6.2 Main Idea and Details-Hard

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?

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

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

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

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

Having written the impassioned call to arms“Letter to the Spanish Americans”in 1791,Peruvian intellectual Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzmán is often considered a forerunner for the independence movements in Latin America.But Viscardo's role in history would have remained insignificant were it not for Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda,who was handed the unpublished letter after Viscardo's death.Miranda not only helped circulate the letter,but his  edits  and footnotes to the text position Miranda as a central figure in the text's creation.

 

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• A.Miranda played a crucial role in influencing the content and distribution of “Letter to the Spanish Americans.”

• B.“Letter  to  the  Spanish  Americans”persuaded  many  people  in  Latin  America  to  pursue national independence.

• C.The majority of the most eloquently stated arguments in “Letter to the Spanish Americans” were written by Miranda.

• D.The  original  authorship  of  “Letter  to  the  Spanish  Americans”is  disputed  by  contemporary historians.

Algae living within the tissues of corals play a critical role in keeping corals,and the marine ecosystems they are part of,thriving.Some coral species appear brown in color when healthy due to the algae colonies living in their tissues.In the event of an environmental stressor,the algae can die or be expelled,causing the corals to appear white.To recover the algae,the bleached corals then begin to produce bright colors,which block intense sunlight,encouraging the light-sensitive algae to recolonize the corals.

 

What does the text most strongly suggest about corals that produce bright colors?

• A.These corals are likely more vulnerable to exposure from intense sunlight than white corals are.

• B.These corals have likely been subjected to stressful environmental conditions.

• C.These  corals  have  likely  recovered  from  an  environmental  event  without  the  assistance  of algae colonies.

• D.These corals are more likely to survive without algae colonies than brown corals are.

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?

• A.Few feel concerned that he will divulge their confidences.

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

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

• D.Some dislike how freely he discusses his own family.

The following text is adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1905 novel A Little Princess.

The little girl sat with her feet tucked under her,and leaned against her father, who held her in his arm,as  she  stared  out  of  the  window  at  the  passing  people  with  a  queer  old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small fave. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve,and she was only seven. The fact was,however,that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to.She felt as if she had lived a long,long time.

 

According to the text,what is true about the little girl?

• A.She is much older than she appears.

• B.She is mature for her age.

• C.Her memory is much better than that of other children her age.

• D.She has difficulty forming friendships with other children.

Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres ofthe late twentieth century.But as scholars have argued,the genre is far less superficial than many people believe.Take the case of disco icon Donna Summer:she may have been associated with popular songs about love and heartbreak(subjects hardly unique to disco,by_the way),but like many Black women singers before her,much of her music also reflects concerns about community and identity.These concerns are present in many of the genre's greatest songs,and they generally don't require much digging to reveal.

 

What does the text most strongly suggest about the disco genre?

• A. It gave rise to a Black women's musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in the late twentieth century.

• B. It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many of the genre's songs.

• C. It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical genres.

• D. It evolved over time from a superficial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious concerns.

The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen's 1926 poem "Thoughts in a Zoo.”

They in their cruel traps,and we in ours,

Survey each other's rage,and pass the hours Commiserating each the other's woe,

To mitigate his own pain's fiery glow.

Man could but little proffer in exchange Save that his cages have a larger range.

That lion with his lordly,untamed heart

Has in some man his human counterpart,

Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped, But in the stifling flesh securely trapped.

 

Based on the text,what challenge do humans sometimes experience?

• A.They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion.

• B.They have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations.

• C.They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation.

• D.They  quickly  become  frustrated  when  faced  with  difficult  tasks  because  of  a  lack  of self-control.

For centuries,the widespread acknowledgment of the involvement of the cerebellum—a dense brain structure in vertebrates—in coordinating motor control in humans has hindered recognition of other possible functions of the structure.Neuroscience research from the last two decades now suggests that the cerebellum regulates emotion and social behavior,and recent research by Ilaria Carta and colleagues has identified a pathway connecting the cerebellum to a center for motivation and reward processing known as the ventral tegmental area(VTA).

 

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• A.The recent verification of a pathway between the VTA and the cerebellum confirms the cerebellum's long-suspected role in motor coordination.

• B.Recent advances in the field of neuroscience have challenged widely accepted claims about the function of a pathway connecting the VTA and the cerebellum.

• C.Technological limitations have historically hindered the study of the cerebellum,but the recent development of new technologies has led to greater insights into its functions.

• D.The cerebellum has primarily been thought to regulate motor functioning,but in recent years neuroscience researchers have been uncovering additional functions.

Optical   tweezers   are   specialized   scientific   tools—particularly   useful   in   biology   and medicine—that use high-powered beams oflight to trap and manipulate minuscule particles for study.Use of the tool has led to several scientific and medical breakthroughs over the last few decades,but the particles are often under prolonged exposure to the intense heat of the light beams. To  overcome  the  risk  of  overheating,and  thereby  damage,researchers   sometimes  attach nano-sized glass beads to particles,allowing the light to focus on the beads instead of the particles.

 

Based on the text,what is one advantage of attaching glass beads to particles when using optical tweezers?

• A. It adds a material to which particles can transfer any heat absorbed from the optical tweezers' light beam.

• B.It decreases the time it takes for the optical tweezers to locate and capture the particles.

• C. It allows researchers to use weaker light beams to manipulate particles.

• D. facilitates the maneuvering of particles without directly heating the particles themselves.

Paleontologists have found a remarkable fossil of a dinosaur that had feathers on its arms and legs, but not on its tail or body. By comparing the fossil with other known specimens,paleontologist David Hu and colleagues have hypothesized that this dinosaur, named Liaoxiraptor,could be an intermediate form between feathered and non-feathered theropods.The discovery suggests that the evolution of feathers was not necessarily linked to the evolution offlight,but may have had other functions first,such as insulation or camouflage.

 

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• A. A new dinosaur species with an unusual feather distribution was found by Hu and colleagues. 

• B. The discovery of Liaoxiraptor sheds new light on the evolution of feathers in dinosaurs.

• C. An analysis of a Liaoxiraptor fossil confirms the theory that feathers evolved for insulation before flight.

• D. Hu and colleagues compared Liaoxiraptor with other theropods to better understand the diversity of feather patterns in dinosaurs.