54- ] Model SAT Tests - Test Fifty Four

54- ] Model SAT  Tests

Test Fifty Four

The passage below is based upon an introduction to the memoirs of the grandson of Great Depression-era immigrants .

            So often in America , we tend to take for granted the freedoms and liberties that we enjoy : it is only by revisiting our past and discovering the places that we are from that we are able to attain an awareness of our good fortune . I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood just outside Hartford , Connecticut , a mere two hours’ journey to Ellis Island , where only 40 years earlier my grandparents had concluded their trans-Atlantic journey . Yet the sacrifices that such and endeavor necessitated were lost upon me . As a young man , I had neither the time to spend nor any interest in delving into my family’s recent -- and what was sure to be a very boring -- history . The first college-bound member of my family , I was far too arrogant and conceited to allow that my grandparents had accomplished anything truly impressive . Had it not been for a chance discovery , I never would have realized how sorely mistaken I was .

            One day during the summer before I was to leave for college , I was home alone , rummaging through my father’s old trunk . As I pawed through the old books and pamphlets and clothes , I uncovered an old , tattered photograph . It was of a young , handsome man sitting on the boardwalk at what appeared to be Coney Island . Though the passage of time had aged the face , I instantly recognized the figure in the picture as my grandfather . After taking a moment to scan the old black-and-white , I placed it back in the trunck , and would not have given it anymore thought except the doorbell rang , and I heard the voice of the old man himself . He had stopped by to say hello on his way hme from the bakery . Such a fortuitous appearance , I thought , and with the photograph in hand , I went to greet him and show him my find .

            My grandfather took the photo and looked it over for a long time , his mind’s eye wandering to some far-off place . He was normally quite garrulous , so to see him silenced for so long caught me a it off-guard . After what seemed like an age , and a little lost for words , I asked him when the photograph was taken . I was certainly not prepared for the answer I received . He sat me down and launched me into the story of the journey that had brought him and his young wife to America . From fleeing death and persecution in the programs of Russia , to changing his last name to secure safe passage across Eastern Europe , to the voyage across the Atlantic , to his arrival in New York City , he laid down the most mesmerizing story I had ever heard . The hardships that he , my grandmother , and untold numbers of immigrants like them had overcome had been unknown , and more significantly , unimportant to me , until that very instant . In the span of two hours , my grandfather had endowed me with a new knowledge , one that would forever alter my perspective on the privileges and opportunities that his actions had afforded me .

1 . The primary purpose of the passage is to show how the author         

(A) developed an arrogant attitude towards the rest of his family

(B) came to view the sacrifices of immigrants as mundane and mediocre

(C) discovered a new outlook on his prospects through a chance conversation with his grandfather

(D) learned to appreciate his grandfather at last

(E) overcame his shame from being the only educated individual in his family

2 . The underlined word “endeavor” most nearly means

(A) pursuit (B) effort (C) ship (D) goal (E) drudgery

3 . The first paragraph suggests that the author’s “awareness” ( line 3) initially was

(A) very broad

(B) very limited

(C) misdirected

(D) in line with that of his parents

(E) non-existent

4 . The author implies that he had adopted an arrogant attitude towards the rest of his family because he

(A) believed that they were not intelligent

(B) was the first person in the family to go to college

(C) thought that anyone who left their home country must be foolish

(D) was disappointed with his family’s financial situation

(E) wad the first family member to be born in America

5 . The author describes his grandfather as “normally” quite garrulous” in order to

(A) illustrate why he would be so eager to tell the story of his journey from Europe

(B) explain his decision to talk about the photograph

(C) show his desire to teach the author about his heritage

(D) provide a reason for the grandfather’s reticence

(E) emphasize his reaction to the photograph

6 . The author’s tone throughout the passage can best be described as

(A) appreciative and nostalgic

(B) regretful and gloomy

(C) angry and admonishing

(D) patriotic and exasperated

(E) reflective and indifferent

Answer Key

1 . C 2 . B 3 . B 4 . B 5 . E 6 . A 

53- ] Model SAT Tests - Test Fifty Three

53- ] Model SAT Tests

Test Fifty Three

The passages below are followed by questions based on their content ; questions following a pair of related passages may also be based on the relationship between the paired passages.  Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passages and in any introductory material that may be provided .

Questions 1 - 2 are based on the following passage .

Passage 1                                                                                                 

            In their heyday during the first half of the 19^th century , hydroelectric schemes were regarded as a proven technology with extremely high energy-conversion efficiencies and a seemingly limitless source of low-cost power . It has been roughly 70 years since the most ambitious American implementation of hydroelectric technology resulted in the massive Hoover Dam , yet the public is only just beginning to grasp the significant tradeoffs inherent in this type of power generation . While dams add to domestic water supplies , provide employment and flood control , and create recreational water parks in the form of reservoirs , the ratio of people displaced to wattage generated is surprisingly high .

Passage 2

            Hydroelectric dams have long been considered the cleanest , most environmentally friendly source of electricity . Unlike fossil-fueled plants , hydroelectric facilities themselves do not emit harmful atmospheric pollutants , such as carbon dioxide , that have been shown to cause global warming and acid rain . However , recent studies have begun to demonstrate convincingly that hydroelectric power is not quite as benign as many once thought . While the large reservoirs and flood plains that are a direct result of damming can be valuable resources the decaying of vegetation submerged by these watersheds creates gases largely equivalent to those generated from the burning of fossil fuels .

1 . The author of Passage 1 refers to The Hoover Dam to make the point that  

(A) the construction of this particular facility failed to provide much employment

(B) this dam is the most impressive American realization of energy-conversion technology

(C) this project became the catalyst for reducing the use of hydroelectric power in America

(D) it has taken decades for the public to grasp the costs of hydroelectric power

(E) large constructions like this dam have an unexplainably high displacement to wattage ratio

2 . The underlined word “benign” most nearly means

(A) kind (B) gentle (C) harmless (D) useful (E) effective

3 . The central focus of the two passages suggest that

(A) the environmental damage caused by hydroelectric dams is often overlooked

(B) the proliferation of hydroelectric technology cross America was unfortunate

(C) hydroelectric dams generate power more efficiently than fossil fuel plants

(D) the social tradeoffs presented by hydroelectric facilities must be considered

(E) some consequences of hydroelectric technology were previously overlooked

4 . The last sentence of each passage

(A) summarizes the author’s arguments

(B) provides conclusive evidence to support the author’s theory

(C) presents positive and negative effects

(D) introduces opposing opinions

(E) narrows the author’s statements to a single conclusion

Answer Key

1 . D 2 . C 3 . E 4 . C 

 

52- ] Model SAT Tests - Test Fifty Two

52- ] Model SAT Tests

The questions below are based on the following passages

Author 1 describes herself in relation to her friends in high school . In Passage 2 , a different narrator describes the behavior of her college roommate Jessie .

Passage 1

            It was puzzling to me that my one real advantage was the agent of my “uncoolness” , and yet at the time I was cowed into believing that it was perfectly just . I adored my friends ; they were smart , funny , beautiful , counterculture , and -- as a rule - utterly depressed . As the “happy” one , I was the butt of most of the jokes . They had devised a ranking system among themselves that meant that the more emotionally fragile one was , the higher one rose on the totem pole . I asserted my independence from them by valuing mental stability and laughing cheerfully , yet I secretly , desperately wanted something to be wrong with me so that they would see me with new eyes . I would be deep . I would be twisted . I would turn out to have been the most wounded one of all , but so stoic abut it that no one would know until years later .

            Unfortunately for my social aspirations , I had had a happy childhood , surrounded by the comforts of the upper-middle class and two loving parents , the only set of parents among my friends who were not divorced or separated . I had grown up a sensible child ; my parents were fairly permissive , and I repaid their trust y taking few risks . I would drift into other parts of the store while my friends shoplifted , or turn the other way while they gave themselves tiny homemade tattoos with ink and a sewing needle , but never did I condemn them or tattle ; I accepted what they did , and in turn , they accepted my presence among them .

            I wasn’t until years after high school , traveling with another friend who had had a good bit of horror in her life already , that I was impressed by the folly of my thinking . I expressed to her , after hearing her litany of misfortune and truly awful circumstance , my strange desire to have had something terrible happen to me so that I could be more complicated . She flew into a rage . How could I treat her misfortune so lightly as to express even a hint of longing for it ? I finally realized that the only way to show true respect for the terrible things that happen to other people was to be deeply grateful for , not dismissive of , my own good fortune .

Passage 2

            Jessie could never get very far into a conversation with somebody new before she would blurt out some reference to the lithium pills she was taking for the manic phase she had just been through . Her battle with bipolar disorder was simultaneously the thing she was most proud of and the thing she was most ashamed of ; she would tell people about it , I think , partly to show off and partly to get the worst over with . She could never bring herself to say something as straightforward as “Just so you know  I’m manic depressive” ,                                                                                                                             but it was always something like “Oops ! I forgot to take my pills today- better take care of that , followed immediately by a calculatedly embarrassed sideways glance that both invited inquiry and made one feel inexpressibly awkward .

            And yet I couldn’t help but like her . She feigned being a wide-eyed blank slate , she would go up to our professors after class and ask “dumb” question after “dumb” question , each one betraying a sharp insight into the topic and a weirdly sophisticated analysis of what was going on . She was always the first to ask the chemistry professor a question he couldn’t answer . She played her intellect the same way she played her disorder ; she would pretend to be trying to hide it , all the while proudly displaying it , framed in carefully constructed “accidental” scenarios . I forgave her each time ; her transparent manipulation was so clearly a product of a true discomfort with who she really was that I could not feel inferior around her .

            In this way , Jessie surrounded herself with a coterie of exceptional misfits . We were all going about the process of learning how to be adults in radically different ways from those of or peers ; that was the thing that held our odd group together , and Jessie was at the center of it , flattering us with her insecurity .

1 . The first sentence of Passage 1 implies that

(A) the narrator has difficulty understanding personal motivations

(B) the narrator failed to recognize the crucial difference between herself and her friends

(C) the narrator is intolerant of her friends’ depression

(D) the narrator’s perspective on the implications of her emotional nature changed over time

(E) the narrator’s friends were unaware of their effect on others

2 . The underlined word “agent” most nearly means

(A) spy (B) active ingredient (C) destroyer (D) secret (E) cause

3 . In line 8 , the underlined phrase “I would be deep” indicates that the narrator

(A) was not deep during the time described in the passage , but later became so

(B) is hiding the terrible things that happened to her in the past

(C) thinks that being happy is more profound than being depressed

(D) believes that developing spiritually is the most important way to grow

(E) thinks her friends would respect her more if she had something to be depressed about

4 . The underlined words “impressed by” paragraph 3 most nearly means

(A) admiring of (B) forced into (C) made aware of (D) shown the good side of

(E) surprised by

5 . In the last four lines of Passage 1 , the narrator’s perspective changes from

(A) admiration of her friends to disapproval of them

(B) isolation to a sense of closeness

(C) optimism to pessimism

(D) dissatisfaction to gratitude

(E) self-satisfied to solicitous

6 . In the context of Passage 2 the underlined word “played” suggests that

(A) Jessie made a conscious effort to portray her illness in a particular way

(B) Jessie did not take her disorder seriously

(C) the narrator was fooled into thinking that Jessie was different from her

(D) Jessie has lost the ability to distinguish between deception and reality

(E) the narrator believes Jessie’s behavior is entertaining

7 . The statement at the end of Passage 2 , paragraph 2 [ “her transparent ----------around her” ] suggests that the narrator  

(A) is uncomfortable with who she really is

(B) is an “exceptional misfit”

(C) looks up to Jessie

(D) pretends that she knows more about Jessie than she really does

(E) might not forgive Jessie f Jessie made her feel inferior

8 . Passage 2 indicates that the narrator feels as she does about Jessie because

(A) she feels confident around Jessie’s apparent insecurity

(B) she admires Jessie’s skill at manipulation

(C) Jessie makes her uncomfortable

(D) Jessie looks up to the narrator

(E) Jessie helps her with Chemistry homework

9 . Author 1 and Jessie in Passage 2 are similar in that both

(A) feel a strong desire to advance socially

(B) feel insecure about their state of emotional health

(C) are successful in deceiving others

(D) are determined to remain genuine despite social disapproval  

(E) have been deeply affected by the attitudes of their friends

10 . Jessie differs most from Author 1 in her

(A) degree of social influence

(B) ability to be successful in academies

(C) willingness to devote her time to cultivating friendships

(D) refusal to accept the labels and judgments of others

(E) desire to befriend people of all different intellectual and emotional types

11 . The two passages differ in that , unlike Jessie , Author 1 has

(A) reluctantly decided to stay in school

(B) rediscovered a love of family gatherings

(C) found that emotional change is frequently impossible to obtain

(D) overcome a negative attitude about her own emotional state

(E) recently stopped lying about her childhood

12 . Which best characterizes how the subject of self-assurance is treated in these two passages ?

(A) Passage 1 suggests that acceptance of self is an act of maturity , while Passage 2 implies that insecurity makes others feel better .

(B) Passage 1 emphasizes the importance of genetics to emotional health , while Passage 2 focuses mainly on external circumstances .

(C) Both passages portray characters who are usually comfortable with themselves .

(D) Passage I argues that emotional states can be consciously controlled , while Passage 2 claims that they are out of the individual’s control

(E) Neither Passage 1 nor Passage 2 considers the psychological effect of pretending to be something other than one is

13 . Which generalization about emotional disorders is most strongly supported by both passages ?

(A) Economic status has more to do with social position than emotional states .

(B) Students are the primary group afflicted by emotional disorders .

(C) It is only after going to college that young people come to understand the intricacies of emotion .

(D) People have emotional disorders primarily because of a desire to be interesting .

(E) Emotional disorders play a large role in the social interactions of those afflicted by them and the people they associate with .

Answer Key

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

51- ] Model SAT Tests - Test Fifty One

51- ] Model SAT Tests

Test Fifty One 

The passages below are followed by questions based on their content ; questions following a pair of related passages may also be based on the relationship between the paired passages . Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passages and in any introductory material that may be provided .

Questions 1 - 2 are based on the following passage .

The following was adapted from a biography on Hollywood screen legend Cary Grant .

            Long before Cary Grant even began the acting career that would spread his image across movie screens around the world , he was already a performer . Desperate to escape an unstable home life and the humble environs of Bristol , England , where he grew up , Grant joined a traveling acrobatic troupe . He became the show’s stilt walker , an unenviable position that required much painful practice before it could be mastered . As the rigors of carnival life took their toll and the excitement of crisscrossing the fairgrounds of his native England waned , Grant abandoned the troupe for the stage . His first roles , though small , served to mark the beginnings of what would become an illustrious career .

1 . In t5he concluding sentence of the passage , the author suggests that

(A) Grant displayed great ability , even in the first small roles he was given

(B) Grant was rarely given more than small roles in the early stages of his career

(C) the small roles Grant initially played are significant as the origins of his acting career

(D) Grant owes much of his later success to his first small acting roles

(E) when beginning a career , most actors must initially play small roles

2 . The underlined phrase “took their toll” accentuates how Grant

(A) grew discouraged by his failure to get acting roles

(B) was working hard but earning very little money

(C) came to regret the decision to leave his home and family

(D) was unable to truly master the stilts before he left the troupe

(E) was worn down by the carnival life that had once excited him

Questions 3 - 4 are based on the following

            When the revolutionary American chocolate maker Milton Hershey enthusiastically opened his first candy shop in Philadelphia at the age of 18 , he knew little of the business , and his inexperience cased his endeavor to fold six years later .Nonetheless , getting his feet wet in the industry proved enough to keep him hooked on it , for he went on to work as an intern for a local caramel manufacturer . There he learned that superior results could only be achieved when the freshest milk was used and thus was born a lifelong dedication to quality ingredients upon which he would later build his chocolate empire .

3 . As indicated in the first sentence of the passage , Milton Hershey was

(A) quite industrious

(B) something of a child prodigy

(C) an untalented entrepreneur

(D) a groundbreaking candy producer

(E) committed to sing high quality ingredients

4 . The passage implies that Hershey

(A) was the first to make candy from quality ingredients

(B) had a persisting interest in candy manufacturing

(C) tried to apply caramel making techniques to chocolate production

(D) was well suited for a career only in candy making

(E) had been fascinated by making candy since early childhood

Answer Key

1 . C 2 . E 3 . D . 4 . B 

50 - ) Model SAT Tests

 50- ) Model SAT Tests

Test Fifty 

For each of the following questions , choose the best answer and darken the corresponding oval  on the answer sheet .

Each sentence below has one or two blanks , each blank indicating that something has been omitted . Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled (A) through (E) . Choose the word or set of words that , when inserted in the sentence , best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole .

1 . Today’s small , portable computers contrast markedly with the earliest electronic computers , which were ----------------

(A) effective (B) invented (C) useful (D) destructive (E) enormous

2 . Because this time he had at least ---------------the culprit , the security officer was able to ------------the ridicule he usually received for his laziness .

(A) obtained ---- succumb to

(B) escaped ---- subvert

(C) pursed --- avoid

(D) ignored ---- observe

(E) disavowed ---- enjoy

3 . Diane was finally able to satisfy her passion for both sports and writing when she --------

the two by becoming a sports journalist .

(A) reclaimed (B) merged (C) defined (D) abandoned (E) conveyed

4 . Instead of being ---- by her oppressive boss and unfortunate working conditions , the young professional found ---- in the workplace by exhibiting her talents to higher executives and moving up the corporate ladder .

(A) discouraged ---- reconciliation

(B) defeat ---- prosperity

(C) elevated ---- happiness

(D) aided ---- opportunity

(E) delayed ---- unity

5 . Many pieces of ancient pottery we now consider art were originally made for purely -----

reasons , such as to carry water .

(A) utilitarian (B) grandiose (C) imaginative (D) aesthetic (E) external

6 . While the Italian dressmaker often liked to use ---- materials to make her clothing , her designs are not ---- her country or Europe ; in fact , her dresses are marketed in other countries throughout the world .

(A) ancient ---- condescending

(B) modest ---- concerned with

(C) native ---- limited to

(D) ordinary ---- lobbying for

(E) cosmopolitan --- indebted to

7 . The severe structural damage caused by the corrosion occurred in such ---- manner that the ultimate ---- of the building came as a complete surprise .

(A) a manifest ---- eradication

(B) a nefarious ---- polarization

(C) an insidious ---- destruction

(D) a methodical ---- amalgamation

(E) an obvious ---- stagnation

8 . Despite his apparent ---- lifestyle , the old man was known to drink to excess when visited by friends .

(A) temperate (B) laconic (C) duplicitous (D) aesthetic (E) voluble

9 . Although his …. amused his peers , his teacher found his mischief to be immature and disruptive .

(A) anecdotes (B) researches (C) demands (D) pranks (E) debts

10 . Although the thin stems of ferns appear …. , their sinewy structure actually makes them quite …. and difficult to break .

(A) vivid …. powerful

(B) iridescent …. skillful

(C) slender…. thick

(D) beautiful …. heavy

(E) fragile …. sturdy

11 . Because he wanted to master the art of the …. , Carl worked on being able to communicate through a precise control over the muscles of his body and face , rather than his speaking skills .

(A) mediator (B) ensemble (C) elocutionist (D) pantomime (E) troubadour

12 . Although he was unsure of which activities were the …. cause of his back pain , he knew enough to avoid running and heavy lifting , both of which could easily …. the discomfort .

(A) original …. alleviate

(B) sole …. relieve

(C) predominant …. induce

(D) actual …. inhibit

(E) partial …. produce

13 . Ricky was such a captivating and memorable entertainer that his participation in the circus almost …. the need for any other events .

(A) accelerated (B) predetermined (C) substantiated (D) precluded (E) anticipated

14 . The senators decided to …. the most contentious bill and focus instead on passing another law that was easier to reach a suitable ….  .

15 . His …. was so limitless that it bordered on recklessness , for he gave more to charity than he could really afford .  

(A) amicability (B) inexorableness (C) frivolity (D) munificence (E) venerability

Answer Key

1. E 2 . C 3 . B 4 . B 5 . A 6 . C 7 . C 8 . A 9 . D 10 . E 11 . D 12 C 13 . D 14 . A 15 . D

For each of the following questions , choose the best answer and darken the corresponding oval on the answer sheet .

Each sentence below has one or two blanks , each blank indicating that something has been omitted . Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled (A) through (E) . Choose the word or set of words that , when inserted in the sentence , best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole .

1 . Mr. Chandler’s ostentatious tastes were clearly displayed when he was made president of the company ‘ as the promotion caused him to ---- his new ---- with even more vigor .

(A) endure ---- hardship

(B) flaunt ---- prosperity

(C) undermine ---- image

(D) calculate ---- successes

(E) moderate ---- consumption

2 . Maria found it easy to ---- her meager winnings in the lottery , as her ticket was worth next to nothing .

(A) digest (B) extol (C) impugn (D) forgo (E) relish

3 . Although Edward once ---- the intense publicity his more famous colleagues received , he came to appreciate his ---- and relative anonymity .

(A) envied ---- privacy

(B) celebrated ---- popularity

(C) imitated ---- privilege

(D) regretted ---- isolation

(E) refused ---- generosity

4 . Mrs. Smith was ---- by her son’s insolence , feeling exasperated by his refusal to behave .

(A) fascinated (B) galled (C) uplifted (D) soothed (E) disoriented

5 . he newly found eyewitness filled in many of the gaps in the case , providing certainty where before there had been a --- of evidence .

(A) spate (B) revision (C) dearth (D) dispersal (E) consensus

Answer Key

1 . B 2 . D 3 . A 4 . B 5 . C