While crossword puzzles seem to be the game of choice, they need only sit in an airport or doctor’s office in any city to see how Sudoku is slowly overtaking the popular word game.

The writer is considering deleting the preceding sentence. Should this sentence be kept or deleted?

In the most common game of Sudoku, the player is faced with a nine-by-nine space grid with a total of 81 spaces. The solution to the puzzle requires a number, one through nine, to be placed in each box. Each number must appear only once in each row and only once in each column.

A Sudoku puzzle will begin with a few digits already in place. The solver’s task, is to figure out which numeral belongs in the remaining empty spaces.

While being a math whiz is no requirement for this seemingly simple process, a level of logic and reasoning is necessary in order to choose the correct number for each space.

As with most such activities, practice makes perfect with Sudoku. The puzzles that seem impossible at first glance eventual become more manageable.

The name Sudoku is derived from the phrase single number in the Japanese language. Nevertheless, its definition refers to the placement or allotment of a single number

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would be LEAST acceptable?

This puzzle is aptly named, since the misplacement of a single number spells the beginning of an incorrect solution.

For this reason, Sudoku should have been played using a pencil with a good eraser.

It is nearly impossible to discern which number the solver has placed incorrectly once an error is discovered. If you don’t have a pencil, use a pen to write the digit as a series of light dots.

This way, should you make a mistake, you can retrace your steps to locate and correct the original errant placement.

There are certain strategies involved in solving a Sudoku puzzle, including the process of elimination. For example, if a row of nine spaces already has the number 4, that row cannot contain another 4. This goes for columns as well. The solver can use these clues and a bit of deduction to limit the possible combinations of numbers. By attacking the puzzle using logic, you can turn the process into an amusing challenge rather than an impossible task.

The best placement for the underlined portion would be:

[1] The origin of Sudoku is attributed to Leonhard Euler, the Swiss mathematician who sometimes developed the game Magic Squares in 1783. [2] In fact, Euler’s game was actually based on a game derived from Chinese folklore.

If the writer were to divide the preceding paragraph into two shorter paragraphs in order to differentiate between the origin and evolution of the game and the difficulty of playing the game, the new paragraph should begin with Sentence:

[1] The origin of Sudoku is attributed to Leonhard Euler, the Swiss mathematician who sometimes developed the game Magic Squares in 1783. [2] In fact, Euler’s game was actually based on a game derived from Chinese folklore. [3] The primary difference between Magic Squares and Sudoku is that Euler’s game has no grid dividing the puzzle and it is somewhat easier to solve, since there are multiple possibilities for a solution. [4] In true Sudoku, each puzzle has only one solution. [5] The puzzle’s difficulty varies according to the number of digits that are initially provided. [6] When faced with a puzzle with only one 3 provided, for example, you can be sure that it will be more difficult to solve than a puzzle that already has half of the numbers placed in the correct boxes. 59

This question asks about the preceding passage as a whole. If the writer were to delete the final paragraph from the essay, which of the following would be lost?

One has only to examine a local newspaper to ascertain the popularity of this addictive brain teaser. Where comics and crossword puzzles reign supreme, it is often easy to locate a grid of spaces and numbers tucked off in a corner, or even sitting boldly next to the time-honored crossword.

If the alarm had gone off earlier, more people could of escaped before the building collapsed.

The principals of good sportsmanship demand that we cheer the achievements of both teams.

Neither Kelley nor Larry are planning to attend the conference in November.

The boat sailed under the bridge and was rocking from the waves.

There were less people on that cruise than usual because of the weather.

Lori said to her mother that she needed to buy some new clothes.

Softened by the boiling water, Ramona mashed the potatoes.

The founders of the United States selected the colors of the flag for their symbolism: white for the purity of the new nation's aspirations, red to stand for the blood shed gaining and keeping freedom, and blue for loyalty.

After several attempts to call, Doug still couldn't get through the line was always busy.

Because she was on a diet every day, Naomi only ate three light meals.

Snowflakes form from tiny water droplets, following a specific process of chemical bonding as they freeze, which results in a six-sided figure.

The rare "triangular" snowflake, similarly, confounded scientists for years because it apparently defied the basic laws of chemistry.

