Exam 3: ATI-TEAS-Reading

Marie Curie Marie Curie (1867 - 1934) was a famous Polish scientist and Nobel Prize winner. While she is often regarded as an important historical figure, most people may not realize the extent of Curie's accomplishments in the scientific field, let alone the remaining impact these effects have had on modern scientific developments. Originally named Maria Sklodowska, the famous scientist was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867. Due to her family's involvement in government affairs, the Sklodowska family suffered a significant economic loss and they were forced to give up their property during the Polish national uprisings. Despite the economic challenges faced by her family, Marie was adamant in pursuing her education and was known for her prodigious memory from a young age. After working diligently as a teacher in Poland, Marie made her way to Paris in 1891 to study at the Sorbonne (the University of Paris). Brought together by their mutual passion for science, Marie met her future husband, Pierre Curie, in 1894. Their marriage the following year marked the beginning of a series of scientific breakthroughs. The pair seemed destined to make a difference in the scientific field due to their passion for physics and chemistry. Together, they discovered two new elements: polonium and radium. Marie devoted her research towards obtaining a pure form of radium in the metallic state, but struggled to finalize the project. In the meantime, she penned the term "radioactivity" after following Henri Becquerel's discovery of the phenomenon in 1896. Soon after, Marie, along with her husband Pierre and Becquerel, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. After Pierre's sudden death in 1906, Marie continued her experiments and research mostly on her own, all while raising her two daughters, Irene and Eve. During the years after her husband's death, Curie was installed as the first female professor at the Sorbonne in 1906 and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium in 1911. When it comes to Curie's varied achievements, her research on the use of X-radiography is most often hailed as her greatest, as it would later pave the way towards treating illnesses and advancing the medicinal field. Due to the nature of her research and her time as a radiologist in field hospitals, Curie was often unprotected when exposed to X-rays. Decades of this exposure lead to her death from leukemia in 1934. Despite the initial adversity and hardship faced by Curie, she contributed groundbreaking findings in the scientific field. Her immense contributions have not just made an impact when it comes to science, though. Curie is also an important symbol for women's history, as she was able to defy traditional stereotypes of women during her lifetime, and was the first woman in history to win a Nobel Prize. By realizing the hurdles that Curie faced in her early years, her desire to change the scientific field for the better, and her astounding accomplishments, one can come to truly understand and appreciate Curie's achievements. Which of the following best describes the author's point of view about society's understanding of Marie Curie's accomplishments?

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever There's a silent killer stalking unsuspecting victims in the woodlands of North America. The killer is tiny-often small enough to fit on the head of a pin-but it packs a powerful punch. Who is this villain? It's a blood-sucking tick whose bite can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in humans. RMSF is not actually caused by the tick itself. Rather, it can occur after the tick is infected with a pathogenic bacterium known as Rickettsia rickettsii. Thus, the tick is merely a vector, or carrier, of the disease-causing bacteria. Ticks that carry these bacteria are the most common source of infection. In order for the infection to be passed on from insect to human, an infected tick must attach itself to the skin for six to ten hours. Many people who are infected with Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria become sick after about one week. Others, however, might not display any symptoms of RMSF for up to fourteen days. The initial signs and symptoms are nonspecific and can mimic those of other illnesses. These include high fever, chills, severe headache, achy muscles, nausea or vomiting, and general confusion. Three to five days after these initial symptoms occur, a distinctive non-itchy rash can appear. The rash-bright red spots about five millimeters across-usually first appears on the wrists and ankles, and then spreads outwards. Nonetheless, some people never develop these spots at all, making diagnosis tricky. RMSF damages the lining of the body's smallest blood vessels, causing clots to form as well as leaks to occur. This, in turn, can cause other problems including inflammation of the brain, inflammation of the lungs, or kidney failure. In some cases, amputation of the fingers and toes may be necessary due to blood vessel damage. If left untreated, the disease can cause death. Historically, the death rate for the disease was as high as eighty percent. With modern antibiotics, there is a sure cure for the disease. Doxycycline is the recommended antibiotic treatment for RMSF in adults and children of all ages. But you can decrease the chances of getting RMSF by taking a few simple precautions. First, always wear long pants and sleeves when you're out in the woods. Products containing DEET can often repel ticks. But more than anything else, check yourself for ticks from head to toe after being in a wooded or grassy area. Still, care must be taken because ticks can be tiny and easily overlooked. Taking this step has a distinct payoff. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Which of the following is a logical conclusion based on the passage?

