Boatload of Critical Reading Questinos

SAT and ACT Tests & Test Preparation SAT Preparation
#1

<p>Hey guys! I need some help with the following critical reading passages.</p>

<p>(For most of these short snippets, I have italicized the line references and maybe included some more lines before and after to show some context to the questions)</p>

<p>(These are also part of the Saturday, January 1997 test)</p>

<p>Also... please give explanation to why answers are correct and why answers are incorrect</p>

<ol>
<li>As used in line 20, "progressive" most nearly means</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) improving
(b) reformist
(c) continuing
(d) freethinking
(e) futuristic</p>

<p>
[quote]
Faced with a particular change, we need to ask if it involves real loss and if there is anything we can do to stop it.</p>

<p>The progressive loss of the distinction between the words "disinterested" (unbiased) and "uninterested (apathetic) is regrettable; however, we might admit that the fight on behalf of the distinction is a lost cause.

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>In lines 7-10, the author discusses French money in order to make which point?</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) Artists are held in esteem in French culture.
(b) People value art primarily as an investment.
(c) The author did not know what to expect in a foreign country.
(d) People in France are not as materialistically oriented as are people in the United States.
(e) The author's finances influenced her feelings about her trip.</p>

<p>
[quote]
In my guidebook I have scouted out the topography of Paris so that when i arrive I can align myself north, south, east, west. And I continue to review my French.</p>

<p>French money is engraved with the portraits of artists: Delacroix, de La Tour, Montesquieu, Debussy; I am astounded, and catch a distant trumped of an entirely new point of view I wonder if, by similar extraordinary facts that I cannot predict, I may feel more at home in Europe than on my deeply loved stretches of land in the United States.

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>The "American voice" described in lines 35-39 represents an attitude of </li>
</ol>

<p>(a) awe aroused by the beauty of the Louvre
(b) eagerness to be enriched by new ideas about art
(c) painful insignificance when standing next to such a grand building
(d) critical evaluation of the Louvre in terms of its historical context
(e) surprise because American art seems decadent compared to European art</p>

<p>
[quote]
Directed by three volubly helpful French people, I found a taxi which bore me to my daughter's hotel by way of the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens, and the Louvre: dream underwritten by power into reality.* An American voice in me remarked coolly, even as I marveled, "Now I understand the French Revolution; it's wrong for any human being to have had this much power."* But all that is really none of my business now.

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>Paragraph four (lines 40-55) suggests which of the following concerning Iroquois tribal "heads" of three hundred years ago?</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) They were appointed by the European settles.
(b) They were rarely present at ceremonial gatherings.
(c) Their people expected them to negotiate on their behalf.
(d) They did not wield as much power as the tribal councils did.
(e) They adjudicated conflicts within their own tribes.</p>

<p>
[quote]
* Adventure novels and Hollywood films set in the past often portray strong chiefs commanding their tribes. More often, however, as in the case of the Iroquois people, a council of sachems, or legislators, ruled, any any person called the "head" of the tribe usually occupied a largely honorary position of respect rather than power. Chiefs mostly played ceremonial religious roles rather than political or economic ones. Unlike the familiar words "caucus" and "powwow," which are Indian-derived and indicative of American Indian political traditions the word "chief" is an English word of French origin that British officials tried to force onto American Indian tribes in order that they might have someone with whom to trade and sign treaties. *

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>Which statement best described the relationship between Proudhon's theory and seventeenth century Huron practices discussed in lines 93-103?</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) An influential idea was publicized by those who had helped formulate it.
(b) An intellectual argument was based on Proudhon's own experiences.
(c) Practical suggestions by nonspecialists were incorporated into a system of thought.
(d) A scholar's perceptions were modified only after comparison with a historical example.
(e) The development of an abstract concept was influenced by an observed phenomenon.</p>

<ol>
<li>In line 96, "brands" most nearly means</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) marks
(b) manufactures
(c) varieties
(d) logos
(e) identifications</p>

<p>
[quote]
* The descriptions of La Hontan and other European travelers of the so-called anarchy among the American Indians contributed to several different brands of anarchistic theory in he nineteenth century. Today, anarchism is often equated with terrorism and nihilism (denial of values) but early anarchism lacked those characteristics. Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), the author of modern anarchistic theory, stress the notion of "mutualism" in a society based on cooperation without the use of coercion from any quarter.
*

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>In the sentence beginning "Like certain..." (lines 104-108), the author's approach shifts from </li>
</ol>

<p>(a) manipulating highly charged rhetoric to introducing a counterappeal
(b) supplying selected historical references to using figurative language
(c) analyzing a process unemotionally to suggesting mild disapproval
(d) expressing skepticism to invoking cautious praise
(e) employing veiled blame to summarizing concepts optimistically</p>

<p>
[quote]
* Like certain American plants that were introduced throughout the world and that found new surroundings in which to flourish, the examples of liberty and individuality in American Indian societies spread and survived in other surroundings.* Today, in the ordered anarchy of a powwow in North Dakota, these same values are articulated more eloquently than int he writings of most political theorists.

[/quote]
</p>

<ol>
<li>In line 58 "proved" most nearly means</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) turned out
(b) made clear
(c) tested
(d) verified
(e) refined</p>

<p>
[quote]
In the paper Jansky proposed the center of the Milky Way Galaxy as one possible origin of the static. Further study, however, proved confusing, for the daily time of arrival was not behaving as regularly (based on the assumption of a single source) as it should have.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Holy! This took a long ass time to type.</p>

#2

<p>Come on guys! It's great Critical Reading practice and it took me a long time to type. :(</p>

#3

<p>My answers (may not be entirely correct): </p>

<p>1) C
2) D
3) D
4) A
5) E
6) C
7) B
8) A</p>

#4

<p>May I please have some explanations? :D</p>

#5

<p>What were your answers? Did they match up to mine?</p>

<p>In any case, here goes:</p>

<p>1) C - should be dead obvious</p>

<p>2) D - not A; Montesquieu was not an artist. B has no supporting evidence. C - maybe. E just comes out of left field. </p>

<p>3) D - should be obvious; note the mention of the French Revolution</p>

<p>4) A - supported by last sentence of your excerpt</p>

<p>5) E - Between D and E, I think that E is the best answer since D states that "[Proudhon's principles of anarchy"] were modified only after comparison with a historical example." There is no evidence in the article supporting that assertion. </p>

<p>6) C - I think this should be obvious </p>

<p>7) B - Note the shift from historical references to a vegetation metaphor. E is close, but I'm not sure that's the best answer. Can someone give me his or her perspective? </p>

<p>8) A - only A makes any sense</p>

#6

<p>I agree with both of the above posters, except I don't really understand number 2.</p>

#7

<p>For #2 where in the passage does it talk about materialism?</p>

#8

<p>I think #2 is A because the passage says that in France, artistic figures are presented on French money, and in the US, presidential figures (who are revered and surely 'held in esteem') are presented on the US currency. So that must mean that artistic figures in France are revered at the same level that presidential figures are revered in the US.</p>

#9

<p>
[quote]
catch a distant trumped of an entirely new point of view

[/quote]
</p>

<p>(From the passage for #2) Are you sure this is what's actually printed? Based on the sentence where the author says that he/she's "astounded," I would say that #2 is C. This clause following that assertion (of being astounded) would definitely help me confirm this.</p>

#10

<p>I believe 2 is C as well. The reason is the same as pi posted- she's not accustomed to the foreign style and now that she is experiencing it, she feels it's perhaps better than what she was used to in the US.</p>

#11

<p>As for why the rest is incorrect:
A) Nothing is directly supported about revering the artists. The simple fact they're portrayed on the currency isn't enough to establish a conclusion.
B) okay, this is obviously wrong.
D) The tricky choice, since it establishes a difference between the French and the US, just like the author does. But nothing is stated or can be inferred about materialism of any sort simply by the currency choice in France.
E) It seems more as if the author's feelings were influenced by the changes she experienced in the European lifestyle, not her financial decisions.</p>

#12

<p>And guess what, a google search states the answer is A. whattttttttt.</p>

#13

<p>" French money is engraved with the portraits of artists: Delacroix, de La Tour, Montesquieu, Debussy; I am astounded, and catch a distant trumpet of an entirely new point of view. "</p>

<p>Okay, I understand why I'm wrong. Whatever I said to support C comes later than line 10. PencilxBoxes reasoning seems right.</p>

#14

<p>The answers are, according to what I found online:</p>

<p>1.) c - no other choice makes sense
2.) a - to be engraved on something as important as money would mean you are held in high esteem
3.) d - French Revolution is historical :D
4.) d - it says the "council of sachems" ruled while the head got an "honorary" position
5.) e - there is no evidence for a-d to be correct and the passage does talk about development...
6.) c - no other choice makes sense
7.) b - no other choice makes sense
8.) a - no other choice makes sense</p>

<p>Sorry that I couldn't really provide much explanation. D:</p>

#15

<p>Here are the official answers:</p>

<p>(1) C
(2) A
(3) D
(4) D
(5) E
(6) C
(7) B
(8) A</p>

#16

<p>I get some of these now, and I really need an explanation for some of these.</p>

<ol>
<li>I made the same mistake most of you did by by choosing C instead of A. After reading the explanation for it on this thread, I still am not convinced and probably need someone to convince me that C is wrong, rather than why A is right.</li>
</ol>

<p><a href="From%20the%20passage%20for%20#2">quote</a> Are you sure this is what's actually printed? Based on the sentence where the author says that he/she's "astounded," I would say that #2 is C. This clause following that assertion (of being astounded) would definitely help me confirm this.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This was my thinking exactly.</p>

<p>
[quote]
" French money is engraved with the portraits of artists: Delacroix, de La Tour, Montesquieu, Debussy; I am astounded, and catch a distant trumpet of an entirely new point of view. "</p>

<p>Okay, I understand why I'm wrong. Whatever I said to support C comes later than line 10. PencilxBoxes reasoning seems right.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Doesn't 314159265's post convince you though. " I am astounded, and catch a distant trumped of an entirely new point of view" is still in the lines designated.</p>

#17

<ol>
<li>I picked B instead of D. My rationale is that "critical evaluation" sounds way too severe for this comment by the narrator (which sounds rather off-handed). B makes more sense to me as she shows her interest in the Louvre and her eagerness to learn about her surroundings.</li>
</ol>

#18

<ol>
<li>I, too, got A like some of the other posters in this thread and used the same rationale that most of you guys probably used as well. </li>
</ol>

<p>
[quote]
Unlike the familiar words "caucus" and "powwow," which are Indian-derived and indicative of American Indian political traditions the word "chief" is an English word of French origin that British officials tried to force onto American Indian tribes in order that they might have someone with whom to trade and sign treaties.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This, specifically, made me choose A. I understand where the answer is coming from when it says that D is the correct answer, but I don't understand why A is incorrect.</p>

#19

<ol>
<li>I picked C instead of E. I don't understand what exactly the "observed phenomenon" is that is located in the designated text. Along with not understanding why E is the correct answer, I don't understand why C is wrong.</li>
</ol>

#20

<p>Hmm, perhaps SAT's from 1997 were a bit more inference-based than SAT's in the 2010's?</p>