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One of the best ways to understand a group of people is to know what makes them laugh. Laughter encompasses the limits of the soul and serves social, psychological, and physiological functions. In humor, life is redefined and accepted. Irony and satire provide much keener insights into a group's collective psyche and values than do years of research. It has always been a great disappointment to Native Americans that the humorous side of their life has not been mentioned by experts on native American affairs. Rather, the image of the stern-faced redskin has been presented by the American Westerns.
What is implied by this paragraph?
- A. Native Americans really are as stern and serious as the white men make them out to be.
- B. Humor is the same all over the world.
- C. Native American humor deserves more attention.
- D. The subject has a fear of heights.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding a group of people through their humor, highlighting the significance of humor in defining and accepting life. It specifically mentions the lack of attention given to Native American humor, suggesting that it deserves more recognition. Therefore, the correct implication from the paragraph is that Native American humor deserves more attention, making choice C the most appropriate.
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The Electoral College has nothing to do with college and contains no students. The Electoral
College consists of votes that each state acquires based on the number of representatives it has in Congress. Each state has two electoral votes because each state has two senators. The remaining electoral votes are determined by the number of Congressmen, the number of which is based on the
population of the state established by the Census taken each decade.
During the presidential election, most states cast all their electoral votes for the candidate who
wins the popular vote in that state. ItĆ¢Ä‚¬Ä„¢s all very confusing, but the founding fathers know what they were doing. By having and using the Electoral College candidatesĆ¢Ä‚¬Ä„¢ campaign in every state, but just because they win the popular vote across the country doesn't mean they will always win the election. Case in point, in election 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote across the country,
but George W. Bush won more electoral votes. Therefore, he became our 43rd president.
Which statement from the passage is a fact?
- A. Each state casts their electoral votes during the Presidential election
- B. The government randomly assigns electoral votes to states
- C. Candidates only campaign in states where they think they can win
- D. The Electoral College is a college in Washington D.C.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A. The passage mentions that during the presidential election, most states cast all their electoral votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state. This is a fact based on how the Electoral College operates. B is incorrect as the electoral votes are not randomly assigned but are based on the number of representatives each state has in Congress. C is not supported by the passage as it does not state candidates only campaign in states where they think they can win. D is incorrect as the passage explicitly states that the Electoral College has nothing to do with a college in Washington D.C.
Lightning Strikes: The old wives' tale of "Lightning never strikes twice" has been proven untrue time and time again. Lightning forms from negative and positive charges within clouds and from the earth below. When these charges react with each other, the air between the cloud and the earth ionizes, which produces a lightning flash. Lightning is actually a series of multiple events consisting of a leader stroke of lightning, followed by as many as 40 smaller strokes of lightning. Being just split seconds apart, these strokes of lightning often reflect off the lining of the clouds.
Lightning rods that extend from above the roof to the ground protect buildings by forming a low resistance path for the lightning so that the lightning does not enter the building, but rather defuses as it penetrates the ground.
Some myths about lightning need to be explained. Lightning does strike tall buildings often, and during a particularly violent storm, a tall building may be hit by lightning several times. The safest place during a thunder and lightning storm is in a metal car or lying flat, face down, in the open, not under a tree as the myth suggests.
Many people believe that thunder and lightning are connected; however, this proves to be true only about 50% of the time, so if you're waiting for the clap of thunder, you're missing out on some exciting strokes of lightning!
Lightning causes injuries, deaths, and forest fires each year. However, some scientists reveal the positive aspects of lightning because it releases nitrogen into the atmosphere which the raindrops then deliver to earth to fertilize our soil.
In paragraph two, the word penetrates means
- A. To be absorbed by the mind.
- B. To pierce.
- C. Having or showing great insight.
- D. To discover or understand.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is B: To pierce. The word "penetrates" in the context of the passage refers to lightning making its way through the ground as it strikes. Lightning rods provide a low-resistance path for the lightning to follow, allowing it to pierce through the ground safely. Choices A, C, and D do not accurately reflect the meaning of the word "penetrates" in this context. Choice A, "To be absorbed by the mind," does not relate to the physical action of lightning entering the ground. Choice C, "Having or showing great insight," and choice D, "To discover or understand," do not align with the action of lightning piercing through the ground. Therefore, choice B is the correct answer as it directly corresponds to the physical action described in the passage.
Homophones
English is a vibrant, changing, dynamic language. It allows people to express their thoughts in diverse ways, as there are many synonyms and antonyms to choose from. The hardest part for the English speaker - or those learning English as a second language - is learning about homonyms. These are words that sound alike but are spelled different ways, with different meanings.
One example is "One". This word, spelled "one" means the numeral 1, an amount. If spelled "won," it means to be victorious. No wonder spelling is a difficult skill to master! Other homonyms encountered by the beginning English speaker are "to, two, too," "four, for, fore," "there, their, they're" and "son, sun" to name just a few. This is one reason that "Spell check" programs on word processing computers cannot be completely accurate, because the way a word is spelled depends on the context of the sentence. Proofreaders will always be in demand.
How does the article define homonyms?
- A. Words that have the same spelling but different meanings
- B. Words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings
- C. Words that have opposite meanings
- D. Words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The article defines homonyms as words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. This definition is accurate because homonyms are words that are pronounced similarly but have different meanings and may also have different spellings. Examples provided in the text, such as 'one' and 'won,' demonstrate this concept. Therefore, the correct answer is B.
