READING COMPREHENSION FOR gmat

[daffodil]

The antigen-antibody immunological reaction used to be regarded as typical of immunological responses. Antibodies are proteins synthesized by specialized cells called plasma cells, which are formed by lymphocytes (cells from the lymph system) when an antigen, a substance foreign to the organism’s body, comes in contact with lymphocytes. Two important manifestations of antigen-antibody immunity are lysis, the rapid physical rupture of antigenic cells and the liberation of their contents into the surrounding medium, and phagocytosis, a process in which antigenic particles are engulfed by and very often digested by macrophages and polymorphs. The process of lysis is executed by a complex and unstable blood constituent known as complement, which will not work unless it is activated by a specific antibody; the process of phagocytosis is greatly facilitated when the particles to be engulfed are coated by a specific antibody directed against them.
The reluctance to—abandon this hypothesis, however well it explains specific processes, impeded new research, and for many years antigens and antibodies dominated the thoughts of immunologists so completely that those immunologists overlooked certain difficulties. Perhaps the primary difficulty with the antigen-antibody explanation is the informational problem of how an antigen is recognized and how a structure exactly complementary to it is then synthesized. When molecular biologists discovered, moreover, that such information cannot flow from protein to protein, but only from nucleic acid to protein, the theory that an antigen itself provided the mold that directed the synthesis of an antibody had to be seriously qualified. The attempts at qualification and the information provided by research in molecular biology led scientists to realize that a second immunological reaction is mediated through the lymphocytes that are hostile to and bring about the destruction of the antigen. This type of immunological response is called cell-mediated immunity.
Recent research in cell-mediated immunity has been concerned not only with the development of new and better vaccines, but also with the problem of transplanting tissues and organs from one organism to another, for although circulating antibodies play a part in the rejection of transplanted tissues, the primary role is played by cell-mediated reactions. During cell-mediated responses, receptor sites on specific lymphocytes and surface antigens on the foreign tissue cells form a complex that binds the lymphocytes to the tissue. Such lymphocytes do not give rise to antibody-producing plasma cells but themselves bring about the death of the foreign-tissue cells, probably by secreting a variety of substances, some of which are toxic to the tissue cells and some of which stimulate increased phagocytic activity by white blood cells of the macrophage type. Cell-mediated immunity also accounts for the destruction of intracellular parasites.
1. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) proving that immunological reactions do not involve antibodies
(B) establishing that most immunological reactions involve antigens
(C) criticizing scientists who will not change their theories regarding immunology
(D) analyzing the importance of cells in fighting disease
(E) explaining two different kinds of immunological reactions
2. The author argues that the antigen-antibody explanation of immunity “had to seriously qualified” (line 37) because
(A) antibodies were found to activate unstable components in the blood
(B) antigens are not exactly complementary to antibodies
(C) lymphocytes have the ability to bind to the surface of antigens
(D) antibodies are synthesized from protein whereas antigens are made from nucleic acid
(E) antigens have no apparent mechanism to direct the formation of an antibody
3. The author most probably believes that the antigen-antibody theory of immunological reaction.
(A) is wrong
(B) was accepted without evidence
(C) is unverifiable
(D) is a partial explanation
(E) has been a divisive issue among scientists
4. The author mentions all of the following as being involved in antigen-antibody immunological reactions EXCEPT the
(A) synthesis of a protein
(B) activation of complement in the bloodstream
(C) destruction of antibodies
(D) entrapment of antigens by macrophages
(E) formation of a substance with a structure complementary to that of an antigen
5. The passage contains information that would answer which of the following questions about cell-mediated immunological reactions?
I. Do lymphocytes form antibodies during cell-mediated immunological reactions?
II. Why are lymphocytes more hostile to antigens during cell-mediated immunological reactions than are other cell groups?
III. Are cell-mediated reactions more pronounced after transplants than they are after parasites have invaded the organism?
(A) I only
(B) I and II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
6. The passage suggests that scientists might not have developed the theory of cell-mediated immunological reactions if
(A) proteins existed in specific group types
(B) proteins could have been shown to direct the synthesis of other proteins
(C) antigens were always destroyed by proteins
(D) antibodies were composed only of protein
(E) antibodies were the body’s primary means of resisting disease
7. According to the passage, antibody-antigen and cell-mediated immunological reactions both involve which of the following processes?
I. The destruction of antigens
II. The creation of antibodies
III. The destruction of intracellular parasites
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) II and III only
8. The author supports the theory of cell-mediated reactions primarily by
(A) pointing out a contradiction in the assumption leading to the antigen-antibody theory
(B) explaining how cell mediation accounts for phenomena that the antigen-antibody theory cannot account for
(C) revealing new data that scientists arguing for the antigen-antibody theory have continued to ignore
(D) showing that the antigen-antibody theory fails to account for the breakup of antigens
(E) demonstrating that cell mediation explains lysis and phagocytosis more fully than the antigen-antibody theory does

[daffodil]

