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

12 Practice Tests for t h e SAT I
Practice Test Four Answers and Explanations
399
by t h e use of t h e cited p rase. C h oice (C) is distortion; by
using t h e cited p h rase, t h e aut h or indicates t h at t h e word
improve is considered suitabl e by ot h ers, but not necessari l y
by h imse l f. C h oice (D) is distortion; simp l y by inc l uding t h e
word improve, wit h or wit h out t h e cited p h rase, t h e aut h or
is at l east suggesting t h at it could be app l icabl e. C h oice (E)
is a good c h oice given your prediction.
13. B
Difficulty: Medium
Often incorrect answer c h oices wi ll tempt you by making
statements t h at re l ate to t h e main idea, but t h at are not
app l icabl e to t e question itse lf.
In t h is case, w h i l e t h e question s h ou ld point you toward t h e
second paragrap h , w h ere t h e aut h or focuses on brain size,
t h e l ack of a specific l ine reference indicates t h at you s h ou
begin by reading t h roug h t h e answer c h oices. T h en, use t ld
e
detai l s found in t h e second paragrap h to determine w h ic
c h oice is correct.
h
C h oice (A) is distortion; t h e aut h or never connects brain
size wit h plasticity. C h oice (B) is a great c h oice; l ines 33-34
in t h e second paragrap h suggests t h at brain size was once
considered a direct determiner of brain capacity. C h oice
(C) is distortion; it is brain capacity t h at can expand due to
externa l stimu l i, not brain size. C h oice (D) is out of scope;
just because t h e author mentions no correlation does not
mean t h at one does not exist. C h oice (E) is an opposite; t h e
passage indicates t h at one's brain reac h es 80 percent of its
eventual adult size before t h e age of two.
14. B
Difficulty: Medium
Often, even w h en no specific l ine reference is inc l uded in
question stem, question's wording wi ll guide you to
t h e re l evant part of t h e text.
In t h is case, t h e question points you toward t h e t h ird
paragrap h , specifica ll y to t h e aut h or's description of t h e rat
experiment. W h i l e on l y one group is exposed to externa
stimuli, bot h groups are kept in cages and monitored using
l
magnetic resonance imaging technology.
In (I), on l y one group was exposed to externa l stimu l i.
E l iminate (A), (C), and (E). Bot h remaining answer c h oices
inc l ude (11), so it must be true. (Indeed, it matc h es t h e
detai l s of t h e text.) (Ill) is inaccurate; on l y one of t h e rat
groups is described as c h anged. E l iminate (D); (B) is
correct.
15. c
Difficulty: Hig
Function questions h
often require you to first find t e exact
meaning of t h e cited content and t h en to identify h ow t h is
meaning app l ies to its context.
In t h is case, after examining its context, it is c l ear t h e cited
word
h is being used to describe an experiment t h at c h anged
ow peop l e t h oug h t of t h e uman brain. It is probabl y being
used to refer to somet h ing t h at is extreme l y interesting or
exciting.
C h oice (A) is out of scope; w h i l e somet h ing at is
provocative can be controversial, not h ing in t h e text
supports t h is interpretation. C h oice (B) is distortion;
w h i l e t h e word interesting captures t h e aut h or's intended
meaning, now h ere is it suggesting t h at only neuroscientists
appreciated t h e experiment. C h oice (C) is a great matc h for
your prediction. C oice (D) is distortion; t h e aut h or does
not suggest t h at t e intent of t h e experiment was to arouse
excitement, on l y t h at suc h fee l ings were t h e resu l t. C oice
(E) is out of scope; t h e aut h or does not exp l ore w h et h er or
not t h e experiment was criticized.
16. B
Difficulty: Medium
A l t h oug h Inference questions require you to draw
conc l usions not exp l icit l y stated in t h e text, l ooking at t h e
cited content is usua l ly h e l pfu l .
Here, notice t h at t h e l ast sentence of t h e passage app l ies
t h e conc l usions drawn from t h e rat experiment to h umans
wit h t h e words such results were then found to be even
more noticeable in humans. T h is content imp l ies, at t h e
very l east, t h at h umans were a l so tested, most l ike l y in a
simi l ar experiment, so l ook for an answer c h oice t h at fits.
C h oice (A) is out of scope; t h e passage suggests t h at h umans
were a l so tested in an experiment, but not necessari l y in
precisely the same manner as t h e rat experiment. C h oice (B)
is a great fit for your prediction. C h oice (C) is out of scope;
t h e paragrap h suggests on l y t h at t h e h uman brains c h anged
more t h an t h ose of t h e rats, not necessari l y t h at t h ey learned
more. C h oice (D) is distortion; now h ere in t h e paragrap h is
it suggested t h at brain structure determines brain capacity.
C h oice (E) is out of scope; just because t h e paragrap h d oes
not mention t h e experiment being app l ied to ot h er anima l s
does not mean ot h er anima l s were not tested.