Question

directions: complete the questions independently before you review with your team.

1 * the physician and author atul gawande has argued that much like particle physics, modern medicine has become far too subtle and complex to provide _______. with so many different kinds of therapies available, it is often impossible to say which one will be most effective.
which choice completes the text with the most logical or precise word or phrase?
(a) certainty
(b) optimism
(c) possibilities
(d) solutions

2 ** in recent years, many companies have shifted from a model in which workers are placed in individual cubicles to one based on open - office plans, with the goal of fostering employee interaction and collaboration. studies suggest, however, that such strategies may backfire. increasing job dissatisfaction and leaving workers no more likely to work together than before. researchers theorize that employees’ tendency to avoid one another in open offices may be attributable to the “fourth wall”—the imaginary curtain that prevents actors from being distracted by the audience and preserves the imaginary world of play. to preserve a sense of psychological autonomy, employees in open offices establish their own fourth walls, which colleagues quickly come to respect.
which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence within the text as a whole?
(a) to describe the drawback of open office
(b) to present an explanation for an unintended phenomenon
(c) to emphasize the importance of collaboration in the workplace
(d) to compare office work to theatrical play

3 ** throughout history, though, toys were not designed with children specifically in mind, and it was not customary for children to play alone. rather, children played with other children, and only rarely with adults. they made up their own narratives while playing with sticks, mud, or household, even religious, objects. it was not until clocks were invented, then, that the miniaturization of the cosmos and the growing desire for control over it led to the profusion of automated toys seen in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. from toy makers in germany came mechanized ducks that walked and quacked, while figures in crib scenes hammered and sawed.
which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence within the text as a whole?
(a) to describe a consequence of clocks
(b) to provide examples of toys that popular in the nineteenth and two centuries
(c) to point out that early toymakers largely indifferent to children’s
(d) to emphasize a shift in the toys children preferred

Explanation:

Question 1

The sentence is about modern medicine having many therapies, and we need a word that fits the context of what therapies provide. "Possibilities" makes sense as therapies offer different possible treatments. "Certainty" is too absolute, "optimism" is about attitude, and "solutions" implies a definite fix, but therapies are more about possible approaches.

The underlined sentence (about the "fourth wall" curtain) is explaining an unintended outcome of open - office plans (since the plans aimed at collaboration but had this side - effect of employees wanting their own space). So it's presenting an unintended phenomenon. Option A is about describing a drawback, but the sentence is more about an unintended effect. Option C is about emphasizing workplace collaboration, which is the opposite. Option D is about comparing office work to theatrical play, which is not the main point.

The underlined part (about early toymakers and children's toy preferences) is to point out that early toymakers were indifferent to children's preferences. Option A is about clocks, which is not the focus. Option B is about toy popularity over centuries, but the sentence is about toymakers' attitude. Option D is about a shift in toys, but the key is the toymakers' indifference.

Answer:

(C) possibilities

Question 2