SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

The following text is adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri's 2003 novel The Namesake.

 

Ashima and her husband, Ashoke, are traveling from the United States to India. Ashoke puts his hand over hers as the plane begins to gather speed. And then Boston tilts away and they ascend effortlessly over a blackened Atlantic.

 

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

At a conference for aspiring children's book illustrators, Wil Clay, illustrator of such lauded works as Little Eight John, was the subject of a presentation that was intended specifically to foster___________the techniques of successful illustrators so that attendees could use that understanding to improve their own work.

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

The following text is adapted from the 1895 poem "Ojistoh" by Emily Pauline Johnson, a Kanienkahagen (Mohawk) writer also known as Tekahionwake.

 

I am Ojistoh, I am she, the wife

Of him whose name breathes bravery and life

And courage to the tribe who calls him chief.

I am Ojistoh, his white star, and he

Is land, and lake, and sky—and soul to me.

 

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

Microwave heating, a thermal technology used to preserve food on an industrial scale, is generally considered to be an improvement over more conventional thermal preservation methods. Scientists in Latin America have contributed to a better understanding of this technology, with researchers from Brazil demonstrating its effectiveness in preserving mango peels. As research continues, scientists hope to make advancements in hybrid systems combining multiple food preservation technologies, which would be advantageous over using microwave heating alone, given that it often heats food unevenly.

 

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

The following text is from Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1830 short story "Sir William Phips."

The knowledge, communicated by the historian and biographer, is analogous to that which we acquire of a country by the map,—minute, perhaps, and accurate, and available for all necessary purposes, but cold and naked, and wholly destitute of the mimic charm produced by landscape painting. These defects are partly remediable, and even without an absolute violation of literal truth, although by methods rightfully interdicted to professors of biographical exactness.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

The following text is adapted from Daniel Defoe's 1704 nonfiction book The Storm.

If I judge right, 'tis the duty of an historian to set everything in its own light, and to convey matter of fact upon its legitimate authority, and no other: I mean thus, (for I would be as explicit as I can) that where a story is vouched to him with sufficient authority, he ought to give the world the special testimonial of its proper voucher, or else he is not just to the story: and where it comes without such sufficient authority, he ought to say so; otherwise he is not just to himself.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

Benjamin Prud'homme and colleagues have explored how convergent evolution—a phenomenon that occurs when the same trait evolves independently in two reproductively separate lineages—can result from a genetic mechanism shared by both lineages. Meanwhile, Cynthia C. Steiner and colleagues have investigated how convergence occurs through different genetic mechanisms, but the relative prevalence of convergence through shared and different genetic processes is still poorly understood. This motivated biologists Delbert A. Green Il and Cassandra G. Extavour to evaluate both types of convergence in a single study for their 2012 paper.

 

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

The Reckoning and Resilience (2022) exhibition at Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art was the first to focus entirely on North Carolina artists since the exhibition Across County Lines four years earlier. The curators of the 2022 exhibition included painters like Beverly Mclver, photographers like Kennedi Carter, and printmakers like Ayla Gizlice. But whereas the work by Carter would have fit the theme for Across County Lines, works by Mclver and Gizlice would not have.

 

Which finding about the Across County Lines exhibition, if true, would most directly support the underlined claim?

Elisabeth Pötzelsberger and colleagues gathered data on 23 non-native tree species grown in Europe. They analyzed reports from Great Britain, Denmark, and Switzerland about the number of these species grown by the timber industries in those countries. The researchers concluded that none of these countries' timber industries grow all 23 species.

 

Which choice best describes data from the graph that support Potzelsberger and colleagues'conclusion?

As the second-most populous continent in the world, Africa was home to an estimated 1.186 billion people in 2015. In a paper for a social studies class, a student nonetheless notes that countries with very large populations may be less densely populated than are countries with much smaller populations, as can be seen by comparing_________.

 

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

Cane is a 1923 novel by Jean Toomer. In the novel, Toomer mentions a road in rural Georgia called Dixie Pike and describes it as having a deep connection to a faraway place, writing,_________.

Which quotation from Cane most effectively illustrates the claim?

The Clouds is a 423 BCE play by Aristophanes, originally written in ancient Greek. At the time, professional intellectuals called sophists taught paying customers a variety of subjects and sometimes engaged in what would now be described as research. Aristophanes satirizes sophists' practices and views as foolish, as seen when the character___________.

Which choice most effectively uses a quotation from a translation of The Clouds to illustrate the claim?

