1 1

Questions 1-11 are based on the following passages. this high on a test are essentially zero. Ruthsatz and colleagues
concluded that a superior working memory is one characteristic
This passage is adapted from David Z. Hambrick, “What Makes a that prodigies in art, music, and math have in common.
Prodigy?” ©2015 by Scientific American. Prodigies also exhibit an unusual commitment to their
50 domain, which the developmental psychologist Ellen Winner
What explains prodigies? How can a person accomplish so calls a “rage to master.” Winner describes children who
much so fast? Psychologists have long debated this question. possess this quality in the following terms: “Often one cannot
According to one account, it is possible that most anyone could tear these children away from activities in their area of
Line be a prodigy, with the right environment. As the late giftedness, whether they involve an instrument, a computer, a
5 psychologist Michael Howe argued, “With sufficient energy 55 sketch pad, or a math book. These children have a powerful
and dedication on the parents’ part, it is possible that it may not interest in the domain in which they have high ability, and they
be all that difficult to produce a child prodigy.” Extraordinary can focus so intently on work in this domain that they lose
opportunity is indeed a theme that runs through the biographies sense of the outside world.” Winner argues that this single-
of many prodigies. mindedness is a part of innate talent rather than a cause of it—a
10 However, recent research indicates that basic cognitive 60 convergence of genetically-influenced aptitude, interest, and
abilities known to be influenced by genetic factors also play a drive that predisposes a person to obsessively engage in some
role in prodigious achievement. In the most extensive study of activity.
prodigies to date, the psychologist Joanne Ruthsatz and her Consistent with Winner’s thesis, results of a recent study of
colleagues administered the Stanford Binet intelligence test to more than 10,000 twins by Miriam Mosing, Fredrik Ullén, and
15 18 prodigies—five in art, eight in music, and five in math. 65 their colleagues at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute revealed that
There was a wide range of IQs in the sample, from 100—the a common set of genes influence both music aptitude and the
average for the general population—to 147—well above the propensity to practice—an example of a phenomenon known as
usual cutoff for “intellectually gifted.” However, with an genetic pleiotropy, which occurs when one gene (or set of
average score of 140 (above the 99th percentile), nearly all of genes) influences multiple traits.
20 the prodigies did extraordinarily well on the tests of working 70 Taken together, these findings add to a growing body of
memory. Analogous to the central processing unit of a evidence indicating that exceptional performance in music, the
computer, working memory is a cognitive system responsible arts, sports, science, and other complex domains is, at its core,
for carrying out the mental operations involved in complex determined multiply—the product of both environmental
tasks such as problem solving and language comprehension. It factors and of genetically-influenced traits. More generally,
25 is what you use when you compute a tip for a dinner check in 75 psychologists who study expertise are moving beyond the
your head, or when you hold in mind the steps of a complex question of whether experts are “born” or “made.” As the
skill you are trying to learn. psychologist Jonathan Wai put it, it is increasingly clear that
Working memory is measured with tests that involve both “Experts are born, then made.”
remembering information for a short period of time and
30 manipulating that information in some way. For example, in
backward digit span, the test-taker is read a sequence of
Prodigies' Mean Scores on the Stanford-Binet
random digits, such as 8 3 2 9 5 1 3 7 5 0. The goal is then to
Intelligence Test by Domain
recall the digits back in the reverse order—0 5 7 3 1 5 9 2 3 8
for the preceding sequence. As measured by tests like these, Full Scale IQ Working Memory
35 people differ substantially in the capacity of their working Standard Score Standard Score
memory system—some people have a “bigger” working
Art 108.4 132
memory than other people. Moreover, this variation is
substantially influenced by genetic factors, with estimates of Music 129.14 148.38
heritability typically around 50%.
Math 139.8 134.8
40 With an average score of 148, the music prodigies in the
Ruthsatz study were especially high in working memory (the Mean 126.18 140.06
average for the math prodigies was 135 and for art prodigies Total Score
was 132). In fact, all eight of the music prodigies were at or
above the 99th percentile, and four were at or above the 99.9th Adapted from Joanne Ruthsatz et al. "The Cognitive Bases of Exceptional Abilities in
45 percentile. The odds of eight randomly selected people scoring Child Prodigies by Domain: Similarities and differences." ©2014 by Elervier Inc.

