071. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae.

The word "puncture" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) pierce

(B) pinch

(C) surround

(D) cover

072. Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column.

The word "fused" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) combined

(B) hidden

(C) fertilized

(D) produced

073. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds.

The word "lure" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) attract

(B) recognize

(C) follow

(D) help

074. Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed.

The word "placed" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) estimated

(B) measured

(C) deposited

(D) identified

075. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

The word "discrete" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) complicated

(B) separate

(C) inoffensive

(D) functional

076. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood.

The word "overtaxed" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) well prepared

(B) plentifully supplied

(C) heavily burdened

(D) charged too much

077. Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen.

The word "inadequate" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) deficient

(B) expanded

(C) innovative

(D) specialized

078. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline.

The word "inevitably" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) unwillingly

(B) impartially

(C) irrationally

(D) unavoidably

079. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

The word "lamented" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) complained about

(B) analyzed

(C) explained

(D) reflected on

080. One thinks of melodramas, boys' books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank.

The phrase "first rank" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) largest category

(B) highest quality

(C) earliest writers

(D) most difficult language