Reading and Writing Test - 4 - SAT MCQ

• Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately portrays the main purpose of the text. At the beginning of the text, Tom asserts that he and the other people staging the play are doing so only for “a little amusement among ourselves” and aren’t interested in attracting an audience or any attention with the production. Then, Tom promises that the play they chose is modest and appropriate, and he further reasons that using the well-written prose of “some respectable author” is better than using their own words. Overall, the main purpose of the text is to convey Tom’s promise that the play will be inoffensive and involve only a few people. 
• Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that Tom had earlier intentions for the play’s performance or that anything has changed since the group first decided to stage a play. Instead, the text focuses on how harmless the entire endeavor will be.
• Choice C is incorrect. Although Tom mentions that using the words of a “respectable author” will be better than using their own words, he never addresses the idea that the people around him generally aren’t skilled enough to stage a play.
• Choice D is incorrect because in the text Tom specifically says that they “want no audience, no publicity,” which indicates that they don’t plan on promoting the play at all.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the argument about an unintended effect of the Nagoya Protocol. The text explains that the Nagoya Protocol is an agreement ensuring that Indigenous communities are compensated when their agricultural resources and knowledge are used by corporations. The text then states that the protocol allows corporations to keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential, about which some Indigenous advocates express concern.Choice C, when inserted into the blank, gives a good justification for the advocates’ concern: such secrecy could mean that the public is unable to determine whether participating Indigenous communities were properly compensated under these agreements.
• Choice A is incorrect. The text suggests that because corporations can keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential, Indigenous communities, not corporations, might not be compensated fairly.
• Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the ability of corporations to keep their agreements with Indigenous communities confidential would place limits on how much research corporations can undertake.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that Indigenous communities aim to learn new harvesting methods from their corporate partners. Rather, the text suggests that corporations use the knowledge of Indigenous communities for their research.

• Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a main clause and a subordinate clause. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the main clause (“the colorful…decade”) and the subordinate clause (“while…centuries”) that provides contrasting information about the life span of rougheye rockfish.
• Choice A is incorrect because a colon can’t be used in this way to join a main clause and a subordinate clause.
• Choice B is incorrect because it results in a rhetorically unacceptable sentence fragment beginning with “while.”
• Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon can’t be used in this way to join a main clause and a subordinate clause.

• Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between sentences. In this choice, the period after “tombs” is used correctly to mark the boundary between one sentence (“Archaeologist...tombs”) and another (“Built...nature”).
• Choice B is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. A comma can’t be used in this way to mark the boundary between sentences.
• Choice C is incorrect. Without a comma preceding it, the conjunction “and” can’t be used in this way to join the two sentences.
• Choice D is incorrect because it results in a run-on sentence. The sentences (“Archaeologist...tombs” and “Built...nature”) are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction.

• Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion about handedness in animals. As used in this context, “recognizable” means apparent or identifiable. The text indicates that handedness is “easy to observe in humans,” but that animal-behavior researchers use special tasks to determine handedness in other animals. This context and the use of “less” before the blank indicate that compared with handedness in humans, handedness in other animals is less recognizable.
• Choice B is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text to suggest that handedness is less “intriguing,” or fascinating, in nonhuman animals than it is in humans. The text focuses on how easy it is to observe handedness in humans as compared with other animals; the text doesn’t suggest that handedness is more fascinating in humans.
• Choice C is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text to suggest that handedness is less “significant,” or important or meaningful, in nonhuman animals than it is in humans. The text focuses on how easy it is to observe handedness in humans as compared with other animals; the text doesn’t suggest that handedness is more significant in humans.
• Choice D is incorrect because “useful,” or functional or helpful, wouldn’t make sense in context. The text focuses on the ease with which researchers can determine whether an animal or person is right- or left-handed, not on how useful handedness in nonhuman animals is compared with handedness in humans.

• Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb “is” agrees in number with the singular subject “the triangle.”
• Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb “are” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.”
• Choice B is incorrect because the plural verb “have been” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.”
• Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb “were” doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject “the triangle.”

