TEST27 READING COMPREHENSION_LSAT
section i
time-35 minutes
26 questions
directions: each passage in this section is followed by a group of questions to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. for some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. however, you are to choose the best answer, that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question, and blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
most office workers assume that the messages they send to each other via electronic mail and as private as a telephone call or a face-to-face meeting. that assumption is wrong. although it is illegal in many areas for an employer to eavesdrop on private conversations or telephone calls--even if they take place on a company-owned telephone--there are no clear rules governing electronic mail. in fact, the question of how private electronic mail transmissions should be has emerged as one of the more complicated legal issues of the electronic age.
people's opinions about the degree of privacy that electronic mail should have vary depending on whose electronic mail system is being used and who is reading the messages. does a government office, for example, have the right to destroy electronic messages created in the course of running the government, thereby denying public access to such documents? some hold that government offices should issue guidelines that allow their staff to delete such electronic records, and defend this practice by claiming that the messages thus deleted already exist in paper versions whose destruction is forbidden. opponents of such practices argue that the paper versions often omit such information as who received the messages and when they received them, information commonly carried on electronic mail systems. government officials, opponents maintain, are civil servants: the public should thus have the right to review any documents created during the conducting of government business.
questions about electronic mail privacy have also arisen in the private sector. recently, two employees of an automotive company were discovered to have been communicating disparaging information about their supervisor via electronic mail. the supervisor, who had been monitoring the communication, threatened to fire the employees. when the employees field a grievance
complaining that their privacy had been violated, they were let go. later, their court case for unlawful termination was dismissed: the company's lawyers successfully argued that because the company owned the computer system, its supervisors had the right to read anything created on it.
in some areas, laws prohibit outside interception of electronic mail by a third party without proper authorization such as a search warrant. however, these laws do not cover "inside" interception such as occurred at the automotive company. in the past, courts have ruled that interoffice communications may be considered private only if employees have a "reasonable expectation" of privacy when they send the messages. the fact is that no absolute guarantee of privacy exists in any computer system. the only solution may be for users to scramble their own messages with encryption codes: unfortunately, such complex codes are likely to undermine the principal virtue of electronic mail: its convenience.
1. which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?
(a) until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes.
(b) the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations
or face-to-face meetings.
(c) any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.
(d) at present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the electronic mail in the workplace.
(e) the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees' communications.
2. according to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some people use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?
(a) such deletion reveals the extent of government's unhealthy obsession with secrecy.
(b) such deletion runs counter to the notion of gover
nment's accountability to its constituency.
(c) such deletion clearly violates the legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.
(d) such deletion violates the government's own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.
(e) such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.
3. which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?
(a) a problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.
(b) a problem is introduced, followed by explications of two possible solutions to the problem: the first solution is preferred to the second, and reasons are given for why it is the better alternative.
(c) a problem is introduced, followed by analysis of the historical circumstances that helped bring the problem about a possible solution is offered and rejected as being only a partial remedy.
(d) a problem is introduced, followed by enumeration of various questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found: one possible solution is proposed and argued for.
(e) a problem is introduced, followed by descriptions of two contrasting approaches to thinking about the problem: the second approach is preferred to the first, and reasons are given for why it is more likely to yield a successful solution.
4. based on the passage, the author抯 attitude towards interception of electronic mail can most accurately be described as:
(a) outright disapproval of the practice
(b) support for employers who engage in it
(c) support for employees who lose their jobs because of it
(d) intellectual interest in its legal issues
(e) cynicism about the motives behind the practice
5. it can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely hole which one of the following opinions about an encryption system that could encodes and decode electronic mail messages with a single keystroke?
(a) it would be an unreasonable burden on a company's ability to monitor electronic mail created by its employees.
(b) it would significantly reduce the difficulty of attempting to safeguard the privacy of electronic mail.
(c) it would create substantial legal complications for companies trying to prevent employees from revealing trade secrets to competitors.
(d) it would guarantee only a minimal level of employee privacy, and so would not be worth the cost involved in installing such a system.
(e) it would require a change in the legal definition of "reasonable expectation of privacy" as it applies to employer-employee relations.
6. given the information in the passage, which one of the following hypothetical events is least likely to occur?
(a) a court rules that a government office's practice of deleting its electronic mail id nit in the public's best interests.
(b) a private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their supervisor.
(c) a court upholds the right of a government office to destroy both paper and electronic versions of its in-house documents.
(d) a court upholds a private-sector employer's right to monitor messages sent between employees over the company's in-house electronic mail system.
(e) a court rules in favor of a private-sector employee whose supervisor stated that in-house electronic mail would not be monitored but later fired the employee for communicating disparaging information via electronic mail.
