OFFICIAL ACT Form F07 · December 2022

Reading

40 questions ~9 min recommended

⏱ 00:00

Score

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=== City Kid by Nelson George ===
Motown’s black-and-white label had a red star for the Motor City, while Tamla’s colors were yellow and brown. As I read the labels of the records Ma brought home, I slowly became familiar with the cities of soul—Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cincinnati. By the time I was an adolescent, I could identify certain names that recurred in the credits. Way before I understood what these credits meant, or who these people were, I was already collecting info for the books and articles I had no idea I would eventually write. I am in the living room of apartment 6C in the Samuel J. Tilden housing projects in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It is 1960. I am four. I stand on my tiptoes in my stocking feet. My small brown fingers clutch the edge of a Motorola high-fidelity stereo, which is made of shiny lacquered wood and has a lemony smell, from the polish my mother applies every Saturday afternoon. I feel the bass speakers in my stomach. I smell the polish. I feel the music. Looking over the edge, down into the bowels of the hi-fi, I watch the turntable needle roll across the grooves of a seven-inch record with a blue-and-white label at 45 revolutions per minute. The song is “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes. Not only was her ever-growing stack of 45s a testament to her love of music and dance, but she regularly held parties in that sacrosanct living room for her girlfriends and their male admirers. As much as I enjoy “Please Mr. Postman,” I’m anxious to hear the next record. Not just because it’s Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” (which is the first record I ever asked my mother to buy for me), but because above “Mr. Postman” on the turntable are a slew of seven-inch singles suspended around a fat brown cylinder. Once “Please Mr. Postman” finishes, the needle arm moves away, a single vinyl 45 plops down on the turntable, and the needle returns, catching the groove and sending the rhythm of “Oh, Pretty Woman” vibrating through my body. This Motorola stereo was the centerpiece of my family’s living room, and our social life. Ma didn’t allow my little sister, Andrea, or me in our living room too often, because she didn’t want us sitting on her plastic-covered sofa or fingering the dice-shaped lighter on her glass-and-wood living-room table. But if we were playing records in the early evenings or on weekends, it was okay. All through my childhood, from my first consciousness of music into the early seventies, that Motorola was my passport, not simply to records, but to the vast nation outside New York that the music came from. While the black-and-red labels of Atlantic 45s carried a Broadway address, most of the records in her collection came from Memphis (the Stax Records label was pale blue, with a finger-snapping logo) or Detroit. My ma put on her auburn wig to see Otis Redding, or her blue eyeliner to watch the Supremes; it was to experience things so raw and so smooth, they weren’t right for a child to see.

=== The Lost Painting ===
This passage is adapted from the book The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr (©2005 by Jonathan Harr). The St. John is a painting by seventeenth-century Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. At the time of the examinations, the Doria St. John version belonged to the Doria Pamphili Gallery in Rome, and the Capitoline St. John version belonged to the Capitoline Museum in Rome. ...

=== Archives of Life: Science and Collections ===
This passage is adapted from the essay "Archives of Life: Science and Collections" by Richard Fortey (©2010 by Richard Fortey). Safely stored behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum in London is a slightly twisted vertebrate skeleton preserved on a slab of creamy white limestone. This particular specimen was discovered in quarries near Solnhofen in southern Germany in 1861. The fine limestones of Solnhofen are ideally suited to making lithographic stones, and...

1. The tone of the passage could best be described as:

A. remorseful; the narrator imagines the life his mother could have had without the burden of raising a family in a Brooklyn housing project.

B. jubilant; the narrator expresses his delight that the musicians he revered in childhood eventually became such big stars.

C. inspirational; the narrator explains how he managed to overcome the obstacles he faced during childhood and pursue an education in music.

