Cracking Test 4
Cracking Test 4
Cracking Test 4
Reading Test
65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table or
graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following passage. 30 a state known for its abolitionists, in that brief period
This passage describes the life and work of Phyllis Wheatley before 1783, when slavery was effectively abolished
(1753-1784), a poet from Massachusetts. in the northern state. All of these circumstances
and contradictions certainly go some of the way to
The role of African-American authors in what we explaining Wheatley’s remarkable achievements, but
more broadly call “American literature” is now well- 35 they do just as much to make us wonder how she was
known. Not only is Toni Morrison widely revered as able to achieve them at all.
Line the greatest novelist of the era after World War II, Zora While his honorary term may seem like a
5 Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) cruel oxymoron to us today, John Wheatley was a
is the most-read book in American high schools. What “progressive” slave owner, which meant primarily
many do not realize, however, is that the tradition of 40 that he devoted some of his resources to his slaves’
African-American literature goes back to the origins thorough education. By the time she was twelve years
of the country itself. While the widespread practice old, Phyllis could read the New Testament in Greek,
10 of slavery (and its attendant prohibitions on literacy) and she was familiar with the great Roman works in
stained American history for many hundreds of years, their original Latin. Seeing that Phyllis had a special
a few remarkable individuals wrote on, and not just 45 aptitude for these subjects, the Wheatleys soon gave
in the form of slave narratives (like that of Frederick Phyllis’s duties to other slaves and allowed her to focus
Douglass), but in the less overtly political arts of poetry on her studies and, soon, her poetry.
15 and fiction. Wheatley’s story only becomes more fantastic from
Perhaps one of the most curious of these early there. In 1776, Wheatley sent a copy of her poem “To
authors is Phyllis Wheatley, the first published African- 50 His Excellency, George Washington” to Washington
American poet in the United States. Although the himself, and she was invited to his headquarters in
exact circumstances are unknown, Wheatley was Cambridge, MA, to meet him soon after. Thomas Paine
20 born in West Africa (Wheatley scholars hypothesize included “To His Excellency” in the Pennsylvania
that it was either modern-day Gambia or Senegal) Gazette in April 1776, and Thomas Jefferson praised
around 1753. When Wheatley was 8 years old, she was 55 Wheatley’s poems in Notes on the State of Virginia
captured by slave traders and sold to wealthy Boston (1801-1805).
merchant John Wheatley. This single event contains Tragically, for all her favorable circumstances,
25 so many facets that point to just how remarkable and Wheatley would not continue her successes. John
tragic Wheatley’s story is. Her very name, Phyllis Wheatley freed Wheatley at his death in 1778. Shortly
Wheatley, is a combination of the name of her master 60 thereafter, Wheatley married a “free man of color,” but
and the slave ship, The Phillis, that abducted her from the couple was soon wracked with debt and hardship.
her homeland. Then, she was a slave in Massachusetts,
758 | Cracking the New SAT
1 1
By the time of her death in 1784, at the young age of 2
31, Wheatley was completely impoverished, surviving Based on the information in the passage, Phyllis
on the meager wages she earned from domestic Wheatley’s life can best be described as
65 work. Even though Wheatley had been freed in a
A) difficult, because she was never freed from slavery
“progressive” state, racism and sexism were rampant
despite her fame as a poet.
in all parts of the country at that time, and Wheatley
could not find a place as a plain citizen, let alone as a B) charmed, because she was given so many
famous poet. wonderful opportunities upon arriving at the
70 Today, Wheatley’s story seems to provide more Wheatleys’ home.
questions than answers. For one, Wheatley was never C) impressive, although it contains many aspects
outwardly critical of or resistant to her place as a that are troubling or confusing to present-day
slave. Her most famous poem, “On Being Brought readers.
From Africa to America,” begins with the curious D) contemplative, although some of the sentiments in
75 lines, “’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,/ her work show a refusal to think deeply about her
Taught my benighted soul to understand.” Nothing own life.
of abduction or cruelty at all, until the final lines,
“Remember Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,/May
be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.” But even here, 3
80 Wheatley seems to be suggesting that all Africans can
be, in a sense, redeemed by an experience like the Which choice provides the best evidence for the
one she had—that is, an experience as the slave of a answer to the previous question?
“refin’d” white owner. A) Lines 18-24 (“Although . . . Wheatley”)
Wheatley’s poems are more read today than they B) Lines 48-56 (“Wheatley’s story . . . 1805)”)
85 have been in many years. And while her story does
C) Lines 57-69 (“Tragically . . . poet”)
not seem to contain all the hallmarks of overcoming
adversity that we might expect from a freed slave, the D) Lines 84-90 (“Wheatley’s poems . . . groups”)
story nevertheless shows a triumph over the odds and
a revealing look into the mind of one from among
90 history’s most voiceless groups. 4
The passage suggests which of the following about
Phyllis Wheatley’s popularity?
