English 12A_18_A1_1 Checkpoints
Which sentences include a contested usage of the pronoun their? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT: Every candidate acknowledged their spouse. AND Someone left their jacket in Arnold's car.
In which sentence is the word unrequited used correctly?
She declined to go out for dinner and a movie with him because his love was unrequited.
In which sentences is the word encroach used incorrectly? (Select all that apply.)
"Doug seems to encroach into new shoes every few months," Mrs. Jones commented. AND "I hope you will encroach into a smart young lady," Mrs. Jones commented.
Read the passage. Steve and Alison told the new babysitter that their twins, Joe and Moe, were amenable children. The babysitter did not know the meaning of that word. After the parents left, the babysitter looked it up on her phone's dictionary app. The babysitter then sent her friend a text message about the children she was babysitting. What text message did the babysitter most likely send to her friend?
"Hey. Just found out the twins I'm babysitting are pretty obedient kids. Yay!"
Which option is written correctly and contains an instance of contested usage?
"My brother called to say he needed a ride, but he didn't say where he was calling from." The sentence ends with a preposition.
Read President George W. Bush's "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks." Which response best analyzes how Bush uses diction to motivate his audience?
"Tonight we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done." Bush uses words related to justice and action to persuade his audience to feel a sense of mission.
Look at the photograph from the brochure "What We Know About: Plastic Marine Debris." (MOUND OF PLASTIC BETWEEN TWO ROCKS) Which statements from the brochure best support the information presented in the photograph? (Select all that apply.)
(25%): Most commonly used plastics do not mineralize (or go away) in the ocean and instead break down into smaller and smaller pieces. AND The word "plastic" is used to describe a collection of artificial or manmade chemical compounds that come in about as many shapes, sizes, and colors as you can imagine!
For an informative essay, you are researching different kinds of plastic recycling programs across the US. Your teacher recommended that you choose online resources that are applicable to your chosen topic. Which questions would you ask yourself to evaluate whether a source contains relevant information about your topic? (Select all that apply.)
(25%): What was the author's purpose in writing the source? AND What is the research focus of the source?
Read the excerpt from "US Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights." We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Which statements best analyze the rhetorical impact of diction in the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)
(25%): The authors use nouns like "Union," "Justice," "Tranquility," "Welfare," "Blessings," and "Liberty" to express the concept of shared values. AND The authors use phrases like "domestic Tranquility" and "common defense" to remind American citizens that the American identity exists within the most common person.
You are researching issues with plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean. Your teacher recommended that you choose and read online resources carefully because when using information in a research report, you need to make sure the information is accurate. Which options identify effective strategies to assess the accuracy of your sources? (Select all that apply.)
(67%): Ask questions about the material presented in the source to decide if it completely addresses the topic. AND Conduct research to determine whether the sources of information listed can be verified in another source.
Which excerpts from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address" provide examples of parallelism as a rhetorical feature? (Select all that apply.)
(67%): With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. AND Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.
Which excerpt from "Plastics, Human Health, and Environmental Impacts: The Road Ahead" best reflects the information shown in Figure 1?
34 million tons of plastic was disposed in the United States. Of this, 86% ended up in landfills.
Read the sentences. Water runs off after a storm. Water comes from places like lawns, streets, and parking lots. That water carries chemicals and contaminants. Oil is one contaminant. Which option shows how to most clearly combine this information using varying sentence structures?
After a storm, water runs off from places like lawns, streets, and parking lots. That water carries chemicals and contaminants, including oil.
Read the dictionary entry. stint(noun) a specific period of work or activity Which sentence correctly uses this sense of the word stint?
After a two-year stint as mayor, Edwin Robles resigned to run for Congress.
Assume you are writing a summary of the article "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones." Which excerpt from the text includes key details about Playdots and Dots that you would want to include?
Among the things Playdots learned from Dots are that a mobile game can be wildly popular without actually being wildly profitable, and that the business side of the mobile-games game is a lot more complicated than it looks.
Which response best states a theme of the article "What Does the 'Pursuit of Happiness' Mean in the Declaration of Independence?"
An American ideal of freedom to live as one prefers is central to our system of government.
Which excerpt best exemplifies the connection that the speaker attempts to make between the ideas of safety and privacy in "Going Dark"?
And with that comes a desire to protect our privacy and our data—you want to share your lives with the people you choose. I sure do. But the FBI has a sworn duty to keep every American safe from crime and terrorism, and technology has become the tool of choice for some very dangerous people.
Which excerpt from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address" most clearly provides an example of antithesis?
Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.
Read President George W. Bush's "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks." Which response best analyzes how Bush uses parallelism to persuade his audience that a solution to terrorism is forthcoming?
By saying, "But the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows," Bush stresses the complete destruction of Al Qaeda, which the United States will seek going forward.
