The recent decline in the value of the dollar was triggered by a prediction of slower econ

the existence of a noble class. Yet there cannot be a noble class, properly speaking, unless both the titles that indicate superior noble status and the inheritance of such titles are sanctioned by law. Although feudalism existed in Europe as early as the eighth century, it was not until the twelfth century, when many feudal institutions were in decline, that the hereditary transfer of legally recognized titles of nobility first appeared. The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following claims?

A．To say that feudalism by definition requires the existence of a nobility is to employ a definition that distorts history.

B．Prior to the twelfth century, the institution of European feudalism functioned without the presence of a dominant class.

C．The fact that a societal group has a distinct legal status is not in itself sufficient to allow that group to be properly considered a social class.

D．The decline of feudalism in Europe was the only cause of the rise of a European nobility.

E．The prior existence of feudal institutions is a prerequisite for the emergence of a nobility, as defined in the strictest sense of the term.

from the librarys current, overcrowded building in central Redville to a larger, available building in central Glenwood, the library would then be within walking distance of a larger number of library users. That is because there are many more people living in central Glenwood than in central Redville, and people generally will walk to the library only if it is located close to their homes. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

A．The public library was located between Glenwood and Redville before being moved to its current location in central Redville.

B．The area covered by central Glenwood is approximately the same size as that covered by central Redville.

C．The building that is available in Glenwood is smaller than an alternative building that is available in Redville.

D．Many of the people who use the public library do not live in either Glenwood or Redville.

E．The distance that people currently walk to get to the library is farther than what is generally considered walking distance.

his year and likely to remain so. Therefore, unless the winter is especially severe, the price of natural gas to industrial customers is also likely to remain low. Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the conclusion above?

A．Long-term weather forecasts predict a mild winter.

B．The industrial users who consume most natural gas can quickly and cheaply switch to using oil instead.

C．The largest sources of supply for both oil and natural gas are in subtropical regions unlikely to be affected by winter weather.

D．The fuel requirements of industrial users of natural gas are not seriously affected by the weather.

E．Oil distribution is more likely to be affected by severe winter weather than is the distribution of natural gas.

l regulations requiring a drop in industrial discharges of lead went into effect in 1975, but the major cause of the decline was a 75 percent drop in the use of leaded gasoline between 1975 and 19Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim that the major cause of the decline in the level of lead contamination in United States rives was the decline in the use of leaded gasoline?

A．The level of lead contamination in United States rivers fell sharply in both 1975 and 1983.

B．Most of the decline in industrial discharges of lead occurred before 1976, but the largest decline in the level of river contamination occurred between 1980 and 1985.

C．Levels of lead contamination in rivers fell sharply in 1975 - 1976 and rose very slightly over the next nine years.

D．Levels of lead contamination rose in those rivers where there was reduced river flow due to drought.

E．Although the use of leaded gasoline declined 75 percent between 1975 and 1985, 80 percent of the decline took place in 1985.

es—up to tenfold variation per hundred thousand between different areas in the numbers of hysterectomies, prostatectomies, and tonsillectomies. To support a conclusion that much of the variation is due to unnecessary surgical procedures, it would be most important to establish which of the following?

A．A local board of review at each hospital examines the records of every operation to determine whether the surgical procedure was necessary.

B．The variation is unrelated to factors(other than the surgical procedures themselves)that influence the incidence of diseases for which surgery might be considered.

C．There are several categories of surgical procedure(other than hysterectomies, prostatectomies, and tonsillectomies)that are often performed unnecessarily.

D．For certain surgical procedures, it is difficult to determine after the operation whether the procedures were necessary or whether alternative treatment would have succeeded.

E．With respect to how often they are performed unnecessarily, hysterectomies, prostatectomies, and tonsillectomies are representative of surgical procedures in general.

The author implies which of the following about measles?

A．It is not usually a fatal disease.

B．It ceased to be a problem by the seventeenth century.

C．It is the disease most commonly involved in virgin-soil epidemics.

D．It was not a significant problem in Spanish colonies.

E．It affects only those who are immunologically defenseless against it.

?

A．They mention only epidemics of smallpox.

B．They were instituted in 1492.

C．They were being kept prior to the seventeenth century.

D．They provide quantitative and qualitative evidence about Native American populations.

E．They prove that certain diseases were unknown in the pre-Columbian New World.

lowing ways EXCEPT:

A．Both had works published in the midst of important historical events.

B．Both wrote works that enjoyed widespread popularity.

C．Both exhibited an understanding of the relevance of historical evidence to contemporary issues.

D．The works of both had a significant effect on events following their publication.

E．Both were able to set aside worries about historical anachronism in order to reach and inspire.

it is studied, interpreted, and read. These latter activities have their own history, of course, which may impinge in unexpected ways on public events. It is difficult to predict when "new pasts" will overturn established historical interpretations and change the course of history. In the fall of 1954, for example, C. Vann Woodward delivered a lecture series at the University of Virginia which challenged the prevailing dogma concerning the history, continuity, and uniformity of racial segregation in the South. He argued that the Jim Crow laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries not only codified traditional practice but also were a determined effort to erase the considerable progress made by Black people during and after Reconstruction in the 1870s. This revisionist view of Jim Crow legis- lation grew in part from the research that Woodward had done for the NAACP legal campaign during its preparation for Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court had issued its ruling in this epochal desegregation case a few months before Woodward s lectures. The lectures were soon published as a book—The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Ten years later, in a preface to the second revised edition, Woodward confessed with ironic modesty that the first edition "had begun to suffer under some of the handicaps that might be ex- pected in a history of the American Revolution published in 1776." That was a bit like hearing Thomas Paine apologize for the timing of his pamphlet Common Sense, which had a compara- ble impact. Although Common Sense also had a mass readership, Paine had intended to reach and inspire: he was not a historian, and thus not concerned with accuracy or the dangers of histori- cal anachronism. Yet, like Paine, Woodward had an unerring sense of the revolutionary moment, and of how historical evidence could undermine the mythological tradition that was crushing the dreams of new social possibilities. Martin Luther King, Jr. testified to the profound effect of The Strange Career of Jim Crow on the civil rights movement by praising the book and quoting it frequently.

The "new pasts" mentioned in line 8 can best be described as the

A．occurrence of events extremely similar to past events.

B．history of the activities of studying, interpreting, and reading new historical writing.

C．change in people"s understanding of the past due to more recent historical writing.

D．overturning of established historical interpretations by politically motivated politicians.

E．difficulty of predicting when a given historical interpretation will be overturned .

workers?

A．Their productivity levels did not equal those of United States automobile workers until the late seventies.

B．Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of cultural influences.

C．They operate component-specific machinery.

D．They are trained to do more than one job.

E．They produce larger lots of cars than do workers in United States factories.