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Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS

DIRECTIONS

Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After

reading each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is
stated or implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as
a table or graph).

fracture, which will be frequently discussed,

Questions 1-10 are based on the follow-
correspond to many points of contact
ing passage.
where the problem of dream formation
This passage is adapted from “Introductory Re- informs more comprehensive problems of
marks” in The Interpretation of Dreams by Sig- 25 psychopathology which cannot be discussed
mund Freud (trans. 1913). here. These larger issues will be elaborated
upon in the future.

In attempting to discuss the interpretation

of dreams, I do not believe that I have Peculiarities in the material I have used
overstepped the bounds of neuropathological to elucidate the interpretation of dreams
Line interest. For, when investigated have rendered this publication difficult. The
5 psychologically, the dream proves to be the 30 work itself will demonstrate why all dreams
first link in a chain of abnormal psychic related in scientific literature or collected
structures whose other links—the hysterical by others had to remain useless for my
phobia, the obsession, and the delusion— purpose. In choosing my examples, I had to
must interest the physician for practical limit myself to considering my own dreams
10 reasons. The dream can lay no claim to 35 and those of my patients who were under
a corresponding practical significance; psychoanalytic treatment. I was restrained
however, its theoretical value is very great, from utilizing material derived from my
and one who cannot explain the origin of patients’ dreams by the fact that during
the content of dreams will strive in vain to their treatment, the dream processes were
15 understand phobias, obsessive and delusional 40 subjected to an undesirable complication—
ideas, and likewise their therapeutic the intermixture of neurotic characters.
importance. On the other hand, in discussing my own
dreams, I was obliged to expose more of the
While this relationship makes our subject
intimacies of my psychic life than I should
important, it is responsible also for the
45 like, more so than generally falls to the task
20 deficiencies in this work. The surfaces of

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1
of an author who is not a poet but an
The author can be most accurately described
investigator of nature. This was painful,
as __________.
but unavoidable; I had to put up with the
inevitable in order to demonstrate the truth A. furious and insulted
50 of my psychological results at all. To be B. defensive and meticulous
sure, I disguised some of my indiscretions C. imploring and desperate
through omissions and substitutions, though D. unreliable and suspicious
I feel that these detract from the value of the
examples in which they appear. I can only 2
55 express the hope that the reader of this work,
The author discusses a topic that he plans to
putting himself in my difficult position, will
pursue in future work __________.
show patience, and also that anyone inclined
to take offense at any of the reported dreams A. in the first sentence of the passage
will concede freedom of thought at least to the B. in the last sentence of the passage
60 dream life. C. in the second paragraph of the passage
D. in the first and last paragraphs of the
passage

3
According to the author, studying phobias,
obsessions, and delusions is __________,
but studying dreams is not.

A. practical
B. possible
C. useless
D. easy

4
When he uses the phrase “the inevitable”
in lines 48–49, the author is referring to
__________.
A. the fact that he had to publish some
of his own dreams, which made him
uncomfortable
B. the idea that all dreams contain
significant meaning
C. the gradual loss of detail in what one can
remember about a dream
D. the discomfort that everyone feels when
discussing dreams with other people

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5 7
The author could not rely upon the dreams The author has written this passage in order
related in scientific literature because to __________.
__________.
A. propose a psychological experiment
B. justify his work and address some of its
A. the author couldn’t be sure if material had
limitations
been changed in or censored from them
C. respond to a specific critic who has cast
B. the author needed to interview people
doubt on his work’s reliability
himself in order to discuss their emotion-
D. teach the reader how to interpret his or
al reactions to their dreams
her own dreams
C. no work of scientific literature had dis-
cussed dreams at the time the author
began his study 8
D. the author does not give a reason for this
in the passage, but says that the rest of his The author argues that understanding
work explains why this is the case the content of dreams is necessary for
__________.
6 A. comprehending the therapeutic
importance of dreams
In the third paragraph, what does the author
tell us about the omissions and substitutions B. understanding delusional ideas
he made when discussing his own dreams in C. accurately diagnosing a number of
the work that follow the passage? psychological conditions in patients
D. understanding why he had difficulty
A. He is not responsible for these; his editors choosing dreams to discuss in the work
are. that follows
B. He feels that the adjusted examples 9
would be more useful had they remained
unadjusted. Based on the way in which the word “informs”
C. He was forced to make these, or journals is used in line 24 of the passage, the author is
would not accept his work. using it to mean __________.
D. He is glad that he had the opportunity to
reconsider his initial presentation of his A. tells
dreams. B. ignores
C. solves
D. influences

