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CAMBRIDGE

LEARNING CENTER

MCAT CARS
Practice
Passages &
Review

Excellence Matters / www.cambridgelearningcenter.org


CAMBRIDGE
LEARNING CENTER
INTRODUCTION
The MCAT CARS Practice Passages & Review package is
meant to give you a means to practice applying verbal
reasoning tools. Following is a series of 5 MCAT CARS
passages. We recommend doing the passages in a test-like
environment while timing yourself. As for how much time to
give yourself, allow 90 seconds per question.
You can access the videos by logging into the unique
URL link you were e-mailed and entering the password you
were given. If you ever forget your password just send us an
e-mail at team@cambridgelearningcenter.org and we’ll
reset it for you.
Each passage has a video explaining how to apply the
tools of grammar, rhetoric, and reflective intelligence to the
passage to get a clear understanding of its meaning. There is
also a video on each passage’s questions and answers.
Although you may be tempted to only watch the videos
for the ones you got wrong, we HIGHLY encourage you to
watch each video as it will help reinforce the concepts you
need in order to do well on the MCAT CARS section.
You will be able to access the videos on School Yourself
for 5 months. If you would like access longer, you can find
INTRODUCTION
CAMBRIDGE
LEARNING CENTER

more information here.


This package assumes that you have taken the time to
learn and master the fundamentals of verbal reasoning
(grammar, rhetoric, and reflective intelligence) and the
videos will refer to those concepts while walking you
through the comprehensive analysis. If you come to find that
you do not have a solid understanding of the fundamentals
(especially if any of the concepts mentioned in the review
videos are foreign to you), you should go back and study the
areas of verbal reasoning that you find yourself weak in. You
can do that or, or if you’d like, you can check out our different
courses that help you with that: MCAT CARS Courses
Good luck with your studying and please reach out to us
with any questions you have or if there’s any other way we
can help.

INTRODUCTION
CAMBRIDGE
LEARNING CENTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PASSAGE ONE………………………………………………….. 1

PASSAGE TWO…………………………………………………..3

PASSAGE THREE………………………………………………..5

PASSAGE FOUR………………………………………………… 7

PASSAGE FIVE………………………………………………….. 9

ANSWER KEY………………………………………………….. 11

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 1 LEARNING CENTER
Another shiver of fear swept across Britain 45 John Major’s government first announced
when Jack Cunningham, the minister of the possible connection between BSE and NVCJD
agriculture, announced plans for a ban on the sale in March last year. In Britain 22 people are now
of beef bones because of the possibility that they known to have died from the new disease, and
5 could pass mad-cow disease (BSE) to humans. another handful are sick. Meanwhile, a steady drip
Within hours of the news, supermarkets around 50 of experimental results has diminished the
the country had begun to take oxtail, T-bone steak uncertainty over whether or not the two diseases
and beef ribs off their shelves. are the same. Most recently, experiments on mice
that compared different kinds of prion diseases
The announcement added to the woes of
showed not only that NVCJD and BSE had the
10 Britain’s already mutinous beef-farmers. Even
55 same incubation time but the same pathology in
before Mr. Cunningham made his unexpected
the brain — and that this was different from either
announcement, Welsh farmers, hit by falling beef
scrapie or other forms of CJD.
prices and the continuing European Union ban on
British beef exports, had been blockading ports But unfortunately, hardly anything is
15 and hurling imports of Irish beef into the sea. But known about how BSE might be transmitted to
for the most British people, the future of beef 60 people. The government’s ban on bones is a
prices is the least of their worries. The response to experiments that suggest that bone
government announcement has raised new marrow and some types of nerve tissue besides the
questions about the safety of beef, and raised brain and spinal cord can cause disease in mice.
20 again the nightmare scenario of a wide-scale But since the dose required to cause disease in
epidemic of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease 65 people is unknown, it is impossible to know how
(NVCJD), the human equivalent of BSE. Obvious large any risk might be.
questions are again being asked. Is any beef safe
Nonetheless, at the same time that he
to eat? Is milk safe to drink? And how much do
announced the ban, Mr. Cunningham insisted that
25 we now know about the chances of an epidemic of
other cuts of British beer are still safe to eat. In his
NVCJD?
70 favor, the latest estimates suggest that the
The difficulties in answering these epidemic of BSE in cattle is dying out, and that
questions are threefold. Prion diseases — British herds may be free of the disease by early in
comprising BSE, all forms of CJD, scrapie (the the next century. Thus, in a painful irony, what
30 sheep equivalent) and some others — are among risk there is from beef products may be lower now
the most mysterious diseases known to science. It 75 than it has been at any point in the past ten years.
is not even clear what causes them, let alone But this will do nothing to reassure frightened
anything else. As there is still no test to tell consumers, nor the European countries keen to
whether animals are infected, experiments to find maintain their ban on exports.
35 out whether or not beef is safe takes ages. The
best experimental model is the mouse, but infected
mice may take two years to show signs and
symptoms of prion diseases. NVCJD is so new
that it is impossible to make any reliable
40 predications about the potential for an epidemic.
Crucial variables ford such forecasts, like the
average time from infection to disease in people,
or the variation around that average, simply
cannot be determined yet.

