Questions 1-11 are based on the following passage.

The Pioneers of the Great Exodus

At the end of the Reconstruction era that followed the American Civil War, tens of thousands of black former slaves left the southern United States (1) for finding social and economic opportunity in the western states and territories. The movement was known as the Great Exodus, and (2) their participants came to be called exodusters. (3) During this time, travel from one part of the country to another took days or even weeks, and the dangers wild animals posed were not to be underestimated.

The most popular destination was Kansas, in part because of its role as an early stronghold of the movement to abolish slavery. One settlement in that state was Nicodemus, a town in northwestern Kansas that drew more than 300 settlers to make the long journey from Kentucky in. (4) Real estate agents (5) mentioned Nicodemus in brochures and newspapers, but the reality that exodusters confronted on arrival was less appealing. For one early settler of Nicodemus, Willianna Hickman, the flat, empty landscape contrasted starkly with the forested hills where she grew up-Hickman recalled bursting into tears when she first saw her new home.

Some exodusters returned to the familiar (6) expanse of their home (7) states: but others-including  Hickman and her husband, Daniel, decided to stay in their new farming villages. These farmers faced many difficulties. In Nicodemus, the lack of trees for home construction or fuel forced settlers to build houses out of sod and burn materials such as sunflowers for heat.

Possessing less wealth than settlers from Europe or other parts of the United States, (8) horses or farm implements could not be afforded by many exodusters who had to do agricultural work with inadequate hand tools. In the first years, many could not raise enough crops to sustain themselves and had to seek aid from neighbors or state governments. 

The prosperity of exoduster settlements depended on the yields of their farms. (9) Eventually, harvests in Nicodemus grew, which allowed residents to purchase lumber for their houses and attracted (10) banks, grocery stores, and other businesses. But the challenges of smallscale farming, (11) exacerbated and made worse by economic volatility, slowed the Great Exodus. By the twentieth century, Nicodemus had stopped growing, with many businesses moving away, and other exoduster communities had disappeared altogether. As settlers left the region, Nicodemus became the only original exoduster town to endure to the present day. It remains, in the words of a 1996 congressional bill establishing it as a National Historic Site, "symbolic of the pioneer spirit of African Americans who dared to leave the only region they had been familiar with to seek personal freedom and the opportunity to develop their talents and capabilities."

Questions 12-22 are based on the following passage.

Debunking Myths of the Dodo

Julian Hume, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, has long been troubled by the misunderstandings surrounding the scientific community's knowledge of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus), a large, flightless (12) bird. This was a bird that was endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius and likely went extinct by the year 1693. (13) Consequently, the dodo has been depicted as an unintelligent, oddly shaped animal with tiny wings and a clumsy demeanor-a veritable buffoon of a bird. (14) However, Hume and others have shown that the dodo was much more capable than such depictions would suggest.

[l] Hume was part of a team of paleontologists that employed 3-D laser scanning to produce high-resolution images of each bone from two nearly complete dodo specimens. [2) The team used the images to reconstruct a more streamlined model of dodo skeletal structure; they also evaluated the individual bone images. [3) Hume noted that the robust kneecaps of R. cucullatus, along with its thick leg bones and broad (15) pelvis would have provided (16) them with the strength and maneuverability to easily navigate the rocky and densely forested landscape of Mauritius. [4] The prominence of these features suggests a well-developed musculature, indicating that the wings, while small in size relative to the rest of the body, likely enhanced the dodo's speed and agility. (17)

Another team of scientists, (18) being a team that was overseen and led by comparative biologist Eugenia Gold, then a graduate student working at the American Museum of Natural History, focused on the dodo's capacity for cognition. They used computed tomography scanning on a well-preserved R. cucullatus skull to create a virtual endocast, a 3-D model of the brain cavity. The team created similar models for eight of the dodo's presumed closest relatives, including several extant species, (19) they calculated the ratio of brain volume to total body mass for each specimen. The ratio for the dodo was comparable to that of a modern bird possessing considerable navigational and visual skills and a vaunted capacity for learning. (20) While brain volume is not an infallible indicator of intelligence, Gold's team concluded that the dodo was not all that dimwitted.

(21) Hume and Gold's results', obtained with more comprehensive data than previously available and with the aid of improved analytical techniques, offer a necessary revision of the dodo's reputation. The dodo may not have been the most graceful of birds or an avian Einstein, but neither (22) was it the clownish creature that is so often imagined.

