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Over the past decade, several major cities have relaxed zoning restrictions that once banned residents from keeping honeybee hives on rooftops and in backyards. Proponents argue that urban beekeeping helps pollinate community gardens, produces local honey, and raises awareness about declining bee populations. Critics worry about allergic reactions and swarming near pedestrians, but reported incidents remain rare where hobbyists follow basic safety guidelines. As a result, many city councils now require only a simple registration process rather than an outright prohibition. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
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Q1. Over the past decade, several major cities have relaxed zoning restrictions that once banned residents from keeping honeybee hives on rooftops and in backyards. Proponents argue that urban beekeeping helps pollinate community gardens, produces local honey, and raises awareness about declining bee populations. Critics worry about allergic reactions and swarming near pedestrians, but reported incidents remain rare where hobbyists follow basic safety guidelines. As a result, many city councils now require only a simple registration process rather than an outright prohibition. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Correct answer: A. Cities have shifted from banning to regulating urban beekeeping because its benefits appear to outweigh modest safety concerns.
The passage traces a shift from prohibition to regulated permission, driven by perceived benefits outweighing rare safety incidents, which choice A summarizes accurately.
Q2. The novelist's prose was often described as spare, favoring short declarative sentences over the ornate, adjective-heavy style popular among her contemporaries. As used in the text, the word 'spare' most nearly means
Correct answer: D. unembellished
The contrast with 'ornate, adjective-heavy style' shows that 'spare' describes writing that is plain and stripped down, matching 'unembellished.'
Q3. In the mid-1800s, physician Ignaz Semmelweis noticed that maternity ward mortality dropped sharply when doctors washed their hands with a chlorinated solution before examining patients. He proposed that unseen particles were being transferred from autopsies to patients. His colleagues, however, dismissed the idea because it lacked a microscopic mechanism they could observe. Decades later, germ theory validated Semmelweis's hypothesis, though he did not live to see his ideas accepted. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Correct answer: C. It presents a hypothesis, describes its rejection, then reveals its later vindication.
The text moves chronologically from Semmelweis's proposal, to its dismissal by colleagues, to its eventual confirmation by germ theory, matching choice C.
Q4. A city transportation study concluded that adding protected bike lanes on Elm Street increased overall traffic safety for all road users, not just cyclists. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the study's conclusion?
Correct answer: D. Vehicle-pedestrian collisions on Elm Street fell by 40 percent in the year after the bike lanes were installed.
The claim is about safety for all road users, so a drop in pedestrian-vehicle collisions directly supports it, whereas ridership or congestion data does not address safety.
Q5. The committee, along with several outside consultants, ___ reviewing the budget proposal before the vote next week. Which choice completes the text with the most grammatically correct version?
Correct answer: B. is
The subject is the singular noun 'committee'; the phrase 'along with several outside consultants' is parenthetical and does not change the verb's number, so the singular verb 'is' is correct.
Q6. Marisol packed three items for the trip ___ her laptop, a charger, and a notebook. Which choice completes the sentence with the correct punctuation?
Correct answer: C. :
A colon correctly introduces a list that follows an independent clause; a semicolon requires a second independent clause, and a comma alone cannot introduce a list this way.
Q7. Neither the manager nor the employees believed that ___ department would meet the quarterly sales target. Which choice completes the text with the most logical pronoun?
Correct answer: C. their
In a 'neither...nor' construction, the pronoun agrees with the nearer noun, which is the plural 'employees,' so the plural pronoun 'their' is correct.
Q8. By the time the fire department arrived, the small kitchen fire ___ itself out, leaving only smoke damage. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to standard English conventions?
Correct answer: A. had already burned
The fire going out happened before another past event (the department's arrival), so the past perfect 'had already burned' is required.
Q9. The lab results were inconclusive after the first trial. ___ the researchers decided to repeat the experiment with a larger sample size. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Correct answer: B. Consequently
Repeating the experiment is a direct result of the inconclusive first trial, so the cause-and-effect transition 'Consequently' is most logical.
Q10. Many economists predicted that the new tariff would raise consumer prices almost immediately. ___ prices did not rise noticeably for nearly six months. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Correct answer: A. However
The second sentence contradicts the economists' prediction, so the contrast transition 'However' is most logical.
Exam facts and objectives sourced from the official College Board certification page. Last reviewed June 2026.
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