Paragraph Comprehension – Test 2

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys' house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This position of affairs had now lasted three days, and not only the husband and wife themselves, but all the members of their family and household, were painfully conscious of it. Every person in the house felt that there was so sense in their living together, and that the stray people brought together by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys. The wife did not leave her own room, the husband had not been at home for three days. The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her; the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time; the kitchen-maid, and the coachman had given warning.

What is the most likely meaning of the passage’s first sentence?

The population in the United States is aging rapidly. From 2008 to 2017, the U.S. population aged 65 and older grew by 31 percent, from 38.8 million in 2008 to 50.8 million in 2017. In contrast, the total population grew 6.9 percent during the same time period. The disproportionate increase of the older population is in part associated with the generation of Baby Boomers, who began turning age 65 in 2011. The increased participation of older people in America’s workforce raises questions about this subpopulation’s commuting patterns and how they differ from their younger counterparts.

According to the paragraph, the group of older workers, those over 65, is growing faster than other age groups. What reason is given?

Schizophrenia is a serious and lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior, and impaired cognitive ability. They may hear voices or see things that aren’t there. They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These behaviors can be scary and upsetting to people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated. It can also be scary and upsetting to the people around them. People with schizophrenia may sometimes talk about strange or unusual ideas, which can make it difficult to carry on a conversation. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. Sometimes people with schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are thinking.

According to the passage, hat are some common symptoms of schizophrenia?

To those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

What is the most likely meaning of the phrase “planned or accidental self-destruction”?

When you slip into sleep, it’s easy to imagine that your brain shuts down, but research suggests that groups of neurons activated during prior learning keep humming, tattooing memories into your brain. Researchers at University of Michigan have been studying how memories associated with a specific sensory event are formed and stored in mice. Researchers examined how a fearful memory formed in relation to a specific visual stimulus. They found that not only did the neurons activated by the visual stimulus keep more active during subsequent sleep, sleep is vital to their ability to connect the fear memory to the sensory event. Previous research has shown that regions of the brain that are highly active during intensive learning tend to show more activity during subsequent sleep. But what was unclear was whether this “reactivation” of memories during sleep needs to occur in order to fully store the memory of newly learned material.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, what is the main idea advanced by the paragraph?

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh. He couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt. When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that.

What three bits of information is learned from reading the first sentence of the passage?

There are unique challenges in a place like Alaska. While heat pumps have improved over the past decade, they are still affected by low temperatures: The colder it gets, the harder it is to extract heat, and the less efficient the system is. But just how much does their efficiency drop? To answer this question, Marsik’s team is studying a heat pump inside a 20-below-zero test chamber in their Fairbanks lab. The study will also look at the effect of thermal loading, or the heat demand of the building, on the heat pump’s performance.

What weather conditions make heat pumps less efficient?

Over the last four decades, life expectancy in the United States has largely risen, although certain groups have experienced slight decreases in their life expectancy, gaining the attention of mortality experts and the media. Recent headlines draw attention to the role of the opioid epidemic in this unusual downturn in life expectancy among non-Hispanic White adults. In considering what the future of the U.S. population may look like, we must address historical and recent shifts in life expectancy and understand that these shifts are the result of complex social, cultural, biological, and economic forces. Looking forward, we seek to uncover how life expectancy might change in coming decades and assess how these changes might look across the various race, ethnic, and nativity groups that make up the U.S. population.

What is a good, general summary of the paragraph?

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.

Overall, what is the tone of the passage?

Numerous butterfly species have evolved to make themselves less attractive to predators by eating toxic substances. New research offers an evolutionary model for how species adapt to living with these toxins inside their bodies. The Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala) and its five closest relatives in the genus Eumaeus like to display their toxicity. This sextet’s toxicity comes from what they eat as caterpillars: plants called cycads that have been around since before dinosaurs roamed the Earth and contain a potent liver toxin called cycasin.

According to the passage, how do the butterflies mentioned evade predators?

The United States has vast wind resources across all 50 states. Continued advancements in turbine technology–including those that enable higher hub heights, larger rotors, and improved energy capture–can access the stronger and more consistent wind resources typically found at greater heights above ground level They also enable wind to be a true nationwide economic resource. Advancements in wind technologies have already yielded broad cost-competitive deployment in locations with high wind speeds. Market trends and technological innovations are increasingly unlocking cost-effective wind in regions with more moderate wind resources. Market trends and technological innovations are increasingly unlocking cost-effective wind in regions with more moderate wind resources.

Based on the paragraph, what is a factor in the ability to unlock cost-effective wind energy in regions with moderate resources?