Social Science
Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage and supplementary material.
This passage is excerpted from Kasley Killam, “A Hug A Day Keeps the Doctor Away,” ©Scientific American 2015.
1 The first paragraph serves mainly to
A) provide background information necessary to understand the scientific study.
B) Introduce the scientific study through a personal anecdote.
C) show that not all scientific experiments need to be conducted in a laboratory.
D) describe the author’s experience as a subject of the scientific study.
2 In the second paragraph,the author implies that the study shows hugs to be
A) the only proven method of preventing sickness.
B) less successful than social support in protecting people from colds and other illnesses.
C) not conclusively effective at helping people maintain good health.
D) one of several ways to guard against some illnesses.
3 Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question?
A) line 13-15(“A study...sick”)
B) line 17-20(“You...ill”)
C) line 20-23(“But...sickness”)
D) line 23-25(“This...health”)
4 As used in lines 30, “expressions” most nearly means
A) demonstrations
B) declarations
C) revelations
D) looks
5 As used in lines 32, “giving out” most nearly means
A) distributing
B) donating
C) conferring
D) sacrificing
6. Which of the following can be inferred about the “stress-buffering effect” of social support?
A) People who experience a lot of conflict are more likely than other people to develop severe cold symptoms,regardless of their level of social support.
B) People who experience a lot of conflict but have a lot of social support are less likely to develop severe cold symptoms than people who experience little conflict but have little social support.
C) People who experience little conflict but still feel stressed about it are more likely than other people to develop moderate to severe cold symptoms.
D) People who experience little conflict but do not feel stressed about it always have significantly higher levels of social support than those who feel stressed.
7 Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) lines 48-49(“The most...effect”)
B) lines 52-55(“Yet...deprived”)
C) lines 55-57(“Likewise...interactions”)
D) lines 59-62(“The same...are”)
8 The phrase “friends, family, coworkers, and community”(line 61) primarily serves to
A) clarify that only some social connections are beneficial to health.
B) illustrate the kinds of social ties to which the author is referring.
C) describe the groups of participants in the researcher’s previous study.
D) provide examples of people from whom readers might be exposed to illness.
9 According to the graph,the average incidence of colds for participants who had low-diversity social groups was closest to
A) 30%
B) 40%
C) 60%
D) 70%
10 According to the passage,the link shown in the graph between high social diversity and a strong immune system
A) illustrates the “stress-buffering effect”of social support.
B) proves the value of frequent hugs.
C) shows that people with many social ties have less conflict in their lives than other people do.
D) cannot be explained by science.
11 According to the graph,the average incidence of colds for participants who reported 5 types of social relationships was closest to
A) 30%
B) 40%
C) 50%
D) 60%
