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• Question 201:

  Using computer models, ecologist Werner Kurtz is able both to weigh the effect of the beetle outbreak by indicating the health the forest would most likely be enjoying today had the beetle population not exploded and to predict the consequences for the forest should beetle population increases continue unabated.

  A. the hearth the forest would most likely be enjoying today had the beetle population not exploded

  B. the forest s likely health today if the beetle population did not explode

  C. the health enjoyed by the forest today without the beetle population explosion that occurred

  D. if the beetle population did not explode, the forest of today would most likely be enjoying health

  E. the likely health the forest today would be enjoying if the beetle population had not exploded

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 202:

  In an economic downturn, companies tempted to take advantage of Job applicants as unemployment rates rise should reconsider, for such actions could hurt these companies when the economy recovers. Researchers surveyed employees about their experiences as applicants with their current employers. Those who felt they had been treated unfairly during hiring were twice as likely to respond that they were looking for jobs outside their company, even after five years. Among the actions applicants considered unfair were slow responses from employers and pressure to accept offers quickly.

  Which of the following would, if true, most strengthen the reasoning above?

  A. Recovery from an economic downturn usually affects company profits before it affects hiring practices.

  B. The unwillingness of a company to negotiate compensation levels is often considered unfair.

  C. During an economic downturn, the jobs available outside one's current company are usually limited.

  D. An economic recovery usually occurs less than five years after the start of an economic downturn.

  E. A rising unemployment rate is a widely accepted indication of an economic downturn.

  Correct Answer: C

• Question 203:

  A major manufacturer of outdoor clothing spends a significant portion of its overhead costs on transportation in its home markets. Everywhere the cost of fuels, including marine and aviation fuels, has been rising steeply for the last six

  months.

  But during this period the profits of the company have tripled.

  Which of the following would, if true, most help explain why the phenomenon described above occurred?

  A. The company owns its own shipping division.

  B. The sales volume of the company is twice as large as that of its largest competitor.

  C. The major competitors of the company in its home markets are companies exporting from overseas.

  D. The company has recently embraced a buy-one-get-one-free policy in its home markets.

  E. The company is implementing a no-returns, no-refunds policy.

  Correct Answer: C

• Question 204:

  Though unified in their opposition to drilling in the Arctic, the authors' opposition to drilling elsewhere was less vocal.

  A. Though unified in their opposition to drilling in the Arctic, the authors' opposition to drilling elsewhere was less vocal.

  B. Though unified in their opposition to drilling in the Arctic, the authors' opposition was less vocal to drilling elsewhere.

  C. The authors' opposition, although unified on drilling in the Arctic, was less vocal to drilling elsewhere.

  D. The authors, though unified In their opposition to drilling in the Arctic, were less vocal In their opposition to drilling elsewhere.

  E. Though unified in their opposition to drilling in the Arctic, the authors were less vocal to opposing drilling elsewhere.

  Correct Answer: D

• Question 205:

  Excavation in City Y found ten ships that all sank at the same time in the city's harbor, in one sudden event in approximately A.D. 800. One possible explanation for the sinking is a tsunami, caused by a strong earthquake from a fault under the sea about fifteen miles away. However, it is more likely that a powerful storm sank the ships, since, if an earthquake had been responsible, there would also have been major damage to the city's walls and buildings--but there apparently was no such major damage, otherwise we would have discovered records from that time mentioning major building repairs.

  Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

  A. There is evidence that the fault in question had produced tsunamis earlier in City Y's history.

  B. Some record-keeping practices existed in City Y around A.D. 800.

  C. City Y's harbor offered relatively good protection for ships from the effects of a storm.

  D. City Y was wealthy enough to have carried out repair work fairly quickly after an earthquake.

  E. If a powerful storm had sunk the ships, there would have been major damage to walls and buildings in the city, but not as much as an earthquake would have caused.

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 206:

  According to the passage, organizational ecology studies support which of the following statements regarding structurally equivalent organizations?

