Text 1

Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche people. These mold-made sculptures present plants, animals, and human faces in precise ways—vessels representing human faces are so detailed that scholars have interpreted facial markings to represent scars and other skin irregularities. Some historians have even used these objects to identify potential skin diseases that may have afflicted people at the time.

Text 2

Art historian and archaeologist Lisa Trever has argued that the interpretation of Moche “portrait” vessels as hyper-realistic portrayals of identifiable people may inadvertently disregard the creativity of the objects’ creators. Moche ceramic vessels, Trever argues, are artworks in which sculptors could free their imagination, using realistic objects and people around them as inspiration to explore more abstract concepts.

Based on the texts, what would Lisa Trever (Text 2) most likely say about the interpretation presented in the underlined portion of Text 1?

A) Depictions of human faces are significantly more realistic than depictions of plants and other animals are.

B) It is likely that some depictions of human faces with extensive markings are intended to portray the same historical individual.

C) Some vessels may have been damaged during their excavation and thus provide little insight into Moche culture.

D) Markings on depictions of human faces are not necessarily intended to portray particular details about the physical appearance of individuals.

Text 1

In a study of insect behavior, Samadi Galpayage and colleagues presented bumblebees with small wooden balls and observed many of the bees clinging to, rolling, and dragging the objects. The researchers provided no external rewards (such as food) to encourage these interactions. The bees simply appeared to be playing—and for no other reason than because they were having fun.

Text 2

Insects do not have cortexes or other brain areas associated with emotions in humans. Still, Galpayage and her team have shown that bumblebees may engage in play, possibly experiencing some kind of positive emotional state. Other studies have suggested that bees experience negative emotional states (for example, stress), but as Galpayage and her team have acknowledged, emotions in insects, if they do indeed exist, are likely very rudimentary.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined portion of Text 1?

A) By objecting that the bees were actually experiencing a negative feeling akin to stress rather than a positive feeling.

B) By arguing that some insects other than bumblebees may be capable of experiencing complex emotional states

C) By pointing out that even humans sometimes struggle to have fun while engaging in play.

D) By noting that if the bees were truly playing, any positive feelings they may have experienced were probably quite basic.

Text 1

American sculptor Edmonia Lewis is best known for her sculptures that represent figures from history and mythology, such as The Death of Cleopatra and Hagar. Although Lewis sculpted other subjects, her career as a sculptor is best represented by the works in which she depicted these historical and mythical themes.

Text 2

Art historians have typically ignored the many portrait busts Edmonia Lewis created. Lewis likely carved these busts (sculptures of a person’s head) frequently throughout her long career. She is known for her sculptures that represent historical figures, but Lewis likely supported herself financially by carving portrait busts for acquaintances who paid her to represent their features. Thus, Lewis’s portrait busts are a central aspect of her career as a sculptor.

Based on the texts, both authors would most likely agree with which statement?

A) Lewis’s portrait busts have overshadowed her other work.

B) The Death of Cleopatra is Lewis’s most famous piece.

C) Sculpting representations of historical figures was a short-lived trend.

D) Lewis’s works are varied in the subjects they depict.

Text 1

Literary scholars have struggled with the vastness of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka’s collective works of drama (spanning over 20 plays in total). It is best, however, to understand Soyinka’s body of work as a dramatist chronologically. Soyinka’s progression as a playwright can be considered to fall into three periods, with each one representing a particular thematic and stylistic cohesion: the 1960s, the two decades between 1970 and 1990, and lastly, from roughly 1990 onwards.

Text 2

It is tempting to impose a linear sense of order on the expanse of Wole Soyinka’s body of work as a dramatist. However, critics who have considered Soyinka’s plays to fit neatly into three phases overlook potential commonalities in Soyinka’s work that span across these phases. Additionally, this view may discount significant differences in the styles and content of plays written around the same time.

Which choice best describes a difference in how the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 view the study of Soyinka’s works of drama?

A) While the author of Text 1 believes that thinking about Soyinka’s works of theater in phases is useful, the author of Text 2 views such an approach as limiting.

B) Although the author of Text 1 claims that Soyinka’s style as a dramatist has evolved over time, the author of Text 2 argues that Soyinka’s style has remained consistent throughout his career.

C) The author of Text 1 considers Soyinka’s plays to showcase his strongest writing, whereas the author of Text 2 believes that Soyinka’s poetry is where he is most skilled.

D) The author of Text 1 argues that Soyinka’s early plays were his most politically charged, whereas the author of Text 2

claims that Soyinka’s most recent plays are the most politicized.

Text 1

Public policy researcher Anthony Fowler studied the history of elections in Australia, a country that requires citizens to vote. Fowler argues that requiring citizens to vote leads to a significant increase in voters who would otherwise not have the time or motivation to vote. Thus, election results in countries that require citizens to vote better reflect the preferences of the country as a whole.

Text 2

Governments in democratic countries function better when more people vote. However, forcing people to vote may have negative consequences. Shane P. Singh and Jason Roy studied what happens when a country requires its citizens to vote. They found that when people feel forced to vote, they tend to spend less time looking for information about their choices when voting. As a result, votes from these voters may not reflect their actual preferences.

Based on the texts, how would Singh and Roy (Text 2) most likely respond to the research discussed in Text 1?

A) Only countries of a certain population size should implement mandatory voting.

B) People who are forced to vote are likely to become politically engaged in other ways, such as volunteering or running for office.

C) Requiring people to vote does not necessarily lead to election outcomes that better represent the preferences of the country as a whole.

D) Countries that require voting must also make the process of voting easier for their citizens.