SAT Reading and Writing Questions

Critics have asserted that fine art and fashion rarely ______ in a world where artists create timeless works for exhibition and designers periodically produce new styles for the public to buy. Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock beadwork artist and designer Jamie Okuma challenges this view: her work can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and purchased through her online boutique. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• prevail

• succumb

• diverge

• intersect

Manul cats are small, shy felines. They live mostly alone in out-of-the-way parts of Asia, such as on Mount Everest. These cats have been difficult to research because their habitats are so ______ large populations of humans. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• full of

• drawn to

• responsible for

• distant from

Radar and sonar can detect objects or people through walls, but they are too costly for consumer use. Researchers Fadel Adib and Dina Katabi have shown, however, that there may be a comparatively ______ alternative: small changes to the Wi-Fi technology used in smartphones can give users a cheap way to count people or even identify their gestures through walls. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• infrequent

• inexpensive

• unmistakable

• impractical

When marine biologist Brittany Williams played different ocean recordings to groups of oyster larvae, groups that heard sounds of a healthy oyster reef were the most ______. They were twice as likely as other groups to show signs of making a permanent home. This suggests that playing recordings of a healthy ocean reef may encourage oysters to create such a reef.

• responsive

• inactive

• liked

• distressed

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

• Choose

• Influence

• Demonstrate

• Measure

Nigerian American author Teju Cole’s ______ his two passions—photography and the written word—culminates in his 2017 book, Blind Spot, which evocatively combines his origi

Nigerian American author Teju Cole’s ______ his two passions—photography and the written word—culminates in his 2017 book, Blind Spot, which evocatively combines his original photographs from his travels with his poetic prose. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• indifference to

• enthusiasm for

• concern about

• surprise at

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

• Pulled

• Drained

• Inspired

• Sketched

The work of Kiowa painter T.C. Cannon derives its power in part from the tension among his ______ influences: classic European portraiture, with its realistic treatment of faces; the American pop art movement, with its vivid colors; and flatstyle, the intertribal painting style that rejects the effect of depth typically achieved through shading and perspective. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• complementary

• unknown

• disparate

• interchangeable

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

• Gentle

• Sensitive

• Shapeless

• Bland