Understanding Nature and Society

What idea is emphasized through repetition in paragraph 5?

• The importance of global environmental issues.

• The narrator’s deep familiarity with his natural surroundings.

• The dangers of modern technology.

• The decline of summer camps.

Which statement from paragraph 6 best demonstrates irony?

• For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality.

• A recent television ad depicts a four-wheel-drive SUV racing along a breathtakingly beautiful mountain stream—while in the backseat two children watch a movie on a flip-down video screen, oblivious to the landscape and water beyond the windows.

• As likely as not today, ‘summer camp’ is a weight-loss camp, or a computer camp.

• The shift in our relationship to the natural world is startling.

Which line from paragraph 8 contains a metaphor?

• Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature.

• The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct—that we are what we program—suggests limitless human possibilities.

• Rapidly advancing technologies are blurring the lines between humans, other animals, and machines.

• The death of natural history as the more hands-on disciplines, such as zoology, give way to more theoretical and remunerative microbiology and genetic engineering.

Which of the following lines uses personification?

• Nature is something to watch, to consume, to wear—to ignore.

• The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct—that we are what we program—suggests limitless human possibilities.

• Our institutions, urban/suburban design, and cultural attitudes unconsciously associate nature with doom.

• The shift in our relationship to the natural world is startling.

Which line from paragraph 8 contains hyperbole?

• Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature.

• The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct—that we are what we program—suggests limitless human possibilities.

• Rapidly advancing technologies are blurring the lines between humans, other animals, and machines.

• The death of natural history as the more hands-on disciplines, such as zoology, give way to more theoretical and remunerative microbiology and genetic engineering.

What is the overall tone of paragraph 7?

• Nostalgic and reflective.

• Urgent and concerned.

• Humorous and lighthearted.

• Indifferent and detached.

Which of the following best represents a theme of paragraphs 5-8?

• The dangers of technology.

• The loss of direct connection to nature in modern society.

• The importance of environmental education.

• The challenges of parenting.