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According to the passage, where would a destructive volcanic eruption be most likely to happen?

From Alaska to the southern tip of Chile lies the Ring of Fire. In between, it travels along the western coast of North and South America and along the eastern coast of Asia. At its northernmost points, the Ring goes through Russia, Japan, the Philippines, and New Guinea. Also going through Australia, the Ring of Fire marks a unique area. It is here that some of the most destructive recorded volcanoes have erupted.

According to the passage, all of these are years of the Summer Olympics, except .

Every four years, athletes from all over the world gather in a different place for the Summer Olympic Games. In 2012, the site was London, England, where 10,500 participants gathered. They represented 204 countries and territories and earned 302 medals in 26 different sports.

The word alternate, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

The American Flag began with a flag created in 1777 and used until 1795. Congress then ordered, with passage of an act, that the new flag be composed of 15 alternating red and white stripes and contain a blue field with 15 stars. Another change was made by Congress in 1818. This edition of the flag was to alternate only 13 stripes, but a new star was to be added for each state that joined the Union.

What is the best title for this passage?

Geologists in Rome have a new venture. Underneath the city’s streets and architecture lies a system of quarries and tunnels. It is believed that these passages were formed in the early days of the ancient city. The main concern for geologists is that the city may sink into the below-ground areas. These professionals hope their studies of the tunnels will help prevent that occurrence.

According to the passage, what is the oldest known civilization of India?

Comparable to the decline of the great Mayan culture, the fall of the ancient Indus Valley people yields interesting information about their daily lives. It seems that this civilization is the oldest recorded civilization in India, yet many of their practices seem advanced. For example, there is evidence of careful and creative design of bathroom facilities, including sewage disposal. What is evident in other ancient societies seems to be missing from the Indus Valley one, namely social conflict, slavery, armed forces, and various vices. The cause of their sudden demise is a mystery.

The word stupefied, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

One would not think that evidence of the existence of European people 2,000 years ago could be found in China, but Victor Mair might beg to differ. A group of archaeologists in western China came upon some mummified bodies. A college professor, Mair, helped examine them and was stupefied. What he found on the Tarim mummies were signs of blond hair and long noses. In 1993, after the mummies had been placed in a museum, Mair returned to take DNA samples from the specimens. The test results on these samples confirmed what Mair had suspected: the genes were most certainly European.

From this passage, the reader can infer that the Voynich Manuscript is believed to have originated around .

When is a book unreadable? Well, when nobody knows the language in which it is written, this might be the case. In 1912, the Voynich Manuscript was found at a library in Rome. Among the 240 pages were pictures, accompanied by text written in an unknown language. Efforts by the most noted language experts failed and some people wrote off the 500-year-old manuscript as a hoax. As our methods of language analysis have improved, however, it has been determined that the mystery language does indeed have a working language pattern and structure. Various experts are now claiming to be able to decode a few words within this mysterious text.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

Jeans from gold miners? It seems that one of today’s most popular pants styles actually came out of the California gold rush in the 19th century. Levi Strauss, a shopkeeper in California, started making something called “waist overalls,” his name for these early jeans. Gold miners loved them. Strauss added the familiar brown leather patch to the back pocket in 1886. The label featured two horses pulling a pair of jeans between themselves. Then, with the Hollywood Western craze of the 1930s, the popularity of jeans grew, as everyone wanted to look like a movie star. Since the 1990s, jeans have been worn by nearly everyone, from child to professional.

Based on this passage, the author would agree that .

If you want to visit the deepest lake in the United States, you’ll need to go to the southwestern part of Oregon. Since its establishment in 1902, Crater Lake has occupied 183,000 acres there and is 1,958 feet deep. This makes it one of the world’s deepest lakes. It all began when the Mount Mazama volcano erupted over 7,000 years ago. There were glaciers around the eruption site and clear blue water from them filled the volcano basin, or caldera. When you visit the Crater Lake National Park to see this wonder of nature, you will also find 680 species of plants, 158 types of birds, and 74 different animals.