Read the sentence. Jenny had to wash the car, buy groceries, and go to the bank before returning home. Which option shows the best way to rewrite this sentence?
Leave as is.
Which options provide the best description of types of evidence found in informational texts? (Select all that apply.)
Evidence in informational texts can include personal experience and personal observation. AND Evidence in informational texts can include facts and expert opinions. AND Evidence in informational texts can include anecdotes and statistics.
What textual evidence from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head" supports the idea that, at times, a successful hack requires more than just breaking complex computer codes? (Select all that apply.)
From there, for example, people will then believe you when you say you are "out in the field" and need access to a password that is sitting on your desk at the office. Mitnick, of course, finessed his actions constantly: this allowed him to gain access to everything from birth certificates to top-secret source code for the mobile phones of the 1980s and 1990s. AND If, however, you exploit the human emotion of people wanting to help their fellow humans, then when you call-up the headquarters of a major company, name-drop a few key people within the organisation, and "chat-up the other person," it becomes relatively easy to extract nuggets of information that can be used as bait to persuade other people to reveal additional information.
In which excerpt from "How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy" does the author use an appeal to emotion to persuade her audience that empathy training should start in early childhood?
Institutionalized infants do not experience being the center of a loving family's attention; instead, they are cared for by a rotating staff of workers, which is inherently neglectful.
Read the excerpt from "The History of the Electric Car." In the early part of the century, innovators in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States—including a blacksmith from Vermont—began toying with the concept of a battery-powered vehicle and created some of the first small-scale electric cars. And while Robert Anderson, a British inventor, developed the first crude electric carriage around this same time, it wasn't until the second half of the 19th century that French and English inventors built some of the first practical electric cars. Which option most effectively states the main point the author is making in the excerpt?
Many countries had a hand in the development of the electric vehicle that we know today.
Read this piece of textual evidence from the article "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones." The canonical example is Flappy Bird. A simple game featuring a squat little bird that tries (and usually fails) to fly between big green pipes without touching them, Flappy Bird was coded over a long weekend in 2013 by a 28-year-old in Hanoi named Dong Nguyen. Since then it's been downloaded over 50 million times and was making $50,000 a day before Nguyen took it down because he couldn't cope with all the pressure and attention: the game was too successful. What ideas in the text are supported by this textual evidence? (Select all that apply.)
Mobile games are easy to create and are big money makers. AND Mobile games are simple to buy and simple to play.
Which options correctly use an antonym of the word whimsical? (Select all that apply.)
My dad is so predictable; he always eats the same meal on Tuesdays. AND My mom likes to wear practical skirts to work.
Read the excerpt from President George W. Bush's "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks." Americans are asking: What is expected of us? I ask you to live your lives, and hug your children. I know many citizens have fears tonight, and I ask you to be calm and resolute, even in the face of a continuing threat. Which answer best identifies the diction in the excerpt that evokes ideas of solidarity and brotherhood?
NOT: "lives," "tonight," and "continuing"
Read the excerpt from President George W. Bush's "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks." The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them. Which response best analyzes how Bush uses antithesis to appeal to his audience's emotions?
NOT: Bush reassures the American people that the path ahead has both clear and unclear parts, but God always knows the way.
In his "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks," President George W. Bush claims that declaring war on terrorism will inevitably help ensure the safety and protection of the American nation. Which excerpt from the text provides the most relevant evidence to support this claim?
NOT: These measures are essential. But the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows.
You are writing an argumentative essay about the benefits of video games. Which option best presents an arguable claim?
NOT: Violent video games should be banned.
Read the excerpt from "The Real Reasons We Explore Space." When Charles Lindbergh was asked why he crossed the Atlantic, he never once answered that he wanted to win the $25,000 that New York City hotel owner Raymond Orteig offered for the first nonstop aircraft flight between New York and Paris. Which option best explains how the author uses an appeal to ethos in the excerpt to influence his audience?
NOT: by stating the terms of the challenge of the nonstop crossing of the Atlantic
Read the dictionary entry. incumbent adjective 1. imposed as an obligation or duty; obligatory 2. lying, leaning, or resting on something else 3. currently holding a specified office noun 4. a person who holds an office Read the sentence. The incumbent senator was the favored candidate in the state's primary election. Which definition of incumbent fits the meaning and part of speech of the word as it is used in the sentence?
NOT: definition 4
Reread the section called The Challenge of Going Dark from the article "Going Dark." Which option best describes what the speaker most likely sees as a way to address the current limitations on lawful authority?
NOT: revision of the rule of law
Read the excerpt from "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 attacks," in which President George W. Bush uses parallelism to list types of American freedom. They hate what they see right here in this chamber—a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms—our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. Which answer best explains the rhetorical purpose of Bush's use of parallelism in the excerpt?