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10
oxygen gas and a carbon atom, which with
In the last sentence of the passage, the author other carbon atoms is then used to generate
attempts to __________. glucose in a process called “carbon fixation.”
A. encourage the reader to read the work of 25 There are a few different pathways
a variety of psychologists plants can take to perform carbon fixation.
B. inspire the reader to conduct his or her These vary at the level of enzyme activity
own scientific experiments
and the minor variations in the molecules
C. get the reader to empathize with him
produced, but these microscopic variations
D. explain why he made certain redactions to
the dreams he later discusses 30 result in some macroscopic differences. The
general, most common pathway used in
photosynthesis is called the C3 pathway. It is
named for a three-carbon molecule produced
Questions 11–21 are based on the
during the process. Certain plants have
following passage.
35 evolved and can use a C4 pathway instead of
a C3 pathway when it is more efficient to do
“How Energy-Efficient is That Plant?”: so. The C4 pathway results in the saturation
Photosynthetic Adaptations of a particular enzyme, RuBisCo, with carbon
dioxide. RuBisCo’s job is to fix carbon, and
Energy efficiency is a large concern 40 when saturated with its raw materials, it can
perform this function more efficiently.
in the modern world. When looking at
purchasing vehicles or smaller appliances CAM plants have evolved a different
Line like refrigerators and televisions, consumers method of making photosynthesis more
5 want to know how much energy the device efficient. CAM plants do not alter the
will use while it is running. The most efficient 45 saturation of carbon dioxide around
machines will do a given amount of work with RuBisCo. Instead, they change the way
the least amount of energy. in which they collect the raw ingredients
of photosynthesis from the environment.
You may be surprised to learn that
Plant leaves contain “stomata,” openings
10 energy efficiency is also an aspect of the
natural world. A great number of factors 50 through which carbon dioxide is collected,
but through which water can also be lost.
are important when growing crops, but
CAM plants close openings in their stomata
along with nutrients, water, and sunshine,
during the day and open them at night. This
the efficiency of a plant’s photosynthetic
prevents water from evaporating out of their
15 functions play a role in how quickly crops
are able to mature. Plants take in carbon 55 stomata during the day and is an especially
useful adaptation in hot, arid environments.
dioxide and water in a biochemical cycle
called photosynthesis and convert these You may be wondering: don’t CAM
ingredients into oxygen and glucose, a form of plants need carbon dioxide and sunlight at
20 sugar used for energy storage. Specifically, the the same time to photosynthesize? They do,
plant breaks a carbon dioxide molecule into 60 and this has a dramatic affect on when they

