In recent years, the popularity of vinyl records has caused shifts in offerings everywhere from thrift shops to music stores and has also led to the unexpected resurgence in the popularity of music from bygone eras. At first, older music saw an increase in consumer popularity because most vinyl records were vintage items from the past. Gradually, more new music was being pressed on vinyl as demand increased. Surprisingly, even though new music was being produced on vinyl, older music remained popular with young consumers. Listeners had rediscovered musical greats spanning from Benny Goodman and Elvis to the punk and rock genres of the ’80s and ’90s.

Founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775 and immediately began a close friendship. Although they were as different as two leaders could be, they kept up a correspondence that spanned decades and covered many of the political issues they wrestled with during the nation’s infancy. While they argued over the right path for the new country, Jefferson thought that Adams was one of the most amiable men he knew. Adams became the second President of the United States and was followed in office by Jefferson. Right before Jefferson took office, Adams intentionally appointed several of Jefferson’s political enemies, which Jefferson said was the one action Adams took that caused him personal displeasure.

In many areas, the month of October is known for its brilliant display of red, yellow, orange, and purple dotting the wooded landscape. Many people lament how short-lived this wonder of colorful beauty is. Actually, this kaleidoscope is present throughout the year, but it is obscured by the presence of the verdant chemical known as chlorophyll. This amazing substance, which gives leaves their customary green color, is responsible for converting carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates by harnessing energy from sunlight. This food-making process, called photosynthesis, occurs throughout the spring and summer, but it slows in autumn as temperatures drop and daylight shortens, causing the chlorophyll to break down and allowing the famous fall foliage colors to shine through.

A variation of a low-carbohydrate diet, the ketogenic diet is unusual because of its micronutrient breakdown: 70 to 80 percent of the total daily calories comes from fat, 5 to 10 percent comes from carbohydrates, and 10 to 20 percent comes from protein. This means keto dieters are eliminating grains, starchy vegetables, beans, legumes, and most fruits while consuming lard, processed meats, butter, and other oils. Research has shown that, in the short term, the dieters’ insulin resistance, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure have improved, but over time, their risk of kidney stones, osteoporosis, and gout increased. Nutrient deficiencies are also possible due to restricting or eliminating entire food groups. As with any diet, consulting a medical professional or nutritionist is essential to ensure that one’s health status is closely monitored.

Passage A
The call for implementing term limits is often sounded near elections. Proponents claim that term limits are a powerful tool to ensure that lawmakers, who often spend as much time campaigning and fundraising as legislating, are held accountable. Yet, what supporters fail to recognize is that instituting term limits will prevent lawmakers from developing deep expertise on issues and effectively force retirement on them regardless of their strengths or abilities. In addition, term limits could mean voters are represented inadequately; lawmakers who know they cannot be reelected may ignore what their constituents want because accountability is no longer a concern. 

Passage B
In a contentious political environment, it is difficult to get voters with opposing views to agree on anything. Nonetheless, according to a 2018 poll, 82 percent of them support a constitutional amendment that places term limits on congressional members. The reasons for this sentiment are as varied as the voters themselves. The desire to remove career politicians and reduce the number of races featuring unopposed incumbents are some factors influencing the support of term limits. Some voters feel that their congressional representatives are not actually representing them. Others believe congresspeople focus more on the desires of wealthier constituents and corporations than on what ordinary people want. Regardless of the reasons, politicians should be aware that term limits are the issue with the greatest bipartisan support in the country.

In this excerpt from a science fiction novel, the narrator describes the discovery of an unexplained object from space.

Then came the night of the first falling star. It was seen early in the morning, rushing over Winchester eastward, a line of flame high in the atmosphere. Hundreds must have seen it, and taken it for an ordinary falling star. Albin described it as leaving a greenish streak behind it that glowed for some seconds. Denning, our greatest authority on meteorites, stated that the height of its first appearance was about ninety or one hundred miles. It seemed to him that it fell to earth about one hundred miles east of him.

I was at home at that hour and writing in my study; and although my French windows face towards Ottershaw and the blind was up (for I loved in those days to look up at the night sky), I saw nothing of it. Yet this strangest of all things that ever came to earth from outer space must have fallen while I was sitting there, visible to me had I only looked up as it passed. Some of those who saw its flight say it travelled with a hissing sound. I myself heard nothing of that. Many people in Berkshire, Surrey, and Middlesex must have seen the fall of it, and, at most, have thought that another meteorite had descended. No one seems to have troubled to look for the fallen mass that night.

But very early in the morning poor Ogilvy, who had seen the shooting star and who was persuaded that a meteorite lay somewhere on the common between Horsell, Ottershaw, and Woking, rose early with the idea of finding it. Find it he did, soon after dawn, and not far from the sand-pits. An enormous hole had been made by the impact of the projectile, and the sand and gravel had been flung violently in every direction over the heath, forming heaps visible a mile and a half away. The heather was on fire eastward, and a thin blue smoke rose against the dawn.

The Thing itself lay almost entirely buried in sand, amidst the scattered splinters of a fir tree it had shivered to fragments in its descent. The uncovered part had the appearance of a huge cylinder, caked over and its outline softened by a thick scaly dun-coloured incrustation. It had a diameter of about thirty yards. He approached the mass, surprised at the size and more so at the shape, since most meteorites are rounded more or less completely. It was, however, still so hot from its flight through the air as to forbid his near approach.

H.G. Wells, excerpt from War of the Worlds. Public domain.