Essay
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For each item, write your own sentence that uses the word or phrase
correctly.
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1.
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reiterate:_____________________________________________________________
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2.
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sustain:______________________________________________________________
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Multiple Choice Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1.
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Our new chief librarian is very strict. The library used to be a place where
students could socialize between classes, but now it’s so quiet in there that you can hear the
person next to you breathing. Personally, I’m thankful for the ___ silence because it helps me
study.
a. | mandated | c. | unending | b. | relentless | d. | systematic |
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2.
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Stem cell research has met with ___ criticism since it first began in the 1960s
because it was thought that scientists would be harvesting stem cells from unborn babies. But the
criticism has begun to die down. As scientists explore other means of obtaining stem cells, many
people are beginning to praise it as a vast new field that promises unheard of cures.
a. | alleging | c. | unending | b. | systematic | d. | mandated |
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3.
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Einstein’s passion for his work would, at times, become ___. He would
spend several days concentrating on a problem, sometimes forgetting to eat or wash.
a. | systematic | c. | mandated | b. | relentless | d. | alleging |
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4.
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“You can’t be serious,” said the Defense Minister. “Are
you ___ that religious belief causes terrorism? What evidence could you possibly have?”
a. | alleging | c. | unending | b. | mandating | d. | systematically |
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5.
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Though the famous archeologists were only visiting the Mayan ruins while on
vacation, the local authorities hurled all kinds of ___ at them in the local paper, saying they were
“grave robbers” and “disturbers of the sleep of our ancestors.”
a. | worlds long gone | c. | allegations | b. | mandates | d. | alleging |
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6.
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While growing up, my grandfather would regale me with stories of his childhood
on an Indiana farm. His family home didn’t have electricity, indoor plumbing, or television. To
my siblings and me, that seemed like a(n) ___, even though there are people today in other parts of
the globe who don’t have these modern conveniences.
a. | systematic | c. | mandate | b. | allegation | d. | world long gone |
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7.
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Part of what made Brent such an incredible problem solver was his ___ approach
to every issue the organization faced. No matter how small or large the dilemma, his step-by-step
method of analyzing the problem always yielded a viable solution.
a. | unending | c. | mandated | b. | systematic | d. | relentless |
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8.
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The most _____ aspect of Ryan’s research into psychoactive drugs was that
it seemed to almost create a new kind of science that linked psychology to botany.
a. | succumbing | c. | teeming | b. | intriguing | d. | skeptical |
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9.
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When they arrived at the outdoor music festival, they were astonished at the
____ of people standing, sitting, and dancing in every direction they looked.
a. | sways | c. | hordes | b. | implications | d. | consensus |
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10.
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After Alicia politely asked her to stop leaving her wet towels on the bathroom
floor, Maria _____ tried to remember to hang them on the hook behind the door.
a. | intriguingly | c. | consciously | b. | skeptically | d. | consensus |
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11.
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The group of friends decided to pool their money to buy their friend a birthday
gift this year. Everyone presented great ideas, making it difficult to reach a _____ on what
present to buy.
a. | skeptical | c. | consensus | b. | horde | d. | implication |
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12.
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The exclusive community requires its members to abide by a stringent set of
regulations for maintaining their property. It ____ what colors the houses can be painted, how high
fences can be constructed, the type of landscaping a yard can have, and what kinds of holiday
décor can be displayed.
a. | dictates | c. | sways | b. | implicates | d. | teems |
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13.
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During the political campaign, the volunteers for the incumbent mayor went door
to door throughout the city, hoping to _____ the opinions of undecided voters.
a. | teem | c. | dictate | b. | succumb | d. | sway |
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14.
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When we chopped down the old, dead tree in the backyard, we did not expect it to
be ___ with angry bees. We quickly ran to take refuge in the house. Cleaning up the tree would
have to wait until tomorrow.
a. | teeming | c. | implicating | b. | swaying | d. | dictating |
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15.
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There were far-reaching _____ if Stephen didn’t pass his advanced physics
course. He’d have to repeat the course in a year because it’s not offered in the spring
semester. This would impact his expected graduation date, and create concerns about paying for
another semester or year of school.
a. | implications | c. | hordes | b. | consensus | d. | teems |
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16.
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After her pre-teen daughter badgered her unendingly for three straight days
about going to the movies with her friends without adult supervision, Caroline finally _____ to the
relentless begging out of pure exhaustion of discussing the topic.
a. | swayed | c. | dictated | b. | succumbed | d. | intrigued |
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17.
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After researching the cost of having his house painted, James was ___ of the
accuracy of Beck Painting’s estimate, being that their bid for the job was substantially lower
than the rest.
a. | implicated | c. | consciously | b. | intrigued | d. | skeptical |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1In the process of touring our downtown real estate, you’ll begin
to see first-hand how loft apartments are the latest craze in homebuilding. 2Today, loft
apartments are deliberately constructed to look crude and industrial, and yet they have stylish
layouts with high ceilings and big spaces. 3They have bare beams, exposed bricks,
suspended air ducts, and partitions instead of walls (indeed, if there are even partitions or walls
at all). 4When you look at a loft’s kitchen or bathroom, you’ll often
see sleek, state-of-the-art fixtures that contrast strikingly with the bare red bricks that loom
behind them. Murals and large old-fashioned, factory-style, jalousie windows often complement the
living room. 5This meager style manages to sell for a lot of money.
