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I was a wild little girl of seven. Loosely clad in a slip of brown buckskin, and light-footed with a pair of soft moccasins on my feet, I was as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer. These were my mother's pride,--my wild freedom and overflowing spirits. She taught me no fear save that of intruding myself upon others.
Having gone many paces ahead I stopped, panting for breath, and laughing with glee as my mother watched my every movement. I was not wholly conscious of myself, but was more keenly alive to the fire within. It was as if I were the activity, and my hands and feet were only experiments for my spirit to work upon.
Returning from the river, I tugged beside my mother, with my hand upon the bucket I believed I was carrying. One time, on such a return, I remember a bit of conversation we had. My grown-up cousin, Warca-Ziwin (Sunflower) always went to the river alone for water for her mother. Their wigwam was not far from ours; and I saw her daily going to and from the river. I admired my cousin greatly. So I said: "Mother, when I am tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin, you shall not have to come for water. I will do it for you."
Adapted from Zitkala Sa's "Impressions of an Indian Childhood" (1900)
Why does the speaker want to retrieve water for her mother some day?
The correct answer is "She sees her older cousin doing it, and feels it is a mark of maturity and responsibility." We know this based on the lines: "I saw her daily going to and from the river. I admired my cousin greatly." There is no sign from the passage at the speaker's mother is sick or losing her strength. There is also no mention of socializing or earning money.
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I was a wild little girl of seven. Loosely clad in a slip of brown buckskin, and light-footed with a pair of soft moccasins on my feet, I was as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer. These were my mother's pride,--my wild freedom and overflowing spirits. She taught me no fear save that of intruding myself upon others.
Having gone many paces ahead I stopped, panting for breath, and laughing with glee as my mother watched my every movement. I was not wholly conscious of myself, but was more keenly alive to the fire within. It was as if I were the activity, and my hands and feet were only experiments for my spirit to work upon.
Returning from the river, I tugged beside my mother, with my hand upon the bucket I believed I was carrying. One time, on such a return, I remember a bit of conversation we had. My grown-up cousin, Warca-Ziwin (Sunflower) always went to the river alone for water for her mother. Their wigwam was not far from ours; and I saw her daily going to and from the river. I admired my cousin greatly. So I said: "Mother, when I am tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin, you shall not have to come for water. I will do it for you."
Adapted from Zitkala Sa's "Impressions of an Indian Childhood" (1900)
How does the mother feel about the speaker's free-spirited nature?
The correct answer is "she is proud." The passage states, "I was as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer. These were my mother's pride,--my wild freedom and overflowing spirits." There is nothing to show that the mother is afraid or embarrassed by the speaker's free-spirit, and indifference contradicts the quotation provided above.
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I was born in the working-class. Early I discovered enthusiasm, ambition, and ideals; and to satisfy these became the problem of my child-life. My environment was crude and rough and raw. I had no outlook, but an uplook rather. My place in society was at the bottom. Here life offered nothing but sordidness and wretchedness, both of the flesh and the spirit; for here flesh and spirit were alike starved and tormented.
Above me towered the colossal edifice of society, and to my mind the only way out was up. Into this edifice I early resolved to climb. … In short, as I accepted the rising of the sun, I accepted that up above me was all that was fine and noble and gracious, all that gave decency and dignity to life, all that made life worth living and that remunerated one for his travail and misery.
Adapted from "What Life Means to Me" by Jack London (1909)
According to the text, when did the speaker become interested in rising to a higher class?
The correct answer is "as a child." We know that he first became interested in rising to a higher class as a child because of the lines "Early I discovered enthusiasm, ambition, and ideals; and to satisfy these became the problem of my child-life." Additionally, the lines "Above me towered the colossal edifice of society, and to my mind the only way out was up. Into this edifice I early resolved to climb" provide insight. Here, the word "early" shows us that he started having these thoughts when he was a young child rather than a teenager, adult, or older man.