7. the author's primary purpose in writing the passage is to
(a) demonstrate that the individual right to privacy has been eroded by advances in computer technology
(b) compare the legal status of electronic mail in the public and private sectors
(c) draw an extended analogy between the privacy of electronic mail and the privacy of telephone conversations or face-to-face meeting
(d) illustrate the complexities of the privacy issues surrounding electronic mail in the workplace
(e) explain why the courts have not been able to rule definitely on the issue of the privacy of electronic mail
while a new surge of critical interest in the ancient greek poems conventionally ascribed to homer has taken place in the last twenty years or so, it was nonspecialists rather than professional scholars who studied the poetic aspects of the iliad and the odyssey between, roughly, 1935 and 1970. during these years, while such nonacademic intellectuals as simone weil and erich auerbach were trying to define the qualities that made these epic accounts of the trojan war and its aftermath great poetry, the questions that occupied the specialists were direct
ed elsewhere: "did the trojan war really happen?" "does the bard preserve indo-european folk memories?" "how did the poems get written down." something was driving scholars away from the actual works to peripheral issues. scholars produced books about archaeology, about gift-exchange in ancient societies, about the development of oral poetry, about virtually anything except the iliad and the odyssey themselves as unique reflections or distillations of life itself--as, in short, great poetry. the observations of the english poet alexander pope seemed as applicable in 1970 as they had been when he wrote them in 1715: according to pope, the remarks of critics "are rather philosophical, historical, geographic…or rather anything than critical and poetical.?"
ironically, the modern manifestation of this "nonpoetical?emphasis can be traced to the profoundly influential work of milman parry, who attempted to demonstrate in detail how the homeric poems believed to have been recorded nearly three thousand years ago, were the products of a long and highly developed tradition of oral poetry about the trojan war. parry proposed that this tradition built up its diction and its content by a process of constant accumulation and refinement over many generations of storytellers. but after parry's death in 1935, his legacy was taken up by scholars who, unlike parry, forsook intensive analysis of the poetry itself and focused instead on only one element of parry's work: the creative limitations and possibilities of oral composition, concerning on fixed elements and inflexibilities, focusing on the things that oral poetry allegedly can and cannot do. the dryness if this kind of study drove many of the more inventive scholars away from the poems into the rapidly developing field of homer's archaeological and historical background.
appropriately, milman parry's son adam was among those scholars responsible for a renewed interest in homer's poetry as literary art. building on his father's work, the younger parry argued that the homeric poems exist both within and against a tradition. the iliad and the odyssey were, adam parry thought, the beneficiaries of an inherited store of diction, scenes, and at the same time highly individual works that surpasses these conventions. adam parry helped prepare the ground for the recent homeric revival by affirming his father's belief in a strong inherited tradition, but also by emphasizing homer's unique contributions within that tradition.
8. which one of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(a) the homeric poems are most fruitfully studied as records of the time and place in which they were written.
(b) the homeric poems are the products of a highly developed and complicated tradition of oral poetry.
(c) the homeric poems are currently enjoying a resurgence of critical interest after an age of scholarship largely devoted to the poems' nonpoetic elements.
(d) the homeric poems are currently enjoying a resurgence of scholarly interest after am age during which most studies were authored by nonacademic writers.
(e) before milman parry published his pioneering work in the early twentieth century, it was difficult to assign a date or an author to the homeric poems.
9. according to the passage, the work of simone weil and erich auerbach on homer was primarily concerned with which one of the following?
(a) considerations of why criticism of homer had moved to peripheral issues
(b) analyses of the poetry itself in terms of its literary qualities
(c) studies in the history and nature of oral poetry
(d) analyses of the already ancient epic tradition inherited by homer
(e) critiques of the highly technical analyses of academic critics
10. the passage suggests which one of the following about scholarship on homer that has appeared since 1970?
(a) it has dealt extensively with the homeric poems as literary art.
(b) it is more incisive than the work of the parrys.
(c) it has rejected as irrelevant the scholarship produced by specialists between 1935 and 1970.
(d) it has ignored the work of simone weil and erich auerbach.
(e) it has attempted to confirm that the iliad and the odyssey were written by homer.
11. the author of the passage most probably quotes alexander pope (lines24-26) in order to
(a) indicate that the homeric poems have generally received poor treatment at the hands of english critics
(b) prove that poets as well as critics have emphasized elements peripheral to the poems
(c) illustrate that the nonpoetical emphasis also existed in an earlier century
(d) emphasize the problems inherent in rendering classical greek poetry into modern english
(e) argue that poets and literary critics have seldom agreed the interpretation of poetry
12. according to the passage, wh
ich one of the following is true of milman parry's immediate successors in the field of homeric studies?
(a) they reconciled homer's poetry with archaeological and historical concerns.
(b) they acknowledged the tradition of oral poetry, but focused on the uniqueness of homer's poetry within the tradition.
(c) they occupied themselves with the question of what qualities made for great poetry.
(d) they emphasized the boundaries of oral poetry.
(e) they called for a revival of homer's popularity.
13. which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
(a) a situation is identified and its origins are examines.
(b) a series of hypotheses is reviewed and one is advocated.
(c) the works of two influential scholars are summarized.
(d) several issues contributing to a currently debate are summarized.
(e) three possible solutions to a long-standing problem are posed.
even in the midst of its resurgence as a vital tradition, many sociologists have viewed the current form of the powwow, a ceremonial gathering of native americans, as a sign that tribal culture is in decline. focusing on the dances and rituals that have recently come to be shared by most tribes, they suggest that an intertribal movement is now in ascension and claim the inevitable outcome of this tendency is the eventual dissolution of tribes and the complete assimilation of native americans, and, most recently, their increasing politicization in response to common grievances as the chief causes of the shift toward intertribalism.
indeed, the rapid diffusion of dance styles, outfits, and songs from one reservation to another offers compelling evidence that intertribalism has been increasing. however, these sociologists have failed to note the concurrent revitalization of many traditions unique to individual tribes. among the lakota, for instance, the sun dance was revived, after a forty-year hiatus, during the 1950s. similarly, the black legging society of the kiowa and the hethuska society of the ponca--both traditional groups within their respective tribes--have gained new popularity. obviously, a more complex societal shift is taking place than the theory of pan-indianism can account for.