6Today’s urban lofts run from 300,000 to 2,000,000 dollars, and they overlook
fashionable, busy urban centers filled with nightlife, culture, and shopping—a far cry from the
crime-infested, bohemian environments of traditional lofts in the 1980s.
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18.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | description | c. | process | b. | narration | d. | cause &
effect |
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19.
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A signal word in sentence 4 that supports the overall pattern of organization
is
a. | when | c. | often | b. | or | d. | behind |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1What causes happiness? 2Since the 1950s, survey results
indicate that happiness is declining. 3In 1957, more than one person out of three
questioned described themselves as being “very happy;” one out of ten was “not too
happy.” 4The remaining 54 percent thought they were “pretty happy.”
5But by 1972, only one in four people selected “very happy.” 6This
last finding is hard to understand since there was so much growth in prosperity between 1940 and
1972. —From LEFRANCOIS. The Lifespan 1e (p.485). Copyright © 1996 Cengage
Learning
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20.
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A signal word or phrase in sentence 3 that supports the overall pattern of
organization is
a. | in 1957 | c. | one | b. | more than | d. | out of |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1A statistic is not always valid. 2It often starts out as
someone’s best guess, becoming accepted later as a fact simply through our exposure to it.
3Consequently, the source is soon forgotten, and because of repetition, the figure gets
stored in our brains right next to the scientifically proven facts. 4More and more
magazines publish the statistic, and news broadcasts refer to it as though it were common knowledge,
while the trail becomes increasingly muddy. 5We lose track of the number’s original
source. 6We become increasingly confident that it must be correct because it appears
everywhere. 7Once the inaccurate number becomes popular, it barely even matters if critics
challenge it. —From ANDERSON/LOGIO/TAYLOR. Understanding Society: An Introductory
Reader 3e (p. 24). Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning
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21.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | description | c. | process | b. | narration | d. | cause &
effect |
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22.
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A signal word or phrase in sentence 3 that supports the overall pattern of
organization is
a. | consequently | c. | because | b. | soon | d. | next to |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1We may sometimes worry that, with so many factories and cars
burning fossil fuels, oxygen will gradually be depleted from the Earth. 2However, there
are a couple of reasons why oxygen will always be the planet’s most abundant element.
3First of all, it has the ability to bond with many other elements. 4Normally a
gas by itself, oxygen is solid in the earth’s crust where it occurs more commonly even than
silicon or iron. 5It accomplishes this by forming compounds with these elements, like
silicon dioxide and iron oxide (rust). 6Oxygen also combines with hydrogen, forming
H2O or water. 7It is therefore abundant as both liquid and ice in the
world’s oceans, icecaps, glaciers, lakes, and rivers. 8A second reason why oxygen is
so abundant is that it is a byproduct of the process of photosynthesis in plants. 9Even
though we breathe in oxygen and use it up to burn food chemically in our cells, it continuously gets
replenished by algae in the oceans and green plants on land. 10Even though we consume even
larger amounts of oxygen when we burn wood, coal, and oil, it still returns just as fast.
11Thanks to activity of plants and algae, our burning of fossil fuels has made no
noticeable impact in the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere.
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23.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | description | c. | process | b. | narration | d. | cause &
effect |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1It was Josh’s car that made me break up with him.
2Don’t get me wrong; I’m not that shallow. It’s just that his car
revealed something about his character. 4The hubcaps were sometimes crusty with orange
Georgia clay as though he had driven to strange places that he never talked about. 5The
windshield wipers sometimes got stuck and wouldn’t budge. 6That was probably because
he never washed any of the windows. 7They had a film on them that you could barely
see through, and the haze from oncoming headlights at night was blinding. 8In the back, I
could swear that the trunk had bullet holes in it. 9Inside the car, his rearview mirror
had broken off, and he didn’t seem to care about replacing it. 10The ashtray usually
had cigarettes pinched off and sticking out of it—and Josh didn’t smoke. 11And
to top it off, I once found lipstick in the pocket of the passenger-side door, and it wasn’t
mine.
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24.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | description | c. | process | b. | narration | d. | cause &
effect |
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25.
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The relationship of sentence 6 to sentence 5 is one of
a. | description | c. | process | b. | narration | d. | cause &
effect |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1Thanks to stereotypes, we often view young people as flexible and
open-minded and old people as rigid and stubborn. 2However, the reverse seems to be more
common. 3The differences between the thinking of younger and older adults often become
apparent in the discussions and arguments they have. 4For example, adolescents and young
adults, when observed at a family picnic, strove to be logical thinkers, searching for
“correct,” reason-driven solutions for the world’s problems. 5In
contrast, the people over 45 clearly displayed more flexibility and practicality.
6Thinking, as we get older, appears to become more practical, more comfortable with
contradiction, more relativistic, and more tolerant of ambiguity. —From LEFRANCOIS. The Lifespan 1e (p.
