11 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Eleven

11- ] Model SAT Tests

Test Eleven

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

The following excerpt is taken from “Life on the Rocks : the Galapagos” by writer Anne Dillard . Like Charles Darwin, originator of the theory of evolution . Dillard visited the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific . In this passage she muses on the islands  , on Darwin , and on the evolutionary process .

            Charles Darwin came to the Galapagos in 1835 , on the Beagle ; he was twenty-six . He threw the marine iguanas as far as he could into the water : he rode the tortoises and sampled their meat . He noticed that the tortoises’ carapaces varied widely from island to island ; so also did the forms of various mockingbirds . He made collections . Nine years later he wrote in a letter , “I am almost convinced ( quite contrary to the opinion I started with ) that species are not ( it is like confessing a murder ) immutable . “In 1859 he published On the Origin of Species , and in 1871 The Descent of Man . It is fashionable now to disparage Darwin’s originality ; not even the surliest of his detractors , however , faults his painstaking methods or denies his impact .

            It all began in the Galapagos , with these finches . The finches in the Galapagos are called Darwin’s finches : they are everywhere in the islands , sparrowlike , and almost identical but for their differing beaks . At first Darwin scarcely noticed their importance . But by 1839 , when he revised his journal of the Beagle voyage , he added a key sentence about the finches’s beaks : “Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small intimately related group of birds , one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago , one species had been taken and modified for different ends .” And so it was .

            The finches come when called . I don’t know why it works , but it does . Scientists in the Galapagos have passed down the call : you say psssssh psssssh psssssh psssssh until you run out of breath : then you say it again until the island runs out of birds . You stand on a flat of sand by a shallow lagoon rimmed in mangrove thickets and call the birds right out of the sky . It works anywhere , from island to island .

            Once , on the island of James , I was standing propped against a leafless palo santo tree on a semiarid island slope , when the naturalist called the birds .

            From other leafless palo santo trees flew the yellow warblers , speckling the air with bright bounced sun . Gray mockingbirds came running . And from the green prickly peat cactus , from the thorny acacias, sere grasses , bracken and manzanilla , from the loose black lava , the bare dust , the fern hung mouths of caverns or the tops of sunkit logs - came the finches . They fell in from every direction like colored bits in a turning kaleidoscope . They circled and homed to a vortex , like a whirlwind of chips ,like draining water . The tree on which I learned was the vortex . A dry series of puffs hit my cheeks . Then a rough pulse from the tree’s thin trunk met my palm and rang up my arm - and another , and another . The tree trunk agitated against my hand like  a captured cricket : I looked up . The lighting birds were rocking the tree . It was an appearing act : before there were barren branches : now there were birds like leaves .

            Darwin’s finches are not brightly colored ; they are black , gray , brown , or faintly olive . Their names are even duller : the large ground finch , the medium ground flinch, the small ground finch ; the large insectivorous tree finch : the vegetarian tree finch ; the cactus ground finch , and so forth . But the beaks are interesting , and the beaks’ origins even more so .

            Some finches wield chunky parrot beaks modified for cracking seeds . Some have slender warbler beaks , short for nabbing insects , long for probing plants . One sports the long chisel beak of a woodpecker ; it bores wood for insect grubs and often uses a twig or cactus spine as a pickle fork when the grub won’t dislodge .They have all evolved , fanwise , from one bird .

            The finches evolved in isolation . So did everything else on earth . With the finches , you can see how it happened . The Galapagos islands are near enough to the mainland that some strays could hazard there : they are far enough away that those strays could evolve in isolation from parent species . And the separate islands are near enough to each other for further dispersal , further isolation , and the eventual reassembling of distinct species . ( In other words , finches blew to the Galapagos , blew to various islands , evolved into differing species , and blew back  together again . ) The tree finches and the ground finches , the woodpecker finch and the warbler finch,veered into being on isolated rocks . The witless green sea shaped those beaks as surely as it shaped the beaches . Now on the finches in the palo santo  tree you see adaptive radiation’s results , a fluorescent spray on horn . It is as though an archipelago were an arpeggio , a rapid series of distinct but related notes . If the Galapagos had been one unified island , there would be one dull note , one super dull finch .    

1 . Dillard’s initial portrayal of Darwin ( lines 1 - 3 ) conveys primarily a sense of his

(A) methodical research

(B) instant commitment

(C) youthful playfulness

(D) lack of original thought

(E) steadiness of purpose

2 . From lines 4 - 7 one can conclude that Darwin originally viewed species as

(A) unchanging  (B) original  (C) ambiguous  (D) evolutionary  (E) indistinguishable

3 . In the phrase “It all began in the Galapagos” paragraph two , the underlined word“It”  refers to the origins of

(A) sentient life

(B) distinct species of creatures

(C) Darwin’s theory of evolution

(D) controlled experimentation

(E) Darwin’s interest in nature

4 . The underlined word “ends” at the end of paragraph two means

(A) borders (B) extremities (C) limits (D) purposes (E) deaths

5 . The use of the phrase “run out” two times in paragraph three emphasizes the

(A) waste of energy

(B) difference between the actions of humans and birds

(C) impatience of the naturalists calling the birds

(D) nervousness of the author in strange situations

(E) overwhelming response of the birds

6 . The underlined word “lighting” in paragraph five means

(A) illuminating (B) landing (C) shining (D) weightless  (E) flapping

7 . The pulse that Dillard feels in paragraph five is most likely

(A) the agitated beating of her heart

(B) the rhythm of the birds’ touching down

(C) the leaping of crickets against the tree

(D) a painful throbbing in her arm

(E) the wind of the birds’ passing

8 . Dillard’s description of the finches in paragraph seven [ Some finches -----]serves chiefly to

(A) contrast their overall drabness with their variety in one specific aspect

(B) illustrate the predominance of tree finches over ground finches

(C) emphasize the use of memorable names to distinguish different species

(D) convey a sense of the possibilities for further evolution in the finch family

(E) distinguish them from the warblers and mockingbirds found in the islands

9 . Paragraph seven suggests that the finches’ beaks evolved in ways that 

(A) mimicked a fanlike shape

(B) protected the birds from attack

(C) captured Darwin’s interest

(D) enhanced the birds’ attractiveness

(E) enabled them to reach nourishment

10 .  The underlined word “hazard” means

(A) venture (B) speculate  (C) be imperiled  (D) run aground  (E) develop

11 . The underlined “fluorescent spray of horn” referred to by the author is most likely 

(A) a series of musical notes

(B) a flock of birds

(C) the birds’ shiny beaks

(D)branches of the palo santo tree

(E) a primitive musical instrument

12 . In the final paragraph , the author does all of the following EXCEPT

(A) restate an assertion

(B) make a comparison

(C) define a term

(D) refute an argument

(E) describe a sequence of events 

10 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Ten

10 - ] Model SAT Tests

 

Test Ten

Read each passage 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 .

            To elude slave catchers , the fugitive slave Frederick Baily changed the name , becoming Frederick Douglass , abolitionist spokesman and author . When he published his autobiography , however , Douglass exposed himself to recapture : federal laws gave Douglass’s ex-master the right to seize the property . Douglass traveled to Britain , where slavery was illegal : there he worked to gain support for America’s antislavery movement . After two years , British friends unexpectedly bought his freedom , allowing him to return home to continue the fight . Some abolitionists criticized Douglass , however , saying that by letting his freedom be bought he acknowledged his ex-master’s right to own him .

1 . The underlined word “property” most nearly means     

(A) parcel of land

(B) right of ownership

(C) characteristic trait

(D) personal possession

(E) particular virtue

2 . As described in lines 7 - 10 , the attitude of the abolitionists to the purchase of Douglass’s freedom can best be characterized as

(A) enthusiastic (B) indifferent (C) negative (D) envious (E) sympathetic

Questions 3 and 4 are based on the following passage

This excerpt from Mark Twain’s Roughing .It describes an animal Twain encountered during his travels in the West .

            The coyote is a long , slim , sick and sorry-looking skeleton , with a gray wolf-skin stretched over it , a tolerably bushy tail that forever sags down , a furtive and evil eye , and a long , sharp face , with slightly lifted lip and exposed teeth . He has a general slinking expression all over . The coyote is a living , breathing allegory of Want . He is always hungry . He is always poor , out of luck , and friendless . The meanest creatures despise him , and even the fleas would desert him for a velocipede .

3 . The passage above can best be characterized as an example of  

(A) scientific analysis

(B) nostalgic anecdote

(C) humorous exaggeration

(D) objective reportage

(E) lyrical description

4 . The underlined word “meanest” most nearly means

(A) most ordinary (B) most stingy (C) most ashamed(D) most effective (E) most contemptible

9- ] Model SAT Tests - Test Nine

9 - ] Model SAT Tests

 

Test Nine

Read each of 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 .   

The following passage is taken from a major historical text on life in the Middle Ages .

            To the world when it was half a thousand years younger , the outlines of all things seemed more clearly marked than to us . The contrast between suffering and joy , between adversity and happiness , appeared more striking . All experience had yet to the minds of men the directness and absoluteness of the pleasure and pain of child-life . Every event , every action , was still embodied in expressive and solemn forms , which raised them to the dignity of a ritual . For it was not merely the great facts of birth , marriage , and death which by their sacredness , were raised to the rank of mysteries :incidents of less importance ,like a journey , a task , a visit , were equally attended by a thousand formalities , benedictions , ceremonies , formulae .

            Calamities and indigence were more afflicting than at present ; it was more difficult to guard against them , and to find solace . Illness and health presented a more striking contrast ; the cold and darkness of winter were more real evils . Honors and riches were relished with greater avidity and contrasted more vividly with surrounding misery . We , at the present day , can hardly understand the keenness with which a fur coat , a good fire on the hearth , a soft red , a glass of wine , were formerly enjoyed .

            Then again , all things in life were of a proud or cruel publicity . Lepers sounded their rattles and went about in processions , beggars exhibited their deformity and their misery in churches . Every order and estate , every rank and profession , was distinguished by its costume . The great lords never moved about without a glorious display of arms and liveries , exciting feat and envy . Executions and other public acts of justice , hawking , marriages and funerals , were all announced by cries and processions , songs and music . The lover wore the colors of his lady ; companions the emblem of their confraternity : parties and servants the badges of blazon of their lords . Between town and country , too , the contrast was very marked . A medieval town did not lose itself in extensive suburbs of factories and villas : girded by its walls , it stood forth as a compact whole , bristling with innumerable turrets . However tall and threatening the houses of noblemen or merchants might be ,in the aspect of the town the lofty mass of the churches always remained dominant .

              The contrast between silence and sound , darkness and light , like that between summer and winter , was more strongly marked than it is in our lives . The modern town hardly knows silence or darkness in their purity , nor the effect of a solitary light or a single distant cry .   

            All things presenting themselves to the mind in violent contrasts and impressive forms , lent a tone of excitement and of passion to everyday life and tended to produce the perpetual oscillation between despair and distracted joy , between cruelty and pious tenderness which characterizes life in the Middle Ages .

1 . The author’s main purpose in the passage is best defined as an attempt to show how          

(A) extremes of feeling and experience marked the Middle Ages

(B) the styles of the very poor and the very rich complemented each other

(C) twentieth century standards of behavior cannot be applied to the Middle Ages

(D) the Middle Ages developed out of the Dark Ages

(E) the medieval spirit languished five hundred years ago

2 . According to lines 6 - 9 , surrounding an activity with formalities makes it 

(A) less important

(B) more stately

(C) less expensive

(D) more indirect

(E) less solemn

3 . The author’s use of the underlined term ‘ formulae” could best be interpreted to mean which of the following ?

(A) set forms of  words or rituals

(B) mathematical rules of principles

(C) chemical symbols

(D) nourishment for infants

(E) prescriptions for drugs

4 . The underlined word “order” in paragraph three means 

(A) command (B) harmony (C) sequence (D) physical condition (E) social class

5 . According to the passage , well above the typical medieval town there towered

 (A) houses of worship

(B) manufacturing establishments

(C) the mansions of the aristocracy

(D) great mercantile houses

(E) walled suburbs

6 . To the author , the Middle Ages seem to be all the following EXCEPT

(A) routine and boring

(B) festive and joyful

(C) dignified and ceremonious

(D) passionate and turbulent

(E) harsh and bleak

Questions 7 - 14 are based on the following passage .

The following passage is excerpted from Hunger of Memory , the autobiography of Mexican-American writer Richard Rodriguez who speaks of lessons he learned as the child of working-class immigrant parents .

            I remember to start with that day in Sacramento - a California now nearly thirty years past - when I first entered a classroom , able to understand some fifty stray English words .

            The third of four children , I had been preceded to a neighborhood Roman Catholic school by an older brother and sister . Each afternoon they returned as they left in the morning , always together , speaking in Spanish as they climbed the five steps of the porch . And their mysterious books , wrapped in shopping-bag paper , remained on the table next to the door , closed firmly behind them .

            An accident of geography sent me to a school where all my classmates were white , many the children of doctors and lawyers and business executives . All my classmates certainly must have been uneasy on that first day of school - as most children are uneasy - to find themselves apart from their families in the first institution of their lives . But I was astonished .

            The men said , in a friendly but oddly impersonal voice , “Boy and girls , this is Richard Rodriguez ,” ( I heard her sound out : Richard Rodriguez .) It was the first time I had heard anyone name me in English . “Richard,” the nun repeated more slowly , writing my name down in her black leather book . Quickly I turned to see my mother’s face dissolve in a watery blur behind the pebbled glass door .

         Many years later there is something called bilingual education - a scheme proposed in the late 1960s by Hispanic-American social activists ,later endorsed by a congressional vote . It is a program that seeks to permit non-English-speaking children , many from lower class homes , to use their family language as the languages of school . (Such is the goal its supporters announce .) I hear them and am forced to say no : It is not possible for a child - any child - ever to use his family’s language in school . Not to understand this is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and to trivialize the nature of intimate life - a family’s “language .”

            Memory teaches me what I know of these matters : the boy reminds the adult . I was a bilingual child , a certain kind - socially disadvantaged - the son of working-class parents , both Mexican immigrants .

            In the early years of my parents coped very well in America . My father had steady work . My mother managed at home . They were nobody’s victims  . Optimism and ambition led them to a house ( our home ) many blocks from the Mexican south side of town . We lived among gringos and only a block from the biggest , whitest houses . It never occurred to my parents that they couldn’t live wherever they chose . Nor was the Sacramento of the fifties bent on teaching them a contrary lesson . My mother and father were more annoyed than intimidated by those two or here neighbors who tired initially to make us unwelcome . ( “Keep your brats away from my sidewalk!” ) But despite all they achieved , any deep feeling of ease , the confidence of “belonging” in public was with held from them both . They regarded the people at work , the faces in crowds , as very distant from us . They were the others , los gringos . That term was interchangeable in their speech with another , even more telling , los americanos .

7 . The family members in the passage are discussed primarily in terms of             

(A) the different personalities of each

(B) the common heritage they shared

(C) the ambitions they possessed

(D) their interaction with the English-speaking world

(E) their struggle against racial discrimination

8 . The author’s description of his older brothers and sister’s return from school lines 4 - 7 suggests that they 

(A) enjoyed exploring the mysteries of American culture

(B) were afraid to speak English at home

(C) wished to imitate their English-speaking classmates

(D) readily ignored the need to practice using English

(E) regretted their inability to make friends

9 . What initially confused the author on his first day of school ?

(A) His mother’s departure took him by surprise.

(B) Hearing his name in English dis oriented him .

(C) His older brother and sister had told him lies about the school

(D) He had never before seen a nun .

(E) He had never previously encountered white children .

10 . The author rejects bilingual education on the grounds that

(A) allowing students to use their family’s language in school presents only trivial difficulties to teachers

(B) its champions fail to see that public education must meet public needs , not necessarily personal ones

(C) most students prefer using standard English both at homer and in the classroom

(D) the proposal was made only by social activists and does not reflect the wishes of the Hispanic-American community

(E) it is an unnecessary program that puts a heavy financial burden upon the taxpayer

11 . In paragraph six , the author most likely outlines his specific background in order to

(A) emphasize how far he has come in achieving his current academic success

(B) explain the sort of obstacles faced by the children of immigrants

(C) indicate what qualifies him to speak authoritatively on the issue

(D) dispel any misunderstandings about how much he remembers of his childhood

(E) evoke the reader’s sympathy for socially disadvantaged children

12 . The author’s attitude toward his parents in paragraph seven can best be described as

(A) admiring (B) contemptuous (C) indifferent (D) envious (E) diffident

13 . Which of the following statements regarding Mexican-Americans in Sacramento would be most true of the author’s experiences ?  

(A) They were unable to find employment

(B) They felt estranged from the community as a whole

(C) They found a ready welcome in white neighborhoods

(D) They took an active part in public affairs .

(E) They were un aware of academic institutions .

14 . The word underlined “telling” as used in paragraph seven means

(A) outspoken (B) interchangeable (C) unutterable (D) embarrassing (E) revealing  

8 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Eight

8 - ] Model SAT Tests

 

Test Eight

The passage below is the unedited draft of a student’s essay . Parts of the essay need to be rewritten to make the meaning clearer and more precise . Read the essay carefully .

The essay is followed by six questions about changes that might improve all or part of the organization , development , sentence structure , use of language , appropriateness to the audience , or use of standard written English . In each case , choose the answer that most clearly and effectively expresses the student’s intended meaning . Indicate your choice by blackening the corresponding space on the answer sheet .

            [ 1 ] Teenagers under eighteen can now receive a major credit card as long as the credit card’s use is supervised by a parent or guardian . [ 2 ] This is a good idea since it gives these teenagers the responsibility of managing their money . [ 3 ] Another is because teenagers can develop good habits of spending that will be useful later in life .

