Cultivation of a single crop on a given tract of land leads eventually to decreased yields. One reason for this is that harmful bacterial phytopathogens, organisms parasitic on plant hosts, increase in the soil surrounding plant roots. The problem can be cured by crop rotation, denying the pathogens a suitable host for period of time. However, even if crops are not rotated, the severity of diseases brought on by such phytopathogens often decreases after a number or years as the microbial population of the soil changes and the soil becomes “suppressive” to those diseases.
While there may be many reasons for this phenomenon, it is clear that levels of certain bacteria, such as Pseudomonas fl uorescens, a bacterium antagonistic to a number of harmful phytopathogens, are greater in suppressive than in nonsuppressive soil. This suggests that the presence of such bacteria suppresses phytopathogens. There is now considerable experimental support for this view. Wheat yield increases of 27 percent have been obtained in fi eld trials by treatment of wheat seeds with fl uorescent pseudomonads. Similar treatment of sugar beets, cotton, and potatoes has had similar results.
These improvements in crop yields through the application of Pseudomonas fl uorescens suggest that agriculture could benefi t from the use of bacteria genetically altered for specifi c purposes. For example, a form of phytopathogen altered to remove its harmful properties could be released into the environment in quantities favorable to its competing with and eventually excluding the harmful normal strain.
Some experiments suggest that deliberately releasing altered nonpathogenic Pseudomonas syringae could crowd out the nonaltered variety that causes frost damage. Opponents of such research have objected that the deliberate and large-scale release of genetically altered bacteria might have deleterious results. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that this particular strain is altered only by the removal of the gene responsible for the strain’s propensity to cause frost damage, thereby rendering it safer than the phytopathogen from which it was derived.
Some proponents have gone further and suggest that genetic alteration techniques could create organisms with totally new combinations of desirable traits not found in nature. For example, genes responsible for production of insecticidal compounds have been transposed from other bacteria into pseudomonads that colonize corn roots. Experiments of this kind are diffi cult and require great care: such bacteria are developed in highly artifi cial environments and may not compete well with natural soil bacteria. Nevertheless, proponents contend that the prospects for improved agriculture through such methods seem excellent. These prospects lead many to hope that current efforts to assess the risks of deliberate release of altered microorganisms will successfully answer the concerns of opponents and create a climate in which such research can go forward without undue impediment.
1. Which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage? A. Recent fi eld experiments with genetically altered Pseudomonas bacteria have shown that releasing genetically altered bacteria into the environment would not involve any signifi cant danger.
B. Encouraged by current research, advocates of agricultural use of genetically altered bacteria are optimistic that such use will eventually result in improved agriculture, though opponents remain wary.
C. Current research indicates that adding genetically altered Pseudomonas syringae bacteria to the soil surrounding crop plant roots will have many benefi cial effects, such as the prevention of frost damage in certain crops.
D. Genetic alteration of a number of harmful phytopathogens has been advocated by many researchers who contend that these techniques will eventually replace such outdated methods as crop rotation.
E. Genetic alteration of bacteria has been successful in highly artificial laboratory conditions, but opponents of such research have argued that these techniques are unlikely to produce organisms that are able to survive in natural environments.
2. The author discusses naturally occurring Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria in the fi rst paragraph primarily in order to do which one of the following?
A. prove that increases in the level of such bacteria in the soil are the sole cause of soil suppressivity
B. explain why yields increased after wheat fi elds were sprayed with altered Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria
C. detail the chemical processes that such bacteria use to suppress organisms parasitic to crop plants, such as wheat, sugar beets, and potatoes
D. provide background information to support the argument that research into the agricultural use of genetically altered bacteria would be fruitful E. argue that crop rotation is unnecessary, since diseases brought on by phytopathogens diminish in severity and eventually disappear on their own
3. It can be inferred from the author’s discussion of Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria that which one of the following would be true of crops impervious to parasitical organisms?
A. Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria would be absent from the soil surrounding their roots.
B. They would crowd out and eventually exclude other crop plants if their growth were not carefully regulated.
C. Their yield would not be likely to be improved by adding Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria to the soil.
D. They would mature more quickly than crop plants that were susceptible to parasitical organisms.
E. Levels of phytopathogenic bacteria in the soil surrounding their roots would be higher compared with other crop plants.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that crop rotation can increase yields in part because ....
A. moving crop plants around makes them hardier and more resistant to disease
B. the number of Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria in the soil usually increases when crops are rotated
C. the roots of many crop plants produce compounds that are antagonistic to phytopathogens harmful to other crop plants
D. the presence of phytopathogenic bacteria is responsible for the majority of plant diseases
E. phytopathogens typically attack some plant species but fi nd other species to be unsuitable hosts
5. According to the passage, proponents of the use of genetically altered bacteria in agriculture argue that which one of the following is true of the altered bacteria used in the frost-damage experiments?
