Craft and Structure

Chief Editor

Mar 17, 2024

Table of Contents

Take all 3 MCQs in interactive quiz mode with timer and progress tracking

Logically, a damaged fossil should provide less information than an intact one, but for paleontologist Brigitte Schoenemann, a broken area on a fossilized trilobite (a crustacean-like creature) _______ fresh insight, allowing her to view the inner structure of the organism's eye. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Difficulty: Easy

resolved

adjusted

offered

directed

In many agricultural environments, the banks of streams are kept forested to protect water quality, but it's been unclear what effects these forests may have on stream biodiversity. To investigate the issue, biologist Xingli Giam and colleagues studied an Indonesian oil palm plantation, comparing the species richness of forested streams with that of nonforested streams. Giam and colleagues found that species richness was significantly higher in forested streams, a finding the researchers attribute to the role leaf litter plays in sheltering fish from predators and providing food resources. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Difficulty: Easy

It discusses research intended to settle a debate about how agricultural yields can be increased without negative effects on water quality.

It explains the differences between stream-protection strategies used in oil palm plantations and stream-protection strategies used in other kinds of agricultural environments.

It describes findings that challenge a previously held view about how fish that inhabit streams in agricultural environments attempt to avoid predators.

It presents a study that addresses an unresolved question about the presence of forests along streams in agricultural environments.

Works of moral philosophy, such as Plato's Republic or Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, are partly concerned with how to live a morally good life. But philosopher Jonathan Barnes argues that works that present a method of living such a life without also supplying a motive are inherently useful only to those already wishing to be morally good--those with no desire for moral goodness will not choose to follow their rules. However, some works of moral philosophy attempt to describe what constitutes a morally good life while also proposing reasons for living one. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Difficulty: Medium

It provides a characterization about a field of thought by noting two works in it and then details a way in which some works in that field are more comprehensive than others.

It mentions two renowned works and then claims that despite their popularity it is impossible for these works to serve the purpose their authors intended.

It summarizes the history of a field of thought by discussing two works and then proposes a topic of further research for specialists in that field.

It describes two influential works and then explains why one is more widely read than the other.