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11
they photosynthesize. The reactions involved
in photosynthesis fall into two categories: Which of the following is implied by lines
the “light” reactions, which require light, and 34–39?
the “light-independent” or “dark” reactions,
A. Any plant that can use a C4 pathway can
65 which do not. At night, CAM plants do not use a C3 pathway.
completely photosynthesize anything; they B. Any plant that can use a C3 pathway can
collect carbon dioxide, perform the light- use a C4 pathway.
independent part of the photosynthetic C. Only C4 plants contain RuBisCo.
process, and wait. In the daytime, they D. Only C3 plants contain RuBisCo.
70 perform the light-dependent reactions and
use the available sunlight and the carbon 12
dioxide they collected at night to generate A farmer decides to grow sugarcane in the
glucose and oxygen. desert due to its photosynthetic-efficient
It may be strange to think of plants evolutionary adaptations. Is this farmer
75 varying in the way they perform such a core correct in his logic? Why?
process as photosynthesis, but common
A. Yes, because C4 plants are well-adapted
examples of such plants abound: sugarcane to arid environments.
and corn are C4 plants, while many cacti B. Yes, because CAM plants are well-adapted
are CAM plants, as are pineapples. By to arid environments.
80 better understanding the different ways C. No, because C4 plants aren’t necessarily
in which plants have evolved to perform adapted to arid environments.
photosynthesis more efficiently, we can D. No, because CAM plants aren’t
capitalize on their efficiency in ways that have necessarily adapted to arid environments.
direct implications on human society, and
85 that’s certainly an efficient endeavor. 13
Based on the passage, what is the likely
meaning behind the name “C4”?

A. C4 plants likely require four more carbon

molecules than plants that do not use the
pathway to perform photosynthesis.
B. The C4 pathway likely generates a four-
carbon molecule where the C3 pathway
generates a three-carbon molecule.
C. C4 plants likely have been found on four
continents, whereas C3 plants have only
been found on three.
D. C4 plants are able to function normally at
temperatures up to four degrees Celsius
higher than the maximum temperature at
which C3 plants can function.

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14 16
What is the author’s likely reason for You’re talking to a friend about what you
talking about cars and appliances in the first learned in the article when your friend says,
paragraph? “But isn’t photosynthesis just one cycle? Why
would it function differently in the day than at
night?”
A. The author uses appliance efficiency as
a familiar touchstone to introduce the Which of the following sentences most
reader to the idea of photosynthetic directly answers your friend’s questions?
efficiency.
B. This passage is likely excerpted from a
larger work at a point just after the author A. “Plants take in carbon dioxide and
concluded discussing appliance efficiency. water in a biochemical cycle called
C. The author talks about appliance photosynthesis and convert these
efficiency to lead into a discussion of how ingredients into oxygen and glucose, a
photosynthetic efficiency can be used to form of sugar used for energy storage.”
improve appliance efficiency. B. “The C4 pathway results in the saturation
D. The author introduces an argument of a particular enzyme, RuBisCo, with
made about appliance efficiency in order carbon dioxide.”
to demonstrate how it is incorrect using C. “The reactions involved in photosynthesis
evidence taken from photosynthetic fall into two categories: the ‘light’
efficiency. reactions, which require light, and the
‘light-independent’ or ‘dark’ reactions,
which do not.”
15
D. “CAM plants close openings in their
C4 plants are similar to CAM plants in stomata during the day and open them at
that ________, but different in that night.”
__________.
17
A. they have both evolved to increase Before a CAM plant can generate glucose and
photosynthetic efficiency by saturating oxygen, it must __________.
RuBisCo with carbon dioxide . . . they
gather that carbon dioxide at different
times of day A. have collected water during the previous
B. they both close their stomata during the day
day . . . CAM plants perform only the B. switch from using the C3 pathway to
light-dependent photosynthetic reactions using the C4 pathway
during the day whereas C4 plants perform C. open its stomata
only the light-independent reactions D. have collected carbon dioxide during the
during the day previous night
C. they are both well suited to arid
environments . . . C4 plants use RuBisCo,
but CAM plants lack RuBisCo
D. they both use evolutionary adaptation to
perform photosynthesis more efficiently .
. . they use different mechanisms to do so

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18 20
As used in line 39, the word “fix” is closest in A CAM plant opens its stomata. What can
meaning to which of the following? now happen?

A. Repair A. The plant can perform the light-

B. Focus on dependent reactions of photosynthesis.
B. The plant can collect carbon dioxide.
C. Choose
D. C. The plant can prevent excess water from
Change
being lost.
19 D. The plant can release carbon dioxide.

