Test: Reading Comprehension- 4 - GMAT MCQ

Commonplace items sometimes play surprising roles in world development. For example, though most people today associate nutmeg with simple baked goods, this common spice once altered the course of political history.
For centuries, the nutmeg tree grew only in the Banda Islands, a small chain in the southwest Pacific. Locals harvested the aromatic nuts of the tree and sold them to traders. Eventually these nuts, from which the spice is made, ended up as a luxury item in the European market, via Venetian spice merchants. Eager to establish a monopoly over this valuable spice, the Dutch attacked the Bandas, subjugating the native people in a mostly successful attempt to control the nutmeg trade.
However, one island in the Banda chain remained in the hands of the British and was the object of much conflict between the Netherlands and England. After many battles, the British offered to cede control of the island in exchange for New Amsterdam, a Dutch outpost on the east coast of North America. At the time, the Dutch, inveterate traders, were more interested in the spice trade than in the mercantile value of New Amsterdam and so accepted the offer. In 1667, the Treaty of Breda gave the Dutch complete control of the Banda Islands, and thus of the nutmeg trade, and gave the British New Amsterdam, which they promptly renamed New York.
Q.
The passage suggests which of the following about the Banda Islands?

Commonplace items sometimes play surprising roles in world development. For example, though most people today associate nutmeg with simple baked goods, this common spice once altered the course of political history.
For centuries, the nutmeg tree grew only in the Banda Islands, a small chain in the southwest Pacific. Locals harvested the aromatic nuts of the tree and sold them to traders. Eventually these nuts, from which the spice is made, ended up as a luxury item in the European market, via Venetian spice merchants. Eager to establish a monopoly over this valuable spice, the Dutch attacked the Bandas, subjugating the native people in a mostly successful attempt to control the nutmeg trade.
However, one island in the Banda chain remained in the hands of the British and was the object of much conflict between the Netherlands and England. After many battles, the British offered to cede control of the island in exchange for New Amsterdam, a Dutch outpost on the east coast of North America. At the time, the Dutch, inveterate traders, were more interested in the spice trade than in the mercantile value of New Amsterdam and so accepted the offer. In 1667, the Treaty of Breda gave the Dutch complete control of the Banda Islands, and thus of the nutmeg trade, and gave the British New Amsterdam, which they promptly renamed New York.
Q.
In the passage, the author is primarily interested in

The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York in July of 1848, is commonly regarded as the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. This conference was preceded by a series of ground-breaking events that made possible this seminal milestone in the history of American women.
The idea for the convention emerged during the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, a conference that precluded its female delegates from participation in discussions. Lucretia Mott, a famous women’s rights activist, wrote in her diary that calling the 1840 convention a “world” convention “was a mere poetical license.” She had accompanied her husband to London but had to sit behind a partition with other women activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who later became one of the main forces behind the Seneca Falls Convention.
During the early 1840s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, declaring the rights of women. At the time of its composition, the Declaration of Sentiments was so bold that when Elizabeth Stanton showed the draft to her husband, he stated that if she read it at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would have to leave town. The Declaration contained several new resolutions. It proclaimed that all men and women are born equal and stated that no man could withhold a woman’s rights, take her property, or preclude her from the right to vote. This Declaration also became the foundation for the Seneca Falls Convention.
On July 19-20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention brought together 240 delegates between ages 22 and 60, including forty men, who spent the two days at the conference debating, refining and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the declaration’s resolutions received unanimous support and were officially endorsed. Later in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention was followed by an even larger meeting in Rochester, New York. Thereafter, national women’s conventions were held annually, contributing to the growing momentum in the movement for women’s rights.
Q.
Which of the following best describes the main purpose of the passage above?

The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York in July of 1848, is commonly regarded as the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. This conference was preceded by a series of ground-breaking events that made possible this seminal milestone in the history of American women.
The idea for the convention emerged during the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, a conference that precluded its female delegates from participation in discussions. Lucretia Mott, a famous women’s rights activist, wrote in her diary that calling the 1840 convention a “world” convention “was a mere poetical license.” She had accompanied her husband to London but had to sit behind a partition with other women activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who later became one of the main forces behind the Seneca Falls Convention.
During the early 1840s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, declaring the rights of women. At the time of its composition, the Declaration of Sentiments was so bold that when Elizabeth Stanton showed the draft to her husband, he stated that if she read it at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would have to leave town. The Declaration contained several new resolutions. It proclaimed that all men and women are born equal and stated that no man could withhold a woman’s rights, take her property, or preclude her from the right to vote. This Declaration also became the foundation for the Seneca Falls Convention.
On July 19-20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention brought together 240 delegates between ages 22 and 60, including forty men, who spent the two days at the conference debating, refining and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the declaration’s resolutions received unanimous support and were officially endorsed. Later in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention was followed by an even larger meeting in Rochester, New York. Thereafter, national women’s conventions were held annually, contributing to the growing momentum in the movement for women’s rights.
Q.
The passage provides information about each of the following, EXCEPT

The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York in July of 1848, is commonly regarded as the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. This conference was preceded by a series of ground-breaking events that made possible this seminal milestone in the history of American women.
The idea for the convention emerged during the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, a conference that precluded its female delegates from participation in discussions. Lucretia Mott, a famous women’s rights activist, wrote in her diary that calling the 1840 convention a “world” convention “was a mere poetical license.” She had accompanied her husband to London but had to sit behind a partition with other women activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who later became one of the main forces behind the Seneca Falls Convention.
During the early 1840s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, declaring the rights of women. At the time of its composition, the Declaration of Sentiments was so bold that when Elizabeth Stanton showed the draft to her husband, he stated that if she read it at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would have to leave town. The Declaration contained several new resolutions. It proclaimed that all men and women are born equal and stated that no man could withhold a woman’s rights, take her property, or preclude her from the right to vote. This Declaration also became the foundation for the Seneca Falls Convention.
On July 19-20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention brought together 240 delegates between ages 22 and 60, including forty men, who spent the two days at the conference debating, refining and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the declaration’s resolutions received unanimous support and were officially endorsed. Later in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention was followed by an even larger meeting in Rochester, New York. Thereafter, national women’s conventions were held annually, contributing to the growing momentum in the movement for women’s rights.
Q. 
The second paragraph of the passage plays which of the following roles?

The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York in July of 1848, is commonly regarded as the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. This conference was preceded by a series of ground-breaking events that made possible this seminal milestone in the history of American women.
The idea for the convention emerged during the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, a conference that precluded its female delegates from participation in discussions. Lucretia Mott, a famous women’s rights activist, wrote in her diary that calling the 1840 convention a “world” convention “was a mere poetical license.” She had accompanied her husband to London but had to sit behind a partition with other women activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who later became one of the main forces behind the Seneca Falls Convention.
During the early 1840s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, declaring the rights of women. At the time of its composition, the Declaration of Sentiments was so bold that when Elizabeth Stanton showed the draft to her husband, he stated that if she read it at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would have to leave town. The Declaration contained several new resolutions. It proclaimed that all men and women are born equal and stated that no man could withhold a woman’s rights, take her property, or preclude her from the right to vote. This Declaration also became the foundation for the Seneca Falls Convention.
On July 19-20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention brought together 240 delegates between ages 22 and 60, including forty men, who spent the two days at the conference debating, refining and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the declaration’s resolutions received unanimous support and were officially endorsed. Later in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention was followed by an even larger meeting in Rochester, New York. Thereafter, national women’s conventions were held annually, contributing to the growing momentum in the movement for women’s rights.
Q. 
Which of the following can be most reasonably inferred from the passage?

One often hears that biographies are autobiographies, that the biographer is always writing about himself. On the contrary, serious biographers seek and welcome the unfamiliar, however troublesome to account for. Ron Chernow, the author of rich biographies of the American businessmen J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, remarks that biographers “like to stub their toes on hard, uncomfortable facts strewn in their paths.” Such encounters with the unaccountable are opportunities for breaking out and breaking through, in new directions, to fresh understanding.
One also often hears that biographers must like their subjects. That would of course rule out such vastly important subjects as Hitler or Stalin. In practice, the biographer must like the subject not as a person but as a subject. Some are good subjects for the author, some bad. And what makes one subject better than another for any particular biographer varies dramatically. Some of the reasons are purely practical. Does the subject need a biography? Are the materials available? How much time is needed? A biographer’s knowledge and ability also determine the choice. Great scientists are great subjects, but can one write about their achievements with insight and authority? Personal idiosyncrasies matter, too.
Biographers tend to be attracted to subjects who display particular personality traits, whether they be ambition, cruelty, ingenuity, or any other characteristic that separates a potential subject from the multitudes.
In choosing a subject, the biographer’s main question should be, “Can an effective book be made out of this person’s life?” Day after day for years, the biographer will try to untangle chronology, compress relationships without distorting them, and keep the main narrative clear while carrying forward several intricate strands of the subject’s life. What pushes most biographers on in this endeavor is not necessarily affection for the subject but the feeling that they are writing a good book.
Q.
It can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions about biographies?

