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6.ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS Explanation for Correct Answer D : Choice (D) is correct. The phrases listed in lines 5-6 are expressions that either make no sense at all (e.g., "even steven") or have no obvious connection with what they are commonly used to mean (e.g., "paint the town red"). This is also true of the phrase "to talk through your hat," which means "to talk without knowing what you are talking about." Explanation for Incorrect Answer A : Choice (A) is incorrect. "Chance" means risk or opportunity, and the phrase "to take a chance" is often used to mean "to take a risk" or "to respond to an opportunity." Unlike the examples listed in the passage, "to take a chance" means pretty much what it says. Explanation for Incorrect Answer B : Choice (B) is incorrect. "To jump for joy" means "to be extremely happy." Since children often jump up and down when they are very happy, the phrase is easily understood―unlike the examples listed in the passage. Explanation for Incorrect Answer C : Choice (C) is incorrect. "To lend an ear" means "to listen to someone" or "to give someone the opportunity to tell their troubles." This phrase is easily understood through a simple metaphorical extension of the words "lend" and "ear." It is thus unlike the examples listed in the passage. Explanation for Incorrect Answer E : Choice (E) is incorrect. "To flare up" is generally used to mean "to get suddenly excited or angry." It can also mean a sudden intensification of some condition, such as an infection. Both meanings are readily understood from the word "flare," which refers to the action of a fire starting. Thus, the phrase is unlike the examples listed in the passage. 7
7.ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS Explanation for Correct Answer B : Choice (B) is correct. According to the passage, one popular dictionary theorizes that the phrase "to be joshing" is connected to the humorist Josh Billings. But this phrase was in use in 1845, and, as the last sentence explains, Josh Billings was largely unknown until 1860. The last sentence thus invalidates the theory about the phrase's origin. Explanation for Incorrect Answer A : Choice (A) is incorrect. The information that "Josh Billings was unknown outside his neighborhood until 1860" is clearly not a well-known fact. If it were, it is unlikely that a popular dictionary would have offered the theory that the phrase "to be joshing," which was used in 1845, refers to Josh Billings. Explanation for Incorrect Answer C : Choice (C) is incorrect. The information in the last sentence makes it seem unlikely that there was a connection between Josh Billings and the phrase "to be joshing." But that information is presented in a neutral way; there is nothing in the tone of the last sentence, or in the passage as a whole, to suggest an accusation. Explanation for Incorrect Answer D : Choice (D) is incorrect. The facts of Billings's career are not presented as puzzling. Nor is being unknown until 1860 something that should be described as an "incident." Explanation for Incorrect Answer E : Choice (E) is incorrect. The last sentence does not explain the origins of the phrase "to be joshing." Rather, it gives information demonstrating that one current explanation of the phrase's origins is incorrect. 8
8.ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS Explanation for Correct Answer B : Choice (B) is correct. According to the passage, the study looks at Western cities beginning in the Middle Ages and opens with a discussion of "the functions that have drawn people to cities" (line 4). It is logical that central marketplaces played a role in drawing people to cities. Thus it is likely that a discussion of the role of central marketplaces in the early Middle Ages would be found at the beginning of the study. Explanation for Incorrect Answer A : Choice (A) is incorrect. The opportunity to commit certain kinds of crimes may well draw some people to cities. But according to the passage, the study extends back only to the Middle Ages; it is not concerned with ancient cities. An analysis of statistics about ancient cities is thus unlikely to appear at the beginning of the study. Explanation for Incorrect Answer C : Choice (C) is incorrect. The study is described as beginning with the functions that have drawn people to cities, not with the people who were drawn by those functions. So it is unlikely that the study would begin with a series of portraits of famous people who have chosen to live in cities. Explanation for Incorrect Answer D : Choice (D) is incorrect. According to the passage, the study begins with functions, then moves on to spaces, and only then discusses buildings. Although an account of the architectural challenges involved in building large cathedrals might well appear somewhere in the study, it is unlikely to be found at the beginning. Explanation for Incorrect Answer E : Choice (E) is incorrect. The study is described as beginning with the Middle Ages. It is unlikely, therefore, that an essay on ancient archaeological sites would be included in the study. These sites would have been built much earlier than the Middle Ages. 9
9.ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS Explanation for Correct Answer C : Choice (C) is correct. The passage explains the author's approach toward the study. The author tells what the study is going to be about and why the study is being approached in the way it is. Explanation for Incorrect Answer A : Choice (A) is incorrect. The author of the passage is also the author of the only study mentioned in the passage. Nothing is said or implied that is critical of that study. Explanation for Incorrect Answer B : Choice (B) is incorrect. The passage does not refer to any expense that might be involved in conducting the study it describes. Explanation for Incorrect Answer D : Choice (D) is incorrect. The study discussed in the passage might include a "depiction," or description, of an era. But the passage is concerned primarily with how the author of the study approached the task. Explanation for Incorrect Answer E : Choice (E) is incorrect. The passage explains the author's approach toward the study. The author apparently believes that this approach is interesting and worthwhile, but there is no indication that the author is defending the decision to adopt it. 10
10.ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS Explanation for Correct Answer C : Choice (C) is correct. The group described in lines 4-5 is a hypothetical group of prospective buyers. They are described as people whom artists would have "to put up with" and as people who come "to gape." Such people can reasonably be described as intrusive. The group described in line 46 are people visiting an exhibition, and they "stared and admired." In other words, they appeared to be appreciative. Explanation for Incorrect Answer A : Choice (A) is incorrect. There is no indication that the narrator thinks that the people in the first group are uneducated. In fact, the narrator herself is about to become a member of the first group and feels uncomfortable about it, and she probably does not consider herself uneducated. Furthermore, there is no indication that the people in the second group have professional training. They are an anonymous group visiting an art exhibition. Explanation for Incorrect Answer B : Choice (B) is incorrect. There is no reason to think that the first group slights the artist. In fact, as prospective buyers they pay the artist the compliment of taking the artist seriously. The description of the second group does not suggest that they are overly respectful. In fact, the narrator finds the painting so stunningly beautiful that admiration would seem to her to be an appropriate response. Explanation for Incorrect Answer D : Choice (D) is incorrect. The artist's methodology is not mentioned in connection with either group. In fact, there is no mention of any artist's methodology in the entire passage. Explanation for Incorrect Answer E : Choice (E) is incorrect. Although the first group is described as a group of potential buyers, the passage does not indicate that they are acquisitive, or strongly desirous of possessing. There is no basis in the passage for describing the second group as generous and giving. The only thing we really know about this group is that they appreciated the beauty of the painting that had once belonged to the narrator. | 