an examination of the theory's underpinnings may be critical at this point, especially given that native americans themselves chafe most against the pan-indian classification. like other assimilationist theories with which it is associated, the pan-indian view is predicted upon an a priori assumption about the nature of cultural contact: that upon contact minority societies immediately begin to succumb in every respect--biologically, linguistically, and culturally--to the majority society. however, there is happening to native american groups.
yet the fact remains that intertribal activities are a major facet of native american cultural today. certain dances at powwows, for instance, are announced as intertribal, others as traditional. likewise, speeches given at the beginnings of powwows are often delivered in english, while the prayer that follows is usually spoken in a native language. cultural borrowing is, of course, old news. what is important to note is the conscious distinction native americans make between tribal and intertribal tendencies.
tribalism, although greatly altered by modern history, remains a potent force among native americans. it forms a basis for tribal identity, and aligns music and dance with other social and cultural activities important to individual tribes. intertribal activities, on the other hand, reinforce native american identity along a broader front, where this identity is directly threatened by outside influences.
14. which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
(a) despite the fact that sociologists have only recently begun to understand its importance, intertribalism has always been an influential factor in native american culture.
(b) native americans are currently struggling with an identity crisis caused primarily by the two competing forces of tribalism and intertribalism.
(c) the recent growth of intertribalism is unlikely to eliminate tribalism because he two forces do not oppose one another but instead reinforce distinct elements of native american interact with the broader community around them.
(d) the tendency toward intertribalism, although prevalent within native american culture, has had a minimal effect on the way native americans interact with the broader community around them.
(e) despite the recent revival of many native american tribal traditions, the recent trend toward intertribalism is likely to erode cultural differences among the various native american tribes.
15. the author most likely states that "cultural borrowing is of course, old news" (line47-48) primarily to
(a) acknowledge that in itself the existence of intertribal tendencies at powwows is unsurprising
(b) suggest that native americans' use of english in powwows should be accepted as unavoidable
(c) argue that the deliberate distinction of intertribal and traditional dances is mot a recent development
(d) suggest that the recent increase in intertribal activity is the result of native americans borrowing from non-native americans
(e) indicate that the powwow itself could have originated by combining practices drawn from both native and non-native american cultures
16. the author of the passage would most likely agree with which one of the following assertions?
(a) though some believe the current form of the powwow signals the decline of tribal culture, the powwow contains elements that indicate the continuing strength of tribalism.
(b) the logical outcome of the recent increase in intertribal activity is the eventual disappearance of tribal culture.
(c) native americans who participate in both tribal and intertribal activities usually base their identities on intertribal rather than tribal affiliations.
(d) the conclusions of some sociologists about the health of native american cultures show that these sociologists are in fact biased against such cultures.
(e) until it is balanced by revitalization of tribal customs, intertribalism will continue to weaken the native american sense of identity.
17. the primary function of the third paragraph is to
(a) search for evidence to corroborate the basic assumption of he theory of pan-indianism
(b) demonstrate the incorrectness of the theory of pan-indianism by pointing out that native american groups themselves disagree with the theory
(c) explain the origin of the theory of pan-indianism by showing how it evolved from other assimilationist theories
(d) examine several assimilationist theories in order to demonstrate that they rest on a common assumption
(e)criticize the theory of pan-indianism by pointing out that it rests upon an assumption for which there is no supporting evidence
18. which one of the following most accurately describe the author's attitude towards the theory of pan-indianism?
(a) critical of its tendency to attribute political motives to cultural practices
(b) discomfort at its negative characterization of cultural borrowing by native americans
(c) hopeful about its chance for preserving tribal culture
(d) offended by its claim that assimilation is a desirable consequence of cultural contact
(e) skeptical that it is a complete explanation of recent changes in native american society
19. with which one of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(a) the resurgence of the powwow is a sign that native american customs are beginning to have an important influence on euroamerican society.
(b) although native americans draw conscious distinctions between tribal and intertribal activities, there is no difference in how the two types of activity actually function within the context of native american society.
(c) without intertribal activities, it would be more difficult for native americans to maintain the cultural differences between native american and euroamerican society.
(d) the powwow was recently revived, after an extended hiatus, in order to strengthen native americans' sense of ethnic identity.
(e) the degree of urbanization, intertribal communication, and politicization among native americans has been exaggerated by proponents of the theory of pan-indianism.
20. which one of the following situations most clearly illustrates the phenomenon of intertribalism, as that phenomenon is described in the passage?
(a) a native american tribe in which a number of powerful societies attempt to prevent the revival of a traditional dance
(b) a native american tribe whose members attempt to learn the native languages of several other tribes
(c) a native american tribe whose members attempt to form a political organization in order to redress several grievances important to that tribe
(d) a native american tribe in which a significant percentage of the members have forsake their tribal identity and become assimilated into euroamerican society
(e) a native american tribe whose members often travel to other parts of the reservation in order to visit friends and relatives
21. in the passage, the author is primarily concerned with doing which one of the following?
