SAT - Words in Context

This passage is adapted from Jane Austen, Mansfield Park. Originally published 1814. Fanny has recently moved to live with her relatives at Mansfield Park.

They were a remarkably fine family, the sons very well-looking, the daughters decidedly handsome, and all of them well-grown and forward of their age, which produced as striking a difference between the cousins in person, as education had given to their address; and no one would have supposed the girls so nearly of an age as they really were. There were in fact but two years between the youngest and Fanny. Julia Bertram was only twelve, and Maria but a year older.

As used in line 3, "address" most nearly means-

• House

• Lecture

• Speech

• Inscription

Answer explanation

For any vocabulary in context question, you should first look at the context of the sentence and determine what word or idea would best replace the word you are being asked about. The paragraph is describing the Bertram sisters and talking about the relative development of the Bertrams and Fanny. The paragraph compares their "person," referring to their appearances, and their "address." This obviously has to do with something about the girls, whether about how they act, dress, or look. The only answer that could refer to an aspect of a person's actions is "speech," as the other answer choices do not logically describe an aspect of a person's character or appearance.

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The following passage and corresponding figure are from Emilie Reas. "How the brain learns to read: development of the “word form area”", PLOS Neuro Community, 2018.

Earlier studies have shown that the ventral visual cortex supports recognition of an array of visual stimuli, including objects, faces, and places. Within this area, a subregion in the left hemisphere known as the “visual word form area” (VWFA) shows a particular selectivity for written words. However, this region is characteristically plastic. It’s been proposed that stimuli compete for representation in this malleable area, such that “winner takes all” depending on the strongest input. That is, how a site is ultimately mapped is dependent on what it’s used for in early childhood. But this idea has yet to be confirmed, and the evolution of specialized brain areas for reading in children is still poorly understood.

As used in the highlighted line, “plastic” most nearly means 

• Artificial.

• Springy.

• Resistant.

• Adaptable.

Answer explanation

As with any vocabulary in context question, you should look to understand the context of the sentence and then to choose the answer choice that best completes the idea presented. In the sentence itself, you're only told that the area is "characteristically plastic". However, in the next paragraph, you are told that the region is "malleable," indicating that plastic must be a synonym for malleable. The only answer that matches this is, "adaptable".

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This passage is adapted from Adam K. Fetterman and Kai Sassenberg, “The Reputational Consequences of Failed Replications and Wrongness Admission among Scientists", first published in December 2015 by PLOS ONE.

It may seem strange that others consider it less likely that questionable research practices, for example, were used when a scientist admits that they were wrong. However, it does make sense from the standpoint that wrongness admission seems to indicate honesty. Therefore, if one is honest in one domain, they are likely honest in other domains. Moreover, the refusal to admit might indicate to others that the original scientist is trying to cover something up. The lack of significance of most of the interactions in our study suggests that it even seems as if scientists might already realize this. Therefore, we can generally suggest that scientists admit they are wrong, but only when the evidence suggests they should.

As used in the highlighted line, “domain” most nearly means-

• Context

• Kingdom

• Value

• Field

Answer explanation

As with other vocabulary in context questions, the key here is to look at the context of the sentence and then figure out which answer choice would best replace the word in question. In this case, the author is arguing that if someone appears to be honest in one area they may be seen as being honest in other areas as well. "Kingdom" and "value" are obviously outside the scope of the idea of "area"."Field and "context", "field" would seem to imply field of study, which is too specific for this sentence. The more general "context" is a better fit and more closely matches the idea of "area" that you are trying to account for.

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The passage is adapted from Ngonghala CN, et. al’s “Poverty, Disease, and the Ecology of Complex Systems” © 2014 Ngonghala et al.

In his landmark treatise, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus argued that population growth will necessarily exceed the growth rate of the means of subsistence, making poverty inevitable. The system of feedbacks that Malthus posited creates a situation similar to what social scientists now term a “poverty trap”: i.e., a self-reinforcing mechanism that causes poverty to persist. Malthus’s erroneous assumptions, which did not account for rapid technological progress, rendered his core prediction wrong: the world has enjoyed unprecedented economic development in the ensuing two centuries due to technology-driven productivity growth.

