ACT Past Papers with Answers

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 2.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 3.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 4.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 5.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 6. 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 15 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 Sometimes a Salvation Army volunteer boards the subway train with sandwiches and juice to give to the needy. “Put your pride to the side!” the volunteer shouts, and I’ve seen many people put out their hands. The speaker also raises money. Its impossible to predict which people will dig into their pockets or if they were to open their purses, and I’ve stopped trying to guess. Last week some fellow passengers and I watched an elderly man with a portable chessboard playing chess against himself. Just yesterday I sat across the aisle with a woman who was composing music in pink-tinted glasses in a notebook. She tapped her foot as she reviewed what she’d written and then stopped tapping and jotted more notes as the train hurtled along. Today is my mother’s birthday. I decided to surprise her with lilac blooms from my backyard, so this morning, carrying a shopping bag full of the flowers, I boarded a crowded “E” train and rode it to the very last stop in the

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 7.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 8.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 9.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

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

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 11.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

The best placement for the underlined portion would be:

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Which choice most effectively emphasizes the rapid speed of the train? 1 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 16 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 Bronx. Strangers smiled and took pains not to crush the flowers, even when the train jerked to a halt. I got off at an elevated station and, lifting the splendid bouquet, rushed down to my mother, feeling delighted that I’d brought the blooms all the way from Brooklyn on the subway train. PASSAGE II Navajo Code Talkers During World War II, a group of Navajo soldiers developed a code that became one of the most successful in U.S. military history. This group, known as the Navajo code talkers, took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, transmitting information, on tactics, troop movements, orders, and other vital communications over telephones and radios. American military officials have been using cumbersome machines to encode and relay information during battles. In preliminary tests under simulated combat 14 14. If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence, this paragraph would primarily lose a statement that: subway train. the subway train.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 14. Refer to the source image.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Suppose the writer had intended to write a brief essay persuading readers that the subway system is New York City’s most economical means of public trans- portation. Would this essay fulfill the writer’s goal? large number of people using the subways. able to give to the needy because they have extra money in their pockets. people riding the subways, not on how inexpen- sive the subways are to ride. of all public transportation, not just the subways.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 16.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 17.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 18.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 19. 1 1 Question 15 asks about the preceding passage as a whole. 16 17 18 19 17 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 conditions, the Navajo encoded, transmitted, and decoded a three-line message in twenty seconds as the machines required thirty minutes to perform the same job. Nevertheless, these tests convinced the officials of the value, of using the Navajo language in a code. The Navajo language is complex, with a structure and sounds that makes them unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure to it. Outside Navajo communities, such exposure is rare, which greatly contributed to it’s success. The Navajo developed and memorized the code. Since their language did not have words for common U.S. military equipment, they turned to nature. They named planes after birds and ships after fish. Dive bombers became gini (chicken hawk) and destroyers were called ca-lo (shark). The skilled Japanese code breakers remained baffled by the Navajo language. The code was never broken. Unfortunately, the code talkers sometimes faced dangerous peril from their own side. Many code talkers needed bodyguards to protect them from other American soldiers, some of whom mistook the Navajo for Japanese

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 20.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 21.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 22.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 23.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 24.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

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

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 26.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 27.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 28. 1 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 18 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 soldiers. Regardless, the Navajo were resolute and served their country courageously. The Navajo code remained classified after the war that was later used, along with codes made from other American Indian languages, in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Now that the Navajo code is no longer used, the code talkers, whose secret work saved American lives, can finally receive public recognition for their actions. PASSAGE III An American Griot [1] When storyteller Mary Carter Smith practices her art and everybody listens. [2] Wearing a brightly colored African dress, a large turban, and bracelets, the seventy-eight-year-old Smith seems to inhabit each of the different characters she describes. [3] Her voice changes with each emotion she wants to evoke. [4] Her gestures fit the pace of the narrative. [5] And though many of the stories are intended to make the audience laugh, Smith is fully aware of the other values of storytelling. [6] Indeed, she identifies strongly with the griots of West Africa—those village storytellers where they use songs, poems, and narration to help preserve and transmit culture and history. [7] Clearly others recognize her as a valuable resource. [8] Smith is the official griot of both the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland; she has served as griot-in-residence at

