CLASS 9

Verbal Sectional Test

27 questions | 32 minutes

Directions: The questions in this section 1950 luncheon with scientific arguments for the
address a number of important reading and ubiquity of technologically advanced
writing skills. Each question includes one or civilizations, he supposedly said, "So
more passages, which may include a table or where is everybody?"
graph. Read each passage and question
carefully, and then choose the best answer to Which choice completes the text with the most
the question based on the passage(s). logical and precise word or phrase?
A) accumulated
All questions in this section are multiple-choice B) fled
with four answer choices. Each question has a C) sprinted
single best answer. D) ran

Remember: 2. Urbanization has historically been thought of

➢ You have approximately 1 minute 20 as a necessary _________ of economic
seconds to solve 1 question. development and growth, but this connection
➢ Do not waste an exorbitant amount of is not so simple. While advanced nations
time on any question. benefit from having larger cities, developing
➢ Solve the others and return to the one nations do not. Advanced nations experience
taking time. a 0.7 percent increase in economic growth for
➢ Flag any question you wish to revisit. every additional 100,000 in average
➢ Do not leave any question unanswered. population among its large cities over a five-
➢ Mark answers for all the questions of this year period. But for developing nations, the
test before the time runs out. addition of 100,000 people in large cities is
associated with a 2.3 percent decrease in
economic growth over a five-year period.
1. The consensus within the scientific community
seems to be that we eventually will find not only Which choice completes the text with the most
life in other parts of the galaxy but also logical and precise word or phrase?
intelligent and technologically advanced life. I A) specialty
have to say that I disagree. While I believe we B) peculiarity
will find other forms of life in other solar C) innovation
systems (if not in our own), I also feel it is D) feature
extremely unlikely that a large number of
advanced technological civilizations are out 3. Modern humans have brains that are more
there, waiting to be discovered. The most than three times larger than our closest living
succinct support for my view comes from relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos.
Nobel laureate physicist Enrico Fermi, the man Scientists don’t agree on when and how this
who ________ the first nuclear reaction ever dramatic increase took place, but new analysis
controlled by human beings. Confronted at a of 94 hominin fossils shows that average brain

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 size increased gradually and consistently over D) To explain why television, radio, and drama
the past three million years. The research, appeal to the masses.
published in The Proceedings of the Royal
Society B, shows that the trend was caused 5. Black holes are the most efficient engines of
primarily by evolution of larger brains within destruction known to humanity. Their intense
populations of individual species, but the gravity is a one-way ticket to oblivion, and
introduction of new, larger-brained species material spiraling into them can heat up to
and extinction of smaller brained ones also millions of degrees and glow brightly. Yet,
played a part. they are not all-powerful. Even supermassive
black holes are minuscule by cosmic
As used in the text, what does the word ‘trend’ standards. They typically account for less than
most nearly mean? one percent of their galaxy's mass.
A) Inclination. Accordingly, astronomers long assumed that
B) Custom. supermassive holes, let alone their smaller
C) Approach. cousins, would have little effect beyond their
D) Progression. immediate neighborhoods. So, it has come as
a surprise over the past decade that black hole
4. Ridiculing television, and warning about its activity is closely intertwined with star
inherent evils, is nothing new. It has been that formation occurring farther out in the galaxy.
way since the medium was invented, and
television hasn't exactly been lavished with Which choice best states the function of the
respect as the decades have passed. I suspect, underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
though, that a lot of the fear and loathing A) It summarizes the points made earlier in the
directed at television comes out of a time- text.
honored, reflexive overreaction to the B) It provides support for the argument asserted
dominant medium of the moment. For the past in the preceding sentence.
several decades, television has been blamed C) It offers examples to support a theory.
for corrupting our youth and exciting our D) It introduces a new view of information
adults, distorting reality, and basically being a presented earlier in the text.
big, perhaps dangerous, waste of time. Before
TV, radio and film were accused of the same 6. Text 1
things. And long before that – in fact, some Food has always been considered one of the
2,500 years earlier – philosophers were most salient markers of cultural traditions.
arguing that poetry and drama should be When I was a small child, food was the only
excluded from any ideal city on much the thing that helped identify my family as
same grounds. Filipino American. We ate pansit lug-lug (a
noodle dish) and my father put patis (salty fish
Which choice best states the main purpose of sauce) on everything. However, even this
the text? connection lessened as I grew older. As my
A) To criticize the way television distorts the parents became more acculturated, we ate less
truth. typically Filipino food. When I was twelve,
B) To place contemporary criticism of television my mother took cooking classes and learned
in a historical context. to make French and Italian dishes. When I was
C) To compare television and drama as popular in high school, we ate chicken marsala and
art forms. shrimp fra diablo more often than Filipino
dishes like pansit lug-lug.

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 Text 2 Memory is bitter to me,
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin – who in 1825 For if I did good deeds
confidently announced, "Tell me what you I know not of them.”
eat, and I will tell you who you are" – would Then God, in all his splendor,
have no trouble describing cultural identities Arose from his throne.
of the United States. Our food reveals us as “O best little blade of grass!” he said.
tolerant adventurers who do not feel
constrained by tradition. We "play with our What is the main idea of the text?
food" far more readily than we preserve the A) It is better to do nothing than too much.
culinary rules of our varied ancestors. B) It is better to forget if you have done
Americans have no single national cuisine. something wrong.
What unites American eaters culturally is how C) It is better to be modest than to be boastful.
we eat, not what we eat. As eaters, Americans D) If you need to tell your bad deeds to
mingle the culinary traditions of many regions someone, you are not worthy of respect.
and cultures. We are multiethnic eaters.
8. Science exists to gratify certain human needs
How do the two texts differ in their and desires. The fact that it has been steadily
discussions of food? pursued for so many centuries, that it has
A) Text 1 considers specific dishes eaten by attracted an ever-wider extent of attention, and
particular people, whereas Text 2 comments that it is now the dominant intellectual interest
on a culture's general attitude toward eating. of mankind, shows that it appeals to a very
B) Text 1 compares and contrasts cuisines of powerful and persistent group of appetites.
various cultures, whereas Text 2 emphasizes Science is valued for its practical advantages,
culinary practices common to all cultures. because it gratifies curiosity, and because it
C) Text 1 emphasizes the role of nostalgia in food provides the imagination with objects of great
preferences, whereas Text 2 rejects that aesthetic charm. This last consideration is of
approach as overly sentimental. the least importance, so far as the layman is
D) Text 1 outlines some popular choices in concerned, although it is probably the most
cuisine, whereas Text 2 describes some important consideration of all to scientific
unusual cuisines. men. Evidently, the bulk of mankind values
science chiefly for the practical advantages it
7. The following text is adapted from Stephen brings with it. This conclusion is borne out by
Crane’s 1899 poem “In Heaven.” everything we know about the origin of
science. Science seems to have come into
In heaven existence merely for its bearings on practical
Some little blades of grass life.
Stood before God.
“What did you do?” Which choice best states the main idea of the
Then all save one of the little blades text?
Began eagerly to relate A) Science originated and developed because of
The merits of their lives. the practical advantages it offers.
This one stayed a small way behind, B) The use of science is very important for the
Ashamed. development of powerful groups.
Presently, God said, C) Science has a different value for scientists
“And what did you do?” than it does for the laymen.
The little blade answered, “O my Lord,

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D) Science is valued less for its practical standard lecture format to teach students how
contributions to mankind than for its potential to successfully develop and manage new
to stir the imagination. business ventures, but modern scholars
studying EE note that entrepreneurs learn best
through hands-on experience. These scholars
9. The following text is adapted from Alejandro admit that some content knowledge – like
Zambra’s 2013 short story Long Distance. writing business plans and understanding
legal requirements – can be most effectively
Portillo was a good boss, a generous guy; I covered through textbooks and lectures, and
rarely saw him. What I remember most about so there is a place in the EE curriculum for
him is his voice, so high-pitched, like a traditional instruction. However, since the
teenager’s. He would call me so I could give emphasis needs to be on activities that allow
him a report on what had happened the students to practice real entrepreneurship,
previous night, which was pretty much both inside and outside the classroom,
pointless, because nothing ever happened, or _______________________
almost nothing: maybe some call or other
from Rome or Paris, simple cases from people Which choice most logically completes the
who weren’t really sick but who wanted to text?
make the most of the medical insurance they A) EE programs should continue to feature
had bought in Santiago. My job was to listen traditional education methods as key
to them, take down their information, make components of the curriculum.
sure the policy was valid, and connect them to B) corporates should invest more funds to more
my counterparts in Europe. Portillo let me research whether hands-on learning has a
read or write, or even doze off, on the long-term positive impact on entrepreneurial
condition that I always answer the phone in activity.
good time. “The phone should never ring C) much of EE instruction can and should
more than three times,” he would tell me if I integrate experiential components that enable
took too long picking up. students to practice what they learn.
D) only the promising students should be given
According to the text, what is true about opportunities to learn by working as interns in
Portillo? existing businesses.
A) He is a kind and caring boss, until he catches
the narrator sleeping. 11. In a 1954 Life magazine article, author John
B) He is abrasive and distant to everyone and Hersey expressed concern that children in the
cares little of the narrator. United States were disengaged from learning
C) He is mostly a friendly boss, requiring that the how to read. Among other problems, Hersey
narrator meet simple standards. noted, the reading material available to grade-
D) He is loud and boisterous at work, and he schoolers had a hard time competing with
makes the narrator follow impossible official television, radio, and other media for
rules. children’s attention. Theodor Geisel, who
wrote and illustrated children’s books under
10. Over the last few decades, the number of the name “Dr. Seuss,” read Hersey’s article
institutions around the world offering and had an idea. Geisel started to write a book
entrepreneurship education (EE) programs “The cat in the Hat", which was based on an
has grown to over three thousand. Research image of a cat wearing a battered stovepipe
shows that many of these programs use the hat. The book was a hit. Children were

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 entertained by its plot about the antics of a C) Egyptian records recovered from the time of
mischievous cat and is captivated by its eye- the collapse explicitly refer to the
catching illustrations and memorable rhythms deteriorating conditions of the society.
and rhymes. Its sales inspired another D) Shortly after the collapse of the old kingdom,
publishing company, Random House, to Egypt was thrust into a civil war that lasted
establish a series for early readers called most of the next two centuries.
Beginner Books, which featured works by
Geisel and other writers, and other publishers 13. Skeletal remains of early humans indicate
quickly followed suit. clearly that our ancestors had fewer dental
problems than we have. This has led
Which quotation by Hersey supports the main researchers to hypothesize that the diet of
topic of the text? early humans must have been very different
A) “An individual’s sense of wholeness ... from ours.
follows, and cannot precede, a sense of
accomplishment.” Which of the following most weakens the
B) “Learning starts with failure; the first failure researchers’ hypothesis?
is the beginning of education.” A) A healthy diet leads to healthy teeth.
C) “Journalism allows its readers to witness B) Skeletal remains indicate that some early
history; fiction gives its readers an humans had a significant number of cavities.
opportunity to live it.” C) The diet of early humans was at least as varied
D) “Books with drawings like those of the as is our diet.
wonderfully imaginative geniuses among D) Early humans had a shorter average life span
children’s illustrators are interesting.” than we do, and the most serious dental
problems now tend to develop late in life.
12. New evidence suggests that the collapse of
Egypt’s old kingdom some 4,000 years ago 14. While most primates primarily eat fruit only
was caused by environmental catastrophe during the day, the lemur (a primate found
rather than internal social upheaval. Ocean only on the island nation of Madagascar) eats
sediments reveal a period of global cooling at leaves during the day and at night. A 2017
the time, a condition generally associated with study suggests that a lack of nitrogen in
extended droughts. Perusing this evidence, a Madagascar’s fruits may have caused the
group of archeologists has claimed that lemur to develop these unusual feeding traits
undoubtedly there were serious social through evolution. Many primates obtain a
problems in Egypt at the time, but they large proportion of their dietary nitrogen from
resulted from a severe dry spell. fruit, so the researchers suspected that
Madagascar’s fruit had insufficient levels of
Which finding, if true, would most directly nitrogen for the lemur. So, the scientists tested
support the archeologists’ claim? the levels of nitrogen in fruit from multiple
A) The social problems in Egypt’s old kingdom primate habitats in continental Africa, South
at the time of its collapse were serious enough America, and Madagascar because primate
to have caused the collapse. families in these locations all have the same
B) At the time of the collapse of the old kingdom, relative nitrogen requirements. At the
several isolated but well-established continental African sites in Uganda and
civilizations near Egypt underwent sudden Cameroon, the scientists found fruit to have
declines. nitrogen concentrations of 1.53 percent and
1.44 percent, respectively. The South

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 American sites yielded similar results, with report notes that the number of kitchen
nitrogen concentrations in fruit of 1.60 percent incubators increased more than 50% from
in Argentina and 1.59 percent in Ecuador. 2013 to 2016. A survey published in the report
Madagascar’s levels, however, were lower: shows that most incubators surveyed (53%)
_________________ ___________________While profits were
paramount to 17% of incubators, others
indicated that strengthening the local food
economy (12%), helping people in need (5%),
and building community (5%) were primary
concerns.

