Accuplacer Reading Test 2

The long reign of Elizabeth, who became known as the "Virgin Queen" for her reluctance to endanger her authority through marriage, coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance, associated with such renowned authors as William Shakespeare. By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I passed into history as one of England's greatest monarchs.

The amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death, regardless of regular exercise, according to a recent study. More than one half of an average person's day is spent being sedentary—sitting, watching television, or working at a computer. Avoiding sedentary time and getting regular exercise are both important for improving your health and survival.

(1) Researchers have built a rice grain-sized microwave laser, powered by single electrons, that demonstrates the fundamental interactions between light and moving electrons. (2) It is a major step toward building quantum-computing systems out of semiconductor materials. (3) Quantum-computing systems could revolutionize the way we do almost everything because they will theoretically allow computers to be significantly quicker and more powerful. (4) This could very well be the future of computing as we know it.

In recent years, police officers have faced increased scrutiny from the public. There have been too many incidents of officers firing their service weapon without just cause in the news. We understand how difficult and stressful these situations can be for our officers, so we have instituted a new policy requiring all officers to wear body cams, which must be kept on at all times during a shift. We assure you that this is not meant to be a way for us to scrutinize every one of your moves, but rather a tool we can use to protect ourselves in cases where we are required to use force.

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth. Its outermost planet orbits in the 'Goldilocks' zone—a region where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water, and perhaps life, to exist. The star ranks among the top 10 nearest stars known to have transiting planets.

A new study suggests that thick crustal plugs and weakened mineral grains may explain a range of relatively speedy moves among tectonic plates around the world, from Hawaii to East Timor. Traditionally, scientists believed that all tectonic plates were pulled by subducting slabs—which resulted from the colder, top boundary layer of the Earth's rocky surface becoming heavy and sinking slowly into the deeper mantle. Yet that process does not account for sudden plate shifts. Such abrupt movement requires that slabs detach from their plates, but doing this quickly is difficult since the slabs should be too cold and stiff to detach.

According to the study, there are additional factors at work. Thick crust from continents or oceanic plateau is swept into the subduction zone, plugging it up and prompting the slab to break off. The detachment process is then accelerated when mineral grains in the necking slab start to shrink, causing the slab to weaken rapidly. The result is tectonic plates that abruptly shift horizontally, or continents suddenly bobbing up.

At the time Paine wrote "Common Sense," most colonists considered themselves to be aggrieved Britons. Paine fundamentally changed the tenor of colonists' argument with the crown when he wrote the following: "Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither they have fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still."

In November 2007—after the sale of nearly 1.4 million iPhones—Time magazine named the sleek, 4.8-ounce device, originally available in a 4GB, $499 model and an 8GB, $599 model, its invention of the year. The iPhone went on sale in parts of Europe in late 2007 and in parts of Asia in 2008. In July 2008, Apple launched its online App Store, enabling people to download software applications that let them use their iPhones for games, social networking, travel planning and an ever growing laundry list of other activities. Apple went on to release updated models of the iPhone, including the 4S, which debuted in October 2011 and featured Siri, a new voice-activated digital assistant.

(1) About a minute after taking off from New York’s La Guardia Airport on January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 collided with a flock of geese. (2) Crippled by the bird strike, both engines lost power and went quiet, forcing Captain Sullenberger to make an emergency landing. (3) When air traffic controllers instructed the seasoned pilot to head for nearby Teterboro Airport, he calmly informed them that he was “unable” to reach a runway. (4) “We’re gonna be in the Hudson,” he said simply, and then told the 150 terrified passengers and five crew members on board to brace for impact.

(5) Ninety seconds later, Sullenberger glided the Airbus 320 over the chilly surface of the Hudson River, where it splashed down. (6) As flight attendants ushered passengers into life jackets, through emergency exits and onto the waterlogged wings of the bobbing jet, rescue vessels hastened to the scene. (7) One survivor suffered two broken legs and others were treated for minor injuries or hypothermia, but no fatalities occurred. (8) After walking up and down the aisle twice to ensure a complete evacuation, Sullenberger was the last to leave the sinking plane.

Athletes who down beet juice before exercising to increase blood flow and improve performance may be surprised at the results of a recent study. While beetroot juice rich in nitrates did not enhance muscle blood flow or vascular dilation during exercise, researchers found that it did 'de-stiffen' blood vessels under resting conditions, potentially easing the workload of the heart.

Sea turtles migrate across thousands of miles of ocean before returning to nest on the same stretch of coastline where they hatched, but how they do this has mystified scientists for more than fifty years. Sea turtles likely go to great lengths to find the places where they began life because successful nesting requires a combination of environmental features that are rare: soft sand, the right temperature, few predators, and an easily accessible beach.

Victor Hugo, the son of one of Napoleon's officers, decided while still a teenager to become a writer. Although he studied law, he also founded a literary review to which he and other emerging writers published their work. In 1822, Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele Foucher, and published his first volume of poetry, which won him a pension from Louis XVIII. In 1823, Hugo published his first novel, Han d'Islande. His 1827 play, “Cromwell,” embraced the tenets of Romanticism, which he laid out in the play's preface. The following year, despite a contract to begin work on a novel called Notre Dame de Paris, he set to work on two plays. The first, Marion de Lorme (1829), was censored for its candid portrayal of a courtesan. The second, Hernani, became the subject for a bitter and protracted debate between French Classicists and Romantics.

In 1831, he finally finished Notre Dame de Paris. In addition to promoting a Romantic aesthetic that would tolerate the imperfect and the grotesque, the book also had a simpler agenda: to increase appreciation of old Gothic structures, which had become the object of vandalism and neglect. Hugo's writing spanned more than six decades, and he was given a national funeral and buried in the Pantheon after his death in 1885.

Their words always carried within them a secret tension. Casual observers listening in on an entire dialogue between the Lorrell sisters and have no idea they were in a fight. Anyone who knew Marissa and Sami well enough could hear the venomous vitriol in every word, every syllable, every sound of their conversation. Their pugilistic pleasantries made them both dread these interactions, and the formality of the wedding just made things worse.

“It’s nice to see you here so early,” Sami jabbed.

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to miss my older sister’s big day. You’ve been planning this forever,” Marissa countered as she kissed her sister on the cheek and walked past. This was the last place she wanted to be. Her big sister was getting married and there’s nothing like a wedding to remind you of your own crumbling marriage.

“I’m glad to. If I hadn’t planned so much, I would have worried it was all going to fall apart right in front of me. Where’s James?” Sami retorted as she followed Marissa in. Marissa knew that James’ absence from family gatherings had become suspicious, and that her sister had certainly been eyeing the pale skin of her empty finger since she first arrived.

“Oh, he couldn’t get the day off of work to come to a Friday afternoon wedding. He sends his love, though. Where’s Phil? I hope he hasn’t gotten cold feet,” was all Marissa could muster in response. This was more than just a ploy to get her sister nervous, though, she really did want to speak with Phil.

“No, no, he’s around somewhere mingling. You should go and grab a drink and I’m sure he’ll check in with you. I wouldn’t want you to be alone on a day like this.” Marissa sneered and walked off, finding her way to a back room where Phil was adjusting his tie.

“This is over,” she said to him. “You’re marrying my sister and this needs to end now.” She wasn’t surprised by Phil’s astonished look, but was surprised to see that he wasn’t looking at her, but rather over her shoulder at Sami who had followed her to the doorway. As her sister stormed off, Marissa wondered how she would ever make this up to her. She also wondered if Sami would ever believe the truth, that she had caught James and Phil together in her bed 3 months earlier.

Their words always carried within them a secret tension. Casual observers listening in on an entire dialogue between the Lorrell sisters and have no idea they were in a fight. Anyone who knew Marissa and Sami well enough could hear the venomous vitriol in every word, every syllable, every sound of their conversation. Their pugilistic pleasantries made them both dread these interactions, and the formality of the wedding just made things worse.

“It’s nice to see you here so early,” Sami jabbed.

