Download (Association of American Medical Colleges) (AAMC) organizes MCAT Medical College Admission For Medical Entrance Exam Reading Paper I with Answers
Passage For Question 1 to 9
"Most economists in the United states seem captivated by spell of the free market. Consequently,
nothing seems good ornormal that does not accord with the requirements of the free market. A price
that is determined by the seller or for that matter, established by anyone other than the aggregate of
consumers seems pernicious, Accordingly, it requires a major act of will to think of price ? fixing (the
determination of prices by the sel er) as both "normal" and having a valuable economic function. In
fact, price-fixing is normal in all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides,
as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that requires, Modern industrial
planning requires and rewards great size. Hence a comparatively small number of large firms will be
competing for the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own
needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly
recognized by advocates of free-markets economic theories. But each large firms will also act with full
consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same
customers. Each large firm will thus avoid significant price cutting, because price cutting would be
prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products. Most economists do not see price-
fixing when it occurs because they expect it to be brought about by a number of explicit agreements
among large firms; it is not. More over those economists who argue that allowing the free market to
operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered
the economies of non socialist countries other than the United States. These economies employ
intentional price-fixing usually in an overt fashion. Formal price fixing by cartel and informal price
fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are common place. Were there something
peculiarly efficient about the free market and inefficient about price fixing, the countries that have
avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development.
There is no indication that they have. Socialist industry also works within a frame work of controlled
prices. In early 1970's, the soviet union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in
adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system. Economists in the
United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market.But Soviet firms are no more
subject to prices established by free market over which they exercise little influenced than are
capitalist firms.
Question 1
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. refute the theory that the free market plays a useful role in the development of industrialized
societies.
B. suggest methods by which economist and members of the government of the United States
can recognize and combat price-fixing by large firms.
C. explain the various ways in which industrialized societies can fix in order to stabilized the free
market
D. argue that price-fixing, in one form or another, is an inevitable part of and benefit to the
economy of any industrialized society.
E. Analysis of free markets in different economies
Correct Answer : E
Question 2
The passage provides information that would answer which of the following questions about
price-fixing?
I.What are some of the ways in which prices can be fixed?
II.For what products is price-fixing likely to be more profitable than the operation of the free
market?
III.Is price-fixing more common in socialist industrialized societies or in nonsocialist
industrialized societies?
A. I only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I, II and III
Correct Answer : A
Question 3
The author's attitude toward "Most economists in the United States" can best be described as
1. spiteful and envious
2. scornful and denunciatory
3. critical and condescending
4. ambivalent but deferential
5. uncertain but interested
Correct Answer : C
Question 4
It can be inferred from the author's argument that a price fixed by the sel er "seems
pernicious" because
1. people do not have confidence in large firms
2. people do not expect the government to regulate prices
3. most economists believe that consumers as a group should determine prices.
4. most economists associate fixed prices with communist and socialist economies.
5. Most economists believe that no one group should determine prices.
Correct Answer : C
Question 5
The suggestion in the passage that price-fixing in industrialized societies is normal arises
from the author's statement that price-fixing is
1. a profitable result of economic development
2. an inevitable result of the industrial system
3. the result of a number of carefully organized decisions.
4. a phenomenon common to industrialized and to industrialized societies.
5. a phenomenon best achieved cooperatively by government and industry.
Correct Answer : B
Question 6
According to the author, priced-fixing in nonsocialist countries is often.
1. accidental but productive
2. illegal but useful
3. legal and innovative
4. traditional and rigid
5. intentional and widespread.
Correct Answer : E
Question 7
According to the author, what is the result of the Soviet Union's change in economic policy in
the 1970's?
A. Soviet firms show greater profit
B. Soviet firms have less control over the free market
C. Soviet firms are able to abject to technological advances.
D. Soviet firms have some authority to fix prices.
E. Soviet firms are more responsive to the free market.
Correct Answer : D
Question 8
8.With which of the following statements regarding the behavior of large firms in industrialized
societies would the author be most likely to agree.
A. The directors of large firms will continue to anticipate the demand for products
B. The directors of large firms are less interested in achieving a predictable level of profit tan in
achieving a large profit.
C. The directors of large firms will strive to reduce the costs of their products.
D. Many directors of large firms believe that the government should establish the prices that will
be charged for products.
E. Many directors of large firms believe that the price charged for products is likely to increase
annually.