Blood Pressure
Lub-dub! Lub-dub! Lub-dub! This sound is made by the rapid contracting and extending of the chamber doors on the inside of the heart. This ventricular contracting injects roughly 70 mL of blood into a vascular system with a given volume at differing pressure. Blood pressure refers to the pressure in the arterial system; and it is typically taken in the brachial artery of the arm because the pressure at different places along the circulatory route is different. Blood pressure is simply the force that the blood exerts in all directions within any given area and is the basis for the movement of blood from the heart, through the body, and back to the heart. This pressure is commonly expressed as a ratio of the systolic pressure over the diastolic pressure. The systolic pressure or “high peak†pressure takes place within the arterial system as ventricles contract and force blood into the arteries. The diastolic pressure or “low peak†pressure takes place within this arterial system just before the next ventricular contraction. An increase in blood pressure can occur if the arterial walls lose some of their elasticity with age or disease.
Which of the following best summarizes the passage about blood pressure?
- A. The heart pumps roughly 70 mL of blood by rapidly contracting and extending the chamber doors of the heart. Disease and age affect the pressure of blood on arterial walls.
- B. The brachial artery of the arm is usually used to take blood pressure, although the pressure is different in different parts of the body.
- C. The measurement of the ratio of systolic pressure over the diastolic pressure is known as blood pressure.
- D. The force that blood exerts on arterial walls is known as blood pressure and is measured as a ratio of the systolic pressure or 'high peak' over the diastolic pressure or 'low peak.'
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The passage discusses blood pressure, explaining that it is the force blood exerts on arterial walls, measured as a ratio of systolic pressure (high peak) over diastolic pressure (low peak). It highlights how the heart pumps blood, the role of age and disease in affecting arterial pressure, and the importance of elasticity in arterial walls. Choice D best summarizes these key points, making it the correct answer.
About 6% of the earth is covered by rainforests. The largest rainforest in the world is the
Amazon Basin, which stretches over 2.3 million square miles in nine different South American countries. This area is double the length of all the other remaining rainforests in the world. Brazil contains 60%of the Amazonian rainforest, since it lies at the mouth of the river Amazon. This river is the second largest in the world and contains more than one-fifth oftheworldĆ¢Ä‚¬Ä„¢sfresh water. The Amazon rainforest is a type of wet broadleaf forest. The weather there is very humid and warm as it rains quite a bit. Because of the high rainfall, the forest is very rich and green. The
tree leaves are pointed and narrow so that the raindrops can easily drop off wet plants. This
tropical rainforest has more living species than the entire European continent. There are over 400 types of insects living in one single rain forest tree for a total of 2.5 million species. One square kilometer of rainforest may contain over 75,000 types of trees and approximately 438,000
different kinds of plants, which comes to a total of 90,000 tons of greenery overall. The Amazon rainforest is home to 2,000 birds and mammals, with one in every five birds in the world living there. Local farmers have lived off this rich and diverse land for thousands of years. They have been able to find food and water here without destroying the land. The Kayapo people of Brazil
farm in an environmentally-friendly way. Instead of chemicals, they use burned wood to enrich the soil, and plant banana trees, which attract wasps. These wasps then feed on leafcutter ants and get rid of these harmful insects. The rainforest also offers a lot of tropical fruits, such as bananas and coconuts, as food.
Cinnamon is made from the bark of a rainforest tree. Amazonian Indians use the fruit and stem
of the Buruti plant as a drink, to make bread and to build houses. Many other plants are used as medicine. But the Amazon rainforest is in very big danger of disappearing. 9,169 square miles of
forest have been cut down in 2003 in Brazil alone. An area of the size of a football field is burned down basically every minute, which means that the rain forest may be gone by the year 2030.The dangers related to this type of activity are obvious. Trees take in poisonous carbon
dioxide from the air and give off oxygen. There is more oxygen and less carbon dioxide around a
rainforest. When trees are cut down, however, the amount of carbon dioxide increases, and the
air gets warmer. This leads to global warming, which is extremely harmful to the environment. It
is estimated that the burning of Brazilian rainforests alone produces 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide ayear. Another danger connected with destroying the rainforest is the disappearance of plants and animals. When trees are cut down, plants and animals have no more
food left and slowly die out. Killing wild animals is illegal in Brazil, but there is plenty of stealing going on. 38 million animals are stolen and sold illegally each year. The most hunted
animals are birds, especially parrots, followed by snakes and the jaguar.
What does the author refer to when he says 'rich and diverse land' at the beginning of paragraph 3?
- A. 400 types of insects in the Amazon rainforest
- B. 2,000 birds and mammals in the Amazon rainforest
- C. The many kinds of plants growing in the Amazon rainforest
- D. The large variety of Amazonian plants and animals
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: When the author mentions 'rich and diverse land' at the beginning of paragraph 3, they are referring to the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest, specifically highlighting the presence of 2,000 birds and mammals. This biodiversity includes a wide range of species that contribute to the richness and diversity of the ecosystem, making the Amazon rainforest a unique and vital habitat for numerous animals and plants. The reference to 2,000 birds and mammals emphasizes the vast array of wildlife that thrives in this environment, showcasing the richness and diversity of life forms present in the Amazon rainforest.