In recent history, hundreds of animals have ceased to exist. Thousands of other species are currently endangered. Humans are responsible for a large majority of this mass extinction. Deforestation, pollution, and over-hunting are damaging and destroying our natural resources at an alarming rate.

Decreasing diversity is harmful for plants and animals as well as humans. Experts estimate that nature generates up to $33 trillion in revenue every year. This includes plants and animals acting as a food source, helping to recycle waste, and acting as a key component in important medications. Many scientists believe that if humans continue on this path, half of the Earth’s species could die off by 2100.

Which information is implicit in the text?

In general, people don’t like to be told what to do. People don’t like their choices to be restricted. When someone tells someone else what to do, that person usually wants to do the opposite. Reverse psychology takes advantage of this mental quirk. It works because humans have a natural, negative response to being told what to do.

Which paraphrase from the passage supports the claim that reverse psychology is based on people's dislike of restrictions?

In what we may call the "prescientific days," people felt sure about how to interpret their dreams. When they were remembered after awakening, they were regarded as coming from either friendly or hostile higher powers. With the rise of scientific thought, myth transferred to psychology. Today, most educated people believe that dreams come from the dreamer's own mind.

However, psychology has not yet offered a way to interpret dreams. How or why they occur, how they are related to our waking life, and why they contain often strange and unrealistic events are questions that have not been answered. There are two questions to ask regarding dreams. First, what is happening to the dreamer physically as the dream? Second, what does the dream tell about the person’s emotional or psychological state?

Which evidence from the passage supports the claim that science has not yet answered all our questions?

My main purpose in writing this little book was to place in permanent form a description of my wonderful preservation from death in a chance encounter with a Royal Bengal Tiger. My life had been adventurous up to that time. I had shot big game of various kinds. But this episode, so marvelous in itself, so important in its influence upon my later life and character, marks the close of my career as a hunter of big game.

What can you infer based upon the hunter's actions after encountering a Royal Bengal Tiger?

A documentary is a film, television program, or audio broadcast that provides a record of a particular subject, issue, or event. Documentaries almost always use non-fiction subjects to inform their audience of current issues. Documentary subjects range from sports to art, philosophy to science, and technology to nature. Over the last two decades, the documentary form has tackled such current public issues as health care, the fast food industry, cigarette smoking, graffiti art, and U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Filmmakers have scoured the globe to cover natural events such as penguin migrations in Antarctica, wild dog hunts in equatorial Africa, and ants in South American jungles. The Civil War, the Olympics, and even Mother’s Day are all significant events covered by documentary directors.

Which choice would you NOT infer is a documentary?

Year-round schooling is a much more effective way for students to attend school. Studies show that students who attend year-round school perform better because there is more time to process content as opposed to rushing through the curriculum. Teachers enjoy this schedule as well because they have more time to plan lessons for shorter class periods. And students are more effective during shorter classes because it means less stagnant time sitting at a desk. Year-round schooling also means shorter semesters followed by longer breaks. Less time attending school followed by more time off has been statistically shown to allow students more time to process and recall academic material.

Which of the following sentences is weak evidence for the claim that year-round schooling improves student learning?

A robot may be defined as a self-controlled device consisting of electronic, electrical, or mechanical units. More generally, it is a machine that functions in place of a living agent. Robots are especially desirable for certain work functions because, unlike humans, they never get tired; they can endure physical conditions that are uncomfortable or even dangerous; they can operate in airless conditions; they do not get bored by repetition; and they cannot be distracted from the task at hand.

Which conclusion could you draw from this text?

Like the flag of the United States, the national flag of the Philippines uses red, white, and blue. The Philippine flag has one blue stripe and one red stripe with a white, triangular field on the left side. At each corner of the triangular field, there is a gold star. These stars surround a gold sun with a total of eight rays near the center.

For the people of the Philippines, the blue stripe represents truth and justice. The red stripe stands for patriotism and bravery, and the white field represents unity and equality. The stars in the triangular field represent the three groups of islands that make up the territory of the Philippines. The eight rays of the sun stand for the eight provinces that began the revolution to free the country from Spain in 1896.

According to the text, which of these statements is true?

Like the flag of the United States, the national flag of the Philippines uses red, white, and blue. The Philippine flag has one blue stripe and one red stripe with a white, triangular field on the left side. At each corner of the triangular field, there is a gold star. These stars surround a gold sun with a total of eight rays near the center.

For the people of the Philippines, the blue stripe represents truth and justice. The red stripe stands for patriotism and bravery, and the white field represents unity and equality. The stars in the triangular field represent the three groups of islands that make up the territory of the Philippines. The eight rays of the sun stand for the eight provinces that began the revolution to free the country from Spain in 1896.

Which of these details shows that the Philippine people value unity and equality?

It is said that the first football helmet was used in a game between the Army and Navy in 1893. It was made of leather and put together by a shoemaker near Annapolis, Maryland. Soon, padded leather was used to improve them. These early helmets looked like those worn by pilots of the day.

In the early days of football, some players chose to wear helmets, but they were not forced to until it became a rule in college football in 1939. The National Football League (NFL) did not have a helmet rule until 1943.

