1. Just as deep honesty does not mean total transparency, deep selflessness does not require total self-abnegation. A deeply selfless leader may exhibit forms of self-regard, or even self-indulgence. This can include a needed retreat from others in order to gather strength, or private behaviors that may assault conventional sensibilities.
From the context of the passage, you can assume that

2. The first red giant phase ends abruptly when there is no longer enough hydrogen available to continue the fusion process that leads to the creation of helium. As the core temperature soars to 100 million degrees Celsius, the intense heat and pressure initiate nuclear reactions that use helium as fuel. In this process, three helium atoms are fused to create one carbon atom.
According to the passage, what is a direct result of a hydrogen deficiency?

3. In the hard scrabble world of Lincoln’s youth, manhood entailed more than just reaching a certain age. It meant strength, endurance, and physical contests of all kinds. At six foot, four inches tall with a well-muscled physique, thanks to years of heavy farm work, Lincoln could hold his own against boys and men alike. In 1832, as a militia volunteer in the Black Hawk Wars, Lincoln was elected captain not only because of his affability and popularity, but also because he was the company’s champion wrestler.
According to the passage, Lincoln was

4. Charlemagne decreed rules affecting the major fields of government, rules that applied to the entire territory of the empire. They affected everywhere and everybody: the large rural estates, teaching, legislation, the various divisions of the kingdom, and the emperor’s own envoys, the missi dominici. These rules were known as the capitularies. In similar fashion, Charlemagne strove to unify the currency of his empire by establishing a monetary system based on a silver coin, the denier.
According to the passage, Charlemagne

5. Add two inches of water to the saucepan and place your double-boiler inside it. Put 3 cups of wax shavings into the double-boiler and turn on the burner to melt the wax. Insert a thermometer every minute or so to find out when the wax reaches 150°F. At 150°F, remove the double-boiler from the saucepan and pour the wax into your molds. Wait for the candles to cool before lighting them.
According to this passage, you can assume that

6. For example, around 10,000 years ago people in the Danube River valley of southeastern Europe were highly mobile foragers who left only short-lived campsites for archaeologists to discover, but by about 7,000 years ago, they were a rather sedentary people, living in riverside villages that you would normally associate with farming people. However, the folk of these villages, including the fascinating site of Lepenski Vir, weren’t farmers; they continued to hunt and gather.
Based on the passage, it’s safe to assume that

7. Cold currents moving from high latitudes towards the equator tend to cool nearby coastal areas. Since cool air is relatively dense and stays near the surface, fog is quite common but clouds and rain are rare. As a result, places such as southern California, northern Chile and south western Africa experience desert conditions.
According to the passage, northern Chile experiences desert conditions because

8. In the hard scrabble world of Lincoln’s youth, manhood entailed more than just reaching a certain age. It meant strength, endurance, and physical contests of all kinds. At six foot, four inches tall with a well-muscled physique, thanks to years of heavy farm work, Lincoln could hold his own against boys and men alike. In 1832, as a militia volunteer in the Black Hawk Wars, Lincoln was elected captain not only because of his affability and popularity, but also because he was the company’s champion wrestler.
Based on the context of the passage, you can assume that

9. It is only really by enlightened people that this book can be read; the ordinary man is not made for such knowledge; philosophy will never be his lot. Those who say that there are truths which must be hidden from the people, need not be alarmed; the people do not read; they work six days of the week, and on the seventh go to the inn. In a word, philosophical works are made only for philosophers, and every honest man must try to be a philosopher, without pluming himself on being one.
The author of this passage most likely believes that

10. After attending the rigorous Vincentian Catholic High School in Albany, Burke went on to Holy Cross. A brief stint in the navy was followed by the Harvard Business School. He joined J&J in 1953 as brand manager for Band-Aids and quickly rose through the ranks. By 1976 he was named CEO.
According to the passage, during what year did Burke join J&J?

11. The haka is a traditional Maori dance often performed by groups of men for various reasons. Few haka are performed by women. Originally, haka were performed by soldiers to intimidate the opposition while demonstrating courage and strength; today, the haka is used to welcome distinguished guests, celebrate milestones, and pay respect at funerals. Each haka has its own lyrics, meaning and movements, but typically, the dance is characterized by vigorous movements and strong rhythm.
Which of the following is true about the haka?

