EOC Review 1

1. What are two central ideas in passage 1?

• A. A belief in superstitions is the result of acting on common mental tendencies.

• B. Michael Pardys, a season-ticket holder and lifelong Cubs fan, believes in the curse.

• C. Jane Risen, an associate professor of behavioral science, studies the process of forming beliefs.

• D. The desire to understand why things happen may result in seeing causes and effects that are not rea

• E. There are many baseball-related reasons for not winning a championship in over a hundred years.

2. What does the word quell mean as it is used in paragraph 7?

• A. calm

• B. ignore

• C. question

• D. acknowledge

3. Which sentence from passage 2 identifies the central idea introduced by paragraphs 7 through 10?

• A. “Think about the last time you were about to interview for a job, speak in front of an audience, or go on a first date.” (paragraph 7)

• B. “People facing situations that induce anxiety typically take comfort in engaging in preparatory activities, inducing a feeling of being back in control and reducing uncertainty.” (paragraph 7)

• C. “While a little extra preparation seems perfectly reasonable, people also engage in seemingly less logical behaviors in such situations.” (paragraph 8)

• D. “People engage in rituals with the intention of achieving a wide set of desired outcomes, from reducing their anxiety to boosting their confidence, alleviating their grief to performing well in a competition — or even making it rain.” (paragraph 9)

You have just read two passages about superstitions and rituals. Write an informational essay explaining why people believe in the power of superstitions and rituals.

Rewrite the prompt in your own words. What is the prompt asking you to write about?

5. How do paragraphs 1–3 help develop a central idea of the passage?

• A. They explain what acorns are to help develop the central idea that all oak trees produce acorns.

• B. They explain what a boom year is to help develop the central idea that many animals depend on acorns.

• C. They describe contrasting conditions to help develop the central idea that acorn production varies by year.

• D. They describe the results of heavy acorn production to help develop the central idea that acorns are important.

6. Read the sentence from paragraph 6. But annual rainfall and temperature fluctuations are much smaller in magnitude than acorn crop sizes. How does this sentence help the author develop the ideas in the passage?

• A. It reveals that most natural cycles experience variations each year.

• B. It supports the idea that it is a combination of factors that cause mast years.

• C. It demonstrates the excessive amount of acorns that can be produced by oak trees.

• D. It shows that a common explanation for what causes mast years is not supported by fact.

7A. Part A Why does the author describe the effects of mast years on animals that eat acorns?

• A. to reveal that animals plant many acorns during mast years

• B. to show that oak trees drop more acorns during mast years

• C. to make clear how mast years help oak trees spread

• D. to indicate that mast years mainly benefit animals

7B. Part B Select the sentence from the passage that supports the correct answer to Part A

• A. “Like many trees, oaks have irregular cycles of boom and bust.” (paragraph 4)

• B. “Ultimately, a higher proportion of nuts overall escape the jaws of hungry animals.” (paragraph 8)

• C. “More acorns, for example, may mean more deer and mice.” (paragraph 9)

• D. “Many animals depend upon the highly nutritious acorn for survival.” (paragraph 10)

8A. Part A What is one of the author’s claims about why cycling between lean years and mast years is important for oak trees?

• A. The cycle provides time for the oak trees to grow rapidly during mast years.

• B. The cycle forces potential predators to find sources of nutrition besides acorns

• C. The cycle ensures that negative impacts from mast years have time to resolve.

• D. The cycle allows oak trees to control the populations of animals that eat acorns.

8B. Part B Select the detail that is the best evidence in support of the author’s claim

• A. “Boom and bust cycles of acorn production do have an evolutionary benefit . . .”(paragraph 8)

• B. “. . . in a mast year, predators (chipmunks, squirrels, turkeys, blue jays, deer, bear, etc.) can’t eat all the acorns . . .” (paragraph 8)

• C. “Years of lean acorn production keep predator populations low, so there are fewer animals to eat all the seeds in a mast year.” (paragraph 8)

• D. “Unhappily, more deer and mice may mean more ticks and, possibly, more incidences of Lyme disease.” (paragraph 9)