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• Question 11:

  Allergies are on the rise in industrialized nations because improved hygiene has eliminated the microbes that, upon exposure, prompt infants' allergy-iihWrjng immune-system responses. Any ill effects of the rise in allergies, however, have been more than offset by the reduction in infant mortality caused by the elimination of pathogens. Further, current research suggests that future atergy-prevention therapies will compensate for the absence of beneficial microbes.

  The statements above, 4 true, most strongly support which of the following?

  A. Advances in prenatal care for expectant mothers have contributed to the reduction in the infant mortality rate.

  B. The rise in allergies has been accompanied by the development of effective treatments for the symptoms of those allergies.

  C. Increases In allergy seventy probably will not raise overall death rates unacceptably before therapies to prevent allergies become available.

  D. A family history of allergies does not elevate the risk that a child will develop allergies to food and other allergens.

  E. The prevalence of allergies will not continue to increase while substitutes for the beneficial microbes needed to prevent allergies are stiff being sought

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 12:

  The information in the passage most strongly implies which of the following?

  A. Some of the hottest stars emit none of their light at infrared frequencies.

  B. The Sun puts out more of its light at ultraviolet frequencies than it does at infrared frequencies.

  C. Even the coolest of stars emit much of their light at frequencies in the visible spectrum.

  D. Only stars that emit most of their light at infrared frequencies do not emit significant amounts of light at ultraviolet frequencies.

  E. Even the stars that emit most of their light at ultraviolet frequencies emit much of their light at frequencies in the visible spectrum.

  Correct Answer: B

  Light exists on a spectrum of frequencies extending from gamma rays at the highest frequencies to radio waves at the lowest, though human eyes are sensitive to only a narrow range of frequencies in the middle known as the visible spectrum. The different colors we see correspond to the different frequencies of light within that range. Given that there are so many frequencies of light, one might wonder why our eyes didnt evolve to be sensitive to more frequencies. Gamma rays from space collide with Earth's atmosphere, which converts some of their energy to heat and creates a distinctive cascade of subatomic particles down toward the ground. However, the rays themselves are entirety absorbed before they can reach Earth's surface. Thus, Earth would appear to be pitch black to eyes that were only sensitive to gamma rays. Similarly, the majority of frequencies of light that are higher or lower than those in the visible spectrum--such as ultraviolet and most infrared frequencies, respectively--are mostly or entirely absorbed by Earth's atmosphere. One reason we see the frequencies we do is that visible-spectrum light generally passes through our atmosphere without being absorbed or reflected. Another reason is that the Sun, in some respects an average star, emits most of its light at frequencies in the visible spectrum, whereas a hot star emits most of Its light at ultraviolet frequencies and a very cool star emits most of its light at infrared frequencies. Indeed, to remarkably high precision, the human eye to most sensitive to the exact frequency in the yellow part of the spectrum at which the Sun is the brightest Even if there are living beings on other planets, it is not likely that they would see mainly at very different frequencies than we do. Virtually all gases that are abundant in the cosmos tend to allow frequencies in the visible spectrum to pass through while absorbing other frequencies, and all but the coolest stars put out much, If not most, of their light in the visible spectrum. If there are Irving beings on other planets, they probably see at roughly the same frequencies as we do, though there may be occasional exceptions.

• Question 13:

  Which of the following statements concerning the valence model and the approach- withdrawal model most accurately reflects information provided in the Passage?

  A. Each of the two models implicates both hemispheres of the human brain in the processing of emotion.

  B. Both models suggest that cognitive information is processed by only one brain hemisphere in humans.

  C. Each of the two models explains how emotional information affects the processing of cognitive information in the human brain.

  D. Both models seek primarily to describe how emotion is expressed in behavior.

  E. The assumptions of both models concerning the processing of visuospatial information are identical with those made by Karev.

  Correct Answer: A

  Despite overall physiological bilateral symmetry, many species exhibit lateralized biases, i.e., preferences for right- or left-oriented behavior. When approaching prey, for example, some predator species favor their right eye; some prey species respond more quickly when their left eye detects a predator. Similar behavioral asymmetries occur in humans. Most notable is right- and lefthandedness; less notable is the tendency to turn right when entering a room. Paul Farnsworth found that more successful students tended to choose seats near the front, a little to the right. He argued that external factors such as teacher location might have affected this lateral bias. But it is now known that processing differences between the two brain hemispheres can also contribute to behavioral asymmetries. George Karev found that when presented with a movie theater seating diagram, right-handed people were more likely than left-handed people to choose a seat on the right, facing front. But he hypothesized that, since the right hemisphere processes visuospatial and emotional information, the people who chose right- side seats did so because that would put the screen in their left visual field, optimizing information flow to the right hemisphere. Although the right hemisphere is thought to be dominant in processing emotion, some evidence suggests that the left hemisphere plays a role. The valence model proposes that the left and right hemispheres process positive and negative emotion respectively, while the approach-withdrawal model posits that the left hemisphere processes emotion expressed in approach behavior and the right hemisphere processes emotion expressed in withdrawal behavior. Victoria Harms and colleagues suggested that since a paper seating plan was used in the theater-seating studies by Karev and others, the exhibited preference might be due simply to handedness: people choose the same side of the paper as their favored hand. Consequently, the Harms research was designed to study choices in an actual movie theater. Also, hoping to distinguish between various explanations, they studied seating choices for comedies (presumed to contain Positive emotional content), dramas (presumed to contain negative emotional content), and documentaries (presumed to have balanced emotional content). They found significant--though not universal-- preference for seats on the right, facing front, regardless of movie genre and of handedness.