Questions 23-33 are based on the following passage and supplementary material.

VISTA Offers New Perspectives

Considering her options after graduation, college student Shauntia Dyson (23) thought about what she might do and decided that she wanted to use her skills to help people struggling with the challenges of poverty. A search for such opportunities led her to the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program. Each VISTA member works full time for one year at a private nonprofit or public agency in a low-income community.

In 2016, Dyson began her VISTA service at the Forsyth Farmers' Market in Savannah, (24) Georgia, where, in exchange for a modest salary and benefits, she supports the organization in its mission of offering locally produced food options to people in the Savannah area. Dyson and (25) their fellow VISTA members, or VISTAs, have made an excellent decision, one that will benefit them now and in the future.

VISTAs' salaries may be low, but the VISTA experience is very rewarding in other ways. The program's dedication to assisting people in need makes the work especially (26) reassuring to those who, like Dyson, find joy in serving and helping others. (27) However, VISTAs' responsibilities tend to be at a higher level than those found in private-sector jobs. VISTAs are typically not hired to offer direct services such as delivering (28) food, rather they use their talents on big picture initiatives such as building the capacity and improving the financial health of the organizations that employ them. Dyson enthusiastically (29) explains that: her role at the farmers' market involves, "enhancing the organization's reach and visibility" as well as "increasing and diversifying financial and in-kind resources."

The program also assists VISTAs in (30) preparing for their future careers. A 2015 study asked VISTA alumni to rate the program's success in helping them build various career-specific skills. Five of these skills communicating in writing, conducting oneself professionally, working independently, meeting deadlines, and prioritizing tasks-were grouped under the heading "Managing Self and Work." The data are persuasive: (31) 30% of alumni rated VISTA service as having im2roved their management of self and work "somewhat," while a mere 4% said the program improved their skills in this area "very little or not at all."

Additionally, (32) most VISTA alumni surveyed, about three-fourths, agreed or strongly agreed with the claim that VISTA was a worthwhile experience in furthering their professional goals.

By joining VISTA, Shauntia Dyson is following in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of people, over the program's fifty-year history, who (33) are helping improve both their communities and their career prospects. More US students should consider devoting a year as a volunteer in service to America. 

Questions 34-44 are based on the following passage.

Where Do the Parthenon Sculptures Belong?

In 1801 British nobleman Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, arrived in Athens, Greece, to document the beautiful marble sculptures that decorated the Parthenon, a temple built in the fifth century BCE. Elgin arrived with a permit from officials of the Ottoman Empire, which then occupied (34) Greece. Granting him permission to make drawings and casts of the sculpture s; the permit also allowed him to "take away any pieces of stone with inscriptions or figures." After finding that many of the Parthenon sculptures had been harmed and that others were being sold to tourists, Elgin decided to take full advantage of the permit and arranged to take many of the sculptures to Britain. Some public figures-including the poet Lord Byron and the politician Sir John Newport-immediately questioned the legitimacy of Elgin's seemingly good intentions.

Following an investigation, a British parliamentary committee concluded in 1816 that Britain should give "asylum" to the sculptures. (35) In 1823 Lord Byron sailed to Greece to support the Greek guest for independence from the Ottoman Empire. After Greece gained independence in 1832, however, some argued that the agreement Elgin had made with the Ottoman government was (36) now totally bogus and that the sculptures should be returned. In 1925 a series of newspaper debates brought the issue to popular attention, and Greece has (37) razed the question of the sculptures' repatriation with almost every British ambassador ever since repatriation with almost every British ambassador ever since.

Officials from the British Museum have long argued that the expertise of their curators (38) protecting the sculptures from the elements. In support of their argument, they note that the sculptures that Elgin did not remove have suffered from pollution. In an effort to (39) prove its commitment to the sculptures' well being, the Greek government constructed a large, state-of-the-art museum, which opened in 2009, to house the Parthenon sculptures that remain in the country. This (40) museums facility's would also be capable of housing the sculptures that are currently in Britain should they be returned.

(41)  Regardless of the controversy, the Parthenon sculptures deserve a wide audience. Some argue that cultural artifacts belong in the country where they were created, while others still say that a large international institution like the British Museum is best suited to house objects that are significant to human history. In 2015 the Greek government decided not to pursue legal action against (42) Britain. It opted instead for continued diplomatic efforts. As of 2018, it remains uncertain where (43) the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum will ultimately reside?