Social Science
Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage and supplementary material. This passage is adapted from David Z.Hambrick, “Winnin SCRABBLE and the Nature of Expertise,” © 2015 Scientific American.
1 The passage makes the most extensive use of which kind of evidence?
A) expert testimony.
B) scientific studies.
C) secondary sources.
D) statistical analysis.
2 Which choice provides the best evidence for the claim that two people performing the same activity may be using different areas of the brain?
A) line 19-22(“Knowledge...words”)
B) line 36-41(“In one...little”)
C) line 68-70(“fMRI...brain”)
D) line 70-74(“The major...did”)
3 Evidence from the passage suggests that elite SCRABBLE players would be most likely to outperform non-elite SCRABBLE players in which of the following?
A) Gaining admission to a selective university.
B) Playing a board game like chess.
C) Solving a mathematical equation.
D) Learning a foreign language.
4 The author implies that people who experience great success in a given activity are often born with
A) advantages uniquely suited to that activity.
B) a drive to succeed in any activity.
C) parents who value success in that activity.
D) a desire to participate in many activities.
5 The main effect of the term “hardware” line 9 is to suggest that the human brain.
A) is more like a computer than people realize.
B) has particular characteristics that cannot be changed.
C) can be essentially reprogrammed through people’s actions.
D) can be improved through the use of computers.
6 Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Line 32-35(“Thus...activities”)
B) Line 41-44(“Overall...group”)
C) Line 55-58(“Visuospatial...play”)
D) Line 77-82(“For...game”)
7 As used in line 37, “objective” most nearly means
A) perceptible
B) sensory
C) intentional
D) unbiased
8 The main purpose of paragraph 3 is to
A) trace the non-cognitive factors associated with SCRABBLE expertise.
B) show that average SCRABBLE players lack the genetic advantages of elite players.
C) examine the value of childhood training in predicting SCRABBLE success.
D) demonstrate that hard work is all it takes to become an elite SCRABBLE player.
9 According to the chart,the question to which the smallest percentage of college students answered “yes”mainly tested the students’
A) vocabulary knowledge
B) critical thinking
C) working memory
D) visuospatial reasoning
10 Based on the passage and the chart, college students playing SCRABBLE are more likely than elite players to
A) make an effort to visualize the board from a different perspective,because they are less able to rely on visuospatial reasoning.
B) have difficulty remembering which letters have been played,because they use their working memory less.
C) forget to study,because they less invested in winning any particular game.
D) spend time learning words,because they have less inherent talent than elite players.
11 According to the chart, elite SCRABBLE players are most likely to do which of the following?
A) Study the definitions of works.
B) Keep track of letters played.
C) Memorize point values.
D) Memorize words.
