Reading Comprehension

Theorists are divided about the cause of the Permian mass extinction. Some hypothesize that the impact of a massive asteroid caused the sudden eradication of most species. However, a look at the carbon-isotopic record suggests that existing plants communities were decimated and revived several times. To produce such a pattern would require a succession of asteroid strikes thousands of years apart. Other theorists have proposed that volcanic explosions raise the CO2 levels, leading to intense global warming. One problem with this theory is that it cannot explain the mass marine extinctions at the end of the Permian period. A new theory proposes that the combination of rising concentrations of toxic hydrogen sulfide in the world's ocean and gradual oxygen depletions in the surface waters caused the extinctions. Fortunately, this theory is testable. If this theory is true, then oceanic sediments from the Permian period will yield chemical evidence of a rise in hydrogen sulfide consuming bacteria.
1.The primary purpose of the passage is to
a.consider several hypotheses concerning the cause of the Permian mass extinctions
b.discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the asteroid hypotheses concerning the cause of the Permian mass extinctions
c.propose that theories regarding the cause of the Permian mass extinctions be tested
d.argue the Permian mass extinctions could not have been caused by a volcanic explosion
e.describe one reason that a rise in hydrogen sulfide would cause massive marine extinctions

It is frequently assumed that freeing schools from the rigid rules, regulations, and statutes that govern them will have a revolutionary effect on academic achievement. For instance, it has been suggested that such schools could develop more effective teaching methods that could then be replicated in other schools. Charter schools, public schools that operate under a contract (or "charter"), were given just such an opportunity. In 1991, when Minnesota passed the first charter school law, many critics warned of the deleterious effects that such free-wheeling schools could have on the academic achievement of students. Thus, while public opinion differed concerning the social desirability of charter schools, all agreed that there would likely be a pronounced effect.
Educators, particularly those interested in educational reform, now seriously question the degree to which charter schools have made an impact. They conclude that freedom from many of the policies and regulations affecting traditional public schools and the concomitant control over decisions that guide the day-to-day affair of the school have not resulted in equally dramatic changes in students' academic abilities. In many states, charter schools are less likely to meet state performance standards than traditional public schools. It is, however, impossible to know whether this is because of the performance of the schools, the prior achievement of the students, or some other factor.
Metrics for educational accountability have changed considerably in the past decade; performance on state-mandated tests is increasingly used as a measure of student performance. Fundamentally, the challenging conditions under which schools operate, be they traditional or charter schools, have changed little: the struggle for resources, low pay for teachers, answerability to multiple stakeholders, and the difficulty of meeting the educational requirements of children with special needs all persist.
2.Which of the following statements best summarizes the main point of the passage?
a.Assessments of charter schools' performance have reinforced the position that rigid rules and regulations are stifling academic achievement.
b.Freeing schools from some regulations has caused a positive change in education.
c.Charter schools have engendered a whole new approach to educating children
d.Freeing schools from rules and regulations has not had the deleterious effect that some critics had feared.
e.Charter schools, despite their merits, fail to overcome the long-standing problems in public education.
3.Which of the following best describes the function of the concluding paragraph of the passage?
a.It sums up the general points concerning charter schools made in the entire passage.
b.It draws a conclusion concerning the challenges that schools face that goes beyond the information in the previous paragraphs.
c.It restates the point concerning the successes that schools have achieved
d.It qualifies the author's agreement with those academics who question the degree to which charter schools have made an impact
e.It qualifies the author's rejection of those academics who question the degree to which charter schools have made an impact
One of several frames of reference utilized by living creatures in the effort at orientation is the direction of gravity. In human beings, this orientation is provided by the vestibular system of the inner ear, a labyrinth of chambers comprising the semicircular canals, the utricle, and the saccule. The three semicircular canals are oriented perpendicularly to one another and provide the locus of balance. In essence, these canals form a system of Cartesian coordinate axes along which the brain maps the body's horizontal, vertical, and lateral displacements. A mass of particulate material presses down on membranes, further allowing the mind to register linear motion and the direction of gravity. By utilizing this system of mental signals, we managed to maintain a sound sense of orientation despite the fact that our heads are seldom perfectly perpendicular to the plane of gravitational pull.
Yet this complex system has its imperfections. As anyone will attest, watching television while lying sideways is taxing on the brain, while reading at the same inclination is all but impossible (without tilting the book to match the angle of sight). Another instance of the system's failure is motion sickness.
When signals from the retina's frame and signals from the inner ear's frame fail to coincide, the result is motion sickness. The brain is flooded with contradictory signals: while the eye indicates that the body is at rest, the inner ear signals just the opposite. The simple cure for this is to restore both systems of signals to synchrony. This is accomplished by redirecting the gaze to the exterior of the moving vehicle, allowing the eye to match the information contributed by the vestibular system.
4. The main function of the passage as a whole is to
a.account for the failure of the vestibular system of the inner ear
b.reconcile discordant theories about spatial orientation
c.investigate the impact of stresses on the vestibular system of the inner ear
d.consider the limitations of one bodily system
e.describe the various frames of reference used to orient the body
5.which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
a.A system is described, details are provided and possible alternative explanations are considered.
b.A system is described, and its imperfections are explained and contrasted with another system's
c.A system is described, it components are enumerated, and an explanation for its purpose is introduced.
d.A system is described, and examples suggesting that the system is inadequate are considered.
e.A system is described and weaknesses of that system are then exposed.
The wealth of morphological, phonetic, and word similarities among certain languages has led linguists to recognize the unity of the well-defined family of languages called the Aryan or Indo-European family. Yet even this latter term is largely a misnomer. This group of languages spreads over an enormous range virtually without interruption, reaching from Central Asia to the fringes of westernmost Europe. The westernmost terminus of the family is Celtic, while its easternmost representatives were the Tokharian languages, a pair of tongues once spoken by the residents of the Tarim River Basin in Western China and unearthed in documents written more than a thousand years ago.
So remarkable and definite are the similarities among these languages that linguists are convinced they all derived from an earlier language spoken by some community in the prehistoric past. While we know that Latin began as a rustic dialect in the province of Latium, no one knows where proto-Aryan was first spoken. Some speculate that it was first used in Southern Russia, while still others point to the Iranian plateau as a potential cradle. Though some philologists believe that the Old Indic and Persian of the Avesta contain the most archaic features of Aryan found to date, this does not necessarily fix the habitat of these early Aryan-speaking peoples closer to Asia than to Europe. Consider Icelandic. Though this language has strayed far from its birthplace, it preserves many of the characteristics discarded by those who remained behind.
From the existing evidence, only one thing seems certain. By the time of the Vedic hymns, the first recorded instance of Aryan, those tribes speaking this early language had already begun their widespread dispersal.
6.The main purpose of this passage is to
a.account for a differences
b.illustrate a difficulty
c.advocate a change
d.refute a hypothesis
e.define similarities

Question 01: Option A
Question 02: Option D
Question 03: Option B
Question 04: Option D
Question 05: Option E

What is the 6th answer? Is it E?