MCAT CARS

What is proponent?

Advocate or agree with

Which pair of contradictory statements is implicit in the passage? A. Poetry and visual art are similar; poetry and visual art are different. B. Only artists can truly appreciate art; art appreciation is what makes us human. C. There is but a single standard by which to judge art; there are many ways to appreciate art. D. We can appreciate only that which we recognize; appreciating art is all about being open to the new.

Dis correct. This is a Reasoning Within the Text question because it asks you to identify logical relationships between passage statements. The answer to this question is D because paragraphs 2-4 establish that familiarity is a prerequisite for appreciating art, but the first paragraph indicates that the appreciator must look for the new ("What has this work to reveal to me of beauty that I have not perceived for myself? What of new significance has this work to express to me?").

The author's suggestion that reality in art before Cézanne had been a "will-o'-the-wisp" can most reasonably be interpreted to mean that artists before Cézanne had not: A. attempted to imitate reality faithfully. B. agreed about the value of Impressionism. C. been able to perceive reality. D. found a way to depict reality effectively.

I choose C. - C is wrong because they didn't have a problem with perception but with application. D is the correct answer. - the author mentions "perspective does not give us any glimpse of the reality.". So perception is present but it is not being used effectively.

Main Idea

Is the author an unbiased writer or do they feel strongly on the topic they are writing about? What is the author's purpose in writing this piece? Are they aiming to persuade readers or simply inform them of the facts?

Character Development

Make up a word that characterize the people in the passage and put it against each answer choice

To which of the following hypothetical Congressional actions would the author probably lend the most support, based on the information in the passage?

Missed the passage information that companies did voluntary choice in regard to stop pollution I did not know the answer automatically

Suppose researchers discovered the manuscript for an 1841 musical theater act to be preformed on Mississippi River steamboats....

Strengthen because Musical originated from London that author mentioned I did not know the answer automatically

The author of the passage probably most strongly supports:

The author indicates that taxpayer-supported government subsides of the hard-path approach are hindering the development of the soft-path approach. This includes "inadequate access to capital for the development of solar energy resources." This criticism of subsidies for the hard-path approach and of inadequate capitalization of solar energy indicates that the author would likely support subsidies for solar power.

Which of the following situations would not be an example of an application of the author's moral principle?

The author's principle is that we should do good or prevent bad if doing so do not also require us to do a relatively equal amount of bad. Giving water to one's child instead of husband would be bad .

What does empathetic mean?

To be understanding or sensitive to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of others.

The Iliad and the Homeric Hymns are cited in the passage as evidence for the claim that: A.the rationalist movements of the fifth century diminished the reputations of the Olympian gods. B. poets believed that the old gods were no longer a matter of serious concern. C. Greeks had a tendency to treat the Olympian gods irreverently. D. some Greeks believed that the gods of the city were indifferent.

Wrong because I did not know the definition of irreverently. Correct --> Irreverent : showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously

Which of the following questions are answered?

choose answers that are evidenced in the passage

Which one of the following describes a modification in the role of an intended reader that might best serve the purposes of a mass media advertiser? A. The intended reader is addressed in very personal terms, as indicated by specific terms of endearment that are assumed to be pleasing to him or her. B. The intended reader is addressed as though he or she were an "insider" already in possession of enough information to construe an otherwise cryptic message. C. The intended reader is addressed as though he or she were a scholar seeking a detailed, objective account of product features. D. The intended reader is addressed as if he or she were experiencing a problem that purchasing the product would solve.

Choice D. This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text item because it presents a scenario that is not discussed in the passage and asks you to use passage information and context to understand and interpret that scenario. The answer is D, because an advertiser is, by definition, interested in selling a product. Thus, if the intended reader is addressed as if he or she is experiencing a problem that the advertiser's product would solve, the reader may see himself or herself in this same way and thus be more amenable to purchasing that product. As the passage explains, the "reader must play along [with the role the author (or advertiser) casts him in] or put down the book" (paragraph 2).

The purpose of Experiment 2 was to: A. be certain that the supportive observer was truly supportive. B. isolate the reason for adopting a cautious performance style. C. test the effect of an incentive to improve one's performance. D. determine the relevance of friendship to the audience effect.