The founders of the Republic viewed their revolution primarily in political rather than economic or social terms. And they talked about education as essential to the public good—a goal that took precedence over knowledge as occupational training or as a means to self-fulfillment or self-improvement. Over and over again the Revolutionary generation, both liberal and conservative in outlook, asserted its conviction that the welfare of the Republic rested upon an educated citizenry and that schools, especially free public schools, would be the best means of educating the citizenry in civic values and the obligations required of everyone in a democratic republican society. All agreed that the principal ingredients of a civic education were literacy and the inculcation of patriotic and moral virtues, some others adding the study of history and the study of principles of the republican government itself.
The founders, as was the case of almost all their successors, were long on exhortation and rhetoric regarding the value of civic education, but they left it to the textbook writers to distill the essence of those values for school children. Texts in American history and government appeared as early as the 1790s. The textbook writers turned out to be very largely of conservative persuasion, more likely Federalist in outlook than Jeffersonian, and almost universally agreed that political virtue must rest upon moral and religious precepts. Since most textbook writers were New Englander, this meant that the texts were infused with Protestant and, above all, Puritan outlooks.
In the first half of the Republic, civic education in the schools emphasized the inculcation of civic values and made little attempt to develop participatory political skills. That was a task left to incipient political parties, town meetings, churches and the coffee or ale houses where men gathered for conversation. Additionally as a reading of certain Federalist papers of the period would demonstrate, the press probably did more to disseminate realistic as well as partisan knowledge of government than the schools. The goal of education, however, was to achieve a higher form of unum for the new Republic. In the middle half of the nineteenth century, the political values taught in the public and private schools did not change substantially from those celebrated in the first fifty years of the Republic. In the textbooks of the day their rosy hues if anything became golden. To the resplendent values of liberty, equality, and a benevolent Christian morality were now added the middle-class virtues-especially of New England-of hard work, honesty and integrity, the rewards of individual effort, and obedience to parents and legitimate authority. But of all the political values taught in school, patriotism was preeminent; and whenever teachers explained to school children why they should love their country above all else, the idea of liberty assumed pride of place.
1. The passage deals primarily with the
(A) content of early textbooks on American history and government
(B) role of education in late eighteenth-and early to mid-nineteenth-century America
(C) influence of New England Puritanism on early American values
(D) origin and development of the Protestant work ethic in modern America
(E) establishment of universal free public education in America
2. According to the passage, the founders of the Republic regarded education primarily as
(A) a religious obligation
(B) a private matter
(C) an unnecessary luxury
(D) a matter of individual choice
(E) a political necessity
3. The author states that textbooks written in the middle part of the nineteenth century
(A) departed radically in tone and style from earlier textbooks
(B) mentioned for the first time the value of liberty
(C) treated traditional civic virtues with even greater reverence
(D) were commissioned by government agencies
(E) contained no reference to conservative ideas
4. Which of the following would LEAST likely have been the subject of an early American textbook?
(A) basic rules of English grammar
(B) the American Revolution
(C) patriotism and other civic virtues
(D) vocational education
(E) principles of American government
5. The author’s attitude toward the educational system she discusses can best be described as
(A) cynical and unpatriotic
(B) realistic and analytical
(C) pragmatic and frustrated
(D) disenchanted and bitter
(E) idealistic and naive
6. The passage provides information that would be helpful in answering which of the following questions?
(A) Why were a disproportionate share of early American textbooks written by New England authors?
(B) Was the Federalist party primarily a liberal or conservative force in early American politics?
(C) How many years of education did the founders believe were sufficient to instruct young citizens in civic virtue?
(D) What were that names of some of the Puritan authors who wrote early American textbooks?
(E) Did most citizens of the early Republic agree with the founders that public education was essential to the welfare of the Republic?
7. The author implies that an early American Puritan would likely insist that
(A) moral and religious values are the foundation of civic virtue
(B) textbooks should instruct students in political issues of vital concern to the community
(C) textbooks should give greater emphasis to the value of individual liberty than to the duties of patriotism
(D) private schools with a particular religious focus are preferable to public schools with no religious instruction
(E) government and religion are separate institutions and the church should not interfere in political affairs
8. According to the passage citizens of the early Republic learned about practical political matters in all of the following ways EXCEPT
(A) reading newspapers
(B) attending town meetings
(C) conversing about political matters
(D) reading textbooks
(E) attending church

[daffodil]

The health-care economy is replete with unusual and even unique economic relationships. One of the least understood involves the peculiar roles of producer or “provider” and purchaser or “consumer” in the typical doctor-patient relationship. In most sectors of the economy, it is the seller who attempts to attract a potential buyer with various inducements of price, quality, and utility, and it is the buyer who makes the decision. Where circumstances permit the buyer no choice because there is effectively only one seller and the product is relatively essential, government usually asserts monopoly and places the industry under price and other regulations. Neither of these conditions prevails in most of the health-care industry.
In the health-care industry, the doctor-patient relationship is the mirror image of the ordinary relationship between producer and consumer. Once an individual has chosen to see a physician—and even then there may be no real choice—it is the physician who usually makes all significant purchasing decisions: whether the patient should return “next Wednesday,” whether X-rays are needed, whether drugs should be prescribed, etc. It is a rare and sophisticated patient who will challenge such professional decisions or raise in advance questions about price, especially when the ailment is regarded as serious.
This is particularly significant in relation to hospital care. The physician must certify the need for hospitalization, determine what procedures will be performed, and announce when the patient may be discharged. The patient may be consulted about some of these decisions, but in the main it is the doctor’s judgments that are final. Little wonder then that in the eyes of the hospital it is the physician who is the real “consumer.” As a consequence, the medical staff represents the “power center” in hospital policy and decision-making, not the administration.
Although usually there are in this situation four identifiable participants—the physician, the hospital, the patient, and the payer (generally an insurance carrier or government)—the physician makes the essential decisions for all of them. The hospital becomes an extension of the physician; the payer generally meets most of the bona fide bills generated by the physician/hospital; and for the most part the patient plays a passive role. In routine or minor illnesses, or just plain worries, the patient’s options are, of course, much greater with respect to use and price. In illnesses that are of some significance, however, such choices tend to evaporate, and it is for these illnesses that the bulk of the health-care dollar is spent. We estimate that about 75-80 percent of health-care expenditures are determined by physicians, not patients. For this reason, economy measures directed at patients or the general public are relatively ineffective.
1. The author’s primary purpose is to
(A) speculate about the relationship between a patient’s ability to pay and the treatment received
(B) criticize doctors for exercising too much control over patients
(C) analyze some important economic factors in health care
(D) urge hospitals to reclaim their decision-making authority
(E) inform potential patients of their health-care rights
2. It can be inferred that doctors are able to determine hospital policies because
(A) it is doctors who generate income for the hospital
(B) most of a patient’s bills are paid by his health insurance
(C) hospital administrators lack the expertise to question medical decisions
(D) a doctor is ultimately responsible for a patient’s health
(E) some patients might refuse to accept their physician’s advice
3. According to the author, when a doctor tells a patient to “return next Wednesday,” the doctor is in effect
(A) taking advantage of the patient’s concern for his health
(B) instructing the patient to buy more medical services
(C) warning the patient that a hospital stay might be necessary
(D) advising the patient to seek a second opinion
(E) admitting that the initial visit was ineffective
4. The author is most probably leading up to
(A) a proposal to control medical costs
(B) a discussion of a new medical treatment
(C) an analysis of the causes of inflation in the United States
(D) a study of lawsuits against doctors for malpractice
(E) a comparison of hospitals and factories
5. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) whimsical
(B) cautious
(C) analytical
(D) inquisitive
(E) defiant
6. With which of the following statements would the author be likely to agree?
I. Most patients are reluctant to object to the course of treatment prescribed by a doctor or to question the cost of the services.
II. The more serious the illness of a patient, the less likely it is that the patient will object to the course of treatment prescribed or to question the cost of services.
III. The payer, whether insurance carrier or the government, is less likely to acquiesce to demands for payment when the illness of the patient is regarded as serious.
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
7. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) define a term
(B) clarify a misunderstanding
(C) refute a theory
(D) discuss a problem
(E) announce a new discovery
8. The most important feature of a “consumer” as that term is used in line 33 of the passage is that the “consumer” is the party that
(A) pays for goods or services
(B) delivers goods or services
(C) orders goods or services
(D) reimburses a third party for goods or services
(E) supplies goods and services to a third party