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At the little town of Vevey, in Switzerland, there is a particularly comfortable hotel. There are, indeed, many hotels, for the entertainment of tourists is the business of the place, which, as many travelers will remember, is seated upon the edge of a remarkably blue lake—a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit. The shore of the lake presents an unbroken array of establishments of this order, of every category, from the "grand hotel" of the newest fashion, with a chalk-white front, a hundred balconies, and a dozen flags flying from its roof, to the little Swiss pension of an elder day, with its name inscribed in German-looking lettering upon a pink or yellow wall and an awkward summerhouse in the angle of the garden. One of the hotels at Vevey, however, is famous, even classical, being distinguished from many of its upstart neighbors by an air both of luxury and of maturity. In this region, in the month of June, American travelers are extremely numerous; it may be said, indeed, that Vevey assumes at this period some of the characteristics of an American watering place. There are sights and sounds which evoke a vision, an echo, of Newport and Saratoga. There is a flitting hither and thither of "stylish" young girls, a rustling of muslin flounces, a rattle of dance music in the morning hours, a sound of high-pitched voices at all times. You receive an impression of these things at the excellent inn of the "Trois Couronnes" and are transported in fancy to the Ocean House or to Congress Hall. But at the "Trois Couronnes," it must be added, there are other features that are much at variance with these suggestions: neat German waiters, who look like secretaries of legation; Russian princesses sitting in the garden; little Polish boys walking about held by the hand, with their governors; a view of the sunny crest of the Dent du Midi and the picturesque towers of the Castle of Chillon.
Adapted from "Daisy Miller: A Study" by Henry James, 1879.
One of the main tourist attractions of Vevey is ___________.
The passage states that "the business of the place...." is a "remarkably blue lake—a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit." There is no mention of any other bodies of water. That is why the correct answer is "a lake."
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What is an Insect? When we remember that the insects alone comprise four-fifths of the animal kingdom, and that there are upwards of 200,000 living species, it would seem a hopeless task to define what an insect is. But a common plan pervades the structure of them all. The bodies of all insects consist of a succession of rings, or segments, more or less hardened by the deposition of a chemical substance called chitine; these rings are arranged in three groups: the head, the thorax or middle body, and the abdomen or hind body. In the six-footed insects, such as the bee, moth, beetle or dragon fly, four of these rings unite early in embryonic life to form the head; the thorax consists of three, as may be readily seen on slight examination, and the abdomen is composed either of ten or eleven rings. The body, then, seems divided or insected into three regions, whence the name insect.
Adapted from Our Common Insects: A Popular Account of the Insects of our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses. By A. S. Packard, Jr. (1873)
What name is given to an insect's middle body?
The correct answer is "thorax." Readers can find this answer in the text in the line "these rings are arranged in three groups: the head, the thorax or middle body, and the abdomen or hind body." The author renamed the thorax, defining it as the middle body in these lines. "Chitine" is a chemical substance and the other choices are different body parts.
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What is an Insect? When we remember that the insects alone comprise four-fifths of the animal kingdom, and that there are upwards of 200,000 living species, it would seem a hopeless task to define what an insect is. But a common plan pervades the structure of them all. The bodies of all insects consist of a succession of rings, or segments, more or less hardened by the deposition of a chemical substance called chitine; these rings are arranged in three groups: the head, the thorax, or middle body, and the abdomen or hind body. In the six-footed insects, such as the bee, moth, beetle or dragon fly, four of these rings unite early in embryonic life to form the head; the thorax consists of three, as may be readily seen on slight examination, and the abdomen is composed either of ten or eleven rings. The body, then, seems divided or insected into three regions, whence the name insect.
Adapted from Our Common Insects: A Popular Account of the Insects of our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses. By A. S. Packard, Jr. (1873)
How many feet do beetles have?
The correct answer is 6. This answer can be found in the line "In the six-footed insects, such as the bee, moth, beetle or dragon fly, four of these rings unite early in embryonic life to form the head."
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Science tells us that all objects are made visible to us by means of light; and that white light, by which we see things in what may be called their normal aspect, is composed of all the colors of the solar spectrum, as may be seen in a rainbow; a phenomenon caused, as everybody knows, by the sun's rays being split up into their component parts.
This light travels in straight lines and, striking objects before us, is reflected in all directions. Some of these rays passing through a point situated behind the lenses of the eye, strike the retina. The multiplication of these rays on the retina produces a picture of whatever is before the eye, such as can be seen on the ground glass at the back of a photographer's camera, or on the table of a camera obscura, both of which instruments are constructed roughly on the same principle as the human eye.
