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. 

Cheese, Dogs and Malaria Pills (Listening)

1) What is the main topic of the lecture?

A) Ways that the spread of a disease can be prevented.
B) Various methods by which malaria spreads.
C) The connection between different mosquitoes and different types of malaria.
D) Differences between different types of mosquitoes.


2) At 2:31, why does the speaker say, "Well, in Africa, we have the equivalent of 7 jumbo 747s crashing everyday"?

A) He is comparing plane crashes in the United States and Africa.
B) He wants the listeners to understand the scale of the problem he is discussing.
C) He believes that plane crashes are a more serious problem in Africa.
D) He is emphasizing that malaria is just as preventable as plan crashes.


3) Which of the following is true about mosquito larvae? (choose two answers)

A) It is easier to kill them than adult mosquitoes.
B) It is even easier for dogs to find people who have malaria than for them to find the larvae.
C) Dogs can be trained to find and kill them.
D) They have a special scent that allows people to find the pools that they live in.


4) Why does the professor stick his arm in a cage of mosquitoes?

A) To demonstrate how hungry the mosquitoes are.
B) To show the audience how fast the drug works.
C) To kill some mosquitoes for the audience.
D) To explain an effective way of killing mosquitoes.


5) Decide if each of the following statements is true or false.

i) Not all people are bitten equally by mosquitoes.
ii) Different types of mosquitoes are attracted to different parts of the body because they taste different.
iii) Certain types of cheese attract mosquitoes better than people.
iv) Dogs are effective at finding adult mosquitoes.
v) The pill that the professor demonstrates is also effective against larvae.

Magna Carta (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

Magna Carta

1) What can be inferred about legal systems that existed before the Magna Carta?

A) They challenged the iron-fisted rule of royalty that was typical of the time.
B) They they obfuscated the rules to allow monarchs to better control their subjects.
C) The ramifications of breaking their laws did not typically extend to the rulers.
D) The average people expected their laws to be unfair.


2) Which word is closest in meaning to "accountable" (from the last line of the first paragraph)?

A) responsible
B) reliable
C) careful
D) wealthy


3) The author mentions "William the Conquerer" in paragraphs 2 and 3 to

A) show how the Magna Carta embodied the spirit of the feudal system.
B) introduce the leader that first brought feudal law to England.
C) provide the context of the political system in place prior to the Magna Carta.
D) explore the history of England as it related to the rest of Europe.


4) Which word is closest in meaning to "succession" (from paragraph 4, line 3)?

A) achievement
B) entitlement
C) attainability
D) destitution


5) Which of the following was NOT an error that John made?

A) He postponed the reclamation of Normandy from the French and ultimately lost that land.
B)He deported all the English bishops. 
C) He refused to pay the Church to reinstate England, forcing the barons had to make the arrangements.
D) He did not debate the appointment of a new archbishop with the bishops of England.


6) The word "another" (from paragraph 9, line 2) refers to:

A) loan
B) demand
C) life
D) minor


7) Which word is closest in meaning to "renounced" (from paragraph 12, line 9)?

A) disappeared
B) disputed
C) misinterpreted
D) repudiated


8) Which of the following sentences best paraphrases the sentence, "The barons called a truce when the Magna Carta was reissued under Henry’s name, although with sections removed, notably Clause 61, the “committee of barons” rule."

A) After the Magna Carta was extended to the barons once again, the barons insisted on the removal of several significant sections.
B) Despite offering peace to the barons, they still demanded that Henry remove a number of important sections from the Magna Carta.
C) When Henry removed a number of sections from the Magna Carta, the barons called for peace.
D) The Magna Carta was used to forge a peace treaty with the barons on the condition that some sections be removed.


9) Choose three sentences that summarize main points from the article.

A) Angry at the loss of their land in Normandy, the barons joined forces and demanded that King John accept the Magna Carta.

B) King John accepted the demands that the barons made on the Magna Carta and his son, Henry III, continued to respect its clauses.

C) The Magna Carta played a significant role in the build up to the American Revolution and the construction of the American government.

D) King John's dispute with the Catholic Church led to his country's ejection from the institution, which caused the barons to reject his authority.

E) Clause 39 states that you the government cannot unjustly imprison anyone or hold their property.

F) William the Conquerer took advantage of the lack of an English heir and took the English throne.

Disaster Shelters (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) Responses to different types of natural disasters in the United States.
B) A way to solve the problem of slow governmental disaster response.
C) How to build disaster shelters.
D) The time it takes to recover for a natural disaster.


2) What can be inferred about the public's view of natural disasters.

A) They don't realize how many people are displaced in developed nations.
B) Most people assume that makeshift shelters are simple.
C) The public doesn't understand how many different types of disasters affect the United States.
D) They believe poorer nations need better disaster response strategies.


3) Why is the arrangement of his the lecturer's shelters important?

A) The organization of the temporary houses into rows creates a sense of order amid the chaos.
B) The ability to arrange the houses in circles makes people feel safer because they can look out in every direction.
C) It allows people to create small neighborhoods which makes disaster victims feel more comfortable.
D) The shelters can be organized in many different ways, allowing people the chance to design their own environment.


4) Which of the following is NOT true of the convenience of the shelters?

A) They can be connected together to form a larger unit.
B) They can be folded up and carried by a person.
C) Their versatility means they can be used as permanent shelters
D) The doors can be changed easily.


5) At 4:47 in the lecture, the speaker says, "Sounded like a great idea, but how do you make it real?" What does he mean by this?

A) He is expressing doubts about the possibility of completing his project.
B) He is asking the audience for suggestions.
C) He is introducing the next topic of his lecture.
D) He is showing that the problems he faced were quite challenging.


6) Which of the following were obstacles to implementing his ideas in the real world? (Choose 2 answers)

A) Companies believed that third world disaster areas were bad for their brand.
B) The government only designs their own disaster relief products.
C) Setting up a non-profit organization was too time consuming.
D) The government prefers to use products from private companies.

Optimism Bias (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) A comparison of optimistic and pessimistic people with their respective advantages and disadvantages.
B) The view that people as a whole need optimistic bias in their lives.
C) The process by which optimism occurs and the implications of it on society.
D) The mechanisms and advantages of positive thinking.


2) Which of the following is NOT an example of optimism bias?

A) Newly-weds believing they have a very low likelihood of divorce.
B) An employee underestimating the cost of a project.
C) A person believing that family's in general society will be less successful than their own family.
D) A person overestimating their likelihood of getting cancer. 


3) Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason that a pessimistic outlook is bad life strategy?

A) People with this view are usually less happy because they are worried about their future.
B) Pessimistic people don't have realistic expectations of the future.
C) This strategy will never affect the real world in a positive way for that person.
D) Pessimists miss the chance to anticipate the positive events in their future.


4) According to the lecturer, why do people suffer from optimism bias?

A) A part of their brain is inefficient.
B) Their brain overcompensate for negative information that they are given.
C) The don't always understand the negative information they are given.
D) They can't adjust their lifestyle to match the negative information because they are addicted to the positive things in their life.


5) Which of the following best summarizes the professors opinion of optimism bias?

A) It is not completely negative but people need to be careful.
B) It is something that society would be better without.
C) With too much optimism bias, progress is impossible.
D) Life is more challenging but also more rewarding with optimism bias. 

The Seventh Sense (Reading)

Click the link below for the reading passage:

The Seventh Sense

1) Which of the following is NOT a "special sense"?

A) Smell
B) Touch
C) Taste
D) Hearing


2) Why does the author say, "what happens when the body loses knowledge of itself is a far stranger occurrence?

A) He his drawing conclusions about the senses.
B) He believes that it is rare to see this symptom in people.
C) He is introducing the main topic of the passage.
D) He is emphasizing the importance of interoceptive senses.


3) The word "this" in paragraph 3, line 4, refers to:

A) organic sense
B) internal condition
C) body
D) interoceptive sense


4) Which of the following words is closest in meaning to "subjected" (paragraph 4, line 10)?

A) forced
B) educated
C) asked
D) experimented


5) Which of the following words is closest in meaning to "premonitory" (paragraph 5, line 4)?

A) elusive
B) foreshadowing
C) concluding
D) main


6) Which of the following is NOT a stage in the development of Sacks' Syndrome?

A) Development of increasingly poor coordination
B) Proprioceptive failure in specific limbs of the sufferer.
C) Dreams in which the sufferer has no control of their body.
D) A complete loss of bodily awareness.


7) What can be inferred about a person with Proprioception Deficit Disorder?

