Chapter 28

Harder Reading
and Writing
Module

| 1
 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

Reading and Writing

Module 2—Harder
DIRECTIONS

The questions in this section address a number of important reading and writing skills. Each question includes one or
more passages, which may include a table or graph. Read each passage and question carefully, and then choose the
best answer to the question based on the passage(s).

All questions in the section are multiple-choice with four answer choices. Each question has a single best answer.

1 Mark for Review 2 Mark for Review

UC Berkeley research scientist Eti Ben Simon and UC In a recent Duke University study, subjects expressing
Berkeley professor of psychology Matthew Walker more curiosity about the outcome of a video were less
led a study showing that lack of sleep can ________ the likely, not more likely as expected by researchers, to
propensity towards altruistic behavior in people. Simon use a provided ‘spoiler’ button to skip to the video’s
and Walker found that study participants with poor conclusion than were subjects reporting indifference
sleep were less willing to help others the following day. about the video, leading researcher Abby Hsiung
to conclude that such ________ findings indicate that
Which choice completes the text with the most logical curiosity actually increases patience, rather than
and precise word or phrase? thwarting it.

A elevate Which choice completes the text with the most logical
precise word or phrase?

B hinder A unprecedented


C develop B ambivalent


D assist C paradoxical

D vague

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

3 Mark for Review 5 Mark for Review

While there is disagreement about whether the The following text is adapted from James Weldon’s 1912
Water Tribunal of Spain dates from Roman times book. In the text, Johnson discusses the skilled workers
or centuries later during the Spanish Caliphate, it is of the cigar-making trade.
widely recognized as the world’s oldest court and thus He was able to make a bundle of one hundred cigars
remains a significant topic of study for anyone looking in a day, not one of which could be told from the
to understand the history of judicial bodies that have others by any difference in size or shape, or even by
________ cases related to water use or irrigation. any appreciable difference in weight. This was the
acme of artistic skill in cigar making. Workmen of
Which choice completes the text with the most logical this class were rare, never more than three or four in
precise word or phrase? one factory, and it was never necessary for them to
remain out of work. There were men who made two,
A dismissed three, and four hundred cigars of the cheaper grades
in a day; they had to be very fast in order to make a
decent week’s wages.
B validated
Which choice best describes the function of the

C registered underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A It emphasizes the competence with which the

D adjudicated cigar-maker engages in his daily work.


B It compares the technique of cigar-making to the
craft of making a piece of art.
4 Mark for Review

New research conducted by Jakob Wikström and C It suggests that the more skilled workers do not
Etty Bachar-Wikström was inspired by reports of the make the cheaper cigars.
remarkable ability of sharks to heal from wounds
sustained in the wild. Despite previous data suggesting
that chemicals found in shark skin may have significant D It shows how the workmen are affected by the
biomedical potential, researchers before Wikström and conditions of the cigar factory.
Bachar-Wikström had not ________ the comprehensive
and numerous experiments necessary to explore this
phenomenon in controlled laboratory conditions.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical

and precise word or phrase?

A halted

B executed


C dissimulated

D decried

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

6 Mark for Review 7 Mark for Review

The following text is from Charles Dickens’s 1861 novel Yoshioka Tokujin, a Japanese artist acclaimed for his
Great Expectations. Pip, the narrator, has just gained a works, incorporates natural processes and innovative
considerable fortune from an anonymous benefactor. approaches to his artistic methods. In 2008, he created
I took it upon myself to impress Biddy (and through a series of works under the project name Crystallized,
Biddy, Joe) with the grave obligation I considered which involved using water tanks containing a special
my friends under, to know nothing and say nothing solution to grow natural crystals. During the growth
about the maker of my fortune. It would all come process, the solution was exposed to the continuous
out in good time, I observed, and in the meanwhile pulsations of a specific musical piece, such as “Swan
nothing was to be said, save that I had come into great Lake” or “Moonlight,” and the vibrations influenced
expectations from a mysterious patron. the resulting crystalline shape. Although the finished
work appears sculptural, Tokujin refers to these pieces
as “crystallized paintings,” suggesting that just as the
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
human soul responds to musical chords, so does the
“accidental beauty” of the crystalline form evoke an
A To explain that Pip finds his new fortune both emotional experience.
stressful and immensely rejuvenating
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the
 text?
B To describe Pip’s resolve to not discuss the identity
of his benefactor
A It discusses Tokujin’s work in detail, then draws a
conclusion about Tokujin’s artistic history.

C To detail a conflict between Pip’s internal
excitement and external confidence 
B It introduces an artist’s general approach, then
describes a specific instance of that approach.
D To highlight Pip’s desire to impress his friends
with his newfound wealth 
C It contrasts the crystallized painting derived from
“Swan Lake” with the one derived from
“Moonlight.”

D It describes Tokujin’s approach, then explains how

the music of “Swan Lake” influenced his work.

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

8 Mark for Review 9 Mark for Review

A study by a team led by cardiology professor Maciej Text 1
Banach found that, over a lower limit, increasing the The origin of mitochondria has long been assumed to
number of daily steps walked reduced the risk of death be a single-celled prokaryote swallowing a bacterium,
from cardiovascular disease as well as any cause. The forming a eukaryote. But when a group of scientists led
study analyzed 226,889 people from 17 worldwide by Toni Gabaldón started sequencing modern genomes,
studies and analyzed the health data of individuals who they found evidence of more than two “partners”
had walked from 5,000 steps up to 20,000 steps a day. in the original synthesis. Gabaldón and his team
The team found that extra steps led to a decrease in the hypothesize that these simple cellular ancestors shared
risk of death from cardiovascular disease, additional genetic material via a variety of partners that led to
extra steps led to a decrease in the risk of death from the development of eukaryotes in a more “horizontal,”
any cause, and no upper limit to these health benefits or branching, fashion. This discovery may lead to the
has been found. rewriting of our narrative of how our genes evolved.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined Text 2

sentence in the overall structure of the text? While Gabaldón and colleagues advocate for a
“gradual” evolution of cell symbionts involving
A To present an obstacle encountered by the team multiple genetic partners, it’s too soon to recast the
during its study beginnings of mitochondria. For the cells to employ
such a multidirectional evolutionary pathway, they
 would more likely already have been more complex
B To summarize the conclusions reached by the eukaryotic cells, not simple prokaryotes. Gabaldón’s
team observations of modern host eukaryotes may therefore
not reveal as much about the behavior of ancestral
 prokaryotes as originally believed.
C To introduce a specific example that demonstrates
the team’s conclusions Based on the texts, what would the author of Text 2 say
about Gabaldón and his team’s hypothesis regarding
the evidence found in Text 1?
D To detail the data utilized in the team’s analysis

A It is understandable given that the gene
sequencing performed by Gabaldón is the first use
of this groundbreaking technology.


B It is surprising given that the traditional
assumptions of the origin of the mitochondria
contradict Gabaldón’s theory.


C It may not accurately depict the nature of the
organism involved in the evolutionary process
described by the theory.


D It is overly simplistic given the complexity of the
genome sequencing performed by Gabaldón.

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

10 Mark for Review 11 Mark for Review

Tickets Sold and Box Office Revenue Recently discovered in China, Proterocladus antique is
from 1996–2000 the scientific name for an algae fossil approximately
a billion years old. Using samples from the well-
Tickets sold Box Office Revenue preserved Nanfen formation (an ancient seabed), Qing
Year (in billions) (in billions of dollars) Tang, Ke Pang, Xunlai Yuan and Shuhai Xiao found
1996 1.3 5.8 that P. antique was a green alga that could, like its
modern relative seaweed, photosynthesize—that is,
1997 1.4 6.2 manufacture sugars and oxygen from light and carbon
dioxide. Tang maintains that P. antique indicates that
1998 1.5 6.8
green algae first evolved in the oceans instead of in
1999 1.4 7.3 freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers.
2000 1.4 7.5
Which of the following, if true, would most directly
Some writers interested in the rise of the modern support Tang’s claim?
blockbuster movie have begun to focus on the 
technological innovations that gave rise to this era of A The fossils are visible to the naked eye, which
film during the 1990s, noting that the increased usage indicates that P. antique was one of the largest
of special effects raised production costs and led to creatures of the era, sharing the seas with smaller
increased ticket prices as a means to meet those costs. organisms such as bacteria.
The impact of higher ticket prices can be observed
by examining both the number of tickets sold and 
box office revenue during the same period. Box office B The fossils of P. antique are evenly distributed in
revenue continued to rise through the 1990s despite the Nanfen formation with fossils of freshwater
ticket sales decreasing towards the end of the decade, algae and other photosynthesizing organisms
which can be seen by comparing ________ from the same era.

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table 

to complete the example? C Green algae such as P. antique and sea lettuce do
the majority of photosynthesis on the planet,
 while land plants, which evolved later, are
A the tickets sold and revenue generated in the year
responsible for a less substantial proportion of the
1998 to the tickets sold and revenue generated in
process.
the year 2000.



D The oldest scientifically legitimized fossil of green
B the tickets sold and revenue generated in the year
algae from a freshwater environment is
1997 to the tickets sold and the revenue generated
confirmed to be only about 800 million years old.
in the year 1999.


C the tickets sold in the year 1997 to the tickets sold
in the year 1998.


D the tickets sold in the year 1996 to the tickets sold
in the year 1997.

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

12 Mark for Review 13 Mark for Review

Mineralogists are often asked to determine whether
Intervention Likelihood Based on certain impact events are caused by asteroids
Presence of ASD and Bystander Count (comprised of metals and rock) or fragments of comets
Likelihood of intervention

four being “most likely”)

(on four-point scale with

4 (comprised of ice, dust, and rock). In 1927, Soviet

mineralogist Leonid Kulik concluded that one of the
Earth’s major impacts, the 1908 Tunguska event,
3 occurred when an asteroid exploded a few miles above
the ground. According to Kulik, his conclusion was
2 supported by the fact that though the impact flattened
miles of forest, it left no crater, which suggests that the
object primarily collided with the Earth’s atmosphere
1 rather than the surface.
One Two Six Ten
Number of bystanders present Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken
non-autistic autistic Kulik’s conclusion?

Seeking to understand the impact of autism spectrum A Researchers tested material from tree cores
disorder (ASD) on an individual’s tendency towards within the zone of impact, and found high levels
acting on behalf of others, researcher Lorne Hartman of material rarely found in comets but frequently
led a study that asked participants to rate their found in rocky asteroids.
willingness to intervene in situations involving
workplace dysfunction or inefficiency with varying 
numbers of bystanders, or uninvolved observers to a B A comet fragment would have disintegrated
situation. The research showed that autistic employees before reaching the lower atmosphere, but the
were more likely to speak up on workplace issues than Tunguska event object stayed intact through most
non-autistic employees, regardless of the number of of the lower atmosphere.
bystanders.

Which choice best describes data from the graph that C As the celestial body that caused the Tunguska
support the researcher’s conclusion? event passed through the atmosphere, such
pressures and temperatures developed that the

A The average likelihood of intervention was higher object abruptly exploded.
in autistic employees than in non-autistic
employees in all scenarios. 
D After the event, researchers and locals searched
for metal-laced rock fragments over the area of

B There was no apparent change in the reported impact, but no such objects were ever reported
likelihood of intervention from non-autistic discovered.
employees whether there was 1 bystander or 6
bystanders.


C The reported likelihood of intervention was
nearly identical when there were 6 bystanders.


D The reported likelihood of intervention from
autistic employees declined as the number of
bystanders increased.

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

14 Mark for Review 15 Mark for Review

Following a prolific career producing paintings and A drawback when studying how people evaluate others’
mixed media art centered around her Native American ideologies upon a first meeting is that the studies
heritage and focused on socio-political commentary, are conducted in controlled settings with proscribed
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith became the first Native inputs, which may not fully account for the intricacies
American painter whose work has appeared in the of spontaneous daily interactions. To properly simulate
National Gallery of Art. According to an Associated circumstances that can affect initial impressions of
Press journalist, Smith was shocked that her “I See ideologies, researchers strive to include a broad range
Red: Target” was the first painting on canvas done of conditions for these initial meetings. But since the
by a Native American artist to enter the museum’s researchers can’t reasonably mimic every potential
collection, although the journalist went on to clarify kind of social encounter, they therefore ________
that the museum had previously featured Indigenous
works in other forms of media. Which choice most logically completes the text?

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the A must allow for a reasonable margin of error in
journalist’s clarification? their studies and understand that the controlled
 nature of the study may affect the authenticity of
A Smith’s work has been widely exhibited across the interactions.
prominent museums such as the Museum of
Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American 
Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National B can’t create a meaningful study without
Museum of Women in the Arts, and the compromising the rigorous research conditions
Smithsonian American Art Museum. that the scientific method demands.

 
B Smith has not only had her work displayed in C should focus on other questions of behavioral
multiple prominent exhibits, but she has also research, which better lend themselves to a
collaborated on public art displays including the practical implementation and are thus more
floor design in the Great Hall of the Denver useful.
Airport and a mile-long history trail in West
Seattle. 
D will need to supplement the data by having the
 subjects give additional information about how
C A spokeswoman for the National Gallery of Art their first impressions change after more
comments in an interview that the museum has interactions.
over two dozen works on paper by Indigenous
authors and that the gallery is excited to add a
painting to its collection of Native American art.


D Since the museum acquired Smith’s work, Smith
has brought together art by other Native
American artists to showcase contemporary
works of art by Native Americans that reflect the
diversity among their regional, cultural, and
individual identities as well as a shared
worldview of mutual reverence and concern for
the land.

CONTINUE

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 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

16 Mark for Review 17 Mark for Review

A ritualistic artistic tradition, sand drawing has Extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) are a group
become a means of communication among inhabitants of objects in the outer region of the Solar System
of the Vanuatu islands and has been recognized by whose orbits seem to cluster. Some astronomers have
UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible hypothesized the existence of a Planet Nine that is
Heritage of Humanity. The drawings serve as records affecting the ETNOs’ ________ though other astronomers
and means of communicating rituals, lore, local history, assert that the orbits only appear to cluster due to
farming techniques, choreography, and architectural observational bias.
designs. However, sand drawings have more recently
come to be used for advertising and tourism. In Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to
response to formal protests against the use of sand the conventions of Standard English?
drawing for profit, UNESCO has sponsored the creation
of the Save Sand Drawings Action Committee program, A orbits:
as ________

Which choice most logically completes the text? B orbits;


A the rich history behind this art form has been 
celebrated by the international art community. C orbits


B there is growing concern that an art form is being D orbits,
employed for reasons other than its original
purpose.


C the inhabitants of the islands recognize the 18 Mark for Review
importance of change and progress in any art
form. By monitoring the gases that are emitted from
the regions surrounding volcanoes, scientists can
make predictions about what volcanic activity—or

D sand drawings continue to be used to inactivity—can be expected. For example, a volcano
communicate information by evolving to include releases sulfur dioxide (SO2) when magma is close to the
modern cultural events. surface, indicating that an eruption might occur soon.
In other instances, magma releases sulfur gases, which
interact with the groundwater to produce hydrogen
sulfide ________ the presence of this compound signifies
that the volcano is stable.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to

the conventions of Standard English?

A (H2S)

B (H2S) but


C (H2S),

D (H2S), but

CONTINUE

Harder Reading and Writing Module | 9

 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

19 Mark for Review 21 Mark for Review

Iridescence in fish is generally a result of tiny crystals The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
in their scales or skin. The ghost catfish, a transparent (OPEC), a collective of countries founded in 1960 by
aquatic species, doesn’t have those ________ its muscles Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela,
have microscopic striped structures that bend light. ________ the global oil market by cooperating within the
organization.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to
the conventions of Standard English? Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to
the conventions of Standard English?
A crystals instead,
A were influencing

B crystals, instead;
B have influenced

C crystals; instead,
C influence

D crystals, instead,
D influences

20 Mark for Review

22 Mark for Review
The G.I. Bill was enacted in 1944 to ensure that veterans
returning from World War II could access housing and Suki Seokyeong Kang, a visual artist from South Korea,
education. By 1951, about 8 million veterans ________ combines painting, sculpture, video, and dance to
advantage of the bill’s educational benefits, leading to create multimedia installations informed by historical
a more than twofold increase in the number of degrees art forms. Her project Black Mat Oriole explores the
issued by American colleges and universities. subject of gridded space, with influences ranging from
Jeongganbo, a Korean musical notation system written
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to on ________ to woven reed mats.
the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to
A had taken the conventions of Standard English?

A paper divided into regular boxes

B took

B paper, divided into regular boxes

C take

C paper divided into regular boxes,
D will take

D paper, divided into regular boxes,

10 | Harder Reading and Writing Module

 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

23 Mark for Review 25 Mark for Review

A study published by Howard University evolutionary Honeycomb serves many functions for bee
biologist Omar Cirilli and a team of 18 others in 2022 communities: it provides a venue for food storage, a nest
compares two comprehensive taxonomies of horses and for bee larvae and pupae, and housing for adult bees.
features a paleoclimatic analysis, which could explain Bees construct honeycomb from wax they produce in
why modern horses evolved in North America instead their abdominal glands, but much about the process
of Europe or ________ four million years ago, when the that bees use to create the hexagonal honeycomb cells is
oldest common ancestor of modern equines evolved, the still not understood. There are significant limitations in
North American continent was significantly drier than the microscopy and direct visual observation that have
that of Eurasia, which yielded more open grasslands, an traditionally been the main ways scientists can watch
appropriate habitat for the ancestors of modern horses. bees work. ________ several key features of honeycomb
structures—including porosity and the actual
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to location where wax is deposited—have been largely
the conventions of Standard English? understudied and possibly even misrepresented.

A Asia, Which choice completes the text with the most logical
transition?

B Asia A Nevertheless,


C Asia and B Thus,

D Asia: C Likewise,

D Still,

24 Mark for Review

In 1872, French archaeologists began excavating a body
of ancient Greek mosaics on the island of Delos, which
is now known to contain more surviving Hellenistic
Greek mosaics than nearly any other site. ________ nearly
half of all surviving tessellated Greek mosaics—a style
of mosaic in which all tiles are uniform in shape and
arranged to have no overlap—from this time period are
from Delos.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical

transition?

A In fact,

B Thus,

C In addition,

D Despite this,

CONTINUE

Harder Reading and Writing Module | 11

 Section 1, Module 2—Harder: Reading and Writing

26 Mark for Review 27 Mark for Review

While researching a topic, a student has taken the While researching a topic, a student has taken the
following notes: following notes:
• Los Kjarkas is a musical group from Bolivia. • R
 ats have facial whiskers near their snouts and
• T
 he group’s most widely known song is “Llorando smaller, finer supraorbital whiskers above their
se fue.” eyes.

• A
 n unauthorized translation of “Llorando se fue” • N
 euroscientist Ann Clemens and colleagues
was the basis of the 1980s dance hit “Lambada.” conducted a study investigating the supraorbital
whiskers of rats.
• L
 os Kjarkas’s songs often cover themes of romance
and loss and incorporate traditional Andean • T
 hey discovered that the bases of the supraorbital
instruments such as the charango and the quena. whiskers are surrounded by a ring of nerve cells
highly sensitive to movements in all directions.
• T
 he charango is a stringed instrument similar to a
small guitar. • T
 he researchers found that numbing rats’
supraorbital whiskers with lidocaine reduced the
• The quena is a type of flute. rats’ ability to sense wind currents.

The student wants to introduce the music of Los Kjarkas • T

 hey hypothesized that supraorbital whiskers are
to a new audience. Which choice most effectively uses specialized structures used by rats to detect air
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this currents from approaching predators.
goal? • P
 revious research found that trimming rats’ facial
whiskers reduced the rats’ ability to sense wind

A Los Kjarkas incorporates traditional Andean currents.
instruments such as the charango (similar to a
small guitar) and the quena (a type of flute). The student wants to present Clemens and colleagues’
study and their findings. Which choice most effectively
 uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
B Los Kjarkas’s most widely known song is this goal?
“Llorando se fue,” an unauthorized translation 
of which was the basis of the 1980s dance hit A Rats have facial whiskers near their snouts and
“Lambada.” supraorbital whiskers above their eyes, both of
which are associated with their ability to sense
 wind currents.
C The songs of Los Kjarkas, a musical group from
Bolivia, often cover themes of romance and loss
and incorporate traditional Andean B Rats’ supraorbital whiskers are used to detect air
instruments. currents from approaching predators.

 
D Los Kjarkas is a musical group from Bolivia C A study of the supraorbital whiskers of rats
whose songs involve the charango and the found that the bases of these whiskers are
quena. surrounded by a ring of nerve cells sensitive to
movement and that the application of a numbing
chemical to the whiskers reduces the rats’ ability
to sense wind currents.


D Research has found that trimming rats’ facial
whiskers, which are located near their snouts,
reduces the rats’ ability to sense wind currents.

STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this module only.
Do not turn to any other module in the test.

12 | Harder Reading and Writing Module