PTE RMCMA

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Analysis of ancient DNA from one of the best-preserved Neolithic tombs in Britain has revealed that most of the people buried there were from five continuous generations of a single extended family.

By analyzing DNA extracted from the bones and teeth of 35 individuals entombed at Hazleton North long cairn in the Cotswolds-Severn region, the research team was able to detect that 27 of them were close biological relatives. The group lived approximately 5700 years ago — around 3700-3600 BC — around 100 years after farming had been introduced to Britain.

Published in Nature, it is the first study to reveal in such detail how prehistoric families were structured, and the international team of archaeologists and geneticists say that the results provide new insights into kinship and burial practices in Neolithic times.

What has been revealed by analysis of ancient DNA from one of Britain’s best-preserved Neolithic tombs?

  1. The results provide new insights into neolithic art.
  2. More than half of them were close relatives.
  3. Agriculture hadn’t been invented when the group were living.
  4. All of the people buried in the neolithic tombs are descended from five generations of one extended family.
  5. It reveals the details of the organization of the prehistoric family.

Option 2 and 5

What you eat influences your taste for what you might want to eat next. So claims a University of California, Riverside, study performed on fruit flies.

The study offers a better understanding of neurophysiological plasticity of the taste system in flies.

To maintain ideal health, animals require a balanced diet with optimum amounts of different nutrients. Macronutrients like carbohydrates and proteins are essential; indeed, an unbalanced intake of these nutrients can be detrimental to health. Flies require macronutrients such as sugars and amino acids for survival. They use the gustatory system, the sensory system responsible for the perception of taste, to sense these nutrients and begin feeding.

In their experiments in the lab, the researchers Anindya Ganguly and Manali Dey, led by Anupama Dahanukar, fed adult flies different diets: a balanced diet, a sugar-reduced and protein-enriched diet, and a sugar-enriched and protein-depleted diet. They ensured that all three diets were similar in total calorie content and tested the flies daily for a week to examine modifications in their food choice and taste sensitivity.

The researchers report that diet affects dopamine and insulin signaling in the brain, which, in turn, affects the flies’ peripheral sensory response, which is comprised of neurons directly involved in detecting external stimuli. This response then influences what the flies eat next.

Which of the following statements about the study is true?

  1. What you eat has little to do with what you want to eat next.
  2. An unbalanced intake of macronutrients such as carbohydrates and protein is essential.
  3. The fly senses macronutrients through its taste system.
  4. In the experiment, the researchers made sure the total calories in all three diets were the same.
  5. The researchers tested the flies every two days for a week.
  6. Dopamine in the brain is closely related to diet.

Option 3 and 6

Computer- and smartphone-based treatments appear to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, and while it remains unclear whether they are as effective as face-to–face psychotherapy, they offer a promising alternative to address the growing mental health needs spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The year 2020 marked 30 years since the first paper was published on a digital intervention for the treatment of depression. It also marked an unparalleled inflection point in the worldwide conversion of mental health services from face-to–face delivery to remote, digital solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said lead author Isaac Moshe, MA, a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki. “Given the accelerated adoption of digital interventions, it is both timely and important to ask to what extent digital interventions are effective in the treatment of depression, whether they may provide viable alternatives to face-to–face psychotherapy beyond the lab and what are the key factors that moderate outcomes.”

Digital interventions typically require patients to log in to a software program, website or app to read, watch, listen to and interact with content structured as a series of modules or lessons. Individuals often receive homework assignments relating to the modules and regularly complete digitally administered questionnaires relevant to their presenting problems. This allows clinicians to monitor patients’ progress and outcomes in cases where digital interventions include human support. Digital interventions are not the same as teletherapy, which has gotten much attention during the pandemic, according to Moshe. Teletherapy uses videoconferencing or telephone services to facilitate one-on–one psychotherapy.

Which of the following statements is true?

  1. Digital interventions typically require patients to log into a software program without interaction.
  2. Teletherapy is not identical with digital interventions.
  3. Computer-based and smartphone-based therapy can be just as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy.
  4. Videoconferencing can be a viable method in teletherapy to promote one-on-one psychotherapy.
  5. Computer-based and smartphone-based treatments are the only solution to the growing mental health needs triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Option 2 and 5

There’s bad news for parents who frequently plop their kids in front of the TV to give themselves a break: It might actually end up leaving moms and dads more stressed.

