Preptests 63 Answers and Explanations (By Ivy Global) Section 4 Reading Comprehension

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Kellie Henderson
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1 Section 4 Reading Comprehension Questions 1 7 Analyzing the Passage Issues related to defining the word tradition under Alaskan law are illustrated by two cases. Structure: In paragraph 1, we re introduced to the problem of defining the word tradition in Alaska, and are told that failure to define it has been problematic. Paragraph 2 gives us a standard understanding of the word tradition ; long-standing. Then, we re told that two recent cases exemplify what is wrong with this. Paragraph 3 gives a brief history of legislation surrounding sea otter pelts and the definition of tradition employed under it, focusing on the words commonly practised. In the final paragraph we re told about two cases in which this definition did not fit the practices involved, but were still traditional. The author concludes from these cases that the commonly practised definition defies our common sense definition of tradition. Answering the Questions 1. The main point is that issues related to defining the word tradition under Alaskan law are illustrated by two cases. a) This is the correct answer. b) The passage shows that this is not an appropriate definition. c) There s no evidence of a wave of lawsuits. d) We re only talking about one legal term here tradition. e) The difficulty of defining tradition isn t mentioned here, and it s the biggest part of the passage. 2. The court found that the commonly practised definition was strained because it didn t fit a common sense definition of the word tradition. This is mentioned at lines a) We re not introduced to a way that Alaska Natives define tradition. b) The dictionary definition of traditional is not mentioned here. d) The opposite of this happened the FWS did not use the word when it should have been used. e) This never occurred in the passage. 3. The court s decision was based on facts surrounding the Russian possession of Alaska in the 1700s, and how it impeded the creation of formerly traditional sea otter pelt items. a) The court actually broadened their interpretation.

2 b) The court used a common-sense interpretation of traditional, which eliminated the use of within living memory. c) The problem was with definition, not the regulations. d) The 1910 treaty was not re-investigated. e) This is the correct answer. 4. The 1986 court upheld the original FWS standards and definition, which required the items to be commonly practised within living memory. a) There s no suggestion of a compromise here. b) This is the correct answer. c) This is what the 1991 court attempted to recognize (that the 1986 court failed to.) d) This is simply untrue, as the practice needed to be both old and recently practised. e) The concerns of the Alaskan Natives were not explored. 5. We ll have to go straight to the answer choices for this question. a) This is the correct answer. Paragraph 3 tells us that the Fur Seal Treaty of 1919 prohibited all use of sea otter pelts, and that an exception wasn t present until the 1972 amendment. b) The certain items were not specifically mentioned, and this was a part of the problem. c) We know that Alaskan Natives stopped producing a certain craft at this time, but not why. d) The sea otter population isn t mentioned in the passage. e) There s no comparison to other animals in the passage. 6. The author mentions the Fur Seal Treaty to gives us a history of legislation surrounding this specific issue. a) This is not mentioned in the passage. b) Other animals are out of the scope of the passage. c) This is just about hunting sea otters, not other animals. d) Russians are only mentioned in the discontinuation of a specific handicraft. e) This is the correct answer. 7. In this case there was an external factor that stopped the handicraft from being created. We ll need to find something with a situation analogous to the Russian takeover of Alaska. a) There is no external roadblock present here. b) The aspect of this handicraft being commonly practised is not noted and there is no external roadblock. The loss of the herd animals is analogous to the Russian takeover. d) There is no external roadblock here. e) There is no external roadblock here.

3 Questions 8 15 Analyzing the Passage Chopin s literary style developed throughout changes in the mainstream artistry of sentimental novels. Summary: Paragraph 1 introduces us to writer Kate Chopin, who grew up with sentimental domestic novels, but began writing under the local colorist tradition. Paragraph 2 explores the local colorist tradition, which redefined women s culture in the face of higher education, professions, and politics, yearning for a nostalgic past. Paragraph 3 tells us that Chopin didn t really follow the colorist tradition, as she focuses on more human emotions but she took from the tradition the use of detached narrative. In paragraph 4, we re introduced to the New Women movement, which Chopin took a liking to, and really wrote The Awakening in the face of, perhaps to an extreme. Answering the Question 8. The main point of the passage is that Chopin s literary style developed throughout changes in the mainstream artistry of sentimental novels. a) Chopin stayed far away from the sentimental novels of her youth. b) This is the correct answer. c) Other works of fiction are not mentioned as being remarkably different from Chopin s. d) The opposite of this is true. e) The opposite of this is true Chopin liked the style of the local colorists, but not the subject matter. 9. Chopin liked the detached style of the local colorists, but not really what they wrote about, or about their nostalgia for the sentimental world of women s culture. a) This is the correct answer. b) Chopin liked the dispassionate observation of characters and used it in her own work. c) We don t know that the local colorists inspired the New Women. d) In lines we re told that the local colorists focused on the new realms that opened for women. e) Paragraph 3 is all about how their style was to portray extreme psychological states with scientific detachment. 10. Chopin adopted a detached stance, according to lines a) This was sentimental approach. b) Chopin did not approve of this. d) Chopin used weak plot lines, according to paragraph 4.