[daffodil]

About twice every century, one of the massive stars in our galaxy blows itself apart in a supernova explosion that sends massive quantities of radiation and matter into space and generates shock waves that sweep through the arms of the galaxy. The shock waves heat the interstellar gas, evaporate small clouds, and compress larger ones to the point at which they collapse under their own gravity to form new stars. The general picture that has been developed for the supernova explosion and its aftermath goes something like this. Throughout its evolution, a star is much like a leaky balloon. It keeps its equilibrium figure through a balance of internal pressure against the tendency to collapse under its own weight. The pressure is generated by nuclear reactions in the core of the star which must continually supply energy to balance the energy that leaks out in the form of radiation. Eventually the nuclear fuel is exhausted, and the pressure drops in the core. With nothing to hold it up, the matter in the center of the star collapses inward, creating higher and higher densities and temperatures, until the nuclei and electrons are fused into a super-dense lump of matter known as a neutron star.
As the overlying layers rain down on the surface of the neutron star, the temperature rises, until with a blinding flash of radiation, the collapse is reversed. A thermonuclear shock wave runs through the now expanding stellar envelope, fusing lighter elements into heavier ones and producing a brilliant visual outburst that can be as intense as the light of 10 billion suns. The shell of matter thrown off by the explosion plows through the surrounding gas, producing an expanding bubble of hot gas, with gas temperatures in the millions of degrees. This gas will emit most of its energy at X-ray wavelengths, so it is not surprising that X-ray observatories have provided some of the most useful insights into the nature of the supernova phenomenon. More than twenty supernova remnants have now been detected in X-ray studies.
Recent discoveries of meteorites with anomalous concentrations of certain isotopes indicate that a supernova might have precipitated the birth of our solar system more than four and a half billion years ago. Although the cloud that collapsed to form the Sun and the planets was composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, it also contained carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, elements essential for life as we know it. Elements heavier than helium are manufactured deep in the interior of stars and would, for the most part, remain there if it were not for the cataclysmic supernova explosions that blow giant stars apart. Additionally, supernovas produce clouds of high-energy particles called cosmic rays. These high-energy particles continually bombard the Earth and are responsible for many of the genetic mutations that are the driving force of the evolution of species.
1. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?
(A) The Origins and Effects of Supernovas
(B) The Life and Death of Stars
(C) The Origins and Evolution of Life on Earth
(D) The Aftermath of a Supernova
(E) Violent Change in the Universe
2. According to the passage, we can expect a supernova to occur in our galaxy
(A) about twice each year
(B) hundreds of times each century
(C) about once every fifty years
(D) about once every other century
(E) about once every four to five billion years
3. According to the passage all of the following are true of supernovas EXCEPT that they
(A) are extremely bright
(B) are an explosion of some sort
(C) emit large quantities of X-rays
(D) result in the destruction of a neutron star
(E) are caused by the collision of large galaxies
4. The author employs which of the following to develop the first paragraph?
(A) Analogy
(B) Deduction
(C) Generalization
(D) Example
(E) Refutation
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the meteorites mentioned by the author at line 39
(A) contain dangerous concentrations of radioactive materials
(B) give off large quantities of X-rays
(C) include material not created in the normal development of our solar system
(D) are larger than the meteors normally found in a solar system like ours
(E) contain pieces of a supernova that occurred several billion years ago
6. The author implies that
(A) it is sometimes easier to detect supernovas by observation of the X-ray spectrum than by observation of visible wavelengths of light
(B) life on Earth is endangered by its constant exposure to radiation forces that are released by a supernova
(C) recently discovered meteorites indicate that the Earth and other planets of our solar system survived the explosion of a supernova several billion years ago
(D) lighter elements are formed from heavier elements during a supernova as the heavier elements are torn apart
(E) the core of a neutron star is composed largely of heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen
7. According to the passage what is the first event in the sequence that leads to the occurrence of a supernova?
(A) An ordinary star begins to emit tremendous quantities of X-rays.
(B) A neutron star is enveloped by a superheated cloud of gas.
(C) An imbalance between light and heavy elements causes an ordinary star to collapse.
(D) A cloud of interstellar gas rich in carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, collapses to form a neutron star.
(E) An ordinary star exhausts its supply of nuclear fuel and begins to collapse.
8. According to the passage a neutron star is
(A) a gaseous cloud containing heavy elements
(B) an intermediate stage between an ordinary star and a supernova
(C) the residue that is left by a supernova
(D) the core of an ordinary star that houses the thermonuclear reactions
(E) one of billions of meteors that are scattered across the galaxy by a supernova
9. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) speculating about the origins of our solar system
(B) presenting evidence proving the existence of supernovas
(C) discussing the nuclear reaction that occurs in the core of a star
(D) describing the sequence of scientific events
(E) disproving a theory about the causes of supernovas

