Question
Passage 1: How to Become a Straight-A Student
Excerpt by Cal Newport
1 - As humans, our minds have evolved to prefer short-term tasks such as “run away from that lion” or “eat food.” Therefore, when you walk into the library on a Sunday morning with the goal of finishing all of your homework and writing a paper, your brain isn’t happy. The idea of spending eight consecutive hours trapped in a study carrel is dispiriting. Plus, it’s hard to focus for that long, so pretty soon fatigue will set in, your concentration will wander, and every distraction will suddenly seem impossibly appealing. Before you know it, the day will be over and you'll realize that you haven’t accomplished much productive work at all. The next day, new assignments will pile onto those you didn’t finish on Sunday, and the tedious process starts all over again.
2 - Jason, a straight–A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term “pseudo–working” to describe this common approach to studying. The pseudo–worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard—he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night—but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, doesn't actually accomplish much. This bad habit is endemic on most college campuses. For example, at Dartmouth there was a section of the main library that was open twenty–four hours a day, and the students I used to see in there late at night huddled in groups, gulping coffee and griping about their hardships, were definitely pseudo–working. The roommate who flips through her chemistry notes on the couch while watching TV is pseudo–working. The guy who brings three meals, a blanket, and six-pack of Red Bull to the study lounge in preparation for an all-day paper–writing marathon is also pseudo–working. By placing themselves in distracting environments and insisting on working in long tedious stretches, these students are crippling their brain’s ability to think clearly and efficiently accomplish the task at hand. The result is fatigue headaches and lackluster outcomes.
3 - The bigger problem here is that most students don't even realize that they're pseudo–working. To them pseudo–work is work—it's how they've always done it, and it's how all of their friends do it. It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way. Straight–A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo–work. They fear it, and for good reason. It not only wastes time, but it's also mentally draining. There is just no way to be well–balanced, happy, and academically successful if you’re regularly burning through your free hours in long, painful stretches of inefficient studying. The students I interviewed for this book emphasized again and again the importance of avoiding this trap. In fact, when asked what one skill was most important in becoming a non–grind straight–A student, most of them cited the ability to get work done quickly and with a minimum of wasted effort.
4 - So how do these students achieve this goal? A big part of the solution is timing—they gain efficiency by compressing work into focused bursts. To understand the power of this approach, consider the following simple formula: work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus
5 - Pseudo-work features a very low intensity of focus. Therefore, to accomplish something by pseudo-working, you need to spend a lot of time. The straight–A approach, on the other hand, maximizes intensity in order to minimize time. For example, let's rank intensity on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most intense). Assume it takes ten hours to finish studying for a test by pseudo-working with a low intensity score of 3. According to our formula, this same amount of work can be accomplished in only three one-hour bursts, each with an intensity of 10. The work that took you all day Sunday to complete could instead be finished by studying an hour after breakfast, an hour after lunch, and an hour after dinner—the rest of the day being free for you to relax!
Excerpt from How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport. Copyright © 2007 by Cal Newport. This text was used in fair use.
#1 - This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
#1 - Part A: What central idea about studying does the author express in Passage 1?
*
1 point
A) Straight-A students know how to work harder than other students.
B) The only way to become a straight-A student is efficient study habits.
C) Most students pseudo-work and end up wasting valuable time.
D) An all-night study session can help you catch up on school assignments.
#1 - Part B: What does the author cite in Passage 1 as evidence that supports the central idea?
1 point
A) interviews from straight-A students
B) quotes from literary works
C) new opportunities in ways to study
D) more accurate scientific studies
#2 - According to Newport in Passage 1, what does a straight-A student do to be successful?
*
1 point
A) work with higher intensity for a shorter period of time
B) are better at balancing work and their personal lives
C) know when they are actually pseudo-working
D) do things differently than their friends and peers
#3 - This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
#3 - Part A: Read this excerpt from Passage 1. .....“Jason, a straight–A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term ‘pseudo–working’ to describe this common approach to studying. The pseudo–worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard—he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night—but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, doesn't actually accomplish much.” (paragraph 2)..... Why does the author use the word pseudo in describing a form of studying?
*
1 point
A) to highlight how hard some students work
B) to argue that studying is not enough
C) to describe how students pretend to study
D) to show that this type of studying is not real
#3 - Part B: Which phrase from the excerpt provides a clue to the meaning of pseudo?
1 point
A) “feels like someone”
B) “spends a long time”
C) “not afraid to push on late”
D) “doesn't actually accomplish much”
#4 - Which sentence supports the author’s position that there is a better way to study in Passage 1?
*
1 point
A) “The result is fatigue headaches and lackluster outcomes.” (paragraph 2)
B) “The bigger problem here is that most students don't even realize that they’re pseudo–working.” (paragraph 3)
C) “It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way.” (paragraph 3)
D) “Straight–A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo–work.” (paragraph 3)
Excerpt by Cal Newport
1 - As humans, our minds have evolved to prefer short-term tasks such as “run away from that lion” or “eat food.” Therefore, when you walk into the library on a Sunday morning with the goal of finishing all of your homework and writing a paper, your brain isn’t happy. The idea of spending eight consecutive hours trapped in a study carrel is dispiriting. Plus, it’s hard to focus for that long, so pretty soon fatigue will set in, your concentration will wander, and every distraction will suddenly seem impossibly appealing. Before you know it, the day will be over and you'll realize that you haven’t accomplished much productive work at all. The next day, new assignments will pile onto those you didn’t finish on Sunday, and the tedious process starts all over again.
