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In 1993, the median reading test score for ninth grade students was in which score range?
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For how many of the cities shown was the highest temperature in Year Y greater than or equal to the highest temperature in Year X ?
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For the year in which Newsmagazine x accounted for 14.6 percent of nationwide newsmagazine subscriptions, what was the number of subscriptions to Newsmagazine x?
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In analyzing the poetry of Mona Feather, we are confronted with three different yardsticks by which to measure her work. We could consider her poems as the product of a twentieth-century artist in the tradition of James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens. However, to do so would be to ignore a facet of her that informs every word she writes and that stems from her identity as a woman. Yet, to characterize her solely as a woman poet is to deny her cultural heritage, for Mona Feather is also the first modern poet of stature who is also an American Indian.
Stanley Wilson has argued compellingly that the huge popularity Feather enjoys among the Indian reservation school population of the United States is creating a whole new generation of poetry enthusiasts in an age when the reading of poetry is on the wane. While this is undoubtedly true, Mr. Wilson`s praise gives the impression that Feather`s readership is limited to her own culture-an impression which hints that Mr. Wilson is himself only measuring her by one criterion. Radical feminist writers have long found in Feather`s poetry a sense of self-pride which struck a chord with their own more political philosophies. Her imagery, which always made use of the early Native American traditions in which the woman had an important role, was seen as the awakened sensibility of a kindred spirit.
Yet for all the "feminist" touches in her writing, it would be a disservice to consign Feather to the ranks of politicized writers, for her message is deeper than that. The despair that characterized twentieth-century modern poets is to be found in Mona Feather`s work as well; she writes of the American Indians of the 1930s confined to ever-shrinking reservations and finds in that a metaphor for all of modern mankind trapped on a shrinking earth of limited resources.
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The primary purpose of the passage is to
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Among the more interesting elements of etymology is the attempt to derive the meaning of seemingly nonsensical expressions. Take, for instance, the increasingly archaic rural phrase "to buy a pig in a poke." For centuries, the expression has been used to signify the purchase of an item without full knowledge of its condition, and it relates to the common Renaissance practice of securing suckling pigs for transport to market in a poke, or drawstring bag. Unscrupulous sellers would sometimes attempt to dupe purchasers by replacing the suckling pig with a cat, considered worthless at market. An unsuspecting or naive buyer might fail to confirm the bag's contents; a more urbane buyer, though, would be sure to check and-should the seller be dishonest-"let the cat out of the bag."
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Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
Which of the following phrases from the passage would help the reader infer the meaning of the word urbane as used in context?
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Scholars of early Buddhist art agree that Buddha images in human form emerged around the first century A.D. in the regions of Mathura, located in central India, and Gandhara, now part of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Uncertainty exists, however, about whether Mathura or Gandhara has the stronger claim to primacy. Those who believe that anthropomorphic sculptures of the Buddha first appeared in Gandhara point out that earlier Buddhist art was largely aniconic and that bas relief was far more common than sculpture. They argue that Greek influence in Gandhara promoted the development of the new style and form of representation of the divine. Other scholars make the case for indigenous development of such representations in Mathura, citing a centuries-long record of iconic art in pre-Buddhist traditions. They don`t reject all foreign influence, but they argue that local traditions provided a strong foundation for the development of Buddhist sculpture.
Art historians bolster their arguments by highlighting distinctive features of the sculptures from each region. For example, the artists of Gandhara sculpted their Buddhas in heavy, pleated drapery, similar to that of Greek statues. Wavy lines indicating hair also reflect Greek influence. Mathura Buddhas, on the other hand, are portrayed wearing lighter robes draped in a monastic style, often with part of the shoulder and chest left bare. Elongated earlobes and strong facial features characterize Mathura images of the Buddha, whereas Gandhara images possess more angular features. Sorting out dates and directions of influence has proven difficult, but the totality of evidence suggests that the Buddha image evolved simultaneously in both regions and was shaped by the predominant cultural influences in each region.
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Which of the following, if true, would those who believe that anthropomorphic images of Buddha originated in Gandhara be likely to cite as evidence for their viewpoint?
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In 1887, Eugene Dubois began his search in Sumatra for the "missing link"-the being that would fill the evolutionary gap between ape and man. He discovered a fossilized human-like thighbone and a section of skull. He confirmed that these fossils were of significant age, based on other fossils in the same area. The thighbone`s shape indicated that it belonged to a creature that walked upright. Dubois estimated the size of the creature`s skull from the skull fragment and concluded that this creature`s brain volume was between that of the higher primates and that of current humans. Although the concept of "missing link" has changed dramatically and a recent dating showed Dubois`s fossils to be far too recent for humans to have evolved from this "missing link," the value of his discovery and the debate it generated is unquestionable.
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Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.
The passage supplies information to answer which of the following questions?
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If funds contributed to child safety organizations in September 1989 were distributed evenly to those 38 organizations, approximately how much did each charity receive?
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According to most scientists, the universe began approximately 10 to 15 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since. This theory, known as the Big Bang theory, is the fairly direct result of Hubble`s law, which states that objects farther away from Earth are receding faster than those closer. This expansion implies a singular point which all matter is expanding from.
Complicating the scientific explanation is that the Big Bang cannot be thought of as an explosion from some identifiable source-rather, space and time were created in the Big Bang. Furthermore, the relationship between distance and speed is not precisely linear. So, if one were to think of galaxies as particles created in a big bang, these galaxies have both a local component of motion, as well as playing a role in the overall expansion of the universe.
A further complication is that galactic distances are so great that galactic motion, even if the galaxies are moving at incredible speeds, is difficult to observe.Scientists must therefore rely on a "standard candle," an object of known brightness within the galaxy they wish to observe.Using the inverse square law, scientists can then measure the how far that galaxy is away from our own. For instance, suppose a supernova in galaxy A appears one hundred times as bright as one in galaxy B. By the inverse square law, galaxy B is ten times farther away than galaxy A, assuming, of course, that distance is the only factor affecting brightness.
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It can be inferred from the sentence highlighted in the passage that a standard candle is useful to scientists for which of the following reasons?
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Throughout the twentieth century, it was accepted as fact that cells in our brains, called neurons, do not regenerate. Research by neurologist Elizabeth Gould overturned this core doctrine within the span of a few years. Her experiments on rats showed that even after suffering severe trauma, their brains were able to heal themselves by regenerating neurons. Gould`s findings have incited a flood of new research into applications that may take advantage of neurogenesis.
One such study examines the role of reduced neurogenesis among individuals suffering from depression. It is speculated that neurogenesis may contribute to an explanation for the so called "Prozac lag." As an antidepressant, the immediate boost of serotonin caused by Prozac should have had instantaneous mood elevating effects. However, patients suffering from depression only begin to experience mood elevation weeks after beginning treatment. The study speculates that during this period, the brain may be regenerating neurons.
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The author mentions the "Prozac lag" primarily in order to
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While art historians do not necessarily agree on the date of the birth of modern art, they do agree that mid-nineteenth century French art shows a clear and distinct break from tradition. Pressed to point to a single picture that represents the vanguard of the modern art movement, art historians will often point to Courbet`s The Painter`s Studio.
The peculiar subtitle of Courbet`s work, "Real allegory summing up a seven-year period of my life" confirms that Courbet was striving to do something strikingly original with his work. The argument has been made that the painting struck a blow for the independence of the artist, and that since Courbet`s work, artists have felt freed from the societal demands placed upon their work. Paintings prior to Courbet`s time were most often focused on depicting events from the Bible, history, or literature. With his singular painting, Courbet promulgated the idea that an artist is capable of representing only that which he can experience through his senses of sight and touch; the true artist will then be compelled to make his representation as simply and directly as possible.
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