El Nino and the Southern Oscillation

1. The word "relatively" the passage is closest in Paragraph 1

meaning to
A. comparatively Between the ocean surface and the atmosphere,
B. usually there is an exchange of heat and moisture that
C. extremely depends, in part, on temperature differences
D. surprisingly between water and air. Even a relatively small
change in surface ocean temperatures could modify
atmospheric circulations and have far-reaching
effects on global weather patterns.

Paragraph 2

2. According to paragraph 2, which of the following Along the west coast of South America, where the
normally occurs along the west coast of South cool Peru Current sweeps northward, southerly
America each year? winds promote upwelling (rising to the surface and
A. The temperature of surface water changes. flowing outward) of cold, nutrient- rich water that
B. Southerly winds reverse and blow northward. gives rise to large fish populations, especially
C. Southerly winds cause nutrient-rich cold water to anchovies. The abundance of fish supports a large
sink downward population of seabirds whose droppings (ale guano)
D. The Peru Current reverses direction and flows produce huge phosphate rich- deposits that support
southward the fertilizer industry. Near the end of the calendar
year, a warm current of nutrient-poor tropical water
often moves southward, replacing the cold,
nutrient-rich surface water.
 Paragraph 3

In most years, the warming lasts for only a few

weeks to a month or more, after which weather
patterns usually return to normal and fishing
improves. However, when conditions last for many
months, and a more extensive ocean warming
occurs, the economic results can be catastrophic
This extremely warm episode, which occurs at
irregular intervals of two to seven years and covers
a large area of the tropical Pacific Ocean, is now
referred to as a major El Nino event, or simply El
Nino.

Paragraph 4

3. According to paragraph 4, which of the following During a major El Nino event, large numbers of
occurs during a major El Nino event? fish and marine plants may die. Dead fish and birds
A. Many birds leave the area because fish and plant may litter the water and beaches of Peru; their
foods die decomposing bodies reduce the water's oxygen
B. The water is richer in oxygen than usual. supply, which leads to the bacterial production of
C. Bacteria produce a great deal of hydrogen huge amounts of hydrogen sulfide. The El Nino of
sulfide. 1972-1973 reduced the annual Peruvian anchovy
D. New plant species start to inhabit the areas catch from 10.3 million metric tons in 1971 to 4.6
where some marine plants died. million metric tons in 1972. Since much of the
harvest of this fish is converted into fish meal and
4. In paragraph 4, why does the author mention that exported for use in feeding livestock and poultry,
poultry prices in the United States increased by 40 the world's meal production in 1972 was greatly
percent in 1972? reduced. Countries such as the United States that
A. To show what happened when people in Peru rely on meal for animal feed had to use soybeans as
switched from eating fish to eating poultry during an alternative. This raised poultry prices in the
the El Nino event United States by more than 40 percent.
B. To provide evidence that the El Nino event of
1971-1972 was much more severe than the El Nino
event of 1972-1973
C. To demonstrate how wide reaching the economic
effects of a major El Nino event can be
D. To argue that the United States should not have
used soybeans as an alternative to fish meal for
animal feed
5. The word "persistent" in the passage is closest in Paragaph 5
meaning to
A. strong Why does the ocean become so warm over the
B. seasonal eastern tropical Pacific? Normally in the tropical
C. warm Pacific Ocean, there are the trades---persistent
D. continuous winds that blow westward from a region of higher
pressure over the eastern Pacific toward a region of
6. According to paragraph 5, all of the following are lower pressure centered near Indonesia. The trades
true of the trade winds EXCEPT: create upwelling that brings cold water to the
A. They blow from the eastern Pacific west toward surface. As this water moves westward, it is heated
Indonesia by sunlight and the atmosphere. Consequently, in
B. They originate in regions of low pressure. the Pacific Ocean, surface water along the equator
C. They lead to warm surface water in the western usually is cool in the east and warm in the west. In
Pacific. addition, the dragging of surface water by the trades
D. They contribute to an increase in sea level in the raises the sea level in the western Pacific and
western Pacific. lowers it in the eastern Pacific which produces a
thick layer of warm water over the tropical western
Pacific Ocean and a weak ocean current (called the
counter current) that flows slowly eastward toward
South America.

Paragraph 6

7. According to paragraph 6, what happens when Every few years, the surface atmospheric pressure
the trade winds weaken and are replaced by west patterns break down as air pressure rises over the
winds? region of the western Pacific and falls over the
A. The warming period comes to an end. eastern Pacific. This change in pressure weakens
B. Warm water is pushed away from South the trades, and, during strong pressure reversals,
America. east winds are replaced by west winds. The west
C. The counter current gets stronger. winds strengthen the counter current, causing warm
D. Broad areas of the tropical Pacific get cooler water to head eastward toward South America over
broad areas of the tropical Pacific. Toward the end
8. According to paragraph 6, which of the following of the warming period, which may last between one
is true of ENSO episodes? and two years atmospheric pressure over the eastern
A. They all begin in a similar way but vary in force Pacific reverses and begins to rise, whereas, over
as they develop the western Pacific, it falls. This seesaw pattern of
B. They generally last for more than one or two reversing surface air pressure at opposite ends of
years. the Pacific Ocean is called the Southern Oscillation.
C. They cause temperatures to increase in both the Because the pressure reversals and ocean warming
east and the west of the Pacific are more or less simultaneous, scientists call this
D. They cause a warming period to come to an end phenomenon the El Nino/ Southern Oscillation, or
more quickly. ENSO for short. Although most ENSO episodes
follow similar evolution, each event has its own
personality, differing in both strength and behavior.
9. Look at the four squares [] that indicate where Paragraph 5
the following sentence can be added to the passage.
Why does the ocean become so warm over the
To explain this, one must first understand why eastern tropical Pacific? ■ Normally in the tropical
ocean temperatures are typically so cool. Pacific Ocean, there are the trades-persistent winds
that blow westward from a region of higher
pressure over the eastern Pacific toward a region of
lower pressure centered near Indonesia. ■ The
trades create upwelling that brings cold water to the
surface. ■ As this water moves westward, it is
heated by sunlight and the atmosphere. ■
Consequently, in the Pacific Ocean, surface water
along the equator usually is cool in the east and
warm in the west. In addition, the dragging of
surface water by the trades raises the sea level in
the western Pacific and lowers it in the eastern
Pacific which produces a thick layer of warm water
over the tropical western Pacific Ocean and a weak
ocean current (called the counter current) that flows
slowly eastward toward South America.
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete
the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage.
Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the
passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This questions is worth 2 points

Wind , surface ocean, temperatures, argue interact in the Pacific to create far-re climate

Answer Choices

A. Winds along the west coast of South America blow in the same direction that the Peru Current moves in,
thereby cooling surface waters along the coast

B. Some ENSO events have lasted so long and spread over such a large area that they have destroyed
fisheries along the west coast of the United States.

C. When normal wind patterns reverse in the Pacific, warm surface water in the western Pacific flows
eastward until the atmospheric pressure reverses again

D. EI Nino events are extensive periods of warming along the coast of South America that occur when warm
tropical water along the west coast of South America replaces colder, coastal water.

E. The trade winds usually keep surface water cool in the eastern Pacific and warm in the western Pacific,
but changes in atmospheric pressure can weaken these winds.

F. Atmospheric pressure in the Pacific reverses in a wide variety of situations, but it is especially likely to
happen while an El Nino event is occurring
 Greek Art in the Classical Age