Why? Because the more television that kids watch, the more they’re exposed to advertising messages. The more advertising they see, the more likely they are to insist on purchasing items when they go with their parents to the store — and perhaps make a fuss if told “no.” All that, researchers say, may contribute to parents’ overall stress levels, well beyond a single shopping trip.

The findings come from a University of Arizona-led study, published in the International Journal of Advertising, that explores the potential effects of children’s television watching habits on their parents’ stress levels.

“The more advertising children see, the more they ask for things and the more conflict is generated,” said lead study author Matthew Lapierre, an assistant professor in the UArizona Department of Communication in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “What we haven’t looked at before is what the potential effect is on parents. We know kids ask for things, we know it leads to conflict, but we wanted to ask the next question: Could this be contributing to parents’ overall stress?” The study suggests that it could. There are a few things parents can do, perhaps the most obvious of which is limiting screen time.

What can we infer from the passage?

  1. When watching one television ad, children purchase one thing from it.
  2. Children will ask for more things when they watch more ads, which can lead to more conflict.
  3. Children’s habit of watching TV has a potential impact on parents’ stress level.
  4. For parents, putting their children in front of the TV tends to make themselves happy.
  5. Parents can reduce their stress by limiting their children to watch TV.

Option 2, 3 and 5

A protein named Agrin has been discovered to promote wound healing and repair, when it is triggered after skin tissue is injured. These findings could pave the way for the development of Agrin protein therapy to accelerate skin tissue healing for chronic wounds from diabetes or burns. The research, led by A*STAR’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), was published in the journal Nature Communications on 3 November 2021.

One in 20 Singaporeans is afflicted with chronic wound conditions. Complications in the healing of chronic wounds are prevalent in patients suffering from diabetes or burn injuries, and are a leading cause of amputation and decreased emotional well-being for patients. During injury, a major chunk of extracellular matrix, which helps to rebuild tissue, is lost, therefore delaying wound healing. As such, the timely replenishment of key ECM proteins may accelerate wound healing.

In this study, researchers have shown that timely induction or exogenous supplementation of Agrin, an ECM protein, may promote accelerated healing of injured skin tissues. Using both human and pre-clinical models, they found that physical injury to the skin tissue enhanced the expression of Agrin, which preserves the mechanical architecture of injured skin layers by repairing the skin tissue.

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

  1. Agrin can heal the wound instantly.
  2. Loss of ECM can delay wound healing.
  3. The expression of Agrin was enhanced when skin tissue was physically damaged.
  4. Chronic wound healing complications were the main reason for the decline of patients’ emotional health.
  5. One in 20 Singaporeans suffers from diabetes or burns.

Option 1 and 5

Teaching children in a way that encourages them to empathize with others measurably improves their creativity, and could potentially lead to several other beneficial learning outcomes, new research suggests.

The findings are from a year-long University of Cambridge study with Design and Technology (D&T) year 9 pupils at two inner London schools. Pupils at one school spent the year following curriculum-prescribed lessons, while the other group’s D&T lessons used a set of engineering design thinking tools which aim to foster students’ ability to think creatively and to engender empathy, while solving real-world problems.

Both sets of pupils were assessed for creativity at both the start and end of the school year using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: a well-established psychometric test.

The results showed a statistically significant increase in creativity among pupils at the intervention school, where the thinking tools were used. At the start of the year, the creativity scores of pupils in the control school, which followed the standard curriculum, were 11% higher than those at the intervention school. By the end, however, the situation had completely changed: creativity scores among the intervention group were 78% higher than the control group.

The researchers also examined specific categories within the Torrance Test that are indicative of emotional or cognitive empathy: such as ‘emotional expressiveness’ and ‘open-mindedness‘. Pupils from the intervention school again scored much higher in these categories, indicating that a marked improvement in empathy was driving the overall creativity scores.

Which of the following statements are false?

  1. The significant improvement of empathy promotes the overall creativity score.
  2. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking can assess creativity.
  3. The study lasted two years.
  4. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking can solve real-world problems.
  5. Educating children in a way that encourages them to sympathize with others can improve their creativity.

Option 3 and 4

Teaching children in a way that encourages them to empathize with others measurably improves their creativity, and could potentially lead to several other beneficial learning outcomes, new research suggests.

The findings are from a year-long University of Cambridge study with Design and Technology (D&T) year 9 pupils at two inner London schools. Pupils at one school spent the year following curriculum-prescribed lessons, while the other group’s D&T lessons used a set of engineering design thinking tools which aim to foster students’ ability to think creatively and to engender empathy, while solving real-world problems.

Both sets of pupils were assessed for creativity at both the start and end of the school year using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: a well-established psychometric test.

The results showed a statistically significant increase in creativity among pupils at the intervention school, where the thinking tools were used. At the start of the year, the creativity scores of pupils in the control school, which followed the standard curriculum, were 11% higher than those at the intervention school. By the end, however, the situation had completely changed: creativity scores among the intervention group were 78% higher than the control group.

The researchers also examined specific categories within the Torrance Test that are indicative of emotional or cognitive empathy: such as ‘emotional expressiveness’ and ‘open-mindedness‘. Pupils from the intervention school again scored much higher in these categories, indicating that a marked improvement in empathy was driving the overall creativity scores.

Which of the following statements are false?

  1. The significant improvement of empathy promotes the overall creativity score.
  2. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking can assess creativity.
  3. The study lasted two years.
  4. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking can solve real-world problems.
  5. Educating children in a way that encourages them to sympathize with others can improve their creativity.

Option 3 and 4

Research by the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy suggests that a vaccine stimulating production of a protein critical to the skin’s antioxidant network could help people bolster their defenses against skin cancer.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun leads to oxidative stress, which increases the risk of skin cancers such as melanoma, explains Arup Indra, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at OSU and the study’s leader.

A messenger RNA vaccine, like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for COVID-19, that promoted production of the protein, TR1, in skin cells could mitigate the risk of UV-induced cancers and other skin problems, he said.

Findings of the research, in which Arup and collaborators used a mouse model to probe TR1′s role in skin cells’ health and stability, were published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Melanoma, the most lethal type of skin cancer, is a form in which malignant cells form in skin cells known as melanocytes; melanocytes produce the pigment melanin, which determines skin color.

Most cases of skin cancer, the CDC says, are linked to UV radiation exposure. People become tan from exposure to the sun or tanning beds because producing melanin is the body’s way of trying to protect the skin from burning.

Which of the following statements about the vaccine are incorrect?

  1. The body’s way of trying to protect skin from burning is by producing melanin.
  2. Most cases of skin cancer are linked to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
  3. The vaccine could help people boost their defenses against skin cancer.
  4. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and Melanoma is the least deadly form of skin cancer.
  5. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun certainly causes skin cancer.

Option 4 and 5

Using laws governing human rights may be the best way of harnessing international legislation and tribunals to protect the Amazon, a new study shows.

Safeguarding the rainforest is a critical priority because of the ecosystem’s planetary importance. Recent increases in deforestation and fires in the region have made this even more urgent.

The new research, published in the Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law (RECIEL), says using human rights law to protect the Amazon is more likely to have stronger prospects, as campaigners wouldn’t need to submit information about more than one nation for it to be upheld. Courts would only need to judge that environmental damage violated the rights of either certain individuals or tribal and indigenous peoples.

The experts behind the study hope it will be used as a comprehensive guide for those working to protect the Amazon. It assesses the potential for litigation in international courts and tribunals, examining the possible claims, the risks associated with each of these and which are more likely to be successful.

The protection of the Amazon poses particular challenges for international law because global ways of protecting the environment exist alongside the territorial jurisdiction of the Amazon nations, which have permanent sovereignty over natural resources.

The hurdles in jurisdiction and evidence often prevent a clear-cut judgment and Amazon states from being compelled to take the urgent and direct measures needed to bring the ecosystem back from the brink.

According to the passage, which of the following statements about the Amazon protection is true?

  1. The best way to protect the Amazon is to use laws governing human rights and probably international legislation.
  2. Protecting the rainforest is a vital top priority.
  3. Using human rights law to protect the Amazon is more likely to prove promising.
  4. The increase in regional deforestation and fires has made the protection more urgent.
  5. Protecting the Amazon is a common challenge of international law.

Option 1,3 and 4

New research from The Australian National University (ANU) shows unless conservation actions are urgently stepped up, one of our most beautiful songbirds, the regent honeyeater, will be extinct within 20 years.

The new study reveals current, already intensive, conservation efforts are not sufficient, and a huge redoubling of effort is needed if we are to save these birds from extinction.

“The regent honeyeater population has been decimated by the loss of over 90 per cent of their preferred woodland habitats,” lead author Professor Rob Heinsohn from ANU said.

“Less than 80 years ago, it was one of the most commonly encountered species, ranging from Adelaide to Rockhampton. Now it is on track to follow the Dodo into extinction.”

Today there are fewer than 300 regent honeyeaters left, making it one of our rarest bird species. Habitat loss has forced them to compete with larger species for remaining habitat.

The ANU team commenced a large-scale project in 2015 to better understand the regent honeyeater population decline, but found they are an exceptionally difficult bird to study in the wild. As nomads, they wander long distances in search of nectar. After 6 years of intensive fieldwork, the team discovered that the birds’ breeding success has declined due to predation at the nest by species such as pied currawongs, noisy miners and possums.

Which of the following statements about the regent honeyeater is correct?

  1. The regent honeyeater has gone extinct.
  2. The regent honeyeater will be extinct within 20 years.
  3. It used to be one of the most common species.
  4. The regent honeyeater decreased because they were difficult to study in the wild.
  5. The decrease of habitat is the main reason for the decrease of the regent honeyeater.

Option 3 and 5

Game-changing technology to design traffic lights that absorb kinetic energy, stopping them from crumpling when hit by a vehicle, will prevent thousands of fatalities and injuries each year and make our roads much safer.

That’s the prediction from University of South Australia (UniSA) senior lecturer and research lead Dr Mohammad Uddin, who is partnering with manufacturing company Impact Absorbing Systems (IAS) on a new project to minimise collision-related injuries as well as damage to traffic lights and vehicles.

The $640,000 project, partially funded by the Innovative Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), will leverage IAS’s expertise in road safety and UniSA’s engineering design and advanced manufacturing skills to ensure traffic lights absorb a high-impact crash, remain undamaged and operational, and save pedestrian and motorists’ lives.

The technology involves replicating existing IAS-fabricated energy absorbing bollards and tuning the design to better suit the shape, length and size of common traffic lights, while satisfying regulatory standards.

“Recent statistics show that in Australia, traffic light collisions cost $18.5 million a year in fatalities, $53.7 million for injuries and up to $16 million annually to repair, install and maintain traffic lights,” Dr Uddin says. Worldwide, the figure is much higher.

What are the functions of traffic lights that absorb kinetic energy?

  1. Increase collision damage.
  2. Save the lives of pedestrians and drivers.
  3. Meet regulatory standards.
  4. The normal operation.
  5. Make our roads safer.

Option 2,4 and 5

Hydropower is the dominant source of energy in the Amazon region, the world’s largest river basin and a hotspot for future hydropower development. However, a new Global Environmental Change study warns that in the coming decades, climate change-driven reductions in precipitation and river discharge will diminish the Amazon’s hydropower capacity.

The study’s authors examined 351 proposed hydropower projects in the Amazon basin. Their findings suggest that hydrologic shifts by midcentury will reduce hydropower generation at many locations. As river discharge becomes increasingly variable and hydropower output declines, alternative energy sources like solar and wind are expected to become ever more important.

Hydropower needs to be designed to operate in concert with alternative energy sources like solar and wind so periods of low river flows do not disrupt electrical grids that supply vital power to cities and industries. New hydropower facilities should be carefully sited in locations of more reliable flows, and designed to operate over a broader range of flows than historical experience would indicate.

Almeida concludes, “Energy planners need to focus on climate resilience. Brazil, for example, has over 200 million people and hydropower is the dominant energy source. This year, Brazilian hydropower reservoirs are at record lows due to extreme drought; as a result, Brazil might need to start rationing power. Ensuring energy security into the future will require diversifying energy sources to include solar and wind, and adapting hydropower plans to suit future — not historic — river flows.”

Which of the following statements are correct?

  1. Hydrologic changes will reduce hydropower generation in many places by the middle of the century.
  2. New hydropower facilities should be carefully sited where the flow is less reliable.
  3. Hydroelectric reservoirs in Brazil are at record lows due to extreme drought.
  4. Hydropower is the only source of energy in the Amazon.
  5. Alternative energy sources such as solar and wind will become increasingly important.