One often hears that biographies are autobiographies, that the biographer is always writing about himself. On the contrary, serious biographers seek and welcome the unfamiliar, however troublesome to account for. Ron Chernow, the author of rich biographies of the American businessmen J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, remarks that biographers “like to stub their toes on hard, uncomfortable facts strewn in their paths.” Such encounters with the unaccountable are opportunities for breaking out and breaking through, in new directions, to fresh understanding.
One also often hears that biographers must like their subjects. That would of course rule out such vastly important subjects as Hitler or Stalin. In practice, the biographer must like the subject not as a person but as a subject. Some are good subjects for the author, some bad. And what makes one subject better than another for any particular biographer varies dramatically. Some of the reasons are purely practical. Does the subject need a biography? Are the materials available? How much time is needed? A biographer’s knowledge and ability also determine the choice. Great scientists are great subjects, but can one write about their achievements with insight and authority? Personal idiosyncrasies matter, too.
Biographers tend to be attracted to subjects who display particular personality traits, whether they be ambition, cruelty, ingenuity, or any other characteristic that separates a potential subject from the multitudes.
In choosing a subject, the biographer’s main question should be, “Can an effective book be made out of this person’s life?” Day after day for years, the biographer will try to untangle chronology, compress relationships without distorting them, and keep the main narrative clear while carrying forward several intricate strands of the subject’s life. What pushes most biographers on in this endeavor is not necessarily affection for the subject but the feeling that they are writing a good book.
Q.
The author is primarily concerned with

One often hears that biographies are autobiographies, that the biographer is always writing about himself. On the contrary, serious biographers seek and welcome the unfamiliar, however troublesome to account for. Ron Chernow, the author of rich biographies of the American businessmen J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, remarks that biographers “like to stub their toes on hard, uncomfortable facts strewn in their paths.” Such encounters with the unaccountable are opportunities for breaking out and breaking through, in new directions, to fresh understanding.
One also often hears that biographers must like their subjects. That would of course rule out such vastly important subjects as Hitler or Stalin. In practice, the biographer must like the subject not as a person but as a subject. Some are good subjects for the author, some bad. And what makes one subject better than another for any particular biographer varies dramatically. Some of the reasons are purely practical. Does the subject need a biography? Are the materials available? How much time is needed? A biographer’s knowledge and ability also determine the choice. Great scientists are great subjects, but can one write about their achievements with insight and authority? Personal idiosyncrasies matter, too.
Biographers tend to be attracted to subjects who display particular personality traits, whether they be ambition, cruelty, ingenuity, or any other characteristic that separates a potential subject from the multitudes.
In choosing a subject, the biographer’s main question should be, “Can an effective book be made out of this person’s life?” Day after day for years, the biographer will try to untangle chronology, compress relationships without distorting them, and keep the main narrative clear while carrying forward several intricate strands of the subject’s life. What pushes most biographers on in this endeavor is not necessarily affection for the subject but the feeling that they are writing a good book.
Q.
The author mentions Ron Chernow most probably in order to

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.
In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company.
A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company’s website, thereby ensuring that the company’s advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer’s online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.
Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services—such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex webtracking tools—render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.
Q.
Each of the following can be inferred from the passage as a possible consequence of the rise of
Internet marketing EXCEPT

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.
In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company.
A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company’s website, thereby ensuring that the company’s advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer’s online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.
Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services—such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex webtracking tools—render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.
Q.
The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.
In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company.
A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company’s website, thereby ensuring that the company’s advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer’s online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.
Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services—such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex webtracking tools—render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.
Q.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the use of pay-per-click search engines ads?

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.
In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company.
A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company’s website, thereby ensuring that the company’s advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer’s online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.
Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services—such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex webtracking tools—render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.
Q.
The third paragraph of the passage serves to