The word nomadic, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

In Africa, there lives an interesting tribe of people: the Pygmies. They make their home in what used to be called Zaire, but is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pygmies are nomadic, wandering around, hunting, and procuring their own food. They have light-colored skin of a yellowish-brown shade and can also be found in rain forests of the Philippines and India.

From this passage, the reader can infer that the cousin’s job title is most likely .

My cousin has an interesting job. He contacts museums, organizers of cultural events, and performing arts companies in San Francisco about interesting activities they are planning. Then he does all sorts of promotions for these activities for visitors to the city. He has a background in hospitality and tourism and is very good at multi-tasking. These things really help! Another part of his job is to create ads, including those for billboards, magazines, and Web sites in other cities.

Which of these titles would best summarize the point of this passage?

In Wiltshire, England, there is a fascinating site. Near Salisbury stands a creation called Stonehenge. No one is sure of the meaning of the monument that has stood there since ancient times. Some people theorize that it was a temple for people who worshiped the sun. Others have dubbed it a center for healing, a burial site, or even a very large calendar. Many questions remain, such as how in the world the tremendous stones were moved and arranged by primitive people who had only the most basic of tools. In spite of all these questions, Stonehenge remains an impressive site.

Many shoppers use an inclined plane to get to the second level in a mall. According to the passage, this would mean that they are most likely traveling by .

Simple machines are devices that make our lives easier. They increase the magnitude or change the direction of a force. Using simple machines makes it easier to do many kinds of work. For example, when trying to get a refrigerator onto the back of a truck, a worker will use a ramp or inclined plane. Instead of lifting something heavy a short distance, we can more easily push it over a longer distance but to the same height. The term inclined plane can be used to describe an escalator, staircase, or slide.

The word immune, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

Too much exposure to the sun can damage not only your skin, but also other parts of your body. Everyone is exposed to some sunlight during daily activities. Being in the sun too much can burn the skin and cause skin cancer and premature aging. Many people do not know, however, that overexposure to the sun can also contribute to cataract formation, allergies, and immune system damage. Young people are the most at risk since 50% of one’s sun exposure is accomplished by age 18. Older folks also need to be careful and monitor their sun exposure.

The author of this passage would agree that .

Many Americans do not exercise at all and this lack of movement may be caused by lack of accurate information. There are those who think that they must be active for a long period of time each day. While more exercise is better, the minimum recommendation is only 30 minutes per day and you can split that into several shorter periods. Others think that they need a gym membership to get “proper” exercise. Actually, various activities can provide the needed movement, including gardening, walking, and dancing, if you move enough while doing them. There is a great deal of misinformation about exercise in magazines and on TV. Even friends can misrepresent what is actually needed to stay in shape.

What is the main idea of this passage?

Many people assume that, once a hurricane has passed, the danger is over. Actually, the wind and heavy rains that follow a hurricane can last for a long time after. The dangers of large storms, like hurricanes and tropical storms, include flash flooding, which can occur far beyond the point at which a storm made landfall. In the U.S., records show that over 70% of the lives lost in hurricanes are due to the hazards of flooding. In 1979, a tropical storm named Claudette caused 45 inches of rain to fall in Alvin, Texas.

According to the passage, which of these offices is the least likely to issue a passport?

Travelers should check passport and visa requirements with consular officials of the countries to be visited well in advance of their departure date. Application for a passport may be made at a passport agency, many federal and state courts, probate courts, some county and municipal offices, and some post offices. The 14 major cities with U.S. passport agencies are Boston, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Norwalk, Connecticut, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.

The word vain, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

A hungry fox saw some fine bunches of grapes hanging from a vine that was trained along a high trellis, and did his best to reach them by jumping as high as he could into the air. But it was all in vain, for they were just out of reach, so he gave up trying and walked away with an air of dignity and unconcern, remarking, “I thought those grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour.”

From this passage, the reader can infer that the Aesop fable is teaching that .

There was once a dog who used to snap at people and bite them without any provocation, and who was a great nuisance to everyone who came to his master’s house. So his master fastened a bell round his neck to warn people of his presence. The dog was very proud of the bell, and strutted about tinkling it with immense satisfaction. But an old dog came up to him and said, “The fewer airs you give yourself the better, my friend. You don’t think, do you, that your bell was given to you as a reward of merit? On the contrary, it is a badge of disgrace.”