Option 1, 3 and 5

People with persistent back pain or persistent headaches are twice as likely to suffer from both disorders, a new study from the University of Warwick has revealed.

The results, published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, suggest an association between the two types of pain that could point to a shared treatment for both.

The researchers from Warwick Medical School who are funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) led a systematic review of fourteen studies with a total of 460,195 participants that attempt to quantify the association between persistent headaches and persistent low back pain. They found an association between having persistent low back pain and having persistent (chronic) headaches, with patients experiencing one typically being twice as likely to experience the other compared to people without either headaches or back pain. The association is also stronger for people affected by migraine.

The researchers focused on people with chronic headache disorders, those who will have had headaches on most days for at least three months, and people with persistent low back pain that experience that pain day after day. These are two very common disorders that are leading causes of disability worldwide.

Around one in five people have persistent low back pain and one in 30 have chronic headaches. The researchers estimate that just over one in 100 people (or well over half a million people) in the UK have both.

What are the main findings of the study?

  1. In the UK, one in 100 people have both persistent back pain and persistent headaches.
  2. There is a link between persistent back pain or persistent headache.
  3. Headaches are the only cause of disability.
  4. People with persistent back pain or headaches are half as likely to develop either condition.
  5. The relationship between persistent headache and persistent low back pain is not quantifiable.

Option 1 and 2

A recent study suggests that teaching children to understand other people’s perspectives could make it easier for them to learn how to forgive other people.

“Forgiveness is important in children and adults for restoring relationships and limiting future conflicts,” says Kelly Lynn Mulvey, lead author of the study. “But we didn’t know much about what makes children more likely to forgive others, particularly from early childhood to adolescence.”

To that end, Mulvey and her collaborators enlisted 185 children, between the ages of 5 and 14, in the study. Researchers conducted in an in-depth interview with each child that collected background information and assessed the child’s “theory of mind” skills.

Researchers then led each child through a series of scenarios involving other children who are “in group” and “out group.” Specifically, each study participant was told they were part of a group, such as the green team. During interviews, researchers described some children in the scenarios as also being on the green team, while other children in the scenarios were on the yellow team. In each scenario, interviewers asked study participants whether they were willing to forgive a group that left them out of a game or activity.

There were three main findings. First, children are more likely to forgive someone if they have apologized. Second, children are more likely to forgive people who are “in group.” Third, the more advanced a child’s Theory of Mind skills are, the more likely they are to forgive others.

What did the study find?

  1. Children are more likely to forgive those who are “in the group”.
  2. Forgiveness can help restore their relationship and reduce future conflict.
  3. Children are more likely to forgive the person who apologizes.
  4. Children can forgive just like adults.
  5. The more advanced the theory of mind skills, the less likely a child is to forgive.

Option 1 and 3

Drugs we take can weaken our bones and so can aging, and scientists working to prevent both have some of the first evidence that the best target may not be the logical one.

They are finding that in aging bone, the mineralocorticoid receptor, better known for its role in blood pressure regulation, is a key factor in bone health, says Dr. Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, biomedical engineer in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Georgia. And drugs that block the receptor, like the hypertension medications spironolactone and eplerenone, may help protect bone cells.

Drugs like prednisone are glucocorticoids, which are better known for their roles in reducing inflammation and suppressing the immune response, which is why they work so well for problems like irritable bowel syndrome and arthritis. But, like aging, they can also disrupt the healthy, ongoing dynamic of bone being made and being destroyed.

Our natural glucocorticoid levels increase with age, and bone, at least when we are young, has more glucocorticoid receptors than mineralocorticoid receptors. Glucocorticoids can actually coax stem cells to make bone-forming osteoblasts, but it also causes those osteoblasts to store more fat, and too much fat in the bone, like anywhere on our body, is probably not good and typically correlates with bone loss.

So reducing the impact of glucocorticoid receptors seemed like a logical way to protect bone.

Which of the following statements are true?

  1. Glucocorticoids work so bad for arthritis.
  2. Aging can weaken our bones.
  3. When we are young, there are fewer mineralocorticoid receptors in the brain than glucocorticoid receptors.
  4. Reducing the effect of glucocorticoid receptor must be a reasonable way to protect bone.
  5. Bone cells may be protected by drugs that block receptors.

