Volcanoes
A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s surface through which molten rock, gases, and ash can escape from below the crust. Magma, which is molten rock beneath the surface, rises through cracks and erupts as lava, often accompanied by clouds of ash and gas. Volcanoes are usually found along tectonic plate boundaries, where plates move toward or away from each other. However, some volcanoes also appear in the middle of tectonic plates due to hotspots.
Volcanology, the scientific study of volcanoes, helps scientists understand why eruptions occur and predict their possible effects. Though minor eruptions happen frequently around the world, major volcanic eruptions are rare but can cause significant loss of life and destruction of property. Studying past eruptions provides valuable insight into patterns and potential hazards, which can save communities from disaster.
The paragraph following the passage most likely discusses…

Volcanoes
A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s surface through which molten rock, gases, and ash can escape from below the crust. Magma, which is molten rock beneath the surface, rises through cracks and erupts as lava, often accompanied by clouds of ash and gas. Volcanoes are usually found along tectonic plate boundaries, where plates move toward or away from each other. However, some volcanoes also appear in the middle of tectonic plates due to hotspots.
Volcanology, the scientific study of volcanoes, helps scientists understand why eruptions occur and predict their possible effects. Though minor eruptions happen frequently around the world, major volcanic eruptions are rare but can cause significant loss of life and destruction of property. Studying past eruptions provides valuable insight into patterns and potential hazards, which can save communities from disaster.
What happens when magma reaches the Earth’s surface?

Digital Innovation in Modern Supermarkets
Supermarkets that succeed in adopting digital innovation are the ones that create a seamless and engaging shopping experience. Leading supermarkets invest in emerging technologies early and experiment with store layouts, product placements, and digital services to see what enhances customer satisfaction. These innovators often set the standard for the industry by demonstrating effective approaches to integrating technology.
The “smart store” concept blends physical and digital formats to provide a personalized experience across in-store and online channels. Sensors, mobile apps, and connected devices are used to streamline operations and give a unified view of inventory, customer preferences, and orders. Despite relying on advanced technology, smart stores aim to feel welcoming and intuitive rather than overwhelming, offering convenience and a more human-centered shopping experience.
By using digital tools creatively, supermarkets can increase customer engagement and loyalty. However, balancing personalization with privacy remains a challenge, as understanding individual customer preferences while protecting data is increasingly complex.
Who needs to see the passage?

Digital Innovation in Modern Supermarkets
Supermarkets that succeed in adopting digital innovation are the ones that create a seamless and engaging shopping experience. Leading supermarkets invest in emerging technologies early and experiment with store layouts, product placements, and digital services to see what enhances customer satisfaction. These innovators often set the standard for the industry by demonstrating effective approaches to integrating technology.
The “smart store” concept blends physical and digital formats to provide a personalized experience across in-store and online channels. Sensors, mobile apps, and connected devices are used to streamline operations and give a unified view of inventory, customer preferences, and orders. Despite relying on advanced technology, smart stores aim to feel welcoming and intuitive rather than overwhelming, offering convenience and a more human-centered shopping experience.
By using digital tools creatively, supermarkets can increase customer engagement and loyalty. However, balancing personalization with privacy remains a challenge, as understanding individual customer preferences while protecting data is increasingly complex.
Which of the following statements is correct?

The Effects of Drugs on Heart Health
The consumption of narcotics and illegal substances does not only affect mental and behavioral health; it can also severely damage the heart and even cause death. The impact of these drugs on cardiac health ranges from mild disturbances to fatal outcomes.
There are several drugs particularly dangerous to the heart, including cocaine, amphetamines, and ecstasy. These drugs increase the level of catecholamine hormones, causing the heart to work harder. This results in a sudden rise in blood pressure and a higher demand for oxygen by the heart muscles. Long-term use may weaken blood vessel walls, leading to tears in arteries and coronary arteries, impairing heart pumping, disturbing heart rhythm, and potentially causing cardiac arrest.
Another group of substances includes hallucinogens such as LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) and psilocybin. They also elevate heart rate and blood pressure, though not as drastically as cocaine or amphetamines. Rarely, they can trigger tachyarrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats excessively fast.
Morphine and its derivatives, while primarily used as strong pain relievers, can have severe cardiovascular effects when misused. High doses reduce heart performance, may cause shocks, cardiac arrest, and pulmonary edema, a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid.
Marijuana, in high amounts, can lower blood pressure and heart rate. Severe cases may result in cardiac arrest or death. Overall, the abuse of these substances poses significant risks to heart health and can be life-threatening.
What is the main idea of the passage?