Polar Dinosaurs When you think of the typical dinosaur habitat, images of steamy swamps or boiling tropical forests probably come to mind. And certainly, dinosaurs flourished in such environments for millions of years. You might not think of Antarctica or Alaska as probable homes for dinosaurs. However, paleontologists have unearthed the remains of dinosaurs that did quite well in environments that were cold for at least part of the year. Known as polar dinosaurs, they endured long periods of darkness, sometimes up to six months each winter. Seventy million years ago, Alaska was cold but not as cold as it is today. Still, winters would have come with plenty of ice and snow. Scientists estimate that Alaska's climate at the time would have come close to that of Chicago today. The fossil evidence shows that relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex would have hunted the thirty-five-foot-long herbivore Edmontosaurus in forests rich with conifers, or cone-bearing trees, such as ancestors to modern junipers or pines. Polar dinosaurs had two options when winter arrived. They could stay put or escape to warmer climes. Amazingly, it appears that some remained in the area over the long winters. This raises the question of whether the polar dinosaurs were warm-blooded, like modern birds and mammals, or cold-blooded, like modern reptiles. Warm-blooded animals maintain body temperature internally, through metabolism. By contrast, cold-blooded animals warm their bodies by absorbing heat from the sun and their surroundings. That's why you might see a lizard sunning itself on a rock early in the morning. But, at extreme northern and southern latitudes, the sun doesn't rise for several months during the winter. In these places, it would be nearly impossible for a cold-blooded dinosaur to survive. Could these dinosaurs have actually been warm-blooded? Common sense says that they had to be warm-blooded. And many paleontologists now agree. To see why you just need to look at the bones. Bones of all animals have growth rings, similar to the growth rings found on trees. They indicate how quickly or slowly an animal grows. The researchers compared the dinosaurs' growth rates with those of both living and extinct animals and found that the dinosaurs' growth rate matched that of mammals. Scientists also looked at limb length and the amount of muscle required to move the limbs. Cold-blooded animals typically have shorter limb length and less muscle mass than warm-blooded animals. Based on hip height, these scientists concluded that the five largest dinosaurs would have had to be warm-blooded to walk or run. The polar dinosaurs lived in a very strange world. And many scientists now think that the only way they could have thrived there was by being warm-blooded. Which of the following statements rephrases the author's main argument about dinosaurs in the passage?

Today, I had dinner with my friend, Anne. I called her yesterday and asked her to bring a book that I had lent her to the restaurant. She forgot to bring it. At lunch, she promised to bring it to me in the morning. Based on the passage above, which of the following events occurred first?

Where would a student look to find information regarding how far one city is from another?

An elderly woman and a rich man were seated next to each other on a flight from San Francisco to Denver. The man asked if she would enjoy playing a fun game. "I'll ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you'll have to pay me $5, and vice versa." She declined and tried to get some sleep. Annoyed, the man said, "OK. If you get the question wrong, you only owe me five bucks. But if I get the question wrong, I owe you $500." This was too good to pass up, so she agreed. The lawyer asked the first question. "What is the circumference of the earth?" The woman had no idea, so she paid him $5. Then the woman asked the man, "What wears makeup and walks on three legs?" The man had no idea. He took out his laptop and searched high and low for the answer…but he didn't have any luck. After searching for nearly an hour, he gave the woman $500. The woman said "thanks" and tried to sleep. The lawyer was clearly upset and asked the woman what the answer was. Without saying a word, the woman smiled and gave the lawyer a five-dollar bill. Which of the following is a logical conclusion based on the passage?

