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

Section 31
Practice Test Eight
685
Questions 19-24 are based on the following passage.
In this excerpt from a short story, Marc realizes that he
has offended his friends by bragging about a dangerous
practical joke.
"I'm sorry," said Camilla, a little louder this
time. Her face was flushed and she was shaking
her head as if she'd just lost patience with an
Line infant. Marc watched her push her half-empty
(5) plate toward the center of the table and run a
hand through her hair with a sweeping motion.
He groaned inwardly. I can't believe I've offended
her again. The cafeteria was beginning to empty
now, leaving isolated pockets of students hunched
(10) over cups of coffee in the long lanes of sunlight
streaming through the windows. Camilla's voice
had risen, and it had a camaraderie about it, as if
she was sharing a joke. "I've gotta say," she was
saying, "you could try showing some consider-
(15 J ation for other people for a change."
Nobody was laughing, though. A line seemed
to have been crossed. Camilla's words hung oddly
in the air for a few seconds, and the talk at a
neighboring table swelled briefly to fill the void.
(20) Marc felt a momentary impulse to get angry, and
suppressed it. Why was she always overreacting
to things he said? He liked her a lot, but you had
to watch your mouth in her company. Part of the
price Camilla paid for being intelligent was that
(25) there were certain things she cared strongly about.
Problem was, part of the price of caring strongly
about things was a tendency to get emotional
when it wasn't warranted. Often the most innocuous
remark would set her off. There were always
(30) these minefields in the conversation. One minute
you'd be strolling along admiring the view,
and the next, you'd have tripped her wire and
the whole landscape would have changed. Marc
couldn't understand this; he came from a long
(35) line of rationalists, and people who couldn't voice
a disagreement without getting upset made him
uncomfortable. He put his fork down and looked
around.
Pete, Jose, Karen, and Camilla. People seemed
( 40) to have lost interest in their food. The two guys
had stopped rocking on the backs of their chairs
and were sitting poised in midair, looking at each
other. Karen, who was directly opposite, was
just staring into her cup of coffee. Karen was his
(45) closest friend. But looking at her now, he could
see that she was disappointed, as if the coffee
was turning bitter in her mouth. He'd touched
a nerve with her too. Marc's neck was burning
unaccountably. He and Karen had spent whole
(50) summers in her backyard, hanging out under her
chestnut tree, dissecting each other's private lives.
He'd never dated her, but Marc couldn't think of
a single woman who knew him better. He used
to justify the relationship to his father on the
(55) grounds that Karen would save him the expense
of seeing an analyst when he got older. He looked
at her. She ought to know him well enough not
to judge him on the basis of one misjudged statement.
And yet, sitting four feet away on the other
( 60) side of the table, she'd never looked so distant.
Without knowing exactly what he'd done, Marc
realized that he'd really done it now, and he felt
the silence incriminating him. "Now wait just
a minute. Hold on there," he said, producing a
(65) laugh from somewhere. Marc was the statesman
of the class. People joked about how much money
he was going to make coming out of law school.
But he was groping for his words now, his eyes
flickering over the countertop as if the words he
(70) was looking for were visible there.
19. In line 28, "warranted" most nearly means
(A) guaranteed
(B) intended
(C) arrested
(D) justified
(E) expected
I GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE>