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

Section 4
162
Practice Test Two
Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten.
Read the passage and select the best answer for each question that follows. Some questions are about particular
sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask
you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the conventions of standard written
English.
Questions 30-35 are based on the following passage.
(1) Today, microwaves are used for many purposes:
long-distance telephone calls, television programming,
and even communications between Earth and objects
in space. (2) But the microwave is probably most
familiar to us as an energy source for cooking food.
(3) Since their accidental invention fifty years ago,
microwave ovens have become standard equipment in
American homes.
(4) Despite their familiarity, some have claimed that
microwave cooking has a negative effect on human
health. (5) A Swiss researcher found that nutrients in
food cooked in microwave ovens had been changed.
( 6) Potentially harmful changes were identified in the
blood of research participants who had consumed
food or drink cooked in a microwave. (7) The balance
between good and bad cholesterol changes for the
worse, and the number of white blood cells decreases
in the short term.
(8) These claims are not only unfortunate, they
frighten consumers unduly. (9) Much evidence exists
to indicate that these claims are simply wrong. (10)
When a microwave oven's power is switched off,
microwaves cease to exist and do not remain in food
after cooking. (11) Perhaps most significantly, experts
in the medical community has concluded that the
results of the Swiss study and others of its kind are not
relevant to food cooked in microwave ovens and eaten
by domestic consumers.
30. The sentence that best states the main idea of the
passage is
(A) sentence 1
(B) sentence 4
(C) sentence 6
(D) sentence 9
(E) sentence 10
31.
32.
Which of the following sentences is best inserted at
the end of the first paragraph, after sentence 3?
(A) An estimated 90 percent of American homes
have them, indicating that microwaves are an
indispensable tool for most cooks.
(B) The fact that the government allows them
to be sold makes it clear that microwaves
are safe for cooking food for human
consumption.
(C) Families who use microwave ovens, however,
tend not to use long-distance and television
programming services that use microwaves
due to the possible negative impact of these
services on health.
(D) I'd like now to tell you the reasons users of
microwave ovens for meal preparation are
putting their families at risk of receiving a
large dose of radiation.
(E) Many are unaware that a microwave oven
can reduce cooking time, making it possible
for families to engage in other activities,
such as calling faraway friends and watching
television.
In context, which revision is needed in sentence 4?
(A) Replace "Despite" with "Because of."
(B) Replace "their" with "its."
(C) Replace "have" with "has."
(D) Replace "have" with "had."
(E) Replace "effect" with "affect."
I GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE>