Climatology Release from Course Description

38.The author develops the passage primarily through

(A) The accumulation of detail

(B) pro-and-con argument

(C) thesis followed by qualification

(D) Assertion supported by evidence

(E) analysis pf the ideas of other

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

2. The author is best described as

(A) a curious individual who seeks out diverse information from a variety of sources

(B) a serious scientist who is determined to learn more about the causes of these storms

(C) an excited eyewitness who is too distracted to fear for personal safety

(D) a confused novice who is unable to decide which claims are accurate

(E) an ironic interpreter who comments on the failures and follies of others

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

3. Compared with that of the rest of the passage, the diction of lines 1-8 (“Climatologists ... survived”) is

(A) informal and straightforward

(B) technical and specialized

(C) subjective and impressionistic

(D) speculative and uncertain

(E) understated and euphemistic

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

4. The statement “although ... survived” (lines 7-8) is an admission that

(A) details about technical equipment are of interest only to specialists

(B) some tornadoes are so powerful that scientists cannot quantify them precisely

(C) scientists have abandoned the effort to measure the wind speed of tornadoes

(D) predicting the path a tornado will take is extremely difficult

(E) precise measurement of wind speed will aid climatologists in categorizing tornadoes

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

5. Which of the following is true of the comparisons in lines 11-14 (“they say ... Philadelphia”)?

(A) They emphasize the unpredictable nature of tornadoes.

(B) They exaggerate the danger of tornadoes in order to make people cautious of them.

(C) They use technical terminology in order to ensure accuracy of description.

(D) They draw on familiar information to particularize an aspect of tornadoes.

(E) They clarify the distinctions between the language of climatologists and that of weather casters.

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

6. The first sentence of the passage (lines 1-14) employs all of the following to convey the power and variety of tornadoes EXCEPT

(A) abstract generalization

(B) the jargon of climatologists

(C) metaphor

(D) parallel construction

(E) varying degrees of formality

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

7. The passage implies that unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not given human names because

(A) there are too many of them

(B) their destruction is not as great as that of hurricanes

(C) they last too short a time

(D) they move too erratically to be plotted

(E) they can appear in any area of the world

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

8. When the passage moves from the first paragraph to the second, it also moves from

(A) overview to illustration

(B) analysis to argumentation

(C) narration of the past to analysis of the past

(D) assertion to definition

(E) objective presentation to ad hominem argument

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

9. The phrase “as bald as if a cyclonic wind had taken his scalp” (lines 18-19) does all of the following EXCEPT

(A) describe the grandfather with an image related to the cyclone

(B) suggest a lighter tone for the paragraph

(C) particularize the first of several sources of information mentioned in the paragraph

(D) suggest the power of the tornado

(E) express concern about the condition of the grandfather

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E

10. In context, the image of being up under Old Nell’s skirt (lines 23-24) is meant to suggest

(A) safety

(B) confusion

(C) domesticity

(D) familiarity

(E) imprisonment

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E