These rays of light when reflected from an object, and again when passing through the atmosphere, undergo certain modifications. Should the object be a red one, the yellow, green, and blue rays, all, in fact, except the red rays, are absorbed by the object, while the red is allowed to escape. These red rays striking the retina produce certain effects which convey to our consciousness the sensation of red, and we say "That is a red object."
-From The Practice & Science of Drawing by Harold Speed (1913)
Which of the following is a detail from that passage about white light?
The correct answer is "It is composed of all of the colors of the spectrum." This answer can be found in the lines, "white light, by which we see things in what may be called their normal aspect, is composed of all the colors of the solar spectrum." This lines also tells us that the answer choice "It lets us see things in their abnormal aspects" is incorrect. White light, by definition, is not the multiplication of rays of light. Therefore, the best answer choice is "It is composed of all of the colors of the spectrum."
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About forty years ago, M. Henry Dimont, a native of Switzerland, having witnessed the unnecessary suffering of the wounded, from lack of care, at the battle of Solferino, was so much impressed that he published a book, pointing out the necessity of forming a corporation of nurses to work in the cause of humanity in time of war, regardless of nationality of the injured, and who should be permitted to aid the wounded on the battle-field, under the protection of a flag which should be recognized as neutral.
So much interest was taken in the idea that the outcome was a convention held at Geneva in 1864, which was attended by representatives from sixteen of the great nations of the world, who signed an agreement that they would protect members of the association when caring for the wounded on the field of battle. The society adopted for its colors the Swiss cross, as a compliment to its birthplace; they, however, reversed the colors, and the flag is therefore a red cross on a white field, and is the only military hospital flag of civilized warfare; it protects persons from molestation who work under the emblem performing services in aid of the wounded.
It was decided that the work of the Red Cross Society should not be confined to times of war, but that in case of disasters and calamities, which were always to be apprehended, the organization was to provide aid. During the past seventeen years the American Red Cross Society has served in fifteen disasters and famines, and Russians, Armenians, and Cubans have received aid from this society.
Adapted from The Great Wide World, Vol. II No. 24, by C. F. Kroeh (1898)
Where was the convention that created the Red Cross Society held?
The correct answer is Geneva. This answer can be found in the first sentence of the second paragraph: "So much interest was taken in the idea that the outcome was a convention held at Geneva in 1864, which was attended by representatives from sixteen of the great nations of the world, who signed an agreement that they would protect members of the association when caring for the wounded on the field of battle."
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The ships of the Greeks were very different from modern vessels. Of course they were not driven by steam, nor did they rely as much on sails as modern sailing ships do. They had sails, but were driven forward mostly by their oars. The trireme, or ordinary war-ship, had its oars arranged in three banks, fifty men rowing at once. After these had rowed several hours, or a "watch," another fifty took their places, and finally a third fifty, so that the ships could be rowed at high speed all the time. With the aid of its two sails a trireme is said to have gone one hundred and fifty miles in a day and a night. These boats were about one hundred and twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide. They could be rowed in shallow water, but were not high enough to ride heavy seas safely. They had a sharp beak, which, driven against an enemy's ship, would break in its sides.
Adapted from Introductory American History by Henry Eldridge Bourne and Elbert Jay Benton (1912)
Which of the following is NOT true about the ancient Greek ships discussed in this passage?
The correct answer is "The ships were powered by coal." The question asks for the statement that is false. Three of the details are correct and are supported by the passage: the ships could be rowed at high speeds, the ships were powered by men, and they could go in shallow water but not high seas. The only statement that is false is "The ships were powered by coal."
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Common ducks are about the same size as common fowls. As the duck in a state of nature lives much upon the water, its form is at nearly every point different from the typical form of the fowl. The duck is usually described as boat-shaped, but, while this is a good description, it would be more correct to say that a boat is duck-shaped. The duck was the natural model for the first builders of boats. The feet of a duck are webbed between the forward toes, which makes them more serviceable as paddles in swimming.
Adapted from Our Domestic Birds: Elementary Lesson in Aviculture by John H. Robinson (1913)
According to the passage, what is the benefit of webbed feet?