The Effects of Drugs on Heart Health
The consumption of narcotics and illegal substances does not only affect mental and behavioral health; it can also severely damage the heart and even cause death. The impact of these drugs on cardiac health ranges from mild disturbances to fatal outcomes.
There are several drugs particularly dangerous to the heart, including cocaine, amphetamines, and ecstasy. These drugs increase the level of catecholamine hormones, causing the heart to work harder. This results in a sudden rise in blood pressure and a higher demand for oxygen by the heart muscles. Long-term use may weaken blood vessel walls, leading to tears in arteries and coronary arteries, impairing heart pumping, disturbing heart rhythm, and potentially causing cardiac arrest.
Another group of substances includes hallucinogens such as LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) and psilocybin. They also elevate heart rate and blood pressure, though not as drastically as cocaine or amphetamines. Rarely, they can trigger tachyarrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats excessively fast.
Morphine and its derivatives, while primarily used as strong pain relievers, can have severe cardiovascular effects when misused. High doses reduce heart performance, may cause shocks, cardiac arrest, and pulmonary edema, a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid.
Marijuana, in high amounts, can lower blood pressure and heart rate. Severe cases may result in cardiac arrest or death. Overall, the abuse of these substances poses significant risks to heart health and can be life-threatening.
According to the passage, consuming high doses of morphine can:

Advocates for animals are becoming increasingly strident, even to the extent of using terrorist tactics Their Ire is more typically directed against laboratories that use animals, but zoos also have come under fire Some animal rights extremists have expressed a goal of putting zoos out of existence. Extreme though these views may be, they signal a shift in public attitudes toward animal welfare. Many people now consider animals as fellow creatures with needs and feelings that should be respected. Zoos that have not become attuned to perceptions of animal welfare have often experienced an erosion of public support. Some of the poorer, old-fashioned zoos have closed and even some prominent zoos have almost succumbed

These animal advocates often confuse animal rights with animal welfare, and their anthropomorphic ideas about what animals need are often at odds with what is best for animals. For example, well-meaning protestors tried to prevent the transfer of a gorilla named Timmy, who had never procreated, to a zoo in New York that had considerable success in breeding gorillas as well as many potential fertile mates for Timmy. The protestors did not want Timmy to be separated from his current, infertile female partner. However, in nature gorillas do not form monogamous bonds and they do transfer from one social group to another. Eventually, after court battles, Timmy was moved, formed bands with new females, and has begotten numerous offspring.

A related problem is the limited space in zoos.

Thus, breeding unwanted, “surplus” animals is a problem for zoos because surplus animals inhabit valuable space. Some zoos take the apparently logical stance, from a utilitarian animal management vantage, of culling their surplus stocks or selling them to the private collectors. In private hands, some animals have ended up on game ranches where they are shot for sport. This has caused major public relations imbroglios, as a result of which zoos have had to examine their ethical policies and restrict their animal trade to within accredited zoos.

Zoos have developed contraceptive and husbandry techniques to prevent unplanned breeding, and they have developed scientific breeding plans to keep population demographics aligned with available space. Furthermore, there has been a trend of exchanging animals without fees as they become increasingly priceless

Zoos have also added applied psychology to their toolkits. They now must reassure their public that animals are not distressed but are potentially “happy” New techniques are being developed to stimulate zoo animals, reduce psychological stress and elicit cooperation rather than coerce desired behaviors

(Taken from AM. Lyles, “Zoos and Zoological Parks” Encyclopedia of Blodiversity, vol 5. P. 904)
The word “elicit” in the last sentence of the last paragraph is most similar to….

Advocates for animals are becoming increasingly strident, even to the extent of using terrorist tactics Their Ire is more typically directed against laboratories that use animals, but zoos also have come under fire Some animal rights extremists have expressed a goal of putting zoos out of existence. Extreme though these views may be, they signal a shift in public attitudes toward animal welfare. Many people now consider animals as fellow creatures with needs and feelings that should be respected. Zoos that have not become attuned to perceptions of animal welfare have often experienced an erosion of public support. Some of the poorer, old-fashioned zoos have closed and even some prominent zoos have almost succumbed

These animal advocates often confuse animal rights with animal welfare, and their anthropomorphic ideas about what animals need are often at odds with what is best for animals. For example, well-meaning protestors tried to prevent the transfer of a gorilla named Timmy, who had never procreated, to a zoo in New York that had considerable success in breeding gorillas as well as many potential fertile mates for Timmy. The protestors did not want Timmy to be separated from his current, infertile female partner. However, in nature gorillas do not form monogamous bonds and they do transfer from one social group to another. Eventually, after court battles, Timmy was moved, formed bands with new females, and has begotten numerous offspring.

A related problem is the limited space in zoos.

Thus, breeding unwanted, “surplus” animals is a problem for zoos because surplus animals inhabit valuable space. Some zoos take the apparently logical stance, from a utilitarian animal management vantage, of culling their surplus stocks or selling them to the private collectors. In private hands, some animals have ended up on game ranches where they are shot for sport. This has caused major public relations imbroglios, as a result of which zoos have had to examine their ethical policies and restrict their animal trade to within accredited zoos.

Zoos have developed contraceptive and husbandry techniques to prevent unplanned breeding, and they have developed scientific breeding plans to keep population demographics aligned with available space. Furthermore, there has been a trend of exchanging animals without fees as they become increasingly priceless

Zoos have also added applied psychology to their toolkits. They now must reassure their public that animals are not distressed but are potentially “happy” New techniques are being developed to stimulate zoo animals, reduce psychological stress and elicit cooperation rather than coerce desired behaviors

(Taken from AM. Lyles, “Zoos and Zoological Parks” Encyclopedia of Blodiversity, vol 5. P. 904)
It can be inferred from the text that…..

TEXT 1

Americans are having fewer babies. At first, researchers thought the declining fertility rate was because of the recession, but it kept falling even as the economy recovered. Now has reached a record low for the second consecutive year. The fertility rate subtly shapes many major issues of the day, including immigration, education, housing, labor supply, the social safety net, and support for working families. Thus, there is a lot of concern about why today’s young adults are not having as many children. As a result, research was recently conducted to investigate this phenomenon.

Americans are having fewer babies. At first, researchers thought the declining fertility rate was because of the recession, but it kept falling even as the economy recovered. Now It has reached a record low for the second consecutive year. The fertility rate subtly shapes many major issues of the day, including immigration, education, housing, labor supply. the social safety net, and support for working families. Thus, there is a lot of concern about why today’s young adults are not having as many children. As a result, research was recently conducted to investigate this phenomenon. About a quarter of the respondents who had children or planned to, said they had fewer or expected to have fewer than they wanted. The largest shares said they delayed or stopped having children because of concerns about having enough time or money. The survey tells a story that it is partly about greater gender equality. Women have more agency over their lives. Many women feel that motherhood. has become more of a choice. However, it is also a story of economic security. Young people have student debt, many graduated in recession, and many cannot afford homes. All these happen as parenthood has become more expensive.

One of the biggest factors was personal, which is having no desire for children and wanting more leisure time. This is a pattern that has also shown up in social science research. A quarter of pool respondents who did not plan to have children said they did not think they would be good parents.

Financial concerns also led people to have fewer children than they considered to be ideal. 64 percent said it was because of a lack of paid family leave.

TEXT 2

Would you have a baby, or add more children to your family, if the government offers to help you cover the bills? Government programs that give parents money for having kids are appearing in more countries as a strategy to combat declining birth rates.

Researchers study birth rates as a way to measure the stability of community. In general, people will have children if they feel they have job security and stable economy. They will also want more children if they feel supported in starting a family. However, declining population growth can destroy the economy. Financial incentives and bonuses are one way to support parents and boost birth rates.

In one small municipality in Finland, Lestijarvi, fewer babies are born. Only one child had been born per year before 2013.
Since then local officials have given “baby bonus in which each baby born is worth 10,000 euros. This is paid to the family over the course of 10 years.

The bonuses for having children seem to be able to solve the problem of low birth rate In various places. This works in Finland, Estonia, Italy, Japan, and Australla. Governments can persuade parents to have children by promising easy childcare. They can also encourage women to have jobs while also having children.
Which of the following can be concluded from both text?

Rock weathering is a process of weakening and breaking down of rocks and minerals. Both non-living elements, such as variations in temperature, flora and fauna, acids, salts, and liquid or solid water, can cause this. Rocks on the Earth’s surface tend to weather faster than those underground. Weathering is one of the processes that lead to soil production.

