20 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Twenty

20 - ] Model SAT Tests

Test Twenty

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] From the colonial times until today , the appeal of the underdog has retained a hold on Americans .[2] It is a familiar sight away to see someone rooting for the underdog while watching a sports event on television .[3] Though that only happens if they don’t already have a favorite team . [4] Variations of the David and Goliath story are popular in both fact and fiction . [ 5] Horatio Alger stories , wondrous tales of conquering the West , and the way that people have turned rags--to-riches stories such as Vanderbilt into national myths are three examples of America’s fascination with the underdog .

            [6] This appeal has been spurred by American tradition as well as an understandably selfish desire to feel good about oneself and life . [7] Part of the aura America has held since its creation is that the humblest and poorest person can make it here in America . [8] That dream is ingrained in the history of America . [9] America is made up of immigrants . [10] Most were poor when they came here . [11] They thought of America as the land of opportunity , where any little guy could succeed . [12] All it took was the desire to lift oneself up and some good honest work .[13] Millions succeeded on account of the American belief to honor and support the underdog in all its efforts .

            [14] The underdog goes against all odds and defeats the stronger opponent with hope .[15] It makes people feel that maybe one day they too will triumph against the odds . [16] It changes their view of life’s struggles because they trust that in the end all their hardships will amount to something . [17] Despair has no place in a society where everyone knows that they can succeed . [18] It’s no wonder that the underdog has always had a tight hold upon American hopes and minds .

1 . Which of the following is the best revision of the underlined sections of sentences 1 and 2 (below) , so that the two sentences are combined into one ?

From the colonial times until today , the appeal of the underdog has retained a hold on Americans . It is a familiar sight today to see someone rooting for the underdog while watching a sports event on television .

(A) the appeal of the underdog has retained a hold on Americans , and it is a familiar sight today to see underdogs being the one rooted for

(B) the appeal of the underdog has retained a hold on Americans , but it is a familiar sight today to see someone rooting for the underdog

(C) the underdog has retained a hold on American , who commonly root for the underdog , for example

(D) the underdog has retained a hold on Americans , commonly rooting for the underdog

(E) the underdog’s appeal has retained a hold on Americans , for example , they commonly root for the underdog

3 . To improve the coherence of paragraph1 , which of the following sentences should be deleted ?

(A) Sentence 1(B)  sentence 2(C) sentence 3 (D) Sentence 4 (E) Sentence 5

4 . Considering the content of paragraph 2 , which of the following is the best revision of the paragraph’s topic sentence

(A) This appeal got spurred by American tradition as well as by understandably selfish desire to feel good about oneself and one’s life .

(B) The appeal of the underdog has been spurred by American tradition

(C)  The appeal has been spurred by Americans’ traditional and selfish desire to feel good about themselves and life .

(D) American tradition as well as Americans’ desire to feel good about oneself and their life has spurred he appeal of underdogs .

(E) American traditions include an understandably selfish desire to feel good about themselves and the appeal of the underdog .

5 . In the context of paragraph 2 , which of the following is the best way to combine sentences 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 ?

(A) That dream is ingrained in the experience of America , a country made up of poor immigrants who believed that in this land of opportunity any little guy had a chance to succeed .

(B) That dream was ingrained in our history , a country made up of immigrants , poor and hopeful that any little guy is able to succeed in America ,the land of opportunity .

(C) That dream has been ingrained America’s history that poor immigrants look on America as a land of opportunity , which any little guy had been able to succeed in .

(D) The American experience has ingrained in it the dream that the immigrants coming to this country poorly could succeed because America is the land of opportunity .

(E) Ingrained in the American experience is the dream of poor immigrants that they could succeed here , after all , this is the land of opportunity .

6 . In view of the sentences that precede and follow sentence 13 , which of the following in the most effective revision of sentence 13 ?

(A) Americans believe that the underdog should be honored and supported , which led to their success .

(B) Because America believed in honoring and supporting the underdog , they succeed.

(C)  And succeed they did because of America’s commitment to honor and support the underdog.

(D) Honoring and supporting underdogs is a firmly held value in America , and it led to the success of underdogs .

(E) They succeeded with their efforts to be supported and honored by America .

7 . Which of the following revisions of sentence 14 is the best transition between paragraphs 3 and 4 ?

