SAT PREP - Unit 4 Quiz

To survive when water is scarce, embryos inside African turquoise killifish eggs ______ a dormant state known as diapause. In this state, embryonic development is paused for as long as two years—longer than the life span of an adult killifish.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• enter

• to enter

• having entered

• entering

Answer explanation

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is finite and nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, “embryos”), and this choice supplies the clause with the finite present tense verb “enter” to indicate how the embryos achieve diapause.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

Obsidian is a kind of volcanic glass formed when lava cools so quickly that the atoms inside it cannot arrange themselves in a crystalline structure. You ______ more about obsidian’s structure, which is classified as amorphous, in a later chapter.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• had learned

• had been learning

• will learn

• have learned

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the future tense verb “will learn,” used in conjunction with the phrase “in a later chapter,” correctly indicates that “you” (the reader) are going to learn about obsidian’s structure at some point in the future.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

In 1976, the Inuit rock group Sikumiut recorded the album People of the Ice. Though only their first record, it shows a band already skilled at the difficult task of making music that sounds easy and fun. On songs like “Utirumavunga,” Lucassie Koperqualuk’s guitar riffs effortlessly ______ Charlie Adams’s delightfully catchy vocal melodies.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• blend, with

• blend. With

• blend; with

• blend with

Answer explanation

Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a verb and a prepositional phrase. No punctuation is needed between the verb “blend” and the prepositional phrase “with Charlie Adams’s delightfully catchy vocal melodies.” The prepositional phrase completes the idea of the sentence, explaining with what Koperqualuk’s guitar riffs blend.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

Emperor penguins don’t waddle out of the ocean. They launch themselves at such a high speed that they travel up to two meters before landing. How ______ A layer of microbubbles on their plumage reduces friction as the penguins speed to the surface.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• they are able to move so fast!

• are they able to move so fast.

• they are able to move so fast

• are they able to move so fast?

Answer explanation

Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is end-of-sentence punctuation. This choice correctly uses a question mark to punctuate the interrogative sentence “how are they able to move so fast?” The interrogative sentence asks a direct question, and the next sentence answers it.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

CCSS.L.11-12.2

The human brain is primed to recognize faces—so much so that, due to a perceptual tendency called pareidolia, ______ will even find faces in clouds, wooden doors, pieces of fruit, and other faceless inanimate objects. Researcher Susan Magsamen has focused her work on better understanding this everyday phenomenon.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• she

• they

• it

• those

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. "It" is a singular pronoun used to stand in for objects. Since the antecedent in this case is the singular noun phrase "the human brain," "it" is a perfect pronoun to use here.

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.1

Based on genetic evidence, archaeologists have generally agreed that reindeer domestication began in the eleventh century CE. However, since uncovering fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia, ______ may have begun much earlier.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• researcher Robert Losey has argued that domestication

• researcher Robert Losey’s argument is that domestication

• domestication, researcher Robert Losey has argued,

• the argument researcher Robert Losey has made is that domestication

Answer explanation

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “researcher Robert Losey” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “since…Siberia.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that researcher Robert Losey—and not another noun in the sentence—is who uncovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old reindeer training harness in northern Siberia.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

CCSS.L.11-12.2

Gathering accurate data on water flow in the United States is challenging because of the country’s millions of miles of ______ the volume and speed of water at any given location can vary drastically over time.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• waterways and the fact that,

• waterways, and the fact that,

• waterways, and, the fact that

• waterways and the fact that

Answer explanation

Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation within two coordinated noun phrases. When, as in this case, a noun phrase (“the country’s millions of miles of waterways”) is coordinated with another noun phrase (“the fact”) followed by an integrated relative clause (“that the volume...time”), no punctuation is needed.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

CCSS.L.11-12.2

CCSS.L.11-12.3

CCSS.L.11-12.5

It is generally true that technological change is a linear process, in which once-useful technologies are replaced by new and better ______ the reawakening of interest in the steam engine (from advocates of carbon-neutral rail travel) reminds us that ostensibly obsolete technologies may be brought back into service to address society’s changing needs.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• ones, even so; 

• ones even so,

• ones; even so, 

• ones, even so

Answer explanation

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the coordination of main clauses within a sentence. This choice uses a semicolon in a conventional way to join the first main clause (“It is…ones”) and the second main clause  (“even so…needs”). Furthermore, the placement of the semicolon after “ones” indicates that the supplementary phrase “even so” modifies the following clause (“the reawakening...needs”), resulting in the most logical and grammatically complete sentence. With this punctuation, the sentence logically indicates that the recent interest in an old technology like steam engines is despite the fact that technological change typically seeks out new technologies.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

CCSS.L.11-12.2

In assessing the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, ______ have missed his equally deep engagement with Japanese artistic traditions such as Noh theater.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• many critics have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources but

• Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources has been the focus of many critics, who

• there are many critics who have focused on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources, but they

• the focus of many critics has been on Kurosawa’s use of Western literary sources; they

Answer explanation

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice makes the noun phrase “many critics” the subject of the sentence and places it immediately after the modifying phrase “in assessing…Kurosawa.” In doing so, this choice clearly establishes that it is the critics—and not another noun in the sentence—who assess Kurosawa’s films.

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CCSS.L.11-12.1

CCSS.W.11-12.4