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

Section 31
Practice Test Four 333
Questions 20-25 are based on the following passage.
The swimming sky of oceanic expanse in Van
Gogh's The Starry Night; the human figure born of
marble by the careful hands of Rodin; the graceful,
Line ethereal figure of Degas's ballerina; all communi-
(5) cate both emotion and essence in a world where
aesthetic reigns supreme. Art has forever been
humankind's tool for expressing the ineffable, a
form of communication when words fail or are
wholly inadequate. Art challenges the artist by
(10) constructing a world in which opposing forces-impulse
and control, emotion and thought,
ideation and actuality-must cooperate to produce
a piece of art. The artist must wrestle an almost
untamable creative force for control in order to
(15) grant space to its expression. The process of facing
and governing this force while conveying it to others
makes artistic creation an especially valuable
therapeutic tool for the emotionally disturbed.
The process of creation and the created prod-
(20) uct are equally valuable parts of therapeutic art.
Creating art requires balancing two aspects of
personality that are, in the case of the emotionally
disturbed person, especially irreconcilable.
Like all artists, the emotionally disturbed person
(25) must learn to control and harness the dangerous,
unpredictable forces of creation while remaining
sufficiently unrestrictive to allow its expression.
Balancing these forces in a constructive way while
granting full play to both is an important ability
(30) to master, one that art therapy teaches particularly
well.
The emotionally disturbed artist's goal is not
the perfect expression of an aesthetic ideal. Yet
communicating the mind's content and having it
(35) recognized by others is intensely valuable to the
disturbed artist's healing. Taking ideas out of the
isolation imposed by the mind and reproducing
them in a form that can be shared and understood
by others releases those ideas from the mind and
( 40) removes from them some of their power. Using
the brush where the pen and voice fail allows others,
like the therapist, to recognize, understand,
and begin to deconstruct the mind's content.
Artistic creation allows emotionally disturbed
(45) people to communicate ideas they are unable to
express in words, and it provides therapists with
an otherwise unobtainable window into the mind.
Examination of their artistic pieces reveals an
inner world that the self of the disturbed person
(50) cannot express another way. Art then becomes
a new therapeutic medium through which to
understand and address the complex issues that
threaten and haunt the disturbed person, and in
which to free them.
20. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) show that art therapy is the only effective way
of dealing with disturbed individuals
(B) prove that art therapy has made significant
strides in recent decades
(C) demonstrate how art therapy can transform
nonfunctioning individuals into productive
members of society
(D) show how art therapy can be beneficial for
emotionally disturbed people
(E) describe the methods by which artwork can
be interpreted by a therapist
21. In line 41, "the brush" primarily signifies
(A) the wide variety of artistic equipment
(B) the author's preference for art over written
communication
( C) the process of painting
(D) artistic creation
(E) a powerful idea
22. The passage suggests that the main reason a
therapist might use art to work with emotionally
disturbed people is that art therapy can
(A) allow them to address ideas or emotions in a
nonverbal way
(B) share their innermost thoughts with the public
(C) teach them to appreciate the great artists of
the past
(D) broaden the scope of their social interaction
(E) encourage them to cooperate with others
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