1. The word "sacred" in the passage is closest in Paragraph 1

meaning to
A. special Greek art is thought to have reached its peak during
B. highly visible the Classical period in the fifth century B.C.E.
C. ancient Leading up to this period, the most common type of
D. holy sculpture were the kouroi, which were life-size or
larger marble statues of nude males that stood on
2. Why does the author mention when discussing sacred sites, often as grave markers, but also as
the Kritios Boy statue that "the boy is standing as a offerings to the gods. With very stiff, straight poses
boy might actually stand " ? (they evidently were modeled after Egyptian statues)
A. To support the point that the difference between it is clear that kouroi were not intended to look like
the Kritios Boy statue and the traditional kouros is real people. However, by the early fifth century, the
only slight style of Greek artwork changed. The transition is
B. To emphasize that the Kritios Boy statue usually symbolized by the Kritios Boy, a marble
represents a victor in a boys' footrace statue found in the center of ancient Athens and
C. To explain how the Kritios Boy statue reflects a attributed to Kritios, a sculptor active in Athens
significant change in the style of Greek artwork around 490-460 B.C.E. It is dated by experts to just
D. To suggest that the sculptor Kritios intended the before 480 B.C.E. and represents Callias, a victor in
sculpture to be an idealization of the human body the boys' footrace in an athletic competition. The
changes from the traditional kouros are slight, but
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the boy is standing as a boy might actually stand,
paragraph 1 about Greek artistic traditions before the right leg forward of the left, which bears the
the fifth century B.C.E.? weight of the body so that the right can relax
A. Artists carved images of heroes who stood in slightly not how artistic convention decrees a hero
very stiff, straight poses. should pose. Yet this naturalness is achieved
B. Greek statues looked less like Egyptian statues without the loss of an idealization (representation as
than they did after the fifth century B.C.E. perfect) of the human body. Here is, in the words of
C. Sculptors observed and copied the appearance of the art historian Kenneth Clark "The first beautiful
individual real people. nude in art." As John Boardman, an authority on
D. Sculptures were much larger than real people Greek art, puts it: "This is a vital novelty in the
were because they represented Greek gods. history of ancient art-life deliberately observed,
understood, and copied. After this all becomes
possible."
4. The word "assembling" in the passage is closest Paragraph 2
in meaning to
A. putting together There are a few clues as to why this revolution in
B. supporting art, from the stylized to the observed, took place.
C. moving One is that bronze was becoming the most popular
D. planning medium in which statues were being created. (It has
been suggested that the Kritios Boy is a copy of a
5. According to paragraph 2, why are there bronze original now lost.) The technical problems
relatively few surviving bronze statues such as " the involved in casting and assembling bronze statues
Riace warriors, the Delphi charioteer and the had been solved by the end of the sixth century
majestic Zeus found in shipwreck off Cape B.C.E. as the earliest examples show. From the
Artemisium"? Classical period on, bronze predominated in Greek
A. Production of such statues was very rare from sculpture, but as almost every statue was later
the Classical period on. melted down so its metals could be reused, it is hard
B. Greek sculptors were unable to make many to guess this today. The few bronzes to survive (the
statues of such unusually high quality. Riace warriors, the Delphi charioteer and the
C. The metals used to make such statues were majestic Zeus found in shipwreck off Cape
difficult to work with Artemisium foremost among them) simply
D. Most bronze statues were destroyed so that the highlight what has been lost in quantity and quality.
materials they were made of could be used again. Bronze allowed far greater flexibility in modeling:
the process of building up a figure in bronze is
6. According to paragraph 2, which of the following totally different from cutting into marble. As a
was one important advantage of using bronze to wonderful exhibition at the Royal Academy in
make statues? London in 2012, Bronze, also showed bronze can
A. Greek sculptors were already familiar with using be burnished (smoothed and shined) to produce a
bronze because it had long been the most popular wide variety of aesthetic effects that pure white
medium for creating statues. marble lacks.
B. Using bronze allowed Greek sculptors to make
larger sculptures than they made before the
Classical period.
C. Bronze offered sculptors greater flexibility in
creating and shaping a figure than marble did.
D. Bronze required less burnishing than marble did
7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the Paragraph 3
essential information in the highlighted sentence in
the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning The revolution also suggests a preoccupation with
in important ways or leave out essential human form. While earlier Greek artists were
information. focused on those few human beings who had
A. The first person capable of discovering the ideal become heroes, they now seemed concerned with
mathematical proportions of the human body was the physical beauty of human beings as an end in
probably the sculptor Polycleitos. itself. It is hard to see the Riace warriors without
B. The sculptor Polycleitos suggested that it might being aware of their intense sensuality. Yet within a
be possible to make the human body more perfect few years this sensuality fades and is replaced by a
by allying aesthetics with mathematics. greater concentration on the nature of the human
C. The discovery of ideal mathematical proportions body as an ideal. It was the sculptor Polycleitos,
led the sculptor Polycleitos to suggest that the probably a native of Argos working from the fifth
human body was perfect. into the fourth century B. C.E., who allied
D. The sculptor Polycleitos believed that the reason aesthetics with mathematics when he suggested that
the perfect human body was perfect had to do with the perfect human body was perfect precisely
ideal mathematical proportions that could be because it reflected ideal mathematical proportions
discovered that were capable of being discovered. One of his
statues, the Doryphoros, or "spear bearer"
8. According to paragraph 3, which of the following (originally in bronze, but now known only through
is probably a reason for the aesthetic appeal of Roman copies in marble), was supposed to
Greek statues from the Classical period? represent this ideal. If this approach was followed
A. They were all very similar in their proportions. to its extreme, all statues would have had the same,
B. They combined both idealized and realistic perfect, proportions but the Greeks could not close
elements. their eyes to the variety of human experience. There
C. Sculptors were trained in mathematics as well as always remained a tension in the art of the period
art. between the abstract ideal of the human body and a
D. Classical sculptors copied the statues from particular body copied by the artist. This may be
earlier periods. one reason for its aesthetic appeal.
9. Look at the four squares[ ]that indicate where the Paragraph 1
following sentence can be added to the passage.
Greek art is thought to have reached its peak during
The young man represented in Kritios's the Classical period in the fifth century B.C.E.
sculpture is indeed very good-looking. Leading up to this period, the most common type of
sculpture were the kouroi, which were life-size or
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a larger marble statues of nude males that stood on
square[] to insert the sentence in the passage sacred sites, often as grave markers, but also as
offerings to the gods.With very stiff, straight poses
(they evidently were modeled after Egyptian statues)
it is clear that kouroi were not intended to look like
real people. However, by the early fifth century, the
style of Greek artwork changed. The transition is
usually symbolized by the Kritios Boy, a marble
statue found in the center of ancient Athens and
attributed to Kritios, a sculptor active in Athens
around 490-460 B.C.E. ■ It is dated by experts to
just before 480 B.C.E. and represents Callias a
victor in the boys' footrace in an athletic
competition. ■ The changes from the traditional
kouros are slight, but the boy is standing as a boy
might actually stand, the right leg forward of the
left, which bears the weight of the body so that the
right can relax slightly not how artistic convention
decrees a hero should pose. ■ Yet this naturalness is
achieved without the loss of an idealization
(representation as perfect) of the human body. Here
is, in the words of the art historian Kenneth Clark,
"The first beautiful nude in art." ■ As John
Boardman, an authority on Greek art, puts it: "This
is a vital novelty in the history of ancient art-life
deliberately observed, understood, and copied.
After this all becomes possible."
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete
the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage.
Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the
passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This questions is worth 2 points

Greek sculpture underwent important changes around the fifth century B.C.E

Answer Choices

A. New kinds of sculpture that appeared during Greece's Classical period represented Greek gods as well as
victors of various athletic competitions.

B. Before the fifth century B.CE.. Greek sculptures commonly resembled Egyptian statues, representing
men in stylized, straight postures that were not meant to appear lifelike.

C. The revolution that occurred in the artwork of Classical Greece was partly the result of a new level of
attention to representing the details of human bodies as they appear in real life.

D. Marble became the most popular medium of Greek art during the Classical period due to a need to melt
down bronze sculptures and reuse the metal for other purposes.

E. The adoption of bronze as a material for making sculptures was a significant factor in allowing the
sculpture of Classical Greece to reach new heights of artistic excellence.

F. By the end of the Classical period, Greek sculptors mainly produced statues of perfect human bodies that
represented idea mathematical shapes, rather than of particular individuals.
 Bat Diets

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following Paragraph 1

statements describes the diet of bats in tropical
regions? One of the most dramatic measures of the diversity
A. Bats in tropical regions consume more plant life of bats is the variety of food they consume.
than animal life. Although some 600 species eat insects as the main
B. Bats in tropical regions consume less food than dietary staple, others live on fruit, nectar and pollen,
bats in other regions do. fish, frogs, birds, small mammals, blood, and even
C. Bats in tropical regions are more likely to other bats. Most of this diversity occurs in the
consume insects than are bats in other regions. tropics, although many bats from temperate regions
D. Bats in tropical regions consume more different vary their diets by eating a wide range of insects.
kinds of food than do bats in other regions.

Paragraph 2

2. According to paragraph 2, which of the following What any bat eats is determined by two important
food items provides the most complete source of factors: the need for enough energy to keep the
nutrition for bats? body going and the need for essential chemicals to
A. Pollen maintain it. Just as an automobile requires fuel to
B. Insects move and lubricants to keep the engine running
C. Fruit smoothly, animals require protein, carbohydrates,
D. A combination of fruit and pollen or fat for energy along with vitamins and minerals
to stay healthy. Since it is essential for bats to
consume enough calories to make flight,
reproduction, growth, and other bodily functions
possible, it is easy to see why such variety is
necessary in their diets. Species that feed mainly on
plant products require protein, which can be
obtained by eating animals (insects), pollen (which
provides only moderate amounts of protein),or large
quantities of fruit (a very limited source of protein).
Bat feeding on insects appear to obtain a balanced
diet from this source of nutrition.
3. Paragraph 3 supports which of the following Paragraph 3
generalizations about bats' diets?
A. Females consume more than twice the weight of To obtain the energy and chemicals they need, bats
food that male bats consume. consume vast quantities of food. Small
B. Free-tailed bats consume a greater quantity of insectivorous species (species that eat mainly
food in a summer than do other types of bats. insects) eat at least 30 percent of their body weight
C. Whether a bat eats fruit, fish, or insects, it needs each night they are active, and in nursing mothers
to consume at least 30 percent of its body weight in the amount may exceed 50 percent. These figures
food each night it feeds. appear to apply to all bats, regardless of diet. It may
D. The types of food that bats eat have less not be impressive to learn that a little brown bat
nutritional value than the types of food eaten by eats three grams of insects on a summer night, but
most other animals. to find 150 mosquitoes in its stomach certainly is,
especially when you realize they are not an entire
night's ration and the bat probably caught them in
less than fifteen minutes. The most impressive
statistic of insect consumption comes from Texas,
where it is estimated that a local population of
Mexican free-tailed bats eats slightly more than
6,000 tons of insects each summer.
4. The word "supplement" in the passage is closest Paragraph 4
in meaning to
A. replace The basic design of a bat imposes certain
B. add to restrictions on the range of food available to it. Bats
C. control determine the direction and distance of objects in
D. modify their environment by emitting high-pitched sounds
and interpreting their echoes to find their
5. What can be inferred from paragraph 4 about location---the term for this is echolocation. Because
echolocation in bats? they can echolocate, New World leaf-nosed bats
A. Very few bats have the ability to echolocate. that feed mainly on fruit are able to catch insects to
B. Only bats that echolocate are able to catch supplement their diet with protein. Flying foxes (a
insects. species of bat found mainly in Indonesia and
C. Echolocation is most helpful for finding fruit and Malaysia) and their relatives, however, do not
plants. echolocate and must obtain their protein from
D. Only bats that echolocate are able to consume something other than insects. Recent studies in the
enough protein. lvory Coast by the Canadian biologist Donald
Thomas suggest that several species of the
