SAT Practice 1 - October 11, 2023 Reading and Writing: Question 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Started in 1925, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is a US-based spelling competition. The words used in the competition have diverse linguistic origins. In 2008, Sameer Mishra won by correctly spelling the word "guerdon." "Guerdon" derives from the Anglo-French word "guerdun." In 2009, Kavya Shivashankar won by correctly spelling the word "Laodicean." "Laodicean" derives from the ancient Greek word "Laodíkeia." The student wants to emphasize a difference in the origins of the two words. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

"Guerdon," the final word of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee, is of Anglo-French origin, while the following year's final word, "Laodicean," derives from ancient Greek.

Rows in table may not add up to 100 due to rounding. Over the past two hundred years, the percentage of the population employed in the agricultural sector has declined in both France and the United States, while employment in the service sector (which includes jobs in retail, consulting, real estate, etc.) has risen. However, this transition happened at very different rates in the two countries. This can be seen most clearly by comparing the employment by sector in both countries in ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

1900 with the employment by sector in 1950.

Although those who migrated to California in 1849 dreamed of finding gold nuggets in streambeds, the state's richest deposits were buried deeply in rock, beyond the reach of individual prospectors. ______blank by 1852, many had given up their fortune-hunting dreams and gone to work for one of the large companies capable of managing California's complex mining operations. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Consequently,

The following text is from Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. Elinor lives with her younger sisters and her mother, Mrs. Dashwood. Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught. According to the text, what is true about Elinor?

Elinor is remarkably mature for her age.

Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a nutritionally dense food, but they are difficult to digest in part because of their high levels of soluble fiber and compounds like raffinose. They also contain antinutrients like tannins and trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the body's ability to extract nutrients from foods. In a research article, Marisela Granito and Glenda Álvarez from Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela claim that inducing fermentation of black beans using lactic acid bacteria improves the digestibility of the beans and makes them more nutritious. Which finding from Granito and Álvarez's research, if true, would most directly support their claim?

Fermented beans contained significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans, and when cooked, the fermented beans also displayed a significant reduction in trypsin inhibitors and tannins.

In crafting her fantasy fiction, Nigerian-born British author Helen Oyeyemi has drawn inspiration from the classic nineteenth-century fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Her 2014 novel Boy, Snow, Bird, for instance, is a complex retelling of the story of Snow White, while her 2019 novel ______blank offers a delicious twist on the classic tale of Hansel and Gretel. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Gingerbread

Astronomers are confident that the star Betelgeuse will eventually consume all the helium in its core and explode in a supernova. They are much less confident, however, about when this will happen, since that depends on internal characteristics of Betelgeuse that are largely unknown. Astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance and colleagues recently investigated whether acoustic waves in the star could be used to determine internal stellar states but concluded that this method could not sufficiently reveal Betelgeuse's internal characteristics to allow its evolutionary state to be firmly fixed. Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in the overall structure of the text?

It identifies the problem that Nance and colleagues attempted to solve but did not.

The mimosa tree evolved in East Asia, where the beetle Bruchidius terrenus preys on its seeds. In 1785, mimosa trees were introduced to North America, far from any B. terrenus. But evolutionary links between predators and their prey can persist across centuries and continents. Around 2001, B. terrenus was introduced in southeastern North America near where botanist Shu-Mei Chang and colleagues had been monitoring mimosa trees. Within a year, 93 percent of the trees had been attacked by the beetles. Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the overall structure of the text?

It presents a generalization that is exemplified by the discussion of the mimosa trees and B. terrenus.

One poll taken after the first 1960 presidential debate suggested that John Kennedy lost badly: only 21 percent of those who listened on the radio rated him the winner. ______blank the debate was ultimately considered a victory for the telegenic young senator, who rated higher than his opponent, Vice President Richard Nixon, among those watching on the new medium of television. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Nevertheless,

In his 1925 book The Morphology of Landscape, US geographer Carl Sauer challenged prevailing views about how natural landscapes influence human cultures. ______blank Sauer argued that instead of being shaped entirely by their natural surroundings, cultures play an active role in their own development by virtue of their interactions with the environment. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Specifically,

In November 1934, Amrita Sher-Gil was living in what must have seemed like the ideal city for a young artist: Paris. She was studying firsthand the color-saturated style of France's modernist masters and beginning to make a name for herself as a painter. ______blank Sher-Gil longed to return to her childhood home of India; only there, she believed, could her art truly flourish. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Still,

Average Number and Duration of Torpor Bouts and Arousal Episodes for Alaska Marmots and Arctic Ground Squirrels, 2008-2011 When hibernating, Alaska marmots and Arctic ground squirrels enter a state called torpor, which minimizes the energy their bodies need to function. Often a hibernating animal will temporarily come out of torpor (called an arousal episode) and its metabolic rate will rise, burning more of the precious energy the animal needs to survive the winter. Alaska marmots hibernate in groups and therefore burn less energy keeping warm during these episodes than they would if they were alone. A researcher hypothesized that because Arctic ground squirrels hibernate alone, they would likely exhibit longer bouts of torpor and shorter arousal episodes than Alaska marmots. Which choice best describes data from the table that support the researcher's hypothesis?

The Alaska marmots had shorter torpor bouts and longer arousal episodes than the Arctic ground squirrels did.

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare's 1609 poem "Sonnet 27." The poem is addressed to a close friend as if he were physically present. Weary with toil, I [hurry] to my bed, The dear repose for limbs with travel tired; But then begins a journey in my head To work my mind, when body's work's expired: For then my thoughts—from far where I abide— [Begin] a zealous pilgrimage to thee, And keep my drooping eyelids open wide, What is the main idea of the text?

The speaker is thinking about the friend instead of immediately falling asleep.

The following text is adapted from Charles W. Chesnutt's 1901 novel The Marrow of Tradition. Mrs. Ochiltree was a woman of strong individuality, whose comments upon her acquaintance[s], present or absent, were marked by a frankness at times no less than startling. This characteristic caused her to be more or less avoided. Mrs. Ochiltree was aware of this sentiment on the part of her acquaintance[s], and rather exulted in it. Based on the text, what is true about Mrs. Ochiltree's acquaintances?

They are likely offended by what Mrs. Ochiltree has said about them.

Text 1 When companies in the same industry propose merging with one another, they often claim that the merger will benefit consumers by increasing efficiency and therefore lowering prices. Economist Ying Fan investigated this notion in the context of the United States newspaper market. She modeled a hypothetical merger of Minneapolis-area newspapers and found that subscription prices would rise following a merger. Text 2 Economists Dario Focarelli and Fabio Panetta have argued that research on the effect of mergers on prices has focused excessively on short-term effects, which tend to be adverse for consumers. Using the case of consumer banking in Italy, they show that over the long term (several years, in their study), the efficiency gains realized by merged companies do result in economic benefits for consumers. Based on the texts, how would Focarelli and Panetta (Text 2) most likely respond to Fan's findings (Text 1)?

They would encourage Fan to investigate whether the projected effect on subscription prices persists over an extended period.

American writer Edwidge Danticat, who emigrated from Haiti in 1981, has won acclaim for her powerful short stories, novels, and ______blank her lyrical yet unflinching depictions of her native country's turbulent history, writer Robert Antoni has compared Danticat to Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

essays. Praising

Ablation Rates for Three Elements in Cosmic Dust, by Dust Source Earth's atmosphere is bombarded by cosmic dust originating from several sources: short-period comets (SPCs), particles from the asteroid belt (ASTs), Halley-type comets (HTCs), and Oort cloud comets (OCCs). Some of the dust's material vaporizes in the atmosphere in a process called ablation, and the faster the particles move, the higher the rate of ablation. Astrophysicist Juan Diego Carrillo-Sánchez led a team that calculated average ablation rates for elements in the dust (such as iron and potassium) and showed that material in slower-moving SPC or AST dust has a lower rate than the same material in faster-moving HTC or OCC dust. For example, whereas the average ablation rate for iron from AST dust is 28%, the average rate for ______blank. Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?

iron from HTC dust is 90%.

The violins handmade in the seventeeth century by Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari have been celebrated as some of the finest in the world. In close collaboration with musicians, Stradivari introduced changes to the shape of a traditional violin, flattening some of the instrument's curves and making ______blank lighter overall. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

it

Researchers and conservationists stress that biodiversity loss due to invasive species is ______blank. For example, people can take simple steps such as washing their footwear after travel to avoid introducing potentially invasive organisms into new environments.

preventable

Euphorbia esula (leafy spurge) is a Eurasian plant that has become invasive in North America, where it displaces native vegetation and sickens cattle. E. esula can be controlled with chemical herbicides, but that approach can also kill harmless plants nearby. Recent research on introducing engineered DNA into plant species to inhibit their reproduction may offer a path toward exclusively targeting E. esula, consequently ______ Which choice most logically completes the text?

reducing invasive E. esula numbers without harming other organisms.

Economic Policy Uncertainty inthe United Kingdom, 2005-2010 High levels of public uncertainty about which economic policies a country will adopt can make planning difficult for businesses, but measures of such uncertainty have not tended to be very detailed. Recently, however, economist Sandile Hlatshwayo analyzed trends in news reports to derive measures not only for general economic policy uncertainty but also for uncertainty related to specific areas of economic policy, like tax or trade policy. One revelation of her work is that a general measure may not fully reflect uncertainty about specific areas of policy, as in the case of the United Kingdom, where general economic policy uncertainty ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to illustrate the claim?

was substantially lower than uncertainty about trade policy in 2005 and substantially higher than uncertainty about trade policy in 2010.

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: In 2013, archaeologists studied cat bone fragments they had found in the ruins of Quanhucun, a Chinese farming village. The fragments were estimated to be 5,300 years old. A chemical analysis of the fragments revealed that the cats had consumed large amounts of grain. The grain consumption is evidence that the Quanhucun cats may have been domesticated. The student wants to present the Quanhucun study and its conclusions. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A 2013 analysis of cat bone fragments found in Quanhucun, China, suggests that cats there may have been domesticated 5,300 years ago.

During the English neoclassical period (1660-1789), many writers imitated the epic poetry and satires of ancient Greece and Rome. They were not the first in England to adopt the literary modes of classical ______blank some of the most prominent figures of the earlier Renaissance period were also influenced by ancient Greek and Roman literature. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

antiquity, however;

In 1966, Emmett Ashford became the first African American to umpire a Major League Baseball game. His energetic gestures announcing when a player had struck out and his habit of barreling after a hit ball to see if it would land out of ______blank transform the traditionally solemn umpire role into a dynamic one. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

bounds helped

Both Sona Charaipotra, an Indian American, and Dhonielle Clayton, an African American, grew up frustrated by the lack of diverse characters in books for young people. In 2011, these two writers joined forces to found CAKE Literary, a book packaging ______blank specializes in the creation and promotion of stories told from diverse perspectives for children and young adults. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

company that

In 1930, Japanese American artist Chiura Obata depicted the natural beauty of Yosemite National Park in two memorable woodcuts: Evening at Carl Inn and Lake Basin in the High Sierra. In 2019, ______blank exhibited alongside 150 of Obata's other works in a single-artist show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

they were

It is by no means ______blank to recognize the influence of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch on Ali Banisadr's paintings; indeed, Banisadr himself cites Bosch as an inspiration. However, some scholars have suggested that the ancient Mesopotamian poem Epic of Gilgamesh may have had a far greater impact on Banisadr's work. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

unimportant