It's time to do something about the nurdle problem. And just what is a nurdle, you might ask? Nurdles, also known as "mermaid tears," are small plastic pellets that are widely used to make all types of plastic products, from bottles to television sets. Sadly, mismanagement of these little pellets during transport and processing leads to billions being unintentionally released into rivers and oceans. With each passing year, they are becoming more and more prevalent in aquatic environments. Their small size, round shape, and variety of colors make them attractive food-easily mistaken for fish eggs and small prey. In addition, nurdles are often colonized by microbes that are dangerous to humans and sea life. A recent study of nurdles in Scotland revealed that the small plastic bits were covered with E coli, the bacterium responsible for food poisoning in mammals. Fortunately, some organizations are raising awareness of the problem. The Great Global Nurdle Hunt is a charity that encourages people to become citizen scientists and gather data on how common these pieces are. From there, we can figure out who's polluting and begin the cleanup. So let's all get out there and do some nurdle hunting-just be sure to wear your gloves! Which of the following words would the author use to describe the nurdle problem?

There are new threats to the dictator's hold on power. Which of the following dictionary definitions corresponds with "hold" as used in the sentence above?

The future of space travel may not lie with humans, but with robots. At the dawn of the space age, space travel required human astronauts-they were simply more capable than robots. But humans developed technology that steadily made robots more attractive. Astronauts have to breathe, eat, and drink to keep going. But robots can travel to the ends of the solar system free of such constraints. They can do more, go further, and because they don't require costly life-support systems, they can do it all more often. Of course, they still require human direction. Nevertheless, we should all look for more robotic space travelers in the future. Which of the following is true according to information found in the passage?

Dolly the Sheep The topic of human reproductive cloning has been highly debated for decades. However, the world's most famous clone was actually a sheep. Dolly the Sheep (July 5, 1996 - February 14, 2003) was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. Cloned at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland, it took seven months for Dolly's cloning to be publicly announced. Once the success of the experiment was made known, though, it was considered by some to be a scientific, revolutionary breakthrough that changed the history of cloning. Most people probably do not realize that cloning has existed since the beginning of time. For example, organisms such as bacteria create offspring that are genetically identical to the parent through asexual reproduction, the primary form of reproduction for single-celled organisms. In biotechnology, cloning is known as the process of producing copies of cells or DNA fragments. In the cloning of Dolly the Sheep, British biologists called upon the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique. The SCNT technique is a process in which the nucleus from an ordinary, adult cell is transferred into an enucleated oocyte, or commonly known as an unfertilized, developing egg cell. Then, the hybrid cell is divided by an electric shock and implanted in a surrogate mother. In this case, Dolly the Sheep had three mothers, one of which provided the egg, one that provided the DNA, and one that carried the cloned embryo to term. The SCNT process is not only a substantially effective form of animal cloning, but it results in a creature having nearly the same genetic potential as the one providing the nuclear DNA. Interestingly, while Dolly the Sheep is considered to be the most famous cloning experiment, it was not the first time that an animal had been cloned. In fact, other sheep had been cloned in 1984 and 1995, but these experiments were not as notable since they involved embryonic and fetal cells. The fact that Dolly the Sheep had been made from adult cells is what set the experiment apart from the rest. This successful cloning broke new ground in both biology and medicine, as it proved that genetic material from a specific adult cell could be programmed to grow a completely different organism. Dolly the Sheep also triggered an intense worldwide response and a burning debate regarding bioethics. Skeptics and critics of the SCNT technique argued that the process could be used to create human clones, which could act as a violation of human dignity. Some countries even banned cloning and considered it illegal. Those in favor of the SCNT technique, on the other hand, argued that SCNT could help improve understanding of aging and genetics, while also leading to the production of cheaper medicines. Which of the following statements from the passage is an opinion?

Rachel Carson Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was an American marine biologist, conservationist, and author. She was born on a family farm in Pennsylvania and spent her youth exploring the countryside and writing stories, often about animals. It seems as if Carson was born to be an author. By the age of ten, she had already had her first book published. She began her adult career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, but became a full-time writer by the 1950s. More than anything else, she was interested in what can happen when, as she put it, "Things go out of kilter." Because of this, she began work on her groundbreaking book Silent Spring. Developed in 1939, DDT was the most potent pesticide that world had ever known. It showed just how vulnerable nature was to the actions of humanity. While most pesticides of the day killed only one or two types of insects, DDT could kill hundreds. Originally used only by the military to clear South Pacific islands of malaria-causing insects during World War Two, it was cleared for civilian use in 1945. Carson grew justifiably more and more concerned about DDT as its effects on the environment slowly became known. She tried to publish magazine articles to raise the alarm about the poison, but no one would publish her work. Having gathered a vast amount of research on the subject, Carson started a four-year writing odyssey that culminated with the publishing of Silent Spring in 1962. Carson described how a single application of DDT could poison the environment for weeks or even months. It could enter water sources and remain toxic even when diluted. Ultimately, it accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals-including human beings-and caused cancer and genetic damage. The book's most famous chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow," described an American town where all life-even human children-had been "silenced" from the deleterious effects of the poison. The reaction from the chemical industry was immediate. A major chemical manufacturer published a response to Silent Spring with a brochure that made fun of Carson's work. It described a world that was plagued by famine, disease, and insect swarms because chemical pesticides had been banned. In spite of this backlash, her careful work paid off. DDT was ultimately banned after President John F. Kennedy ordered a committee to investigate the effects of the chemical on the environment. But perhaps the most important legacy of her book was a new awareness of humanity's potential to inflict damage on the environment. Before the book, conservation had never garnered much public interest. But the problems that Carson wrote about-water contamination, cancer, and mass extinction-could not be ignored. For the first time, the urgent need to regulate industry to protect the environment became accepted. And from this, the modern environmental movement was born. Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage?

An eighty-year-old man in Miami called his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and said, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your mother and I are divorcing. We're sick of each other and both of us want a change for the better." He then hung up. Frantic, the son called his sister in Los Angeles. "I won't let this happen!" his sister said, "Leave this to me. I'll take care of it." She called her dad immediately and screamed at him. "You aren't getting divorced! Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow." The old man hung up the phone and, turning to his wife, said, "OK. They'll be here for Thanksgiving. Now, what will we tell them for Christmas?" Which of the following sentences from the text supports the inference that the elderly man didn't really want to get divorced?

The Science of Yawning Have you yawned today? If you can't remember or perhaps haven't noticed, you're similar to most Americans. According to a 2007 study, yawning is considered a basic bodily function, such as scratching an itch or crossing one's legs, and people hardly make note of the act. Despite its normality in our daily routines, the question regarding why yawning occurs still has not been answered with certainty. Interestingly enough, little research has been paid to studying yawning, due to a debate surrounding its importance. Many scientists disagree on the importance surrounding research for yawning. Those against the research believe that it will not greatly impact the scientific and medicinal communities, while others believe that there is a case to be made for the possible physiological significance of a somewhat pointless act. There are a few possible causes as to why one yawns, and even fewer theories related to the evolutionary reason for yawning. The most established theory is that yawning helps a person increase his or hers state of alertness. This is one reason as to why yawning has been associated with sleepiness, or when a person is extremely fatigued. In fact, one famous study has suggested that yawning may have developed as a way of keeping animals alert to possible predators. This gives way to the "contagious" yawn theory, which involves an instinctual reaction to warn another member of the "herd" to stay alert in times of danger. These evolutionary theories are also connected to theories regarding empathy. Various studies have shown that spatial proximity in socially close primates is an indicator of yawn contagion. Other scientists believe that yawning is a sign of the body regulating its temperature and cooling itself down. Neuroscientists have attributed yawning to another possible theory regarding the neurotransmitters in the brain. They believe that chemicals responsible for yawning, including serotonin and dopamine, also cause feelings such as hunger and happiness. Thus, as more of these compounds are activated in the brain, the more frequently a person yawns. In one psychological study on the effects of antidepressant medication, researchers found that people undergoing withdrawal from opioids and those taking serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) yawned more often than the people in the control group. This can give way to the idea that chemicals in the brain-especially serotonin-can have an impact on the frequency of yawning. Yawning continues to be an interesting phenomenon with a plethora of possible causes. Theories ranging from chemical balances to empathy relation are all within the realms of possible reasons as to why people yawn, but scientists will most likely study these theories for decades to come. Until a conclusive, definitive answer is reached, it may be safe to assume that yawning acts as a diverse linguistic signal that can represent various functional outcomes. Which of the following is the author's main purpose in the first sentence "Have you yawned today?"