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1 4
The main purpose of the first paragraph is to Which choice provides the best evidence that the
A) present the belief that the surroundings in which scores received by the prodigies in the Ruthsatz study
a child is raised could cause a child to become a cannot be attributed entirely to chance?
prodigy. A) lines 37-39 (“Moreover ... 50%”)
B) characterize a debate among psychologists as to B) lines 40-43 (“With ... 132”)
why prodigies possess certain talents that the
general population lacks. C) lines 43-45 (“ln fact ... percentile”)

C) examine the advanced cognitive abilities and D) lines 45-46 (“The odds ... zero”)
privileges that many prodigies share.
D) detail the astonishing speed with which prodigies 5
can complete a task.
ln the context of the quotations by Ellen Winner the
main effect of the word “rage” in line 51 is to
2 A) acknowledge the resentment that prodigies may
feel as a result of their gifts.
ln the passage, the author mentions calculating a tip
and learning the steps of a complex skill primarily in B) suggest that the lives of prodigies are frequently
order to characterized by conflict.
A) provide examples of tasks that involve the use of C) emphasize the extreme nature of an aspect of
working memory. prodigies’ behavior.
B) indicate two practices at which prodigies D) indicate that prodigies have intensely active
generally excel. imaginations.
C) reinforce the idea that any person can be a
prodigy.
6
D) identify two tasks that prodigies completed on
the intelligence test. ln line 60, “convergence” most nearly means a
A) movement.

3 B) approach.
C) union.
As used in line 35, “capacity” most nearly means
D) succession.
A) qualification.
B) number.
C) duty.
D) extent.

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7 10
Based on the passage, it can most reasonably be Which comparison of the prodigies’ scores is best
inferred that genetics help to determine prodigies’ supported by information in the table?
skills and the A) While the math prodigies earned a higher
A) likelihood that the prodigy will be motivated to mean Full Scale IQ standard score than the art
improve their skills. prodigies, the art prodigies earned a higher mean
Working Memory standard score.
B) decision to dissociate from their peers who lack
similar skills. B) While the music prodigies earned the highest
mean Working Memory standard score of
C) environments that parents create to help their prodigies in any domain, they earned a lower
children who are prodigies to advance. Full Scale IQ standard score than their math
D) attitude that prodigies have toward the areas of counterparts.
their giftedness as they grow into adults. C) While the art prodigies earned a mean Working
Memory standard score higher than that of the
average for the general population, their mean
8 Full Scale IQ standard score was slightly lower
Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to than the average score of the general population.
the previous question? D) While prodigies in all three domains earned high
A) lines 51-55 (“Winner ... book”) Working Memory standard scores, their mean
Full Scale IQ standard scores were all lower than
B) lines 55-58 (“These ... world”) researchers had expected.
C) lines 63-69 (“Consistent ... multiple traits”)
D) lines 70-74 (“Taken ... genetically-influenced traits”)
11
The data in the table best support a finding that is
9 summarized in which lines of the passage?
According to the table, the highest mean Full Scale A) lines 12-15 (“In the ... math”)
IQ standard score attained by a group of prodigies in
a single domain was B) lines 28-30 (“Working ... way”)

A) 134.8. C) lines 34-37 (‘As measured ... people”)

B) 139.8. D) lines 46-48 (“Ruthsatz ... common”)

C) 140.06.
D) 148.38.

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 1 1
Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage. public health community felt sufficiently empowered to
proclaim “Health for All by the Year 2000”. Average life
Adapted from Colin Butler, "Human Carrying Capacity and Human 40 expectancy continued to zoom upwards almost everywhere.
Health." © 2004 by Colin Butler. The passage refers to carrying The introduction of safe contraception contributed to a rapid
capacity, or the maximum population size of a species that an fertility decline in many countries. But while the rate of global
environment can support. population growth declined from its peak in the late 1960s, the
absolute increment of increase in annual global population
The question of human overpopulation and its relationship 45 continued to grow. Most population-related scientists,
to human carrying capacity has been controversial for over two including food scientists and demographers, as well as US
centuries. In 1798 the Reverend Thomas Malthus put forward President Jimmy Carter, continued to be very concerned about
Line the hypothesis that population growth would exceed the growth global overpopulation. In 1970, the father of the Green
5 of resources, leading to the periodic reduction of human Revolution, the agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, was
numbers by either “positive checks”, such as disease, famine, 50 awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In his Nobel lecture, Borlaug
and war, or “preventive checks”, by which (in the absence of warned that the success of the Green Revolution would buy a
contraception) Malthus meant restrictions on marriage. This breathing space for humankind of three decades, unless
“Malthusian view” was rapidly accepted by most politicians, equivalent action was taken to reduce fertility rates.
10 demographers, and the general public, and remained popular
until fairly recently.
Malthus's worst fears were not borne out through the
Historical and Projected World Population Growth, 1950-2100;
century following his death in 1834—food production largely
UN Estimates Based on Rates of Fertility.
kept pace with the slowly growing global population. However,
15 soon after 1934, the global population began to rise steeply as
antibiotics, vaccines, and technology increased life expectancy.
By the 1960s, concerns of a mismatch between global
population and global food supply peaked—expressed in books
such as Paul Ehrlich's 1968 The Population Bomb. This book
20 predicted a future scarred by increasing famine, epidemic, and
war—the three main Malthusian positive checks.
In 1966, United States President Lyndon Johnson shipped
wheat to India to avert a famine on the condition that the
country accelerate its already vigorous family planning
25 campaign. Johnson was part of an unbroken series of US
presidents concerned with the harmful effects of rapid
population growth in developing countries. This line extended
(at least) from John F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter. George H.
W. Bush was also sympathetic to this view, prior to becoming Adapted from Elizabeth Leahy Madsen, "How Did We Arrive at Seven Billion
- and Where Do We Go From Here?" ©2011 by Environmental Change and
30 vice president in 1981. Security Program, Woodrow Wilson Informational Center for Scholars.
But the 1970s surprised population watchers. Instead of
being a period shadowed by calamitous famine, the new crop
strains introduced by the “Green Revolution” (especially grains
such as rice, wheat, and maize) caused a dramatic increase in
35 the global production of cereals, the main source of energy in
the global diet. Among the development community, despair
turned into cautious optimism. By the end of the decade, the

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 1 1
1 4
The primary purpose of the passage is to ln the second paragraph (lines 12-21), the words
“fears,” “concerns” and “scarred” primarily serve to
A) assert that global overpopulation will cease to be
a threat because new methods of food supply and A) characterize potential outcomes of the impending
contraception will keep it at bay indefinitely. global shortage of cereal grains.
B) raise the argument that the global population B) emphasize the anxiety and uncertainty
has increased in the twentieth century due to surrounding predictions regarding
vaccines, antibiotics, and technological advances overpopulation.
in health care.
C) contrast critical predictions with an ultimately
C) introduce the idea that global population growth positive outcome resulting from increased life
has continued to be a serious concern despite expectancies.
advances in agriculture and contraception.
D) establish a history of apprehension regarding
D) emphasize that government policies concerning overpopulation and its influence on incorrect
family planning and food production are future prognoses.
absolutely necessary in keeping global population
growth under control.
5
ln line 29, "sympathetic to" most nearly means
2
A) caring for.
The author implies that Reverend Thomas Malthus
was influential because he B) agreeable with.
A) correctly predicted the future outcomes of global C) supportive of.
overpopulation.
D) compassionate toward.
B) developed a framework for balancing population
growth and resources.
6
C) was right about a potential lack of food even
though he was wrong about overpopulation. The author’s discussion of the “Green Revolution" in
D) invited controversial debates regarding population paragraph 4 (line 33) primarily serves to
control and its risks. A) provide a positive contrast to the dire predictions
made elsewhere in the passage.

3 B) reassure readers that unexpected agricultural

inventions mean they have nothing to fear.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
C) offer evidence that alternative outcomes to
answer to the previous question?
overpopulation and famine are possible and likely.
A) lines 3-8 (“In ... marriage”)
D) warn readers not to be lulled into a false sense
B) lines 8-11 (“This ... recently”) of security by a small number of beneficial
C) lines 12-14 (“Malthus’s ... population”) agricultural advances.

D) lines 14-16 (“However ... expectancy”)

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7 10
It can reasonably be inferred that Borlaug viewed the According to the graph, if the High Fertility rate is
dramatic increase in cereal production as maintained
A) a smart move certain to eradicate future famines A) the world’s population will return to 1950 levels
and keep the global population balanced. by the year 2100.
B) an untested approach based on the belief that the B) the world’s population will roughly double
risk of overpopulation outweighs the benefits of between 2010 and 2100.
reducing hunger.
C) the world’s population will remain constant
C) a quick fix that will be unsuccessful in keeping between 2010 and 2100.
the global population in check even if additional
D) the world’s population will approximately
measures are undertaken.
quadruple between 2010 and 2100.
D) a partial solution to global overpopulation that
will fail if other factors are not addressed.
11

8 The graph indicates that the population projections

for Constant Fertility and High Fertility rates begin to
Which choice provides the best evidence for the diverge significantly in which time span?
answer to the previous question?
A) 2000-2020
A) lines 39-40 (“Average ... everywhere”)
B) 2020-2040
B) lines 42-45 (“But ... grow”)
C) 2040-2060
C) lines 45-48 (“Most ... overpopulation”)
D) 2060-2080
D) lines 48-53 (“In ... rates”)

9
How does the graph relate to the passage?
A) It demonstrates the truth of the assertion
that fertility rates will match increasing food
production over the next century.
B) It illustrates the point that the rate of global
population growth has declined since the 1960s
due to contraception.
C) It provides support for the idea that there will be
a drastic increase in global population if fertility
rates remain constant.
D) It reinforces the claim that the Green Revolution
will be able to meet the needs of a rising
population.

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