Different types of weathering affect rocks. These consist of chemical weathering, biological weathering, and physical or mechanical weathering. The process of physical weathering essentially fragments. rocks. Freezing and thawing water is one way that physical deterioration occurs. Water may easily pass through any pores or fissures in rocks while it is liquid. The water will expand inside those rocks if it freezes.

A weathering process known as honeycomb weathering can be triggered by salt. By capillary action, groundwater pours into rock pores and finally evaporates. This produces crystals of salt, which raise the pressure within rocks. The rocks will eventually break. This may leave behind honeycomb-like salt crystal pits. In dry areas, salt crystallization weathering is frequently observed.
Extremes in temperature can also have an impact on how rocks weather. Thermal stress is one term for one kind of physical weathering process. This is a typical feature of desert regions, where overnight lows can be relatively chilly and midday highs can be extremely hot. Over time, rocks that experience frequent extreme temperature swings will eventually fracture and flake, the process known as exfoliation.

TEXT 2

The deterioration and corrosion of racks, metal, and man-made materials is known as weathering. Chemical and physical weathering are the two primary categories. Acid rain is one instance of chemical weathering for rocks. Scientists believe that rock weathering can play important role in preventing global warming by controlling the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. The elements contained in volcanic rocks react with water or air in the atmosphere and absorb carbon.

Natural rock weathering process can take millions of years, making it too slow to counteract global warming. However, rock weathering accelerates when the rock is crushed into fine dust. It is distributed throughout croplands worldwide. This enhanced rock weathering has the potential to store 215 billion tons of carbon dioxide aver the course of the next 75 years, according to previous study.

Researchers from University of California applied crushed rock, both metabasalt and olivine, on 5 acres of a fallowed confield in the Sacramento valley. In comparison to plots without crushed rock, they discover that during the study, the crushed rock plots stored 0.15 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare. If this amount of carbon was removed across California cropland, it would equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road per year.

It appears that many hardworking researchers are now looking for answers to how process of rock weathering occurs in dry areas.
It is known that dry lands cover 41% of earth/stotal area, and they are growing as a result of climate change. This according to some prominent researchers, makes it even more crucial into Improved rock weathering in dry lands
According to Text 1 paragraph 4, what is exfoliation?

An actor creates and performs a character by using cognitive empathy or Theory of Mind (ToM). It is the ability to represent others’mental states. ToM plays a critical role in understanding and navigating social situations. Reflection into the character’s mental life depends on the actor’s approach to character performance. This may be an important part of the character-creation process. This process involves the exploration of the history, motivation, beliefs, and values of the character.
This exploration often goes well beyond the information contained within the script. In other words, for many actors, creating a character involves a complex application of ToM, which includes several brain regions such as the temporoparietal junction and posterior cingulate/precuneus

The temporoparietal junction works in processing and judgments of self and others. According to some studies, overcoming self-other interference and ToM is a deeply integrated process. Finding show that simulating others has been shown to influence self-knowledge. In this simulation, trait and memory measures become similar to a simulated other after adopting their perspective. Some brain regions are deactivated when trained actors use the first person fictional perspective of a character to answer questions. This is in contrast to a situation when actors answered questions from their own perspective. It suggests that acting may involve the suppression of self-processing. Adapted from.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

TEXT 2

According to a recent study, when actors take on a new character, they may be able to suppress their everyday self. This implies that theater training may have big impact on the fundamental mechanisms of the human brain. Researchers in this study worked in collaboration with Flute Theater. They created and delivered interactive productions of Shakespeare for autistic individuals and their families. They used a series of sensory drama games, known as the Hunter Heartbeat Method.

The team used wearable brain imaging technologies and physiological measurement devices. They were first introduced at UCLS Department of Biomedical Engineering. Both devices were used to evaluate the brain activity of actors as they rehearsed scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The findings showed that when the actors heard their own name during the performance. their responds was suppressed in the left anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain.
This usually associated with self-awareness The same result was witnessed consistently in six actors who were tested when rehearsing several times over a week. Meanwhile, when the performers were not in acting conditions, they responded normally to hearing their own name.

According to the lead researcher, this is the first time that neuroscientists have been able to record brain activity in actors as they perform a role. We hope that this study will help us understand what theater training does to the brain and to build new connections between neuroscientists and theater professionals.
According to Text 1, cognitive empathy or ToM…

An actor creates and performs a character by using cognitive empathy or Theory of Mind (ToM). It is the ability to represent others’mental states. ToM plays a critical role in understanding and navigating social situations. Reflection into the character’s mental life depends on the actor’s approach to character performance. This may be an important part of the character-creation process. This process involves the exploration of the history, motivation, beliefs, and values of the character.
This exploration often goes well beyond the information contained within the script. In other words, for many actors, creating a character involves a complex application of ToM, which includes several brain regions such as the temporoparietal junction and posterior cingulate/precuneus

The temporoparietal junction works in processing and judgments of self and others. According to some studies, overcoming self-other interference and ToM is a deeply integrated process. Finding show that simulating others has been shown to influence self-knowledge. In this simulation, trait and memory measures become similar to a simulated other after adopting their perspective. Some brain regions are deactivated when trained actors use the first person fictional perspective of a character to answer questions. This is in contrast to a situation when actors answered questions from their own perspective. It suggests that acting may involve the suppression of self-processing. Adapted from.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

TEXT 2

According to a recent study, when actors take on a new character, they may be able to suppress their everyday self. This implies that theater training may have big impact on the fundamental mechanisms of the human brain. Researchers in this study worked in collaboration with Flute Theater. They created and delivered interactive productions of Shakespeare for autistic individuals and their families. They used a series of sensory drama games, known as the Hunter Heartbeat Method.

The team used wearable brain imaging technologies and physiological measurement devices. They were first introduced at UCLS Department of Biomedical Engineering. Both devices were used to evaluate the brain activity of actors as they rehearsed scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The findings showed that when the actors heard their own name during the performance. their responds was suppressed in the left anterior prefrontal cortex of the brain.
This usually associated with self-awareness The same result was witnessed consistently in six actors who were tested when rehearsing several times over a week. Meanwhile, when the performers were not in acting conditions, they responded normally to hearing their own name.

According to the lead researcher, this is the first time that neuroscientists have been able to record brain activity in actors as they perform a role. We hope that this study will help us understand what theater training does to the brain and to build new connections between neuroscientists and theater professionals.
The italicized word “they” in Text 2 paragraph 1 refers to…

TEXT 1

Male squid, which mate and then leave, are known for not being good parents. The little, shiny big fin reef squid, which lives on coral reels all over the world, may be the first squid to care for its young.

Once a bigger male has mated with a female, he stays close to keep other males from mating with her. When the female is ready to lay her fertilized eggs, she looks for a coral crack that is safe from currents and predators. After she has done laying eggs, the male will protect her for a short time and then move on to mate with other females.

Eduardo Sampaio, a biologist, observed something strange in the Red Sea in Egypt. When the male squid had already paired up, a dominant male would scare off rivals by waving his tentacles and making his skin flash white with black stripes. Then he would leave his mate for a few seconds to swim into a crack where eggs were laid. Sampaio said that it was the first time anything like this had ever happened.
Samantha Cheng, an expert on biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, said that male big fin reef squid In Indonesia in 2013 did something similar. Nonetheless, it had not been described before in the scientific references about any squid. octopus, or other cephalopod

In a newspaper published in Ecology. Sampaio and Cheng explain the behavior and why they think it is a form of paternal care. “Location probing” is common among species that only have one mate, but paternal care is rare among cephalopods. More research is still needed to know more about this rare phenomenon.

TEXT 2

How does the colossal squid swim? Nobody has ever seen a live colossal squid swimming, so this is a difficult question to answer. The scientists had to look at how other closely related squid swim and come up with the theory about how the colossal squid moves. Colossal squids are part of the Cranchiidae family, known as the glass squids. There are many videos of squid species swimming, including the glass squid

Cranchiidae or glass squid have a very different outward appearance or morphology from most squid. They have forward-facing eyes, which give them binocular vision. This also means they cannot hold their arms out directly in front as they would not be able to see. Most other squids have eyes on the sides of the head. They do not have to lift their arms out of their field of vision and can swim with their arms flat.

Most of the cranchiidae hold their arms either up over their heads in the ‘cockatoo’ position, or down in the ‘reverse cockatoo’ position. Scientist think that the colossal squid, like other cranciidae, does not usually swim with its arms held flat out. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether the colossal squid swims in the ‘cockatoo position, or reverse cockatoo’ position.
The team reasoned that if the colossal squid held its arms up in the cockatoo position, the lower arms would be longer, as they would have to reach further to meet the tips of the upper arms. Careful measurement of the colossal squid’s arms showed that the lower arms are longer. The position and direction of the non-swivelling hooks on the arms also suggest that the colossal squid uses the cockatoo position. However, this is all just hypothesis; until someone sees a colossal squid swimming, we will not know for sure. This is a process of science.
Which of the following is an opinion from Text 1?

TEXT 1

Male squid, which mate and then leave, are known for not being good parents. The little, shiny big fin reef squid, which lives on coral reels all over the world, may be the first squid to care for its young.

Once a bigger male has mated with a female, he stays close to keep other males from mating with her. When the female is ready to lay her fertilized eggs, she looks for a coral crack that is safe from currents and predators. After she has done laying eggs, the male will protect her for a short time and then move on to mate with other females.

Eduardo Sampaio, a biologist, observed something strange in the Red Sea in Egypt. When the male squid had already paired up, a dominant male would scare off rivals by waving his tentacles and making his skin flash white with black stripes. Then he would leave his mate for a few seconds to swim into a crack where eggs were laid. Sampaio said that it was the first time anything like this had ever happened.
Samantha Cheng, an expert on biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, said that male big fin reef squid In Indonesia in 2013 did something similar. Nonetheless, it had not been described before in the scientific references about any squid. octopus, or other cephalopod

In a newspaper published in Ecology. Sampaio and Cheng explain the behavior and why they think it is a form of paternal care. “Location probing” is common among species that only have one mate, but paternal care is rare among cephalopods. More research is still needed to know more about this rare phenomenon.

TEXT 2

How does the colossal squid swim? Nobody has ever seen a live colossal squid swimming, so this is a difficult question to answer. The scientists had to look at how other closely related squid swim and come up with the theory about how the colossal squid moves. Colossal squids are part of the Cranchiidae family, known as the glass squids. There are many videos of squid species swimming, including the glass squid

Cranchiidae or glass squid have a very different outward appearance or morphology from most squid. They have forward-facing eyes, which give them binocular vision. This also means they cannot hold their arms out directly in front as they would not be able to see. Most other squids have eyes on the sides of the head. They do not have to lift their arms out of their field of vision and can swim with their arms flat.

Most of the cranchiidae hold their arms either up over their heads in the ‘cockatoo’ position, or down in the ‘reverse cockatoo’ position. Scientist think that the colossal squid, like other cranciidae, does not usually swim with its arms held flat out. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether the colossal squid swims in the ‘cockatoo position, or reverse cockatoo’ position.
The team reasoned that if the colossal squid held its arms up in the cockatoo position, the lower arms would be longer, as they would have to reach further to meet the tips of the upper arms. Careful measurement of the colossal squid’s arms showed that the lower arms are longer. The position and direction of the non-swivelling hooks on the arms also suggest that the colossal squid uses the cockatoo position. However, this is all just hypothesis; until someone sees a colossal squid swimming, we will not know for sure. This is a process of science.
Based on the information in from Text 1 and 2, which of the following will most likely happen in the future?

From small committees to national elections, group decision making can be complicated. Unfortunately, it may not always settle on the best choice. That’s partly because some members of the group do research on their own, and others take their cues from the people around them.

That distinction is readily observed around election time. “Many voters couldn’t tell you the policy platforms for the candidates they’re voting for,” says applied mathematician Vicky Chuqiao Yang at the Santa Fe Institute. “Many individuals are uninformed, and they’re most likely to rely on information they get from others.”

Social scientists have long sought ways to study the phenomenon of group decision-making, but that’s a tricky undertaking. Researchers in a range of disciplines have tried to tackle the problem, with parallel efforts often leading to conflicting conclusions. Most existing models examine the effect of a single variable, which means they don’t capture the whole picture.

“The outcome of collective decision making is the result of complex interactions of many variables,” says Yang, “And those interactions are rarely taken into account” in previous work. To overcome that challenge, Yang recently developed a mathematical framework that captures the influence of multiple interactions among members of a group. “You can plug in multiple effects and see their behavior and how they manifest in the group at the same time,” she explains.

Those effects include the influence of social learners. The model predicted, for example, that decision-making groups have a critical threshold of people who get their information from others. Below that threshold, the group chooses the high-quality outcome. Above it, the group can end up choosing the better or worse option.

The mathematical model is both simple and general. It can accurately reflect the multitude of moving parts within a system.
The model also predicted a significant role for “committed minorities” or people who refuse to change their minds, no matter the evidence.

These committed minorities can be bolstered. Yang says, by social leamers, though every group is different. Yang says she hopes the model will help bring together parallel work from different disciplines. ……”but we don’t yet have a holistic understanding that gives a recipe for good collective decision making she said. “Our work brings us one step closer to it.”

Adipted from httpwww.scienodaily.com
Based on the passage……

From small committees to national elections, group decision making can be complicated. Unfortunately, it may not always settle on the best choice. That’s partly because some members of the group do research on their own, and others take their cues from the people around them.

That distinction is readily observed around election time. “Many voters couldn’t tell you the policy platforms for the candidates they’re voting for,” says applied mathematician Vicky Chuqiao Yang at the Santa Fe Institute. “Many individuals are uninformed, and they’re most likely to rely on information they get from others.”

Social scientists have long sought ways to study the phenomenon of group decision-making, but that’s a tricky undertaking. Researchers in a range of disciplines have tried to tackle the problem, with parallel efforts often leading to conflicting conclusions. Most existing models examine the effect of a single variable, which means they don’t capture the whole picture.

“The outcome of collective decision making is the result of complex interactions of many variables,” says Yang, “And those interactions are rarely taken into account” in previous work. To overcome that challenge, Yang recently developed a mathematical framework that captures the influence of multiple interactions among members of a group. “You can plug in multiple effects and see their behavior and how they manifest in the group at the same time,” she explains.

Those effects include the influence of social learners. The model predicted, for example, that decision-making groups have a critical threshold of people who get their information from others. Below that threshold, the group chooses the high-quality outcome. Above it, the group can end up choosing the better or worse option.

The mathematical model is both simple and general. It can accurately reflect the multitude of moving parts within a system.
The model also predicted a significant role for “committed minorities” or people who refuse to change their minds, no matter the evidence.

These committed minorities can be bolstered. Yang says, by social leamers, though every group is different. Yang says she hopes the model will help bring together parallel work from different disciplines. ……”but we don’t yet have a holistic understanding that gives a recipe for good collective decision making she said. “Our work brings us one step closer to it.”

Adipted from httpwww.scienodaily.com
According to Vicky Chuqlao Yang, when it comes to getting information, many people ….. others

Without audience, men run slower and women faster. The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Psychology of Sport and Exercise shows. According to the new analysis, women also perform better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not.

‘Social facilitation theory states that a person’s performance is impacted if other people watch them. The mere presence of an audience improves the performance of simple tasks, especially those that require stamina. “The studies have been relatively clear so far. “However, the results are more heterogeneous when it comes to more complex coordinative tasks, explains Amelie Heinrich from the Institute of Sports Science at MLU. In general, it is assumed that performance tends to get worse when there is an audience.

Heinrich is a sports psychology expert. She coaches Germany’s junior biathlon squad. In her new study, she took advantage of the special situation in sport caused by the coronavirus. She compared the running times and shooting successes of male and female biathletes from the 2018/2019 season with their performances in the 2020 season in the sprint and mass start events. “The men’s results were as expected. They ran faster with an audience present, but performed more poorly in shooting,” says Heinrich. While cross-country skiing mainly requires stamina, shooting is a coordinative task. “Interestingly, it was the other way around for women. They ran slower in the presence of spectators, but on average, it took them an entire second less to make their shot and, at least in the sprint, their scoring performance was five percent higher.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time that a study was able to show a different effect of the audience on men and women,” says Professor Oliver Stoll, head of the sports psychology section at MLU….

Adapted from:https//www.sciencedaily.com/
According to the passage, women….. greater speed if there are no spectators. run at

Without audience, men run slower and women faster. The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Psychology of Sport and Exercise shows. According to the new analysis, women also perform better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not.

‘Social facilitation theory states that a person’s performance is impacted if other people watch them. The mere presence of an audience improves the performance of simple tasks, especially those that require stamina. “The studies have been relatively clear so far. “However, the results are more heterogeneous when it comes to more complex coordinative tasks, explains Amelie Heinrich from the Institute of Sports Science at MLU. In general, it is assumed that performance tends to get worse when there is an audience.