A) They are unable to move various parts of their body.
B) It is challenging for them to do multiple physical tasks at once.
C) They cannot go to work because it is difficult to carry their briefcase.
D) It is difficult to manage, but they can still drive to work.


8) Which of the following sentences best paraphrases, "Thus, the movement does not look at all natural; opening a door becomes a laborious process of extend hand, tighten each finger, rotate knob, extend arm, raise foot, lower foot, and so on."?

A) As the result of the need for suffers of PDD to meticulously analyze all of their movements, none of their physical actions look normal.

B) Because of the complexity of the actions involved in opening doors, casual movements around the house become impossible to accomplish.

C) The detailed process we go through in opening a door is something most PDD sufferers take for granted.

D) The complex analysis that most people develop for actions such as opening a door is lacking in sufferers of Sacks' Syndrome so their movements appear strange.


9) Which of the following is a possible cause of permanent PDD?

A) It may be encoded in a persons genes.
B) Increased knowledge about the disease.
C) Overdoses of certain vitamins may cause it.
D) It may be communicable.

ET is Probably Out There (Listening)

 1) What is the main topic of the lecture?

A) The history of the search for extraterrestrial life.
B) Reasons that the discovery of an alien species is imminent.
C) Methods for detecting life from space.
D) The procurement of extraterrestrial technology.


2) The main reason that the lecturer believes we will find alien life in the near future is that:

A) our technology is rapidly improving.
B) we have found a number of alien planets in recent years.
C) scientists have improved their search strategies.
D) we can send communication signals further than before.


3) At 4:54, the speaker says: "Well, a million star systems. . .is that interesting? I mean, how many of those star systems have planets? And the facts are, we didn't know the answer to that even as recently as 15 years ago. And in fact, we didn't even know it as recently as 6 months ago. But now we do. Recent results suggest that virtually every star has planets. . . and more than one, they're like. . .you know. . .kittens. You don't get one kitten; you get a litter of them."

Why does he say "they're like. . .you know. . .kittens. You don't get one kitten; you get a litter of them"?

A) To expressing surprise.
B) To make a joke.
C) To help the audience understand something complex.
D) To emphasize a recent point.


4) At 6:08, why does the lecturer say, "even taking the pessimistic estimate, that it's one in a thousand, it means that there are at least a billion cousins of the Earth just in our own galaxy"?

A) He is taking a conservative view to strengthen his argument.
B) He believes a pessimistic estimate is most reasonable.
C) He believes that one in a thousand too low of a number.
D) He wants to convince the audience that there are not many suitable planets.


5) According to the lecturer, what are some probable effects of learning that we are not alone in the Universe? (Choose two options)

A) We might gain substantial knowledge from an advanced society.
B) It will put our existence into a more realistic perspective.
C) It may cause significant conflict here on Earth.
D) We will be able to predict our own future from the knowledge we receive.


6) What are two advantages that the SETI program has in encouraging scientific awareness in the public? (Choose two options)

A) The results of the program will be achieved in the near future.
B) The science is much more interesting to the average person.
C) The scientists are better at advertising and explaining their intentions.
D) The goals of the program are relatively simple to understand.

Inflation (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The meaning of inflation.
B) The goods and services used by the average household.
C) The influence of the CPI on inflation calculations.
D) The way to calculate inflation.


2) Which of the following is true of the Consumer Price Index?

A) It is used to calculate average spending on luxury items.
B) It allows the government to monitor price increases.
C) It would cost approximately $100.
D) It is a measurement of average consumer income.


3) At 1:17, the lecturer says, "And let's say that in year one, that it costs them a hundred dollars - the actual basket CPI constructs would not cost a hundred dollars, but I am going to do this for the sake of simplicity."

What does the lecturer mean when he says, "but I am going to do this for the sake of simplicity"?

A) He thinks that students will not understand the actual data used by the CPI.
B) He doesn't have the real data available at the moment.
C) He is stating that the real costs would be much higher than $100.
D) He wants to make the math as easy as possible so students understand the process.


4) Why does the speaker mention the "money supply"?

A) He is discussing the distinction between two definitions of inflation.
B) He is explaining why inflation occurred in his diagram.
C) He is clarifying the government's role in the economy.
D) He is introducing a second main topic for this discussion.


5) What can be inferred about the speaker's explanation?

A) It is not entirely correct.
B) The calculation is much less complicated in the real world.
C) There are many other factors that real economists consider.
D) It is too basic to be useful for the average person.