Option 2,3 and 5

X-ray crystallography is the study of crystal structures through X-ray diffraction techniques. When an X-ray beam bombards a crystalline lattice in a given orientation, the beam is scattered in a definite manner characterized by the atomic structure of the lattice. This phenomenon, known as X-ray diffraction, occurs when the wavelength of X-rays and the interatomic distances in the lattice have the same order of magnitude. In 1912, the German scientist Max van Laue predicted that crystals exhibit diffraction qualities. Concurrently, W. Friedrich and P. Knipping created the first photographic diffraction patterns. A year later, Lawrence Bragg successfully analyzed the crystalline structures of potassium chloride and sodium chloride using X-ray crystallography, and developed a rudimentary treatment for X-ray/crystal interaction (Bragg’s Law). Bragg’s research provided a method to determine a number of simple crystal structures for the next 50 years. In the 1960s, the capabilities of X-ray crystallography were greatly improved by the incorporation of computer technology. Modern X-ray crystallography provides the most powerful and accurate method far determining single-crystal structures. Structures containing 100-200 atoms now can be analyzed an the order of 1-2 days, whereas before the 1960s a 20-atom structure required 1-2 years far analysis. Through X-ray crystallography the chemical structure of thousands of organic, inorganic, organometallic, and biological compounds are determined every year.

Which of the fallowing factors are consistent with the theory of X-ray crystallography?

  1. X-ray crystallization causes a reduction in the interatomic distances of wavelengths.
  2. X-rays are scattered according to the atomic structure of the crystal lattice.
  3. The analysis of chemical compounds was only passible after the development of computer technology.
  4. The process can be used to determine the chemical structure of biological compounds.
  5. X-rays will not defract in crystalline substances.

Option 2 and 4

September 2, 1752, was a great day in the history of sleep. That Wednesday evening, millions of British subjects in England and the colonies went peacefully to sleep and did not wake up until twelve days later. Behind this feat of narcoleptic prowess was not same revolutionary hypnotic technique or miraculous pharmaceutical discovered in the West Indies. It was, rather, the British Calendar Act of 1751, which declared the day after Wednesday 2nd to be Thursday 14th.

Prior to that cataleptic September evening, the official British calendar differed from that of continental Europe by eleven days—that is, September 2 in London was September 13 in Paris, Lisbon, and Berlin. The discrepancy had sprung from Britain’s continued use of the Julian calendar, which had also been the official calendar of Europe from its invention by Julius Caesar (after whom it was named) in 45 B.C. until the decree of Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.

Caesar’s calendar, which consisted of eleven months of 30 or 31 days and a 28-day February (extended to 29 days every fourth year), was actually quite accurate: it erred from the real solar calendar by only 11.5 minutes a year. After centuries, though, even a small inaccuracy like this adds up. By the sixteenth century, it had put the Julian calendar behind the solar one by 10 days.

In Europe, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the Julian calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrective device to curb further error: century years such as 1700 or 1800 would no longer be counted as leap years, unless they were (like 1600 or 2000) divisible by 400.

What factors were involved in the disparity between the calendars of Britain and Europe in the 17th century?

  1. the provisions of the British Calendar Act of 1751
  2. Britain’s continued use of the Julian calendar
  3. the accrual of very minor differences between the calendar used in Britain and real solar events
  4. the failure to include years divisible by four as leap years
  5. the decree of Pope Gregory XIII
  6. revolutionary ideas which had emerged from the West Indies
  7. Britain’s use of a calendar consisting of twelve months rather than eleven

Option 2, 3 and 5

Here is a part of Spain’s sun-baked Andalucia that is extraordinary not only because of its unspoiled terrain and authentic Spanish traditions but also because of its caves. These are not dark, damp holes, with dripping water and evil smells. They are residences, ancient Bronze Age dwellings now being refurbished for hundreds of 21st century Spaniards. In Galera, the region’s most important village, it’s estimated that there are at least 1,000 such habitations carved into its hillsides. We take old caves renovate them, then sell them on, says Rob Oakley, office manager of leading developer Galera enterprises. Our company was set up by someone who discovered the area of Galera when it was just a tourist attraction 15 years ago and saw its potential. The ancient abodes are transformed from rough caves into relatively luxurious homes, equipped out with amenities like electricity and sewage, phone lines, running hot water, even internet connections.

Which of the following words in the passages have the same meaning as ‘residences’ has?