Over time, football helmets became even more advanced. Starting in 1940, plastic was used to make the helmets. In 1955, a metal bar was placed in the front of the helmets to protect the player’s face. That idea of the single bar became the basis for the type of facemasks that we see on modern helmets today.

What can the reader infer based on this passage?

It is said that the first football helmet was used in a game between the Army and Navy in 1893. It was made of leather and put together by a shoemaker near Annapolis, Maryland. Soon, padded leather was used to improve them. These early helmets looked like those worn by pilots of the day.

In the early days of football, some players chose to wear helmets, but they were not forced to until it became a rule in college football in 1939. The National Football League (NFL) did not have a helmet rule until 1943.

Over time, football helmets became even more advanced. Starting in 1940, plastic was used to make the helmets. In 1955, a metal bar was placed in the front of the helmets to protect the player’s face. That idea of the single bar became the basis for the type of facemasks that we see on modern helmets today.

According to the text, which of these statements is true?

It is said that the first football helmet was used in a game between the Army and Navy in 1893. It was made of leather and put together by a shoemaker near Annapolis, Maryland. Soon, padded leather was used to improve them. These early helmets looked like those worn by pilots of the day.

In the early days of football, some players chose to wear helmets, but they were not forced to until it became a rule in college football in 1939. The National Football League (NFL) did not have a helmet rule until 1943.

Over time, football helmets became even more advanced. Starting in 1940, plastic was used to make the helmets. In 1955, a metal bar was placed in the front of the helmets to protect the player’s face. That idea of the single bar became the basis for the type of facemasks that we see on modern helmets today.

Which of these inferences can be drawn from the passage?

It is said that the first football helmet was used in a game between the Army and Navy in 1893. It was made of leather and put together by a shoemaker near Annapolis, Maryland. Soon, padded leather was used to improve them. These early helmets looked like those worn by pilots of the day.

In the early days of football, some players chose to wear helmets, but they were not forced to until it became a rule in college football in 1939. The National Football League (NFL) did not have a helmet rule until 1943.

Over time, football helmets became even more advanced. Starting in 1940, plastic was used to make the helmets. In 1955, a metal bar was placed in the front of the helmets to protect the player’s face. That idea of the single bar became the basis for the type of facemasks that we see on modern helmets today.

Which of these is an inference based on this passage?

It is said that the first football helmet was used in a game between the Army and Navy in 1893. It was made of leather and put together by a shoemaker near Annapolis, Maryland. Soon, padded leather was used to improve them. These early helmets looked like those worn by pilots of the day.

In the early days of football, some players chose to wear helmets, but they were not forced to until it became a rule in college football in 1939. The National Football League (NFL) did not have a helmet rule until 1943.

Over time, football helmets became even more advanced. Starting in 1940, plastic was used to make the helmets. In 1955, a metal bar was placed in the front of the helmets to protect the player’s face. That idea of the single bar became the basis for the type of facemasks that we see on modern helmets today.

According to the text, which of these statements is true?

The lighthouse of Alexandria was the first lighthouse in the world. It took twelve years to construct the lighthouse with work beginning in 290 BC. It was built on the island of Pharos to help guide trade ships into the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, under the direction of the ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy Soter. When it was built, the lighthouse was viewed as being an impressive structure and also claiming status as the second tallest building in the world (450 feet), next to the Great Pyramid. It cost 800 talents, the form of currency at the time, to build it. After a series of earthquakes that destroyed the lighthouse, it was abandoned. However, in 1480, the remaining limestone brick from the lighthouse was used to build a citadel on the same island where the lighthouse once stood. The city of Alexandria uses the symbol of the lighthouse for its flag today. The lighthouse claims the honor of being one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

According to the text, what reason can be inferred that the people of Alexandria are proud of the lighthouse?

The lighthouse of Alexandria was the first lighthouse in the world. It took twelve years to construct the lighthouse with work beginning in 290 BC. It was built on the island of Pharos to help guide trade ships into the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, under the direction of the ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy Soter. When it was built, the lighthouse was viewed as being an impressive structure and also claiming status as the second tallest building in the world (450 feet), next to the Great Pyramid. It cost 800 talents, the form of currency at the time, to build it. After a series of earthquakes that destroyed the lighthouse, it was abandoned. However, in 1480, the remaining limestone brick from the lighthouse was used to build a citadel on the same island where the lighthouse once stood. The city of Alexandria uses the symbol of the lighthouse for its flag today. The lighthouse claims the honor of being one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Based on this passage, what can you infer as the likely reasons behind the lighthouse “claiming the honor of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”?

The Nile River stretches more than 4,100 miles. It leads from Uganda all the way to Ethiopia and flows north through a total of nine countries. In 2004, a team led by Hendrik Coetzee became the first known to have navigated the full length of the river.

The Nile is most often associated with Egypt. This is because the Nile has played an important part in the Egyptians’ lives for thousands of years. Most of Egypt is desert. In the spring time, though, the Nile floods and provides irrigation to the soil along the banks. When the flood withdraws, the land is made fertile for farming.

The Nile is Africa’s longest river. It is also widely believed to be the world’s longest river, but because locating the source of a river can be difficult, some disagree and believe South America’s Amazon River may be longer.

Which of these statements is true?