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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT /
Practice Test Two Answers an d Exp l anations
197
Finally, the writer's language is simplistic and repetitive,
as is her sentence structure. Several sentence fragments
beginning with So, And, and Like further detract from the
essay. Although weak grammar alone isn't sufficient cause
for deducting points, the combination of poor language with
poor organization and support makes this a low-scoring
essay.
SECTION 2
1. E
Difficu l ty: Low
If the CEO usually reacts a certain way and this particular
reaction shocked his employees, the reaction is probably
contrary to what his employees have come to expect. Find a
word that expresses the opposite of a severe overreaction.
In (A), if the CEO is usually demanding, then a severe
overreaction might not be that shocking. In (B), being
inarticulate doesn't have anything to do with how someone
would react to being teased. In (C), again, if the CEO is
inclined toward aggressive behavior, then an overreaction
might be expected. In (D), the CEO's persuasive nature
would not dictate a severe overreaction. In (E), if the CEO
is usually composed, then it would make sense for his
employees to be shocked at a severe overreaction. This
choice works.
2. A
Difficu l ty: Low
What do big sales usually draw? Big sales usually draw in a
lot of people. The store owner has a large customer base
among college students, but she wants to have a customer
base among other groups as well. The sentence is asking
you to find another word for customer base.
In (A), dientele is the synonym you're looking for. In (B),
she's certainly not going to expand her investments by
having a big sale. In (C), this choice might work if it was
clear what she was expanding her coverage of, but just
saying that she's expanding her coverage doesn't work. In
(D), expanding her staffing might make her life easier or
improve customer service, but having a big sale won't make
people want to work at the store. In (E), how would a big
sale expand her liability?
3. D
Difficu l ty: Medium
The word despite indicates that you're looking for
contrasting words. Looking at the answer choices, can
you tell which word pair offers a genuine contrast? For the
first blank, look for a word that is similar to differences;
for the second blank, look for a word that contrasts with
differences, because those differences were overcome.
In (A), although incompatible works for the first blank, the
effort wouldn't be divisive if they overcame their differences.
In (B), neither of these words has anything to do with
differences or overcoming them. In (C), why would having
distinguished backgrounds create differences for the
people to overcome? Choice (D) makes sense. Disparate
backgrounds would create differences, and a contrast to
disparity is unity. In (E), if the people had comparable
backgrounds, that means their backgrounds were similar,
not different.
4. E
Difficu l ty: Medium
If the directory is lacking in some way, perhaps it doesn't
contain the names of all the students, but if it's still useful,
it's probably because there aren't a lot of other sources for
that information.
In (A), even if the directory was intense, that doesn't
indicate that it's lacking in any way. In (B), the directory
wouldn't be useful at all if it were obsolete. In (C), a
directory that is ostentatious is not necessarily a directory
that is lacking in information. In (D), contemporary could
work for the first blank, but why would an outdated directory
be useful if other resources were plentifur?
Choice (E) works. Even though the directory isn't particularly
comprehensive, people use it because the supply of other
resources is meager.
5. c
Difficu l ty: High
The sentence is saying that yelling is an ineffective way to
help children learn. The word and indicates that the blank is
going to be a word similar in meaning to "a poor way:'