As used in the highlighted line, “posited” most nearly means-

• Replicated

• Undermined

• Challenged

• Conceived

Answer explanation

If we look to fill-in-the-blanks in our existing context, “The system of feedbacks that Malthus posited creates a situation similar to what social scientists now term a “poverty trap”: i.e., a self-reinforcing mechanism that causes poverty to persist,” the most likely word you would pick on your own here is either “developed” or “theorized.” Looking at the answer choices, “challenged” and “undermined” are both the opposite of what is required by the context. “Replicated” would be correct if he was replicating someone else’s work, but the evidence in the context of the paragraph is that this system was his own creation. “Conceived” nicely matches “developed” and “theorized” and is thus our correct choice.

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The following is an excerpt from Night and Day, a novel by Virginia Woolf that was first published in 1919. The novel tells the story of two main female characters in London in the early 20th century.

It was a Sunday evening in October, and in common with many other young ladies of her class, Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was thus occupied, and the remaining parts leapt over the little barrier of day which interposed between Monday morning and this rather subdued moment, and played with the things one does voluntarily and normally in the daylight. But although she was silent, she was evidently mistress of a situation which was familiar enough to her, and inclined to let it take its way for the six hundredth time, perhaps, without bringing into play any of her unoccupied faculties. A single glance was enough to show that Mrs. Hilbery was so rich in the gifts which make tea-parties of elderly distinguished people successful, that she scarcely needed any help from her daughter, provided that the tiresome business of teacups and bread and butter was discharged for her.

As used in the highlighted line, “mistress” most nearly means-

• Supporter

• Manager

• Admirer

• Victim

Answer explanation

If we look to the context, we can see that Katharine Hilbery is hosting a group of people and pouring tea. So, when the sentence in question uses the term “mistress,” the passage intends to say that she is “in charge of” the situation unfolding before her. This aligns most directly with “manager.” It would not make sense in context to say that she was an admirer or supporter of the situation, nor is she precisely the “victim” of the situation at hand. It’s important to keep in mind when tackling vocabulary in context questions that vocabulary in context is a context question, not a memorization question, so our job is generally to take common terms and find the meaning of those terms that best matches the context.

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The passage is adapted from Ngonghala CN, et. al’s “Poverty, Disease, and the Ecology of Complex Systems” © 2014 Ngonghala et al.

The economics literature on poverty traps, where extreme poverty of some populations persists alongside economic prosperity among others, has a history in various schools of thought. The most Malthusian of models were advanced later by Leibenstein and Nelson, who argued that interactions between economic, capital, and population growth can create a subsistence-level equilibrium. Today, the most common models of poverty traps are rooted in neoclassical growth theory, which is the dominant foundational framework for modeling economic growth. Though sometimes controversial, poverty trap concepts have been integral to some of the most sweeping efforts to catalyze economic development, such as those manifest in the Millennium Development Goals.

In the context of the highlighted portion of the passage, “catalyze” most nearly means-

• Stop

• Impede

• Curb

• Foster

Answer explanation

In this example, we’ll need to use context cluse and process of elimination to identify the best alternative to the word “catalyze.” Earlier in the paragraph, the context cites economic growth, so we know that efforts are being made to encourage or accelerate growth. Here, the only option that aligns with this meaning is “foster.” Even if you weren’t quite familiar with the meaning of “foster” in its context, we can use process of elimination to identify the correct answer. “Impede,” “curb,” and “stop,” all clearly give the opposite meaning of what we’re looking for, and can thus be eliminated. We’ll also want to be wary of cases where two or more answer choices seem to provide the same meaning, as they do here. Since they cannot all be the correct answer, there’s a far better chance that something is problematic about all options, and they can thus be eliminated.