Parallelism emphasizes the ideals of independence and freedom that are threatened by terrorism.
A question that could be asked about the information in the article "Plastics, Human Health, and Environmental Impacts: The Road Ahead" and the brochure "What We Know About: Plastic Marine Debris" is: What effect do plastics have on humans and marine animals? Which statement is the best example of how to combine the information from the article and the brochure to answer the question?
Plastics in the environment affect both humans and wildlife in many ways. Plastics that use BPA and PVC can cause reproductive issues and aggressive behavior in humans. Marine animals, such as fish, eat plastic, thinking it is food. Since most animals cannot digest plastic, it stays in their stomach, causing malnutrition or starvation.
Andie is writing an essay about herb gardening for the amateur gardener. Which entry would most likely be found in her annotated bibliography?
Sanchez, Martha. "Successful Gardens Anywhere." Gardener's Monthly Review 3 June 2005: 12-14. This article lists plants—by hardiness and planting situation—that have proven successful for beginning gardeners.
Which sentence is written correctly?
Sitting on the beach reading for hours—now that's my idea of relaxation.
Which option best defines antithesis as a rhetorical feature?
The author presents two opposite ideas side by side to create a contrast.
Read the sentence. The counselors assigned the eight and nine year old campers to their cabins. Which option revises the sentence to use hyphens correctly?
The counselors assigned the eight- and nine-year-old campers to their cabins.
Read the excerpt from "The History of the Electric Car." But as Americans became more prosperous, they turned to the newly invented motor vehicle—available in steam, gasoline or electric versions—to get around. Steam was a tried and true energy source, having proved reliable for powering factories and trains. Some of the first self-propelled vehicles in the late 1700s relied on steam; yet it took until the 1870s for the technology to take hold in cars. Part of this is because steam wasn't very practical for personal vehicles. Steam vehicles required long startup times—sometimes up to 45 minutes in the cold—and would need to be refilled with water, limiting their range. As electric vehicles came onto the market, so did a new type of vehicle—the gasoline-powered car—thanks to improvements to the internal combustion engine in the 1800s. While gasoline cars had promise, they weren't without their faults. They required a lot of manual effort to drive—changing gears was no easy task and they needed to be started with a hand crank, making them difficult for some to operate. They were also noisy, and their exhaust was unpleasant. Electric cars didn't have any of the issues associated with steam or gasoline. They were quiet, easy to drive and didn't emit a smelly pollutant like the other cars of the time. Electric cars quickly became popular with urban residents—especially women. They were perfect for short trips around the city, and poor road conditions outside cities meant few cars of any type could venture farther. As more people gained access to electricity in the 1910s, it became easier to charge electric cars, adding to their popularity with all walks of life [...] Which option clearly explains how the structure of the excerpt clarifies its claim?
The comparison-and-contrast structure allows the author to emphasize the positive qualities of the electric vehicle when compared to gasoline and steam vehicles.
Which option best identifies a key idea that the speaker states in "Going Dark"?
The public needs to understand that its need for privacy must be evaluated alongside knowledge of what the FBI does and why.
Reread the section called Case Examples from the article "Going Dark." Which options correctly explain how the speaker develops the idea that encryption of phones can hinder law enforcement from doing its job effectively? (Select all that apply.)
The speaker mentions some potential results if law enforcement cannot get the information it needs: Homicide suspects or child predators could walk free. AND The speaker provides real-life examples of how accessing the content of phones helped solve crimes.
Read the excerpt from "The Key to Stop Bullying: Popular Kids." For all of the efforts schools put into reducing bullying, there's actually a dearth of rigorous evidence about what makes for effective anti-bullying intervention. The classic approach—pile kids into an auditorium and lecture them on the dangers of bullying, perhaps including a sad story about its effects along the way—doesn't appear to really work. Which option best analyzes the rhetorical effect of the author's style in the excerpt?
The statement "perhaps including a sad story about its effects along the way" creates a mocking tone that ridicules previous anti-bullying efforts, thus supporting the author's claim that new efforts are needed.
Read the excerpt from "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks," in which President George W. Bush names simple and directly opposite concepts. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans, and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them. Which answer most clearly explains how words like "friends," "enemy," "peaceful," and "evil" depict Bush's perspective?
The words paint a world in which terrorists represent distinct, pure evil, and are separate from the majority of humanity.
Which phrases from "The Real Reasons We Explore Space" include an appeal to pathos by the author when he discusses the reasons for space travel? (Select all that apply.)
To have "the urge to know what's over the next hill" AND "... to be ... the first or the best in some activity"
Read the sentence. Throughout "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head" the author presents the idea that essentially no one is completely safe from a hacker attack. What textual evidence supports this statement?
Today, cybercriminals use a hybrid mix of social engineering and client-side computer exploits to get at organisations' ICT systems.
Which excerpt from President George W. Bush's "Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks" most clearly demonstrates parallelism?
We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.
Read the excerpt from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address." Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Which option best identifies the rhetorical feature used by Lincoln in the excerpt?
allusion
Which parts of the writing process are typically used to generate ideas at the beginning of a project? (Select all that apply.)
brainstorming mapping
Read the paragraph. You can do at least three different types of prewriting before you write an essay. Types of prewriting include idea mapping, which entails drawing circles around ideas and connecting them with lines to show relationships; freewriting, which involves writing nonstop whatever comes into your mind about a specific topic; and making outlines, which means planning the structure and organization of your paper. Which formatting feature could be used to most effectively revise this paragraph for clarity and coherence?
bulleted list
Read the paragraph from "The History of the Electric Car," which claims that the Model T was the major force to challenge electric cars. Yet, it was Henry Ford's mass-produced Model T that dealt a blow to the electric car. Introduced in 1908, the Model T made gasoline-powered cars widely available and affordable. By 1912, the gasoline car cost only $650, while an electric roadster sold for $1,750. That same year, Charles Kettering introduced the electric starter, eliminating the need for the hand crank and giving rise to more gasoline-powered vehicle sales. Which options best explain how the excerpt's proposition-and-support structure effectively supports the claim? (Select all that apply.)
by discussing the affordability of gasoline-powered cars AND by mentioning the convenience of gasoline-powered cars
Read the sentence. Only two students in our class were prepared for the debate; as a result, they dominated the discussion. Which word most precisely matches the meaning of dominated as it is used in the sentence?
controlled
Read the excerpt from "How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy." "People have a sense of justice," Gross says, explaining why even troubled teens respond well when counselors, with whom they have an ongoing relationship, take a firm stance with them regarding their behavior. "[Our kids are] used to injustice; they're used to abuse at school and from the police. But when constraints come from a place of love and caring, people don't think it violates their sense of justice." Which words in the excerpt provide a context clue that helps you find the meaning of the word constraints?
firm stance
Which type of evidence includes information that is not connected to an idea or point?
irrelevant evidence
Read the sentence. When you analyze an audience, understanding an audience's biases means _[blank]_. Which option best completes the sentence?
knowing their preconceived notions and addressing them objectively
Read the sentence from "The Key to Stop Bullying: Popular Kids." In another activity, seed students gave an orange wristband with the intervention logo (a tree) as a reward to students who were observed engaging in friendly or conflict-mitigating behaviors (over 2,500 wristbands were distributed and tracked). What word is a synonym of the word mitigating?
lessening
Read the excerpt from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address." At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. Which words are synonyms of the word engrosses as it is used in the excerpt? (Select all that apply.)
monopolizes AND occupies
A question that arises based on the information in "Plastics, Human Health, and Environmental Impacts: The Road Ahead" is How safe are plastics for humans and the environment? The author effectively answers this question by _[blank]_. Which option best completes the sentence?
presenting bullet points that provide scientific evidence to describe the dangers plastics pose to the Earth
Read the sentence from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head." These days Mitnick is billed on the keynote circuit as a hallowed "ex-hacker..." Which option provides the best synonym for the word hallowed?
respected
Read these sentences. I smelled the delicious, _[blank]_ aroma the minute I walked into the kitchen. Grandpa stood chopping onions for his famous chili; tomatoes, garlic, and hot peppers were sizzling on the stove. Which word best strengthens the description?
savory
Which options describe data and statistics that can be used as evidence in informational text? (Select all that apply.)
the results of a credible research study presented to support a claim AND numbers or facts that accurately represent proof of concepts or ideas
Read the excerpt from "John F. Kennedy's Moon Speech—Rice University." For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. Which phrases contain figurative language? (Select all that apply.)
(75%): eyes of the world AND instruments of knowledge and understanding AND banner of freedom and peace
If you used a thesaurus to look up antonyms of the word irreparable, which words would you most likely find? (Select all that apply.)
(75%): redeemable AND fixable AND correctable
Read the statement about mobile games from "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones." These little games have become very big business, and they're only getting bigger. Which piece of evidence represents the best choice to use in support of this statement?
dollar amounts of game earnings
Read the concluding paragraphs of "John F. Kennedy's Moon Speech—Rice University." But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, ... and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun—almost as hot as it is here today—and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out—then we must be bold. . . . Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. Which options most accurately identify phrases from the excerpt that represent a call to action? (Select all that apply.)
... space is there, and we're going to climb it AND ... and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out—then we must be bold
The author of "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head" states that a crucial component of computer hacking lies in "the dark science of social engineering (or 'hacking the human')." What idea is implied but not directly stated in this sentence?
Hackers manipulate human emotions and behaviors in order to access the information they need.