Before the age of space exploration, the size and composition of the moon’s core were astronomical mysteries. Astronomers assumed that the moon’s core was smaller than that of the Earth, in both relative and absolute terms — the radius of the Earth’s core is 55 percent of the overall radius of the Earth and the core’s mass is 32 percent of the Earth’s overall mass — but they had no way to verify their assumption. However, data gathered by Lunar Prospector have now given astronomers the ability to determine that the moon’s core accounts for 20 percent of the moon’s radius and for a mere 2 percent of its overall mass.
The data have been used in two ways. In the first method, scientists measured minute variations in radio signals from Lunar Prospector as the craft moved towards or away from the Earth. These variations allowed scientists to detect even the slightest changes in the craft’s velocity while the craft orbited the moon. These changes resulted from inconsistency in the gravitational pull of the moon on the craft, and permitted scientists to create a “gravity map” of both near and far sides of the moon. This map, in turn, revealed to scientists the distribution of the moon’s internal mass. Scientists were then able to determine that the moon has a small, metallic core, which, if composed mostly of iron, has a radius of approximately 350 kilometers. The second method involved examining the faint magnetic field generated within the moon itself by the moon’s monthly passage through the tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. This approach confirmed the results obtained through examination of the gravity map.
The size and composition of the moon’s core are not academic concerns; they have serious implications for our understanding of the moon’s origins. For example, if the moon and Earth developed as distinct entities, the sizes of their cores should be more comparable. In actuality, it seems that the moon was once part of the Earth and broke away at an early stage in the Earth’s evolution, perhaps as the result of a major asteroid impact. The impact could have loosened iron that had not already sunk to the core of the Earth, allowing it to form the core around which the moon eventually coalesced.
Q.
The primary purpose of the passage is best expressed as

Before the age of space exploration, the size and composition of the moon’s core were astronomical mysteries. Astronomers assumed that the moon’s core was smaller than that of the Earth, in both relative and absolute terms — the radius of the Earth’s core is 55 percent of the overall radius of the Earth and the core’s mass is 32 percent of the Earth’s overall mass — but they had no way to verify their assumption. However, data gathered by Lunar Prospector have now given astronomers the ability to determine that the moon’s core accounts for 20 percent of the moon’s radius and for a mere 2 percent of its overall mass.
The data have been used in two ways. In the first method, scientists measured minute variations in radio signals from Lunar Prospector as the craft moved towards or away from the Earth. These variations allowed scientists to detect even the slightest changes in the craft’s velocity while the craft orbited the moon. These changes resulted from inconsistency in the gravitational pull of the moon on the craft, and permitted scientists to create a “gravity map” of both near and far sides of the moon. This map, in turn, revealed to scientists the distribution of the moon’s internal mass. Scientists were then able to determine that the moon has a small, metallic core, which, if composed mostly of iron, has a radius of approximately 350 kilometers. The second method involved examining the faint magnetic field generated within the moon itself by the moon’s monthly passage through the tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. This approach confirmed the results obtained through examination of the gravity map.
The size and composition of the moon’s core are not academic concerns; they have serious implications for our understanding of the moon’s origins. For example, if the moon and Earth developed as distinct entities, the sizes of their cores should be more comparable. In actuality, it seems that the moon was once part of the Earth and broke away at an early stage in the Earth’s evolution, perhaps as the result of a major asteroid impact. The impact could have loosened iron that had not already sunk to the core of the Earth, allowing it to form the core around which the moon eventually coalesced.
Q.
According to the passage, scientists employed one research method that measured

Before the age of space exploration, the size and composition of the moon’s core were astronomical mysteries. Astronomers assumed that the moon’s core was smaller than that of the Earth, in both relative and absolute terms — the radius of the Earth’s core is 55 percent of the overall radius of the Earth and the core’s mass is 32 percent of the Earth’s overall mass — but they had no way to verify their assumption. However, data gathered by Lunar Prospector have now given astronomers the ability to determine that the moon’s core accounts for 20 percent of the moon’s radius and for a mere 2 percent of its overall mass.
The data have been used in two ways. In the first method, scientists measured minute variations in radio signals from Lunar Prospector as the craft moved towards or away from the Earth. These variations allowed scientists to detect even the slightest changes in the craft’s velocity while the craft orbited the moon. These changes resulted from inconsistency in the gravitational pull of the moon on the craft, and permitted scientists to create a “gravity map” of both near and far sides of the moon. This map, in turn, revealed to scientists the distribution of the moon’s internal mass. Scientists were then able to determine that the moon has a small, metallic core, which, if composed mostly of iron, has a radius of approximately 350 kilometers. The second method involved examining the faint magnetic field generated within the moon itself by the moon’s monthly passage through the tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. This approach confirmed the results obtained through examination of the gravity map.
The size and composition of the moon’s core are not academic concerns; they have serious implications for our understanding of the moon’s origins. For example, if the moon and Earth developed as distinct entities, the sizes of their cores should be more comparable. In actuality, it seems that the moon was once part of the Earth and broke away at an early stage in the Earth’s evolution, perhaps as the result of a major asteroid impact. The impact could have loosened iron that had not already sunk to the core of the Earth, allowing it to form the core around which the moon eventually coalesced.
Q.
The author mentioned “gravity map” in the second paragraph in order to

