Answer Explanations - PASSAGE-BASED READING QUESTIONS - SAT CRITICAL READING WORKBOOK

SAT CRITICAL READING

PART 4

 

PASSAGE-BASED READING QUESTIONS

 

Answer Explanations


Level A

 

Exercise 1

   1. (C) Ovenden clearly approves of speculation (pondering; evolving theories by taking a fresh look at a subject or concept). However, he approves of purposeful speculation, speculation that has as its goal the discovery of new ways of looking at the universe. Pointless, idle, emptyspeculation or woolgathering he finds unscientific.

   2. (D) By asserting that “Speculation is its [science’s] very lifeblood,” Ovenden says that science cannot exist without speculation. Scientists must speculate, must evolve theories, must form opinions about the data they gather.

   3. (C) A mature science tries “to see relationships between previously unrelated aspects of the universe,” that is, to connect hitherto unlinked phenomena in significant patterns or meaningful ways.

   4. (C) The similarities of the spectrums suggest the possibility of vegetation on Mars.

   5. (E) Use the process of elimination to find the correct answer to this question.

       • The author makes an approximation: he indicates the temperature zone in which life can exist is “about [approximately] 75,000,000 miles wide.” Therefore, you can eliminate (A).

       • The author uses a metaphor : he implicitly compares speculation to blood. Therefore, you can eliminate (B).

       • The author states a resemblance: in the last sentence of the passage, he says “the infrared spectrum of the Martian markings has been found to be very similar to the spectrum of Earth vegetation.” Therefore, you can eliminate (C).

       • The author makes a conjecture about the sort of life-forms “without a built-in temperature control” that might exist on Mars: in the last sentence of the next-to-last paragraph, he conjectures (guesses; speculates) they “may be a form of vegetation” that closes its leaves at night. Therefore, you can eliminate (D).

       • Only (E) is left. At no time does the author deny a contradiction. The correct answer is (E).

   6. (D) As the comment “I shall not soon forget that summer” (line 9) suggests, in this passage Du Bois shares his memories or reminiscences of what was a memorable time in his life.

   7. (C) To “learn from hearsay” is to learn not from one’s own personal experience but from the comments of others. Why did Du Bois have to learn about hunting from hearsay and not from experiences? The comment in parentheses suggests the reason: his mother was terrified of guns. Therefore, we can assume that he had no chance to learn about hunting because small arms weapons had been forbidden in his home.

   8. (D) Use the process of elimination to answer this question.

       • Is Du Bois’s journey through the countryside gratifying to him? Yes; he enjoys “the pleasures of the chase.” Therefore, you can eliminate (A).

       • Does his journey seem interminable to him? Yes; the “miles stretch relentlessly ahead,” never letting up. Therefore, you can eliminate (B).

       • Is his journey tiring to him? Yes; he feels “deep weariness of heart and limb.” Therefore, you can eliminate (C).

       • Does his hunt for a school feel discouraging to him? Yes; he feels “his heart sink heavily” as he hears there is no job opening. Therefore, you can eliminate (E).

       • Is his journey a carefree one? No; throughout his journey he has the ongoing anxiety about when and where he will find a job. The correct answer is (D).

   9. (C) Note the context in which “stage lines” appears. Du Bois has “wandered beyond railways, beyond stage lines” to the back country. The parallel structure suggests that stage lines, like railways, has to do with transportation, in this case with the horse-drawn form of transportation that took over when travelers went beyond the railroad’s extent.

10. (D) To indicate he finds himself way out in the back country, Du Bois adopts a colloquial, down-home manner of speech. For example, he refers to pests or vermin as varmints, a term he would not customarily use.

11. (B) Looking back on those memorable “pleasures of the chase” (line 26), Du Bois clearly feels nostalgia for days gone by.

12. (D) Immediately on learning why Du Bois is in the vicinity, Josie “anxiously,” eagerly tells him all about a potential school, stressing how “she herself longed to learn.” Living in the backwoods, Josie would have been interested in meeting any stranger. However, her interest in meeting this stranger was increased when she learned his errand; that is, it was intensified by her desire to gain an education.

13. (D) Making “honest efforts to be decent and comfortable,” scolding her husband and children if they do not work to improve their lot and live “like folks,” Josie’s mother shows her longing for her entire family to better themselves.

14. (B) According to the author, Josie was both “a little nervous and inclined to scold, like her mother” (lines 68–69) and “faithful … like her father (lines 69–70). Thus, she possessed traits of both her parents. Choice A is incorrect: the author describes both Josie and her mother as energetic; he does not portray Josie as more energetic than her mother. Choice C is incorrect: although the author comments on Josie’s scolding her brothers, he does not indicate that she does so excessively. Choice D is incorrect: although Josie longs to learn, nothing in the passage suggests she looks down on her parents because they are ignorant. Choice E is incorrect: Josie’s father is calm; she, in contrast, is “a little nervous and inclined to scold.”

15. (E) The author “grew to love” this family. Clearly, he regards them with distinct affection.

16. (E) The ancient Chinese view of life is described in the opening lines of the passage. People believed in the “mathematically precise order of the universe” and in the “forces that were harmoniously connected.” In other words, life was structured according to a well-defined philosophy.

17. (B) By defining feng-shui as a “kind of cosmic surveying tool” (line 15), the author is saying that it is used to locate building sites.

18. (C) As described in lines 1–9 of the passage, the Tao is a way of viewing the world.

19. (D) The main reason for the development of feng-shui is to “affect an individual and his family for generations to come” (lines 12 and 13). Evidently, the Chinese believed in providing for future generations.

20. (C) The function of a geomancer, according to lines 43–46, was to read and interpret the terrain.

21. (A) According to lines 47–57, the best building sites were located between the Dragon (hilly ground) and the Tiger (low ground), that is, on terrain that is partly flat and partly hilly.

22. (B) Because the feng-shui compass is an elaborate instrument with a complicated design, the author compares its center to the bull’s-eye of a familiar dartboard in order to clarify its appearance for the reader.

23. (A) Lines 54–57 of the passage describe the setting of Beijing. The city is located where the valley floor begins to slope upward to the mountains.

24. (B) The use of feng-shui in selecting a homesite is intended to protect the residents from misfortune. However, the family, according to lines 77–83, must also be moral and upright because an ideally situated home is no guarantee of good fortune.

25. (D) Believers in feng-shui attentively care for the gardens surrounding their homes, since the various features of the gardens contribute to the well-being of the home and contain symbolic meanings.

26. (E) The author describes feng-shui objectively, as though the concept has aroused his intellectual curiosity.

27. (D) Adherents of feng-shui heed the presence of boulders (lines 58 and 59), design proper access to the main entrance of the house (lines 100–108), consider the placement of trees (line 86) and the shape of nearby mountains (line 58). Only the color of the house is not mentioned.

28. (E) The passage states that the condition of poor people reduces the “possibility of … participation in the larger economic system,” made up, for example, of labor unions, political parties, and welfare agencies. Nonparticipation isolates the poor from the mainstream of society.

29. (C) A “culture” may be defined as a group of people sharing a specific set of beliefs and values, customs, and traditions. The phrase “culture of poverty,” therefore, signifies a group for whom poverty has become a prevailing way of life.

30. (B) By pointing out that the potential for protest and for being used in political movements resides in the culture of poverty, the author is indirectly citing a reason for eliminating poverty from our society.

31. (C) People in the culture of poverty, despite their intentions, cannot live up to the middle-class values they espouse mainly because they are unable to change the conditions of their lives as much as they may wish to.

32. (A) The discussion of marriage contains several practical and economic reasons why poor men and women avoid legal marriages. Men, for one, don’t want “expense and legal difficulties.” Women want to maintain “exclusive rights to a house or any other property.”

33. (E) The metaphor suggests the similarity between poverty and imprisonment.

34. (D) Because the speaker talks about the smell of the outdoor privy and about burying the garbage in the ground, she appears to live in the country. However, she worries about her sons being influenced by bad companions. Thus, she is unlikely to live on an isolated farm (where her sons would not have other boys living nearby to influence them).

35. (D) Although all the listed emotions are evident in the passage, hopelessness and despair are prevalent. Near the end, the speaker actually says, “I have come out of my despair to tell you this.”

36. (D) The silence of the poor reaffirms their sense of despair. They feel powerless to alter their condition. Therefore, they listen but don’t say anything.

