It is so uncommon for a rarified academic term to make the leap.

It is so uncommon for a rarified academic term to make the leap from peer-reviewed scholarly journals to common usage that, when it does, the phenomenon deserves consideration. Such is the case with the word meme and the related but less commonly used words memetics and memeplexes. Meme was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe an idea, story, concept, image, or other cultural construct that moves through a culture seemingly with a life of its own, shaping that culture's zeitgeist in a way similar to that by which gene mutation in a species directs biological evolution. Memetics, the study of memes and their progress through cultures and of memeplexes (clusters of related memes), has been a fruitful specialization for many social scientists, from linguists to anthropologists.

The transition of the word meme into popular usage is itself an example of how memes operate. Dawkins's comparison of genes and memes suggests that these entities work to propagate themselves, ensuring their own survival. Throughout their life spans, many memes weave a distinguishable path through a culture. For example, some Internet memes, which can spread through Web sites, email, blogs, and social networking, are obviously spawned by current event, such as when a political meme critical of a particular military action can be traced back to a particular act of aggression. Other Internet memes can seem culturally baseless. For instance, a picture of a cat posed with its paw on a computer mouse with the tag "I has mouse," is difficult to trace in terms of cultural relevance, yet this type of meme often becomes hot, racing from host to host.

1. The author would most likely agree with which of the following?

(A) Internet memes with no clear cultural significance should be studied more than those with such significance.
(B) Dawkins's characterization of memes might in fact betray some analytic missteps.
(C) An idea's cultural influence may seem entirely unrelated to its cultural relevance.
(D) The current zeitgeist is largely informed by the transmission of Web-based memes.
(E) The allure of memetics derives from its not inconsiderable status as a cultural anomaly.

2. According to the passage, each of the following is true of memes EXCEPT

(A) memes are able to modify the systems in which they operate
(B) memes are like parasites that embed themselves into their hosts
(C) memes can express partisan viewpoints
(D) memes are capable of demonstrating a semblance of agency
(E) memes can acquire import despite an obscure societal utility.

3. The passage provides support for which of the following assertions about Internet memes?

(A) Social networking as a cultural phenomenon could itself be considered a form of meme.
(B) The evolution of memes as they disseminate through electronic culture is of utmost interest.
(C) The study of culturally irrelevant memes is pointless.
(D) A model that may best explain the dissemination of an image across Web sites can be drawn from the biological sciences.
(E) Personifying memes as life forms may hinder researchers’ understanding of how they spread.