a A. vector. B. parasite. C. plasmodium. D. All of the above. 5. Suppose that a certain tropical country has a large proportion of its population ill with malaria. Suppose, also, that these people can use only one at a time the following ways of combating the disease. Their first choice should be to A. give everyone medicine that will cure malaria. B. get rid of mosquitoes. C. build hospitals. D. give injections only to people ill with malaria.