When you think about people-watching, you usually envision the crowds at a mall or at a park, but most of the strangers you see who parade by you each day are not on foot.  They’e in their cars.   Although you can guess a lot about other people whom you see walking by from observing their clothes, their behavior, or even their bearing it is by their cars that you can tell the most about people that you’ve never seen. Economic status can be accurately divined from the expense of the vehicles that people drive.  That smooth gliding, huge new Towncar must have someone successful behind the wheel.  That sporty utility vehicle, new but inexpensive, most likely is being driven by a college student.  And that white, smoke belching, rusted-out jalopy you quickly pass to avoid asphyxiation undoubtedly that driver can ill afford replacing the old junker and will soon have no wheels at all. Political beliefs and community involvement often show up on bumper stickers, as do philosophies and religious affiliations, not to mention attitudes towards free speech and boundaries of good taste.  Window decals and rearview mirror danglings denote cultural subgroups, while Baby on Board or Caution:  Show Dog signs delineate the drivers personal commitments. Momentary vehicular encounters can provide opportunities for psychoanalyzing drivers.  The Type A sort who tailgates you or passes you dangerously close to the double line is either chronically late or running on caffeine or competitive aggression.  The oh-so-polite people who wave everyone in ahead of you in bumper-to-bumper traffic must be similarly attentive to the needs of others in their lives.  The chatty cell phone drivers must not be able to live very long in isolation without social interaction, gossip, or business dealings.  And the oh-so-slow Sunday driver must be functioning on a different plane of meditation than the rest of us who proceed at the usual hasty pace. External attachments can reveal hobbies and leisure interests from bike racks to boat trailer hitches; if the drivers tote equipment, you can gauge how they spend their weekends and their disposable cash.  But the easiest clue as to the drivers identity comes in the form of an audio rather than a visual cue.  If you’re waiting at a stoplight, and you can feel the vibrations of the bass stereo from behind you, the driver is most likely under thirty years of age. Some argue that the automobile has increased our sense of anonymity, our feeling that we are all alike anonymous humanoids driving like robots in identical comfort capsules.  Not me.  As long as people can use their personal chariots as extensions of themselves and as billboards of self-expression, the driving experiences of our lives can tell us a lot about who else is out there, where they’re coming from and even where everyone is going. A conclusion that can be drawn from this passage is that

Most traditional bookstores opened for one purpose to sell books.  However, present-day owners know that readers want more than to drop in, find a book, buy it, and leave.  Today’s patrons want to browse, to wander among the various shelves and tables, and to sample the wares.  And they want more than books.  Therefore, large bookstores across the United States now cater to the many desires of their diverse clientele. Of course these bookstores do stock books.  As customers enter, they find tables and shelves of the latest fiction and nonfiction.  Small islands offer a large variety of classic and not-so-classic book “bargains.”  As browsers roam the store, they find sections on history, business, science, sports, foreign language, computers, and much, much more.  They pass collections of classic literature in English and in Russian, Italian, Hebrew, Swahili.  Parents find impressive collections of children’s books.  In brief, “new” bookstores stock books to satisfy the various tastes of almost anyone who comes to browse. But browsers want more than books.  Therefore, these stores stock a large variety of newspapers and magazines.  These periodicals reflect the variety of interests of our diverse population.  The newspapers carry news from cities across the United States and from capitals in Europe, South America, and Africa.  In addition to news and culture, the racks feature magazines about cars, animals, fitness, foods, even dolls. Browsers want to pull books and magazines off the shelves and read them right there and then.  To facilitate reading, these bookstores provide creature comforts.  Excellent lighting, for example, allows patrons to read anywhere in the store.  Wide aisles with easy chairs let the patron relax and read or even snooze.  Tables and chairs give the student writing a research paper a solid writing surface and room to spread books, magazines, and newspapers. No pushy salesperson bothers any patron.  Rather, courteous, well-informed store clerks stationed at a central “resource island” eagerly answer questions.  Also, by using their computers, they can tell a customer whether the store has a copy of a particular book or whether that book is still available.  Upon request they can and will order any book. Finally, hungry, thirsty, or exhausted book lovers or patrons who meet friends or new acquaintances as they browse can relax and enjoy the small café that serves a variety of cakes or bagels or sweet rolls and several kinds of coffee, tea, and soft drinks.  The cafe tables allow clientele to eat quietly or to eat and read or to eat and chat. Conversations in the café might be in English about soccer or Paris or anything else, but they might instead be in Spanish, French, Japanese, or one of numerous other foreign tongues.  It is likely that part of any conversation will include praise for the nontraditional bookstore for serving the myriad wants and even fancies of the diverse public who come to browse and, perhaps, to buy. Which sentence best states the main idea of this passage?

