Writing and Language Test

A Necessary Resource for Science

In the winter of 1968, scientists David Schindler and Gregg Brunskill poured nitrates and phosphates into Lake 1 227, this is one of the 58 freshwater bodies that compose Canada’s remotely located Experimental Lakes Area. Schindler and Brunskill were contaminating the water not out of malice but in the name of research.

While deliberately adding chemical compounds to a lake may seem 2 destructive and irresponsible, this method of experimenting is sometimes the most effective way to influence policy and save the environment from even more damaging pollution.

A Necessary Resource for Science

In the winter of 1968, scientists David Schindler and Gregg Brunskill poured nitrates and phosphates into Lake 1 227, this is one of the 58 freshwater bodies that compose Canada’s remotely located Experimental Lakes Area. Schindler and Brunskill were contaminating the water not out of malice but in the name of research.

While deliberately adding chemical compounds to a lake may seem 2 destructive and irresponsible, this method of experimenting is sometimes the most effective way to influence policy and save the environment from even more damaging pollution.

Schindler and Brunskill were investigating possible
causes for the large blooms of blue-green algae, or
cyanobacteria, that had been affecting bodies of water
such as Lake Erie.  In addition to being unsightly and
odorous, these algal blooms cause oxygen depletion.
Oxygen depletion kills fish and other wildlife in the lakes.
Just weeks after the scientists added the nitrates and
phosphates, the water in Lake 227 turned bright
4 green. It was thick with: the same type of algal
blooms that had plagued Lake Erie.

Which choice most effectively combines the underlined sentences?

Schindler and Brunskill were investigating possible
causes for the large blooms of blue-green algae, or
cyanobacteria, that had been affecting bodies of water
such as Lake Erie. 3 In addition to being unsightly and
odorous, these algal blooms cause oxygen depletion.
Oxygen depletion kills fish and other wildlife in the lakes.
Just weeks after the scientists added the nitrates and
phosphates, the water in Lake 227 turned bright
4 green. It was thick with: the same type of algal
blooms that had plagued Lake Erie.

5 One mission of the Experimental Lakes Area is
to conduct research that helps people better understand
threats to the environment. The scientists divided the
lake in half by placing a nylon barrier through the
narrowest part of its figure-eight shape. In one half of
Lake 226, they added phosphates, nitrates, and a source
of carbon; in the other, they added just nitrates 6 and a
source of carbon was added. Schindler and Brunskill
hypothesized that phosphates were responsible for the
growth of cyanobacteria. The experiment confirmed their
suspicions when the half of the lake containing the
phosphates 7 was teeming with blue-green algae.

5 One mission of the Experimental Lakes Area is
to conduct research that helps people better understand
threats to the environment. The scientists divided the
lake in half by placing a nylon barrier through the
narrowest part of its figure-eight shape. In one half of
Lake 226, they added phosphates, nitrates, and a source
of carbon; in the other, they added just nitrates 6 and a
source of carbon was added. Schindler and Brunskill
hypothesized that phosphates were responsible for the
growth of cyanobacteria. The experiment confirmed their
suspicions when the half of the lake containing the
phosphates 7 was teeming with blue-green algae.

5 One mission of the Experimental Lakes Area is
to conduct research that helps people better understand
threats to the environment. The scientists divided the
lake in half by placing a nylon barrier through the
narrowest part of its figure-eight shape. In one half of
Lake 226, they added phosphates, nitrates, and a source
of carbon; in the other, they added just nitrates 6 and a
source of carbon was added. Schindler and Brunskill
hypothesized that phosphates were responsible for the
growth of cyanobacteria. The experiment confirmed their
suspicions when the half of the lake containing the
phosphates 7 was teeming with blue-green algae.

Schindler and Brunskill’s findings were 8 shown
off by the journal Science. The research demonstrated a
clear correlation between introducing phosphates and the
growth of blue-green algae. 9 For example, legislators
in Canada passed laws banning phosphates in laundry
detergents, which had been entering the water supply. 10
Experiments like these can help people understand
the unintended consequences of using certain household
products. 11 Of course, regulating the use of certain
chemical compounds can be a controversial issue.
Selectively establishing remote study locations, such as
the Experimental Lakes Area, can provide scientists with
opportunities to safely conduct controlled research. This
research can generate evidence solid enough to persuade
policy makers to take action in favor of protecting the
larger environment.

