ACT Past Papers with Answers

Source question 3. with The National Trust for Historic Preservation has led the effort. sponsoring programs that educate people (Ibout the practical and aesthetic value of saving old barns. Largely as a resuli of the trust's leadcrship, on the other h¢ind, nearly a dozen States have launched barn-preservation effort5. Among the most

Source question 4. though. ACT.61WMPLE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE effective tools are new tax incentives for those who renovate, rather ihan demolish. old barns. If you can save m()ney and save barns. why not do.it?

Source question 5. rcnovate, rather than demolish rcnovate rather than demolish renovate. r<ither than, demolish Saving barns makes good sense for more th(In a variety of reasons. The fjrst is

Source question 6. a various number a variety il V4wied assortment practical, often since a renov¢ltion or repair costs far less

The be%t placement for the underlined portion would thtan new construction. An existing barn can become part where it is now. after the word The. after the word rennvation. atter the word repair. of a modern farming operation, and il 18 converted for use or it can be and that is why it can be because they are as a store or residence. Each barn saved additional

Source question 8. Refer to the source image.

Source question 9. also extrn excessively represents il link to an agricultural heritage and can provide important historical and cultural infornialion. Because people in each region of the country and each ethnic group have tended to build different types of barns. these structures help define a landscape and tell its story. [1 J Perhaps most important of all. barns are a symbol of the vitality of a rural region. [2] When farnis were first settling, it was the building of a barn that announced to the world that the builders were planted on a piece of

Source question 11. Refer to the source image.

Source question 13. can make wa% to make 14

For the sake of the logic and coherence of this para- graph. Sentence 3 should be placed: where it is now. after Sentence l. after Sentence 4. ACT-618.￿￿PLL GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Question 15 asks aboul the preceding passage as a whole.

The writer is considering adding a gubtitle to the title "Barn Renaissance" that would summarize the primary message of the essay. Which of the following %tate- ments would best iiccomplish that purpose? Saving Old Barns Is Worth the Effort PASSAGE 11 Scuba Diving among the Barracudas Every winter, Ihousands of visitors, come to southern

Source question 16. thou%ands of visitors. Florida. Many of them try %cub41 diving. One of the 17

Source question 18. ountry s fastly growing countries fastest-growing countries. fastest-growing center in the Florida Keys have boats equipped to take 19

Which of the choices best helps the writer to siress th<it scuba diving is a participation sport rather than a spec- tator sport? know how to dive. proper use of scuba gear, even a beginner can dive safely when accompanied by an instructor acting as a guide. 21

Source question 21. whose job 1% to instruct him or her. who goes along as a leacher. instruLling the diver. as a teacher. ACT.81WMPLE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Just imagine what you Might see if you were 10 go diving. As you glide through the pleasant blue-green waters of the coral reef, some fish may swim up and peer 22 at you through the clear glass of your waterproof mask. It

In this senience the writer want% to describe the beauty and appeal of the underwaier scene i)n the reef. Which of the choices would mosl effeclively and specifically help the sentence to accomplish this? among the variety of sea plants and sea animals. some of them (Imong brilliantly colored tropical fish, several friendly and harmless little ones whal kinds of creatures seems that they're as curious about you as you are about them. You'll be wise. though. to stay alert. Drifting lazily there behind your shoulder may be a barracuda, waiting for you to catch a dinner for it. These streamlined predators do not ordinarily attack humans. but many have learned, by experience that a fish

Source question 24. are easy are easily is easy to On the other hand, beginnlng scuba divers should

Source question 26. one actually attracts us divers actually attract 27 a barracuda. l]

Source question 29. there its stare, might intimidate you, but if you turn and point a finger at the fish. y()u will U%U<tlly %care li away. It hold% the world's record for the underwater dash, it'.s probably as

Source question 31. son, geologist Walter Alvarez. son geologist, Walter Alvarez. son geologist Walter Alvarez. geologic layer in both Europe and New Zealand, trace.s of iridium were found, an element more common 32 in outer space than on Earth. [3] The iridium came from

Source question 35. a geologist working since he was a geologisl who worked work

Source question 36. rocks. laying rocks, laying rocks. lying Penfield also discovered telltale "shocked" quarii Microscopic parallel lines in the quart7. could only have 37

If the writer were to delele the word onlv from the pre- ceding senlence, the paragraph would prirn(irily Ic)se: the suggestion that Penfield could not have made his di4Lovery without the earlier wc)rk c)f the AlvareL¢%. provide evidence of %ome enormous impact event. an extraterrestrial object had Lf(1shed into E(lrth. a descriptive detail that is es4cnli(Illy mc¢iningles and. Iherefore, unnecessary to thL Piiragraph.

The writer wanls Ic) be consistent throughout the essay In presenting the Chicxulub lasteroid event as a possi- bility rather than as an aLLepted tact. Which ot- the choice% best maintains that consi%tency. [31 These discoveries provided strong evidence that a large asteroid Lrashed inio Edrth aboui 65 million years conclu%ively show ago, creating what is known as the Chicxulub Crater.

