Rose English Fantasy

126. Objects in the universe show a variety of shapes: round planets (some with rings) , tailed comets, wispy cosmic gas and dust clouds, ringed nebulae, pinwheel-shaped spiral galaxies, and so on. But none of the shapes on this list describes the largest single entities in the universe.
The word "entities" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) factors
(B) processes
(C) objects
(D) puzzles

127. Stone carvers engraved their motifs of skulls and crossbones and other religious icons of death into the gray slabs that we still see standing today in old burial grounds.
The word "motifs" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) tools
(B) prints
(C) signatures
(D) designs

128. Although they often achieved expression and formal excellence in their generally primitive style, they remained artisans skilled in the craft of carving and constituted a group distinct from what we normally think of as "sculptors" in today's use of the word.
The word "distinct" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) separate
(B) assembled
(C) notable
(D) inferior

129. On the rare occasion when a fine piece of sculpture was desired, Americans turned to foreign sculptors, as in the 1770's when the cities of New York and Charleston, South Carolina, commissioned the Englishman Joseph Wilton to make marble statues of William Pill.
The word "rare" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) festive
(B) infrequent
(C) delightful
(D) unexpected

130. Desert mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature. Instead of trying to keep down the body temperature deep inside the body, which would involve the expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant's gazelles.
The word "maintaining" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) measuring
(B) inheriting
(C) preserving
(D) delaying

131. Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that would be fatal for nonadapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as water without harm to itself, whereas human beings die after losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight.
The word "tolerate" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) endure
(B) replace
(C) compensate
(D) reduce
 
132. The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the desert, as animals do not have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse and far-flung pastures.
The word "obtain" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) digest
(B) carry
(C) save
(D) get

133. In 1979 Santa Monica's municipal government ordered landlords to roll back their rents to the levels charged in 1978. Future rents could only go up by two thirds as much as any increase in the overall price level.

The phrase "roll back" in lines 11-12 is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) credit
(B) measure
(C) vary
(D) reduce

134. In any housing market, rental prices perform three functions: (1) promoting the efficient maintenance of existing housing and stimulating the construction of new housing.
The word "stimulating" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) experimenting with
(B) identifying
(C) estimating
(D) encouraging

135. One result of rent control is a decrease in the construction of new rental units. Rent Controls have artificially depressed the most important long-term determinant of profitability-rents.
The word "depressed" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) saddened
(B) created
(C) lowered
(D) defeated

136. In the same year, in San Francisco, California, only 2,000 units were built. San Francisco has only a 1. 6 percent vacancy rate but stringent rent control laws.
The word "stringent" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) straightforward
(B) strict
(C) expanded
(D) efficient

137. For example, sometimes the shape or veining in a piece of stone or wood suggests, perhaps even dictates, not only the ultimate form, but even the subject matter.
The word "dictates" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) reads aloud
(B) determines
(C) includes
(D) records

138. In 1905 he was sent to Paris as an apprentice to an art dealer, and in the years that followed he witnessed the birth of Cubism, discovered primitive art, and learned the techniques of woodcarving from a frame maker.
The word "witnessed" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) influenced
(B) studied
(C) validated
(D) observed

139. The plank's form dictated the rigidly frontal view and the low relief. Even its irregular shape must have appealed to Laurent as a break with a long-standing tradition that required a sculptor to work within a perfect rectangle or square.
The phrase "a break with" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) a destruction of
(B) a departure from
(C) a collapse of
(D) a solution to

140. In winter especially, it is important for birds to keep warm at night and conserve precious food reserves.
The word "conserve" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) retain
(B) watch
(C) locate
(D) share

141. One way to do this is to find a sheltered roost. Solitary roosters shelter in dense vegetation or enter a cavity-horned larks dig holes in the ground and ptarmigan burrow into snow banks-but the effect of sheltering is magnified by several birds huddling together in the roosts, as wrens, swifts, brown creepers, bluebirds, and anis do.
The word "magnified" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) caused
(B) modified
(C) intensified
(D) combined

142. The second possible benefit of communal roots is that they act as "information centers."During the day, parties of birds will have spread out to forage over a very large area. When they return in the evening some will have fed well, but others may have found little to eat.
The word "forage" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) fly
(B) assemble
(C) feed
(D) rest

143. Finally, there is safety in numbers at communal roosts since there will always be a few birds awake at any given moment to give the alarm. But this increased protection is partially counteracted by the fact that mass roosts attract predators and are especially vulnerable if they are on the ground.
The word "counteracted" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) suggested
(B) negated
(C) measured
(D) shielded

144. Drying, smoking, and salting could preserve meat for a short time, but the availability of fresh meat, like that of fresh milk, was very limited; there was no way to prevent spoilage.
The word "prevent" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) estimate
(B) avoid
(C) correct
(D) confine

145. The icebox became a fixture in most homes and remained so until the mechanized refrigerator replaced it in the 1920's and 1930's. Almost everyone now had a more diversified diet.
The word "fixture" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) luxury item
(B) substance
(C) commonplace object
(D) mechanical device

146. Some people continued to eat mainly foods that were heavy in starches or carbohydrates, and not everyone could afford meat. Nevertheless, many families could take advantage of previously unavailable fruits, vegetables, and dairy products to achieve more varied fare.
The word "Nevertheless" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) therefore
(B) because
(C) occasionally
(D) however

readily change its orientation, or phase. Cats know this instinctively, but scientists could not be sure how it happened until they increased the speed of their perceptions a thousand fold.
The word "readily" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) only
(B) easily
(C) slowly
(D) certainly

147. The changing profile of a city in the United States is apparent in the shifting definitions used by the United States Bureau of the Census. In 1870 the census officially distinguished the nation's "urban" from its "rural" population for the first time.
The word "distinguished" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) differentiated
(B) removed
(C) honored
(D) protected

148. Each SMSA would contain at least (a) one central city with 50,000 inhabitant or more or (b) two cities having shared boundaries and constituting, for general economic and social purposes, a single community with a combined population of at least 50,000, the smaller of which must have a population of at least 15,000.
The word "constituting" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) located near
(B) determined by
(C) calling for
(D) making up

149. The Anasazi lived in houses constructed of adobe and wood. Anasazi houses were originally built in pits and were entered from the roof.
The word "pits" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) stages
(B) scars
(C) seeds
(D) holes

150. Each kiva had a fire pit and hole that was believed to lead to the underworld. The largest pueblos had five stories and more than 800 rooms.
The word "stories" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) articles
(B) tales
(C) levels
(D) rumors