What is the best title for this passage?

In recent years, there has been much talk about something called ozone. What is this stuff and why is it important? Ozone is an invisible gas. There is a thin layer of it about 15 miles above the surface of the Earth. Some of the sun’s rays can be harmful to us and ozone helps protect us from damage. Unfortunately, the amount of ozone in our atmosphere has been reduced in the past few years and scientists think they know how this happened. Humans have produced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which have caused a decrease in ozone. One other effect of reduced ozone involves climate change. If more of the sun’s rays reach the Earth, they can cause changing weather patterns and a warmer climate. Possible disastrous effects of this change include the increased incidence of tornadoes and droughts.

From this passage, the reader would know that 1965 was an important year because .

In 1965, a television show aired that would become a Christmas classic for many families. It was called “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This television movie has the distinction of being the cartoon special to run for the longest time in television history and has been shown every year since its debut. This tradition began when an ad agent for Coca-Cola contacted producer, Lee Mendelson. Peanuts had just been featured on a 1965 cover of Time Magazine and the agent told Mendelson about a documentary about Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. Mendelson was asked if he had ever thought about producing a Peanuts Christmas special. The producer, wanting to appear on top of his game, assured the agent that he had. Hurriedly contacting Schulz, Mendelson met with him the next day and they created the story.

The word ambassador, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

It is not surprising that John Fitzgerald Kennedy entered public service. He came from a family that valued such commitment, including his father, Joseph P. Kennedy. The elder Kennedy served as ambassador to Great Britain from 1937 to 1940. John served his country in the U.S. Navy after he graduated from Harvard University. During that time, Kennedy escaped death while serving as skipper of a PT boat in the Pacific. He even rescued another Navy man by swimming, with him in tow, to the shore of a safe island.

According to the passage, what is the approximate number of ticket holders who will not have a parking pass to use for the NFL Super Bowl?

In light of the increased incidence of security issues in recent years, attendees at the 2014 Super Bowl saw heightened regulations regarding transportation, parking, and other game-related activities. The 80,000 ticket holders were not allowed to tailgate or utilize taxis or car services for transportation to the game site. They could arrive via Fan Express, a charter bus, for a fee of $51.00. The NJ Transit was another approved method of transportation. Finally, a lucky 13,000 people could use one of the parking passes that were available.

What is the best title for this passage?

The United States has carried out intelligence activities since the days of George Washington, but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed New York lawyer and war hero, William J. Donovan, to become first the Coordinator of Information, and then, after the US entered World War II, head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942. The OSS – the forerunner to the CIA – had a mandate to collect and analyze strategic information.

According to the paragraph, which of these plays a major role in disseminating CIA intelligence information to top government officials?

The CIA is separated into five basic components: the Directorate of Operations, the Directorate of Analysis, the Directorate of Science & Technology, the Directorate of Support, and the Directorate of Digital Innovation. They carry out “the intelligence cycle,” the process of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence information to top US government officials.

Which of these words most nearly means decisive as it is used in this passage?

The saying, “It’s not over until it’s over” certainly applies to football. In spite of a significant lead, a team cannot count on a win until the last whistle sounds. Any team, no matter how skilled, must maintain a sense of purpose throughout all four quarters and should not relax if they want to guarantee a mark in the win column. Double-digit leads have been magically erased during small time spans late in a game. It can happen when an opposing player intercepts the ball and makes a break for the goal line, scoring the decisive points.

Based on this passage, the reader can conclude that .

Apparently, two sheriffs in the state of New York are finding fault with Governor Cuomo’s recent gun control efforts. The men have gone so far as to state that they will not enforce gun law packages Cuomo has recently signed into law. Public statements to this effect have been made by the two law enforcement officials and Cuomo warned that the precedent they set could be dangerous. The officers’ intent does not appear to signify a new practice, however, as records show a general lack of enforcement of felony gun laws among sheriffs since 2010. State and local police have been the ones to file the majority of common gun-related charges (98%) during that time.

What is the best title for this passage?

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have identified abnormalities in the brains of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that may serve as a biomarker for the disorder, according to a study presented November 28 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). ADHD is one of the most common childhood disorders, affecting an estimated five to eight percent of school-aged children. Symptoms, which may continue into adulthood, include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity behaviors that are out of the normal range for a child’s age and development.

According to the passage, when did the first idea for developing GPS surface?

Like so many other high-tech developments, GPS was designed by the U.S. military. The concept started in the late 60s, but the first satellite was not launched until February 1978. In 1989, the Magellan Corp. introduced the first hand-held GPS receiver. In 1992, GPS was used in Operation Desert Storm. On March 1996, the President decided to make GPS free for civilian users.

What is the best choice for the meaning of cavernous, as used in this passage?

The Library of Congress’ Law Library is a closed stacks library, which means that nearly 99% of its print collection is housed in compact shelving in cavernous underground storage rooms covering an area nearly the size of two U.S. football fields. Patrons desiring to review books held in the closed stacks simply submit an online request for them; requested materials are usually delivered to the Law Library Reading Room for use within approximately an hour.

From this passage, the reader can infer that Gerry .

Gerry Marpus is 78 years old and needs to use a cane for balance when walking. Many of her friends have given up driving and rely on their families to take them around town. Gerry, however, maintains that she is perfectly capable of driving herself. Knowing that her children were concerned about this, she decided to take advantage of a senior citizen driving course at the local community center. When she presented her completion certificate to her daughter and son, she could see the relief in their eyes and she knew she had done the right thing.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

The Missile Gap was in essence a growing perception in the West, especially in the U.S.A., that the Soviet Union was quickly developing an intercontinental range ballistic missile (ICBM) capability earlier, in greater numbers, and with far more capability than that of the United States. Even as that perception was disproved, it became evident that the Soviets were placing their major effort toward developing strategic missiles against which, once launched, there was no defense. The perceived missile gap that ensued was based on a comparison between U.S. ICBM strength as then programmed, and reasonable, although erroneous estimates of prospective Soviet ICBM strength that were generally accepted.

The author of the passage would probably support .

Mainstream news reports, that focus on averting global warming, have asked questions such as “ How much will this cost?” and “How much will we have to cut back on economic growth?” Such irresponsible and naive questions highlight the scale of self-interests and ignorance that dominate national debate. If we are not part of the solution (attempting to seriously reduce carbon emissions), then we are part of the problem (ignoring the serious consequences of global warming). Whatever the ‘costs’ are to save the planet, this will be our greatest challenge and our greatest investment and, if we fail in this task, then we will perish.

Within the context of the passage, which of these most nearly means emerging as it is used in the first sentence?

This is a portion of a position statement by the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) concerning American Sign Language (ASL):

Developments in the field of linguistics and an emerging body of research in education have validated the historical views of the NAD on ASL and its value in the education of deaf and hard of hearing children. The inherent capability of children to acquire ASL should be recognized and used to enhance their cognitive, academic, social, and emotional development. Accordingly, the NAD supports the bilingual approach for deaf and hard of hearing children. Deaf and hard of hearing children must have the right to receive early and full exposure to ASL as a primary language, along with English. Studies have shown that when deaf and hard of hearing children are exposed to ASL at an early age, they are given the opportunity to reach their full potential.

From this passage, the reader can conclude that .

We think of chit­chat and small talk as the things peo­ple say to pass the time or kill an awk­ward si­lence. But new re­search sug­gests these idle con­versa­t­ions could be a so­cial-bonding tool pas­sed down from our ape-like an­ces­tors. Sci­en­tists with Prince­ton Un­ivers­ity stud­ied ring­tailed lemurs, an­i­mals that are con­sid­ered among the more an­ces­tral forms of pri­mates—the ev­o­lu­tion­ary line­age that in­cludes hu­mans, apes and mon­keys. The study con­cludes that lemurs call to each oth­er es­sen­tially as a re­place­ment for mu­tu­al groom­ing, or clean­ing each oth­er’s fur, a wide­spread so­cial-bonding be­hav­ior among non-hu­man pri­ma­tes.

What is the best title for this passage?

Make a special appointment by calling the passport office if you’re leaving in less than 14 days. If you’re leaving within six business days, skip the appointment and head to the nearest passport office immediately and take along your airline tickets or airline-generated itinerary to prove your need for speed. Bring the photos and your old passport–or, if you don’t have one, your birth certificate and valid driver’s license. For each application, in addition to the standard fee (see travel.state.gov/newfees.html), you will need to pay a $60 fee for expedited service plus fees for two-way overnight mail.

According to the passage,  could be a factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists have shown that people who have a variant of a longevity gene, called KLOTHO, have improved brain skills such as thinking, learning and memory, regardless of their age, sex, or whether they have a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Increasing KLOTHO gene levels in mice made them smarter, possibly by increasing the strength of connections between nerve cells in the brain. The study was partly funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The word constitution, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

Switzerland is a small yet diverse country. It consists of 26 member states, the cantons, each of them with its own constitution, legislature, government – and a unique history. One of these is the canton of Solothurn. Its roots are in the city of the same name which can trace back its history to Roman times, when it was known as Salodurum. Becoming a Free Imperial City (Freie Reichsstadt) in the Holy Roman Empire in 1218 and joining the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1481, the city state of Solothurn grew in size through buying up available scraps of territory as well as some acquisitions by force, finally reaching its current shape in the early 16th century.

From this passage, the reader can infer that .

University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers have discovered a unique nerve structure in the mouth and tongue of rorqual whales that can double in length and then recoil like a bungee cord. The stretchy nerves explain how the massive whales are able to balloon an immense pocket between their body wall and overlying blubber to capture prey during feeding dives. In humans, stretching nerves usually damages them. In these whales, the nerve cells are packaged inside a central core in such a way that the individual nerve fibers are never really stretched, they simply unfold.

Based on this passage, the author would agree that .

Doc­tors in many coun­tries have gone back to us­ing old an­ti­bi­otics that were aban­doned… be­cause their tox­ic side ef­fects were so fre­quent and so bad. But su­per­bugs, like Acine­to­bac­ter, have chal­lenged doc­tors all over the world by now be­com­ing re­sist­ant to these old­er and con­sid­ered more dan­ger­ous med­i­cines. Even col­istin, an an­ti­bi­ot­ic disco­vered 60 years ago, has re­cently been used as a sal­vage rem­e­dy to treat pa­tients with Acine­to­bac­ter in­fec­tions. And it was suc­cess­ful for a while, but now it oc­ca­sion­ally fails due to re­cent ex­ten­sive use that has caused the bac­te­ria to be­come re­sist­ant, lead­ing to prob­lem su­per­bugs that are re­sist­ant to all avail­a­ble an­ti­bi­otics.

Based on this passage, which of these statements is true?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Alaska to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe storm on August 27, 2015. The President’s action makes federal funding available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by a severe storm in the North Slope Borough.

The word aggrieved, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

All of the laws enforced by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, except for the Equal Pay Act, require you to file a Charge of Discrimination before you can file a job discrimination lawsuit against your employer. In addition, an individual, organization, or agency may file a charge on behalf of another person in order to protect the aggrieved person’s identity. There are time limits for filing a charge.

From this passage, the reader can infer that .

Tucked away in Southeast Portland near the Sellwood Bridge is Oaks Amusement Park, one of the oldest continuously operated amusement parks in the United States. A modest operation, the park currently includes about two dozen rides that operate seasonally, a skating rink that is open year-round, and picnic grounds. The Oaks has been a part of the lives of many Portlanders and other Oregonians for nearly a hundred years, and many people hold fond memories of it.

From the information given in this passage, the reader can assume the author would agree that .

About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard of hearing. Over 90% of these children are born to parents who can hear. Early identification of children who are born deaf or hard of hearing is critical to ensure that their families have the resources they need to help their children acquire language, spoken and/or visual, and achieve age-appropriate communicative, cognitive, academic, social, and emotional development. The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) supported passage of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (EHDI) in 2000 and subsequent federal funding to establish state newborn hearing screening programs in hospitals. At the time, the average age of identification of deaf children was about 2½ years old; children who were hard of hearing were often identified much later. The goals of the EHDI program include hearing screening of all newborns by age one month, confirmation of hearing status by three months, and enrollment in an early intervention program for deaf and hard of hearing babies and their families by six months.

