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Medical College Admission Test: Verbal Reasoning, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Writing Sample (Page 11 )

Updated On: 13-Sep-2026
Page 11 of 164
PDF with 811 Questions

Our sense of smell is arguably the most powerful of our five senses, but it also the most elusive. It plays a vital yet mysterious role in our lives. Olfaction is rooted in the same part of the brain that regulates such essential functions as body metabolism, reaction to stress, and appetite. But smell relates to more than physiological function: its sensations are intimately tied to memory, emotion, and sexual desire. Smell seems to lie somewhere beyond the realm of conscious thought, where, intertwined with emotion and experience, it shapes both our conscious and unconscious lives.
The peculiar intimacy of this sense may be related to certain anatomical features. Smell reaches the brain more directly than do sensations of touch, sight, or sound. When we inhale a particular odor, air containing volatile odiferous molecules is warmed and humidified as it flows over specialized bones in the nose called turbinates. As odor molecules land on the olfactory nerves, these nerves fire a message to the brain. Thus olfactory neurons render a direct path between the stimulus provided by the outside environment and the brain, allowing us to rapidly perceive odors ranging from alluring fragrances to noisome fumes.
Certain scents, such as jasmine, are almost universally appealing, while others, like hydrogen sulfide (which emits a stench reminiscent of rotten eggs), are usually considered repellent, but most odors evoke different reactions from person to person, sometimes triggering strong emotional states or resurrecting seemingly forgotten memories. Scientists surmise that the reason why we have highly personal associations with smells is related to the proximity of the olfactory and emotional centers of our brain. Although the precise connection between emotion and olfaction remains a mystery, it is clear that emotion, memory, and smell are all rooted in a part of the brain called the limbic lobe.
Even though we are not always conscious of the presence of odors, and are often unable to either articulate or remember their unique characteristics, our brains always register their existence. In fact, such a large amount of human brain tissue is devoted to smell that scientists surmise the role of this sense must be profound. Moreover, neurobiological research suggests that smell must have an important function because olfactory neurons can regenerate themselves, unlike most other nerve cells. The importance of this sense is further supported by the fact that animals experimentally denied the olfactory sense do not develop full and normal brain function.
The significance of olfaction is much clearer in animals than in human beings. Animal behavior is strongly influenced by pheromones, which are odors that induce psychological or behavioral changes and often provide a means of communicating within a species. These chemical messages, often a complex blend of compounds, are of vital importance to the insect world. Honeybees, for example, organize their societies through odor: the queen bee exudes an odor that both inhibits worker bees from laying eggs and draws drones to her when she is ready to mate. Mammals are also guided by their sense of smell. Through odors emitted by urine and scent glands, many animals maintain their territories, identify one another, signal alarm, and attract mates.
Although our olfactory acuity can't rival that of other animal species, human beings are also guided by smell. Before the advent of sophisticated laboratory techniques, physicians depended on their noses to help diagnose illness. A century ago, it was common medical knowledge that certain bacterial infections carry the musty odor of wine, that typhoid smells like baking bread, and that yellow fever smells like meat. While medical science has moved away from such subjective diagnostic methods, in everyday life we continue to rely on our sense of small, knowingly or not, to guide us.
It can be inferred from the passage that the emotional element of human olfaction would be better understood through investigation into:

  1. the components and functions of the limbic lobe.
  2. how pheromones regulate social behavior and organization.
  3. the composition of certain highly evocative odors.
  4. the pathway between outside environment and olfactory nerves.

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This asks the reader to choose a course of investigation that might lead to better understanding of the emotional element of human olfaction. Emotion and olfaction are discussed in the third paragraph. There it is stated that the "precise connection between emotion and olfaction remains a mystery" but that "it is clear that emotion, memory, and smell are all rooted in a part of the brain called the limbic lobe." From that it can be inferred that the role of olfaction in emotion would be better understood through investigation into the workings of the limbic lobe, or choice (A). Choice (C) suggests that investigation into the composition of highly evocative odors would shed light on human olfaction. But there's nothing in the passage that implies that the composition of smells effects our perception of them. So, one cannot infer choice (C) from the passage, and it's incorrect.
Choice (B) states that the emotional element of human olfaction would be better understood through investigation into pheromones. However, the passage mentions pheromones in the fifth paragraph in considering animal, not human, olfaction. There's no connection made in the passage between pheromones and human olfaction, so that study of pheromones would not help scientists understand the emotional element of human olfaction. Choice (D) suggests that study of the pathway between outside environment and olfactory nerves would be helpful to our understanding of emotions and smell. The last sentence of the second paragraph states that olfactory neurons render a direct path between stimulus and brain. From this the author notes that smells reach the brain almost directly. But, the author say or imply that this anatomical fact has anything to do with the emotional aspect of olfaction. So, choice (D) is also wrong.