• Question 14:

  Intuition guides people in making Judgments by using learned associations that automatically surface as feelings. As people gain experience in a field, they learn to associate the defining characteristics of phenomena with particular feelings and many of their Judgments can become automatic. For example, rather than going step-by-step through a decision tree, experienced car mechanics will often, after a quick look and listen, intuitively identify the problem.

  Which of the following statements is most strongly implied by the Information above?

  A. An experienced car mechanic does not need to deliberate about most judgments related to that field.

  B. Judgments made on the basis of intuition are rarely wrong.

  C. Most quick Judgments are made on the basis of intuition.

  D. An experienced car mechanic will often be guided by feelings when diagnosing problems with cars.

  E. Judgments made on the basis of a decision tree are less likely to be correct than those made on the basis of intuition.

  Correct Answer: C

• Question 15:

  Although mistaken in assuming a geocentric universe, the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Ptolemy created works during the first century AD that remain impressive even today for their comprehensive attention to natural phenomena.

  A. in assuming a geocentric universe, the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Ptolemy created works during the first century AD that B. about assuming a geocentric universe, Ptolemy, a first-century AD astronomer, mathematician, and geographer, created work that

  C. in assuming in his works that the universe was geocentric, Ptolemy, the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer of the first century AD, in that he assumed a geocentric universe, the work from the first century AD of astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Ptolemy,

  D. about having assumed a geocentric universe, the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer Ptolemy created works during the first century AD that

  Correct Answer: A

• Question 16:

  Which of the following is a claim made in the passage?

  A. Microwaves are invisible to the human eye.

  B. Light travels more slowly through water than through cold air.

  C. Light travels at a constant speed through cool air.

  D. Light travels more slowly through air than through a vacuum.

  E. Light changes its speed when it changes its direction.

  Correct Answer: D

  Consider a mirage on a hot toad: when light tays hit the hot ait just above the surface, they bend. Although light moves through a vacuum at a certain constant speed, it moves more slowly through any transparent medium, such as water or gas. Light travels faster in the thin air near the road than it does in the colder, denser air above, and the difference in speed makes it shift direction as it crosses the boundary between the two. Rays once headed downwards from the sky are redirected to your eye, hiding part of the road with a shimmering image. A research team has constructed an apparatus to cloak an object from electromagnetic radiation (EMR)--in this case, microwaves--making the object "invisible" to microwave- based detection devices, somewhat as a mirage on a hot road makes the road invisible. The apparatus bends incoming microwaves around the object, using a class of recently created metamaterials--materials that gain certain desired properties directly from their engineered structures rather than from their composition. These metamaterials possess the ability, not found in nature, to bend microwaves at extreme angles. The metamateria! in this case--thin, rigid sheets of fiberglass insulator stamped with conducting loops, coils, and tiny rectangles--was designed to control the movement of incoming EMR.

• Question 17:

  It can be inferred that the author sees informal contact between managers and customers as an example of which of the following?

  A. The development of pathways for information and action that bypass traditional avenues of corporate communication

  B. The changes in business conditions that have created a need for new managerial techniques

  C. The extension of managerial authority to external relationships

  D. An outmoded approach to management that needlessly constrains managers from vitiating projects on their own

  E. The effective utilization of official contact points

  Correct Answer: A

  Managerial work is undergoing enormous and rapid change. With little precedent to guide them, managers are coping with the fading away of hierarchy and the blurring of clear distinctions of title, task, department, even corporation. Traditional sources of power are being eroded as levels of complexity and interdependence increase. Competitive pressures from recent business downturns are forcing corporations to adopt flexible strategies and structures, including reductions In management staff and increased use of performance-based (rather than longevity-based) rewards. In a more profound change, in a growing number of companies horizontal ties between peers are replacing vertical ties as channels of activity and communication. Companies are asking departmental staff to play a more strategic role, with greater cross-departmental collaboration. Some organizations are forming strategic alliances with customers and outside suppliers that bring external relationships inside, where they can influence company policy. Fundamentally, the new managerial work involves new ways of obtaining and using power. Position, title, and authority are no longer adequate tools when managers have to work cooperatively with other departments and even other companies. The ability of managers to get things done depends more on the number of networks in which they are included than on their rank in a hierarchy. In the past, formal structures and the emphasis on rank were more limiting. For example, access to information and the ability to get informal backing were often confined to the few officially sanctioned contact points between departments or between the company and Its suppliers or customers. Today, official barriers between departments and between companies are disappearing while Informal networks grow in importance. The new corporation has many more channels for action, strategic pathways that ignore the chain of command. These strategic pathways also serve to diffuse power. As the number of ways to combine resources Increases, the ability to command diminishes. Alternative paths of communication and resource access erode the authority of those in the nominal chain of command. In other words, greater speed and flexibility undermine hierarchy. As more and more of the strategic action takes place in these informal networks, the Jobs that focus inward on particular departments decline In power.

• Question 18:

  The passage suggests most strongly that in the presence of certain economic conditions, gray markets will encourage authorized retailers to

  A. begin selling higher quality products

  B. develop a better relationship with manufacturers

  C. compete more intensely with other authorized retailers

  D. advertise less frequently

  E. abandon trying to attract certain types of customers that they would otherwise try to attract

  Correct Answer: D

  Manufacturers and retailers tend to look askance at gray markets, where products are sold at cut-rate prices outside their authorized distribution channels. Manufacturers fear that gray markets will undercut margins and tarnish brand names. Retailers fear that they will siphon away customers and erode prices. A new study indicates, however, that gray marketing actually benefits manufacturers and retailers in markets that meet two criteria: first, sharp differences exist in consumers' price sensitivity; second, large numbers of consumers are price-insensitive. In such markets, the low prices of the gray market will attract the most price-sensitive customers. The authonzed channels will then compete only for the remaining customers--those who are insensitive to price but sensitive to service. When that happens, the structure of competition and the economics of the market shift. The authorized retailers, freed from having to cater to the bargain hunters, can raise their prices and focus on service. If the concentration of price-insensitive shoppers is high enough, the resulting increase in prices will more than offset the loss of sales to the bargain hunters. The margins and profits of the authorized retailers will increase, and manufacturers will, as a result, be able to boost their wholesale prices.

• Question 19:

  Economist: It is generally less expensive to lower carbon dioxide emissions by building new low-emission power plants than by renovating existing ones. Therefore, developed nations that have little need to build new power plants can most efficiently help to lower global emissions by subsidizing the construction of new low-emission power plants in rapidly developing nations where many power plants are being constructed.

  In order to evaluate the strength of the economist's argument, it would be most helpful to know which of the following?

  A. How much it would cost developed nations to lower global carbon dioxide emissions by renovating their own existing power plants

  B. What, if any, methods of lowering carbon dioxide emissions are more efficient than building new low- emission power plants

  C. Whether any developed nations have subsidized efficient new low-emission power plants in rapidly developing nations

  D. How many rapidly developing nations are constructing new tow-emission power plants

  E. Why It is less expensive to tower carbon dioxide emissions by building new low- emission power plants than by renovating existing ones

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 20:

  Because of the positive correlation across animal species between body size and home range size, researchers suspected that body size of female mallards (a species of duck) may influence their home range size. The researchers also reasoned that younger females may be forced into less suitable habitats by older females competing with them for optimal areas, with the younger females compensating by having larger home ranges. However, their research supported neither suspicion. The failure to detect variation of range size according to body size may be due to other, undetermined mallard attributes (for example, body condition) that may have been a significant factor affecting home range size. The fact that most yearling females can breed may help to explain why the expected age effect was not confirmed, since home range size may be affected by breeding capability.

  The researchers did find, however, that home range size of females was Inversely related to the percentage of the study area composed of seasonal or semipermanent wetlands. This may have been because of reduced competition for breeding space within the species when more of the wetlands were present. They also found home range size to decrease somewhat as the percentage of wood-shrub habitat increased, suggesting that reduction in visual contact among mallard pairs may reduce interaction and thus reduce competition among breeding pairs.

  The passage most strongly suggests which of the following about mallard competition?

  A. Greater competition among mallards sometimes results in home ranges of greater size.

  B. The more competition there is among mallards, the lesser the quality of habitat occupied by young female mallards.

  C. The greater the amount of wetlands that are present, the greater the competition among mallards.

  D. The greater the amount of wood-shrub habitat that is present, the greater the competition among mallards.

  E. Larger female mallards have greater success at competing for habitat than do smaller female mallards.

  Correct Answer: D