A. The altered bacteria had a genetic constitution differing from that of the normal strain only in that the altered variety had one less gene.
B. Although the altered bacteria competed effectively with the nonaltered strain in the laboratory, they were not as viable in natural environments.
C. The altered bacteria were much safer and more effective than the naturally occurring Pseudomonas fl uorescens bacteria used in earlier experiments.
D. The altered bacteria were antagonistic to several types of naturally occurring phytopathogens in the soil surrounding the roots of frost-damaged crops.
E. The altered bacteria were released into the environment in numbers suffi cient to guarantee the validity of experimental results.
TEXT 2
In 1887 the Dawes Act legislated widescale private ownership of reservation lands in the United States for Native Americans. The act allotted plots of 80 acres to each Native American adult. However, the Native Americans were not granted outright title to their lands. The act defi ned each grant as a “trust patent,” meaning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the governmental agency in charge of administering policy regarding Native Americans, would hold the allotted land in trust for 25 years, during which time the Native American owners could use, but not alienate (sell) the land. After the 25-year period, the Native American allottee would receive a “fee patent” awarding full legal ownership of the land.
Two main reasons were advanced for the restriction on the Native Americans’ ability to sell their lands. First, it was claimed that free alienability would lead to immediate transfer of large amounts of former reservation land to non-Native Americans, consequently threatening the traditional way of life on those reservations. A second objection to free alienation was that Native Americans were unaccustomed to, and did not desire, a system of private landownership. Their custom, it was said, favored communal use of land.
However, both of these arguments bear only on the transfer of Native American lands to non-Native Americans; neither offers a reason for prohibiting Native Americans from transferring land among them-selves. Selling land to each other would not threaten the Native American culture. Additionally, if communal land use remained preferable to Native Americans after allotment, free alien ability would have allowed allottees to sell their lands back to the tribe.
When stated rationales for government policies prove empty, using an interest-group model often provides an explanation. While neither Native Americans nor the potential non-Native American purchasers benefi ted from the restraint on alienation contained in the Dawes Act, one clearly defi ned group did benefit: the BIA bureaucrats. It has been convincingly demonstrated that bureaucrats seek to maximize the size of their staffs and their budgets in order to compensate for the lack of other sources of fulfi llment, such as power and prestige. Additionally, politicians tend to favor the growth of governmental bureaucracy because such growth provides increased opportunity for the exercise of political patronage. The restraint on alienation vastly increased the amount of work, and hence the budgets, necessary to implement the statute. Until allotment was ended in 1934, granting fee patents and leasing Native American lands were among the principal activities of the United States government. One hypothesis, then, for the temporary restriction on alienation in the Dawes Act is that it refl ected a compromise between non-Native Americans favoring immediate alienability so they could purchase land and the BIA bureaucrats who administered the privatization system.
6. Which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
A. United States government policy toward Native Americans has tended to disregard their needs and consider instead the needs of non-Native American purchasers of land.
B. In order to preserve the unique way of life on Native American reservations, use of Native American lands must be communal rather than individual.
C. The Dawes Act’s restriction on the right of Native Americans to sell their land may have been implemented primarily to serve the interests of politicians and bureaucrats.
D. The clause restricting free alienability in the Dawes Act greatly expanded United States governmental activity in the area of land administration.
E. Since passage of the Dawes Act in 1887, Native Americans have not been able to sell or transfer their former reservation land freely.
7. Which one of the following statements concerning the reason for the end of allotment, if true, would provide the most support for the author’s view of politicians?
A. Politicians realized that allotment was damaging the Native American way of life.
B. Politicians decided that allotment would be more congruent with the Native American custom of communal land use.
C. Politicians believed that allotment’s continuation would not enhance their opportunities to exercise patronage.
D. Politicians felt that the staff and budgets of the BIA had grown too large.
E. Politicians were concerned that too much Native American land was falling into the hands of non-Native Americans.
8. Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
A. The passage of a law is analyzed in detail, the benefi ts and drawbacks of one of its clauses are studied, and a fi nal assessment of the law is offered.
B. The history of a law is narrated, the effects of one of its clauses on various populations are studied, and repeal of the law is advocated.
C. A law is examined, the political and social backgrounds of one of its clauses are characterized, and the permanent effects of the law are studied.
D. A law is described, the rationale put forward for one of its clauses is outlined and dismissed, and a different rationale for the clause is presented.
E. The legal status of an ethnic group is examined with respect to issues of landownership and commercial autonomy, and the benefi ts to rival groups due to that status are explained.
9. The author’s attitude toward the reasons advanced for the restriction on alienability in the Dawes Act at the time of its passage can best be described as ....
A. completely credulous
B. partially approving
C. basically indecisive
D. mildly questioning
E. highly skeptical
10. It can be inferred from the passage that which one of the following was true of Native American life immediately before passage of the Dawes Act?