Our sense of smell is arguably the most powerful of our five senses, but it also the most elusive. It plays a vital yet mysterious role in our lives. Olfaction is rooted in the same part of the brain that regulates such essential functions as body metabolism, reaction to stress, and appetite. But smell relates to more than physiological function: its sensations are intimately tied to memory, emotion, and sexual desire. Smell seems to lie somewhere beyond the realm of conscious thought, where, intertwined with emotion and experience, it shapes both our conscious and unconscious lives.
The peculiar intimacy of this sense may be related to certain anatomical features. Smell reaches the brain more directly than do sensations of touch, sight, or sound. When we inhale a particular odor, air containing volatile odiferous molecules is warmed and humidified as it flows over specialized bones in the nose called turbinates. As odor molecules land on the olfactory nerves, these nerves fire a message to the brain. Thus olfactory neurons render a direct path between the stimulus provided by the outside environment and the brain, allowing us to rapidly perceive odors ranging from alluring fragrances to noisome fumes.
Certain scents, such as jasmine, are almost universally appealing, while others, like hydrogen sulfide (which emits a stench reminiscent of rotten eggs), are usually considered repellent, but most odors evoke different reactions from person to person, sometimes triggering strong emotional states or resurrecting seemingly forgotten memories. Scientists surmise that the reason why we have highly personal associations with smells is related to the proximity of the olfactory and emotional centers of our brain. Although the precise connection between emotion and olfaction remains a mystery, it is clear that emotion, memory, and smell are all rooted in a part of the brain called the limbic lobe.
Even though we are not always conscious of the presence of odors, and are often unable to either articulate or remember their unique characteristics, our brains always register their existence. In fact, such a large amount of human brain tissue is devoted to smell that scientists surmise the role of this sense must be profound. Moreover, neurobiological research suggests that smell must have an important function because olfactory neurons can regenerate themselves, unlike most other nerve cells. The importance of this sense is further

supported by the fact that animals experimentally denied the olfactory sense do not develop full and normal brain function.
The significance of olfaction is much clearer in animals than in human beings. Animal behavior is strongly influenced by pheromones, which are odors that induce psychological or behavioral changes and often provide a means of communicating within a species. These chemical messages, often a complex blend of compounds, are of vital importance to the insect world. Honeybees, for example, organize their societies through odor: the queen bee exudes an odor that both inhibits worker bees from laying eggs and draws drones to her when she is ready to mate. Mammals are also guided by their sense of smell. Through odors emitted by urine and scent glands, many animals maintain their territories, identify one another, signal alarm, and attract mates.
Although our olfactory acuity can't rival that of other animal species, human beings are also guided by smell. Before the advent of sophisticated laboratory techniques, physicians depended on their noses to help diagnose illness. A century ago, it was common medical knowledge that certain bacterial infections carry the musty odor of wine, that typhoid smells like baking bread, and that yellow fever smells like meat. While medical science has moved away from such subjective diagnostic methods, in everyday life we continue to rely on our sense of small, knowingly or not, to guide us.
Which of the following evidence does NOT support the author's statement that smell has an important physiological function?

  1. Olfaction and metabolic function are located in the same area of the brain.
  2. Animals with impaired olfaction frequently exhibit abnormal brain function.
  3. A considerable amount of human brain tissue is devoted to olfaction.
  4. Human beings with impaired olfaction are usually able to behave and function normally

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

This requires one to select the one statement that does not support the author's statement that smell has an important physiological function. The best approach to this type of question is to consider the answer choices in order. Choice (A) suggests that evidence that olfaction and metabolic function are located in the same area of the brain would support the author's contention that smell has an important physiological function. The proximity of olfactory and metabolic centers in the brain is mentioned in the third sentence of the first paragraph ­ a fact that does indeed support the author's claim to the important physiological function of smell. So (A) is incorrect.
Choice (B) presents the hypothesis that animals with impaired olfaction often exhibit abnormal brain function.
The last sentence of the fourth paragraph gives this fact as evidence of the importance of smell, so it's certainly reasonable to apply this to the author's belief that smell plays an important physiological role. Choice (C) says that a considerable amount of human brain tissue is devoted to olfaction. This is true and is mentioned in the second sentence of the fourth paragraph as evidence that the role of smell must be profound. Choice (D) gives the evidence that human beings with impaired olfaction are usually able to behave and function normally. This completely contradicts the author's belief that smell has an important physiological function. If someone with an impaired sense of smell can function perfectly well, that is evidence against the author's theory of the importance of smell. Therefore, choice (D) does not support the author's statement.



