Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1960, Sean Penn is no stranger to a life in the entertainment industry. He first appeared in an episode of the TV series Little House on the Prairie in 1974. After his teenage years, Penn launched his movie career with a performance in the movie Taps in 1981. His big break came in 1982 when he played surfer Jeff Spicoli in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. A year later, Penn established himself as a serious actor when he appeared as a troubled youth in the movie Bad Boys. Penn's career continued to rise until he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1995 for the performance of a condemned death row inmate in the film Dead Man Walking. Although he did not win the award, the attention allowed his career to skyrocket. Later, he also gained notice for his role as a jazz guitarist in Sweet and Lowdown in 1999 and as a mentally disabled father in I Am Sam in 2001. Penn finally won an Academy Award in 2003 for his role as a crime boss and devoted father in Mystic River. After many respected roles throughout the last decade, Penn won a second Oscar for his performance in 2008 for the tragic role of Harvey Milk in Milk. In addition to Penn's many successful roles as an actor, he is a talented and respected director.Which of the following statements best explains why the passage follows a chronological pattern?

In the 1970s, corporate recording labels sought to mass-produce music that had once been largely independent. Folk, country-western, and R&B music all featured celebrity stars playing to large crowds in sold-out sports arenas. Although other genres of music such as disco and glam rock sold records though independent labels, the music corporations overwhelmed independent labels throughout most of the decade. Because audiences came to dislike the corporate sound, the industry lost over $1 billion dollars in album sales and suffered a similar drop in concert ticket sales. The introduction of the music video on Music Television (MTV) and the digital compact disc coincided to revive corporate music sales. Almost all of Generation X began to accept mass-produced, corporately engineered music. The release of Michael Jackson’s album Thriller could not have been successful if it was not for the video of the title song “Thriller.” Jackson’s album became the highest selling record in history, and the success immortalized the “Thriller” video. This novel wave of fandom began just a year after the first video debuted on MTV in 1981. These landslide successes established a precedent, and corporate music labels seized on the notion to distribute more albums under this strategy. Some other big hits of the 1980s came from the same launch strategy to appeal to mass audiences by shattering social boundaries. Celebrity musicians like Prince and Madonna followed Michael Jackson into super-stardom. During this period of music revolution, hip-hop music entered the mainstream. Hip-hop combined traditional Black vocal traditions with modern music production. Rapping made use of verbal innovations like “toasting,” which is when the lyricist speaks over the music. Turntablism became popular, and artists like Grandmaster Flash turned the art into one of the pillars of hip-hop music. Early hip-hop talents like Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc produced complex lyrics that appealed to audiences. Rap groups like Public Enemy became popular because of the way in which their music captured life in the inner cities. In 1986, Run-DMC and Beastie Boys released the first multimillion-dollar rap albums. These albums featured a style of rap blended with hard rock guitar riffs from such seminal Rock bands as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. In 1988, MTV aired its first show dedicated to hip-hop music, and the genre has been growing ever since. What effect did MTV have on the music industry in the 1980s?

Which of the following sentences from the passage best shows cause and effect organization?

According to this article excerpt, why did Public Enemy become popular in the 1980s?

Is Email Dying? Although email usage still ranks in the top five reasons why people use the Internet, the number of people using it is falling. Features like private and instant messaging on Web sites is partly to blame. Social networking usage is growing at three times the rate of pretty much every other online service. For example, just one year ago only one minute of every 15 minutes spent online was used for social networking. Now, one in every 11 minutes is spent on it. Statistics clearly show that the amount of time people spend on sites like Twitter and MySpace is increasing, and as a result, there is a decline in the amount of time spent doing other things online. Since a lot of users are spending more time checking their Facebook and MySpace pages than their email accounts, users are more likely to contact each other that way. After complaints that email warning systems are too slow, some universities have even implemented text messaging systems to reach students more efficiently.Some say the fact that users can better control who texts or instant messages them is another reason why email is less popular. Unwanted spam has been known to clog up email and spread viruses. It’s much more expensive and time-consuming to spam people through texts and social networking sites. Coincidentally, what is one thing every social networking site requires for an account set up? A valid email account. What has caused the decrease in the number of people using email?

Last summer, Freddy built a log cabin on a stretch of land his grandfather had left him. He wanted to build it all by hand, so first he began felling trees. Then, he followed up with the arduous processes of hacking off the branches and limbs from the trunks. Once Freddy had enough sturdy logs, he and a friend used wedges and sledgehammers to split the logs so they could be used in constructing the façade. Following that, Freddy began assembling the framework of the cabin. He laid the post and beam foundation, put in the floorboards, then constructed the supporting walls. After that, Freddy and friends began slotting logs and caulking joints to construct the exterior wall of the cabin. Once finished, Freddy was able to fasten the windows and doors into the openings where they should go. Finally, he was able to shingle the roof. Although the cabin in the woods is very simple and plain, Freddy is happy he was able to build it all with the help of some friends and good, hard work. What writing technique does the author use to organize this passage?

Facebook, MySpace, YouTube—it’s probably hard to imagine your life without these Web sites. It’s probably even harder to believe that not one of them has been around for more than five years. MySpace and Facebook were both launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. The number of people using social sites has doubled since 2007. In less than 8 months, Facebook’s membership grew from 100 million to 200 million users. A study by Nielsen shows that two thirds of the world’s Internet-using population visits some kind of social networking or blog site. Ten percent of all Internet time used is spent on them. Why is social networking so popular? These sites are easy to use. You don’t have to know much about the Internet to participate in them. In less than ten minutes someone can set up a profile, upload a photo, and begin adding friends. This is part of the reason why so many older people are joining the social networking revolution. A study conducted in 2008 showed that the fastest growing group of Facebook users is people over the age of 25. You get to stay connected to people with little to no effort. These sites allow users to see what people are doing, where they’re going, and what they have been up to without even talking to them. Members can use the events feature to invite all their friends to social and community events. Most of them are free. In fact, all of the most popular sites offer free registration. Some, like Linked In, target particular groups like professional users. Others like MySpace are open to everyone, with special interfaces for musicians and groups. And while Facebook was originally targeted at college students, once it was opened to all users, registration rates saw a major increase. Social networking sites have also played a big role in politics, particularly among young people. During the last presidential election, all of the candidates had Facebook and MySpace pages in addition to their own YouTube channels. In fact, Facebook co-sponsored one debate with ABC News. Based on this article, which is one example of the effect social networking has had on politics?

According to the article, what is one reason for social networking Web sites' popularity?

Which of the following sentences from the passage best shows cause and effect organization?

The rising number of people over the age of 25 registering for social networking sites is due in part to