[daffodil]

The uniqueness of the Japanese character is the result of two seemingly contradictory forces: the strength of traditions and selective receptivity to foreign achievements and inventions. As early as the 1860s, there were counter movements to the traditional orientation. Yukichi Fukuzawa, the most eloquent spokesman of Japan’s “Enlightenment,” claimed: “The Confucian civilization of the East seems to me to lack two things possessed by Western civilization: science in the material sphere and a sense of independence in the spiritual sphere.” Fukuzawa’s great influence is found in the free and individualistic philosophy of the Education Code of 1872, but he was not able to prevent the government from turning back to the canons of Confucian thought in the Imperial Rescript of 1890. Another interlude of relative liberalism followed World War I, when the democratic idealism of President Woodrow Wilson had an important impact on Japanese intellectuals and, especially students: but more important was the Leninist ideology of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Again in the early 1930s, nationalism and militarism became dominant, largely as a result of failing economic conditions.
Following the end of World War II, substantial changes were undertaken in Japan to liberate the individual from authoritarian restraints. The new democratic value system was accepted by many teachers, students, intellectuals, and old liberals, but it was not immediately embraced by the society as a whole. Japanese traditions were dominated by group values, and notions of personal freedom and individual rights were unfamiliar.
Today, democratic processes are clearly evident in the widespread participation of the Japanese people in social and political life: yet, there is no universally accepted and stable value system. Values are constantly modified by strong infusions of Western ideas, both democratic and Marxist. School textbooks expound democratic principles, emphasizing equality over hierarchy and rationalism over tradition; but in practice these values are often misinterpreted and distorted, particularly by the youth who translate the individualistic and humanistic goals of democracy into egoistic and materialistic ones.
Most Japanese people have consciously rejected Confucianism, but vestiges of the old order remain. An important feature of relationships in many institutions such as political parties, large corporations, and university faculties is the oyabun-kobun or parent-child relation. A party leader, supervisor, or professor, in return for loyalty, protects those subordinate to him and takes general responsibility for their interests throughout their entire lives, an obligation that sometimes even extends to arranging marriages. The corresponding loyalty of the individual to his patron reinforces his allegiance to the group to which they both belong. A willingness to cooperate with other members of the group and to support without qualification the interests of the group in all its external relations is still a widely respected virtue. The oyabun-kobun creates ladders of mobility which an individual can ascend, rising as far as abilities permit, so long as he maintains successful personal ties with a superior in the vertical channel, the latter requirement usually taking precedence over a need for exceptional competence. As a consequence, there is little horizontal relationship between people even within the same profession.
1. The author is mainly concerned with
(A) explaining the influence of Confucianism on modern Japan
(B) analyzing the reasons for Japan’s postwar economic success
(C) discussing some important determinants of Japanese values
(D) describing managerial practices in Japanese industry
(E) contrasting modern with prewar Japanese society
2. Which of the following is most like the relationship of the oyabun-kobun described in the passage?
(A) A political candidate and the voting public
(B) A gifted scientist and his protégé
(C) Two brothers who are partners in a business
(D) A judge presiding at the trial of a criminal defendant
(E) A leader of a musical ensemble who is also a musician in the group
3. According to the passage, Japanese attitudes are influenced by which of the following?
I. Democratic ideals
II. Elements of modern Western culture
III. Remnants of an earlier social structure
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
4. The author implies that
(A) decisions about promotions are often based on personal feelings
(B) students and intellectuals do not understand the basic tenets of Western democracy
(C) Western values have completely overwhelmed traditional Japanese attitudes
(D) respect for authority was introduced into Japan following World War II
(E) most Japanese workers are members of a single political party
5. In developing the passage, the author does which of the following?
(A) Introduce an analogy
(B) Define a term
(C) Present statistics
(D) Cite an authority
(E) Issue a challenge
6. It can be inferred that the Imperial Rescript of 1890
(A) was a protest by liberals against the lack of individual liberty in Japan
(B) marked a return in government policies to conservative values
(C) implemented the ideals set forth in the Education Code of 1872
(D) was influenced by the Leninist ideology of the Bolshevik Revolution
(E) prohibited the teaching of Western ideas in Japanese schools
7. Which of the following is the most accurate description of the organization of the passage?
(A) A sequence of inferences in which the conclusion of each successive step becomes a premise in the next argument
(B) A list of generalizations, most of which are supported by only a single example
(C) A chronological analysis of historical events leading up to a description of the current situation
(D) A statement of a commonly accepted theory that is then subjected to a critical analysis
(E) An introduction of a key term that is then defined by giving examples
8. Which of the following best states the central thesis of the passage?
(A) The value system of Japan is based upon traditional and conservative values that have, in modern times, been modified by Western and other liberal values.
(B) Students and radicals in Japan have Leninist ideology to distort the meaning of democratic, Western values.
(C) The notions of personal freedom and individual liberty did not find immediate acceptance in Japan because of the predominance of traditional group values.
(D) Modern Japanese society is characterized by hierarchical relationships in which a personal tie to a superior is often more important than merit.
(E) The influence on Japanese values of the American ideals of personal freedom and individual rights is less important than the influence of Leninist ideology.
9. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) neutral and objective
(B) disparaging and flippant
(C) critical and demanding
(D) enthusiastic and supportive
(E) skeptical and questioning

[daffodil]