Before the age of space exploration, the size and composition of the moon’s core were astronomical mysteries. Astronomers assumed that the moon’s core was smaller than that of the Earth, in both relative and absolute terms — the radius of the Earth’s core is 55 percent of the overall radius of the Earth and the core’s mass is 32 percent of the Earth’s overall mass — but they had no way to verify their assumption. However, data gathered by Lunar Prospector have now given astronomers the ability to determine that the moon’s core accounts for 20 percent of the moon’s radius and for a mere 2 percent of its overall mass.
The data have been used in two ways. In the first method, scientists measured minute variations in radio signals from Lunar Prospector as the craft moved towards or away from the Earth. These variations allowed scientists to detect even the slightest changes in the craft’s velocity while the craft orbited the moon. These changes resulted from inconsistency in the gravitational pull of the moon on the craft, and permitted scientists to create a “gravity map” of both near and far sides of the moon. This map, in turn, revealed to scientists the distribution of the moon’s internal mass. Scientists were then able to determine that the moon has a small, metallic core, which, if composed mostly of iron, has a radius of approximately 350 kilometers. The second method involved examining the faint magnetic field generated within the moon itself by the moon’s monthly passage through the tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. This approach confirmed the results obtained through examination of the gravity map.
The size and composition of the moon’s core are not academic concerns; they have serious implications for our understanding of the moon’s origins. For example, if the moon and Earth developed as distinct entities, the sizes of their cores should be more comparable. In actuality, it seems that the moon was once part of the Earth and broke away at an early stage in the Earth’s evolution, perhaps as the result of a major asteroid impact. The impact could have loosened iron that had not already sunk to the core of the Earth, allowing it to form the core around which the moon eventually coalesced.
Q.
It can be inferred from the passage that

New research by Paul Fildes and K. Whitaker challenges the theory that strains of bacteria can be “trained” to mutate by withholding a metabolite necessary for their regular function. In particular, they consider the case of bacteria typhosum, which needs tryptophan in order to reproduce. Earlier researchers had grown the bacteria in a medium somewhat deficient in tryptophan and observed the growth of mutant strains of the bacteria which did not need tryptophan in order to reproduce.
Fildes and Whitaker argue that the withholding of tryptophan did not induce these mutant strains of bacteria.
Rather, these mutants were already present in the original sample of bacteria typhosum, albeit in a concentration too small to detect. In experimenting with the bacteria grown in agar cultures, they found that by plating out huge quantities of the bacteria, one could locate mutant strains. Because of the possibility that the lack of uniformity of the agar cultures had in fact trained mutant strains, they conducted similar experiments with liquid cultures and again found that mutant strains of the bacteria were present in the original sampling. From these experiments, Fildes and Whitaker conclude that the mutants are of genetic origin and are not induced by environmental training. They asserted that the concentration of tryptophan is unrelated to the appearance of these mutants in the bacteria.
To confirm these results, Fildes and Whitaker used an innovative plating technique using pile fabrics, such as velvet or velveteen, to accurately imprint the growth found on an original agar plate to a series of replica agar plates.
The process entails taking the original agar plate, inverting it onto the velvet while using light finger pressure to transfer growth, and then imprinting the fabric, with its pattern of growth, on the new agar plates. By using this replica plating method, Fildes and Whitaker demonstrated that the mutants were in fact genetically present or preadapted, as the locations of the mutant strains of bacteria on the replica plates were identical to the locations of the mutant strains on the original agar plate.
Q.
According to the passage, Fildes and Whitaker conducted the experiment with liquid culture because