4 e) This was Chopin s own addition to her novels, and was not gleaned from any other tradition. 11. Traditional women s culture refers to the interests of the sentimentalists according to lines7 10, this was within the realm of courtship and marriage. a) This is the correct answer. b) The local colorists focused on this (lines 35-36). c) This is not mentioned as an aspect of any of the type of fiction. d) The local colorists focused on this (lines 13 16). e) The local colorists focused on this (lines 13 16). 12. We re told that Chopin grew up with sentimental novels, but had no desire to follow in the same vein as them. a) The opposite of this is true. b) Chopin didn t fully reject the local colorists, nor did she do so because of her dislike of sentimentalists. d) These consequences are never mentioned. e) This isn t needed for the passage; it wouldn t help it move along in any way. 13. There were a lot of similarities between the New Women and The Awakening, but according to paragraph 4, Chopin was even more impressionistic. Lines tell us that she embraced the impressionistic approach even more fully than the New Women. a) Both Chopin and the New Women did this (lines 49 52). b) Both Chopin and the New Women did this (lines 46 47). d) Both Chopin and the New Women did this (lines 44 47). e) Chopin was uneven and disjointed, according to lines The primary purpose of the passage is to describe the development of Chopin s literary style. a) We re not told about any aspects of Chopin s personal life. b) This is the correct answer. c) Chopin is not used as a typified example. The passage is about her; she isn t used as evidence. d) External social circumstances are not really mentioned as a contributing factor to Chopin s work. e) Other writers are out of the scope of the passage. 15. We ll have to move straight to the answer choices for this question. a) There s no evidence of novelists effect on social customs. b) There is no evidence of this phenomenon in the passage. c) We re not told about the development of social customs and how they relate to changes in literary styles.

5 d) This is the correct answer. In each phase of evolution, a new aspect of women s life was investigated. e) This was the local colorists approach that Chopin liked, but that doesn t make it the most accurate approach. Questions Analyzing the Passage Two discoveries have led to a new theory about the spreading of the ocean floor, which lies in stark contrast to the formerly accepted theory that the floor remained unchanged. Structure: Paragraph 1 introduces us to an old theory of the ocean floor that it has remained unchanged. New information is introduced about the polarity of basalt. In paragraph 2, we re told about the new theory of ocean spreading, and given some background information regarding the development of the mid-ocean ridge. Paragraph 3 gives three reasons why the evidence supports the new theory of ocean spreading. Answering the Question 16. The main point is that two discoveries have led to a new theory about the spreading of the ocean floor, which lies in stark contrast to the formerly accepted theory that the floor remained unchanged. a) This passage is about changes in the ocean floor, not about the formation of it. b) We likely already knew that basalt was magnetic this discovery just hadn t been applied to knowledge of the ocean floor. d) This is a detail, from the background information in the first paragraph. e) We started to map the ocean floor, but not for that end in itself it was a means for discovering more about the magnetic properties of the floor. 17. The evidence given in the last paragraph is there to bolster the new theory of ocean spreading. a) Rate is not the same thing as correlation. b) We re not looking to prove that the mid-ocean range exists, but that the characteristics of it that support the ocean-spreading theory. c) We don t know what the magnetic field of the earth was believed to be before this theory. d) This is the correct answer. e) The regularity of the intervals is not supported by the passage.