2 - Jason, a straight–A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term “pseudo–working” to describe this common approach to studying. The pseudo–worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard—he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night—but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, doesn't actually accomplish much. This bad habit is endemic on most college campuses. For example, at Dartmouth there was a section of the main library that was open twenty–four hours a day, and the students I used to see in there late at night huddled in groups, gulping coffee and griping about their hardships, were definitely pseudo–working. The roommate who flips through her chemistry notes on the couch while watching TV is pseudo–working. The guy who brings three meals, a blanket, and six-pack of Red Bull to the study lounge in preparation for an all-day paper–writing marathon is also pseudo–working. By placing themselves in distracting environments and insisting on working in long tedious stretches, these students are crippling their brain’s ability to think clearly and efficiently accomplish the task at hand. The result is fatigue headaches and lackluster outcomes.
3 - The bigger problem here is that most students don't even realize that they're pseudo–working. To them pseudo–work is work—it's how they've always done it, and it's how all of their friends do it. It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way. Straight–A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo–work. They fear it, and for good reason. It not only wastes time, but it's also mentally draining. There is just no way to be well–balanced, happy, and academically successful if you’re regularly burning through your free hours in long, painful stretches of inefficient studying. The students I interviewed for this book emphasized again and again the importance of avoiding this trap. In fact, when asked what one skill was most important in becoming a non–grind straight–A student, most of them cited the ability to get work done quickly and with a minimum of wasted effort.
4 - So how do these students achieve this goal? A big part of the solution is timing—they gain efficiency by compressing work into focused bursts. To understand the power of this approach, consider the following simple formula: work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus
5 - Pseudo-work features a very low intensity of focus. Therefore, to accomplish something by pseudo-working, you need to spend a lot of time. The straight–A approach, on the other hand, maximizes intensity in order to minimize time. For example, let's rank intensity on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most intense). Assume it takes ten hours to finish studying for a test by pseudo-working with a low intensity score of 3. According to our formula, this same amount of work can be accomplished in only three one-hour bursts, each with an intensity of 10. The work that took you all day Sunday to complete could instead be finished by studying an hour after breakfast, an hour after lunch, and an hour after dinner—the rest of the day being free for you to relax!
Excerpt from How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport. Copyright © 2007 by Cal Newport. This text was used in fair use.
#1 - This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
#1 - Part A: What central idea about studying does the author express in Passage 1?
*
1 point
A) Straight-A students know how to work harder than other students.
B) The only way to become a straight-A student is efficient study habits.
C) Most students pseudo-work and end up wasting valuable time.
D) An all-night study session can help you catch up on school assignments.
#1 - Part B: What does the author cite in Passage 1 as evidence that supports the central idea?
1 point
A) interviews from straight-A students
B) quotes from literary works
C) new opportunities in ways to study
D) more accurate scientific studies
#2 - According to Newport in Passage 1, what does a straight-A student do to be successful?
*
1 point
A) work with higher intensity for a shorter period of time
B) are better at balancing work and their personal lives
C) know when they are actually pseudo-working
D) do things differently than their friends and peers
#3 - This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
#3 - Part A: Read this excerpt from Passage 1. .....“Jason, a straight–A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term ‘pseudo–working’ to describe this common approach to studying. The pseudo–worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard—he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night—but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, doesn't actually accomplish much.” (paragraph 2)..... Why does the author use the word pseudo in describing a form of studying?
*
1 point
A) to highlight how hard some students work
B) to argue that studying is not enough
C) to describe how students pretend to study
D) to show that this type of studying is not real
#3 - Part B: Which phrase from the excerpt provides a clue to the meaning of pseudo?
1 point
A) “feels like someone”
B) “spends a long time”
C) “not afraid to push on late”
D) “doesn't actually accomplish much”
#4 - Which sentence supports the author’s position that there is a better way to study in Passage 1?
*
1 point
A) “The result is fatigue headaches and lackluster outcomes.” (paragraph 2)
B) “The bigger problem here is that most students don't even realize that they’re pseudo–working.” (paragraph 3)
C) “It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way.” (paragraph 3)
D) “Straight–A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo–work.” (paragraph 3)
Answers
Answer
Finally you get something 100% right
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
#1 - Part A: What central idea about studying does the author express in Passage 1?
**C) Most students pseudo-work and end up wasting valuable time.**
#1 - Part B: What does the author cite in Passage 1 as evidence that supports the central idea?
**A) interviews from straight-A students**
#2 - According to Newport in Passage 1, what does a straight-A student do to be successful?
**A) work with higher intensity for a shorter period of time**
#3 - Part A: Why does the author use the word pseudo in describing a form of studying?
**D) to show that this type of studying is not real**
#3 - Part B: Which phrase from the excerpt provides a clue to the meaning of pseudo?
**D) “doesn't actually accomplish much”**
#4 - Which sentence supports the author’s position that there is a better way to study in Passage 1?
**C) “It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way.” (paragraph 3)**
**C) Most students pseudo-work and end up wasting valuable time.**
#1 - Part B: What does the author cite in Passage 1 as evidence that supports the central idea?
**A) interviews from straight-A students**
#2 - According to Newport in Passage 1, what does a straight-A student do to be successful?
**A) work with higher intensity for a shorter period of time**
#3 - Part A: Why does the author use the word pseudo in describing a form of studying?
**D) to show that this type of studying is not real**
#3 - Part B: Which phrase from the excerpt provides a clue to the meaning of pseudo?
**D) “doesn't actually accomplish much”**
#4 - Which sentence supports the author’s position that there is a better way to study in Passage 1?
**C) “It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way.” (paragraph 3)**
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
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