(A)  Underdogs ,in addition , went against all odds and with hope defeat stronger opponents .

(B) The underdog , feeling hopeful , going against all odds , and defeating stronger opponents .

(C) It is the hope of the underdog who goes against the odds and defeats the stronger opponent .

(D) The triumph of the underdog over a strong opponent inspires hope .

(E) The underdog triumphs against all odds and defeats the stronger opponents .

Essay

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

Each fresh crisis we encounter is an opportunity in disguise .

ASSIGNMENT : What are your thoughts on the statement above ? Compose an essay in which you express your views on this topic . Your essay may support , refute , or qualify the 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 . 

19 - Model SAT Tests - Test Nineteen

19 - ] Model SAT Tests

Test Nineteen

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 .

Rock musicians often affect the role of social revolutionaries . The following passage is taken from an unpublished thesis on the potential of rock and roll music to contribute to political and social change .

          It should be clear from the previous arguments that rock and roll cannot escape its role as a part of popular culture . One important part of that role is its commercial nature . Rock and roll is “big corporation business in America and around the globe . As David De Voss has noted : ‘Over fifty U.S. rock artists annually earn from $2 million to $6 million . At last count , thirty-five artists and fifteen additional groups make from three to seven times more than America’s highest paid business executive .”  

            Perhaps the most damning argument against rock and roll as a political catalyst is suggested by John Berger in an essay on advertising . Berger argues that “publicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy . The choice of what one eats (or wears or drives ) takes the place of significant political choice .” To the extent that rock and roll is big business , and that it is marketed like other consumer goods , rock and roll also serves this role . Our freedom to choose the music we are sold may be distracting us from more important concerns . It is this tendency of rock and roll, fought against but also fulfilled by punk , that Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons describe in The Boy Looked at Johnny : The Obituary of Rock and Roll .

Never mind , kid , there’ll soon be another washing-machine / spot-cream / rock-     band on the market to solve all your problems and keep you quiet / off the street /distracted from the real enemy / content till the next pay-day . Anyhow , God Save Rock and Roll …. it made you a consumer , a potential Moron …..IT’S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL AND IT’S PLASTIC , PLASTIC .YES IT IS !!!!!

           This is a frustrating conclusion to reach , and it is especially frustrating for rock and roll artists who are dissatisfied with the political systems in which they live . If rock and roll’s ability to promote political change is hampered by its popularity , the factor that gives it the potential to reach significant numbers of people , to what extent can rock and roll artists act politically ? Apart from charitable endeavors , with which rock and roll artists have been quite successful at raising money for various causes , the potential for significant political activity promoting change appears quite limited .

            The history of rock and roll is filled with rock artists who abandoned , at least on vinyl , their political commitment . Both Dylan , who , by introducing the explicit politics of folk music to rock and roll , can be credited with introducing the political rock and roll of the sixties , quickly abandoned politics for more personal issues . John Lennon , who was perhaps more successful than any other rock and roll artist at getting political material to the popular audience , still had a hard time walking the line between being overtly political but unpopular and being apolitical and extremely popular . In 1969 “Give Peace a Chance” reached number fourteen on the Billboard singles charts . 1971 saw “Power to the People” at number eleven . But the apolitical “Instant Karma” reached number three on the charts one year earlier . “Imagine ,” which mixed personal and political concerns , also reached number three one year later . Lennon’s most political album , Some Time in New York City ,produced no hits . His biggest hits , “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” and “Starting Over.” which both reached number one on the charts , are apolitical . Jon Wiener , in his biography of Lennon , argues that on “Whatever Gets you Through the Night ,” “it seemed like John was turning himself into Paul , the person without political values , who put out Number One songs and who managed to sleep soundly . Maybe that’s why John )Lennon ) told Elton John that “ Whatever Gets You Through the Night” was ‘one of my least favorites.’ “When , after leaving music for five years , Lennon returned in 1980 with the best-selling Double Fantasy album , the subject of his writing was “caring , sharing , and being , a whole person .”

            The politically motivated rock and roll artist’s other option is to maintain his political commitment without fooling himself as to the ultimate impact his work will have . If his music is not doomed to obscurity by the challenge it presents to its listeners the artist is lucky . But even such luck can do nothing to protect his work from the misinterpretation it will be subjected to once it is popular . Tom Greene of the Mekons expresses the frustration such artists feel when he says , “You just throw your hands up in horror and try and …..I don’t know . I mean , what can you do / How can you possibly avoid being a part of the power relations that exist ?” The artist’s challenge is to try to communicate with his audience . But he can only take responsibility for his own intentions . Ultimately , it is the popular audience that must take responsibility for what it does with the artist’s work . The rock and roll artist cannot cause political change . But , if he is very lucky , the popular audience might let him contribute to the change it makes .

1 . De Voss’s comparison of the salaries of rock stars and corporate executives ( lines 4 - 7 ) is cited primarily in order to          

(A) express the author’s familiarity with current pay scales

(B) argue in favor of higher pay for musical artists

(C) refute the assertion that rock and roll stars are underpaid

(D) support the view that rock and roll is a major industry

(E) indicate the lack of limits on the wages of popular stars

2 . The underlined word “consumption” in paragraph 2 means

(A) supposition

(B) beginning a task

(C) using up goods

 (D) advertising a product

(E) culmination

3 . In the quotation cited in paragraph 2 “Never mind………IT IS !!!!! , Burchill and Parsons most likely run the words “washing-machine / spot-cream / rock-band” together to indicate that 

(A) to the consumer they are all commodities

(B) they are products with universal appeal

(C) advertisers need to market them differently

(D) rock music eliminates conventional distinctions

(E) they are equally necessary parts of modern society

4 . The underlined word “plastic” in the Burchill and Parsons quotation is being used

(A) lyrically (B) spontaneously (C) metaphorically (D) affirmatively (E) skeptically

5 . Their comments “ Anyhow , God Save Rock and Roll ….it made you a consumer , a potential Moron ….suggest that Burchill and Parsons primarily regard consumers as 

(A) invariably dimwitted

(B) markedly ambivalent

(C) compulsively spendthrift

(D) unfamiliar with commerce

(E) vulnerable to manipulation

6 .The author’s comments about Bob Dylan in paragraph 4 chiefly suggest that

(A) Dylan readily abandoned political rock and roll for folk music

(B) folk music gave voice to political concerns long before rock and roll music did

(C) rock and roll swiftly replaced folk music in the public’s affections

(D) Dylan lacked the necessary skills to convey his political message musically

(E) Dylan betrayed his fans’ faith in him by turning away from political commentary

7 .Wiener’s statement quoted “ it seemed ….favorites.” paragraph 4 suggests that

(A) John had no desire to imitate more successful performers

(B) John was unable to write Number One songs without help from Paul

(C) because Paul lacked political values , he wrote fewer Number One songs than John did

(D) as am apolitical performer , Paul suffered less strain than John did

(E) John disliked “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” because it had been composed by Paul

8. In paragraph 4 , “Starting Over” and the Double Fantasy album are presented as examples of  

(A) bold applications of John’s radical philosophy

(B) overtly political recordings without general appeal

(C) profitable successes lacking political content

(D) uninspired and unpopular rock and roll records

(E) unusual recordings that effected widespread change

9 . The underlined word “maintain” in paragraph 5 means

(A) repair (B) contend (C) subsidize (D) brace (E) keep

10 . As quoted in paragraph 5 , Tom Greene of the Mekons feels particularly frustrated because  

(A) his work has lost its initial popularity

(B) he cannot escape involvement in the power structure

(C) his original commitment to political change has diminished

(D) he lacks the vocabulary to make coherent political statements

(E) he is horrified by the price he must pay for political success

11 . The author attributes the success of the politically motivated rock and roll artist to

(A) political influence

(B) challenging material

(C) good fortune

(D) personal contacts

(E) textual misinterpretation

12 . In the last paragraph , the author concludes that the rock and roll artist’s contribution to political change is

(A) immediate (B) decisive (C) indirect (D) irresponsible (E) blatant

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

17 - ] Model SAT Tests - Test Seventeen

17 - ] Model SAT Tests 

Test Seventeen

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 - 6 are based on the following passage.

The following passage on the formation of oil is excerpted from a novel about oil exploration written by Alistair MacLean

            Five main weather elements act upon rock . Frost and ice fracture rock . It can be gradually eroded by airborne dust . The action of the seas , whether through the constant movement of tides or the pounding of heavy storm waves , remorselessly wears away the coastlines . Rivers are immensely powerful destructive agencies - one has but to look at the Grand Canyon to appreciate their enormous power . And such rocks as a escape all these influences are worn away over the eons by the effect of rain .              

          Whatever the cause of erosion , the net result is the same . The rock is reduced to its tiniest possible constituents - rock particles or , simply , dust. Rain and melting snow carry this dust down to the tiniest rivulets and the mightiest rivers , which , in turn , transport it to lakes , inland seas and the coastal regions of the oceans . Dust , however fine and powdery , is still heavier than water , and whenever the water becomes sufficiently still , it will gradually sink to the bottom , not only in lakes and seas but also in the sluggish lower reaches of rivers and where flood conditions exist , in the form of silt .

            And so , over unimaginably long reaches of time ; whole mountain ranges are carried down to the seas , and in the process , through the effects of gravity , new rock is born as layer after layer of dust accumulates on the bottom , building up to a depth of ten , a hundred , perhaps even a thousand feet , the lowermost layers being gradually compacted by the immense and steadily increasing pressures from above , until the particles fuse together and reform as a new rock .

            It is in the intermediate and final processes of the new rock formation that oil comes into being . Those lakes and seas of hundreds of millions of years ago were almost choked by water plants and the most primitive forms of aquatic life . On dying , they sank to the bottom of the lakes and seas along with the settling dust particles and were gradually buried deep under the endless layers of more dust and more aquatic and plant life that slowly accumulated above them . The passing of millions of years and the steadily increasing pressures from above gradually changed the decayed vegetation and dead aquatic life into oil .

            Described this simply and quickly the process sounds reasonable enough . But this is where the gray and disputatious area arise . The conditions necessary for the formation of oil are known ; the cause of the metamorphosis is not . It seems probable that some form of chemical catalyst is involved , but this catalyst has not been isolated . The first purely synthetic oil . as distinct from secondary synthetic oils such as those derived from coal , has yet to be produced . We just have to accept that oil is oil , that it is there , bound up in rock strata in fairly well-defined areas throughout the world but always on the sites of ancient sea and lakes , some of which are now continental land , some buried deep under the encroachment of new oceans .

1 . According to the author , which of the following statements is (are) true ?

1 .  The action of the seas is the most important factor in erosion of Earth’s surface .

11 . Scientists have not been able to produce a purely synthetic oil in the laboratory .

111 . Gravity plays an important role in the formation of new rock

(A) I only (B) 11 only (C) 111 only (D) 1 and 111 only (E) 11 and 111 only    

2 . The Grand Canyon is mentioned in the first paragraph to illustrate  

(A) the urgent need for dams

(B) the devastating impact of rivers

(C) the effect of rain

(D) a site where oil may be found

(E) the magnificence of nature

3 . According to the author , our understanding of the process by which oil is created is    

(A) biased (B) systematic (C) erroneous (D) deficient (E)  adequate

4 . We can infer that prospectors should search for oil deposits    

(A) wherever former seas existed

(B) in mountain streambeds

(C) where coal deposits are found

(D) in the Grand Canyon

(E) in new rock formation

5 . The author does all of the following EXCEPT  

(A) describe a process

(B) state a possibility

C) cite an example

(D) propose a solution

(E) mention a limitation

6 . The underlined word “reaches” in paragraph 2 means   

(A) grasps (B) unbroken stretches (C) range of knowledge (D) promontories

(E) juxtaposition

Questions 7 - 15 are based on the following passage .

The following passage is excerpted from a book on the meaning and importance of fairy tales by noted child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim

            Plato - who may have understood better what forms the mind of man than do some of our contemporaries who want their children exposed only to “real” people and everyday events - know what intellectual experiences make for true humanity . He suggested that the future citizens of his ideal republic begin their literary education with the telling of myths , rather than with mere facts or so-called rational teachings . Even Aristotle , master of pure reason , said : “The friend of wisdom is also a friend of myth .”

            Modern thinkers who have studied myths and fairy tales from a philosophical pr psychological viewpoint arrive at the same conclusion , regardless of their original persuasion . Mireca Eliade, for one , describes these stories as “models for human behavior [that ,] by that very fact , give meaning and value to life .” Drawing on anthropological parallels , he and others suggest that myths and fairy tales were derived from , or give a symbolic expression to , initiation rites or other rites of passage - such as metaphoric death of an old , inadequate self in order to be reborn on a higher plane of existence . He feels that this is why these tales meet a strongly felt need and are carriers of such deep meaning .

            Other investigators with a depth-psychological orientation emphasize the similarities between the fantastic events in myths and fairy takes and those in adult dreams and daydrams - the fulfillment of wishes , the winning out over all competitors , the destruction of enemies -and conclude that one attraction of this literature is its expression of that which is normally prevented from coming to awareness .

           There are , of course , very significant differences between fairy tales and dreams . For example , in dreams more often than not the wish fulfillment is disguisd , while in fairy tales much of it is openly expressed . To a considerable degree , dreams are the result of inner pressures that have found no relief , pf problems that beset a person to which he knows no solution and to which the dream finds none . The fairy tale does the opposite : it projects the relief of all pressures and not only offers ways to solve problems but promises that a “happy” solution will be found .

            We cannot control what goes on in our dreams . Although our inner censorship influences what we may dream , such control occurs on an unconscious level . The fairy tale , on the other hand , is very much the result of common conscious and unconscious mind , not of one particular person , but the consensus of many in regard to what they accept as desirable solutions . If all these elements were not present in a fairy tale , it would not be retold by generation after generation . Only if a fairy tale met the conscious and unconscious requirements of many people was it repeatedly retold , and listened to with great interest . No dream of a person could arouse such persistent interest unless it was worked into a myth , as was the story of the pharaoh’s dream as interpreted by Joseph in the Bible .

            There is general agreement that myths and fairy tales speak tyo us in the language of symbols representing unconscious content . Their appeal is simultaneously to our conscious mind , and to our need for ego-ideals as well . This makes it very effective : and in the tales’ content , inner psychological phenomena are given body in symbolic form .

7 . In the opening paragraph , the author quotes Plato and Aristotle primarily in order to         

(A) define the nature of myth

(B) contrast their opposing points of view

(C) support the point that myths are valuable

(D) prove that myths are originated in ancient times

(E)  give an example of depth psychology

8 . The author’s comment about people who wish their children exposed only to actual historic persons and commonplace events [ 2 and 3 ] suggests he primarily views such people as 

(A) considerate of their children’s welfare

(B) misguided in their beliefs

(C) determined to achieve their ends

(D) more rational than the ancients

(E)  optimistic about human nature

9 . By “Plato ……. knew what intellectual experiences make for true humanity” (lines 1 - 3) , the author means that      

(A) Plato comprehended the effects of the intellectual life on real human beings

(B) Plato realized how little a purely intellectual education could do for people’s actual well-being

(C) Plato grasped which sorts of experiences helped promote the development of truly humane individuals

(D) actual human beings are transformed by reading the scholarly works of Plato

(E)  human nature is a product of mental training according to the best philosophical principles .

10 . The underlined word “persuasion” in paragraph 2 means  

(A)  enticement (B) convincing force (C) political party (D) opinion (E) gullibility

11 . Lines 7 - 10 paragraph 2 suggest that Mircea Eliade is most likely      

(A) a writer of children’s literature

(B) a student of physical anthropology

(C) a twentieth century philosopher

(D) an advocate of practical education

(E) a contemporary of Plato

12 . The underlined word “appeal” in the last paragraph most nearly means     

(A) plea (B) wistfulness (C) prayer (D) request (E) attraction

13 . It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s interest in fairy tales centers chiefly on their    

(A) literary qualities

(B) historical background

(C) factual accuracy

(D) psychological relevance

(E) ethical weakness

14 . Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward fairy tales ?  

(A) Reluctant fascination

(B) Wary skepticism

(C) Scornful disapprobation

(D) Indulgent tolerance

(E) Open approval

15 . According to the passage , fairy tales differ from dreams in which of the following characteristics ?    

1 . The shared nature of their creation

11 . The convention of as happy ending

111 . Enduring general appeal

(A) 1 only

(B) 11 only

(C) 1 and 11 only

(D) 11 and 111 only

(E) 1 , 11 , and 111