Studying animals in a laboratory allows variables to be systematically controlled, but removing animals from their wild habitats can affect their behavior and biology in unforeseen ways. Given this, biologists Rebecca M. Calisi-Rodríguez and George E. Bentley examined research on brown-throated three-toed sloths and canaries to see whether results from studies in the wild were consistent with the results of studies in the laboratory. Therefore, data showing that brown-throated three-toed sloths tend to sleep fewer than 10 hours per day in the wild would be irrelevant to Calisi-Rodríguez and Bentley's investigation if__________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

The advent of online streaming has led many music listeners to drift away from ownership of music (through downloads or through physical media such as compact discs) and toward the streaming services iHeartRadio and Tidal, among others. Datta et al. studied the impact of this change on the variety of music that listeners consume. The researchers reasoned that the ownership model of music assigns a cost per song to acquiring a variety of music, while streaming services typically charge a flat fee for access to an entire music catalog, making variety free, which suggests that__________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

In rainforests in Costa Rica, there are large kapok trees. Dead leaves and other falling things collect in the trees' branches and break down into mats of soil. This is called canopy soil because it forms in a tree's branches (its canopy). Scientist Catherine L. Cardelús's 2008 study of canopy soil found that it helps preserve healthy nutrient cycling (how nutrients move through the environment) in forests.

According to the text, Cardelus's study is from what year?

In Puerto Rico, it's not unusual for a city or town to be known by a nickname that corresponds to one of its notable features, like landscape, climate, famous residents, or chief export. For example, the Puerto Rican municipality of Cabo Rojo is well known for being the birthplace of Ramon Emeterio Betances y Alacan, one of the leaders of the Puerto Rican independence_________this distinction has earned it a fitting nickname: "the Cradle of Betances."

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

Featured among the more than 120 photographs in the 2021 exhibition The New Woman Behind the Camera, Rogi Andre's_________"Dora Maar" offers a glimpse back in time to 1941.

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

The editors of Home Ground: A Guide to the American Landscape turned to D. J. Waldie, a nonfiction writer, to craft the entry for "thalweg," a term referring to a line connecting the lowest points of a valley. For "cape," however, the editors chose the___________author of Inheritance.

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

The relationship between grassland arthropod populations and agricultural fertilizers containing macronutrients—such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—was the focus of a 2018 study in__________by the researcher Ming-Hua Song,the study examined a variety of arthropod specimens, which had been collected by

hand.

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

Researchers in France claim that leopards and brown bears are among the twenty most "charismatic" animals (defined as"attractive, fascinating, or appealing"). To create their top-twenty list, researchers used survey data from Western Europe. European attitudes toward leopards and brown bears might not be shared around the world,___________.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Broadcasting from the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico,the Native-run radio station KNDN 960 AM does much to serve the local Navajo (Diné)-speaking community.__________it broadcasts local news and music as well as programming in the Navajo (Diné) language.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A team led by Portuguese researcher Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira found that many species of mushrooms contain chemicals called phenolic compounds, such as 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and kaempferol.__________Ferreira detected 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid in Pleurotus ostreatus mushrooms and kaempferol in Sparassis crispa mushrooms.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

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

· Benjamin Griffith Brawley was an African American poet, historian, and educator.

· Brawley lived and worked in Washington, DC, for many years.

· "Shakespeare" is a poem by Brawley.

· It was published in 1915.

The student wants to indicate the year "Shakespeare" was published. 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 Los Ajos-La Madera Mountains are a mountain range located in northwestern Mexico.

· The range is one of the dozens of "sky islands" in the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico.

· A sky island is an isolated mountain range whose environment differs drastically from that of the surrounding lowlands.

· The US Forest Service (USFS) said, "The mountains are 'islands' surrounded by deserts that are 'seas.'"

· The USFS said, "Each Sky Island is a unique ecosystem."

The student wants to provide an example of a sky island. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

· Minor planets are astronomical objects that orbit the Sun but are neither planets nor comets.

· Astronomer Jane Luu has discovered many minor planets in her career.

· Alongside colleagues David C. Jewitt, Jun Chen, and Chadwick Trujillo, she discovered the minor planet (15874) 1996 TL66 on October 9, 1996.

· Alongside colleagues David C. Jewitt and Chadwick Trujillo, she discovered the minor planet (91554) 1999 RZ215 on September 8, 1999.

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to emphasize the discovery of (15874) 1996 TL66 to an audience already familiar with Jane Luu?

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

· A supercontinent is a single landmass made up of most or all of Earth's continents.

· Over time, continents merge together to form supercontinents, which then break apart.

· This process is believed to take hundreds of millions of years and is known as the supercontinent cycle.

· Kenorland was a supercontinent that formed about 2.6 billion years ago.

· Gondwana was a supercontinent that formed about 510 million years ago.

The student wants to emphasize the order in which the supercontinents were formed. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?