Now we will apply all the methods we have learned to two test passages. To parallel the timing of the actual test, spend about 10 minutes on each passage.

Among the several hundred million cells that comprise the wondrously complex human body, and thus to be theoretically detectable in lab tests and in electron photomicrographs, a tiny fraction, no more than a few hundred, belong to a curious subclass whose luminiscence has a wavelength distribution so unique that 5 it long defied explanation. Such systems luminisce strongly in the visible region of the spectrum, but some of them do so even more strongly at both shorter and longer wavelengths: in the ultraviolet region and in the infrared regions.

10 This odd distribution of luminiscence is best explained by the pairing of a giant red blood cell and an intensely small white blood cell that is virtually in contact with its larger companion as the two travel around a common center. Such objects have become known as Clinging cells. On photographic plates only the giant cell can be discerned, but evidence for the existence of the 15 tiny companion has now been supplied by magnifying instruments capable of detecting ultraviolet luminiscence at wavelengths that are absorbed by the body's heat and therefore cannot be detected by typical analytical instruments.

The spectra of Clinging cells indicate that the giant red blood cell is surrounded by 20 very thin lipid filaments. The existence of the lipid filaments marked such objects as being unique several decades before clinical observations finally identified the lipid as the luminiscence from the tiny companion white blood cell. Clinging cells also flare up in outbursts indicating the ejection of material in the form of a shell or a ring, reminiscent of the recurrent circulation of hormonal cells. Clinging cells may 25 therefore represent a transitory phase in the evolution of certain types of hormonal systems in which there is a substantial transfer of matter from the larger partner to the smaller.

The exact evolutionary course that turns a typical blood cell system into a clinging one is 30 a matter of conjecture. The comparatively small number of known Clinging cells in our bodies suggests that if all binaries of modest mass normally pass through a clinging phase in their evolution, the phase must be extremely brief, perhaps as short as a millisecond.

1. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to

(A) demonstrate that most hormonal systems were at one time clinging
(B) dismiss current knowledge of Clinging cells as overly speculative
(C) describe Clinging cells as a distinct type of cell system
(D) present evidence that hormonal systems are formed from tiny white blood cells
(E) compare characteristics of giant red blood cells and tiny white blood cells

2. The passage implies that Clinging cell systems differ from other hormonal systems in that the former

(A) display luminiscence patterns different from those of most hormonal systems
(B) contain two cells that revolve around a common center
(C) possess far greater mass than other hormonal systems
(D) are more common in our bodies than other hormonal systems
(E) are the only hormonal systems that can be detected by electron microscopes

3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about "the luminiscence" mentioned in line 22?

(A) It causes certain large red blood cells cells to appear tiny to observers.
(B) It was incorrectly associated with hormonal cells in our bodies.
(C) It interferes with the clarity of photographs of most hormonal systems.
(D) It corresponds to the visible region of the light spectrum.
(E) It could not be positively identified from phtomicrograph observations.

4. According to the passage, the exchange of matter within a Clinging cell system is believed to be a process in which

(A) cell grows in mass at the expense of the other
(B) the mass of each cell remains fairly stable
(C) the mass of both cells declines
(D) both cells absorb matter emitted by other nearby cells
(E) both cells gradually return to an earlier singular state

5. The assumption that the Clinging cell phase in the evolution of some hormonal systems "must be extremely brief " (line ) is most likely based on the fact that

(A) hormones are rapidly ejected from clinging systems
(B) few Clinging cells have been detected in our bodies
(C) the cells in a clinging pair are in close proximity to each other
(D) Clinging cells vary considerably in size from one another
(E) the outbursts of Clinging cells resemble those of hormonal cells

Passage 2

Nearly forty years ago, former President Kennedy signed the National Reproductive Policy Act, this nation's first major federal law addressing federal reproductive freedom. Although the nation has now witnessed almost forty years of continuing debate 5 about abortion freedom law, a relatively new element has recent- ly entered the controversy: the use of partial birth procedures and their high risks in facilitating voluntary third trimester pregnancy terminations.

10 Before the development of techniques to facilitate partial birth abortions, when an unwanted pregnancy occurred, a govern- ment agency otten simply told a patient she could only abort during the first trimester. Doctors performing the procedures otten relied on visual observations to determine compliance with the legal time limits. 15 Most reproductive freedom professionals consider flexible legal guidelines an improvement over pre-1960 restrictions because it pro- vides a factual and scientific basis for the abortion methodology rather than an intuitive or emotional basis. Accordingly, many reproductive freedom professionals regard formal abortion laws 20 to be neutral policy tools that can be employed by the gov- ernment to make sound policy judgments that assure effi- cient and appropriate procedures.

But are abortion laws and their proponents really neutral political 25 issues? Analysis of the choices that must be made in reproductive issues makes the answer clear. Because pregnancy termination depends on choices for which there is no a priori legal method of deciding from among available assumptions, decisions ultimately depends largely, if not predominantly, on values 30 positions rather than on legal precedent . Laws must now govern partial birth abortion methodology for women's health, including a determination of whether the procedure will cause an adverse health effect; dose-response assessment of drugs, an analysis of the rela- tionship between an administered dose and the incidence of 35 the adverse health effect; exposure assessment, an analysis of the processes and pathways by which contact with a labor-inducement drug creates opportunity for exposure; and risk characterization, the process of identifying the incidence of adverse health effects under various clinical conditions-requires the appli- 40 cation of some judgment that must ultimately rely on some- thing less than legally-proven principles. Indeed, many of the choices that must be made in completing a risk assess- ment must be viewed as pure values judgments. For example, in the hazard identification portion of an assessment, the deci- 45 sion on picking a confidence level to determine statistically whether there has been a positive determination of whether a labor-inducement drug is a hazard is a pure values judgment.

Decisions on reproductive freedom based on current risk assess- 50 ment procedures should therefore be viewed primarily as eth- ical choices rather than as technically dictated conclusions. It is important in an age of increasing scientific complexity that interested parties attempt to understand the values positions and ethical issues that underlie legally derived policy 55 choices. Government must bring greater clarity to the debate about reproductive freedom through identification of the embedded values positions and issues in therapeutic abortion procedures.

6. Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Therapeutic abortion is an improvement over past methods because it is based more on factual evidence than on intuition.
(B) Former President Kennedy did more than his predecessors to protect the reproductive freedom of women by approving the use of first trimester abortion.
(C) Though perhaps more radical than previous birth control measures, partial birth abortion is a value-free process.
(D) While the concept of partial birth abortion is enticing from a scientific viewpoint, this method is so expensive that its use is impractical on a large scale.
(E) Since past abortion procedures were effective in the first trimester, the government should not have approved further restrictions on its use or implementation.

7. All of the following are explicitly mentioned in the passage as part of the adverse health effects EXCEPT

(A) visual observation
(B) exposure assessment
(C) analysis of labor-inducement drugs
(D) risk characterization
(E) dose-response assessment

8. The author most probably mentions "confidence level" (line 45) in order to

(A) demonstrate that partial birth procedures are safer than past abortion methods
(B) question the accuracy of physician's clinical observations
(C) suggest that government should eliminate ambiguities in its reproductive freedom agenda
(D) show that nonlegal principles can affect subsequent legal decisions
(E) strengthen the notion that the National Reproductive Policy Act needs to be modified

9. The author suggests which one of the following about abortion methods that predated the development of the partial birth procedure?

(A) They are considered to be completely ineffective in protecting women's health.
(B) President Kennedy's National ReproductivePolicy Act was based on their success.
(C) Many reproductive freedom professionals are not satisfied with the results produced by these methods.
(D) They are often difficult to apply because they depend on precise time limitations.
(E) The best features of these methods should be integrated into the partial birth process.

10. Which of the following words, as it appears in the passage, best supports the author's view of the role of non-legal components in the risk assessment process?

(A) improvement (line 16)
(B) neutral (line 20)
(C) adverse (line 35)
(D) opportunity (line 38)
(E) underlie (line 54)

11. The passage's reference to the "factual and scientific basis" of abortion rights process in line 17 serves which of the following functions?

(A) It explains the government's unwillingness to choose between older methods and the assessment of newer ones.
(B) It outines the differences among reproductive freedomists over the practicality of visual observation techniques.
(C) It underscores the belief of reproductive freedomists that risk assessment is a useful method for evaluating new procedures.
(D) It introduces birth control policy choices for which there is no a priori assessment method.
(E) It highlights the attitude of reproductive freedomists toward the National Reproductive Policy Act.

12. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

(A) comparing risk assessment of new procedures with earlier abortion methods
(B) explaining why government should make explicit the ethical choices involved in reproductive freedom choices
(C) highlighting government's inability to deal effectively with reproductive freedom issues
(D) reviewing the evolution of abortion methods over the past two decades
(E) proposing a new method for reproductive freedom that incorporates the best features of risk assessment

Passage 1

1. C is the correct answer. This is a main idea question and choice C matches the passage's topic and scope. Choices A, D and E are too narrow and limited, while B distorts the author's tone.

2. A is correct. Although hte question asks you to infer, it is actually a description question. Choice A is suggested in the passage's first sentence. Neither B nor C is ever suggested, while D contradicts the passage. E is tricky, but distorts the passage.

3. E is the correct choice to this inference question. It corresponds to information in paragraphs 2 and 3. Choice A is not indicated by the passage, while choice C distorts it. D seems to contrdict the passage. This is a difficult question, as the correct answer does not appear in immediately surrounding lines. In this case, the answer is suggested at the end of the previous paragraph.

4. A is correct. This is a challenging detail question with no line reference. Choice A paraphrases information at the end of paragraph 3. Choices B and C are inconsistent, while D and E are never suggested.

5. B is the correct answer. Although the question includes the word "assumption", it is actually a description question. A , D and E mention irrelevant information, while C discusses an unrelated fact. While all the choices are factually accurate, only B contains the relevant information.

Passage 2

6. Choice C correctly and elegantly sums up the author's skepticism. Choice A contradicts the author's view, while B violates the actual timeline of events. Choice D totally misses the ethical question, while E goes too far.

7. Choice A is correct. All other components appear explicitly in the four wrong choices.

8. Choice D is correct. Choices A and B refer to earlier efforts, while C comes at the very end of the passage. E has no connection with either risk assessment or the line in question.

9. Choice C is easily inferable from the passage. Choice A goes too far, while B and E aren't supported by the passage. Choice D is simply incorrect.

10. Choice E best captures the main idea. Choices A and B are not improvements, while D is too positive. Choice C is tempting, but does not capture the idea as well as E.

11. Choice C is correct. Choice A is not mentioned in the passage, while B refers to a topic on which the passage's reproductive freedomists are undivided. Choices D and E come at incorrect points in the passage to make sense.

12. Choice B well captures the overall concept of the passage. Choice A pushes too far, while C, D and E all miss the heart of the passage.