PASSAGE 1 1
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 1 - QUESTIONS LEARNING CENTER

1) Which of the following, if true, would most weaken 4) The passage implies that Welsh farmers “had been
the “best experimental model” (line 36) presented in blockading ports and hurling imports of Irish beef into
the passage? the sea” (lines 14-15) as
A. some mice showed signs and symptoms of prion A. a reaction to the government’s recent
diseases within several months of exposure announcement regarding the ban of certain cuts of
B. mice who have not yet shown symptoms of prion beef
diseases still offer a plethora of vital information B. a means of intercepting possibly infected beef
regarding the incubation periods of these diseases before reaching the consumer
C. mice and humans differ greatly in their C. an effort to underscore the impacts of the ban on
symptomatic reactions to the forms of CJD the Irish beef-farmers
studied thus far D. a rebellious reaction to falling prices and bans on
D. current prediction regarding the potential dangers British beef
of prion diseases are tenuous and unreliable
5) The main point of the passage is to
2) Which of the following pieces of information would A. a richness discuss some of the ramifications of
most likely aid researches in predicting a potential prion diseases on the British beef industry
NVCJD epidemic?
B. present some recent developments surrounding
A. how scrapie is transmitted from one species to NVCJD
another
C. demonstrate the effectiveness of bans that limit
B. the variations in average incubation time in the the impetus of a potential epidemic
brain D. outline the difficulties in studying BSE
C. how effective the human immune system is in
fighting some prion diseases
D. the average time from infections to disease 6) According to the passage, how have researchers
differentiated BSE from scrapie?
A. by examining nerve tissue other than the brain
3) According to the passage why does Jack Cunningham's and spinal cord
announcement present a “painful irony” (line 73)? B. by studying incubation time and pathology in the
A. although certain cuts of beef have been banned, brain
recent estimates suggest that the risk of disease C. by comparing the average time from infection to
ridden beef may be lower now than it has in the disease
last ten years
D. by developing new tests to determine how these
B. regardless of current estimates of the risk of diseases are transmitted
disease infested beef, consumer skepticism of the
safety of beef will most likely persist
C. Cunningham is needlessly frightening the public 7) The author mentions “a steady drip of experimental
and is carelessly damaging the beef industry results” (lines 49-50) to indicate theta these results
yield
D. the ban of only certain cuts of beef is based on the
tenuous findings of the transmission of BSE A. definitive answers to the once mystery connection
through bone marrow between BSE and NVCJD
B. persistent theoretical incongruities between the
various prion diseases
C. small bits of information on a consistent basis
D. inconclusive evidence in most cases

