ACT Past Papers with Answers

Source question 3. we select the best of the ciop for canning. select the best of the crop for canning. caoThing the be.%t of the crop that we selected.

For the sake of the logic and coherence of this para- graph, Sentence 4 should be placed. where it is now. after Sentence 2. ACT-81D GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. We washed tbe tomatoes in the kn"tchen while a I￿ge pot of water heated up on the stove.. I When the water came to a boil, we dropped the tomatocs into the pot for

If the Writer were to delet6 the phrase 'while a large pot of water heated up on the stove" from the preced- iTig' sentence .(placing a period after the word,kitchen), . thc paragraph would priLnarily lose a phrase that: A,. . describes the duties specific to the llarr2tor's role in cannintr tornatoes. indicates where the canning takes place and why water is needed in the process. establishes a logical tiallsition to the infomation in the remaiuder of the paragraph. establishes that part of the cannino PTocess involved putting Ihe tou]atoes in water. exactly one ninute, retrieved them, and then plunged them into icc water. This double dullking loosened the skin so we could easily peel it away from the juicy, red pulp. Next, rny n]ocher and I, cored_the tomatoes. Thell

Source question 7. overalls spattered, with pulp sweat, overalls, spatLered with pulp, sweat overalls spatttred with pulp sweat drippino from my chin. IL was irnpossible to keep a stiaight face as seeds squirted thtough the air and stuck to the walls around us. Sometirnes

Given that all the choices are true, which one helps the reader best visualize the specifics of the scene? air while we watched With arnusement. air, creating a sight to behold. air on those hot,sU￿￿e1 days. we sang along with the radio, frequently substituting Ihe word iomaro for a prominent word in the song.

Source question 10. it's squeakier its squeaky it's squeaky Patches of salt forrning on our faces and arms as our sweat IL evaporated into the Au(yust aii.

Source question 11. would fortn ACT-61D GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Once the chore was finished, the tomatoes would line thc palltry shelves alongside spiced peaches and snap beans, all gleaming colorfully ill their jars. Together they

Given that all the choice8 are true, wbich one estab- lishes a visual contrast with the image in the finaj sen- tence of this paragraph? each jar the same size as the next. sou]etimes as many as twenty jars ot each.

Source question 14. with along J4 from my childhood. 15

If the writer were to delete this final paragraph, Ihe essay would pTimarily lose.. Lmages that reveal Ihat the narrator's mernories of canning tomatoes are fading over time. a sense that the narrator is planDing to move back to North Carolina as soon as possible. Information that indicates that distance contributes to the narratoi's nostalgia about canning tomatoes. information about the nairator's adult life that is irrelevant to the essay's focus on canning toma- toes. PASSAGE 11 A TreÈ's Change in Status [1] [1] For almost two millennia, the yew an evergreen tree with a poisonous fruit 16 and a twisted trnnk. was scorned or feared by many people, particularly Europeans. [2] In the first century A.D., the Greek biographer Plutarch warned of sleeping in the 17 shade of a yew was a deadly practice. [3] About the same. time, the Roman author Pliny pronounced the yew "unpleasant and fearful to look upon." [4] The old

Source question 16. yew an evergrcen trec with a poisonous fiuit,

Source question 17. warned people about warned that ACT-61D GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. British practice of planting yews in cemeteries did nothing in changing or altering that rtputation. 1$ [5] Recently, however, the discovery of taxol, a

Source question 18. in the way of changing Ihat to alter that substance found in the b￿k of the yew, has given the tree new status. 19

For the sake of the loiyic and coherence of this para- graph, Sentence 2 should be placed: whcre it is now. afier Sentence 4. [2] In the 1960s, scielltists discovered that il was a

Source question 20. itas this was promisin(r anticancer drug. 21 l] Although plLarm2ceutical

Source question 22. who, d began producing who begun producing that began to produce companies that begun to produce the drug learned 22 Ihat taxol coulJ tie extracted frotn the bark ot all species of yew, its attention was soon focused on

Source question 23. it soon fottused its attention they soon focuscd their attention it was soon focused the Pacific yew. 24