Read the paragraph. Desert ecosystems are typically harsh environments for their occupants. Excessive heat and little rainfall make survival difficult. Animals in the North American deserts include tortoises, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats. Life forms inhabiting the desert must adapt accordingly. What information from the paragraph is not relevant to the main idea of the paragraph?
Animals in the North American deserts include tortoises, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats.
What textual evidence from "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System" supports the inference that people and society need to accept and value some parts of hacker culture? (Select all that apply.)
But I think it's worth the effort, because the alternative, to blindly fight all hackers, is to go against the power you cannot control at the cost of stifling innovation and regulating knowledge. These are things that will come back and bite you. AND We are often terrified and fascinated by the power hackers now have. They scare us. But the choices they make have dramatic outcomes that influence us all.
Reread the section Gas Shortages Spark Interest in Electric Vehicles in "The History of the Electric Car." Which options show excerpts from the section that best depict a cause-and-effect structure? (Select all that apply.)
Cheap, abundant gasoline and continued improvement in the internal combustion engine hampered demand for alternative fuel vehicles. AND Soaring oil prices and gasoline shortages—peaking with the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo—created a growing interest in lowering the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil and finding homegrown sources of fuel.
Reread the section called Correcting Misconceptions from the article "Going Dark." What options correctly analyze the speaker's ideas about solving the encryption issue? (Select all that apply.)
Court orders and legal processes can be used for lawful interception of encrypted data or to force access to data that has been encrypted. AND Designers can use a front-door approach to build a lawful intercept solution into an encryption system, or to create a way to access data that has been encrypted.
Read the sentence from "How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy." Spartans, who were celebrated almost exclusively as warriors, raised their ruling-class boys in an environment of uncompromising brutality—enlisting them in boot camp at age 7 and starving them to encourage enough deviousness and cunning to steal food, which skillfully bred yet more generations of ruthless killers. Why did the author use cunning in the sentence instead of a synonym like ingenuity or shrewdness?
Cunning has a more negative connotation that implies expert or crafty use of criminal skills.
You are writing an argumentative essay based on your claim that the use of cell phones while driving should be banned because it seriously endangers other drivers and their passengers on the road. Which options present a viable counterclaim? (Select all that apply.)
Eating in the car is not outlawed even though it takes the driver's attention away from the road. AND Arguing with a friend or spouse in the car is extremely distracting, but it is not against the law.
Read the paragraph from "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System." This is what happened last year when another security researcher called Kyle Lovett discovered a gaping hole in the design of certain wireless routers like you might have in your home or office. He learned that anyone could remotely connect to these devices over the Internet and download documents from hard drives attached to those routers, no password needed. He reported it to the company, of course, but they ignored his report. Perhaps they thought universal access was a feature, not a bug, until two months ago when a group of hackers used it to get into people's files. But they didn't steal anything. They left a note: Your router and your documentscan be accessed by anyone in the world.Here's what you should do to fix it.We hope we helped. By getting into people's files like that, yeah, they broke the law, but they also forced that company to fix their product. In this paragraph, which idea is implied but not directly stated?
Even though computer hacking is unnerving, hackers tend to uncover serious cases of neglect within organizations that people trust.
Read the paragraph from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head." While public appearances by Mitnick and his ilk may fascinate (he is certainly not regarded as one of the "bad guys" by the admirers who flock for his autograph), the fact that such events are something of a media circus can obscure more serious analysis of his personality traits and psychological profile. What happens when someone like the young Mitnick applies for a job with a conventional employer? Where does their motivation lie, and what can employers do if they suspect they've put a hacker on the payroll? Which option best explains the potential concerns raised in this paragraph?
Hiring a hacker might mean jeopardizing a company's well-being.
Read the sentence. In "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System," the presenter believes that not all hackers should be prosecuted. What textual evidence supports this statement? (Select all that apply.)
I think we need hackers, and in fact, they just might be the immune system for the information age. Sometimes they make us sick, but they also find those hidden threats in our world, and they make us fix it. AND But I think it's worth the effort, because the alternative, to blindly fight all hackers, is to go against the power you cannot control at the cost of stifling innovation and regulating knowledge. These are things that will come back and bite you.
Read the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. Which response best explains how the excerpt expresses a theme of the document that declaring independence from Britain is morally right?
It asserts the colonists' belief that a higher power approves of their claims to liberty and control of their lands and laws.
Read the sentence from "History of the Electric Car." In the early part of the century, innovators in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States—including a blacksmith from Vermont—began toying with the concept of a battery-powered vehicle and created some of the first small-scale electric cars. Which words in the sentence are context clues for the meaning of the word innovators?
PARTIALLY CORRECT(17%): electric AND created
Read the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. Which option accurately describes how the excerpt reveals an overall purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
It establishes that the colonists have tried to resolve the conflict with Britain in other ways and that they are not escalating the conflict prematurely.
Which ideas from "Cyber-psychopathy: What Goes On in a Hacker's Head" support the belief that hackers are not well-understood members of society? (Select all that apply.)
NOT: Hackers cause fear on a massive scale because they are unpredictable and tend to expose people's private information. AND Hackers hold grudges against governments, which they show by hacking into prohibited websites. AND Hackers can be considered mentally ill because of their tendency to impulsively hack and break the law.
Read the excerpt from "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address." Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. President Lincoln's purpose in the excerpt is to emphasize how both sides had underestimated the length and effects of the war. How does Lincoln achieve his purpose by using irony as a rhetorical feature in the excerpt?
NOT: Although Lincoln's overall point is that this war has resulted from the actions of men, he is also able to show the cruelty of war by ironically noting, "The prayers of both could not be answered. ...The Almighty has His own purposes."
Which option most clearly states a theme of the article "What Does the 'Pursuit of Happiness' Mean in the Declaration of Independence?"
NOT: Happiness is subject to interpretation.
Read the passage from "What Does the 'Pursuit of Happiness' Mean in the Declaration of Independence?" Because happiness was widely considered a natural state for humans in the Jeffersonian era, it was believed to be what God intended and therefore deserved protection. The word's proximity to two other natural rights—liberty and life—demonstrates that Jefferson found happiness just as important. The legal and social frameworks provided by the Declaration and the Constitution are meant to create that protection. If a large house makes you happy, for example, then another person shouldn't be able to set it on fire; there are laws against that. What's more, an individual shouldn't legally be kept from pursuing that large house. Which response most accurately explains how the author helps the reader understand the full meaning of the phrase "pursuit of happiness" in the passage?
NOT: He describes the components of the Constitution that protect individuals' rights to pursue their own concept of happiness.
Read the excerpt from "The Real Reasons We Explore Space." The greatest strategy for national security, more effective than having better guns and bombs than everyone else, is being a nation that does the kinds of things that make others want to do them with us. Which option effectively explains how the author uses an appeal to pathos in the excerpt to explain his point of view on the benefits of the space program?
NOT: The author appeals to the audience's fear about national security.
Read the excerpt from "The Key to Stop Bullying: Popular Kids." Moreover, "students in treatment schools report[ed] higher levels of talking with friends about how to reduce conflict and of wearing anticonflict wristbands." Some of these effects were, as hypothesized, stronger when they came from those ultraconnected social-referent students: "[S]tudents exposed to social referent seeds were more likely to report in the survey that a friend discussed how to reduce conflict with them," and "also reported shifted perceptions of whether conflict was normative among their peers; they reported that more students in their school disapproved of conflict, relative to students in treatment schools who were not exposed to social referent seeds." In plain English, this just means that kids with lots of friends and acquaintances were better at spreading conflict-reducing messages than ones who lacked that degree of social connection. Which option correctly explains the author's purpose for his sentence that begins, "In plain English"?
NOT: The author takes the researchers' words and summarizes them in a humorous way to show the audience he has a sense of humor.
Read the excerpt from "The Real Reasons We Explore Space." It is my contention that the products of our space program are today's cathedrals. The space program satisfies the desire to compete, but in a safe and productive manner, rather than in a harmful one. It speaks abundantly to our sense of human curiosity, of wonder and awe at the unknown. Who can watch people assembling the greatest engineering project in the history of mankind—the International Space Station—and not wonder at the ability of people to conceive and to execute the project? And it also addresses our need for leaving something for future generations. Which option effectively explains how the author uses an appeal to pathos to explain his purpose for comparing the products of the space program to cathedrals?
NOT: The author wants the audience to see how creating the space program fulfills a need for spirituality and commitment, similar to building cathedrals.
What piece of textual evidence from "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones" best supports the idea that the mobile-gaming industry is changing the way it acquires funding?
NOT: There seems to be a limit to how long companies can nurture a paying relationship with players without new hit games to bring in fresh blood. Zynga, the freemium-heavy social-games titan that made Farmville and Mafia Wars, lost $266 million last year.
Read the sentence. To say that self-esteem can be either high or low is not accurate, the more accurate way to look at self-esteem is to see it as healthy or unhealthy. Which option corrects the error in the sentence?
NOT: To say that self-esteem can be either high or low is not accurate—the more accurate way to look at self-esteem is to see it as healthy, or unhealthy.
Which sentence illustrates an appropriate use of passive voice?
NOT: Why was the bridge crossed by the protesters?