Which choice most effectively uses data from

the table to complete the text?
A) fruit selected from one site there showed a
nitrogen concentration of only 0.6 percent.
B) the fruit selected from there showed nitrogen
concentrations that were lower than those at
the South American sites but similar to those
found at the continental African sites.
C) fruit selected from two sites there both showed
nitrogen concentrations of 0.9 percent.
D) none of the fruit selected from there showed Which choice most effectively uses data from
nitrogen concentrations above 0.8 percent. the table to complete the text?
A) experienced growth during that time.
15. Kitchen incubators, as the term suggests, help B) were mainly concerned with supporting their
establish and nurture new food businesses as members.
well as assist business owners by offering C) had more than one primary purpose.
classes on subjects such as food safety, D) shared the same goal.
budgeting, and recipe scaling. Many kitchen
incubators provide access to a necessary 16. Jazz musician Benny Carter, known for his
component of a successful business: sophisticated compositions and arrangements,
customers. The growth of kitchen incubators was also a virtuoso alto saxophone player.
is a testament to their importance to Fellow musicians frequently cited Carter's
burgeoning small businesses. A 2016 industry groundbreaking improvisational style, which

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 avoided the expected run up and down the One such response occurs in many kinds of
chord changes and instead spread out phrase water bugs.
fragments over the chord progression. In
1934, just six years after his first recording, Which choice best describes the overall
Carter played at the opening of the Apollo structure of the text?
Theater in Harlem and then led the first A) A description of related biological phenomena
interracial big band to tour Europe. In the is stated, and two of those phenomena are
ensuing quarter century, Carter wrote music explained in detail with illustrated examples.
for film and television in B) Three complementary biological phenomena
Hollywood, where he played a key role in the are explained, and their causes are evaluated.
merger of the trade unions of Black musicians C) A new way of describing biological
and White musicians. phenomena is suggested, and its applications
are presented.
Which of the following statements does the D) Biological phenomena are presented, and
text state about Carter as a saxophone player? examples of their occurrence are compared
A) He was less celebrated as an instrumentalist and contrasted.
than as a bandleader.
B) He confused critics with his unusual 18. Although the fact that Delirious Matter’s
technique. sculptures are fragmentary and porous creates
C) He impressed other musicians with his the illusion that they are delicate objects, it
technique. also suggests that their female subjects have
D) He preferred to perform in local venues. escaped to transcend their original forms. If
the women have escaped, perhaps it is to take
17. Three basic adaptive responses – regulatory, __________ as viewers, or even as the artist
acclimatory, and developmental – may occur herself.
in organisms as they react to changing
environmental conditions. In all three, Which choice completes the text so that it
adjustment of biological features conforms to the conventions of Standard
(morphological adjustment) or of their use English?
(functional adjustment) may occur. A) her place
Regulatory responses involve rapid changes B) their place’s
in the organism’s use of its physiological C) their places
apparatus – increasing or decreasing the rates D) they’re places
of various processes, for example.
Acclimation involves morphological change – 19. In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan explores the
thickening of fur or red blood cell relationships between mothers and daughters.
proliferation – which alters physiology itself. Her interest in this theme grew directly from
Such structural changes require more time her once difficult relationship with her
than regulatory response changes. Regulatory ________ describes her teen-aged self as
and acclimatory responses are both reversible. “every mother's nightmare." Writing about
Developmental responses, however, are those years gave Tan. a way of understanding
usually permanent and irreversible; they her past – and of coming closer to her mother.
become fixed in the course of the individual’s
development in response to environmental Which choice completes the text so that it
conditions at the time the response occurs. conforms to the conventions of Standard
English?

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A) mother and Tan D) fluidly not pausing
B) mother: Tan
C) mother, whereas she also 22. As many Arthurian scholars know, the
D) mother, Tan distinction between history and literature was
blurred in the Middle Ages. Consequently, the
20. The narrow, cobbled streets and wide paved true identity of his queen Guinevere may
avenues of Katmandu, Nepal, ___________ never be known with certainty. Yet regardless
with the interplay of old and new ways. In the of whether Guinevere was real or fictional, her
months I spent in that central Asian capital, I story ______________ centuries – and
was intrigued by the culture, which has through each retelling, she continues to live on
allowed local traditions and modern in the imaginations of people around the
importations to flourish side by side. The world.
ancient tiered pagodas in the central square
draw both worshipers and tourists. Merchants Which choice completes the text so that it
sell not only traditional crafts but also high- conforms to the conventions of Standard
tech European flashlights from the temple English?
steps. Japanese cars. swerve around donkeys, A) had endured
goats, and bicycles. B) was enduring
C) would have endured
Which choice completes the text so that it D) has endured
conforms to the conventions of Standard
English? 23. Envisioning a motel that combined the name
A) buzzes La Concha (which translates to “shell”) with
B) buzz the arched roofs typical of Googie
C) is buzzing architecture, ______________ was meant to
D) was buzzing appear, from a distance, like a giant shell. On
three sides of the building, Williams designed
21. Using only her hands, sand animation artist twenty-eight-foot-high concrete arches that
Ilana Yahav clears sand from the center of the jutted out over the sidewalks.
glass. As she shapes the sand around the edges
of this space, silhouettes of images, such as Which choice completes the text so that it
the outline of a face, appear. She pinches sand conforms to the conventions of Standard
onto the glass to “draw” facial features and English?
other small objects. When she wants to create A) the lobby that architect Paul Revere Williams
less-defined images, such as a grove of trees designed
or a snowfall, she dusts sand onto the glass B) it had a lobby designed by architect Paul
with light shakes of her hand. Yahav’s hands Revere Williams and
move ____________ while a story is being C) architect Paul Revere Williams designed a
told. lobby that
D) the design for architect Paul Revere Williams’
Which choice completes the text so that it lobby
conforms to the conventions of Standard
English? 24. Researchers at Cincinnati’s Newport
A) fluidly; not pausing Aquarium have compiled an “Octopus
B) fluidly, they do not pause, Enrichment Handbook.” This book provides
C) fluidly; they do not pause in-depth descriptions of toys and puzzles

