Pre-Professional Skills Test: Reading (0710)

Answers

1. The passage describes filmmaker Marguerite Duras' attitude toward becoming a professional of the cinema: she refused to become involved with the fame, financial matters, and technology associated with film. Thus, the correct answer is B. Choices A and D can be eliminated because the passage neither criticizes Duras nor indicates that others have failed to appreciate her work. Choices C and E can be eliminated because the passage discusses neither the style nor the content of Duras' films.

2. E is the best answer. The comments in lines 5-10 indicate varying audience responses to jazz players. The references to poor sound systems, to audiences having to "quiet down," and to jazz players being considered "small-time entertainers" suggest that audiences were sometimes inattentive to and unappreciative of the jazz music being played. If the players’ music was "strong enough," however, the audience would listen more attentively and show approval. The audience’s attitude therefore shifts or is inconsistent.

3. The passage focuses on how audiences since the big-band era have responded to jazz. Therefore, C is the correct answer. Choice A is incorrect because the focus of the passage is not on critics’ response to jazz but rather on the responses of general audiences to jazz. Choices B and D can be eliminated because the passage does not discuss the effects of audiences on performers or the author’s personal reminiscences. Choice E is incorrect because the passage does not give an outline of the origins of jazz.

4. Choice A can be eliminated because the windmills are described as being placed in deep water; choice B can be eliminated because there is no indication that the windmills would have to be near ports. The passage directly contradicts choice C, since "buoys" (line 23) are not stationary platforms. Choice E brings up the batteries that were mentioned in line 4. However, such batteries are not specifically related in the passage to sea-based windmills. The passage does specifically mention highly efficient cables as a critical part of the sea-based system. Therefore, D is the best answer.

5. Choice E is the correct answer. "A problematical issue is discussed" summarizes the first two paragraphs, in which both the pros and cons of a complicated situation are examined. They are followed, in the third paragraph, by the suggestion of a solution which remedies some of the problems of using windmills to generate electricity.

6. In making the comment about Michelangelo's greatness, the author relies on information Vasari has supplied. If Vasari's claims that Michelangelo worked with great care and was inspired by his work are not correct, the author's claim about Michelangelo may not be valid. It would therefore be useful to know the information represented by choice C. Choice A may appear at first glance to be relevant, but it is not as good a choice as C, since Vasari might have known Michelangelo quite well but not have supplied accurate information in his biography. Choice B is even less satisfactory since we are concerned only with how Vasari described Michelangelo, not how he described other painters. Choice D, while it might confirm statements about Michelangelo's skill, does not help us evaluate the author's claim in the last sentence of the passage. Choice E can be eliminated for similar reasons. C is, therefore, the best answer to this question.

7. Choice B is clearly supported by the last sentence of the passage. Because the fund-raisers had to insist that Johns Hopkins admit women, it can be inferred that the author believes the admission of women was directly caused by their insistence and would otherwise not have taken place.

8. In the first sentence of the third paragraph, the author expresses the opinion that all attempts by the government to limit the four freedoms of universities are undesirable. Thus, the author would be least likely to agree with E, the best answer, which states that the federal government should limit university freedoms if the goal it plans to achieve by doing so is desirable.