Read the excerpt from "How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy." In Athens, future leaders were brought up in a more nurturing and peaceful way, at home with their mothers and nurses, starting education in music and poetry at age 6. They became pioneers of democracy, art, theater and culture. "Just like we can train people to kill, the same is true with empathy. You can be taught to be a Spartan or an Athenian—and you can be taught to be both," says Teny Gross, executive director of the outreach group Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence in Providence, R.I., and a former sergeant in the Israeli army. Which options explain how the author uses rhetoric in the excerpt to persuade the audience of her claim that empathy can be taught? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT (25%): The author uses the history of Sparta and Athens to anticipate the counterargument that empathy cannot be taught. AND The author uses words with strong positive connotations to highlight that the Athenian culture was characterized by empathy.
Jeremy wrote this sentence in a first draft of his essay on dangerous weather: When a sandstorm suddenly moved across the highway, the winds blew hard against Ray's car and he could not see anything ahead of him. In his final draft, he revised the sentence this way: The sandstorm that engulfed the highway grabbed Ray's car and shook it hard, yanking a curtain of dust across his field of vision. Which options best analyze the effect of the figurative language Jeremy used in the revised sentence? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT (75%): Jeremy applied hyperbole in the phrase "shook it hard" to exaggerate the danger of Ray's situation.(PROB. NOT) AND Jeremy personified the storm that "grabbed" and "shook" the car, making it easy to visualize the wind's effect. AND Jeremy used the metaphor "a curtain of dust" to draw a vivid picture of the storm's dangerous effect.
Which statements about mobile games function as key ideas in the article "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones"? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT(.25%): There were puzzle games, role-playing games, strategy games, shoot-'em-ups, sports games, quizzes, war games, word games. Some were good. Some were bad. Some were truly terrible. The vast majority of them went unnoticed and sold poorly if at all. AND These little games have become very big business, and they're only getting bigger. Last year global revenue from mobile games was about $25 billion, up a sharp 42% over 2013.
Read the excerpt from "The Key to Stop Bullying: Popular Kids." This intervention model can be likened to a grassroots campaign in which the seed students took the lead and customized the intervention to address the problems they noted at their school. Notably, it lacked an educational or persuasive unit regarding adult-defined problems at their school. Which option best explains how the rhetoric used in the excerpt reveals the author's perspective? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT(25%): The author wants to emphasize the importance of the seed students to the success of the study. AND The author wants the audience to note that the model lacked any sort of disruption by the educational leaders of the schools. (0%): The author wants the audience to note that the model lacked any sort of disruption by the educational leaders of the schools. AND The author wants the audience to be persuaded that adult-defined intervention models have little or no value. ANSWER MUST BE: The author wants to draw attention to the grassroots element of the model as critical in the success of the study. AND The author wants to emphasize the importance of the seed students to the success of the study.
Reread "The History of the Electric Car." Which options correctly analyze the effectiveness of the article's chronological structure? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT(67%): Putting the information about the development of the electric car into a chronological structure helps the reader to keep track of the important individual events leading up to the electric cars that are in production today. AND Explaining the revival of interest in the electric car by using a chronological structure helps the reader to understand the role that competition played in the way events unfolded.
Which options correctly explain the connection between the idea of court-ordered interception and the idea of encryption as explained in "Going Dark"? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT(75%): Both affect the security and privacy of the public. AND Both are issues that the FBI must deal with often, if not daily. AND Both are regulated through the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
Reread the Where Do We Go from Here? section of the article "Going Dark," which discusses the problem with law enforcement tools used to investigate criminals. Which options correctly explain the speaker's solution to this problem? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT(75%): The speaker discusses the need for assistance from communications companies, the private sector, the government, and the public. AND The speaker says that he will work with Congress, the private sector, law enforcement, and national security. AND The speaker asserts that the American public needs to understand what the FBI does and the means it uses to do it. OR(25%): The speaker says that he will work with Congress, the private sector, law enforcement, and national security. AND The speaker asserts that the American public needs to understand what the FBI does and the means it uses to do it.
In an informative text, the writer uses a(n) _[blank]_ tone for the purpose of _[blank]_. Which options most accurately complete the sentence? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT: serious; solving a problem AND neutral; presenting facts AND objective; examining complex ideas ALSO PARTIAL: neutral; presenting facts AND objective; examining complex ideas AND casual; persuading an audience
What pieces of textual evidence from "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones" best support the idea that freemium games could be damaging the quality of games in the gaming industry? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT: "A lot of the games that make the most money are quite literally scientifically engineered with the help of actual psychologists to design things down to the color of a button, which is then A/B tested based on what makes the most money. It's not gaming; it's factory farming." AND In November, Apple made a subtle change to the wording on its App Store: the button you click to download a freemium game used to say "free"; now it says "get." That's a quiet acknowledgment that freemium games are not, in the end, all that free. AS PLAYERS AND A LOT
Which ideas in "Hackers: The Internet's Immune System" support the presenter's claim that hackers "just might be the immune system for the information age"? (Select all that apply.)