• Choice C is the best answer. “Finally” logically signals that the bill passing— following many attempts between 1968 and 1983—is the final, concluding event in the sequence described in the previous sentences. 
  The correct sentence is Finally, in 1983, the bill passed.
• Choice A is incorrect because “instead” illogically signals that the bill passing is an alternative to one of the events described in the previous sentences. It is the final event in the sequence.
• Choice B is incorrect because “likewise” illogically signals that the bill passing is similar to one of the events described in the previous sentences. Instead, it is the final event in the sequence.
• Choice D is incorrect because “additionally” illogically signals that the bill passing is merely another event described along with the events of the previous sentences. Instead, it is the final, concluding event in the sequence.

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the fossilized bones of the hominin known as Little Foot. As used in this context, “comparable to” would mean similar to. The text indicates that the relationship between the fossilized clavicle and shoulder bones of Little Foot and the clavicle and shoulder bones of “frequent climbers,” such as chimpanzees and gorillas, suggests that Little Foot had adapted to moving around in trees. This context suggests that the relationship between the fossilized bones of Little Foot and the bones of chimpanzees and gorillas is one of similarity—the Little Foot fossils are likely comparable to the modern ape bones.

• Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive “to forge” is correctly used to form a nonfinite (infinitive) clause that explains why the chemists re-created and reprogrammed the DNA-cleaving bacteria.
• Choice B is incorrect. Without a comma separating the main clause (“chemists... bacteria”) from the participle “forging,” this choice illogically suggests that the bacteria are forging a tool, which doesn’t make sense.
• Choice C is incorrect. Without a coordinating conjunction such as “and” placed before it, the finite past tense verb “forged” can’t be used in this way to describe the chemists’ actions.
• Choice D is incorrect. If read as a finite verb, the present progressive verb “forging” isn’t consistent with the past tense verbs used in this sentence to describe the actions of the chemists. If read as a nonfinite verb, the participle “forging” can’t be used in this way because there is no following main clause for it to modify.

• Choice A is the best answer because the text indicates that Fox-Foot doesn’t let the group build a fire or create a canoe landing when it’s time for supper. This context suggests that he doesn’t want anyone who might be following the group to see any sign of them or their activities. In other words, Fox-Foot doesn’t want there to be any trace, or evidence, of the group’s movements (“their passing”) through the area.
• Choice B is incorrect because the text conveys that Fox-Foot doesn’t want the group to be detected, not that he doesn’t want their presence to create a blemish, or a spoiling flaw, in the area; human activity could disturb a natural environment, but the context emphasizes that Fox-Foot is instead focused on avoiding giving any sign of the group’s movements through a place (“their passing”) to anyone who might be following them.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text focuses on Fox-Foot’s desire to avoid detection by those who might be following the group. This context conveys that Fox-Foot doesn’t want to create any signs or evidence of the group moving through a place (“their passing”), not that he doesn’t want to leave behind some quantity of their presence; indeed, it isn’t clear what an amount of a group’s movement would be.
• Choice D is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that the group has a sketch, or rough drawing, of their movements through that area (“their passing”) that might be left behind. Rather, the context emphasizes that Fox-Foot is focused on ensuring that the group doesn’t give any kind of indication of their presence, as he wants to avoid detection by anyone who might be following the group.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the overall structure of the text. The text begins by explaining that human activities influence carbon and nitrogen levels in soil, but how deeply these effects are seen in the soil remains an unresolved question. Next, the text summarizes Okolo and colleagues’ hypothesis regarding this question—which is that the different effects on carbon and nitrogen levels associated with different types of land use would also be observed below the topsoil layer—and then briefly explains the methods they used to test this hypothesis. Finally, the text states that the researchers found that at depths below the topsoil layer, carbon and nitrogen decreased to similarly low levels across all land-use types, a finding that conflicts with the team’s hypothesis presented earlier in the text. Thus, the text introduces an unresolved scientific question, presents a research team’s hypothesis pertaining to that question, and then describes an observation that the team made that conflicted with their hypothesis.
• Choice A is incorrect. Although the text introduces a phenomenon (the fact that human activities influence carbon and nitrogen levels in the soil) that isn’t fully understood by scientists and explains a research team’s hypothesis about the phenomenon, the text doesn’t describe how the team refined their hypothesis when a research finding contradicted it.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss a process at all; rather, it poses an unsolved scientific question and presents a hypothesis that Okolo and colleagues tested to answer that question. Moreover, the text only describes one hypothesis; it doesn’t mention any competing hypotheses, nor does it suggest that Okolo’s team was able to determine which hypothesis was correct.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t begin by presenting a hypothesis that is under scientific debate; rather, it presents a question that scientists have been unable to answer and then introduces a hypothesis formulated by Okolo and colleagues. While the text does explain how Okolo’s team tested their hypothesis, the text goes on to say that their data conflicted with their hypothesis, not that the data validated, or supported, their hypothesis.

• Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of punctuation between titles and proper nouns. No punctuation is needed to set off the proper noun “Marie-Denise Villers” from the title that describes Villers, “littleknown French portrait artist.”
• Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.
• Choice C is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.
• Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.

• Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the fossil deposit. In this context, “obtain” means gain or acquire. According to the text, a team of paleontologists has found fossils that are very well preserved. For this reason, the text suggests, the paleontologists have been able to gain detailed information from the fossils, such as the color patterns of the life forms that left them behind.
• Choice A is incorrect because “occupy” means engage or inhabit, neither of which would make sense in context. It’s unclear what it would mean for detailed information revealed by fossils to be engaged or inhabited.
• Choice B is incorrect because the text gives no indication that the paleontologists wanted to “hoard,” or collect and hide, the detailed information revealed by the well-preserved fossils.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text gives no indication that the paleontologists wanted to “reserve,” or withhold, the detailed information revealed by the wellpreserved fossils.

• Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of English dialects spoken in Scotland and the Upland South. The text indicates that these dialects share a feature: putting emphasis on the “r” sound when it appears in certain positions in words. The text goes on to state that records indicate the Upland South was colonized largely by people of Scottish ancestry. It is reasonable to assume that the English dialects spoken by these colonizers were influenced by the English dialects spoken by their ancestors in Scotland. It follows, then, that the emphasis on the “r” sound in the dialects in Scotland carried over into the Upland South dialects as they developed—that is, that the Upland South dialects likely acquired it from dialects spoken in Scotland.
• Choice B is incorrect because the text suggests that Scottish ancestry explains the origin of the emphasis on the “r” sound in English dialects spoken in the Upland South, since that linguistic feature is also found in dialects spoken in Scotland; the text doesn’t address any other dialects or suggest that the feature will spread elsewhere.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates that many Upland South colonizers were the descendants of Scottish people, suggesting that the English dialects spoken by these colonizers had been influenced by the English dialects spoken by the colonizers’ ancestors in Scotland and had acquired their emphasis on the “r” sound from those ancestors’ dialects—not the other way around.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text indicates that the emphasis on the “r” sound is part of English dialects spoken in the Upland South today, which almost certainly wouldn’t be the case if people from Scotland, who were the main colonizers of the Upland South, had eliminated that linguistic feature from their dialects.

