READING, PAGE 441

Top: benefits of homeschool MPs

—parents have total control of mat’ls & courses

—more quality time 4 parents w/childr

—childrn learn in safe environmt

Listening

Top: problems w/ homeschool MPs

—creating stimul & challeng environmt difficult, &

parents X always > teach than pros

— socializng w/ other kids also import 2 learn social skills

—Childrn need to experience other environmts to prep & function as adults

Sample Response

The reading passage and the lecture are both discussing parents that educate their children at home. While the reading presents the advantages of this type of

education, the listening refutes these points.

First, the reading says that homeschooling children means parents have total control over the materials used and the courses taught. Nevertheless, the listening points out that creating a stimulating learning environment is challenging and time-consuming. In addition, it is presumptuous of parents to believe that they can do a better job than education experts.

Moreover, the reading states that teaching children at home allows parents to spend much more quality time with their children, which is very satisfying. On the other hand, the lecture argues that although quality time is important, so is socializing with other children. By not going to school, children cannot develop the social skills they will need to be successful later in life.

Lastly, the reading points out that homeschooling lets children learn in a safe environment, away from bullying and violence. However, the lecture mentions that by preventing children from having these types of experiences, they will never learn how to deal with negative peer interactions. This means they will not be able to function as normal adults when they are older.

In summary, the listening opposes the points made in the reading passage.

MINI-TEST 6

READING, PAGE 441

1. Factual Information Question Answer choice C is correct because the passage stated that: 10.8 million gallons of unrefined oil were dumped into the frigid waters of a 16-kilometer-wide channel of Prince William Sound - nearly one fifth of the ship’s total cargo. Answer choice A is incorrect because in the passage it is stated that: [...]

the tanker, tasked with transporting oil from southern Alaska to Los Angeles,

California, [...] Answer choice B is incorrect because it misrepresents the information from the passage, which states that: At approximately midnight, on March 24, 1989 [...] and later: [...] on Bligh Reef, about 25 miles south of the Port of Valdez. Answer choice D is incorrect because the passage says: Bligh Reef, about 25 miles south of

the Port of Valdez. 10.8 million gallons of unrefined oil were dumped into the frigid waters of a 16-kilometer-wide channel of Prince William Sound [...].

2. Inference Question Answer choice C is correct because the passage states that:

The damage that ensued was almost too severe to assess, which means that scientists were able to assess, or measure, the damage, but it was very difficult to do so. Answer choice A is incorrect because it is a statement of fact rather than an inference of what is in the passage: The huge oil slick spread rapidly and coated more than 14,000 kilometers (9,000 miles) of shoreline. Answer choice B is incorrect because this choice too is a statement of fact, not an inference of what is in the passage: Though actual numbers can never be known, it is believed that at least a half million birds, thousands of seals and otters, quite a few whales, and an untold number of fish were killed as a result, [...]. Answer choice D is incorrect because it misrepresents the information from the passage. Although it is stated that the oil spill affected many thousands of miles of shoreline, it is not stated that this damage was any worse than what other parts of the marine environment incurred.

3. Vocabulary Question Answer choice A is correct because both coated and covered mean when something is blanketed with another substance, in this case, oil. Answer choice B is incorrect because warmed, though it can be related to covered in the sense of covering oneself to stay warm, is not appropriate in this context. Answer choice C is incorrect because filled does not mean the same thing as covered because to cover something means that only the outer part is affected, whereas to fill means that the inside is affected. Answer choice D is incorrect because

blackened and covered are not synonyms. Though the oil turned the shoreline black, this does not mean that the word cover means to always turn something black.

4. Referent Question Answer choice B is correct because the phrase “the fact” is used to refer to an event that has been previously mentioned in a sentence. In this

instance, the event mentioned was the oil spill. Answer choice A is incorrect because replacing the phrase “the fact” with this information does not make sense.

Answer choice C is incorrect because we know from the context of the sentence that the phrase “the fact” is referring to an event, not an area. Answer choice D is

incorrect for the same reason as mentioned previously for answer choice A. The sense of the entire sentence is disrupted if we replace the phrase “the fact” with this information.

5. Factual Information Question Answer choice A is correct because the passage stated that: Decades before this disaster, environmentalists had predicted just such an enormous oil spill in this area because of the treacherous nature of the waters due to the reefs and icebergs that lie just beneath the surface of the water, as well as the many violent storms there. Answer choice B is incorrect because in the passage it is stated that: They had urged that oil be transported to the continental United States by land-based pipeline rather than by oil tanker [...]. Answer choice C is incorrect because it misrepresents the information from the passage, which states that: They had urged that oil be transported [...] by undersea pipeline to reduce the potential damage to the environment posed by the threat of an oil spill. Answer choice D is incorrect because the passage does not mention that the

environmentalists did not support the drilling of oil in Alaska, only that the method of transporting it back to the Continental U.S. needed to be changed.

6. Vocabulary Question Answer choice C is correct because both perilous and treacherous mean when something is extremely dangerous. Answer choice A is incorrect because unreliable does not necessarily mean that something is dangerous, and therefore is not appropriate in this context. Answer choice B is incorrect because deceptive, which means that something cannot be trusted, does

not mean the same thing as treacherous. Answer choice D is incorrect because protected and treacherous are exact opposites. If something is protected, it is safe, not dangerous.

7. Sentence Insertion Question Answer choice D is correct because the boldfaced sentence is referring to what was said in the previous sentence in the passage about the Alyeska consortium. Answer choice A is incorrect because putting the boldfaced sentence here would make it the topic sentence of the paragraph, which is not appropriate in this case, not to mention the fact that the information it refers to has not yet been stated. Answer choice B is incorrect because if we insert the boldfaced sentence at this point would mean that the environmentalists’ urging was wrong, which is not true. Answer choice C is incorrect because to insert the boldfaced sentence at this point would break up the sequence of facts.

8. Purpose Question Answer choice A is correct because the phrase “wishful thinking”

is used to express the idea that a thought or opinion is not realistic. Answer choice B is incorrect because we learn in the passage that the idea of a pipeline being built was not supported. Answer choice C is incorrect because in the passage it is not stated that the oil companies hoped for a quick cleanup, but that they did not believe an oil spill was likely to happen at all. Answer choice D is incorrect because this information is never mentioned in the passage.

9. Vocabulary Question Answer choice B is correct because steps and measures in this context both mean when an action is taken to affect a change. Answer choice A is incorrect because laws, though at times synonymous with measures, is not appropriate in this context because at this point in the passage, the actions of companies, not the government, are being discussed. Answer choice C is incorrect because maneuvers is the literal translation of an action, whereas in the passage the word measures is used in a more abstract way. Answer choice D is incorrect

because quantities and measures are not synonyms. A quantity is a measurement, not a measure.

10. Negative Factual Information Question Answer choice D is correct because it is stated that: [...] thousands of untrained workers had to be hired to help with the clean-up effort. This meant that replacing equipment such as the booms used to contain the oil and channel it to disposal vessels became a regular occurence.

Answer choice A is incorrect because the passage states that: However, when the Exxon Valdez spill actually occurred, Exxon and Alyeska were unprepared, in terms of both equipment and personnel, to deal with the spill. Answer choice B is incorrect because the passage mentions: In addition, the company spent further billions in fines and damages to the state of Alaska, the federal government, commercial fishermen, property owners, and others harmed by the disaster. Answer choice C is incorrect because the passage says: Exxon ended up spending billions of dollars on the clean-up itself, which consisted of not only the workers and the equipment, but also the transportation, food, lodging, logistical support and supervision necessary to ensure that the job was done right.

11. Inference Question Answer choice C is correct because the passage states that:

As a result, thousands of untrained workers who had little to no experience operating the specialized machinery used in the aftermath of an oil spill, had to be hired to help with the clean-up effort. This meant (that) replacing equipment such as the booms used to contain the oil [...]. We can infer that the booms needed to be replaced frequently because the workers did not know how to operate them properly. Answer choice A is incorrect because it is never mentioned or alluded to that the equipment was of poor quality, only that there was not enough of it, or qualified staff to use it.

Answer choice B is incorrect because it is a false inference. Again, this information,

like that in answer choice A implies that the equipment was of poor quality, which is never stated in the passage. Answer choice D is incorrect because it misrepresents the information from the passage. Although it is stated that the oil spill was very costly to clean up, it is not implied that only a few booms had to be replaced.

Instead, it is stated that replacing this equipment was a regular occurrence.

12. Paraphrasing Question Answer choice D is correct because it represents a correct paraphrase of the central ideas in the highlighted sentence. Answer choice A is incorrect because in the highlighted sentence, it is stated that all new tankers have this feature, but that many old ones do not. Answer choice B is incorrect because it is incomplete in that it does not mention the fact that an oil spill is much more costly than the cost of installing a double hull. Answer choice C is incorrect because it states that all tankers now have double hulls, which is not what the highlighted sentence mentions. Also, it states that oil spills are now more common, which is also not stated in the original sentence.

13. Summary Question Answer choices 3, 4, and 6 are correct. This is because these are all major points in the passage about how the Exxon Valdez oil spill could have been prevented. Answer choice1 is incorrect because although the passage mentions this, it is a minor detail, and therefore not an appropriate choice. Answer choice 2 is incorrect because it contains false information in that it states that Alyeska and Exxon knew that a spill was unlikely. The passage does not say this.

Rather, it states that they thought the probability of a tanker spill in the area was extremely low. Answer choice 5 is incorrect because it is a minor point discussed in the reading passage, unrelated to preventing the Exxon Valdez spill, but actions taken after the fact to prevent future spills.