Prep2012_Pack1_RC(题目版)(2)

Has the predicted twin-peaked activity been observed for the actual yearly Geminid meteor shower? The Geminid data between 1970 and 1979 show just such a bifurcation, a secondary burst of meteor activity being clearly visible at an average of 19 hours (1,200,000 miles) after the first burst. The time intervals between the bursts suggest the actual Geminid stream is about 3,000 years old.

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-002-01 VRC07544-01 Hard

The author states that the research described in the first paragraph was undertaken in order to

A. determine the age of an actual meteor stream

B. dentify the various structural features of meteor streams

C. explore the nature of a particularly interesting meteor stream

D. test the hypothesis that meteor streams become broader as they age

E. show that a computer model could help in explaining actual astronomical data

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-002-02 VRC07544-02 Hard

It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would most probably be observed during the Earth's passage through a meteor stream if the conventional theories mentioned in the highlighted text were correct?

A. Meteor activity would gradually increase to a single, intense peak, and then gradually

decline.

B. Meteor activity would be steady throughout the period of the meteor shower.

C. Meteor activity would rise to a peak at the beginning and at the end of the meteor shower.

D. Random bursts of very high meteor activity would be interspersed with periods of very

activity.

E. In years in which the Earth passed through only the outer areas of a meteor stream,

meteor activity would be absent.

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-002-03 VRC07544-03 Hard

According to the passage, why do the dust particles in a meteor stream eventually surround a comet's original orbit?

A. They are ejected by the comet at differing velocities.

B. Their orbits are uncontrolled by planetary gravitational fields.

C. They become part of the meteor stream at different times.

D. Their velocity slows over time.

E. Their ejection velocity is slower than that of the comet.

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-002-04 VRC07544-04 Hard

The passage suggests that which of the following is a prediction concerning meteor streams that can be derived from both the conventional theories mentioned in the highlighted text and the new computer derived theory?

A. Dust particles in a meteor stream will usually be distributed evenly throughout any cross

section of the stream.

B. The orbits of most meteor streams should cross the orbit of the Earth at some point and

give rise to a meteor shower.

C. Over time the distribution of dust in a meteor stream will usually become denser at the

outside edges of the stream than at the center.

D. Meteor showers caused by older meteor streams should be, on average, longer in

duration than those caused by very young meteor streams.

E. The individual dust particles in older meteor streams should be, on average, smaller than

those that compose younger meteor streams.

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-002-05 VRC07544-05 Medium Which of the following is an assumption underlying the last sentence of the passage?

A. In each of the years between 1970 and 1979, the Earth took exactly 19 hours to cross the

Geminid meteor stream.

B. The comet associated with the Geminid meteor stream has totally disintegrated.

C. The Geminid meteor stream should continue to exist for at least 5,000 years.

D. The Geminid meteor stream has not broadened as rapidly as the conventional theories

would have predicted.

E. The computer—model Geminid meteor stream provides an accurate representation of

the development of the actual Geminid stream.

PREP2012-Pack1-RC-003

Two recent publications offer different assessments of the career of the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale. A book by Anne Summers seeks to debunk the idealizations and present a reality at odds with Nightingale's heroic reputation. According to Summers,

Nightingale's importance during the Crimean War has been exaggerated: not until near the war's end did she become supervisor of the female nurses. Additionally, Summers writes that the contribution of the nurses to the relief of the wounded was at best marginal. The

prevailing problems of military medicine were caused by army organizational practices, and the addition of a few nurses to the medical staff could be no more than symbolic.

Nightingale’s place in the national pantheon, Summers asserts, is largely due to the propagandistic efforts of contemporary newspaper reporters.

By contrast, the editors of a new volume of Nightingale's letters view Nightingale as a person who significantly influenced not only her own age but also subsequent generations. They highlight her ongoing efforts to reform sanitary conditions after the war. For example, when she learned that peacetime living conditions in British barracks were so horrible that the death rate of enlisted men far exceeded that of neighboring civilian populations, she

succeeded in persuading the government to establish a Royal Commission on the Health of the Army. She used sums raised through public contributions to found a nurses’ training hospital in London. Even in administrative matters, the editors assert, her practical

intelligence was formidable: as recently as 1947 the British Army's medical services were still using the cost-accounting system she had devised in the 1860's.

I believe that the evidence of her letters supports continued respect for Nightingale's

brilliance and creativity. When counseling a village schoolmaster to encourage children to use their faculties of observation, she sounds like a modern educator. Her insistence on

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