6. In paragraph 4, the author discusses echolocation herbivorous bat family pteropodidae get their
in order to make which of the following points? protein from the fruit that composes the main part
A. Bats are more successful predators than other of their diet. The levels of protein in the fruit are
flying animals are low, but this is countered by the consumption of
B. Bats are able to supplement their main diets with large quantities of fruit and by enzymes in the
protein. digestive tract that efficiently extract what little
C. Bat design affects the types of food that a bat protein is available. Size is also a factor in
typically eats. determining the diet of a bat; a 3-gram butterfly bat
D. The diets of larger bats tend to be more varied has fewer prey species from which to choose than a
that those of small bats. 40-gram, large slit-faced bat. As a rule, smaller bats
are almost entirely insectivorous, and larger species
7. According to paragraph 4, how do species of the include larger prey in their diet, readily switching to
pteropodidae family get enough protein? small vertebrates such as fish, birds, and frogs. The
A. By consuming only the types of fruit that are smallest bats that feed on plant material are
highest in protein. nectar-and-pollen feeders. Larger species more
B. By using echolocation to find the most often feed on fruit but may also supplement their
protein-rich food sources. diet with nectar and pollen.
C. By consuming large quantities of fruit that are
efficiently digested.
D. By occasionally including the fruit-based diet.
8. Which of the sentences below best expresses the Paragraph 5
essential information in the highlighted sentence in
the passage? incorrect choices change the meaning The food selected by bats also depends on where
in important ways or leave out essential they feed. Flying bats chasing flying insects will not
information. catch scorpions that do not fly, but they often
A. Unlike high-flying bats, bats that feed close to snatch spiders ballooning on pieces of web. Bats
the water catch many fish and aquatic insects. feeding on stationary or terrestrial prey often catch
B. Bats that feed over the water must concentrate in resting insects that are able to fly. Bats
order to catch more aquatic insects and fish than concentrating their feeding activity over water catch
high-flying bat species. more aquatic insects than those feeding high over
C. High-flying bat species visit the water only to the forest, and species hunting over water have
drink and do not catch fish or insects near the water. opportunities to catch fish not available to
D. High-flying bat species concentrate on aquatic high-flying species that visit the water only to
insects and fish only when forest insects are not drink.
available.
9. Look at the four squares ■ that indicate where the Paragraph 4
following sentence could be added to the passage.
Where would the sentence best fit? The basic design of a bat imposes certain
restrictions on the range of food available to it. Bats
So how do bats that do not hunt insects obtain determine the direction and distance of objects in
enough protein? their environment by emitting high-pitched sounds
and interpreting their echoes to find their
location-the term for this is echolocation. Because
they can echolocate, New World leaf-nosed bats
that feed mainly on fruit are able to catch insects to
supplement their diet with protein. ■Flying foxes (a
species of bat found mainly in Indonesia and
Malaysia)and their relatives, however, do not
echolocate and must obtain their protein from
something other than insects. ■Recent studies in the
lvory Coast by the Canadian biologist Donald
Thomas suggest that several species of the
herbivorous bat family pteropodidae get their
protein from the fruit that composes the main part
of their diet. ■The levels of protein in the fruit are
low, but this is countered by the consumption of
large quantities of fruit and by enzymes in the
digestive tract that efficiently extract what little
protein is available. ■Size is also a factor in
determining the diet of a bat; a 3-gram butterfly bat
has fewer prey species from which to choose than a
40-gram,large slit-faced bat. As a rule, smaller bats
are almost entirely insectivorous, and larger species
include larger prey in their diet, readily switching to
small vertebrates such as fish, birds, and frogs. The
smallest bats that feed on plant material are
nectar-and pollen-feeders. Larger species more
often feed on fruit but may also supplement their
diet with nectar and pollen.
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete
the summary by selecting the 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some
sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or
are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Bats consume a wide variety of food, including insects, plant products, and other animals.

Answer Choices

A. Bats must consume large quantities of food, including protein，in order to obtain enough energy for flight
and other essential bodily functions.

B. Bats that feed only on plants have special digestive enzymes in their stomachs to help them extract
enough protein from food.

C. High-flying bats hunt different prey than do bats that fly over water，and small bats have a different diet
than larger bats do.

D. Bats that eat insects generally require far less food each night than do bats that eat plants, nectar, and
pollen.

E. The ability to echolocate, or locate objects by interpreting echoes, helps many bats to find moving prey.

F. Most bats feed in areas where water is plentiful because insects, fish, and other potential food sources
tend to frequent these areas.