QUESTION 1: Undertakers report that human bodies do not deteriorate as quickly as they used to. They believe the reason is that preservatives in highly processed foods slow the body's decomposition. Which diet is more likely to slow a dead body's decomposition?

a. A diet of fresh vegetables

b. A diet of fast food and soda

c. A diet of raw seafood

QUESTION 2: Credit for introducing the hot dog in America goes to Antoine Feuchtwanger. At the 1904 Louisiana Exposition, he offered hot franks to people along with a pair of white gloves to prevent burnt fingers. But the gloves were costly and most people didn't return them. That's when Feuchtwanger turned to his brother-in-law, a baker, for a solution. The rest is history.The brother-in-law's solution was probably to

a. invent plastic gloves for eating franks.

b. create hot-dog relish.

c. bake a roll to hold the franks.

QUESTION 3: During the Vietnam War, soldiers confronted the problem of leeches sticking to their legs during marches through marshy areas. One soldier's solution was to have his mother send him a pair of women's heavy duty pantyhose. The pantyhose worked so well that many of his peers privately asked him for a pair as well. He ended up secretly distributing hundreds of pairs of pantyhose.From the paragraph, which of the following is likely to be true?

a. The other soldiers didn't have mothers to send them pantyhose.

b. The soldiers were embarrassed to ask for and wear women's pantyhose.

c. The soldiers didn't like the pantyhose that the army had issued them.

QUESTION 4: The scarab, a large beetle, does something many would consider disgusting. The beetle gathers animal dung into balls for use as food. In doing so, the beetle breaks up and spreads the dung, helping to fertilize soil and reduce the population of disease-spreading flies. The scarab's useful work was observed by the ancient Egyptians, who painted images of the insect on pottery and jewelry.From the paragraph, which of the following is likely to be true?

a. The Egyptians had no understanding of what the scarab's role in nature was.

b. Egyptians probably got most of their food from hunting, not farming.

c. The scarab's role in fertilizing the land was valued by the Egyptians.

QUESTION 5: The U.S. Postal Service reports that about 124 million stamps of Elvis Presley issued in 1993 have been purchased as collector's items and never used to mail a letter, resulting in a profit for the postal service. Second to Elvis were the 1992 wildflowers stamps, with 76.2 million being purchased for collection only. Third at 75.8 million stamps are the rock 'n roll / rhythm and blues stamps issued in 1993.Which inference is most strongly based on the paragraph?

a. The image on a U.S. postal stamp strongly influences consumers' demand for that stamp.

b. The U.S. Postal Service is annoyed when stamps are kept by collectors.

c. The hobby of collecting stamps is more popular now than ever before.

QUESTION 6: According to researchers, five out of every ten robberies happen along streets. In 95 percent of the cases, the victim is alone and typically on the way to or from a leisure activity. Most often, victims are attacked at night within five miles of their homes, particularly when going to or returning from a nightclub or restaurant. Victims are more likely to encounter a single robber, though gangs of robbers-particularly teenaged males

*do account for many robberies each year.Which of the following ideas can be inferred from the paragraph?

a. Women are always victims and never robbers.

b. People who avoid being alone on the street at night reduce their chances of being robbed.

c. If you never go out at night, then you will never be robbed.

QUESTION 7: The Center for Disease Control compared gun owners and non-owners living in the same neighborhood. It found that those who kept a gun in the home, usually for protection, were 2.7 times more likely to be murdered. The murder was almost always committed by a family member or friend. Another study showed that the incidence of suicide is five times as high in households with guns as in those without guns.Which of the following ideas can be inferred from the paragraph?

a. Properly storing guns in a home is the best way to reduce gun-related deaths.

b. Owning a gun puts its owner in more, rather than less, danger of violent death.

c. Many deaths that are reported as gun-related suicides were actually murders.

QUESTION 8: In a series of experiments, pregnant women read the same children's book aloud daily during their ninth month of pregnancy. Three days after birth, their infants listened to the same story, read either by the infant's own mother or by another baby's mother. Tests indicated that the newborns paid greater attention to the recording of their own mother's voice. The newborns also responded less when their mothers read an unfamiliar story than when they read the familiar one.Which of the following ideas can be inferred from the paragraph?

a. Infants cannot detect differences between voices until they are several months old.

b. Women's voices have the same effect on babies as do men's voices.

c. Babies are capable of hearing, learning, and remembering while in the womb.

QUESTION 9: Marketers make millions of dollars when they predict what teenagers want to buy. To figure out teens' behavior, businesses look for "influencers," stylish teens who spend money on fashion trends before other teens catch on. Research shows that once influencers begin to buy certain clothes, fellow teens will quickly follow suit. According to one designer, teenagers copy others "so they can have the brands and badges to get them to the next level."According to the passage, which of the following can we assume to be true?

a. Clothing and fashion trends are important to many teenagers.

b. Most teenagers care little about clothing and current fashion trends.

c. All teenagers follow the trends set by "influencers."

QUESTION 10: A study of 18,000 adults in 17 nations found that unmarried couples who live together were much less happy, less healthy, and less satisfied than married people. Furthermore, the study indicated that single people-despite movies, TV shows, and magazines which suggest otherwise-were most likely to be unhappy.Which of the following ideas can be inferred from the paragraph?

a. Marriage is the key to happiness for all adults.

b. Magazines, TV, and movies make single life seem more enjoyable than it really is.

c. Magazines, TV, and movies present a true and realistic view of the social life of adults.