ACT Past Papers with Answers

Source question 3. wings: up lo twenly-five feel wide wings. up to Iwenty-five feet wide wings, up to twenty-five feel wide: During Marshall's research off ihe coast of Mozambique, she observed intriguing physical variations, in the mantas she swam amongst.

Source question 4. variations in the mantas variations, in the mantas. variations in the manias Acr<03 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Her beachside lodgings in Mozarnbique now

Source question 6. were are "denticles., 141 Marshall found that denlicles on some mantas were randomly spaced and occasionally overlapped. whereas deniicles on oiher mantas were evenly spaced and never overlapped. [SJ Another discovery was: Ihal some manias had egg-shaped masses ai the b&se

Source question 7. was. that. was thai was. that of their taAI fins. [6] Each mass contained a bony spine about an inch long-lhe vestige of a stinging barb from the manta's ancestors. The writer wants lo add the following senience to ihi. paragraph: Some of ihe data were basic, such as manta coloration and size. The 5ellienc¢ would most logically be placed: afier Sentence l. lifter Sentence 2. after Sentence 4. In 2009. Marshall announced, with

Source question 8. Refer to the source image.

Which choice best conveys ihat Marshall's announce- ment was backed by scientific dala. surprised many scientists by announcing ai long lasi announced two other scientists, that indeed there is two manta species. The reef manta, i• Manla alfredi. is the smaller and more

Source question 10. exists was are common of the two. Thriving in shallow water. it kind of sticks around one area. In conirasl. Ihe

Source question 11. rarely ventures far from its home ierrilory. giant manta, Mania bimslris. favors deep water and migrates thousands of miles a year. ACT£ GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. The fact tbat such large animals went undifferentiaied

Source question 12. whether which highlights how little scienlists know for so long about ij

Which of the followin8 true staiements besi concludes this paragraph and ihe essay by suggesiing ihat the sci- enlific siudy of mania rays will continue? relaied ihe stvry of her manla-specie.s discovery. Di. Marshall once described the manta ray as 'like the largest, mosi beautiful underwaier bird." researcher in Dr. Marshall. these gentle gianis. At the moment. manta ray populations face an array of threais worldwide. 14 Question 15 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.

Source question 16. temperature. As a result, helping

Source question 18. willow is listed among willow is listed on plants used to treat illnesses. An Egypiian papyrus from approximately about 1534 BCE refers to willow's use as

Source question 19. an esiimation of in ihe region of about an all-purpose medicine. Though willow (rees are often found near water

Source question 21. would of preferred will prefer South American cinchona trees as a fever reducer. even though willow grew abundantly ihroughout Europe. The high c05t of importing

Source question 22. Importing cinchona bark however, was expensive.

Source question 25. would have began noted that the bitter laste of willow bark was reminiscent of the bilter taste of cinchona bark. ACT-C03 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Known also for his interest in astronomy. Stone

Source question 27. added ils to a liquid. He administered the medicine to people

Source question 31. there is painl carefully being poured by photogra- pher Martin Klimas photographer. a puddle of colors; rich oranges and powder blues. 32 hoi pinks and electric yellows. Klimas attaches his

Source question 32. colors: rich oranges and powder blues, colors: rich oranges: and powder blues colors: rich oranges and powder blues. camera to a tripod and positions the camera so it is

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would N(yr be acceptable? tripod. and he iripod and he tripod. He level wilh the paini puddle. He ihen sets a sound trigg¢r la device that aulomaiically snaps a photo when a given sound level is reached) on his camera.

Source question 34. eye-lo-eye with equal io Finally, he inserts Dafi Punk's Homework CD into a stereo. cranks up the volume to ien, and pushes Play.

Which choice provides the mosi dramatic description of Klimas's action? iurns the volume knob a bit higher. increases the volume of the output, The result is what Klimas calls a "sonic sculpturc., The vibrations produced by Dafi Punk's dance anthem "Around the World" has caused the paint to rise and

Source question 36. ause is causing causes fall, to string and swirl. to splatter and stretch. It is this image ihat Klimas's camera cap(ures sound 37 visually rendered by the effects of the vibraiions

Source question 37. has snapped- has managed to Catch snapshot that Klimas's photographic machine snares- on the paint. Although Klimas's photographs only capture an instant of the paint erupting in arcs of color. each of ihe photographs is unique to a given song. ACT403 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. .1 Icave the creation of ihe picture to the sound itself," Klimas says.

Which of the following quotations from Klimas pro- vides the most relevanl inforniation al this point in the "The rnost annoying thing was cleaning up the set Ihoroughly after every .%ingle shot,. "In general. l use nornial photographic equipment and common music stuff," "The shooling is mostly about repeating ihe process again and again." Klimas's idea for his sonic sculptures were sparked

Source question 39. was by the expeiiments, of Swiss scicntisl, Hans Jenny. In the

Source question 40. experiments, of Swiss SCAenlist experimenis of Swiss. Scientist experimenis of Swiss scientist 1960s, Jenny's study on the effects of sound vibrations

Source question 41. while Jenny studied 41 on various maierials. For example. Jenny discovered Ihat low sonic tones caused powdery substances io form into uniforn] lines. while deeper tones caused the same powder to forni inio more nuanced patlerns. on similar principles, only with a more compelling component: music. Klimas has photographed sonic sculptures of classical music by Wagner and Bach: jazz by Miles Davis. Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane; imas relies

Source question 43. sculptures, and sculptures, sculptures; That would certainly Ampress Jenny. After all, lo create his art, Klimas needs his paint to get up and dance.

Suppose the writer's primary purpose had been to doc- ument the process of an artisi. Would this essay accomplish that purpose? an artistic process similar lo Klimas's process. Yes, because the essay describes how Klimas pho- tographs the effects of vibrations created by music on paini. nificance of Klimas's artwork. of how Jenny's experiments have inspired vi.sual artists like Klimas. PASSAGE IV Building and Rebuilding ltthe Kln8 of Roads" Separating Oregon from Washington, the Columbia River Gorge is eighiy-five miles of flowing water. there are tree-covered bluffs. and roaring waierfalls.

Source question 46. tree-covered bluffs. These striking fealures daunted would-be road builders

Which choice mosi clearly indicates that the features of the Columbia River Gorge intiinidated road builders and kepi them from constructing the highway. slowed potential until 1913. Thai year. Samuel Hill and Samuel Lancaster, a businessman and an engineer. respeciively. began constructing a road through ihe gorge to connect the towns along the river. [A] Their design weni beyond praclicalities it showcased the scenic grandeur of the

Source question 50. alongside ihe road travelers the chance to take in a view of ihc river or 51 a waterfall. Guardrails made of local rock lined the

Source question 52. road and it and il's environmeni. [C] Engineers created Q openings in

At ihis point. the wriler is considering adding ihe fol- lowing accuraie phrase: an unprecedented five Should the writer make ihi.s addition here. impressive design ()f the highway. Yes, because li hints at how the engincers were able lo make openings in ihe iunnel. lated io ihe sentence. nels wa.% easy for road en8ineers.

Source question 54. tunnel, enabling the side of one iunnel: enabling motorisls surrounded by rock to glimpse ihe river below. Completed in 1922. the highway earned the local nickname "the King of Roads." {3] Impressivc as it wa5. the highway was soon outmoded because of increased traffic and larger vehicles. In time. 55 Oregon built a new road along the Columbia. much of the highway was de.siroyed lo make room; other stretches

Source question 56. road that first existed continued in a functional capacity, be ulilized, original highway was still being utilized by the driving populace, ACT403 10 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. [41 In the 1980$. however, local people's interest in the original highway abounded. In 1981. the National Park

Which choice mosl clearly conveys that people's inler- est in the original Columbia River Highway was not a new phenomenon? rekindled. Service offered suggeslions for restoring parts of ihe road and repurposing unused sections of li as a trail. Since then, crumbling stone guardrails along the roadside have been repaired. Damaged bridges and viaducls have been rebuilt. Tunnels, now empty and strong. had

Given ihal all ihe choices are accuraie, which one best concludes the essay by referring back to Ihe first paragraph? the gorge on sections of the road where it wasn't feasible to restore motor vehicle traffic. Lancaster envisioned over one hundred years ago. a beautiful path ihat has becomc a popular tourist destination. Question 60 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.

The wriier wants lo add the following senience io ihe essay: The resl of the highway fell inlo disrepair. The senlence would most logically be placed ai: Point D in Paragraph 3. ACT.COg GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. PASSAGE V Selllng Hlp-Hop One night in ihe late seventies. at a popular club in New York City. singer and music producer Sylvia Robinson had 61 a revelalion. At the time. hip-hop 5ubculture-based

Source question 61. singer. and music producer. Sylvia Robinson. singer and music producer, Sylvia Robinson. singer. and music producer Sylvia Robinson on ihe graffiti. breakdancing. deejaying. and rapping art forms were emerging as a phenomenon. Robinson

Source question 62. was emerging are emergftng wat¢hed as DJ Lovebug Starski spun records for the crowd and rapped over the instrumental br¢aks in the music. Every time the DJ chanted. "Throw your hands in the air," everyone obeyed. Robinson could hear the

Source question 63. obeyed by throwing their hands in ihe air. enthusiasm shared between the hip-hop perfornier and his audience. She knew she had to capture that excitemeni on record. Robinson wasted no time in recruiling ihree aspiring rappers: Big Bank Hank, Masier Gee, and Wonder Mike-

Source question 64. rappers rappers: rappers. to record on her label as ihe Sugarhill Gang.

Source question 66. an upbeai disco record provided by Robinson was rhymed over by the rappers. rhymes were created by the rappeTS over an upbeat disco record. disco record. Ihe rappers rhymed over. The resulting track. "Rapper's Delight." sold fourteen million copies: RobAnson had produced the firsi rap record to break into tbe charts. ACT.c¢Ja 12 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Nevertheless, Robinson's musical 47

Source question 68. instincis. and. business savvy instincts and business savvy instincts and busioess savvy, with the Sugarhill Gang. However, there was more to hip-hop music than party-r¢ady club anthems. She hoped

Which choice mosi effectively indicates that Robinson had to convince Grandmaster Flash and ihe Furious Five to record "The Message"? asked titled "The Message," encountered new commercial yi hip-hop ground by addressing harsh realities of inner-city

Source question 71. covered life. It was a far cry from ihe more digesttble singles the group had previously released because the rappers were

Source question 72. released although released, so released. for hesitant to record il. Bui Robinson believed il was a surefire hil. In the opposite fashion, Fletcher and 73

Source question 73. same way, Melle Mel (one of ihe Furious Five) recorded the Irack. which became ih¢ group's biggesi hil. Its socially conscious rhymes helped usher in a 74

Source question 74. It's socially conscience new generation of artists and secured Robinson's 75

Which of the following aliernatives to the underlined ponion would NOT be aLceptable. anists. and it sccurcd artists and securing artists and secure legacy in the landscape of commercial hip-hop. END OFTEST 1 STOPI DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO. ACT.C03 13