The text from these questions is adapted from the book “How to Know the Wildflowers,” by Frances Theodora Parsons.
1. Pliny tells us that the anemone of the classics was so entitled because it opened at the wind’s bidding. The Greek tradition claims that it sprang from the passionate tears shed by Venus over the body of the slain Adonis. At one time it was believed that the wind which had passed over a field of anemones was poisoned and that disease followed in its wake. Perhaps because of this superstition, the flower was adopted as the emblem of sickness by the Persians. Surely our delicate blossom is far removed from any suggestion of disease or unwholesomeness, seeming instead to hold the very essence of spring and purity in its quivering cup.
What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It explains how a plant caused illness historically.
B. It clarifies what Pliny believes about the use of the plant.
C. It presents a hypothesis as to the origin of a historic symbol.
D. It argues against a commonly held belief.
2. Ginseng is well known by name but is yearly becoming more scarce. The aromatic root is so greatly valued in China for its supposed power of combating fatigue and old age that it can only be gathered by order of the emperor. The forked specimens are believed to be the most powerful, and their fancied likeness to the human form has obtained for the plant the Chinese title of Jinchen (from which ginseng is a corruption), and the Indian one of Garntoguen, both of which, strangely enough, are said to signify like a man.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined information in text as a whole?
A. It explains the origin of an English word.
B. It clarifies a common mispronunciation of a Chinese word.
C. It gives the reader irrelevant information.
D. It allows the reader to visualize the plant.
3. He who seeks the cool shade of the evergreens on a hot July day is likely to discover the nodding wax-like flowers of this little plant. They are delicate and pretty, with a background of shining leaves. These leaves when young have a pleasant aromatic flavor similar to that of the sweet birch; they are sometimes used as a substitute for tea. The bright red berries are also edible and savory and are much appreciated by the hungry birds and deer during the winter. If not thus consumed, they remain upon the plant until the following spring when they either drop or rot upon the stem, thus allowing the seeds to escape.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It concludes the text with a detail about the safety of berry consumption.
B. It helps the reader understand how evergreens spread.
C. It clarifies the nutritional value of berries to the birds and deer.
D. It builds on the claim of the previous sentence.
4. The common knotweed, P. aviculare, which grows in such abundance in country dooryards and waste places, has slender, often prostrate, stems, and small greenish flowers, which are clustered in the axils of the leaves or spike at the termination of the stems. This is perhaps the “hindering knotgrass” to which Shakespeare refers in the “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” so terming it, not on account of its knotted trailing stems, but because of the belief that it would hinder the growth of a child.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined selection in the text as a whole?
A. It introduces a term from literature that will later be clarified.
B. It provides direct evidence for a previous claim.
C. It gives the exact words of a noted botanist.
D. It explains the use of a previously explained.
5. Despite the difference in the spelling of the names, it has been suggested [about the pokeweed] that the plant was called after President Polk. This is most improbable, as it was common throughout the country long before his birth, and its twigs are said to have been plucked and worn by his followers during his campaign for the Presidency.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It provides evidence as to the origin of the name Pokeweed.
B. It explains where a term originated.
C. It presents chronological information to assuage the reader’s doubts.
D. It refutes a claim as to the origin of a term.
6. This [Queen Anne’s Lace] is believed to be the stock from which the garden carrot was raised. The vegetable was well known to the ancients, and we learn from Pliny that the finest specimens were brought to Rome from Candia. When it was first introduced into Great Britain is not known, although the supposition is that it was brought over by the Dutch during the reign of Elizabeth. In the writings of Parkinson, we read that the ladies wore carrot leaves in their hair in place of feathers. One can picture the dejected appearance of a ball-room belle at the close of entertainment.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It presents literary evidence of a novel use for carrots.
B. It explains the depth and breadth of a tradition.
C. It helps the reader visualize Queen Elizabeth.
D. It gives evidence for the previous thought.
7. Some October day, as we pick our way through the salt marches which lie back of the beach, we may spy in the distance a thicket which looks as though composed of such white-flowered shrubs as belongs to June. Hastening to the spot we discover that the silky-tufted seeds of the female groundsel tree are responsible for our surprise. The shrub is much more noticeable and effective at this season than when—a few weeks previous—it was covered with its small white or yellowish flower-heads.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It sets the scene for a shocking discovery later in the text.
B. It describes an interesting discovery that is later explained in the text.
C. It sets the scene for an unusual activity.
D. It helps the reader visualize a normal setting.
8. The yellow lady’s slipper usually blossoms in May or June, a few days later than its pink sister, C. acaule. Regarding its favorite haunts, Mr. Baldwin says: “Its preference is for maples, beeches, and particularly butternuts, and for sloping of hilly ground, and I always look with glad suspicion at a knoll covered with ferns, cohoshes, and trilliums, expecting to see a clump of this plant among them. Its sentinel-like habit of choosing ‘slightly places’ leads it to venture well up on mountain sides.”
What choice best describes the function of the underlined phrase in the text as a whole?
A. It explains why the author does not believe Mr. Baldwin.
B. It gives a reason why Mr. Baldwin is suspicious of the yellow lady’s slipper.
C. It explains where Mr. Baldwin expects to find yellow lady’s slipper.
D. It explains what plants Mr. Baldwin expects to find on knolls.
9. If Emerson’s definition of a weed, as a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered, be correct, we can hardly place the dandelion in that category, for its young sprouts have been valued as a pot-herb, its fresh leaves enjoyed as a salad, and its dried roots used as a substitute for coffee in various countries and ages. The feathery-tufted seeds which form the downy balls beloved as “clocks” by country children, are delicately and beautifully adapted to dissemination by the wind. The common name is a corruption of the French dent de lion.
