EA Reading Comprehension 3

Question 1

Passage: 'Social media platforms face a persistent tension between free expression and content moderation.
Too little moderation allows harmful misinformation and harassment to proliferate; too much risks suppressing legitimate speech and centralizing power over discourse.
Platforms have responded with algorithmic filtering, human review teams, and community-based flagging systems, none of which has resolved the underlying tension.' The passage suggests that content moderation is difficult primarily because:

Accepted Answer

Any approach to moderation involves trade-offs between competing values

Answer

Technology is not yet sufficiently advanced to accurately detect harmful content

Answer

Users are largely unwilling to report problematic posts to platforms

Answer

Platforms profit from controversial content and therefore resist effective solutions

Question 2

Passage: 'The efficient market hypothesis posits that asset prices fully reflect all available information. If this were completely true, consistently beating the market through stock selection would be impossible, as any advantageous information would be quickly priced in. However, documented market anomalies and the sustained performance of some investors challenge strong versions of this theory.' What is the relationship between the first two sentences and the third sentence?

Accepted Answer

The third sentence introduces evidence that challenges the claims in the first two sentences

Answer

The third sentence provides additional support for the first two sentences

Answer

The third sentence introduces a topic unrelated to the efficient market hypothesis

Answer

The third sentence defines a term that was left ambiguous in the first two sentences

Question 3

Passage: 'Supply chain resilience has emerged as a strategic priority for businesses following major disruptions in the 2020s. Companies have responded by diversifying suppliers, increasing inventory buffers, and reshoring production. These strategies increase costs but are increasingly viewed as necessary insurance against future disruptions.' The author implies that the strategies described are:

Accepted Answer

Considered worth their costs given the risk environment businesses now face

Answer

Adopted primarily because they reduce overall business operating costs

Answer

Guaranteed to prevent all future supply chain disruptions

Answer

Being abandoned as supply chain conditions return to normal

Question 4

Passage: 'Behavioral finance challenges the classical assumption that investors are fully rational actors who always make decisions that maximize expected utility. Instead, behavioral finance incorporates psychological insights to explain why investors systematically deviate from rational models — through herding behavior, overconfidence, and anchoring to arbitrary reference points.' According to the passage, behavioral finance differs from classical finance primarily in that it:

Accepted Answer

Incorporates psychology to explain systematic deviations from rational behavior

Answer

Focuses exclusively on long-term investment strategies and outcomes

Answer

Rejects the use of mathematical or quantitative models entirely

Answer

Argues that financial markets are consistently and permanently inefficient

Question 5

Passage: 'Leadership research has shifted from trait-based approaches, which sought to identify innate characteristics of great leaders, to situational and contingency theories that recognize effective leadership as context-dependent. The most effective leaders are now understood to adapt their style to match the needs of their teams and circumstances rather than relying on a fixed set of behaviors.' Which best describes the evolution in leadership thinking described in the passage?

Accepted Answer

From emphasizing innate, fixed leader traits to emphasizing adaptive, context-sensitive leadership

Answer

From situational theories back to renewed emphasis on trait-based approaches

Answer

From practical management techniques to purely academic theoretical frameworks

Answer

From individual leadership models to group-based collaborative decision-making

Question 6

Passage: 'The emergence of large language models has prompted debate about their impact on knowledge work. Optimists argue these tools will augment human capabilities, handling routine tasks and freeing professionals for higher-order work. Skeptics warn of deskilling — the gradual erosion of expertise that occurs when professionals delegate tasks that develop critical skills.' The term 'deskilling' in the passage refers to:

Accepted Answer

The gradual erosion of expertise caused by over-reliance on automated tools

Answer

The deliberate removal of professional credentials or certifications from workers

Answer

The difficulty professionals face when learning to use new technology effectively

Answer

A cost-reduction strategy in which companies replace skilled workers with cheaper labor

Question 7

Passage: 'Economic growth has historically been linked to energy consumption, as production requires power. However, some developed economies have demonstrated that it is possible to decouple economic growth from energy use — achieving GDP growth while energy consumption remains flat or decreases. This decoupling has been achieved through efficiency improvements and shifts toward less energy-intensive service sectors.' The passage primarily serves to:

Accepted Answer

Challenge the assumption that economic growth necessarily requires proportional increases in energy use

Answer

Argue that long-term economic growth is unsustainable without new energy sources

Answer

Demonstrate that service sectors always outperform manufacturing in economic impact

Answer

Warn about the environmental consequences of continued global economic expansion