Correct answer is D. This is a Foundations of Comprehension item because it tests your ability to understand the connections between the author's points; the author first describes a problem with Experiment 1 and then a design for Experiment 2 that addresses this problem. The answer to this question is D because in Experiment 1, all of the supportive audience members were friends. The author writes, "the reason for this effect [of the supportive audience] was unclear . . . Friends and strangers differ in many ways" (paragraph 5). In Experiment 2, all of the audience members were strangers, and some of them were in the supportive condition. This experimental design makes it possible to test the effects of a supportive audience, independent of the role of friends. A is wrong. The "true" supportiveness of the observer is never at issue in the experiment; rather, the participants believe that the supportiveness of the observers varies, based on whether or not the observers stand to benefit from the participants' performance.

Given Plato's claim that the spoken word is superior to the written word in the pursuit of truth, which of the following activities would he have been most likely to encourage today's truth seekers to adopt? A. Listening to candidates for political office debate each other on the radio B. Participating in a group that discusses Phaedrus and other written works at a local university C. Posing comments on Internet sites and using online chat rooms to discuss the issues of the day D. Getting involved in an ethics discussion group hosted by a public library

D. This is a Humanities question that falls under the content category of "Language." This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question because it asks you to apply passage information to a series of options not discussed in the passage. D is the answer, because Plato argues that "debating sharpened memories, corrected misconceptions, and produced truth" (paragraph 3). This option describes people actively participating in a public debate about ethics and would be the kind of activity that Plato would advise for those seeking truth.

Suppose that a painting contained words with no apparent relevance to the scene depicted. The passage suggests that in discussing this painting, the passage author would be most likely to: A. assume that the artist intended to puzzle the viewer. B. interpret the scene on the basis of the words. C. interpret the words on the basis of the scene. D. discuss the scene without reference to the words.

I choose A. - I was confused with the question. I missed this point in the passage. Correct Answer is C. -When Poussin removed the death's-head and retained the Latin phrase Et in Arcadia ego, the words originally attributed to the death's-head, the viewer is forced to attribute the words to the tomb or the dead person inside the tomb and to mistranslate the Latin phrase; thus, the viewer is forced to interpret the words on the basis of the scene. Passage: Instead of two or three Arcadians approaching from the left in a group, we have four, symmetrically arranged on either side of a sepulchral monument. Instead of being checked in their progress by an unexpected and terrifying phenomenon, they are absorbed in calm discussion and pensive contemplation. The form of the tomb is simplified into a plain rectangular block, and the death's-head is eliminated altogether.

The author's assertion that Greek, Roman, and Renaissance art tried to represent the world accurately is: A. illustrated in the passage by examples of specific works of art. B. not supported by evidence in the passage. C. supported in the passage by a discussion of the nature of perception. D. contradicted by evidence later in the passage. We know, for example, that at various stages in the history of art there have been attempts to make art "imitative"; and not only Greek and Roman art, but the Renaissance of Classical art in Europe, were periods of art possessed by a desire to represent the world "as it really is." But there always intervened between the visual event and the act of realizing the vision an activity which we can only call interpretative. This intervention seemed to be made necessary by the very nature of perception, which does not present to the senses a flat two-dimensional picture with precise boundaries but a central focus with a periphery of vaguely apprehended and seemingly distorted objects.

I chose C. - The author automatically went from knowledge on Greeks to perception. Upon further analysis I see that the two ideas are not related. They are just sequential. Correct Answer: B The author asserts Greek and Roman art was "possessed of a desire to represent the world as it really is'" without offering specific examples or discussion of exactly how Greek and Roman artists attempted this.

The claim that religion was one of the most vital elements in the Hellenistic world is based mainly on the: A. comments of St. Paul regarding pagan Hellenism. B. existence of cults devoted to Divine Saviours. C. writings of Menander and Epicurus. D. idea that Olympian gods had once been human kings. They continued, it is true, to receive impressive ceremonial worship, but a person of this epoch no longer pinned his or her faith on those gods, but on a number of Divine Saviours. These Saviours were relied on, passionately, for two quite distinct miraculous gifts, of which their various cults held out hopes in varying proportions: the conferment of strength and holiness to endure our present life upon this earth, and the gift of immortality and happiness after death. And so religion was not moribund at all, but turned out to be one of the most vital elements in the Hellenistic world.

I ran out of time so I did not have time to really read the choices. - Important that you eliminate all answer choices. This assertion is a conclusion based on the discussion in the final paragraph of the emergence of various influential cults devoted to a belief in divine saviors while the Olympian gods continued to receive ceremonial worship.