37. (C) The last paragraph summarizes the speaker’s intent—to arouse the audience into action: “Look at us with an angry heart, anger that will help you help me.”

38. (C) Each of the choices describes Passage 2. The quality of the passage to which the audience is most likely to respond, however, is that the speaker herself shows intense emotion.

39. (B) Both authors show that poverty means more than lack of money. Passage 1 stresses the whole “culture of poverty.” Passage 2 highlights the smells, the weariness, and the hopelessness that accompany poverty.

40. (A) The speaker in Passage 2 says she has had no money to fix the refrigerator, to buy a shovel, to purchase iron pills, and so forth. Each of these examples indicate a chronic shortage of cash.

Exercise 2

   1. (E) Her father scorned her successes in the world outside the home because he felt “undermined by” her clear surrender or “capitulation to the ways of the West.” She had given in to Western ways, disobeying his wishes. Thus, he felt her Westernization was costing him his authority over her.

   2. (D) In her Japanese home, her immediate family (including her Westernized brothers) customarily referred to Caucasians by using the Japanese term Hakujin. In explaining the conflicts she experienced as someone caught between two cultures, she uses the Japanese term for its authenticity.

   3. (A) The author was careful not to show her aggressiveness and assertiveness to her father because these traits were unacceptable to him. Rather, he expected his daughter to be tranquil (calm; serene) and passive (submissive; not initiating action).

   4. (B) “Not seeing” refers to the white boys’ inability to see the author as she truly was. Instead of seeing the actual Japanese-American adolescent girl, with her worries about fitting in with her friends and her embarrassment about her father’s conservatism, they saw a stereotypical Oriental geisha, someone straight out of a paperback fantasy. Clearly, they had no idea what she was like as an individual human being.

   5. (C) The term “double standard” generally refers to male-female roles, and to the different expectations society has for male and female behavior. In referring to her “double identity within a ‘double standard,’” the author indicates that she was Japanese at home and Hakujin outside the home.

   6. (EMadame Butterfly, the heroine of the opera of that name, is a classic example of submissive, obedient Japanese womanhood. Thus, over the years, she has grown from a simple literary figure to become (like Stowe’s Uncle Tom or Puzo’s Godfather) an ethnic stereotype.

   7. (E) The last sentence of the passage states that the author “was not comfortable in either role” she had to play. In other words, her reaction to these roles was primarily one of discomfort or unease.

   8. (E) To be riddled with lacunae (that is, gaps or holes) is to be permeated with holes, filled with holes, the way a sieve is full of holes.

   9. (A) There are major gaps in our knowledge of pre-Spanish history in Mexico. Thus, our knowledge is incomplete.

10. (D) Use the process of elimination to answer this question.

       • While the passage states art in the period “served a religious function,” the passage stresses the art itself, not the religious basis for the art. Therefore, you can eliminate (A).

       • Though the early Mexican artists excelled in decorative composition, they created sculptures that went far beyond mere decoration. Therefore, you can eliminate (B).

       • The author states that Mexican art “is comparable to” great Chinese art, rivals Egyptian art, foreshadows modern European art. He does not say it exceeds or surpasses European and Asian art. Therefore, you can eliminate (C).

       • The author never discusses modern Mexican art. Therefore, you can eliminate (E).

       • Throughout the passage, particularly in the final two paragraphs, the author cites masterpiece after masterpiece of pre-Spanish Mexican art. The correct answer is (D).

11. (B) The author insists that the “bold simplifications or wayward conceptions” of early Mexican art were the result of creative decisions made by skilled artists and not the unfortunate consequences of sloppy technique. Thus, these supposed distortions were deliberate (intentional).

12. (D) In marveling at the artist’s plastic feeling, the author is awed by the sculptor’s feel for carving and shaping works of art. In other words, the author feels admiration for both the artist’s technical expertise and artistic sensibility.

13. (E) The passage is discussing the Mexican artists’ gift for sculpture, for fashioning or shaping objects into works or art. That is the sense in which “modeling” is used here.

14. (E) The author refers to the “surprising … modernity” of early Mexican sculpture. He indicates these works “anticipate” more modern, and therefore more familiar to the reader, works by Brancusi, Lehmbruck, and Moore.

15. (C) The emphasis on sculpture (masks, reclining figures, statuettes) suggests that much of Mexican art depicted people.

16. (D) The first paragraph of the passage says that the administration of every president has ended with “recriminations and mistrust.” Presidents, like everyone else, hate to be criticized in public. Therefore, they all have experienced hostility between themselves and the press.

17. (B) Conflict between the president and the press is the “best proof” (line 11) that freedom of the press is alive and well in the United States.

18. (B) In the days of the Founding Fathers, there was an expectation that the press would act “like a watchdog” (lines 20 and 21) that would carefully observe and report on the work of all elected officials.

19. (A) The relationship between the press and the presidency has become increasingly complicated by changes in the nature of the presidency (lines 26–36), including the creation of the position of Press Secretary and the fact that the president is a world leader. The press itself now includes television, and reporters from all over the world cover the president. What hasn’t altered the relationship between the press and the president is the fact that the president’s term of office has remained four years.

20. (C) The author advises the reader (lines 40 and 41) “not to view the past in terms of our own times” because to do so violates the historical context. In other words, we can’t fully grasp the context of the past.

21. (B) Basic to the beliefs of the colonists was that “whoever controlled the printing press was in the best position to control the minds of men” (lines 59–61), which meant that the press influenced what people thought and did.

22. (D) Early on, both the church and the state realized the power inherent in the printing press. It was to their mutual advantage to have a printing press set up in South America as quickly as possible. Using the printing press, the state gained control of territory, and the church spread the word of God.

23. (E) The passage says that in North America secular publishing “was soon dominant” (line 96). In other words, printing quickly became less religious in nature.

24. (C) The opening sentence of the final paragraph concludes with the clause “but the facts are quite different.” Many Americans believe that the colonists immediately established a free society. The author says that this belief is incorrect. Thus, he is trying to correct a misconception or mistaken idea.

25. (C) The quotation by Berkeley suggests that the governor of Virginia took a dim view of antiestablishment activities, including printing anything that criticized the church. Evidently, he viewed the press as a tool for spreading heresy.

26. (A) Those who agree with Berkeley would support his general view that limits should be set on freedom of the press.

27. (C) The passage says that some twentieth-century people agree with Berkeley’s sentiments about the free press. Issues of free press, even today raise controversy in the United States.

28. (D) In the last sentence of the first paragraph the author explains why the Grand Canyon is the “sublimest thing on earth.” It is sublime “by virtue of the whole—its ensemble,” or its overall appearance.

29. (B) The first paragraph implies that the Grand Canyon’s incomparable size is what is likely to impress a visitor. Only after long and careful study do observers begin to understand that the canyon has more to offer than magnitude. The distinctive quality of its overall appearance—itsensemble, in the author’s words—lends it majesty.

30. (D) Lines 16–39 explain the author’s view that the Grand Canyon transcends the common notion of the word canyon. The Grand Canyon is markedly different from other places we call canyons.

31. (B) To heighten the contrast between the Grand Canyon and ordinary canyons, the author makes a contrast between St. Mark’s and a “rude (that is, crude) dwelling” on the frontier. Since a frontier dwelling is apt to be primitive and unadorned, this suggests that St. Mark’s must be a refined, ornate structure.

32. (A) The passage calls the Grand Canyon an “expansion of the simple type of drainage channels peculiar to Plateau Country,” implying that large canyons at one time were very small. Earlier in the passage the author cited the example of a huge building. It, too, is an expansion—an enlargement of a small house.

33. (C) As described in the third paragraph, the rain promotes the growth of vegetation, described as “a veil of green.” The rain also prepares the ground “for another planting.”

34. (D) The last of the sun’s light dissipates or vanishes as darkness falls.

35. (B) To the author, the coming of the rains changes the world, transforming the desert into a revitalized landscape filled with creatures mating and giving birth. This transformation fills him with awe.

36. (A) Several distinctive qualities of the spadefoot toad are mentioned. The toads chant throughout the night. The female toads “spew out egg masses” as they reproduce. The male toads “bellow,” in their characteristic mating call, and their “burnt-peanut-like” odor fills the air. Only therelative size of the toad is not mentioned in the passage.

