Practice Set 6
1. It seems imprudent to refuse the offer of an expedient that is so --------- success.
(A) contingent on
(B) reminiscent of
(C) inimical to
(D) requisite for
(E) subordinate to
2. Fortunately, the writer does not, in general, --------- her practice of withholding the
perpetrator’s identity until the last chapter, since one of the greatest pleasure of reading her
mystery novels is speculating about the culprit’s identity.
(A) expend on
(B) deviate from
(C) rationalize
(D) disguise
(E) rely on
3. Overly strict parent’s too often respond to their children’s actions asymmetrically,
(i) --------- them when they do wrong but never rewarding them when they behave
(ii) ---------.
Blank (i) Blank (ii)
(A) commending (D) disobediently
(B) chastising (E) impulsively
(C) disregarding (F) laudably
4. Governor Edward combined (i) -------- politics with administrative skills to dominate the
state; in addition to his abilities, he was also (ii) -------- and possessed an air of
(iii) ----------.
Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)
(A) inept (D) charismatic (G) elegance
(B) depraved (E) lavish (H) haughtiness
(C) astute (F) creative (I) propensity
Select two answer choices.
5. The company may soon have some legal issues to address, given that some of its new
policies appear to --------- recently passed legislation.
(A) contravene
(B) comply with
(C) give credence to
(D) disambiguate
(E) underlie
(F) offend
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Some anthropologists study modern-day societies of foragers in an effort to learn about our
ancient ancestors who were also foragers. A flaw in this strategy is that forager societies are
extremely varied. Indeed, any forager society with which anthropologists are familiar has had
considerable contact with modern nonforager societies.
6. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the criticism made above of the
anthropologists' strategy?
(A) All forager societies throughout history have had a number of important features in
common that are absent from other types of societies.
(B) Most ancient forager societies either dissolved or made a transition to another way of
life.
(C) All anthropologists study one kind or another of modern-day society.
(D) Many anthropologists who study modern-day forager societies do not draw inferences
about ancient societies on the basis of their studies.
(E) Even those modern-day forager societies that have not had significant contact with
modern societies are importantly different from ancient forager societies.
The stratospheric ozone layer is not a completely uniform stratum, nor does it occur at
the same altitude around the globe. It lies closest to the Earth over the poles and rises to
maximum altitude over the equator. In the stratosphere, ozone is continuously being made
and destroyed by natural processes. During the day the Sun breaks down some of the oxygen
molecules to single oxygen atoms, and these reacting with the oxygen molecules that have
not been dissociated, form ozone. However, the sunlight also breaks down ozone by
converting some of it back to normal oxygen. In addition naturally occurring nitrogen oxides
enter into the cycle and speed the breakdown reactions. The amount of ozone present at any
one time is the balance between the processes that create it and those that destroy it.
Since the splitting of the oxygen molecules depends directly upon the intensity of solar
radiation, the greatest rate of ozone production occurs over the tropics. However ozone is also
destroyed most rapidly there, and wind circulation patterns carry the ozone-enriched upper
layers of the atmosphere away from the equator. It turns out that the largest total ozone
amounts are found at high latitudes. On a typical day the amount of ozone over Minnesota,
for example, is 30 percent greater than the amount over Texas, 900 miles farther south. The
density and altitude of the ozone layer also change with the seasons, the weather, and the
amount of solar activity. Nevertheless, at any one place above the Earth’s surface, the long-
term averages maintained by natural processes are believed to be reasonably constant.
The amount of ozone near the Earth is only a small percent of the amount in the
stratosphere, and exchange of molecules between the ozone layer and the air at ground level
is thought to be relatively small. Furthermore, the ozone molecule is so unstable that only a
tiny fraction of ground-level ozone could survive the long trip to the stratosphere, so the
ozone layer will not be replenished to any significant degree by the increasing concentrations
of ozone that have been detected in recent years near the earth’s surface. The long-term
averages of ozone both near ground level and in the stratosphere are regulated by continuous
processes that are constantly destroying and creating it in each of these places. This is why
scientists are so concerned about human beings injection into the stratosphere of chemicals
like nitrogen oxides, which are catalysts that facilitate the breakdown of ozone. If the ozone
layer is depleted significantly, more ultraviolet radiation would penetrate to the Earth’s
surface and damage many living organisms.
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7. The passage suggests that factors contributing to the variation in the amount of
ozone above different areas of the Earth’s surface include which of the following?
I. Some of the ozone found at higher latitudes was produced elsewhere.
II. There is usually a smaller amount of naturally occurring nitrogen oxide over high
latitudes.
III. The rate of ozone production over the poles is less than that over the tropics.
(A) II only
(B) III only
(C) I and II only
(D) I and III only
(E) I, II, and III
8. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
(A) Naturally occurring nitrogen oxides, as well as those introduced by humans, threaten
to deplete the layer of ozone in the stratosphere.
(B) A delicate but reasonably constant balance exists between the natural processes that
produce and those that destroy ozone in the stratosphere.
(C) There is little hope that the increased concentrations of ground-level ozone observed
in recent years can offset any future depletion of stratospheric ozone.
(D) Meteorologically induced changes in the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere
tend to cancel themselves out over a period of time.
(E) Solar radiation not only produces and destroys zone but also poses a hazard to
human life.
9. The processes that determine the amount of ozone in a given portion of the
stratosphere most resemble which of the following?
(A) Automobile emissions and seasonal fog that create a layer of smog over a city
(B) Planting and harvesting activities that produce a crop whose size is always about the
same
(C) Withdrawals and deposits made in a bank account whose average balance remains
about the same
(D) Assets and liabilities that determine the net worth of a corporation
(E) High grades and low grades made by a student whose average remains about the
same from term to term
10. According to the passage, which of the following has the LEAST effect on the
amount of ozone at a given location in the upper atmosphere?
(A) Latitude
(B) Weather
(C) Season
(D) Ground-level ozone
(E) Solar activity
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11. The author provides information that answers which of the following questions?
I. What is the average thickness of the stratospheric ozone layer?
II. Why does increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation damage many living
organisms?
III. What is the role of oxygen in the production of stratospheric zone?
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II
(E) II and III
12. In explaining what determines the amount of ozone in the stratosphere, the author
describes natural processes that form
(A) an interactive relationship
(B) a reductive system
(C) a linear progression
(D) a set of randomly occurring phenomena
(E) a set of sporadically recurring events
Answer key:
1. D 2. B 3. B/D 4. C/D/G 5. A/F 6. A 7. D 8. B 9. C 10. D
11. C 12. A
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