SAT PREP - Unit 2 Quiz

The following text is from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The narrator is being driven in a carriage through a remote region at night. The baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my fear. The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed; he kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything through the darkness.

As used in the text, what does the word “disturbed” most nearly mean?

• Disorganized

• Alarmed

• Offended

• Interrupted

Answer explanation

Choice B is the best answer because as used in the text, “disturbed” most nearly means alarmed. The text portrays the narrator traveling in a carriage as wolves howl in the surrounding darkness. The text contrasts the reaction of both the narrator and the horses pulling the carriage with that of the driver of the carriage: the narrator and horses are “dreadfully afraid,” but the driver is “not in the least disturbed.” In other words, the driver is not alarmed by the wolves nearby.

Some researchers believe that the genes that enable groundhogs and certain other mammals to hibernate through the winter by slowing their breathing and heart rates and lowering their body temperature may be ______ in humans: present yet having essentially no effect on our bodily processes.

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

• decisive

• lacking

• variable

• dormant

Answer explanation

Choice D is the best answer because it logically completes the text’s discussion about genes related to hibernation. In this context, “dormant” means inactive. The text explains that the same genes that enable certain nonhuman mammal species to hibernate during the winter by altering their bodily processes are also found in our species but have “essentially no effect” on humans’ bodily processes. In other words, these genes don’t function in humans.

Given that the conditions in binary star systems should make planetary formation nearly impossible, it’s not surprising that the existence of planets in such systems has lacked ______ explanation. Roman Rafikov and Kedron Silsbee shed light on the subject when they used modeling to determine a complex set of factors that could support planets’ development.

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

• a discernible

• a straightforward

• an inconclusive

• an unbiased

Answer explanation

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s description of efforts to explain the existence of planets in binary star systems. As used in this context, describing an explanation as “a straightforward” one would mean that the explanation is direct and uncomplicated. The text asserts that since it should be “nearly impossible” for planets to form in binary star systems, it’s “not surprising” that there isn’t a straightforward explanation for the existence of planets in such systems; the fact that one potential approach involves “complex” factors offers further contextual support for this idea

San Francisco is known for the colorful murals painted on many of its buildings. The densest collection of murals is found on Balmy Alley in the Mission District neighborhood. In the 1970s, Latina artists painted vivid scenes of community life on walls along this block. As the original murals have faded, later generations of artists have painted new ones over them. As a result, Balmy Alley has become a living showcase of San Francisco’s artistic spirit, with its murals reflecting changes in the cultural life of the city.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• To compare the Balmy Alley murals to other murals in San Francisco

• To offer an overview of the history and importance of the Balmy Alley murals

• To urge people to protect the murals of San Francisco from decay

• To describe the rise of mural painting in San Francisco beginning in the 1970s

Answer explanation

Choice B is the best answer because it best states the main purpose of the text. The text begins by briefly stating that San Francisco is known for its murals, then transitions to a discussion of a single collection of murals, which is found on Balmy Alley in the city’s Mission District. The text explains that the murals in this area were originally created in the 1970s, then observes that they have changed over time: as some have faded through the decades, others have been painted in their place. The text ends by emphasizing that these murals are significant because they reflect San Francisco’s artistic spirit and cultural life. Therefore, the text provides an overview of the history and importance of the Balmy Alley murals.

For his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, Beverly Glenn-Copeland wrote songs grounded in traditional soul and folk music, then accompanied them with futuristic synthesizer arrangements featuring ambient sounds and complex rhythms. The result was so strange, so unprecedented, that the album attracted little attention when first released. In recent years, however, a younger generation of musicians has embraced the stylistic experimentation of Keyboard Fantasies. Alternative R&B musicians Blood Orange and Moses Sumney, among other contemporary recording artists, cite the album as an influence.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

• It urges contemporary musicians to adopt the unique sound of Keyboard Fantasies.

• It responds to criticism of Keyboard Fantasies by some younger musicians

• It offers examples of younger musicians whose work has been impacted by Keyboard Fantasies.

• It contrasts Keyboard Fantasies with the recordings of two younger musicians

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole. The text’s subject is Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, notable for its innovative, experimental arrangements. According to the text, the album was not initially admired, but in recent years it has become popular among younger musicians. The underlined portion of the text mentions two of those musicians, Blood Orange and Moses Sumney, who “cite the album as an influence.” Therefore, the underlined portion of the text offers examples of younger musicians whose work has been impacted by Keyboard Fantasies.

According to Indian economist and sociologist Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889–1968), the Eurocentric concepts that informed early twentiethcentury social scientific methods—for example, the idea that all social relations are reducible to struggles between individuals—had little relevance for India. Making the social sciences more responsive to Indians’ needs, Mukerjee argued, required constructing analytical categories informed by India’s cultural and ecological circumstances. Mukerjee thus proposed the communalist “Indian village” as the ideal model on which to base Indian economic and social policy

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

• The text recounts Mukerjee’s early training in the social scientific disciplines and then lists social policies whose implementation Mukerjee oversaw.

• The text mentions some of Mukerjee’s economic theories and then traces their impact on other Indian social scientists of the twentieth century.

• The text presents Mukerjee’s critique of the social sciences and then provides an example of his attempts to address issues he identified in his critique.

• The text explains an influential economic theory and then demonstrates how that theory was more important to Mukerjee’s work than other social scientists have acknowledged.  

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. The text does indeed present Mukerjee’s critique of the social sciences—that they were too Eurocentric— and then provides an example of how he attempted to address the issues he identified: by suggesting a social science model based on the Indian village.

Text 1

Although food writing is one of the most widely read genres in the United States, literary scholars have long neglected it. And within this genre, cookbooks attract the least scholarly attention of all, regardless of how well written they may be. This is especially true of works dedicated to regional US cuisines, whose complexity and historical significance are often overlooked.

Text 2

With her 1976 cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking, Edna Lewis popularized the refined Southern cooking she had grown up with in Freetown, an all-Black community in Virginia. She also set a new standard for cookbook writing: the recipes and memoir passages interspersing them are written in prose more elegant than that of most novels. Yet despite its inarguable value as a piece of writing, Lewis’s masterpiece has received almost no attention from literary scholars.

Based on the two texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely regard the situation presented in the underlined sentence in Text 2?

• As typical, because scholars are dismissive of literary works that achieve popularity with the general public

• As unsurprising, because scholars tend to overlook the literary value of food writing in general and of regional cookbooks in particular

• As justifiable, because Lewis incorporated memoir into The Taste of Country Cooking, thus undermining its status as a cookbook

• As inevitable, because The Taste of Country Cooking was marketed to readers of food writing and not to readers of other genres

Answer explanation

Choice B is the best answer. Text 1 states that literary scholars ignore regional cookbooks most of all, even when they have historical significance and are well written. So the author of Text 1 wouldn’t be surprised that scholars ignored Edna Lewis’s cookbook.

Text 1

The live music festival business is growing in event size and genre variety. With so many consumer options, organizers are finding ways to cement festival attendance as a special experience worth sharing. This phenomenon is linked to the growing “experiential economy,” where many find it gratifying to purchase lived experiences. To ensure a profitable event, venues need to consider the overall consumer experience, not just the band lineup.

Text 2

Music festival appearances are becoming a more important part of musicians’ careers. One factor in this shift is the rising use of streaming services that allow access to huge numbers of songs for a monthly fee, subsequently reducing sales of full-length albums. With this shift in consumer behavior, musicians are increasingly dependent on revenue from live performances.

Based on the texts, both authors would most likely agree with which statement?

• Consumers are more interested in paying subscription fees to stream music than in attending music festivals in person.

• Consumers’ growing interest in purchasing experiences is mostly confined to the music industry. 

• Changing consumer behaviors are leading to changes in music-related businesses.

• The rising consumer demand for live music festivals also generates higher demand for music streaming platforms.

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. Both authors mention how consumer behaviors have shifted, and how this affects different aspects of the music industry. Text 1 states that consumers enjoy purchasing “lived experiences,” and that this influences how organizers design music festivals. Text 2 states that consumers are using streaming services more, and that this reduces album sales and increases the importance of live performances for musicians.