Public general hospitals originated in the almshouse infirmaries established as early as colonial times by local governments to care for the poor. Later, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the infirmary separated from the almshouse and became an independent institution supported by local tax money. At the same time, private charity hospitals began to develop. Both private and public hospitals provided mainly food and shelter for the impoverished sick, since there was little that medicine could actually do to cure illness, and the middle class was treated at home by private physicians.
Late in the nineteenth century, the private charity hospital began trying to attract middle-class patients. Although the depression of 1890 stimulated the growth of charitable institutions and an expanding urban population became dependent on assistance, there was a decline in private contributions to these organizations which forced them to look to local government for financial support. Since private institutions had also lost benefactors; they began to charge patients. In order to attract middle-class patients, private institutions provided services and amenities that distinguished between paying and non-paying patients and made the hospital a desirable place for private physicians to treat their own patients. As paying patients became more necessary to the survival of the private hospital, the public hospitals slowly became the only place for the poor to get treatment. By the end of the nineteenth century, cities were reimbursing private hospitals for their care of indigent patients and the public hospitals remained dependent on the tax dollars.
The advent of private hospital health insurance, which provided middle-class patients with the purchasing power to pay for private hospital services, guaranteed the private hospital a regular source of income. Private hospitals restricted themselves to revenue-generating patients, leaving the public hospitals to care for the poor. Although public hospitals continued to provide services for patients with communicable diseases and outpatient and emergency services, the Blue Cross plans developed around the needs of the private hospitals and the inpatients they served. Thus, reimbursement for ambulatory care has been minimal under most Blue Cross plans, and provision of outpatient care has not been a major function of the private hospital, in part because private patients can afford to pay for the services of private physicians. Additionally, since World War II, there has been a tremendous influx of federal money into private medical schools and the hospitals associated with them. Further, large private medical centers with expensive research equipment and programs have attracted the best administrators, physicians, and researchers. As a result of the greater resources available to the private medical centers, public hospitals have increasing problems attracting highly qualified research and medical personnel. With the mainstream of health care firmly established in the private medical sector, the public hospital has become a “dumping ground.”
1. According to the passage, the very first private hospitals
(A) developed from almshouse infirmaries
(B) provided better care than public infirmaries
(C) were established mainly to service the poor
(D) were supported by government revenues
(E) catered primarily to the middle-class patients
2. It can be inferred that the author believes the differences that currently exist between public and private hospitals are primarily the result of
(A) political considerations
(B) economic factors
(C) ethical concerns
(D) legislative requirements
(E) technological developments
3. It can be inferred that the growth of private health insurance
(A) relieved local governments of the need to fund public hospitals
(B) guaranteed that the poor would have access to medical care
(C) forced middle-class patients to use public hospitals
(D) prompted the closing of many charitable institutions
(E) reinforced the distinction between public and private hospitals
4. Which of the following would be the most logical topic for the author to introduce in the next paragraph?
(A) A plan to improve the quality of public hospitals
(B) An analysis of the profit structure of health insurance companies
(C) A proposal to raise taxes on the middle class
(D) A discussion of recent developments in medical technology
(E) A list of the subjects studied by students in medical school
5. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) describe the financial structure of the healthcare industry
(B) demonstrate the importance of government support for health-care institutions
(C) criticize wealthy institutions for refusing to provide services to the poor
(D) identify the historical causes of the division between private and public hospitals
(E) praise public hospitals for their willingness to provide health care for the poor
6. The author cites all of the following as factors contributing to the decline of public hospitals EXCEPT.
(A) Government money was used to subsidize private medical schools and hospitals to the detriment of public hospitals.
(B) Public hospitals are not able to compete with private institutions for top flight managers and doctors.
(C) Large private medical centers have better research facilities and more extensive research programs than public hospitals.
(D) Public hospitals accepted the responsibility for treating patients with certain diseases.
(E) Blue Cross insurance coverage does not reimburse subscribers for medical expenses incurred in a public hospital.
7. The author’s attitude toward public hospitals can best be described as
(A) contemptuous and prejudiced
(B) apprehensive and distrustful
(C) concerned and understanding
(D) enthusiastic and supportive
(E) unsympathetic and annoyed
8. The author implies that any outpatient care provided by a hospital is
(A) paid for by private insurance
(B) provided in lieu of treatment by a private physician
(C) supplied primarily by private hospitals
(D) a source of revenue for public hospitals
(E) no longer provided by hospitals, public or private
9. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?
(A) Public versus Private Hospitals: A Competitive Mismatch
(B) Historical and Economic Factors in the Decline of the Public Hospital
(C) A Comparison of the Quality of Care Provided in Public and Private Hospitals
(D) A Proposal for Revamping the Health Delivery Services Sector of the Economy
(E) Economic Factors That Contribute to the Inability of the Poor to Get Adequate Care

[daffodil]

