MOOEL TEST READ I NG SECTION 317 MODEL TEST 4: TEST READING SECTION The Reading section lesls your ability 10 understand reading passages like those in college textbooks. The passages are about 700 words in length. This is tho long format for tho Reading section. On the long format, you will respond to fIVe passages. After each passage, you will answer I 2- 14 questions about it. Only three passages wi ll be graded. The other passages are part of an exerimental section for fu ture tests. Because you will not know wh i ch passages will be graded, you must try to do your best on all of them. Most questions are worth I poi nt, but the last question in each pa ssage is worth more than 1 point You will have 100 minutes to read all of the passages and answer the questions. You may take notes while you read, but notes are not graded. You may use your notes to answer tho ques- tions. Some passages may include a wo rd or phrase that is underlined In blue. Click on the word or phrase to see a glossary definit io n or explanation. Choose the best answer for mu Hi ple-choice questions. Fo llow the directions on the page or on tho saeen lor computer-assisted questions. Click on Next to go to the nOld question. Click on Back to return to the previous question. You may return to previous questions lor all 01 the passages in the same readi ng part, but after you go to the n en part, you will not be able to ret u rn to passages in a previous part. Be sure that you have answered all of the questions lor tho passages in each part before you click on Next at the end 01 the passage to move to the neld part. You can click on Review to see a chart 01 the questions you have answered and the quastions you have no t answered.ln each part. From this screen, you can return to the question you want to answer In the part that Is open. A clock on the screen will show you how much time you have to complete the Reading section. ,I ." 318 MORE MOOEL TESTS PART I Radlll, 1 "LByets., $scull ~ Taken together, Income, occupation, and education are good measures 01 people's social standing. Using a layered model 01 stratification, most sociolo- gists describe the class system In the United States as divided i nto several classes: upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, and lower class. Each class is delined by characteristics such as income, occupational prestige, and educa- tional attainment. The different groups are arrayed along a continuum with l!2H with the most money, education, and prestige at the top and those wi th the least at the bottom. In the United States, the upper class owns the mater share 01 corporate and personal wealth; it includes Ihose who have held wealth lor generations as well as those who have recenlly become rich. Only a very small proportion of pe0- ple actually constitute the upper class, but they control vast amounts 01 wealth and power in the United States. They exercise MMWUUII: control throughout SOCiety . Most 01 their wealth Is Inherited. ~~ - II!i Each year, the business magazine Forbes publishes a list of the "Forbes 400" -the four hundred wealthiest fami ~es and individuals in the country. 01 all the wealth represented on the Forbes 400 list, more than hall is inherited. Those on the list whO could be called "sell-made" were not typically of modest origins; mosl In hemed significant assets (Forbes, 199 7; Sklar and Collins,1997). Those In the upper class with newly acquired weallh are known as the nouveau riche. Although they may have vast amounts of money, they are often not accepted into "old rich" circles. ~ The upper middle class includes those with high Incomes and high SOCial prestige. They tend to be well-educated professionals or business executives. Their earnings can be quite high indeed - successful business executives can earn millions of dollars a year. Ills difficult to estimate exactly how many people fall into th is group because of the difficulty 01 drawi ng lines between the upper, upper midd l e, and middle class. Indeed, the upper middle class is often thought of as "middle class" because the ir lifesty le sets the standard to which many aspire. but this lifestyle Is si mply beyond the means 01 a maJority 01 people In the United States. ~ The middle dass is hard to define; In part, being "middle class' is more than just economic position. By lar the majority 01 Americans Identify themselves as middle class even though they vary widely in lifestyle and In resources at their disposal. But the Idea that the United States Is an open-class system leads Malc'ltll chrancnv a' ~rTl prav~ MOOEL TEST READI NG SECTION 3 18 many to think that the majority have a middle-class lifestyle because, in general, people tend not to want to recognize class distinctions in the United States. Thu s, the middle class becomes the ubiquitous norm even though many who call themselves middle class have a tenuous hold on this class position. In the hierarchy 01 social class, the lOwer middle Cl8ss includes workers in the skilled trades and low-Income bureaucratic workers, many of whom may actualty define themselves as middle class. Examples are blue-collar workers (those in skilled trades who do manual labor) and many service workers, such as