The binary planet hypothesis—that Earth and the Moon formed simultaneously by the accretion of smaller objects—does not explain why the Moon’s iron core is so small relative to the Moon’s total volume, compared with Earth’s core relative to Earth’s total volume. According to the giant-impact hypothesis, the Moon was created during a collision between Earth and a large object about the size of Mars. Computer simulations of this impact show that both of the objects would melt in the impact and the dense core of the impactor would fall as molten rock into the liquefied iron core of Earth. The ejected matter—mantle rock that had surrounded the cores of both objects—would be almost devoid of iron. This matter would become the Moon.
According to the passage, the binary planet hypothesis holds that
A. Earth and the Moon were formed at the same time
B. smaller objects joined together to form Earth and the Moon
C. the Moon’s core is the same absolute size as Earth’s core
Question 2
The giant-impact hypothesis as described in the passage answers all of the following questions EXCEPT:
A. What happened to the rock that surrounded the impactor’s core after the impactor hit Earth?
B. What happened to the impactor’s core after the impactor hit Earth?
C. Where did the impactor that collided with Earth originate?
D. Why is the Moon’s iron core small relative to that of Earth?
E. What was the size of the impactor relative to that of Mars?
Question 3
Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
A. The development of one theory into another is outlined.
B. Two explanations are provided, both of which are revealed as inadequate.
C. A theory is presented, and then evidence that undermines that theory is discussed.
D. Similarities and differences between two theories are described.
E. A flawed hypothesis is introduced, and then an alternative hypothesis is presented.
Most recent work on the history of leisure in Europe has been based on the central hypothesis of a fundamental discontinuity between preindustrial and industrial soci-eties. According to this view, the modern idea of leisure did not exist in medieval and early modern Europe: the modern distinction between the categories of work and leisure was a product of industrial capitalism. Preindustrial societies had festivals (together with informal and irregular breaks from work), while industrial societies have leisure in the form of weekends and vacations. The emergence of leisure is there-fore part of the process of modernization. If this theory is correct, there is what Michel Foucault called a conceptual rupture between the two periods, and so the very idea of a history of leisure before the Industrial Revolution is an anachronism.
To reject the idea that leisure has had a continuous history from the Middle Ages to the present is not to deny that late medieval and early modern Europeans engaged in many pursuits that are now commonly considered leisure or sporting activities— jousting, hunting, tennis, card playing, travel, and so on—or that Europe in this period was dominated by a privileged class that engaged in these pursuits. What is involved in the discontinuity hypothesis is the recognition that the people of the Middle Ages and early modern Europe did not regard as belonging to a common category activities (hunting and gambling, for example) that are usually classified together today under the heading of leisure. Consider fencing: today it may be considered a “sport,” but for the gentleman of the Renaissance it was an art or science. Conversely, activities that today may be considered serious, notably warfare, were often described as pastimes.
Serious pitfalls therefore confront historians of leisure who assume continuity and who work with the modern concepts of leisure and sport, projecting them back ontothe past without asking about the meanings contemporaries gave to their activities.
However, the discontinuity hypothesis can pose problems of its own. Historians hold-ing this view attempt to avoid anachronism by means of a simple dichotomy, cutting European history into two eras, preindustrial and industrial, setting up the binary opposition between a “festival culture” and a “leisure culture.” The dichotomy remains of use insofar as it reminds us that the rise of industrial capitalism was not purely a phenomenon of economic history, but had social and cultural preconditions and consequences. The dichotomy, however, leads to distortions when it reduces a great variety of medieval and early modern European ideas, assumptions, and practices to the simple formula implied by the phrase “festival culture.”
Question 4
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. refute the idea that the history of leisure is discontinuous
B. show why one of two approaches is more useful in studying the history of leisure
C. suggest the need for a new, more inclusive concept to replace the concept of leisure
D. trace the development of a theory about the history of leisure
E. point out the basis for, and the limits of, an approach to the history of leisure
Question 5
The author of the passage asserts that the “dichotomy” (line 26) can lead to which of the following?
A. Reliance on only one of several equally valid theoretical approaches
B. The imposition of modern conceptions and meanings on past societies
C. Failure to take into account the complexity of certain features of European culture
D. Failure to utilize new conceptual categories in the study of the history of leisure
E. Failure to take account of the distinction between preindustrial and industrial societies
Question 6
According to the passage, the “simple dichotomy” (line 26) is useful primarily because it serves as
A. a way of calling historians’ attention to certain facts about the Industrial Revolution
B. an antidote to the oversimplification encouraged by such terms as “festival culture”
C. a device for distinguishing between the work and the leisure activities of preindustrial Europeans
D. a way of understanding the privileged class of medieval Europe by viewing its activities in modern terms
E. a tool for separating social history, including the history of leisure, from economic history
Question 7
Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage as a whole?