PARTIALLY CORRECT: Hackers generally work for their own satisfaction of finding inconsistencies and malfunctioning software components. AND Hackers believe in "a practice called full disclosure," which exposes different weaknesses and alarming information to the public in order to raise awareness.
A peer reviewer circled this sentence in your essay on study techniques: Meditation can help you to really focus in on calming your feelings and building your confidence. The reviewer's comment was "Split infinitive." Which reasons could you cite to justify this usage in your explanation to the reviewer? (Select all that apply.)
Split infinitives are acceptable, according to authorities such as Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. AND Rewording as "help you really to focus" makes the sentence sound awkward, so the split infinitive improves readability.
What options correctly analyze why technology, privacy, and public safety are on a collision course, according to "Going Dark"? (Select all that apply.)
Technology, privacy, and public safety are on a collision course because people are outraged when they hear about the Snowden case and similar disclosures of government intrusions. AND Technology, privacy, and public safety are on a collision course because Apple and Google insist on keeping sophisticated types of encryption on their devices. AND Technology, privacy, and public safety are on a collision course because the public values privacy but does not understand the challenges the FBI and other law enforcement agencies face in a digital age.
Both the article "Plastics" and the infographic "Plastics in the Ocean" provide detailed explanations about microplastics in the ocean. Which statement best analyzes how the article treats the information related to microplastics differently than the infographic?
The article includes an explanation about mineralization and how plastic cannot mineralize. On the other hand, the infographic includes illustrations that show what microplastics and microbeads look like.
Reread "The History of the Electric Car." How does the overall structure of the article support the author's main point?
The article's chronological structure supports the author's main point that the electric car has undergone many changes over the years, and therefore can be expected to continue evolving in the future.
In which sentence is the word surveillance used correctly?
The undercover detectives hid in a tree while they conducted surveillance on the suspect's house.
Read the dictionary entries. continualadj. occurring at intervals; recurring regularly or frequently continuousadj. occurring without interruption in time or sequence Which sentence demonstrates the best use of a form of continuous?
The warning siren blew continuously for three long minutes.
Which option offers the best description of the word ilk?
The word ilk is a noun that means "sort" or "type."
Which option correctly identifies a key idea in "Going Dark"?
There is not a conflict between liberty and security; security enhances liberty.
Read the four sentences from "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones." [1] This equation is getting harder to balance because as more and more developers get into the market, drawn by those fat revenue numbers, they compete for a finite pool of advertising, driving up prices, with the result that user-acquisition costs are going up faster than revenues are. [2] According to one estimate by the mobile-marketing-technology firm Fiksu, the cost to acquire a loyal user was $2.74 in April, up 80% from the previous year. [3] To jack up revenue numbers, publishers have to resort to more and more aggressive business models. [4] In other words: freemium. Which statement best describes the type of evidence and its purpose as presented in Sentence 2?
data, to support the claim that user-acquisition costs are rising quickly
Which type of evidence is not directly stated in a text?
implicit evidence
Read the passage, which highlights the differences between representational and abstract art. (1) Representational artists and abstract artists have different ideas about the purpose of art. (2) Many people don't like abstract art because they think it is strange. (3) While representational artists strive to depict real-life images as accurately as possible, abstract artists strive to suggest real-life images through plays of light and shadow. (4) A representational painting can be as lifelike as a photograph. (5) An abstract painting can be simply an arrangement of colors, shapes, or other symbols that reflect the artist's ideas. Which sentence could be eliminated because it fails to support the passage's main idea?
sentence 2
Read the passage, which explains the value of honeybees and the scientific concern over their survival. (1) Since the 1980s, honeybee health has been rapidly declining. (2) Honeybees pollinate about a third of the crops in the United States, and most flowering plants depend on honeybees to survive. (3) Scientists are struggling to learn the cause of the problem, which has led to the loss of many commercial beehives. (4) Since the 1980s, the number of commercial colonies has dropped from five billion to 2.5 million, and many of the surviving colonies have diseased hives. (5) Commercial beekeepers typically stay in business year-round, hauling their colonies to warm areas of the country during the winter so they can meet demands for out-of-season crops. Which sentence could be eliminated because it fails to support the main idea of the passage?
sentence 5
Read the excerpt from "Video Games in the Age of Cell Phones." But it's not just a menu, the levels are arranged along a path, and the path runs through a strange little universe, subtly animated, with sea and snow, forest and desert, up into a spacey celestial wonderland and beyond. Completing the levels becomes a journey. The little universe is populated by enigmatic but appealing creatures—a giant squid, a dancing yeti, a snoozing fox—who keep you company on your quest. If you didn't know the word enigmatic, what word in the excerpt could you use as a context clue to help you figure out its meaning?
strange
What is a synonym of the word preeminence?
supremacy
