SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

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

· The word "robot" was first used in the 1920 play R.U.R. by Czech writer Karel Čapek.

· The word comes from the Czech word robota, which means "forced labor."

· Today, robots are used in manufacturing, medicine, and even space exploration.

The student wants to provide an example of how robots are used today. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

· Cinematographers work with cameras and lighting.

· They help translate film directors ideas into visual images.

· Frida (2002) was directed by Julie Taymor.

· Rodrigo Prieto was the film's cinematographer.

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to provide an example of a film Prieto worked on?

The album Irreversible...2012 by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón De René Camacho received much critical attention and praise for its contribution to the banda genre, a form of regional Mexican music featuring large ensembles of wind instruments and drums that first developed in southern and central Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century. ___________ few were surprised when the album won the Best Banda Album award at the 2012 Latin Grammys.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In the early days of cartography, mapmakers relied on rudimentary tools like compasses and astrolabes to chart coastlines.__________, modern satellite imaging has revealed that many of these hand-drawn maps were astonishingly accurate, with errors often measuring less than a mile.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century revolutionized the dissemination of knowledge;__________, the rise of digital media in the twenty-first century has transformed how information is shared globally.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The parks of Chicago, Illinois, seem to be making people happier. In a 2022 study, researchers studying connections between the physical location in which a social media post was___________analyzed geotagged social media posts from various locations in Chicago. They found that posts from the city's parks contained more words associated with happiness than other posts did.

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

With an installed capacity of 35 megawatts, the Platanares geothermal power plant in Honduras offers a dependable source of renewable energy. Power plants like Platanares supply only a small fraction of Honduras's _____________ the scarcity of sites with the necessary combination of high-temperature geothermal reservoirs and fractured rock limiting the widespread development of such systems.

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

Citing the example of Zeus, a mythological god whose tomb was reportedly located on the island of Crete, the writer Euhemerus (fourth century BCE) theorized that all the deities in the Greek pantheon---including the god of knowledge and the arts, Apollo; the god of wine and the theater, Dionysus; and the god of constellations,__________may have been historical figures who, through the power of myth, underwent apotheosis.

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

In a list titled "Elegant Things" from Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, the author delights in a violet waistcoat, wisteria blossoms, and a child eating strawberries. Such lists, observed sharply yet simply by Shonagon, who served as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Teishi in the tenth century,__________the daily minutiae of Japanese courtly life.

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

Categorized as a dactyl, the word "gradient" consists of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. The word "harpist," by comparison, consists of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable, a metrical foot___________to in English metrical verse as a trochee.

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

The compositional strategy of Untitled, a 1955 work by Cherokee artist Edna Massey, is far more closely aligned with Abstract Expressionism---a mid-twentieth-century school of painting dominated by European American artists---than with traditionally abstract forms of Indigenous art, such as beadwork. Few viewers would infer from the stylistic attributes of Untitled that Massey was Indigenous. In this respect, the work typifies Indigenous painters' forays into abstraction during the period. In contrast, the contemporary Caddo artist Chad "Nish" Earles assembles abstract compositions out of motifs common in the traditional ceramics and graphic art of his tribe. Thus in Earles's work, abstraction has the effect of____________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Uncle Vanya: Scenes from Country Life in Four Acts is an 1898 play by Anton Chekhov, originally written in Russian. In the play, Professor Serebrakoff and his wife Helena have come to stay at their country estate, which Vanya manages with the help of Sonia, the professor's daughter from a previous marriage. Chekhov portrays the relationship between Vanya and Professor Serebrakoff as being much more strained than it once was, as is evident when___________.

Which quotation from a translation of Uncle Vanya most effectively illustrates the claim?

Archaeologists assume that when a major demographic shift interrupts the intergenerational transmission of expertise, this manifests in the archaeological record in the form of simultaneous reductions in the complexity of multiple specialized crafting traditions. Inventories of excavation sites from the Alazani River valley and nearby areas dating from 4000 to 500 BCE show a steep drop occurring around 1500 BCE in the number of objects featuring gold filigree, an advanced technique in which fine threads of gold are arranged in intricate patterns. The inventories also indicate that advanced copper-alloy metallurgy and most other specialized crafting traditions continued to flourish during this period, a finding suggesting that__________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Baleen whales eat up to 30 percent of their total body mass in krill (tiny shrimplike creatures) per day. So in one day, a pygmy right whale weighing 3,500 kg could eat 1,050 kg, while a bowhead whale weighing 66,000 kg could ingest a whopping 19,800 kg. Over the last century, baleen whale populations have declined, and contrary to some scientists' expectations, so have krill populations. Matthew S. Savoca and colleagues resolve this apparent discrepancy by pointing out that baleen whales cycle iron in the ocean, helping support phytoplankton populations, which, in turn, sustain krill populations.

Based on the text, what can most reasonably be concluded about pygmy right and bowhead whales?

Veronica L. Bura, Akito Y. Kawahara, and Jayne E. Yack investigated the function of sound production in silk moth and hawk moth caterpillars. They found that during harmless simulated attacks, 33% of the tested species produced sound, which included four distinct types: chirps, whistles, vocalizations, and clicks. In addition, Antheraea polyphemus and Antheraea polyphemus oculea released a chemical while or after producing the first sound. These species exclusively produced clicks and chirps, which tend to be shorter in duration than whistles and vocalizations. Bura and colleagues argue that clicks and chirps in species that use chemical defenses are primarily a means of warning (i.e., "educating") predators rather than frightening or startling them.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Bura and colleagues' claim?