D. nostalgic; the narrator fondly describes his childhood experiences with music and his relationship with his mother.

2. In the fourth paragraph (lines 25–32), the perspective of the narrator shifts from being that of a child describing an enjoyable experience to being that of:

F. an adult reflecting on the role music played during his childhood.

G. an adult reminiscing about his relationship with his sister.

H. a child daydreaming about what his life will be like when he grows up.

J. a child describing what his mother likes to do for fun.

3. The passage states that as a child the narrator associated the colors and designs on the labels of his mother’s records with:

A. favorite musicians.

B. various genres of music.

C. different American cities.

D. important events that occurred in his childhood.

4. It can reasonably be inferred that the phrase 'the great man’s hits' (lines 72–73) refers to the music of:

F. James Brown.

G. Otis Redding.

H. MC Danny Ray.

J. Pigmeat Markham.

5. In the narrator’s description of his mother’s stereo, which detail most clearly points to the care she gave it?

A. ‘Motorola high-fidelity’ (line 5)

B. ‘Lacquered wood’ (line 6)

C. ‘Lemony smell’ (line 6)

D. ‘Fat brown cylinder’ (lines 19–20)

6. The passage indicates that the first record the narrator asked his mother to buy for him was by:

F. the Marvelettes.

G. Roy Orbison.

H. Otis Redding.

J. James Brown.

7. The passage suggests that the narrator was initially drawn to his mother’s records because he wanted to:

A. learn about places outside of New York City.

B. sing and dance in the style of the great soul musicians.

C. impress his friends with his knowledge of soul music.

D. gain insight into his mother’s life.

8. The narrator describes the performances of which of the following Apollo Theater performers in terms of contrast between singing style and dancing style?

F. Pigmeat Markham

G. MC Danny Ray

H. The J.B.s

J. The Fabulous Flames

9. The narrator suggests that going to the concert at the Apollo Theater was special because:

A. Otis Redding and the Supremes joined James Brown onstage.

B. soul music wasn’t considered appropriate for children.

C. James Brown was his favorite musician.

D. it was the first time he had ridden a train.

10. Another writer made the following statement about soul music: Musically, I believe, soul remains the story of how a universal sound emerged from the black church. How does this statement relate to the ideas expressed in the passage?

F. It echoes the narrator’s view of soul as he recalls the living room, where he listened to music.

G. It’s consistent with the narrator’s opinion that soul was originally meant to be music for listeners of all races.

H. It contradicts the narrator’s claim that soul was secular music, not religious music.

J. It addresses a topic, the origin of soul, which the narrator doesn’t address in the passage.

11. Passage A primarily focuses on which of the following types of gestures?

A. Co-speech gestures

B. Repurposed gestures

C. Emblematic gestures

D. Illogical gestures

12. The main point of the second paragraph of Passage A (lines 4–11) is that:

F. although technology is changing how we interact with the world, many gestures remain the same.

G. we have more ways to communicate than ever, so gestures are increasingly important.

H. as a result of new technologies, new gestures are being created at a fast rate.

J. because technology has become so complicated, gestures are symbolic of simpler times.

13. Which of the following quotations from Passage B best represents the passage’s central claim?

A. ‘Kelly hooked test subjects to an electroencephalograph and charted their event-related potentials’ (lines 60–61).

B. ‘Subjects exhibited substantially different brain-wave patterns depending on the situation’ (lines 75–76).

C. ‘Observers factor the meaning of a gesture into their interpretation of a word’ (lines 81–82).

D. ‘The curves differ depending on whether the hand movement fits the word, complements it or contradicts it’ (lines 86–88).

14. Details in Passage B most strongly suggest that recent research into the relationship between speech and gestures is more fruitful than previous research because scientists can now:

F. simultaneously test reactions to both logical and illogical speech and gestures.

G. objectively measure the brain’s responses to speech and gestures.

H. question test subjects about their reactions to speech and gestures.

J. use video recording to document how gestures change over time.

15. The main purpose of the second paragraph of Passage B (lines 60–74) is to:

A. describe the experiment that Kelly conducted.

B. explain that speech and gestures are processed separately.

C. illustrate how test subjects reconciled differences between speech and gestures.

D. clarify why speech and gestures relate to each other.

16. Based on Passage B, which of the following sentences would be most likely to evoke an N400 negative peak in brain activity?

