Practice Test 1 Problems Flashcards
CRITICAL READING VOCABULARY Jill Ker Conway’s autobiography explores the - - - - - - of childhood, the unexpected changes that occur in a young life. (A) vicissitudes (B) veneers (C) evanescence (D) vulnerabilities (E) attachments
- A This sentence contains a reiteration or defi- nition. The missing word means unexpected changes. vicissitudes ¼ unexpected changes; veneers ¼ superficial pretenses or outward shows; evanescence ¼ quality of being able to vanish quickly
Passage 2 In every choreographed educational crisis, 25 the “back to basics” line always kicks up its heels the highest. The thinking is seemingly irrefutable: our children won’t succeed without a solid foundation in basic skills. They can’t do calculus before they learn long division. They 30 can’t write a good college essay before they learn the five-paragraph model. They can’t read Shakespeare before learning the phonetic code. CRITICAL READING - PASSAGE The model is the pyramid: we must build a solid foundation if our children are ever to reach 35 the pinnacle of education, where the most profound questions of our era are examined. But we are losing too many students in building the pyramid. It is worth the risk to take them to the top of the pyramid, unfinished as it may be, 40 so that they might see the glorious expanse of knowledge before them, yet to be reached. If we don’t take the time to show them that expanse, they will likely never learn that their hard labor has any real purpose. We are too worried about 45 failure, about not getting the right answers, that our questions and our tasks have lost almost all of their meaning.5. A This sentence contains a reiteration or defi- nition. The missing word means unexpected changes. vicissitudes ¼ unexpected changes; veneers ¼ superficial pretenses or outward shows; evanescence ¼ quality of being able to vanish quickly
- D The top of the pyramid (as opposed to the rest of the pyramid) is described as the place where the most profound questions of our era are examined (lines 35–36).
CRITICAL READING - PASSAGE First, modern criticism (certainly not of Fitzgerald alone) is often too refined. The big things having been said, young critics tend 15 to make too much of small things. Color symbolism, the guest list in The Great Gatsby, and the “gat” in “Gatsby” are examples of what one hopes will not dominate criticism of Fitzgerald’s work in the future. B14 As it is used in line 13, “refined” most nearly means (A) processed (B) formal (C) concerned with minor details (D) challenging (E) pure
- C The author explains that in saying that modern criticism… is… too refined (lines 12–13), he means that critics tend to make too much of small things (lines 14–15).
MATH - GEOMETRY B1 The area of a rectangle with a height of 4 cm and a base of 6 cm is how many times greater than the area of a triangle with a height of 4 cm and a base of 4 cm? (A) 1 (B) 1.5 (C) 2 (D) 2.5 (E) 3
- E The area of a rectangle is given by the formula A ¼ bh, and the area of a triangle is given by the formula A ¼ 1 2bh. So the rectangle has an area of (4)(6) ¼ 24, and the triangle has an area of 1 2(4)(4) ¼ 8. So the area of the rectangle is 3 times the area of the triangle. (Chapter 11 Lesson 5: Areas and Perimeters)
CRITICAL READING VOCAB The store employees tried to —– the angry shoppers wuth offers of discounted merchandise and free gift wrapping. exculpate impede mollify pilfer abridge
Discounted mercahndise and free gift wrapping are things that are likely to appeal to shoppers. If the shoppers were angry, such offers seem to be attempts to appease their anger, exculpate=free from lame, impede=hinder the progress of, mollify=appease, soothe the anger of, pilfer=steal, abridge = to shorten the length of a written work
CRITICAL READING - PASSAGE In the Critique of Practical Reason Kant went on to state that morality requires the belief in the existence of God, freedom, and immortality, because without their existence 65 there can be no morality. In the Critique of Judgment Kant applied his critical method to aesthetic and teleological judgments. The chief purpose of this work was to find a bridge between the sensible and the intelligible worlds, 70 which are sharply distinguished in his theoretical and practical philosophy. This bridge is found in the concepts of beauty and purposiveness that suggest at least the possibility of an ultimate union of the two 75 realms The primary purpose of the final paragraph is to (A) address an objection to Kant’s philosophy (B) illustrate Kant’s impact on later philosophers (C) explain the origin of Kant’s beliefs (D) describe further works of Kant (E) qualify a claim made in the previous paragraph
- D The final paragraph describes what Kant went on to state in Critique of Practical Reason. It then summarizes another later work of Kant, the Critique of Judgment.
MATH - GEOMETRY B28 The pyramid in the figure above has a square base and four congruent triangular faces. If the area of the base is 144 square inches and the height of the pyramid is 8 inches, what is the area of one of the triangular faces, in square inches? (A) 42 (B) 48 (C) 60 (D) 96 (E) 120
. C Since the area of the square base is 144, the length of one side of the square must be ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 144 p ¼ 12. This is also the base of one of the triangular faces. Let’s call the height of this triangular face h. Notice that h is also the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs of 6 and 8. (One leg is the height of the pyramid, which we know is 8, and the other leg is half the length of the side of the square.)
WRITING - DICTION ERROR Although the delay in the deployment A of troops was a tactful B blunder, it did not C diminish the effectiveness D of the general’s overall strategy. No error
Although the delay in the deployment A of troops was a tactful B blunder, it did not C diminish the effectiveness D of the general’s overall strategy. No error
WRITING The conference delegates were astonished A not only by the sheer number of protestors B , but also C by the smooth coordination D of the many simultaneous demonstrations. No error
- E This sentence is correct.
WRITING - MODIFIERS The professors usually never A cancel classes, even when there is B a snowstorm, because they believe that knowledge is too important to compromise C for anything but the most D dire circumstances. No error
The professors usually never A cancel classes, even when there is B a snowstorm, because they believe that knowledge is too important to compromise C for anything but the most D dire circumstances. No error
Since the itinerary allotted very little time A for unexpected delays, our tour guide insisted that B we be C at least 30 minutes early for any D scheduled train departure. No error
- E The sentence is correct.
