Questions 1-6 refer to the following passage, which is a draft of an essay: (1)Cicero said, “A room without a book is a body without a soul.” (2) Certainly when I enter someone’s home for the first time, I am likely to gravitate to the bookshelf, in part to glean further insight into the personality [...]
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The dress Ariel wore ______ with small, glassy beads, creating a shimmering effect. A. striated B. enthralled C. scintillated D. reiterated E. titillated Well, as I said yesterday, either you know this one or you don’t. If you know which word below means “shiny,” or “shimmering,” then you’re set. I’ll let you look these words up [...]
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What is the value of (x + y)(x + y) if xy = -3 and x2 + y2 = 10? (A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5 First we have to use the FOIL method for multiplying binomials. Using that, (x + y)(x + y) becomes x2 + 2xy + y2. If x2 + y2 = 10, and [...]
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Identify the error, if any, in this sentence. Neither of the artists we have commissionedA to execute the mural areB able to startC work beforeD September. No errorE. As I’ve mentioned in a number of previous PQOTD’s, there are certain pronouns in English that are often thought to be plural, but are actually singular. “Neither” is [...]
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Improving Sentences: which of the choices below makes the best improvement on this sentence? If this sentence is fine as it is, choose (A). I can’t barely wait for her to give me the surprise. A. I can’t barely wait for her to give me the surprise. B. I cannot barely wait [...]
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The predatory fossa of Madagascar resembles a cat, so scientists were surprised when genetic testing revealed that the animal is actually ________ to the mongoose. (a) akin (b) dissimilar (c) sovereign (d) subordinate (e) unrelated The fossa resembles a cat. If scientists are surprised by the results of the genetic testing, and they were expecting [...]
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A radioactive chemical decays 20 percent each day. If 48 pounds of this chemical remain today, how many pounds of this chemical were present two days ago? A. 75 B. 72 C. 70 D. 66 E. 60 We first need to go back to the day before. If 48 pounds of this chemical remain, and [...]
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If the median of x consecutive odd integers is 9, then the average is: A: 6 B: 9 C: 8 D: 10 If you have a set containing an odd number of integers, the median will be the number in the middle after the numbers have been arranged in numerical order. The median of {2,10,15,300,2000}, [...]
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Passage: By the time a child is six or seven she has all the essential avoidances well enough by heart to be trusted with the care of a younger child. And she also develops a number of simple techniques. She learns to weave firm square balls from palm [...]
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Passage: By the time a child is six or seven she has all the essential avoidances well enough by heart to be trusted with the care of a younger child. And she also develops a number of simple techniques. She learns to weave firm square balls from palm [...]
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Which choice best improves the sentence below? If this sentence is ok as it is, choose (A). New research indicates that when human stem cells — the blank slate of the cell world — were exposed to a common virus they turn into fat cells. (A) were exposed to a common virus (B) sometimes when [...]
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Identify the error, if any, in the following sentence. The construction ofA tall skyscrapers in major cities haveB increased dramaticallyC duringD the past decade. No errorE What is the subject of this sentence? Is it “skyscrapers in major cities?” No. It’s the construction of said skyscrapers. This is singular. (B) needs to be “has” instead of “have.” The answer is (B). [...]
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While the winemakers were exhausted at the end of their first season, they took — in the fact that the vines would require much less effort in the coming years. (A) solace (B) prerogative (C) vagaries (D) urgency (E) divergence The first part of this sentence could be rewritten to say, “The winemakers were exhausted at [...]
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A tree of height 50 feet casts a shadow 80 feet long at a certain time of day. A second tree near to the first casts a shadow 100 feet long at the same time. How many feet taller is the second tree than the first? This is just the kind of math question that [...]
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(1) The meals my mom prepared when I was a child would be a present-day dietitian’s nightmare, although I didn’t know it then. (2) When I was very small, for breakfast we’d have lumpy oatmeal with lots of sugar, or eggs fried in butter, with sausage on the side; for lunch, salami sandwiches with mayonnaise [...]
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