Writing & Language Use

Writing & Language Use

items 12 -22

Questions 12-22 are based on the following passage and supplementary material.

Dark Snow

Most of Greenland’s interior is covered by a thick layer of ice and compressed snow known as the Greenland Ice Sheet. The size of the ice sheet fluctuates seasonally: in summer, average daily high temperatures in Greenland can rise to slightly above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, partially melting the ice; in the winter, the sheet thickens as additional snow falls, and average daily low temperatures can drop 12 to as low as 20 degrees.

Multiple Choice

12) Which choice most accurately and effectively represents the information in the graph?

The size of the ice sheet fluctuates seasonally: in summer, average daily high temperatures in Greenland can rise to slightly above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, partially melting the ice; in the winter, the sheet thickens as additional snow falls, and average daily low temperatures can drop 12 to as low as 20 degrees.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) to 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

• C) to their lowest point on December 13.

• D) to 10 degrees Fahrenheit and stay there for months.

Items 13 - 15

Typically, the ice sheet begins to show evidence of thawing in late 13 summer. This follows several weeks of higher temperatures. 14 For example, in the summer of 2012, virtually the entire Greenland Ice Sheet underwent thawing at or near its surface by mid-July, the earliest date on record. Most scientists looking for the causes of the Great Melt of 2012 have focused exclusively on rising temperatures. The summer of 2012 was the warmest in 170 years, records show. But Jason 15 Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State believes that another factor added to the early 16 thaw; the “dark snow” problem.

Multiple Choice

13) Which choice most effectively combines the two sentences at the underlined portion?

• A) summer, following

• B) summer, and this thawing follows

• C) summer, and such thawing follows

• D) summer and this evidence follows

Multiple Choice

14) Typically, the ice sheet begins to show evidence of thawing in late 13 summer. This follows several weeks of higher temperatures. 14 For example, in the summer of 2012, virtually the entire Greenland Ice Sheet underwent thawing at or near its surface by mid-July, the earliest date on record. Most scientists looking for the causes of the Great Melt of 2012 have focused exclusively on rising temperatures.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) However,

• C) As such,

• D) Moreover,

Multiple Choice

15) But Jason 15 Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State believes that another factor added to the early 16 thaw; the “dark snow” problem.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) Box an associate professor of geology at Ohio State,

• C) Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State,

• D) Box, an associate professor of geology, at Ohio State

Multiple Choice

16) But Jason 15 Box, an associate professor of geology at Ohio State believes that another factor added to the early 16 thaw; the “dark snow” problem.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) thaw; and it was

• C) thaw:

• D) thaw: being

Multiple Choice

17) According to Box, a leading Greenland expert, tundra fires in 2012 from as far away as North America produced great amounts of soot, some 17 of it drifted over Greenland in giant plumes of smoke and then

18 fell as particles onto the ice sheet.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) soot

• C) of which

• D) DELETE the underlined portion.

Multiple Choice

18) According to Box, a leading Greenland expert, tundra fires in 2012 from as far away as North America produced great amounts of soot, some 17 of it drifted over Greenland in giant plumes of smoke and then

18 fell as particles onto the ice sheet.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) falls

• C) will fall

• D) had fallen

Multiple Choice

19) Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice, limiting 19 it’s ability to reflect the Sun’s rays. As Box explains, “Soot is an extremely powerful light absorber. It settles over the ice and captures the Sun’s heat.”

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) its

• C) there

• D) their

Multiple Choice

20) The result is a self-reinforcing cycle. As the ice melts, the land and water under the ice become exposed, and since land and water are darker than snow, the surface absorbs even more heat, which 20 is related to the rising temperatures.

Which choice best completes the description of a self-reinforcing cycle?

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) raises the surface temperature.

• C) begins to cool at a certain point.

• D) leads to additional melting.

Multiple Choice

21) [1] Box’s research is important because the fires of 2012 may not be a one-time phenomenon. [2] According to scientists, rising Arctic temperatures are making northern latitudes greener and thus more fire prone.

[3] The pattern Box observed in 2012 may repeat

21 itself again, with harmful effects on the Arctic ecosystem.

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) itself,

• C) itself, with damage and

• D) itself possibly,

Multiple Choice

[1] Box’s research is important because the fires of 2012 may not be a one-time phenomenon. [2] According to scientists, rising Arctic temperatures are making northern latitudes greener and thus more fire prone.

[3] The pattern Box observed in 2012 may repeat

21 itself again, with harmful effects on the Arctic ecosystem. [4] Box is currently organizing an expedition to gather this crucial information. [5] The next step for Box and his team is to travel to Greenland to perform direct sampling of the ice in order to determine just how much the soot is contributing to the melting of the ice sheet. [6] Members of the public will be able to track his team’s progress—and even help fund the expedition—through a website Box has created. 22

To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 4 should be placed .......

• A) where it is now.

• B) after sentence 1.

• C) after sentence 2.

• D) after sentence 5.

Multiple Choice

19) Scientists have long known that soot particles facilitate melting by darkening snow and ice, limiting 19 it’s ability to reflect the Sun’s rays. As Box explains, “Soot is an extremely powerful light absorber. It settles over the ice and captures the Sun’s heat.”

• A) NO CHANGE

• B) its

• C) there

• D) their