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

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12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Eleven Answers and Explanations
Throughout the passage, you are given clues, from both
Thomas's father's words and his actions, about what he
believes: a person should work hard and own land. In other
words, the father is self-reliant.
Choice (A) is an opposite; in the fourth paragraph, we
read that Thomas's father is a man of the earth. This is
the opposite of aristocratic. Choice (B) is an opposite;
Thomas's father seems quite wise. Choice (C) is a good
match. Choice (D) is an opposite; again, man of the earth
doesn't seems very compatible with this choice. Choice
(E) is distortion; while Thomas's father seems to have had
strong opinions, the passage doesn't suggest that he was
inflexible.
19. B
Difficulty: Medium
Wrong answer choices on questions like this one will almost
certainly contain details from the wrong part of the passage.
In the sentence in question, you learn that Thomas and his
father would ride the enormous thresher during harvest time.
Choice (A) is a misused detail; mending fences is mentioned
in the second, not the third, paragraph. Choice (B) makes
sense. Choice (C) is a misused detail; shopping malls are
mentioned in the final paragraph, not paragraph 3. Choice (D)
is distortion; planting seeds would happen at the beginning,
not the end, of a growing cycle. Choice (E) is a misused
detail; surveying land is mentioned in paragraph 6, not
paragraph 3.
20. c
Difficulty: Medium
Inference questions require you to put information together
and draw a conclusion. The quote indicates that Thomas's
father feels strongly about the need to own land-so
strongly, in fact, that he defines manhood by whether or not
a man has land of his own.
Choice (A) is a misused detail; while it's true that the corn
is fetching lower prices each year, there's no indication
that the father is discouraged by this fact. Choice (B) is an
opposite; the father seems to enjoy the farmwork. In any
case, we certainly can't infer that he is overwhelmed by the
amount of work he needs to do. Choice (C) fits nicely with
the summary above. Choice (D) is out of scope;
Thomas's father may indeed be pleased that Thomas is
with him, but the passage doesn't say so, and the quote
doesn't refer to this. Choice (E) is out of scope; again, this
may or may not be true-the passage does not discuss the
topic.
21. E
Difficulty: Medium
Remember that inferences on the SAT follow very directly
from the evidence. You shouldn't do too much work to
make a choice fit. Immediately following the line about
Thomas's father's secret despair, you read, The land that
had been in his family for three generations was not
valued by the fourth. From that, you can infer that the father
is sad that the farm will not be cared for by Thomas and his
brothers.
Choice (A) is an opposite; in the fifth paragraph, the author
states that little Tommy helped out as much as he was
able. Choice (B) is distortion; although Thomas's brothers
did have these interests, we don't know that the father
was worried about them. Choice (C) is distortion; while
the author says that Thomas's father could probably have
gone to college, you don't know that he regrets not having
done so. Choice (D) is out of scope; we don't hear anything
about the marriage. Choice (E) is a good paraphrase of your
prediction.
22. E
Difficulty: Medium
Questions like this one are particularly susceptible to
elimination strategies. The paragraph in which this sentence
appears emphasizes that the father knew his sons did not
share his own interest in farmwork. Instead, the brothers
were into having a good time.
Choice (A) is a misused detail; we don't hear about the
brothers as adults until the end of the passage, and then
their interests don't necessarily contrast with those of
their youth. Choice (B) is a misused detail; actually, you
are never given reasons for why Thomas performed his
brothers' chores-you are only told that he sometimes did
so. Choice (C) is distortion; although the brothers and father
didn't share the same values, there's no mention of actual
conflict between them. Maybe they just agreed to disagree.
Choice (D) is distortion; this doesn't appear until the final