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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Twelve Answers and Explanations I
l0&7
SECTION 2
1. B
Difficulty: Low
The key words renowned and eminent indicate that the
blanks will both be positive.
Start with the second blank. The architect of well-known,
famous buildings must have been well-known and
acclaimed himself. The prediction for the first blank must
support Wright's becoming so distinguished; a word such as
proved works.
In (A), although buoyed works in the first blank, irrelevant,
or inappropriate, is the opposite of the prediction for the
second blank. Choice (B) is the correct answer. Read
the answer choice back in. In (C), surrendered has a
negative connotation and is a bit extreme; buildings cannot
surrender, or give up, a person as being either a good,
bad, or prolific (productive) architect. In (D), both words
are negative; the predictions show they must be positive.
Decried means to disparage or put down, and a person
who is cynical believes that people's motives are usually
bad or selfish. The word cynical is out of the scope or idea
of the sentence. In (E), categorized is not the best choice
for the first blank, and mundane, or ordinary, does not fit as
it is the opposite of the prediction.
2. D
Difficulty: Low
The key word although suggests a contrast between the
word in the blank and the fact that questions in the book
are likely to appear on the exam.
The chapter review is either required or not required.
Given that the questions on the exam will be required to
be answered, and taking into consideration the contrast
between the word required and the word in the blank, a
good prediction would be that the chapter review exercises
are not required, or additional, questions.
Choice (A) can be eliminated because it is the opposite of
the prediction. Only if the word although were eliminated
and the word and were inserted after the blank would this
word fit into the context of the sentence. If the students
knew that these questions were to be found on the exam,
then doing the review may have already become ritualistic,
but the teacher would not use this word denoting routine
to encourage the class to do extra studying. The teacher
would not announce the optional questions as being
salient, or noticeable. Choice (D) is the correct answer. In
(E), this word means serious, but it relates to demeanor or
attitude, not to how the students are to treat the additional
questions.
3. B
Difficulty: Low
The phrase even though indicates contrast. So even though
the prisoner presented evidence clearly proving that he was
nowhere near the scene of the crime, he was indicted, or
formally charged, with committing the crime.
4. A
Difficulty: Medium
Start with the first blank. Towns that consist of a heterogeneous
population, or one that is made up of various sorts of
people, tend to have food that reflects the many different
tastes of the inhabitants. If you didn't know the meaning of
heterogeneous, you could figure out that towns bordering
two countries would offer an array of foods. For the second
blank, the word must be synonymous with the word in the
first blank.
Start with a prediction for the first blank. A word such as
variety or diversity would work. The second blank should
support the first with a word such as a range of various
ingredients.
Choice (A) matches. In (B), the first choice can be
eliminated because the sentence says nothing about the
size of the population growing. A growing population would
imply an increasing number of different foods would come
to exist; however, nothing about growth is mentioned. The
second choice is the opposite of the prediction. In (C),
the first choice is out of scope; the town wouldn't have
mixed feelings toward different foods. The second choice
doesn't match the prediction. In (D), both blanks do not
work. Dearth, or scarcity, is the opposite of the prediction,
and nothing is said about a reduction of ingredients available
caused by using them. In (E), the first blank does not fit
because nothing is said about either the population or
the amount of food increasing or decreasing. The second
blank does not work; towns would not boast of artificial
ingredients.