The correct answer is "They help ducks swim." We can find this information in the last line of the paragraph: "The feet of a duck are webbed between the forward toes, which makes them more serviceable as paddles in swimming." We know that the webbed feet serve a purpose based on this line. There is no mention of ducks running or flying, but we are told that they live in the water, so the best choice is "They help ducks swim."
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Some species of sharks grow to an enormous size, often weighing from one to four thousand pounds each. The skin of the shark is rough, and is used for polishing wood, ivory, &c.; that of one species is manufactured into an article called shagreen: spectacle-cases are made of it. The white shark is the sailor's worst enemy: he has five rows of wedge-shaped teeth, which are notched like a saw: when the animal is at rest they are flat in his mouth, but when about to seize his prey they are erected by a set of muscles which join them to the jaw. His mouth is so situated under the head that he is obliged to turn himself on one side before he can grasp any thing with those enormous jaws.
Adapted from Stories of the Ocean by Volney Beckner (1852)
According to the passage, all of the following statements about sharks are true EXCEPT ___________________.
The answer is "sharks have one row of teeth." This is the correct answer because it is the only fact listed which is incorrect according to the passage. Since the question asks us to find the one statement that is not true, it is the best choice. We know that it is not true based on these lines: "The white shark is the sailor's worst enemy: he has five rows of wedge-shaped teeth." Instead of one row of teeth, sharks have five. All of the other answer choices are stated directly in the passage as facts, so the best choice is "sharks have one row of teeth."
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The natives of Australia were always few in number. Australia produced no grain of any sort naturally; neither wheat, oats, barley nor maize. It produced practically no edible fruit, excepting a few berries, and one or two nuts, the outer rind of which was eatable. There were no useful roots such as the potato, the turnip, or the yam, or the taro. The native animals were few and just barely eatable, the kangaroo, and the koala being the principal ones. In birds alone was the country well supplied, and they were more beautiful of plumage than useful as food. Even the fisheries were infrequent, for the coast line is unbroken by any great bays, and there is thus less sea frontage to Australia than to any other of the continents, and the rivers are few in number.
Adapted from Peeps at Many Lands: Australia by Frank Fox (1911)
Based on the passage, which of the following statements is true?
The correct answer is "Australia has many birds." This answer can be found in the following lines: "In birds alone was the country well supplied." If birds are well-supplied, that means there are many of them. The other statements are all incorrect and can be disproved by lines from the text ("There were no useful roots such as the potato," "Australia produced no grain of any sort naturally; neither wheat, oats, barley nor maize," and "the rivers are few in number). For those reasons, the best choice is "Australia has many birds."
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Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.
-Adapted from Moby Dick; or, The Whale by Hermann Melville (1851)
What does the speaker mean by the phrase "watery part of the world?"
The correct answer is "the ocean." Several clues in this passage tell us that the speaker means the ocean: "shore" and "sail" are both clues that point towards the ocean. The rainforest may be "watery" but it is not a place where one can leave the shore and sail, nor is a desert or a region with waterfalls.
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The Egyptian writing was certainly the quaintest, and perhaps the prettiest, that has ever been known. It is called "hieroglyphic," which means "sacred carving," and it is nothing but little pictures from beginning to end. The Egyptians began by putting down a picture of the thing which was represented by the word they wanted to use, and, though by-and-by they formed a sort of alphabet to spell words with, and had, besides, signs that represented the different syllables of a word, still, these signs were all little pictures. For instance, one of their signs for a was the figure of an eagle; their sign for m was a lion, and for u a little chicken; so that when you look at an Egyptian book written in the hieroglyphic character, you see column after column of birds and beasts and creeping things, of men and women and boats, and all sorts of other things, marching across the page.
Adapted from Peeps at Many Lands: Ancient Egypt, by Rev. James Baikie (1912)
What is the name given to ancient Egyptian writing?
The correct answer is "hieroglyphic." This answer can be found in the following lines: "The Egyptian writing was certainly the quaintest, and perhaps the prettiest, that has ever been known. It is called "hieroglyphic..."" The other answer choices may have to do with writing, but they are not as specific. The best choice is "hieroglyphic."