• Choice D is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes the mass of Sirius A, noting that it has a mass of 2.063 solar masses and that it is larger than the Sun.
• Choice A is incorrect. The sentence makes a generalization about how the mass of stars can be measured; it doesn’t emphasize the mass of Sirius A.
• Choice B is incorrect. The sentence introduces solar masses as a unit of measurement; it doesn’t emphasize the mass of Sirius A.
• Choice C is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the mass of Proxima Centauri, not the mass of Sirius A.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Bastos’s study of a wild kea parrot. In this context, “accidental” means unplanned or unintentional. The text first describes Bastos’s study, which concerns a kea that is observed using small stones to preen its feathers. The text then mentions colleagues who are skeptical (that is, they have doubt) about Bastos’s findings, and finally describes how Bastos and her team responded to the skepticism of those colleagues. Given that the colleagues mentioned in the text expressed skepticism regarding Bastos’s findings, the best answer choice must be one that completes the text in a manner such that the skeptics’ opinion regarding the kea’s use of stones disagrees with that held by Bastos and her team. Since Bastos and her team showed that the kea’s use of stones was deliberate (that is, intentional), the skeptics’ opinion in this context must be that the kea’s use of stones was unintentional, or accidental.
• Choice A is incorrect because the best answer choice is one that portrays skepticism, or doubt, of Bastos’s claim that the kea’s usage of stones was deliberate, or intentional. If the skeptics found the kea’s usage of stones “intriguing,” or fascinating, this would not be at odds with the position of Bastos and her team; in fact, it is reasonable to believe that someone who agreed that the kea’s stone usage was deliberate would also find it intriguing.
• Choice B is incorrect because if the skeptics believed that the kea’s usage of small stones was “obvious,” or evident, this would not be contrary to the observation of Bastos and her team that the kea’s usage of stones was deliberate: in fact, these opinions would be consistent with each other.
• Choice D is incorrect because if the skeptics believed that the kea’s usage of small stones was “observable,” or visible, this would not conflict with the claim of Bastos and her team that the kea’s usage of stones was deliberate: instead, these positions would agree.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most effectively describes the function of the underlined portion. The text discusses the long-standing misconception that people in medieval Europe were uninterested in cleanliness and hygiene. As evidence that this idea is false, the text cites historian Eleanor Janega’s assertion that in medieval Europe, towns usually had at least one bathhouse, where people could take immersion baths or steam baths for a fee. The underlined portion then notes that mainly town dwellers had access to these bathhouses. The remainder of the text explains that those who lacked such access were nonetheless able to bathe in outdoor waterways or take sponge baths at home. Therefore, the underlined portion concedes that some people in medieval Europe lacked access to public bathhouses.
• Choice A is incorrect. The underlined portion establishes that amenities such as steam baths were mainly available to town dwellers, which suggests in turn that steam baths were largely unavailable to people in rural areas. Thus, the distinction made by the underlined portion is not between the popularity of steam baths in towns versus their lack of popularity in rural areas but instead between their presence in towns and absence in rural areas.
• Choice B is incorrect. Although the text does explain that recent historians have disproved the idea that medieval Europeans rarely bathed, it doesn’t attribute that misconception to earlier historians of medieval Europe or suggest that their research was subject to limitations. Moreover, the underlined portion addresses a limitation of life in medieval Europe, not of historical research.
• Choice D is incorrect because the underlined portion doesn’t address why historian Eleanor Janega decided to study the popularity of public bathhouses in medieval Europe—nor does any portion of the text. The text mentions Janega in passing, but it doesn’t go into detail about why she decided to study the popularity of public bathhouses in medieval Europe.

• Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of elements in a complex series. It’s conventional to use a semicolon to separate items in a complex series with internal punctuation, and in this choice, the semicolon after “leaves” is conventionally used to separate the first item (“natural debris, such as dried leaves”) and the second item (“man-made trash, such as plastic bags”) in the series of materials used by Gavua. Further, the comma after “trash” correctly separates the noun phrase “man-made trash” from the supplementary phrase (“such as plastic bags”) that describes it.
• Choice A is incorrect because a comma after “leaves” doesn’t match the semicolon used later to separate the second and third items in the series (“manmade...bags” and “and...glue”). Additionally, it’s not conventional to use a colon in this way to separate a supplementary phrase (“such as plastic bags”) from the noun phrase it modifies (“man-made trash”).
• Choice C is incorrect because a comma after “leaves” doesn’t match the semicolon used later to separate the second and third items in the series (“man-made...bags” and “and...glue”).
• Choice D is incorrect because it’s not conventional to use a semicolon in this way to separate a supplementary phrase (“such as plastic bags”) from the noun phrase it modifies (“man-made trash”).

• Choice C is the best answer. The sentence indicates which classification category most routine diplomatic correspondence belongs in, explaining that it is classified as Confidential because it has the potential to damage national security if disclosed.
• Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence makes a claim about information classified as Confidential, it doesn’t indicate which category routine diplomatic correspondence belongs in.
• Choice B is incorrect. The sentence makes a generalization about how routine diplomatic correspondence is classified; it doesn’t indicate which classification category the correspondence belongs in.
• Choice D is incorrect. This sentence explains that routine diplomatic correspondence could affect national security if disclosed; it doesn’t indicate which category of sensitive information this correspondence belongs in.

