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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT j
Practice Test One Answers and Explanations
lOS
Questions 9-1 O
This short passage discusses cryptozoology, the study of
still unknown creatures. These creatures either exist only in
people's imaginations or live in remote areas of the world
that have yet to be discovered.
9. B
Difficulty: High
Even with high-difficulty Inference questions, you find
support for your answer in the passage. It just may take a
little longer to find it. Here, the author mentions the Loch
Ness Monster in the first sentence. Read that sentence and
a little farther to get the full context. Note, in sentence 2, that
the author talks about animals that may exist only in the
minds of the overimaginative. She is using the Loch Ness
Monster as an example of such an animal, even though she
doesn't use key words such as for example. The lack of key
words, in fact, is one of the things that makes this a highdifficulty
question. So the author thinks that the Loch Ness
Monster doesn't exist, or is mythological, as in (B).
The answer certainly can't be (A), (C), or (D), as all of these
answers assume that the monster exists. Choice (E) is out
as well; the author doesn't offer an opinion about how
reputable scientists regard the Loch Ness Monster.
10. E
Difficulty: Medium
Sometimes the context is of limited help to you, and you
need to rely on a strong vocabulary to get you to the right
answer. If you're not sure what host means in this context,
you may be able to eliminate some answers.
Choice (A), network = complex or interconnected group. It's
hard to imagine an interconnected group of undiscovered
animals. Eliminate this one. Choice (B), blend = uniform
mixture. This doesn't make much sense in context. A
uniform mixture of animals? Eliminate. Choice (C), unit =
a single thing. Since the paragraph talks about animals
(plural), this is illogical. Eliminate it. Choice (D), den =a
shelter for wild animals. Some cryptids could live in dens,
but not all of them do (e.g., the coelacanth), so this can't be
the meaning of host. Choice (E), multitude = great number,
mass. This is the meaning of host that the author had in
mind when she wrote the sentence.
Questions 11-13
The writer of this passage examines Bowie Bonds, a type of
intangible wealth begun by the musician David Bowie that
grew in popularity in the late 20th century.
11. c
Difficulty: Medium
Finding the answer may often involve more than just
reading the line reference; you may have to research more
of the paragraph. Luckily, with a Critical Reading paragraph
there's not a lot of text to read. The answer to this question
comes from the last sentence of the paragraph. It's clear
that the author is including Bowie Bonds in the group that
he calls asset-backed securities.
Choice (A) is out of scope. You have no way of knowing
from the passage whether this is true or not, although it
seems more likely that it isn't true, given the last sentence.
In any case, it's not the correct answer. Choice (B) is also
out of scope. While the author uses only entertainers as
examples, you can't infer that only entertainers use Bowie
Bonds. Choice (C) is the correct answer. Choice (D) is also
out of scope. The author uses entertainers, whom you may
regard as very wealthy, as examples of people who buy
Bowie Bonds, but as in (B), you can't infer that only the
wealthy use Bowie Bonds. Choice (E) is an opposite. In the
beginning of the paragraph, the author says Bowie Bonds
are an example of intangible money.
12. D
Difficulty: Medium
The definition of a Vocab-in-Context word may be right
in the passage. The bonds were the brainchild of banker
David Pullman. Pullman's innovation . .. Here you have
the exact definition of brainchild; it's an innovation.
All you have to do is find the answer that matches the
definition. And that's (D), original idea. Choice (A),
offspring = child, descendant. Choice (E),
avocation = hobby.
13. B
Difficulty: Medium
Reading the choices back into the sentence is a good way
to narrow down your choices. It's clear from the context of
the paragraph that caught fire has a positive meaning. After
all, once the idea caught fire, many other people bought