  1. Abodes
  2. Amenities
  3. Connections
  4. Dwellings
  5. Habitations
  6. Hillsides
  7. Terrain

Option 1, 4 and 5

By the laws of probability, most decisions made under pressure should be flawed ones, yet psychologists have found that people routinely make correct judgments most of the time, even with limited information. One of Gladwell’s surprising points is that we can actually learn how to make better snap judgments, in the same way that we can learn logical, deliberative thinking. But first we have to accept the idea that thinking long and hard about something does not always deliver us better results, and that the brain actually evolved to make us think on our feet.

Which of the following does the passage tell us about decision making?

  1. The brain is designed to enable quick decision making.
  2. Quick decision making can be improved.
  3. Quick decision making routinely leads to error.
  4. To make correct decisions we require all relevant information.
  5. Thinking things through thoroughly will lead to greater success.

Option 1 and 2

Now, Osvanny Ramos of the Ecole Normale Suprieure in Lyon, France, and colleagues say prediction is possible after all. They designed an experiment that induced avalanches in a two-dimensional pile of 4-millimetre-diameter steel beads. They placed a 60-centimetre row of randomly spaced beads between two parallel, vertical glass plates 4.5 millimetres apart, with the beads glued to the bottom to simulate the ground under a natural pile. Then they dropped in one bead at a time, creating piles of up to 55,000 beads. After each drop, the team photographed the pile and measured the position of each bead to calculate the “space factor” – a measure of the disorder in the system, which was related to the space surrounding each bead (see diagram). The greater the disorder round a bead, the more likely an avalanche was. If one or more beads moved when a new bead fell on the pile, that was considered to be an avalanche. An extra-large avalanche involved between 317 and 1000 beads. The researchers found that if the space factor before a bead dropped was greater than it had been 50 steps earlier, they could predict an extra-large avalanche with 64 per cent accuracy. Ramos says that they can improve the odds by analysing more information, such as the size of the pile (Physical Review Letters, vol 102, p078701).

The work could also have important consequences for predicting earthquakes. Ramos has an inkling why forecasting earthquakes is so difficult: seismologist tend to use information about the time and size of events, known as a time series. However, Ramos found that this didn’t help predict the next big avalanche. “When seismologists try to predict earthquakes, they analyse the time series,” he says. He argues that they would have more successes analysing data analogous to the internal disorder in the pile of beads.

According to the text, what can we learn from the “space factor”-a measure of the disorder in the system?

  1. Space factor is related to the space around each bead, and the greater disorder indicates a higher possibility of avalanche.
  2. The greater the disorder around a bead, the less likely an avalanche was.
  3. Internal disorder analysis will lead to a more successful model.
  4. They could 100% accurately predict an extra-large avalanche based on the change in space factor of a bead.

Option 1 and 3

Dennett recognizes that all human minds are shaped not only by natural selection but by enormous cultural influenced which effectively redesign our minds. He invites us to think of the conscious mind as consisting of those mental contents that win in competition against other mental contents in the battle for control of behavior. What we are is the “organization of all the competitive activity between a host of competences” that our bodies have developed. Consciousness is defined by what a mind can do – whether it can concentrate, be distracted, recall earlier events, keep track of a number of things at once etc.. Dennett urges us to resist the temptation to imagine animals as accompanying their clever activities with streams of reflective consciousness as we would. We may not know that they do not, but we certainly cannot assume that they do. He notes that the more we learn about clever activities in animals and how they are accomplished, the less the processes in their brains seem to resemble the thoughts we imagined were doing the work.

According to Dennett, the mind displays which of the following characteristics?

  1. Our minds are shaped by natural selection.
  2. Our conscious mind tries to control our behaviors.
  3. Our minds are not shaped by cultural influences.
  4. Animals make decisions based on their conscious minds.
  5. A mind cannot concentrate or cannot be distracted.

Option 1 and 2

Europe in the eleventh century underwent enormous social, technological, and economic changes, but this did not create a new Europe—it created two new ones. The north was developed as a rigidly hierarchical society in which status was determined, or was at least indicated, by the extent to which one owned, controlled, or labored on land; whereas the Mediterranean south developed a more fluid, and therefore more chaotic, world in which industry and commerce predominated and social status both reflected and resulted from the role that one played in the public life of the community. ln other words, individual identity and social community in the north were established on a personal basis, whereas in the south they were established on a civic basis. By the start of the twelfth century, northern and southern Europe were very different places indeed, and the Europeans themselves noticed it and commented on it.

