2 - ] SAT - The Critical Reading Question

 2 - ] SAT - The Critical Reading Question

The Critical Reading Question

Exercise B

This exercise provides you with a mixture of reading passages similar in variety to what you will encounter on the SAT . Answer all questions on thje basis of what is [ stated ] or [ implied ] in the passages .

            The best Eskimo carvings of all ages seem to possess a powerful ability to reach across the great barriers of language and time and communicate directly with us . The more we look at these carvings , the more life we perceive hidden within them . We discover subtle living forms of the animal , human , and mystical world . These arctic carvings are not the cold sculptures of a frozen world . Instead , they reveal to us the passionate feelings of a vital people well aware of all the joys , terrors , tranquility , and wildness of life around them .  

            Eskimo carvers are people moved by dreams . In spite of all their new contacts with the outsiders , they are still concerned with their own kind of mystical imagery . The most skillful carvers possess a bold confidence , a direct approach to their art that has a freedom unsullied by any kind of formalized training . Eskimo carvers have strong , skilled hands , used to forcing hard materials with their simple tools . Their hunting life and the northern environment invigorates them . Bad weather often imposes a special kind of leisure , giving them time in which to perfect their carvings .

            They are among the last of the hunting societies that have retained some part of the keen sense of observation that we have so long forgotten . The carvers are also butchers of meat , and therefore masters in the understanding of animal anatomy . Flesh and bones and sheaths of muscle seem to move in their works . They show us how to drive the caribou , how to hold a child , how to walk cautiously on thin ice . Through their eyes we understand the dangerous power of a polar bear . In the very best of Eskimo art we seevibrant animal and human forms that stand quietly or tensely , strongly radiating a sense f life . We can see , and even feel with our hands , the cold sleekness of seals , the bulking weight of walrus , the icy swiftness of trout , the flowing rhythm in a flight of geese. In their art we catch brief glimpses of a people who have long possessed a very different approach to the whole question of life and death .

            In Eskimo art there is much evidence of humor which the carvers havce in abundance . Some of the carvings are caricatures of themselves , of ourselves , and of situations , or records of ancient legends . Their laughter may be subtle , or broad and Chaucerian .

            Perhaps no one can accurately define the right way or wrong way to create a carving . Each carver must follow his own way , in his own time . Technique in itself is meaningless unless it serves to express content . According to the Eskimo , the best carvings possess a sense of movement that seems to come from within the material itself , a feeling of tension , a living excitement .

1 . The author is primarily concerned with   

(A) showing how Eskimo carvings achieve their effects

(B) describing how Eskimo artists resist the influence of outsiders

(C) discussing the significant characteristics of Eskimo art

(D) explaining how Eskimo carvers use their strength to manipulate hard materials

(E) interpreting the symbolism of Eskimo art

2 . The author’s attitude toward Eskimo art is one of

(A) condescension (B) awe (C) admiration (D) regret (E) bewilderment

3 . With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree ?

(A) formal training may often destroy an artist’s originality .

(B) Artists should learn their craft by studying the work of experts .

(C) The content of a work of art is insignificant .

(D) Caricatures have no place in serious art .

(E) Eskimo art is interesting more as an expression of a life view than as serious art form .

4 . The author gives examples of the subjects of Eskimo carvings primarily to

(A) show that they have o relevance to modern life

(B) indicate the artist’s lack of imagination

(C) imply that other artists have imitates them

(D) prove that the artists’ limited experience of life has been a handicap

(E) suggest the quality and variety of the work

5 . According to the passage , Eskimo carvings have all the following EXCEPT

(A) wit (B) subtlety (C) emotional depth (D) stylistic uniformity (E) anatomical accuracy

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            Charlotte Stanhope was at this time about thirty-five years old ; and , whatever may have been her faults , she had none of those which belong to old young ladies . She neither dressed young , nor talked young , nor indeed looked young . She appeared to be perfectly content with her time of life , and in no way affected the graces of youth . She was a fine young woman ; and had she been a man , would have been a fine young man . All that was done in the house , and was not done by servants , was done by her . She gave the orders , paid the bills , hired and dismissed the domestics , made the tea , carved the meat , and managed everything in the Stanhope household . She , and she alone , could ever induce her father to look into the state of his worldly concerns . She , and she alone , could in any degree control the absurdities of her sister . She , and she alone , prevented the whole family from falling into utter disrepute and beggary . It was by her advice that they now found themselves very unpleasantly situated in Barchester .

            So far , the character of Charlotte Stanhope is not unprepossessing . But it remains to be said , that the influence which she had in her family , though it had been used to a certain extent for their worldly well-being , had not been used to their real benefit , as it might have been . She had aided her father in his indifference to his professional duties , counseling him that his livings were as much his individual property as the estates of his elder brother were the property of that worthy peer . She had for years past stifled every little rising wish for a return to England which the reverend doctor had from time to time expressed . She had encouraged her mother in her idleness in order that she herself might be mistress and manager of the Stanhope household . She had encouraged and fostered the follies of her sister , though she was always willing , and often able , to protect her from their probable result . She had done her best , and had thoroughly succeeded in spoiling her brother , and turning him loose upon the world n idle man without a profession , and without a shilling that he could call his own .

            Miss Stanhope was a clever woman , able to talk on most subjects , and quite indifferent as to what the subject was . She prided herself on her freedom from English prejudice , and she might have added , from feminine delicacy . On religion she was a pure freethinker , and with much want of true affection , delighted to throw out her own views before she troubled mind of her father . To have shaken what remained of his Church of England faith would have gratified her much , but the idea of his abandoning his preferment in the church had never once presented itself to her mind . How could he indeed , when he had no income from any other source ?

6 . The passage as a whole is best characterized as

(A) a description of the members of a family

(B) a portrait of a young woman’s moral and intellectual temperament

(C) an illustration of the evils of egotism

(D) an analysis of family dynamics in aristocratic society

(E) a contrast between a virtuous daughter and her disreputable family

7 . The tone of the passage is best described as

(A) self-righteous and moralistic

(B) satirical and candid

(C) sympathetic and sentimental

(D) bitter and disillusioned

(E) indifferent and unfeeling

8 . On the basis of the passage , which of the following statements about Dr. Stanhope can most logically be made ?

(A) He is even more indolent than his wife .

(B) He resents having surrendered his authority to his daughter .

(C) He feels remorse for his professional misconduct

(D) He has little left of his initial religious beliefs .

(E) He has disinherited his son without a shilling .

9 . It can be inferred from the passage that Charlotte’s mother ( the underlined lines in paragraph two ) is which of the following ?

I . An affectionate wife and mother

II . A model of the domestic arts

III . A woman of un assertive character 

(A) I only (B) II only (C) III only (D) I and III only (E) II and III only

10 . The passage suggests that Charlotte possesses all of the following characteristics EXCEPT

(A) an inappropriate flirtatiousness

(B) a lack of reverence

(C) a materialistic nature

(D) a managing disposition

(E) a touch of coarseness

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The following passage on the nature of the surface of the earth is taken from a basic geology text .

            Of the 197 million square miles making up the surface of the globe , 71 percent is covered by interconnecting bodies of marine water ; the Pacific Ocean alone covers half the earth and averages near 14,000 feet in depth . The continents -- Eurasia , Africa , North America , South America , Australia , and Antarctica -- are the portions of the continental masses rising above sea level . The submerged borders of the continental masses are the continental shelves , beyond which lie the deep-sea basins .

            The oceans attain their greatest depths not in their central parts , but in certain elongated furrows , or long narrow troughs , called deeps . These profound troughs have a peripheral arrangements , notably around the borders of the Pacific and Indian oceans . The position of the deeps near the continental masses suggests that the deeps , like the highest mountains , are of recent origin , since otherwise they would have been filled with waste from the lands . This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that the deeps are frequently the sites of world-shaking earthquakes . For example , the “tidal wave” that in April , 1946 , cused widespread destruction alongt Pacific coasts resulted from a strong earthquake on the floor of the Aleutian Deep .

            The ropography of the ocean floors is none too well known , since in great areas the available soundings are hundreds or even thousands of miles apart. However , the floor of the At is becoming fairly well known as a result of special surveys since 1920 . A broad , well-defined ridge - the mid-Atlantic ridge -- runs north and south between Africa and the two Americas , and numerous other major irregularities diversify the Atlantic floor . Closely spaced soundings show that many parts of the oceanic floors are as rugged as mountainous regions of the continents . Use of the recently perfected method of echo sounding is rapidly enlarging our knowledge of submarine topography . During World War II great strides were made in mapping submarine surfaces , particularly in many parts of the vast Pacific basin .

            The continents stand on the average 2870 feet --slightly more than half a mile -- abpve sea level . North America averages 2300 feet ; Europe averages only 1150 feet ; and Asia , the highest of the larger continental subdivisions , averages 3200 feet . The highest point on the globe , Mount Everest in the Himalayas , is 29 , 000 feet above the sea ; and as the greatest known depth in the sea is over 35,000 feet , the maximum relief ( that is , the difference in altitude between the lowest and highest points ) exceeds 64,ooo feet , or ecceeds 12 miles . The continental masses and the deep-sea basins are relief features of the first order ; the deeps , the ridges , and volcanic cones that diversify the sea floor , as well as the plains , plateaus , and mountains of the continents , are relief features of the second order . The lands are unendingly subject to a complex of activities summarized in the term erosion , which first sculptures them in great detail and then tends to reduce them ultimately to sealevel . The modeling of the landcape by weather , running water , and other agents is apparent to the keenly observant eye and causes thinking people to speculate on what must be the final result of the ceaseless wearing down of the lands . Long before there was a science of geology , Shakespeare wrote “the revolution of the times makes mountains level .”

11 . It can be inferred from lines 1 - 3 that the largest ocean is the

(A) Atlantic (B) Pacific (C) Indian (D) Aleutian Deep (E) Arctic

12 . According to the underlined lines in paragraph two , the peripheral furrows or deeps are found

(A) only in the Pacific and Indian oceans

(B) near earthquakes

(C) near the shore

(D) in the center of the ocean

(E) to be 14,000 feet in depth in the Pacific

13 . The passage indicates that the continental masses

(A) comprise 29 percent of the earth’s surface

(B) consist of six continents

(C) rise above sea level

(D) are partially underwater

(E) are relief features of the second order

14 . The “revolution of the time” as used in the final sentence means

(A) the passage of years

(B) the current rebellion

(C) the science of geology

(D) the action of the ocean floor

(E) the overthrow of natural forces

5 . From this passage , it can be inferred that earthquakes

(A) occur only in the peripheral furrows

(B) occur more frequently in newly formed land or sea formations

(C) are a prime cause of soil erosion

(D) will ultimately “make mountains level”

(E) are caused by the weight of water pressing on the earth’s surface

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Ever since America’s founding fathers established the legislative branch of our government , the Senate and House of Representatives have been the target of periodic criticisms . In this speech dating from the 1950s , we learn of one accusation made against the House .

            Mr. Speaker , ours is an open society . It is a pluralistic society . Its strength lies in its institutions . Those institutions remain viable only as long as the majority of our citizens retain a meaningful belief in them . As long as Americans feel that their institutions are responsive to the wishes of the people , we shall endure and prevail .

            Everyone will admit freely that today there is a crisis in our institutions and the faith people have in them . No institution is more basic than the Congress -- in this case the House of Representatives , in which we have the privilege to serve .

            Over the past year or so , the Nation has been awakened to the fact that the House -- this House -- our institution -- has been less than responsive to the requirements of modern times . The Nation has read one article after the other that finds this institution wanting . One of the most pertinent and irrefutable accusations has to do with the fact that the House operates with too great an emphasis on secrecy , with too great an imbalance of power and too little attention paid to the wishes of the majority of its Members . In effect , this House of the people has been operating all too often in an undemocratic manner .

            We cannot pretend to stand for pluralistic democracy for the Nation if we daily deny the democratic process in our procedures and deliberations . This is what is going on each day , nonetheless . It is folly to deny the need for reform . We only add fuel to the fires already being set by reactionaries of every stripe who have a vested interest in the failure of democracy . They anticipate reaction , claiming our lack of response as reason enough for seeking the overthrow of the society we are all a part of . Reform on our part in response to a proven need will cut short the fuse of rebellion , cut short those who seek the defeat of democracy .

         Such reform can only be accomplished through existing institutions ; it can only be accomplished through reform of them , beginning with the rules and procedures of the House of Representatives . We must let the people and their news media see what is transpiring here in their name , rather than shut them out in the name of fear and breach of security . This is their House , and they have a right to know what is happening here .

            Mr. Speaker , we should have little to hide from the people . The national security argument has been worked to death . Recently , an article in the Wall Street Journal  by DR. Edward Teller , no raving liberal , attacks secrecy for its own sake . We defeat our own purposes by being overly secretive .

            By closing the House of the people to those very same people , we only alienate growing segments of society , stifle the democratic process and undermine the foundations of the institution and the Nation we all love so deeply . If we do not take the initiative in instituting reform , we merely reaffirm the worst that has been state about the lack of progressivism in the Congress . We add strength to the arguments of the radical revolutionaries among us . We contribute to the erosion of this House and its role .

16 . Which of the following does the author appear to value LEAST ?    

(A) Legislative reforms

(B) Press coverage of Congressional sessions

(C) His responsiveness to his constituents

(D) The rhetoric of left wing extremists

(E) The opinion of Dr. Edward Teller

17 . The author’s primary purpose in this passage is to

(A) encourage Congress to limit the powers of the media

(B) call for an end to undemocratic practices in Congress

(C) answer the radicals who want to overthrow the government

(D) define the powers of Congressional committees

(E) analyze the needs for security of governmental agencies

18 . The underlined phrase “stand for” means  

(A) tolerate (B) withstand (C) surpass (D) advocate (E) arise

19 . The attitude toward closed Congressional hearings is one of

(A) cautious skepticism

(B) grudging tolerance

(C) outright rejection

(D) wholehearted acceptance

(E) fundamental indifference

20 . The tone of the passage as a whole is best described as

(A) satirical (B) cautionary (C) alienated (D) objective (E) elegiac

Answer Key

1. C 2 . C 3 .A 4 . E 5 . D 6 . B 7 . B 8 . D 9 . C 10 . A 11. B 12 . C 13 . D 14 . A

15 . B 16 . D 17 . B 18 . D 19 . C 20 . B