Correct Answer : A
Question 9
In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with
A. predicting the consequences of a practice
B. criticizing a point of view
C. calling attention to recent discoveries.
D. proposing a topic for research.
E. summarizing conflicting opinions.
Correct Answer : B
Passage For Question 10 to 15
The discoveries of the white dwarf, the neutron star, and the black hole, coming well after the
discovery of the red giant are among eh most exciting developments in decades because they may
be well present physicists with their greatest challenge since thefailure of classical mechanics. In the
life cycle of the star, after all of the hydrogen and helium fuel has been burned, the delicate balance
between the outer nuclear radiation.pressure and the stable gravitational force becomes disturbed
and slow contraction begins. As compression increases, a very dense plasma forms. If the initial star
had mass of less than 1.4 solar masses (1.4 times the mass of our sun), the process ceases at the
density of 1,000 tons per cubic inch, and the star becomes the white dwarf. However, if the star was
original y more massive, the white dwarf plasma can't resist the gravitations pressures, and in rapid
collapse, all nuclei of lthe star are converted to a gas of free neutrons. Gravitational attraction
compresses this neutron gas rapidly until a density of 10 tons per cubic inch is reached; at this point
the strong nuclear force resists further contraction. If the mass of the star was between 1.4 and a few
solar masses, the process stops here, and we have a neutron star. But if the original star was more
massive than a few solar masses, even the strong nuclear forces cannot resist the gravitational
orunch. The neutrons are forced into one another to form heavier hadrons and these in turn coalesce
to form heavier entities, of which we as yet know nothing. At this point, a complete collapse of the
stellar mass occurs; existing theories predict a collapse to infinite density and infinitely small
dimensions Well before this, however, the surface gravitational force would become so strong that no
signal could ever leave the star - any photon emitted would fall back under gravitational attraction ?
and the star would become black hole in space. This gravitational collapse poses a fundamental
challenge to physics. When the most widely accepted theories predict such improbable things as
infinite density and infinitely small dimensions, it simply means that we are missing some vital insight.
This last happened in physics in the 1930's, when we faced the fundamental paradox concerning
atomic structure. At that time, it was recognized that electrons moved in table orbits about nuclei in
atoms. However, it was also recognized that if charge is accelerated, as it must be to remain in orbit,
it radiates energy; so, theoretically, the electron would be expected eventually to spiral into the
nucleus and destroy the atom. Studies centered around this paradox led to the development of
quantum mechanics. It may well be that an equivalent t advance awaits us in investigating the
theoretical problems presented by the phenomenon of gravitational collapse.
Question 10
The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. offer new explanations for the collapse of stars.
B. explain the origins of black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs.
C. compare the structure of atoms with the structure of the solar system.
D. explain how the collapse of stars challenges accepted theories of physics.
E. describe the imbalance between radiation pressure and gravitational force.
Correct Answer : D
Question 11
According to the passage, in the final stages of its devedlopment our own sun is likely to take
the form of a
A. white dwarf
B. neutron star
C. red giant
D. gas of free neutrons
E. black hole
Correct Answer : A
Question 12
According to the passage, an imbalance arises between nuclear radiation pressure and
gravitational force in stars because
A. the density of a star increases as it ages
B. radiation pressure increases as a star increases in mass
C. radiation pressure decreases when a star's fuel has been consumed
D. the collapse of a star increases its gravitational force.
E. a dense plasma decreases the star's gravitational force.
Correct Answer : C
Question 13
The author asserts that the discoveries of the white dwarf, the neutron star, and the black hole
are significant because these discoveries.
A. demonstrate the probability of infinite density and infinitely small dimensions
B. pose the most comprehensive and fundamental problem faced by physicists in decades
C. clarify the paradox suggested by the collapse of electrons into atomic nuclei.
D. establish the relationship between the mass and gravitational pressure.
E. assist in establishing the age of the universe by tracing the life histories of stars.
Correct Answer : B
Question 14
The passage contains information that answers which of the following questions?
A. I only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I, II and III
Correct Answer : E
Question 15
The author introduces the discussion of the paradox concerning atomic structures in order to
A. Show why it was necessary to develop quantum mechanics
B. Compare the structure of an atom with the structure of star
C. Demonstrate by analogy that a vital insight in astrophysics is missing
D. Illustrate the contention that improbable things do happen in astrophysics
E. Argue that atoms can collapse if their electrons do not remain in orbit.
Correct Answer : C
This post was last modified on 19 October 2021