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 researchers have invented for octopuses. One (Fietsersbond) and other groups by funding
such puzzle is a series of nesting cubes. Each projects to improve the nation’s cycling
cube features a different latch the octopus has infrastructure, which in turn encouraged more
to open until the octopus reaches the smallest people to use bicycles as their primary means
cube. Typically, after just a few weeks, of transportation. The improvements made
octopuses master this puzzle, solving it in a cycling easier and safer. ____________ Bike
matter of minutes. Researchers are interested lanes and racks appeared on city streets, many
not only in whether octopuses can solve such of which featured speed bumps and turns that
puzzles but also in the methods by which they forced cars to drive slowly and yield to
do so. While one octopus might use trial-and- cyclists.
error to unlatch these cubes, another octopus
may just opt to break the larger cubes to get to Which choice completes the text with the most
the smaller ones. ____________ have noted logical sentence?
how octopuses modify and improve their A) Some funding came from private donors.
methods over time, suggesting that play may B) Fietsersbond and its allies had many other
indeed be a factor in an octopus’s cognitive successes.
development. C) Cycling was preferred to driving by a large
number of commuters.
Which choice completes the text with the most D) Bicycle paths were clearly marked, well
logical transition? maintained, and well lit.
A) Therefore, researchers
B) For example, researchers 27. While researching a topic, a student has taken
C) Conversely, researchers the following notes:
D) Researchers • Most acting schools stress that actors must
work to generate feelings that will allow them
25. Kyle had to drag himself out of bed to see the to play their roles most effectively.
sunrise. Samantha had been insistent. And so • They must bring to life their character’s
there he was in her car at 3:30 in the morning, situation by using scripts, recollections from
equipped with a seldom-used hoodie and a books and their own experiences.
giant thermos of coffee. You’ll need this at the • Playwright David Mamet feels it is a waste of
top,” she said. She handed him a wool hat, time for actors to try to make connection with
which he regarded skeptically. They were in something as fickle as genuine, repeatable
Maui, after all; they had spent the day before emotion.
lying on the beach. _________ Kyle decided • Mamet believes that the only salvation for an
to take her word for it. actor is the study of text.

Which choice completes the text with the most The student wants to summarize the contrast
logical transition? between the two views about the approach of
A) Further, actors towards acting. Which choice most
B) Consequently, effectively uses relevant information from the
C) Instead, notes to accomplish this goal?
D) Still,
A) According to several acting schools, acting
26. In the 1980s, local governments in the entails the use of inner feelings generated by
Netherlands began to respond to the actors, script emphasis, and recollections as
demonstrations by the Dutch Cyclists’ Union contrasting to the view of Playwright

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 Mammet who considers text as the only
source of learning acting.
B) Most effective roles, as per acting schools, can
be played by using personal and inner
characteristics, and this is in clear contrast
with the views of Playwright David Mamet.
C) Acting schools and Playwright Mamet are
antithetical to each other when it comes to the
factors that help an actor perform her best.
D) As per the views of many acting schools,
generation of inner feelings; study of scripts,
and books; and personal experiences are must
for actors committed to perform their best.
And this is sheer waste of time according to
the Playwright David Mamet.

Answer Key
Ques no. Ans Ques no. Ans Ques no. Ans
1 D 10 C 19 B
2 D 11 D 20 B
3 D 12 B 21 C
4 B 13 D 22 D
5 D 14 C 23 C
6 A 15 B 24 D
7 C 16 C 25 D
8 A 17 D 26 D
9 C 18 C 27 A

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