Question

unit test
unit test review active
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
read the following excerpt from neil degrasse tyson’s “death by black hole.”
that’s the gory moment when your body snaps into two segments, breaking apart at your midsection. upon falling further, the difference in gravity continues to grow, and each of your two body segments snaps into two segments. shortly thereafter, those segments each snap into two segments of their own, and so forth, and so forth, bifurcating your body into an ever - increasing number of parts: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc.
read the following excerpt from billy collins’s “man listening to disc.”
the music is loud yet so confidential
i cannot help feeling even more
like the center of the universe
than usual as i walk along to a rapid
little version of “the way you look tonight.”
what do these two excerpts reveal about the difference in ideas presented by tyson and collins?
a. tyson stresses humanity’s relative insignificance in the universe, while collins stresses man’s perceived importance.
b. tyson describes man’s place in the universe, while collins focuses primarily on the role of mankind itself.
c. tyson’s essay is a serious discussion of black holes, while collins’s poem mocks the importance of music.
d. tyson discusses the probability of being swallowed by black holes, while collins describes the effects of listening to music.

Explanation:

To solve this, analyze each option:

• Option 1: Tyson's excerpt shows the universe's power (body breaking into parts, implying humanity's insignificance), Collins' poem has the speaker feel like the center of the universe (stressing man's perceived importance). This matches.
• Option 2: Collins' poem is about personal experience with music, not "role of mankind itself" broadly. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Collins' poem doesn't mock music's importance; it shows music's significance to the speaker. Eliminate.
• Option 4: Tyson's excerpt is about what happens in a black hole, not "probability of being swallowed". Collins' is about personal music experience, not "effects of listening to music" generally. Eliminate.

Answer:

A. Tyson stresses humanity’s relative insignificance in the universe, while Collins stresses man’s perceived importance.