6 18. We know that, once magma solidifies into basalt, the magnetite grains are locked in as aligned with the current polarity of the earth. Paragraph 1 explains this. a) This is the correct answer. b) All magnetite grains align themselves with the earth s current magnetic field (lines 16 20). c) We don t know about other type of rock. d) We don t know how big the grains are. e) We don t know how big the grains are. 19. We know that basalt occurs in magnetic strips due to the reversing of the polarity of the earth (lines 30 34), so if the time varies, then the width of each strip will be different. a) This happens in areas where the magnetic field is aligned with a reversed polarity; not necessarily when peaks occur. b) This happens no matter what; it s not an unequal distribution that causes it. d) We aren t given any evidence that this is true. e) The age could change, since the earth stays at a specific polarity for any given amount of time. 20. We ll have to go straight to the answer choices for this. a) This is not important other types of rock are out of scope. b) This is the correct answer. We now have more evidence to show that the earth s reversals did occur at the same time that the polarity of the rocks reversed. c) Land is out of scope. This is simply about oceanic rock. d) Height is out of scope. e) The presence of other type of rock is out of scope. 21. We ll have to go straight to the answer choices for this. a) This is the correct answer. The ocean-spreading theory suggests that rock gets older as you get further away from the mid-ocean ridge so it s likely that the oldest rock is near land (and thus, furthest from the middle of the ocean.) b) Polarity can t change in basalt. The first paragraph tells us that it locks in, essentially. c) We don t have evidence suggesting that there is a distinction between compass readings under water vs. on land. d) There is no support for this anywhere in the passage. e) Since the polarity jumps back and forth, we ll see about half of the bands with present polarity, and half with the reversal. Questions Analyzing the Passages

7 Passage A Objectivity in historical scholarship requires a separation from external factors like interpretation and political considerations. Structure: Paragraph 1 introduces objectivity as an ideal of historical scholarship, and gives us three assumptions upon which this ideal is based. In paragraph 2, we re told that the objective ideal is independent of interpretation. Historians may ascribe events different meanings, but these meanings are separate from the events themselves. Paragraph 3 compares the role of objective historians to the judiciary objectivity means one must be free of external loyalties and biases. Passage B Historical arguments should be objective, and objectivity should not be confused with neutrality. Structure: In paragraph 1, the author tells us that objective historical scholarship requires self-discipline. Paragraph 2 explores the distinction between objectivity and neutrality. The author argues that objectivity is best embodied by the idea of the powerful argument, which values detachment as a method for reaching an objective argument, not as an end in itself. The author concludes, in paragraph 3, that the best arguments are objective, not neutral, and gives an example of the neutral mechanical TV newscaster. Answering the Questions 22. Both of the passages deal with objectivity in historical scholarship, and how the ideal of objectivity can best be reached. a) Neither of the passages mentions serious flaws. b) This is the correct answer. c) There s no historical explanation given. d) Passage A mentions relativist historians, but neither passage really makes a judgment call on them. e) No historical perspective is given. 23. We ll have to straight to the answer choices for this. a) Other disciplines are not mentioned in either passage. b) Methodologies are not mentioned in either passage. A mentions it in lines 10 11, and B mentions it in lines d) The level of detail given in an answer is not mentioned in either passage. e) B mentions this, but A does not. 24. We ll have to go straight to the answer choices for this question.

8 a) Author A and author B would likely agree over this. b) This is the correct answer. B would agree with this (see lines 34-35) and A would disagree with it (see lines 20 21). c) No historical perspective is given in either passage. d) Both authors talk about propaganda, but neither speaks to it as being essential. e) There s no exploration of historical changes. 25. We ll have to go straight to the answer choices for this question. a) Neither author makes a judgment call about whether or not historians can actually be objective. b) This is the correct answer. Both authors focus on the importance of objectivity. c) Author B would disagree with this she states the opposite at lines d) There is no judgment call about whether or not historians can evaluate their own objectivity. e) There is no judgment call about the number of historians who are objective. 26. Both passages touch on propagandist historians as the opposite of the ideal objectivist. a) We don t hear from proponents of a rival approach in either passage. b) Fields other than history are not mentioned in either passage. c) There s no suggestion that propagandist history was ever credited. d) This is the correct answer. e) Other kinds of writing are not mentioned in either passage. 27. Both authors point out the difficulties in being objective in order to advance their own theory of historical objectivity. a) Neither passage gives any specific example of failed objectivity. b) Recent developments are never mentioned. c) Opposing arguments are not brought in. d) Other fields of scholarship are never mentioned. e) This is the correct answer.

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