The data for this ranking study was gathered by .

For the seventh consecutive year, Intelligence Community employee job satisfaction ranks the IC as one of the “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government,” according to an independent analysis of federal workers’ job satisfaction and commitment. The IC finished in first place in national security and second overall – up from fourth place in 2014 – among large agencies that employ more than 15,000 full-time permanent employees, a category which includes 19 organizations. Rankings were compiled by the Partnership for Public Service and announced today. Additionally, the IC finished in first place in teamwork, second in pay, effective leadership, employee skills-mission match and third in strategic management.

The word proxy, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

Over the past few years, body mass index (BMI), a ratio of a person’s height and weight, has effectively become a proxy for whether a person is considered healthy. Many U.S. companies use their employees’ BMIs as a factor in determining workers’ health care costs. And people with higher BMIs could soon have to pay higher health insurance premiums, if a rule proposed in April by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is adopted. But a new study led by UCLA psychologists has found that using BMI to gauge health incorrectly labels more than 54 million Americans as “unhealthy,” even though they are not.

From this passage, the reader can conclude that .

In 2013, a gigantic landslide at a Utah copper mine probably was the biggest nonvolcanic slide in North America’s modern history, and included two rock avalanches that happened 90 minutes apart and surprisingly triggered 16 small earthquakes, University of Utah scientists discovered. The landslide—which moved at an average of almost 70 mph and reached estimated speeds of at least 100 mph—left a deposit so large it “would cover New York’s Central Park with about 20 meters (66 feet) of debris,” the researchers report in the January 2014 cover study in the Geological Society of America magazine GSA Today. While earthquakes regularly trigger landslides, the gigantic landslide the night of April 10, 2013, is the first known to have triggered quakes.

What is the best title for this passage?

An employer may offer, as part of its health plan, a limited incentive (in the form of a reward or penalty) to an employee whose spouse (1) is covered under the employee’s health plan; (2) receives health or genetic services offered by the employer, including as part of a wellness program; and (3) provides information about his or her current or past health status. Information about current or past health status usually is provided as part of a health risk assessment (HRA), which may include a questionnaire or medical examination, such as a blood pressure test or blood test to detect high cholesterol or high glucose levels. The total incentive for an employee and spouse to participate in a wellness program that is part of a group health plan and that collects information about current or past health status may not exceed 30 percent of the total cost of the plan in which the employee and any dependents are enrolled. The incentive may be financial or in-kind (e.g., time-off awards, prizes, and other items of value).

Which of these statements is true, given the information in this passage?

Common sense says that the shade of a tree will help retain snow, and snow exposed to sunlight in open areas will melt. This typically is the case in regions where winter temperatures are below freezing, such as the Northeast, Midwest and most of central and eastern Canada. But in Mediterranean climates – where the average winter temperatures usually are above 30 degrees Fahrenheit – a different phenomenon occurs. Snow tends to melt under the tree canopy and stay more intact in open meadows or gaps in a forest. This happens in part because trees in warmer, maritime forests radiate heat in the form of long-wave radiation to a greater degree than the sky does. Heat radiating from the trees contributes to snow melting under the canopy first.

The word flair, as used in the passage, most nearly means .

Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes saga has enjoyed — or in some cases suffered – countless reinventions since its original publication from 1887 to 1927. The BBC’s current television version starring Benedict Cumberbatch is perhaps one of the most successful, not least as its scriptwriters combine a deep knowledge of the original with a flair for departing wittily from it: the show’s strategy of allusion, transformation, and up-to-dateness gives it both freshness and familiarity. The new series begins with ‘The Empty Hearse’, its title alluding playfully to Conan Doyle’s 1903 story ‘The Empty House’ in which Holmes returns from apparent death at the hands of Professor Moriarty in Switzerland.