12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Eleven Answers and Explanations I
981
the conclusion that Thomas reaches: Like his father, Thomas
has discovered a personal investment in and a connection
to the land, and he will miss it.
As is true in many narrative passages, it is important here
to monitor the feelings of the main character (in this case,
Thomas) and what those feelings tell you. Without being
aware of the emotional undercurrent of Thomas's thoughts,
you could overlook the realization he reaches at the end
of the story and its relationship to the various moments he
contemplates in the narrative.
14. B
Difficulty: High
Function questions sometimes require you to go beyond
what appears on the page and speculate about the author's
motivation in writing something.
Once you understand that the first part of the passage takes
place at various times in the main character's past, you can
infer that yesterday does not literally mean the day before
today but is used metaphorically to indicate a compression
of time, as in the phrase "it felt like it was just yesterday."
Choice (A) is distortion; urgency implies a sense of pressure
and, perhaps, danger. There is no particular urgency in
observing an empty field. Choice (B) matches the sense
of "just yesterday" you predicted. Choice (C) is distortion;
Thomas may be recollecting accurately, but the author
isn't writing the sentence in order to convey this-after all,
Thomas's powers of recollection are never referred to in
the passage. Choice (D) is distortion; although Thomas
is contemplating in a very general way, it doesn't seem
very purposeful. That is, he's not contemplating in order to
accomplish something. Choice (E) is distortion; there is a
strong sense of the passage of time in the story as a whole,
but the first sentence alone does not convey this.
15. D
Difficulty: Medium
Always be suspicious of the everyday, primary meanings
of words in Vocab-in-Context questions. The paragraph
describes Thomas as a young boy running through a forest
of corn. The sentence in which spears is found describes
the corn as towering and green. So you are looking for a
word that fits in with this general description of the corn.
Choice (A) fits with the word towers, but it has no relation
to corn. Choice (B) is a little too vague, since structures
doesn't convey that the corn stalks were tall and thin.
Choice (C) is the primary meaning of spears, but not the
correct one in this context. Choice (D) is a good fit with the
word spears and with the general description of the corn.
Choice (E), like (C), sounds too dangerous to fit.
16. A
Difficulty: High
Some Function questions can't be answered without
considering the passage as a whole.
Why would the author repeat the idea leaving the corn was
easy? It may not make much sense when you first read it,
but by the time you finish the passage, you see that the
entire story is about Thomas leaving life on the farm. So the
author is giving you a hint ahead of time.
Choice (A) is a good match. Choice (B) is stated in the first
paragraph, but not in the final sentence. In (C),the author
never indicates that Thomas's life was particularly simple.
Also, it's hard to see how a sentence about cornfields could
convey this. Choice (D) is a theme of the passage, but it's
not discussed in the first paragraph. In (E), Thomas did
seem to enjoy himself, but the idea that it's easy to leave a
cornfield doesn't have a very direct relationship to this.
17. D
Difficulty: Medium
Vocabulary-in-Context questions send you back to the
passage; read the sentences before and after the sentence
in which the word appears. All of the chores listed look
pretty tough, so look for a word that means something like
tiring.
Choice (A) is related to a common meaning of taxing,
but it's not appropriate here. Choice (B) is, again, related
to a more common meaning of taxing. Choice (C) is an
opposite; these chores sound anything but rejuvenating.
Choice (D) is your exact answer. In (E), all of these chores
sound like skills one would need to learn.
18. c
Difficulty: High
The answer to this question will come from the passage as
a whole, not from one particular sentence or word.