Polar Dinosaurs When you think of the typical dinosaur habitat, images of steamy swamps or boiling tropical forests probably come to mind. And certainly, dinosaurs flourished in such environments for millions of years. You might not think of Antarctica or Alaska as probable homes for dinosaurs. However, paleontologists have unearthed the remains of dinosaurs that did quite well in environments that were cold for at least part of the year. Known as polar dinosaurs, they endured long periods of darkness, sometimes up to six months each winter. Seventy million years ago, Alaska was cold but not as cold as it is today. Still, winters would have come with plenty of ice and snow. Scientists estimate that Alaska's climate at the time would have come close to that of Chicago today. The fossil evidence shows that relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex would have hunted the thirty-five-foot-long herbivore Edmontosaurus in forests rich with conifers, or cone-bearing trees, such as ancestors to modern junipers or pines. Polar dinosaurs had two options when winter arrived. They could stay put or escape to warmer climes. Amazingly, it appears that some remained in the area over the long winters. This raises the question of whether the polar dinosaurs were warm-blooded, like modern birds and mammals, or cold-blooded, like modern reptiles. Warm-blooded animals maintain body temperature internally, through metabolism. By contrast, cold-blooded animals warm their bodies by absorbing heat from the sun and their surroundings. That's why you might see a lizard sunning itself on a rock early in the morning. But, at extreme northern and southern latitudes, the sun doesn't rise for several months during the winter. In these places, it would be nearly impossible for a cold-blooded dinosaur to survive. Could these dinosaurs have actually been warm-blooded? Common sense says that they had to be warm-blooded. And many paleontologists now agree. To see why you just need to look at the bones. Bones of all animals have growth rings, similar to the growth rings found on trees. They indicate how quickly or slowly an animal grows. The researchers compared the dinosaurs' growth rates with those of both living and extinct animals and found that the dinosaurs' growth rate matched that of mammals. Scientists also looked at limb length and the amount of muscle required to move the limbs. Cold-blooded animals typically have shorter limb length and less muscle mass than warm-blooded animals. Based on hip height, these scientists concluded that the five largest dinosaurs would have had to be warm-blooded to walk or run. The polar dinosaurs lived in a very strange world. And many scientists now think that the only way they could have thrived there was by being warm-blooded. What is the meaning of "boiling," as used in the first paragraph?

Fortunately, Sam walked away from the car crash unscathed.  Which of the following is the closest in meaning to "unscathed" as used in the sentence above?

Where would a student look in order to quickly find specific information in a large book?

1 3 1 4 2 3 4 1 2 Using the number string above, replace every 1 with the letter X, every 2 with the letter Y, every 3 with the letter Z, and every 4 with the letter A. For letters that appear more than twice, delete the last instance of those letters. Delete the first and last letters in the string, and replace the vowels with the letter W. Which of the following letter strings corresponds with the letters above?

The candidate tried to fix the election because she had no chance of winning any other way.  Which of the following defines "fix" as it is used in the sentence above?

Triticum aestivum, otherwise known as bread wheat, is the most widely grown crop in the world. Italics are used in the sentence above because the italicized words are:

Use the job posting below to answer the question. Henderson State College Fundraiser for Development/Capital Campaign Henderson State College in Nevada seeks a highly experienced fundraiser to work for the College's in-house fundraising program. The successful candidate will report directly to the director of development and will provide support for the college's Capital Campaign. Work will be conducted in a team environment with the deans of each department of the college. Requirements: Must be willing to work without supervision, travel and devote the time necessary to achieve audacious goals. Evening and weekend work required. Bachelor's degree required, although a master's degree is preferred. Demonstrated success in soliciting major gifts is an absolute must. Must have a minimum of twelve years' experience in fundraising and managing in a team-oriented environment. Those who have worked in a university setting will have an advantage in the selection process. Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume with salary requirements to the address listed below: Charles Smith, Director of Personnel Management Henderson State College Office of Human Resources 456 Desert View Road Henderson, Nevada 91293 Email: smithc@HSC.edu Phone: 454-555-9383 What should applicants do next in order to apply?