Schindler and Brunskill’s findings were 8 shown
off by the journal Science. The research demonstrated a
clear correlation between introducing phosphates and the
growth of blue-green algae. 9 For example, legislators
in Canada passed laws banning phosphates in laundry
detergents, which had been entering the water supply. 10
Experiments like these can help people understand
the unintended consequences of using certain household
products. 11 Of course, regulating the use of certain
chemical compounds can be a controversial issue.
Selectively establishing remote study locations, such as
the Experimental Lakes Area, can provide scientists with
opportunities to safely conduct controlled research. This
research can generate evidence solid enough to persuade
policy makers to take action in favor of protecting the
larger environment.

Schindler and Brunskill’s findings were 8 shown
off by the journal Science. The research demonstrated a
clear correlation between introducing phosphates and the
growth of blue-green algae. 9 For example, legislators
in Canada passed laws banning phosphates in laundry
detergents, which had been entering the water supply. 10
Experiments like these can help people understand
the unintended consequences of using certain household
products. 11 Of course, regulating the use of certain
chemical compounds can be a controversial issue.
Selectively establishing remote study locations, such as
the Experimental Lakes Area, can provide scientists with
opportunities to safely conduct controlled research. This
research can generate evidence solid enough to persuade
policy makers to take action in favor of protecting the
larger environment.

Schindler and Brunskill’s findings were 8 shown
off by the journal Science. The research demonstrated a
clear correlation between introducing phosphates and the
growth of blue-green algae. 9 For example, legislators
in Canada passed laws banning phosphates in laundry
detergents, which had been entering the water supply. 10
Experiments like these can help people understand
the unintended consequences of using certain household
products. 11 Of course, regulating the use of certain
chemical compounds can be a controversial issue.
Selectively establishing remote study locations, such as
the Experimental Lakes Area, can provide scientists with
opportunities to safely conduct controlled research. This
research can generate evidence solid enough to persuade
policy makers to take action in favor of protecting the
larger environment.

A Little to the Left, but Not Too Much!
Italy’s Tower of Pisa has been leaning southward
since the initial 12 stages of it’s construction over
800 years ago. 13 Indeed, if the tower’s construction had
not taken two centuries and involved significant breaks
due to war and civil unrest, which allowed the ground
beneath the tower to settle, the tower would likely have
collapsed before it was completed.

A Little to the Left, but Not Too Much!
Italy’s Tower of Pisa has been leaning southward
since the initial 12 stages of it’s construction over
800 years ago. 13 Indeed, if the tower’s construction had
not taken two centuries and involved significant breaks
due to war and civil unrest, which allowed the ground
beneath the tower to settle, the tower would likely have
collapsed before it was completed.

Luckily, the tower survived, and its tilt has made it an
Italian 14 icon, it attracts visitors from all over who flock
to Pisa to see one of the greatest architectural
15 weirdnesses in the world. 16 By the late twentieth
century, the angle of the tower’s tilt had reached an
astonishing 5.5 degrees; in 17 1990, Italy’s government
closed the tower to visitors and appointed a committee to
find a way to save it.

Luckily, the tower survived, and its tilt has made it an
Italian 14 icon, it attracts visitors from all over who flock
to Pisa to see one of the greatest architectural
15 weirdnesses in the world. 16 By the late twentieth
century, the angle of the tower’s tilt had reached an
astonishing 5.5 degrees; in 17 1990, Italy’s government
closed the tower to visitors and appointed a committee to
find a way to save it.

Luckily, the tower survived, and its tilt has made it an
Italian 14 icon, it attracts visitors from all over who flock
to Pisa to see one of the greatest architectural
15 weirdnesses in the world. 16 By the late twentieth
century, the angle of the tower’s tilt had reached an
astonishing 5.5 degrees; in 17 1990, Italy’s government
closed the tower to visitors and appointed a committee to
find a way to save it.