TSI testing
In 2010, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and novelist Jonathan Franzen kissed and made
up after a nine-year feud. In 2001, Franzen was disinvited from appearing on Winfrey's TV show to pitch his novel The Corrections after he made it clear that he was unhappy about the book's being chosen for the Oprah Book Club. Describing his work as
"in the high-art literary tradition," Franzen said he didn't want to be associated with the Club, which he accused of occasionally choosing "schmaltzy, one-dimensional" novels. But Winfrey is apparently able to forgive and forget: she chose Franzen's next novel, Freedom, for her book club and said of it, "Now you haven't heard me say this word often, but this book is a masterpiece." - answer Pride
The main authors of The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are usually thought of as America's "Founding Fathers." Other, less known personages also deserve the title, however, and Noah Webster was one
of these. Through his writings, which include the still- influential dictionary that bears his name, Webster sought to legitimize an "American English" that was independent of British spelling and pronunciation. For instance, Webster removed the "u" from "colour," creating the distinct American version of the word. - answer To present information about an important American
Television has been the primary source of information and entertainment for most Americans over the last 50 years. However, with Internet use on the rise year after year,
some may wonder if surfing the net will soon surpass watching television as Americans' primary leisure activity. Indeed, some recent surveys show that time spent on the Internet
is now greater than time spent in front of the television. However, this statistic may not tell the whole story, as 59% of Americans say they multitask, using the Internet and watching TV simultaneously. - answer may have become less popular than the Internet
If you are committed to healthy, green living and want to reduce your environmental footprint, you might consider expanding your daily diet to include bugs. Supporters of the edible insect initiative rightfully argue that farming insects has a much lower environmental impact than does raising livestock since bugs are easier to harvest and require a fraction of the water and land space that cattle need. Indeed, the high-protein, low-fat health benefits of bug-eating have long been known. For hundreds of years, crickets, silkworms and even tarantulas have been served roasted, stewed and fried at the dinner tables of many cultures. - answer interest and support If you are committed to healthy, green living and want to reduce your environmental footprint, you might consider expanding your daily diet to include bugs. Supporters of the edible insect initiative rightfully argue that farming insects has a much lower environmental impact than does raising livestock since bugs are easier to harvest and require a fraction of the water and land space that cattle need. Indeed, the high-protein, low-fat health benefits of bug-eating have long been known. For hundreds of years, crickets, silkworms and even tarantulas have been served roasted, stewed and fried at the dinner tables of many cultures.
In the first sentence, "expanding" most nearly means - answer Broadening
Long thought to be a case of mistaken identity, the discovery of the Bornean rainbow toad by European explorers in 1924 was recently verified by scientists. The explorers had made a black-and-white sketch of an unusual toad they had found in the jungles of Southeast Asia, christening it the Bornean rainbow toad. Skeptical but curious, scientists recently went to look for the toad—and ended up finding three specimens. - answer Some people doubted the existence of the toad
Plywood, while not the most pleasing wood to look at, has become an incredibly important building material in house construction. It is flexible, inexpensive, and strong. Its strength is due to layers of thin wood glued on top of each other with the grain of each layer making a right angle with the grain of the layer below it. This way of layering the sheets of wood makes plywood difficult to break.
Which word best describes the author's attitude towards plywood's qualities - answer Impressed
Plywood, while not the most pleasing wood to look at, has become an incredibly important building material in house construction. It is flexible, inexpensive, and strong. Its strength is due to layers of thin wood glued on top of each other with the grain of each layer making a right angle with the grain of the layer below it. This way of layering the sheets of wood makes plywood difficult to break.
According to the passage, the arrangement of the layers of thin wood explains plywood's - answer strength
Studies show that the prevalence of fast-food restaurants corresponds with the rates of obesity
in both children and adults. Obesity is now on the rise in countries outside the U.S., where fast food restaurants are becoming more common. - answer They express roughly the same idea.
It is said that a smile is universally understood. Nothing triggers a smile more universally
than the taste of sugar. Nearly everyone loves sugar. Infant studies indicate that humans are born with an innate love of sweets. Based on statistics, a lot of people in Great Britain must be smiling because on average, every man, woman and child in that country consumes 95 pounds of sugar each year.
This passage implies that the writer thinks that 95 pounds of sugar per person per year is: - answer a surprisingly large amount Some historians attribute the origins of the front porches so common in American houses to the covered porticos of classical Rome. Indeed, our word "porch" derives from the Latin portico. However, these colonnaded spaces were almost always connected to public or religious structures rather than to private homes. The loggias of Renaissance Venice, recessed front entryways built into the ground floor of Venetian canal houses, perhaps provide a better starting point for the evolution of the American-
style porch. This architectural feature later became popularized throughout Europe by the 17th-century Venetian architect Andrea Palladio. Eventually, English colonists would
spread the loggia to the American colonies.
Why does the author mention Venetian architect Andrea Palladio? - answer Palladio inspired other builders to include loggias in their designs.
Our bones grow continuously throughout our lives, with old bone cells dying and being discarded. However, for astronauts who are in space for a prolonged period, a lack of gravitational pull—which has a number of beneficial effects on the body, including supporting new bone growth—results in their bones adding less bone tissue to replace dying tissue. In fact, for every month in space, a person will lose 1.5 to 2% of his or her bone mass, with the hip bone and the lower leg bones most affected.
It can be inferred from the passage that - answer the lower body typically experiences more bone growth than the upper body D.
astronauts seldom stay in space for more than a month
Our bones grow continuously throughout our lives, with old bone cells dying and being discarded. However, for astronauts who are in space for a prolonged period, a lack of gravitational pull—which has a number of beneficial effects on the body, including supporting new bone growth—results in their bones adding less bone tissue to replace dying tissue. In fact, for every month in space, a person will lose 1.5 to 2% of his or her bone mass, with the hip bone and the lower leg bones most affected.
The human body adds bone mass in order to: - answer replace dead bone tissue
Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is used in most water-carrying pipes in the United States. Known for their resistance to the corrosion that can be caused by water, PVC pipes are more durable than the metal pipes of old. As useful as PVC is, it may be surprising that it was accidentally discovered in 1835 by Henri Victor Regnault, who observed a mysterious white solid plastic forming inside some test tubes that were left exposed to sunlight in his lab.
It can be inferred from the passage that metal pipes - answer are more likely to corrode than PVC pipes
American copyright laws, laws that prohibit the use, distribution, or adaptation of another's product without permission, first applied only to the copying of books, but now cover such diverse products as sound recordings, motion pictures, and computer programs. The federal Copyright Act of 1790 allowed copyright protection for 14 years with one 14-year extension allowed (if the author survived the first 14-year term). The Copyright Act of 1909 extended copyright protection to 28 years with a 28-year renewal,