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

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Section 4
Practice Test Three
Directions: The passages below are followed by questions based on their content; questions following a pair of related
passages may also be based on the relationship between the paired passages. Answer the questions on the basis of
what is stated or implied in the passages and in any introductory material that may be provided.
Questions 6-9 are based on the following passage.
Passage 1
In their heyday during the first half of the 19th
century, hydroelectric schemes were regarded as
a proven technology with extremely high energy­
Line conversion efficiencies and a seemingly limitless
(5) source of low-cost power. It has been roughly 70
years since the most ambitious American implementation
of hydroelectric technology resulted in
the massive Hoover Dam, yet the public is only
just beginning to grasp the significant trade-offs
(10) inherent in this type of power generation. While
dams add to domestic water supplies, provide
employment and flood control, and create recreational
water parks in the form of reservoirs, the
ratio of people displaced to wattage generated is
(15) surprisingly high.
Passage 2
Hydroelectric dams have long been considered
the cleanest, most environmentally friendly source
of electricity. Unlike fossil-fueled plants, hydroelectric
facilities themselves do not emit harmful
(20) atmospheric pollutants, such as carbon dioxide,
that have been shown to cause global warming
and acid rain. However, recent studies have begun
to demonstrate convincingly that hydroelectric
power is not quite as benign as many once
(25) thought. While the large reservoirs and flood
plains that are a direct result of damming can be
valuable resources, the decaying of vegetation submerged
by these watersheds creates gases largely
equivalent to those generated from the burning of
(30) fossil fuels.
6. The author of Passage 1 refers to the Hoover Dam
to make the point that
(A) the construction of this particular facility
failed to provide much employment
(B) this dam is the most impressive American
realization of energy-conversion technology
(C) this project became the catalyst for reducing
the use of hydroelectric power in America
(D) it has taken decades for the public to grasp
the costs of hydroelectric power
(E) large constructions like this dam have an
unexplainably high displacement to wattage
ratio
7. In line 24, "benign" most nearly means
(A) kind
(B) gentle
(C) harmless
(D) useful
(E) effective
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