F. As the batteries die, the radio’s volume fades.

G. The baker decorates the cake with frosting.

H. A car squeezes through the alleyway.

J. At the top of the tree sits a library.

17. According to Passage B, while their brain activity was being monitored, test subjects in Kelly’s experiment watched:

A. two actors gesturing to each other.

B. past test subjects gesturing to each other.

C. a video of an actor speaking and gesturing.

D. Kelly speaking and gesturing.

18. How do the writing styles of the two passages compare?

F. Passage A is more argumentative and persistent than Passage B.

G. Passage A is more personal and conversational than Passage B.

H. Passage B is more humorous and anecdotal than Passage A.

J. Passage B is more opinion-based and loosely organized than Passage A.

19. Which of the following statements best captures the main difference in the purposes of the two passages?

A. Passage A explains how hand gestures enhance speech, while Passage B explains how hand gestures overrule speech.

B. Passage A argues that technology is decreasing our use of hand gestures, while Passage B examines how speech and hand gestures evolved together.

C. Passage A considers the types and origins of hand gestures, while Passage B considers how hand gestures are processed by the brain.

D. Passage A speculates that gestures existed before speech, while Passage B contrasts logical hand gestures with illogical hand gestures.

20. The gesture referred to in lines 2–3 of Passage A is similar to the gestures referred to in Kelly’s experiment in Passage B in that these gestures all are:

F. used by the authors’ friends.

G. associated with cell phones.

H. consciously acknowledged.

J. intended to convey specific meanings.

21. Which of the following statements comparing the Doria St. John and the Capitoline St. John is best supported by the passage?

A. The Doria St. John was painted on cheaper canvas than was the Capitoline St. John.

B. The Doria St. John canvas had smaller nodules than that of the Capitoline St. John.

C. The Capitoline St. John showed evidence of more puntinature than did the Doria St. John.

D. The Capitoline St. John contained more incised lines than did the Doria St. John.

22. It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that Francesca wanted to leave the examination early mainly because she:

F. had already witnessed an examination of the Doria St. John.

G. disliked working alongside Correale.

H. was uninterested in Caravaggio’s paintings.

J. disliked being a mere observer.

23. According to the passage, who at first maintained that the Capitoline St. John might show evidence of incised lines?

A. Sannucci

B. Correale

C. Francesca

D. The technicians

24. The main purpose of the sixth paragraph (lines 60–75) is to:

F. describe the discovery that helped prove the authenticity of the Capitoline St. John.

G. provide a more specific description of the scene depicted in the St. John painting.

H. describe the steps a copyist must take when re-creating a painting.

J. provide a definition of the term 'pentimento.'

25. In the last paragraph, the comparison between Longhi’s appraisal of the Taking of Christ copies and Longhi’s appraisal of the Doria St. John mainly serves to:

A. demonstrate that Taking of Christ was one of Caravaggio’s more popular paintings.

B. suggest that Longhi studied the Taking of Christ copies more thoroughly than he did the Doria St. John.

C. emphasize that the Doria St. John was painted with unusual skill.

D. prove that the copyist who painted the Doria St. John was another well-known Baroque artist.

26. Which of the following details from the passage best exemplifies the idea that Caravaggio sometimes used unconventional canvases for his paintings?

F. He once dined off the back of a half-finished painting.

G. He used colorful cloths as the backdrop for some of his paintings.

H. He painted the St. John on woven linen.

J. He once painted a picture on a bedsheet.

27. As it is used in line 24, the word capture most nearly means:

A. seize.

B. divert.

C. document.

D. control.

28. According to the passage, Caravaggio used incised lines in his paintings most likely to:

F. guide the positioning of his models.

G. reflect light off the surface of his paintings.

H. indicate the authenticity of the painting.

J. separate his style from that of other Baroque painters.

29. The passage states that most experts who study Caravaggio agree that:

A. the practice of using incised lines in painting was pioneered by Caravaggio.

B. the presence of Caravaggio’s style of incised lines is strong evidence that a painting is an authentic Caravaggio.

C. even an experienced copyist could not have painted the Doria St. John.

D. an authentic Caravaggio probably would not contain as many false starts and adjustments as the Capitoline St. John had.