The seemingly triangular shape of those snowflakes suggests that forming through a different process of chemical bonding.

By re-creating snowflake formation, a discovery has revealed to scientists Kenneth Libbrecht and Hannah Arnold the cause of this apparent variation.

Snowflakes begin to form when water in the atmosphere freezes it causes the water molecules to bond into a hexagonal shape.

During the flake's descent from Earth's upper atmosphere, other water vapor molecules bumps into the hexagonal structure.

In 2009, Libbrecht and Arnold's experiments revealed that triangular snowflakes begin with the same process of chemical bonding and forms a hexagonal shape.

The triangular shape is an illusion resulting from one significant addition to the process dust.

Triangular snowflakes begin to form when a tiny dust particle or other such impurity collides with the flake as it falls, thereby pushing one edge upward. The greater the pressure from the wind, causes bonds to form quick at this edge than in the rest of the snowflake.

Triangular snowflakes begin to form when a tiny dust particle or other such impurity collides with the flake as it falls, thereby pushing one edge upward. The greater the pressure from the wind, causes bonds to form quick at this edge than in the rest of the snowflake.

The resulting snowflake has three long sides and three sides that are so short they are difficult to detect. Although these snowflakes appear to have a triangular shape--they actually have a hexagonal pattern.

Such snowflakes offer evidence that even when impurities interfere, the basic laws of chemistry still apply.

Which choice most effectively concludes the sentence and the essay?

Replace the underlined words with one of the choices below.

Antarctic seals rely on body fat for warmth, so Cox gained twelve pounds, it was weight that she hoped would keep her warm in the icy water.

In November 2002, a crew of physicians, sailors, and expedition experts, Cox headed for Neko Harbor on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Her initial fatigue and exhaustion turned into exhiliration as she moved through water that was clearer and bluer than any she'd swum in before.

Cox knew, however, that the longer she stayed in the water, the longer it would bring her body temperature--which fell to 95.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the swim--back to normal.

A mile was good enough as Cox closed in on the shore and her goal.

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would be LEAST acceptable?

When his older sister's boyfriend showed no interest in using a camera that she had bought for him, Withers took it to school and photographed his classmates.

In 1946, he left the Army and began working at a job that was a self-employed photographer.

Thus, he is well known and well liked, Withers often traveled with and photographed Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and James Meredith.

His photos of Memphis's Beale Street jazz and blues musicians includes the likes of B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley.

In addition to capturing many public personages on film, Withers also photographed: waitresses, church congregations, and Little League baseball games.

One of today’s hottest fads is also one of the world’s oldest practices: the ancient art of yoga. At first, I thought yoga was just another fitness fad, like step aerobics classes or Tae Bo. But after my first class, I understood why yoga has lasted for thousands of years and why so many people are completely into¹ this practice.

Yoga is different from other fitness activi-ties because it is not only physical. In the correct form,² yoga is a practice of unification: an emotional, spiritual, and physical exercise.

Although it may seem easy to those who³ have never practiced, yoga poses require great concentration, and they are surprisingly affective in stretching and strengthening muscles.

Although it may seem easy to those who have never practiced, yoga poses require great concentration, and they are⁴ surprisingly affective in stretching and strengthening muscles.

Although it may seem easy to those who have never practiced, yoga poses require great concentration, and they are surprisingly affective⁵in stretching and strengthening muscles.

A simple sitting pose such as staff pose, for example, requires you to tighten and lengthen stomach, back, and arm muscles as you stretch you’re⁶ legs out in front of you and place your hands by your side.

More difficult poses, such as brave warrior, require you to balance on one leg and hold a pose that strengthens leg, back, and stomach muscles, which is good for you.⁷ While yoga tones and strengthens the body, it also tones and strengthe

While yoga tones and strengthens the body, it also tones and strengthens the mind. Many poses can be only held⁸ if you are completely focused on the task, and full benefit of the poses comes only through proper breathing.

Concentrated deep breathing during yoga helps you extend more fully into the poses, thereby gaining greater benefit from the stretch. And the steady⁹ circulation of breath through your body both calms and energizes.

Through yoga, I am able to release tensions that lodge in various parts of my body: the tight shoulders, the cramped legs, the belly that is in knots.¹⁰