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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Two Answers an d Exp l anations
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14. c
Difficu l ty: Medium
The best predictions are those that you can back up with a
specific sentence from the text. The passage says, The worst
of such results occurs when some condescending curator
decides that the reason the audience isn't pouring through
the doors is that the content is over their heads (lines
1 1-14). Predict that the cause of the worst of such results
is that a curator thinks the audience cannot understand the
content in the museum exhibits.
Choice (A) is out of scope; the passage does not address
the education level of the visitors. Choice (B) is a misused
detail; this is the result, not the cause. Choice (C) matches
your prediction. Choice (D) is out of scope; Passage 1 do
_
es
not address learning styles. Choice (E) is out of scope; 1t 1s
not clear that a decline in funding directly causes the worst
result.
15. B
Difficu l ty: Low
If you answer Passage 1 questions before you read Passage
2, then answers designed to confuse the two won't trick
you. The author of Passage 1 uses interactive exhibits as an
example of a dumbed-down exhibit.
Choice (A) is a misused detail; this is the viewpoint of the
author of Passage 2. Choice (B) matches your prediction.
Choice (C) is a distortion; the need for funds is not relevant
to this paragraph. Choice (D) is an opposite; this is an
example of how museums have stopped catering to
specialized scholars. Choice (E) is out of scope; there is no
information in the passage about how (or whether) visitors
hove influenced the museums directly.
16. D
Difficu l ty: Medium
When the passage doesn't state an answer directly, try
summing up in your own words what the relevant lines
do say or imply-this can often get you to the right answer.
The author of Passage 1 disapproves of the displays she
describes. From the last sentence of paragraph 3, it is clear
that she feels these displays are failing to inspire visitors to
look deeper, and that they are force-feeding facts to visitors.
Look for this in the correct choice.
Choice (A) is an opposite; this is too approving. The author
of Passage 1 dislikes these displays. Choice (B) is out of
scope; the author does not address the accuracy of the
information in the exhibits. Choice (C) is a misused detail;
this is the opinion of the author of Passage 2, not the author
of Passage 1. Choice (D) matches your prediction. Choice
(E) is a distortion; this is not the point the author is making.
17. A
Difficu l ty: Medium
When a question asks you to apply a piece of reasoning
from the passage to a new situation, you can still make a
prediction-state the reasoning from the passage in your
own words, in simple terms, so you can apply that to the
answer choices. The relevant text is describing a system that
is designed to be entertaining but with facts slyly slipped in.
Look for an answer choice that fits that description.
Choice (A) works with your prediction. Choice (B) is an
opposite; a biography is not necessarily entertaining and
requires more active perusal than the passage suggests.
Choice (C) is a distortion; this example of a comic book
does not mention any facts or concrete learning at all.
Choice (D) is out of scope; nothing in this answer choice
indicates that the discussion would be entertaining. Choice
(E) is out of scope; a database is a research tool, not a
piece of entertainment with educational components.
18. c
Difficu l ty: Medium
Beware of the most common definition of a word when
selecting your answer-it's usually wrong. The sentence says
that the museums house artifacts. The only relationship
that makes sense here is that the artifacts are inside the
museum, so the museum contains them.
Choices (A), (D), and (E) are out of scope; they draw on a
common definition of the noun house, but if you read them
into the sentence, you'll find they make no sense. Choice
(B) is a distortion; it doesn't make sense for a museum to
build anything. Choice (C) matches your prediction.
19. D
Difficu l ty: Medium
Watch out for answers that support one workable
interpretation of a word but have little to do with the
surrounding passage. The author is discussing how new