If someone calls you a Luddite, it is probably because you have complained, for whatever reason, about the dangers or failures of technology. Perhaps you have denounced the automobile industry because a failed computer chip causes your car to stall in the middle of heavy traffic. Or you threatened to cancel your credit card because it wouldnt work at the pay-at-the-pump gas station. Or you complained loudly when your employer fired you because the computer was more efficient than you. The New Columbia Encyclopedia tells us that Luddites were workers in England who, between 1811 and 1816, destroyed textile machines they felt caused reduced wages and unemployment. They rioted in the name of a mythical figure called Ned Ludd, or King Ludd. Since then, Luddite has come to mean anyone opposed to technological change. Computer hackers, for example, use technology to develop and release viruses whose purpose is to infect and, thus, destroy business and corporate computer files. Most of todays Luddites, however, arent violent. They dont riot, dont break into factories or warehouses and smash computers or other machinery. Suspecting that technology is more of a threat than a blessing, they secretly, sometimes loudly, denounce technological developments. Their hearts sing when the slide projector jams or repeats the same frame over and over. They cheer when the company computer comes down with a virus. They smirk when they read that pornography is readily available on the Internet and that pederasts and other unsavory types have access to children through computer chat rooms. In short, pointing to the negative byproducts of technology, they purse their lips, nod, and mutter, So what did we expect? Nonviolent Luddites may grudgingly admit that microwaves and automatic washers, dryers, and dishwashers have removed most of the chore from family chores. They concede that technological contributions to medical science provide many people better health and longer life. Although they acknowledge that the automobile expedites their commutes from home to college to work and home again, they emphasize that the proliferation of cars and trucks is responsible for air pollution, traffic jams, road rage, and highway carnage. Although they grant that airplanes allow virtually anyone to tour the world, they point out that they also provide an avenue for drug smugglers and are relatively easy targets for hijackers and assassins. Although they admit to the efficacy of atomic energy, they nevertheless point to the potential mass-destruction in atomic weapons. Luddites bemoan the fact that ATM machines and bank and fast-food drive-throughs eliminate the personal in customer relations. Finally, although agreeing that a cell phone is a handy tool for a driver stranded on a lonely stretch of interstate, the Luddite fears and deplores the cell phones used by drivers who, instead of watching the road, dial their phones as they weave in and out of traffic. The authors primary purpose in this passage is to        

The word Egypt instantly brings images of pyramids to mind.  Although the Giza pyramids are renowned monuments towering nearly 500 feet out of the desert sand, they pose more questions than they answer about this ancient land.  Most of our knowledge about Egyptian civilization foods, employment, leisure activities, and social customs comes from a different source.  Mastabas, the decorated tombs of the upper class, are our best place for information about the lives that ancient Egyptians led. The ancient Egyptians meticulously preserved human remains because they believed that the souls of the dead visited the realm of the living.  The mummy of the deceased was the resting place for that traveling soul.  The financial status of the dead person determined where his or her mummy would be stored.  Wealthy pharaohs could afford to build pyramids; people with less money, however, settled for mastabas. Pyramids certainly attract attention, as their builders hoped they would do.  These monuments rise majestically out of the desert, tapering to a point that signals the way to the realm of Ra, the sun god.  Their height and style indicated to all who saw them the prestige and wealth of the dead king buried inside.  Pyramids, though, leave us little information about the culture.  Scholars debate whether slaves or paid laborers built them.  UFO enthusiasts claim that extraterrestrials arranged to have the half-ton bricks transported to the 481-foot top.  The inside of the largest Egyptian pyramid, that of the pharaoh Khufu, has no interior decoration, except the king’s name carved one time into a wall.  Mastabas, on the other hand, contain a wealth of information.  These multi-room tombs, many long since buried by the constantly shifting desert sand, contain elaborate wall decorations that show family, friends, and servants participating in all areas of life. Take, for example, the mastaba of Ptahhotep, a dignitary who lived over 4,000 years ago.  The carvings that appear in this tomb are so detailed that a visitor can tell what type of knot an ancient fisherman used to secure a trap to his boat.  Based on the carvings from a single wall in Ptahhotep’s mastaba, we know that the ancient Egyptians drank wine and ate beef, for scenes show servants cultivating and fermenting grapes and slaughtering cattle.  In addition to the food acquired from domesticated animals, we can observe the Egyptians hunting wild game in the desert.  From meticulous drawings, we know that they used greyhound-like dogs to bring down a variety of hoofed animals.  And scenes of gymnasts practicing acrobatics let us glean information about leisure activities of these ancient people. Mastaba might not be a word that comes immediately to mind when people think of Egypt.  Without the excavation of these tombs, however, we would have little information about the daily lives of ancient Egyptians.  Because of the highly decorated interior walls, we have snapshots of everyday activities that allow us to imagine how these people spent their days. The authors primary purpose in this passage is to

When you think about people-watching, you usually envision the crowds at a mall or at a park, but most of the strangers you see who parade by you each day are not on foot.  They’re in their cars.   Although you can guess a lot about other people whom you see walking by from observing their clothes, their behavior, or even their bearing it is by their cars that you can tell the most about people that you’ve never seen. Economic status can be accurately divined from the expense of the vehicles that people drive.  That smooth gliding, huge new Towncar must have someone successful behind the wheel.  That sporty utility vehicle, new but inexpensive, most likely is being driven by a college student.  And that white, smoke belching, rusted-out jalopy you quickly pass to avoid asphyxiation undoubtedly that driver can ill afford replacing the old junker and will soon have no wheels at all. Political beliefs and community involvement often show up on bumper stickers, as do philosophies and religious affiliations, not to mention attitudes towards free speech and boundaries of good taste.  Window decals and rear view mirror danglings denote cultural subgroups, while Baby on Board or Caution:  Show Dog signs delineate the drivers personal commitments. Momentary vehicular encounters can provide opportunities for psychoanalyzing drivers.  The Type A sort who tailgates you or passes you dangerously close to the double line is either chronically late or running on caffeine or competitive aggression.  The oh-so-polite people who wave everyone in ahead of you in bumper-to-bumper traffic must be similarly attentive to the needs of others in their lives.  The chatty cell phone drivers must not be able to live very long in isolation without social interaction, gossip, or business dealings.  And the oh-so-slow Sunday driver must be functioning on a different plane of meditation than the rest of us who proceed at the usual hasty pace. External attachments can reveal hobbies and leisure interestsfrom bike racks to boat trailer hitches; if the drivers tote equipment, you can gauge how they spend their weekends and their disposable cash.  But the easiest clue as to the drivers identity comes in the form of an audio rather than a visual cue.  If you’re waiting at a stoplight, and you can feel the vibrations of the bass stereo from behind you, the driver is most likely under thirty years of age. Some argue that the automobile has increased our sense of anonymity, our feeling that we are all alike anonymous humanoids driving like robots in identical comfort capsules.  Not me.  As long as people can use their personal chariots as extensions of themselves and as billboards of self-expression, the driving experiences of our lives can tell us a lot about who else is out there, where they’re coming from and even where everyone is going. The Type A sort who tailgates you or passes you dangerously close to the double line is either chronically late or running on caffeine or competitive aggression. (see bold type above) The above sentence is a statement of

As dog breeds go, the Pomeranian is a miniature spitz, bred down over the centuries into lap-size versions of sled dogs. Among the small toy dogs, then, the Pomeranian is doggier than most because they retain some traits of the working dog breed that is their genetic origin. Like most dog owners, I have firsthand familiarity with genetic variations and qualities within a breed, because I have two Pomeranians, both females, both miniature sled dogs. But it is there where the similarity ends.             Our first Pomeranian, Annika, is a red or sable colored little dog who looks exactly like a fox with a big bushy tail that curves up, spitz-like, above her back. However, this tail doesn’t seem to work because she only wags it on the rare occasions when she is asking to go for a ride in the car.  The other little dog, Maya, is white and looks like a baby harp seal. Mayas tail, unlike Annikas, works overtime; all you have to do is look at her and she wags it like a parade watcher waving a flag.             Both dogs look like they could pull a miniature sleigh, but only one of the two really has the personality traits for working in a dog pack. Maya would have been an excellent sled dog because she is truly a pack animal. When we go for walks, she only wants to go because the pack is leaving, and while we walk, she never strays from my side, since I am clearly the pack leader. When I try to take a different route than usual, Maya plops down in the middle of the sidewalk and refuses to vary our itinerary. Whenever there are varmints like possums or armadillos in the yard, Maya takes no notice. If she barks at all, it is only because the other dogs are raising a ruckus. She neither sees nor cares that there is game afoot.             Annika is not a pack dog. She seems to have been bred to do terrier-like work, ferreting out small creatures from gardens and fields. Annika has no interest in the packs whereabouts. In an army, she would have served as point, the solo seeker who goes out ahead to find the enemy. She does not care if the other pack members follow her or not; the trail of the prey is more dominant in her instincts.             At night when the armadillo that lives under the deck comes out, Annika senses its presence and whines to go out on the porch and pace back and forth while the armored beast snorts in the dirt beneath her. Maya will go out and bark only if the other dogs do so; whenever she joins in, she never gives any sign that she knows what they are all barking about.             Both dogs are Pomeranians, but with genetic differences. Geneticists must wonder if human life could be improved if people bred for successful personality traits&as dog breeders do. Both dogs look like they could pull a miniature sleigh, but only one of the two really has the personality traits for working in a dog pack.                   The above sentence is a statement of  

Most traditional bookstores opened for one purpose to sell books.  However, present-day owners know that readers want more than to drop in, find a book, buy it, and leave.  Today’s patrons want to browse, to wander among the various shelves and tables, and to sample the wares.  And they want more than books.  Therefore, large bookstores across the United States now cater to the many desires of their diverse clientele. Of course these bookstores do stock books.  As customers enter, they find tables and shelves of the latest fiction and nonfiction.  Small islands offer a large variety of classic and not-so-classic book “bargains.”  As browsers roam the store, they find sections on history, business, science, sports, foreign language, computers, and much, much more.  They pass collections of classic literature in English and in Russian, Italian, Hebrew, Swahili.  Parents find impressive collections of children’s books.  In brief, “new” bookstores stock books to satisfy the various tastes of almost anyone who comes to browse. But browsers want more than books.  Therefore, these stores stock a large variety of newspapers and magazines.  These periodicals reflect the variety of interests of our diverse population.  The newspapers carry news from cities across the United States and from capitals in Europe, South America, and Africa.  In addition to news and culture, the racks feature magazines about cars, animals, fitness, foods, even dolls. Browsers want to pull books and magazines off the shelves and read them right there and then.  To facilitate reading, these bookstores provide creature comforts.  Excellent lighting, for example, allows patrons to read anywhere in the store.  Wide aisles with easy chairs let the patron relax and read or even snooze.  Tables and chairs give the student writing a research paper a solid writing surface and room to spread books, magazines, and newspapers. No pushy salesperson bothers any patron.  Rather, courteous, well-informed store clerks stationed at a central “resource island” eagerly answer questions.  Also, by using their computers, they can tell a customer whether the store has a copy of a particular book or whether that book is still available.  Upon request they can and will order any book. Finally, hungry, thirsty, or exhausted book lovers or patrons who meet friends or new acquaintances as they browse can relax and enjoy the small café that serves a variety of cakes or bagels or sweet rolls and several kinds of coffee, tea, and soft drinks.  The cafe tables allow clientele to eat quietly or to eat and read or to eat and chat. Conversations in the café might be in English about soccer or Paris or anything else, but they might instead be in Spanish, French, Japanese, or one of numerous other foreign tongues.  It is likely that part of any conversation will include praise for the nontraditional bookstore for serving the myriad wants and even fancies of the diverse public who come to browse and, perhaps, to buy. A conclusion that can be drawn from this passage is that

