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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Eight Answers and Explanations I 733
19. D
Difficulty: Medium
Marc thinks that Camilla has a tendency to get emotional
when it isn't warranted. You get a clue about what this
means in the next sentence: the most innocuous remark
would set her off. In other words, she has no good reason,
in Mark's eyes, to get so upset; she tends to get emotional
when it isn't justified, (D). It may be true that Camilla gets
upset when she doesn't intend to or when Marc doesn't
expect it, but these are not possible meanings of the word
warranted.
20. c
Difficulty: Low
Marc compares having a conversation with Camilla to
walking in a minefield: one minute you'd be strolling
along admiring the view, and the next, you'd have tripped
her wire. This analogy emphasizes the unpredictability of
Camilla's reactions, (C). The author never mentions Marc's
fear of offending other people, Camilla's discomfort at
upsetting others, or the close understanding between Marc
and CamHla. As for (E), Marc may be annoyed at Camilla's
behavior-the author says he suppresses a momentary
impulse to get angry-but this doesn't have anything to do
with the minefield analogy.
21. B
Difficulty: Medium
Choices (B), (C), and (E) are all possible meanings of the
word dissecting, so you have to go back to the passage to
find the meaning of the word in context. Karen and Marc
had spent whole summers dissecting each other's private
lives. So analyzing is the right meaning of dissecting here.
Criticizing has too sharp a connotation, and cutting is too
literal (remember to watch out for the most common
meaning of the word-usually it's not the correct choice).
22. B
Difficulty: Low
In the line immediately following the description of Marc's
summers with Karen, the author says that Marc couldn 't
think of a single woman who knew him better. The
summers spent with Karen show the long-standing nature
of their friendship, (B). This choice should have stood out
because it's the only one that fits in the context of the third
paragraph, which is all about the fact that Marc has also
offended Karen, even though they've been friends for a
long time. Nowhere does the author mention that Marc has
few close women friends, that Marc has to overcome many
obstacles in his private life, or that Marc regrets not having
pursued a relationship with Karen further. Choice (C) is
based on a misinterpretation of the line that says Marc used
to justify the relationship to his father. This does not mean
that Marc had to seek his father's approval; justify means
rationalize here.
23. c
Difficulty: Low
Marc's feeling that he'd really done it now comes right on
the heels of his realization that he has offended Karen, his
closest friend, in addition to upsetting Camilla. Reading a
few lines up from the phrase quoted in the question stem
makes this clear. Marc doesn't feel that he's really done it
now because he's lost the ability to talk-it's the other way
around. Choice (B) is wrong because there is no reason to
think that Karen is not loyal to him. She is simply annoyed
at him right now. Choices (D) and (E) can be eliminated
quickly because they don't make sense in the context of the
passage.
24. c
Difficulty: Medium
The author says that Marc was the statesman of the
class ... people joked about how much money he was
going to make . . . However, Marc is groping for his words
now ... You can make the inference that the author talks
about Marc being the statesman of the class in order to
show that he is generally an articulate speaker, but he's
floundering now. It's true that being the statesman means
that Marc is also probably noted for his diplomacy and is a
popular student on campus. These do not, however, touch
upon the contrast the author is making between Marc's
usual articulate self and his current awkwardness. There
is no evidence in the passage that people resent Marc's
success or that his ambitions are not realistic.