1

The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi’s 1894 novel The Fatal
Garland (translated by A. Christina Albers in 1910). Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she
visited frequently during her childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to extend their branches like
welcoming arms. They greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river.

B. It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the woods.

C. It emphasizes Shakti’s sense of belonging in the landscape.

D. It conveys Shakti’s appreciation for her long-term friendships.

2
Researchers have found a nearly 164,000-year-old molar from a member of the archaic
human species known as Denisovans in a cave in Laos, suggesting that Denisovans lived in a
wider range of environments than indicated by earlier evidence. Before the discovery,
Denisovans were thought to have lived only at high altitudes in relatively cold climates in
what are now Russia and China, but the discovery of the tooth in Laos suggests that they may
have lived at low altitudes in relatively warm climates in Southeast Asia as well.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It dismisses as untrue the research presented in the previous sentence.

B. It defines a term used in the description that follows in the rest of the sentence.

C. It emphasizes the main goal of the research introduced in the previous sentence.

D. It provides context that clarifies the significance of the information that follows in the rest
of the sentence.
 3
Historians Tiya Miles and Roy E. Finkenbine have both documented the assistance Indigenous
peoples gave to Black freedom seekers leaving the South before the US Civil War. Much of
the historical evidence of this help comes from Indigenous oral traditions and from
autobiographies written by the freedom seekers. One such narrative is Jermain Loguen’s
autobiography, which tells about how Neshnabé (Potawatomi) villagers offered him food,
lodging, and directions during his 1835 journey from Tennessee to Canada.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

A. It provides an example of an autobiography that describes help given by an Indigenous

people to a Black freedom seeker.

B. It shows why Loguen decided to write in great detail about his experiences traveling from
Tennessee to Canada in his autobiography.

C. It argues that autobiographies are particularly important sources of information about

geography in the United States before the Civil War.

D. It suggests that most historians believe that Neshnabé villagers were more successful in
assisting freedom seekers than other people were.

4
In 2007, computer scientist Luis von Ahn was working on converting printed books into a
digital format. He found that some words were distorted enough that digital scanners
couldn’t recognize them, but most humans could easily read them. Based on that finding, von
Ahn invented a simple security test to keep automated “bots” out of websites. The first
version of the reCAPTCHA test asked users to type one known word and one of the many
words scanners couldn’t recognize. Correct answers proved the users were humans and
added data to the book-digitizing project.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To discuss von Ahn’s invention of reCAPTCHA

B. To explain how digital scanners work

C. To call attention to von Ahn’s book-digitizing project

D. To indicate how popular reCAPTCHA is

 5
Composer Florence Price won first place for her score Symphony in E Minor at the 1932
Wanamaker Foundation Awards. The piece was performed the following year by the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, a significant recognition of its quality. Price continued to compose
many musical pieces throughout her career, blending traditional Black spirituals with classical
European Romantic musical traditions. In recent years, Price’s concertos and symphonies have
been performed and recorded by several major orchestras, further preserving her work for
others to enjoy.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To provide examples of Price’s importance as a composer

B. To argue that more major orchestras should perform Price’s compositions

C. To describe the musical styles that inspired many of Price’s symphonies

D. To compare Price’s scores with those of classical European composers

6
Some bird species don’t raise their own chicks. Instead, adult females lay their eggs in other
nests, next to another bird species’ own eggs. Female cuckoos have been seen quickly laying
eggs in the nests of other bird species when those birds are out looking for food. After the
eggs hatch, the noncuckoo parents will typically raise the cuckoo chicks as if they were their
own offspring, even if the cuckoos look very different from the other chicks.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It introduces a physical feature of female cuckoos that is described later in the text.

B. It describes the appearance of the cuckoo nests mentioned earlier in the text.

C. It offers a detail about how female cuckoos carry out the behavior discussed in the text.

D. It explains how other birds react to the female cuckoo behavior discussed in the text.
 7
The following text is adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s 1869 novel An Old-Fashioned Girl.
Polly, a teenager, is visiting her friend Fanny.

Fanny’s friends did not interest Polly much; she was rather afraid of them [because] they
seemed so much older and wiser than herself, even those younger in years. They talked
about things of which she knew nothing and when Fanny tried to explain, she didn’t find
them interesting; indeed, some of them rather shocked and puzzled her.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To portray Polly’s reaction to Fanny’s friends

B. To identify the topics Polly talks about with Fanny’s friends

C. To explain how Fanny met some of her friends

D. To illustrate how Fanny’s friends feel about Polly

8
San Francisco is known for the colorful murals painted on many of its buildings. The densest
collection of murals is found on Balmy Alley in the Mission District neighborhood. In the
1970s, Latina artists painted vivid scenes of community life on walls along this block. As the
original murals have faded, later generations of artists have painted new ones over them. As a
result, Balmy Alley has become a living showcase of San Francisco’s artistic spirit, with its
murals reflecting changes in the cultural life of the city.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To compare the Balmy Alley murals to other murals in San Francisco

B. To offer an overview of the history and importance of the Balmy Alley murals

C. To urge people to protect the murals of San Francisco from decay

D. To describe the rise of mural painting in San Francisco beginning in the 1970s
 9
The following text is from Georgia Douglas Johnson’s 1922 poem “Benediction.”
Go forth, my son,
Winged by my heart’s desire!
Great reaches, yet unknown,
Await
For your possession.
I may not, if I would,
Retrace the way with you,
My pilgrimage is through,
But life is calling you!

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To express hope that a child will have the same accomplishments as his parent did

B. To suggest that raising a child involves many struggles

C. To warn a child that he will face many challenges throughout his life

D. To encourage a child to embrace the experiences life will offer

10
The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde’s 1897 nonfiction work De Profundis.

People whose desire is solely for self-realisation never know where they are going. They
can’t know. In one sense of the word it is of course necessary to know oneself: that is
the first achievement of knowledge. But to recognise that the soul of a man is
unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of wisdom. The final mystery is oneself. When
one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and
mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains oneself. Who can
calculate the orbit of his own soul?

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

A. It reinforces the text’s skepticism about the possibility of truly achieving self-knowledge.

B. It speculates that some readers will share the doubts expressed in the text about the value
of self-knowledge.

C. It cautions readers that the text’s directions for how to achieve self-knowledge are hard to
follow.

D. It concedes that the definition of self-knowledge advanced in the text is unpopular.

 11
In most building demolitions, the building materials are destroyed and sent to landfills. City
officials in Portland, Oregon, wanted to reduce this waste. The officials passed a law requiring
demolition companies to deconstruct some buildings instead. Deconstruction involves
carefully taking buildings apart piece by piece. Damage to the materials is avoided so that
they can be reused in new constructions. A 2019 study found that 27 percent of materials
from deconstructions in Portland were able to be reused. The remaining materials were
processed for recycling instead of going to a landfill.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To explain an effort made by the city of Portland to reduce demolition waste and some
results of that effort

B. To show that popular support for measures that reduce demolition waste has increased
since 2019

C. To argue that building deconstruction is not as effective as other measures at reducing

demolition waste

D. To discuss laws aimed to reduce demolition waste in Portland and compare them to
similar laws in other cities
 12
The following text is from Holly Goldberg Sloan’s 2017 novel Short.

More than two years ago my parents bought a piano from some people who were
moving to Utah. Mom and Dad gave it to my brothers and me for Christmas. I had to act
really happy because it was such a big present, but I pretty much hated the thing from
the second it was carried into the hallway upstairs, which is right next to my bedroom.
The piano glared at me. It was like a songbird in a cage. It wanted to be set free.
©2017 by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It explains why the narrator always wanted a piano close to her bedroom.

B. It establishes how the narrator feels about the piano.

C. It suggests that the narrator’s brothers are talented piano players.

D. It describes the event that led the narrator’s parents to buy a piano.

13
The following text is adapted from Charles Chesnutt’s 1899 short story “Mars Jeems’s
Nightmare.” The narrator and his wife have recently moved to the southern United States,
and Julius is their carriage driver.

Julius [was] very useful when we moved to our new residence. He had a thorough
knowledge of the neighborhood, was familiar with the roads and the watercourses,
knew the qualities of the various soils and what they would produce, and where the best
hunting and fishing were to be had. He was a marvelous hand in the management of
horses and dogs.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To compare the narrator’s reaction to a new home with his wife’s reaction

B. To give an example of Julius’s knowledge about soil

C. To show that the narrator and Julius often hunt and fish together

D. To explain different ways in which Julius was helpful

 14
Jackie Ormes’s Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem (1937–38) was the first comic strip by a Black
woman to appear in a widely read newspaper. The strip tells the story of Torchy, a young
woman who leaves Mississippi to become a performer in New York City. Torchy’s story reflects
the experience of the Great Migration (1910–1970), when millions of Black Americans left the
South in search of opportunities in other parts of the United States. Torchy Brown thus shows
how Ormes used comics to comment humorously on issues affecting Black Americans, which
she continued to do throughout her career.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To show how Ormes’s Torchy Brown inspired other Black women to write comic strips in
the 1930s

B. To illustrate how the subjects Ormes addressed in her comic strips changed over the
course of her career

C. To give an example of how Ormes presented the experiences of Black Americans in her
comic strips

D. To claim that several characters in Torchy Brown were based on people that Ormes knew
personally
 15
Streams and rivers carry soil and rocks from one location to another. But there is another way
for these geological materials to move. Scientists call this process “aeolian transport.” In
aeolian transport, winds move small particles of soil or rock over potentially great distances.
Geologist Melisa Diaz and her team studied dust in Antarctica to find out if it was moved by
aeolian transport. They discovered that the dust matched geological material in Australia.
Aeolian transport had carried it from one continent to another, across thousands of miles of
open ocean.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It presents Melisa Diaz’s remarks about difficulties that her team encountered.

B. It introduces a scientific term that is used in the discussion that follows.

C. It emphasizes the surprising nature of the findings that are presented.

D. It explains the difference between two kinds of geological material.

16
Many films from the early 1900s have been lost. These losses include several films by the first
wave of Black women filmmakers. We know about these lost movies only from small pieces of
evidence. For example, an advertisement for Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome’s documentary
Doing Their Bit still exists. There’s a reference in a magazine to Tressie Souders’s film A
Woman’s Error. And Maria P. Williams’s The Flames of Wrath is mentioned in a letter and a
newspaper article, and one image from the movie was discovered in the 1990s.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The text identifies a complex problem, then presents examples of unsuccessful attempts
to solve that problem.

B. The text summarizes a debate among researchers, then gives reasons for supporting one
side in that debate.

C. The text describes a general situation, then illustrates that situation with specific
examples.

D. The text discusses several notable individuals, then explains commonly overlooked
differences between those individuals.
 17
Hiroshi Senju is known worldwide for his paintings of waterfalls. These paintings are large and
tend not to show the entire waterfall. Instead, Senju focuses on just the point where the
falling water reaches the pool below, keeping the top of the waterfall out of view. While
Senju’s paintings are rooted in art movements originating in the United States, the artist uses
traditional Japanese techniques and materials that make his work instantly recognizable.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It introduces an artist and then explains some common characteristics of well-known

paintings by that artist.

B. It explains a specific painting technique and then provides examples of artists who use the
technique.

C. It describes a famous painting and then compares it to a lesser-known painting from the
same time period.

D. It gives an opinion on an artist and then suggests multiple reasons why the artist’s work
has been largely overlooked.

18
In 1801, a Blackfoot chief named Ac Ko Mok Ki drew a finely detailed map of the Upper
Missouri region. This work demonstrates a vast amount of topographic knowledge, as the
map features specific names of mountains and rivers, as well as the first-known sketch of the
drainage network of the Missouri River. The map is especially notable because Ac Ko Mok Ki
also included details about the numerous tribes that lived in the area.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It emphasizes Ac Ko Mok Ki’s desire to represent other tribes on the map.

B. It explains how Ac Ko Mok Ki developed an interest in mapmaking.

C. It identifies some reasons why the map is impressive.

D. It details how the map was used for hunting and trading purposes.
 19
In many agricultural environments, the banks of streams are kept forested to protect water
quality, but it’s been unclear what effects these forests may have on stream biodiversity. To
investigate the issue, biologist Xingli Giam and colleagues studied an Indonesian oil palm
plantation, comparing the species richness of forested streams with that of nonforested
streams. Giam and colleagues found that species richness was significantly higher in forested
streams, a finding the researchers attribute to the role leaf litter plays in sheltering fish from
predators and providing food resources.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It discusses research intended to settle a debate about how agricultural yields can be
increased without negative effects on water quality.

B. It explains the differences between stream-protection strategies used in oil palm

plantations and stream-protection strategies used in other kinds of agricultural
environments.

C. It describes findings that challenge a previously held view about how fish that inhabit
streams in agricultural environments attempt to avoid predators.

D. It presents a study that addresses an unresolved question about the presence of forests
along streams in agricultural environments.
 20
Genetic studies have led researchers to suggest that turtles are most closely related to the
group that includes modern crocodiles. But studies of fossils have suggested instead that
turtles are most closely related to other groups, such as the one that contains modern snakes.
However, many of the fossil studies have relied on incomplete data sets. For a 2022
investigation, biologist Tiago R. Simões and colleagues examined more than 1,000 reptile
fossils collected worldwide. From this large data set, they found clear agreement with the
results of the genetic studies.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

A. It offers an overview of the tools scientists use to examine fossils.

B. It describes a limitation of some studies about the origin of turtles.

C. It summarizes previous research on the evolution of crocodiles.

D. It criticizes a widely held belief about genetic studies of reptiles.