=== King Tut’s Space Bug ===
Among the treasures found in Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb, in the 1920s one diminutive ornament poses a mystery that spans the ages. The “pectoral,” a kind of jewelry worn on one’s chest depicts Egyptian symbols with gold and gems. Most strikingly, at the piece’s center is a beetle carved from an ethereal yellow-green material. Originally, archaeologists identified the beetle as chalcedony, a quartz gemstone. In 1996, likewise, mineralogist Vincenzo de Michele noticed the beetle at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and suspected it wasn’t chalcedony. After studying the beetle, he determined it to be 28.5-million-year-old glass. De Michele then traced the glass to the Great Sand Sea of western Egypt, where pieces of it lay strewn across 6,500 square kilometers. Glass is made by heating substances, such as, sand. Though lava and lightning strikes can create glass the desert glass’s traces of the elements iridium and osmium pointed to an unearthly culprit: a meteoroid. It’s true that the tremendous heat and pressure around the globe of meteorite impacts in many places have created glass. But meteorites leave craters, and their was no crater that could account for the desert glass. Their conclusion: a meteoroid burned up in the atmosphere, but its fireball reached Earth and scorched an expanse of sandstone to temperatures above 1,800°C.
=== ... ===
ted vaguely, H. scream, because J. scream because, expecting her to share in my horror. This time, the tentacles unfolded from the windows of a large yellow house. I covered my eyes, and Rhonda said, “Louise. It’s just an art installation.” I peered through my fingers as she told me that Andrew Anderson, a local artist 9, had created the pink kraken. I had to 25. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following accurate information: admit that the kraken looked kind of friendly up close. who spent five years in Istanbul, Turkey Should the writer make this addition here? A. Yes, because it explains how Anderson’s experiences helped him come up with the concept of the pink kraken. B. Yes, because it provides information about Anderson’s background as an artist. C. No, because it provides information that is not directly related to the description of Anderson’s pink kraken. D. No, because it detracts from the paragraph’s focus on Rhonda’s knowledge of art. 5 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-F07 1 1 The undersides of the soft, air-filled tentacles, were 26. F. NO CHANGE G. undersides, of the soft air-filled tentacles, H. undersides of the soft, air-filled tentacles J. undersides of the soft air-filled tentacles, white-and-pink plaid. I could hear the unceasing buzz 27. Which choice most clearly indicates that the narrator’s initial opinion of the pink kraken has shifted? 27 of the air blowers that, according to Rhonda, were A. NO CHANGE B. menacing sounds C. soothing hum D. noise responsible for making the inflatable sculpture seem alive. As we walked away, I felt a little silly.I made 28. F. NO CHANGE G. vacuous. 28 Rhonda promise not to tell our friends. And then I H. humble. J. trivial. snuck one last peek at my summertime stalker and smiled. = 29. Which of the following statements, if added here, would best conclude the essay by maintaining the characterization of the pink kraken as harmless rather than threatening? A. It was a sight I wouldn’t soon forget. B. But it still looked too real to me. C. It waved back. D. But was it art? Question 30 asks about the preceding passage as a whole. 30. Suppose the writer’s primary purpose had been to write an essay describing the art scene in Muscatine, Iowa. Would this essay accomplish that purpose? F. Yes, because it describes the pink kraken art installation and its origins. G. Yes, because it describes how the narrator became interested in local art. H. No, because it instead describes how one particular piece of art became a tourist attraction. J. No, because it instead describes the narrator’s experience with one particular piece of art.
=== Art by American Indians ===
g art by American Indians. Representative of Howe’s style at the time, the painting featured sharp, angular shapes in rich pink, blue, and purple hues that geometrically depicted five dancers. The jurors for the competition rejected Howe’s submission, claiming it was “a fine painting . . . but not Indian.” The then widely held jurors shared the position that American Indian art should be based on the conventions of the Studio style. Works in this style depict traditional ceremonies, dance, and mythology and feature strong outlines and flat fields of color. Howe’s deviation from the style, in particular his use of certain techniques, was perceived to be the result of European influences, which the jurors considered incompatible with authentic American Indian art. Howe displayed his work in more than sixty solo art shows. In an open letter, Howe argued that adhering to notions of tradition would suffocate innovation in American Indian art. Furthermore, he argued, his work did employ American Indian art conventions. The angular shapes in his painting, Howe noted, is actually derivative of the Dakota notion of tohokmu, the spider web. The Philbrook’s jurors conceded; they expanded the scope of the competition to internalize experimental art. Although questions related to art and identity are still on people’s minds, Howe’s efforts continue to inspire confidence in many artists who might otherwise feel confined by tradition.