(a) identifying an assumption common to various assimilationist theories and then criticizing these theories by showing this assumption to be false
(b) arguing that the recent revival of a number of tribal practices shows sociologists are mistaken in believing intertribili
sm to be a potent force among native american societies
(c) questioning the belief that native american societies will eventually be assimilated into euroamerican society by arguing that intertribalism helps strengthen native american identity
(d) showing how the recent resurgence of tribal activities is a deliberate attempt to counteract the growing influence of intertribalism
(e) proposing an explanation of why the ascension of intertribalism could result in the eventual dissolution of tribes and complete assimilation of native american into euroamerican society
scientists typically advocate the analytic method of studying complex systems: systems are divided into component parts that are investigated separately. but nineteenth-century critics of this method claimed that when a system抯 parts are isolated its complexity tends to be lost. to address the perceived weakness of the analytic method these critics put forward a concept called organicism, which posited that the whole determines the nature of its parts and that the parts of a whole are interdependent.
organicism depended upon the theory of internal relations, which states that relations between entities are possible only within some whole that embraces them, and that entities are altered by the relationships into which they enter. if an entity stands in a relationship with another entity, it has some property as a consequence. without this relationship, and hence without the property, the entity would be different--and so would be another entity. thus, the property is one of the entity's defining characteristics. each of an entity's relationships likewise determines a defining characteristic of the entity.
one problem with the theory of internal relations is that not all properties of an entity are defining characteristics: numerous properties are accompanying characteristics--even if they are always present their presence does not influence the entity's identity. thus, even if it is admitted that every relationship into which an entity enters determines some characteristic of the entity, it is not necessarily true that such characteristics will define the entity; it is possible for the entity to enter into a relationship yet remain essentially unchanged.
the ultimate difficulty with the theory of internal relations is that it renders the acquisition of knowledge impossible. to truly know an entity, we must know all of its relationships; but because the entity is related to everything in each whole of which it is a part, these wholes must be known completely before the entity can be known. this seems to be a prerequisite impossible to satisfy.
organicists' criticism of the analytic method arose from their failure to fully comprehend the method of rejecting the analytic method, organicists overlooked the fact that before the proponents of the method analyzed the component parts of a system, they first determined both the laws applicable to the whole system and the initial conditions of the system proponents of the method thus did not study parts of a system in full isolation from the system as a whole. since organicists failed to recognize this, they never advanced any argument to show that laws and initial conditions of complex systems cannot be discovered. hence, organicists offered to valid reason for rejecting the analytic method or for adopting organicism as a replacement for it.
22. which one of the following most completely and accurately summarizes the argument of the passage?
(a) by calling into question the possibility that complex systems can be studied in their entirety, organicists offered an alternative to the analytic method favored by nineteenth-century scientists.
(b) organicists did not offer a useful method of studying complex systems because they did not acknowledge that there are relationship into which an entity may enter that do not alter the entity抯 identity.
(c) organicism is flawed because it relies on a theory that both ignores the fact that not all characteristics of entities are defining and ultimately makes the acquisition of knowlwdge impossible.
(d) organicism does not offer a valid challenge to the analytic method both because it relies on faulty theory and because it is based on a misrepresentation of the analytic method.
(e) in criticizing he analytic method organicists neglected to disprove that scientists who employ the method are able to discover the laws and initial conditions of the systems they study.
23. according to the passage, organicists' chief objection to the analytic method was that the method
(a) oversimplified systems by isolating their components
(b) assumed that a system can be divided into component parts
(c) ignored the laws applicable to the system as a whole
(d) claimed that the parts of a system are more important than the system as a whole
(e) denied the claim that entities enter into relationships
24. the passage offers information to help answer each of the following questions except:
(a) why does the theory of internal relations appear to make the acquisition of knowledge impossible?
(b) why did the organicists propose replacing the analytic method?
(c) what is the difference between a defining characteristic and an accompanying characteristic?
(d) what did organicists claim are the effects of an entity entering into a relationship with another entity?
(e) what are some of the advantages of separating out the parts of a system for study?
25. the passage most strongly supports the ascription of which one of the following views to scientists who use the analytic method?
(a) a complex system is best understood by studying its component parts in full isolation from the system as a whole.
(b) the parts of a system should be studied with an awareness of the laws and initial conditions that govern the system.
(c) it is not possible to determine the laws governing a system until the system's parts are separated from one another.
(d) because the parts of a system are interdependent, they cannot be studied separately without destroying the system's complexity.
(e) studying the parts of a system individually eliminate the need to determine which characteristics of the parts are defining characteristics.
26. which one of the following is a principle upon which the author bases an argument against the theory of the internal relations?
(a) an adequate theory of complex systems must define the entities of which the system is composed.
(b) an acceptable theory cannot have consequences that contradict its basic purpose.
(c) an adequate method of study of complex systems should reveal the actual complexity of the system it studies.
(d) an acceptable theory must describe the laws and initial conditions of a complex system.