PASSAGE 1 - QUESTIONS 2
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 2 LEARNING CENTER
Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we 45 and dialects. The writer remembers to have been
may so express it, greater antithesis of character, present at an interview between two chiefs of the
than the native warrior of North America. In war, Great Prairies west of the Mississippi, and when
he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self- an interpreter was in attendance who spoke both
5 denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just, their languages. The warriors appeared to be on
generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, 50 the most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed
modest, and commonly chaste. These are much together; yet, according to the account of
qualities, it is true, which do not distinguish all the interpreter, each was absolutely ignorant of
alike; but they are so far the predominating traits what the other said. They were of hostile tribes,
10 of these remarkable people as to be characteristic. brought together by the influence of the American
55 government; and it is worthy of remark, that a
It is generally believed that the Aborigines
common policy led them both to adopt the same
of the American continent have an Asiatic origin.
subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be
There are many physical as well as moral facts
of us in the event of the chances of war throwing
which corroborate this opinion, and some few that
either of the parties into the hands of his enemies.
15 would seem to weigh against it. The color of the
60 Whatever may be the truth, as respects the root
Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to himself,
and the genius of the Indian tongues, it is quite
and while his cheek-bones have a very striking
certain they are now so distance in their words as
indication of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not.
to possess most of the disadvantages of strange
Climate may have had great influence on the
languages; hence much of the embarrassment that
20 former, but it is difficult to see hot it can have
65 has arisen in learning their histories, and most of
produced the substantial difference which exists in
the uncertainty which exists in their traditions.
the latter. The imagery of the Indian, both in his
poetry and in his oratory, is oriental; chastened,
and perhaps improved, by the limited range of his
25 practical knowledge. He draws his metaphors
from the clouds, the seasons, the birds, the bests,
and the vegetable world. In this, perhaps he does
no more than any other energetic and imaginative
race would do, being compelled to set bounds to
30 fancy by experience; but the North American
Indian clothes his ideas in a dress which is
different from that of the African, and is oriental
in itself. His language has the richness and
sententious fullness of the Chinese. He will
35 express a phrase in a word, and he will qualify the
meaning of an entire sentence by a syllable; he
will even convey different significations by the
simplest inflections of the voice.
Philologists have said that there are but
40 two or there languages, properly speaking, among
all the numerous tribes which formerly occupied
the country that now composes in the United
States. They ascribe the known difficulty one
people have to understand another to corruptions

PASSAGE TWO 3
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 2 - QUESTIONS LEARNING CENTER

1) The main point of this passage is to 5) According to the author, the American Indian shares all
A. shed some light on the paradoxical characteristics of the following characteristics with his presumed
of Native Americans predecessors of the East EXCEPT:
present evidence that links Native Americans with A. a richness of language
B.
the far East B. cheek-bones
C. discuss variations in language as is evident from a C. poetic imagery
particular example D. two or three languages within a distinct region
D. describe the diversity of the Native Americans

6) It can be inferred from the passage that the imagery


2) The author’s tone regarding the indigenous people of used by the American Indian was
North America is one of A. drawn from his immediate surroundings
A. sorrow B. specific to his limited range of experience
B. respect C. limited to his oriental influences
C. longing D. expressed in very few syllables
D. derision

3) Why does the author mention the interview between 7) The passage implies that in the Chinese language
the two chiefs? A. different meanings are associated with different
A. to demonstrate the concern the American inflections
government had for the warring factions of Native B. is the basis for all Native American tongues
Americans
C. makes use of many metaphors
B. to illustrate the effectiveness with which the U.S.
government arbitrated D. developed in a similar fashion to Native American
languages
C. to qualify an earlier assertion regarding
differences in language
D. to point out the hostile relations between two
tribes of the Great Prairies 8) Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen
the notion that American Indians originated in Eastern
Asia?
4) According to the passage the uncertainty regarding A. the Sioux word for fly is very similar to the
American Indian history and tradition is most likely Chinese word for bird
attributed to B. archaeologists have discovered dwellings in
A. American disinterest in the well-being of Central America that predate the earliest known
indigenous people dealings found in Asia
B. a lack of awareness of the differences in language C. the variations in language from tribe to tribe is
from tribe to tribe similar to regional variations in language
throughout China
C. the different possible origins of the Native
Americans D. the characteristic height and hair color of
American Indians are very similar to that of early
D. a lack of historical documentation regarding the Mongolians
Native American culture

PASSAGE 2 - QUESTIONS 4
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 3 LEARNING CENTER
The Net can be used to distribute new Net machine-readable form, and the process of
tools in the form of computer programing code, as 45 digitization necessary to make the information
well as communications and information services, available online is no longer prohibitively
which means the Net is inherently a bootstrapping expensive but remains time-consuming. The
5 medium that constantly changes itself as people Library of Congress is growing far faster than it
discover and invent new tools, and then use the can be digitized by present-day technology.
Net to distribute them. When the Net upgrades its 50 Clearly, until some breakthrough makes
own software, the Net is used to distribute the digitization easier, people will have to choose
upgrade. which material is valuable enough to convert to
electronic form; even with these obstacles, the
10 Among the original hackers at MIT< the
amount of data converted from analog to digital
ones who helped invent time-sharing, the hacker
55 form every day is staggering.
ethic was that computer tools out to be free. The
first personal-computer makers were outraged The other barrier to a Net that contains all
when William Gates, now the richest man in the test and photos and sounds in the Library of
15 America , started selling BASIC, which PC ingress is a less technical and more social issue:
hobbyists had always passed around for free. The intellectual property. A lot of the best books,
software industry exists now and Microsoft is 60 photos, lyrics, articles, and videos are owned by
bigger than General Motors, but the Net continues somebody. How are royalties to be determined and
to grow because of intellectual property that collected in a world where you can copy anything
20 skilled programmers have given to the Net with a keystroke and transfer a library around the
community. Again and again, programmers have world in a minute? Ted Nelson, who coined the
created and given to the Net powerful tools that 65 term hypertext, first dreamed up a scheme in the
have changed the nature of the Net and expanded 1960s, looking forward to the day when this social
its availability. problem lurking at the heart of computer
technology would grow large. Nelson’s scheme,
25 It makes sense, even if you plan to profit
called Xanadu, involves a database of all the
from a communications medium later, to give
70 literature in the world, including anything
away access to the medium in the beginning,
anybody wants to contribute; readers would be
when you are trying to build a critical mass. The
able to have access to documents, and the system
people who built CMC systems wanted to have a
would automatically pay from their accounts a
30 large population of people to communicate with;
tiny amount of money to the original author. The
the value they sought was not the value of
75 Xanadu project, long notorious as the world’s
metering access to the community, but in the
most ancient software project that has yet to
intellectual value, the collective goods, that a
produce a public product, is still alive. And the
community could create together. The tradition of
problem still exists.
35 free bootstrapping software is alive and well.
Now, tools that act as personal information
servants to shield users from the complexities of
the Net are becoming available, also free of
charge.

40 When you being talking about using you


desktop computer to download the actual text of
books stored in the Library of Congress, you come
up against two barriers. First, only a small fraction

PASSAGE 3 5
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 3 - QUESTIONS LEARNING CENTER

1) According to the passage, what is the Xanadu project 5) “The Net is inherently a bootstrapping medium” (lines
intended to accomplish? 4-5) implies that the internet
A. to resolve some of the social problems that are A. can communicate virtually anything humans can
inherent in using computer technology perceive
B. to preserve intellectual property in an easily B. will likely be the best medium for accessing
accessible medium intellectual property
C. to catalogue all the world’s literature C. uses a form of computer programming code that
D. to ensure that access to any literature results in the can distribute a wide variety of tools
proper distribution of royalties D. propagates itself through the ingenuity of its users

2) The passage implies that “tools that act as personal


information servants to shield users from the 6) With which of the following statements regarding the
complexities of the Net” (lines 36-38) are being development of the internet would the author most
offered free of charge because likely agree?
A. these tools can be used by many internet users A. many of the tools that have expanded the
who will pay for the intellectual goods the Net availability of the Net were offered free of charge
has to offer
B. by not offering internet tools for free, William
B. traditionally the hacker ethic was that computer Gates is impeding the growth of the Net
tools ought to be free
C. although the Net can easily distribute tools that
C. such tools are so easily copied and distributed will upgrade the internet itself, there is a relative
anyway paucity of such tools
D. it is in everyone's best interest to distribute D. certain limitations will preclude the Net from ever
standardized communication tools to all internet incorporating the Library of Congress in its
users entirety

3) Why does the author mention Xanadu?


7) The main point of the passage is to
A. to present an effective solution to one of the
A. resolve specific problems plaguing the judicious
problems plaguing the access to documents over
use of the internet
the internet
B. discuss both the facility with which the internet
B. to underscore the importance of Ted Nelson in the
development of the internet can self-update and the difficulty in offering
certain services
C. to demonstrate that regardless of recent efforts the
C. present the flaws in a n outdated software
difficulties regarding payment of royalties for text proposal
accessed on the internet persist
D. developed in a similar fashion to Native American
D. to show that archaic software products have little languages
public demand today

4) According to the passage, what is the main obstacle in 8) The author's tone regarding the future implementation
digitizing the content of the Library of Congress in its of Ted Nelson's project is one of
entirety? A. anticipation
A. the digitization process remains prohibitively B. skepticism
expensive
C. enthusiasm
B. the allocation of royalties as the information is
accessed over the internet D. hope
C. the library is expanding faster than the
information can be converted to a digital format
D. only a small number of documents are already in
a machine-readable form

PASSAGE 3 - QUESTIONS 6
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 4 LEARNING CENTER
“Pitch” originated as a musical term and and between the two ears. For other periodic
has become a psychological term used to sounds, the sense of the octave is very strong, for
designate a perceived quality of sound. 45 the partials of a sound a’ (that is, an octave above
a) are all present in sound a. The sense of the
In music, the pitch of musical sounds was
octave is not strong with sine waves. Furthermore,
5 perceived long before the physical basis for pitch
because sine waves contain only one frequency
was understood. One of the great musical (and
component, their brightness is tied inextricably to
psychological) discoveries is that for periodic
50 their pitch.
musical sounds, such as those produced by the
organ, strings, winds, and the human voice, pitch Musically trained people react to sine
10 is tied unalterably to the periodicity or frequency waves and their pitches much as they react to
with which the waveform of the sound repeats. periodic musical sounds. Naïve people may react
differently. By asking naïve subjects to relate
Periodic musical sounds are made up of 55 frequency changes of sine waves to a doubling
many harmonically related frequency components,
pitch, psychologists found a mel scale of pitch (for
or partials, of frequencies ⨏0, 2⨏0, 3⨏0, 4⨏0, and so
sine waves). In the mel scale there is no simple
15 forth. Such sounds have many perceived qualities
relations between frequency and pitch; nothing
besides pitch. One of these other qualities is like the octave shows up. I think the mel scale is a
shrillness, or brightness. A sound with intense 60 scale of brightness, not of pitch. It might be
high-low-frequency partials is bright, or shrill. A possible to check this by using musical sounds
sound in which low-frequency partials whose brightness and pitch could be varied
20 predominate is not bright, but dull.
independently.
When you listen to periodic musical The sounds of orchestral bells and of tuned
sounds on a hi-fi system, you can change the 65 bells are not periodic, and these sounds do not
brightness by turning the tone control. But this have all the properties of periodic musical sounds.
doesn’t change the pitch. The brightness depends One can play tunes with bells, and the pitches that
25 on the relative intensities of partials of various are assigned to bells can be explained largely in
frequencies. Turning the tone control can change terms of the frequencies of prominent, almost-
the relations of the partials, but won’t change the 70 harmonic partials.
periodicity of the sound, which is the same as the
fundamental, the frequency of the first particle, ⨏0. Clucking sounds and shushing sounds
(bands of noise) have a brightness, but no
30 Sounds that are not periodic musical periodicity. Oddly, we can play recognizable tune
sounds are not as clear and distinguishable in pitch with these sounds, even though they cannot be
and brightness, but some of them can be granted 75 heard as combing into chords or harmony.
pitch by a sort of musical courtesy. Among these Apparently, in the absence of a clear pitch,
are sine waves (pure tones), the tones of bells, the brightness can suggest pitch. This seems natural.
35 clucking sound that we can make with the tongue When we pay a scale on a musical instrument, the
and the roof of the mouth, the somewhat related brightness increases as we go up the scale. But the
sound of the Jew’s harp, and the sound of a band 80 “pitch” of clucks or bands of noise is only a
of nose. suggestion of pitch. It depends on the frequency at
Sine waves are peculiar in that they consist which the brightness spectrum peaks, and this
40 of a single harmonic partial. The sense of pitch (and therefore the “pitch”) changes when we turn
that they give is not as certain as that of tother the tone control.
periodic sounds; it can differ a little with intensity,

