We are open Saturday and Sunday!

Call Now to Set Up Tutoring:

(888) 888-0446

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests:

Create an Account Create a Practice Test

All TOEFL Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 30 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Want to review TOEFL but don’t feel like sitting for a whole test at the moment? Varsity Tutors has you covered with thousands of different TOEFL flashcards! Our TOEFL flashcards allow you to practice with as few or as many questions as you like. Get some studying in now with our numerous TOEFL flashcards.

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Adapted from "Taking a Second Look: An Analysis of Genetic Markers in Species Relatedness" by Joseph Ritchie (2014)

Phylogenetics is the study of genetic composition in various species and is used by evolutionary biologists to investigate similarities in the molecular sequences of proteins in varying organisms. The amino acid sequences that build proteins are used to construct mathematical matrices that aid in determining evolutionary ties through the investigation of percentage similarities. The study of these matrices helps to expose evolutionary relationships between species that may not have the same overt characteristics.

Species adapt and evolve based on the pressures that exist in their environment. Climate, food source, and habitat availability are only a few factors that act on species adaptation. These stressors can alter the physical characteristics of organisms. This divergence in evolution has made it difficult to determine the interrelatedness of organisms by analyzing their physical characteristics alone.

For instance, looking only at physical characteristics, the ghost bat resembles a pigeon more than a spider monkey; however, phylogenetics has found that the amino acid sequences that construct the beta hemoglobin molecules of bats are twenty percent more similar to those of mammalian primates than those of birds. This helps reject the assumption that common physical characteristics between species are all that is needed to determine relatedness.

The differences produced by divergent evolution observed in the forest-dwelling, arboreal spider monkey and the nocturnal, airborne ghost bat can be reconciled through homology. Homologous characteristics are anatomical traits that are similar in two or more different species. For instance, the bone structure of a spider monkey’s wrist and fingers greatly resembles that of a bat’s wing or even a whale’s fin. These similarities are reinforced by phylogenetic evidence that supports the idea that physically dissimilar species can be evolutionarily related through anatomical and genetic similarities.

Paragraph four of the passage discusses which of the following?

The physiological functions of the spider monkey’s wrist and fingers, the bat’s wing, and the whale’s fin

The reasons why a spider monkey’s wrist and fingers can resemble a bat's wing or a whale's fin

All of these statements

The theory of evolution

Report an Error Copyright Notice

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Paragraph four of the passage discusses which of the following?

Your answer:

The physiological functions of the spider monkey’s wrist and fingers, the bat’s wing, and the whale’s fin

Your answer:

All of these statements

Your answer:

The theory of evolution

Correct answer:

The reasons why a spider monkey’s wrist and fingers can resemble a bat's wing or a whale's fin

Explanation:

One of paragraph four's central purposes is to give examples of homologous adaptation. It describes how the features of different species can possess anatomical similarities, even if the species are from vastly different habitats. The passage does not discuss the theory of evolution nor the physiological purposes of certain appendages, and the third paragraph, not the fourth, discusses the unreliability of physical characteristics in determining species relatedness.

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Adapted from The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf (1915).

"[... Rachel] had been educated as the majority of well-to-do girls in the last part of the nineteenth century were educated. Kindly doctors and gentle old professors had taught her the rudiments of about ten different branches of knowledge, but they would as soon have forced her to go through one piece of drudgery thoroughly as they would have told her that her hands were dirty. The one hour or the two hours weekly passed very pleasantly, partly owing to the other pupils, partly to the fact that the window looked upon the back of a shop, where figures appeared against the red windows in winter, partly to the accidents that are bound to happen when more than two people are in the same room together. But there was no subject in the world which she knew accurately. Her mind was in the state of an intelligent man's in the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth; she would believe practically anything she was told, invent reasons for anything she said. The shape of the earth, the history of the world, how trains worked, or money was invested, what laws were in force, which people wanted what, and why they wanted it, the most elementary idea of a system in modern life—none of this had been imparted to her by any of her professors or mistresses. But this system of education had one great advantage. It did not teach anything, but it put no obstacle in the way of any real talent that the pupil might chance to have. Rachel, being musical, was allowed to learn nothing but music; she became a fanatic about music. All the energies that might have gone into languages, science, or literature, that might have made her friends, or shown her the world, poured straight into music. Finding her teachers inadequate, she had practically taught herself. At the age of twenty-four she knew as much about music as most people do when they are thirty; and could play as well as nature allowed her to, which, as became daily more obvious, was a really generous allowance. If this one definite gift was surrounded by dreams and ideas of the most extravagant and foolish description, no one was any the wiser."

The phrase "a really generous allowance" refers to ___________________.

An anonymous gift that enabled Rachel to practice as often as she wanted

A large sum of money that Rachel could use however she wished

Rachel's considerable musical talent

Rachel's love of music practice

Report an Error Copyright Notice

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

The phrase "a really generous allowance" refers to ___________________.