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? of aljollt of around

CTiven that all of the choices are true, which one would provide an essential link to the sentence thaL follows? its reprodllction is through birds, which scatter the seeds in many different places. species would be irieparably depleted. this does not diminish the fact that the wood is tough and has other uses. trees in the forest, it is scattered throughout the area. To 2? save the trees and still provide for the patient's needs, scientists began to produce taxol synthetically in the

Source question 28. needs, of the patients, laboiatory fiorn the tree's leaves. This process. is more 29. costly than harvesting the bark, growing the foliage in a

Source question 31. on at Dr. Buel Herrick. Nevertheless, that wager would J2

Source question 32. Eventually, bellefil rnany Civil War soldiers iri an unforeseen way. 33

Which of the following alternaiives to Ihe underlined ponion would be LEAST acceptable? assist enhance serve The bets terms stated that the loser of the

Source question 34. bels, terms wager, escorted by a rnarching band, must carT.y 35 a fifty-pound sack of floui one mile along Austin's Main

Source question 35. wager escorted by a marching band wager escorted by a marLhillg band, ' wag¢r. escorted by a marching band Street. While voters elected Ihe candidate that Dr. Herrick 36

Source question 37. supported atld picked that person to become rnayor. supported as theii choice for Mayor of the town. supported. Mr. Giidley, the loser, then decorated a sack of fiour with red. white, and blue ribbr)ns: shouldered it. aDd lcd

Source question 38. ribbons, shouldered it, ribbons shouldered it, Iibbons, shouldered it. the band through Austin. At the parade's end, he offered the flour to the highest bidder. starting with his own $200 bid. He stated that proceeds would go to the U.S. Sanilary Cotntnission. an organization equivalent'and similar to

Source question 39. the equivalent of a S]￿lIar equivalent of the self-saLne organization equivalent to today's Red Cross, to aid Civil War soldiers. Biddinrs becatne brisk. Townspcople felt compassion

Source question 41. could of donated can donate Gridley to be auctioned off again. Eacb tirne that Gridley 42 started the biddin£ anew. In two days, the sack sold 112 times, for amounts ranging fiotn $ l O to $350, Gridley collected $4,350 lor the Sanitary Commission. By cornparison, Sanitary Commission donation boxes

Source question 42. timc when be left at voting polls had received only $200. Being inspirino and motivating himself, Gridley traveled to Viiginia City, Nevada. to auction the sack

A, NO CHANGE of flour to its residents. Money poured in. Gridley trekked to California.. San Franciscans donated S2,800,

Source question 44. their thcrc and SaciarnenLo's citizens gave $10,000. Gridley thell procèeded to St. Louis and to major castcin cities. These bidders added $170.000 to the Sanit2ry Comrnission's fund. Within twelve months Gridley's sack of flour had

Source question 46. among is more than it's measure in ]niles.

Source question 47. its, its ACT-810 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Although immigIants, Tian, Maya. and

Source question 50. impressed with both impressed with both, impressed. with both uch it costs to rent a suitable building.

The writer is considering deleting the phrase "to rent a suitable building" from the preceding sentence. .If the writei wer¢ to fflake this deletion, the paragraph would primarily lose.. rental cost of a btjilding. information essential to understandin£ exactly what th& phrase it costs" Fefers to. information that explains. the relationship between the decor and the rent of a building. nothing of significance, since that information is presented eailier in the paTagIaph.

Source question 53. employ therllselves vigorously to the task at hand woik a long tirne accomplish il for the money needed to sign a'lease. DuTing their first year in the United States, they found Jobs and began to save money. Tran worked as a hospital clerk, and Maya was an assembler'in an 54

Which of the folLowing altcrnatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? clerk, while clerk where clerk. electronics factory. Nevcrtheless. they were a long way 55

Which choice would most effectively introduce this new paragraph? ' D. Then onc day Tr&n had" an inspiration. . the hospital. He knew the perfect locatioll on a busy street corncr. Ln less thall a week, Tran was selling cha gio (egg rolls) on Lhat corner. Soon they rented a secolld catt for Maya to operate. This undertaking wasn't their dream but perhaps their dream would lead to it. 55 Recently, Maya saw what seemed to her the perfect

Source question 58. would lead it to that. would lead to it. buildin(y foi reDt. The neighborhood was friendly, with lots of foot traffic. She envisioned their restaurant 59 fitting in nicely here. But she was disappoinLed

Source question 59. traffic, that she affic, she traffic she when sht talked to the real estate agerjt-the building

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? agent. The agent: the agent, the agent; the wouldn't be available for six mQDths. Maya went home and discussed the situation wiLh Tran. They were discouraged but realized that they could use this titne to acquirc much of the cquipment they would need. Last night they decided to Iheir future restaurant after their son,. Haing. That was also the name of their restaurant back in Vietnatn. ACT-61D GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. PASSAGE V A Night at the Vanguard My friend Stacia and I recently took a class in jazz music, so one n.ight we went down to the Village Vanguaid to hear a perfOr￿anCe, by saxophonist, Jackie McLean. 61 The Vanguard is a New York City nightclub located

Source question 63. along To our sutprise, Stacia and I found empty seats near the st2ge. The backup band of a pianist, a bass player, and the talented-Billy Higgins st&rt¢d with a piecc

. Given that all, of the'choices are true,, which one most clearly adds new information about the mixtuie of sounds ID the music being played tbc Dight the llatiatoi visited thc Village Itanguard? musician Stacia and l immediately Iecognized-"Seven Minds. My attention focused first with Higgins, who played 65 with his head tippéd back, srTriling and nodding.

Source question 65. initially with initially to Soon McLean stepped onstage with his sax I wasn't

Source question 66. sax. sax that sax, which prepared for the impact. Into every corner of the

Source question 67. ready for the unexpected impict. pened. &AP4Ung the impact, which i didn't see coming. ACT-61 D GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. room, he blew wild, sweet, almost disjointed noies that seemed to leave many lisLeners amazed. He

At this point, the writer wants to provide an im3ge to help give a sense of the sound of the music being played by McLean. Which choice best.accomplishes the writer's purpose? G, that words cannot hardly dcscribe. metnbers of Ihe audience tt]at night. that seetlled snatched from a dozeu dÉfferenl places at once. didn.t pjay according to the rules of Ihe popular rnusic I had grown up ligtening to on the radio. McLean 69 bas been likened to thc sax geDiUS Charlie Parker,

Source question 69. that was listened to growing llp and that night I could hear why. [1] Occasior]ally McLean would stroll offstage. [2] Then one of the other musicians taking the lead, pulling

Source question 70. took the lead, pulling took the lead, he pulled taking the lead by pulling 70 strange patcerns fro￿ his instrumeni" the equivalent in 71 sound of someone dancing under a blinking strobe light. 71 [3] Once during a dnLm solo, a man near us slarted

The writer.would like to describe the sound of the music in visual ter￿S to help the reader imagitje Lhe jazz played that Ejight. Nvhich choice best.accomplishes ' the writer's purpose. the highlight, of the eveniniy for some. audience metnbers. the sound ]Daking ￿e see why so ￿anY people like jazi. liuuhing. as if Higgins had just told a mischievous joke. [4] Now and then,.one rnember of the audience or anotber. 1 A bpnd fLfirward a" if you we-. e inteptl, follow. 10¢ 13 an argument that is both complicated and fascinating. 74 F. NO CHANGE when it was in the posture that is in the positiou of someone [5] When he played, sometbing happy happened inside me: [6] I closed my eyes and just listened.

Source question 72. Refer to the source image.

Upon reviewino this paragraph alld realizing that a detail has been left out, the writer composes the following sentellce incorporating that detail: The most intensc tnonient for me came when McLean let loose. Foi the 8ake-of the logic and coherence of this para- graph, this setjtence should be added after Sentence: Suddenly the show was over..The musicians walked offstage. The rooKR filled witb applause. Moments later, 74. we were outside where the whole city-cabs. couples.

Which of the-following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptableg offstage, and the offstacye. the offstage. T.hen the offstage as if the neon lights sèemed to be llioving to th21 bri(yht, hectic, spontaneous music. ACT-610 12 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. Question 75 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.