The central argument of the passage is that the agrarian myth:

I ruled out all the answer choices and was not comfortable with my answer. The author discusses how the agrarian myth reflects a sentimental notion of American rural life: "Americans were raised with a sentimental attachment to rural living [that] represents a kind of homage that Americans have paid to the fancied innocence of their origins." The author also notes that this sentimental view relates to a conception of the yeoman farmer as a kind of hero who represents the ideal man and ideal citizen. This myth appeared to Americans "as the victory of a band of embattled farmers over an empire . . . [that] seemed to confirm the moral and civic superiority of the yeoman, made the farmer a symbol of the new nation, and wove the agrarian myth into its patriotic sentiments and republican idealism."

If the claims made in the passage are correct, how would politicians on the political right be expected to react to America's program to protect endangered species from extinction?

Me: Failed to choose the authors negative tone Authors says the right hates government interference so they would hate and criticize. I had the right answer at first but read that the program had little cost so I assumed they couldn't criticize it. Lesson: choose BASED on authors tone. The criticize the authors main idea

Suppose that Socrates had said to his prosecutors, "I will obey my god rather than you." How would this information affect the claim that the prosecutors were correct to accuse Socrates of not believing in the city gods? A. It would refute the claim. B. It would support the claim. C. It would support the claim if it could be shown that the god to whom Socrates referred was an Olympian figure. D. It would support the claim if it could be shown that the god to whom Socrates referred was not an Olympian figure. And at the same time Socrates was questioning the whole traditional fabric so indefatigably that his prosecutors, who secured his death sentence, were hardly wrong to accuse him of "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes."

My answer was A. -Half right Half wrong Correct answer is D. Since the "Olympian powers" implicitly included "the gods in whom the city believes", the demonstration that the god obeyed by Socrates was not among these powers would confirm the accusation that he did not believe in the city gods.

The author implies which of the following about clinical practice? A. Some physicians tend to give clinical experience undue preeminence over research experience. B. Even at its best, clinical experience is anarchic. C. The role of clinical experience in the practice of medicine is overly complex. D. Physicians embrace clinical experience primarily because it gives priority to their own intuitions.

Solution: The correct answer is A. This is a Social Sciences passage that falls under the content category "Population Health." It is a Foundations of Comprehension question because it asks you to identify the author's position about a passage topic—clinical medicine—using language that is not in the original passage. The answer to this question is A because the author writes: "unfortunately, some physicians consider information derived from clinical experience to be sacrosanct and above questioning" (paragraph 2). The author goes on to speak of control groups, statistical analysis, and "rigorous scientific testing"—research experience—that is not taken into account by clinical experience. D wrong --> The author does not say this is why clinical experience is embraced, nor does he say that intuition is given priority (he mentions values and judgment along with intuition).

Assume that a film adaptation of a novel has authenticity, as the author claims the term is used in historical performance circles. Of the following statements about the film, which one is most likely to be true?

This Reasoning Beyond the Text question asks you to apply information from the passage to a scenario that is not related to or discussed in the passage. The passage author explains that "authenticity" is defined in historical performance circles as a performance that preserves the text (or score) of an original, but that lacks "vitality," so this description would be the most appropriate.

The artificial language Esperanto was constructed from European languages and uses Western European alphabets. Based on the passage, this language would be most likely classified as: A. ideographic. B. phonetic. C. morphemic. D. a combination of ideographic and phonetic.

The answer is B. This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question because it presents a hypothetical scenario not discussed in the passage and asks you to apply passage information to that scenario. B is the answer because according to the author, the broad category of alphabetic scripts, like those in the European languages that are the basis for Esperanto, are called "phonetic," (although they are composed of both phonemes and morphemes, based on the passage definition of these). Phonetic in passage is considered the superior language.

The passage suggests that if a news commentator presented an editorial agreeing with the Huxleyan warning, many viewers would: A. take whatever action was necessary to combat the danger. B. listen carefully to the commentator and then explain the ideas to others. C. charge that the commentator was irrational or needlessly alarming viewers. D. be receptive to learning more about the danger. Those who speak about this matter must often raise their voices to a near-hysterical pitch, inviting the charge that they are everything from wimps to public nuisances to Jeremiahs. But they do so because what they want others to see appears benign, when it is not invisible altogether. An Orwellian world is much easier to recognize, and to oppose, than a Huxleyan. Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us. . . . [But] to whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter?

