SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

Chapter 1

2026.9 : B-B(analysis included)

READING 2 · 27 questions

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

This book is a surprising showing—one that puts reviewers in a true quandary. ________ its author, a venerable scholar of pre-Columbian art and culture in the Americas, on account of this truly deficient work would pose a risk to any critic's professional standing, but there is no denying that this latest book's core argument is easily refuted.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

AReproachingBEntrenchingCMitigatingDInciting

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Leonardo da Vinci's accomplishments as a painter are of world-historical importance but rest upon a group of works that—at only 17 surviving works, by some estimates— _________ the idea that the volume of an artist's output does not need to correlate with the scope or magnitude of that artist's importance. More prolific artists of da Vinci's generation, today, are after all forgotten.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

ArepudiatesBprecedesCemanates fromDattests to

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

A conclusive demonstration of the logical certainty of the Cameron–Erdős conjecture, posed in 1988, __________ mathematicians until Alexander Sapozhenko and Ben Green presented proofs of the conjecture in 2003.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

AepitomizedBconvincedCdefamedDeluded

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

The following text is from William Beckford's 1786 novel Vathek, An Arabian Tale.

It was not long before Vathek discovered abundant reason to regret his precipitation; for, though he could not decipher the characters himself, yet, by constantly poring upon them, he plainly perceived that they every day changed; and, unfortunately, no other candidate offered to explain them. This perplexing occupation inflamed his blood, dazzled his sight, and brought on such a giddiness and debility that he could hardly support himself.

As used in the text, what does the word "occupation" most nearly mean?

AInvasionBFixationCTenureDAmusement

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

This text is adapted from James Weldon Johnson's 1917 poem "Before a Painting."

I knew not who had wrought with skill so fine

What I beheld; nor by what laws of art

He had created life and love and heart

On canvas, from mere color, curve and line.

Silent I stood and made no move or sign;

Not with the crowd, but reverently apart

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

ATo show how the speaker's reactions to a painting changed from indifference to admiration.BTo explain the scene and narrative captured in a specific painting.CTo justify the speaker's admiration for a painting that the crowd largely neglects.DTo record the stunning impression that a single painting makes on the speaker.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

In the course of a career that spanned nearly six decades, Czech filmmaker Hermina Tyrlova directed a series of short films that are purposefully small in scale, if vast in ingenuity. Tyrlova's shorts rely on stop-motion animation, the technique of posing figurines in multiple positions and taking photographs that, in aggregate, can be sequenced as frames, creating a sense of movement. These manipulations resulted in Ferda the Ant (1944) and Revolt of the Toys (1947). As the titles suggest, Tyrlova's figurines transported viewers into the scaled-down worlds of toys and insects, conjuring whimsical adventures from seemingly homespun resources.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

AThe text praises the inventiveness of a filmmaker, then admits that her popularity has begun to diminish.BThe text defines the limitations of a film genre, then demonstrates how one filmmaker repudiated those limitations.CThe text presents a broad assessment of a filmmaker, then justifies this assessment with examples of her creativity.DThe text pinpoints a few of a filmmaker's inspirations, then illustrates how those inspirations led her to adjust her standard techniques.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

The beloved holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life followed an unusual path to the classic status that it enjoys today. When it was released in 1947, the film performed poorly at the box office—so poorly, in fact, that it would be virtually forgotten over the subsequent quarter of a century. The copyright agreement limiting circulation of It's a Wonderful Life quietly expired in 1974, and that is where the film's reemergence begins. Television networks discovered that they could broadcast the movie without paying royalties to Republic Pictures, the company which had produced the film. By the 1990s, when Republic Pictures finally regained control of the film rights, millions of viewers had come to adore It's a Wonderful Life for its message of Christmastime goodwill.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

AIt compares two approaches that raised different liabilities for networks and production companies.BIt pinpoints a factor central to the initial poor reception of It's a Wonderful Life.CIt hints at the storyline of It's a Wonderful Life in order to anticipate the subsequent sentence.DIt signals how television networks exploited a scenario outlined in the previous sentence.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Pointing to the rapid economic development of South Korea and other polities under market capitalism, advocates of developmental-state theory hold that legal constraints on personal enrichment by public officeholders and other bureaucratic initiatives enable growth. Citing cases as distinct as Jamaica and Mauritius, proponents of modernization theory hold the inverse, that so-called Weberian bureaucracies emanate from capitalist growth. Yuen Yuen Ang has recently argued that both positions presume linear causality in situations in which neither phenomenon is truly independent of the other.

Based on the text, Ang would most likely agree with which statement about initiatives such as the implementation of restrictions on personal gain by public officeholders?

AThey should not be regarded as having independent causes but rather as being the shared result of capitalist growth.BThey are overemphasized by both developmental-state theory and modernization theory.CThey show more variation across polities in their relationship to economic development than some theories suggest.DThey cannot be explained simply as either a precondition of capitalist growth or a consequence of capitalist growth.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Text 1

Mural? Sculpture? Something else entirely? George Morrison's surface decoration for the Minneapolis American Indian Center consists of interwoven wooden slats that create a dynamic pattern of abstract, seemingly shifting wedges. At once striking and resistant to classification, this artwork requires the same sort of upkeep as a prized canvas or sculpture: in 2022, Morrison's creation was put into storage while the Center undertook a series of renovations.

Text 2

Attempting to categorize George Morrison's wood-panel construction for the Minneapolis American Indian Center does not detract from the originality of Morrison's creation, which has adorned the Center since 1975. This construct may not quite be a painting, but it is certainly not akin to a static fresco. In fact, a recent project to move this work from the Center's hallway to the building's exterior demonstrates how much movability and durability—traits that may impart a more sculptural feel to the wood-panel creation—were necessary aspects of Morrison's final product.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined commentary on George Morrison's work in Text 1?

ABy explaining that the sculptural properties of Morrison's work are less pronounced than its similarities to a traditional painting.BBy affirming that the portable nature of the Morrison's construction rules out at least one possible classification for the work.CBy conceding that the parallels between Morrison's work and wooden sculptures have been granted less attention than the parallels between the same work and large-format paintings.DBy noting that the central position of Morrison's wood construction in the Center's layout has contributed to debates over how the construction is categorized.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

For a world power, leadership in trade and economic innovation does not necessarily correlate with a higher percentage of the world's total economic output (measured in percent of worldwide GDP, or gross domestic product). China, to take one example, flourished within international commerce from circa 1500 to circa 1700, only to spend the subsequent period, or the succession of decades ending circa 1900, pursuing more isolationist trade policies while more aggressively modernizing powers such as Germany and Japan bolstered their influence within global trade networks. Still, simply measuring the percent of worldwide GDP allocated to each of these nations does not reflect the relative commercial power of each country during this epoch, since __________

Which choice most effectively uses information from the graph to complete the statement?

China's share of the worldwide GDP was over 30 percent in 1800, with Japan and Germany each at a relatively small fraction of this share in the same year.

Japan and Germany each accounted for only 5 percent or less of worldwide GDP at multiple points between 1500 and 1900.

CChina and Germany accounted for comparable portions of worldwide GDP in 1900.DJapan, Germany, and Italy had shares of under 10 percent of worldwide GDP each for several centuries before 1900.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Geomorphologists study the dynamics of natural formations such as lakes, sometimes with particular attention to gradual changes in sediment composition and sediment deposition rates. Considering three of the largest lakes in Africa, one geomorphologist has observed variations in sedimentation rates (that is, the thickness of fine mineral particles accruing on a lake bottom in a given year). This geomorphologist hypothesizes that the minimum recent sedimentation rate achieved by a lake is best explained by factors other than that lake's relative depth.

Which choice best uses relevant and accurate information from the table to support the geomorphologist's hypothesis?

ALake Malawi and Lake Victoria both have recent sedimentation rates of at least 1.0 millimeters per year.BLake Bosumtwi's recent sedimentation rate is consistently lower than Lake Malawi's, even though Lake Bosumtwi has experienced the deposition of more sediment in a shorter period of time.CLake Victoria and Lake Malawi were formed by different geological processes, and the oldest sediment in Lake Victoria formed 3.75 million years before the oldest sediment in Lake Malawi formed.DThe recent sedimentation rate for Lake Victoria has fluctuated more than the recent rate for either Lake Malawi or Lake Bosumtwi.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

How to Observe: Morals and Manners is an 1838 book by Harriet Martineau. In her text, Martineau depicts her historical era as a time of exceptional progress, noting that international connections have facilitated advances in individual societies: _________

Which quotation from How to Observe: Morals and Manners most effectively illustrates the claim?

A"Charity is everywhere. The human heart is always tender, always touched by visible suffering, under one form or another. The form which this charity takes is the great question."B"Useful arts and inventions spread so rapidly in these days of improving communication, that they are no longer the decisive marks of enlightenment in a people that they were when each nation had the benefit of its own discoveries, and little more."C"The need of mutual aid, the habit of co-operation caused by interest in social objects, has a good effect upon men's feelings and manners towards each other; and out of this grows the mutual regard which naturally strengthens into the fraternal spirit."D"This is as far as any nation has as yet attained—to a warmer than common sympathy among its own members, and compassion for distant sufferers. When the time comes for nations to care for one another, and co-operate as individuals, such a people will be the first to hold out the right hand."