A. Two hypotheses are discussed, and evidence in support of one is presented.
B. A hypothesis is presented and discussed, and a limitation to the hypothesis is identified.
C. A hypothesis is proposed, its supposed advantages are shown to be real, and its supposed disadvantages are shown to be illusory.
D. A problem is identified, two hypotheses are advanced to resolve it, and both are rejected.
E. A problem is identified, two resolutions are proposed, and a solution combining elements of both is recommended.
James W. Coleman’s book on John Edgar Wideman’s literary career addresses the needs of a general, if well-read, public rather than the esoteric vanities of scholarly special-ists, whom he neither ignores nor flatters. To assume the former audience was familiar with every work Wideman ever penned would have been pretentious. Instead, Cole- man furnishes more than ample descriptive criticism and background information, avoiding the cryptic allusiveness that is favored by some academic critics but that dis-courages the undergraduate audience he likely envisioned. Unfortunately, this accent on bringing serious Wideman criticism to a broader audience often frustrates the reader who wishes that announced themes, techniques, and stylistic devices would not whisk by as quickly as world capitals on a seven-day package tour of the globe.
Question 8
The reference to “a seven-day package tour of the globe” (line 10) is most likely meant to suggest a treatment that is
A. inclusive
B. cursory
C. focused
D. broad based
E. substantial
The painter Peter Brandon never dated his works, and their chronology is only now beginning to take shape in the critical literature. A recent dating of a Brandon self-portrait to 1930 is surely wrong. Brandon was 63 years old in 1930, yet the painting shows a young, dark-haired man—obviously Brandon, but clearly not a man of 63.
Question 9
Which of the following, if justifiably assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?
A. There is no securely dated self-portrait of Brandon that he painted when he was significantly younger than 63.
B. In refraining from dating his works, Brandon intended to steer critical discussion of them away from considerations of chronology.
C. Until recently, there was very little critical literature on the works of Brandon.
D. Brandon at age 63 would not have portrayed himself in a painting as he had looked when he was a young man.
E. Brandon painted several self-portraits that showed him as a man past the age of 60.
Experts have differed about where the genus Varanus (monitor lizards) originated. Because most existing species live in Australia, early researchers concluded that Varanus originated in Australia and subsequently island hopped westward along the Indo-Australian archipelago. Herpetologist Robert Mertens later argued that Varanus probably originated in the archipelago. Chromosomal analysis has since supported Mertens’ contention, and in addition, geologic evidence points to a collision between the archipelago and the Australian landmass after Varanus evolved—a fact that could account for the genus’ present distribution.
Question 10
It can be inferred from the passage that the geographical distribution of the Komodo dragon is
A. currently less restricted than it was at the time researchers first began investigating the origins of the genus Varanus
B. currently more restricted than it was at the time researchers first began investigating the origins of the genus Varanus
C. less restricted than is the distribution of the genus Varanus as a whole
D. more restricted than is the distribution of the genus Varanus as a whole
E. viewed as evidence in favor of the hypothesis that the genus Varanus originated in the Indo-Australian archipelago
Question 11
Which of the following elements in the debate over the origin of Varanus is NOT provided in the passage?
A. The evidence that led Mertens to argue that Varanus originated in the Indo-Australian archipelago
B. The evidence that led early researchers to argue that Varanus originated in Australia
C. A possible explanation of how Varanus might have spread to the Indo-Australian archipelago if it had originated in Australia
D. A possible explanation of how Varanus might have spread to Australia if it had originated in the Indo-Australian archipelago
E. An indication of the general present-day distribution of Varanus species between Australia and the Indo-Australian archipelago
Question 12
It can be inferred that which of the following is true of the “geologic evidence” (line 6)?
A. It was first noted by Mertens as evidence in favor of his theory about the origins of Varanus.
B. It cannot rule out either one of the theories about the origins of Varanus discussed in the passage.
C. It accounts for the present distribution of the Komodo dragon.
D. It has led to renewed interest in the debate over the origins of Varanus.
E. It confirms the conclusions reached by early researchers concerning the origins of Varanus.
Geographers and historians have traditionally held the view that Antarctica was first sighted around 1820, but some sixteenth-century European maps show a body that resembles the polar landmass, even though explorers of the period never saw it. Some scholars, therefore, argue that the continent must have been discovered and mapped by the ancients, whose maps are known to have served as models for the European cartographers.
Question 13
Which of the following, if true, is most damaging to the inference drawn by the scholars?
A. The question of who first sighted Antarctica in modern times is still much debated, and no one has been able to present conclusive evidence.
B. Between 3,000 and 9,000 years ago, the world was warmer than it is now, and the polar landmass was presumably smaller.
C. There are only a few sixteenth-century global maps that show a continental landmass at the South Pole.
D. Most attributions of surprising accomplishments to ancient civilizations or even extraterrestrials are eventually discredited or rejected as preposterous.
E. Ancient philosophers believed that there had to be a large landmass at the South Pole to balance the northern continents and make the world symmetrical.
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