Passage 1
Concord staked its claim to be the birthplace of Independence during
the celebration of "America's jubilee" on April 19, 1825, the fiftieth
anniversary of Concord Fight. Concord in 1825 was an expansive town of
nineteen hundred inhabitants, thriving with crafts and trade in the
village and surrounded by farms prospering on demand from rising urban
centers in the long boom that accompanied the opening phase of the
Industrial Revolution in the Northeast. It also occupied a prominent
place on the political landscape; as a shire town, where the county
courts convened, it had risen into a leading center of Middlesex
County, and its politicians were major players on that stage. Economic
and political ambitions, as well as pride in the past, drove the
insistence that
Concord was the "first site of forcible resistance to British aggression."
A decade later, by the mid-1830s, with over two thousand inhabitants,
Concord was probably at its political and economic pinnacle. The
central village hosted some nine stores, forty shops, four hotels and
taverns, four doctors and four lawyers, a variety of county
associations, a printing office and a post office. Manufacturing was
humming, too, with a growing mill village in the west part of town,
along the quick-running Assabet River, and rising production of
carriages and chaises, boots and shoes, bricks, guns, bellows, and
pencils.
But a good many people were left out of the prosperity. In what was
still a farming town, 64 percent of adult males were landless, while
the top tenth of taxpayers, some fifty men, controlled nearly half the
wealth. Those who failed to obtain a stake in society, native and
newcomer
alike, quickly moved on. The ties that once joined neighbors together
were fraying. On the farms, the old work customs — the huskings,
roof-raisings, and apple bees — by which people cooperated to complete
essential chores gave way to modern capitalist arrangements. When men
needed help, they hired it, and paid the going rate, which no longer
included the traditional ration of grog. With a new zeal
for temperance, employers abandoned the custom of drinking with
workers in what had been a ritual display of camaraderie. There was no
point in pretending to common bonds.
With the loosening of familiar obligations came unprecedented
opportunities for personal autonomy and voluntary choice.
Massachusetts inaugurated a new era of religious pluralism in 1834,
ending two centuries of mandatory support for local churches. Even in
Concord, a slim majority approved the change, and as soon as it
became law, townspeople deserted the two existing churches — the
Unitarian flock of the Reverend Ripley and an orthodox Calvinist
congregation started in 1826 — in droves. The Sabbath no longer
brought all ranks and orders together in obligatory devotion to the
Word of God. Instead, townspeople gathered in an expanding array of
voluntary associations — libraries, lyceums, charitable and missionary
groups, Masonic lodges, antislavery and temperance societies, among
others — to promote diverse projects for the common good. The
privileged classes, particularly the village elite, were remarkably
active in
these campaigns. But even as they pulled back from customary roles and
withdrew into private associations, they continued to exercise public
power.
1. The passage suggests which of the following about members of the
village elite in post-1834 Concord?
a) Private associations had forced them to relinquish political power.
b) Politically, they were more in favor of religious pluralism than
were non-elite citizens.
c) They ceased all Sabbath worship once religious pluralism became
law in Massachusetts.
d) Many had abandoned the Unitarian and Calvinist churches in favor
of non-church activities.
e) They utilized their wealth to found a growing number of diverse
projects for the common good.
2. The primary purpose of this passage is to
a) argue that religious and political freedom in Concord was
beneficial to the city's economic development
b) depict the lifestyle of Concord's elite citizens during the 19th century
c) argue that social alienation was necessary for Concord's economic
and political development in the 19th century
d) define Concord's place in American history post- Independence
e) describe 19th century Concord's key economic and political
changes, along with their impact on societal norms
3. According to the passage, which of the following is true of
18th-century Massachusetts residents?
a) Most were landless and ultimately forced to move on.
b) They numbered over two thousand.
c) They were forced to support local churches.
d) Some celebrated "America's Jubilee".
e) They occupied prominent positions in Middlesex County courts.
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Passage 2
The bond between the domestic dog and humans is such that the dog
exists in every part of the world inhabited by people. The
relationship between the two species stretches back tens of thousands
of years, to the first domestication of the wolf. Every modern breed
of domestic dog, of which there are more than 400 today, is descended
from this wild ancestor. Prehistoric humans had contact with other
wild canids, such as jackals, foxes, dholes, and African hunting dogs,
but only the wolf possessed the characteristics that allowed for
integration into human
life, which implies social assimilation, as opposed to mere
domestication, which requires only a taming of wild instincts in the
animal. So while dogs have been integrated, animals such as cows,
sheep, and goats have not.
The traits in the wolf that allowed for integration are threefold.
First, the wolf is a highly social animal, living in packs, akin to
the social networks of humans. In the absence of this behavior, it
would have been difficult for the first captive wolf pups to remain in
a human settlement, constantly surrounded by other creatures. Wild
canids such as the jackal and fox are solitary animals and would not
have adapted easily, if at all, to social living. Second, wolves
possess a system of social stratification remarkably similar to that
of humans: each member of
the group is aware of its rank in the chain of dominance and is loyal
to higher-ranking members. Humans exploited this innate sensitivity to
hierarchy by raising wolf cubs to be submissive. Third, wolves are
highly intelligent creatures, able to learn tasks quickly. Without
this attribute,
the wolf would have been of little use to early man, since it does not
provide meat, milk, or wool. The more intelligent the captive wolf,
the more likely humans would have sought to breed it, resulting in
perpetuation of this inborn intelligence and culminating in the
remarkable cognitive abilities of modern dogs.
