9.1 Supporting Undermining - Medium

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Héctor Tobar has built a multifaceted career as both a journalist and an author of short stories and novels.In an essay about Tobar's work,a student claims that Tobar  blends his areas of expertise by applying journalism techniques to his creation of works of fiction.

 

Which  quotation  from  a  literary  critic  best  supports  the   student's  claim?

• A.“For one novel,an imagined account of a real person's global travels,Tobar approached his subject like a reporter,interviewing people the man had met along the way and researching the man's own writings."

• B."Tobar got his start as a volunteer for El Tecolote,a community newspaper in San Francisco, and wrote for newspapers for years before earning a degree in creative writing and starting to publish  works  of  fiction.”

• C."Many of Tobar's notable nonfiction articles are marked by the writer's use of techniques usually associated with fiction,such as complex narrative structures and the incorporation of symbolism.”

• D."The protagonist of Tobar's third novel is a man who wants to be a novelist and keeps notes about interesting people he encounters so he can use them when developing characters for his

  stories.”

Barchester Towers is an 1857 novel by Anthony Trollope.In the novel,Trollope's portrayal of Dr. Proudie underscores the character's exaggerated sense of his own abilities:

 

Which quotation from Barchester Towers most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A.“It must not..be taken as proved that Dr.Proudie was a man of great mental powers,or even of much capacity for business,for such qualities had not been required in him."

• B.“[Dr.Proudie's]residence in the metropolis,rendered necessary by duties thus entrusted to him, his high connexions,and the peculiar talents and nature of the man,recommended him to persons in   power."

• C.“[Dr.Proudie]was certainly possessed of sufficient tact to answer the purpose for which he was required without making himself troublesome."

• D.“[Dr.Proudie]was comparatively young,and had,as he fondly flattered himself,been selected as possessing such gifts,natural and acquired,as must be sure to recommend him to a yet higher notice."

Sense and Sensibility is an 1811 novel by Jane Austen.In the novel,Austen describes Marianne Dashwood's ability to persuade others of the rightness of her artistic judgments,as is evident when Marianne visits with John Willoughby,a potential suitor:         

 

Which quotation from Sense and Sensibility most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A.“Above all,when she heard him declare,that of music and dancing he was passionately fond, she gave him such a look of approbation as secured the largest share of his discourse to herself for the rest of his stay.”

• B.“Their taste was strikingly alike.The same books,the same passages were idolized by each—or if any difference appeared,any objection arose,it lasted no longer than till the force of her arguments and the brightness of her eyes could be displayed.”

• C.“It was only necessary to mention any favourite amusement to engage her to talk.She could not be silent when such points were introduced,and she had neither shyness nor reserve in their discussion."

• D."They speedily discovered that their enjoyment of dancing and music was mutual,and that it arose from a general conformity of judgment in all that related to either.Encouraged by this to a further examination of his opinions,she proceeded to question him on the subject of books."

In the 1970s,a roughly 60,000-year-old piece of hyena bone marked with nine notches was discovered at a site in western France once inhabited by Neanderthals.Although many believe that only modern humans developed systems for notating numbers,one archaeologist asserts that this artifact may be a sign that Neanderthals also recorded numerical information.The notches on the bone are unevenly spaced but approximately parallel,and microscopic analysis reveals that they were made with a single stone tool;according to the archaeologist,this suggests that the notches were all made at one time by one individual as a means of counting something.

 

Which finding,if true,would most directly weaken the underlined claim?

• A.Parallel lines are a common feature in modern humans'early systems for recording numerical information.

• B.More than nine approximately parallel notches made with a different stone tool are present on another artifact found at a site in western France.

• C. It would have taken careful effort to make evenly spaced lines on bone with the stone tools typically used by Neanderthals.

• D.Decorative art discovered at another Neanderthal site in western France primarily features patterns of unevenly spaced parallel lines.

A museum curator is writing a biographical statement about Trinidadian-born Chinese dancer, choreographer,and teacher Dai Ailian for a new exhibit on Chinese dance.The curator claims that some of the pieces Dai created shortly after arriving in mainland China in 1941,such as the solo dance Yao Drum,reflect a desire to represent the dances of local communities Dai visited during her travels through China.

 

Which quotation from a work by a dance historian would be the most effective evidence for the curator to include in support of this claim?

• A.“Unlike some of the works Dai created in the early  1940s,Yao Drum does not feature a narrative structure,humorous elements,or references to real-life events."

• B.“There is no sound or music accompanying Dai's movements in Yao Drum,aside from the sounds of drumsticks beating against a drum and against each other."

• C.“Yao Drum was inspired by a ceremonial dance Dai witnessed during her time performing field research among the Yao people in the province of Guizhou in 1941 or 1942.”