"Bebop lives!" cries the newest generation of jazz players. During the 1980s, musicians like Wynton Marsalis revived public interest in bebop, the speedy, angular music that first bubbled up out of Harlem in the early 1940s, changing the face of jazz. That Marsalis and others thought of themselves as celebrating and preserving a noble tradition is, in one sense, inevitable. After the excesses of experimental or "free" jazz in the 1960s and the electronic jazz-rock "fusion" of the 70s, it is hardly surprising that people should hearken back to a time when jazz was "purer," perhaps even at the apex of its development. But the recent enthusiasm for bebop is also ironic in light of the music's initial public reception.
In its infancy, during the first two decades of the 20th century, jazz was played by small groups of musicians

improvising variations on blues tunes and popular songs. Most of the musicians were unable to read music, and their improvisations were fairly rudimentary. Nevertheless, jazz attained international recognition in the 1920s. Two of the people most responsible for its rise in popularity were Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz soloist, and Fletcher Henderson, leader of the first great jazz band. Armstrong, with his buoyant personality and virtuosic technical skills, greatly expanded the creative range and importance of the soloist in jazz. Henderson, a pianist with extensive training in music theory, foresaw the orchestral possibilities of jazz played by a larger band. He wrote out arrangements of songs for his band members that preserved the spirit of jazz, while at the same time giving soloists a more structured musical background upon which to shape their solo improvisations. In the 1930s, jazz moved further into the mainstream with the advent of the Swing Era. Big bands in the Henderson mold, led by musicians like Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, achieved unprecedented popularity with jazz-oriented "swing" music that was eminently danceable.
Against this musical backdrop, bebop arrived on the scene. Like other modernist movements in art and literature, bebop music represented a departure from tradition in both form and content, and was met with initial hostility. Bebop tempos were unusually fast, with the soloist often playing at double time to the backing musicians. The rhythms were tricky and complex, the melodies intricate and frequently dissonant, involving chord changes and notes not previously heard in jazz. Before bebop, jazz players had improvised on popular songs such as those produced by Tin-Pan Alley, but bebop tunes were often originals with which jazz audiences were unfamiliar.
Played mainly by small combos rather than big bands, bebop was not danceable; it demanded intellectual concentration. Soon, jazz began to lose its hold on the popular audience, which found the new music disconcerting. Compounding public alienation was the fact that bebop seemed to have arrived on the scene in a completely mature state of development, without that early phase of experimentation that typifies so many movements in the course of Western music. This was as much the result of an accident of history as anything else. The early development of bebop occurred during a three-year ban on recording in this country made necessary by the petrol and vinyl shortages of World War II). By the time the ban was lifted, and the first bebop records were made, the new music seemed to have sprung fully-formed like Athena from the forehead of Zeus. And though a small core of enthusiasts would continue to worship bebop pioneers like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, many bebop musicians were never able to gain acceptance with any audience and went on to lead lives of obscurity and deprivation.
According to the passage, which of the following is true about the bebop music of the 1940s?

  1. It followed the tradition of jazz from the 1920s.
  2. It differed markedly from the music of the Swing Era.
  3. It celebrated the songs of Tin-Pan Alley.
  4. It did not require great improvisational skill.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

This is an explicit detail question asking for a true statement about bebop in the 1940s. Choice (A), that bebop followed the tradition of jazz from the 1920s, is clearly wrong because the second sentence of paragraph 3 says that bebop "represented a departure from tradition in both form and content". Choice (B), however, is correct.
Paragraph 3, in its entirety, and the first sentence of paragraph 4 clearly show that bebop differed from music of the Swing Era. Bebop music was faster and harmonically more adventurous. Unlike swing music, it not danceable, and demanded intellectual concentration. Choice (C) contradicts the last sentence of paragraph 3:
bebop did not celebrate the songs of Tin-Pan Alley. Bebop tunes were often originals, unfamiliar to audiences.
And choice (D) is incorrect because, as the second and seventh sentences of the second paragraph indicate, bebop sprang from improvisations. Its extremely fast tempos and ever-increasing musical sophistication clearly imply that playing bebop required extensive improvisational skill.