37. (D) To most people, the youngster’s reply “is a contradiction.” In other words, it seems paradoxical to them that a desert could smell like rain.

38. (C) In describing the Grand Canyon, the author uses only his sense of sight.

39. (B) The author of Passage 2 writes in the first person. He recounts his personal experiences with rainshowers, with toads and turtles, and with members of the Papago tribe. The author of Passage 1, on the other hand, while equally passionate about his subject, removes himself from the writing. Both authors write poetically, using figures of speech, and both respect nature’s wonders. The author of Passage 2 clearly includes far less geological data than does the author of Passage 1.

40. (A) Except for the facts and figures of the first paragraph, Passage 1 lacks the concrete details of Passage 2. The author of Passage 1 writes in more abstract language about the nature of canyons and the uniqueness of the Grand Canyon. Passage 2, in contrast, is filled with specific down-to-earth images of the sights and sounds of the desert, from the “veil of green” of nascent vegetation to the incessant chanting of the spadefoot toads.

Level B

 

Exercise 1

   1. (D) To pretend that Indians are a primitive people is to choose to see them as unlettered and barbaric. To view them as a “first” or primal people is to choose to see them as linked to ancient truths. Thus, to the author, the distinction between “primitive” and “primal” is that, while the former has some negative connotations, the latter has neutral or positive ones.

   2. (D) Matthiessen rejects those who would patronizingly dismiss Indian spirituality as simple hearted (or simpleminded) in any way. Thus, he puts animism and naturalism in quotes because he disagrees with their being applied to something as profound as the Indian concept of earth and spirit.

   3. (B) In the first and third paragraphs, Matthiessen is making assertions about the nature of Indian spirituality. In the second paragraph, however, he moves away from the subject of religion to exploring various theories of Indian origins in North America. Thus, the second paragraph is adigression from the argument made in the opening and closing paragraphs of the passage.

   4. (A) Refusing to adopt a patronizing or condescending attitude toward Indian religion, comparing it to the most venerated or revered religions of the world, Matthiessen clearly views Indian religion with respect.
(B) is incorrect. Though Matthiessen has great respect for Indian religion, his attachment to it is not so immoderate as to be termed idolatry (giving absolute religious devotion to something that is not actually God, for example, a physical object or man-made image).

   5. (C) Sages in their wisdom understand or apprehend the universe’s true nature.

   6. (A) A miracle is by definition an act or event so extraordinary that it seems a manifestation of God’s supernatural power. Thus, to call the ordinary, common acts of every day miraculous is to be self-contradictory or paradoxical.

   7. (B) Lines 4 and 5 of the passage say that the hierarchy consists of the troop’s males.

   8. (D) Lines 9–11 of the passage say that, in primate troops, males “defend, control, and lead the troop.” Therefore, the troops are dominated by adult males.

   9. (A) The passage says that the strong social bond in the troop is maintained for safety (line 12). Therefore, it is meant to protect the members of the troop.

10. (A) According to lines 13 and 14, “chimpanzees lack a stable social troop.” Rather, they form temporary groups (lines 16 and 17). Therefore, unlike other primates, chimpanzees are not bound to troops.

11. (C) The second paragraph of the passage contrasts the social organization of chimpanzees and the social organization of other primates. Clearly, chimpanzees are different.

12. (C) The discussion of chimpanzee social organization (lines 21–24) implies that each chimpanzee develops a distinct personality.

13. (D) The two social structures differ markedly in the amount of individual freedom afforded to members. In a rigidly hierarchical society, individuals must adjust their behaviors to those of the troop. In a flexible society, individuals have more freedom to follow their personal desires.

14. (D) Population size, according to lines 72–76, is partly controlled by the size of the food supply.

15. (E) The Budongo Forest is called a “continuous habitat” (lines 80 and 81) in which several regional populations of chimpanzees have developed.

16. (B) The opening paragraph of the passage describes the goal of the project. The project’s objective is not to use a new research method but to use a different technique in order to develop a superior theory to explain the causes of war.

17. (E) The reason given in lines 2–6 for reversing the customary research method is that existing theories fail to coincide with facts.

18. (D) Although the phrase has a negative ring, the author explains that all definitions are “somewhat arbitrary.” Therefore, the scholars had no better alternatives.

19. (D) The author takes pains to describe the care with which the researchers defined the terms of the study. Of particular note is that the researchers drew up their definitions “before arriving at their conclusions” (lines 21 and 22) so that they would not define events in a way to support their hypotheses. Instead, they defined their terms as objectively as possible.

20. (C) By looking up the assertions of the street corner preacher in The Wages of War, one can check the facts. Ultimately, the author is suggesting, facts speak louder than opinions.

21. (A) The next step taken by the researchers was “to identify conditions or events … associated with wars” (lines 45–47) because of the assumption that there have been certain political and social conditions that have often led to war.

22. (E) The basic premise of the study is that there may be correlations of conditions or events that often lead to war. Seeking correlations is the basic research method used by the participants in the study.

23. (B) The author argues that correlations do not necessarily constitute proof (lines 66–69). With so many variables at play in the conditions and events leading to war, correlations may be misinterpreted.

24. (C) Lines 74–77 raise the possibility that the project may find that there is insufficient evidence to warrant a final theory of war. In other words, in spite of the participants’ best intentions, the findings may fail to produce definitive results.

25. (B) The discussion of Bismarck and Hitler (lines 83–94) is presented as an example of a potential problem. Because of faulty design (e.g., a definition of war), one or more conclusions can be dead wrong. Consequently, the research design and procedure may invalidate the findings.

26. (E) Despite problems and flaws in “The Correlates of War” project, the author still maintains—in the last lines of the passage—that the study is the best of its kind.

27. (C) Regardless of his doubts about some research techniques being used by the scholars engaged in the project, the author takes a generally positive position regarding the outcomes of the project. He is largely optimistic and hopeful.

28. (C) The man “with his eyes fixed on the ground” is the artist who “searches.” To Picasso, the search means nothing in painting. Artists who contemplate their subjects too much before painting may have good intentions, but they are likely to fail. After all, results, not intentions, count.

29. (B) Picasso’s statement is a denial of the accusation that the principal objective of his work is “the spirit of research,” discussed in lines 12–15.

30. (C) The idea that art gives us more than truth; it gives us understanding is made clear by the statement “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand” (lines 22–24).

31. (B) Picasso says that his object in art is to show what he has found, not what he was looking for. Therefore, in Picasso’s opinion a successful piece of art reveals what the artist has found.

32. (A) The word “naturalism” in this context means realism. Realists in art, as the name suggests, try to recreate as accurately as they can three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface, an impossible undertaking in Picasso’s view. As he writes, “Nature and art … cannot be the same thing.”

33. (C) Much of the passage describes Picasso’s innovations, his new notions, such as “freeing the technique of painting from its slavish adherence to the description of nature” and making the painter “a free creator, a poet.”

34. (D) The passage explains that, once Picasso burst onto the art scene, the strict rules of art no longer applied. Among other things, Picasso broke with such past traditions as painting with “slavish adherence to the description of nature.”

35. (A) Picasso gave painting “new laws of harmony and balance,” but he was careful not to ignore the need for harmony and balance.

36. (E) The notion that patching up a picture restricts artists’ freedom of expression is supported by the paragraph beginning on line 95. When an artist has “no regard for the nature of anything he has painted before,” he has the “freedom to move at will in the boundless spaces of free expression.”

37. (C) Throughout Passage 2, but particularly in the last paragraph, Picasso is portrayed as a bold experimenter. For example, the author says Picasso tested the foundations on which his own art rested.

38. (B) Eluard’s phrase reminds us of Picasso’s statement in Passage 1 that “my object is to show what I have found.” In other words, Picasso wants to see objects anew, with fresh eyes, or to “attain sight.”

39. (B) Both passages allude to Picasso’s “aphorism,” that the artist “does not seek, but finds”: In Passage 1, see the first paragraph; in Passage 2, see lines 86 and 87.

40. (C) Passage 2 is an appreciation of Picasso as artist. Throughout Passage 1, Picasso defends himself from false accusations and clarifies misconceptions about art. The tone of Passage 1, therefore, is more contentious, more argumentative than the tone of Passage 2.

Level C

 

Exercise 1

   1. (E) Both paragraphs humorously portray the female residents of Cranford, describing at length their idiosyncrasies of dress and behavior.