secretaries, hairdressers, waitresses, police, and firefighters. Medium to low income, education, and occupational prestige del ine the lower middle class rel- ative to the class groups above it. The term "lOwer" in this class deSignation refers to the relative position 01 the group in the stra tif ication system, but it has a pejorative sound to m any people, especially to people who are members 01 this class. -+ The lOwer class is composed P£kIi.iitiol the displaced and poor. People in this class have little formal education and are often unemployed or working In minimum-wage jobs. (!J Forty percent of the poor work; 10 percent work year- round and lull lime - a proportion thai has generally incr eased ove r time. Recently, the concept 01 the underctass has been added to the lower class. IBl The underclass includes those who have been left behind by __ ecooomic developments. ICl Rejected from the economic system, those in the underclass may become dependent on public assistance or illegal activities. !Ill 1. The word lhIlsfI. in the passage refers to (!) characteristics <D groups CO classes en:> continuum 2. The word enormous in the passage is closest in meaning to CD very large <D very new <0 very ea rl y a> very good Mille 1<11 chr ~y '"Sky prfr.tv 320 MOR E MODEL TE STS 3. Which of the senlences below best expresses the Informalion In the highlighted statement in the passage? The other choices change the meaning or leave oot important information. <D Although it Is nol generally accepted, your famity provides the best prediction of your future wealth. CD You can achieve great future wealth In spite of the family in which yoo may have been born. <£) \I is nOltrue that your famity will restrict the acquisition of your future wealth and level 01 social status. ~ Social myths are contrary to the facts about the future wealth and social status of your family. 4. Why does the author mention the "Fornes 400· In paragraph 31 CD To explain the meaning of the listing thai appears every year CD To support the statement that most wealthy people Inherit their money <D To cast doubt on the claim that t a~ity income predicts individual wealth G> To give eKamples of successful people who have modest family connections Paragraph 3 is marked with an arrow [ -+ ]. 5. In paragraph 4, the author states that business and professional people with educational advantages are most often members of the <D tower middle class cD upper middle class <£) nouveau fiche ~ upper class Paragraph 4 is marked with an arrow [-+]. 8. The word primarily in the passage is closest in meaning to <I> moslly cD somewhat !XI finally G> always 7. The word contemooraCi in the passage Is closest In meaning to <D uneKpec\ed CD modern <£) strategic ~ reliable Malc'ltll chrancnv a' ~rTl prav~ MODE L TEST "/READI NG SE C TION 32 1 8. According 10 paragraph 5, why do most people identify themselves as middle class in lhe United States? <D They have aboutlhe same lifestyle as everyone else In the count!)'. cD They prefer not to admit that there are class distinctions In the United States. «> They don't really know how to deline lheir status because it is unclear. CD> They Identify themselves wi th the majority who have nonnallilestyles. Paragraph 5 is marked with an arrow I ~ J. 9. What can be inferred about poor people in the United States? <D They are nol able to find entry-level jobs. <D They wor1t in jobs thai require little education. <D They are service wo~ers and manuatlaborers. m They do not Iry to find employment. 10 . According to paragraph 7, why has the underclass emerged? <D The new lerm was necessary because the lower class enjoyed a higher lifestyle than it h ad previously. <D The increase in crime has supported a new class of people who live by engaging in illegal activities. <D Changes in the economy have caused an entire class of people to survive by wellare or crime. CD Minimum-wage jObs no longer support a class of people at a standard level in the ec0- nomic system. Paragraph 7 is marked with an arrow I ~ I. 11 . All 01 the following are indicators of prestige in the United States EXCEPT <D the level 01 education that a person has achieved <D the amount 01 money that an Individual has acquired <D the type 01 employment that someone pursues CD) the hard wOOl: that a person does on a consistent basis 12. Look al\he four squares , _ ]that show where the following sentence could be inserted in the passage. The wonting poor con s titute a la rge portion of those who are poor . Where could the sentence best be added? Click on a square r. J to inserllhe sentence in the passage. '01 '" ,'" 322 MORE MODEL TESTS 13. Directions : An introduction for a short summary of the passage appears below. Complete the summary by setectlng the TH REE answer choices that mention the most important points in the passage. Some sentences do not belong In the summary because they ekpress ideas that are I"IOt included in the passage or are mil"lOr points from the passage. Thl. questIon Is worth 2 po i nt s. The levels 01 education , the acquisiti on 01 we a lth , and occupat i on al prestige deter- mine s ocial s tatus in the United States, • • • An s wer Cho i ces I!I People who have made their money more recenlly tend not to