Choice A is the best answer because it presents an explanation that is directly stated in the text for why ecologists are worried about Pando. The text states that Pando is a colony of about 47,000 quaking aspen trees that represents one of the largest organisms on Earth. According to the text, ecologists are worried that Pando’s growth is declining, partly because animals are feeding on the trees. In other words, the ecologists are worried that Pando isn’t growing at the same rate it used to.
Choice B is incorrect. Rather than indicating that Pando isn’t producing young trees anymore, the text reveals that Pando is indeed producing young trees, stating that those trees can be protected from grazing deer by strong fences.
Choice C is incorrect because the text states that fences can be used to prevent deer from eating Pando’s young trees, not that Pando itself can’t grow in new areas because it’s blocked by fences. 
Choice D is incorrect because the text offers no evidence that Pando’s root system is incapable of supporting new trees or is otherwise a cause of worry for ecologists.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the potential effects of logging on forest conservation. The text begins by stating that logging practices are often thought of as being contrary to forest conservation efforts. Then, the text presents the results of a research study examining the effect of limited logging practices on specific forest plots, finding that the plots with limited logging may be "more robust" (healthier) than the plots that hadn’t been logged at all. Given these results, it follows that logging may be a useful practice for maintaining healthy forests if it is practiced in a limited way.
Choice B is incorrect because the study referenced in the text only provides information on limited logging as a potential forest management strategy. There is no information in the text about how other forest management strategies support forest conservation efforts. Therefore, the text does not support the assertion that other forest management strategies are more successful than limited logging.
Choice C is incorrect because the text presents a research study with findings that specific plots of forest with limited logging may be more robust than the forest plots that were not logged. Rather than suggesting that it is hard to know whether limited logging might be beneficial, the text suggests that the practice could be useful in forest conservation efforts.
Choice D is incorrect. The text discusses the results of a research study that compares the health of forest plots with limited logging to forest plots that were not logged. It does not take a position on the best way to support forest health but rather presents a research study with findings that question conventionally held thoughts regarding the practice of logging.

Choice B is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text tells us that disruptions to an enjoyable experience increase viewers’ enjoyment. It also says that researchers suspect the opposite is true for disruptions to an unpleasant experience. Thus, we can infer that the researchers expect to find that the interrupted unpleasant experience was worse for listeners than the uninterrupted unpleasant experience.
Choice A is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how irritating the disruptions themselves are perceived to be. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences.
Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how long any experience is perceived to be. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences.
Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how interruptions affect the perceived volume of the unpleasant or pleasant experience. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ conclusion that carbon dioxide does not serve as an additional cue to frog-biting midges regarding the location of male túngara frogs. The text begins by stating that the mating call of the male túngara frogs also attracts frog-biting midges, which prey on the frogs’ blood. Researchers Bernal and de Silva were curious if the mating calls were sufficient signals for the midges to locate the frogs or if midges also used carbon dioxide emitted by the frogs to locate their prey. The text then details the procedure the researchers used to investigate their question and summarizes their conclusion—that carbon dioxide does not serve as an additional cue to the midges. Thus, if more midges were found in the researchers’ trap that only played calls than in the trap that played calls and released carbon dioxide, it follows that the frog calls seem sufficient without the carbon dioxide cue. This finding supports the researchers’ conclusion that carbon dioxide does not serve as an additional cue to frog-biting midges.
Choice A is incorrect because finding that the majority of frog-biting midges were found in the traps that both played the mating call and released carbon dioxide would present evidence that directly refutes the researchers’ conclusion—that carbon dioxide does not serve as an additional cue to the frog-biting midges regarding the location of túngara frogs.
Choice B is incorrect because if the midges entered the trap that played calls and released carbon dioxide only during or immediately after carbon dioxide was released, that would suggest that the midges used the carbon dioxide as a way to locate their prey, a finding that would contradict the researchers’ conclusion that carbon dioxide was not an additional cue to the midges.
Choice D is incorrect because a trap attracting larger numbers of midges with high carbon dioxide concentrations than a trap with low carbon dioxide concentrations suggests that carbon dioxide might serve as an additional cue to the midges as to the location on the frogs, a finding contrary to the researchers’ conclusion.

