AnswersFL-1700370-Critical Thinking and Study Skills - FlexMaking Inferences to Determine Central Ideas: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue"

Making Inferences to Determine Central Ideas: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" — Unit test Answers

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Read the sentence.The fake, counterfeit money, which isn't valid, was discovered in the crime investigation.What is the best way to revise this sentence to eliminate wordiness?

A
The money is not valid because it was counterfeit and discovered in the crime investigation.
B
The counterfeit money was discovered in the crime investigation.
C
Discovered in the crime investigation, the counterfeit money was fake.
D
The sentence is correct as written.
2
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Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. English is now the second language of at least one-sixth of the nation’s restaurant workers, and about one-third of that group speaks no English at all. The proportion of fast food workers who cannot speak English is even higher.Which type of evidence does the author use in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical
3

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”If you stumbled upon a black hole and found yourself falling feet-first toward its center, then as you got closer, the black hole’s force of gravity would grow astronomically. Curiously, you would not feel this force at all because, like anything in free fall, you are weightless. What you do feel, however, is something far more sinister. While you fall, the black hole’s force of gravity at your two feet, they being closer to the black hole’s center, accelerates them faster than does the weaker force of gravity at your head. Read the excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”the only true point of view,is full of the hope that he,the hub of the cosmoswith his hair blown sideways,will eventually make it all the way downtown.Which choice best describes the differing views Tyson and Collins present of humanity?

A
Tyson describes a sinister universe where men are eaten by black holes, while Collins describes a cosmos full of hope for a better future.
B
Tyson writes about a scientific fact of life, while Collins writes about an emotionally charged event in his life.
C
Tyson presents humans as powerless against the forces of nature, while Collins presents an individual creating his own destiny.
D
Tyson suggests that people have no control of their lives in a dangerous world, while Collins reminds people to take control and be focused.
4

Which of the following excerpts from Fast Food Nation best provides evidence that fast food restaurants are designed for using unskilled labor?

A
Her family’s modest townhouse sits beside a busy highway on the south side of Colorado Springs, in a largely poor and working-class neighborhood.
B
The ovens at Pizza Hut and at Domino’s also use conveyor belts to ensure standardized cooking times.
C
The restaurant opens for business at seven o’clock, and for the next hour or so, Elisa and the manager hold down the fort, handling all the orders.
D
Throughput is all about increasing the speed of assembly, about doing things faster in order to make more.
5

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Up and down Academy Boulevard, along South Nevada, Circle Drive, and Woodman Road, teenagers like Elisa run the fast food restaurants of Colorado Springs. Fast food kitchens often seem like a scene from Bugsy Malone, a film in which all the actors are children pretending to be adults. No other industry in the United States has a workforce so dominated by adolescents.How does Schlosser effectively build his argument in this excerpt?

A
He uses anecdotal evidence to share a personal experience of eating fast food.
B
He uses analogical evidence to help the reader visualize his point about the workers.
C
He uses testimonial evidence to explain the health risks of eating fast food.
D
He uses statistical evidence to prove that adults make better employees than teens.
6

Read the sentence from an argumentative essay about chemical waste. The chemical waste produced by factories is out of hand, and factory owners should get in trouble.Which revision offers the most improvement in word choice?

A
The chemical waste produced by factories is insane, and factory owners should be punished.
B
The chemical waste produced by factories is dangerous, and factory owners should be held accountable.
C
The chemical waste produced by factories is huge, and factory owners should get it under control.
D
The chemical waste produced by factories is manageable, and factory owners deserve blame.
7

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. He came to consider a company “honest” if its payment rate was above 90 percent. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent “annoying but tolerable.” If a company habitually paid below 80 percent, Feldman might post a hectoring note, like this one:The cost of bagels has gone up dramatically since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, the number of bagels that disappear without being paid for has also gone up. Don’t let that continue. I don’t imagine that you would teach your children to cheat, so why do it yourselves? The excerpt serves as which type of support for the authors’ argument?

A
a claim
B
an example
C
a conclusion
D
a counterclaim
8

Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”That’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments, breaking apart at your midsection. Upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. Shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever-increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. After you’ve been ripped into shreds of organic molecules, the molecules themselves begin to feel the continually growing tidal forces. Eventually, they too snap apart, creating a stream of their constituent atoms. And then, of course, the atoms themselves snap apart, leaving an unrecognizable parade of particles that, minutes earlier, had been you.Which statement best describes how the author conveys the message that humans are no match for the power of a black hole?

A
He explains scientific theories to the reader and provides the definitions for difficult terms and words.
B
He uses logic and reason to lay out each individual step of human combustion as it is absorbed by the tidal force.
C
He provides helpful comparisons of black holes with other cosmic phenomena that the reader may already know.
D
He personalizes the experience for the reader and uses vivid imagery to create a clear mental picture.
9

How does Michio Kaku develop the idea of an impending scientific revolution in “Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence”?

A
by praising the efficiency of modern-day Internet research
B
by providing quantitative proof of recent scientific progress
C
by comparing scientific knowledge to grains of sand on a beach
D
by providing the names and contributions of modern scientists
10

Read the following excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”That’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments, breaking apart at your midsection. Upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. Shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever-increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc.Read the following excerpt from Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc.”The music is loud yet so confidentialI cannot help feeling even morelike the center of the universethan usual as I walk along to a rapidlittle version of “The Way You Look Tonight,”What do these two excerpts reveal about the difference in ideas presented by Tyson and Collins?

A
Tyson stresses humanity’s relative insignificance in the universe, while Collins stresses man’s perceived importance.
B
Tyson describes man’s place in the universe, while Collins focuses primarily on the role of mankind itself.
C
Tyson’s essay is a serious discussion of black holes, while Collins’s poem mocks the importance of music.
D
Tyson discusses the probability of being swallowed by black holes, while Collins describes the effects of listening to music.
11

Having a counterclaim in an argumentative essay allows the author of the essay to

A
provide background information on the topic.
B
support his or her claim with evidence.
C
state his or her opinion on the topic.
D
address any opposition to his or her claim.
12

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. The bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to affect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather, meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates—again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine’s Day is also lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones.Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this paragraph?

A
Different emotional states affect people’s honesty.
B
Some holidays cause people to be less honest.
C
Cold weather causes an increase in dishonesty.
D
Holidays and cold weather may cause anxiety.
13

Which of the following sentences is written correctly?

A
The team played good in their championship game so they won.
B
The drum major performed badly because she forgot the routine.
C
Ivan feels well about his choice to join the after-school program.
D
The gymnasts felt badly because they had skipped breakfast.
14

Read this excerpt from "Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence."With Newton’s mechanics came powerful machines, and eventually the steam engine, the motive force which reshaped the world by overturning agrarian society, spawning factories and stimulating commerce. . . .What is the meaning of the underlined term?

A
individuals employed by Newton
B
tools utilized by Newton
C
ideas generated by Newton
D
engines built by Newton
15

Which strategy is the best way to improve the written expression in a redundant sentence?

A
Add additional modifiers and phrases.
B
Eliminate powerful words.
C
Include words that state the obvious.
D
Remove unnecessary repetition.

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