Answer Questions 1–3 based on the following passage.

     For most Americans and Europeans, this should be the best time in all of human history to live. Survival — the very purpose of all life — is nearly guaranteed for large parts of the world, especially in the “West.” This should allow people a sense of security and contentment. If life is no longer as Thomas Hobbes famously wrote, “nasty, brutish, and short,” then should it not be pleasant, dignified, and long? To know that tomorrow is nearly guaranteed, along with thousands of additional tomorrows, should be enough to render hundreds of millions of people awe-struck with happiness. And modern humans, especially in the West, have every opportunity to be free, even as they enjoy ever-longer lives. Why is it, then, that so many people feel unhappy and trapped? The answer lies in the constant pressure of trying to meet needs that don’t actually exist.
     The term “need” has been used with less and less precision in modern life. Today, many things are described as needs, including fashion items, SUVs, vacations, and other luxuries. People say, “I need a new car,” when their current vehicle continues to function. People with many pairs of shoes may still say they “need” a new pair. Clearly, this careless usage is inaccurate; neither the new car nor the additional shoes are truly “needed.”
     What is a need then? The Oxford English Dictionary defines the condition of “need” as “lack of means of subsistence.” This definition points the way toward an understanding of what a need truly is: A need is something required for survival. Therefore, the true needs of life are air, food, water, and, in cold climates, shelter. Taken together, this is the stuff of survival. Because the purpose of life is to survive — or more broadly, to live — then these few modest requirements are all that a modern human truly needs. Other things make life exciting or enjoyable, and these are often referred to as “the purpose of life” — but this is surely an exaggeration. These additional trappings are mere wants and not true needs.

1. Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?

(A) Modern Americans and Europeans feel unhappy and trapped because they don’t distinguish true needs from mere wants.
(B) There are no human needs, and all so-called needs are merely wants.
(C) Human needs can never be satisfied in this life and, therefore, people will always be unhappy.
(D) The satisfaction of human needs has resulted in nearly universal happiness for people in the United States and Europe.
(E) There is no difference between needs and wants; the desire for wealth and power is just as real as the need for food and shelter.

2. According to the author, which of the following is an example of a fulfillment of a need?

(A) Adding a roof to block moonlight from shining on a rudimentary sleeping structure built on a tropical island
(B) Creating a pair of slippers from deer hide to protect one’s bare feet from being cut by sharp rocks and stones
(C) Traveling several miles through dense foliage to obtain a particular berry, known for its sweetness and antioxidant properties, to accompany one’s regular bland diet of rice and beans
(D) Climbing a steep rock face for the exhilaration and sense of accomplishment
(E) Digging a hole to locate a new water supply after one’s prior single source of refreshment has run out

3. Which of the following best defines the way the first paragraph of the passage is organized?

(A) The author poses a question and provides context and then suggests an answer to the question.
(B) The author presents an argument and develops that argument by referencing a famous quote that reiterates the point that precedes it.
(C) The author presents an argument and then supports that argument by defining an essential term.
(D) The author compares life in one area of the world to life in another area of the world and shows how one way of thinking about life is better than the other.
(E) The author poses a rhetorical question and explains why modern humans are incapable of answering that question.

Answer Questions 4–6 based on the following passage.

     A logarithmic unit known as the decibel (dB) is used to represent the intensity of sound. The decibel scale is similar to the Richter scale used to measure earthquakes. On the Richter scale, a 7.0 earthquake is ten times stronger than a 6.0 earthquake. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 dB is equivalent to a tenfold increase in intensity or power. Thus, a sound registering 80 dB is ten times louder than a 70 dB sound. In the range of sounds audible to humans, a whisper has an intensity of 20 dB; 140 dB (a jet aircraft taking off nearby) is the threshold of immediate pain.
     The perceived intensity of sound is not simply a function of volume; certain frequencies of sound appear louder to the human ear than do other frequencies, even at the same volume. Decibel measurements of noise are, therefore, often “A-weighted” to take into account the fact that some sound wavelengths are perceived as being particularly loud. A soft whisper is 20 dB, but on the A-weighted scale, the whisper is 30 dBA. This is because human ears are particularly attuned to human speech. Quiet conversation has a sound level of about 60 dBA.
     Continuous exposure to sounds over 80 dBA can eventually result in mild hearing loss, while exposure to louder sounds can cause much greater damage in a very short period of time. Emergency sirens, motorcycles, chainsaws, construction activities, and other mechanical or amplified noises are often in the 80 to 120 dBA range. Sound levels above 120 dBA begin to be felt inside the human ear as discomfort and eventually as pain.
     Unfortunately, the greatest damage to hearing is done voluntarily. Music, especially when played through headphones, can grow to be deceptively loud. The ear becomes numbed by the loud noise, and the listener often turns up the volume until the music approaches 120 dBA. This level of noise can cause permanent hearing loss in a short period of time, and in fact, many young Americans now have a degree of hearing loss once seen only in much older persons.

4. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) argue for government mandates that decibel levels produced by headphones be reduced.
(B) compare the scale used to measure intensity of sound to the scale used to measure the strength of earthquakes.
(C) describe the way that sound intensity is measured and explain its effect on human hearing.
(D) define which volume levels and sound exposure times are safe for humans and which are harmful.
(E) warn readers about the harmful effects of continuous exposure to sounds over 80 dBA.

5. The author mentions that “emergency sirens, motorcycles, chainsaws, construction activities, and other mechanical or amplified noises” fall in the 80 to 120 dBA range. It can be inferred from this statement that these noises

(A) are unwanted, outside intrusions common in urban life.
(B) can cause hearing loss with constant exposure.
(C) are more dangerous to hearing than sounds of the same dBA level from headphones.
(D) are loud enough to cause immediate pain.
(E) have no negative impacts.

6. The second paragraph of the passage states, “Decibel measurements of noise are therefore often ‘A-weighted’ to take into account the fact that some sound wavelengths are perceived as being particularly loud. A soft whisper is 20 dB, but on the A-weighted scale the whisper is 30 dBA.” Therefore, for any particular sound, the A-weighted decibel level differs from the unweighted decibel level in that

(A) the A-weighted number is 10 points higher than the unweighted number.
(B) the A-weighted number is based on the way the noise is perceived in the human ear.
(C) the unweighted number is always higher than the A-weighted number.
(D) the A-weighted number is measured by more accurate instruments.
(E) only on the unweighted scale does a 10 dB increase in sound equal a tenfold increase in intensity.

Answer Questions 7–10 based on the following passage.

This passage is an excerpt from Microeconomics Theory and Applications, 9th Edition, by Edgar K. Browning and Mark A. Zupan (Wiley):

     In 1980, Washington, D.C., city officials, hard-pressed for tax revenues, levied a 6 percent tax on the sale of gasoline. As a first approximation (and a reasonable one, it turns out), this tax could be expected to increase the price of gasoline by 6 percent. The elasticity of demand is a key factor in the consequences of this action, because the more sharply the sales of gasoline fall, the less tax revenue the city will raise. Presumably, city officials hoped that gasoline sales would be largely unaffected by the higher price. Within a few months, however, the amount of gasoline sold had fallen by 33 percent.* A 6 percent price increase producing a 33 percent quantity reduction means the price elasticity was about 5.5.
     The sharp sales drop meant that tax revenue was not increased. Further indications were that when consumers had fully adjusted to the tax, tax revenues would actually decrease. (There had been a 10 cent per gallon tax before the 6 percent tax was added, so although the 6 percent levy was raising revenue, the gain was largely offset by the loss in revenue from the initial 10 cent tax following the reduction in sales.) This was not a general increase in gasoline prices but a rise only within the D.C. city limits. Gasoline sold in the District of Columbia is a narrowly defined product that has good substitutes — gasoline sold in nearby Virginia and Maryland. Higher gasoline prices in the District of Columbia, when the prices charged in Virginia and Maryland are unchanged, indicate high elasticity in the market.
     No economist would be surprised at the results of this tax, but apparently city officials were. Observed one city councilman: “We think of ourselves here in the District as an island to ourselves. But we’ve got to realize that we’re not. We’ve got to realize that Maryland and Virginia are right out there, and there’s nothing to stop people from crossing over the line.” The 6 percent gasoline tax was repealed five months after it was levied.

*“Barry Asks Gasoline Tax Repeal,” Washington Post, November 2, 1980, p. A1.

7. The author is primarily concerned with doing which of the following?

(A) Arguing for increased gas taxes
(B) Arguing against increased gas taxes
(C) Ridiculing all local government officials
(D) Advancing a particular ideology
(E) Explaining certain principles of supply and demand

8. It can be inferred from the passage that elasticity in the last sentence of the second paragraph refers to

(A) fluctuations in the price of gasoline in Washington, D.C.
(B) fluctuations in the price of gasoline in Virginia and Maryland.
(C) changes in the amount of tax collected at 6 percent.
(D) changes in the number of vehicles in the region.
(E) fluctuations in the demand for gasoline sold in Washington, D.C.

9. For which of the following reasons does the second paragraph of the passage mention the original gas tax of 10 cents per gallon?

(A) To show that Washington, D.C., residents were already overtaxed
(B) To distinguish between a straight 10 cent per gallon tax and a percent tax
(C) To explain why residents should not be subjected to different kinds of taxes
(D) To contrast the 10 cent tax that was included in the pump price and the 6 percent sales tax that was added after the sale
(E) To show that with a sufficient decrease in gasoline sales, the city would actually lose money despite the higher tax

10. The passage suggests that a reason the tax increase failed to raise tax revenues in the District of Columbia is that

(A) District of Columbia consumers decreased the amount of fuel they purchased and limited their overall vehicle usage.
(B) the amount of gas consumed by District of Columbia residents in their commute to nearby states was sufficiently negligible to justify purchasing fuel outside the city limits.
(C) consumers in the District of Columbia were upset that city council members would decrease fuel taxes to increase tax revenues.
(D) as a result of the tax increase, residents of Virginia and Maryland discontinued making gas purchases in the District of Columbia.
(E) District of Columbia city council members failed to convince legislators in nearby states to increase their fuel taxes.