SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant that is widely sold at plant nurseries and desirable for its novel ability to close modified leaves around potential prey. Despite its_________as a commercially available plant for purchase, the Venus flytrap is only native to a small strip of nitrogen-deficient wetlands along the Carolina coast and is considered to be endangered due to habitat loss.

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

Today, the Asiatic lion is endangered with a population of less than 700 living in and around Gir National Park in India. However, the population and range of Asiatic was once significant, crossing the Middle East and reaching the Mediterranean. Ancient people in this region would encounter lions, which is likely the reason for the__________of lions depicted in ancient art from Spain to India.

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

Observing the color, size, and texture of a patient's tongue to determine overall health is a practice that has existed in Chinese herbalist medicine for over two thousand years. Recently, an international team of researchers has attempted to__________tongue diagnostic systems by designing an Al system that can recognize potential issues for the patient using only the camera on a smartphone.

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

Desalination, the process of removing salt from water in order to make the water drinkable, is possible, but current methods are costly and require substantial set-up and labor. An international team of researchers are developing an innovative machine that uses sunlight to evaporate clean water that is later condensed. The team estimates that if the system is scaled up to the size of a carry-on suitcase, it could produce about 1 to 2 gallons of drinking water per hour and could run for several years before requiring maintenance. At this output level, the system could produce drinking water that is cheaper than tap water.

According to the text, what is true about traditional desalination processes?

The following text is adapted from Ford Madox Hueffer's 1910 novel A Call: The Tale of Two Passions.

It was once said of Mr. Robert Grimshaw: "That chap is like a seal" —and the simile was a singularly just one. He was like a seal who is thrusting his head and shoulders out of the water, and, with large, dark eyes and sensitive nostrils, is on the watch. All that could be known of him seemed to be known; all that could be known of the rest of the world he moved in he seemed to know.

According to the text, what is true about Mr. Robert Grimshaw?

The so-called "Inverted Jenny" has become one of the most prized and valuable postage stamps. These stamps were issued in 1918 by the US post office to commemorate the beginning of airmail service. The stamps featured a biplane in blue surrounded by a red border. Because the stamp required a plate for each of its two colors, a manufacturing mishap led to nine sheets of the stamps to be made with the biplane printed upside own. The post office gathered eight of those sheets, which left only one sheet, containing one hundred stamps, ever entering circulation. The resulting stamps, now nown as "Inverted Jennies" have long been coveted by collectors and the most recent auction of an unused one sold for two million dollars.

 

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Text 1

As solar power becomes more popular in the United States, more and more land, primarily in the Southwest, has been converted into solar farms. While these "farms" can provide power without burning fossil fuels, they do negatively impact local ecosystems. The desert ecosystem is particularly vulnerable, as limited rainfall restricts when plant seeds can germinate, and the rush to provide as much solar power as possible rarely considers this concern.

Text 2

In hopes of increasing clean energy supplies, Joshua Pearce has looked to alternative locations for solar power panels. Pearce has advocated for adding canopies topped with solar panels over pre-existing parking lots. While Pearce acknowledges the up-front cost, he has shown that canopies over parking lots could provide enough power for most "bigbox" retail stores and even allow them to sell electricity back to the power company at a profit.

Based on the texts, how would Joshua Pearce mentioned in Text 2 respond to the solar farms described in Text 1?

In an ambitious study, Caspar Hallman tracked the insect biomass at a nature preserve in Germany for 27 years, starting in 1988. He was able to take into account Seasonal changes and average an annual biomass, which revealed a consistent trend of change. Hallmann also cataloged days considered to have anomalous weather defined as significantly warmer or colder, as well as drier or wetter, than average. When comparing these trends, his data suggests that, at the nature preserve studied, insect biomass decreased as__________

 

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

In the age of Viking exploration and expansion, 750 CE to 1050 CE, Vikings would often bury hordes of acquired silver along the coastlines of the North Sea. Unearthed silver hordes have provided archaeologists with a better understanding of where Vikings traveled and with whom they traded. Dr. Jane Kershaw has begun to analyze the molecular signatures of silver found in Viking hordes to determine the metal's place of origin. She claims that Vikings prized Islamic-made silver and seemed to seek it out, regardless of the distance between Sweden and the Middle East.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Dr. Kershaw's claim?

The following text is adapted from Ella Stevens Harris's 1912 poem "Brown Leaves."

Ye glow and ye fade—but as wondrous to me

Is the leaf on the ground as the leaf on the tree:

For links in time's chain clasp eternity fast

And the chain becomes endless. Ever the past

Pays its debt to the future, leaf-life, or man's,

So perfect the system that surely no hands

But of Infinite wisdom and love could be

The author of such an unerring decree.

Who knoweth the end? Little leaflets, not we!

What is the main idea of the text?

In Oscar Wilde's 1895 farcical play, The Importance of Being Earnest, the character of Lady Bracknell is portrayed as someone who appears proper, but lacks basic human decency. This quality is best exemplified by her complete lack of sympathy for someone stricken with poor health.

Which quote by Lady Bracknell best supports the claim made in the text?

