Central Ideas and Details

Many intellectual histories of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s rely heavily on essays and other explicitly ideological works as primary sources, a tendency that can overrepresent the perspectives of a small number of thinkers, most of whom were male. Historian Ashley D. Farmer has shown that expanding the array of primary sources to encompass more types of print material—including political cartoons, advertisements, and artwork—leads to a much better understanding of the movement and the crucial and diverse roles that Black women played in shaping it.

Which choice best describes the main idea of the text?

• Before Farmer's research, historians had largely ignored the intellectual dimensions of the Black Power movement.

• Farmer's methods and research have enriched the historical understanding of the Black Power movement and Black women's contributions to it.

• Other historians of the Black Power movement have criticized Farmer's use of unconventional primary sources.

• The figures in the Black Power movement whom historians tend to cite would have agreed with Farmer's conclusions about women's roles in the movement.

The following text is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. Bill is a sailor staying at the Admiral Benbow, an inn run by the narrator's parents.

Every day when [Bill] came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road. At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them. When a seaman did [stay] at the Admiral Benbow (as now and then some did) he would look in at him through the curtained door before he entered the parlour; and he was always sure to be as silent as a mouse when any such was present.

According to the text, why does Bill regularly ask about "seafaring men"?

• He isn't sure that other guests at the inn will be welcoming of sailors.

• He's trying to secure a job as part of the crew on a new ship.

• He's hoping to find an old friend and fellow sailor.

• He doesn't want to encounter any other sailor unexpectedly.

In a paper about p-i-n planar perovskite solar cells (one of several perovskite cell architectures designed to collect and store solar power), Lyndsey McMillon-Brown et al. describe a method for fabricating the cell's electronic transport layer (ETL) using a spray coating. Conventional ETL fabrication is accomplished using a solution of nanoparticles. The process can result in a loss of up to 80% of the solution, increasing the cost of manufacturing at scale—an issue that may be obviated by spray coating fabrication, which the researchers describe as "highly reproducible, concise, and practical."

What does the text most strongly suggest about conventional ETL fabrication?

• It typically entails a greater loss of nanoparticle solution than do other established approaches for ETL fabrication.

• It is less suitable for manufacturing large volumes of planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells than an alternative fabrication method may be.

• It is somewhat imprecise and therefore limits the potential effectiveness of p-i-n planar perovskite solar cells at capturing and storing solar power.

• It is more expensive when manufacturing at scale than are processes for fabricating ETLs used in other perovskite solar cell architectures.

In many of his sculptures, artist Richard Hunt uses broad forms rather than extreme accuracy to hint at specific people or ideas. In his first major work, Arachne (1956), Hunt constructed the mythical character Arachne, a weaver who was changed into a spider, by welding bits of steel together into something that, although vaguely human, is strange and machine-like. And his large bronze sculpture The Light of Truth (2021) commemorates activist and journalist Ida B. Wells using mainly flowing, curved pieces of metal that create stylized flame.

Which choice best states the text's main idea about Hunt?

• He often depicts the subjects of his sculptures using an unrealistic style.

• He uses different kinds of materials depending on what kind of sculpture he plans to create.

• He tends to base his art on important historical figures rather than on fictional characters.

• He has altered his approach to sculpture over time, and his works have become increasingly abstract.

The following text is from Edith Nesbit's 1902 novel Five Children and It. Five young siblings have just moved with their parents from London to a house in the countryside that they call the White House.

It was not really a pretty house at all; it was quite ordinary, and mother thought it was rather inconvenient, and was quite annoyed at there being no shelves, to speak of, and hardly a cupboard in the place. Father used to say that the ironwork on the roof and coping was like an architect's nightmare. But the house was deep in the country, with no other house in sight, and the children had been in London for two years, without so much as once going to the seaside even for a day by an excursion train, and so the White House seemed to them a sort of Fairy Palace set down in an Earthly Paradise.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• The house is beautiful and well built, but the children miss their old home in London.

• The children don't like the house nearly as much as their parents do.

• Each member of the family admires a different characteristic of the house.

