January 2010 Critical Reading

<p>silverturtle–I still think it is austere/unadorned, but cjester is trying to dispute it.</p>

<p>zinc1908 did a reasonable job of explaining why austere/unadorned is better fitted by plain/ornate, but again perhaps I remember incorrectly and am indeed quite wrong.</p>

<p>as for rancor, compunction is a much better fit.</p>

<p>@cjester- But you don’t get points for it, so you still have to subtract it from your raw score. If the full raw score was 54 and I omitted a question, my raw score would automatically be brought down to 53</p>

<p>I think the skepticism and puzzle question are still disputable…</p>

<p>cjester: eternal heart was saying that you actually lose -1.25 for each wrong answer because that is one point that doesnt get added</p>

<p>and please tell me why it isnt sophistication?</p>

<p>at first i thought it was anticipate the reader’s response
but then the passage wasnt really about whether or not the reader would be elated or drowned in melancholy reading hte passage; it was to keep aware that the reader may not understand exactly why u threw the apple core out the window</p>

<p>so you must lead them along</p>

<p>as opposed to, hmmm maybe the reader is a staunch protestor of littering and might take exception to a character throwing a core out the window</p>

<p>i wonder what silverturtle–the ultimate adjudicator–thinks</p>

<p>EHeart do you remember any other choices besides didactic?</p>

<p>The rancor/compunction question was something like this:
Because of the shameful actions of the party, they deserved the ____ that resulted.
compunction: remorse
rancor: malice, ill will.</p>

<p>I don’t think compunction works.</p>

<p>And as for austere/unadorned zinc1908 got it completely wrong, as the question is as follows:</p>

<p>Because of their white, something, somethingness Greek statues are considered to be <strong><em>; however, newly discovered statues with flecks of paint would NOT be _</em></strong>.</p>

<p>If you look at the sentence, the two blanks should mean something similar, not opposite.
Thus plain/ornate is wrong.</p>

<p>If it were up to me to dispute some things on the list (though I still admit that Jersey13 and various others did an excellent job at compiling all the answers), I’d dispute “unaccustomed freedom” and “inexpensive motels”. But it would be of no use, because the specific lines that I thought supported the other answers I had are now extremely hazy in my mind. I’ll just trust you guys on all counts and see what happens in February.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not at all. The sentence went something like this:</p>

<p>The group did X, which justified the Y of some other group. </p>

<p>Compunction would only make sense if we were looking for a word to describe how X felt, seeing as Y did not do anything regretful.</p>

<p>EternalHeart- it is not brought down to 53, it is simply not brought up to 54. If you go through the test and answer the first 53 questions correctly, you earn +1 raw for each, so you have a total of 53. If you skip the last one, your score stays 53 like you said; you are not penalized by -1 raw score for skipping, or skipping that last question would decrease your 53 raw score to 52.</p>

<p>unaccustomed freedom has been explained a few times so I’ll leave it at that</p>

<p>Inexpensive motels is the correct answer because all the other reasons Virgil cited have to do with cost.</p>

<p>Jersey,</p>

<p>We need to add this question to the consolidated list: "Does anyone remember anything about cosmology, astronomy and how the planets move? I remember choosing an answer somewhere along the lines of “astronomers were baffled because they were unable to predict the motions of the planets accurately.”</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure that’s the right answer. Do you agree?</p>

<p>(I think that makes it so that we are only 10 questions away from all 67! We neeeeeeeeed to figure out all 67 haha)</p>

<p>@cjester- It just depends on which way you look at it. I subtract from the top when I calculate my score, but you could just as well calculate up from the bottom.</p>

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</p>

<p>Sorry haha, I’m just still having doubts. But as I stated already, I’ll trust that you guys are correct on all counts :)</p>

<p>yes it was definitely the predicting motion answer</p>

<p>@powerbomb- I’d agree with you that both of those are disputable.</p>

<p>@canbambiswim-I think you are closer to “completely wrong” than is zinc on recalling the Greek statue sentence. But as I said, time will tell</p>

<p>The question about the Dad being cheap, why is it incomplete? Why not narrow minded?</p>

<p>@InvisibleMonster- That’s what I got for that question too.</p>

<p>I’ll still keep open the the unaccustomed freedom & take for granted questions, if for no other reason than they don’t match mine. xD But -2 I can definitely live with if it means an 800.</p>

<p>Added the cosmology one, although I remember the wording was something like “unable to predict observed celestial something or other”. If anyone remembers the wording more clearly, input would be appreciated</p>

<p>v No experimental section answers included v
Sentence Completion - COMPLETE</p>

<p>Debilitate/Disheartening
Progenitor/Exploit
Penchant/Locution
Bolster
Rancor
Unflappable
Established/Mitigate
Prodigy/Anonymity
Austere/Unadorned
Acute
Emotional/Literal
Cajolery/Undertake
Diversity/Unpalatable
Integral/Extinction
Steadfast
Fraudulent
Altruistic
Impromptu
Precedent For</p>

<p>Reading Questions</p>

<p>Father and Virgil passage:
Father’s face was tender
Wistfulness
Father’s reasons are incomplete
Growing Companionship
Cards to cards - Continuous Sequence
Father’s comparison to cowboy - Wild exuberance
Father refusal to pick up soldier - Disloyal
Example of another reason - Inexpensive motel
Father isn’t fair - Right
Thieves analogy - Unaccustomed freedom
Brand new shoe evokes sensory image
Most surprised about his father’s affection</p>

<p>Humor in Workplace Double Passage:
Businesses use novelty
Two authors agree that humor is not acceptable in all situations
Passage 1 delineates the consequences
Passage 2 views humor in workplace w/ skepticism</p>

<p>Writing fiction double passage:
Writer’s motto comes off as arrogant
Writing a novel Passage 1 was didactic
Assume means take for granted
Must anticipate a reader’s response
Passage 1 is like 19th century writers
“Bench” is unnecessary concession for the readers
Negative effects of commercial consideration
True writers = genuine writers</p>

<p>Tunisian Tourist Passage:
Traveling by river vs land is different because river is unambiguous
The question from the old man was to emphasize one of the author’s points
Tunisian passage details author’s feelings of being a foreigner
Tunisians walk more modestly
Strange was about appearances
Repetition emphasized the uncertainty of the outcome</p>

<p>Scientist Passage:
Author says how scientists choose to specialize in a field of study is “no matter”
Trick means feat
Thought process distinctive to researchers
To expand on preceding generalizations
The discovery was a solution to the puzzle
Incessant </p>

<p>Cosmology Passage:
Astronomers baffled b/c they are unable to predict the motions of planets</p>

<p>We’ll see, then.</p>

<p>The subjectivity of the CR section in general annoys me…</p>

<p>I always understand what the question is asking, yet feel as if sometimes I can support two answer choices with evidence and have good reasons to choose either. This mental debate that goes on in my head leaves my selection up to luck. I hate CR…</p>