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

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Ten Answers and Explanations I
919
altered, falsified, or fake for the blank. Spurious means false
or lacking authenticity, so it's a good match.
4. D
Difficulty: Medium
Since the kids won, their parents must have been pretty
happy, and the reaction was probably joyous. Choice (D)
fits both blanks well. The parents wouldn't be perplexed that
their children won (unless they thought the team was really
lousy!). They wouldn't be enraged or dejected (depressed)
at the team's victory. And their reaction wouldn't be
scornful, or negative.
5. B
Difficulty: Medium
You don't have to know that Genghis Khan was a violent
dictator to get this question right. What's important to know
is that the first word of the sentence, Although, implies that
the two blanks have to contain words that contrast with each
other. Choice (B) is the best choice-although historians
had thought that Genghis Khan was a despotic potentate,
new research shows that many of his subjects nevertheless
revered him. Although (A), tyrannical, is synonymous with
despotic, (A)'s second-blank choice, abhorred, doesn't
provide the predicted contrast. Choice (C), venerated,
doesn't contrast with redundant. In (D), esteemed is similar
to revered, but jocular Goking) does not provide a contrast.
And in (E), it doesn't make sense to say that Khan's subjects
invoked him despite his peremptory reputation.
6. B
Difficulty: High
Since the sentence deals with advocates of free speech,
you can predict that they want to protect the right to express
opinions. So a good prediction for the first blank would
be guarantee. What would they feel about citizens who
express unpopular sentiments? They would want these
citizens to have the right to speak freely, so they wouldn't
want them to be censored. The advocates would not want
to diminish freedom. Choice (B) fits best. In (A), it doesn't
make sense to say that a person is divulged, or revealed.
You could say that his or her name is divulged, but that's
not what appears in the sentence. Restricted works pretty
well for the second blank, but it doesn't make sense to
say that not restricting people will elucidate, or explain,
freedom. And it doesn't make sense to say that freedom is
embellished, or decorated.
Questions 7-19
Passage 1
This is a very challenging passage. Because it was written
a long time ago, the style is old-fashioned and a lot of the
vocabulary is difficult. Remember, though, that you don't
need to understand every word to do well on the questions
for a passage. In fact, you can often skip an entire sentence
and still do just fine.
In paragraph 1, the author indicates that he's not at all
fond of Moby Dick. He says that it seems like Melville is
testing the reader's patience and that this book is more
exaggerated and dull than Melville's previous works.
Paragraph 2 notes that the book is a strange blend of story
and fact, and the writer feels that the book doesn't work as
either. In paragraph 3, the author writes that the first couple
of Melville's books were okay, but in his subsequent works,
he has gone downhill. Melville should have stopped while
he was ahead, but he ruined his reputation with Moby Dick.
Passage 2
This passage is modern and a little easier to handle.
Paragraph 1 cites the opinions of critics (like author 1) who
feel that Moby Dick has too much information unrelated
to the plot. Author 2 disagrees, and the rest of the passage
describes why. Paragraph 2 notes that Melville needed
the reader to consider the whale to be a worthy rival for
Ahab. This was a challenge, since the whale can't speak. In
paragraph 3, the author notes that Melville chose to educate
the reader in order to illuminate the character of the whale.
Consequently, the book has lots of information about whales
and the sea. Paragraph 4 notes that there is also plenty
of information about the process of whaling-hunting and
killing whales. The author feels that this information gives the
reader a better picture of Ahab's obsession.
7. A
Difficulty: High
Be careful with questions that ask about a term or phrase
that the author uses sarcastically. This appears in the first
paragraph, where Author 1 states that each of Melville's
works has gotten worse. They have advanced only in
negative qualities such as vanity and being clumsy and
ineffective. So, the author is using the term sarcastically.