Read this passage from "The City Without Us" by Alan Weisman:Within two centuries, estimates Brooklyn Botanical Garden vice president Steven Clemants, colonizing trees will have substantially replaced pioneer weeds. Gutters buried under tons of leaf litter provide new, fertile ground for native oaks and maples from city parks. Arriving black locust and autumn olive shrubs fix nitrogen, allowing sunflowers, bluestem, and white snakeroot to move in along with apple trees, their seeds expelled by proliferating birds.Which statement best explains how the structure of the passage supports the author's purpose?A.The passage lists the varieties of plant life to show the biodiversity of the city because of human intervention.B.The passage traces the chronology of the biological succession of plants to highlight how an urban area will return to its natural state.C.The passage shows the effect of natural forces such as seed dispersal to highlight how plants become established in different areas.D.The passage traces the chronology of the biological succession of plants to predict that the city will become an oasis fit for human habitation.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS

Read the following excerpt from "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman:With no dredging, Central Park's ponds and reservoir have been reincarnated as marshes. Without natural grazers — unless horses used by hansom cabs and by park policemen managed to go feral and breed — Central Park's grass is gone. A maturing forest is in its place, radiating down former streets and invading empty foundations.Which best explains how the structure of this passage supports the author's purpose?A.The passage traces several events in the order that they will occur to highlight how people have harmed the environment in Central Park.B.The passage describes how the absence of human activity will change Central Park to show that nature will eventually destroy what people have built.C.The passage compares the Central Park from before and from during a posthuman world to underscore that pollution levels will remain the same.D.The passage shows the effects of human activity on Central Park to prove that laws protecting the environment are necessary for human survival.

Read this excerpt from "The City Without Us" by Alan Weisman:The weeds are followed by the city's most prolific exotic species, the Chinese ailanthus tree. Even with 8 million people around, ailanthus—otherwise innocently known as the tree-of-heaven—are implacable invaders capable of rooting in tiny chinks in subway tunnels, unnoticed until their spreading leaf canopies start poking from sidewalk grates.Which sentence best states the main idea of this section of the chapter?A.The ailanthus is the most common landscape tree planted in urban America.B.Ailanthus trees are nearly impossible to eradicate once they gain a foothold.C.Ailanthus trees need very little soil and nurturing to grow and thrive.D.Ailanthus trees don't need sunlight, as they can grow in subway tunnels.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS

Read this passage from "The City Without Us" by Alan Weisman:In New York, the European starling—now a ubiquitous avian pest from Alaska to Mexico—was introduced because someone thought the city would be more cultured if Central Park were home to each bird mentioned in Shakespeare. Next came a Central Park garden with every plant in the Bard's plays, sown with the lyrical likes of primrose, wormwood, lark's heel, eglantine, and cowslip—everything short of Macbeth's Birnam Wood.What does Weisman's word choice most clearly suggest about his feelings on the introduction of new species of birds and plants to Central Park?A.He uses the word "ubiquitous" to show that the starling has become well known in the United States.B.He describes Central Park as "lyrical" and "cultured" to boast about New York's being a center of culture.C.He uses the words "pest" and "everything short of" to ridicule the introduction of the new species.D.He credits Shakespeare for inspiring the introduction of the new species to show his disdain for them.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS

Read the following passage:When the forest canopy is removed, the moist soil is exposed to direct sunlight. This causes it to dry out. Without the root structures to hold the soil in place, the dried-out dirt is carried away by wind and rain. Eventually, what was once a lush forest becomes a barren desert.Which statement best describes how the structure enhances a reader's understanding of the passage?A.It examines the connection between cutting down trees and the environmental outcome.B.It uses a formal tone to highlight the serious nature of cutting down trees.C.It appeals to a reader's emotions by creating an image of a lifeless desert.D.It traces the order of events that led to gradual deforestation of the Amazon.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS

Read this excerpt from Alan Weisman's "The City Without Us":The mature beech-oak-ash-ailanthus forest will be mowed down [by glaciers]. The four giant mounds of entombed garbage at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island will be flattened, their vast accumulation of stubborn PVC plastic and of one of the most durable human creations of all—glass—ground to powder.Which claim does the excerpt most clearly support?A.The human impact on the environment is permanent.B.Nature acts swiftly to reclaim abandoned urban areas.C.Nature is ultimately more powerful than humans.D.Without humanity's presence, New York City would quickly deteriorate.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS