SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

A construction foreperson reading blueprints and directing workers in accordance with them is engaging in an act of ____________. Blueprints are replete with symbols, notations, and figures that are often incomprehensible to the uninitiated; the foreperson must convert all of that arcana into practical building instructions that are easily understood by anyone on the job site.

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

The following text is from Northrop Frye's 1957 book Anatomy of Criticism.

 

Even in lyrics and essays the writer is to some extent a fictional hero with a fictional audience, for if the element of fictional projection disappeared completely, the writing would become direct address, or straight discursive writing, and cease to be literature.

 

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

Research has shown that regardless of musical training, most hearing adults recognize that the notes of the simple melody of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" are harmonious. Similarly, a study showed that even participants with no musical training could easily follow the underlying beat in the Brazilian samba song "Só Danço Samba" despite its often complex rhythms, raising the possibility that this capability was somehow _____________ the participants.

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

The following text is from Edith Wharton's 1917 novel Summer. Eagle County is located in a region where summer weather can be quite cool.

There had never been such a June in Eagle County. Usually it was a month of moods, with abrupt alternations of belated frost and mid-summer heat; this year, day followed day in a sequence of temperate beauty. Every morning a breeze blew steadily from the hills. Toward noon it built up great canopies of white cloud that threw a cool shadow over fields and woods; then before sunset the clouds dissolved again, and the western light rained its unobstructed brightness on the valley.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Imani Jacqueline Brown is an artist who blends scientific research, political activism, and various media in her work. In her exhibition Strike Gulf, she interrogated the impact of the oil and gas industry on southern Louisiana (where she grew up), incorporating core samples from deep seabeds off the Louisiana coast, oil well data, archival information about oil boycotts, and video she took in New Orleans. Strike Gulf thus stands as an example of Brown's multidisciplinary approach and use of diverse sources.

 

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

The following text is adapted from William Shakespeare's 1598 play Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry is addressing several noblemen who are rumored to have been disloyal to him.

KING HENRY: My blood hath been too cold and temperate,

Unapt to stir at these indignities,

And you have found me, for accordingly

You tread upon my patience; but be sure

I will from henceforth rather be myself,

Mighty and to be fear'd, than my [disposition],

Which hath been smooth as oil, soft as young down,

And therefore lost that title of respect

Which the proud soul ne'er pays but to the proud.

Which statement best describes how King Henry presents himself in the text?

The following text is adapted from Richard Connell's 1923 short story "The Man Who Could Imitate a Bee." An ornithologist is a scientist who studies birds.

At twelve [years old Hervey Deyo] had resolved to be a scientist and furthermore a great scientist. He determined to pursue the career of ornithologist; there was something so dignified and withal scientific about a science that called the sparrow Passer domesticus and the robin Erithacus rubecula. He made rapid progress. On his thirteenth birthday he took a bird walk at dawn and was able to record in his note-book the scientific names of forty-nine birds, including the ruby-and-topaz humming-bird (Chrysolampis mosquitus) which is rare.

According to the text, what motivates Hervey Deyo to become an ornithologist rather than another kind of scientist?

It is common for freshwater lakes near or above a latitude of 45° north of the equator, like Opeongo Lake in Canada, to accumulate surface ice in winter. A study from 1980 to 2006 showed that, in general, the number of days per winter that such lakes have measurable amounts of surface ice is declining. However, a researcher claimed that some lakes have instead seen an increase in the duration of ice, citing as an example___________.

 

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the researcher's example?

 

The Chickasaw Nation and the nearly forty other tribes in Oklahoma operate numerous businesses and collectively generate billions of dollars in revenue. Mining, including oil and natural gas production, is a key industry in the state as well. While researching other key industries in Oklahoma for an economics class, a student finds that the average amount contributed to the state's economy in 2017 by each individual employed in professional services was ___________.

 

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, populations of Black Americans increased in many cities throughout the state of New York. During this time, many Black newspapers were founded. The newspapers were largely by and for the Black communities in which they were based. The New York Citizen-Call ran from 1960 to 1961 in New York City, New York. The Syracuse Gazette ran from 1976 to 1980 in Syracuse, New York.

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to emphasize the geographic similarities between the two newspapers?

Flatland is an 1884 novel by Edwin A. Abbott. The narrator describes the novel's setting as a world consisting entirely of two-dimensional geometric fgures, whose existence is confined to the surface of a plane:____________.

Which quotation from Flatland most effectively illustrates the claim?

Plants often reduce photosynthesis in undamaged parts of their leaves when other parts are being eaten by insects. It appears that feeding triggers the closure of stomata—tiny openings that allow carbon dioxide to enter the leaf—thereby limiting plants' ability to fix carbon (capture and convert it to carbohydrates during photosynthesis). In a study of genetically identical plants, those that were modifed to emit an insect-deterring chemical compound experienced a smaller decline in photosynthesis under insect attack than those that did not emit the compound. Since the two types of plants showed no other differences, this finding suggests that _____________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Carl Woese's 1970s study of methanogens (microbes with no nuclei, such as Methanococcus vannielii, that metabolize hydrogen and carbon dioxide in oxygen-poor environments and produce methane as a by-product) suggested that they did not fit scientists' then-conventional division of life into two domains, the eukaryotes (having cells with nuclei) and the prokaryotes (missing nuclei). Molecular clock evidence indicated that what Woese argued was a third domain of life emerged as early as 3.5 billion years ago. Methanogens would have been well-adapted to conditions then given that ____________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

During the nineteenth century, distinctive cream-colored brick dominated the architecture of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The widespread use of this locally produced material, which created visual cohesion across neighborhoods that were built in varying architectural styles, ________ to Milwaukee acquiring its enduring nickname "Cream City."

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

In an interview for the book Latina Authors and Their ___________ fantasy author Dora Machado revealed that author Sol Stein's How to Grow a Novel is her favorite book about the craft of writing.

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

Since 1948, U. S. News & World Report has produced data-driven reports on various aspects of culture and society, including an annual ranking of the best jobs in the United States. In January 2021, the publication, using such metrics as median salary and work-life balance, __________ that software developers had the second best job in the country.

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

The Nimatron was an early digital computer designed to play a mathematical game against visitors to the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Though capable of making game moves in milliseconds, this one-ton machine — built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation engineers to demonstrate how electrical relays could respond to players'choices according to predetermined mathematical patterns — ____________ programmed with time delays to give the impression of deliberative thinking.

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

While pointe shoes, worn by ballerinas so they can balance on their toes, originated as simple satin slippers, some now incorporate modern materials or shock-absorption techniques inspired by athletic footwear. Such innovations, developed to address the increase in physically demanding choreography in modern ballet,___________ the evolution of the pointe shoe that began centuries ago.

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

Stargazers who looked up at the right time (and with the right protective equipment) on October 21, 1930, were able to enjoy the beautiful totality of a total solar eclipse. ___________ Spectators had just one minute, fifty-five seconds to watch the dramatic moment when the moon almost entirely blocks the sun.

Which choice completes the text with the most logicat transition?

While most animals prefer the safety of nighttime migration, many poisonous amphibians—a category that includes the striped newt and the Asian common toad—safely engage in migratory behavior during the day. ___________ with the sun in the sky, the amphibians' striking color patterns deter visually oriented daytime predators by serving as a warning of toxicity.

 

Which choice completes the text with the most logicat transition?

When the Salon des Refuses art exhibition opened in 1863, visitors openly scoffed at paintings whose experimental styles and original subject matter departed so startlingly from tradition that they had been rejected from the offcial Paris Salon exhibit. ___________ these canvases were soon recognized as harbingers of an artistic revolution, with their unconventional elements no longer derided but lauded as the foundation of the late nineteenth-century Impressionist movement.

Which choice completes the text with the most logicat transition?

A young bullfrog develops in clear stages. First, it is a small tadpole that uses its tail to swim in ponds. Next, it grows into a large tadpole. Then, tiny back legs begin to appear, and after several weeks, front legs push through the skin. ___________ its tail shrinks away completely as the tadpole becomes an adult frog ready for life on land.

Which choice completes the text with the most logicat transition?

A student has taken these notes:

· Dotted blue butterflies are light blue with black spots.

· They are most active during the day.

· They eat nectar from flowers.

The student wants to say when dotted blue butterflies are most active. Which choice best uses information from the notes to do this?

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

· Cranberry juice has a pH value of approximately 3.4.

· Grapefruit juice has a pH value of approximately 4.0.

· Substances with pH values below 7 are acidic.

The student wants to say what cranberry juice and grapefruit juice have in common. Which choice best uses information from the notes to do this?

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

· Eloxochitian is a municipality in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.

· Municipalities are governmental regions responsible for providing many public services to their residents.

· One service they provide is street lighting.

· Eloxochitian covers an area of roughly 240 km²

· Hidalgo is divided into 84 municipalities.

The student wants to emphasize the size of Eloxochitlan. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

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

· The Future of Nostalgia is a scholarly book by literary theorist Svetlana Boym.

· The book provides a multifaceted exploration of the concept of nostalgia.

· Chapter 14 discusses themes of nostalgia in Joseph Brodsky's writing.

· Chapter 17 discusses various skeptics' takes on the concept of nostalgia.

· In chapter 17, Boym writes, "The poethics of nostalgia combines estrangement and human solidarity, affect and reflection."

The student wants to provide a quotation from chapter 17. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?