Reading Test

Answers and Explanations for Questions 29 through 37

The following are explanations of answers to questions 29 through 37. The heading of each explanation is hyperlinked to the actual question. In addition, each explanation is followed by two hyperlinks: one to the question explained and one to the next question.

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Explanation for question 29.

Choice B is the best answer. In the first paragraph, Andrew Carnegie states his position that the changes in society that are occurring are “not to be deplored, but welcomed as highly beneficial” (follow link to sentence 5 of paragraph 1). After providing historical context on the interactions between rich and poor, Carnegie concludes the first paragraph by giving earnest advice: “It is a waste of time to criticize the inevitable” (follow link to sentence 13 of paragraph 1).

Choice A is incorrect because the first paragraph emphasizes the current realities of humanity as a whole—the very “conditions of human life” (follow link to sentence 2 of paragraph 1)—but not any one personal history. Choice C is incorrect because the first paragraph (follow link) describes the author’s personal opinion and his conclusion, not a conclusion reached by a consensus. Choice D is incorrect because the first paragraph focuses more on “our age” (follow link to sentence 1 of paragraph 1) than on the past.

Link back to question 29.

Link back to question 30.

Explanation for question 30.

Choice C is the best answer. Carnegie states in sentence 1 of paragraph 1 (follow link) that a serious problem of his time was how to distribute wealth so that “the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship.” In other words, he was concerned that the “ties of brotherhood” between rich and poor were not as strong as they used to be.

Choice A is incorrect because Carnegie implies that changes in modern society have negatively impacted the relationship between the rich and poor, but he does not suggest that such a relationship never existed. Choice B is incorrect because the passage implies that “the ties of brotherhood” are weaker than they were previously. Choice D is incorrect because Carnegie states that these ties continue and “may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship.”

Link back to question 30.

Link back to question 31.

Explanation for question 31.

Choice D is the best answer. Carnegie explains that the contrast between the rich and poor is greater than in the past: “In former days there was little difference between the dwelling, dress, food, and environment of the chief and those of his retainers…” (follow link to sentence 3 of paragraph 1). Carnegie uses the examples of “dwelling, dress, food, and environment” to show the difference in status between the rich and the poor.

Choice A is incorrect because Carnegie does not suggest that basic necessities, like food and housing, are more valued in the present than they were in the past. Choice B is incorrect because, while these aspects of life are basic necessities, they are used here as examples of areas in which differences in status might be evident. Choice C is incorrect because Carnegie is not using these examples to suggest that “dwelling, dress, food, and environment” are things to which all people are entitled.

Link back to question 31.

Link back to question 32.

Explanation for question 32.

Choice C is the best answer. In sentence 6 of paragraph 1 Carnegie states that it is “essential, for the progress of the race that the houses of some should be homes for all that is highest and best in literature and the arts, and for all the refinements of civilization, rather than that none should be so” (follow link). Carnegie is suggesting that “houses of some” should be filled with people who care a great deal about culture, or the “highest and best in literature and the arts.”

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because sentence 6 of paragraph 1 explicitly states that the people who live in the “houses of some” (follow link) care a great deal about culture, not that they care about what materials their homes are made of, the size of those homes, or the pedigree of their guests.

Link back to question 32.

Link back to question 33.

Explanation for question 33.

Choice B is the best answer. In sentence 6 of paragraph 1 Carnegie advocates that the “houses of some” (follow link) should be filled with people who care a great deal about culture, such as “all that is highest and best in literature and the arts.”

Choices A and C are incorrect because sentence 4 of paragraph 1 (follow link) and sentence 7 of paragraph 1 (follow link) highlight a disparity in wealth between the rich and poor but do not specifically mention people who live in the “houses of some.” Choice D is incorrect because in sentence 8 of paragraph 1 (follow link) Carnegie is suggesting that patrons of the arts exist because of wealth.

Link back to question 33.

Link back to question 34.

Explanation for question 34.

Choice D is the best answer. Carnegie uses quotation marks around the phrase the “good old times” to suggest that others refer to the past as the “good old times.” However, Carnegie states that these “‘good old times’ were not good old times. Neither master nor servant was as well situated then as to-day” (follow link to sentences 9 and 10 of paragraph 1), which suggests that Carnegie does not believe that things were better in the past.

Choice A is incorrect because Carnegie immediately refutes the usefulness of the cliché by saying that the “‘good old times” were not good old times.” Choice B is incorrect because the passage provides no evidence that the saying comes from Carnegie’s childhood. Choice C is incorrect because there is no evidence that the phrase the “good old times” is a cliché used by the wealthy.

Link back to question 34.

Link back to question 35.

Explanation for question 35.

Choice C is the best answer. Sentences 2 through 8 of paragraph 3 (follow link) explain that by Carnegie’s time standards of living had raised significantly, and that the cost of this increase is that “All intercourse between [rich and poor] is at an end. Rigid castes are formed . . .” (follow link to sentences 3 and 4 of paragraph 4). A disadvantage of the modern economic system, in other words, is that divisions exist between classes and types of people.