   2. (C) In stating that “whatever does become of the gentlemen, they are not at Cranford,” the author indicates that the men are distinguished chiefly by their absence.

   3. (D) The “tender good offices [performed for] each other whenever they are in distress” are the kind acts done by the good ladies of Cranford on behalf of others needing their help.

   4. (D) In showing both the eccentricities and the virtues that characterize the ladies of Cranford, the author exhibits an attitude that is mocking, but only gently so.

   5. (B) Note the context in which the author refers to “Miss Tyler, of cleanly memory.” The author has just been talking about the unfashionable attire of Cranford ladies, emphasizing that their clothes are made of good (that is, long-lasting) material. The Cranford ladies wear their clothes for years, but they are scrupulous about keeping them clean. In this they resemble Miss Tyler, known for her spotless attire.

   6. (B) Since the bulk of the last paragraph concerns the ladies’ eccentricities of dress and indifference to current fashion, it can be inferred that “the last gigot” most likely is an outmoded article of apparel (leg-of-mutton sleeve) worn well after its time by the unfashionable ladies of Cranford.

   7. (D) Arbitrarily ready to decide issues “without troubling themselves with unnecessary reasons,” dictatorial or overbearing to their dependents, and quite able to do without men, the ladies of Cranford do not seem in the least submissive (yielding).

   8. (E) By providing background on how the theory of a dynamic abyss came to take hold in the scientific community and on how the forces that activate the global patterns of ocean currents actually work, the passage serves to summarize evidence supporting oceanic circulation.

   9. (C) The opening sentence states that “many investigators were initially reluctant” to accept the evidence in favor of this controversial hypothesis. Committed to the belief that the depths of the ocean were calm (“the notion of a tranquil abyss”), these scientists at first viewed the idea that the abyss could be dynamic with marked skepticism (distinct doubt).

10. (E) The passage states that the first argument for the existence of dynamic currents in the deeps came from theory, based on “models of ocean circulation” involving the tendency of cold water to sink.

11. (C) The weathering of rocks is the source of detritus (debris; fragmented rock particles). These bits of debris are produced by the elements’ gradual wearing away of the rocks, which disintegrates them over time.

12. (B) Both minute particles of rock and grains of wind-blown soil belong to the first type of sediment discussed (“detritus whose source is the weathering of rocks on continents and islands”). Only the fragmentary shells of dead microscopic organisms belong to the second type.

13. (D) Because they need to take into account the effects of strong sea-floor currents on the structures they plan to build, designers of sea-floor structures are most likely to be interested in this particular article.

14. (D) The authors approximate an amount (“about three billion tons per year”), refer to a model of ocean circulation, give several examples (“such as the…”), and list evidence to support a theory. They never propose a solution to a problem.

15. (C) The authors are objective and factual. Their style can best be described as espository (explanatory).

16. (D) The author asks this question, not because readers don’t know what money is, but because he wishes them to consider a definition different from the usual one. By the end of the paragraph the author introduces an unfamiliar (to most readers) definition of the word.

17. (B) At the beginning of the second paragraph the author writes that “Three such functions are usually specified,” which amounts to saying that these three functions are common knowledge among informed people.

18. (A) The sticker price on a car informs prospective buyers of the cost, or value, of the car. Therefore, the sticker price qualifies as a unit of account, as defined in lines 23–27.

19. (C) The definition of “archetype” is a pattern or model on which others are based. Consequently, barter is a model for economic exchanges.

20. (A) In line 46 the author says that bartering required “large amounts of time.” The expenditure of time is reiterated in lines 53 and 54. Clearly, the chief shortcoming of barter is that making deals is too time-consuming.

21. (B) A Gordian knot, an allusion to an ancient Greek myth, has come to refer to anything that is difficult to untie or unravel. Hence, it was difficult to change the barter system to a monetary system.

22. (E) The passage cites several advantages of money over barter: the double coincidence of wants is eliminated by a monetary system (lines 63–68); when money is the medium of exchange, the cost of doing business is lower (lines 68–70); supply and demand determine the cost of goods and services (70–72)—a basic principle of economics; and in a monetary system a greater division of labor is possible (72–75), which increases efficiency.

Only (E), opportunities of advantageous trade are reduced, is not mentioned in the passage.

23. (B) According to the passage, “The usefulness of money is inversely proportional to the number of currencies in circulation” (lines 77–79). In other words, the presence of a large number of currencies reduces the efficiency of the international economy.

24. (A) Line 96 of the passage indicates that one of the benefits of a single national currency is a reduction in the cost of monetary transactions.

25. (D) After citing several reasons for streamlining the international economy by reducing the number of currencies, the next logical step is to create a single world currency. The author, however, demurs from proposing that step because, as the remainder of the passage explains, the most obvious solution may not be the best solution.

26. (E) The one most desirable benefit to be derived from a single world currency, which the author reiterates throughout the discussion, is reducing transaction costs.

27. (A) The conclusion to be drawn from all the arguments about a single world currency, particularly the high cost of introducing a single standard, is that it may cause more problems than it will solve.

28. (D) Passage 1 says that in This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald managed to turn a mass of diverse material “into a sustained narrative” (line 15), indicating that Fitzgerald knew how to create an extended tale.

29. (A) Passage 1 says that “freshness of language” (lines 19 and 20) is Fitzgerald’s “identifying mark.” In other words, Fitzgerald built his reputation on his original use of words.

30. (B) The author of Passage 1 claims that This Side of Paradise helped “Fitzgerald thrash out those ‘ideas still in riot’ that he attributes to Amory” (lines 24–27). Amory, therefore, seems to be a thinly disguised version of Fitzgerald himself—a young man trying to find himself and make sense of life.

31. (E) In Passage 1, Fitzgerald’s words are quoted in the context of a discussion of the “naiveté and honesty” of his work. The quotation confirms that Fitzgerald’s writing is characteristically truthful and innocent.

32. (B) The entire passage describes the problems of Fitzgerald’s immature writing. In comparison to the writing in Fitzgerald’s earlier work, the writing in This Side of Paradise had “improved greatly” (line 17). Nevertheless, the author of the passage still regarded Fitzgerald as an “ambitious amateur” (line 44).

33. (C) The paragraph following the anecdote rebuts a mistaken view of Fitzgerald. Lines 63–70 portray Fitzgerald as anything but a “stupid old woman.”

34. (A) The “jewel” refers to Fitzgerald’s exceptional talent with words. Talent is not enough, however. Fitzgerald’s talent needed polishing.

35. (D) Stating that This Side of Paradise “is not only highly imitative but … imitates an inferior model” (lines 82–84), the author indicates that Sinister Street was an unfortunate choice for a model on which Fitzgerald might base his book.

36. (B) The author describes how the hero of Sinister Street is “swamped in the forest of descriptions” (lines 98 and 99). The author of the novel uses so many flowery descriptive phrases that the reader cannot keep track of the novel’s plot. In other words, his pretty writing or flowery prose overshadows the hero’s story.

37. (D) One reason, among others explained in lines 121–125, that the author calls Fitzgerald’s novel “illiterate” is that it contains many errors that should have been caught by the publisher’s proofreader.

38. (A) Despite the flaws of This Side of Paradise, the authors of both passages apparently recognize Fitzgerald’s talent as a writer. More specifically, Passage 1 concludes with the words “Fitzgerald had found his craft.” Passage 2 says that Fitzgerald has “imagination” (line 74) and a “gift for expression” (line 77).

39. (E) Passage 1 describes This Side of Paradise as “clumsy and pasted together” (line 4). Passage 2 says the book has “no dominating intention to endow it with unity and force” (lines 110–112). Both criticisms refer to the book’s lack of artistic focus.

40. (D) Passage 1 was written long after Fitzgerald became an important literary figure, long after his death, in fact. The author speaks of Fitzgerald in the past tense: “All his life he was to think of himself …” (lines 6–10), etc. Passage 2 discusses Fitzgerald as a figure on the contemporary scene: “Scott Fitzgerald is, in fact, … a very good-looking young man …” (lines 67 and 68). It also suggests that This Side of Paradise illustrates Fitzgerald’s talent as a writer, but that his work still needs improvement. The evidence in both passages shows that Passage 1 was written long after the publication of This Side of Paradise; Passage 2 was written shortly afterward.