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be accepiable? (Igo, and this event creilted ago, which crealed ago and creating ago and created ACT-61WMPLE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Such an irnpact many scientists believe would have 41 blanketed the planet wilh debris. blocking out sunlight

Source question 41. impact. many scientists believe, impact. many scientists believe impact many scientists belicve. and cooling Earth for many years. Acid rain crealed by the debris may have poisoned Earth's forests and water. [41 Many scientist% theorize the Chicxulub asteroid event helped bring about the extinction of ihe dinosaurs, which happened and took place about 65 million

Source question 43. for the evolution to of the evolution to another life form: mammals. Questions 44 and 45 ask about the preceding passage as a whole.

For the sake of the logic and Loherence of this essay. Paragraph 3 should be placed: where it is now. after Paragraph 4.

Source question 46. cities cities city'5 police department-began her career in law enforcement in an unusual way: to answer a challenge made by her 47

Source question 47. way: to answer way to answer way of winning ACT-81&SWAPLE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. husband. A woman her size (fl￿e feet, four inches). he

Source question 49. whom had who held and administration, bet him that she could pass the tests and then signed on as a police recruit. so What followed were two months of arduous physical

Source question 50. tests and then signing training. Harvard found that she enjoyed meeling the physical and mental demands. Indeed. she liked training so much she decided to continue. entering the police academy to Study law and police procedures. By the time she graduated, she felt though she had wanied to be a police officer all her life. Once on the job. Harvard was given demanding assignments. including night patrol in the toughest neighboTho()ds. Undaunted. she thought of ways to improve the patrols and suggested it to her supervisors. 51

Source question 51. it was sug. oesied by her .suggested them Eventually she was called on to be the person who headed 52 special projects. Her dedication opened doors for her

Source question 55. to assist in the coordination of Lvordinllte for the Summer Olympic Games in Atlania. Her efforts to deter crime have been prai%ed by Tnany community leader%,

Source question 56. was would have been admiring her calm style in dealing with problems. Such 57

Source question 57. who admire praise does not come any easier io any big-city police

Source question 58. easily Tnore easy easier chief, but Harvard applies her talents and works twelve-to- sixteen-hour days to earn ihem. When a%ked about her 59 future, she says that she doesn't worry about not being

Source question 59. these. its. chief forever. "Right now., she says. "l just want to focus on being the best chief Atlanta has ever had." Question 60 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write a brief e%s<ty det<tiling the ways th(It pc)liLe departments are trying to ()ffer more career opportunilies to women. Would this essay succe%sfully fultill that goal? a big-Llty pc)liLe Lhief. department as slriving to provide opportunitiC5 to 'omen. one person rather th<in on the effc)rts of police dcparlment%. No, because the essay highlights opportunities cre- ated by the physical and rnental demand% of ihe police academy. ACT418.SAMPLE 10 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. PASSAGE V Return of the Sandhill Cranes Early each spring. a chunk of land along the Platte

Which choice would best help the reader visualize a length of land extending along the river for a consider- 4ible distance? ribbon nugget 61 River in Nebraska is a temporary home to one of the world's most spectacular wildlife displays: the rnigration of the sandhill cranes. A half-million of the birds gather here during their long journey for a six-week rest from

The best placement for the underlined portion would where it is now. ai ihe beginning of this sentence (revising the cap- italization accordingly). after the word birds. after the word here. Texas and New Mexico to the Arciic Circle.

Source question 64. would bring heap of cranes to be found anywhere on the globe.

Source question 65. concentratlOD supply Winter in Nebraska, a part of the Central Great Plains.

Source question 67. thus have in fact reduced the cranes. habitat, each year they return.

If the wriler were to eliminate the words haunting, eerie. and primeval from the preceding sentence, it would primarily lose: wording that enhances the writer's description of the cranes as vi.%ilors from an ancient epoch. supporting evidence that the birds are the oldest surviving bird species in the world. noisy. humorous description of the birds. strange sounds. During their stay along the Platte. the cranes maintain a wary coexistence wilh humans. The birds roost on sandbars in the river during the night, and during the day they feast on the remains of last year's crops in the surrounding fields. At d<iwn (ind dusk they forni huge dark clouds in the sky as they travel between the river and the fields. their cries a loud cacophony carried on the prairie wind. Though some Nebraskans complain about the growing number of visitors whom come to 72

Source question 72. Visitors whiLh visitors who visitors, whom take in an observalion of the annual crane migration, 7J many focus their attention on the birds themselves. "The

Source question 73. view and witness the once-a-year crane migration. see the annual migralion of the cranes every year, observe the annual crane migralion, loneliest sound in the world." says one Nebraskan. "is the 74

Source question 74. one Nebraskan is saying. one Nebraskan will say, one Nebraskan would have said. ACT.818-S4MPLE 12 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. silence after the crane% leave.. 75