Daily Practice Questions

Explanation: The narrator rhetorically asks “who has seen the wind?,” then states that no one has. Instead, we have seen its effects indirectly from the trembling of the leaves and the bending of the trees. So, the overall structure of the text is that it presents different ways that the invisible wind may be seen. It is not choice (A) because it does not examine weather formation in general. It is not (B) because the focus is on the wind, not natural growth. It is not (D) because the emotional impact of the wind is not discussed.

Explanation: The sentence serves all three functions. An argument could be made for (B), however, because of its engaging references to April Fools’ Day and pieces of junk “the size of a bus.” Despite its appeal, however, (B) adds little substance to the passage.

Explanation: Two angles are coterminal if they share the same terminal side, which occurs when their difference is an integer multiple of 360°. Since $60^\circ - (-720^\circ) = 780^\circ$ and $780 \div 360$ is not an integer, choice (A) is incorrect; however, checking the options against a standard reference angle like $60^\circ$, only choice (D) represents the angle itself. The question likely implies finding the coterminal angle within a specific range or simply identifying the given angle as its own coterminal representation among the choices, making 60° the correct selection as it is the primary angle defining that terminal side.

Explanation: The sentence describes a sudden downpour after many dry days; 'arid' means dry or lacking moisture, which logically precedes a heavy rainstorm. The contrast between prolonged dryness and sudden deluge explains why people were unprepared ('left everyone ___ for the sudden downpour'). 'Calm' and 'humid' don’t create this contrast, and 'waiting' is grammatically awkward in blank (i) (needs a noun/adjective to describe days).

Explanation: During the drought, small seeds became scarce while large, hard seeds remained available, creating an environment where only birds with larger beaks could survive and reproduce. This scenario describes directional selection because the entire population's trait distribution shifted toward one extreme (larger beak size) rather than favoring both extremes or the average. In contrast, disruptive selection would favor both small and large beaks simultaneously, stabilizing selection would maintain the average beak size, and sexual selection relates to mating success rather than survival based on environmental resources.

Explanation: The property of interference is a characteristic ofall waves. The ability to be polarized is characteristiconlyof electromagnetic waves.Through the lens of quantum mechanics nothing is either a wave or a particle;matter and electromagnetic radiation(which is pretty much everything!)have both wave properties and particle properties. So C is the only correct statement.