1
A) Her family was prominent in Massachusetts, and
The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
she gained all of her connections through the
A) criticize readers for not having read more works family.
by authors subjected to adverse circumstances.
B) She was admired in the United States, but she
B) describe the life and work of an author while achieved greater fame in Europe.
noting some of the complications of that life and
C) She was considered one of the greatest poets in the
work.
country, but few people consider her a great poet
C) outline a general history of African-American today.
literature and discuss its major figures.
D) She was admired by prominent people, but such
D) praise one slaveholder for his particularly admiration did not make her life less difficult.
forward-thinking views by showing his kindness
to slaves.
1 1
5 8
Which choice provides the best evidence for the The information in lines 41-47 primarily illustrates
answer to the previous question? Phyllis Wheatley’s
A) Lines 1-6 and 84-90 A) remarkable aptitude.
B) Lines 24-32 and 73-83 B) poetic nature.
C) Lines 44-47 and 84-90 C) vicious subjection.
D) Lines 48-56 and 57-65 D) confounding life.
6 9
The reference to Frederick Douglass in lines 13-14 The word “progressive” appears in quotations in line
serves primarily to 39 and line 66 in order to emphasize
A) name a writer whose life story is less interesting A) the remarkable achievement of those who behave
than Wheatley’s. well before it is common to do so.
B) allude to a type of literary achievement distinct B) the awkwardness of using contemporary terms to
from Wheatley’s. described past events.
C) note a discrepancy in literary history that is not C) the difficult nature of describing negative behavior
often acknowledged. in a positive way.
D) refer to a friend of Wheatley’s who encouraged the D) the fact that the word comes from Wheatley’s
publication of her work. poetry and essays.
7 10
In context, the “circumstances” in line 19 refer to As used in line 86, “hallmarks” most nearly means
A) precise and complete biographical details. A) distinctive features.
B) unintended consequences and failures. B) cordial greetings.
C) climate and weather conditions. C) political leanings.
D) general context and historical events. D) troublesome qualities.
27
23
Which choice provides the best evidence for the
Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
answer to the previous question? A) Lines 5-8 (“Many . . . chaos”)
A) Lines 8-9 (“They . . . Equality”)
B) Lines 47-51 (“This . . . at all”)
B) Lines 24-25 (“Nothing . . . privileges”)
C) Lines 52-58 (“Do we . . . cannot be”)
C) Lines 36-38 (“No . . . about”)
D) Lines 60-61 (“The family . . . succession”)
D) Lines 39-46 (“And . . . preferences”)
28
24
The primary purpose of the third paragraph (lines 52-
As used in line 23, “runs in the grooves of” most
58) as it relates to the passage as a whole is to
nearly means
A) speak ironically of people’s good intentions while
A) corresponds with.
disparaging those who disagree.
B) dances along to.
B) concede the good intentions of detractors while
C) cuts an irregular pattern in. introducing a main point.
D) breaks violently from. C) summarize the arguments presented in the first
two paragraphs in much the same language.
25 D) close the debate by refusing to acknowledge the
views of another side.
The principal rhetorical effect of the phrase in lines
31-32 (“The North . . . world”) is to
A) identify the disagreements described in the article 29
as those of particular regions.
As used in line 73, “pleasure” most nearly means
B) outline the places that have already accepted
Cable’s views and to encourage the South to join A) discretion.
them. B) hedonism.
C) suggest that there is widespread agreement about C) manipulation.
a single fundamental principle. D) fun.
D) praise some parts of the United States for being
more intelligent than others.
1 1
30 31
In the final paragraph of the passage, Cable’s attitude Based on the final paragraph, Cable’s definition of
toward those who cite social rights (lines 61-63) can civil rights includes all of the following EXCEPT
best be described as A) legal protection for all races.
A) hostile. B) rights that can be dictated by law.
B) legalistic. C) nothing about social interaction.
C) skeptical. D) interactions based on personal preference.
D) supportive.
C) Lines 54-56 (“A study . . . energy”) B) Passage 1 dismisses newer scientific research while
Passage 2 uses it sparingly.
D) Lines 56-59 (“Three . . . humans”)
C) Passage 1 uses new scientific research while
Passage 2 is more interested in deductive
reasoning.
41
D) Passage 1 is eager to incorporate new materials
The authors of both passages would most likely agree while Passage 2 dismisses any theories that come
with which of the following? after Darwin’s.
A) Bipedalism and human intelligence evolved at the
same time in history.
B) If primates were to walk on two legs, they would
expend less energy.
C) Primates would expend as much energy as
humans if the two went grocery shopping.
D) Human use of hands and human intelligence are
likely connected in the evolutionary process.
Blood
granulocytes
x
genetic code, cells from other unique individuals
Lymphoid progenitor cells
Heart Cardiac myocytes x x may live inside our bodies
Skin Endothelial cells x
Skin
Spleen
Keratinocytes
Hematopoletic cells
x
x B) To suggest that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by
Kidney
Pancreas
Renal tubular cells
Islet beta cells
x
x
cells with “Y” chromosomes
Liver x x
Hepatocytes
Gallbladder Epithelial cells x C) To illustrate the difficulty of drawing conclusions
Intestine
Cervix
Epithelial cells
Epithelial cells
x
x
from scientific research
D) To show how the common conception of the bond
Various types of microchimerisms affect humans. The com-
mon mother-Mc and fetus-Mc and the organs/presumed cell
between mothers and children is wrong
types affected by them are shown.
46
43
As used in line 22, “autonomous” most nearly means
What is the rhetorical effect of the opening line of the A) self-governing.
passage?
B) reliant.
A) To elicit a response from the reader about his or
her personal experience C) independent.
B) To cast doubt on a cliché idea that is now D) sovereign.
outmoded
C) To introduce a well-known topic to which the
author will add new information 47
D) To question the fallacy that a mother is closer to According to the passage, what is one potential
her children than a father is outcome of a woman’s brain containing dormant male
cells?
A) Women with such cells may be less susceptible to
44 memory disorders.
Which of the following models the structure of the B) Women with such cells are less likely to suffer
author’s argument throughout the passage? from immune disorders.
A) He outlines a common misconception, shows C) Women with such cells tend to be more aggressive
new evidence to the contrary, then offers a new and physically stronger.
solution. D) Women with such cells are more likely to live with
B) He presents his own original research, discusses men for several decades at a time.
his methods for acquiring it, then critiques earlier
studies.
C) He questions a new set of data, shows its
inconsistencies, then offers his own new
hypothesis.
D) He starts from a point of basic agreement,
introduces new information, and speculates about
that new information.
1 1
48 51
Which choice provides the best evidence for the Which choice provides the best evidence for the
answer to the previous question? answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 16-18 (“These . . . disorders”) A) Lines 55-57 (“Since . . . gestation”)
B) Lines 30-34 (“What . . . brain”) B) Lines 64-69 (“Since . . . disease”)
C) Lines 51-54 (“This . . . pregnancy”) C) Lines 76-81 (“In addition . . . gestation”)
D) Lines 72-76 (“Microchimerism . . . nursing”) D) Lines 81-85 (“Women . . . mother”)
49 52
Which idea best describes the function of the Based on the information in the passage and the
statement “We all . . . strange” (lines 35-37)? graphic, which of the following most accurately
A) Many people with certain disorders prefer not to describes an effect of microchimerism?
come into contact with strangers. A) It is possible that a mother’s cells would be found
B) After birth, children often help their mothers and in the brain of an infant to whom she has given
fathers through difficult times. birth.
C) The idea that everyone is unique in some way is B) A women and her fetus exchange an equal
no longer scientifically provable. number of liver cells during gestation.
D) The notion of total individuality may be C) It has been firmly established that fetus cells can
inconsistent with scientific reality. migrate to the brain of the mother, as well as to
several other organs.
D) It is due to the lack of cells produced and
50 transferred from mother to fetus that children can
be born with immune disorders.
According to the passage, non-twin siblings may have
some cells in common because they
A) share at least the mother’s half of their genetic
makeup.
B) are present for one another’s significant illnesses.
C) are less likely to suffer from the memory disorders
that afflict the elderly.
D) may have exchanged unique cells as the younger
sibling was in the womb.
ST O P
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section in the test.
Turn to Section 2 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage below is accompanied by a number of questions. For some questions, you
will consider how the passage might be revised to improve the expression of ideas. For
other questions, you will consider how the passage might be edited to correct errors in
sentence structure, usage, or punctuation. A passage or a question may be accompanied
by one or more graphics (such as a table or graph) that you will consider as you make
revising and editing decisions.
Some questions will direct you to an underlined portion of a passage. Other questions will
direct you to a location in a passage or ask you to think about the passage as a whole.
After reading each passage, choose the answer to each question that most effectively
improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the
conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option.
Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the
passage as it is.
good as well as ill. There is a new crop of hackers, called C) As identity theft becomes a more public problem,
Certified Ethical Hackers (CEH), who can help to protect D) Although hackers’ style is now more
conventionally attractive,
against 5 our evil counterparts and make computers safer
for us all.
4
Which of the following alternatives to the underlined
portion would be LEAST acceptable?
A) Realness
B) Legitimacy
C) Legality
D) Genuineness
5
A) NO CHANGE
B) one’s
C) the
D) their
2 2
Certified Ethical Hackers follow a course of study 6
either at an Accredited Training Center or by self-study. A) NO CHANGE
The final exam is a 125 multiple-choice exam: it takes B) certification, Certified Network Defense Architect,
four hours and requires 70% correct to receive a passing C) certification Certified Network Defense Architect,
score. There is another 6 certification Certified Network D) certification, Certified Network Defense Architect
Defense Architect which has the same basic course and test
but is available only for certain U.S. Government agents.
7
7
The writer is considering deleting the phrase but is
available only for certain U.S. Government agents from
the preceding sentence, ending the sentence with a
period after the word test. Should this phrase be kept
or deleted?
A) Kept, because it helps to differentiate the two
certifications mentioned in this paragraph.
B) Kept, because it shows that CEHs also have an
important role to play in maintaining national
security.
C) Deleted, because it contains information already
stated in an earlier part of the paragraph.
D) Deleted, because it suggests that hacking is only a
problem in the United States.
11
A) NO CHANGE
B) contradictory under terms.
C) contradiction by terms.
D) contradiction in terms.
2 2
Questions 12–22 are based on the following passage. 12
Which of the following true choices best matches the
Taking Stock of Modern Investing style and tone of this paragraph?
Time is a funny thing. Often, we can feel that we’ve A) NO CHANGE
been studying for hours and hours only to realize that B) while the average NFL play lasts only 6 to 7
seconds.
it’s been, say, 40 minutes. Or, if we’re watching a football
C) yet people continue to watch football every
game, we may have a sense of constant action, 12 and Sunday.
that’s what sports fandom is all about. Each of these 13 D) but there are some who find football boring as all
is plausible when we sit and think about it: we know that get-out.
“time flies when you’re having fun” and that it drags when
you’re not, but some statistics about time may surprise
13
us. If time flies when you’re having fun, what about when
A) NO CHANGE
there’s no “you” at all, or any other human for that matter?
B) are
C) was
D) were
16
A) NO CHANGE
B) take the human field and the mind in competition
with its working?
C) field the human mind and start working and
competing with it?
D) work starting and competing in human fields and
the mind?
2 2
Broader questions of artificial intelligence 17 aside; 17
the contemporary stock market offers an interesting test A) NO CHANGE
case. There’s no question that the average holding period B) aside. The
has gone down significantly since the 1950s, but a recent C) aside—the
study has shown that the data no longer fits an obvious D) aside, the
trend. In 2014, the average holding period for a stock in
the U.S. was 22 seconds. 18 In 1920, it was even lower!
18
Granted, the stock market has gone through some troubling
Which of the following gives information consistent
permutations: many young people treat investing in the with the graph?
stock market like “investing” in the poker tables at Las A) NO CHANGE
Vegas, and people are less likely than ever to stay loyal to B) It peaked in 1975!
certain brands. 19 C) What a change a decade makes!
Average holding period for a stock on the NYSE (years) D) In 1940, it was 10 years!
10
9
8 19
7 If the author were to remove the quotation marks
6 from the preceding sentence, the sentence would
5 primarily lose
4
A) nothing at all, because the punctuation does not
3
influence the meaning of the word in quotations.
2
1 B) a suggestion that the author wishes he could find a
0 more precise word.
C) an indication that the author is using the word
19 0
19 0
19 5
20 0
19 0
19 0
19 0
55
19 0
25
05
40
19 0
65
19 5
75
85
95
2
5
3
0
9
6
7
3
8
4
19
20
19
19
19
19
19
19
investing ironically.
Image courtesy SG Global Strategy Research D) a direct quotation from one of the investors
discussed in the essay.
After all, 22 seconds is the average, so if there are still some D) state
25
Which of the following choices would most effectively
conclude this paragraph and provide an effective
transition into the next?
A) The most famous courtroom drama of all time is
probably To Kill a Mockingbird.
B) Errol Morris has made many interesting films
throughout his career.
C) We all have our fascinations in life, and there’s
usually some TV show that lines up with these
fascinations.