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Early in 2024, NASA astrophysicists and astronomers detected Planet HD 63433-d. The available evidence indicates that this rocky planet is significantly closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun, that it most likely does not have an atmosphere, and that it thus experiences a superheating that has resulted in unique geological features. Some NASA scientists hypothesize that HD 63433-d has a surface with consistent hotter and colder zones, with the hotter zone exhibiting the most extreme effects of the planet's intense heat exposure.

Which finding, if true, would most effectively support the NASA scientists' hypothesis?

ARather than rotating in a manner that would give all areas of its surface equal exposure to its star, HD 63433-d always has the same region of its surface facing the star, and this constant exposure has created an ocean of lava that covers exactly half of the planet.BHD 63433-d is roughly the same size as Earth, but HD 63433-d is so close to its star that it cannot form an atmosphere, since much of the atmospheric gas on the surface of HD 63433-d would be broken down into elements light enough to escape the planet's gravity.CAny areas of HD 63433-d that receive relatively little exposure to the heat of the planet's star could exhibit stable geological features but would still be much too hot to sustain life.DSome of the superheated rocky planets that were discovered before HD 63433-d are believed to be "lava worlds" that are covered by oceans of lava, and these other planets would not have differentiated expanses of molten rock and solid rock.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

To ward off hawks, owls, and other avian predators, smaller birds band together in "mobbing" behaviors. Several of the bird species that engage in mobbing (crows, blackbirds, jays, and starlings) proliferate; they use such ploys to protect their eggs and hatchlings. Birdwatchers recognize these tactics—which can involve dozens of smaller birds diving towards and pecking at a single larger one—in part because they signal that an otherwise elusive bird of prey is nearby. In accordance with this information, mobbing could _________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Abe much more effective at protecting a few larger birds from multiple small birds than it already is at safeguarding small birds.Bhelp birdwatchers to detect the areas frequented by unusual bird species that protect their hatchlings by luring avian predators close to nesting sites.Coffer new insights about the manner in which hawks and owls themselves use diving and pecking as aggressive maneuvers.Dalert birdwatchers to the presence of a rare owl species in the vicinity of the nests of comparatively common birds.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Cities implement congestion pricing—higher tolls on vehicular traffic at specific times of the day, as well as higher fees for parked vehicles to access spots within busy regions—in an attempt to reduce potential problems that range from air pollution to noise pollution to higher incidence of prolonged road congestion by the vehicles themselves. Nonetheless, while designed to mitigate these issues, congestion pricing does not seek to change preferences in terms of vehicle ownership. A congestion pricing toll for a four-door sedan may be twice that of a motorbike or motorcycle, yet ________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Athe number of motorbikes in areas that rely upon congestion pricing is substantially greater than the number of motorcycles due to different tolls in areas that do not embrace congestion pricing.Bdrivers of four-door sedans systematically avoid areas that utilize congestion pricing to control traffic.Ccongestion pricing becomes most pronounced in areas where vehicular traffic has most successfully been reduced over short periods of time.Dcars continue to considerably outnumber motorcycles in metropolitan areas that have embraced congestion pricing, with no evidence of decreased car ownership in favor of motorcycles.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

A study led by scientist Rebecca Kirby at the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that black bears that eat human food before hibernation have increased levels of a rare carbon isotope, ______ due to the higher 13C levels in corn and cane sugar. Bears with these elevated levels were also found to have much shorter hibernation periods on average.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Acarbon-13, (13C)Bcarbon-13 (13C)Ccarbon-13, (13C),Dcarbon-13 (13C),

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

In 1994, almost 200 years after the death of Wang Zhenyi, the International Astronomical ______ the contributions of the barrier-breaking 18th-century astronomer and author of "Dispute of the Procession of the Equinoxes," naming a crater on Venus after her.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

AUnion would finally acknowledgeBUnion to finally acknowledgeCUnion, having finally acknowledgedDUnion, finally acknowledging

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta's celebrated literary oeuvre includes The Joys of Motherhood, a novel about the changing roles of women in 1950s ______ a television play about the private struggles of a newlywed couple in Nigeria; and Head Above Water, her autobiography.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

ALagos, A Kind of Marriage,BLagos; A Kind of Marriage,CLagos, A Kind of Marriage:DLagos; A Kind of Marriage

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Compared to that of alumina glass, ______ silica glass atoms are so far apart that they are unable to re-form bonds after being separated.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

Asilica glass is at a significant disadvantage due to its more dispersed atomic arrangement:Bsilica glass has a more dispersed atomic arrangement,resulting in a significant disadvantage:Ca significant disadvantage of silica glass is that its atomic arrangement is more dispersed:Dsilica glass's atomic arrangement is more dispersed, resulting in a significant disadvantage:

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Known as Earth's "living skin," biocrusts are thin layers of soil held together by surface-dwelling microorganisms such as fungi, lichens, and cyanobacteria. Fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion, ______

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

Aa recent study's estimate is that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.Ban estimated 60 percent reduction in global dust emissions each year is due to these crusts, according to a recent study.Cthese crusts reduce global dust emissions by an estimated 60 percent each year, according to a recent study.Da recent study has estimated that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

When soil becomes contaminated by toxic metals, it can be removed from the ground and disposed of in a landfill. ______ contaminated soil can be detoxified via phytoremediation: plants that can withstand high concentrations of metals absorb the pollutants and store them in their shoots, which are then cut off and safely disposed of, preserving the health of the plants.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

AAlternatively,BSpecifically,CFor example,DAs a result,

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

Iraqi artist Nazik Al-Malaika, celebrated as the first Arabic poet to write in free verse, didn't reject traditional forms entirely; her poem "Elegy for a Woman of No Importance" consists of two ten-line stanzas and a standard number of syllables. Even in this superficially traditional work, _____ Al-Malaika was breaking new ground by memorializing an anonymous woman rather than a famous man.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Atherefore,Bin fact,Cmoreover,Dthough,

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

In 1815, while in exile in Jamaica, Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar penned a letter praising England's republican government and expressing hope that Latin American nations seeking independence from Spain might achieve something similar. The letter was addressed to a local merchant, Henry Cullen; ______ though, Bolívar's goal was to persuade political leaders from England and Europe to support his cause.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Aadditionally,Bultimately,Caccordingly,Dconsequently,

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there are those who argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species' distribution, and those who insist that vicariance (separation due to geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts herself among neither.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

AFurthermore,BBy contrast,CSimilarly,DThat is,

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

·In 1978, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway.

·The dam would disrupt Sámi fishing and reindeer herding.

·The dam was ultimately built, but the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.

·It brought international attention to the issue of Sámi rights.

·It led to a set of 2005 legal protections establishing Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about the Alta conflict. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

ADuring the Alta conflict, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway that would disrupt local fishing and reindeer herding.BAlthough the dam that the Sámi activists had protested was ultimately built, the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.CSámi rights to lands, waters, and resources received international attention and legal protections as a result of the Alta conflict.DThe Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and legal protections for Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

·Neuroscientists Krishnan Padmanabhan and Zhen Chen sought to better understand the workings of the brain's olfactory system.
·They devised a study using mathematical models.
·They found that certain fibers allow the brain to toggle from one method of processing smells to another.
·In one method, cells in the piriform cortex (where the perception of odor forms) capture olfactory information at a given moment.
·In the other, the cells track changes in olfactory information over time.

The student wants to summarize the study's findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of processing smells in the piriform cortex, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study using mathematical models.

Padmanabhan and Chen showed that olfactory information is captured by cells in the piriform cortex,where the perception of odor forms.

Using mathematical models,Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study to better understand the workings of the brain's olfactory system.

According to Padmanabhan and Chen, the brain can toggle between capturing olfactory information at a given moment and tracking changes in that information over time.

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Chapter 1 · 2026.9 : B-B(analysis included) · READING 2

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

·Archaeologist Jon Erlandson and colleagues argue that humans first arrived in the Americas by sea.
·They propose that humans traveled between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines from northeast Asia to the Americas.
·Many of these islands and coastal zones were later submerged as glaciers melted and sea levels rose.
·The researchers think that "a coastal route, including kelp forests and estuaries, would have provided a rich mix of marine, estuarine, riverine, and terrestrial resources" such as seaweeds, fish, and birds.
·This proposed scenario is known as the kelp highway hypothesis.

The student wants to summarize the kelp highway hypothesis. which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines likely contained "a rich mix of marine, estuarine. riverine, and terrestrial resources such as seaweeds, fish, and birds, according to researchers.

One argument about how humans first arrived in the Americas is the kelp highway hypothesis proposed by Jon Erlandson and colleagues.

Humans may have first arrived in the Americas by sea, traveling between Pacific ocean islands and coastlines and subsisting on a variety of resources.

As glaciers melted and sea levels rose, many Pacific ocean islands and coastal zones were submerged.

READING 2 · 27 questions

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