The passage suggests that the commentator would invite this charge: "Those who speak about this matter must often raise their voices to a near hysterical pitch, inviting the charge that they are everything from wimps to public nuisances to Jeremiahs." The author goes on to explain that the reason television critics are compelled to go to such extremes is to call attention to how the Huxleyan world of television culture appears benign—this commentator might be "the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter."

The expression "This is driving me around the bend" would best support a metaphor that compares madness to:

This Reasoning Beyond the Text question asks you to consider a metaphor that was not presented in the passage in terms of the arguments made in the passage. (Here, the authors claim metaphors shape our very thought processes are relevant.) This metaphor suggests that madness takes the speaker from one place to another—madness is conceived of as a place "around the bend," somewhere incompatible with sanity, and hence, as a location.

The author's explanation of adaptation difficulties among immigrants would be most challenged by the finding that:

This Reasoning Beyond the Text question asks you to consider a piece of evidence that is not discussed in the passage and consider how it would affect passage arguments. The author describes a consistent finding that stress is inversely related to socioeconomic status; those with lower status report higher stress. The scenario described in the question, then, makes the opposite point and would directly challenge passage arguments.

The author suggests that adjustment is difficult for the poorest immigrants to the U.S. because of:

This Comprehension question tests your understanding of a point that is made explicitly in the passage, but in different language than is used in the question. The author writes, "At the bottom of the stratification heap, any source of stress tends to be pervasively disruptive in its effects" (paragraph 2). This is another way of saying that for the poorest immigrants, any problem may affect many different aspects of their lives.

Which of the following, if assumed to be true, would provide the best evidence to support the author's conclusion about how government should promote health?

This Reasoning Beyond the Text question asks you to determine the effects on the author's argument of a piece of evidence that is not discussed in the passage. The author says, "The best thing government can encourage Americans to do on the health front may well be to develop their own diet and exercise programs" (paragraph 7), advocating an individualistic approach over one in which the government provides guidance, recommendations, or regulations. So if America's obesity rate was indeed lower when nutrition was seen as a parental responsibility (not a government responsibility), that would support the author's conclusion.

According to information in the passage, the best way to conduct an argument with someone from a culture that views an argument as a dance would be to:

This Reasoning Beyond the Text question asks you to take a passage claim and apply that to a situation or scenario that is not discussed in the passage. The passage uses the example of a culture that conceives of an argument as a "dance" to demonstrate how differently people might behave in an argument if they saw arguments this way (rather than in a culture that saw arguments as a "war," as people in the U.S. tend to). A calm, non-oppositional response to the points made by the other person would be most consistent with the passage discussion of the way argument might operate in this culture.

Which of the following views is most contrary to the author's opinion regarding the largely unedited sections of music retained in Callas performances?

This Reasoning Within the Text question asks you to determine the author's opinion about an element of the passage, even when it is not stated explicitly. The author comments that "inexplicably, long and dreary sections of music were retained in Callas performances largely untouched." If these "largely unedited sections" are dull and their retention is "inexplicable," then the author clearly does not presume that "most listeners" find them "beautiful."

How would the author be most likely to interpret the finding that the assertiveness of immigrants and their eventual incomes are positively correlated?

This Reasoning Within the Text question asks you to place the finding described in the question in the context of the author's argument and logic. The argument emphasizes the kinds of stress that can be experienced as a result of immigration and reports that this stress is highest for immigrants with the least status. A finding that introduces another factor into the analysis of immigrant adjustment and, in this case, economic success would likely be considered by the author as just that—another factor in addition to the ones that the argument addresses.

The passage describes an irony of tourist-oriented voodoo, namely that: A. mambos and houngans, although they are human, exert some influence on the loas. B. loas, although they are supreme beings, deign to inhabit the bodies of humans. C. audiences who make the most effort to find authentic voodoo are least likely to actually find it. D. audiences are kept at a safe distance, which reinforces their lack of belief in the powers of voodoo.

This is a Comprehension question that tests your understanding of passage information and of the presence of irony. The answer is D, because this is the only option that accurately characterizes a passage claim. The tourist-oriented voodoo that the author describes at Mariani does enforce a distance between the audience and the ceremony, which the author suggests makes "inadvertent possession" impossible. Thus, the way that the tourists experience voodoo (designed to meet their expectations) reinforces their own pre-existing expectations about the limited possibilities of voodoo, which is ironic.

Which of the following passage assertions suggests most strongly that the author is critical of capitalist society?

This is a Reasoning Within the Text question because it asks you to assess the way that the author is using a piece of evidence in the passage. A is the correct answer. This statement is made to explain, in a capitalist society, the constant production and consumption of images ("The narrowing of free political choice to free economic consumption [that] requires the constant production and consumption of images" in paragraph 4.) Because the author contends that this increasing supply of images is what leads to the 'disease' of a depleted real world (paragraph 5) and our inability to distinguish between images and real objects (paragraph 6), it does suggest that the author is critical of capitalist society. Freedom or liberty, by definition, entails much more than the right to purchase commodities.

The author uses the term "culture as commodity" to characterize which aspect of Haitian voodoo? The charging of admission at voodoo sessions The molding of voodoo to fit audience expectations The sale of voodoo trinkets and other artifacts A. I only B. III only C. I and II only D. II and III only

This is a Comprehension question, as it tests your understanding of (the meaning of) a passage phrase, as that phrase is used in the context of the passage. The answer is C, because both options I and II are correct, while option III is not. The author explains that the "outsider" to Haiti expects voodoo to be "almost synonymous" with the country itself. According to the author, this powerful "identification" of Haiti with voodoo leads to "culture as commodity"—or the outsiders essentially being able to get what they want from voodoo. In paragraph 3, the author describes a form of voodoo that is staged for outsiders and which the audience pays admission to watch; this supports option I. Also, in paragraph 3, the author contends that the form of voodoo witnessed at Mariani "confirms the popular expectation of 'scary voodoo'"; this supports option II.

The author's analysis of image-making rests on the assumption that a capitalist society separates:

This is a Comprehension question, because it asks you to recognize an implicit assumption on which a passage argument is based. The answer is B. In paragraph 3, the author distinguishes the aesthetic approach from the instrumental approach to image-making. The first is matched up with private perception ("Cameras capture and 'fix' impressions from that mythical space known as private perception"); and the second linked to the social order ("cameras also arm vision in the service of power - of the state. . . ."). In the next paragraph, this dichotomy is described as a capacity to "subjectify" reality and to "objectify it."

The author's primary purpose is to: A. argue for the value of architectural paint research. B. critique unqualified practitioners of architectural paint research. C. provide advice to those who commission architectural paint research. D. present findings of architectural paint research conducted on 17th century buildings.

This is a Comprehension question, because it tests your understanding of the central argument, or purpose, of the passage. The answer is A, because the passage describes the valuable information that can be gained by doing this kind of research, including insight into the "development and use of a building, long after" its structural work is finished. While the author expresses some concern about the poor work of some architectural paint researchers, this is more of a caveat; the larger point of the passage is to establish the "potential" of the research "to offer detailed insight into the social as well as the structural and decorative history of a building."

Based on the passage, the author's ideal world would best be described as one in which: A. there is a blend of randomness and predictability. B. the truly unpredictable could be easily understood. C. the semblance of order is largely a pleasant illusion. D. the fabric of life reveals unprecedented complexity.

This is a Foundations of Comprehension question because it asks you to discern the author's point of view about the passage topic. A is correct because the author explains that a world where nothing happens, where life is "one long, monotonous nothingness" would be "truly boring" (paragraph 3). At the same time, the author also describes a world where everything is completely random and there is "no shred of continuity" as "again, a boring world" (paragraph 4). He or she goes on to describe a "much more interesting" world, one in which the magnetic universe is near the critical temperature and where events "would be neither quite orderly nor quite random" (paragraph 5).

Why was the identity of the audience unproblematic for the oral storyteller who rode from town to town reciting tales? A. The composition of the audience kept changing. B. The plot of the tale was already familiar to the listeners. C. The members of the audience were literally on the scene. D. The novelty of the performance superseded any need for information.

This is a Foundations of Comprehension question because it tests your understanding of a basic component of the passage. The answer is C because the author explains that the fictional or imagined audience has been important "from the time when writing broke away from oral performance" (final paragraph). In an oral performance, of course, there were listeners present; the "fictional audience" comes into play when, as the author puts it, the "writer's audience is not actually present during the writing process" (paragraph 2).

According to the passage, which of the following situations during the Renaissance supported the view that Egyptian script was ideographic? I. Kircher's claim that the Psamtjik inscription listed his titles II. Kircher's reputation as a scholar and scientist Missionaries' reports on Chinese and Mayan scripts

This is a Foundations of Comprehension question, because it asks you to identify the author's purpose in making particular claims. C is the answer, because both Options II and III are correct. Option II is correct because the passage says explicitly that "Kircher's reputation gave credibility to claims that Egyptian script was ideographic" (paragraph 5). Kircher has earlier been referred to as a leading scholar and scientist. Option III is also correct, because right after discussing Kircher's claim, the author says: "Further, missionaries and explorers reported that Chinese and Mayan scripts were ideographic . . . provid[ing] independent proof that nonalphabetic scripts used signs conveying metaphysical ideas." So the author clearly states that ideas about Chinese and Mayan scripts buttressed claims about Egyptian script. Option I is incorrect. In fact, this is not what Kircher claimed; he misread the inscription as "instructions on securing the divine protection of the god Osiris."

The "game" that the passage author describes in the first sentence is a: A. necessary strategy for a writer composing in solitude. B. competitive contest of skill between writers and readers. C. deception perpetrated by writers on unsuspecting audiences. D. historical practice that dates from the time when literature was an oral art form.

This is a Humanities passage that falls under the content category "Literature." The answer is A, because the "game" the author describes is one that the author says "writers necessarily engage in." The final paragraph suggests that audiences have had to be fictionalized in authors' minds since the time when writing became separate from oral performance and there was no longer an immediate audience for the writer; instead, as the passage explains, the author had to imagine, or fictionalize, an audience that he or she addressed. The game, as the author indicates throughout the passage, requires the reader to learn to understand the terms on which he or she is addressed ("What year? What river? Apparently the reader is supposed to know") (paragraph 5). This is a Foundation of Comprehension question because it asks you to understand the context in which the author uses a particular term in a way it is not ordinarily used and what the author means to indicate when he or she uses this term.

Does the author explain the statement "the future is perpetually giving birth to true novelty?" A. Yes, by comparing it with biological evolution B. Yes, by referring to mass extinctions C. Yes, by using the example of a magnetic world with a temperature below the critical point D. No, because the idea is presented without further explanation

This is a Humanities passage that falls under the content category "Philosophy." This is a Reasoning Within the Text question because it asks you to evaluate the support for a claim in the passage. A is the correct answer because the author explains that "Human history is a bit like biological evolution" (paragraph 2). The author offers an extended description of the kinds of novelty that evolution produces and suggests that in human history we similarly encounter things that "have never before existed," such as "the increase in . . . the technological complexity of our world." So the author does explain and elaborate on the claim that humans continually encounter true novelty.

Which of the following underlying assumptions about professors is implied by the passage argument? A. Most of them are generalists, not specialists. B. Most of them lack a preference for particular geographic areas. C. Most of them care more about ideas than they do about actual places. D. Most of them in the U.S. attended college or graduate school outside their home states.

This is a Humanities passage, which belongs to the content category "Philosophy." This is a Comprehension question, because it asks you to recognize a fundamental assumption of the passage argument. The author says that rootless professors (deemed to be most professors) "are ignorant of the values of connectedness to place" (paragraph 2), that they should include local content rather than "abstract theories about distant peoples" in their courses (paragraph 4), and that "what is needed is . . . educators willing to take root and cultivate a sense of place" (paragraph 6). All of these suggest that professors care more about ideas than they do about actual places. C is correct.

Suppose that rigorous scientific research demonstrated that physicians who use a clinically-based model provide better care and have better patient outcomes than those who use an evidence-based model. How would this finding affect passage claims? A. It would undermine the views of those clinicians who see clinically-based experience as sacrosanct. B. It would support the suggestion that the approach taken in Norway is very unlikely to be effective. C. It would challenge the views of the economists and health experts, as represented in the passage. D. It would support the idea that music is an apt metaphor for medical practice.