A. Most Native Americans supported themselves through farming.
B. Not many Native Americans personally owned the land on which they lived.
C. The land on which most Native Americans lived had been bought from their tribes.
D. Few Native Americans had much contact with their non-Native American neighbors.
E. Few Native Americans were willing to sell their land to non-Native Americans.
TEXT 3
Gray marketing, the selling of trademarked products through channels of distribution not authorized by the trademark holder, can involve distribution of goods either within a market region or across market bound aries. Gray marketing within a market region (“channel fl ow diversion”) occurs when manufacturerauthorized distributors sell trademarked goods to unauthorized distributors who then sell the goods to consumers within the same region. For example, quantity discounts from manufacturers may motivate authorized dealers to enter the gray market because they can purchase larger quantities of a product than they themselves intend to stock if they can sell the extra units through gray market channels.
When gray marketing occurs across market boundaries, it is typically in an international setting and may be called “parallel importing.” Manufacturers often produce and sell products in more than one country and establish a network of authorized dealers in each country. Parallel importing occurs when trademarked goods intended for one country are diverted from proper channels (channel fl ow diversion) and then exported to unauthorized distributors in another country.
Trademark owners justifi ably argue against gray marketing practices since such practices clearly jeopardize the goodwill established by trademark owners: consumers who purchase trademarked goods in the gray market do not get the same “extended product,” which typically includes pre and postsale service. Equally important, authorized distributors may cease to promote the product if it becomes available for much lower prices through unauthorized channels.
Current debate over regulation of gray marketing focuses on three disparate theories in trademark law that have been variously and confusingly applied to parallel importation cases: universality, exhaustion, and territoriality. The theory of universality holds that a trademark is only an indication of the source or origin of the product. This theory does not recognize the goodwill functions of a trademark. When the courts apply this theory, gray marketing practices are allowed to continue because the origin of the product remains the same regardless of the specifi c route of the product through the channel of distribution. The exhaustion theory holds that a trademark owner relinquishes all rights once a product has been sold. When this theory is applied, gray marketing practices are allowed to continue because the trademark owners’ rights cease as soon as their products are sold to a distributor. The theory of territoriality holds that a trademark is effective in the country in which it is registered. Under the theory of territoriality, trademark owners can stop gray marketing practices in the registering countries on products bearing their trademarks. Since only the territoriality theory affords trademark owners any real legal protection against gray marketing practices, I believe it is inevitable as well as desirable that it will come to be consistently applied in gray marketing cases.
11. Which one of the following best expresses the main point of the passage?
A. Gray marketing is unfair to trademark owners and should be legally controlled.
B. Gray marketing is practiced in many different forms and places, and legislators should recognize the futility of trying to regulate it.
C. The mechanisms used to control gray marketing across markets are different from those most effective in controlling gray marketing within markets.
D. The three trademark law theories that have been applied in gray marketing cases lead to different case outcomes.
E. Current theories used to interpret trademark laws have resulted in increased gray marketing activity.
12. The function of the passage as a whole is to ....
A. criticize the motives and methods of those who practice gray marketing.
B evaluate the effects of both channel fl ow diversion and parallel importation.
C. discuss the methods that have been used to regulate gray marketing and evaluate such methods’ degrees of success.
D. describe a controversial marketing practice and evaluate several legal views regarding it.
E. discuss situations in which certain marketing practices are common and analyze the economic factors responsible for their development
13. Which one of the following does the author offer as an argument against gray marketing?
A. Manufacturers fi nd it diffi cult to monitor the effectiveness of promotional efforts made on behalf of products that are gray marketed.
B. Gray marketing can discourage product promotion by authorized distributors.
C. Gray marketing forces manufacturers to accept the low profi t margins that result from quantity discounting.
D. Gray marketing discourages competition among unauthorized dealers.
E. Quality standards in the manufacture of products likely to be gray marketed may decline.
14. The information in the passage suggests that proponents of the theory of territoriality would probably differ from proponents of the theory of exhaustion on which one of the following issues?
A. the right of trademark owners to enforce, in countries in which the trademarks are registered, distribution agreements intended to restrict distribution to authorized channels.
B. the right of trademark owners to sell trademarked goods only to those distributors who agree to abide by distribution agreements.
C. the legality of channel fl ow diversion that occurs in a country other than the one in which a trademark is registered.
D. the signifi cance consumers attach to a trademark.
E. the usefulness of trademarks as marketing tools.
15. The author discusses the impact of gray marketing on goodwill in order to ....
A. fault trademark owners for their unwillingness to offer a solution to a major consumer complaint against gray marketing.
B. indicate a way in which manufacturers sustain damage against which they ought to be protected.
C. highlight one way in which gray marketing across markets is more problematic than gray marketing within a market.
D. demonstrate that gray marketing does not always benefi t the interests of unauthorized distributors.
E. argue that consumers are unwilling to accept a reduction in price in exchange for elimination of service.
