Reading And Writing Test 1 Sat Examination
Question 41
Whether the reign of a French monarch such as Hugh Capet or Henry I was historically consequential or relatively uneventful, its trajectory was shaped by questions of legitimacy and therefore cannot be understood without a corollary understanding of the factors that allowed the monarch to _______ his right to hold the throne.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
The correct answer is C) buttress.
The context establishes that understanding French monarchs' reigns requires understanding "questions of legitimacy" and "the factors that allowed the monarch to _______ his right to hold the throne."
"Buttress" means to strengthen, support, or reinforce something, which fits perfectly here. The sentence is discussing how monarchs needed to strengthen or support their claim to legitimate rule through various factors and actions.
Not clear enough?
Question 42
Some bird species don’t raise their own chicks. Instead, adult females lay their eggs in other nests, next to another bird species’ own eggs. Female cuckoos have been seen quickly laying eggs in the nests of other bird species when those birds are out looking for food. After the eggs hatch, the noncuckoo parents will typically raise the cuckoo chicks as if they were their own offspring, even if the cuckoos
look very different from the other chicks.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
The correct answer is C) It offers a detail about how female cuckoos carry out the behavior discussed in the text.
The text follows this logical structure:
- General behavior introduced: "Some bird species don't raise their own chicks. Instead, adult females lay their eggs in other nests, next to another bird species' own eggs."
- Specific example provided: "Female cuckoos have been seen quickly laying eggs in the nests of other bird species when those birds are out looking for food." (This is the underlined sentence)
- Consequence described: "After the eggs hatch, the noncuckoo parents will typically raise the cuckoo chicks..."
The underlined sentence provides a specific detail about how and when female cuckoos execute this egg-laying behavior - they do it quickly and strategically when the host birds are away foraging.
Not clear enough?
Question 43
Cats can judge unseen people’s positions in space by the sound of their voices and thus react with surprise when the same person calls to them from two different locations in a short span of time. Saho Takagi and colleagues reached this conclusion by measuring cats’ levels of surprise based on their ear and head movements while the cats heard recordings of their owners’ voices from two speakers spaced far
apart. Cats exhibited a low level of surprise when owners’ voices were played twice from the same speaker, but they showed a high level of surprise when the voice was played once each from the two different speakers.
According to the text, how did the researchers determine the level of surprise displayed by the cats in the study?
The correct answer is A) They watched how each cat moved its ears and head.
The text explicitly states that the researchers "reached this conclusion by measuring cats' levels of surprise based on their ear and head movements while the cats heard recordings of their owners' voices from two speakers spaced far apart."
This directly indicates that the researchers determined surprise levels by observing the cats' ear and head movements.
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Question 44
A student performs an experiment testing her hypothesis that a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth of the plant Brassica rapa parachinensis (a vegetable commonly known as choy sum) than a neutral soil environment. She plants sixteen seeds of choy sum in a mixture of equal amounts of coffee grounds (which are highly acidic) and potting soil and another sixteen seeds in potting soil without coffee grounds as the control for the experiment. The two groups of seeds were exposed to the same growing conditions and monitored for three weeks.
Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the student’s hypothesis?
The correct answer is A) The choy sum planted in the soil without coffee grounds were significantly taller at the end of the experiment than the choy sum planted in the mixture of soil and coffee grounds.
The student's hypothesis is that "a slightly acidic soil environment is more beneficial for the growth of the plant Brassica rapa parachinensis than a neutral soil environment."
To weaken this hypothesis, we need evidence showing that the neutral soil (without coffee grounds) produced better growth than the acidic soil (with coffee grounds).
Option A directly contradicts the hypothesis by showing that plants in neutral soil grew significantly taller than plants in acidic soil. Since height is a clear measure of plant growth, this would directly weaken the claim that acidic conditions are more beneficial.
Not clear enough?
Question 45
“The Young Girl” is a 1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield. In the story, the narrator takes an unnamed seventeen-year-old girl and her younger brother out for a meal. In describing the teenager, Mansfield frequently contrasts the character’s pleasant appearance with her unpleasant attitude, as when Mansfield writes of the teenager, _______
Which quotation from “The Young Girl” most effectively illustrates the claim?
The correct answer is B) "While we waited she took out a little, gold powder-box with a mirror in the lid, shook the poor little puff as though she loathed it, and dabbed her lovely nose."
This quotation most effectively illustrates the claim about Mansfield contrasting the character's pleasant appearance with her unpleasant attitude because it directly juxtaposes both elements in a single sentence:
Pleasant appearance: "her lovely nose" Unpleasant attitude: "shook the poor little puff as though she loathed it"
The contrast is embedded within the same action - even while performing a beauty routine (highlighting her physical attractiveness), her attitude is disagreeable and full of contempt.
Not clear enough?
Question 46
High levels of public uncertainty about which economic policies a country will adopt can make planning difficult for businesses, but measures of such uncertainty have not tended to be very detailed. Recently, however, economist Sandile Hlatshwayo analyzed trends in news reports to derive measures not only for general economic policy uncertainty but also for uncertainty related to specific areas of
economic policy, like tax or trade policy. One revelation of her work is that a general measure may not fully reflect uncertainty about specific areas of policy, as in the case of the United Kingdom, where general economic policy uncertainty _______
Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to illustrate the claim?
D) was substantially lower than uncertainty about trade policy in 2005 and substantially higher than uncertainty about trade policy in 2010.
- In 2005: General (approx. 90) vs. Trade policy (approx. 160). General is substantially lower. This fits.
- In 2010: General (approx. 118) vs. Trade policy (approx. 71). General is substantially higher. This also fits.
- This option accurately illustrates the claim that the general measure does not fully reflect specific areas, as it shows a clear divergence in two different years for the same specific policy area (trade).
Not clear enough?
Question 47
King Lear is a circa 1606 play by William Shakespeare. In the play, the character of King Lear attempts to test his three daughters’ devotion to him. He later expresses regret for his actions, as is evident when he _______
Which choice most effectively uses a quotation from King Lear to illustrate the claim?
The correct answer is C) says to himself while striking his head, "Beat at this gate that let thy folly in / And thy dear judgement out!"
This quotation most effectively illustrates King Lear's regret for his actions because it shows him directly acknowledging his poor judgment and foolishness. The metaphor of his head as a "gate" that let "folly in" and "dear judgement out" demonstrates clear self-reproach and recognition that he made a mistake. The physical action of striking his head reinforces the depth of his regret and self-condemnation.
Not clear enough?
Question 48
Linguist Deborah Tannen has cautioned against framing contentious issues in terms of two highly competitive perspectives, such as pro versus con. According to Tannen, this debate-driven approach can strip issues of their complexity and, when used in front of an audience, can be less informative than the presentation of multiple perspectives in a noncompetitive format. To test Tannen’s hypothesis, students conducted a study in which they showed
participants one of three different versions of local news commentary about the same issue. Each version featured a debate between two commentators with opposing views, a panel of three commentators with various views, or a single commentator.
Which finding from the students’ study, if true, would most strongly support Tannen’s hypothesis?
The correct answer is C) On average, participants who watched the panel correctly answered more questions about the issue than those who watched the debate or the single commentator did.
This finding would most strongly support Tannen's hypothesis because it directly demonstrates that the panel format (multiple perspectives in a noncompetitive format) was more informative than the debate format (two highly competitive perspectives).
Tannen's key claims are:
- Debate-driven approaches can strip issues of their complexity
- When used in front of an audience, debates can be less informative than presentations with multiple perspectives in a noncompetitive format
Not clear enough?
Question 49
Many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that still appeal to today’s audiences. For instance, Romeo and Juliet, which is set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time, tackles the themes of parents versus children and love versus hate, and the play continues to be read and produced widely around the world. But understanding Shakespeare’s so-called history plays can require a knowledge of several centuries of English history. Consequently, _______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
The Correct answer: A) many theatergoers and readers today are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than the tragedies.
The passage contrasts the broad, relatable themes of Shakespeare’s tragedies (like Romeo and Juliet) with the complex historical knowledge needed to understand his history plays. The logical conclusion is that modern audiences may find the tragedies more engaging, making Option A the best fit.
Not clear enough?
Question 50
Ancestral Puebloans, the civilization from which present-day Pueblo tribes descended, emerged as early as 1500 B.C.E. in an area of what is now the southwestern United States and dispersed suddenly in the late 1200s C.E., abandoning established villages with systems for farming crops and turkeys. Recent analysis comparing turkey remains at Mesa Verde, one such village in southern Colorado, to samples from modern turkey populations in the Rio Grande Valley of north central New Mexico determined that the latter birds escended in part from turkeys cultivated at Mesa Verde, with shared genetic markers appearing only after 1280. Thus, researchers concluded that _______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
The correct answer: B) some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried farming practices with them.
The passage describes a genetic link between turkeys from Mesa Verde and those in the Rio Grande Valley, appearing after 1280, shortly after the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned Mesa Verde. This supports the conclusion that some people from Mesa Verde migrated and brought their turkey-farming practices with them.
Not clear enough?
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