This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text item, which presents a scenario not discussed in the passage and asks you to consider the impact of that scenario on passage claims. The answer to this question is C because economists and health experts are described in the first paragraph as minimizing the value of clinical judgment (viewing it as "uncontrollable, chaotic, and obeying few rules"), and the findings described in the question challenge this. -COULD NOT FIND THE FIRST PARAGRAPH DISCUSSION OF ECONOMICS SACROSANT = TOO VALUABLE so A is contradictory

Which of the following assertions, if true, would most support the author's statement that "Egyptian culture dwindled under the Classical world's onslaught" (paragraph 4)? A. Greek scholars used discoveries by Egyptian astronomers to further their own studies. B. Egyptian scribes invented a flowing script for use in keeping economic records. C. Invaders from Alexander the Great to the Romans tried to integrate Egypt into their empires. D. Renaissance scholars incorrectly identified Greek script as ideographic.

This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question that asks you to consider the effect on passage claims of a set of hypothetical scenarios that are not discussed in the passage. C is correct because it represents an attack (or "onslaught") on Egypt by the Classical world (including the Romans) and describes an effort to appropriate or incorporate Egypt and its culture into other empires, which would by definition diminish Egyptian culture.

Which of the following, if true, would most challenge the passage author's views as presented in the passage? A. Most of the songs featured in the Great American Songbook are about democracy. B. Most of the songs featured in the Great American Songbook were popularized not by the songwriters, but by other singers. C. Most of the songwriters featured in the Great American Songbook had more than one song in the book. D. Most of the songwriters featured in the Great American Songbook were under the age of thirty when they wrote the songs included in the book.

This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question, as it asks you to identify how a hypothetical scenario not discussed in the passage would affect passage arguments. D is the correct answer because the author maintains that "traditional artists' work tends to improve with age, as they gain a greater understanding of both their subject and their art." The Golden Age songwriters in the Great American Songbook fit the author's definition of traditional artists, so if their most successful work (as measured by inclusion in the songbook) was produced before they were thirty, this would challenge the author's claims.

Based on passage information, one can infer that implementing the author's program for conservation (final paragraph) would most likely include suggestions for: A. limiting the use of computer images in architectural models. B. discouraging the use of photography in magazine advertisements. C. increasing police use of cameras to monitor suspected criminals. D. decreasing government support of art that might offend the public.

This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question, because it asks you to apply passage information to a situation outside of the passage. B is the answer, because it suggests "discouraging the use of photography," and not only that, discouraging its use in advertising, which, unlike architectural models, is emphasized in the passage. That said, it's not the use of photographic images per se that is the problem, according to the passage, but the production of new images; if advertising used the same images, if it didn't constantly replace images (paragraph 5), the problem described by the author would be lessened.

Suppose that mainstream musicians who write songs for musical comedies get better at their art as they age. How does this affect the opinions expressed in the passage? A. It extends James Miller's observations. B. It challenges the passage author's claims about conceptual artists. C. It supports the passage author's claims about traditional artists. D. It does not affect the opinions expressed in the passage.

This is a Reasoning Beyond the Text question, because it describes a scenario not discussed in the passage and asks how this scenario would affect passage claims. C is the correct answer because the author writes that "traditional artists' work tends to improve with age" (final paragraph), so the circumstance of mainstream musicians described here would support the author's claims.

One can most reasonably infer from the passage discussion in the second paragraph that before 1920, there were NO: A. economic studies that provided empirical data about expenditures. B. methods available for accurately comparing the standards of living of different social groups. C. studies designed to assess the economic effect of changes in industrial production. D. nationwide studies of the expenditures of all social groups in an industrial economy.

This is a Reasoning Within the Text question because it asks you to make a logical inference based on passage information. D is correct because paragraph 2 indicates that the expenditure data collected in the period before 1920 came from studies that were "all . . . limited to specific regions and focused on social groups near the bottom of an industrial economy."

Why does the passage author assert that sixteenth- or seventeenth-century readers would have "laughed" at a Hemingway short story? I. Because they would have found the writing style quaint II. Because the plots of short stories have changed radically since then III. Because basic, essential details were missing A. II only B. III only C. I and II only D. I and III only

This is a Reasoning Within the Text question because it requires you to identify the explanation or support for a particular claim—in this case, you also have to bring together distinct parts of the passage. The answer is B because the passage explains that Hemingway treats his imagined or fictional audience as "insiders" who already know essential background details about the fiction, even though those details are not provided in the work. In the first paragraph, the author maintains that a sixteenth- or seventeenth-century audience (as opposed to Hemingway's twentieth-century audience) would have "laughed" at Hemingway's work because they "would have been totally unable to adapt to [the] demands" the work imposed on readers. Later in the passage, the author says that Hemingway's omission of certain details "implies a degree of shared information that would likely have baffled a sixteenth-century reader." So option III is supported in the passage.

