1.Correct Answer: E

　　Explanation:

　　The “robber” is the seedling that survives and the “good swimmers” are also those that survive. Both the “robber” and the “good swimmer” are metaphors for the strong individuals in a population.

　　2.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　The author clearly states that large numbers of individuals are produced yet numbers stay more or less the same (on the average, neither more nor less numerous than they were). He is also clear that it is the fittest that survive (those only escape which happen to be a little better fitted to resist destruction than those which die). Answer C is clearly the best. You can eliminate answer choice B because of the word “violent”. Answer D is counter to the fact that some are better fitted to survive. A and E may be true statements but neither is the main point of the paragraph.

　　3.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　We are told that the term “dependence” is more fashionable, but being fashionable does not make it more accurate (eliminate A). Certainly the word “aberration” is wrong and strong (eliminate D). There is nothing to suggest that the term is under-used (the author himself goes on to use to twice more, so eliminate C), and he says that all the terms are controversial, making the words “more controversial” wrong (eliminate E). B is correct because the author implies that the word is more fashionable now and that addiction was the older term.

　　4.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　By saying that the increase in literature on the subject is in “inverse proportion” to our understanding the author means that the more that is written, the less we understand. This is the exact opposite of answer choice C, but closest in sense to answer A, the right answer. He does say that the rate of growth “defies anyone to keep abreast”, but this does not mean that no one can have read the literature on any particular drug, so B is clearly wrong. There is nothing to say the growth rate should be higher, making D wrong. E is wrong because it simply picks the word “fashionable” from the next sentence and applies it incorrectly to the first sentence.

　　5.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　“Was there then any race to be first” refers to the situation described in the previous sentence: no one rushed to give support and assistance to the explorer before the expedition. It is ironical because there never was a race to be first at the time when help was needed, only a race to be first to cheer the ultimate success. (This is actually a very easy question.)

　　6.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　“A feather in our cap” is an idiomatic expression that refers to some outstanding achievement. (If, for example, you score very high marks in the SAT it will be a feather in your cap.) In this case people feel a sense of triumph when the explorer comes home, but the triumph is not really ours, and that is why the correct answer (A) refers to “unearned credit”.

　　7.Correct Answer: E

　　Explanation:

　　Rhetorical questions are questions that are used for effect and do not expect a direct answer. Both passages use this technique, hence answer (E) is correct. The first paragraph has no references to specific times or places. Neither makes reference to historical documents, or uses metaphor. Only the first uses repetition and parallel construction (see for example, the last sentence of paragraph one).

　　8.Correct Answer: E

　　Explanation:

　　Be careful with “except” questions. Check that you have found four correct things that the two men shared before isolating the right answer (which will be wrong, if you see what I mean!) Amundsen and Columbus were obviously explorers (A is correct). Both passages are making the case that such explores should (but don’t) receive support before their expeditions, that they have difficulties to face before they even set sail, but that they are lauded after the event. This makes statements B, C, and D correct. There is no evidence that they did or did not sail alone, making E incorrect, and hence the right answer!