Description
Sat Practice Test 6 answers
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Answer Explanations
Section 1: Reading Test
QUESTION 1
Choice C is the best answer. In the first paragraph the reader is introduced to Nawab, a father of twelve daughters who feels compelled to make more money to care for his family: “he must proliferate his sources of revenue” (lines 6-7). The remainder of the paragraph focuses on the way Nawab attempts to “proliferate” those income sources by identifying some of the moneymaking schemes Nawab undertakes, including setting up a flour mill and a fish farm and attempting to fix both radios and watches.
Choice A is incorrect because even if the first paragraph does indicate that Nawab is willing to work hard to take care of his family, it does not specifically address how he interacts with his daughters emotionally. Choice B is incorrect because the first paragraph describes some of Nawab’s activities but not the specifics of his schedule. Choice D is incorrect because the first paragraph introduces Harouni as Nawab’s employer but does not describe his lifestyle.
QUESTION 2
Choice B is the best answer. The passage states that Nawab earned “more kicks than kudos” (line 16) for his failed attempts at fixing watches. In the context of not doing a job well, this means Nawab was not given compliments (“kudos”) for his efforts but complaints (“kicks”) about them.
Choices A and D are incorrect because the passage clearly states that Nawab was not successful fixing watches, which earned him a negative response (“kicks,” or complaints). In this context it would be illogical to suggest that Nawab’s unsuccessful efforts at fixing watches would result in the sort of positive response implied by choice A (“thrills”) or choice D (“interests”). Choice C is incorrect because even though “jolts” might be unpleasant, they’re not the kind of negative response one would get instead of compliments.
QUESTION 3
Choice D is the best answer. The passage states that Nawab works “like an engineer tending the boilers on a foundering steamer in an Atlantic gale” (lines 26-28) in his attempts to keep his employer comfortable. The author likely uses this image because it highlights the challenging nature of Nawab’s work—work that is described in the next sentence as requiring “superhuman efforts” (line 28).
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because the author’s use of the image of an engineer working hard on a “foundering steamer” describes the effort Nawab is making in keeping his employer comfortable, not what Nawab might be dreaming about, anything to do with tube wells (which are not mentioned in the second paragraph), or that Nawab has had many different jobs in his life.
QUESTION 4
Choice A is the best answer because lines 28-32 show that Nawab is an efficient employee, stating that due to his “superhuman efforts,” Nawab is able to keep his employer comfortable, or in almost “the same mechanical cocoon . . . that the landowner enjoyed in Lahore.”
Choice B is incorrect because lines 40-42 describe the actions of Nawab’s employer only and do not address the employer’s feelings about Nawab’s work. Choice C is incorrect because lines 46-49 show Nawab characterizing himself as an old and ineffective employee, not one who performs his job well. Choice D is incorrect because line 58 addresses the fact Nawab had always lived in his employer’s household but not his effectiveness as an employee.
QUESTION 5
Choice C is the best answer. The main purpose of Nawab’s comments in lines 43-52 is to highlight the labor and service he has provided for Harouni over the years. Nawab says “there is but one man, me, your servant” to take care of the tube wells on all Harouni’s vast lands and that the extensive work has resulted in Nawab earning gray hairs on his employer’s behalf.
Choice A is incorrect because even though lines 43-52 initially highlight the vastness of Harouni’s lands, those lines primarily focus on Nawab’s dedication and service to Harouni. Choice B is incorrect because lines 43-52 emphasize not that Nawab is competent and reliable but that Nawab feels he is no longer able to adequately fulfill his duties. Choice D is incorrect because in lines 43-52, Nawab doesn’t say he intends to quit his job, asking instead only for help doing it.
QUESTION 6
Choice D is the best answer. In lines 61-62, Nawab says to his employer that he “cannot any longer
bicycle about like a bridegroom from farm to farm.” In this context, Nawab uses the word “bridegroom” to imply he is no longer a young man who can easily travel such great distances on his bike.
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because in the context of Nawab not being able to bike so far, he uses the word “bridegroom” to imply that he is no longer young, not that he is no longer in love (choice A), naive (choice B), or busy (choice C).
QUESTION 7
Choice B is the best answer. Harouni’s reaction to Nawab’s request for a new motorcycle can be found in lines 66-68, where the employer is said not to “particularly care one way or the other, except that it touched on his comfort—a matter of great interest to him.” For Harouni, in other words, the issue of Nawab getting a new motorcycle came down to what was best for Harouni, not what was best for Nawab.
Choice A is incorrect because in the passage Harouni is said not to be particularly impressed with how hard Nawab works; he cares about the issue of the motorcycle only in regard to its effect on his own comfort. Choice C is incorrect because Harouni is said to find Nawab’s speech not eloquent but “florid” (line 54), meaning flamboyant or ostentatious. Choice D is incorrect because Nawab does not threaten to quit his job but politely asks his employer to “let me go” (line 64).
QUESTION 8
Choice B is the best answer. The previous question asks why Harouni purchases his employee Nawab a new motorcycle, with the correct answer (that Harouni did so because it was in his own best interest) supported in lines 66-68: “He didn’t particularly care one way or the other, except that it touched on his comfort—a matter of great interest to him.”
Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because the lines cited do not support the answer to the previous question about why Harouni buys Nawab a new motorcycle. Instead, they simply identify the issue (choice A), note that Harouni also gave Nawab money for gas (choice C), and show how the motorcycle affects Nawab’s side businesses (choice D).
QUESTION 9
Choice A is the best answer. The passage states that Nawab’s new motorcycle leads to the “disgust of the farm managers” (line 74).
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because the passage specifically says Nawab’s new motorcycle leads to the “disgust of the farm managers,” not their happiness (choice B), envy (choice C), or indifference (choice D).
QUESTION 10
Choice D is the best answer. The passage specifically states what Nawab considers the greatest part of his getting a new motorcycle: “Best of all, now he could spend every night with his wife” (lines 81-82).
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because the passage explicitly states that Nawab believes the best thing about his new motorcycle is that he can “spend every night with his wife,” not that people start calling him “Uncle” (choice A), that he is able to expand his business (choice B), or that he is able to educate his daughters (choice C).
QUESTION 11
Choice B is the best answer. The passage states that historically, “newspapers such as The Times and broadcasters such as the BBC were widely regarded as the trusted shapers of authoritative agendas and conventional wisdom” (lines 27-30). But it goes on to say that “there is a growing feeling . . . that the
news media should be ‘informative rather than authoritative’” (lines 70-73). Together these lines indicate the main purpose of the passage, which is to discuss how people’s perception of the news media is changing from its being an authoritative voice to simply an informative one.
Choice A is incorrect because the passage deals with changes in the way news is perceived but does not primarily focus on the technological changes that may have resulted in those or other changes. Choice C is incorrect because even if the passage implies that viewers might increasingly believe a journalist’s values can affect the news stories being produced, it does not provide specific examples of that
happening. Choice D is incorrect because the passage begins with the simple sentence “The news is a form of public knowledge” (line 1) and makes no attempt to refute that claim.
QUESTION 12
Choice D is the best answer. Although the passage initially states that traditional news authorities were once implicitly “trusted” (line 29) regarding the content they produced, it goes on to note that “as part of the general process of the transformation of authority . . . the demand has been for all authority to make explicit the frames of value which determine their decisions” (lines 33-38). The modern audience, in other words, wants to hear not only the stories a news organization produces but also the values that form the foundation of that organization’s beliefs.
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because lines 33-38 make clear that the expectation traditional
authorities now face is the need to “make explicit the frames of value which determine their decisions,” not that they shouldn’t be affected by commercial interests (choice A), that they should work for the common good (choice B), or that they should consider the context of public versus private knowledge (choice C).
QUESTION 13
Choice C is the best answer. The previous question asks what expectation traditional authorities now face, with the answer being that they must make their perspectives or beliefs clear to the audience. This is supported in lines 33-38: “As part of the general process of the transformation of authority . . . the
demand has been for all authority to make explicit the frames of value which determine their decisions.”
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because the lines cited do not support the answer to the previous question about what expectation traditional authorities now face, instead contrasting private and public knowledge (choice A), explaining the complexity of news dissemination (choice B), and providing one way news has changed in modern times (choice D).
QUESTION 14
Choice C is the best answer. In lines 23-25, the passage states that “there is not always common agreement about what the public needs to know.” In this context, a “common” agreement is a widespread one shared by many people.
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because in the context of something shared by many people, the word “common” implies that it is widespread, not that it is plentiful or abundant (choice A), recognizable to others (choice B), or normal (choice D).
QUESTION 15
Choice B is the best answer. Two quotes are provided in lines 43-53, one highlighting the way editors work differently in modern times due to the demands of the audience and one offering an opinion about the perceived negative effects of that new reality of news. Those extended quotations were added by the authors most likely because they provide concrete examples of how some journalists feel about modern news dissemination.
Choice A is incorrect because the two quotations provided in lines 43-53 are not contradictory: the first offers a description of how news editors work differently in modern times, and the second describes how certain changes might affect news stories or the audience. Choices C and D are incorrect because the two quotations illustrate how some feel about the way the dissemination of news might be changing and are not used to either criticize or make suggestions.
QUESTION 16
Choice A is the best answer. The passage explains that although the major news organizations were once considered “trusted shapers” (line 29) of public knowledge, that perception is changing due to the “growing feeling . . . that the news media should be ‘informative rather than authoritative’; the job of journalists should be to ‘give the news as raw as it is, without putting their slant on it’; and people should be given ‘sufficient information’ from which ‘we would be able to form opinions of our own’” (lines 70-77). In other words, the audience now wants raw facts about the world, not facts constructed in support of a certain opinion.
Choice B is incorrect because the passage presents the public as wanting information without any slant on it, not as wanting only a limited amount of information. Choices C and D are incorrect because the passage does not specifically identify the public’s feelings about including quotations from authorities in news stories or how they would want journalists to handle private details that the subjects of news stories do not want revealed.
QUESTION 17
Choice D is the best answer. The previous question asks what the public is beginning to believe should be avoided in news stories, with the answer being the personal opinions or feelings of journalists. This is supported in lines 70-77: “There is a growing feeling . . . that the news media should be ‘informative
rather than authoritative’; the job of journalists should be to ‘give the news as raw as it is, without
putting their slant on it’; and people should be given ‘sufficient information’ from which ‘we would be able to form opinions of our own.’”
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because the lines cited do not support the answer that the modern public wants journalists to avoid personal judgments when telling news stories, instead contrasting personal or private knowledge with public knowledge (choice A), characterizing how trusted broadcasters were once viewed (choice B), and explaining how some professional journalists feel about the new reality of the news (choice C).