The Cosmological Principle
Paragraph 1
Cosmologists attempt to understand the origin and structure of the universe as a whole. They begin their search with an assumption about the nature of the universe—namely, that in looking out from our vantage point in the cosmos, we see essentially the same kind of universe that an observer stationed in any other part of it, no matter how remote, would see. As far as our telescopes can reach, we see galaxies and clusters of galaxies distributed in more or less the same way in every direction. This assumption that the universe is uniform on a large scale is called “the cosmological principle.”
1. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
A. Cosmologists make the assumption that the universe would appear basically the
same from anywhere within it.
B. Cosmologists simplify their assumptions because they are basically trying to
understand the whole universe.
C. Cosmologists make an assumption about the universe basically in an effort to
avoid stationing observers in remote places.
D. Cosmologists incorrectly assumed the universe to be far simpler that it really is when viewed on a larger scale.
Paragraph 2
One thing that is certain is that the universe is expanding. In every direction we look, distant galaxies are moving away from each other. Until the 1960s, the expansion of the universe was the primary fact of cosmological significance that cosmological theories had to accommodate. There were two general classes of cosmological theories that fit with the expanding universe: the evolutionary (Big Bang) theory and the steady-state theory.
2. The word “significance” in the passage is closet in meaning to
A. change
B. expansion
C. activity
D. importance
3. According to paragraph 2, what is true of both the evolutionary and steady-state theories?
A. Both were based on the work of the same observer of the galaxies.
B. Both were used to overturn the theories of the early twentieth century.
C. Both took 30 years to become widely accepted by cosmologists.
D. Both accommodate the fact that the galaxies are moving apart.
Paragraph 3