"Bebop lives!" cries the newest generation of jazz players. During the 1980s, musicians like Wynton Marsalis revived public interest in bebop, the speedy, angular music that first bubbled up out of Harlem in the early 1940s, changing the face of jazz. That Marsalis and others thought of themselves as celebrating and preserving a noble tradition is, in one sense, inevitable. After the excesses of experimental or "free" jazz in the 1960s and the electronic jazz-rock "fusion" of the 70s, it is hardly surprising that people should hearken back to a time when jazz was "purer," perhaps even at the apex of its development. But the recent enthusiasm for bebop is also ironic in light of the music's initial public reception.
In its infancy, during the first two decades of the 20th century, jazz was played by small groups of musicians improvising variations on blues tunes and popular songs. Most of the musicians were unable to read music, and their improvisations were fairly rudimentary. Nevertheless, jazz attained international recognition in the 1920s. Two of the people most responsible for its rise in popularity were Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz soloist, and Fletcher Henderson, leader of the first great jazz band. Armstrong, with his buoyant personality and virtuosic technical skills, greatly expanded the creative range and importance of the soloist in jazz. Henderson, a pianist with extensive training in music theory, foresaw the orchestral possibilities of jazz played by a larger band. He wrote out arrangements of songs for his band members that preserved the spirit of jazz, while at the same time giving soloists a more structured musical background upon which to shape their solo improvisations. In the 1930s, jazz moved further into the mainstream with the advent of the Swing Era. Big bands in the Henderson mold, led by musicians like Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, achieved unprecedented popularity with jazz-oriented "swing" music that was eminently danceable.
Against this musical backdrop, bebop arrived on the scene. Like other modernist movements in art and literature, bebop music represented a departure from tradition in both form and content, and was met with initial hostility. Bebop tempos were unusually fast, with the soloist often playing at double time to the backing musicians. The rhythms were tricky and complex, the melodies intricate and frequently dissonant, involving chord changes and notes not previously heard in jazz. Before bebop, jazz players had improvised on popular songs such as those produced by Tin-Pan Alley, but bebop tunes were often originals with which jazz audiences were unfamiliar.
Played mainly by small combos rather than big bands, bebop was not danceable; it demanded intellectual concentration. Soon, jazz began to lose its hold on the popular audience, which found the new music disconcerting. Compounding public alienation was the fact that bebop seemed to have arrived on the scene in a completely mature state of development, without that early phase of experimentation that typifies so many movements in the course of Western music. This was as much the result of an accident of history as anything else. The early development of bebop occurred during a three-year ban on recording in this country made necessary by the petrol and vinyl shortages of World War II). By the time the ban was lifted, and the first bebop records were made, the new music seemed to have sprung fully-formed like Athena from the forehead of Zeus. And though a small core of enthusiasts would continue to worship bebop pioneers like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, many bebop musicians were never able to gain acceptance with any audience and went on to lead lives of obscurity and deprivation.
According to the passage, which of the following is true about the jazz of the 1920s?

  1. It resembled the jazz played during the first two decades of the century.
  2. It placed greater demands on the improvisatory skills of its soloists.
  3. Its fast tempos foreshadowed those of bebop in the 1940s.
  4. It was primarily dance music.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

This seeks a specific, true statement about jazz of the 1920s. The 1920s are covered in paragraph 2 (lines 14-
31). The correct answer, choice B, is taken from the fifth sentence of that paragraph, where the author says that Louis Armstrong, one of the two musicians "most responsible for" jazz's rise in popularity, "greatly expanded the creative range and importance of the soloist in jazz." In other words, Armstrong raised the stakes for jazz soloists. They had to improve, to rise above the "fairly rudimentary" improvisations that had been played
during the first two decades of the century. So choice B is the correct answer. Regarding choice A, it's clear from paragraph 2 that, in the 1920s, the innovations of people like Armstrong and Henderson really changed jazz, making it more sophisticated and expansive. Choice A says that 1920s' jazz resembled earlier jazz, and this goes against the grain of the author's argument; 1920s jazz was clearly different. Choice (C) is wrong because the author never specifies what kind of tempos were typical of 1920s jazz. The passage never indicates if they were fast or slow, so there's no support for choice (C). And choice D describes jazz music of the Swing Era in the 1930s, not the jazz of the 1920s.