The development of different breeds from the wolf appears to have
begun as early as 2000 B.C. in ancient Egypt and parts of western
Asia. The first recorded instances of physically distinct breeds come
from these areas. In Egypt, dogs resembling modern greyhounds were
prevalent, while in western Asia dogs resembling modern mastiffs
were common. The distinct body types of these breeds perhaps reflect
the different purposes for which they were bred: greyhounds for
chasing swift prey, such as hares, and mastiffs for grappling with
larger prey, such as boars or antelope. But this is only speculation;
the historical record from this period is too sparse to allow
certainty on
the matter.
1. Which of the following most accurately states the main
idea of the passage?
a) Humans value dogs more than they value any other domestic animal.
b) The domestication of the wolf has no parallel in any other animal.
c) Certain desirable traits not present in other animals allowed the wolf
to become the modern dog.
d) Domestication of the wolf has been unquestionably successful.
e) Wolves are similar to humans in several important aspects.
2. The passage suggests which of the following about the modern dog?
a) It is the best social companion of all domesticated animals.
b) Its intelligence is unsurpassed among household animals.
c) It cannot survive outside of a social environment.
d) Its body type always reflects the purpose for which it was bred.
e) It perceives humans as superior to itself.
3. All of the following statements are supported by the passage EXCEPT:
a) Sheep are not part of the social fabric of human life.
b) It is not possible to domesticate jackals or foxes.
c) Submissiveness is a desirable trait in domesticated animals.
d) Humans tended to domesticate those animals that provided some
benefit to them.
e) The purpose of early breeds of dog is not known.
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Passage 3
In recent years, a class of drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors has gotten
much publicity for the drugs' power to relieve inflammation and pain.
These drugs are relatively new to the pharmaceutical industry, their
mechanisms of action having been discovered only in 1971. That year,
John Vane discovered the relationship between nonsteroidal
antiinflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, and a group of molecules,
called prostaglandins, responsible for producing the sensation of pain
in the human body, among other functions.
Prostaglandins were first discovered in the 1930s and are now known to
be generated by most mammalian tissues in response to external
stimuli. Unlike classical hormones that are synthesized in one tissue
but act on a distant one, prostaglandins act on the cells that produce
them or on cells located close to the prostaglandins' cells of origin.
Aspirin alleviates pain by inhibiting the function of an enzyme called
cyclooxygenase or COX; this inhibition prevents the production of
prostaglandins. The three forms of this enzyme, COX-1, COX-2, and
COX-3, all stimulate the production of prostaglandins, but each serves
a
different purpose. COX-1 functions to protect the stomach from
irritating gastric acids. COX-2 functions to induce inflammation in
injured tissue and COX-3 functions to control the sensation of pain.
Aspirin and other similar drugs, such as naproxen, inhibit both COX-1
and COX-2, sometimes producing or aggravating stomach ulcers in
patients who take them.
In order to eliminate the side effects of aspirin and related drugs,
several pharmaceutical companies in the 1990s developed drugs that
inhibited only COX-2. However, side effects almost always cropped up,
even after clinical trials that seemed to indicate none. This often
occurs because trials are conducted within very limited parameters;
once
the drug has been approved for mass distribution, however, the number
of people taking it and the length of time that it is taken increase
dramatically. Several COX-2 drugs that have been popular in recent
years fit this pattern: initially successful in clinical trials,
subsequent studies showed them to have serious, potentially lethal
side effects.
Though prostaglandin chemistry and enzymology have been studied for
half a century, pinpointing the exact role of the molecules in
physiological processes still remains a challenge for researchers.
Hence it is not surprising that recent therapeutic attempts to
interfere with the formation of certain prostaglandins have produced
unexpected side effects. It now seems that the hype surrounding COX-2
drugs may have been premature.
1. The passage suggest which the following about COX- 2 inhibitors?
a) They fail to protect the stomach from gastric acids that can cause
irritation, but protect the body from tissue inflammation.
b) They produce similar side effects as those caused by Naproxen.
c) They were introduced approximately 20 years after the relationship
between aspirin and prostaglandins was discovered.
d) They stimulate production of prostaglandins that cause tissue inflammation.
e) They are generated by external stimuli and act on the cells that
produce them.
2. According to the passage, all of the following are true of
prostaglandins EXCEPT:
a) They were discovered in the 1930s.
b) They are generated by most mammalian tissues.
c) They produce the sensation of pain in the body, but are also
responsible for other bodily functions.
d) They cause side effects that clinical trials failed to detect.
e) Their production is affected by enzymes COX-1, COX- 2, and COX-3.
3. The author mentions that prostaglandins are generated in response
to external stimuli primarily in order to support the contention that
a) Prostaglandins can produce or aggravate stomach ulcers.
b) Prostaglandins act in the same tissue that produces them.
c) Prostaglandins prevent the enzyme cyclooxygenase from functioning.
d) Prostaglandins are significantly different from most mammalian hormones.
e) Prostaglandins are responsible for the human sensation of pain.
4. The primary purpose of this passage is to
a) explain the therapeutic benefits of a new type of pain reliever
b) initiate a debate concerning the benefits of COX-2 inhibitors
c) warn the public that clinical trials cannot ensure drug safety
d) describe the impetus for and result of COX-2 inhibitors' introduction
e) introduce research findings to support COX-2 inhibitors over COX-1
inhibitors
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