Choice A is incorrect because Carnegie says it is “essential” (follow link to sentence 6 of paragraph 1) that some people have access to high culture. Choice B is incorrect because Carnegie argues that the “conditions of human life have not only been changed, but revolutionized, within the past few hundred years” (follow link to sentence 2 of paragraph 1) and does not suggest that the modern economic system replicates past problems. Choice D is incorrect because Carnegie writes “Much better this great irregularity than universal squalor” (follow link to sentence 7 of paragraph 1).

Link back to question 35.

Link back to question 36.

Explanation for question 36.

Choice D is the best answer. Sentences 2 through 8 of paragraph 3 (follow link) explain that by Carnegie’s time standards of living had raised significantly, with sentence 1 of paragraph 4 (follow link) then explaining that those increases came at a cost: “The price we pay for this salutary change is, no doubt, great.” Sentence 3 of paragraph 4 explains what that cost, or disadvantage, is (follow link): “All intercourse between [rich and poor] is at an end.” A disadvantage of the modern economic system, in other words, is that it creates divisions between classes and types of people.

Choice A, B, and C are incorrect because they do not provide evidence that Carnegie believes there are disadvantages to the modern economic system. Choices A and B are incorrect because sentence 6 of paragraph 2 (follow link) and sentence 8 of paragraph 2 (follow link) explain what life was like “Formerly,” in the time of master and apprentice, before the modern economic system came to exist. Choice C is incorrect because sentence 1 of paragraph 3 (follow link) also describes a condition of a time before the modern economic system.

Link back to question 36.

Link back to question 37.

Explanation for question 37.

Choice B is the best answer. In the final paragraph of the passage, Carnegie writes of the “law of competition” (follow link to sentence 1 of paragraph 5), explaining that the law has some costs but also provides improved living conditions for everyone “in its train” (follow link to sentence 1 of paragraph 5). Saying these conditions come “in the train” of the law means they accompany the law or come with it.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because in this context “in its train” does not mean precede the law, predict the arrival of the law, or help advance the law.

Link back to question 37.



This is the end of the answers and explanations for questions 29 through 37. Go on to the next page to begin a new passage.

Questions 38 through 47 are based on the following two passages.

Passage 1 is adapted from Stewart Brand, “The Case for Reviving Extinct Species.” Copyright 2013 by the National Geographic Society. Passage 2 is adapted from the editors at Scientific American, “Why Efforts to Bring Extinct Species Back from the Dead Miss the Point.” Copyright 2013 by Nature America, Inc.

Passage 1

Many extinct species—from the passenger pigeon to the woolly mammoth—might now be reclassified as “bodily, but not genetically, extinct.” They’re dead, but their D N A is recoverable from museum specimens and fossils, even those up to 200,000 years old.

Thanks to new developments in genetic technology, that D N A may eventually bring the animals back to life. Only species whose D N A is too old to be recovered, such as dinosaurs, are the ones to consider totally extinct, bodily and genetically.

But why bring vanished creatures back to life? It will be expensive and difficult. It will take decades. It won’t always succeed. Why even try?

Why do we take enormous trouble to protect endangered species? The same reasons will apply to species brought back from extinction: to preserve biodiversity, to restore diminished ecosystems, to advance the science of preventing extinctions, and to undo harm that humans have caused in the past.

Furthermore, the prospect of deextinction is profound news. That something as irreversible and final as extinction might be reversed is a stunning realization. The imagination soars. Just the thought of mammoths and passenger pigeons alive again invokes the awe and wonder that drives all conservation at its deepest level.

Passage 2

The idea of bringing back extinct species holds obvious geewhiz appeal and a respite from a steady stream of grim news. Yet with limited intellectual bandwidth and financial resources to go around, deextinction threatens to divert attention from the modern biodiversity crisis. According to a 2012 report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, some 20,000 species are currently in grave danger of going extinct. Species today are vanishing in such great numbers—many from hunting and habitat destruction—that the trend has been called a sixth mass extinction, an event on par with such dieoffs as the one that befell the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. A program to restore extinct species poses a risk of selling the public on a false promise that technology alone can solve our ongoing environmental woes—an implicit assurance that if a species goes away, we can snap our fingers and bring it back.

Already conservationists face difficult choices about which species and ecosystems to try to save, since they cannot hope to rescue them all. Many countries where poaching and trade in threatened species are rampant either do not want to give up the revenue or lack the wherewithal to enforce their own regulations. Against that backdrop, a costly and flamboyant project to resuscitate extinct flora and fauna in the name of conservation looks irresponsible: Should we resurrect the mammoth only to let elephants go under? Of course not.

That is not to say that the deextinction enterprise lacks merit altogether. Aspects of it could conceivably help save endangered species. For example, extinct versions of genes could be reintroduced into species and subspecies that have lost a dangerous amount of genetic diversity, such as the blackfooted ferret and the northern white rhino. Such investigations, however, should be conducted under the mantle of preserving modern biodiversity rather than conjuring extinct species from the grave.