If someone calls you a Luddite, it is probably because you have complained, for whatever reason, about the dangers or failures of technology. Perhaps you have denounced the automobile industry because a failed computer chip causes your car to stall in the middle of heavy traffic. Or you threatened to cancel your credit card because it wouldn’t work at the pay-at-the-pump gas station. Or you complained loudly when your employer fired you because the computer was more efficient than you. The New Columbia Encyclopedia tells us that Luddites were workers in England who, between 1811 and 1816, destroyed textile machines they felt caused reduced wages and unemployment. They rioted in the name of a mythical figure called Ned Ludd, or King Ludd. Since then, Luddite has come to mean anyone opposed to technological change. Computer hackers, for example, use technology to develop and release viruses whose purpose is to infect and, thus, destroy business and corporate computer files. Most of today’s Luddites, however, aren’t violent. They don’t riot, don’t break into factories or warehouses and smash computers or other machinery. Suspecting that technology is more of a threat than a blessing, they secretly, sometimes loudly, denounce technological developments. Their hearts sing when the slide projector jams or repeats the same frame over and over. They cheer when the company computer comes down with a virus. They smirk when they read that pornography is readily available on the Internet and that pederasts and other unsavory types have access to children through computer chat rooms. In short, pointing to the negative byproducts of technology, they purse their lips, nod, and mutter, So what did we expect? Nonviolent Luddites may grudgingly admit that microwaves and automatic washers, dryers, and dishwashers have removed most of the chore from family chores. They concede that technological contributions to medical science provide many people better health and longer life. Although they acknowledge that the automobile expedites their commutes from home to college to work and home again, they emphasize that the proliferation of cars and trucks is responsible for air pollution, traffic jams, road rage, and highway carnage. Although they grant that airplanes allow virtually anyone to tour the world, they point out that they also provide an avenue for drug smugglers and are relatively easy targets for hijackers and assassins. Although they admit to the efficacy of atomic energy, they nevertheless point to the potential mass-destruction in atomic weapons. Luddites bemoan the fact that ATM machines and bank and fast-food drive-throughs eliminate the personal in customer relations. Finally, although agreeing that a cell phone is a handy tool for a driver stranded on a lonely stretch of interstate, the Luddite fears and deplores the cell phones used by drivers who, instead of watching the road, dial their phones as they weave in and out of traffic. The implied main idea in paragraph two is that      

The word Egypt instantly brings images of pyramids to mind.  Although the Giza pyramids are renowned monuments towering nearly 500 feet out of the desert sand, they pose more questions than they answer about this ancient land.  Most of our knowledge about Egyptian civilization foods, employment, leisure activities, and social customs comes from a different source.  Mastabas, the decorated tombs of the upper class, are our best place for information about the lives that ancient Egyptians led. The ancient Egyptians meticulously preserved human remains because they believed that the souls of the dead visited the realm of the living.  The mummy of the deceased was the resting place for that traveling soul.  The financial status of the dead person determined where his or her mummy would be stored.  Wealthy pharaohs could afford to build pyramids; people with less money, however, settled for mastabas. Pyramids certainly attract attention, as their builders hoped they would do.  These monuments rise majestically out of the desert, tapering to a point that signals the way to the realm of Ra, the sun god.  