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

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I Section 4
Practice Test Twelve
Directions: 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
When commercial fish farming-a technique
that essentially applies the breeding structures used
for raising animals on land to the ocean-was first
Line introduced, it was seen as a creative alternative to
(5) the depletion of the world's large finfish and shellfish
populations through conventional harvesting
methods. New research, however, is beginning to
rein in this initial enthusiasm. About 29 million
tons oflarge finfish were farmed in 1997; no doubt
(JO) a significant contribution to the world's fish supplies.
Yet the cost of this production was roughly
10 million tons of smaller wild fish used as feed, an
amount that, if perpetuated, could soon virtually
wipe out both the world's supply of small fish and
(15) the potential of fish farming.
Passage 2
Our seemingly insatiable appetite for seafood
delicacies like smoked salmon, king prawns, and
grilled sea bass has inevitably contributed to a
sharp reduction in ocean fish populations. As
(20) a growing number of commercial boats found
themselves frequently returning to shore with
empty nets, it became clear that supply was starting
to run significantly short of an ever-increasing
demand. But then came a potential solution in the
(25) form of a tried-and-true method of food production:
farming. Today, while traditional ocean fisheries
remain in decline, commercial fish farming is
booming-and premium fish remain on
menus across the world. Through ingenuity and
(30) flexible thinking, a seemingly doomed resource
was made more sustainable.
6. The first sentence of Passage 1 indicates that fish
farming was initially considered to be
(A) a complicated technique
(B) an innovative method
(C) a simple improvement on a successful process
(D) environmentally safe
(E) not yet practical
7. The word "sharp" in line 19 of Passage 2 most
nearly means
(A) piercing
(B) intense
(C) abrupt
(D) appreciable
(E) gradual
8. Both passages raise which of the following
questions regarding commercial fish farming?
(A) Will fish farming ultimately help or harm
wild fish populations?
(B) Is commercial fish farming a sustainable
means of food production?
( C) What will happen when wild fish supplies are
fully depleted?
(D) Can commercial fish farming meet the growing
demand for premium fish?
(E) How can fish-farming techniques be made
more environmentally kind?
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