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Reading & Writing · Expression of Ideas · 86 questions · every one comes with a full explanation.

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  1. 1Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a prominent classical music composer from England who toured the US three times in the early 1900s. The child of a West African father and an English moEasy · Expression of Ideas
  2. 2In her poetry collection Thomas and Beulah, Rita Dove interweaves the titular characters' personal stories with broader historical narratives. She places Thomas's journey from the Hard · Expression of Ideas
  3. 3In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there are those who argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining faHard · Expression of Ideas
  4. 4Most of the planets that have been discovered outside our solar system orbit G-type stars, like our Sun. In 2014, ______ researchers identified a planet orbiting KELT-9, a B-type sMedium · Expression of Ideas
  5. 5In 1815, while in exile in Jamaica, Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar penned a letter praising England's republican government and expressing hope that Latin American nations Hard · Expression of Ideas
  6. 6The Babylonian king Hammurabi achieved much during his forty-year reign. He conquered all of Mesopotamia and built Babylon into one of the most powerful cities of the ancient worldMedium · Expression of Ideas
  7. 7Some members of the US Supreme Court have resisted calls to televise the court's oral arguments, concerned that the participants would be tempted to perform for the cameras (and thMedium · Expression of Ideas
  8. 8Award-winning travel writer Linda Watanabe McFerrin considers the background research she conducts on destinations featured in her travel books to be its own reward. ______ McFerriMedium · Expression of Ideas
  9. 9In 1873, Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal observed that brain fibers have distinct boundaries with clear end points, a finding that went against earlier assumptions about tMedium · Expression of Ideas
  10. 10For years, biologists have experimented with using grime-eating bacteria rather than harsh chemicals to clean artworks, and results have been impressive overall. ______ these bacteMedium · Expression of Ideas
  11. 11In 1968, US Congressman John Conyers introduced a bill to establish a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The bill didn't make it to a vote, but Conyers was detEasy · Expression of Ideas
  12. 12It has long been thought that humans first crossed a land bridge into the Americas approximately 13,000 years ago. ______ based on radiocarbon dating of samples uncovered in MexicoEasy · Expression of Ideas
  13. 13Researchers believe that pieces of hull found off Oregon's coast are from a Spanish cargo ship that was lost in 1697. Stories passed down among the area's Confederated Tribes of SiEasy · Expression of Ideas
  14. 14Alexander Lawrence Posey (1873–1908) varied his focus and tone depending on the genre in which he was writing. In his poetry, he used heartfelt language to evoke the beauty and peaMedium · Expression of Ideas
  15. 15Geoscientists have long considered Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano to be Earth's largest shield volcano by volume, measuring approximately 74,000 cubic kilometers. ______ according to aEasy · Expression of Ideas
  16. 16Okot p'Bitek's poem Song of Lawino (1966) explores postcolonial Ugandan life through the eyes of a woman living in a rural village. With its vibrant imagery, bitingly satiric tone,Medium · Expression of Ideas
  17. 17Before the 1847 introduction of the US postage stamp, the cost of postage was usually paid by the recipient of a letter rather than the sender, and recipients were not always able Easy · Expression of Ideas
  18. 18A potter choosing which type of clay to use for a piece considers two key factors: the desired look of the piece and its intended use. ______ earthenware clay is often used for decEasy · Expression of Ideas
  19. 19In Gothic architecture, flying buttresses are large arches that help support a building's exterior walls. Before the Gothic era, cathedrals' heavy ceilings had to be supported by tEasy · Expression of Ideas
  20. 20Tyrian purple was a highly prized dye among the Phoenicians (an ancient civilization located in present-day Lebanon). The Phoenicians were famous for using this natural dye to coloEasy · Expression of Ideas
  21. 21Etched into Peru's Nazca Desert are line drawings so large that they can only be fully seen from high above. Archaeologists have known of the lines since the 1920s, when a researchEasy · Expression of Ideas
  22. 22Because an achiral molecule is symmetrical, flipping it yields a structurally identical molecule. A flipped chiral molecule, ______ can be compared to a glove that has been turned Medium · Expression of Ideas
  23. 23Most conifers (trees belonging to the phylum Coniferophyta) are evergreen. That is, they keep their green leaves or needles year-round. However, not all conifer species are evergreEasy · Expression of Ideas
  24. 24Jhumpa Lahiri's story collection Interpreter of Maladies features multiple stories about romantic relationships. In "This Blessed House," newlyweds argue over whether to replace itMedium · Expression of Ideas
  25. 25Small, flat structures called spatulae are found at the tips of the hairs on a spider's leg. These spatulae temporarily bond with the atoms of whatever they touch. ______ spiders aEasy · Expression of Ideas
  26. 26As a young historian in the 1950s, Alixa Naff began interviewing fellow Arab American immigrants about their experiences straddling two cultures. Over the next few decades, Naff coEasy · Expression of Ideas
  27. 27Before California's 1911 election to approve a proposition granting women the right to vote, activists across the state sold tea to promote the cause of suffrage. In San Francisco,Medium · Expression of Ideas
  28. 28In 2019, researcher Patricia Jurado Gonzalez and food historian Nawal Nasrallah prepared a stew from a 4,000-year-old recipe found on a Mesopotamian clay tablet. When they tasted tMedium · Expression of Ideas
  29. 29Neuroscientist Karen Konkoly wanted to determine whether individuals can understand and respond to questions during REM sleep. She first taught volunteers eye movements they would Easy · Expression of Ideas
  30. 30In June, female loggerhead sea turtles will swim back to the sandy beaches where they were born to lay eggs of their own. First, the turtle will dig her nest in the sand. ______ shEasy · Expression of Ideas