12. Some believe it originated in a random manner, possibly in a chemical “soup” enriched by early atmospheric gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, with energy supplied by lightning or solar ultraviolet light. Others suggest the raw materials, or life itself, were delivered by comets and meteorites – a theory known as “panspermia.” Yet another possibility is that the first life forms lived deep beneath Earth’s surface, where the temperature was far above 100°C, with sulfur in the rocks as their source of nutrition. Warm environments around deep sea volcanic vents, known as black smokers, are another alternative.
According to the passage, early atmospheric gases included

13. More refractory elements condense in the warm, inner regions of the nebula, while icy grains condense in the cold outer regions. Individual grains collide and stick together, growing into centimeter-sized particles. These swirl around at different rates within the flared disk, partly due to turbulence and partly as the result of differences in the drag exerted by the gas.
According to the passage,

14. The craft pranced and reared, and plunged like an animal. As each wave came, and she rose for it, she seemed like a horse making at a fence outrageously high. The manner of her scramble over these walls of water is a mystic thing, and, moreover, at the top of them were ordinarily these problems in white water, the foam racing down from the summit of each wave, requiring a new leap, and a leap from the air. Then, after scornfully bumping a crest, she would slide, and race, and splash down a long incline, and arrive bobbing and nodding in front of the next menace.
The main subject of this passage is

15. From a philosophical and ethical point of view, moral courage is not an “extra” or a “supererogatory” virtue, but rather a critical human quality that serves as a necessary precondition for all other forms of human conduct. Moral courage is about our willingness to act on an idea, a belief, or a value. Moral courage is the readiness to endure danger for the sake of principle.
The author of this passage would probably agree that

16. When stress and turmoil cause those around them to lose their moral bearings and to succumb to questionable values or policies, great leaders stay on course. In challenging circumstances, this trait of great leaders sometimes causes consternation among followers. When others are ready to capitulate or bend, such leaders can appear stubborn and inflexible. In their most challenging moments, leaders like Lincoln, Churchill, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King, Jr. sometimes looked behind and saw their most committed followers losing heart or fleeing.
According to the passage, great leaders

17. Most of Earth’s seas experience two high and two low tides each day. There is also a less noticeable tide in its solid crust, which causes a variation in height of about half a meter. The tides are caused by the combined effects of the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. Clearly, the pull of lunar gravity is greatest where Earth’s surface is nearest the moon. On the opposite side of Earth, the pull of lunar gravity is weakest. The overall result is that there are equal-sized oceanic bulges on opposite sides of the planet.
According to the passage, tides are caused by

18. Within a short time, he had obtained visual evidence to support the theories of Copernicus and Kepler. Galileo became the first person in history to see the phases of Venus caused by its movement around the Sun. He also observed mountains and craters on the Moon, and saw the planets as disks, rather than points of light.
According to the passage, who first observed the phases of Venus?

19. Outstanding leaders abhor deception and misrepresentation. They recognize the value of honest communication as an essential expression of respect for others and for themselves. They do not regard honesty as just the best policy — a tool for achieving one’s goals — but as a commitment prior to all policy-making, as a fundamental requirement of sound communal life.
According to the passage, what do outstanding leaders value the most?

20. Dark surfaces, such as those covered with vegetation and soil, have a low albedo (reflectivity). They heat up more quickly than lighter, more reflective surfaces, such as ice sheets. Ice and snow reflect some 80% of the solar energy they receive, compared with 20% for an area of grassland and 10% for a dry, black soil.
According to the passage, which surface heats the fastest?

21. In order to draw an ellipse, place two drawing pins some distance apart and loop a piece of string around them. Place a pencil inside the string, draw the string tight and move the pencil around the pins. Now move one of the pins and repeat the process. Note how the shape of the ellipse has changed.
The main theme of this passage is

22. The term “Green Beret” refers to the U.S. Army Special Forces because they wear — you guessed it — green berets. The Green Berets specialize in unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, and a handful of other tasks that require the Army to choose members carefully.
According to the passage, the Army’s Special Forces

23. Rock strata that were once horizontal may even be bent back or turned upside down, so that the older rocks are now on top of younger rocks. Beneath the crater floor is a lens-shaped body of breccia — rock that has been broken and pulverized by the shock wave. The incoming object itself is melted or partly vaporized.
According to the passage, breccia is

24. Some believe it originated in a random manner, possibly in a chemical “soup” enriched by early atmospheric gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, with energy supplied by lightning or solar ultraviolet light. Others suggest the raw materials, or life itself, were delivered by comets and meteorites – a theory known as “panspermia.” Yet another possibility is that the first life forms lived deep beneath Earth’s surface, where the temperature was far above 100°C, with sulfur in the rocks as their source of nutrition. Warm environments around deep sea volcanic vents, known as black smokers, are another alternative.
According to the passage,

25. History, as the saying goes, is written by the winners, which is another way of saying that each story has (at least) two sides. The use of propaganda, the convenient omission of inconvenient facts from state records, and the wholesale creation of “facts” are nothing new; these occurred in every ancient civilization, from Sumer to the Incan empire.
According to the passage, you can assume that