• D.“Yao Drum is notable for its intense physicality,with Dai performing sharp jumps,swift turns, and dramatic sweeps of her legs through the air as she moves in circles on the stage.”

Although many transposons,DNA sequences that move within an organism's genome through shuffling or duplication,have become corrupted and inactive over time,those from the long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE)family appear to remain active in the genomes of some species.In humans,they are functionally important within the hippocampus,a brain structure that supports complex cognitive processes.When the results of molecular analysis of two species of octopus—an animal known for its intelligence—were announced in 2022,the confirmation of a LINE transposon in Octopus vulgaris and Octopus bimaculoides genomes prompted researchers to hypothesize that that transposon family is tied to a species'capacity for advanced cognition.

 

Which finding,if true,would most directly support the researchers'hypothesis?

• A.The LINE transposon in O.vulgaris and O.bimaculoides genomes is active in an octopus brain structure that functions similarly to the human hippocampus.

• B.The human genome contains multiple transposons from the LINE family that are all primarily active in the hippocampus.

• C.A consistent number of copies of LINE transposons is present across the genomes of most octopus species,with few known corruptions.

• D.O.vulgaris and O.bimaculoides have smaller brains than humans do relative to body size,but their genomes contain sequences from a wider variety of transposon families.

Although it's clear that Mars once had liquid water on its surface,astronomers have debated whether the evidence of ancient water reflects a prolonged phase of warm,wet conditions—the so-called wet and warm scenario—or a brief period of melting in an otherwise consistently frozen environment.Researchers Benjamin T.Cardenas and Michael P.Lamb recently added to this debate by using data from NASA and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter to map the topography of what is now a large basin in Mars's northern hemisphere.Cardenas and Lamb concluded that the wet and warm scenario is likely correct.

 

Which  finding  about  the  basin,if true,would  most  directly  support  Cardenas  and  Lamb's conclusion?

• A.Its physical characteristics are most consistent with it having formed as a result of a massive but short lived influx of liquid water.

• B. It is surrounded by channels that could have been formed either by running water or by flowing lava.

• C. It has features suggesting that it once held an ocean that underwent gradual sea-level changes over an extended time.

• D.Its dimensions and shape indicate that it is unlikely to have formed as the result of an asteroid or comet impact.

In addition to her technical skill and daring feats,American stunt pilot Bessie Coleman was also known for dazzling the crowds that came to watch her air shows in the 1920s with her exuberant personality.During her career,she was careful and purposeful about how she crafted her public persona.An aviation researcher has claimed that Coleman intentionally defied social norms ofthe time by how she chose to present herself to the public.

Which quotation from an article about Coleman would most directly support the aviation researcher's claim?

• A."While Coleman was beloved by spectators for her charisma,she had a more complicated relationship with her managers and staff,who at times found her behavior too impulsive and demanding.”

• B.“Coleman once considered leaving her career as a stunt pilot to focus her efforts on giving speeches,which she felt would better support her public image."

• C.“For her air shows,Coleman frequently used the Curtiss JN-4,or 'Jenny,'which at that time was one of the most well-known types of planes."

• D.“Although female pilots were typically expected to wear traditional but impractical attire that included dresses or skirts,photographs of Coleman show her wearing pants and leatherjackets."

  
  

Matthew D.Rocklage and team examined whether consumer ratings of movies can predict box  office success.The team considered both numeric star ratings and written reviews in their research. To analyze the written reviews,the team measured the emotionality—the degree to which a written review expresses an emotional reaction—of user reviews on a movie rating website, assigning each review an emotionality score.After reviewing this research,a student argues that  the emotionality of movie reviews is unrelated to a movie's success at the box office.

 

Which finding,if true,would most directly weaken the student's conclusion?

• A.The average emotionality score of a movie's reviews was a positive predictor of that movie's box office earnings.

• B.More than half of the movies that the team examined received an average star rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

• C.The movies that were most successful at the box office tended to have high average star ratings. 

• D.Movies that had the highest average emotionality scores received the lowest average star ratings on the movie rating website.

  
  

Biofeedback therapy is a technique that allows people to actively monitor certain physiological processes in order to improve health and well-being has shown benefits for insomnia and long-term pain management,among other medical complaints.For instance,by monitoring one's heart rate and breathing during stressful activities,a biofeedback patient can learn to control their body's natural stress response and remain more calm and comfortable.Proponents also claim that, by helping patients feel more in control of their symptoms, biofeedback therapy increases treatment satisfaction.

 

Which finding,if true,would most strongly support the underlined claim?

• A.Biofeedback patients rate the quality of their healthcare more highly than patients of equally effective therapies do.

• B.Clinics that employ biofeedback therapy are among the clinics with the most registered patients.

• C.Patients tend to find biofeedback therapy more effective for insomnia than for long-term pain management.

• D.Doctors tend to prescribe biofeedback therapy alongside other treatments,such as prescription medication.