Pink diamonds are extremely rare and coveted especially now that a mine in western Australia that had been the source of almost ninety percent of the colored gemstones is now closed. Polished pink specimens of the highest grade can sell for millions of dollars, which has driven the search for new locations. Scientists studying the Argyle diamond deposit, the location of the closed mine, believe that they have an explanation for why the region is rich in pink diamonds: it lies on a tectonic boundary where a supercontinent broke apart. That fissure ejected magma at high force, creating the conditions needed to create pink diamonds. Armed with this discovery, researchers are now___________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Dickinsonia is an extinct genus from the late Ediacaran period (567 to 550 million years ago). Dickinsonia fossils have been found across Eurasia and Australia, identified by their flat oval shape and bilateral ribs. Paleontologists had debated on how to classify Dicksonia, as some argued that it was an early animal, while others suggested it could be a plant, algae, or even a fungus. In 2018, scientists analyzed the trace elements inside some of the fossils in hopes of determining the classification of Dickinsonia. Specifically, traces of cholesterol would likely suggest the fossil was an animal, while traces of chlorophyll would suggest the fossil was a plant. The scientists discovered biotrace elements of cholesterol in the tested Dickinsonia fossils, suggesting that___________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Handcrafted in the Philippines by the Boholano people, asin tibuok is an artisanal sea salt made from filtering seawater through the ashes of charred coconut husks. The salt is desired for its complex flavor, and only a few family-owned shops have the knowledge and skill to produce it. A 1995 law mandated that all salt sold in the Philippines must be iodized. This was a policy intended to combat malnutrition, as iodine is an essential mineral, but the process used to make asin tibuok is incompatible with methods used to iodized salt. The unintended consequences of the 1995 law was a steep decline in asin tibuok manufacturing, as their salt could not be lawfully sold in the Philippines. As asin tibuok is meant to be "finishing salt" and best enjoyed sparingly, advocates for traditional food practices have suggested that__________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Ice core samples provide an important record of weather, as differences in layers of ice can indicate different meteorological events. While ice core samples at the poles are__________samples from tropical glaciers, such as the ones found atop Nevado Huascaran in the Peruvian Andes, can offer a better understanding of the frequency of hurricanes over centuries.

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

Despite being cheap, versatile, and easy to produce,__________they are made from nonrenewable petroleum, and most do not biodegrade in landfills.

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

Philadelphian Carl Rossini Diton was an accomplished concert pianist and in 1909 became the first African American pianist to tour__________performances were unique at the time, blending classical pieces with African American spirituals.

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

In Polynesia, the traditional practice of Rahui—an environmental management system that restricts hunting, fishing, and farming in areas to allow_________has resurged recently. A four year rahui enacted near the village of Tautira, Tahiti led to a population boom of otherwise difficult to find fish.

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

Coral reefs are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the resulting death of coral reefs impacts a wide variety of other species. In order to preserve and repair at-risk coral reefs, researchers at the University of Texas Arlington___________to develop a plan to use 3D printing to reinforce damaged coral reefs and possibly create artificial reefs to support reef ecosystems.

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

In order to promote opportunities in math and science for students excluded from those opportunities by cultural and economic barriers,___________a means to explore math in traditional cultural practices and relate it to global innovations in STEM fields.

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

The Chimú civilization had prolonged conflicts with their neighbors the Incas, culminating in a 15th-century war between the two cultures. The Muralla La Cumbre is a Chimú-built earthen wall, 6 miles long and 8 feet high. Initially archaeologists believed it to be a byproduct of Chimú's conflict with the Inca,__________recent research suggests that the wall was constructed around 1100 CE and was likely used to mitigate flooding caused by the periodic El Niño weather cycles that occur in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Plato believed material objects to be crude representations of unseen ideal forms. In his view, such abstract, nonmaterial forms are the ultimate source of knowledge. Aristotle disagreed, positing that knowledge is best obtained through direct engagement with the material world;_________sensory experience of the material is the ultimate source of knowledge.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

When one looks at the dark craggy vistas in Hitoshi Fugo's evocative photo series, one's mind might wander off to the cratered surfaces of faraway planets. __________it's the series' title, Flying Frying Pan, that brings one back to Earth, reminding the viewer that each photo is actually a close-up view of a familiar household object: a frying pan.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are suspended above a track by powerful electromagnets, reducing friction and thus allowing for much faster speeds. Though maglev advocates in the US have long imagined these trains crisscrossing the country, their dream remains unrealized.__________of the handful of maglev trains currently in operation, all are in Asia.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

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

·Plants in the parasitic genus Rafflesia produce the world's largest flowers.

·Often called "corpse flowers," these blossoms pollinate by attracting flies with a pungent stench.

·A study of Rafflesia was conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to determine the environmental stability of the genus.

·IUCN concluded that 25 of the Rafflesia species should be considered critically endangered and the whole genus is at risk without conservation efforts.

·Conservation of Rafflesia species is difficult because most of their life cycle occurs inside the vines of other plants.

The student wants to emphasize why the findings of the IUCN study may be hard to put into action. 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:

·Fashion designer Kofi Ansah was born in Ghana in 1951.

·Ansah left for England in 1979 to study fashion.

·After finding success in the European fashion industry, he returned to Ghana in 1992.

·Ansah founded The Federation of African Designers.

·Academic Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie credits Ansah for popularizing the idea that successful African creators should return to their home countries to build resources there.

The student wants to emphasize the significance of Ansah's return to Ghana. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?