What choice best describes the function of the quotation marks around the underlined word in the overall structure of the text?
A. They place emphases on the word.
B. They show that the word is a direct quote from Emerson.
C. They show that, while they are treated like clocks, dandelions are not actual clocks.
D. They show that the word inside is not truly part of the sentence.
10. “Too well known as a pernicious weed which is difficult to extirpate,” is the scornful notice which the botany gives to Common St. John’s-wort whose bright yellow flowers are noticeable in waste fields and along roadsides nearly all summer. Its rank, rapid growth proves very exhausting to the soil, and every New England farmer wishes it had remained where it rightfully belongs—on the other side of the water.
What choice best describes the function of the underlined phrase in the overall structure of the text?
A. It explains the origin of St. John’s-wort.
B. It explains the origin of the farmers.
C. It clarifies the location of the St. John’s-wort.
D. It clarifies the location of the farmers.
Answer Explanations
1. C. In the passage, we learn that a story of wind passing over a field of anemones causing the wind to be poisoned and lead to disease. The next sentence uses the word “perhaps” to speculate that this may have been where an ancient symbol of disease originated. This makes (C) the best answer option. It is not (A) since this is a story, not a historical fact. It is not (B) as this is not something Pliny believed, but rather something modern historians hypothesize. It is not (D) since it does not argue against this belief.
2. A. We learn in the first sentence of the text that the text is discussing the plant Ginseng. The parenthetical information (the information between the parenthesis) clarifies that from this name comes “a corruption” of the Chinese title of the plant: Jinchen. This makes option (A) the best answer. Answer (B) is incorrect since Ginseng is an English word with a Chinese origin, not a mispronunciation of a Chinese word. Answer (C) is incorrect since the information is not irrelevant to the discussion. Answer (D) is incorrect as it does not give any idea of Ginseng’s visual appearance.
3. B. In the text, we learn that evergreens have bright berries that are often eaten by birds or deer. The underlined sentence then concludes that if they are not eaten, they fall or rot, thus spreading the seeds. With the spread of seeds, the evergreens also spread. This makes option (B) the best answer. Option (A) is incorrect as the underlined portion does not give any details about the safety of consuming berries. Option (C) is incorrect as it does not explain the nutritional value of eating the berries. Option (D) is incorrect as the previous sentence does not make a claim about uneaten berries.
4. A. The term “hindering knotgrass” is an unknown term when first introduced. The rest of the sentence explains that this was a term used by Shakespeare and that the author believes that Shakespeare may have been referring to the plant knotweed and why. This makes answer (A) the best option. (B) is incorrect as “hindering knotgrass” is not evidence of anything. (C) is incorrect as Shakespeare is not a noted botanist. (D) is incorrect as the term is not previously explained term.
5. D. The second sentence explains why it isn’t possible that pokeweed was named after President Polk. This makes sentence (D) the best option—the term “pokeweed” didn’t come from President Polk. (A) and (B) are the exact opposite of what the sentence is doing. (C) is incorrect as it does not assuage doubts.
6. D. In the previous sentence the author states that it is thought that the carrot came to England during the reign of Elizabeth. The next sentence gives evidence for this by explaining that ladies were wearing carrot leaves in their hair, meaning the carrots must have been brought over. Option (A) is incorrect as it is historical evidence, not literary evidence. Option (B) is incorrect as there is no evidence that the wearing of carrot leaves is a tradition, rather it seems to have been a fad. Option (C) is incorrect as the sentence does not describe how Queen Elizabeth looked, but rather an accessory that she might have worn.
7. B. The sentence in question notes that “we” are out walking in October, yet see plants in the distance that look like they have June flowers on them. This is an interesting discovery. The rest of the text goes on to explain the plant that has these curious late-season flowers. This makes (B) the best option. (A) is incorrect as we can’t describe this as a shocking discovery. Option (C) is incorrect as the plant is unusual, not the activity. (D) is incorrect as the sentence helps the reader visualize an unusual setting (with flowers in October) not a normal setting.
8. C. The underlined sentence explains that the speaker, Mr. Balwin, always looks with “glad suspicion” at certain areas, “expecting to see a clump of this plant” (C. Acaule). This means he expects to find C. Acaule among the other plants mentioned, making option (C) the best answer. Answer (A) is incorrect as these are Mr. Baldwin’s words, not suspicion on the part of the author. Option (B) is incorrect as Mr. Baldwin is not suspicious of a plant, but rather looks “suspiciously” at where the plant grows. Option (D) is incorrect as he doesn’t expect knolls in general to have certain plants, but when they have fens, cohoshes, and trilliums, he expects to find yellow lady’s slipper as well.
9. C. In this instance the quotation marks are being used as a person might use what we call “air quotes” to show that the speaker does not mean the literal use of the word. (C) is the best option as the author does not mean to say that the dandelions are being used as literal clocks. Option (A) is incorrect as the quotes are used to show non-standard use of the word, not to place emphasis. Option (B) is incorrect as the word is not a direct quote. Option (C) is incorrect as the word “clocks” is indeed part of the sentence.
10. A. The New England farmer wishes that the plant had remained “on the other side of the water”. In this case, there is only one body of water that all New England farmers could refer to in such a vague way—the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, St. Joh’s Wort must have origins somewhere on the other side of the ocean. This makes option (A) the best answer. Option (B) is incorrect as it is the origin of the plant, not the farmers, to which is being referred. Option (C) is incorrect as St. John’s wort has spread, and so its original location is no longer its only location. It is not option (D) as the farmers are in New England.