Choice D is the best answer. The text says that the formation at Mistaken Point contains fossils of “the earliest multicellular organisms,” which implies that these fossils are from an older time period than the fossils of “prehistoric human ancestors” found in the Minatogawa quarry.
Choice A is incorrect. The text says that the formation at Mistake Point contains “more than 10,000 fossils,” but it doesn’t compare this number to the number of fossils in the Minatogawa quarry. It also doesn’t say anything about the variety of species in either formation.
Choice B is incorrect. The text says that the formation at Mistaken Point contains fossils of “the earliest multicellular organisms,” but it never says that the site contains early human fossils too. Rather, the early human fossils mentioned in the text were found in the formation at Minatogawa quarry.
Choice C is incorrect. The text says that the fossils at Mistaken Point “document a critical moment in evolutionary history,” but it never says that Mistaken Point is the most valuable source of information about prehistoric life forms.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a question that the text is attempting to answer: why has the pronoun "y’all" become more widely used in the US? The text begins by explaining where and how the plural pronoun "y’all" originated and then goes on to state that its use has been rising in popularity, even in areas outside of its place of origin. The text then attributes this rise in popularity to the fact that many varieties of English do not have a pronoun to address more than one person, and thus "you" must function as both a singular and plural pronoun.
Choice A is incorrect because while the text states that "y’all" is used as a plural of "you" in English, it does not discuss other plural forms of the word.
Choice C is incorrect because while the text discusses the general origins of the pronoun "y’all," it does not state when the use of the pronoun was first recorded in the English language.
Choice D is incorrect because though the text addresses the use of the pronoun "y’all" within English-speaking communities in the US, it does not address its use outside of that geographic area.

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a main clause and a supplementary noun phrase. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the main clause (“scholar…materialism”) and the supplementary noun phrase (“an apt assessment”) that describes Waid’s observation about how The House of Mirth depicts the upper classes of New York society.
Choice A is incorrect because a semicolon and the conjunction “and” can’t be used in this way to mark the boundary between a main clause and a supplementary noun phrase.
Choice B is incorrect. Joining the main clause (“scholar… materialism”) and the following noun phrase with the conjunction “and” results in a confusing and illogical sentence that suggests that the novel depicts the upper classes of New York society as “an apt assessment,” which doesn’t make sense in this context.
Choice D is incorrect because it fails to mark the boundary between the main clause and the supplementary noun phrase with appropriate punctuation.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the relationship between Indigenous languages and knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants. The text states that Indigenous cultures possess special knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants, which is reflected in their vocabulary. The text then discusses how tribal nations are working to preserve their languages, whose daily use is declining as globally dominant languages become increasingly dominant in Indigenous communities. Given that the languages of tribal nations in what is now the United States function as repositories of knowledge about plants’ medicinal uses, it logically follows that continued use of those languages will assist with passing on knowledge about the medicinal value of plants native to the tribal nations’ lands.
Choice A is incorrect because the text states that preserving Indigenous languages will increase the knowledge, not the number, of medicinal plants. Choice B is incorrect because the text is concerned with how vocabulary about the medicinal value of plants can be preserved through the continued daily use of Indigenous languages, not with how such vocabulary can be incorporated into globally dominant, non-Indigenous languages. Moreover, the text explains that the exclusive use of globally dominant languages in Indigenous communities comes at an expense to the continued daily use of those communities’ languages. Given this relationship, it is unlikely globally dominant languages would borrow Indigenous vocabulary pertaining to  plants’ medicinal uses. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss physical access to medicinal plants, instead focusing on Indigenous knowledge and language surrounding the medicinal uses of plants.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion about research into social media use. In context, “redressing” means remedying or compensating for. The text indicates that there is a long-standing trend of overemphasizing teenagers and young adults in studies of social media use. It goes on to say that scholars have recently broadened the kinds of social media users they study by including senior citizens. This suggests that scholars are redressing the long-standing trend of overemphasis on younger users by studying older users as well.
• Choice A is incorrect because “exacerbating” means making worse or aggravating, which would not make logical sense in context. Expanding the focus of studies of social media use to include senior citizens would not make the long-standing trend of overemphasizing teenagers and young adults in studies of social media use worse; instead, it would help to remedy this trend.
• Choice C is incorrect because “epitomizing” means illustrating or providing an example, which would not make logical sense in context. Expanding the groups of social media users that scholars study to include senior citizens would not provide an example of the long-standing trend of overemphasizing teenagers and young people in research on social media use.
• Choice D is incorrect because “precluding” means making impossible in advance or preventing, which would not make logical sense in context. The text indicates that there is a long-standing trend of overemphasizing teenagers and young adults in social media research. Expanding the focus of social media research to include senior citizens, as the text indicates scholars have begun to do, could help to rectify the trend, but it could not prevent the trend or make the trend impossible in advance, since the trend started long before scholars started expanding their focus.