• Although their parents believe the house has several drawbacks, the children are enchanted by it.

The following text is adapted from María Cristina Mena's 1914 short story "The Vine-Leaf."

It is a saying in the capital of Mexico that Dr. Malsufrido carries more family secrets under his hat than any archbishop. The doctor's hat is, appropriately enough, uncommonly capacious, rising very high, and sinking so low that it seems to be supported by his ears and eyebrows, and it has a furry look, as if it had been brushed the wrong way, which is perhaps what happens to it if it is ever brushed at all. When the doctor takes it off, the family secrets do not fly out like a flock of parrots, but remain nicely bottled up beneath a dome of old and highly polished ivory.

Based on the text, how do people in the capital of Mexico most likely regard Dr. Malsufrido?

• Few feel concerned that he will divulge their confidences.

• Many have come to tolerate him despite his disheveled appearance.

• Most would be unimpressed by him were it not for his professional expertise.

• Some dislike how freely he discusses his own family.

To protect themselves when being attacked, hagfish—jawless marine animals that resemble eels—will release large quantities of slimy, mucus-like threads. Because these threads are unusually strong and elastic, scientist Atsuko Negishi and her colleagues have been trying to recreate them in a lab as an eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based fibers that are often used in fabrics. The researchers want to reproduce the threads in the lab because farming hagfish for their slime would be expensive and potentially harmful to the hagfish.

Which choice best states the text's main idea?

• Hagfish are not well suited to being raised in captivity.

• The ability of hagfish to slime their attackers compensates for their being jawless.

• Hagfish have inspired researchers to develop a new petroleum-based fabric.

• The slimy threads that hagfish release might help researchers create a new kind of fabric.

Artist Justin Favela explained that he wanted to reclaim the importance of the piñata as a symbol in Latinx culture. To do so, he created numerous sculptures from strips of tissue paper, which is similar to the material used to create piñatas. In 2017, Favela created an impressive life-size piñata-like sculpture of the Gypsy Rose lowrider car, which was displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. The Gypsy Rose lowrider was famously driven by Jesse Valadez, an early president of the Los Angeles Imperials Car Club.

According to the text, which piece of Favela's art was on display in the Petersen Automotive Museum in 2017?

• A painting of Los Angeles

• A painting of a piñata

• A sculpture of Jesse Valadez

• A sculpture of a lowrider car

In a study of new technology adoption, Davit Marikyan et al. examined negative disconfirmation (which occurs when experiences fall short of one's expectations) to determine whether it could lead to positive outcomes for users. The team focused on established users of "smart home" technology, which presents inherent utilization challenges but tends to attract users with high expectations, often leading to feelings of dissonance. The researchers found that many users employed cognitive mechanisms to mitigate those feelings, ultimately reversing their initial sense of disappointment.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• Research suggests that users with high expectations for a new technology can feel content with that technology even after experiencing negative disconfirmation.

• Research suggests that most users of smart home technology will not achieve a feeling of satisfaction given the utilization challenges of such technology.

• Although most smart home technology is aimed at meeting or exceeding users' high expectations, those expectations in general remain poorly understood.

• Although negative disconfirmation has often been studied, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms shaping users' reactions to it in the context of new technology adoption.

The ice melted on a Norwegian mountain during a particularly warm summer in 2019, revealing a 1,700-year-old sandal to a mountaineer looking for artifacts. The sandal would normally have degraded quickly, but it was instead well preserved for centuries by the surrounding ice. According to archaeologist Espen Finstad and his team, the sandal, like those worn by imperial Romans, wouldn't have offered any protection from the cold in the mountains, so some kind of insulation, like fabric or animal skin, would have needed to be worn on the feet with the sandal.

What does the text indicate about the discovery of the sandal?

• The discovery revealed that the Roman Empire had more influence on Norway than archaeologists previously assumed.

• The sandal would have degraded if it hadn't been removed from the ice.

• Temperatures contributed to both protecting and revealing the sandal.

• Archaeologists would have found the sandal eventually without help from the general public.