PASSAGE 4 7
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 4 - QUESTIONS LEARNING CENTER

1) According to the passage, partials are 5) Why does the author make reference to a scale being
A. dependent on the brightness of relative played on a musical instrument?
frequencies A. to help illustrate the inseparable nature of pitch
B. are always an octave above a given sine wave and brightness
C. associated with brightness but not pitch of a B. to demonstrate the training a musician receives
single sine wave which alters his auditory perception of sine waves
D. to ensure that access to any literature results in the C. to show a practical instance in which the
proper distribution of royalties brightness spectrum peaks
D. to clarify the difference between periodic and
non-periodic sounds
2) The passage states that the author’s opinion regarding
the mel scale could be verified
6) The author implies that the brightness of a given sound
A. by juxtaposing results attained from two different
groups, one musically trained and the other naïve A. is measured with respect to the predominance of
low-frequency partials
B. if experiments were conducted in which
brightness was altered but pitch remained B. is heard by the trained ear as a doubling of pitch
constant C. is determined by the intensity of different
C. through the use of musical sounds in which pitch frequency partials
and brightness are controlled independently D. was not clearly understood by psychologists prior
D. if psychologists and musicians were to work to the development of the mel scale
together

7) It can be inferred from the passage that tuned bells


3) The author’s main point is to A. create the same resonant sound as orchestral bells
A. describe how brightness can effect one’s B. are seldom used to express melodic ideas
perception of pitch C. have little use in a modern day orchestra
B. discuss some qualities of pitch and brightness D. are not ideal for combinations that form chorus or
C. advocate his opinion regarding the mel scale harmony
D. to show that archaic software products have little
public demand today
8) Which of the following, if true, would most weaken
the possibility of verifying the author’s opinion
4) The author implies that producing recognizable tunes regarding the mel scale as described in the passage?
with non-periodic sounds is odd because
A. brightness and pitch are so intrinsically linked
A. these sounds cannot combine to form certain that there is no possibility of isolating each
harmonies characteristic and controlling them individually
B. such sounds lack partials and clear sense of pitch B. different subjects react to the mel scale in very
C. advocate his opinion regarding the mel scale different ways
D. only a small number of documents are already in C. the mel scale can be reproduced by manipulation
a machine-readable form solely the tone control on a hi-fi system
D. subjects who cannot distinguish between he
different degrees of the mel scale have all been
diagnosed as tone deaf

PASSAGE 4 - QUESTIONS 8
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 5 LEARNING CENTER
Among the branches of philosophy, I had, The second was to divide each of the
when younger, studied logic, and among those of difficulties which I encountered into as many parts
mathematics, geometrical analysis and algebra; as possible, and as might be require for an easier
three arts or sciences which should have been able solution.
5 to contribute something to my design. But in
50 The third was to think in an orderly
examining them I noticed that as far as logic was
fashion when concerned wight he search for truth,
concerned, its syllogisms and most of its other
beginning with the things which were simplest
methods serve rather to explain to another what
and easiest to understand, and gradually and by
one already knows, or even, as in the art of Lully,
degrees reaching to ward more complex
10 to speak freely and without judgment of what one
55 knowledge, even treating, as though ordered,
does not know, a than to learn new things.
materials which were not necessarily so.
Although it does contain many true and good
precepts, they are interspersed among so many The last was both in the process of
others that are harmful or superfluous that it is searching and in reviewing when in difficulty,
15 almost as difficult to separate them as to bring always to make enumerations so complete, and
forth a Diana or a Minerva from a block of virgin 60 reviews so general, that I would be certain that
marble. Then, as far as the analysis of the Greeks nothing was omitted.
and the algebra of the moderns is concerned,
Those long chains of reasoning , so simple
besides the fact that they deal with abstractions
and easy, which enable the geometricians to reach
20 and speculation which appear to have no utility,
the most difficult demonstration, had made me
the first is always so limited to the consideration
65 wonder whether all things knowable to me might
of figures that it connote exercise the
not fall into a similar logical sequence. If os, we
understanding without greatly fatiguing the
need only refrain from accepting as true that
imagination, and the last is so limited to certain
which is not true, and carefully follow the oder
25 rules and certain numbers that it has become a
necessary to deduce each one from the others, and
confused and obscure art which perplexes the
70 there cannot be any propositions so abstruse that
mind instead of a science which educates it. In
we cannot prove them,or so recondite that we
consequence I thought that some other method
cannot discover them.
must be found to combine the advantages of these
30 three and to escape their faults. Finally, just as the
multitude of laws frequently furnishes an excuse
for vice, and a state is much better governed with
a few laws which are strictly adhered to, so I
thought that instead of the gray number of
35 precepts of which logic is composed, I would have
enough with the four following ones, provided
that I made a firm and unalterable resolution not
to violate them even in a single instance.
The first rule was never to accept anything 80
40 as true unless I recognized it to be certainly and
evidently such: that is, carefully to avoid all
precipitation and prejudgement, and to include
nothing in my conclusions unless it presented
itself so clearly and distinctly to my mind that
45 there was no reason to doubt it.

PASSAGE 5 9
CAMBRIDGE
PASSAGE 5 - QUESTIONS LEARNING CENTER

1) The author’s main point is 5) The author's first rule relies on which of the following
A. to delineate the shortcomings of certain branches assumptions?
of philosophy and mathematics A. recognizing something as certain and evident is
B. to present criteria that would help differentiate part of a sound logical sequence
truth form that which is not true B. that which the mind perceives as “clear and
C. to discuss the syllogisms and methods of logic distinct” is indeed always true
D. to offer a method of discerning truth as a reaction C. philosophers have never before approached logic
to the existing forms of reasoning with such a perspective
D. any and all foreknowledge of a given subject will
only impede the acquisition of truth
2) Why does the author mention bringing "forth a Diana
or a Minerva from a block of virgin marble” (lines
16-17)?
6) According to the passage, a system with a multitude of
A. to demonstrate how Greek analysis deals with rules
abstractions and speculation A. is used by most governing bodies throughout the
B. to parallel the author’s method with that of the world
great sculptors of his time B. cannot be strictly adhered to because of man’s
C. to illustrate the difficulty in excising the unneeded inherent vices
and potentially virulent precepts that permeate C. leave little room for interpretations
logic and algebra
D. is less effective than one with few rules that are
D. to show how the logical sequence of sculpture is rigidly adhered to
superior to that of the sciences mentioned

3) The author considers "the algebra of the 7) The passage implies that if the author were to order the
moderns” (line 18) precepts of a given problem
A. so restrained by specific rules and numbers that it A. the issues would emerge with greater clarity
ultimately confuses rather than instructs B. the first precept would be the most evident, while
B. governed by too many laws the last would be the most obscure
C. limited by the consideration of figures which C. the issue would be discussed third
undermine the creative endeavors of the mind D. the order must adhere both to the rule, and the
D. a topic that shares a logical approach similar to natural order of the problem itself
that of sculpture

8) According to the passage, the author’s method


4) It can be inferred form the passage that the author A. is based on the logical sequence of the
considers prejudgement geometrician
A. an unnecessary aspect of traditional logic B. is similar to accepted methods of sculpture
B. an obstacle that clouds one’s ability to recognize C. is a reaction to the shortcomings of the traditional
that which is true and accepted style of reasoning
C. synonymous with precipitations D. can fatigue the imagination if used incorrectly
D. only applicable to his method if there is no reason
to doubt it

PASSAGE 5 QUESTIONS 10
CAMBRIDGE
ANSWER KEY LEARNING CENTER

Passage 1 Passage 2 Passage 3

1) C 1) A 1) D
2) D 2) B 2) A
3) A 3) C 3) C
4) D 4) B 4) C
5) B 5) D 5) D
6) B 6) A 6) A
7) C 7) A 7) B
8) D 8) B

Passage 4 Passage 5

1) D 1) D
2) C 2) C
3) B 3) A
4) B 4) B
5) A 5) D
6) C 6) D
7) D 7) B
8) A 8) C

ANSWER KEY 11

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