be accepted by those who have inherited their wealth from family holdings. IBI The lower class includes working people with low incomes and a new underclass of people who are dependent on welfare or engage in crime. It! The upper class tends to acquire wealth through inheritance, whereas the upper middle class has a high Income thai they earn In their professions. PART II Rn4111f 2 "WpMBr ."d ClJaDtic SystMJIS " IDl Although the lifestyle of the upper middle class is the goal for the majority, it is diffi- cult for many people to maintain this standard of living. lEI Most people identify themselves as mid- dle class. including blue·collar workers and service workers as well as bureau- cratic employees. lEI It is still possible to move from one social class to another in the United States by working your way up the ladder in a cor- porate environment. Scientists today have a very good understanding of the physical laws and mathematical equatJoos that govern the behavior and motion 01 atoms in the air, oceans, and land. Why, then, do we have so much trouble predicting the weather? For a long time, mos t scientists liS@r!i8d. thatthedifficultyofweather prediction would go away once we had enough weather stations to collect data from around the world aoo sufficiently powerfut computers to deal with all the data. However, we now know that weather is ru==ncIiiiiiiiiIiI!V , unpredictable on lime scales longer than a few weeks. To understand why, we must look at the nature of scientific prediction. Milt rial chrancny il ' sk~ml pravv MODEL TEST 4IAEADlNG SEC T ION 323 ~ SUppose you want to predict the looation 01 a car on a road 1 minute Ir om now. You need two basic pieces 01 Information: where the car is now, and how fast it is moving. II the car is now passing Smi th Road and heading north at 1 mile per minute, It will be 1 mile north of Smith Road in 1 minute. Now, suppose you want to predict th e weathe r. Again, you need two basic types of information: (1) the current weather and (2) how weather changes Irom one moment to the next. You oould attempt to predict the weather by creatill9 a -model world," For example, you oould overlay a globe 01 the Earth with graph paper and then specify the current temperature. pressure, cloud cover. and wind within each square. These are your starting points, or initial conditions. Next, you oo uld input all the initial co nditions into a oo mputer, along with a set of equations (physical laws) that describe the processes that can chanOA weather from one moment to the next. -+ Suppose t he initial conditions represent the weather around the Earth at this very moment and you run your computer model to predict the weather lor the next month In New York City. The model might tell you th at tomorrow will be warm and sunny, with cooling during the next week and a major sto rm passing through a month from now. Now supposo you rvn tho modol again but mako one minor change In the Inilial conditions-say, a small change In the wind speed somewhere over Brazil. ~ For tomorrow's wea th er, this slightly d ill erent initial conditiorl will not change the weather prediction lor New York City. [SI But for next month's weather, the two predictions may not agree at alll lCl The disagreement between the two predictions arises because the laws governing weather can cause very tiny changes in Initial co nditions to be greally magnified over time. IDI This extreme sensitivity to Initial conditions is sometimes called the bufterlly effect: If initial conditions change by as much as t he flap 01 a butterfly's wings, the resulting prediction may be very different. -+ The butterfly effect Is a chaotic systems. Simple systems are described by li near equations wbichJ for example, increasing a cause pro- duces a proportional increase in an In contrast, chaot iC systems are described by nonlinear equations, whk;h allow for subtler and more intrica te interactions. For example, the economy is nonlinear because a rise in Interest rates does not automatically produce a corresponding change in consumer spending. Weather Is nonlinear because a change in th e willd speed in one location does not automatically produce a correspolldlng change in another location. Many (but not all) nonlinear systems exhibit chaotic behavior. -+ Despite their name, chaotic systems are not completely random. In facl, many chaotic systems have a kind 01 underlying order that explains the general liItiiiiiIlol their behavior even wh ile details at any pa rtJc ular moment remain unpredictable. In a sense , m any chaotic systems are ·predictably unpre- dictable." Our understalldi ng of chaotic systems is increasing at a tremendous rate, bul much remains to be learned about them. Mille 1<11 chr ~y ''Sky prfr.tv . MOOEL TEST READ I NG SECTION 317 MODEL TEST 4: TEST READING SECTION The Reading section lesls your ability 10 understand. passage, you will answer I 2- 14 questions about it. Only three passages wi ll be graded. The other passages are part of an exerimental section for fu ture tests. Because you will not. 01 the passages in the same readi ng part, but after you go to the n en part, you will not be able to ret u rn to passages in a previous part. Be sure that you have answered all