Practice identifying how short passages are organized and what role individual sentences play within them.
For centuries, people believed that the Earth was at the center of the universe and that all celestial bodies revolved around it. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a model placing the Sun at the center instead. His work laid the groundwork for later astronomers, including Galileo and Kepler, who provided further evidence supporting the heliocentric view.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Honeybees communicate the location of food sources through a behavior known as the waggle dance. A forager bee performs a series of movements that indicate both the direction and distance of a flower patch relative to the hive. Other bees observe the dance and use the information to fly directly to the food.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
The construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s transformed travel in the United States. Before the railroad, a journey from the East Coast to California could take months by wagon or ship. After its completion in 1869, the same trip took about a week by train.
Which choice best describes the function of the last sentence in the text?
Many people assume that goldfish have a memory span of only a few seconds. However, researchers at the University of Plymouth trained goldfish to push a lever to receive food, and the fish remembered how to do so even after several months.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
The baobab tree, native to Africa, can store up to 32,000 gallons of water in its trunk. This adaptation allows it to survive long dry seasons when rainfall is scarce. Local communities have relied on the tree for centuries, using it as a source of water, food, and shelter.
Which choice best describes the function of the first sentence in the text?
In the early 1900s, fewer than 10 percent of American households had electricity. Power companies initially focused on urban areas, where dense populations made it profitable to build infrastructure. It was not until the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 that the federal government began funding efforts to bring electricity to farming communities.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Architect Maya Lin is best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial, completed in 1982, consists of two black granite walls inscribed with the names of over 58,000 service members. Lin was only 21 years old and still an undergraduate student when her design was selected from more than 1,400 submissions.
Which choice best describes the function of the last sentence in the text?
Some species of octopus have been observed carrying coconut shell halves across the ocean floor. When a threat approaches, the octopus quickly assembles the shells into a protective shelter and hides inside. Scientists consider this one of the clearest examples of tool use in invertebrates.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?