The following text is adapted from Sui Sin Far’s 1912 short story “Mrs. Spring Fragrance.” Mr. and Mrs. Spring Fragrance immigrated to the United States from China. Mrs. Spring Fragrance was unaware that Mr. Spring Fragrance, tired with the day’s business, had thrown himself down on the bamboo settee on the veranda, and that although his eyes were engaged in scanning the pages of the Chinese World, his ears could not help receiving the words which were borne to him through the open window.

As used in the text, what does the word “receiving” most nearly mean?

A) Denying

B) Entering

C) Carrying

D) Hearing

In 1877, 85% of California’s railways were already controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The company further solidified its____in rail access to the state’s Pacific coast when it completed the Sunset Route in 1883: running from Louisiana to Southern California, the route established the first transcontinental rail line across the southern United States.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) dominance

B) creativity

C) insignificance

D) neutrality

According to statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the best way to predict the amount of time a nonperishable entity (such as a building or a technology) will continue to exist is to examine how long it has survived so far. In this view, an item’s age is the strongest____how much longer it will last.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) uncertainty about

B) indicator of

C) motivation for

D) criticism of

In the mid-nineteenth century, some abolitionist newspapers____westward migration in the United States; by printing a letter that described the easy fortunes and high salaries miners could make in California during the Gold Rush, Frederick Douglass’s newspaper North Star was one such publication that inspired readers to relocate.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A)stimulated

B) assigned

C) opposed

D) disregarded

Artificially delivering biomolecules to plant cells is an important component of protecting plants from pathogens, but it is difficult to transmit biomolecules through the layers of the plant cell wall. Markita del Carpio Landry and her colleagues have shown that it may be possible to____this problem by transmitting molecules through carbon nanotubes, which can cross cell walls.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) conceptualize

B) neglect

C) illustrate

D) overcome