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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
224
Practice Test Two Answers an d Exp l anations
Choice (A) is an opposite; the author disagrees with this
point of view later in the passage. She clearly doesn't think
it's the best way of looking at new technology. Choice
(B) is a misused detail; this may be true and implied in
the passage, but the author was not making this point
when she wrote the relevant sentence. Choice (C) is
extreme; nothing says that everybody thinks this way, only
the communications industry. Choice (D) matches your
prediction nicely. Choice (E) is out of scope; there is no
information in the passage about what people might think
in the future.
10. D
Difficu l ty: High
Be able to summarize each position taken about the topic
of the passage. The communications industry, as depicted
in the first paragraph, claims that new technologies will put
us more in touch with other people. The author claims that
these same technologies, in fact, isolate us. This is the key
contrast.
Choice (A) is an opposite; the author does admit that these
technologies increase efficiency, so she doesn't believe
that they are a hindrance. Choice (B) is an opposite;
the communications industry may believe that new
technologies are revolutionizing dating, but the author says
that the technologies are making us less social, not more.
Choice (C) is out of scope; nowhere in the passage are
finances mentioned. Choice (D) works with your prediction;
the communications industry says that these technologies
are bringing us closer together, and the author claims they
are driving us apart. Choice (E) is out of scope; the author
never indicates that this technology is a regression into
some earlier phase of society.
11. c
Difficu l ty: Medium
Your notes can help you determine the author's intention
in the relevant paragraph, and that can help you predict a
function for the cited lines. The paragraph that mentions the
dating services also mentions Facebook, and it describes
the purposes of the companies. The end of the previous
paragraph mentions that things that used to be done with
people are now done from the comfort-and isolation-of
home (lines 37-38). The dating services are providing an
example supporting that point-one way in which the Internet
has led us to do things in a more solitary way, even dating.
Choice (A) is an opposite; the author does not have a
favorable opinion of these services. Choice (B) is an
opposite; the author is citing these services to support a
point she made, not oppose it. Choice (C) matches your
prediction nicely. Choice (D) is a misused detail; though
awkwardness in dating is mentioned, this is not the focus of
the paragraph or what the author is interested in exploring.
Choice (E) is a distortion; the purpose is not to contrast
two Internet services but to explain how they are both
dehumanizing.
12. B
Difficu l ty: Medium
The words According to the passage should alert you that
the right answer is plainly stated somewhere in the passage,
although it may be reworded in the answer choices. The
passage says, Should one person be rude to another
online, the act seems nearly free of consequences-the
offender needn 't be subjected to the sight of the emotional
discomfort he or she is causing, and since interactions
online are usually anonymous, he or she need take no
responsibility for their remark in any meaningful way
(lines 79-85). The two reasons given for freedom from
consequences are that the offender doesn't have to witness
emotional discomfort and that the remark is anonymous.
Choice (A) is out of scope; no part of the passage
addresses the relative impact of spoken versus electronic
words. Choice (B) matches one of the reasons from the
passage and is the correct answer. Choice (C) is out of
scope; no party is ever portrayed as being more interested
in convenience than personal concerns. Choice (D) is out
of scope; you are not told anything about the companies
that host such chat rooms. Choice (E) is a misused detail;
while it may be derived from the author's argument that
chat room patrons are isolated, this is not given as the
reason that less social accountability is demanded in a chat
room.
13. A
Difficu l ty: Low
If you find yourself really stretching to justify your answer
for an Inference question, reevaluate the other choices.
The author says that enthusiasts of convenience wish
to increase the number of virtual contacts people make
without regard for the quality of those contacts. Infer that
they care more about quantity than quality.