The Science Passage (verbal reasoning) | Verbal Reasoning

Introduction

A quick quiz to begin this lesson: Using only the words “fast” and “slow”, can you describe the Journey Method in three steps? Make your three-word sequence and then check the spoiler.

(spoiler)

Slow-Fast-Slow (this corresponds to the first paragraph, the middle paragraphs, and the last paragraph).

The Journey Method and the Science Passage

The CLT Science passage bears a resemblance to the to other nonfiction passages in the Verbal Reasoning passage (Philosophy/Religion and Historical/Founding Documents). But it is often more technical and focused on the same narrow subject throughout. In addition, the Science passage is the only passage where the CLT may include a modern composition (something written in the last 50 years), though this is not always the case. Here is a list of sources of science passages found in official CLT practice materials, together with their dates:

Johannes Kepler (1611)
Charles Darwin (1859)
Albert Einstein (1921)
Vitali Sintchenko (2011)
Emilie Reas (2016)
Caleb Everett (2017)
Naureen Ghani (2017)
George Stanciu (2017)
Leif Karlstrom and Joseph Byrnes (2018)
Charlotte Hugg (2019)

As the list shows, 70% of science practice passages in Verbal Reasoning were written in the 21st century. Nevertheless, since older passages do occur in the science genre and tend to be harder to decode than modern passages, we include a passage written in the 17th century in this lesson. If you exercise your reading comprehension mental muscles with older, more linguistically challenging passages, you should find modern passages extremely straightforward.

The Journey Method with a nonfiction passage emphasizes not only the varying speeds at which you read but also a focus on key indicator words in the passage. Words and phrases like therefore, for example, first, finally, and indeed are all worth noting and using to enhance your comprehension. But nothing is as revealing as a contrast word like “but”, “yet”, or “however”. Make sure you note every use of such contrast words and mine the context to extract valuable meaning.

Practice Passage

This passage is taken from the Grounds of Natural Philosophy, Divided Into Thirteen Parts, by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, written in 1668 and found at Project Gutenberg.

As I said in my former chapter, that all creatures are produced, or composed by the agreement and consent of particular parts; yet some creatures are composed of more, and some of fewer parts: neither are all creatures produced, or composed after one and the same manner; but some after one manner, and some after another manner. Indeed, there are divers manners of productions, both of those we name natural, and those we name artificial; but I only treat of natural productions, which are so various, that it is a wonder if any two creatures are just alike. By which we may perceive, that not only in several kinds and sorts, but in particulars of every kind, or sort, there is some difference, so as to be distinguished from each other, and yet the species of some creatures are like to their kind, and sort, but not all.

The Journey Method tells us we should begin by reading closely, and the technical nature of a science passage only reinforces the importance of doing so. The language is a bit challenging and archaic, Cavendish makes clear contrasts and emphasizes important points by repetition, thereby helping us follow along.

Here are a few ideas we might note from this paragraph, either mentally or on our scratch paper: 1) living things (“creatures”) are composites of many parts; 2) those parts are different for each living thing; 3) the way each creature is composed has an enormous amount of variation; 4) nevertheless, there is something in a species that makes its members more similar to each other than to other things, even though they are not exactly the same.

The first paragraph of the passage does NOT consider the way in which creatures are

A. native to certain environments.
B. composed in parts.
C. brought into being.
D. organized into species.

(spoiler)

The answer is native to certain environments. Don’t overlook the “NOT”! Nothing in the first paragraph speaks about the environment in which creatures are found, so that’s a good answer. Cavendish speaks multiple times about creatures being “produced” (born or brought into being), and their “composition” is mentioned frequently. The paragraph speaks somewhat less about species, but the last sentence introduces the idea and mentions the general similarity of creatures found in the same species.

The reason that most creatures are in species, according to their sort, and kind, is not only, that Nature’s wisdom orders and regulates her corporeal figurative motions, into kinds and sorts of societies and conjunctions; but, those societies cause a perceptive acquaintance, and a united love, and good liking of the compositions, or productions: and not only a love to their figurative compositions, but to all that are of the same sort, or kind; and especially, their being accustom’d to actions proper to their figurative compositions, is the cause that those parts, that divide from the producers, begin a new society, and, by degrees, produce the like creature; which is the cause that animals and vegetables produce according to their likeness.

We can expect to have grasped at least some of the passage’s central ideas, so we cautiously speed up our reading. The topic sentence (especially its italicized word) tells us that the author is expounding upon what it means to be in the same species. Even reading quickly, we can pick up a theme of similarity in this paragraph whereas the first paragraph contained more reflection on difference. You might notice the repeated use of the phrase “figurative compositions”; with any unfamiliar phrase like this in the body of a CLT passage, you don’t necessarily need to interpret its meaning right away; it should be sufficient to make a note of it for now and plan to revisit the phrase if the questions require you to do so. It’s a good idea to zoom back in at the end of the paragraph. Notice that animals and vegetables seem to be examples of species in the author’s mind, and their offspring (what they “produce”) are always the same species (“likeness”) as their parents. In other words, animals and vegetables both “give birth” to the same kind as themselves.

