Questions 1-8: Read each group of sentences and then select the best response.

Civil liberties are a set of protections against government agencies that restrict freedom of expression, such as freedom of speech and religion.

1     This sentence

(A) explains a cause-effect relationship.

(B) defines a term and gives an example.

(C) compares the similarities between two things

(D) presents a list of items.

In 1995 the Supreme Court held that public schools could require student athletes to submit to random drug testing. The case arose when James Acton, a seventh-grade student in Vernonia, Oregon, refused to take a urine test required by the school before he could play football.

2     How are the two sentences related?

(A) The first sentence is the effect and the second sentence is the cause.

(B) The first sentence is the cause and the second is the effect.

(C) The second sentence contrasts the first.

(D) The second sentence is an example of the first.

Capital punishment remains one of the most debated aspects of our criminal justice system. Those in favor of it maintain that it serves as a deterrent to serious crime and satisfies society's need for justice and fair play. Those opposed to the death penalty do not believe it has any deterrent value and hold that it constitutes a barbaric act in an otherwise civilized society.

3     What does the second sentence do?

(A) It analyzes the first one.

(B) It makes a comparison to the first.

(C) It contradicts the first one.

(D) It clarifies the first.

Several types of expression do not enjoy constitutional immunity from government regulation. These include fraudulent advertising, obscenity, child pornography, libel, and in some cases street oratory.

4     What is the relationship between the first and second sentences?

(A) comparison

(B) contrast

(C) example

(D) cause-effect

American Blacks were deeply involved in the Revolution. In fact, the conflict provoked the largest slave rebellion in American history prior to the Civil War.

5     The second sentence

(A) offers further explanation to clarify.

(B) contradicts what was stated earlier.

(C) is a result of what was stated in the first.

(D) defines a term.

While the Supreme Court has ruled that widows and widowers should get equal social security benefits, it has allowed state laws granting certain tax benefits to widows but not widowers.

6     The last part of the sentence shows

(A) an example.

(B) an effect.

(C) time.

(D) contrast.

Sexual freedom contributed to the revival of the women's rights movement. For one thing, freedom involved a more drastic revolution for women than for men.

7     These sentences go together because

(A) they are roughly the same length.

(B) there is a cause-effect relationship.

(C) an example is given.

(D) the second sentence draws a conclusion from the first.

In 1988, the United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air 655 airbus in the Persian Gulf, resulting in the deaths of the crew and 290 civilian passengers. Due to the stress involved in a conflict situation and the combat inexperience of Captain Will Rogers and his crew, the airbus was mistaken for an F-14 fighter plane that was about to attack the warship.

8     In both sentences,

(A) the second part explains an idea stated in the beginning part.

(B) the first part states a cause and the last part states its effect.

(C) the first part indicates a time sequence.

(D) the second part gives an example of what was discussed in the first.

Questions 9-35: The following questions test how well you understand what you read. Answer the questions based on what is stated or implied.

As already mentioned, it is important as a critical thinker that you be aware of your initial opinions and not permit them to interfere with a careful consideration of all viewpoints. For instance, you may have strong feelings of support or opposition regarding one or more of the viewpoints discussed in our textbook example dealing with euthanasia. That is fine, provided that you keep an open mind when distinguishing among the viewpoints, give careful thought to each of them, and at least consider the possibility that you might change your initial feelings after reading and thinking about the rationale for all points of view.

9     It is necessary for a critical thinker to

(A) alter existing opinions to coincide with others' opinions.

(B) have strong feelings towards or against an issue.

(C) consider others' points of view with an open mind.

(D) contradict opinions of support or opposition with confidence.

If the country's workplaces continue to go casual, jeans manufacturers will undoubtedly make money. But I doubt women will. When companies institute casual workdays, they are changing the rules of dress, but not the rules of nature. When executives tell you that you can wear anything you want to work, they are telling you that you will not be officially censured for dressing as you wish. They are not telling you that you will be taken just as seriously as if you were dressed professionally. It is up to women to make sure that casual days do not undermine their hard-won clout.

10     The passage implies that

(A) casual workdays are improper and thus should be eliminated.

(B) women are treated less professionally when they dress casually in the workplace.

(C) business executives frown upon casual dress in the workplace.

(D) dressing casually at work offers extra motivation for professional women to succeed.

11     The author's main purpose here is to

(A) urge women to consider dressing professionally in order to be taken seriously

(B) explain a marketing strategy by jean manufacturers.

(C) support casual dress in the workplace.

(D) discourage women from dressing casually at work.

Your approach to problem solving may not be clear to you and easy to describe. In fact, it is possible that you do not turn consistently to a definite method at all. Perhaps you use past experiences to help you sort things out. Maybe there are instance in which you do nothing, hoping that problems will go away by themselves. In short, there are different ways of dealing with problems, and we all have our individual preferences. However, we do agree on one thing: We want our problems to disappear quickly.

12     The main idea of this paragraph is that

(A) there are consistent ways of dealing with problems.

(B) nobody likes problems.

(C) ignoring problems is one way of solving them.

(D) people approach problem solving differently.

Victims of rape often suffer battered faces with cut lips and broken noses, bruises, abrasions, broken ribs, bites, and internal damage and bleeding. These immediate effects can bring on emotional symptoms characteristic of a severe anxiety reaction, a condition termed rape trauma syndrome. Some women react with uncontrolled crying, anxiety, restlessness, depression, and feelings of self-blame. In addition to the pain and discomfort from the physical abuse suffered during the rape, they may have other physical complaints, including gastrointestinal upsets, headaches, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Other women encase themselves behind a smiling, cool, and relaxed exterior, masking the trauma and emotional turmoil held inside.

13     According to the passage,

(A) rape victims experience greater emotional trauma than physical pain.

(B) the physical and emotional responses of rape victims are varied.

(C) the physical aftermath of rape is more evident than the psychological effects.

(D) rape victims are reluctant to show the physical and emotional damage from this crime.

If you follow tennis, you know that John McEnroe was famous for his on-court antics and spectacular temper tantrums; he was the bad boy of the tennis circuit. Once, when McEnroe noticed a small microphone that could pick up what the players were saying, he walked over and hit it with his racquet, breaking a string. Then he strolled to the sidelines and got a new racquet. There was no penalty for this little episode. In fact, it seemed to work to his advantage. He got all charged up for the game, while his opponent's performance suffered from the interruption. McEnroe also received plenty of attention from fans and the media, who loved him or loved to hate him. In contrast, Bjorn Borg, another tennis champion, was controlled and civilized on the court. "Once I was like John [McEnroe]," he told a reporter. "Worse. Swearing and throwing racquets. Real bad temper. Ask anyone who knew me in Sweden then, 10 or 11 years ago. Then, when I was 13, my club suspended me for six months. My parents locked my racquet in a cupboard for six months. Half a year I could not play. It was terrible. But it was a very good lesson. I never opened my mouth on the court again. I still get really mad, but I keep my emotions inside."

14     From the passage we can conclude that

(A) Bjorn Borg exercises greater self-control and discipline than John McEnroe.

(B) John McEnroe is a better tennis player than Bjorn Borg.

(C) Borg wishes he could get away with the antics that McEnroe does.

(D) Borg's upbringing was much stricter than McEnroe's.

No one disputes the worldwide influence of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). But there is plenty of dispute about the lasting significance of his work, reflected in three current attitudes toward Freud and his ideas. The first, held by Freud himself and by his most devoted followers to this day, is that Freud was one of the geniuses of history, an intellectual revolutionary like Copernicus, Darwin, and Newton; with minor exceptions, his theory is correct, universal, and timeless. The second view, probably the most common among psychiatrists and clinical psychologists today, is that Freud was a great thinker and that many of his ideas have lasting value, but some are dated and others are plain wrong. The third view, held by many scientists and by psychologists in other perspectives, is that Freud was a fraud - a poor scientist and even an unethical therapist. The British scientist and Nobel laureate Peter Medawar called psychoanalysis a dinosaur in the history of ideas, doomed to extinction. For good measure, he added that it is "the most stupendous intellectual confidence trick of the twentieth century."

15     The main idea is:

(A) No one is more respected in the area of psychology than Sigmund Freud

(B) Freud may have deceived scholars with unethical theories.

(C) Freud's contributions are regarded differently among scholars.

(D) Scientific thinking has been enhanced by Freud's intellectual ideas.