Your answer:

An anonymous gift that enabled Rachel to practice as often as she wanted

Your answer:

A large sum of money that Rachel could use however she wished

Your answer:

Rachel's love of music practice

Correct answer:

Rachel's considerable musical talent

Explanation:

The word "allowance" here refers to the level at which nature enables Rachel to play music, which is a very high level. Thus, it refers to her natural musical ability rather than to a sum of money or a gift given by another person.

DMCA Complaint

If you believe that content available by means of the Website (as defined in our Terms of Service) infringes one or more of your copyrights, please notify us by providing a written notice (“Infringement Notice”) containing the information described below to the designated agent listed below. If Varsity Tutors takes action in response to an Infringement Notice, it will make a good faith attempt to contact the party that made such content available by means of the most recent email address, if any, provided by such party to Varsity Tutors.

Your Infringement Notice may be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties such as ChillingEffects.org.

Please be advised that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your copyrights. Thus, if you are not sure content located on or linked-to by the Website infringes your copyright, you should consider first contacting an attorney.

Please follow these steps to file a notice:

You must include the following:

A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf; An identification of the copyright claimed to have been infringed; A description of the nature and exact location of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright, in \ sufficient detail to permit Varsity Tutors to find and positively identify that content; for example we require a link to the specific question (not just the name of the question) that contains the content and a description of which specific portion of the question – an image, a link, the text, etc – your complaint refers to; Your name, address, telephone number and email address; and A statement by you: (a) that you believe in good faith that the use of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright is not authorized by law, or by the copyright owner or such owner’s agent; (b) that all of the information contained in your Infringement Notice is accurate, and (c) under penalty of perjury, that you are either the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.

Send your complaint to our designated agent at:

Charles Cohn Varsity Tutors LLC
101 S. Hanley Rd, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63105

Or fill out the form below:

Do not fill in this field

Contact Information

* Full legal name

Company name

* Phone number

* Email address

Address

* Address1

Address2

* City

* State

* Zipcode

* Country

Complaint Details

* URL of copyrighted work (where your original material is located)

* Please describe the copyrighted work so that it may be easily identified

I am the owner, or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

This notification is accurate.

I acknowledge that there may be adverse legal consequences for making false or bad faith allegations of copyright infringement by using this process.

* Signature (your digital signature is legally binding)

View TOEFL Tutors

Stephanie
Certified Tutor

University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Bachelor in Arts, International Business.

View TOEFL Tutors

Micah
Certified Tutor

Widener University-Main Campus, Bachelor in Arts, English. Concordia University-Irvine, Master of Arts, International and Com...

View TOEFL Tutors

Melanie
Certified Tutor

Portland Community College, Associate in Science, Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).

Popular Subjects

SSAT Tutors in San Diego, MCAT Tutors in Miami, SAT Tutors in San Francisco-Bay Area, Biology Tutors in Washington DC, Biology Tutors in New York City, Statistics Tutors in Los Angeles, English Tutors in Chicago, LSAT Tutors in San Diego, Algebra Tutors in Miami, Reading Tutors in Dallas Fort Worth

Popular Courses & Classes

GRE Courses & Classes in Washington DC, GRE Courses & Classes in Atlanta, GRE Courses & Classes in San Diego, LSAT Courses & Classes in Houston, LSAT Courses & Classes in New York City, SAT Courses & Classes in San Diego, SAT Courses & Classes in Chicago, GRE Courses & Classes in Boston, SAT Courses & Classes in Houston, ACT Courses & Classes in San Francisco-Bay Area

Popular Test Prep

MCAT Test Prep in Atlanta, LSAT Test Prep in San Francisco-Bay Area, GRE Test Prep in Atlanta, ACT Test Prep in Chicago, ISEE Test Prep in Atlanta, ISEE Test Prep in Houston, GMAT Test Prep in Miami, GMAT Test Prep in Seattle, ACT Test Prep in Phoenix, ACT Test Prep in San Francisco-Bay Area

HIGH SCHOOL

GRADUATE SCHOOL

K-8

Search 50+ Tests

math tutoring

science tutoring

foreign languages

elementary tutoring

other

Search 350+ Subjects

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests:

All TOEFL Resources

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Report an issue with this question

DMCA Complaint

Contact Information

Address

Complaint Details

Email address:
Your name:
Feedback:

HIGH SCHOOL

GRADUATE SCHOOL

K-8

Search 50+ Tests

math tutoring

science tutoring

foreign languages

elementary tutoring

other

Search 350+ Subjects

Create an account to track your scores and create your own practice tests:

All TOEFL Resources

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Flashcards: Rhetorical purpose of an excerpt

Report an issue with this question

DMCA Complaint

Contact Information

Address

Complaint Details

Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests: