Workspace English Test 113
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OFFICIAL ACT Form H31 · December 2024

English

19 questions ~9 min recommended
00:00
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=== Havana’s Camerata Romeu ===
As the rhythmic sounds of “Camerata en Guaguancó” ring out in the historic Havana basilica, the visibly thrilled audience listens with rapt attention. It’s December, and Camerata Romeu, an all-woman string chamber orchestra, now performing its annual holiday concert for the city’s thrilled classical music fans. As a young conductor, Zenaida Romeu wanted to showcase the talent of Cuba’s female musicians as well as that of Cuban and Latin American classical composers. So in 1993, despite the skepticism of critics devoted exclusively to the European classical canon, she founded Camerata Romeu.

=== Nest in the Sand ===
Driving slowly along an empty beach on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, I notice an area of scattered sand among the dunes: a sign of a potential sea turtle nesting site. As a volunteer conservationist working to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles, I patrol the beach before sunrise, scanning for evidence of any nests created overnight. It rained yesterday, so any marks I see this morning were surely made last night.

=== Turtles and Their Nests ===
t but has yet to locate the mother turtle. an indication of why loggerheads dig holes for purposes other than nesting. equally, because of something I notice about the tracks that mark the turtle’s approach and their withdrawal. The tracks leading to the site are marked by deep, comma-shaped divots in the sand, evidence of the turtle hoisting her belly up so as not to drag her eggs on the ground. The return tracks, in other words, reveal that the turtle dragged herself back to sea. The shallow path in the sand that was made smooth by her prostrate belly, is a clear sign she’s left eggs behind. If left undisturbed, the turtles will begin to hatch in two months. Having found the well-hidden nest, I record it’s location, the first step in keeping the eggs safe. They’ll emerge from underground as a group and follow the light of the moon to the sea.

=== The Importance of Marine Biology ===
culture, earning her doctorate in 1950. A passionate and inquisitive researcher, Clark once founded the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Florida. There, her research on sharks led to groundbreaking discoveries.

=== The Magic of the Golden Hour ===
[1] When working outside, photographers are at the mercy of natural light. Weather, season, and time of day all affect the light, because serious photographers know that during the so-called “golden hour” the light is likely to be photo friendly.

1. It’s December, and Camerata Romeu, an all-woman string chamber orchestra, now performing its annual holiday concert for the

2. Romeu hoped to bridge the gap she saw

3. Furthermore, they would play all of their pieces from

4. Which of the following choices most precisely expresses the idea that audiences were enthusiastic about attending Camerata Romeu’s performances?

5. Playing complex pieces from memory

6. In return, as Romeu mentors

7. The sentence would most logically be placed at:

8. Which choice makes most clear that the narrator thinks the area of disturbed sand may be more than forty yards from the water’s edge?

9. The writer is considering deleting the underlined portion. Should the underlined portion be kept or deleted?

10. Given that all the following choices are accurate, which one, if added here, would best conclude the paragraph by indicating the final actions taken by the nesting sea turtle?

11. Which choice most clearly emphasizes that Brown’s talent came naturally to him?

12. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?

13. At this point, the writer is considering dividing the paragraph into two. Should the writer begin or not begin a new paragraph here?

14. ... or null

15. ... or null

16. Which choice most clearly conveys that the wagons carried substantial loads of cotton?

17. Suppose the writer’s primary purpose had been to detail the history of a particular art form. Would this essay accomplish that purpose?

18. ... or null

19. Which sequence of sentences makes this paragraph most logical?