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 29.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 30.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 31.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 32.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 33.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? 1 1 29 30 31 32 33 34 19 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 several universities. Though Smith has been interested in theater since her youth, her recognition of her own talent grew gradually. She worked for thirty years as a teacher and librarian in the field of education in Baltimore public schools. She organized theater groups in her community and took several trips to Africa to study traditional cultures. All along, she was telling stories—everything from social satire to her retelling of “Cinderella” as Cindy Ellie, a poor African American girl whose rags are transformed into magnificent African-style gowns. Over time, she was invited to perform in churches, libraries, and museums. Smith realized the extent of her gift when her friend Alex Haley who had gathered essential material critical to writing his best-selling novel Roots from a griot in Gambia, began to refer to her as “my American griot,” this was a revelation to Smith. 38 36 35 35. The writer is considering deleting the phrase “at sev- eral universities” from Sentence 8. If the phrase were deleted, the essay would primarily lose:

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 35. Refer to the source image.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Which of the following words or phrases from the pre- ceding sentence is LEAST necessary and could there- fore be deleted?

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 37.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

At this point, the writer is considering adding the fol- lowing true statement: In high school, Smith was a member of both the drama and speech clubs. Should the writer make this addition here? telling stories throughout her life. that Smith organized theater groups in her commu- nity. that Smith worked for thirty years as a teacher and librarian. focus of the paragraph and does not logically fit at this point in the essay.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 39.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 40.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 41. 1 1 37 39 40 41 20 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 “Hearing that was like a man who has shoed horses all his life being told, ‘You’re a blacksmith!’” she recalls. Today, Smith’s repertoire is so vast that she could speak consecutively for twelve hours straight without running out of material. It’s unlikely she would ever attempt such a feat, but if she did, there would be no dull moments. PASSAGE IV Baseballs and Butterflies [1] Our son has started playing organized T-ball, a beginner’s version of baseball. [2] “Organized” is what parents call it, anyway. [3] Joe is seven, living in those two or three years when they can manage to throw a baseball a few feet but when what they’re really interested in are

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Given that all the choices are quotations from Mary Carter Smith, which one would best support the argu- ment the writer is making concerning Smith’s belated discovery of her own talent? says. some ways performing the function of a griot for America,” she says. my development as a storyteller is the few hours I once spent listening to a griot in West Africa,” she recalls.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 43.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 44.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Suppose the writer had intended to write a brief essay focusing on the various ways that storytelling influ- ences community values. Would this essay success- fully fulfill the writer’s goal? storytelling pulls a community together. community valued her gift as a storyteller. West Africa, not on community values. ryteller and the way in which she practices her art.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 46. 1 1 Question 45 asks about the preceding passage as a whole. 42 42 43 44 46 21 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 things closer at hand, bugs, butterflies, dirt (if they’re in the infield), grass (if they’re in the outfield). [4] Children of that age still think nothing of doing little dances in the outfield, often with their backs to home plate and, consequently, the batter. [5] It’s not as if the outfielders’ positions matter much, though—the ball never gets hit hard enough to reach there. Since there’s not much chance that a seven-year-old just learning the game can hit a pitched baseball, the umpire puts the ball on top of a stationary tee, a piece of flexible tubing adjusted to each batter’s height. If batters repeatedly fail to hit the ball—and lots of them do—the umpire is patient, giving them four or five chances instead of the usual three. When a batter finally makes contact, the ball dribbles into the infield, where the nearest player usually ends up throwing the ball at the first baseman’s feet or, if the fielder is precocious, over the first baseman’s head. 52 49

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 47.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 48.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

The writer wishes to add the following sentence in order to emphasize the uncertainty already expressed about an idea in the paragraph: I still have doubts. The new sentence would best amplify and be placed after Sentence:

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 50.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

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

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

If the writer were to delete the word repeatedly and the phrase “and lots of them do” (and the dashes) from the preceding sentence, the sentence would primarily lose: ball.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 53. 1 1 47 48 50 51 53 22 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 In a T-ball league, one needs to do something to keep the score from reaching triple digits in the early going. There’s a rule, therefore, that says the runner must stop when any fielder from the other team picks up the ball and holds it aloft. The rule might seem a good one, but the children can’t remember to hold up the ball. Once they’ve picked it up, they look at it quizzically for a while and then, look up to see what all the ruckus is about. What it’s about a bleacher section full of parents, each adult frantically holding up a stiff arm. The child with the ball wonders at the grown-up’s odd, noisy behavior. Meanwhile, the runners continue to score. They score, that is, if they were not to be distracted by the grown-ups—or the butterflies.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 54.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 55.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 56.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 57.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 58.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 59.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Suppose the writer had intended to write an essay describing one child’s experiences playing T-ball. Would this essay accomplish the writer’s goal? is now playing T-ball, and then it goes on to describe Joe’s experiences at one of his games. T-ball skills, such as the fact that he can throw a baseball a few feet. son Joe plays T-ball, it also notes he is more inter- ested in things such as dirt and bugs. narrator’s son Joe are alluded to, it is primarily about the general features of T-ball games. 1 1 Question 60 asks about the preceding passage as a whole. 54 55 56 57 58 59 23 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 PASSAGE V Fixing Raptor Feathers Raptors, or birds of prey, cannot afford to be grounded for weeks waiting for a large number of flight feathers to regrow. They must be able to fly if they are to hunt and eat. Raptors, including eagles and hawks, therefore normally shed their feathers slowly, one or two at a time. The premature loss of a flight feather to injury, then, is not an incidental matter to raptors, most of which are diurnal. If a feather breaks off with the stub of its hollow quill shaft still in place, the bird’s body mistakenly believes the feather is whole. Only when the quill socket containing the stub is empty will a new feather grow. Quills are hollow, so the removal of a quill stub before it is ready to be naturally shed would be very painful to the animal. Bird rehabilitators, therefore, treat broken raptor feathers through imping—the implanting of a new feather into the quill stub.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

The writer wants to describe the way raptors shed feathers. Which choice would be most consistent with the way the feather-shedding process has been described up to this point?

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 62. the day—that is, diurnal. part.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

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

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Given that all of the choices are true, which one most clearly provides a reason for the statement that follows in this sentence?

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 65.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? 1 1 61 62 63 64 65 66 24 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 The bird rehabilitator begins by determining which feather has been damaged. On each wing, all flighted birds, having ten primary flight feathers, each one shaped slight different. If the left number seven feather is broken off, the rehabilitator selects a number seven feather from a collection kept exclusively for imping. If necessary, a number six or eight feather can be carefully trimmed with small scissors to the shape of a number seven feather. The quill of this replacement feather is trimmed so that when the replacement feather is eventually attached to the quill stub still in the bird’s body, the repaired feather will be equal in length to the original, whole feather. Next, the rehabilitator whittles a bamboo chopstick to duplicate the curve and slant of the complete feather shaft. He or she then inserts the carved chopstick into the quill stub. After sliding the shaft of the replacement feather over the sturdy, light bamboo stick, glue—just a touch—is applied. The raptor now has a rebuilt, functional feather. Eventually, it will be 69

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 67.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 68.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

The writer is considering revising the preceding sen- tence to read as follows: If necessary, a number six or eight feather can be cut to the shape of a number seven feather. If the writer did this, the sentence would primarily lose a sense of how:

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 70.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 71.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 72.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? 1 1 67 68 70 71 72 73 25 ACT-59F-PRACTICE 1 1 1 1 shed, allowing a new, complete feather to grow in it’s place. 75

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

Source question 74.

Paper 82 · ACT January 2003 · Form 59F · English Test

At this point, the writer is considering adding the fol- lowing true statement: This imping procedure is just one of the many responsibilities bird rehabilitators have. Should the writer make this addition here? imping compared to the other work of bird rehabil- itators. of great benefit to raptors. which focuses on how the feathers of certain types of birds are repaired. claim that imping is the most important work that bird rehabilitators do. 1 1 END OF TEST 1 STOP! DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO. 74