Which of the following was a deciding factor in person’s place in society in northern and southern Europe respectively at the end of the eleventh century?

  1. Ownership of a commercial enterprise.
  2. Participation in social and technological changes.
  3. Role in public life in the community.
  4. Relationship to land through ownership or labor.

Option 3 and 4

Fuller had scientific leanings and constantly experimented with electrical lighting (which was then in its infancy), colored gels, slide projections, and other aspects of stage technology. She invented and patented special arrangements of mirrors and concocted chemical dyes for her draperies. Her interest in color and light paralleled the research of several artists of the period, notably the painter Seurat, famed for his Pointillist technique of creating a sense of shapes and light on canvas by applying extremely small dots of color rather than by painting lines. One of Fuller’s major inventions was under lighting, in which she stood on a pane of frosted glass illuminated from underneath. This was particularly effective in her Fire Dance (1895), performed to the music of Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” The dance caught the eye of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who depicted it in a lithograph.

According to the paragraph, Fuller’s Fire Dance was notable in part for its

  1. use of colored gels to illuminate glass
  2. use of dyes and paints to create an image of fire
  3. performance with music of Richard Wagner
  4. technique of lighting the dancer from beneath
  5. draperies with small dots resembling the Pointillist technique of Seurat

Option 3 and 4

The differences in feeding preferences lead, in turn, to differences in migratory habits. The wildebeests follow, in their migration, the pattern of local rainfall. The other species do likewise. But when a new area is fueled by rain, the mammals migrate toward it in a set order to exploit it. The larger, less fastidious feeders, the zebras, move in first; the choosier, smaller wildebeests come later; and the smallest species of all, Thomson’s gazelle, arrives last. The later species all depend on the preparations of the earlier one, for the actions of the zebra alter the vegetation to suit the stomachs of the wildebeest, topi, and gazelle.

According to the passage, which of the following is true of wildebeests?

  1. They eat more stem matter than zebras do.
  2. They are able to digest large food particles if the food is of a high quality.
  3. They tend to choose feeding areas in which the vegetation has been worn down.
  4. They are likely to choose low-quality food to eat in periods when the quantity of rainfall is low.
  5. They are relatively choosier than larger herbivores.

Option 3 and 5

How are we to understand their different feeding preferences? The answer lies in two associated differences among the species, in their digestive systems and body sizes. According to their digestive systems, these herbivores can be divided into two categories: the nonruminants (such as the zebra, which has a digestive system like a horse) and the ruminants (such as the wildebeest, topi, and gazelle, which are like the cow). Nonruminants cannot extract much energy from the hard parts of a plant; however, this is more than made up for by the fast speed at which food passes through their guts. Thus, when there is only a short supply of poor-quality food, the wildebeest, topi, and gazelle enjoy an advantage. They are ruminants and have a special structure (the rumen) in their stomachs, which contains microorganisms that can break down the hard parts of plants. Food passes only slowly through the ruminant’s gut because ruminating—digesting the hard parts—takes time. The ruminant continually regurgitates food from its stomach back to its mouth to chew it up further (that is what a cow is doing when “chewing cud“). Only when it has been chewed up and digested almost to a liquid can the food pass through the rumen and on through the gut. Larger particles cannot pass through until they have been chewed down to size. Therefore, when food is in short supply, a ruminant can last longer than a nonruminant because it can derive more energy out of the same food. The difference can partially explain the eating habits of the Serengeti herbivores. The zebra chooses areas where there is more low-quality food. It migrates first to unexploited areas and chomps the abundant low-quality stems before moving on. It is a fast-in/fast-out feeder, relying on a high output of incompletely digested food. By the time the wil1debeests (and other ruminants) arrive, the grazing and trampling of the zebras will have worn the vegetation down. As the ruminants then set to work, they eat down to the lower, leafier parts of the vegetation. All of this fits in with the differences in stomach contents with which we began.

According to the paragraph, which of the following herbivores has to eat large quantities of plant stems because it gains relatively little energy from each given quantity of this food?

  1. The gazelle
  2. The horse
  3. The zebra
  4. The topi
  5. The wildebeest

Option 2 and 3

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