The National Security Act of 1947 created a national military establishment headed by a single Secretary of Defense. The legislation had been a year-and-a-half in the making—beginning when President Truman first recommended that the armed services be reorganized into a single department. During that period the President’s concept of a unified armed service was torn apart and put back together several times, the final measure to emerge from Congress being a compromise. Most of the opposition to the bill came from the Navy and its numerous civilian spokesmen, including Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. In support of unification (and a separate air force that was part of the unification package) were the Army air forces, the Army, and, most importantly, the President of the United States.
Passage of the bill did not bring an end to the bitter interservice disputes. Rather than unify, the act served only to federate the military services. It neither halted the rapid demobilization of the armed forces that followed World War II nor brought to the new national military establishment the loyalties of officers steeped in the traditions of the separate services. At a time when the balance of power in Europe and Asia was rapidly shifting, the services lacked any precise statement of United States foreign policy from the National Security Council on which to base future programs. The services bickered unceasingly over their respective roles and missions, already complicated by the Soviet nuclear capability that for the first time made the United States subject to devastating attack. Not even the appointment of Forrestal as First Secretary of Defense allayed the suspicions of naval officers and their supporters that the role of the U.S. Navy was threatened with permanent eclipse. Before the war of words died down, Forrestal himself was driven to resignation and then suicide.
By 1948, the United States military establishment was forced to make do with a budget approximately 10 percent of what it had been at its wartime peak. Meanwhile, the cost of weapons procurement was rising geometrically as the nation came to put more and more reliance on the atomic bomb and its delivery systems. These two factors inevitably made adversaries of the Navy and the Air Force as the battle between advocates of the B-36 and the supercarrier so amply demonstrates. Given severe fiscal restraints on the one hand, and on the other the nation’s increasing reliance on strategic nuclear deterrence, the conflict between these two services over roles and missions was essentially a contest over slices of an ever-diminishing pie.
Yet if in the end neither service was the obvious victor, the principle of civilian dominance over the military clearly was. If there had ever been any danger that the United States military establishment might exploit, to the detriment of civilian control, the goodwill it enjoyed as a result of its victories in World War II, that danger disappeared in the interservice animosities engendered by the battle over unification.
1. The author makes all of the following points about the National Security Act of 1947 EXCEPT
(A) It provided for a single Secretary of Defense.
(B) The legislation that came out of Congress was a compromise measure.
(C) The legislation was initially proposed by President Truman.
(D) The Navy opposed the bill that eventually became law.
(E) The bill was passed to help the nation’s demobilization effort.
2. Which of the following best describes the tone of the selection?
(A) Analytical and confident
(B) Resentful and defensive
(C) Objective and speculative
(D) Tentative and skeptical
(E) Persuasive and cynical
3. According to the passage, the interservice strife that followed unification occurred primarily between the
(A) Army and Army air forces
(B) Army and Navy
(C) Army air forces and Navy
(D) Navy and Army
(E) Air Force and Navy
4. It can be inferred from the passage that Forrestal’s appointment as Secretary of Defense was expected to
(A) placate members of the Navy
(B) result in decreased levels of defense spending
(C) outrage advocates of the Army air forces
(D) win Congressional approval of the unification plan
(E) make Forrestal a Presidential candidate against Truman
5. According to the passage, President Truman supported which of the following??
I. Elimination of the Navy
II. A unified military service
III. Establishment of a separate air force
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
6. With which of the following statements about defense unification would the author most likely agree?
(A) Unification ultimately undermined United States military capability by inciting interservice rivalry.
(B) The unification legislation was necessitated by the drastic decline in appropriations for the military services.
(C) Although the unification was not entirely successful, it had the unexpected result of ensuring civilian control of the military.
(D) In spite of the attempted unification, each service was still able to pursue its own objectives without interference from the other branches.
(E) Unification was in the first place unwarranted and in the second place ineffective.
7. According to the selection, the political situation following the passage of the National Security Act of 1947 was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT
(A) a shifting balance of power in Europe and in Asia
(B) fierce interservice rivalries
(C) lack of strong leadership by the National Security Council
(D) shrinking postwar military budgets
(E) a lame-duck President who was unable to unify the legislature
8. The author cites the resignation and suicide of Forrestal in order to
(A) underscore the bitterness of the interservice rivalry surrounding the passage of the National Security Act of 1947
(B) demonstrate that the Navy eventually emerged as the dominant branch of service after the passage of the National Security Act of 1947
(C) suggest that the nation would be better served by a unified armed service under a single command
(D) provide an example of a military leader who preferred to serve his country in war rather than in peace
(E) persuade the reader that Forrestal was a victim of political opportunists and an unscrupulous press
9. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing the influence of personalities on political events
(B) describing the administration of a powerful leader
(C) criticizing a piece of legislation
(D) analyzing a political development
(E) suggesting methods for controlling the military

[daffodil]

Behavior is one of two general responses available to endothermic (warm-blooded) species for the regulation of body temperature, the other being innate (reflexive) mechanisms of heat production and heat loss. Human beings rely primarily on the first to provide a hospitable thermal microclimate for themselves, in which the transfer of heat between the body and the environment is accomplished with minimal involvement of innate mechanisms of heat production and loss. Thermoregulatory behavior anticipates hyperthermia, and the organism adjusts its behavior to avoid becoming hyperthermic: it removes layers of clothing, it goes for a cool swim, etc. The organism can also respond to changes in the temperature of the body core, as is the case during exercise; but such responses result from the direct stimulation of thermoreceptors distributed widely within the central nervous system, and the ability of these mechanisms to help the organism adjust to gross changes in its environment is limited.
Until recently it was assumed that organisms respond to microwave radiation in the same way that they respond to temperature changes caused by other forms of radiation. After all, the argument runs, microwaves are radiation and heat body tissues. This theory ignores the fact that the stimulus to a behavioral response is normally a temperature change that occurs at the surface of the organism. The thermoreceptors that prompt behavioral changes are located within the first millimeter of the skin’s surface, but the energy of a microwave field may be selectively deposited in deep tissues, effectively bypassing these thermoreceptors, particularly if the field is at near-resonant frequencies. The resulting temperature profile may well be a kind of reverse thermal gradient in which the deep tissues are warmed more than those of the surface. Since the heat is not conducted outward to the surface to stimulate the appropriate receptors, the organism does not “appreciate” this stimulation in the same way that it “appreciates” heating and cooling of the skin. In theory, the internal organs of a human being or an animal could be quite literally cooked well-done before the animal even realizes that the balance of its thermomicroclimate has been disturbed.
Until a few years ago, microwave irradiations at equivalent plane-wave power densities of about 100 mW/cm2 were considered unequivocally to produce “thermal” effects; irradiations within the range of 10 to 100 mW/cm2 might or might not produce “thermal” effects; while effects observed at power densities below 10 mW/cm2 were assumed to be “nonthermal” in nature. Experiments have shown this to be an oversimplification, and a recent report suggests that fields as weak as 1 mW/cm2 can be thermogenic. When the heat generated in the tissues by an imposed radio frequency (plus the heat generated by metabolism) exceeds the heat-loss capabilities of the organism, the thermoregulatory system has been compromised. Yet surprisingly, not long ago, an increase in the internal body temperature was regarded merely as “evidence” of a thermal effect.
1. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) showing that behavior is a more effective way of controlling bodily temperature than innate mechanisms
(B) criticizing researchers who will not discard their theories about the effects of microwave radiation on organisms
(C) demonstrating that effects of microwave radiation are different from those of other forms of radiation
(D) analyzing the mechanism by which an organism maintains its bodily temperature in a changing thermal environment
(E) discussing the importance of thermoreceptors in the control of the internal temperature of an organism
2. The author makes which of the following points about innate mechanisms for heat production?
I. They are governed by thermoreceptors inside the body of the organism rather than at the surface.
II. They are a less effective means of compensating for gross changes in temperature than behavioral strategies.
III. They are not affected by microwave radiation.
(A) I only
(B) I and II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
3. Which of the following would be the most logical topic for the author to take up in the paragraph following the final paragraph of the selection?
(A) A suggestion for new research to be done on the effects of microwaves on animals and human beings
(B) An analysis of the differences between microwave radiation
(C) A proposal that the use of microwave radiation be prohibited because it is dangerous
(D) A survey of the literature on the effects of microwave radiation on human beings
(E) A discussion of the strategies used by various species to control hyperthermia
4. The author’s strategy in lines 39-42 is to
(A) introduce a hypothetical example to dramatize a point
(B) propose an experiment to test a scientific hypothesis
(C) cite a case study to illustrate a general contention
(D) produce a counterexample to disprove an opponent’s theory
(E) speculate about the probable consequences of a scientific phenomenon
5. The author implies that the proponents of the theory that microwave radiation acts on organisms in the same way as other forms of radiation based their conclusions primarily on
(A) laboratory research
(B) unfounded assumption
(C) control group surveys
(D) deductive reasoning
(E) causal investigation
6. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) genial and conversational
(B) alarmed and disparaging
(C) facetious and cynical
(D) scholarly and noncommittal
(E) scholarly and concerned
7. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) pointing out weaknesses in a popular scientific theory
(B) developing a hypothesis to explain a scientific phenomenon
(C) reporting on new research on the effects of microwave radiation
(D) criticizing the research methods of earlier investigators
(E) clarifying ambiguities in the terminology used to describe a phenomenon

