The Poetry of Physics

If you were made of rubber then you would just stretch in response. But humans are composed of other materials such as bones and muscles and organs. Your body would stay whole until the instant the tidal force exceeded your body's molecular bonds. (If the Inquisition had access to black holes, this, instead of the rack, would surely have become the stretching device of choice.) Which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that falling into a black hole would be a violent death?

If the Inquisition had access to black holes, this, instead of the rack, would surely have become the stretching device of choice.

In fact, I would say my delight at being suffused with phrases from his saxophone— some like honey, some like vinegar— is surpassed only by my gratitude to Tommy Potter for taking the time to join us on this breezy afternoon with his most unwieldy bass and to the esteemed Arthur Taylor who is somehow managing to navigate this crowd with his cumbersome drums. Which of the following suggestions would best enhance a reader's understanding of this poem?

Read a variety of sources about the style and instruments used by jazz musicians.

Which excerpt from Billy Collins's "Man Listening to Disc" best supports the idea that the speaker uses the music to isolate himself from others?

The music is loud yet so confidential I cannot help feeling even more like the center of the universe

to Tommy Potter for taking the time to join us on this breezy afternoon with his most unwieldy bass and to the esteemed Arthur Taylor who is somehow managing to navigate this crowd with his cumbersome drums. And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano so he could be with us today. Which of the following additional features would best enhance the reader's understanding of this excerpt?

audio samples of music by the specified musicians

Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published in 1916, provides the insight to understand the bizarre structure of space and time in a high-gravity environment. Later research by the American physicist John A. Wheeler, and others, helped to formulate a vocabulary as well as the mathematical tools to describe and predict what a black hole will do to its surroundings. Read the excerpt from "Man Listening to Disc." And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano so he could be with us today. These excerpts are similar because both texts

credit people who have inspired the authors.

Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published in 1916, provides the insight to understand the bizarre structure of space and time in a high-gravity environment. Later research by the American physicist John A. Wheeler, and others, helped to formulate a vocabulary as well as the mathematical tools to describe and predict what a black hole will do to its surroundings. Read the excerpt from "Man Listening to Disc." And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano so he could be with us today. The central idea that both texts share is

credit to people who have inspired the authors

Without a doubt, the most spectacular way to die in space is to fall into a black hole. Where else in the universe can you lose your life by being ripped apart atom by atom? Read the beginning stanza from Billy Collins's "Man Listening to Disc." This is not bad— ambling along 44th Street with Sonny Rollins for company, his music flowing through the soft calipers of these earphones, The beginnings of these two pieces are similar because they both

open with an upbeat tone.

as if he were right beside me on this clear day in March, the pavement sparkling with sunlight, pigeons fluttering off the curb, nodding over a profusion of bread crumbs. Which of the following techniques does Collins use to convey his intended message?

rich imagery that appeals to the readers' senses

Which excerpt from "Man Listening to Disc" best supports the idea that when the speaker listens to music he is the center of his own world?

the only true point of view, is full of the hope that he, the hub of the cosmos with his hair blown sideways,

Which excerpt from Billy Collins's "Man Listening to Disc" best reflects the euphoric effect the narrator experiences from listening to music on his headphones?

the pavement sparkling with sunlight