  A. Organizations that compete intensely within local population boundaries ultimately benefit from the increased competition soured by colocation.

  B. Organizations in industries with intense competition for scarce vital resources experience higher failure rates than do those in which such resources are widely available.

  C. Organizations that share access to scarce raw materials compete with each other less intensely than do those that share access to common labor markets.

  D. Organizations that are situated near each other compete with each other more intensely than do those that are situated in different geographical locations.

  E. Organizations that benefit from advantages such as knowledge spillovers are better able to adapt to market changes than are organizations that benefit from intrinsic advantages such as proximity to consumers.

  Correct Answer: D

  Organizations that produce similar goods tend to concentrate in the same geographic area (geographic concentration of production). Economic explanations of such industrial agglomeration explicitly emphasize better performance, and implicitly emphasize lower failure rates, as the key processes contributing to this geographic concentration. Sometimes Industries benefit economically from situating themselves in particular locations that offer intrinsic advantages such as access to scarce raw materials or proximity to consumers. In other cases, regardless of the particular location, the colocation of structurally equivalent organizations--those that operate in the same markets--may itself yield advantages such as common labor markets and knowledge spillovers. Sorenson and Audia point out that these explanations Ignore the fact that structurally equivalent organizations also compete with one another for vital resources, and colocation would be expected to increase such competition. Organizational ecology studies support this expectation by showing that organizations apparently compete more intensely within local population boundaries. Sorenson and Audia propose instead that what maintains geographic concentration is entrepreneurial opportunity, which leads to higher founding rates. Dense local concentrations of structurally equivalent organizations increase the pool of potential entrepreneurs in a region. Beginning entrepreneurs need exposure to existing organizations in the industry to acquire knowledge of the business, ties to scarce resources, and self-confidence. The existing geographic concentration of production constrains access to these resources, so that new founding's tend to reinforce geographic concentration.

• Question 207:

  The scientists say the newly discovered caverns range from 330 to 825 feet wider from at least 425 feet deep, and have named them after family members and friends.

  A. wide, from at least 425 feet deep, and

  B. wide and are at least 425 feet deep, and they

  C. wide, are at least 425 feet deep, and

  D. wide, while being at least 425 feet deep and they

  E. wide and at least 425 feet deep and

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 208:

  The information in the passage most strongly implies that, if an astrophysicist built a device exclusively located on Earth's surface that was able to detect gamma rays from space striking the atmosphere, it would

  A. be able to detect gamma rays only at night, when the level of visible-spectrum light is lowest

  B. not be able to provide an accurate account of the quantity of gamma rays reaching the ground at the device's location

  C. likely be designed to detect the effects of gamma rays on the atmosphere rather than the rays themselves

  D. likely be able to detect most ultraviolet and infrared frequencies of light

  E. likely be composed partly of extremely rare materials that do not absorb gamma rays

  Correct Answer: C

  Light exists on a spectrum of freque;ncies 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 209:

  Automobile manufacturers improved the miles-per-gallon performance of their cars 60 percent between 1973 and 1988, but this trend now seems to be reversing: as 1996 year when the cars going into junkyards were getting better gas mileage than the ones rolling off dealers' lots.

  A. as 1996 was the first year when the cars going into junkyards were getting

  B. as 1996 was the first year that the cars that had gone into junkyards got

  C. with 1996 as the first year that the cars going into junkyards got

  D. 1996 was the first year when the cars that had gone into junkyards were getting

  E. 1996 was the first year in which the cars going into junkyards got

  Correct Answer: E

• Question 210:

  That subculture was an enduring fixture In Tsarist times, during the Russian Revolution, the times of the Soviet Union, during the transition to post-soviet society--and it continues to exist in Russian society today.

  A. the times of the Soviet Union, during

  B. and during the times of the Soviet Union,

  C. of the Soviet Union, and

  D. and the times of the Soviet Union, as well as

  E. throughout the history of the Soviet Union, and during

  Correct Answer: E