An Enlightenment Guide to Winning the Lottery (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

An Enlightenment Guide to Winning the Lottery

1) It can be inferred that Francois-Marie Arouet had problems with:

A) authority
B) investments
C) insurance
D) publicity


2) The word "pen-name" in paragraph 2 (line 3) is closest in meaning to:

A) pseudonym
B) title
C) designation
D) nomenclature


3) The word "panacea" in paragraph 2 (line 5) is closest in meaning to:

A) solution
B) idea
C) pledge
D) remedy


4) What decision caused the French government to suffer economic problems?

A) Issuing bonds
B) Raising money
C) Cutting interest rates
D) Avoiding credit


5) The sentence "Condamine realized that a group of people could buy up a lot of cut-price bonds, split them into tiny parcels of 1,000 livres, buy up cheap lottery tickets, and thus easily win the huge jackpot," (paragraph 6) can best be paraphrased as:

A) As a result of purchasing lottery tickets cheaply and splitting bonds, Condamine realized he could win the lottery.
B) The lottery could be won by dividing cheap bonds into smaller parts which allowed the purchase of bargain lottery tickets.
C) Condamine devised a scheme by which the jackpot could easily be won.
D) The mathematician's plan was to cut large bonds into diminutive shares and purchasing prize tickets.


6) The word "understanding" in paragraph 7 (line 9) is closest in meaning to:

A) plan
B) agreement
C) involvement
D) piracy


7) Voltaire and Condamine's scheme was uncovered because:

A) Voltaire always went to collect the money.
B) Voltaire was not creative enough with the names he signed.
C) The number of lottery tickets being sold was unreasonable.
D) Condamine made a mathematical error.


8) Which of the following was NOT a consequence of the inquiry into the lottery scandal?

A) The lottery was shut down.
B) The finance minister was fired.
C) Ticket sales stopped during the proceedings.
D) Voltaire was allowed to keep his money.


9) Why does the author mention Micromegas (paragraph 14)?

A) To illustrate to problems Voltaire caused with his wealth.
B) To explain why he fought with Frederick the Great.
C) To show why he was banned from Paris.
D) To provide an example of one of Voltaire's achievements.


10) Which of the following best summarize the topic (Choose three answers)?

A) Voltaire used his winnings to support his writing career, allowing him to become one of the greatest French authors of all time.

B) The French government concluded that nothing illegal had occurred.

C) One of the key problems they faced with the fact that only a few notaries were allowed to issue lottery tickets.

D) Condamine's plan involved purchasing cheap lottery tickets through small bonds.

E) Voltaire struggled early in his writing career due to a lack of finances and disagreements with the aristocracy.

F) Condamine and Voltaire orchestrated a scheme to win the lottery.

The Neuron that Shaped Civilization (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The significance of one type of brain cell.
B) Amazing functions of the human brain.
C) The effect of civilization on brain development.
D) The complexities of human thought.


2) According to the speaker, what strange about mirror neurons?

A) They are able to give commands to the body.
B) They have more than 10,000 connections.
C) They react when observing other people in action.
D) They copy the actions of other neurons.


3) It can be inferred from the lecture that without mirror neurons,

A) New technological and cultural developments would not spread.
B) Evolution would be impossible.
C) People would be unable to perform simple actions.
D) The brain would be more efficient.


4) At 5:08 in the lecture, the speaker says, "Now, the question then arises: If I simply watch another person being touched, why do I not get confused and literally feel that touch sensation merely by watching somebody being touched?"

What does he mean when he says "the question then arises"?

A) He is presenting a problem that has stumped scientists.
B) He is about to ask the audience a question.
C) He emphasizing a common error.
D) He wants to explain a confusing issue.


5) Which of the following is NOT a result of mirror neuron function?

A) Feeling a touch experienced by another person.
B) A sense of connectedness to other people.
C) A loss of sensation in the arm of a patient in pain.
D) Relieving pain from the missing arm of a patient.

Dare to Disagree (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The importance of conflict to progress.
B) Causes of cancer in children.
C) The significance of statistical analysis in research.
D) The psychology of the scientific community.


2) Why does the speaker discuss Alice Stewart?

A) To provide an example of a scientist who refused to give up.
B) To explore some of the causes of cancer.
C) To give an example of a successful female scientist.
D) To introduce a successful partnership based on disagreement.


3) What was the advantage of having George Kneale as a partner?

A) He was a skilled statistician.
B) He was unsociable.
C) He proved Alice's theories were correct.
D) He provided constructive conflict.


4) What problem is the speaker trying to solve for companies?

A) Excessive office conflict.
B) Their employees' fear of arguments.
C) Their distrust of over-thinking problems.
D) Their ability to affect millions of lives.


5) What is the most likely reason that Joe felt he had to leave his job?

A) He felt unable to discuss his reservations about his project.
B) He couldn't convince his peers to stand with him.
C) He had an argument with his employer.
D) He made a mistake in the plans for his medical device.

Vesna's Fall (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

Vesna's Fall


1) From paragraph 1, it can be inferred that Vesna was:

A) a member of Ustache.
B) planning to visit Denmark.
C) on Flight 364 by chance.
D) from Czechoslovakia.