  31. 31In 2009, the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles hosted a special exhibition, Sueños/Yume, showcasing the works of local sculptor Dora de Larios. As suggested by the show's tiHard · Expression of Ideas
  32. 32When one looks at the dark craggy vistas in Hitoshi Fugo's evocative photo series, one's mind might wander off to the cratered surfaces of faraway planets. ______ it's the series' Hard · Expression of Ideas
  33. 33When Chinese director Chloé Zhao accepted the Oscar in 2021 for her film Nomadland, she made Academy Award history. ______ only one other woman, Kathryn Bigelow of the United StateEasy · Expression of Ideas
  34. 34In 1933, the Twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. The amendment mandates that presidential inaugurations be held on January 20, approximately ten weeks after thMedium · Expression of Ideas
  35. 35When soil becomes contaminated by toxic metals, it can be removed from the ground and disposed of in a landfill. ______ contaminated soil can be detoxified via phytoremediation: plHard · Expression of Ideas
  36. 36Plato believed material objects to be crude representations of unseen ideal forms. In his view, such abstract, nonmaterial forms are the ultimate source of knowledge. Aristotle disHard · Expression of Ideas
  37. 37The envelope-shaped paper bags common in the US 150 years ago were impractical for carrying goods. ______ because they were the only paper bags that could be mass-produced, these bEasy · Expression of Ideas
  38. 38Although novels and poems are considered distinct literary forms, many authors have created hybrid works that incorporate elements of both. Bernardine Evaristo's The Emperor's BabeEasy · Expression of Ideas
  39. 39In studying whether jellyfish sleep, researchers Michael Abrams, Claire Bedbrook, and Ravi Nath attempted to answer three questions. ______ is there a period each day when the pulsEasy · Expression of Ideas
  40. 40Every chemical compound has a spectroscopic fingerprint, a pattern of reflected light unique to that compound. ______ upon analyzing the light reflected by the bright regions on thEasy · Expression of Ideas
  41. 41The more diverse and wide ranging an animal's behaviors, the larger and more energy demanding the animal's brain tends to be. ______ from an evolutionary perspective, animals that Medium · Expression of Ideas
  42. 42In his 1925 book The Morphology of Landscape, US geographer Carl Sauer challenged prevailing views about how natural landscapes influence human cultures. ______ Sauer argued that iMedium · Expression of Ideas
  43. 43Magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are suspended above a track by powerful electromagnets, reducing friction and thus allowing for much faster speeds. Though maglev advocates in tHard · Expression of Ideas
  44. 44Iraqi artist Nazik Al-Malaika, celebrated as the first Arabic poet to write in free verse, didn't reject traditional forms entirely; her poem "Elegy for a Woman of No Importance" cHard · Expression of Ideas
  45. 45A 2017 study of sign language learners tested the role of iconicity—the similarity of a sign to the thing it represents—in language acquisition. The study found that the greater thHard · Expression of Ideas
  46. 46Establishing Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is no easy task. Each month, readings of a single second from atomic clocks around the world are taken and sent to the International BMedium · Expression of Ideas
  47. 47Historically, most conductors of major orchestras and opera companies have been European men, but a new, more diverse generation of artists is stepping up to the podium. Mexico's AHard · Expression of Ideas
  48. 48Earth's auroras—colorful displays of light seen above the northern and southern poles—result, broadly speaking, from the Sun's activity. ______ the Sun releases charged particles tMedium · Expression of Ideas
  49. 49"Tulip mania"—the rapid rise and sudden fall of the price of tulip bulbs in seventeenth-century Amsterdam—is often cited as an example of the perils of rampant market speculation. Hard · Expression of Ideas
  50. 50When, in the 1800s, geologists first realized that much of Earth had once been covered by great sheets of ice, some theorized that the phenomenon was cyclical, occurring at regularMedium · Expression of Ideas
  51. 51Practical movie effects, such as the use of actual locations in a film, provide a more realistic visual experience than computer-generated imagery (CGI) does, but giving audiences Easy · Expression of Ideas
  52. 52Originally coined by economist Joan Robinson to refer to markets with multiple sellers of a product but only one buyer, the term "monopsony" can also refer to markets where demand Medium · Expression of Ideas
  53. 53Seismologists Kaiqing Yuan and Barbara Romanowicz have proposed that the magma fueling Iceland's more than 30 active volcano systems emerges from deep within Earth. The great depthHard · Expression of Ideas
  54. 54Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 2013 novel Americanah chronicles the divergent experiences of Ifemelu and Obinze, a young Nigerian couple, after high school. Ifemelu moves to the UnitedEasy · Expression of Ideas
  55. 55The chemical trimethylamine N-oxide not only gives fish their fishy smell but also protects them from crushing hydrostatic pressure in deep waters. Trimethylamine N-oxide strengtheMedium · Expression of Ideas
  56. 56One poll taken after the first 1960 presidential debate suggested that John Kennedy lost badly: only 21 percent of those who listened on the radio rated him the winner. ______ the Medium · Expression of Ideas
  57. 57A firefly uses specialized muscles to draw oxygen into its lower abdomen through narrow tubes, triggering a chemical reaction whereby the oxygen combines with chemicals in the fireMedium · Expression of Ideas
  58. 58With her room-sized installation The Interstitium, Iranian American artist Laleh Mehran succeeded in creating a space that felt, as intended, both "familiar and distant." ______ wiMedium · Expression of Ideas
  59. 59With its clichéd imagery of suburban lawns and power lines, John Ashbery's 2004 poem "Ignorance of the Law Is No Excuse" may seem barren terrain for critical analysis. ______ cultuHard · Expression of Ideas
  60. 60In the 1850s, William Still was instrumental in helping nearly 1,000 people escape from slavery, earning him the moniker "the Father of the Underground Railroad." ______ despite thEasy · Expression of Ideas