Week 23 - Cold Read Practice

Which of the following best describes a central idea of the text?

• A. The desire to fit in makes people display bizarre behavior at restaurants.
• B. People become embarrassed when it is revealed that they copy others’ behaviors.
• C. Experiments reveal that human behavior is greatly influenced by humans' desire to fit in.
• D. The Nazis used behavioral experiments to trick German citizens into following immoral laws.

What is meant by the word “gustatory” as it is used in paragraph 19?

• A. acting strangely
• B. related to eating
• C. being reserved and polite
• D. following what others do

What is the relationship between the people who participated in the Primetime` experiments and the Germans who followed Adolf Hitler?

• A. Both groups illustrate how following the crowd can benefit society.
• B. Both groups show that people’s actions are controlled by their need to fit in.
• C. Both groups reveal that people cannot be held responsible for following the crowd.
• D. Both groups demonstrate that some people will resist and do what they think is right.

Which piece of evidence supports the idea that some people can resist “the fear of standing alone”?

• A. “When the group gave the right answer, Tony agreed. And when everyone gave the wrong answer — Tony still agreed.” (Paragraph 8)
• B. “‘I wanted to go with what I felt was the correct answer, and trust myself, and that’s what I did,’ Graham said.” (Paragraph 14)
• C. “One woman at the table said: ‘I think the majority of people will look to see what others are doing and follow their example.’” (Paragraph 21)
• D. “Their brains lit up in a place called the amygdala, which Berns calls ‘the fear center of the brain.’” (Paragraph 28)

What is the meaning of the word “conformist” in paragraph 3?

• A. The ability to contort your body
• B. behaving or thinking like everyone else rather than doing original things
• C. Independent
• D. Behaving irrationally due to exhaustion

What is the purpose of comparing people to sheep in paragraph 2?

• A. to show that people have a soft, friendly side
• B. to show that people are lazy
• C. to show that people will follow the crowd
• D. to show that people should be feared

Which is one major cause for people following the crowd?

• A. brains light up in a place called the amygdala
• B. brains get confused between what it sees and what others tell us
• C. brains disconnect between dream state and reality
• D. brains are 94% grey matter

What did the writer most likely want the reader to think about when he wrote, “And for those who went against the group, there was another intriguing result: Their brains lit up in a place called the amygdala, which Berns calls “the fear center of the brain.” “And what we are seeing here, we think, is the fear of standing alone,” Berns said.

• A. Following the crowd is an easy thing to do.
• B. following the crowd has terrible consequences for society
• C. following the crowd is simple which is why it is not a big deal
• D. Following the crowd is more than fitting in; our body can have a physical reaction and we should be mindful of that when we make decisions

What tone is established in the passage?

• A. accusing
• B. reflective
• C.suspicious
• D. witty

Which of the following best describes the type of conflict in the passage?

• A. person vs. person
• B. person vs. society
• C. person vs. technology
• D. person vs. nature