CISD 2024-2025 English III SLA QA #2 PDF

CISD 2024-2025 English III SLA QA #2 1 The Cambrian explosion gets its name from the sudden appearance and rapid diversification of animal remains in the fossil record about 541 million years ago, during the Cambrian period. Some scientists argue that this ______ change in the fossil reco...

CISD 2024-2025 English III SLA QA #2 1 The Cambrian explosion gets its name from the sudden appearance and rapid diversification of animal remains in the fossil record about 541 million years ago, during the Cambrian period. Some scientists argue that this ______ change in the fossil record might be because of a shift in many organisms to body types that were more likely to be preserved. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? A catastrophic B elusive C abrupt D imminent 2 In 1934 physicist Eugene Wigner posited the existence of a crystal consisting entirely of electrons in a honeycomb-like structure. The so-called Wigner crystal remained largely conjecture, however, until Feng Wang and colleagues announced in 2021 that they had captured an image of one. The researchers trapped electrons between two semiconductors and then cooled the apparatus, causing the electrons to settle into a crystalline structure. By inserting an ultrathin sheet of graphene above the crystal, the researchers obtained an impression—the first visual confirmation of the Wigner crystal. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? A Researchers have obtained the most definitive evidence to date of the existence of the Wigner crystal. B Researchers have identified an innovative new method for working with unusual crystalline structures. C Graphene is the most important of the components required to capture an image of a Wigner crystal. D It’s difficult to acquire an image of a Wigner crystal because of the crystal’s honeycomb structure. Page 2 GO ON 3 Considering a large sample of companies, economics experts Maria Guadalupe, Julie Wulf, and Raghuram Rajan assessed the number of managers and leaders from different departments who reported directly to a chief executive officer (CEO). According to the researchers, the findings suggest that across the years analyzed, there was a growing interest among CEOs in connecting with more departments in their companies. Which choice best describes data from the graph that support the researchers’ conclusion? A The average numbers of managers and department leaders reporting directly to their CEO didn’t fluctuate from the 1991–1995 period to the 2001–2008 period. B The average number of managers reporting directly to their CEO was highest in the 1996–2001 period. C The average number of department leaders reporting directly to their CEO was greater than the average number of managers reporting directly to their CEO in each of the three periods studied. D The average number of department leaders reporting directly to their CEO rose over the three periods studied. Page 3 GO ON 4 When digging for clams, their primary food, sea otters damage the roots of eelgrass plants growing on the seafloor. Near Vancouver Island in Canada, the otter population is large and well established, yet the eelgrass meadows are healthier than those found elsewhere off Canada’s coast. To explain this, conservation scientist Erin Foster and colleagues compared the Vancouver Island meadows to meadows where otters are absent or were reintroduced only recently. Finding that the Vancouver Island meadows have a more diverse gene pool than the others do, Foster hypothesized that damage to eelgrass roots increases the plant’s rate of sexual reproduction; this, in turn, boosts genetic diversity, which benefits the meadow’s health overall. Which finding, if true, would most directly undermine Foster’s hypothesis? A At some sites in the study, eelgrass meadows are found near otter populations that are small and have only recently been reintroduced. B At several sites not included in the study, there are large, well-established sea otter populations but no eelgrass meadows. C At several sites not included in the study, eelgrass meadows’ health correlates negatively with the length of residence and size of otter populations. D At some sites in the study, the health of plants unrelated to eelgrass correlates negatively with the length of residence and size of otter populations. 5 Among social animals that care for their young, such as chickens, macaque monkeys, and humans, newborns appear to show an innate attraction to faces and face-like stimuli. Elisabetta Versace and her colleagues used an image of three black dots arranged in the shape of eyes and a nose or mouth to test whether this trait also occurs in Testudo tortoises, which live alone and do not engage in parental care. They found that tortoise hatchlings showed a significant preference for the image, suggesting that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A face-like stimuli are likely perceived as harmless by newborns of social species that practice parental care but as threatening by newborns of solitary species without parental care. B researchers should not assume that an innate attraction to face-like stimuli is necessarily an adaptation related to social interaction or parental care. C researchers can assume that the attraction to face-like stimuli that is seen in social species that practice parental care is learned rather than innate. D newly hatched Testudo tortoises show a stronger preference for face-like stimuli than adult Testudo tortoises do. Page 4 GO ON 6 While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: NASA uses rovers, large remote vehicles with wheels, to explore the surface of Mars. NASA’s rovers can’t explore regions inaccessible to wheeled vehicles. Rovers are also heavy, making them difficult to land on the planet’s surface. Microprobes, robotic probes that weigh as little as 50 milligrams, could be deployed virtually anywhere on the surface of Mars. Microprobes have been proposed as an alternative to rovers. The student wants to explain an advantage of microprobes. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? A Despite being heavy, NASA’s rovers can land successfully on the surface of Mars. B Microprobes, which weigh as little as 50 milligrams, could explore areas of Mars that are inaccessible to NASA’s heavy, wheeled rovers. C NASA currently uses its rovers on Mars, but microprobes have been proposed as an alternative. D Though they are different sizes, both microprobes and rovers can be used to explore the surface of Mars. 7 Interruptions in the supply chain for microchips used in personal electronics have challenged an economist’s assertion that retailers can expect robust growth in sales of those devices in the coming months. The delays are unlikely to ______ her projection entirely but will almost certainly extend its time frame. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? A dispute B withdraw C underscore D invalidate Page 5 GO ON 8 Economists Kerwin Kofi Charles and Melvin Stephens Jr. investigated a variety of factors that influence voter turnout in the United States. Using survey data that revealed whether respondents voted in national elections and how knowledgeable respondents are about politics, Charles and Stephens claim that the likelihood of voting is driven in part by potential voters’ confidence in their assessments of candidates— essentially, the more informed voters are about politics, the more confident they are at evaluating whether candidates share their views, and thus the more likely they are to vote. Which choice best describes data in the graph that support Charles and Stephens’s claim? A At each point on the political orientation scale, high-information voters were more likely than low- information voters to vote. B Only low-information voters who identify as independents had a voting probability below 50%. C The closer that low-information voters are to the ends of the political orientation scale, the more likely they were to vote. D High-information voters were more likely to identify as strong Democrats or strong Republicans than low-information voters were. Page 6 GO ON 9 While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia. The city’s population is 907,802. Ulaanbaatar contains 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s population. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. The city’s population is 7,781,631. Hanoi contains 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’ populations? A Mongolia’s capital is Ulaanbaatar, which has 907,802 people, and Vietnam’s capital is Hanoi, which has 7,781,631 people. B The populations of the capitals of Mongolia and Vietnam are 907,802 (Ulaanbaatar) and 7,781,631 (Hanoi), respectively. C Even though Hanoi (population 7,781,631) is larger than Ulaanbaatar (population 907,802), Ulaanbaatar accounts for more of its country’s population. D Comparing Vietnam and Mongolia, 7,781,631 is 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population, and 907,802 is 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s. 10 Text 1 Ecologists have long wondered how thousands of microscopic phytoplankton species can live together near ocean surfaces competing for the same resources. According to conventional wisdom, one species should emerge after outcompeting the rest. So why do so many species remain? Ecologists’ many efforts to explain this phenomenon still haven’t uncovered a satisfactory explanation. Text 2 Ecologist Michael Behrenfeld and colleagues have connected phytoplankton’s diversity to their microscopic size. Because these organisms are so tiny, they are spaced relatively far apart from each other in ocean water and, moreover, experience that water as a relatively dense substance. This in turn makes it hard for them to move around and interact with one another. Therefore, says Behrenfeld’s team, direct competition among phytoplankton probably happens much less than previously thought. Based on the texts, how would Behrenfeld and colleagues (Text 2) most likely respond to the “conventional wisdom” discussed in Text 1? A By arguing that it is based on a misconception about phytoplankton species competing with one another B By asserting that it fails to recognize that routine replenishment of ocean nutrients prevents competition between phytoplankton species C By suggesting that their own findings help clarify how phytoplankton species are able to compete with larger organisms D By recommending that more ecologists focus their research on how competition among phytoplankton species is increased with water density Page 7 GO ON 11 The following text is adapted from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1921 short story “John Redding Goes to Sea.” John is a child who lives in a town in the woods. Perhaps ten-year- old John was puzzling to the folk there in the Florida woods for he was an imaginative child and fond of day-dreams. The St. John River flowed a scarce three hundred feet from his back door. On its banks at this point grow numerous palms, luxuriant magnolias and bay trees. On the bosom of the stream float millions of delicately colored hyacinths. [John Redding] loved to wander down to the water’s edge, and, casting in dry twigs, watch them sail away down stream to Jacksonville, the sea, the wide world and [he] wanted to follow them. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? A It provides an extended description of a location that John likes to visit. B It reveals that some residents of John’s town are confused by his behavior. C It illustrates the uniqueness of John’s imagination compared to the imaginations of other children. D It suggests that John longs to experience a larger life outside the Florida woods. 12 Believing that living in an impractical space can heighten awareness and even improve health, conceptual artists Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa designed an apartment building in Japan to be more fanciful than functional. A kitchen counter is chest-high on one side and knee-high on the other; a ceiling has a door to nowhere. The effect is disorienting but invigorating: after four years there, filmmaker Nobu Yamaoka reported significant health benefits. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? A Although inhabiting a home surrounded by fanciful features such as those designed by Gins and Arakawa can be rejuvenating, it is unsustainable. B Designing disorienting spaces like those in the Gins and Arakawa building is the most effective way to create a physically stimulating environment. C As a filmmaker, Yamaoka has long supported the designs of conceptual artists such as Gins and Arakawa. D Although impractical, the design of the apartment building by Gins and Arakawa may improve the well- being of the building’s residents. Page 8 GO ON 13 Text 1 Astronomer Mark Holland and colleagues examined four white dwarfs—small, dense remnants of past stars—in order to determine the composition of exoplanets that used to orbit those stars. Studying wavelengths of light in the white dwarf atmospheres, the team reported that traces of elements such as lithium and sodium support the presence of exoplanets with continental crusts similar to Earth’s. Text 2 Past studies of white dwarf atmospheres have concluded that certain exoplanets had continental crusts. Geologist Keith Putirka and astronomer Siyi Xu argue that those studies unduly emphasize atmospheric traces of lithium and other individual elements as signifiers of the types of rock found on Earth. The studies don’t adequately account for different minerals made up of various ratios of those elements, and the possibility of rock types not found on Earth that contain those minerals. Based on the texts, how would Putirka and Xu (Text 2) most likely characterize the conclusion presented in Text 1? A As unexpected, because it was widely believed at the time that white dwarf exoplanets lack continental crusts B As premature, because researchers have only just begun trying to determine what kinds of crusts white dwarf exoplanets had C As questionable, because it rests on an incomplete consideration of potential sources of the elements detected in white dwarf atmospheres D As puzzling, because it’s unusual to successfully detect lithium and sodium when analyzing wavelengths of light in white dwarf atmospheres 14 To survive when water is scarce, embryos inside African turquoise killifish eggs ______ a dormant state known as diapause. In this state, embryonic development is paused for as long as two years—longer than the life span of an adult killifish. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A enter B to enter C having entered D entering 15 In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______ have missed his equally deep engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but B Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who C there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they D the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they Page 9 GO ON 16 Joshua Hinson, director of the language revitalization program of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, helped produce the world’s first Indigenous-language instructional app, Chickasaw ______ Chickasaw TV, in 2010; and a Rosetta Stone language course in Chickasaw, in 2015. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A Basic; in 2009, an online television network; B Basic; in 2009, an online television network, C Basic, in 2009; an online television network, D Basic, in 2009, an online television network, 17 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2013 novel Americanah chronicles the divergent experiences of Ifemelu and Obinze, a young Nigerian couple, after high school. Ifemelu moves to the United States to attend a prestigious university. ______ Obinze travels to London, hoping to start a career there. However, frustrated with the lack of opportunities, he soon returns to Nigeria. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? A Meanwhile, B Nevertheless, C Secondly, D In fact, 18 The forty-seven geothermal springs of Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park are sourced via a process known as natural groundwater recharge, in which rainwater percolates downward through the earth—in this case, the porous rocks of the hills around Hot ______ collect in a subterranean basin. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A Springs to B Springs: to C Springs—to D Springs, to 19 Food and the sensation of taste are central to Monique Truong’s novels. In The Book of Salt, for example, the exiled character of Bình connects to his native Saigon through the food he prepares, while in Bitter in the Mouth, the character of Linda ______ a form of synesthesia whereby the words she hears evoke tastes. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A experienced B had experienced C experiences D will be experiencing Page 10 GO ON 20 Over twenty years ago, in a landmark experiment in the psychology of choice, professor Sheena Iyengar set up a jam-tasting booth at a grocery store. The number of jams available for tasting ______ some shoppers had twenty-four different options, others only six. Interestingly, the shoppers with fewer jams to choose from purchased more jam. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A varied: B varied, C varied, while D varied while 21 In 1933, the Twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. The amendment mandates that presidential inaugurations be held on January 20, approximately ten weeks after the November election. ______ this amendment requires newly elected US senators and representatives to be sworn into their respective offices on January 3. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? A Instead, B For instance, C Specifically, D In addition, 22 As British scientist Peter Whibberley has observed, “the Earth is not a very good timekeeper.” Earth’s slightly irregular rotation rate means that measurements of time must be periodically adjusted. Specifically, an extra “leap second” (the 86,401st second of the day) is _______ time based on the planet’s rotation lags a full nine-tenths of a second behind time kept by precise atomic clocks. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A added, whenever B added; whenever C added. Whenever D added whenever 23 Inventor John Friedman created a prototype of the first flexible straw by inserting a screw into a paper straw and, using dental floss, binding the straw tightly around the ______ When the floss and screw were removed, the resulting corrugations in the paper allowed the straw to bend easily over the edge of a glass. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A screw’s thread’s. B screws’ threads. C screw’s threads. D screws threads’. Page 11 GO ON 24 A member of the Cherokee Nation, Mary Golda Ross is renowned for her contributions to NASA’s Planetary Flight Handbook, which _______ detailed mathematical guidance for missions to Mars and Venus. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A provided B having provided C to provide D providing 25 Based on genetic evidence, archaeologists have generally agreed that reindeer domestication began in the eleventh century CE. However, since uncovering fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia, ______ may have begun much earlier. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A researcher Robert Losey has argued that domestication B researcher Robert Losey’s argument is that domestication C domestication, researcher Robert Losey has argued, D the argument researcher Robert Losey has made is that domestication Page 12 BE SURE YOU HAVE RECORDED ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS STOP ON YOUR ANSWER DOCUMENT