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Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage: In
[#permalink]
19 Dec 2005, 15:46
Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage:
In nearly all human populations a majority of individuals can taste the artificially synthesized chemical phenylthiocarbonide (PTC). However, the percentage varies dramatically--from as low as 60% in India to as high as 95% in Africa. That this polymorphism is observed in non-human primates as well indicates a long evolutionary history which, although obviously not acting on PTC, might reflect evolutionary selection for taste discrimination of other, more significant bitter substances, such as certain toxic plants.
A somewhat more puzzling human polymorphism is the genetic variability in earwax, or cerumen, which is observed in two varieties. Among European populations 90% of individuals have a sticky yellow variety rather than a dry, gray one, whereas in northern China these numbers are approximately the reverse. Perhaps like PTC variability, cerumen variability is an incidental expression of something more adaptively significant. Indeed, the observed relationship between cerumen and odorous bodily secretions, to which non-human primates and, to a lesser extent humans, pay attention suggests that during the course of human evolution genes affecting body secretions, including cerumen, came under selective influence.
Question 1
It can be inferred from the passage that human populations vary considerably in their
(A) sensitivity to certain bodily odors
(B) capacity for hearing
(C) ability to assimilate artificial chemicals
(D) vulnerability to certain toxins found in plants
(E) ability to discern bitterness in taste
Question 2
Which of the following provides the most reasonable explanation for the assertion in the first paragraph that evolutionary history "obviously" did not act on PTC?
(A) PTC is not a naturally occurring chemical but rather has been produced only recently by scientists.
(B) Most humans lack sufficient taste sensitivity to discriminate between PTC and bitter chemicals occurring naturally.
(C) Variability among humans respecting PTC discrimination, like variability respecting earwax, cannot be explained in terms of evolutionary adaptivity.
(D) The sense of taste in humans is not as discriminating as that in non-human primates.
(E) Unlike non-human primates, humans can discriminate intellectually between toxic and non-toxic bitter substances.
Question 3
Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
(A) Artificially synthesized chemicals might eventually serve to alter the course of evolution by desensitizing humans to certain tastes and odors.
(B) Some human polymorphisms might be explained as vestigial evidence of evolutionary adaptations that still serve vital purposes in other primates.
(C) Sensitivity to taste and to odors have been subject to far greater natural selectivity during the evolution of primates than previously thought.
(D) Polymorphism among human populations varies considerably from region to region throughout the world.
(E) The human senses of taste and smell have evolved considerably over the course of evolutionary history.
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Questions 4-6 are based on the following passage:
The poetic expressiveness and creativity of Japanese women poets of the Manyoshu era is generally regarded as a manifestation of the freedom and relatively high political and economic status women of that era enjoyed. During the Heian period (A.D. 794-1185) which followed, Japanese women became increasingly relegated to domestic roles under the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, which excluded women from the political and economic arenas. Yet, since poetry of the period came to be defined solely as short lyrical poetry, known as waka, and became the prevailing means of expressing love, women continued to excel in and play a central role in the development of classical Japanese poetry. Moreover, while official Japanese documents were written in Chinese, the phoenetic alphabet kana was used for poetry. Also referred to as onna moji ("women's letters"), kana was not deemed sufficiently sophisticated for use by Japanese men, who continued to write Chinese poetry, increasingly for expressing religious ideas and as an intellectual pastime. Chinese poetry ultimately yielded, then, to waka as the mainstream of Japanese poetry.
Question 4
Based on the passage, mainstream Japanese poetry of the Heian period can best be described as
(A) philosophical in its concern
(B) more refined than the poetry of the Manyoshu era
(C) an outgowth of Buddhism and Confucianism
(D) sentimental in nature and lyrical in style
(E) written primarily for a female audience
Question 5
Which of the following statements about kana finds the LEAST support in the passage?
(A) It was based on the sound of the Japanese language.
(B) It was used primarily by Japanese women.
(C) It was used for Japanese poetry but not for Japanese prose.
(D) It was used in Japan after A.D. 793.
(E) It was considered inappropriate for austere subject matter.
Question 6
The author's primary purpose in the passage is to
(A) refute a commonly accepted explanation for the role of women in the development of Japanese poetry
(B) identify the reasons for the popularity of a distinct form of literary expression in Japan
(C) distinguish between the Japanese poetry of one historical period with that of another
(D) trace the influence of religion on the development of Japanese poetry
(E) provide an explanation for the role of women in the development of Japanese poetry
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Questions 7-10 are based on the following passage:
In the past century Irish painting has changed from a British-influenced lyrical tradition to an art that evokes the ruggedness and roots of an Irish Celtic past. At the turn of the twentieth century Irish painters, including notables Walter Frederick Osborne and Sir William Orpen, looked elsewhere for influence. Osborne's exposure to "plein air" painting deeply impacted his stylistic development; and Orpen allied himself with a group of English artists, while at the same time participated in the French avant-garde experiment, both as painter and teacher.
However, nationalist energies were beginning to coalesce, reviving interest in Irish culture--including Irish visual arts. Beatrice Elvery's Éire (1907), a landmark achievement, merged the devotional simplicity of fifteenth-century Italian painting with the iconography of Ireland's Celtic past, linking the history of Irish Catholicism with the still-nascent Irish republic. And, although also captivated by the French plein air school, Sir John Lavery invoked the mythology of his native land for a 1928 commission to paint the central figure for the bank note of the new Irish Free State. Lavery chose as this figure Éire, with her arm on a Celtic harp, the national symbol of independent Ireland.
In Irish painting from about 1910, memories of Edwardian romanticism coexisted with a new sense of realism, exemplified by the paintings of Paul Henry and Seán Keating, a student of Orpen's. Realism also crept into the work of Edwardians Lavery and Orpen, both of whom made paintings depicting World War I, Lavery with a distanced Victorian nobility, Orpen closer to the front, revealing a more sinister and realistic vision. Meanwhile, counterpoint to the Edwardians and realists came Jack B. Yeats, whose travels throughout the rugged and more authentically Irish West led him to depict subjects ranging from street scenes in Dublin to boxing matches and funerals. Fusing close observations of Irish life and icons with an Irish identity in a new way, Yeats changed the face of Irish painting and became the most important Irish artist of his century.
Question 7
With respect to which of the following painters does the passage provide LEAST support for the assertion that the painter was influenced by the contemporary art of France?
(A) Walter Frederick Osborne
(B) Sir William Orpen
(C) Beatrice Elvery
(D) Seán Keating
(E) Sir John Lavery
Question 8
Which of the following best explains the author's use of the word "counterpoint" in referring to Yeats?
(A) Yeats' paintings differed significantly in subject matter from those of his contemporaries in Ireland.
(B) Yeats reacted to the realism of his contemporary artists by invoking nineteenth-century naturalism in his own painting style.
(C) Yeats avoided religious and mythological themes in favor of mundane portrayals of Irish life.
(D) Yeats' paintings suggested that his political views departed radically from those of the Edwardians and the realists.
(E) Yeats built upon the realism painting tradition, elevating it to unprecedented artistic heights.
Question 9
The author points out the coexistence of romanticism and realism most probably in order to show that
(A) Irish painters of the early twentieth century often combined elements of realism with those of romanticism into a single painting
(B) Irish painters of the early twentieth century tended to romanticize the harsh reality of war
(C) for a time painters from each school influenced painters from the other school
(D) Yeats was influenced by both the romantic and realist schools of Irish painting
(E) the transition in Irish painting from one predominant style to the other was not an abrupt one
Question 10
Which of the following is the most likely title of a longer article in which the passage might have appeared?
(A) "20th Century Irish Masterpieces: A Coalescence of Painting Styles"
(B) "Who Deserves Credit for the Preeminence of Yeats among Irish Painters?"
(C) "Realism vs. Romanticism: Ireland's Struggle for National Identity"
(D) "Irish Paintings: Reflections of an Emerging Independent State"
(E) "The Role of Celtic Mythology in Irish Painting"
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Re: Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage: In [#permalink]