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to miss my older sister’s big day. You’ve been planning this forever,” Marissa countered as she kissed her sister on the cheek and walked past. This was the last place she wanted to be. Her big sister was getting married and there’s nothing like a wedding to remind you of your own crumbling marriage.

“I’m glad to. If I hadn’t planned so much, I would have worried it was all going to fall apart right in front of me. Where’s James?” Sami retorted as she followed Marissa in. Marissa knew that James’ absence from family gatherings had become suspicious, and that her sister had certainly been eyeing the pale skin of her empty finger since she first arrived.

“Oh, he couldn’t get the day off of work to come to a Friday afternoon wedding. He sends his love, though. Where’s Phil? I hope he hasn’t gotten cold feet,” was all Marissa could muster in response. This was more than just a ploy to get her sister nervous, though, she really did want to speak with Phil.

“No, no, he’s around somewhere mingling. You should go and grab a drink and I’m sure he’ll check in with you. I wouldn’t want you to be alone on a day like this.” Marissa sneered and walked off, finding her way to a back room where Phil was adjusting his tie.

“This is over,” she said to him. “You’re marrying my sister and this needs to end now.” She wasn’t surprised by Phil’s astonished look, but was surprised to see that he wasn’t looking at her, but rather over her shoulder at Sami who had followed her to the doorway. As her sister stormed off, Marissa wondered how she would ever make this up to her. She also wondered if Sami would ever believe the truth, that she had caught James and Phil together in her bed 3 months earlier.

Their words always carried within them a secret tension. Casual observers listening in on an entire dialogue between the Lorrell sisters and have no idea they were in a fight. Anyone who knew Marissa and Sami well enough could hear the venomous vitriol in every word, every syllable, every sound of their conversation. Their pugilistic pleasantries made them both dread these interactions, and the formality of the wedding just made things worse.

“It’s nice to see you here so early,” Sami jabbed.

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to miss my older sister’s big day. You’ve been planning this forever,” Marissa countered as she kissed her sister on the cheek and walked past. This was the last place she wanted to be. Her big sister was getting married and there’s nothing like a wedding to remind you of your own crumbling marriage.

“I’m glad to. If I hadn’t planned so much, I would have worried it was all going to fall apart right in front of me. Where’s James?” Sami retorted as she followed Marissa in. Marissa knew that James’ absence from family gatherings had become suspicious, and that her sister had certainly been eyeing the pale skin of her empty finger since she first arrived.

“Oh, he couldn’t get the day off of work to come to a Friday afternoon wedding. He sends his love, though. Where’s Phil? I hope he hasn’t gotten cold feet,” was all Marissa could muster in response. This was more than just a ploy to get her sister nervous, though, she really did want to speak with Phil.

“No, no, he’s around somewhere mingling. You should go and grab a drink and I’m sure he’ll check in with you. I wouldn’t want you to be alone on a day like this.” Marissa sneered and walked off, finding her way to a back room where Phil was adjusting his tie.

“This is over,” she said to him. “You’re marrying my sister and this needs to end now.” She wasn’t surprised by Phil’s astonished look, but was surprised to see that he wasn’t looking at her, but rather over her shoulder at Sami who had followed her to the doorway. As her sister stormed off, Marissa wondered how she would ever make this up to her. She also wondered if Sami would ever believe the truth, that she had caught James and Phil together in her bed 3 months earlier.

Their words always carried within them a secret tension. Casual observers listening in on an entire dialogue between the Lorrell sisters and have no idea they were in a fight. Anyone who knew Marissa and Sami well enough could hear the venomous vitriol in every word, every syllable, every sound of their conversation. Their pugilistic pleasantries made them both dread these interactions, and the formality of the wedding just made things worse.

“It’s nice to see you here so early,” Sami jabbed.

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to miss my older sister’s big day. You’ve been planning this forever,” Marissa countered as she kissed her sister on the cheek and walked past. This was the last place she wanted to be. Her big sister was getting married and there’s nothing like a wedding to remind you of your own crumbling marriage.

“I’m glad to. If I hadn’t planned so much, I would have worried it was all going to fall apart right in front of me. Where’s James?” Sami retorted as she followed Marissa in. Marissa knew that James’ absence from family gatherings had become suspicious, and that her sister had certainly been eyeing the pale skin of her empty finger since she first arrived.

“Oh, he couldn’t get the day off of work to come to a Friday afternoon wedding. He sends his love, though. Where’s Phil? I hope he hasn’t gotten cold feet,” was all Marissa could muster in response. This was more than just a ploy to get her sister nervous, though, she really did want to speak with Phil.

“No, no, he’s around somewhere mingling. You should go and grab a drink and I’m sure he’ll check in with you. I wouldn’t want you to be alone on a day like this.” Marissa sneered and walked off, finding her way to a back room where Phil was adjusting his tie.

“This is over,” she said to him. “You’re marrying my sister and this needs to end now.” She wasn’t surprised by Phil’s astonished look, but was surprised to see that he wasn’t looking at her, but rather over her shoulder at Sami who had followed her to the doorway. As her sister stormed off, Marissa wondered how she would ever make this up to her. She also wondered if Sami would ever believe the truth, that she had caught James and Phil together in her bed 3 months earlier.

Passage 1

In 1995, environmentalist William Cronon wrote a condemnation of modern environmentalism. Cronon argued that his colleagues idealized the wilderness, forgetting that the wilderness is not a safe place for humans. Either we will tame it and make it no longer wilderness, or we will die within it. And while we are dreaming of the wilderness, we’re not coming up with sustainable ways to live symbiotically within our environment.

In many ways, things have gotten better in the past 25 years, but in many ways they haven’t. Cronon worried about idealism leading to apathy. One might argue that people aren’t as apathetic anymore. Instead of apathy, however, modern environmentalists are fighting willful ignorance. As long as environmentalists have to waste their time re-litigating scientifically-researched and supported facts, we will never be able to slow climate change. The greatest contributors to this willfully ignorant opposition to common sense, unsurprisingly, is the corporations and governments that gain the most from destructive practices. Individuals can recycle all they want, but until corporations take the lead, these individuals are throwing glasses of water at a wildfire.

Passage 2

The problem with environmentalists is that they cry wolf too often. Every five years or so, our globe is on the edge of a crisis. The polar ice caps are supposedly going to melt and destroy everything we hold dear. The hole in the ozone layer is going to give us all skin cancer. The pollution is going to suffocate us. But, you know what? We’re all still here. Every time some environmental “crisis” occurs, the world is suddenly going to end. And yet, the Earth is still spinning.

What are we supposed to do with these empty “warnings,” then? Environmentalists can’t believe that people challenge their claims of man-made climate change. But, we’ve lived through all of these empty claims, these warnings of doom come to naught. For every scientific study that these environmentalists taut as important and true, there are twenty such studies that have proven over time to be false. How, then, can we believe them when they say that climate change is man-made? Or even that climate change exists?

Passage 1

In 1995, environmentalist William Cronon wrote a condemnation of modern environmentalism. Cronon argued that his colleagues idealized the wilderness, forgetting that the wilderness is not a safe place for humans. Either we will tame it and make it no longer wilderness, or we will die within it. And while we are dreaming of the wilderness, we’re not coming up with sustainable ways to live symbiotically within our environment.

In many ways, things have gotten better in the past 25 years, but in many ways they haven’t. Cronon worried about idealism leading to apathy. One might argue that people aren’t as apathetic anymore. Instead of apathy, however, modern environmentalists are fighting willful ignorance. As long as environmentalists have to waste their time re-litigating scientifically-researched and supported facts, we will never be able to slow climate change. The greatest contributors to this willfully ignorant opposition to common sense, unsurprisingly, is the corporations and governments that gain the most from destructive practices. Individuals can recycle all they want, but until corporations take the lead, these individuals are throwing glasses of water at a wildfire.

Passage 2

The problem with environmentalists is that they cry wolf too often. Every five years or so, our globe is on the edge of a crisis. The polar ice caps are supposedly going to melt and destroy everything we hold dear. The hole in the ozone layer is going to give us all skin cancer. The pollution is going to suffocate us. But, you know what? We’re all still here. Every time some environmental “crisis” occurs, the world is suddenly going to end. And yet, the Earth is still spinning.

What are we supposed to do with these empty “warnings,” then? Environmentalists can’t believe that people challenge their claims of man-made climate change. But, we’ve lived through all of these empty claims, these warnings of doom come to naught. For every scientific study that these environmentalists taut as important and true, there are twenty such studies that have proven over time to be false. How, then, can we believe them when they say that climate change is man-made? Or even that climate change exists?

Passage 1

In 1995, environmentalist William Cronon wrote a condemnation of modern environmentalism. Cronon argued that his colleagues idealized the wilderness, forgetting that the wilderness is not a safe place for humans. Either we will tame it and make it no longer wilderness, or we will die within it. And while we are dreaming of the wilderness, we’re not coming up with sustainable ways to live symbiotically within our environment.

In many ways, things have gotten better in the past 25 years, but in many ways they haven’t. Cronon worried about idealism leading to apathy. One might argue that people aren’t as apathetic anymore. Instead of apathy, however, modern environmentalists are fighting willful ignorance. As long as environmentalists have to waste their time re-litigating scientifically-researched and supported facts, we will never be able to slow climate change. The greatest contributors to this willfully ignorant opposition to common sense, unsurprisingly, is the corporations and governments that gain the most from destructive practices. Individuals can recycle all they want, but until corporations take the lead, these individuals are throwing glasses of water at a wildfire.

Passage 2

The problem with environmentalists is that they cry wolf too often. Every five years or so, our globe is on the edge of a crisis. The polar ice caps are supposedly going to melt and destroy everything we hold dear. The hole in the ozone layer is going to give us all skin cancer. The pollution is going to suffocate us. But, you know what? We’re all still here. Every time some environmental “crisis” occurs, the world is suddenly going to end. And yet, the Earth is still spinning.

What are we supposed to do with these empty “warnings,” then? Environmentalists can’t believe that people challenge their claims of man-made climate change. But, we’ve lived through all of these empty claims, these warnings of doom come to naught. For every scientific study that these environmentalists taut as important and true, there are twenty such studies that have proven over time to be false. How, then, can we believe them when they say that climate change is man-made? Or even that climate change exists?

Passage 1

In 1995, environmentalist William Cronon wrote a condemnation of modern environmentalism. Cronon argued that his colleagues idealized the wilderness, forgetting that the wilderness is not a safe place for humans. Either we will tame it and make it no longer wilderness, or we will die within it. And while we are dreaming of the wilderness, we’re not coming up with sustainable ways to live symbiotically within our environment.

In many ways, things have gotten better in the past 25 years, but in many ways they haven’t. Cronon worried about idealism leading to apathy. One might argue that people aren’t as apathetic anymore. Instead of apathy, however, modern environmentalists are fighting willful ignorance. As long as environmentalists have to waste their time re-litigating scientifically-researched and supported facts, we will never be able to slow climate change. The greatest contributors to this willfully ignorant opposition to common sense, unsurprisingly, is the corporations and governments that gain the most from destructive practices. Individuals can recycle all they want, but until corporations take the lead, these individuals are throwing glasses of water at a wildfire.

Passage 2

The problem with environmentalists is that they cry wolf too often. Every five years or so, our globe is on the edge of a crisis. The polar ice caps are supposedly going to melt and destroy everything we hold dear. The hole in the ozone layer is going to give us all skin cancer. The pollution is going to suffocate us. But, you know what? We’re all still here. Every time some environmental “crisis” occurs, the world is suddenly going to end. And yet, the Earth is still spinning.

What are we supposed to do with these empty “warnings,” then? Environmentalists can’t believe that people challenge their claims of man-made climate change. But, we’ve lived through all of these empty claims, these warnings of doom come to naught. For every scientific study that these environmentalists taut as important and true, there are twenty such studies that have proven over time to be false. How, then, can we believe them when they say that climate change is man-made? Or even that climate change exists?