New research by Paul Fildes and K. Whitaker challenges the theory that strains of bacteria can be “trained” to mutate by withholding a metabolite necessary for their regular function. In particular, they consider the case of bacteria typhosum, which needs tryptophan in order to reproduce. Earlier researchers had grown the bacteria in a medium somewhat deficient in tryptophan and observed the growth of mutant strains of the bacteria which did not need tryptophan in order to reproduce.
Fildes and Whitaker argue that the withholding of tryptophan did not induce these mutant strains of bacteria.
Rather, these mutants were already present in the original sample of bacteria typhosum, albeit in a concentration too small to detect. In experimenting with the bacteria grown in agar cultures, they found that by plating out huge quantities of the bacteria, one could locate mutant strains. Because of the possibility that the lack of uniformity of the agar cultures had in fact trained mutant strains, they conducted similar experiments with liquid cultures and again found that mutant strains of the bacteria were present in the original sampling. From these experiments, Fildes and Whitaker conclude that the mutants are of genetic origin and are not induced by environmental training. They asserted that the concentration of tryptophan is unrelated to the appearance of these mutants in the bacteria.
To confirm these results, Fildes and Whitaker used an innovative plating technique using pile fabrics, such as velvet or velveteen, to accurately imprint the growth found on an original agar plate to a series of replica agar plates.
The process entails taking the original agar plate, inverting it onto the velvet while using light finger pressure to transfer growth, and then imprinting the fabric, with its pattern of growth, on the new agar plates. By using this replica plating method, Fildes and Whitaker demonstrated that the mutants were in fact genetically present or preadapted, as the locations of the mutant strains of bacteria on the replica plates were identical to the locations of the mutant strains on the original agar plate.
Q.
It can be inferred from the passage that the replica plating method is effective for which of the following reasons?

New research by Paul Fildes and K. Whitaker challenges the theory that strains of bacteria can be “trained” to mutate by withholding a metabolite necessary for their regular function. In particular, they consider the case of bacteria typhosum, which needs tryptophan in order to reproduce. Earlier researchers had grown the bacteria in a medium somewhat deficient in tryptophan and observed the growth of mutant strains of the bacteria which did not need tryptophan in order to reproduce.
Fildes and Whitaker argue that the withholding of tryptophan did not induce these mutant strains of bacteria.
Rather, these mutants were already present in the original sample of bacteria typhosum, albeit in a concentration too small to detect. In experimenting with the bacteria grown in agar cultures, they found that by plating out huge quantities of the bacteria, one could locate mutant strains. Because of the possibility that the lack of uniformity of the agar cultures had in fact trained mutant strains, they conducted similar experiments with liquid cultures and again found that mutant strains of the bacteria were present in the original sampling. From these experiments, Fildes and Whitaker conclude that the mutants are of genetic origin and are not induced by environmental training. They asserted that the concentration of tryptophan is unrelated to the appearance of these mutants in the bacteria.
To confirm these results, Fildes and Whitaker used an innovative plating technique using pile fabrics, such as velvet or velveteen, to accurately imprint the growth found on an original agar plate to a series of replica agar plates.
The process entails taking the original agar plate, inverting it onto the velvet while using light finger pressure to transfer growth, and then imprinting the fabric, with its pattern of growth, on the new agar plates. By using this replica plating method, Fildes and Whitaker demonstrated that the mutants were in fact genetically present or preadapted, as the locations of the mutant strains of bacteria on the replica plates were identical to the locations of the mutant strains on the original agar plate.
Q.
Which of the following most accurately states the purpose of the passage?

When they first arrived in America as slaves in the 1600s, Africans joined a society that was divided between master and white servants brought from Europe. In most parts of the South, some of these first African slaves became free either through escape or through emancipation by their owners. It is therefore a misconception that all African Americans in the pre-Civil War South were slaves. Many researchers have also assumed that these free African Americans were the offspring of white slave owners who took advantage of their female slaves. However, these cases represent only a small minority of free African Americans in the South. Most free African Americans were actually the descendants of African American men and white servant women.
In fact, despite the efforts of the various colonial legislatures, white servant women continued to bear children by African American fathers through the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century.
It appears that such births were the primary source of the increase in the free African American population for this period. Over two hundred African American families in Virginia descended from white women. Forty-six families descended from freed slaves, twenty-nine from Indians, and sixteen from white men who married or had children by free African American women. It is likely that the majority of the remaining families descended from white women since they first appear in court records in the mid-eighteenth century, when slaves could not be freed without legislative approval, and there is no record of legislative approval for their emancipations.
The history of free African Americans families in colonial New York and New Jersey, by contrast, is quite different from that of free African Americans in the South. Most were descended from slaves freed by the Dutch West India Company between 1644 and 1664 or by individual owners. Researchers have studied these families, especially a group of fourteen families that scholars have traced through at least three generations. None of the fourteen families appears to be descended from a white servant woman and an African American man. However, Lutheran church records from the eighteenth century show that a few such couples had children baptized.
Q.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

