SAT Reading and Writing Practice test 2

"The professor was known for her ____ approach to citation: every claim in her papers, no matter how minor, was traceable to a specific page in a specific source."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Microbiologist Henry Park studied the growth rate of one strain of bacteria at four temperatures. The table below reports the number of viable cells per milliliter after 24 hours at each temperature.

A student claims: This bacterial strain grows best at temperatures close to human body temperature and is sharply limited by either cool or hot extremes.

Which choice best uses data from the table to support the student's claim?

"The maps drawn by European cartographers in the 1700s showed several major rivers along the eastern coast, but the inland mountain ranges remained largely ____; no surveyor had yet traced their ridges or recorded their elevations."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

"The marine biologist's grant proposal was so detailed that the review committee found it ____; every question they might have asked was already answered in one of the appendices."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

The text reads: "After the team finished its warm-up drills, the coach gathered my teammates and ____ at the center of the gym." Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

The text reads: "During finals week, the library extended ____ hours so students could study late into the night." Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Architectural historian Lina Marquez argues that the Gothic style, often described as a uniform European phenomenon, in fact developed independent regional variations driven by local stone, local craft traditions, and the building practices of particular regional schools of masons. Her case rests heavily on a comparative analysis of vaulting techniques in cathedrals built between 1180 and 1260.

Which finding, if confirmed by additional research, would most directly support Marquez's argument?

Text 1
Linguist Maya Rivera argues that early-childhood exposure to multiple languages reorganizes the brain's executive function. Children raised in bilingual households, she contends, outperform their monolingual peers on tasks requiring attention control well into adolescence.

Text 2
Cognitive scientist Daniel Park reports that the observed gap in attention control between bilingual and monolingual children may be an artifact of socioeconomic confounds rather than a true language effect. When studies carefully control for parental education and household income, he argues, the bilingual advantage often shrinks to a statistically insignificant difference.

Based on the texts, how would Park (Text 2) most likely respond to Rivera's claim in Text 1?

Along stretches of the Pacific coast, kelp forests had thinned dramatically by the late twentieth century as sea-urchin populations, freed from predation, grazed unchecked on the young kelp. The recovery of sea otters — which prey on urchins — has been followed by a rebound in kelp cover within a decade in many bays, though kelp recovery has been uneven and incomplete in others.

Which inference about the relationship between sea otters, urchins, and kelp is most strongly supported by the text?

The text reads: "If the suspension bridge ____ stronger materials, the unusually severe windstorm last March would not have damaged the eastern span." Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

"The pottery shards uncovered at the dig were so ____ that the archaeologist needed both magnifying glasses and a steady hand to fit them back together; some pieces were no larger than a fingernail."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

California's oak woodlands evolved with frequent low-intensity fire, much of it set deliberately by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European contact. Land managers who exclude all fire now find that the woodlands accumulate dense undergrowth, which in turn fuels the rare but catastrophic wildfires that today's headlines tend to focus on.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

"Many natural-history museums have begun digitizing their insect collections, making the specimens accessible to researchers worldwide. ____, the high-resolution images often capture details too small or too fragile to study directly under a microscope, opening forms of analysis that handling the physical specimens cannot."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The text reads: "To prepare for the chemistry exam, students should review their notes, ____, and get a full night of sleep before the test." Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

"Most freshwater fish kept in home aquariums are descendants of wild populations that have been bred in captivity for many generations. ____, the common goldfish in a glass bowl traces its lineage back to a wild Chinese carp known as Carassius auratus, first domesticated more than a thousand years ago."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

When Galileo turned his improved telescope toward Jupiter in 1610, he saw four small bright points whose positions changed from night to night and that occasionally disappeared entirely from view. After recording their positions over several weeks, he concluded that the points were moons orbiting Jupiter, not background stars.

Which choice describes a conclusion about Galileo's reasoning that is most strongly supported by the text?

"Although the new pedestrian bridge was structurally sound and met every safety standard, its appearance — clad in dull gray panels with no visible ornament — drew quick ____ from local artists and architecture critics, several of whom had hoped the project would become a visual landmark for the riverfront."

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

The text reads: "By the time the rescue team reached the ridge, the hikers ____ shelter under an overhanging rock and started a small fire to keep warm." Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?