2) The word "fortuitous" in paragraph 1 (line 10) is closest in meaning to:

A) unplanned
B) lucky
C) opaque
D) ambivalent


3) The word "which" in paragraph 1 (line 12) refers to:

A) Croatia
B) group
C) Ustache
D) plane


4) Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that Vesna survived her fall?

A) She had never had psychological trauma.
B) She was found by a physician.
C) Her heart did not burst.
D) She had low blood pressure.


5) Which of the following words best describes Vesna's life philosophy?

A) pessimistic
B) empowered
C) apathetic
D) spiritual


6) The sentence "It’s a valid point, along the same lines as arguing that the event wasn’t a “miracle,” given that there were 27 people who didn’t survive," can best be paraphrased as:

A) Her survival in the crash was remarkable because she did not consider herself lucky.
B) Vesna's luck was not relevant to the event because it was she did not consider herself lucky.
C) The miracle was not that only 27 people perished but that Vesna was fortunate enough to survive.
D) It is reasonable for Vesna not to consider herself lucky since the event itself was a tragedy.

Mind-Controlling Wasps and Zombie Spiders (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

Mind-Controlling Wasps and Zombie Spiders

1) Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1?

A) Plesiometa argyra expends most of its energy constructing havens for the larvae of a wasp.
B) The wasp has been recently discovered.
C) The orb spider appears to lack the ability to make its own decisions.
D) An average orb spider constructs two different types of webs.


2) The word "unmolested" in paragraph 1 (line 3) is closest in meaning to:

A) insulated
B) distorted
C) livid
D) unaffected


3) The word "it" in paragraph 1 (line 11) refers to:

A) shelter
B) wasp
C) spider
D) species


4) During development, the wasp larvae are sustained by:

A) food brought to them by the spider.
B) the internal fluids of the spider.
C) the warmth of the shelter spun by the spider.
D) the spider's eggs.


5) Immediately after the wasp's eggs have been laid:

A) the spider continues to follow its normal routine.
B) the spider spins an unusual web.
C) the spider appears uncontaminated.
D) the spider is paralyzed.


6) The word "mechanism" in paragraph 4 (line 2) is closest in meaning to:

A) process
B) contraption
C) influence
D) gimmick


7) What can be inferred about the research of Dr. Eberhard?

A) It is likely inaccurate.
B) It has revealed an unique chemical reaction.
C) It is not well understood.
D) It has only just begun to explain this interaction.

Abstract Expressionism (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The influences on and goals of an art movement.
B) The impact of abstract expressionism on the USA.
C) The importance of New York City to the art world.
D) The most famous abstract expressionist artists.


2) Which of the following movements were mentioned as a key influence on abstract expressionism? (Choose two answers)

A) Impressionism
B) Surrealism
C) Realism
D) German Expressionism


3) What was the main goal of the movement?

A) Spreading nihilistic ideals across the United States
B) Promoting Pollock's action painting
C) Constricting social freedom
D) Encouraging escape from all forms of limitation


4) The speaker says that the abstract expressionist painters felt strongly about the importance of freedom because

A) it was this American ideal that had attracted the artists in the first place.
B) they disliked the work of their predecessors.
C) they were forced to leave their home countries during World War II.
D) most of them wanted to avoid a political interpretation of their art.


5) For each of the following statements mark either A (for Action Painting), C (for Colour Field Painting) or B for (Both)

A) Newman was a member of this/these movement(s).

B) Emphasis was placed on the artist's movement or brush strokes.

C) It was heavily influenced by a number of philosophers. 

D) Pollock was a member of this/these movement(s).

E)  Emphasis was placed on unifying a painting through colour.

F) Avoidance of real world representations was essential.

Origins of Algebra (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The development of a certain kind of mathematics.
B) The history of Persian literature.
C) The similarities between Urdu and Hindi.
D) The origin of the word "algebra".


2) From the lecture, what can be inferred Arabic?

A) It is spoken widely in India.
B) It is spoken by the lecturer.
C) It has some similarities to other languages.
D) It took the word "algebra" from Hindi.


3) Why is the book that is mentioned in the lecture important?

A) It is where the word "algebra" comes from.
B) It provided the basis for significant developments in mathematics.
C) It created a whole new field of study.
D) It was the first book to discuss algebraic concepts to the world.


4) Organize the following mathematicians chronologically:

1) al-Kwarizmi
2) Brahma gupta
3) Babyonian scholars
4) Diophantus


5) At 6:58 in the lecture, the speaker says, "and some people consider him to be, if not the father of algebra, although some say he is the father, he is one of the fathers of algebra because he really started to think about algebra in the abstract sense."

Why does he say, "if not the father of algebra, although some say he is the father"?

A) He is showing that he disagrees that al-Kwarizmi is the "father of algebra."
B) He is attempting to remain neutral in the debate over who the "father of algebra" is.
C) He is explaining that most people believe al-Kwarizmi was the founder of algebraic methods.
D) He is emphasizing important differences between historians with regards to the development of algebra.