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.