• Choice B is the best answer because it best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole. The text describes the failed attempt of Israel Potter to establish a farm in New England during the late eighteenth century: according to his contract, he was to receive two hundred acres in exchange for three months’ work, but his employer then refused to fulfill the bargain and Israel had no recourse to law to obtain the land he was owed. Israel was therefore forced to find another means of supporting himself. To explain why Israel was particularly susceptible to his employer’s dishonesty, the underlined portion states that though Israel was “brave-hearted, and even much of a dare-devil upon a pinch,” he also possessed “a singular patience and mildness.” In other words, Israel could be courageous in certain circumstances, but he was usually meek and disinclined to argument, from which it is reasonable to infer that Israel was often taken advantage of. Thus, the underlined portion suggests that if not for a certain aspect of his character, Israel might not have been as easily thwarted in his ambition to establish a farm.
• Choice A is incorrect because although the underlined portion describes aspects of Israel’s personality, it does not address how he feels about his own personality.
• Choice C is incorrect because the underlined portion addresses Israel’s occasional courage and frequent meekness but does not address whether he would have the skills and resolve necessary to operate a farm if he owned sufficient property.
• Choice D is incorrect. Though the underlined portion does indicate that Israel could be courageous in certain circumstances, it does not say that he undertook acts of courage that others avoided, but rather that he was habitually meek. Even if the underlined portion did say that Israel was more courageous than most, this would not explain why he found himself under the circumstances described in the text—that is, as a consequence of his meek nature, cheated of the property to which he had a right.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of a study involving ethical consumers. According to the text, ethical consumers are people who strive to purchase goods and services with positive or neutral effects on society and the environment. The text explains that consumer psychologists believe these consumers are more likely to purchase a product if its effects correspond better to their values. The text then introduces a study of ethical consumers’ attitudes toward a specific mobile phone, indicating that participants in their twenties had a less positive attitude toward the phone’s effects on society and the environment than participants in other age groups did. The text indicates that readers should assume there are no other differences between the participants in their twenties and those in other age groups. If the consumer psychologists’ theory is correct, as the text proposes, then the study’s finding suggests that ethical consumers in their twenties are less likely to purchase the phone than ethical consumers in other age groups are.
• Choice A is incorrect because the text mentions only the mobile phone used in the study and therefore provides no basis to compare participants’ attitudes toward that phone with their attitudes toward any other phone.
• Choice C is incorrect because the study’s finding suggests the contrary. The text indicates that study participants in their twenties had a less positive attitude toward the phone’s social and environmental effects than study participants in other age groups did. If the consumer psychologists’ theory is true, as the text proposes, then the study’s finding suggests that ethical consumers in their twenties are meaningfully less likely to purchase the phone than ethical consumers in other age groups are.
• Choice D is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text to suggest that ethical consumers in their twenties are more likely than ethical consumers in other age groups to consider a phone’s social and ecological effects when deciding whether to purchase it. Rather, the text’s discussion of people who identify as ethical consumers suggests that they all consider the social and ecological effects of products, regardless of age.