When they first arrived in America as slaves in the 1600s, Africans joined a society that was divided between master and white servants brought from Europe. In most parts of the South, some of these first African slaves became free either through escape or through emancipation by their owners. It is therefore a misconception that all African Americans in the pre-Civil War South were slaves. Many researchers have also assumed that these free African Americans were the offspring of white slave owners who took advantage of their female slaves. However, these cases represent only a small minority of free African Americans in the South. Most free African Americans were actually the descendants of African American men and white servant women.
In fact, despite the efforts of the various colonial legislatures, white servant women continued to bear children by African American fathers through the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century.
It appears that such births were the primary source of the increase in the free African American population for this period. Over two hundred African American families in Virginia descended from white women. Forty-six families descended from freed slaves, twenty-nine from Indians, and sixteen from white men who married or had children by free African American women. It is likely that the majority of the remaining families descended from white women since they first appear in court records in the mid-eighteenth century, when slaves could not be freed without legislative approval, and there is no record of legislative approval for their emancipations.
The history of free African Americans families in colonial New York and New Jersey, by contrast, is quite different from that of free African Americans in the South. Most were descended from slaves freed by the Dutch West India Company between 1644 and 1664 or by individual owners. Researchers have studied these families, especially a group of fourteen families that scholars have traced through at least three generations. None of the fourteen families appears to be descended from a white servant woman and an African American man. However, Lutheran church records from the eighteenth century show that a few such couples had children baptized.
Q.
The passage suggests which of the following about African American slaves in the late 1700s?

When they first arrived in America as slaves in the 1600s, Africans joined a society that was divided between master and white servants brought from Europe. In most parts of the South, some of these first African slaves became free either through escape or through emancipation by their owners. It is therefore a misconception that all African Americans in the pre-Civil War South were slaves. Many researchers have also assumed that these free African Americans were the offspring of white slave owners who took advantage of their female slaves. However, these cases represent only a small minority of free African Americans in the South. Most free African Americans were actually the descendants of African American men and white servant women.
In fact, despite the efforts of the various colonial legislatures, white servant women continued to bear children by African American fathers through the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century.
It appears that such births were the primary source of the increase in the free African American population for this period. Over two hundred African American families in Virginia descended from white women. Forty-six families descended from freed slaves, twenty-nine from Indians, and sixteen from white men who married or had children by free African American women. It is likely that the majority of the remaining families descended from white women since they first appear in court records in the mid-eighteenth century, when slaves could not be freed without legislative approval, and there is no record of legislative approval for their emancipations.
The history of free African Americans families in colonial New York and New Jersey, by contrast, is quite different from that of free African Americans in the South. Most were descended from slaves freed by the Dutch West India Company between 1644 and 1664 or by individual owners. Researchers have studied these families, especially a group of fourteen families that scholars have traced through at least three generations. None of the fourteen families appears to be descended from a white servant woman and an African American man. However, Lutheran church records from the eighteenth century show that a few such couples had children baptized.
Q.
The passage suggests which of the following about African American families in colonial New York and New Jersey?

When they first arrived in America as slaves in the 1600s, Africans joined a society that was divided between master and white servants brought from Europe. In most parts of the South, some of these first African slaves became free either through escape or through emancipation by their owners. It is therefore a misconception that all African Americans in the pre-Civil War South were slaves. Many researchers have also assumed that these free African Americans were the offspring of white slave owners who took advantage of their female slaves. However, these cases represent only a small minority of free African Americans in the South. Most free African Americans were actually the descendants of African American men and white servant women.
In fact, despite the efforts of the various colonial legislatures, white servant women continued to bear children by African American fathers through the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century.
It appears that such births were the primary source of the increase in the free African American population for this period. Over two hundred African American families in Virginia descended from white women. Forty-six families descended from freed slaves, twenty-nine from Indians, and sixteen from white men who married or had children by free African American women. It is likely that the majority of the remaining families descended from white women since they first appear in court records in the mid-eighteenth century, when slaves could not be freed without legislative approval, and there is no record of legislative approval for their emancipations.
The history of free African Americans families in colonial New York and New Jersey, by contrast, is quite different from that of free African Americans in the South. Most were descended from slaves freed by the Dutch West India Company between 1644 and 1664 or by individual owners. Researchers have studied these families, especially a group of fourteen families that scholars have traced through at least three generations. None of the fourteen families appears to be descended from a white servant woman and an African American man. However, Lutheran church records from the eighteenth century show that a few such couples had children baptized.
Q.
The author of the passage is primarily interested in

