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

12 Practice Tests for t h e SAT
650 Practice Test Seven Answers and Explanations
l e d to a l ack of vegetation, w h ic h meant no food for
dinosaurs to eat.
14. B
Difficulty: Medium
Read t h e sentence fo ll owing t h e cited l ines for your answer.
T h e discovery of t h e l ayer of iridium was significant because
iridium is rare l y found on t h e eart h 's surface, (B); A l varez
t h eorized t h at t h e presence of iridium meant t h at t h is meta
eit h er came from t h e eart h 's core or from a meteorite.
l
15. c
Difficulty: Hig
Finding and correct h l y dating t h e Yucatan crater h e l ped
strengt h en t h e A l varez t h eory. Establ is h ing t h at t h ere was
iridium in t h e crater wou l d furt h er strengt en t h e t h eory,
(C); reread paragrap h 3 for evidence of t h is.
Questions 16-24
T h e overa ll aim of t h is passage is to provide information
about rock gardens. T first paragrap h mentions a common
misconception from t h e name rock garden and goes on to
exp l ain w h at a rock garden is and w h ere t h e idea originated.
T h e second paragrap h detai l s one aspect of rock gardens'
appea l : t h ey can be p l anted in l ess-t h an-idea l conditions.
T h e t h ird and fourt h paragrap h s discuss h ow to set up a rock
garden bed, focusing specifica ll y on arranging and se l ecting
appropriate roc k s. T h e passage ends wit h a discussion of
p l anting and caring for f l owers in a roc k garden.
16. c
Difficulty: Low
T inking about t scope of a passage wi ll h e l p you identify
t h e main idea. T h e passage is quite genera l , providing basic
information about w h at rock gardens are, w h y gardeners l ike
t h em, and h ow to create an d maintain a roc k garden. You
can predict t h at t h e answer wi ll h ave a simi l ar l y wi de scope.
C h oice (C) is a nice matc h for your prediction. C h oices (A)
and (B) are examp l es of distortion. A l t h oug h passage
mentions some advantages of rock gardens, t h e tone of
t h e passage is informationa l rat h er t h an persuasive, and
a l t h oug h rock gardens are described as beautifu l , t h e
overa ll passage h as a more broad focus. C h oices (D) and
(E) are misused detai l s. T h e history of rock gardens is
mentioned in t h e first paragrap h , but t h e rest of t h e passage
is not concerned wit h tracing t h is h istory; and a l t h oug
t h ese types of f l owers are compared in t h e passage, t h e
comparison is not t h e aut h or's main focus.
17. B
Difficulty: Low
Remember not to ma k e genera l izations or assumptions
w h en answering Critica l Reading questions. T h e aut h or
makes a point of saying t h at w h at ma k es roc k gardens stand
out is t h at t h ey can contain beautifu l p l ants in conditions
t h at are l ess t h an idea l . T h is makes (B) a good c h oice.
C h oice (A) is incorrect because t h e aut h or c l ear l y states
at rock gardens contain bot h p l ants an d roc k s. T h e rest of
t h e passage a l so negates (C) and (D)-rock gardens may
be abl to grow in atypica l p l aces, but t h ey do require wor k ,
and t h e aut h or l ists items a gardener mig h t h ave to buy
to grow a rock garden. C h oice (E) is extreme-t h e aut h or
says t h at roc k gardens are beautifu l b ut does not ma k e a
comparison to any ot h er type of garden.
18. D
Difficulty: Low
Take t h e time to compare t h e c h oices to t h e text rat h er
t h an re l y on your memory. Limestone is discussed in t e
fourt h paragrap h , so focus your attention h ere. T h e aut h or
says t h at l imestone is a good c h oice because its pores
admit water and air, because p l ant roots can become
firm l y establ is h e d in it, and because its noo k s and crannies
provide a p l ace for gardeners to p l ant moss and l ic h ens.
Look for a c h oice t h at does NOT mention any of t h ese
features. C h oices (A), (B), (C), and (E) are a l l reasons to
use l imestone. C h oice (D) is correct answer-w h i l e
artistic s h apes are discussed, t s h ape of l imestone in
particu l ar is not mentioned in t h e passage.
19. A
Difficulty: Medium
Use your know l edge of prefixes and c l ues from t h e context
to h e l p you identify t h e meaning of t h e cited word. You
can te ll from t h e context t h at uninspired placements of
rocks are a bad t h ing because t h ey ma k e t h e garden l ess
h
beautifu l . T h e aut h or recommends advance p l anning to
e l p avoi d t h is probl em. An arrangement would
be inspired
if it were exciting or stimu l ating, so you can infer t h at an
uninspired arrangement is du ll , or plain, (A).