(e) an acceptable method of studying complex systems should not study parts of the system in isolation from the system as a whole.
time-35 minutes
26 questions
directions: each passage in this section is followed by a group of questions to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. for some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question. however, you are to choose the best answer, that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question, and blacken the corresponding space on your answer sheet.
most office workers assume that the messages they send to each other via electronic mail and as private as a telephone call or a face-to-face meeting. that assumption is wrong. although it is illegal in many areas for an employer to eavesdrop on private conversations or telephone calls--even if they take place on a company-owned telephone--there are no clear rules governing electronic mail. in fact, the question of how private electronic mail transmissions should be has emerged as one of the more complicated legal issues of the electronic age.
people's opinions about the degree of privacy that electronic mail should have vary depending on whose electronic mail system is being used and who is reading the messages. does a government office, for example, have the right to destroy electronic messages created in the course of running the government, thereby denying public access to such documents? some hold that government offices should issue guidelines that allow their staff to delete such electronic records, and defend this practice by claiming that the messages thus deleted already exist in paper versions whose destruction is forbidden. opponents of such practices argue that the paper versions often omit such information as who received the messages and when they received them, information commonly carried on electronic mail systems. government officials, opponents maintain, are civil servants: the public should thus have the right to review any documents created during the conducting of government business.
questions about electronic mail privacy have also arisen in the private sector. recently, two employees of an automotive company were discovered to have been communicating disparaging information about their supervisor via electronic mail. the supervisor, who had been monitoring the communication, threatened to fire the employees. when the employees field a grievance
complaining that their privacy had been violated, they were let go. later, their court case for unlawful termination was dismissed: the company's lawyers successfully argued that because the company owned the computer system, its supervisors had the right to read anything created on it.
in some areas, laws prohibit outside interception of electronic mail by a third party without proper authorization such as a search warrant. however, these laws do not cover "inside" interception such as occurred at the automotive company. in the past, courts have ruled that interoffice communications may be considered private only if employees have a "reasonable expectation" of privacy when they send the messages. the fact is that no absolute guarantee of privacy exists in any computer system. the only solution may be for users to scramble their own messages with encryption codes: unfortunately, such complex codes are likely to undermine the principal virtue of electronic mail: its convenience.
1. which one of the following statements most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?
(a) until the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in both the public and private sectors have been resolved, office workers will need to scramble their electronic mail messages with encryption codes.
(b) the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the work place can best be resolved by treating such communications as if they were as private as telephone conversations
or face-to-face meetings.
(c) any attempt to resolve the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace must take into account the essential difference between public-sector and private sector business.
(d) at present, in both the public and private sectors, there seem to be no clear general answers to the electronic mail in the workplace.
(e) the legal questions surrounding the privacy of electronic mail in the workplace of electronic mail in the workplace can best be resolved by allowing supervisors in public-sector but not private-sector offices to monitor their employees' communications.
2. according to the passage, which one of the following best expresses the reason some people use to oppose the deletion of electronic mail records at government offices?
(a) such deletion reveals the extent of government's unhealthy obsession with secrecy.
(b) such deletion runs counter to the notion of gover
nment's accountability to its constituency.
(c) such deletion clearly violates the legal requirement that government offices keep duplicate copies of all their transactions.
(d) such deletion violates the government's own guidelines against destruction of electronic records.
(e) such deletion harms relations between government employees and their supervisors.
3. which one of the following most accurately states the organization of the passage?
(a) a problem is introduced, followed by specific examples illustrating the problem: a possible solution is suggested, followed by an acknowledgment of its shortcomings.
(b) a problem is introduced, followed by explications of two possible solutions to the problem: the first solution is preferred to the second, and reasons are given for why it is the better alternative.
(c) a problem is introduced, followed by analysis of the historical circumstances that helped bring the problem about a possible solution is offered and rejected as being only a partial remedy.
(d) a problem is introduced, followed by enumeration of various questions that need to be answered before a solution can be found: one possible solution is proposed and argued for.
(e) a problem is introduced, followed by descriptions of two contrasting approaches to thinking about the problem: the second approach is preferred to the first, and reasons are given for why it is more likely to yield a successful solution.
4. based on the passage, the author抯 attitude towards interception of electronic mail can most accurately be described as:
(a) outright disapproval of the practice
(b) support for employers who engage in it
(c) support for employees who lose their jobs because of it
(d) intellectual interest in its legal issues
(e) cynicism about the motives behind the practice
5. it can be inferred from the passage that the author would most likely hole which one of the following opinions about an encryption system that could encodes and decode electronic mail messages with a single keystroke?
(a) it would be an unreasonable burden on a company's ability to monitor electronic mail created by its employees.
(b) it would significantly reduce the difficulty of attempting to safeguard the privacy of electronic mail.
(c) it would create substantial legal complications for companies trying to prevent employees from revealing trade secrets to competitors.
(d) it would guarantee only a minimal level of employee privacy, and so would not be worth the cost involved in installing such a system.
(e) it would require a change in the legal definition of "reasonable expectation of privacy" as it applies to employer-employee relations.
6. given the information in the passage, which one of the following hypothetical events is least likely to occur?
(a) a court rules that a government office's practice of deleting its electronic mail id nit in the public's best interests.
(b) a private-sector employer is found liable for wiretapping an office telephone conversation in which two employees exchanged disparaging information about their supervisor.
(c) a court upholds the right of a government office to destroy both paper and electronic versions of its in-house documents.
(d) a court upholds a private-sector employer's right to monitor messages sent between employees over the company's in-house electronic mail system.
(e) a court rules in favor of a private-sector employee whose supervisor stated that in-house electronic mail would not be monitored but later fired the employee for communicating disparaging information via electronic mail.
7. the author's primary purpose in writing the passage is to
(a) demonstrate that the individual right to privacy has been eroded by advances in computer technology
(b) compare the legal status of electronic mail in the public and private sectors
(c) draw an extended analogy between the privacy of electronic mail and the privacy of telephone conversations or face-to-face meeting
(d) illustrate the complexities of the privacy issues surrounding electronic mail in the workplace
(e) explain why the courts have not been able to rule definitely on the issue of the privacy of electronic mail
while a new surge of critical interest in the ancient greek poems conventionally ascribed to homer has taken place in the last twenty years or so, it was nonspecialists rather than professional scholars who studied the poetic aspects of the iliad and the odyssey between, roughly, 1935 and 1970. during these years, while such nonacademic intellectuals as simone weil and erich auerbach were trying to define the qualities that made these epic accounts of the trojan war and its aftermath great poetry, the questions that occupied the specialists were direct
ed elsewhere: "did the trojan war really happen?" "does the bard preserve indo-european folk memories?" "how did the poems get written down." something was driving scholars away from the actual works to peripheral issues. scholars produced books about archaeology, about gift-exchange in ancient societies, about the development of oral poetry, about virtually anything except the iliad and the odyssey themselves as unique reflections or distillations of life itself--as, in short, great poetry. the observations of the english poet alexander pope seemed as applicable in 1970 as they had been when he wrote them in 1715: according to pope, the remarks of critics "are rather philosophical, historical, geographic…or rather anything than critical and poetical.?"
ironically, the modern manifestation of this "nonpoetical?emphasis can be traced to the profoundly influential work of milman parry, who attempted to demonstrate in detail how the homeric poems believed to have been recorded nearly three thousand years ago, were the products of a long and highly developed tradition of oral poetry about the trojan war. parry proposed that this tradition built up its diction and its content by a process of constant accumulation and refinement over many generations of storytellers. but after parry's death in 1935, his legacy was taken up by scholars who, unlike parry, forsook intensive analysis of the poetry itself and focused instead on only one element of parry's work: the creative limitations and possibilities of oral composition, concerning on fixed elements and inflexibilities, focusing on the things that oral poetry allegedly can and cannot do. the dryness if this kind of study drove many of the more inventive scholars away from the poems into the rapidly developing field of homer's archaeological and historical background.
appropriately, milman parry's son adam was among those scholars responsible for a renewed interest in homer's poetry as literary art. building on his father's work, the younger parry argued that the homeric poems exist both within and against a tradition. the iliad and the odyssey were, adam parry thought, the beneficiaries of an inherited store of diction, scenes, and at the same time highly individual works that surpasses these conventions. adam parry helped prepare the ground for the recent homeric revival by affirming his father's belief in a strong inherited tradition, but also by emphasizing homer's unique contributions within that tradition.
8. which one of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(a) the homeric poems are most fruitfully studied as records of the time and place in which they were written.
(b) the homeric poems are the products of a highly developed and complicated tradition of oral poetry.
(c) the homeric poems are currently enjoying a resurgence of critical interest after an age of scholarship largely devoted to the poems' nonpoetic elements.
(d) the homeric poems are currently enjoying a resurgence of scholarly interest after am age during which most studies were authored by nonacademic writers.
(e) before milman parry published his pioneering work in the early twentieth century, it was difficult to assign a date or an author to the homeric poems.
9. according to the passage, the work of simone weil and erich auerbach on homer was primarily concerned with which one of the following?
(a) considerations of why criticism of homer had moved to peripheral issues
(b) analyses of the poetry itself in terms of its literary qualities
(c) studies in the history and nature of oral poetry
(d) analyses of the already ancient epic tradition inherited by homer
(e) critiques of the highly technical analyses of academic critics
10. the passage suggests which one of the following about scholarship on homer that has appeared since 1970?
(a) it has dealt extensively with the homeric poems as literary art.
(b) it is more incisive than the work of the parrys.
(c) it has rejected as irrelevant the scholarship produced by specialists between 1935 and 1970.
(d) it has ignored the work of simone weil and erich auerbach.
(e) it has attempted to confirm that the iliad and the odyssey were written by homer.
11. the author of the passage most probably quotes alexander pope (lines24-26) in order to
(a) indicate that the homeric poems have generally received poor treatment at the hands of english critics
(b) prove that poets as well as critics have emphasized elements peripheral to the poems
(c) illustrate that the nonpoetical emphasis also existed in an earlier century
(d) emphasize the problems inherent in rendering classical greek poetry into modern english
(e) argue that poets and literary critics have seldom agreed the interpretation of poetry
12. according to the passage, wh
ich one of the following is true of milman parry's immediate successors in the field of homeric studies?
(a) they reconciled homer's poetry with archaeological and historical concerns.
(b) they acknowledged the tradition of oral poetry, but focused on the uniqueness of homer's poetry within the tradition.
(c) they occupied themselves with the question of what qualities made for great poetry.
(d) they emphasized the boundaries of oral poetry.
(e) they called for a revival of homer's popularity.
13. which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
(a) a situation is identified and its origins are examines.
(b) a series of hypotheses is reviewed and one is advocated.
(c) the works of two influential scholars are summarized.
(d) several issues contributing to a currently debate are summarized.
(e) three possible solutions to a long-standing problem are posed.
even in the midst of its resurgence as a vital tradition, many sociologists have viewed the current form of the powwow, a ceremonial gathering of native americans, as a sign that tribal culture is in decline. focusing on the dances and rituals that have recently come to be shared by most tribes, they suggest that an intertribal movement is now in ascension and claim the inevitable outcome of this tendency is the eventual dissolution of tribes and the complete assimilation of native americans, and, most recently, their increasing politicization in response to common grievances as the chief causes of the shift toward intertribalism.
indeed, the rapid diffusion of dance styles, outfits, and songs from one reservation to another offers compelling evidence that intertribalism has been increasing. however, these sociologists have failed to note the concurrent revitalization of many traditions unique to individual tribes. among the lakota, for instance, the sun dance was revived, after a forty-year hiatus, during the 1950s. similarly, the black legging society of the kiowa and the hethuska society of the ponca--both traditional groups within their respective tribes--have gained new popularity. obviously, a more complex societal shift is taking place than the theory of pan-indianism can account for.
an examination of the theory's underpinnings may be critical at this point, especially given that native americans themselves chafe most against the pan-indian classification. like other assimilationist theories with which it is associated, the pan-indian view is predicted upon an a priori assumption about the nature of cultural contact: that upon contact minority societies immediately begin to succumb in every respect--biologically, linguistically, and culturally--to the majority society. however, there is happening to native american groups.
yet the fact remains that intertribal activities are a major facet of native american cultural today. certain dances at powwows, for instance, are announced as intertribal, others as traditional. likewise, speeches given at the beginnings of powwows are often delivered in english, while the prayer that follows is usually spoken in a native language. cultural borrowing is, of course, old news. what is important to note is the conscious distinction native americans make between tribal and intertribal tendencies.
tribalism, although greatly altered by modern history, remains a potent force among native americans. it forms a basis for tribal identity, and aligns music and dance with other social and cultural activities important to individual tribes. intertribal activities, on the other hand, reinforce native american identity along a broader front, where this identity is directly threatened by outside influences.
14. which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
(a) despite the fact that sociologists have only recently begun to understand its importance, intertribalism has always been an influential factor in native american culture.
(b) native americans are currently struggling with an identity crisis caused primarily by the two competing forces of tribalism and intertribalism.
(c) the recent growth of intertribalism is unlikely to eliminate tribalism because he two forces do not oppose one another but instead reinforce distinct elements of native american interact with the broader community around them.
(d) the tendency toward intertribalism, although prevalent within native american culture, has had a minimal effect on the way native americans interact with the broader community around them.
(e) despite the recent revival of many native american tribal traditions, the recent trend toward intertribalism is likely to erode cultural differences among the various native american tribes.
15. the author most likely states that "cultural borrowing is of course, old news" (line47-48) primarily to
(a) acknowledge that in itself the existence of intertribal tendencies at powwows is unsurprising
(b) suggest that native americans' use of english in powwows should be accepted as unavoidable
(c) argue that the deliberate distinction of intertribal and traditional dances is mot a recent development
(d) suggest that the recent increase in intertribal activity is the result of native americans borrowing from non-native americans
(e) indicate that the powwow itself could have originated by combining practices drawn from both native and non-native american cultures
16. the author of the passage would most likely agree with which one of the following assertions?
(a) though some believe the current form of the powwow signals the decline of tribal culture, the powwow contains elements that indicate the continuing strength of tribalism.
(b) the logical outcome of the recent increase in intertribal activity is the eventual disappearance of tribal culture.
(c) native americans who participate in both tribal and intertribal activities usually base their identities on intertribal rather than tribal affiliations.
(d) the conclusions of some sociologists about the health of native american cultures show that these sociologists are in fact biased against such cultures.
(e) until it is balanced by revitalization of tribal customs, intertribalism will continue to weaken the native american sense of identity.
17. the primary function of the third paragraph is to
(a) search for evidence to corroborate the basic assumption of he theory of pan-indianism
(b) demonstrate the incorrectness of the theory of pan-indianism by pointing out that native american groups themselves disagree with the theory
(c) explain the origin of the theory of pan-indianism by showing how it evolved from other assimilationist theories
(d) examine several assimilationist theories in order to demonstrate that they rest on a common assumption
(e)criticize the theory of pan-indianism by pointing out that it rests upon an assumption for which there is no supporting evidence
18. which one of the following most accurately describe the author's attitude towards the theory of pan-indianism?
(a) critical of its tendency to attribute political motives to cultural practices
(b) discomfort at its negative characterization of cultural borrowing by native americans
(c) hopeful about its chance for preserving tribal culture
(d) offended by its claim that assimilation is a desirable consequence of cultural contact
(e) skeptical that it is a complete explanation of recent changes in native american society
19. with which one of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
(a) the resurgence of the powwow is a sign that native american customs are beginning to have an important influence on euroamerican society.
(b) although native americans draw conscious distinctions between tribal and intertribal activities, there is no difference in how the two types of activity actually function within the context of native american society.
(c) without intertribal activities, it would be more difficult for native americans to maintain the cultural differences between native american and euroamerican society.
(d) the powwow was recently revived, after an extended hiatus, in order to strengthen native americans' sense of ethnic identity.
(e) the degree of urbanization, intertribal communication, and politicization among native americans has been exaggerated by proponents of the theory of pan-indianism.
20. which one of the following situations most clearly illustrates the phenomenon of intertribalism, as that phenomenon is described in the passage?