The author’s purpose in the second paragraph is to

A. expand upon an idea introduced in the previous paragraph.
B. introduce a problem whose solution will be offered later.
C. address criticisms of the ideas presented in the first paragraph.
D. provide a classification of certain kinds of organisms.

(spoiler)

The answer is expand upon an idea introduced in the previous paragraph. Notice how general the answers are; only the choice mentioning “organisms” gets specific in any way. To answer correctly, we need to pay attention to how this paragraph relates to those before and/or after. There were ideas presented in the first paragraph, but the author doesn’t here mention criticisms of those ideas, so that choice is eliminated. There is not a “problem/solution” relationship between this paragraph and those following; the following paragraphs continue along the same lines but simply become more specific. And while this paragraph talks about species, which is a classification, the entire paragraph is not about classifying organisms. The focus is on the similarities of organisms within species, which is precisely what the last sentence of the previous paragraph introduced.

The same may be amongst minerals and elements, for all we can know. But yet, some creatures of one and the same sort, are not produced after one and the same manner; for example, one and the same sort of vegetables, may be produced after several manners, and yet, in the effect, be the same, as when vegetables are sowed, planted, engrafted. As also, seeds, roots, and the like, they are several manners, or ways of productions, and yet will produce the same sort of vegetable: but, there will be much alteration in replanting, which is occasioned by the change of associating parts, and parties.

We continue moving quickly through the body of the passage. The Journey Method reminds us to focus especially on contrast words like “But” (second sentence), “yet” (second sentence), “yet” (third sentence), and “but” (third sentence). The structural markers help us organize the paragraph and point to a focus on difference rather than similarity. Cavendish seems to be telling us that the same sort of living thing can be produced by different means or processes. The last sentence even speaks of change in the parts of an organism even while the organism itself does not change into a different organism.

This paragraph focuses on a difference between the _____ of organisms.

A. being and actions
B. species and families
C. origins and destinies
D. beginnings and characteristics

(spoiler)

The answer is beginnings and characteristics. The overall thrust of the paragraph is that even creatures within the same species, and therefore those with similar characteristics, can grow from different sources and in different ways (for example, a vegetable can be sowed, planted, or engrafted). So “beginnings” is a good contrast to “characteristics.” Nothing in the paragraph focuses on actions exactly (which would be an odd word to use for a plant in any case), and while the paragraph continues to reference species, it mentions no other group of classification. Finally, “destinies” would be a rather lofty way to speak of the life of a vegetable! We can rule that choice out as well.

But as for the several productions of several kinds and sorts, they are very different; as for example, animals are not produced as vegetables, nor vegetables as minerals, nor minerals as any of the rest. Nor are all animals produced alike, nor minerals, nor vegetables, but after many different manners, or ways. Neither are all productions like their producers; for, some are so far from resembling their figurative society, that they produce another kind, or sort, of composed figures: for example, maggots out of cheese, other worms out of roots, fruits, and the like. But these sorts of creatures, man names insects; yet they are animal creatures, as well as others.

As the passage draws to a close, we slow our reading pace. Crucial keywords, though, should continue to draw our attention, and this paragraph is chock full of them: “But” (first sentence), “nor … nor” (first sentence), “Nor … nor … nor” (second sentence), “but” (second sentence), “Neither” (third sentence), “but” (fourth sentence), “yet” (fourth sentence). Contrast words are valuable because CLT questions will often ask about the opposing ideas to which they point. In this paragraph, classes of living and non-living things (animals/vegetables, vegetables/minerals). Also, in contrast to the previous paragraph, the difference between what something produces and the thing produced. Interestingly, though, she includes the environment in which things grow under the heading of “producing”.

Modern science tells us that cheese isn’t producing maggots, nor is fruit producing worms; rather, the latter are growing out of the former. But it’s important to stick to the author’s point of view; Cavendish apparently views these two kinds of “production” (giving birth to something like oneself and being the environment for the growth of something different from oneself) as the same thing.

Based on this paragraph, which of the following would be most similar to the relationship between maggots and cheese?

A. a yearling accompanied by its mother
B. termites burrowing into wood
C. horses eating oats in a field
D. a frog that was once a tadpole

(spoiler)

The answer is termites burrowing into wood. The key to recognizing the parallel relationship here (in a question that functions like a CLT analogy question) is to identify the original relationship–-in this case, between maggots and cheese. As both the author and common sense make clear, maggots don’t “come from” cheese in the sense that cheese gives birth to maggots, and the two are clearly not the same kind of organism. Rather, the author is talking about how cheese sometimes serves as the environment in which maggots grow. Similarly, wood is sometimes the environment in which termites grow. Both the answer about the yearling and the one about the frog are referencing two members of the same species. And horses eating oats is further away still, as there is nothing in this relationship in which one member in any sense comes from the other.

For Reflection

How well do you understand the Journey Method as it applies to a Science passage?
How confident are you in applying the Journey Method to the technical details of a Science passage?
Do you tend to prefer Science passages to other passages like literature or philosophy? Knowing your preference can help you decide which passages to do first if you choose to skip around.