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The passage is excerpted from Carter G, Leffer L (2015) “Social Grooming in Bats: Are Vampire Bats Exceptional?” © 2015 Carter, Leffer

Patterns of social grooming among categories of individuals also differed between the two species. In the Bechstein’s bat, adult female social grooming was not detectably symmetrical, and was predicted by kinship, occurring mostly between adult mothers and daughters, sometimes between sisters, and only rarely between non-kin. In vampires, female social grooming was highly symmetrical and relatively common among non-kin, where it correlated with co-roosting association and food sharing.

In the context of the highlighted portion of the passage, “symmetrical” most nearly means-

• Unique

• Different

• Proportional

• Parallel

Answer explanation

Using context clues, we can see that “symmetry” in social grooming essentially means that there is a predictable a proportional relationship between how much time is spent when the second animal grooms the first, and when the first grooms the second. This leads us to the correct answer, “proportional.” “Different” and “unique” are both too similar to one another to be differentiated (and thus, are unlikely to be correct answers), and express a meaning entirely counter to the one presented in the passage. Parallel is also illogical, and attempts to distract us with our understanding of the visual meaning of “symmetrical.” However, only “proportional” could be placed where the term in question is located in the text without changing the meaning.

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The passage is excerpted from Carter G, Leffer L (2015) “Social Grooming in Bats: Are Vampire Bats Exceptional?” © 2015 Carter, Leffer

Alternatively, the apparent distinctiveness of vampire bat social grooming might stem from purely ecological factors. Social grooming may be more obvious in vampire bats due to higher levels of ectoparasite infestation. Bat fly density has been linked to species-level grooming rates and the two vampire species that were observed ranked 5th and 6th place out of 53 neotropical bats for average number of parasitic streblid flies per bat. A sampling bias could also over-emphasize social grooming in vampire bats, because there is much effort focused on studying vampire bat social behavior and a lack of data on social grooming in other bats.

In the context of the highlighted portion of the passage, “bias” most nearly means

• Aversion

• Fairness

• Partiality

• Disklike

Answer explanation

In this example, we’re tasked to use context to understand the meaning of “bias” in the term “sampling bias.” The context later in the sentence addresses that a sampling bias could over-emphasize a certain group. So, we’re meant to interpret that a sampling bias expresses a partial or unfair distribution in the sample. This aligns with our correct answer, “partiality.” This context directly contrasts with “fairness,” and while a bias could lead someone to have a preference for one component and an aversion to or dislike of another, the answers “dislike” and “aversion” also don’t fit the given context, as the bias has been said to over-emphasize a particular species. Keep in mind that even if you were uncertain of the meaning of the term “partiality,” process of elimination is a great tool to eliminate clearly incorrect answers and arrive at our correct option!

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Dr. Ginny Bolton, examining roundworm samples collected in Borneo, noticed that the heatworm’s tiny cilia (hairlike organelles) appeared to beat in a single direction, aiding in the expulsion of food. Dr. Bolton later determined that the cilia also made it much easier for the heatworm to live in the stifling confines of tree bark. The cilia project from a cuticle that is made of keratin, a protein that protects the worm’s epidermis from drying out and overheating. The cilia help regulate the proliferation of the keratin, and the force of the cilia’s movements varies as the external temperature changes, allowing for a highly responsive thermostatic system, constantly adjusting the amount of keratin so that the worm would be neither overexposed nor stifled.

In the context of the highlighted portion of the passage, “proliferation” most nearly means

• Size

• Publishing

• Production

• Regulation

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This passage is adapted from Adam K. Fetterman and Kai Sassenberg, “The Reputational Consequences of Failed Replications and Wrongness Admission among Scientists", first published in December 2015 by PLOS ONE.

While we imply that these effects may be exacerbated by social media, the data cannot directly speak to this. However, any one of a number of cognitive biases may add support to this assumption and explain our findings. For example, it may be that a type of availability bias or pluralistic ignorance of which the more vocal and critical voices are leading individuals to judge current opinions as more negative than reality. As a result, it is easy to conflate discussions about direct replications with “witch- hunts” and overestimate the impact on one’s own reputation. Whatever the source may be, it is worth looking at the potential negative impact of social media in scientific conversations.

As used in the highlighted line, “critical” most nearly means

• Serious

• Analytical

• Crucial

• Judgmental

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