PSAT Reading

As used in line 27, “deepest” most nearly means

• most engrossing.

• most challenging.

• most extensive.

• most fundamental.

• No Idea

The authors of Passage 2 indicate that the matter of shrinking biodiversity should primarily be considered a

• historical anomaly.

• global catastrophe.

• scientific curiosity.

• political problem.

• No Idea

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

• Lines 37-41 (“Species . . . ago”)

• Lines 42-45 (“A program . . . woes”)

• Lines 53-56 (“Against . . . irresponsible”)

• Lines 65-67 (“Such . . . grave”)

• No Idea

As used in line 37, “great” most nearly means

• lofty.

• wonderful.

• large.

• intense.

• No Idea

Which choice best states the relationship between the two passages?

• Passage 2 attacks a political decision that Passage 1 strongly advocates.

• Passage 2 urges caution regarding a technology that Passage 1 describes in favorable terms.

• Passage 2 expands on the results of a research study mentioned in Passage 1.

• Passage 2 considers practical applications that could arise from a theory discussed in Passage 1.

• No Idea

How would the authors of Passage 2 most likely respond to the “prospect” referred to in line 21, Passage 1?

• With approval, because it illustrates how useful de-extinction could be in addressing widespread environmental concerns.

• With resignation, because the gradual extinction of many living species is inevitable.

• With concern, because it implies an easy solution to a difficult problem.

• With disdain, because it shows that people have little understanding of the importance of genetic diversity.

• No Idea

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

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

The following text is from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables. Anne, an eleven-year-old girl, has come to live on a farm with a woman named Marilla in Nova Scotia, Canada. Anne reveled in the world of color about her. “Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill—several thrills? I’m going to decorate my room with them.” “Messy things,” said Marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeably developed. “You clutter up your room entirely too much with out-of-doors stuff, Anne. Bedrooms were made to sleep in.” Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• To demonstrate that Anne has a newly developed appreciation of nature

• To describe an argument that Anne and Marilla often have

• To emphasize Marilla’s disapproval of how Anne has decorated her room

• To show that Anne and Marilla have very different personalities

When the Vinland Map, a map of the world purported to date to the mid-1400s, surfaced in 1957, some scholars believed it demonstrated that European knowledge of the eastern coast of present-day North America predated Christopher Columbus’s 1492 arrival. In 2021, a team including conservators Marie-France Lemay and Paula Zyats and materials scientist Anikó Bezur performed an extensive analysis of the map and the ink used. They found that the ink contains titanium dioxide, a compound that was first introduced in ink manufacturing in the early 1900s. Therefore, the team concluded that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text?

• mid-1400s Europeans could not have known about the eastern coast of present-day North America.

• the Vinland Map could not have been drawn by mid-1400s mapmakers.

• mapmakers must have used titanium compounds in their ink in the 1400s.

• there isn’t enough information to determine when the ink was created.