PSAT/SAT Quiz

In 2007, computer scientist Luis von Ahn was working on converting printed books into a digital format. He found that some words were distorted enough that digital scanners couldn’t recognize them, but most humans could easily read them. Based on that finding, von Ahn invented a simple security test to keep automated “bots” out of websites. The first version of the reCAPTCHA test asked users to type one known word and one of the many words scanners couldn’t recognize. Correct answers proved the users were humans and added data to the book-digitizing project. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• To discuss von Ahn’s invention of reCAPTCHA

• To explain how digital scanners work

• To call attention to von Ahn’s book-digitizing project

• To indicate how popular reCAPTCHA is

“To You” is an 1856 poem by Walt Whitman. In the poem, Whitman suggests that readers, whom he addresses directly, have not fully understood themselves, writing, _______ Which quotation from “To You” most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A) “You have not known what you are, you have slumber’d upon yourself / all your life, / Your eyelids have been the same as closed most of the time.”

• B) “These immense meadows, these interminable rivers, you are immense / and interminable as they.”

• C) “I should have made my way straight to you long ago, / I should have babbl’d nothing but you, I should have chanted nothing / but you.”

• D) “I will leave all and come and make the hymns of you, / None has understood you, but I understand you.”

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?

• Dark Cloud acted in significantly fewer films than did Lillian St. Cyr, who is credited with 66 performances.

• Edwin Carewe’s 47 credited acting roles includes only films made after 1934.

• Lillian St. Cyr acted in far more than 66 films and Edwin Carewe directed more than 58.

• James Young Deer actually directed 33 films and acted in only 10.

In the mountains of Brazil, Barbacenia tomentosa and Barbacenia macrantha—two plants in the Velloziaceae family—establish themselves on soilless, nutrient-poor patches of quartzite rock. Plant ecologists Anna Abrahão and Patricia de Britto Costa used microscopic analysis to determine that the roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha, which grow directly into the quartzite, have clusters of fine hairs near the root tip; further analysis indicated that these hairs secrete both malic and citric acids. The researchers hypothesize that the plants depend on dissolving underlying rock with these acids, as the process not only creates channels for continued growth but also releases phosphates that provide the vital nutrient phosphorus. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis?

• Other species in the Velloziaceae family are found in terrains with more soil but have root structures similar to those of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha.

• Though B. tomentosa and B. macrantha both secrete citric and malic acids, each species produces the acids in different proportions.

• The roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha carve new entry points into rocks even when cracks in the surface are readily available.

• B. tomentosa and B. macrantha thrive even when transferred to the surfaces of rocks that do not contain phosphates.

In 1937, Chinese American screen actor Anna May Wong, who had portrayed numerous villains and secondary characters but never a heroine, finally got a starring role in Paramount Pictures’ Daughter of Shanghai, a film that ________ “expanded the range of possibilities for Asian images on screen.” Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• critic, Stina Chyn, claims

• critic, Stina Chyn, claims,

• critic Stina Chyn claims

• critic Stina Chyn, claims,

Researchers studying magnetosensation have determined why some soil-dwelling roundworms in the Southern Hemisphere move in the opposite direction of Earth’s magnetic field when searching for ________ in the Northern Hemisphere, the magnetic field points down, into the ground, but in the Southern Hemisphere, it points up, toward the surface and away from worms’ food sources. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• food:

• food,

• food while

• food

Scientists believe that, unlike most other species of barnacle, turtle barnacles (Chelonibia testudinari) can dissolve the cement-like secretions they use to attach ________ to a sea turtle shell, enabling the barnacles to move short distances across the shell’s surface. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• it

• themselves

• them

• itself

The classic children’s board game Chutes and Ladders is a version of an ancient Nepalese game, Paramapada Sopanapata. In both games, players encounter “good” or “bad” spaces while traveling along a path; landing on one of the good spaces _______ a player to skip ahead and arrive closer to the end goal. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• allows

• are allowing

• have allowed

• allow

In 1453, English King Henry VI became unfit to rule after falling gravely ill. As a result, Parliament appointed Richard, Third Duke of York, who had a strong claim to the English throne, to rule as Lord Protector. Upon recovering two years later, _______ forcing an angered Richard from the royal court and precipitating a series of battles later known as the Wars of the Roses. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• Henry resumed his reign,

• the reign of Henry resumed,

• Henry’s reign resumed,

• it was Henry who resumed his reign,

Researchers have struggled to pinpoint specific causes for hiccups, which happen when a person’s diaphragm contracts ________. However, neuroscientist Kimberley Whitehead has found that these uncontrollable contractions may play an important role in helping infants regulate their breathing. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• involuntarily
• beneficially
• strenuously
• smoothly