Their height and style indicated to all who saw them the prestige and wealth of the dead king buried inside.  Pyramids, though, leave us little information about the culture.  Scholars debate whether slaves or paid laborers built them.  UFO enthusiasts claim that extraterrestrials arranged to have the half-ton bricks transported to the 481-foot top.  The inside of the largest Egyptian pyramid, that of the pharaoh Khufu, has no interior decoration, except the king’s name carved one time into a wall.  Mastabas, on the other hand, contain a wealth of information.  These multi-room tombs, many long since buried by the constantly shifting desert sand, contain elaborate wall decorations that show family, friends, and servants participating in all areas of life. Take, for example, the mastaba of Ptahhotep, a dignitary who lived over 4,000 years ago.  The carvings that appear in this tomb are so detailed that a visitor can tell what type of knot an ancient fisherman used to secure a trap to his boat.  Based on the carvings from a single wall in Ptahhotep’s mastaba, we know that the ancient Egyptians drank wine and ate beef, for scenes show servants cultivating and fermenting grapes and slaughtering cattle.  In addition to the food acquired from domesticated animals, we can observe the Egyptians hunting wild game in the desert.  From meticulous drawings, we know that they used greyhound-like dogs to bring down a variety of hoofed animals.  And scenes of gymnasts practicing acrobatics let us glean information about leisure activities of these ancient people. Mastaba might not be a word that comes immediately to mind when people think of Egypt.  Without the excavation of these tombs, however, we would have little information about the daily lives of ancient Egyptians.  Because of the highly decorated interior walls, we have snapshots of everyday activities that allow us to imagine how these people spent their days. The tone of this passage is best described as  

When you think about people-watching, you usually envision the crowds at a mall or at a park, but most of the strangers you see who parade by you each day are not on foot.  They’e in their cars.   Although you can guess a lot about other people whom you see walking by from observing their clothes, their behavior, or even their bearing it is by their cars that you can tell the most about people that you’ve never seen. Economic status can be accurately divined from the expense of the vehicles that people drive.  That smooth gliding, huge new Towncar must have someone successful behind the wheel.  That sporty utility vehicle, new but inexpensive, most likely is being driven by a college student.  And that white, smoke belching, rusted-out jalopy you quickly pass to avoid asphyxiation undoubtedly that driver can ill afford replacing the old junker and will soon have no wheels at all. Political beliefs and community involvement often show up on bumper stickers, as do philosophies and religious affiliations, not to mention attitudes towards free speech and boundaries of good taste.  Window decals and rear view mirror danglings denote cultural subgroups, while Baby on Board or Caution:  Show Dog signs delineate the drivers personal commitments. Momentary vehicular encounters can provide opportunities for psychoanalyzing drivers.  The Type A sort who tailgates you or passes you dangerously close to the double line is either chronically late or running on caffeine or competitive aggression.  The oh-so-polite people who wave everyone in ahead of you in bumper-to-bumper traffic must be similarly attentive to the needs of others in their lives.  The chatty cell phone drivers must not be able to live very long in isolation without social interaction, gossip, or business dealings.  And the oh-so-slow Sunday driver must be functioning on a different plane of meditation than the rest of us who proceed at the usual hasty pace. External attachments can reveal hobbies and leisure interests from bike racks to boat trailer hitches; if the drivers tote equipment, you can gauge how they spend their weekends and their disposable cash.  But the easiest clue as to the drivers identity comes in the form of an audio rather than a visual cue.  If you’re waiting at a stoplight, and you can feel the vibrations of the bass stereo from behind you, the driver is most likely under thirty years of age. Some argue that the automobile has increased our sense of anonymity, our feeling that we are all alike anonymous humanoids driving like robots in identical comfort capsules.  Not me.  As long as people can use their personal chariots as extensions of themselves and as billboards of self-expression, the driving experiences of our lives can tell us a lot about who else is out there, where they’re coming from and even where everyone is going. As used in line 1, the word envision means