Which of the following facts most strongly supports the authors' image of John VI as resistant to social change in his realm? A. When Napoleon invaded Portugal, he fled to exile in Brazil. B. On returning from exile, he agreed to reforms but quickly revoked them. C. As soon as he returned to power, Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. D. After his return, he reigned as monarch of Portugal for only five years.

This is a Reasoning Within the Text question, as it asks you to evaluate the strength of evidence for passage claims. The answer is B. "Reforms," especially in the context of this passage, represent clear efforts at making progressive social changes. Retraction of such measures by a highly repressive King (possibly initially consented to as the price for being allowed to return from exile) would strongly illustrate this king's resistance to change.

The author's main purpose in exploring the aesthetic and the instrumental approaches to photography is to suggest that a new form of conservation must: A. allow ordinary people to make judgments about beauty. B. increase constantly the production of entertaining images. C. solve the problem of the continual proliferation of images. D. develop a coherent ideology to facilitate the task of governing.

This is a Social Science passage, belonging to the content category "Sociology." It is a Comprehension question, as it asks you to identify an aspect of the author's argument. The answer is C. The author postulates that the increasing supply of photographic images is a problem because it "can overwhelm and threaten to obliterate reality" (final paragraph). It threatens reality because these images do not actually depict "reality"; they are framed and positioned versions made by the picture-taker and reproduced by some form of media. According to the passage author, these second-hand, mediated images confront individuals in modern technological society, outnumbering and drowning out direct perceptions. "The remedy lies in a new form of conservation" (paragraph 6) that would reduce the number of artificial images and restore balance between what is actually seen with the naked eye and what is staged or manufactured by means of technology. Option C is the best answer.`

The central thesis of the passage is that class-size reductions: A. can improve academic achievement under some conditions but may not be the most effective way to do so. B. improve academic achievement when teachers use techniques well suited to small classes. C. improve academic achievement only in the early elementary grades. D. are less efficient than other means of improving academic achievement.

This is a Social Science passage, which falls under the content category "Education." This Comprehension question tests your understanding of the main argument of the passage. The answer is A, as the passage argues that while there is some evidence that reductions in class size do improve academic performance, these reductions are shown to be effective "only under certain conditions" (paragraph 2). The author argues that because reductions in class size are more expensive than are some other alternatives for improving academic performance, researchers should do more to compare the costs and benefits of reductions in class size with those of other interventions "before they can make sensible policy decisions" (final paragraph).

According to the passage, the agrarian myth implied that yeoman farmers were:

Why wrong: Sentimental patriotism was inspired by the agrarian myth but the yeoman farmers themselves were not characterized as such, except as a symbol for the new nation. Why correct: The author attributes the happiness of the yeoman farmer to his wholesome way of life: "The yeoman . . . was the incarnation of the simple, honest, independent, healthy, happy human being. Because he lived in close communion with beneficent nature, his life was believed to have a wholesomeness and integrity impossible for the depraved populations of cities." The author also discusses how the productivity of the farmer entitled agriculture to a privileged position in society worthy of special consideration from the government. Even when independent farmers turned to commercial farming in the nineteenth century, "[t]hey were a hardworking lot in the old tradition." By "old tradition," the author means the independent yeoman farmer of the eighteenth century.

Based on the passage, the agrarian myth became part of a mass creed because:

Why wrong: The author does not state this as a need to be filled but as a phenomenon that arose naturally out of the American Revolution. See rationale B. Why correct: In discussing how the agrarian myth shifted from the upper classes to become part of the "mass creed" in the early nineteenth century, the author comments: "The roots of this change may be found as far back as the American Revolution which, appearing to many Americans as the victory of a band of embattled farmers over an empire, seemed to confirm the moral and civic superiority of the yeoman, made the farmer a symbol of the new nation, and wove the agrarian myth into its patriotic sentiments and republican idealism."

The passage suggests that the agrarian myth originated:

Why wrong: The only elite social class to which the author refers is not the urban elite but the classically educated upper classes who lived on plantations and country estates. Why correct: The author points out: "In origin the agrarian myth was not a popular but a literary idea. . . ."

Which would weaken the author's argument?

expand upon reasoning in the text usually points that contradict the main idea