[daffodil]

Since Would War II considerable advances have been made in the area of health-care services. These include better access to health care (particularly for the poor and minorities), improvements in physical plants, and increased numbers of physicians and other health personnel. All have played a part in the recent improvement in life expectancy. But there is mounting criticism of the large remaining gaps in access, unbridled cost inflation, the further fragmentation of service, excessive indulgence in wasteful high-technology “gadgeteering,” and a breakdown in doctor-patient relationships. In recent years proposed panaceas and new programs, small and large, have proliferated at a feverish pace and disappointments multiply at almost the same rate. This has led to an increased pessimism—“everything has been tried and nothing works”—which sometimes borders on cynicism or even nihilism.
It is true that the automatic “pass through” of rapidly spiraling costs to government and insurance carriers, which was set in a publicized environment of “the richest nation in the world,” produced for a time a sense of unlimited resources and allowed to develop a mood whereby every practitioner and institution could “do his own thing” without undue concern for the “Medical Commons.” The practice of full-cost reimbursement encouraged capital investment and now the industry is overcapitalized. Many cities have hundreds of excess hospital beds; hospitals have proliferated a superabundance of high-technology equipment; and structural ostentation and luxury were the order of the day. In any given day, one-fourth of all community beds are vacant; expensive equipment is underused or, worse, used unnecessarily. Capital investment brings rapidly rising operating costs.
Yet, in part, this pessimism derives from expecting too much of health care. It must be realized that care is, for most people, a painful experience, often accompanied by fear and unwelcome results. Although there is vast room for improvement, health care will always retain some unpleasantness and frustration. Moreover, the capacities of medical science are limited. Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again. Too many physicians are reluctant to admit their limitations to patients; too many patients and families are unwilling to accept such realities. Nor is it true that everything has been tried and nothing works, as shown by the prepaid group practice plans of the Kaiser Foundation and at Puget Sound. In the main, however, such undertakings have been drowned by a veritable flood of public and private moneys which have supported and encouraged the continuation of conventional practices and subsidized their shortcomings on a massive, almost unrestricted scale. Except for the most idealistic and dedicated, there were no incentives to seek change or to practice self-restraint or frugality. In this atmosphere, it is not fair to condemn as failures all attempted experiments; it may be more accurate to say many never had a fair trial.
1. The author implies that the Kaiser Foundation and Puget Sound plans (lines 47-48) differed from other plans by
(A) encouraging capital investment
(B) requiring physicians to treat the poor
(C) providing incentives for cost control
(D) employing only dedicated and idealistic doctors
(E) relying primarily on public funding
2. The author mentions all of the following as consequences of full-cost reimbursement EXCEPT
(A) rising operating costs
(B) underused hospital facilities
(C) overcapitalization
(D) overreliance on expensive equipment
(E) lack of services for minorities
3. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) light-hearted and amused
(B) objective but concerned
(C) detached and unconcerned
(D) cautious but sincere
(E) enthusiastic and enlightened
4. According to the author, the “pessimism” mentioned at line 35 is partly attributable to the fact that
(A) there has been little real improvement in health-care services
(B) expectations about health-care services are sometimes unrealistic
(C) large segments of the population find it impossible to get access to health-care services
(D) advances in technology have made health care service unaffordable
(E) doctors are now less concerned with patient care
5. The author cites the prepaid plans in lines 46-48 as
(A) counterexamples to the claim that nothing has worked
(B) examples of health-care plans that were over-funded
(C) evidence that health-care services are fragmented
(D) proof of the theory that no plan has been successful
(E) experiments that yielded disappointing results
6. It can be inferred that the sentence “Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again” means that
(A) the cost of health-care services will not decline
(B) some people should not become doctors
(C) medical care is not really essential to good health
(D) illness is often unpleasant and even painful
(E) medical science cannot cure every ill
7. With which of the following descriptions of the system for the delivery of health-care services would the author most likely agree?
(A) It is biased in favor of doctors and against patients.
(B) It is highly fragmented and completely ineffective
(C) It has not embraced new technology rapidly enough
(D) It is generally effective but can be improved
(E) It discourages people from seeking medical care
8. Which of the following best describes the logical structure of the selection?
(A) The third paragraph is intended as a refutation of the first and second paragraphs.
(B) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(C) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(D) The first paragraph describes a problem, and the second and third paragraphs present two horns of a dilemma.
(E) The first paragraph describes a problem, the second its causes, and the third a possible solution.
9. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) criticize physicians and health-care administrators for investing in techno¬logically advanced equipment
(B) examine some problems affecting delivery of health-care services and assess their severity
(C) defend the medical community from charges that health-care has not improved since World War II
(D) analyze the reasons for the health-care industry’s inability to provide quality care to all segments of the population
(E) describe the peculiar economic features of the health-care industry that are the causes of spiraling medical costs

