We generally think of our senses as having completely separate functions. This is a logical assumption; after all, we can't see with our ears or taste with our eyes. For people with a condition called synesthesia, however, senses can be conflated, or mixed together. In fact, the word synesthesia, derived from Greek, literally means "sensations together." This combining of senses causes interesting sensory experiences. For example, some synesthetes (people who experience synesthesia) imagine tasting a particular flavor whenever they hear a certain sound. Others "hear" a sound in their minds whenever they touch a certain object. The most common types of synesthesia involve colors. In one common subtype, for instance, synesthetes associate different colors with different letters of the alphabet. Typically, synesthetes are not bothered by their synesthesia; in fact, many enjoy it! What is the central idea of the article above?

Question

1 point
People with synesthesia experience a fusing of different senses.
People with synesthesia are generally color-blind.
People with synesthesia may hear a sound when they touch an object.
People with synesthesia will often lose their hearing in their twenties.

Answer 1

The central idea of the article is: People with synesthesia experience a fusing of different senses.

Answer 2

Coasters and trivets are easy to create, and they make great gifts. All you need for this simple DIY project are pieces of cork, a template, a mat cutter, a pen, scissors, and a flat work surface. Start by choosing a template shape, such as a star. Trace the template onto the cork. Cut out the shape with the mat cutter. Voilà! You have a cork star that can be used as a coaster or a trivet.Who is the primary audience?
1 point
Shoppers looking for gift ideas
Crafters who want to start a new hobby
Crafters interested in quick and useful projects
People who need coasters.

Answer 3

The primary audience is: Crafters interested in quick and useful projects.

Answer 4

What best indicates that the primary audience is crafters interested in quick and useful projects?
1 point
The writer includes a short list of necessary materials.
The writer emphasizes the simplicity and utility of the project.
The writer emphasizes that coasters and trivets make great gifts.
The writer provides detailed step-by-step instructions.

Answer 5

The best indication that the primary audience is crafters interested in quick and useful projects is: The writer emphasizes the simplicity and utility of the project.

Answer 6

What is the author’s main purpose of the article?
1 point
To explain how to make cork coasters and trivets
To describe how to trace around a template
To persuade crafters to give coasters as gifts
To teach readers how to use a mat cutter.

Answer 7

The author’s main purpose of the article is: To explain how to make cork coasters and trivets.

Answer 8

Humans are usually encouraged to work together. From a young age, trite sayings are hammered into us. We hear things like “we’re all in the same boat, let’s keep it afloat” or “there’s no ‘I’ in team” or “it takes two to tango” or any of a dozen other stale clichés all the time. From an equally young age, we are encouraged to work together on group projects, to be functioning members of teams, and finally to become contributing members of society. That being said, as anyone who has ever been cut off on the highway can verify, humans don’t usually actually cooperate. There are obvious benefits in working together, and teachers are right to promote cooperation in the youth. However, the only reason cooperation has to be emphasized so much is that it is completely unnatural. Humans are, for a lack of a kinder phrase, miserable creatures who can only care for themselves. To prove this point, two mathematicians working for the RAND Corporation in the 1950s came up with a model of cooperation and conflict. Another mathematician, Albert W. Tucker, named it the Prisoner’s Dilemma. In the scenario, two members of a gang are arrested for the same crime. The two prisoners are placed in solitary confinement with no way of communicating with each other. The police tell both prisoners that there is not enough evidence to convict either of them on the main charge. Instead, the police intend to give each prisoner one year of jail time for a lesser offense. Or, the prisoners can take a chance. Both are offered the same deal: if he will testify against his accomplice, he will go free and the accomplice will serve a three-year sentence. However, there’s a catch: if both prisoners take the deal and testify against the other, then both prisoners will do two years. The best-case scenario for the prisoners is that neither testifies and both do one year in jail. The individual outcome for one prisoner can be better, but only if the other prisoner does not also testify. Thus, the model suggests that humans will inevitably choose their self-interests and testify against their friends, even though pure cooperation would actually provide a better logical outcome than pure competition. Cooperation, remember, would result in one year of jail time, not two. But humans, according to the mathematical model, will always take the chance on zero years of jail time—or at least the chance to avoid three years of jail time when the accomplice turns on them. So, why do we tend to act out of our own self-interest? It’s simple. Since each of us assumes everyone to be like ourselves, none of us trust others to cooperate either. And when one party is not cooperating, it is neither possible nor in our own self-interest to cooperate either.
1) As used in paragraph 1, which is the best antonym for trite?
1 point
unnecessary
absurd
false
original

Answer 9

As used in paragraph 1, the best antonym for "trite" is: original.

Answer 10

It can be inferred from the passage that the author regards most humans
1 point
scientifically
ambivalently
pessimistically
regretfully

Answer 11

It can be inferred from the passage that the author regards most humans: pessimistically.