Heinrich is a sports psychology expert. She coaches Germany’s junior biathlon squad. In her new study, she took advantage of the special situation in sport caused by the coronavirus. She compared the running times and shooting successes of male and female biathletes from the 2018/2019 season with their performances in the 2020 season in the sprint and mass start events. “The men’s results were as expected. They ran faster with an audience present, but performed more poorly in shooting,” says Heinrich. While cross-country skiing mainly requires stamina, shooting is a coordinative task. “Interestingly, it was the other way around for women. They ran slower in the presence of spectators, but on average, it took them an entire second less to make their shot and, at least in the sprint, their scoring performance was five percent higher.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time that a study was able to show a different effect of the audience on men and women,” says Professor Oliver Stoll, head of the sports psychology section at MLU….

Adapted from:https//www.sciencedaily.com/
The paragraph preceding the passage most likely discusses…

Sport refers to an activity involving physical activity and skill. Sports are an integral part of human life, and there is great importance of sports in all spheres of life. Sports have a massive positive effect both physically and mentally.
First of all from physical point of view. sports strengthen the heart. They serve as an excellent preventive measure against heart diseasess leading to an increased life expectancy of individuals. They involve physical activity of the body because of which blood vessels remain clean. Besides, they reduce the amount of cholesterol and fats in the body because of the increase flexibility if the wall of the blood vessels. Such flexibility increases due to physical exertion, which is the result of sports

[1] In addition, sports make a person experience a good quality of breathing because of sports. [2] They strengthen the lungs of the body in particular ways. [3] Sports are particularly helpful in making our body fit and slim. [4] By escalating the lung capacity and efficiency of the body, more oxygen enters the blood which is extremely beneficial [5] Furthermore, there are fewer chances of developing lung diseases due to sports.

Moreover, from the mental point of view, sports bring discipline in life. They teach the values of dedication and patience. Sports also teach people how to handle failure. Besides, they also teach people how to handle failure because of a number of difficulties of movements found in sports. The importance of following a time schedule is also present in sports, requiring people to be punctual.

Finally, sports reduce the stress of mind. People who play sports would certainly experience less depression because sports can ensure the peace of their mind. Most noteworthy, they bring happiness and joy in the life of people who play them.

Adapted from: https://www.toppr.com/
Here are the jumbled sentences from the paragraph that follows the above paragraph.
Please reorder the following sentences.
A. Sport is an aspect of human life that is of paramount importance.

B. This is because it is as important as education.

C. Everyone must perform at least one sport activity on a regular basis.

D. It certainly increases the quality of human life

E. Therefore, it must be made mandatory at schools.

The best order of the sentences above is…

Artificial Intelligence or Al is a term which simply means the machine intelligence. Lately there has been a popular debate whether Al is considered as a threat or a benefit to humans Even though portrayed as a threat on the account of the loss of jobs. Al is promising solution in disaster response and for medical applications with efficiency and high precision compared to human.

Al has proven to be a solution to natural disasters which affect different places globally The success of any humanitarian intervention depends on quality information, which is in the heart of Al system. For example, the Artificial Intelligence Disaster Response has been applied in different catastrophes. In this case, Al comes handy as a partner in helping humans prevent the aftermath of disaster. Therefore, artificial intelligence is able to solve tasks that are otherwise complicated and time-consuming for human.

Apart from disaster responses. Al also plays a critical role in field of medicine including research, training, and diagnosis of diseases. Medical Al deals with the construction of Al systems and programs that can make diagnosis and therapy recommendations easier. It is evident that Al has not only revolutionized the medical field but also promised its sustainability.

However, Al also presents the existential threat of loss of jobs. Research predicts that artificial intelligence already has and poses an existential threat to labor market. The emergence of intelligent algorithm that controls robot has led to the loss of jobs that are otherwise tiring and monotonous to humans. Even so, not all jobs in entirety will be affected. Rather, even the existence of Al in workplace would require the supports of experts, which is also another frontier of job creation. In sum, even though Al poses a threat to the labor market, it creates an avenue for employement as well.
In conclusion, amid the fear that Al is a threat, either now or in the future, it is clear that it has substantial and critical benefits for humans. Using the system that mimic human and animal intelligence is the next frontier in solving problem within society.

Adapted from https://gradecrest.com/
The author assumes that human are less…than Al.