It is tempting to think that your eyes are simply mirrors that reflect whatever is in front of them. Researchers, however, have shown that your brain is constantly working to create the impression of a continuous, uninterrupted world.

For instance, in the last 10 minutes, you have blinked your eyes around 200 times. You have probably not been aware of any of these interruptions in your visual world. Something you probably have not seen in a long time without the aid of a mirror is your nose. It is always right there, down in the bottom corner of your vision, but your brain filters it out so that you are not aware of your nose unless you purposefully look at it.

Nor are you aware of the artery that runs right down the middle of your retina. It creates a large blind spot in your visual field, but you never notice the hole it leaves. To see this blind spot, try the following: Cover your left eye with your hand. With your right eye, look at the O on the left. As you move your head closer to the O, the X will disappear as it enters the blind spot caused by your optical nerve.

O X

Your brain works hard to make the world look continuous! What is the main purpose of this passage?

On a bad day, have you ever been irritable? Have you ever used a harsh tone or even been verbally disrespectful to your parents or teachers? Everyone has a short temper from time to time, but current statistics indicate that between 16 and 20 percent of a school’s population suffer from a psychological condition known as oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD.

ODD symptoms include difficulty complying with adult requests, excessive arguments with adults, temper tantrums, difficulty accepting responsibility for actions, low frustration tolerance, and behaviors intended to annoy or upset adults. Parents of children with ODD often feel as though their whole relationship is based on conflict after conflict.

Unfortunately, ODD can be caused by a number of factors. Some students affected by ODD suffer abuse, neglect, and severe or unpredictable discipline at home. Others have parents with mood disorders or have experienced family violence. Various types of therapy are helpful in treating ODD, and some drugs can treat particular symptoms. However, no single cure exists.

The best advice from professionals is directed toward parents. Therapists encourage parents to avoid situations that usually end in power struggles, to try not to feed into oppositional behavior by reacting emotionally, to praise positive behaviors, and to discourage negative behaviors with timeouts instead of harsh discipline. The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to…

The United States has always been a pluralistic society, meaning it has embraced many points of view and many groups with different identities from its beginning. That is not to say that these groups always saw eye to eye. The first political parties developed in the United States as a result of conflicting visions of the American identity. Many politicians believed that wealthy merchants and lawyers represented the country’s true identity, but many others saw it in the farmers and workers who formed the country’s economic base.

The event that brought this disagreement to the surface was the creation of the Bank of the United States in 1791. The bank set out to rid the country of the debts it had accumulated during the American Revolution. Until then, each state was responsible for its own debts. The Bank of the United States, however, wanted to assume these debts and pay them off itself. While many people considered this offer to be a good financial deal for the states, many states were uncomfortable with the arrangement because they saw it as a power play by the federal government. If a central bank had control over the finances of individual states, then the people who owned the bank would profit from the states in the future. This concern was the basis of the disagreement: Who should have more power, the individual states or the central government?

The Democratic-Republican Party developed to protest the bank, but it came to represent a vision of America with power spread among states. The Federalist Party was established in defense of the bank, but its ultimate vision was of a strong central government that could help steer the United States toward a more competitive position in the world economy. These different points of view-central government versus separate states-would not be resolved easily. These same disagreements fueled the tension that erupted into the Civil War over half a century later. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

Cost of Crime Adds Up” By Richard Burnett, Sentinel Staff Writer Florida businesses will lose more money from crime this year than they'll spend on water, gas and electricity. This is according to a study released Tuesday. From shoplifting to employee theft, crime is expected to cost Florida businesses $27.4 billion. The cost is twice that of residential crime, according to the report issued by Attorney General Charlie Crist and a law enforcement/industry coalition. The biggest perpetrators, surprisingly, are not robbers and burglars. Rather, they are rogue employees, pilfering everything from stock inventory and office supplies to company accounts and confidential data. More than $13 billion in losses -- almost half of Florida's annual total -- are attributed to those inside jobs, the study said. State officials said they are launching a campaign to inform the public and business community about the problem. Burnett, Richard. From ―Cost of Crime Adds Up.‖ Orlando Sentinel. 24 Nov. What is the author’s perspective toward ―rogue employees?