            [ 4 ] A teenager can legally hold a job at age sixteen . [ 5 ] This means that many teenagers have a steady income , which they should be able to spend as they wish . [ 6 ] Being in control of their own finances not only teaches them the value of money but how to spend it wisely .

            [ 7 ] An example of a teenager with a credit card is Bonita Robbins . [ 8 ] Bonita is a junior in high school . [ 9 ] She is seventeen years old . [ 10 ] She works after school in a real estate office . [ 11 ] She earns about $ 100 a week . [ 12 ] After three months of work she applied for a credit card . [ 13 ] Her bank gave her one but said that there will be a “trial period” in which her parent will be responsible . [ 14 ]  Most of the time Bonita paid her bills punctually and on time . [ 15 ] However , during one month Bonita charged more than she could pay , so her parents loaned her the money . [ 16 ] The next month Bonita saved her income and paid it back . [ 17 ] This was a good lesson for Bonita , because next time she’ll probably be more careful about spending money .

            [ 18 ] This plan also lets the parents and the teenagers plan how the credit card will be used . [ 19 ] Teenagers might use the card freely to buy things for less than $ 25 . [ 20 ] For items costing more , talk to your parents before buying them . [ 21 ] Parents could help their teenager to plan a budget or set priorities for spending money . [22 ] Since parents are going to assume responsibility for the card’s use or abuse , they will want to have some input on how it will be used .

1 . Which is the best revision of the underlined segment of sentence 3 below ?

Another is because teenagers can develop good habits of spending that will be useful later in life .

(A) reason is because teenagers develop

(B) reason is that teenagers may develop

(C) idea is due to the fact that teenagers may develop

(D) may come about due to teenagers’ developing

(E) idea may be because teenagers develop

2 . Given the context of paragraph 3 , which revision of sentences 8 , 9 , 0 , and 11 is the most effective ?

(A) Bonita , a junior in high school earning about $ 100 q week by working after school in a real estate office , is seventeen years old .

(B) As a junior in high school and being seventeen , she works after school in a real estate office , earns about $ 100 a week

(C) A seventeen-year-old high school junior , she earns $ 100 a week at an after-school job in a real estate office

(D) Bonita Robbins earns about $ 100 a week , being employed after school in a real estate office , she is seventeen and is a high school junior .

(E) Being a junior in high school , Bonita , seventeen years old , earning about $ 100 a week in a real estate office at an after-school job .

3 . Which of the following is the best revision of sentence 14 ?              

(A) Bills were paid punctually .

(B) Usually Bonita had paid her bills on time .

(C) Most of the time the bills were paid by Bonita on time .

(D) Usually Bonita paid her bills punctually and on time .

(E) Usually Bonita paid her bills when they were due .

4 . With regard to the whole essay which of the following best describes the function of paragraph 3 ?              

(A) To summarize the discussion presented in earlier paragraphs

(B) To persuade readers to change their point of view

(C) To provide an example

(D) To ridicule an idea presented earlier in the essay

(E) To draw a conclusion

5 . Which revision of the underlined segment of sentence 18 below provides the best transition between the third and fourth paragraphs ?

This plan also lets the parents and the teenagers plan how the credit card will be used.

(A) Another advantage of this plan is that it 

(B) Another advantage of a “trial” credit card program like Bonita’s is that it

(C) A different advantage to Bonita’s experience

(D) All of a sudden , it

(E) Together , it              

6 . In the context of the fourth paragraph , which is the best revision of sentence 20 ?       

(A) Before buying items worth more , teenagers might consult a parent .

(B) Teenagers should be talking to their parents before buying something that costs more than $ 25 .

C) But first talking about things costing more than $ 25 between parents and teenagers .

(D) First teenagers and parents must talk before buying something that costs more than $ 25 .

(E) Buying something that costs more than $ 25 to purchase must be talked over between parents and teenagers beforehand .

Essay

The statement below makes a point about a particular topic . Read the statement carefully , and think about the assignment that follows .

It is better to be underrated by people than to be overrated by them .

ASSIGNMENT : What are your thoughts on the statement above ? Do you agree or disagree with the writer’s assertion ? Compose an essay in which you express your views on this topic .Your essay may support , refute , or qualify thr view expressed in the statement . What you write , however , must be relevant to the topic , under discussion . Additionally , you must support your viewpoint , indicating your reasoning and providing examples based on your studies and / or experience .