8.2 Inference-Hard

The Hubble  Space Telescope(HST)is projected to maintain operation until at least 2030,but it has  already  revolutionized  high-resolution  imaging  of  solar-system  bodies  in  visible  and ultraviolet (UV)light wavelengths,notwithstanding that only about 6%of the bodies imaged by the HST are within the solar system.NASA researcher Cindy L.Young and colleagues assert that a  new  space  telescope  dedicated  exclusively  to  solar-system  observations  would  permit  an extensive  survey of minor  solar-system bodies and long-term UV observation to discern how solar-system bodies change over time.Young and colleagues' recommendation therefore implies that the HST             

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.will likely continue to be used primarily to observe objects outside the solar system.

• B.  will no longer be used to observe solar system objects if the telescope recommended by Young and colleagues is deployed.

• C.can be modified to observe the features of solar system objects that are of interest to Young and colleagues.

• D.lacks the  sensors  to  observe  the  wavelengths  of light  needed  to  discern  how  solar  system bodies change over time.

   

A heliograph is a semaphore device used for sending optical communications—usually in the form  of Morse code—by reflecting flashes of sunlight off a mirror.Heliographs were used for rapid communication  across  expansive  distances  for  military,surveying,and  forestry  purposes  during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,but they were largely effective only during the daytime,and the range of the device depended on factors such as the opacity of the air and line of sight.Therefore,heliographs were eventually replaced by technology that              

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.was not so constrained by environmental circumstances.

• B.could be used for more than military,surveying,or forestry purposes.

• C.enabled communication that didn't require knowledge of Morse code.

• D.worked on similar principles but was easier to produce and maintain.

To  better  understand  the  burrowing  habits  of  Alpheus  bellulus(the  tiger  pistol  shrimp),some studies have used resin  casting  to  obtain  precise  measurements  of the  shrimps'burrows.Resin casting involves completely filling an empty burrow with a liquid plastic that hardens to create a three-dimensional   model;however,recovering   the   model   inevitably   requires   destroying   the burrow.In their 2022  study,Miyu Umehara  and  colleagues  discovered that  an x-ray computed tomography(CT)scanner can  accurately record  a burrow's measurements both  at  a moment  in time and throughout the entire burrow-building process,something that's impossible with resin casting   because           

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A. it can only be used on burrows below a certain size.

• B. it does not allow for multiple castings of the same burrow over time.

• C.the process of recovering the model distorts the resin's shape.

• D.the casting process takes more time than A.bellulus takes to construct a burrow.

Tides  can  deposit  large  quantities  of  dead  vegetation  within  a  salt  marsh,smothering  healthy plants  and  leaving  a  salt  panne—a  depression  devoid  of  plants  that  tends  to  trap  standing water—in the marsh's interior.Ecologist Kathryn Beheshti and colleagues found that burrowing crabs living within these pannes improve drainage by loosening the soil,leading the pannes to shrink as marsh plants move back in.At salt marsh edges,however,crab-induced soil loosening can promote marsh loss by accelerating erosion,suggesting that the burrowing action of crabs

 

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.can be beneficial to marshes with  small pannes but  can be harmful  to marshes with  large pannes.

• B.may promote increases in marsh plants or decreases in marsh plants,depending on the crabs' location.

• C.tends to be more heavily concentrated in areas of marsh interiors with standing water than at marsh edges.

• D.varies in intensity depending on the size of the panne relative to the size of the  surrounding marsh.

In order to combat climate change,many countries around the world have enacted policies to

 

 

reduce  greenhouse  gas  emissions.While  these  policies  are  generally  lauded  as  positive  steps, some critics argue that they do not go far enough.For instance,some carbon reduction policies allow companies to  "offset"their emissions by investing in forest conservation or reforestation projects rather than  actually reducing their  own  emissions.As  a  result,critics worry that these policies may inadvertently              

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.discourage  companies  from pursuing  new methods to  actually reduce  their  greenhouse  gas emissions.

• B.cause an increase in deforestation as companies seek to clear land for their industrial activities.  

• C.incentivize  companies  to  invest  in  environmental  recovery  projects   unrelated  to  climate change.

• D.encourage  companies  to  seek  ways  of  offsetting  their  greenhouse  gas  emissions  without investing in forest conservation or reforestation projects.

“Gestures”in  painting  are  typically  thought  of  as  bold,expressive  brushstrokes.In  the   1970s, American painter Jack Whitten built a 12-foot(3.7-meter)tool he named the “developer”to apply  paint to an entire canvas in one motion,resulting in his series of"slab"paintings from that decade.  Whitten described this process as making an entire painting in "one gesture,"signaling a clear   departure from the prevalence of gestures in his work from the 1960s.Some art historians claim  this shift represents "removing gesture"from the process.Therefore,regardless of whether using  the developer constitutes a gesture,both Whitten and these art historians likely agree that             

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.any tool that a painter uses to create an artwork is capable of creating gestures.

• B.Whitten's work from the  1960s  exhibits many more  gestures than his work from the  1970s does.

• C.Whitten  became  less  interested  in  exploring  the  role  of  gesture  in  his  work  as  his  career progressed.

• D.Whitten's work from the 1960s is much more realistic than his work from the 1970s is.

German  theater  practitioner  Bertolt  Brecht(1898-1956)believed  that  theater   should  elicit  an intellectual rather than an emotional response from audiences,provoking them to consider social and political  realities  that  extend  beyond  the  characters  and  events  depicted  onstage.Brecht's influence can be seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill's  1979 play Cloud 9:although the play  sometimes  invites  empathetic  reactions,it  primarily  works  to   engage   audiences  in  an interrogation  of patriarchy  and  colonialism,which  it  does  by  placing  audiences  at  a  distance,thereby encouraging them to               

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.reflect on social and political phenomena not directly related to patriarchy and colonialism.

• B.focus on the characters'beliefs about social and political issues as revealed by the characters' actions.

• C. be dispassionate as they think critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.

• D.recognize pertinent social and political parallels between Germany during Brecht's time and England at the time when Churchill was writing Cloud 9.

During the Bourbon Restoration in France(1814-1830),the right to vote required in part that a person paid at least 300 francs in direct taxes to the government.The four most common taxes (the quatre vieilles)were levied on real estate (both land and buildings);the doors and windows in taxpayer homes;the rental values of homes;and the businesses of artisans  and merchants. (Foreign investments were either exempt from taxation or taxed lightly.)Although relatively few people paid the tax on real estate,it was the main means of voter qualification and accounted for over two-thirds of government receipts during this period,suggesting that during the Bourbon Restoration             

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.the number of doors and windows in French residences was kept to a minimum but increased after 1830

• B. the voting habits of French artisans and merchants were effective in reducing tax burdens on businesses.

• C.those people who had the right to vote most likely had substantial holdings of French real estate.

• D.French people with significant foreign investments were unlikely to have the right to vote.

The Analects is the most influential collection of sayings and teachings attributed to Confucius, the founder of Confucianism.Compiled by his disciples over the centuries following his death in 479 BCE,the Analects shows remarkable internal consistency and coherence in its themes and principles,such as filial piety,ritual,humaneness,and loyalty.Moreover,many of the anecdotes in the Analects match those found in other historical texts that record the words and deeds of Confucius.However,some passages refer to events and ideas that emerged much later in Chinese history,such as the unification of the empire by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE,and reveal the influence  of other  philosophical  schools,such  as  Legalism  and  Daoism,which  arose  after Confucius's time.Therefore,scholars have concluded that while its core reflects the original teachings of Confucius,the Analects             

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.also reflects the changing historical and intellectual circumstances of its compilers.

• B.was probably not compiled by Confucius's disciples,but rather by scholars of Legalism and Daoism.

• C.was likely completed before the unification of the empire by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE.

• D.was not consistent with other historical texts that recorded Confucius's sayings and deeds.

Researchers Suchithra Rajendran and Maximilian Popfinger modeled varying levels of passenger  redistribution from short-haul flights(flights of 50 to 210 minutes,from takeoff to landing)to high-speed rail trips.Planes travel faster than trains,but air travel typically requires 3 hours of lead time for security,baggage handling,and boarding that rail travel doesn't,so short-haul routes take similar amounts of time by air and by rail.However,the model suggests that as rail passenger volumes approach current capacity limits,long lead times emerge.Therefore,for rail to remain a viable alternative to short-haul flights,              

Which choice most logically completes the text?

• A.rail systems should offer fewer long-haul routes and airlines should offer more long-haul routes.

• B.rail systems may need to schedule additional trains for these routes.

• C. security,baggage  handling,and  boarding  procedures  used  by   airlines  may  need  to  be implemented for rail systems.

• D.passengers who travel by rail for these routes will need to accept that lead times will be similar to those for air travel.