SENTENCE SIMPLIFICATION

Introduction
Sentence Simplification questions ask you to choose a sentence that best
paraphrases the original sentence in the passage. The correct answer uses
different vocabulary and different grammar to restate the essential meaning of
the original sentence in a simpler way. This type of question does not appear in
every reading passage. Also, there is never more than one Sentence
Simplification question in a passage.
Question type
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence?
Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential information
Useful Tips
Figure out what essential information is in the original sentence.
Don't focus on minor information such as details and examples.
Keep in mind that incorrect answers contradict something in the original
sentence or leave out important information from the original sentence.
Make sure that your answer agrees with the main argument of the paragraph or
the passage as a whole.

The Blue Mussel

The blue mussel is an edible bivalve. It is commonly farmed and harvested for
food around the world. They attach themselves to rocks and other objects
by strong, thread-Iike structures called byssal threads. The shell of the blue
mussel is smooth, with a sculpting of concentric lines but no radiating ribs. They
are purple, blue, or sometimes brown in color. Blue mussels are preyed upon by
starfish. They are also eaten by the Dogwhelk, a carnivorous, rocky-shore
mollusk. Blue mussels are part of a long-term environmental monitoring program
in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The study examines how the blue mussel's
hydrocarbon signature helps with ecosystem recovery.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
a. Blue mussels use special bodily structures to stay on objects.
b. Blue mussels have strong threadlike appendages growing out of their bodies.
c. Blue mussels live on rocks and other things that grow strong thread-like
strings.
d. Blue mussels eat thread-like substances on rocks and other objects to survive.

Folk Medicine
Folk medicine refers to traditional methods of healing. It is used to deal with
illness and injury. It is also used to aid with childbirth and to maintain wellness. It
is a body of knowledge distinct from scientific medicine. But both types of
medicine may coexist in the same culture. It is usually unwritten and transmitted
orally until someone collects it. Within a culture, elements of folk medicine
may be known by many adults. It is gathered and applied by healers and
shamans. Midwives, witches, and dealers in herbs also use it. This medicine is
not always collected into a system. Many treatments may seem to contradict
each other.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted Sentence?
a. Many people in cultural groups think folk medicine is good.
b. Folk medicine is part of a culture known to many grown-ups.
c. Within some cultures, only adults can practice folk medicine.
d. Adults treat themselves with folk medicine in some cultures.

Oaks
The term oak can be used to name hundreds of species of trees and
shrubs. Oaks are native to the northern hemisphere. They include deciduous
and evergreen species, extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia and
the Americas.
Oaks have spirally arranged leaves with a lobbed margin in many
species. Some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with a smooth margin. The
flowers are catkins, produced in spring. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne
in a cup-like structure. Each acorn contains one seed and takes 6-18 months to
mature. The length depends on the species. Oaks with evergreen leaves are
called "live oaks," but they are not a distinct group. Their members are scattered
among other sections.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence?
a. All the deciduous and evergreen trees in Asia and the Americas are oaks.
b. Deciduous and evergreen oaks are found in cold and hot Asia and the
Americas.
c. Oaks are deciduous or evergreen trees found in both cold and hot regions.
d. Deciduous and evergreen species of oaks survive best at cold or hot latitudes.

The Lumber Industry

Trees felled to make wood are called timber, and wood cut into boards is called
lumber. Lumber is supplied either rough or finished. Rough lumber is the raw
material for furniture making. It is available in many species, but usually
hardwoods. Finished lumber is supplied in standard sizes and is used
mostly by the construction industry. Lumber was one of the first industries in
the United States. Maine and New York were early leaders in production. Later
expansion led to Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and California. The men who
cut the trees down to make lumber are known as lumberjacks. These men are
often characters in early American folklore.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence?
a. The construction industry accounts for most of the use of standardized lumber.
b. Lumber comes in standard sizes provided by the construction industry.
c. The construction industry provides most of the lumber in standard sizes.
d. Standard sizes in the construction industry are important for finished lumber.

Wheat Production
Wheat is cultivated worldwide. Globally it is the most important human
food grain. It ranks second in total production as a cereal crop behind maize. The
third is rice. Wheat is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat, and
steamed breads. It is also used for cookies, cakes, pasta, noodles, and
couscous. In addition, it is used to make forms of alcohol such as beer and
vodka. These days it is even being used in biofuel. The husk of the grain,
separated when milling white flour, is bran. Wheat is pIanted to a limited extent
as a storage forage crop for livestock. The straw can be used as fodder for
livestock or as a construction material for roofing hatch.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
a. Wheat is planted to increase crops and livestock.
b. Some wheat is planted for farm animals to eat.
c. Wheat can be found planted on farms with animals.
d. Many farms plant less wheat if they have animals.
Harvested wheat grain is classified according to grain properties for the
purposes of the commodities market. Wheat buyers use the classifications to
help decide which wheat to purchase. Each class has special uses. Wheat
producers determine which classes of wheat are most profitable to cultivate with
this system.
Wheat is widely cultivated as a cash crop because it produces a
good yield per unit area. It also grows well in a temperate climate, even with a
moderately short growing season. It yields high-quality flour that is widely used in
baking. Most bread is made with wheat flour, including many breads named for
the other grains they contain, like rye and oat breads. Many other popular foods
are made from wheat flour as well. This results in a large demand for the grain,
even in economies with a significant food surplus.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
a. High productivity of wheat makes people grow a lot of it for profit.
b. Wheat is widely grown in places where people need lots of cash.
c. Wheat must be grown over a wide space, which costs a lot.
d. Wheat is the most abundant cash crop in the world.

Cryonics
Cryonics is the practice of cooling dead organic tissue. This is used on humans
or animals that have recently died. The hope is to bring them back to life in the
near future. By law, it can only be done on humans after they are legally
dead. Many scientists and doctors think cryonics is totally unethical. However,
there are also many who support cryonics.
Supporters of cryonics hope that future technology will improve. Molecular
technology is especially hoped to reverse the early stages of clinical death. It is
hoped that this will enable the repair of tissue on a very tiny level. It could also
allow damaged tissues and organs to be regenerated. They also assume that
disease and aging will one day be reversible.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
a. Laws forbid the use of cryonics on dead people.
b. Cryonics is legally used to bring dead people back to life.
c. By law, cryonics should be used prior to people's death.
d. Laws limit the use of cryonics to legally dead people.
Critics of cryonics think this process is a waste of time and money. They base
their opinions on the current level of science. It is true that cells, tissues, blood
vessels, and some small animal organs can be reversibly preserved. Some frogs
can even survive for a few months in a partially frozen state if they are kept a few
degrees above freezing. But this is not true cryopreservation. There is no proof
that the identity and memory of a person can be restored after death has
occurred.
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
a. Human memory and identity can be saved by the process of cryonics.
b. A person should prove that his identity and memory can be restored after
death.
c. Nobody knows if a person's memory and identity can be brought back after
death.
d. Death is the first stage of proving that memory and identity can be restored.