The person most responsible for the growth of the automobile industry was Henry Ford, a self-taught mechanic from Greenfield, Michigan. In 1908 he designed the Model T Ford, a simple, tough box on wheels. In a year he sold 11,000 Model Ts. Thereafter, relentlessly cutting costs and increasing efficiency by installing the assembly-line system, he expanded production at an unbelievable rate. By 1925 he was turning out more than 9,000 cars a day, one approximately every ten seconds, and the price of the Model Thad been reduced to below $300.

16     This paragraph is intended to

(A) encourage consumers to purchase a Ford for its quality.

(B) relate the history of the automobile industry.

(C) explain the production process of the Model T Ford.

(D) inform the reader about Henry Ford's impact on the automobile industry.

Clearly, people's tastes in food depend on what they grew up eating. Those who vow that rodent entrails will never pass between their lips think nothing of eating strips of pig flesh. But maybe if people were more familiar with the smells, squeals, and butchery required to turn the pig into bacon they would be less likely to shrink back from the innards and oddities of other cultures. Or maybe they would give up bacon.

17     The reader can infer that

(A) we should avoid examining our food too closely.

(B) the writer of this passage is a vegetarian.

(C) cultural views have a lot to do with our food preferences.

(D) bacon is a disagreeable food choice since it involves butchery.

When dealing with opinions in general, you should not automatically disregard them. First of all, you need to take into consideration who is offering a given opinion. An expert or some other person who has extensive education, training, or experience in a given area is in a strong position to offer an opinion in that area. That kind of opinion, sometimes called an informed opinion, should be taken seriously. For example, the foreign policy views of the chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee are worth careful consideration, as are those of a cancer researcher if the subject involves the causes of that disease. Opinions in general are also worth looking at because they can give you new ideas and viewpoints that you may not have thought about before. In short, always make it a practice to evaluate the opinions you encounter and give special consideration to their sources.

18     This passage was probably written for

(A) historians who do lots of research.

(B) biographers writing books.

(C) college professors teaching rhetoric.

(D) students learning about critical thinking.

Don't vote. You don't have to. No one's going to make you. This isn't the Soviet Union in the 50s. You won't be forced from your bed and dragged to the polls against your will. Relax. None of your friends are voting. And things are pretty good the way they are, right? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What do you care if sofi.1e barren deserted beach does or doesn't get blanketed by a thick film of 30-weight because of offshore drilling? Find another beach. What's the big deal? Don't vote; you know you don't want to. Parking is a pain, the print is so tiny, and it's always on a Tuesday - what's that all about anyway? Besides, haven't the pollsters already told us who's going to win? Why beat your head against a wall? It's a done deal. Out of your hands. Don't even need to wash them. It'd be totally different if it actually mattered. But it's not as if we have any real choice. If voting were effective they would have made it illegal by now.

19     The author conveys what type of attitude towards voting

(A) apathy

(B) enthusiasm

(C) bitterness

(D) humor

Two African-American women - a mother and her daughter - are shopping for clothing at a major department store. As they browse through the aisles trying to decide what to buy, they are followed and watched closely by the salespeople. Meanwhile, there are two Caucasian girls one aisle over who are going unnoticed as they put various articles of clothing into a shopping bag without paying for them. The mother and her daughter purchase some items and proceed to leave the store. As they reach the door, they are joined by the two white girls, who quickly go through the exit at the same time. When the alarm goes off, the salespeople rush to the door and ask the mother and daughter to return to the counter in order to check the contents of their bags. In the meantime, the two girls walk toward their car, having stolen hundreds of dollars' worth of merchandise.

20     What is a good title for this paragraph?

(A) The Thrill of Shoplifting

(B) Let's Think About Racism

(C) Peer Pressure and the Law

(D) A way to make a Quick Getaway

21     We can conclude that

(A) Caucasians are more trustworthy than African-Americans

(B) department stores need to improve their security systems

(C) the white girls succeeded at their shoplifting scheme.

(D) it is easier to steal clothing than other items.

Although some slight progress has been made with regard to women's rights in the United States, there is, regrettably, ample room for improvement. It is discouraging to realize that some jobs are still not open to women and that women are too often paid less than men occupying the same or similar positions. Furthermore, some women are still the unfortunate victims of sexual harassment on the job. In short, equality between the sexes at this point remains far beyond our grasp. What a sad state of affairs!

22     The author expresses ideas about women's rights in a way that is

(A) angry.

(B) objective.

(C) gloomy.

(D) sarcastic.

23     The reader may infer that

(A) women still have not achieved equality in our society.

(B) our culture is sympathetic to women's rights issues.

(C) men dominate the business world with more desirable positions.

(D) sexual stereotyping is less prevalent nowadays.

People used to be too busy to cook meals; now they're too busy to eat them. As a result, they're turning to the slew of nutrient-packed shakes that have flooded the market. There are weight-loss shakes, energy shakes, and bodybuilding shakes. They come in a can or in a powder form that requires a spin through the blender with water, milk, or juice. And there are now chains of stores that make shakes for their customers (at these places the drinks are usually called smoothies, perhaps to avoid association with those fattening shakes sold at Dairy Queen). As more people seek sustenance through a straw, sales have boomed. Last year grocery stores moved $226 million worth of shakes, a four-fold increase over 1993.

24     According to the passage, which statement is true?

(A) People prefer shakes to eating solid food.

(B) Home-cooked meals are non-existent these days.

(C) Dairy Queen will probably go out of business.

(D) Shakes are the newest convenience food.

25     The writer of this paragraph is trying to

(A) inform us about the popularity of shakes.

(B) entertain us with anecdotes about a new diet fad

(C) urge us to drink more shakes.

(D) convince us of the nutritional value of shakes.

The average major-league baseball player today earns about $1.2 million a year. The average professional football player earns about $68,000 a year. The average professional basketball player earns about $2 million a year. At the same time, professional sports team owners continue to buy and sell professional franchises for tens and hundreds of millions of dollars.

26     What is the author implying to us about athletes and their salaries?

(A) Football players ought to earn as much as baseball and basketball players.

(B) The average salaries of professional athletes are lower than the media claim them to be.

(C) Sports teams place high demands on their athletes, who are compensated well despite the rigors of the job.

(D) Professional athletes are paid high salaries, and the teams they play for are worth a lot of money.

During the past few years, diversity has become one of the most urgent concerns of business, education, and government. Many of the nation's largest companies have hired executives who are responsible for corporate diversity. There are videos available on the topic, consultants specializing in the subject who have more business than they can handle, and nationally prominent diversity institutes. One educational publisher has begun to market a game called "Diversity Bingo." The management training programs of many of the nation's most successful companies include a module on diversity. Newsletters devoted to the topic have thousands of readers.

27     The reader may infer that diversity

(A) is a compelling issue in today's society.

(B) is recognized among various nations.

(C) provides big business with a way of increasing their profits.

(D) allows corporations to stay in business while remaining competitive.

It is referred to as "underground," "gray," "subterranean," "informal," "off-the-books," or "unofficial." Whatever it is called, the underground economy exists in a big way in the United States and in an even bigger way in Latin America, Europe, and elsewhere. Have you ever bought a cheap umbrella or a pair of earrings from a street vendor? If so, both you and the vendor were partaking in the off the books underground economy. If you have ever done odd jobs and been paid in cash or paid someone else in cash to do odd jobs for you, you have participated in the underground economy.

28     The term "underground economy" refers to

(A) a way of doing business in a secretive manner.

(B) buying goods and services from unethical people.

(C) exchange of money that the government does not know about.

(D) illegal purchases that could result in imprisonment.

America can be fairly called a "drug culture" in the sense that nearly everyone uses drugs of one sort or another. When we are ailing, we expect to be given some drug that will make us feel better. If we have trouble sleeping, we take sleeping medications, whether over-the-counter or prescibed. If we feel anxious, we want anti-anxiety drugs and if we feel depressed we seek antidepressants. If we want sex without the risk of pregnancy, we take "the pill." Millions of us get "up" with caffeine and come "down" with alcohol. It has even been argued that mood-altering drugs satisfy an innate human need to suspend ordinary awareness, a need much like sexual tension that arises spontaneously from within, builds to a peak, finds relief, and dissipates. The use of drugs to make one feel better or to solve one's problems, whatever they might be, is deeply entrenched in our culture and our expectations.

29     America is considered a "drug culture" in that

(A) teen addiction is more widespread today than in years past.

(B) drug use is commonplace in our society nowadays.

(C) drug abuse is prevalent among people with problems.

(D) we depend on illegal drugs to help us feel better or solve our problems.

Think of all the ways that human beings differ. Some of us are extroverts, always ready to throw a party, make a new friend, or speak up in a crowd; others are shy and introverted, preferring the safe and familiar. Some are trailblazers, ambitious and enterprising; others are placid, content with the way things are. Some take to book learning like a cat to catnip; others don't do so well in school but have lots of street smarts and practical know-how. Some are overwhelmed by even the most petty of problems; others, faced with severe difficulties, remain calm and resilient. Where do all these differences come from?

30     A phrase that can be substituted for "extroverts" is

(A) loud people. b. crazy party-lovers.

(B) crazy party-lovers.

(C) extra-nice friends.

(D) outgoing people.

People became homeless for a variety of reasons. Some started life in seriously disturbed families. Others fell prey to alcohol and drugs. Still others had health or learning problems that eroded the possibility of a stable life. For millions of working Americans, homelessness was just a serious and unaffordable illness away. Though many Americans initially regarded the homeless as "bag ladies," "winos," and "junkies," they gradually came to realize that the underclass category included others as well.

31     This paragraph suggests that homelessness

(A) can happen to virtually anyone.

(B) is the result of a life of drugs and alcohol.

(C) begins early on in life.

(D) becomes more prevalent among those with a serious illness.

Cell phones are becoming almost as common as VCRs in the United States - an estimated 50 million are in use today. Yet society may be paying a high price for this convenience. A widely publicized 1997 study by the University of Toronto indicates that using a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of having an accident - about the same risk as driving after having had two to three alcoholic drinks.

32     An implication from this paragraph is that

(A) people are paying way too much for their cell phones.

(B) cell phones will soon surpass VCRs in popularity.

(C) using cell phones while driving is dangerous.

(D) society values the convenience of cell phones more than it values car safety.

Managing stress is not unlike training to participate in any sport. Those who are healthy are in good physical condition, get proper amounts of rest, and eat a healthy diet typically perform well. Such individuals have the physical endurance and strength to handle the stresses of the event. In much the same way, we need "to b_ in shape" to handle the demands and challenges of daily living. People who are physically fit become fatigued less easily; they remain alert to cope with the demands placed upon them; their immune systems are stronger; they possess more energy for handling events in their lives; and they are less susceptible to illnesses.

33     From the information presented here, the reader may conclude that

(A) participation in sports eliminates stress.

(B) stressed individuals become sick more easily.

(C) physical fitness is an indicator of stress.

(D) sound mental health is helpful in managing stress.

The nurse wipes the sweat from the surgeon's brow. The hip replacement surgery is going well, and the saw buzzes in the hand of the skillful surgeon as it is carefully moved through the pelvic bone. The work is demanding and physical. The nurse is adept at handing the surgeon each instrument at exactly the right moment; they have worked together before and make a good team. Now it is time to close, and as the nurse prepares the sutures for the surgeon, a brief smile breaks out. "1 am good at what 1 do," the nurse thinks to himself as he once again reaches over to wipe the surgeon's brow. The surgeon smiles in gratitude, grateful that she has such dedicated and able professionals working with her.

34     The reader may infer that this author indirectly intends to

(A) dispel sexual stereotypes in careers.

(B) highlight the demands of a surgeon's work.

(C) teach us about what's involved in hip replacement surgery

(D) illustrate the importance of the nurse's job.

Have you ever found yourself sitting at the breakfast table reading the label on a box of cereal or loaf of bread? It can be interesting to compare the way a product is advertised on the front of the package with the actual nutritional information on the side or back. For instance, so-called fiber-enriched white bread may have less fiber than an unenriched whole-grain product. Similarly, products like cheese and chips are often labeled "low fat" or "lite." This merely means that they have less fat than the same products without these labels. In fact, their actual fat content may be surprisingly high, and by eating just a few more "lite" chips than regular ones, you may consume just as much fat.

35     The author implies that "lite" food

(A) may be consumed without concern for too much fat.

(B) does not have adequate nutritional value.

(C) really is not low in fat.

(D) is not labeled properly.