30. In the context of the passage, which of the following is evidence of a pentimento in the Capitoline St. John?

F. The brushstrokes that define the boy’s flesh against the dark background

G. The contrast of the red and white cloths against the dark background

H. The faint ridges on the border of the boy’s figure

J. The ram’s horn painted over the boy’s finished arm

31. In terms of its overall structure, the passage can best be described as:

A. a description of the types of specimens found at the Natural History Museum in London, followed by a discussion of the importance of the museum.

B. an overview of the geological discoveries made in Solnhofen, followed by a discussion of one particular discovery.

C. a list of the types of fossils Darwin used to research his theory, followed by a description of a particular fossil he discovered.

D. a general explanation of the process of making lithographic stones, followed by an example of how the stones are used.

32. The passage most strongly suggests that in the history of biology, the discovery of the Archaeopteryx fossil was significant mainly because it:

F. made the Natural History Museum of London the most visited museum in the world.

G. was the first bird fossil ever discovered.

H. helped scientists accurately reconstruct the late Jurassic scene.

J. helped fill a critical gap in Darwin’s evolutionary theory.

33. The passage author’s characterization of Owen as a 'Museum man' (lines 81–82) can best be described as:

A. a compliment; the author respects Owen as both a Darwinian and an anatomist.

B. a compliment; the author appreciates Owen’s understanding of the importance of safely curating a fossil.

C. an insult; the author resents Owen’s lack of interest in the Archaeopteryx fossil.

D. an insult; the author believes the Archaeopteryx fossil should have been curated by a more capable anatomist than Owen.

34. In the passage, the main point the author makes about museums is that they primarily:

F. exist to educate tourists about the areas they are visiting.

G. function to protect and preserve specimens for future study.

H. preserve only the specimens excavated from nearby sites.

J. display only the specimens that are currently considered to be important.

35. The detail about the Archaeopteryx fossil being 'a mere 35 cm at its longest' (line 48) helps establish a contrast between the fossil’s small size and the:

A. considerable time it took to curate the fossil.

B. substantial impact the fossil had on the scientific community.

C. overall complexity of Archaeopteryx’s bone structure.

D. ferocity associated with the Archaeopteryx species.

36. Which of the following events mentioned in the passage occurred first chronologically?

F. An Archaeopteryx fossil was discovered in Solnhofen.

G. The Archaeopteryx fossil known as the Berlin specimen was discovered.

H. Darwin’s book The Origin of Species was published.

J. Owen became the first director of the Natural History Museum.

37. The passage author characterizes the timing of the Archaeopteryx fossil discovery as ideal. Which of the following people mentioned in the passage would be most likely to support this characterization?

A. Darwin

B. Owen

C. Critics of Darwin’s theory

D. Visitors of the Eichstätt and Solnhofen museums

38. It can reasonably be inferred that one reason the Archaeopteryx fossil qualifies as an example of an 'intermediate form' is that:

F. its mixture of reptilian and bird features demonstrates the notion of descent with modification.

G. its significance was not fully realized until long after it had been curated.

H. it was discovered in the time between the excavations of the Mesolimulus and Compsognathus fossils.

J. it convinced critics that animals were not yet capable of transitioning from earth to the skies.

39. Based on the passage, compared to the 'delicate little' sea lily fossils found at Solnhofen, the fossils of certain species of fish found at Solnhofen are more:

A. well-preserved.

B. indistinct.

C. rare.

D. fragile.

40. As it is used in line 40, the word interrogate most nearly means:

F. request.

G. demand.

H. signal.

J. examine.

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