Experts: “Thrill rides pose little danger” But critics contend not enough is known about the physical impact of such rides. Amusement-park rides can be terrifying. In fact, scores of roller-coaster enthusiasts would be sorely disappointed if they weren't. But many medical doctors and researchers dismiss allegations that the physical forces the rides exert are dangerous. Though some rides can go faster than 100 mph, the physical stress they put on the body is not very great -- less in some cases than everyday experiences, such as dropping into a chair. The worst aftereffect for most thrill seekers is a spinning head and a racing heart -- not nearly enough to keep them away. Rides are designed to produce the illusion of risk, and customers say they love the sensation. Since the 15th century, when Russians were enticed by the thrill of riding blocks of ice down wooden ramps, to today, when coaster fans chase speeds that exceed highway limits, the allure of fear mixed with excitement hasn't waned. Though amusement-park rides seldom hurt anyone, questions about their safety persist. Critics say that not enough is known about the impact the spitfire twists and turns, dives and accelerations have on people's bodies, and especially their brains. Amusement-park operators and some doctors who have closely studied thrill rides say there is little to fear. They say just a fraction of people who take rides at theme and amusement parks suffer problems, which may or may not have been caused by the rides themselves. "If everything is functioning properly, there is no reason to worry about taking a ride," said Dr. Douglas Smith, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania. "If you are really worried about brain injury, use your seat belt on the drive to the amusement park." Which two perspectives are primarily addressed by the author in this article?

Study: Teenage brain lacks empathy By Sara Goudarzi If you ever sense teenagers are not taking your feelings into account, it's probably because they're just incapable of doing so. The area of the brain associated with higher-level thinking, empathy, and guilt is underused by teenagers, reports a new study. When considering an action, the teenage medial prefrontal cortex, located in front of the brain, doesn't get as much action as adults. "Thinking strategies change with age," said SarahJayne Blakemore of the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. "As you get older you use more or less the same brain network to make decisions about your actions as you did when you were a teenager, but the crucial difference is that the distribution of that brain activity shifts from the back of the brain (when you are a teenager) to the front (when you are an adult)." Teen thinking In the study, teens and adults were asked how they would react to certain situations. As they responded, researchers imaged their brains. Although both adults and teens responded similarly to the questions, their brain activity differed. The medial prefrontal cortex was much more active in the adults than in the teens. However, the teenagers had much more activity in the superior temporal sulcus, the brain area involved in predicting future actions based on previous ones. Adults were also much faster at figuring out how their actions would affect themselves and other people. "We think that a teenager's judgment of what they would do in a given situation is driven by the simple question: 'What would I do?'" Blakemore said. "Adults, on the other hand, ask: 'What would I do, given how I would feel and given how the people around me would feel as a result of my actions?'" Developing sensitivity Children start taking into account other people's feelings around the age of five. But the ability develops well beyond this age, the new research suggests. And while some of this sensitivity could be the result of undeveloped regions in the brain, the experience that adults acquire from social interactions also plays an important role. My purpose in reading this: Reading Strategy I will use: 12 "Whatever the reasons, it is clear that teenagers are dealing with, not only massive hormonal shifts, but also substantial neural changes," Blakemore said. "These changes do not happen gradually and steadily between the ages of 0–18. They come on in great spurts and puberty is one of the most dramatic developmental stages." The results of the study were presented today at the BA Festival of Science in the UK. With which statement listed below would the author of this article most likely agree?

Study: Teenage brain lacks empathy By Sara Goudarzi If you ever sense teenagers are not taking your feelings into account, it's probably because they're just incapable of doing so. The area of the brain associated with higher-level thinking, empathy, and guilt is underused by teenagers, reports a new study. When considering an action, the teenage medial prefrontal cortex, located in front of the brain, doesn't get as much action as adults. "Thinking strategies change with age," said SarahJayne Blakemore of the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. "As you get older you use more or less the same brain network to make decisions about your actions as you did when you were a teenager, but the crucial difference is that the distribution of that brain activity shifts from the back of the brain (when you are a teenager) to the front (when you are an adult)." Teen thinking In the study, teens and adults were asked how they would react to certain situations. As they responded, researchers imaged their brains. Although both adults and teens responded similarly to the questions, their brain activity differed. The medial prefrontal cortex was much more active in the adults than in the teens. However, the teenagers had much more activity in the superior temporal sulcus, the brain area involved in predicting future actions based on previous ones. Adults were also much faster at figuring out how their actions would affect themselves and other people. "We think that a teenager's judgment of what they would do in a given situation is driven by the simple question: 'What would I do?'" Blakemore said. "Adults, on the other hand, ask: 'What would I do, given how I would feel and given how the people around me would feel as a result of my actions?'" Developing sensitivity Children start taking into account other people's feelings around the age of five. But the ability develops well beyond this age, the new research suggests. And while some of this sensitivity could be the result of undeveloped regions in the brain, the experience that adults acquire from social interactions also plays an important role. My purpose in reading this: Reading Strategy I will use: 12 "Whatever the reasons, it is clear that teenagers are dealing with, not only massive hormonal shifts, but also substantial neural changes," Blakemore said. "These changes do not happen gradually and steadily between the ages of 0–18. They come on in great spurts and puberty is one of the most dramatic developmental stages." The results of the study were presented today at the BA Festival of Science in the UK. Which statement BEST describes the author’s attitude toward teenagers?