501 Critical Reading Questions

e, the overall purpose of the passage is to teach asbestos aware-
ness in the home and school.
372.
c. The tone of this passage is informative, serving to instruct the
general reader about asbestos. Choices a and d (cautionary and
admonitory) are synonyms, and while the passage does show the
dangers of asbestos, the general tone is not cautionary. Apathetic
(choice b) means indifferent and idiosyncratic (choice e) means
distinctive, neither of which apply.
373.
b. The author is writing for a layperson, meaning a homeowner,
parent, or student. Choices a and e describe professionals, while
c and d describe people you would find in a school setting, all of
whom may be interested in this information, but none of whom
is the specific, targeted audience.
374.
a. The tone is best described as one of fascinated discovery
unfolding during a lecture. A clue to the tone is the use of excla-
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501
Critical Reading Questions

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mation points and the excited, choppy delivery of Langdon’s
information. Choices b or e may be considered as the tone of
Passage 1. Choice c and d are not supported by the text.
375.
c. The mathematical ratio PHI is also known as the Divine Pro-
portion. This is directly stated in lines 17–18 of Passage 1, and
lines 22–23 of Passage 2.
376.
c. Ubiquity is used here to show that even though the concept of
PHI in nature seems unusual or unique at first, it is actually a
very common and predictable occurrence. The other choices
are not supported by the passage.
377.
b. PHI is not the area of a regular pentagon. All other answers
describe an aspect of PHI as found in the two passages.
378.
e. The subject of both paragraphs is Fibonacci spirals. Sunflower
seeds, pinecones, and pineapples are mentioned as examples of
the Fibonacci spiral.
379.