PSAT Prep 8th grade English FF#1

The following text is adapted from Amy Lowell’s 1912 poem “Summer.”

It is summer, glorious, deep-toned summer, The very crown of nature’s changing year When all her surging life is at its full. To me alone it is a time of pause, A void and silent space between two worlds, When inspiration lags, and feeling sleeps, Gathering strength for efforts yet to come.

As used in the text, what does the phrase “a void” most nearly mean?

• A useless

• An empty

• A forgotten

• An incomplete

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In the 1960s, Sam Gilliam, a Black painter from the southern United States, became the first artist to drape painted canvases into flowing shapes. He later explored a different style, _______ quilt-like paintings inspired by the patchwork quilting tradition of Black communities in the South.

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

• predicting

• refusing

• hiding

• creating

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Studying how workload affects productivity, Maryam Kouchaki and colleagues found that people who chose to do relatively easy tasks first were less _______ compared to those who did hard tasks first. Finishing easy tasks gave participants a sense of accomplishment, but those who tackled hard tasks first actually became more skilled and productive workers over time.

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

• secretive

• efficient

• outgoing

• unsympathetic

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

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

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

The following text is adapted from Sadakichi Hartmann’s 1894 short story “Magnolia Blossoms.” The narrator is standing on the deck of a boat.

What a night it was! My soul had left its body to lose itself in the wild unrestrained beauty around me—from where it came—and only left a trembling suggestion of its existence within me. The other passengers moved around me like shadows, and again and again my eyes drank in all the glory and wealth of that night.

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

• Trace

• Opinion

• Dispute

• Command

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4