"Bebop lives!" cries the newest generation of jazz players. During the 1980s, musicians like Wynton Marsalis revived public interest in bebop, the speedy, angular music that first bubbled up out of Harlem in the early 1940s, changing the face of jazz. That Marsalis and others thought of themselves as celebrating and preserving a noble tradition is, in one sense, inevitable. After the excesses of experimental or "free" jazz in the 1960s and the electronic jazz-rock "fusion" of the 70s, it is hardly surprising that people should hearken back to a time when jazz was "purer," perhaps even at the apex of its development. But the recent enthusiasm for bebop is also ironic in light of the music's initial public reception.
In its infancy, during the first two decades of the 20th century, jazz was played by small groups of musicians improvising variations on blues tunes and popular songs. Most of the musicians were unable to read music, and their improvisations were fairly rudimentary. Nevertheless, jazz attained international recognition in the 1920s. Two of the people most responsible for its rise in popularity were Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz soloist, and Fletcher Henderson, leader of the first great jazz band. Armstrong, with his buoyant personality and virtuosic technical skills, greatly expanded the creative range and importance of the soloist in jazz. Henderson, a pianist with extensive training in music theory, foresaw the orchestral possibilities of jazz played by a larger band. He wrote out arrangements of songs for his band members that preserved the spirit of jazz, while at the same time giving soloists a more structured musical background upon which to shape their solo improvisations. In the 1930s, jazz moved further into the mainstream with the advent of the Swing Era. Big bands in the Henderson mold, led by musicians like Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, achieved unprecedented popularity with jazz-oriented "swing" music that was eminently danceable.
Against this musical backdrop, bebop arrived on the scene. Like other modernist movements in art and literature, bebop music represented a departure from tradition in both form and content, and was met with initial hostility. Bebop tempos were unusually fast, with the soloist often playing at double time to the backing musicians. The rhythms were tricky and complex, the melodies intricate and frequently dissonant, involving chord changes and notes not previously heard in jazz. Before bebop, jazz players had improvised on popular songs such as those produced by Tin-Pan Alley, but bebop tunes were often originals with which jazz audiences were unfamiliar.
Played mainly by small combos rather than big bands, bebop was not danceable; it demanded intellectual concentration. Soon, jazz began to lose its hold on the popular audience, which found the new music disconcerting. Compounding public alienation was the fact that bebop seemed to have arrived on the scene in a completely mature state of development, without that early phase of experimentation that typifies so many movements in the course of Western music. This was as much the result of an accident of history as anything else. The early development of bebop occurred during a three-year ban on recording in this country made necessary by the petrol and vinyl shortages of World War II). By the time the ban was lifted, and the first bebop records were made, the new music seemed to have sprung fully-formed like Athena from the forehead of Zeus. And though a small core of enthusiasts would continue to worship bebop pioneers like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, many bebop musicians were never able to gain acceptance with any audience and went on to lead lives of obscurity and deprivation.
Based on the information in the passage comparing bebop to other movements in the history of Western music, it is reasonable to conclude that:
I). most movements in music history passed through a stage of experimentation before reaching mature expression.
II). World War II prevented bebop from reaching a more appreciative audience.
III). bebop did not go through a developmental stage before reaching mature expression.

  1. I only
  2. III only
  3. I and II only
  4. II and III only

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This is in Roman Numeral format. It asks one to draw a reasonable conclusion from information in the passage "comparing bebop to other movements in the history of Western music". That phrase "Western music" appears only once in the passage. It's in the third sentence of the final paragraph. That's where the author compares bebop to "other movements in the course of Western music." The author says there that public alienation or estrangement toward bebop was intense because bebop seemed to have arrived "in a completely mature state of development, without that early phase of experimentation that typifies so many movements in the course of Western music". This not only indicates something about bebop, it educates about most movements in the course of Western music ­ namely, that they go through at least two phases: an early, experimental phase, and a later, more mature, more fully developed phase. This is the substance of Roman Numeral statement I, which is a reasonable conclusion and therefore will be part of the correct answer. Notice that choices (B) and (D) do not include Roman Numeral Statement I; thus, they can be eliminated. Since either choice (A), which offers statement I only, or choice (C), which offers statements I and II, must be the correct answer. One can review only statement II to determine the right answer. Statement II says that W.W.II prevented bebop from reaching a more appreciative audience. This is a distortion of the fifth sentence of the final paragraph, which says that a petrol shortage during World War II necessitated a three-year ban on the making of records. But, according to the author, it was not the recording ban that prevented bebop from reaching a more appreciative audience.
Instead, the recording ban was responsible for making it seem to audiences as if bebop had bypassed that early, experimental stage and instantly achieved mature development. It was the radical elements of bebop itself that prevented the music from appealing to a wider audience. So statement II is false, and choice (A), statement I only, is the correct answer. Statement III says that bebop did not go through a developmental stage before reaching mature expression. This is not true. Bebop did go through a developmental stage, and it is discussed in the middle of the last paragraph. The key point here is that few people heard the music during this phase because of the ban on recording. Statement III is false.



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