ANSWER TO SAT PRACTICE TEST VII

CRITICAL READING

Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

1. Years of ------- lifting of heavy furniture had left him too ------- to be able to stand erect for long periods of time.
(A) profitable . . dumbfounded
(B) generous . . distracted
(C) onerous . . hesitant
(D) strenuous . . debilitated
(E) unstinting . . eminent
Answer: D

2. Critics dismissed the engineer’s seemingly creative design as being -------, that is, underdeveloped and
lacking in sophistication.
(A) defunct (B) unorthodox (C) simplistic (D) erroneous (E) ambiguous
Answer: C

3. Canadian Lynn Johnston was named Cartoonist of the Year in 1985, the first woman to be so ------.
(A) inspired (B) entrusted (C) honored (D) employed (E) refined
Answer: C

4. While traveling near the Sun, the comet Hale-Bopp produced a ------- amount of dust, much more than the comets Halley or Hyakutake.
(A) voracious (B) disposable (C) redundant (D) superficial (E) prodigious
Answer: E

5. The professor commented to other faculty members that Sheila seemed temperamentally suited to the study of logic, given her ------- for ------- intricate arguments.
(A) sympathy . . influencing
(B) penchant . . evading
(C) disregard . . unhinging
(D) contempt . . following
(E) bent . . analyzing
Answer: E

The passages below are followed by questions based on their content; questions following a pair of related passages may also be based on the relationship between the paired passages. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passages and in any introductory material that may be provided.

Questions 6-9 are based on the following passages.

Passage 1
Newspaper editor and political commentator Henry
Louis Mencken was a force of nature, brushing aside
all objects animal and mineral in his headlong rush
to the publicity that surely awaited him. He seized
(line5) each day, shook it to within an inch of its life, and
then gaily went on to the next. No matter where his
writing appeared, it was quoted widely, his pungently
outspoken opinions debated hotly. Nobody else could
make so many people so angry, or make so many others
(line 10) laugh so hard.

6. In lines 4-5, the words “seized” and “shook” help
establish which aspect of Mencken’s personality?
(A) His code of honor
(B) His sense of humor
(C) His vindictiveness
(D) His intensity
(E) His petulance
Answer: D

7. The public response described in lines 6-8 most
strongly suggests that Mencken’s writings were
(A) authoritative
(B) controversial
(C) arrogant
(D) informal
(E) frivolous
Answer: B

Passage 2

The ability to see the situation as your opponents see it,
as difficult as it may be, is one of the most important skills
that you can possess as a negotiator. You must know more
than simply that they see things differently. It is not
(line 5) enough to study them like beetles under a microscope;
you need to know what it feels like to be a beetle. To
accomplish this you should be prepared to withhold
judgment as you “try on” their views. Your opponents
may well believe that their views are right as strongly
(line 10) as you believe yours are.

8. The reference to beetles in lines 5-6 serves to suggest that
(A) people need to be more attuned to their surroundings
(B) effective negotiation is more of a science than an art
(C) people can be made to do what they would prefer not to do
(D) effective negotiation requires identifying with a different viewpoint
(E) people feel uncomfortable when their actions are under scrutiny
Answer: D

9. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) persuade people to defend their positions on critical issues
(B) indicate a specific ability that is useful in negotiation
(C) encourage people to be more accepting of others
(D) argue that few people are fit for the demands of negotiation
(E) suggest that negotiators should always seek consensus
Answer: B

Questions 10-24 are based on the following passages.
Passage 1 is from a 2003 book that examines the famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the historic March on Washington in August 1963. Passage 2 is from a 2000 biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. written by an African American scholar.

Passage 1
The ability of the “I Have a Dream” speech to highlight
King’s early career at the expense of his later career
accounts for the tone of impatience and betrayal that often
appears when modern-day supporters of King’s agenda talk
(line 5) about the speech. Former Georgia state legislator Julian
Bond said in 1986 that commemorations of King seemed to
“focus almost entirely on Martin Luther King the dreamer,
not on Martin King the antiwar activist, not on Martin King
the challenger of the economic order, not on Martin King
(line 10) the opponent of apartheid, not on the complete Martin
Luther King.” One King scholar has proposed a ten-year
moratorium on reading or listening to the “I Have a Dream”
speech, in the hopes that America will then discover the
rest of King’s legacy.
(line 15) This proposal effectively concedes that King’s magnificent
address cannot be recovered from the misuse
and over quotation it has suffered since his death. But
it is not clear that this is so. Even now, upon hearing the
speech, one is struck by the many forms of King’s genius.
(line 20) Many people can still remember the first time they heard
“I Have a Dream,” and they tend to speak of that memory
with the reverence reserved for a religious experience. At
the very least, reflecting on the “I Have a Dream” speech
should be an opportunity to be grateful for the astonishing
(line 25) transformation of America that the freedom movement
wrought. In just under a decade, the civil rights movement
brought down a system of segregation that stood
essentially unaltered since Reconstruction. King’s dreams
of an America free from racial discrimination are still some
(line 30) distance away, but it is astounding how far the nation has
come since that hot August day in 1963. Segregation in
the South has been dismantled; there are no longer
“Whites Only” signs; segregationist governors do not
try to prevent Black children from entering public schools.
(line 35) Toward the end of his life, King preached a sermon entitled
“Ingratitude,” in which he called ingratitude “one of the
greatest of all sins,” because the sinner “fail[s] to realize
his dependence on others.” The annual Martin Luther King
holiday is properly a day of national thanksgiving, a time
(line 40) for the nation to recognize the immense debt it owes to
King and the thousands of heroes of the civil rights
movement for saving the soul of America.

Passage 2
Martin Luther King was at his best when he was
willing to reshape the wisdom of many of his intellec45
tual predecessors. He ingeniously harnessed their ideas
to his views to advocate sweeping social change. He
believed that his early views on race failed to challenge
America fundamentally. He later confessed that he had
underestimated how deeply entrenched racism was in
(line 50) America. If Black Americans could not depend on goodwill
to create social change, they had to provoke social
change through bigger efforts at nonviolent direct action.
This meant that Blacks and their allies had to obtain
political power. They also had to try to restructure
(line 55) American society, solving the riddles of poverty
and economic inequality.
This is not the image of King that is celebrated on
Martin Luther King Day. Many of King’s admirers are
uncomfortable with a focus on his mature beliefs. They
(line 60) seek to deflect unfair attacks on King’s legacy by shrouding
him in the cloth of superhuman heroism. In truth, this
shroud is little more than romantic tissue. King’s image
has often suffered a sad fate. His strengths have been
needlessly exaggerated, his weaknesses wildly over (line 65)
played. King’s true legacy has been lost to cultural
amnesia. As a nation, we have emphasized King’s
aspiration to save America through inspiring words
and sacrificial deeds. Time and again we replay the
powerful image of King standing on a national stage
(line 70) in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial mouthing perhaps
the most famous four words ever uttered by a Black
American: “I have a dream.” For most Americans, those
words capture King’s unique genius. They express his
immortal longing for freedom, a longing that is familiar
(line 75) to every person who dares imagine a future beyond unjust
laws and unfair customs. The edifying universality of those
four words—who hasn’t dreamed, and who cannot identify
with people whose dreams of a better world are punished
with violence?—helps to explain their durability. But those
(line 80) words survive, too, because they comfort folk who would
rather entertain the dreams of unfree people than confront
their rage and despair.

10. The authors of both passages agree that King’s “I Have
a Dream” speech
(A) had significant global as well as national influence
(B) has been imitated by many of King’s followers
(C) had a profound impact on many Americans
(D) was typical of King’s thought as a whole
(E) questioned the ethical beliefs of many Americans
Answer: C

11. It can be inferred that, for Julian Bond, a portrait of “the complete Martin Luther King” (lines 10-11) would
(A) celebrate King’s influence both within and outside the United States
(B) acknowledge the logical lapses in some of King’s later work
(C) compare King with other significant figures of his era
(D) achieve a balance between King’s earlier concerns and his later ones
(E) reveal information about King’s personal as well as his public life
Answer: D

12. The author of Passage 2 would most likely view Julian Bond’s statement in lines 7-11 of Passage 1 with
(A) outright disapproval
(B) considerable surprise
(C) cynical mistrust
(D) cautious optimism
(E) complete agreement
Answer: E

13. In line 17, “suffered” most nearly means
(A) endured
(B) felt
(C) prolonged
(D) tolerated
(E) lamented
Answer: A

14. Lines 31-34 (“Segregation in . . . schools”) serve primarily to
(A) express ambitious hopes for the future
(B) challenge the accuracy of historical accounts
(C) provide a contrast with other cultures
(D) illustrate a point with particular examples
(E) defend a series of unusual occurrences
Answer: D

15. The author of Passage 1 mentions the “sermon”
(line 35) primarily in order to
(A) show King’s effectiveness as a public speaker
(B) demonstrate the broad range of King’s interests
(C) illustrate an important trait that King possessed
(D) question King’s ability to empathize with others
(E) remind readers of a significant obligation to King
Answer: E

16. The author of Passage 2 would most likely argue that commemorations focus on “Martin Luther King the dreamer” (line 7 of Passage 1) because people find this aspect of King to be
(A) courageous
(B) unpretentious
(C) reassuring
(D) provocative
(E) unexpected
Answer: C

17. Which best characterizes the overall relationship between the two passages?
(A) Passage 2 rejects the political goals that are described in Passage 1.
(B) Passage 2 helps account for the responses to a speech discussed in Passage 1.
(C) Passage 2 romanticizes a person who is objectively depicted in Passage 1.
(D) Passage 2 recounts the history of a national holiday that is celebrated in Passage 1.
(E) Passage 2 reflects on a figure who is denounced in Passage 1.
Answer: B

18. Unlike the author of Passage 2, the author of Passage 1 develops his or her argument by
(A) citing an authority with whom he or she disagrees
(B) referring to a famous speech delivered by King
(C) discussing the universal human trait of dreaming
(D) dismissing those who fail to understand the subtlety of King’s thought
(E) assuming that his or her readers are completely unfamiliar with King’s ideas
Answer: A


MATHS

NUMBER OF PREMIUM MEMBERS

Year
2000
2001
2002
Store A
250
400
750
Store B
500
1,000
1,250

AVERAGE NUMBER OF VIDEO RENTALS PER PREMIUM MEMBER AT STORE B

Year
Rentals
2000
12
2001
15
2002
20

1. The first table above shows the number of premium members at two video rental stores, A and B, during the years 2000–2002. The second table shows the average (arithmetic mean) number of video rentals per premium member at store B during each of those years. Based on this information, which of the following best approximates the total number of video rentals by premium members at Store B during the years 2000–2002?
(A) 24,000
(B) 46,000
(C) 58,000
(D) 70,000
(E) 130,000
Answer: B


2. In the figure above, CDE is an equilateral triangle and ABCE is a square with an area of 1. What is the perimeter of polygon ABCDE ?
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
(E) 8
Answer: B

3. Two spheres, one with radius 7 and one with radius 4, are tangent to each other. If P is any point on one sphere and Q is any point on the other sphere, what is the maximum possible length of PQ ?
(A) 7
(B) 11
(C) 14
(D) 18
(E) 22
Answer: E

4. If (2m)k = 6, then mk =
(A) 3
(B) 4
(C) 5
(D) 6
(E) 12
Answer: A

5. If 3 times a number is equal to 3/2, what is the number?
(A) 1/3
(B) 1/2
(C) 2/3
(D) 2
(E) 3
Answer: B


6. If x = 20 and y = 30 in the figure above, what is the value of z ?

(A) 60

(B) 70

(C) 80

(D) 90

(E) 100

Answer: B

7. The graph above shows the number of George’s unsold candy bars over a 10-day period. The points on the graph all lie on which of the following lines?
(A) y = 10x - 120

(B) y = 10x + 120

(C) y = 12x - 120

(D) y = 120 - 10x

(E) y = 120 - 12x

Answer: E

8. If x and y are integers, 7 < y < 16, and x/y = 2/5, how many possible values are there for x ?
(A) One
(B) Two
(C) Three
(D) Four
(E) Five
Answer: B



9. In triangle ABC above, AB = AC, E is the midpoint of line AB, and D is the midpoint of line AC. If AE = x and ED = 4, what is length BC ?
(A) 6
(B) 8
(C) 2x
(D) 4x
(E) 4x2
Answer: B

10. Two spheres, one with radius 7 and one with radius 4, are tangent to each other. If P is any point on one sphere and Q is any point on the other sphere, what is the maximum possible length of line PQ?
(A) 7
(B) 11
(C) 14
(D) 18
(E) 22
Answer: E

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