Question 38.

The author of Passage 1 (follow link) suggests that the usefulness of deextinction technology may be limited by the

A. amount of time scientists are able to devote to genetic research.

B. relationship of an extinct species to contemporary ecosystems.

C. complexity of the D N A of an extinct species.

D. length of time that a species has been extinct.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 38.)

Question 39.

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to question 38?

A. Link to: “Thanks to new developments in genetic technology, that D N A may eventually bring the animals back to life,” which is sentence 1 of paragraph 2 in Passage 1.

B. Link to: “Only species whose D N A is too old to be recovered, such as dinosaurs, are the ones to consider totally extinct, bodily and genetically,” which is sentence 2 of paragraph 2 in Passage 1.

C. Link to: “It will be expensive and difficult,” which is sentence 2 of paragraph 3 in Passage 1.

D. Link to: “It will take decades. It won’t always succeed,” which are sentences 3 and 4 of paragraph 3 in Passage 1.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 39.)

Question 40.

As used in sentence 4 of paragraph 5 in Passage 1 (follow link), “deepest” most nearly means

A. most engrossing.

B. most challenging.

C. most extensive.

D. most fundamental.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 40.)

Question 41.

The authors of Passage 2 (follow link) indicate that the matter of shrinking biodiversity should primarily be considered a

A. historical anomaly.

B. global catastrophe.

C. scientific curiosity.

D. political problem.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 41.)

Question 42.

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to question 41?

A. Link to: “Species today are vanishing in such great numbers—many from hunting and habitat destruction—that the trend has been called a sixth mass extinction, an event on par with such dieoffs as the one that befell the dinosaurs 65 million years ago,” which is sentence 4 of paragraph 6 in Passage 2.

B. Link to: “A program to restore extinct species poses a risk of selling the public on a false promise that technology alone can solve our ongoing environmental woes,” which is in sentence 5 of paragraph 6 in Passage 2.

C. Link to: “Against that backdrop, a costly and flamboyant project to resuscitate extinct flora and fauna in the name of conservation looks irresponsible,” which is in sentence 3 of paragraph 7 in Passage 2.

D. Link to: “Such investigations, however, should be conducted under the mantle of preserving modern biodiversity rather than conjuring extinct species from the grave,” which is sentence 4 of paragraph 8 in Passage 2.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 42.)

Question 43.

As used in sentence 4 of paragraph 6 in Passage 2 (follow link), “great” most nearly means

A. lofty.

B. wonderful.

C. large.

D. intense.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 43.)

Question 44.

The reference to the “blackfooted ferret and the northern white rhino” (follow link to sentence 3 of paragraph 8 in Passage 2) serves mainly to

A. emphasize a key distinction between extinct and living species.

B. account for types of animals whose numbers are dwindling.

C. provide examples of species whose gene pools are compromised.

D. highlight instances of animals that have failed to adapt to new habitats.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 44.)

Question 45.

Which choice best states the relationship between the two passages?

A. Passage 2 (follow link) attacks a political decision that Passage 1 (follow link) strongly advocates.

B. Passage 2 (follow link) urges caution regarding a technology that Passage 1 (follow link) describes in favorable terms.

C. Passage 2 (follow link) expands on the results of a research study mentioned in Passage 1 (follow link).

D. Passage 2 (follow link) considers practical applications that could arise from a theory discussed in Passage 1 (follow link).

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 45.)

Question 46.

How would the authors of Passage 2 (follow link) most likely respond to the “prospect” (follow link) referred to in sentence 1 of paragraph 5 in Passage 1?

A. With approval, because it illustrates how useful deextinction could be in addressing widespread environmental concerns.

B. With resignation, because the gradual extinction of many living species is inevitable.

C. With concern, because it implies an easy solution to a difficult problem.

D. With disdain, because it shows that people have little understanding of the importance of genetic diversity.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 46.)

Question 47.

Which choice would best support the claim that the authors of Passage 2 (follow link) recognize that the “imagination soars” (follow link to sentence 3 of paragraph 5 in Passage 1) in response to deextinction technology?

A. Link to: “The idea of bringing back extinct species holds obvious geewhiz appeal and a respite from a steady stream of grim news,” which is sentence 1 of paragraph 6 in Passage 2.

B. Link to: “Yet with limited intellectual bandwidth and financial resources to go around, deextinction threatens to divert attention from the modern biodiversity crisis,” which is sentence 2 of paragraph 6 in Passage 2.

C. Link to: “That is not to say that the deextinction enterprise lacks merit altogether,” which is sentence 1 of paragraph 8 in Passage 2.

D. Link to: “For example, extinct versions of genes could be reintroduced into species and subspecies that have lost a dangerous amount of genetic diversity,” which is in sentence 3 of paragraph 8 in Passage 2.

Answer and Explanation. (Follow link to explanation for question 47.)

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Answers and explanations for questions 38 through 47 are provided in the next section of this document (pages 86 through 96).