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A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.
"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."
The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.
Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.
"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."
Adapted rom The Aesop for Children, by Aesop (1919 ed.)
How did the mouse help the lion?
The correct answer is "he chewed through the ropes and set the lion free." Readers can find this answer in the lines, "The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free." The other options are not correct because they did not occur in the story. For those reasons, the best choice is "he chewed through the ropes and set the lion free."
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Water was long regarded as an element. In 1781 Cavendish showed that it is formed by the union of hydrogen and oxygen. Being a believer in the phlogiston theory, however, he failed to interpret his results correctly. A few years later Lavoisier repeated Cavendish's experiments and showed that water must be regarded as a compound of hydrogen and oxygen.
Adapted from An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William McPherson, Ph.D. and William Edwards Henderson, Ph.D (1905)
According to the passage, what are the ingredients of water?
The correct answer is "hydrogen and oxygen." This answer can be found in the lines "In 1781 Cavendish showed that it is formed by the union of hydrogen and oxygen." This line shows that it is made of two things instead of one, and so the best choice is "hydrogen and oxygen."
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Pedro's Pups
Dog-sitting and walking
Ten years experience
211 Main Street, Athens Ohio
(555) 990-0188 pedrospups@yaboo.com
"Pedro's Pups: For all of your Puppy's Needs"
What information cannot be found in this advertisement?
The correct answer is "prices." Years of experience, contact information, and location are all listed on the advertisement, so the only option that is not listed is "prices," and it is the best answer.
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Pedro's Pups
Dog-sitting and walking
Ten years experience
211 Main Street, Athens Ohio
(555) 990-0188 pedrospups@yaboo.com
"Pedro's Pups: For all of your Puppy's Needs"
What does the business "Pedro's Pups" do?
The correct answer is "cares for dogs." This answer can be found in the line underneath the business name: "Dog-sitting and walking." The other options are not mentioned in the advertisement, so the best choice is "cares for dogs."
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I was born in the working-class. Early I discovered enthusiasm, ambition, and ideals; and to satisfy these became the problem of my child-life. My environment was crude and rough and raw. I had no outlook, but an uplook rather. My place in society was at the bottom. Here life offered nothing but sordidness and wretchedness, both of the flesh and the spirit; for here flesh and spirit were alike starved and tormented.
Above me towered the colossal edifice of society, and to my mind the only way out was up. Into this edifice I early resolved to climb. … In short, as I accepted the rising of the sun, I accepted that up above me was all that was fine and noble and gracious, all that gave decency and dignity to life, all that made life worth living and that remunerated one for his travail and misery.
Adapted from "What Life Means to Me" by Jack London (1909)
Which of the following is one of the main ideas of the passage?
This passage is all about the desire to attain a higher social position. The author states that he started as a working-class citizen, and that his ambition was "to climb" to a better position for multiple reasons, including comfort and nobility. He does not address the government's influence on matters, nor the role of higher education. He also does not seem to long for days gone by. For these reasons, the best choice is "The desire to increase one's social position."
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If you wanted to build a house, of what should you build it? In a new country, people generally use wood; but after a time wood grows expensive. Moreover, wood catches fire easily; therefore, as a country becomes more thickly settled and people live close together in cities, stone and brick are used. Large cities do not allow the building of wooden houses within a certain distance from the center, and sometimes even the use of wooden shingles is forbidden. Of late years large numbers of "concrete" or "cement" houses have been built. Our grandfathers would have opened their eyes wide at the suggestion of a house built of sand, and would have felt anxious at every rainfall lest their homes should suddenly melt away. Even after thousands of concrete buildings were in use, many people still feared that they would not stand the cold winters and hot summers of the United States; but it has been proved that concrete is a success provided it is properly made.
From Diggers in the Earth by Eva March Tappan (1919)
What is the main idea of this passage?
The correct answer is "Cement is a more practical building material than wood." Most of the passage emphasizes the reasons why cement is more practical than wood--the author mentions cost as well as fire safety, and discusses how these buildings have been a success. The main focus of the passage is on cement as a good replacement for wood in house-building, and not on respecting elders, difficulties finding housing for the population, or the accessibility of wood.
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