An illustrator has prepared the following 21

sketch of a graph to accompany the passage,
but has lost the notes he took on which label This author is best described as
should be applied to each line. Which of __________.
the following options is supported by the A. objective yet engaged
information in the passage? B. eager yet biased
C. fascinated but patronizing
lucose Produced at Different Times of Day
by Plants from Different Photosynthetic Pathways
D. didactic but frustrated
Photosyntheiss in Sample Plants
Percent Efficiency of

A. Blue hashed circle line - CAM plants

Black triangle line - C4 plants
Red dotted square line - C3 plants
B. Blue hashed circle line - C4 plants
Black triangle line - C3 plants
Red dotted square line - CAM plants
C. Blue hashed circle line - C3 plants
Black triangle line - C4 plants
Red dotted square line - CAM plants
D. Blue hashed circle line - C4 plants
Black triangle line - C3 plants
Red dotted square line - CAM plants

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 1 1
Questions 22–31 are based on the 35 subtler is a human mind than the outside
following passage.
tissues which make a sort of blazonry or
This passage is adapted from Middlemarch: A clock-face for it.
Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot (Mary Yet those who approached Dorothea,
Anne Evans) (1874)
though prejudiced against her by this
40 alarming hearsay, found that she had a
And how should Dorothea not marry? A charm unaccountably reconcilable with it.
girl so handsome and with such prospects? Most men thought her bewitching when she
Nothing could hinder it but her love of was on horseback. She loved the fresh air and
Line extremes, and her insistence on regulating the various aspects of the country, and when
5 life according to notions which might cause 45 her eyes and cheeks glowed with mingled
a wary man to hesitate before he made her pleasure she looked very little like a devotee.
an offer, or even might lead her at last to Riding was an indulgence which she allowed
refuse all offers. A young lady of some birth herself in spite of conscientious qualms; she
and fortune, who knelt suddenly down on a always looked forward to renouncing it.
10 brick floor by the side of a sick laborer and
50 She was open, ardent, and not in the
prayed fervidly as if she thought herself living
least self-admiring; indeed, it was pretty to
in the time of the apostles, who had strange
see how her imagination adorned her sister
whims of fasting and of sitting up at night to
Celia with attractions altogether superior
read old theological books! Such a wife might
to her own, and if any gentleman appeared
15 awaken you some fine morning with a new
55 to come to the Grange from some other
scheme for the application of her income
motive than that of seeing Mr. Brooke, she
which would interfere with political economy
concluded that he must be in love with Celia.
and the keeping of saddle-horses; a man
Sir James Chettam, for example, whom she
would naturally think twice before he risked
constantly considered from Celia’s point of
20 himself in such fellowship. Women were
60 view, inwardly debating whether it would be
expected to have weak opinions, but the great
good for Celia to accept him. That he should
safeguard of society and of domestic life was
be regarded as a suitor to herself would
that opinions were not acted on. Sane people
have seemed to her a ridiculous irrelevance.
did what their neighbors did, so that if any
Dorothea, with all her eagerness to know the
25 lunatics were at large, one might know and
65 truths of life, retained very childlike ideas
avoid them.
about marriage.
The rural opinion about the new young
ladies, even among the cottagers, was
generally in favor of Celia, as being so
30 amiable and innocent-looking, while Miss
Brooke’s large eyes seemed, like her religion,
too unusual and striking. Poor Dorothea!
Compared with her, the innocent-looking
Celia was knowing and worldly-wise; so much

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22 25
The second paragraph specifically serves to In the specific context in which it is used,
__________. the underlined word “pretty” in line 51 most
nearly means __________.
A. describe Dorothea’s love of horseback
riding A. physically beautiful
B. introduce the character of Sir James B. rather
Chettam
C. shocking
C. describe how Celia and Dorothea are
perceived by their community D. charming
D. describe Dorothea’s religious tendencies,
which are unusual in her community
26
As a whole, the passage begins by discussing
23 __________, and then it transitions into
discussing __________.
In lines 33–37, the author is
_____________.
A. Dorothea’s religious tendencies . . . Celia’s
religious tendencies
A. contrasting the depth of interior mental
processes with the shallowness of exterior B. aspects of Dorothea’s personality that
bias the rural opinion against her . . .
appearances
aspects of her personality that people find
B. explaining why Dorothea chooses to dress appealing
with such care
C. Dorothea’s love of horseback riding . . .
C. emphasizing the traits that Dorothea and Dorothea’s cluelessness about romantic
Celia have in common relationships
D. contrasting clock faces with designs on D. Dorothea’s behavior . . . Dorothea’s
ancient shields hobbies

24 27
Dorothea is most accurately described as
According to the reasoning of the passage,
__________.
why might a man hesitate to make Dorothea
an offer of marriage? A. cruel, calculating, and irreverent
B. well-meaning, naïve, and self-assured
A. She spends too much time horseback C. talented, wise, and irreligious
riding. D. confident, clever, and bored
B. She is far more intelligent than any of her
potential suitors.
C. She plans her life out according to
unusual religious principles.
D. She is jealous and spiteful.

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28 31
In context, the underlined word “ardent” in The main purpose of this passage is
line 50 most closely means __________. ____________.
A. passionate
B. hard A. to contrast Dorothea with Celia
C. opaque B. to foreshadow that Dorothea will become
very ill
D. calm
C. to provide a detailed description of
Dorothea
29 D. to elaborate on Dorothea’s opinion of
men
Which physical feature of Dorothea’s helps
bias the community against her?

A. Her nose
B. Her ears
C. Her lips
D. Her eyes

30
Which of the following is the best evidence
that the narrator sympathizes with
Dorothea?

A. “Poor Dorothea!”
B. “Yet those who approached Dorothea,
though prejudiced against her by this
alarming hearsay found that she had a
charm unaccountably reconcilable with
it.”
C. “She was open, ardent, and not in the
least self-admiring”
D. “Women were expected to have weak
opinions, but the great safeguard of
society and of domestic life was that
opinions were not acted on.”

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written by men of genius, have had the same
Questions 32–41 are based on the tendency as more frivolous productions; and that
following passages. 45 they are only considered as females, and not as a part
of the human species, when improvable reason is
Passage A is adapted from A Vindication of the allowed to be the dignified distinction, which raises
Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792). men above the brute creation, and puts a natural
Passage B is adapted from John Stuart Mill’s The scepter in a feeble hand.
Subjection of Women (1869)
Passage A Passage B
After considering the historic page, and viewing The object of this Essay is to explain as clearly as
the living world with anxious solicitude, the most I am able grounds of an opinion which I have held
melancholy emotions of sorrowful indignation from the very earliest period when I had formed
Line have depressed my spirits, and I have sighed when any opinions at all on social political matters, and
5 obliged to confess, that either nature has made a 5 which, instead of being weakened or modified, has
great difference between man and man, or that the been constantly growing stronger by the progress
civilization, which has hitherto taken place in the reflection and the experience of life. That the
world, has been very partial. I have turned over principle which regulates the existing social relations
various books written on the subject of education, between the two sexes — the legal subordination of
10 and patiently observed the conduct of parents and 10 one sex to the other — is wrong itself, and now one
the management of schools; but what has been the of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and
result? A profound conviction, that the neglected that it ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect
education of my fellow creatures is the grand equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one
source of the misery I deplore; and that women side, nor disability on the other.
15 in particular are rendered weak and wretched by
a variety of concurring causes, originating from 15 The very words necessary to express the task I
one hasty conclusion. The conduct and manners have undertaken, show how arduous it is. But it
would be a mistake to suppose that the difficulty of
of women, in fact, evidently prove, that their
the case must lie in the insufficiency or obscurity of
minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the
the grounds of reason on which my convictions. The
20 flowers that are planted in too rich a soil, strength
and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the 20 difficulty is that which exists in all cases in which
flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious there is a mass of feeling to be contended against.
eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before So long as opinion is strongly rooted in the feelings,
it gains rather than loses instability by having a
the season when they ought to have arrived at
preponderating weight of argument against it.
25 maturity. One cause of this barren blooming I
attribute to a false system of education, gathered 25 For if it were accepted as a result of argument, the
refutation of the argument might shake the solidity
from the books written on this subject by men,
of the conviction; but when it rests solely on feeling,
who, considering females rather as women than
worse it fares in argumentative contest, the more
human creatures, have been more anxious to make
persuaded adherents are that their feeling must have
30 them alluring mistresses than rational wives; and
the understanding of the sex has been so bubbled 30 some deeper ground, which the arguments do not
reach; and while the feeling remains, it is always
by this specious homage, that the civilized women
throwing up fresh entrenchments of argument to
of the present century, with a few exceptions, are
repair any breach made in the old. And there are so
only anxious to inspire love, when they ought to
35 many causes tending to make the feelings connected
cherish a nobler ambition, and by their abilities
and virtues exact respect. 35 with this subject the most intense and most deeply-
rooted of those which gather round and protect old
In a treatise, therefore, on female rights and institutions and custom, that we need not wonder
manners, the works which have been particularly to find them as yet less undermined and loosened
written for their improvement must not be than any of the rest by the progress the great modern
40 overlooked; especially when it is asserted, in direct 40 spiritual and social transition; nor suppose that the
terms, that the minds of women are enfeebled by barbarisms to which men cling longest must be less
false refinement; that the books of instruction, barbarisms than those which they earlier shake off.