(a) a native american tribe in which a number of powerful societies attempt to prevent the revival of a traditional dance
(b) a native american tribe whose members attempt to learn the native languages of several other tribes
(c) a native american tribe whose members attempt to form a political organization in order to redress several grievances important to that tribe
(d) a native american tribe in which a significant percentage of the members have forsake their tribal identity and become assimilated into euroamerican society
(e) a native american tribe whose members often travel to other parts of the reservation in order to visit friends and relatives
21. in the passage, the author is primarily concerned with doing which one of the following?
(a) identifying an assumption common to various assimilationist theories and then criticizing these theories by showing this assumption to be false
(b) arguing that the recent revival of a number of tribal practices shows sociologists are mistaken in believing intertribili
sm to be a potent force among native american societies
(c) questioning the belief that native american societies will eventually be assimilated into euroamerican society by arguing that intertribalism helps strengthen native american identity
(d) showing how the recent resurgence of tribal activities is a deliberate attempt to counteract the growing influence of intertribalism
(e) proposing an explanation of why the ascension of intertribalism could result in the eventual dissolution of tribes and complete assimilation of native american into euroamerican society
scientists typically advocate the analytic method of studying complex systems: systems are divided into component parts that are investigated separately. but nineteenth-century critics of this method claimed that when a system抯 parts are isolated its complexity tends to be lost. to address the perceived weakness of the analytic method these critics put forward a concept called organicism, which posited that the whole determines the nature of its parts and that the parts of a whole are interdependent.
organicism depended upon the theory of internal relations, which states that relations between entities are possible only within some whole that embraces them, and that entities are altered by the relationships into which they enter. if an entity stands in a relationship with another entity, it has some property as a consequence. without this relationship, and hence without the property, the entity would be different--and so would be another entity. thus, the property is one of the entity's defining characteristics. each of an entity's relationships likewise determines a defining characteristic of the entity.
one problem with the theory of internal relations is that not all properties of an entity are defining characteristics: numerous properties are accompanying characteristics--even if they are always present their presence does not influence the entity's identity. thus, even if it is admitted that every relationship into which an entity enters determines some characteristic of the entity, it is not necessarily true that such characteristics will define the entity; it is possible for the entity to enter into a relationship yet remain essentially unchanged.
the ultimate difficulty with the theory of internal relations is that it renders the acquisition of knowledge impossible. to truly know an entity, we must know all of its relationships; but because the entity is related to everything in each whole of which it is a part, these wholes must be known completely before the entity can be known. this seems to be a prerequisite impossible to satisfy.
organicists' criticism of the analytic method arose from their failure to fully comprehend the method of rejecting the analytic method, organicists overlooked the fact that before the proponents of the method analyzed the component parts of a system, they first determined both the laws applicable to the whole system and the initial conditions of the system proponents of the method thus did not study parts of a system in full isolation from the system as a whole. since organicists failed to recognize this, they never advanced any argument to show that laws and initial conditions of complex systems cannot be discovered. hence, organicists offered to valid reason for rejecting the analytic method or for adopting organicism as a replacement for it.
22. which one of the following most completely and accurately summarizes the argument of the passage?
(a) by calling into question the possibility that complex systems can be studied in their entirety, organicists offered an alternative to the analytic method favored by nineteenth-century scientists.
(b) organicists did not offer a useful method of studying complex systems because they did not acknowledge that there are relationship into which an entity may enter that do not alter the entity抯 identity.
(c) organicism is flawed because it relies on a theory that both ignores the fact that not all characteristics of entities are defining and ultimately makes the acquisition of knowlwdge impossible.
(d) organicism does not offer a valid challenge to the analytic method both because it relies on faulty theory and because it is based on a misrepresentation of the analytic method.
(e) in criticizing he analytic method organicists neglected to disprove that scientists who employ the method are able to discover the laws and initial conditions of the systems they study.
23. according to the passage, organicists' chief objection to the analytic method was that the method
(a) oversimplified systems by isolating their components
(b) assumed that a system can be divided into component parts
(c) ignored the laws applicable to the system as a whole
(d) claimed that the parts of a system are more important than the system as a whole
(e) denied the claim that entities enter into relationships
24. the passage offers information to help answer each of the following questions except:
(a) why does the theory of internal relations appear to make the acquisition of knowledge impossible?
(b) why did the organicists propose replacing the analytic method?
(c) what is the difference between a defining characteristic and an accompanying characteristic?
(d) what did organicists claim are the effects of an entity entering into a relationship with another entity?
(e) what are some of the advantages of separating out the parts of a system for study?
25. the passage most strongly supports the ascription of which one of the following views to scientists who use the analytic method?
(a) a complex system is best understood by studying its component parts in full isolation from the system as a whole.
(b) the parts of a system should be studied with an awareness of the laws and initial conditions that govern the system.
(c) it is not possible to determine the laws governing a system until the system's parts are separated from one another.
(d) because the parts of a system are interdependent, they cannot be studied separately without destroying the system's complexity.
(e) studying the parts of a system individually eliminate the need to determine which characteristics of the parts are defining characteristics.
26. which one of the following is a principle upon which the author bases an argument against the theory of the internal relations?
(a) an adequate theory of complex systems must define the entities of which the system is composed.
(b) an acceptable theory cannot have consequences that contradict its basic purpose.
(c) an adequate method of study of complex systems should reveal the actual complexity of the system it studies.
(d) an acceptable theory must describe the laws and initial conditions of a complex system.
(e) an acceptable method of studying complex systems should not study parts of the system in isolation from the system as a whole.
[7]