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- 1. Multiple Choice
Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would best orient the audience and provide an engaging introduction to the topic of the first paragraph?
The process of domestication varies by species.
As any pet owner knows, dogs and cats are very different.
Domestication is the taming of an animal and then keeping it as a pet or as a farm animal.
The natural instincts of dogs and cats toward one another are usually antagonistic, but pet owners can help foster friendly relationships between their pets.
The natural instincts of dogs and cats toward one another are usually antagonistic, but pet owners can help foster friendly relationships between their pets.
- 2. Multiple Choice
2. Which of the following versions of sentence 3 (reproduced below) best previews the line of reasoning in the passage?
Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit and providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans.
(As it is now)
However, because cats and dogs are so dissimilar in their behaviors, many people prefer one animal to the other.
Yet when we look further back in their history, both cats and dogs share a common ancestor: a mammal of the order Carnivora.
While dogs may be the oldest companion species of humans, this does not necessarily mean that cats are less thoroughly domesticated than dogs are.
Obtaining access to a steady supply of food is crucial to the story of domestication for both species.
- 3. Multiple Choice
In sentence 14 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide descriptive details that appeal to the audience’s emotions and experiences.
The recent discovery at the site of a 5,500-year-old Chinese farming village of cultivated millet isotopes in the bones of both rodents (who ate the millet) and cats (who ate the rodents) proves that agriculture brought us more than just food.
Which of the following versions of the underlined text best achieves this purpose?
(as it is now)
food, although without agriculture, the development of civilization would never have been possible
food, the history of which is equally as fascinating as the history of the domestication of dogs and cats
food; farmers continue to struggle with the problems of pests to this day, but the technology at their disposal is far greater than anything these early farmers could have imagined
food: it also brought us those graceful, warm, furry creatures who snooze contentedly in our homes and delight us with their playful antics
- 4. Multiple Choice
In sentence 5 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide further evidence to refute the claim that the domestication of dogs occurred when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets.
Although some argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far more likely is that some wolves began to follow human hunters.
Which of the following versions of the underlined text best accomplishes this goal?
hunters, though always careful not to get too close to these hunters
hunters, who led a nomadic lifestyle
hunters, drawn by the smell of cooking meat and the chance to scavenge
hunters, sometimes for extended periods
hunters, who sometimes inhabited caves or constructed shelters out of wood
- 5. Multiple Choice
Reading 2. Click when you're done!
done!
Not done.
- 6. Multiple Choice
The writer is considering deleting the underlined independent clause in sentence 7 (reproduced below), adjusting the punctuation as necessary.
In a classic experiment, students who watched their schools compete in a football game subsequently remembered the adversary’s team performing worse than their own: confirmation bias caused the students, who already believed in their own school’s superiority, to interpret what they had seen as support for their preexisting beliefs.
Should the writer keep or delete the underlined text?
Keep it, because it suggests that certain groups of people may be more susceptible than others to confirmation bias.
Keep it, because it provides an example that explains how confirmation bias affects memory.
Keep it, because it contains a personal story about confirmation bias that appeals to a wide audience.
Delete it, because it interferes with the flow of the paragraph by introducing evidence that is not relevant.
Delete it, because it contradicts the claim made earlier in the sentence.
- 7. Multiple Choice
The writer wants to combine sentences 11 and 12 (reproduced below) into a single sentence.
But when the stakes are high, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great. An example of a high-stakes situation would be when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate.
Which of the following revisions to the underlined portion of sentences 11 and 12 most effectively accomplishes this goal?
high, then the risks of making biased decisions—one example of which would be when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate—are simply too great
high, one good example of which is a defendant having his or her fate being deliberated by jurors, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great
high (for example, when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the stakes would be high), the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great
high, such as when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great
high—like a defendant whose fate is being deliberated by jurors—the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great
- 8. Multiple Choice
The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the passage after sentence 3.
Though the phenomenon has been observed throughout history by philosophers, historians, and novelists, the term “confirmation bias” itself wasn’t invented until the 1960s by British psychologist Peter Wason.
Should the writer add this sentence after sentence 3?
Yes, because it provides contextualizing information that is necessary for the audience to understand the writer’s argument.
Yes, because it contains an important insight into the exigence that prompted the writer to write the passage.
Yes, because it offers an effective appeal to the audience’s sense of logic by detailing the long history of confirmation bias.
No, because it fails to give enough details about Peter Wason’s credentials to establish his credibility with the audience.
No, because it gives evidence that is not relevant to the passage’s overall line of reasoning and therefore does not strengthen the validity of the writer’s argument.
- 9. Multiple Choice
In sentence 13 (reproduced below), the writer wants to include a piece of relevant evidence that will help convince the reader to accept the techniques used by Warren Buffet as credible.
Fortunately, there are techniques, like those used by Warren Buffett (born in Omaha, Nebraska, in1930) when he makes his financial decisions that can minimize the risks of confirmation bias.
Which of the following versions of the underlined portion of sentence 13 best accomplishes this goal?
(as it is now)
whose ability to tell a story is legendary
one of the most successful investors in history
a noted philanthropist
whose father was a member of the United States Congress
- 10. Multiple Choice
Which of the following sentences in the passage can best be described as the writer’s thesis statement?
Sentence 1
Sentence 5
Sentence 8
Sentence 11
Sentence 15
- 11. Multiple Choice
The writer is considering adding the sentence below immediately after sentence 1 in order to further develop the argument in the first paragraph.
When I decided where to go to college, for example, I thought I had considered every factor and made the best possible choice.
Should the writer add this sentence after sentence 1?
Yes, because it describes a personal experience that helps illustrate the point made in sentence.
Yes, because it makes the audience feel closer to the writer by revealing information about the writer’s past.
Yes, because it demonstrates the writer’s authority by showing how the writer overcame confirmation bias.
No, because it makes the writer seem biased because it uses personal experience as support for an argument.
No, because it does not clarify when this experience occurred and therefore might be irrelevant.
- 12. Multiple Choice
In sentence 3 (reproduced below), the writer is considering deleting the underlined portion, adjusting the punctuation as necessary.
Confirmation bias, which describes the human tendency to interpret new information in a way that supports our preexisting beliefs, makes people tend to accept information that confirms what they already believe and reject information that undermines those beliefs.
Should the writer keep or delete the underlined text?
Keep it, because it completes the writer’s comparison between the way people think they make decisions and the way they actually make decisions.
Keep it, because it develops the writer’s ideas by providing a definition of confirmation bias, which is the central concept of the passage.
Keep it, because it advances a narrative in the passage about how the writer came to understand the importance of confirmation bias.
Delete it, because it fails to add vivid details about or examples of confirmation bias, making the writing less effective.
Delete it, because it introduces a cause of bias in the way people accept or reject ideas whose effects are not elaborated on later in the passage.
- 13. Multiple Choice
In the context of the passage, which of the following versions of the underlined text is the most effective way to introduce the evidence provided in sentence 10 (reproduced below) ?
Confirmation bias does admittedly have its uses: it can, for example, increase the efficiency with which we process information and also protect us against information that might be damaging to our self- esteem.
(As it is now)
Based on these findings, it is difficult to overstate the dangers of confirmation bias:
Confirmation bias can have other, more subtle, detrimental effects as well:
The risk of confirmation bias is not limited to a few study results, however;
Researchers continue to identify ways in which confirmation bias can impair people’s ability to make important decisions:
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