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32 35
What is the “one hasty conclusion” that In Passage A, the author’s use of the phrase
Passage A refers to in line 17? “barren blooming” (line 25) emphasizes what
she perceives as __________.
A. The idea that women and men should be
equally educated in the same manner A. the unequal power dynamic between men
B. The idea that men are too focused on and women during the author’s era
getting women to behave in a certain B. the lack of any education for women
culturally prescribed way whatsoever during the author’s era
C. The idea that men of the author’s era only C. the wasted potential of the women of the
treat women the way they do because they society of her era
are adhering to tradition views D. the proliferation of the treatment of
D. The idea that women are somehow women as females rather than human
beings
inferior to men

36
33
Which of the following best paraphrases lines
In the context in which it appears in Passage 25–34 of Passage B?
A, the word “bubbled” in line 31 means
__________.
A. While beliefs based on logical reasoning
A. flattered can be corrected, it is very difficult to
B. addled change beliefs founded on emotion.
C. misunderstood B. People who can distinguish their
arguments from emotions are generally
D. angered
more fervent in defending them.
C. We should only accept arguments that
incorporate both emotion and logic.
34 D. People who argue from an emotional
basis rarely change the opinions of those
This passage’s main idea can best be who make logical arguments.
summarized by which of the following
sentences?

A. There is a definite need for books about

education to be written by women.
B. Educational works written by men for
women treat women unfairly as females
instead of human beings.
C. Women are being failed by an educational
system that does not allow them to reach
their full potential.
D. Gender inequality is a terrible problem in
the author’s society.

