18 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Eighteen

18 - ] Model SAT Tests 

Test Eighteen

Read the passages below , and then answer the questions that follow the passage . The correct response may be stated outright or merely suggested in the passage .

Questions 1 and 2 are based on the following passage .

            After the mine owner had stripped the vegetation from twelve acres of extremely steep land at a creek head , a flash flood tumbled masses of mining debris into the swollen stream . Though no lives were lost , the flood destroyed all the homes in the valley . When damage suits brought substantial verdicts favoring the victims , the company took its case to the more sympathetic tribunal at Frankfort . The state judges proclaimed that the masses of soil , uprooted trees , and slabs of rock had been harmless until set in motion by the force of water ; thus they solemnly declared the damage an act of God - for which no coal operator , God-fearing or otherwise , could be held responsible .

1 . As used in the passage the underlined word “sympathetic” most nearly means

(A) sensitive (B) favorably inclined(C) showing empathy(D) humanitarian (E) dispassionate

2 . In describing the coal operator as “God-fearing or otherwise” at the end of the passage , the author is most likely being  

(A) reverent (B) pragmatic (C) fearful  (D) ironic (E) naïve

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the following passage .

In this excerpt from Jane Austin’s The Watsons , the elderly Mr. Watson discusses a visit to church .

            “I do not know when I have heard a discourse more to my mind ,” continued Mr. Watson , “or one better delivered . He reads extremely well , with great propriety and in a very impressive manner , and at the same time without any theatrical grimace or violence . I own , I do not like much action in the pulpit . I do not like the studied air and artificial inflections of voice , which your very popular preachers have . A simple delivery is much better calculated to inspire devotion , and shows a much better taste . Mr. Howard read like a scholar and a gentleman .

3 . The passage suggests that the narrator would most likely agree with which statement ?

(A) A dramatic style of preaching appeals most to discerning listeners.

(B) Mr. Howard is too much the gentleman-scholar to be a good preacher

(C) A proper preacher avoids extremes in delivering his sermons .

(D) There is no use preaching to anyone unless you happen to catch him when he is ill .

(E) A man often preaches his beliefs precisely when he has lost them

4 . The underlined word “studied” most nearly means

(A) affected (B) academic (C) amateurish (D) learned (E) diligent

Questions 5 - 7 are based on the following passage .

          It was the voyageur who struck my imagination - the canoe man who carried loads of hundreds of pounds and paddled 18 hours a day fighting waves and storms . His muscle and brawn supplied the motive power for French Canadian exploration and trade , but despite the harshness of his life - the privation , suffering , and constant threat of death by exposure , drowning , and Indian attack - he developed an unsurpassed nonchalance and joy in the wilderness . These exuberant men , wearing red sashes and caps and singing in the face of disaster , were the ones who stood out .

5 . In line 1 the underlined word “struck” most nearly means  

(A) picketed (B) inflicted (C) impressed (D) dismantled (E) overthrew

6 . The author is most impressed by the voyageur’s  

(A) inventiveness (B) hardships (C) strength (D) zest (E) diligence

7 . The author’s tone throughout the passage can best be characterized as one of

(A) grudging respect

(B) marked ambivalence

(C) forthright admiration

(D) intense envy

(E) scientific detachment