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

12 Practice Tests for t h e SAT
398 Practice Test Four Answers and Explanations
to match the brain functioning of "lower" animals; in
other ways, its capabilities are quite unrivaled. Put anot h er
way, t h e cited content supports t h e idea t h at t h e brain
capabi h l ities of different anima l s vary so dramatica ll y t h at it is
ar d to compare one to anot h er.
C h oice (A) is distortion; w h i l e t h e paragrap h d oes not
focus on cats and dogs, now h ere is it suggested t h at t is
information is irrelevant. C h oice (B) is out of scope; t h e
paragrap h d oes not discuss h ow h umans h ave h istorica ll y
represented our sensory capabi l ities. C h oice (C) is t best fit
given your prediction. C h oice (D) is extreme; w h i l e t h e cited
content begins to make t h is point, it does not go so far as to
suggest t at it is impossible. C h oice (E) is out of scope; t paragrap h d oes not mention any great weaknesses of t h e
brains of cats and dogs.
9. B
Difficulty: Medium
W h en answering a Function question, a l ways read t h e cited
content in t h e context of t h e l arger paragrap h 's focus.
As t h e second paragrap h focuses on exp l aining h ow t h e
l asticity of t h e h uman brain is independent of its actua
p h ysica l size, it is l ike l y t h at t h e cited content is advancing
l
t h is point. T h e word however t h at comes in t h e fo ll owing
sentence a l so indicates t h at t h e cited content is being used
to set up t h is l arger point.
C oice (A) is out of scope; t h e paragrap h d oes not indicate
w h en most h uman brain development takes p l ace, on l y t h at
adu l t brain size is near l y ac h ieved before t h e age of two.
C h oice (B) is a good fit for your prediction. C h oice (C) is
out of scope; again, t h e paragrap h d oes not exp l ore w h en
most h uman brain deve l opment takes p l ace. C h oice (D)
is distortion; t h e paragrap h suggests, especia ll y t h roug
t h e rat experiment, t h at t h e brains of ot h er anima l s
h
a l so demonstrate p l asticity. C h oice (E) is distortion; t h e
paragrap h on l y suggests t h at t h e sku ll in h ibits size, but not
capabi l ity expansion.
10. B
Difficulty: Low
Never answer a Detai l question from memory; instead, go
back and refami l iarize yourse l f wit h t h e facts presented in
t h e text.
In t h is case, t h e aut or states t h at t h e h uman brain
experiences suc h c h anges because of usage, practice, and
experience-in ot h er words, due to h ow one's brain is used
during l ife.
C h oice (A) is out of scope; t e aut h or does not connect
brain structure to capacity. C h oice (B) is a perfect matc
for your prediction. C h oice (C) is out of scope; t h e aut h h
or
on l y mentions experiences in genera l , not necessari l y
challenging ones. C h oice (D) is out of scope; t h e aut h or
does not connect age and body size wit h brain capacity.
C h oice (E) is out of scope; t e aut h or on l y mentions t h ese
abi l ities as c h aracteristics of h uman brain capabi l ities, not as
reasons for capabi l ity expansion.
11. A
Difficulty: Low
Don't worry too muc h about w at you know about any
given word and focus on l y on h ow t h is word fits wit h in t h e
sentence w h ere it is used.
In t h is case, notice t h at ear l ier in t h e sentence t h e word
attributed is used in essentia ll y t h e same way as t h e cited
word, t at is, connecting c h aracteristics and capabi l ities
of t h e h uman brain wit h t h e concept of p l asticity.
C h oice (A) is a great matc h for your prediction. C h oice (B)
fits wit h t h e primary definition of t h e cited word, but not
its context in t h e passage. C h oice (C) matc h es anot h er
meaning of t h e cited word, but t e aut h or is imp l ying more
t h an just t h e idea of a search. C h oice (D) a l so fits wit h t h e
cited word but not its specific meaning h ere. In (E), t h e
aut h h or is suggesting not simp l y t h at t h ese c h aracteristics
ave been found but t h at t h e neuroscientists h ave
attributed, or connected, t h em to t h e brain's p l asticity.
12. E
Difficulty: Medium
lMake sure to keep in mind t h e aut h or's overa ll tone w h en
oo king at answer c h oices.
In t h is case, as t h e aut h or uses a pure l y informationa l ,
scientific, and objective tone t h roug h out t h e paragrap h ,
so a particu l ar l y subjective word, suc h as improve, mig h t
appear out of p l ace. By adding t h e cited p h rase, t h e aut h or
is acknow l edging t h at t h e word improve is quite subjective
by indicating t h at it is simp l y an opinion of some.
C h oice (A) is distortion; t h e aut h or is pointing out on l y
t h at t h e word improve is opinionated, not necessari l y
inappropriate. C h oice (B) is distortion; t h e word biased
suggests a degree of unfairness t h at wou ld on l y be l essened