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37 39
Imagine that another author argues that One of the main points argued by the author
during a time of great social change, the first of Passage B is __________.
beliefs and actions widely altered in a culture
are those that at the time are considered
the most backward and in need of change. A. we should consider emotional arguments
and logical arguments to be of equal
Which excerpt from Passage B most directly
validity
contradicts this claim?
B. every valid logical argument should also
be able to be backed up with emotions
A. “[W]e need not . . . suppose that the C. if someone’s conclusion is based on
barbarisms to which men cling longest emotion, arguing against it with logic will
must be less barbarisms than those which weaken it
they earlier shake off.” D. people often refuse to see reason when
B. “But it would be a mistake to suppose that arguing a point based on emotional
the difficulty of the case must lie in the evidence
insufficiency or obscurity of the grounds
of reason on which my convictions.”
C. “[T]here are . . . many causes tending to
make the feelings connected with this 40
subject the most intense and most deeply- From these passages it is reasonable to
rooted of those which gather round and infer that the two authors both value
protect old institutions and custom.” __________.
D. “So long as opinion is strongly rooted
in the feelings, it gains rather than loses
instability by having a preponderating A. exclusively women’s rights
weight of argument against it.” B. ethical equality in general
C. social order
38
D. social decorum
The author of Passage B thinks it will be
difficult to convince people of his argument 41
because __________.
Which of the following inferences could NOT
reasonably be drawn from both of these
A. he realizes that the opposition is passages?
emotionally grounded in their traditional
views
B. he realizes that he lacks evidence with A. The fundamental structure of society,
which to argue his case both on a social and a legal level, is
C. he admits that his argument is complex inherently biased against women.
and difficult to follow B. Social customs reinforce cultural biases.
D. he knows himself to be arguing from an C. The subjugation of women is restricted to
emotional standpoint, not a logical one the area of social mores and education.
D. There is no reasonable ethical or factual
basis for treating women as inferior
members of society.

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42
proposed the concept in 1932 after he figured
It is reasonable to assume that the 20 out that the mass of the Milky Way galaxy
positions advocated in these passages were must exceed its visible mass in order for its
____________ at the time they were
rotation to conform to the laws of physics.
published.
Technology wasn’t advanced enough to lend
A. in the mainstream him much evidence for his theory, but by
B. popular only among academics and social 25 the 1970s, Vera Rubin and Kent Ford had
elites more evidence to work with in the form of
C. deeply unpopular and unconventional galaxy rotation curves they constructed. A
D. None of these are reasonable assumptions galaxy rotation
to make about the contemporary curve is a graph
popularity of these positions. 30 that plots the
velocity at which
a star is orbiting
the center of a
Questions 43–52 are based on the
galaxy against
following passage and supplementary
35 the distance of
materials.
that star from
the center of
“Dark Matter: Mapping the Invisible” the galaxy. The
time-tested laws
One of the most prominent astronomical
of physics suggested that we could expect a
advances in the last century has been the
star at a certain distance to orbit at a certain
hypothesis that the universe contains dark 40
velocity, but the stars actually orbited much
Line matter. In fact, dark matter is thought to
faster than predicted. Dark matter could
5 compose most of the known universe! Thus,
account for the difference between expected
it’s imperative that we better understand it.
and observed results.
However, studying dark matter is inherently
problematic because it’s invisible not just 45 Since Rubin and Ford’s discovery,
to the naked eye, but to our most powerful scientists have been able to map out the
10 telescopes. In fact, dark matter can’t be seen hypothesized location of dark matter by
with any telescope because it absorbs light. observing the gravitational lensing of galaxy
Our eyes register things based on reflected clusters. Gravitational lensing is one of the
light, so if something doesn’t reflect any 50 effects of the theory of general relativity
light, it can’t be seen. This has presented articulated by Albert Einstein in a 1936
15 a significant problem to researching dark paper. Basically, it states that if light is
matter: how do you properly study something traveling from a distant star to your eyes
at astronomical distances without being able observing the star on Earth, a lot of different
to see it? 55 things can get in the way of the traveling
light, and due to their mass, can act as a lens
Dark matter isn’t a new idea; Jan
20 and bend the light. As a result of this bent
Oort (after whom Oort clouds are named)

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43
light, the observer may see multiple images
scattered around the source. The number of In the phrase “gravitational lensing,”
images the observer sees, and how complete “lensing” most nearly means __________.
60 they are, depends on the relative orientation
of the bodies involved: the closer the lens is to A. orbiting
the source, the more complete the images the B. mapping
observer sees. This relationship is important, C. absorbing
because it allows scientists who know where D. bending
65 the observer is standing and where a light
source is located to figure out the location 44
of the lens—whatever is making the light Which of the following best describes the
bend. Scientists have found that light is bent author’s likely motivation for including the
in instances where no regular, observable graph with this passage?
70 matter accounts for it, suggesting that dark
matter gets in the way and causes the lensing A. To supplement the passage’s claims with
effect. By analyzing images of many galaxy specific evidence from an experiment.
clusters, scientists are able to map out the B. To help the reader visualize the
hypothesized location of dark matter. This discrepancy between the predicted and
observed data.
adds to the evidence for the existence of dark
matter along with other measurements that C. To provide additional information not
mentioned anywhere in the passage.
have suggested that there is more mass in D. To show an example of the type of data
galaxy clusters than we can see. that Oort worked with.

45
Which of the following best summarizes this
passage’s first paragraph?

A. Dark matter, a relatively recent scientific

discovery, is difficult but rewarding to
study.
B. Dark matter cannot be seen because it
absorbs light.
C. Studying anything that you cannot see is
inherently difficult.
D. Our understanding of the universe has
improved vastly in the last century.

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46 49
According to the passage and the graph, Whereas the second paragraph focuses on
the observed results are __________ the __________, the third paragraph focuses
predicted results because of __________. on __________.

A. faster than . . . gravitational lensing A. how dark matter was discovered . . . how
B. faster than . . . dark matter it is researched
B. what dark matter is . . . how it is
C. slower than . . . gravitational lensing researched
D. slower than . . . dark matter C. how dark matter is researched . . . how
dark matter was discovered
D. how dark matter is researched . . . what
47 dark matter is

Which of the following answer choices puts

the scientists in the order in which their 50
referenced works were published, from
earliest in history to most recent? Which of the following is conveyed by the
graph?

A. Oort, Rubin and Ford, Einstein

A. The predicted data accounts for the
B. Einstein, Oort, Rubin and Ford presence of dark matter.
C. Einstein, Rubin and Ford, Oort B. Predicted and observed data differ more
D. Oort, Einstein, Rubin and Ford for stars relatively far away from the
galaxy center than for stars relatively
close to the galaxy center.
C. The observed data includes a decrease
48 in rotational velocity that has been
For what likely purpose does the author attributed to the presence of dark matter.
include the phrase “time-tested”? D. The predicted and observes data
correspond very nearly for stars near the
galaxy center due to gravitational lensing.
A. To suggest that just because the laws are
traditional does not make them reliable 51
B. To suggest that the laws involve time as a
The author claims that __________
variable in their equations
function(s) as evidence supporting the
C. To convey that scientific evidence has existence of dark matter.
proven the laws to be true over time
D. To convey that the laws have been A. gravitational lensing
tested and found to be true in timed B. differences in observed and predicted
experiments data in galaxy rotation curves and
gravitational lensing
C. differences in observed and predicted
data in galaxy rotation curves
D. differences in observed and predicted
data in galaxy rotation curves and the
locations of galaxies relative to Earth
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52
Astronomer A is studying a new galaxy
cluster. She sees three complete images of
the cluster projected around the light source.
Astronomer B, another scientist in the same
lab, is studying a different galaxy cluster. She
only sees one incomplete image of the cluster
projected near the light source. Based on the
passage, what can they conclude?

A. Astronomer B’s galaxy cluster is located

nearer to its source than Astronomer A’s
cluster is to its source.
B. Astronomer A is closer to her galaxy
cluster than is Astronomer B.
C. Nothing can be concluded about the
relative locations of the astronomers’
galaxy clusters based on this observation
because the astronomers don’t have
any information about the rotational
velocities of galaxies in either galaxy
cluster.
D. The astronomical object bending the light
around Astronomer A’s galaxy cluster
is located nearer to its source than the
astronomical object bending the light
around Astronomer B’s galaxy cluster is
to its source.

STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section.

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