Cross-text connection Practice

Q1.
Text 1
Philosopher G.E. Moore's most influential work entails the concept of common sense. He asserts that there are
certain beliefs that all people, including philosophers, know instinctively to be true, whether or not they profess
otherwise: among them, that they have bodies, or that they exist in a world with other objects that have three
dimensions. Moore's careful work on common sense may seem obvious but was in fact groundbreaking.
Text 2
External world skepticism is a philosophical stance supposing that we cannot be sure of the existence of
anything outside our own minds. During a lecture, G.E. Moore once offered a proof refuting this stance by
holding out his hands and saying, "Here is one hand, and here is another." Many philosophers reflexively reject
this proof (Annalisa Coliva called it "an obviously annoying failure") but have found it a challenge to articulate
exactly why the proof fails.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to proponents of the philosophical
stance outlined in Text 2?
A. By pointing out that Moore would assert that external world skepticism is at odds with other beliefs those
proponents must unavoidably hold
B. By arguing that if it is valid to assert that some facts are true based on instinct, it is also valid to assert that
some proofs are inadequate based on instinct
C. By agreeing with those proponents that Moore's treatment of positions that contradict his own is
fundamentally unserious
D. By suggesting that an instinctive distaste for Moore's position is preventing external world skeptics from
constructing a sufficiently rigorous refutation of Moore

Q2.
Text 1
Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche
people. These mold-made sculptures present plants, animals, and human faces in precise ways—vessels
representing human faces are so detailed that scholars have interpreted facial markings to represent scars and
other skin irregularities. Some historians have even used these objects to identify potential skin diseases that
may have afflicted people at the time.
Text 2
Art historian and archaeologist Lisa Trever has argued that the interpretation of Moche "portrait" vessels as
hyper-realistic portrayals of identifiable people may inadvertently disregard the creativity of the objects'
creators. Moche ceramic vessels, Trever argues, are artworks in which sculptors could free their imagination,
using realistic objects and people around them as inspiration to explore more abstract concepts.

Based on the texts, what would Lisa Trever (Text 2) most likely say about the interpretation presented in the
underlined portion of Text 1?
A. Markings on depictions of human faces are not necessarily intended to portray particular details about the
physical appearance of individuals.
B. Some vessels may have been damaged during their excavation and thus provide little insight into Moche
culture.
C. Depictions of human faces are significantly more realistic than depictions of plants and other animals are.
D. It is likely that some depictions of human faces with extensive markings are intended to portray the same
historical individual.
Q3.
Text 1
Because literacy in Nahuatl script, the writing system of the Aztec Empire, was lost after Spain invaded central
Mexico in the 1500s, it is unclear exactly how meaning was encoded in the script's symbols. Although many
scholars had assumed that the symbols signified entire words, linguist Alfonso Lacadena theorized in 2008 that
they signified units of language smaller than words: individual syllables.
Text 2
The growing consensus among scholars of Nahuatl script is that many of its symbols could signify either words
or syllables, depending on syntax and content at any given site within a text. For example, the symbol
signifying the word huipil (blouse) in some contexts could signify the syllable "pil" in others, as in the place
name "Chipiltepec." Thus, for the Aztecs, reading required a determination of how such symbols functioned
each time they appeared in a text.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely characterize Lacadena's theory, as described in
Text 1?

A. By praising the theory for recognizing that the script's symbols could represent entire words
B. By arguing that the theory is overly influenced by the work of earlier scholars
C. By approving of the theory's emphasis on how the script changed over time
D. By cautioning that the theory overlooks certain important aspects of how the script functioned

Q4.
Text 1
Soy sauce, made from fermented soybeans, is noted for its umami flavor. Umami—one of the five basic tastes
along with sweet, bitter, salty, and sour—was formally classified when its taste receptors were discovered in the
2000s. In 2007, to define the pure umami flavor scientists Rie Ishii and Michael O'Mahony used broths made
from shiitake mushrooms and kombu seaweed, and two panels of Japanese and US judges closely agreed on a
description of the taste.
Text 2
A 2022 experiment by Manon Jünger et al. led to a greater understanding of soy sauce's flavor profile. The
team initially presented a mixture of compounds with low molecular weights to taste testers who found it was
not as salty or bitter as real soy sauce. Further analysis of soy sauce identified proteins, including dipeptides,
that enhanced umami flavor and also contributed to saltiness. The team then made a mix of 50 chemical
compounds that re-created soy sauce's flavor.

Based on the texts, if Ishii and O'Mahony (Text 1) and Jünger et al. (Text 2) were aware of the findings of both
experiments, they would most likely agree with which statement?

A. The broths in the 2007 experiment most likely did not have a substantial amount of the dipeptides that played
a key part in the 2022 experiment.
B. On average, the diets of people in the United States tend to have fewer foods that contain certain dipeptides
than the diets of people in Japan have.
C. Chemical compounds that activate both the umami and salty taste receptors tend to have a higher molecular
weight than those that only activate umami taste receptors.
D. Fermentation introduces proteins responsible for the increase of umami flavor in soy sauce, and those
proteins also increase the perception of saltiness.
Q5.
Text 1
A team led by Bernardo Strassburg has found that rewilding farmland (returning the land to its natural state)
could help preserve biodiversity and offset carbon emissions. The amount of farmland that would need to be
restored, they found, is remarkably low. Rewilding a mere 15% of the world's current farmland would prevent
60% of expected species extinctions and help absorb nearly 299 gigatons of carbon dioxide—a clear win in the
fight against the biodiversity and climate crises.
Text 2
While Strassburg's team's findings certainly offer encouraging insight into the potential benefits of rewilding,
it's important to consider potential effects on global food supplies. The researchers suggest that to compensate
for the loss of food-producing land, remaining farmland would need to produce even more food. Thus, policies
focused on rewilding farmland must also address strategies for higher-yield farming.

Which choice best describes a difference in how the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 view Strassburg's
team's study?

A. The author of Text 2 approaches the study's findings with some caution, whereas the author of Text 1 is
optimistic about the reported potential environmental benefits.
B. The author of Text 2 claims that the percentage of farmland identified by Strassburg's team is too low for
rewilding to achieve meaningful results, whereas the author of Text 1 thinks the percentage is sufficient.
C. The author of Text 2 focuses on rewilding's effect on carbon emissions, whereas the author of Text 1 focuses
on its effect on biodiversity.
D. The author of Text 2 believes that the results described by Strassburg's team are achievable in the near future,
whereas the author of Text 1 argues that they likely aren't.

Q6.
Text 1
The idea that time moves in only one direction is instinctively understood, yet it puzzles physicists. According
to the second law of thermodynamics, at a macroscopic level some processes of heat transfer are irreversible
due to the production of entropy—after a transfer we cannot rewind time and place molecules back exactly
where they were before, just as we cannot unbreak dropped eggs. But laws of physics at a microscopic or
quantum level hold that those processes should be reversible.
Text 2
In 2015, physicists Tiago Batalhão et al. performed an experiment in which they confirmed the irreversibility of
thermodynamic processes at a quantum level, producing entropy by applying a rapidly oscillating magnetic
field to a system of carbon-13 atoms in liquid chloroform. But the experiment "does not pinpoint ... what causes
[irreversibility] at the microscopic level," coauthor Mauro Paternostro said.

Based on the texts, what would the author of Text 1 most likely say about the experiment described in Text 2?

A. It is consistent with the current understanding of physics at a microscopic level but not at a macroscopic
level.
B. It provides empirical evidence that the current understanding of an aspect of physics at a microscopic level
must be incomplete.
C. It supports a claim about an isolated system of atoms in a laboratory, but that claim should not be
extrapolated to a general claim about the universe.
D. It would suggest an interesting direction for future research were it not the case that two of the physicists
who conducted the experiment disagree on the significance of its findings.
Q7.
Text 1
Today the starchy root cassava is found in many dishes across West Africa, but its rise to popularity was slow.
Portuguese traders brought cassava from Brazil to the West African coast in the 1500s. But at this time, people
living in the capitals further inland had little contact with coastal communities. Thus, cassava remained
relatively unknown to most of the region's inhabitants until the 1800s.
Text 2
Cassava's slow adoption into the diet of West Africans is mainly due to the nature of the crop itself. If not
cooked properly, cassava can be toxic. Knowledge of how to properly prepare cassava needed to spread before
the food could grow in popularity. The arrival of formerly enslaved people from Brazil in the 1800s, who
brought their knowledge of cassava and its preparation with them, thus directly fueled the spread of this crop.

Based on the texts, the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 would most likely agree with which statement?

A. The climate of the West African coast in the 1500s prevented cassava's spread in the region.
B. Several of the most commonly grown crops in West Africa are originally from Brazil.
C. The most commonly used methods to cook cassava today date to the 1500s.
D. Cassava did not become a significant crop in West Africa until long after it was first introduced.

Q8.
Text 1
Despite its beautiful prose, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman's 1962 analysis of the start of World War I,
has certain weaknesses as a work of history. It fails to address events in Eastern Europe just before the outbreak
of hostilities, thereby giving the impression that Germany was the war's principal instigator. Had Tuchman
consulted secondary works available to her by scholars such as Luigi Albertini, she would not have neglected
the influence of events in Eastern Europe on Germany's actions.
Text 2
Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August is an engrossing if dated introduction to World War I. Tuchman's
analysis of primary documents is laudable, but her main thesis that European powers committed themselves to a
catastrophic outcome by refusing to deviate from military plans developed prior to the conflict is implausibly
reductive.

Which choice best describes a difference in how the authors of Text 1 and Text 2 view Barbara Tuchman's The
Guns of August?

A. The author of Text 1 believes that the scope of Tuchman's research led her to an incorrect interpretation,
while the author of Text 2 believes that Tuchman's central argument is overly simplistic.
B. The author of Text 1 argues that Tuchman should have relied more on the work of other historians, while the
author of Text 2 implies that Tuchman's most interesting claims result from her original research.
C. The author of Text 1 asserts that the writing style of The Guns of August makes it worthwhile to read despite
any perceived deficiency in Tuchman's research, while the author of Text 2 focuses exclusively on the weakness
of Tuchman's interpretation of events.
D. The author of Text 1 claims that Tuchman would agree that World War I was largely due to events in Eastern
Europe, while the author of Text 2 maintains that Tuchman would say that Eastern European leaders were not
committed to military plans in the same way that other leaders were.
Q9.
Text 1
For decades, bluegrass musicians have debated whether their genre should exclude influences from mainstream
genres such as rock. Many insist that bluegrass is defined by its adherence to the folk music of the US South,
out of which bluegrass emerged. Such "purists," as they are known, regard the recordings of Bill Monroe, which
established the bluegrass sound in the 1940s, as a standard against which the genre should still be
[Link] headphones deals
Text 2
Bluegrass isn't simply an extension of folk traditions into the era of recorded music. In reality, Bill Monroe
created the bluegrass sound in the 1940s by combining Southern folk music with commercial genres that had
arisen only a few decades before, such as jazz and the blues. Since bluegrass has always been a mixed genre,
contemporary bluegrass musicians should not be forbidden from incorporating into it influences from rock and
other mainstream genres.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely regard the perspective of bluegrass purists, as
described in Text 1?

A. As inconsistent, since bluegrass purists themselves enjoy other musical genres

Q10.
Text 1
In 1916, H. Dugdale Sykes disputed claims that The Two Noble Kinsmen was co-authored by William
Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Sykes felt Fletcher's contributions to the play were obvious—Fletcher had a
distinct style in his other plays, so much so that lines with that style were considered sufficient evidence of
Fletcher's authorship. But for the lines not deemed to be by Fletcher, Sykes felt that their depiction of women
indicated that their author was not Shakespeare but Philip Massinger.
Text 2
Scholars have accepted The Two Noble Kinsmen as co-authored by Shakespeare since the 1970s: it appears in
all major one-volume editions of Shakespeare's complete works. Though scholars disagree about who wrote
what exactly, it is generally held that on the basis of style, Shakespeare wrote all of the first act and most of the
last, while John Fletcher authored most of the three middle acts.

Based on the texts, both Sykes in Text 1 and the scholars in Text 2 would most likely agree with which
statement?

A. The Two Noble Kinsmen belongs in one-volume compilations of Shakespeare’s complete plays.
B. John Fletcher’s writing has a unique, readily identifiable style.
C. Philip Massinger’s style in the first and last acts of The Two Noble Kinsmen is an homage to Shakespeare’s
style.
D. The women characters in John Fletcher’s plays are similar to the women characters in Philip Massinger’s
plays.
Q11.
Text 1
Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the conjugation of multiple distinct
nanomaterials, such as iron oxide and gold nanomaterials conjugated for use in magnetic imaging—has
outpaced studies of nanohybrids' environmental risks. Unfortunately, risk evaluations based on nanohybrids'
constituents are not reliable: conjugation may alter constituents' physiochemical properties such that innocuous
nanomaterials form a nanohybrid that is anything but.
Text 2
The potential for enhanced toxicity of nanohybrids relative to the toxicity of constituent nanomaterials has
drawn deserved attention, but the effects of nanomaterial conjugation vary by case. For instance, it was recently
shown that a nanohybrid of silicon dioxide and zinc oxide preserved the desired optical transparency of zinc
oxide nanoparticles while mitigating the nanoparticles' potential to damage DNA.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the assertion in the underlined
portion of Text 1?
A. By denying that the circumstance described in Text 1 is likely to occur but acknowledging that many aspects
of nanomaterial conjugation are still poorly understood
B. By agreeing that the possibility described in Text 1 is a cause for concern but pointing out that nanomaterial
conjugation does not inevitably produce that result
C. By concurring that the risk described in Text 1 should be evaluated but emphasizing that the risk is more than
offset by the potential benefits of nanomaterial conjugation
D. By arguing that the situation described in Text 1 may not be representative but conceding that the effects of
nanomaterial conjugation are harder to predict than researchers had expected

Q12.
Text 1
Fossils of the hominin Australopithecus africanus have been found in the Sterkfontein Caves of South Africa,
but assigning an age to the fossils is challenging because of the unreliability of dating methods in this context.
The geology of Sterkfontein has caused soil layers from different periods to mix, impeding stratigraphic dating,
and dates cannot be reliably imputed from those of nearby animal bones since the bones may have been
relocated by flooding.
Text 2
Archaeologists used new cosmogenic nuclide dating techniques to reevaluate the ages of A. africanus fossils
found in the Sterkfontein Caves. This technique involves analyzing the cosmogenic nucleotides in the
breccia-the matrix of rock fragments immediately surrounding the fossils. The researchers assert that this
approach avoids the potential for misdating associated with assigning ages based on Sterkfontein's soil layers or
animal bones.

Based on the texts, how would the researchers in Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined portion in Text 1?
A. They would emphasize the fact that the A. africanus fossils found in the Sterkfontein Caves may have been
corrupted in some way over the years.
B. They would contend that if analyses of surrounding layers and bones in the Sterkfontein Caves were
combined, then the dating of the fossils there would be more accurate.
C. They would argue that their techniques are better suited than other methods to the unique challenges posed
by the Sterkfontein Caves.
D. They would claim that cosmogenic nuclide dating is reliable in the context of the Sterkfontein Caves because
it is applied to the fossils directly.
Q13.
Text 1
The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event is usually attributed solely to an asteroid impact near
Chicxulub, Mexico. Some scientists argue that volcanic activity was the true cause, as the K-Pg event occurred
relatively early in a long period of eruption of the Deccan Traps range that initially produced huge amounts of
climate-altering gases. These dissenters note that other mass extinctions have coincided with large volcanic
eruptions, while only the K-Pg event lines up with an asteroid strike.
Text 2
In a 2020 study, Pincelli Hull and her colleagues analyzed ocean core samples and modeled climate changes
around the K-Pg event. The team concluded that Deccan Traps gases did affect global conditions prior to the
event, but that the climate returned to normal well before the extinctions began-extinctions that instead closely
align with the Chicxulub impact.

Based on the texts, how would Hull's team (Text 2) most likely respond to the argument in the underlined
portion of Text 1?

A. By agreeing that the Chicxulub impact changed the climate and that the Deccan Traps eruption caused the
K-Pg event
B. By declaring that the changes in climate caused by the Deccan Traps eruption weren't the main cause of the
K-Pg event
C. By questioning why those scientists assume that the Chicxulub impact caused the Deccan Traps eruption
D. By asserting that the Deccan Traps eruption had a more significant effect on global conditions than those
scientists claim

Q14.
Text 1
Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando is an oddity within her body of work. Her other major novels consist
mainly of scenes of everyday life and describe their characters' interior states in great detail, whereas Orlando
propels itself through a series of fantastical events and considers its characters' psychology more superficially.
Woolf herself sometimes regarded the novel as a minor work, even admitting once that she 'began it as a joke.'
Text 2
Like Woolf's other great novels, Orlando portrays how people's memories inform their experience of the
present. Like those works, it examines how people navigate social interactions shaped by gender and social
class. Though it is lighter in tone-more entertaining, even-this literary 'joke' nonetheless engages seriously with
the themes that motivated the four or five other novels by Woolf that have achieved the status of literary
classics.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the assessment of Orlando presented
in Text 1?

A. By conceding that Woolf's talents were best suited to serious novels but asserting that the humor in Orlando
is often effective
B. By agreeing that Orlando is less impressive than certain other novels by Woolf but arguing that it should still
be regarded as a classic
C. By acknowledging that Orlando clearly differs from Woolf's other major novels but insisting on its centrality
to her body of work nonetheless
D. By concurring that the reputation of Orlando as a minor work has led readers to overlook this novel but
maintaining that the reputation is unearned