Read the following passages and then choose the best answer for each question.

passage 13

Tube worms live anchored  to the sea floor, 1,700 feet below the ocean surface, near natural spring vents that spew forth  water from the earth. They live off geothermal energy instead of sunlight. There are two species of the tube worm family, with very different lengths of life and growth rates, but similarities as well.

The slow-growing tube worms are known to live as long as 250 years, making them the longest-living sea invertebrates known. This species lives near cold sea-floor seeps and may not grow at all from one year to the next. Even when they do grow, it is generally from a half an inch to four inches per year. In spite of their slow growth, due to their long lives, they can reach nine feet before they die, although they are thinner than the hot-water worms.

The seeps under the slow-growing tube worms are rich with oily materials. The environment in which they live is slow and peaceful, stable and low-energy. The cold-water seeps and the tube worms that reside there may live hundreds or thousands of years.

In stark  contrast, the fast-growing tube worms live a quick and short life, growing rapidly. They attach themselves near hot steaming vents that force water into the sea, growing about two and a half feet a year, and up to eight feet overall.  They live by absorbing sulfur compounds metabolized by bacteria in a symbiotic relationship.

The hot water vents spew forth scalding  water filled with hydrogen sulfide, which the tiny bacteria living in the worms’ tissues consume. These tube worms live a rapid life, with none of the relaxing characteristics of the cold-water tube worms.

1. The word anchored  in the first sentence is closest in meaning to

2. The expression spew forth in the first sentence is closest in meaning to

3. The author implies that a vent and a seep are the same

4. The passage indicates that the two types of tube worms discussed are

5. The author states that the cold-water tube worm

6. The word stark in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to

7. The word overall in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to

8. The word scalding in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to

9. The author indicates that the ingredients in the water that comes from the two types of vents are

Passage 14

A new procedure has been developed to treat aneurysms, particularly those that occur near the brain stem, where surgery is dangerous. Aneurysms are blood sacs formed by enlargement of the weakened wall of arteries or veins. They  are dangerous and thus must generally be removed before they cause considerable  damage. If one  ruptures, it can cause strokes or fatal hemorrhaging, the latter of which occurs in 50 percent of all patients. Before rupturing, an aneurysm frequently shows no sign or symptom that it exists. Brain aneurysms occur in approximately 5 percent of the population. Most patients are between 40 and 65 years old, with hemorrhages most prevalent in those between 50 and 54.

The new procedure involves inserting a soft, flexible micro-catheter through the femoral artery in the groin area and snaking  it up through blood vessels to the brain. Inside the catheter is a small, coiled wire, which can be extruded after it reaches its destination. After the coil is outside the catheter, a low voltage electrical current is applied, and the coil detaches at a preset solder point. Additional coils are snaked through the catheter and also detached at the site, creating a basket, or metal framework, which causes the blood to clot around it. The micro-catheter is withdrawn, the clot remains, and the healed aneurysm no longer is exposed to the stress that can cause another rupture.

The procedure lasts two hours, which is half as long as invasive surgery, and recovery time is generally limited to a few days in-stead of a few weeks. The procedure was discovered in the 1990s, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995, and is available in various hospitals where there are advanced neurology departments and specialists trained in the procedure. Many lives have been saved by use of the procedure, because the alternative would have been to watch and wait rather than risk the hazards of surgery.

1. The author implies that the procedure described is useful for

2. The word They in the first paragraph refers to

3.The word considerable in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to

4. The word one in the first paragraph refers to

5. The word snaking in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

6. The word withdrawn in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

7. An aneurysm is most similar to

8. The author indicates that half of the patients who have a brain aneurysm could also have

9. The author indicates that the point of creating a basket near the aneurysm is to

10. The author indicates that the femoral artery is

11. The author states that the electrical charge is applied in order to

12. The author implies that the wire breaks off

13. According to the passage, traditional surgical techniques take

14. The author implies that the new procedure

Passage 15

Scientists have discovered the bones of what may be the largest meat-eating dinosaur ever to walk the earth. The discovery was made by a team of researchers from Argentina and North America in Patagonia, a desert on the eastern slopes of the Andes in South America. Besides  the interesting fact that the dinosaur was huge and horrifying,  it is even more astounding  that the bones of a number of the dinosaurs were found together. This discovery challenges the prior theory that the biggest meat-eaters lived as loners and in-stead indicates that they may have lived and hunted in packs. The Tyrannosaurus Rex lived in North America and was believed to hunt and live alone.

The newly discovered meat-eater appears to be related to the Giganotosaurus family, being as closely related to it  as a fox would be to a dog. It is actually not of the same family at all as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, being as different from it as a cat is from a dog.

The fossilized remains indicate that the animals lived about 100 million years ago. With needle-shaped noses and razor sharp teeth, they were larger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex, although their legs were slightly shorter, and their jaws were designed to be better able to dissect their prey  quickly and precisely.

1. The author states that the newly discovered dinosaur remains are evidence that it was the largest

2. The word Besides in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to

3. The word horrifying  in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to

4. The word astounding  in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to

5. The author implies that the most interesting fact about the find is that this dinosaur

6. The passage indicates that prior to this discovery scientists believed that

7. The word it  in the second paragraph refers to

8. The author states that the newly discovered meat-eating dinosaur is

9. The word dissect  in the last sentence is closest in meaning to

10. The word prey in the last sentence of the passage is closest in meaning to

Passage 16

Scientists have developed a new bionic computer chip that can be mated  with human cells to combat disease. The tiny device, smaller and thinner than a strand of hair, combines a healthy human cell with an electronic circuitry chip. Doctors can control the activity of the cell by controlling the chip with a computer.

It has long been established that cell members become permeable when exposed to electrical impulses. Researchers have conducted genetic research for years with a trial-and-error process of bombarding cells with electricity in an attempt to introduce foreign substances such as new drug treatments or genetic material. They were unable to apply a particular level of voltage for a particular purpose. With the new invention, the computer sends electrical impulses to the chip, which triggers the physicians to open a cell’s pores with control.

Researchers hope that eventually they  will be able to develop more advanced chips whereby they can choose a particular voltage to activate particular tissues, whether they be muscle, bone, brain, or others.  They believe that they will be able to implant multiple chips into a person to deal with one problem or more than one problem.

1. The word mated in the first sentence is closest in meaning to

2. The word strand in the second sentence is closest in meaning to

3. The author implies that scientists are excited about the new technology because

4. The author states that scientists previously were aware that

5. The word bombarding  in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

6. The author implies that up to now, the point of applying electric impulse to cells was to

7. The word triggers in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

8. The word eventually  in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to

9. The word they in the first sentence of the third paragraph refers to

10. The word particular in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to

11. The word others in the third paragraph refers to other

12. The author indicates that it is expected doctors will be able to