D) One of the great modern examples of such a
fascination is Errol Morris’s famous documentary
The Thin Blue Line (1988).
in a sense reopens the case, interviewing many of those C) a Texas police officer being killed by this Ohio
man allegedly.
involved: 27 many more people than just the defendant
D) a verdict of guilty was this Ohio man’s fate for the
are involved in a case. All of the interviewees raise notable murder of a Texas police officer.
objections to Adams’s murder charge, and the film
concludes with a sobering message from the prosecutor’s
27
closing statement: the police are the “thin blue line”
Which of the following choices gives the most
separating society from 28 anarchy. At least they should
detailed explanation of the words those involved,
be, the film wants us to see, but should this separation which appear before the colon?
come at the expense of a man’s legal rights? A) NO CHANGE
B) witnesses, attorneys, detectives, and the judge who
presided over the case.
C) he couldn’t interview the victim of the crime for
obvious reasons.
D) there is nothing that says those involved can’t talk
after the trial has concluded.
28
Which of the following alternatives to the underlined
portion would be LEAST acceptable?
A) lawlessness.
B) chaos.
C) tyranny.
D) mayhem.
2 2
Within a year of the film’s 1988 release, Adams’s 29
sentence was overturned. It’s not hard to see that it was Which of the following gives accurate information
Morris’s film that helped to build the appeals case. Such an based on the graph?
event is remarkable, not only because of the relative rarity A) NO CHANGE
of a court overturning its verdict 29 (one that peaked in B) (the data do not account for repeated attempts to
overturn verdicts),
the year of Morris’s film), but also because it was seemingly
C) (in 1989, the direct-appeal reversal rate was
done outside of the courts. approximately 14%),
The significance of The Thin Blue Line is again with us D) (one that actually trended downward in the years
after Morris’s film),
today with the podcast Serial, hosted by journalist Sarah
Koenig. The podcast analyzes the records from the 1999
trial and conviction of Adnan Syed, a then-17-year-old 30
high school student, who was convicted of killing his ex- A) NO CHANGE
girlfriend. 30 While Koenig’s stated purpose is merely to B) Koenig’s stated purpose
understand the ins-and-outs of the trial, not necessarily to C) Because Koenig’s stated purpose
get Syed’s sentence overturned, she does identify a degree D) However, Koenig’s stated purpose
of uncertainty about the trial’s verdict. Unlike Morris,
Koenig is not quite convinced of her subject’s innocence as 31
Morris was, but she is equally interested in how the legal
The author is considering deleting the phrase as
system determines that guilt and innocence, often showing Morris was, placing the comma after the word
how decidedly extralegal matters can play a serious role. innocence. Should the phrase be kept or deleted?
31 A) Kept, because the contrast with Errol Morris’s
project is not clear without it.
Figure 2C: Direct Appeal Reversal Rate B) Kept, because Koenig is clearly interested in
by Year of Review, 1973-1995 duplicating Morris’s work in the podcast format.
100
90
C) Deleted, because the information is given
elsewhere in the sentence.
80
70 D) Deleted, because it is not reasonable to suppose
Percent Reversed
19 8
1973
19 8
19 0
81
19 6
89
19 2
93
19 4
19 4
19 4
19 1
76
19 7
79
19 2
83
1985
19 7
19 0
95
7
8
7
9
7
9
7
9
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
Year of Review
Her second patent came in 1989, for a device that D) after the word Center.
41
A) NO CHANGE
B) in the place of digital.
C) not digital technology.
D) DELETE the underlined portion (ending the
sentence with a period).
2 2
[5] 42
At this point, the writer is considering adding the
Ochoa’s third patent was issued in 1990. 42 This
following true statement.
technology enables a user to filter 43 two-dimensional A design patent typically lasts for 14 years, but a
images to focus on particular parts of that image utility patent lasts for 20.
with equal precision. An electronic system ranks the Should the writer make this addition here?
components of image, removing the “noise” that is A) Yes, because it helps to clarify many parts of the
irrelevant to the desired part of the image. This technology passage that discuss patents.
gives a three-dimensional perspective to two-dimensional B) Yes, because the statement is true and advances
the larger cause of education.
objects, essentially offering users the ability to search an
C) No, because the statement removes the focus from
image with the same range of motion and perspective Ellen Ochoa’s career and accomplishments.
that they could use when analyzing a real-life object. This D) No, because patents are a politically sensitive topic
patent has had an obvious role in high-definition cameras, when there are competing claims to them.
but it has also led to innovations in other areas, such as
fingerprint-recognition software.
43
A) NO CHANGE
B) a two-dimensional image
C) one or two dimensional images
D) a pair of dimensional images
44
The best sequence for the paragraphs would be
A) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
B) 2, 4, 3, 5, 1
C) 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
D) 4, 2, 3, 1, 5
ST O P
If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only.
Do not turn to any other section in the test.