Answers MS-English III BChoosing Language

Unit Test Answers

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How does Michio Kaku develop the idea of an impending scientific revolution in “Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence”?

by praising the efficiency of modern-day Internet research

by providing quantitative proof of recent scientific progress

by comparing scientific knowledge to grains of sand on a beach

by providing the names and contributions of modern scientists

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Read this excerpt from "Talking Robots."Of course, neural networks still have a long way to go before they can model the human brain. As physicist Heinz Pagels has said: “The difference between a real neuron and the model neurons . . . is like the difference between a human hand and a pair of pliers.” But the fact that a simple neural network can speak at all is remarkable, indicating that perhaps human abilities can be simulated by electronics. . . . Which is the most accurate summary of Kaku’s argument?

The simulated speech of neural networks suggests the potential for other electronic simulations.

Neural networks are vastly inferior to the human brain, and critics question whether they can speak at all.

Neural networks are vastly different from the human brain, just as pliers are different from the human hand.

Electronic simulation of speech suggests that technological ability will eventually exceed human potential.

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Up and down Academy Boulevard, along South Nevada, Circle Drive, and Woodman Road, teenagers like Elisa run the fast food restaurants of Colorado Springs. Fast food kitchens often seem like a scene from Bugsy Malone, a film in which all the actors are children pretending to be adults. No other industry in the United States has a workforce so dominated by adolescents.How does Schlosser effectively build his argument in this excerpt?

He uses anecdotal evidence to share a personal experience of eating fast food.

He uses analogical evidence to help the reader visualize his point about the workers.

He uses testimonial evidence to explain the health risks of eating fast food.

He uses statistical evidence to prove that adults make better employees than teens.

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.There is a tale, “The Ring of Gyges,” that Feldman sometimes tells his economist friends. It comes from Plato’s Republic. A student named Glaucon offered the story in response to a lesson by Socrates—who, like Adam Smith, argued that people are generally good even without enforcement. Glaucon, like Feldman’s economist friends, disagreed. He told of a shepherd named Gyges who stumbled upon a secret cavern with a corpse inside that wore a ring. When Gyges put on the ring, he found that it made him invisible. With no one able to monitor his behavior, Gyges proceeded to do woeful things—seduce the queen, murder the king, and so on. Glaucon’s story posed a moral question: could any man resist the temptation of evil if he knew his acts could not be witnessed? Glaucon seemed to think the answer was no. But Paul Feldman sides with Socrates and Adam Smith—for he knows the answer, at least 87 percent of the time, is yes.Feldman reaches the conclusion that most people are honest without receiving an incentive by

making a claim about his individual experiences and looking for evidence.

making a broad generalization about morality and looking for evidence.

studying his individual experiences and arriving at a broad generalization.

studying a counterclaim about morality and arriving at a broad generalization.

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. English is now the second language of at least one-sixth of the nation’s restaurant workers, and about one-third of that group speaks no English at all. The proportion of fast food workers who cannot speak English is even higher.Which type of evidence does the author use in this excerpt?

anecdotal

statistical

testimonial

analogical

Read this excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.I knew I could never let Mom hear the messages, because protecting her is one of my most important raisons d’être, so what I did was I took Dad’s emergency money from on top of his dresser, and I went to the Radio Shack on Amsterdam. It was on a TV there that I saw that the first building had fallen. I bought the exact same phone and ran home and recorded our greeting from the first phone onto it. I wrapped up the old phone in the scarf that Grandma was never able to finish because of my privacy, and I put that in a grocery bag, and I put that in a box, and I put that in another box, and I put that under a bunch of stuff in my closet, like my jewelry workbench and albums of foreign currencies.Which word best describes the tone of this excerpt?

deceitful

sentimental

methodical

respectful

Which of the following excerpts from Fast Food Nation best provides evidence that fast food restaurants are designed for using unskilled labor?

Her family’s modest townhouse sits beside a busy highway on the south side of Colorado Springs, in a largely poor and working-class neighborhood.

The ovens at Pizza Hut and at Domino’s also use conveyor belts to ensure standardized cooking times.

The restaurant opens for business at seven o’clock, and for the next hour or so, Elisa and the manager hold down the fort, handling all the orders.

Throughput is all about increasing the speed of assembly, about doing things faster in order to make more.

Read the excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.Which of the following best describes Douglass’s word choice in this excerpt?

pleasant

clever

casual

lighthearted

Read this excerpt from "Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence."With Newton’s mechanics came powerful machines, and eventually the steam engine, the motive force which reshaped the world by overturning agrarian society, spawning factories and stimulating commerce. . . .What is the meaning of the underlined term?

individuals employed by Newton

tools utilized by Newton

ideas generated by Newton

engines built by Newton

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. The bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to affect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather, meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates—again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine’s Day is also lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones.Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of this paragraph?

Different emotional states affect people’s honesty.

Some holidays cause people to be less honest.

Cold weather causes an increase in dishonesty.

Holidays and cold weather may cause anxiety.

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics.In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. He came to consider a company “honest” if its payment rate was above 90 percent. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent “annoying but tolerable.” If a company habitually paid below 80 percent, Feldman might post a hectoring note, like this one:The cost of bagels has gone up dramatically since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, the number of bagels that disappear without being paid for has also gone up. Don’t let that continue. I don’t imagine that you would teach your children to cheat, so why do it yourselves? The excerpt serves as which type of support for the authors’ argument?

a claim

an example

a conclusion

a counterclaim

Read the following passage, which is modeled after an encyclopedia entry about tortillas.A tortilla is a round flatbread that appears in most Mexican dishes, including tacos, enchiladas, and tostadas. Tortillas are made with cornmeal or sometimes wheat flour. Traditionally, the corn or wheat grains are ground on a stone. Next, the meal from these grains is formed into small pieces of dough and patted into thin circles by hand. Finally, the tortilla is baked on a griddle. Today, tortilla dough is usually mixed by machine, flattened into shape, and passed on a conveyor belt to cook over a flame. Tortillas can be purchased at most major grocery stores.Which best describes the purpose of this passage?

to inform audiences about the production and types of tortillas

to persuade audiences that producing and purchasing tortillas is easy

to entertain audiences with a delightful and enjoyable description of tortillas

to argue that tortillas are the top choice among traditional foods

Read the excerpt from Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue.”I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.What is the purpose of this text?

to inform readers based on Tan’s childhood experience

to persuade readers to speak a different way

to inform readers of Tan’s mother’s feelings

to persuade readers that Tan’s mother is intelligent

Read this excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.She said, “Ron is a great person,” which was an answer to a question I didn’t ask. So I asked again. “True or false: you are in love with Ron.” She put her hand with the ring on it in her hair and said, “Oskar, Ron is my friend.” Which statement best describes the ambiguity in this excerpt?

It is unclear whether Oskar’s mom is bothered by his questions.

It is unclear whether the conversation is one they have had before.

It is unclear whether or not Oskar’s mom enjoys Ron’s company.

It is unclear whether the ring is from Ron or from Oskar’s dad.

Read this excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.I stood on all of that and it worked for a second. But then I had the tips of my fingers on the vase, and the tragedies started to wobble, and the tuxedo was incredibly distracting, and the next thing was that everything was on the floor, including me, and including the vase, which had shattered. “I didn’t do it!” I hollered, but they didn’t even hear me, because they were playing music too loud and cracking up too much. How does the narration shape Oskar’s characterization in this excerpt?

It shows his youth and inexperience.

It suggests his flair for the dramatic.

It indicates he is reckless and rowdy.

It hints at his pent-up anger and hostility.

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