SAT Practice Test Questions

Though not closely related, the hedgehog tenrecs of Madagascar share basic _______ true hedgehogs, including protective spines, pointed snouts, and small body size—traits the two groups of mammals independently developed in response to equivalent roles in their respective habitats. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• examples of

• concerns about

• indications of

• similarities with

In editor Lisa Yaszek’s introduction to her anthology The Future Is Female! More Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, Yaszek identifies an increasing sense of _______ feminist mode of writing in the 1970s, in contrast to many woman-authored science fiction stories of the 1920s to 1960s whose politics were less deliberately signaled. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• a prudently

• an overtly

• a cordially

• an inadvertently

_______ the long-standing trend of overemphasizing teenagers and young adults in research on social media use, scholars have recently begun to expand their focus to include the fastest-growing cohort of social media users: senior citizens. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• Exacerbating

• Redressing

• Epitomizing

• Precluding

As used in the text, what does the word “disputing” most nearly mean? The multitude of Paris seems to be dressed in blue every day but Sunday, when, for the most part, they put on an unbelievably festive black. Here they were now, in blue, disputing, every inch, our passage, with their wagons, handtrucks, their bursting baskets carried at an angle steeply self-confident on the back.

• Arguing about

• Disapproving of

• Asserting possession of

• Providing resistance to

While recent scholarship has undermined claims that the works of twelfth-century Islamic philosopher Ibn Rushd were _______ other Muslim philosophers of his time, it is indisputable that his location in the Muslim-ruled area of what is now Spain meant that his works were primarily available thousands of miles west of the era’s center of Islamic thought. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• controversial among

• antagonistic toward

• imitated by

• inconsequential to

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? On painter William H. Johnson’s return to the United States in 1938 after a decade in Europe, his style underwent an abrupt transformation. Turning away from landscapes painted in an expressionist style—a style that often involves using fluid, distorted shapes and thick, textured brushstrokes to express the artist’s subjective experience of reality—Johnson began painting portraits of Black Americans in a bold new way. Evocative of African sculpture and American and Scandinavian folk art, these portraits feature flat, deliberately oversimplified figures in a vibrant but limited color palette.

• It elaborates on the previous sentence’s statement about a transitional moment in Johnson’s artistic career.

• It provides information about Johnson’s travels in support of a claim about his artistic influences, which is advanced in the following sentence.

• It recounts a moment in Johnson’s personal life that enabled the success of his subsequent career, which is summarized in the following sentence.

• It presents evidence that calls into question the previous sentence’s characterization of Johnson’s artistic development.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text? When classical pianist Martha Argerich performs, it appears as if the music is coming to her spontaneously. She’s highly skilled technically, but because of how freely she plays and her willingness to take risks, she seems relaxed and natural. Her apparent ease, however, is due to a tremendous amount of preparation. Despite Argerich’s experience and virtuosity, she never takes for granted that she knows a piece of music. Instead, she approaches the music as if encountering it for the first time and tries to understand it anew.

• To provide details about how Argerich identifies which pieces of music she will perform

• To assert that Argerich’s performances look effortless because of how she prepares for them

• To discuss the kinds of music Argerich feels most comfortable encountering for the first time

• To describe the unique way that Argerich approaches music she hasn’t performed before

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole? He hired himself out for three months; at the end of that time to receive for his wages two hundred acres of land lying in New Hampshire. [...] His employer proving false to the contract in the matter of the land, and there being no law in the country to force him to fulfil it, Israel—who, however brave-hearted, and even much of a dare-devil upon a pinch, seems nevertheless to have evinced, throughout many parts of his career, a singular patience and mildness—was obliged to look round for other means of livelihood than clearing out a farm for himself in the wilderness.

• It implies that Israel treasures a particular characteristic of his personality when that characteristic should usually be regarded as a flaw.

• It suggests that if not for a certain aspect of his character, Israel might not have been as easily thwarted in his ambition to establish a farm.

• It shows why Israel would not have been able to undertake the enormous amount of labor necessary to run a farm even if he had owned the necessary property.

• It explains why, when the situation requires it, Israel is able to undertake courageous acts that others would generally avoid.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the underlined claim in Text 1? In 1954 George Balanchine choreographed a production of The Nutcracker, a ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It has since become a tradition for hundreds of dance companies in North America to stage The Nutcracker each year. But the show is stuck in the past, with an old-fashioned story and references, so it should no longer be produced. Ballet needs to create new traditions if it wants to stay relevant to contemporary audiences. The Nutcracker is outdated, but it should be kept because it’s a holiday favorite and provides substantial income for some dance companies. Although it can be behind the times, there are creative ways to update the show. For example, Debbie Allen successfully modernized the story. Her show Hot Chocolate Nutcracker combines ballet, tap, hip-hop, and other styles, and it has been gaining in popularity since it opened in 2009.

• By questioning the idea that the story of The Nutcracker is stuck in the past and by rejecting the suggestion that contemporary audiences would enjoy an updated version

• By agreeing that contemporary audiences have largely stopped going to see performances of The Nutcracker because it’s so old-fashioned

• By pointing out that most dance companies could increase their incomes by offering modernized versions of The Nutcracker

• By suggesting that dance companies should consider offering revised versions of The Nutcracker instead of completely rejecting the show

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

• Medina-Alcaide and her team’s study demonstrated that fireplaces were essential to the creators of Paleolithic cave art.

• Medina-Alcaide and her team discovered that Paleolithic cave artists in Spain used animal-fat lamps more often than they used torches.

• Medina-Alcaide and her team were reluctant to draw many conclusions from their study because of the difficulty they had replicating light sources based on known artifacts.

• Medina-Alcaide and her team tested Paleolithic light sources and learned some details about how Paleolithic artists traveled within dark caves.