When they first arrived in America as slaves in the 1600s, Africans joined a society that was divided between master and white servants brought from Europe. In most parts of the South, some of these first African slaves became free either through escape or through emancipation by their owners. It is therefore a misconception that all African Americans in the pre-Civil War South were slaves. Many researchers have also assumed that these free African Americans were the offspring of white slave owners who took advantage of their female slaves. However, these cases represent only a small minority of free African Americans in the South. Most free African Americans were actually the descendants of African American men and white servant women.
In fact, despite the efforts of the various colonial legislatures, white servant women continued to bear children by African American fathers through the late seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth century.
It appears that such births were the primary source of the increase in the free African American population for this period. Over two hundred African American families in Virginia descended from white women. Forty-six families descended from freed slaves, twenty-nine from Indians, and sixteen from white men who married or had children by free African American women. It is likely that the majority of the remaining families descended from white women since they first appear in court records in the mid-eighteenth century, when slaves could not be freed without legislative approval, and there is no record of legislative approval for their emancipations.
The history of free African Americans families in colonial New York and New Jersey, by contrast, is quite different from that of free African Americans in the South. Most were descended from slaves freed by the Dutch West India Company between 1644 and 1664 or by individual owners. Researchers have studied these families, especially a group of fourteen families that scholars have traced through at least three generations. None of the fourteen families appears to be descended from a white servant woman and an African American man. However, Lutheran church records from the eighteenth century show that a few such couples had children baptized.
Q.
According to the passage, which of the following is a difference between free African Americans in colonial New York and New Jersey and free African Americans in the colonial South?

The fall of the Berlin Wall represented a political victory of the free market against a centrally planned economy.
Though highly interventionist and dependent on international defense and industrial subsidy, West Germany was a model of economic expansion in the post-war era.
East Germany, while relatively successful in comparison with other Eastern Bloc nations, was far behind West Germany with regard to the buying power of its people. It was hard to avoid obvious comparisons such as the fact that 1 in 4 East Germans did not even have an indoor toilet. Western German authorities were therefore committed to rapid integration of the two Germanys without resorting to massive controls on internal migration, external capital controls, or continuation of a large state-owned industrial sector.
Other nations were already wary of a united Germany.
France, a perpetual competitor, saw Germany’s size advantage increase overnight. In Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) alone, an historical size advantage of 23% jumped to nearly 30%, with stronger growth promised when East Germany was fully integrated.
Within Germany, there should have been no doubt that integration would be costly. The question was whether the government was up to the task. In Italy, for example, the central government has invested tremendous resources in promoting the economy of its underperforming Southern region. In contrast, in the United States, the local population bears the burden of varying economic performance. For example, the American South is allowed to exist with much higher rates of poverty and lower education than the rest of the nation.
Rather than allow East Germany to fall into total disrepair, with millions fleeing to the West and a long-term negative impact on national GDP growth, West German authorities decided to try to spend their way out of the crisis, creating almost overnight an infrastructure in East Germany to provide a standard of living comparable to that in West Germany. The goal was to take an under-performing country and raise it to “first world” standards in only a few years. This goal would have been preposterous had not West Germany possessed the resources to accomplish the task.
Q.
According to the author, which of the following is the principal reason that German reunification could
succeed?

The fall of the Berlin Wall represented a political victory of the free market against a centrally planned economy.
Though highly interventionist and dependent on international defense and industrial subsidy, West Germany was a model of economic expansion in the post-war era.
East Germany, while relatively successful in comparison with other Eastern Bloc nations, was far behind West Germany with regard to the buying power of its people. It was hard to avoid obvious comparisons such as the fact that 1 in 4 East Germans did not even have an indoor toilet. Western German authorities were therefore committed to rapid integration of the two Germanys without resorting to massive controls on internal migration, external capital controls, or continuation of a large state-owned industrial sector.
Other nations were already wary of a united Germany.
France, a perpetual competitor, saw Germany’s size advantage increase overnight. In Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) alone, an historical size advantage of 23% jumped to nearly 30%, with stronger growth promised when East Germany was fully integrated.
Within Germany, there should have been no doubt that integration would be costly. The question was whether the government was up to the task. In Italy, for example, the central government has invested tremendous resources in promoting the economy of its underperforming Southern region. In contrast, in the United States, the local population bears the burden of varying economic performance. For example, the American South is allowed to exist with much higher rates of poverty and lower education than the rest of the nation.
Rather than allow East Germany to fall into total disrepair, with millions fleeing to the West and a long-term negative impact on national GDP growth, West German authorities decided to try to spend their way out of the crisis, creating almost overnight an infrastructure in East Germany to provide a standard of living comparable to that in West Germany. The goal was to take an under-performing country and raise it to “first world” standards in only a few years. This goal would have been preposterous had not West Germany possessed the resources to accomplish the task.
Q.
The author mentions the United States most probably in order to