[daffodil]

During the Victorian period, women writers were measured against a social rather than a literary ideal. Hence, it was widely thought that novels by women should be modest, religious, sensitive, guileless, and chaste, like their authors. Many Victorian women writers took exception to this belief, however, resisting the imposition of nonliterary restrictions on their work. Publishers soon discovered that the gentlest and most iddylike female novelists were tough-minded and relentless when their professional integrity was at stake. Keenly aware of their artistic responsibilities, these women writers would not make concessions to secure commercial success.
The Brontes, George Eliot, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and their lesser-known contemporaries repudiated, in their professional lives, the courtesy that Victorian ladies might exact from Victorian gentlemen. Desiring rigorous and impartial criticism, most women writers did not wish reviewers to be kind to them if kindness meant overlooking their literary weaknesses or flattering them on their accomplishments simply because of their sex. They had expected derisive reviews; instead, they found themselves confronted with generous criticism, which they considered condescending. Elizabeth Barrett Browning labeled it “the comparative respect which means... absolute scorn.”
For their part, Victorian critics were virtually obsessed with finding the place of the woman writer so as to judge her appropriately. Many bluntly admitted that they thought Jane Eyre a masterpiece if written by a man, shocking or disgusting if written by a woman. Moreover, reactionary reviewers were quick to associate an independent heroine with carefully concealed revolutionary doctrine; several considered Jane Eyre a radical feminist document, as indeed it was. To Charlotte Bronte, who had demanded dignity and independence without any revolutionary intent and who considered herself politically conservative, their criticism was an affront. Such criticism bunched all women writers together rather than treating them as individual artists.
Charlotte Bronte’s experience served as a warning to other women writers about the prejudices that immediately associated them with feminists and others thought to be political radicals. Irritated, and anxious to detach themselves from a group stereotype, many expressed relatively conservative views on the emancipation of women (except on the subject of women’s education) and stressed their own domestic accomplishments. However, in identifying themselves with women who had chosen the traditional career path of marriage and motherhood, these writers encountered still another threat to their creativity. Victorian prudery rendered virtually all experience that was uniquely feminine unprintable. No nineteenth-century woman dared to describe childbirth, much less her sexual passion. Men could not write about their sexual experiences either, but they could write about sport, business, crime, and war—all activities from which women were barred. Small wonder no woman produced a novel like War and Peace. What is amazing is the sheer volume of first-rate prose and poetry that Victorian women did write.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) refute the contention that no Victorian woman writer produced a novel like War and Peace
(B) trace the historical relationship between radical feminist politics and the Victorian novels written by women
(C) show how three Victorian women writers responded to criticism of their novels
(D) resolve the apparent contradiction between Victorian women writers’ literary innovativeness and their rather conservative social views
(E) describe the discrepancy between Victorian society’s expectations of women writers and the expectations of the women writers themselves
2. According to the passage, Victorian women writers “would not make concessions” (line 13) to publishers primarily because they felt that such concessions would
(A) require them to limit descriptions of uniquely feminine experiences
(B) compromise their artistic integrity
(C) make them vulnerable to stereotyping by critics
(D) provide no guarantee that their works would enjoy commercial success
(E) go against the traditions of English letters
3. The passage suggests that Victorian criticism of works by women writers was
(A) indulgent
(B) perfunctory
(C) resourceful
(D) timely
(E) apolitical
4. The author of the passage quotes Elizabeth Barrett Browning (lines 28-29) in order to demonstrate that Victorian women writers
(A) possessed both talent and literary creativity
(B) felt that their works were misunderstood
(C) refused to make artistic concessions
(D) feared derisive criticism
(E) resented condescending criticism
5. It can be inferred from the passage that Charlotte Bronte considered the criticisms leveled at Jane Eyre by reactionary reviewers “an affront” (line 43) primarily because such criticism
(A) exposed her carefully concealed revolutionary doctrine to public scrutiny
(B) assessed the literary merit of the novel on the basis of its author’s sex
(C) assumed that her portrayal of an independent woman represented revolutionary ideas
(D) labeled the novel shocking and disgusting without just cause
(E) denied that the novel was a literary masterpiece
6. Which of the following statements best describes the “threat” mentioned in line 57 of the passage?
(A) Critics demanded to know the sex of the author before passing judgment on the literary quality of a novel.
(B) Women writers were prevented from describing in print experiences about which they had special knowledge.
(C) The reading public tended to prefer historical novels to novels describing contemporary London society.
(D) Publishers were urging Victorian women writers to publish under their own names rather than under pseudonyms.
(E) Women writers’ domestic responsibilities tended to take time away from their writing.
7. The passage suggests that the attitude of Victorian women writers toward being grouped together by critics was most probably one of
(A) relief
(B) indifference
(C) amusement
(D) annoyance
(E) ambivalence
8. It can be inferred from the passage that a Victorian woman writer who did not consider herself a feminist would most probably have approved of women’s
(A) entering the noncombat military
(B) entering the publishing business
(C) entering a university
(D) joining the stock exchange
(E) joining a tennis club
9. The passage suggests that the literary creativity of Victorian women writers could have been enhanced if
(A) women had been allowed to write about a broader range of subjects
(B) novels of the period had been characterized by greater stylistic and structural ingenuity
(C) a reserved and decorous style had been a more highly valued literary ideal
(D) publishers had sponsored more new women novelists
(E) critics had been kinder in reviewing the works of women novelists