Some metals contain tungsten carbide nanoparticles (WC-NPs), which can leach into waterways and soils via wastewater. In a 2018 study, Mikael T. Ekvall and colleagues found that WC-NPS can accumulate in the bodies of water lice (Asellus aquaticus). While bioaccumulation of manufactured nanoparticles may be inherently worrisome, it has been hypothesized that WC-NP bioaccumulation in invertebrates like A. aquaticus could serve a valuable proxy role, obviating the need for manufacturers to conduct costly and intrusive sampling of vertebrate species---such as Perez's frogs (Pelophylax perezi), commonly used in regulatory compliance testing---for nanoparticle bioaccumulation, as environmental protection laws currently require.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the hypothesis presented in the text?

The chart presents data on the average annual electricity generation, measured in terawatt-hours (TWh), and the corresponding carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, measured in million metric tons, for four different energy sources in a particular country. One key metric that can be derived from the chart is the CO₂ emissions intensity of each energy source, which is calculated by dividing total emissions by the amount of electricity generated. This measure provides insight into the relative environmental impact of different energy sources, helping to compare their efficiency in electricity production while accounting for their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Based on the data, which energy source is the most environmentally friendly in terms of CO₂ emissions per unit of electricity generated?

Text 1

From the extinct greater Haitian ground sloth to the living Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, sloths are among the most appealing animals native to the Americas. But scientists still have a lot to learn about them. Unlike their ancient ground-dwelling relations, today's sloths spend most of their time high up in trees. The sloths' inaccessibility has made it hard for scientists to study them.

Text 2

By using a hat-like monitor, biologist Bryson Voirin and colleagues can at last discover the previously hidden activities of sloths. Such monitors can provide information to correct misconceptions. It was long believed that sloths sleep all day. But, in fact, in the wild sloths sleep about nine hours a day.

The author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 both discuss which topic?

The Hundred Days, first published in 1998, is a novel in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, which includes twenty completed books. Some critics have found fault with the abrupt endings of The Hundred Days and other books in the series, saying that they do not finish conclusively but arbitrarily stop. But other critics argue that the books should not be thought of as discrete texts with traditional beginnings and endings but as a single incredibly long work, similar to other multivolume stories, such as Marcel Proust's Search of Lost Time.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Text 1

Studies contributing to the body of evidence that people generally enjoy socializing have routinely focused on interactions in ongoing relationships (from spouses to classmates), but psychologist Selin Salman-Engin and colleagues have demonstrated the benefit of making connections with strangers. Greater positive affect was reported by participants in their study who warmly thanked a shuttle driver than by those who didn't speak to the driver.

Text 2

Social relations research commonly draws on a model that centers an individual within three concentric circles. The innermost circle holds one's strongest ties (e.g., a treasured friend), the next holds close but less important ties (e.g., a teammate), and the outermost holds weak ties (those more distant but important enough to be counted as part of one's social network).

Based on the texts, what would Salman-Engin and colleagues (Text 1) most likely say about the discussion of the model in Text 2?

With its combination of country and pop influences, "Here You Come Again" is typical of Dolly Parton's recordings in the late 1970s and first half of the 1980s. Through songs bridging these two genres, she achieved her greatest commercial successes. A decade earlier, however, Dolly had first established herself as a songwriter steeped in the traditional folk music of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she was born and raised. The influence of the ballads of this region can be heard in the word choice and subject matter of the lyrics to "Jolene," one of her best songs from this period.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Difficulties of documenting nocturnal pollinator visits and a general focus on diurnal invertebrate pollinators, such as Volucella bombylans, have resulted in____________of information on nocturnal moth pollination of plants such as Rubus fruticosus L. aggregate, but Max Anderson et al. have addressed this by utilizing infrared technology.

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

Though the thermoregulation mechanisms of fungi, such as Amanita brunnescens, have received little formal study, anecdotal evidence has suggested that fungal surface temperatures tend to be cooler than ambient temperatures. Experimental findings by Radamés Cordero et al. now__________this idea: colonies of various fungi maintained temperatures below those at which they were incubated in a lab.

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

Despite early predictions of widespread adoption, many renewable energy projects in the 2000s faced delays due to regulatory hurdles and insufficient infrastructure. Policymakers would later _________ these obstacles by streamlining approval processes and investing in grid modernization.

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

Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris has the measured pace typical of slow-cinema films. Thai slow-cinema director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) even states that his own work induces sleep in audiences. This might suggest his films are boring, but boredom does not always cause sleep: boredom creates an anxious tension in the absence of a place to fix attention, and thus induces not somnolence but___________.

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

Fossil evidence suggests that early mammalian ancestors were small, insect-eating creatures, often nocturnal in nature. This characteristic is believed to have influenced the evolution of mammals' sense of hearing, which became highly sensitive to high-frequency sounds.However, recent studies indicate that while nocturnal habits might have played a role, the development of mammalian hearing is also influenced by other factors, such as changes in brain structure and environmental shifts.

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