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

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Section 4
Practice Test Three
Questions 16-24 are based on the following passage.
The definition of aesthetic pleasure is a popular subject
fo r many different fields. In the following, adapted from
an article found in a science journal, a physicist discusses
the unique perspective that his discipline allows him.
Since time immemorial, countless scholars have
asked the question: What is beauty? As philosophers
engage in weighty discourses, designers
Line update the latest fashions, and artists create their
(5) masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes
at an alarming pace. Fifty years ago, the fullfigured
Marilyn Monroe embodied the American
aesthetic value; today, a legion of Hollywood
actresses vastly different in appearance from
(IO) Marilyn's have taken her place. However, aesthetic
values not only differ from generation to generation,
but do so along cultural lines as well. The
conventions that govern painting and music vary
greatly from East to West. Often, what is consid-
(15) ered repellent to one civilization is the pinnacle of
aesthetic appeal in another. Thus, when left to the
sphere of human design, the search for an absolute
definition of beauty remains an elusive one at
best.
(20) As fundamental physicists, my colleagues and I
like to believe that we are involved in a search for a
beauty that does not remain impervious to definition.
The beauty that we search for is not that which
is laid down through the work of people and subject
(25) to ephemeral tastes, but rather that which has been
established by Nature. Those not involved with
physics tend to think of it as a precise and predictive
science---certainly not a field of study fit for the
contemplation of the beautiful. Yet, one of physics's
(30) greatest gifts is that it allows its students to look
past extrinsic appearances into a more overwhelming
beauty. As a human being, I am captivated by
the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach.
As a physicist, however, I possess the ability to be
(35) captivated by the much deeper beauty of the physical
laws that govern such a phenomenon. Where the
nonphysicist sees a lovely but inexplicable event, the
well-schooled physicist is able to perceive a brilliant
design.
( 40) Iri truth, since the day that Albert Einstein first
proposed the notion that there might be one
overarching physical theory that governs the
universe, aesthetics have become a driving force
in modern physics. What Einstein and we, as his
( 45) intellectual descendants, have discovered is this:
Nature, at its most fundamental level, is beautifully
constructed. The remarkable simplicity of
the laws that govern the universe is, at times,
nothing short of breathtaking. And at every step,
(50) as new discoveries and technologies allow us to
examine the physical world on deeper and deeper
levels, we find that the beauty itself becomes more
profound. As Einstein himself said, it would seem
more likely that we should find ourselves living
(55) in a "chaotic world, in no way graspable through
thinking." Yet here we are, closer than ever to a full
understanding of the universe's beautiful clockwork.
16. The reference to "Marilyn Monroe" in line 7
primarily serves to
(A) provide an example of today's standards of
beauty
(B) discuss her abilities as an actress
(C) demonstrate how susceptible aesthetics are to
change
(D) compare traditions of East and West
(E) illustrate that the standard definition of
beauty remains constant
17. The author's assertion in lines 14-16 ("what is
considered repellent . .. in another") suggests that
(A) cultures are naturally destined to clash
(B) many civilizations are prone to disgusting
behavior
(C) different societies are tied together by an
appreciation for physics
(D) it is nearly impossible to say what is truly
beautiful
(E) individuals tend to disagree over what they
find beautiful
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