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SAT Critical Reading
Practice Test

Section 1

Time — 25 Minutes

24 Questions

Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Example:

Hoping to ------- the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ------- to both labor and management.

(A) enforce . . useful

(B) end . . divisive

(C) overcome . . unattractive

(D) extend . . satisfactory

(E) resolve . . acceptable

1. The pamphlet was criticized for having too much -------, a specialized vocabulary unique to that profession.

	(A) glossary
	(B) knowledge
	(C) jargon
	(D) capacity
	(E) imperfection

2. Not so surprisingly, families that are careful with their spending tend to have larger retirement accounts because of that -------, since these families seem to show a discipline that allows their money to -------.

	(A) generosity . . fluctuate
	(B) popularity . . grow
	(C) dissidence . . entice
	(D) extravagance . . emerge
	(E) thriftiness . . accumulate

3. For some of the participants, the debate was a useful -------, one not ------- with relevant discussion topics but nevertheless containing enough substance to make it worthwhile.

	(A) organization . . content
	(B) preparation . . conflicting
	(C) calamity . . armed
	(D) event . . replete
	(E) discovery . . flawed

4. Using charts and graphs to ------- the content of a research paper is most relevant when the complexity of the topic ------- a visual means of explanation.

	(A) encourage . . dignifies
	(B) repair . . coordinates
	(C) discourage . . fulfills
	(D) augment . . warrants
	(E) nurture . . criticizes

5. Extremely loud cheering from the crowd ------- the two volunteers, causing them to stand up and acknowledge the applause despite their reluctance.

	(A) exacerbated
	(B) formalized
	(C) emboldened
	(D) condemned
	(E) magnified

6. The scientist, infamous for his slovenliness yet respected for his theoretical knowledge, often spoke with such ------- that colleagues overlooked his ------- appearance.

	(A) astuteness . . shabby
	(B) fervor . . impeccable
	(C) lethargy . . genuine
	(D) equanimity . . inoffensive
	(E) contentment . . exaggerated

7. The playwright was known to be ------- in his opposition to the changes: he refused to bend on his position that the scene should be rewritten.

	(A) tractable
	(B) obdurate
	(C) malleable
	(D) turbulent
	(E) lachrymose

8. Some dentists attempt to distract their nervous patients by being -------, for example, constantly speaking and rapidly switching topics from one trivial item to the next.

	(A) obstreperous
	(B) garrulous
	(C) fractious
	(D) propitious
	(E) maudlin

Questions 9-12 are based on the following passages.

		Passage 1:

		How often people speak of art and science as
		though they were two entirely different things,
		with no interconnection. An artist is emotional,
Line		they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all
5		at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is
		cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he
		argues carefully step by step, and needs no
		imagination. That is all wrong. The true artist is
		quite rational as well as imaginative and knows
10		what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers.
		The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as
		rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where
		reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his
		science suffers.

		Passage 2:

15		Artists exist in a world of vagueness with no
		concrete answers, no formal rules, and no
		necessary connection with reality. Each work
		of art can be interpreted in any number of
		ways, and there is most often no definitive
20		interpretation upon which all agree. In fact,
		artists seem to delight in the fact that each
		person can make up his or her own mind as to
		the meaning of their work. Imagine if a
		scientist, though, were to say that the law of
25		gravity is open to interpretation, and that it
		functions differently depending on what mood
		you're in, or what your favorite color is. I
		myself would prefer not to drive over a bridge
		which has a sign that reads: "Weight Limit:
30		You Decide."

9. The author of Passage 1 would most likely respond to the last sentence of Passage 2 by

	(A) arguing that little is known about the creative process employed by scientists
	(B) suggesting that artists also arrive at a final product by taking a series of discrete steps
	(C) pointing out that scientists use imagination and intuition even when their final product must be very precise
	(D) noting that complex scientific formulas often seem as if they are open to interpretation by nonscientific observers
	(E) questioning the degree of accuracy in the calculations employed by scientists

10. Compared to the tone of Passage 1, the tone of Passage 2 is more

	(A) judgmental
	(B) scholarly
	(C) sentimental
	(D) apologetic
	(E) informational

11. The two passages differ in their views on the interconnectedness of art and science in that Passage 1 states that artists and scientists

	(A) are quick to reach solutions while Passage 2 argues that only scientists are efficient problem solvers
	(B) each display characteristics traditionally ascribed to the other, while Passage 2 suggests that artists deal only with imprecision and ambiguity
	(C) are both sensible and pragmatic while Passage 2 infers that artists are mostly illogical
	(D) both risk a poor outcome if they are not imaginative, while Passage 2 argues that artists use imagination while scientists use logic
	(E) are both emotional decision makers, while Passage 2 notes that scientists must be devoid of emotion when formulating exact solutions

12. Which generalization about scientists is supported by both passages?

	(A) They deal with problems which have definitive solutions
	(B) They would have difficulty appreciating abstract art
	(C) Their work impacts our everyday lives
	(D) They enjoy the fact that their creative process lacks ambiguity
	(E) They would prefer more public prestige for their accomplishments

Questions 13-24 are based on the following passage.

		The following passage first appeared in a collection of literary works published in 1909.

		In the summer of 1896 Mr. William Holt, a wealthy
		manufacturer of Chicago, was living temporarily in
		a little town of central New York, the name of
Line		which the writer's memory has not retained. Mr.
5		Holt had had "trouble with his wife," from whom
		he had parted a year before. Whether the trouble
		was anything more serious than "incompatibility
		of temper," he is probably the only living person
		that knows: he is not addicted to the vice of
10		confidences. Yet he has related the incident herein
		set down to at least one person without exacting a
		pledge of secrecy. He is now living in Europe.

		One evening he had left the house of a brother
		whom he was visiting, for a stroll in the country.
15		It may be assumed — whatever the value of the
		assumption in connection with what is said to
		have occurred — that his mind was occupied with
		reflections on his domestic infelicities and the
		distressing changes that they had wrought in his
20		life.

		Whatever may have been his thoughts, they so
		possessed him that he observed neither the lapse
		of time nor whither his feet were carrying him; he
		knew only that he had passed far beyond the town
25		limits and was traversing a lonely region by a road
		that bore no resemblance to the one by which he
		had left the village. In brief, he was "lost."

		Realizing his mischance, he smiled; central New
		York is not a region of perils, nor does one long
30		remain lost in it. He turned about and went back
		the way that he had come. Before he had gone far
		he observed that the landscape was growing more
		distinct — was brightening. Everything was
		suffused with a soft, red glow in which he saw his
35		shadow projected in the road before him. "The
		moon is rising," he said to himself. Then he
		remembered that it was about the time of the new
		moon, and if that tricksy orb was in one of its
		stages of visibility it had set long before. He
40		stopped and faced about, seeking the source of the
		rapidly broadening light. As he did so, his shadow
		turned and lay along the road in front of him as
		before. The light still came from behind him. That
		was surprising; he could not understand. Again he
45		turned, and again, facing successively to every
		point of the horizon. Always the shadow was
		before — always the light behind, "a still and awful
		red."

		Holt was astonished — "dumbfounded" is the word
50		that he used in telling it — yet seems to have
		retained a certain intelligent curiosity. To test the
		intensity of the light whose nature and cause he
		could not determine, he took out his watch to see
		if he could make out the figures on the dial. They
55		were plainly visible, and the hands indicated the
		hour of eleven o'clock and twenty-five minutes. At
		that moment the mysterious illumination
		suddenly flared to an intense, almost blinding
		splendor, flushing the entire sky, extinguishing
60		the stars and throwing the monstrous shadow of
		himself athwart the landscape. In that unearthly
		illumination he saw near him, but apparently in
		the air at a considerable elevation, the figure of
		his wife, clad in her night-clothing and holding to
65		her breast the figure of his child. Her eyes were
		fixed upon his with an expression which he
		afterward professed himself unable to name or
		describe, further than that it was "not of this life."

		The flare was momentary, followed by black on
70		the darkness, in which, however, the apparition
		still showed white and motionless; then by
		insensible degrees it faded and vanished, like a
		bright image retina after the closing of the eyes. A
		peculiarity of the apparition, hardly noted at the
75		time, but afterward recalled, was that it showed
		only the upper half of the woman's figure:
		nothing was seen below the waist.

		The sudden darkness was comparative, not
		absolute, for gradually all objects of his
80		environment became again visible.

		In the dawn of the morning Holt found himself
		entering the village at a point opposite to that at
		which he had left it. He soon arrived at the house
		of his brother, who hardly knew him. He was
85		wild-eyed, haggard, and gray as a rat. Almost
		incoherently, he related his night's experience.

		"Go to bed, my poor fellow," said his brother,
		"and — wait. We shall hear more of this."

		An hour later came the predestined telegram.
90		Holt's dwelling in one of the suburbs of Chicago
		had been destroyed by fire. Her escape cut off by
		the flames, his wife had appeared at an upper
		window, her child in her arms. There she had
		stood, motionless, apparently dazed. Just as the
95		firemen had arrived with a ladder, the floor had
		given way, and she was seen no more.

		The moment of this culminating horror was
		eleven o'clock and twenty-five minutes, standard
		time.

13. In lines 9-10, the phrase "he is not addicted to the vice of confidences" refers to the fact that Mr. Holt was

	(A) a shy and introverted person
	(B) recovering from other addictions
	(C) an extremely ethical person
	(D) not quick to speak about private matters
	(E) afraid to relay his story out of fear that it would be retold inaccurately

14. In line 11, "exacting" most nearly means

	(A) returning
	(B) preferring
	(C) perfecting
	(D) considering
	(E) demanding

15. In the context of the first paragraph, the statement in line 12 "He is now living in Europe" serves to emphasize the fact that Mr. Holt

	(A) preferred that his story not be retold openly to others
	(B) frequently traveled abroad
	(C) wished for his story to propagate throughout Europe
	(D) arranged for the person to be taken out of the country
	(E) had business dealings with many countries

16. The description in lines 21-23 ("Whatever … him") suggests that

	(A) Mr. Holt had been afraid to go beyond the town limits
	(B) Mr. Holt was upset because he was in a hurry to reach his destination
	(C) Mr. Holt wished to reconcile with his wife
	(D) Mr. Holt became disoriented because he was not familiar with central New York
	(E) Mr. Holt lost his way because he was preoccupied

17. In lines 47-48, the description of the light's color as "a still and awful red" functions primarily to

	(A) describe something which is unpleasant to most people
	(B) foreshadow something ominous
	(C) point out how dazzling the light was
	(D) contrast with the author's favorable opinion of the color
	(E) reinforce the fact that Mr. Holt was puzzled by the phenomenon

18. As compared to the description of Mr. Holt in lines 84-85 ("He was wild-eyed, haggard, and gray as a rat"), lines 51-54 ("To test … dial") describe him as

	(A) fearful of the seemingly supernatural characteristics of the phenomenon
	(B) mesmerized by the beauty of the phenomenon
	(C) saddened by the ephemeral nature of the phenomenon
	(D) intellectually curious as to the nature of the phenomenon
	(E) humbled by the intensity and hue of the light

19. The statement in lines 83-84 ("He soon arrived at the house of his brother, who hardly knew him") refers to the fact that

	(A) Mr. Holt did not have a very close relationship with his brother
	(B) Mr. Holt was so physically affected by the experience that his brother almost didn't recognize him
	(C) Mr. Holt's behavior was so repulsive that his brother did not approve of it
	(D) Mr. Holt had been gone so long that his brother had forgotten about him
	(E) Mr. Holt had disguised himself so that no one in the town would recognize him

20. In lines 87-88, Holt's brother's reaction to him suggests that

	(A) he wished to calm down Holt and help him regain his composure
	(B) he had already heard about the apparition from someone else
	(C) he knew that a telegram was already on its way
	(D) he believed Holt's story to be deceitful
	(E) he was embarrassed by Holt's appearance

21. In line 89, "predestined" most nearly means

	(A) solemn
	(B) proscribed
	(C) fated
	(D) fixed
	(E) mournful

22. The author mentions the "peculiarity" in lines 73-77 ("A peculiarity … waist") in order to imply that the apparition of Holt's wife and child

	(A) could not be real because Holt's wife was confined to a wheelchair
	(B) was blurry due to the competing light from the sunset
	(C) presumably appeared from the same vantage point as if one were physically there
	(D) was not physically accurate and therefore must have been caused by atmospheric conditions
	(E) puzzled Holt because he had excellent eyesight

23. In relaying the story, the author's tone is one of

	(A) moderate impartiality
	(B) guarded mistrust
	(C) extreme exaggeration
	(D) anxious concern
	(E) blatant skepticism

24. The passage is narrated from the point of view of

	(A) Mr. Holt
	(B) Mr. Holt's brother
	(C) an observer who also witnessed the apparition
	(D) someone who had promised Holt he would keep the story a secret
	(E) a person who heard the story from someone other than Holt himself