402). Copyright © 1996 Cengage Learning
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26.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison and contrast | d. | classification |
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27.
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Which of the following signal words or phrases does the author use to shift from
the first major detail to the second?
a. | however | c. | when | b. | for example | d. | in contrast |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1The physical status of the child has traditionally been defined
according to the length of time spent in gestation and by weight. 2A fetus born on or
before the 20 th week and weighing less than 500 grams (about 1 pound) is referred to as an
abortion (more commonly called a miscarriage). 3A fetus delivered between the
20 th and 28 th week and weighing between 500 and 999 grams (between 1 and 2
pounds) is an immature birth. 4And any baby born at these times or on a date before the
28th week is categorized as a preterm. 5Before the 1960s, all immature births invariably
died; the majority still do, most of them from respiratory failure. 6But with modern
medical procedures, an increasing number survive, some born as much as four months prematurely and
weighing as little as 750 grams (1 ½ pounds). —From LEFRANCOIS. The Lifespan 1e (p. 122). Copyright © 1996 Cengage
Learning
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28.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison and contrast | d. | classification |
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29.
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A signal word or phrase in sentence 4 that supports the overall pattern of
organization is
a. | and | c. | before | b. | at these times | d. | categorized as |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1Men, on average, have significantly greater physical strength than
women. 2However, from the very beginning of the life process, men appear to be more
fragile when it comes to survival. 3There are about twice as many male as female sperm
produced, but only about 105 males are born for every 100 females. 4And because more male
than female infants die—and more male children and adolescents also die—numbers of both
sexes are about equal at adulthood. 5By the time men and woman reach the age of 65, there
are approximately three women alive for every two men. 6In the past half-century, life
expectancy has increased by some 10 years for both men and women, but it has remained approximately
seven years longer for women than men. —From LEFRANCOIS. The Lifespan 1e (p. 485). Copyright © 1996 Cengage
Learning
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30.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison and contrast | d. | classification |
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31.
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A signal word or phrase that the author uses to switch from the first to the
second major detail is
a. | however | c. | because | b. | and | d. | by the time |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1Since Einstein, modern science has been exploring areas that are
almost impossible for us to imagine. 2Take, for example, astronomy and its attempts to
understand black holes. 3A black hole is described as a region in space in which
the gravity is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape it. 4The term black
hole comes from that fact that we cannot see what is inside it. 5Rays of light
either bend around or get sucked in by the gravity—so we can at least “see” a black
hole by the distortions it creates from visible light. 6Black holes are also defined by
the fact that they appear to be holes not only in our view of space, but holes in space
itself. 7An example of a black hole exists near a star called S2, near the center of our
galaxy. 8The star evidently is orbiting a region of space in which nothing can be seen.
9But the orbit obviously indicates that there is a “hole” in the gravitational
field near S2, just as there is a hole in our visibility. 10Since we cannot see the black
hole, its “gravity well” is the only evidence for its existence. 11Scientists
sometimes entertain theories that these “holes in gravity” lead to alternate universes or
to other periods of time in this universe.
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32.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison and contrast | d. | classification |
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33.
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A signal word or phrase that the author uses switch from the first to the second
major detail is
a. | for example | c. | an example | b. | also defined | d. | but |
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Read the selection and answer the questions that
follow.
1The process of reviewing one’s life to create meaning—for
oneself and for the community—is essential to psychological wellbeing. 2The best
example of this is the role of the “wise man” or “wise woman.”
3Unlike younger adults, the elderly appear to embrace the role of meaning-maker as their
personal responsibility, spending much of their time, sometimes hours, simply sitting and reviewing
their lives and the lives of the people they’ve known. 5For instance, they may sit
by the ocean alone and daydream about past experiences, evaluating things they’ve done, and
resolving (or simply accepting) old conflicts. 6Or sometimes they may drag out boxes of
old photographs and tell stories to their grandchildren all afternoon. 7Examples like
these of the “wise man” or “wise woman” represent an important symbolic role
in cultures all over the world. 8It is a role much overlooked in Western culture today,
but adults occasionally find themselves sitting in quiet awe of their older parents’
story-telling ability.
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34.
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The overall pattern of organization for this selection is _____.
a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison and contrast | d. | classification |
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35.
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The signal word or phrase used to indicate the first major detail is
a. | the best example | c. | for instance | b. | unlike | d. | but |
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Matching
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Following are ten topic sentences without their supporting details. For each
sentence, predict the overall pattern of organization that the author is most likely to
use. a. | example | c. | definition | b. | comparison/contrast | d. | classification |
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1.
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So you think you like it when he’s the quiet type, but what you
don’t know is that there are a number of categories that this type of gentleman can fit
into—not all of them so gentlemanly.
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2.
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Before you start your new retail store, you would do well to consider the type
of corporation your business will be.
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3.
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Quintessence comes from the Latin quinta essentia, literally “fifth
essence.”
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4.
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Dr. Simon noticed as many as four different grades of soil as he studied the
farms in the western provinces.
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5.
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The consumer behavior of a person who watches television is considerably
different from someone who does not.
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