My super detailed approach to every single question of CR

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 8:00am

Since my time is ticking and I feel stuck in CR, I decided to try a time and effort consuming approach. I am posting it here because maybe it will help someone to understand what should be going on in high scorer’s mind when he/she is tackling CR questions. I always wanted someone to provide this insight to me but didn’t get it. Here I am providing it for myself. I am doing tests from the 1st edition of the Blue Book (Official guide).

The summary of my strategy:

In sentence completion I look for the clues that would tell me what kind of word(s) I need.
When tackling the Passages, I look to the questions first and mark all mentioned lines and paragraphs.
Then I read first question and see what exactly it is asking and go look for the answer. After answering it, I read the next question and answer it. Basically, I am reading the passage(s) together with the questions. Usually the questions are very nicely in order and I am always concentrated on the relevant portion of the passage while answering the question. All general questions like main purpose of the passage, authors tone I leave for the last, making sure I mark them conspicuously (I don’t want to forget about them).

Important tips:

When I read the question, I make sure I understand exactly what it is asking and underline the most important word or word group. Then I go to the passage and get my own idea what the answer is supposed to be. I formulate it clearly in my mind and then look to the answer choices using the formulated idea. If formulated idea doesn’t fit the answer choices, then I know that I understood something wrong and have to go back and read again. I try to make sure this never happens so I read very attentively.
You should practice first without timing yourself and making sure you understand what the questions want from you and you learn to discern the wrong answers using the evidence in the passage wisely.
Correct answer doesn’t have to be understandable. SAT makers will make sure to twist it in an unconventional manner to confuse you. That’s why I advocate first eliminating all incorrect answers. It often occurs that after reading the correct answer I don’t know what to think: I cannot refute or confirm it because I cannot grasp the meaning of it. I leave it for the last. Usually I end up with it as my only correct choice because I eliminated all other choices.

My method of approach:

I do the test.
See and correct my mistakes.
Try to understand what went wrong; what was the reason for my mistake. What would be the correct mindset to answer correctly?
Write a detailed approach for every single question and answer choice. I treat the questions I answered wrong as if I answered them correctly and write a detailed approach with the correct mindset. I believe that in this way I am correcting “my mistaken ways” in my mind.

Feel free to comment on anything. I will accept constructive criticism gladly because I really want to improve on my Critical Reading skills.
My current CR score is in 670-720 range. It depends on the vocabulary. Mainly I fail because I don’t understand some important word in the lines, the question or the answer choice. The second category of my mistakes is I fail to understand the main point I am asked about.

Here we go…

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 8:18am

Blue Book 1st edition

Practice Test 1

Section 2

<ol>
<li> “Stage scenery” tells me that the sentence requires a word that means “setting”, D.</li>
<li> “Much more food that it actually needs” requires a word that means “surfeit”, “excess”, “plethora”, “glut”, “surplus”… (these are all SAT words you need to know). B, overabundance, is the only choice that has a fitting first word, therefore I don’t have to look any further. </li>
<li> “Suffering from various ailments” gives me a hint that I should look for a word that means something related with healing, appeasing the illness. E – therapeutic, fits perfectly.</li>
<li> “More valuable and comprehensive than any previously proposed theory” says that Salazar’s research is the first excellent work of that kind. I have to look for words that are positive. I eliminate A,B and E because they include negative words. D makes no sense. C is my answer. Salazar’s research provided the basis for further investigations. </li>
<li> “Delaying the launch by nearly a week” tells me that the plans were interrupted, hindered. Thwarted, A, is the word.</li>
<li> “Offended the audience” gives me a hint that I should look for something that is offensive as my first word. Looking to the choices, I can see that B and D are possible but the second word in D doesn’t fit. “Refusing to moderate these (offensive) remarks” asks for a negative word. B is the best choice.</li>
<li> “Limping” tells me that I should look for a similar word. A is the correct choice.</li>
<li> “Emphasized tensed moments” by “raising their voices and pretending to swoon”. I am looking for a word that means “showing excessive emotions, being dramatic”. D, histrionic, is the correct word.</li>
<li> Underline 2-8 lines to see the structure of the passage. Now read the first sentence: The intelligence of dolphins is well documented by science. It tells me that the coming examples will demonstrate the cases that show dolphins’ intelligence. I can eliminate A,B and D because they do not correspond with the main idea. Now read the examples: “…dolphins are able to understand sign language, solve puzzles, and use objects in their invironment as tools… dolphins possess a sophisticated language… recent experiment proved that dolphins can even recognize themselves in the mirror”. And now finish reading the passage and note “indicating a level of intelligence that may be very near our own”. I can understand clearly that the examples provided were to show how dolphin skills remind those of human. We eliminate C and choose E. C does not fit because “unique type of intelligence” would require skills that are not possessed by other species. That would require something one of a kind - unique.</li>
<li>Read passage 2. “Just as human intelligence is appropriate for human needs, dolphin intelligence is right for the dolphin’s way of life.” The author says that every species has intelligence appropriate to its needs. I have my answer – B. Now, I eliminated A because the author did not claim that “intelligence in animals is virtually impossible to measure”. That is extreme and would not pass for the correct answer on SAT. C – author never questioned the objectivity of any studies. D – author did not say that the activities of dolphins do not require high intelligence; he said that their intelligence is appropriate for their needs. He didn’t say what level of intelligence it is. E – author never said that little is known about dolphin social behaviour. </li>
<li>Note that you are looking for an answer that shows how the views of dolphin intelligence differ in the two passages. Eliminate as you read the answers in order. A – clearly the statement about passage 2 is wrong. B – both statements are wrong. C – the statement about passage 2 is clearly wrong. D – seems to fit. E – passage 1 did not mention anything about the size of dolphin brains, eliminate. You have your answer – D.</li>
<li>Which generalization is supported by both passages? Eliminate as you read the answers. A – only mentioned in passage one, eliminate. B – none of the passages mention that – eliminate. C – none of the passages said that, eliminate. D – could be, leave. E – only mentioned in passage 1, eliminate. I have my answer – D. </li>
</ol>

Read the blurb to be prepared for the topic. You are going to read about representation of Native Americans during the course of United States history. Look to the first question.
13. Underline “Pilgrim settlers” and read the first sentence of the paragraph where it is used. The author says that “Native Americans remain as …. to their contemporaries… as they were to the Pilgrim settlers over three hundred fifty years ago.” This is basically saying that the view hasn’t changed at all. Now let’s see the answer choices and look for something that expresses that idea. E fits perfectly. Pilgrim settlers were used to draw a parallel to a current condition. Native Americans are now viewed exactly the same as Pilgrim settlers viewed them 350 years back. Other choices are not related with the first sentence.
14. Underline the word “charged”. Read the sentence “Part of the problem… or introspection.” You get the feeling that the word means something like “stimulated”. Looking to the choices I see that D means exactly that and it fits nicely.
15. Underline Rousseau. Read the first 2 sentences of the second paragraph. The author is saying that the idea is not new and it was alive even back then in eighteenth century (in Rousseau’s writings). Look at the choices. A and B are expressing this idea but A cannot be true because the author is not saying that Rousseau originated that idea; he is only drawing a parallel past to present once again. B is the correct answer.
16. Underline “International crowd pleaser”. Read the first sentence of the third paragraph and see that you are missing something. You don’t know what the author is referring to. Finish reading the sencond paragraph. The idea of what you have just read was that Native Americans were seen by Europeans as inferior/stone age people/not fully humans. Look to the answer choices. A – can’t refute that, leave it. I don’t know what “anthropological” means and not sure what to do with this, then I just leave it. B – “novelty” makes the answer choice wrong. The idea is old and persisting to the nowadays. C – “harmless deception”, not harmless at all - eliminate. D – “beneficial (well meaning) error” – no, it is not a favourable error , eliminate. E – we are not talking about a revolution here, eliminate. It seems like I have my answer – A!
17. Underline “difficulty” and note the word “undermines”. I will be looking for something that is weakened by the mentioned “difficulty”. Let’s see what is that “difficulty”: “Native Americans were, and are, Homo sapiens sapiens. Now I know what the “difficulty” is - Native Americans are humans. Let’s see the answer choices. I am looking for something that is weakened by the fact that Native Americans are humans. A – fits, leave. Let’s look, for safety, why the other choices are wrong. B – no one is talking about looking for the consensus (concord, unanimity – learn the words). C – makes a contradiction; the fact that Native Americans are humans cannot undermine the efforts to rid of popular stereotypes. D – nope, the fact doesn’t undermine logic and deductive reasoning. E – we are not talking about the beliefs about European communities here, we are talking about Native Americans. Looks like I can be confident with my choice – A.
18. Underline the lines 34-37. Now go on reading from where you left (“Though often… or else the anscestors of those now called Native Americans would truly have vanished long ago”). The bolded sentence shows me that the facts in the underlined lines were integral for the survival of Native American anscestors. Look to the choices. A – “customs that fuel myths”, no the facts in the underlined lines are not that, eliminate. B – doesn’t make sense in the light of the lines 34-37. C – Jackpot. For safety let’s see why the other two are wrong. D – no western historians are mentioned here. E – “a culture can influence others” – out of topic. I can confidently say that C is the answer.
19. Underline the 2 sentences in 52-53. Read the fourth paragraph (The reluctance in…). What the paragraph is saying that Europeans were seeing themselves as the only right and intelligent ones and saw Native Americans as everything opposite. The two last sentences express how Europeans viewed Native Americans. They (Native Americans) dealt in magic, not method (like the prudent Europeans). They (Native Americans) were stuck in the past, not guided by its precedents (like the progressive Europeans). Look at the answers. A – a perfect fit. Let’s see the other choices. B – out of topic. C – wrong, the test-makers are messing with my mind. The topic here is how Europeans see Native Americans not the other way around. D – “that some Native Americans accepted”, nope. E – out of topic.
20. Underline 66-70. Read on from where you left. Read the whole fifth paragraph having in mind that you should get the answer to “how the author portrays Western historians”. The central idea of what I just read was that Western historians only trust written and archeological evidence and dismiss oral history, mnemonic devices (pertaining to memory – you don’t have to know what it means, you can guess from the other two that it is something not written, not tangible) and religious rituals as unreliable. It means that Western historians refuse to use untangible evidence to write the history of Native American culture and prefer to leave it unfinished and unclear. Look to the choices. A – wrong, quite the opposite, Western historians would value a lot archeological findings and evidence because they are tangible. B – fits the facts I extracted from the paragraph. Western historians are limiting themselves by refusing to accept oral, mnemonic and ritual evidences as reliable. C – out of topic. D – author does not advocate that Western historians are well meaning. E – They are not “anxious to contradict the faulty conclusions”, they are just stubborn about what is a reliable evidence and what is not.
21. I can infer that the “educated guess” would be related with the material Western historians are dismissing. Let’s look to the answers. A – out of topic. B – fits. C – tangible evidence therefore the guess wouldn’t be needed, eliminate. D – tangible, no need to guess. E – tangible, no need to guess. Looks like I can be confident that the correct answer is B.
22. Underline the geographical references in lines 74-75. Now read a half of the last paragraph to get the idea what those locations underscore (emphasize). By the time I finish the sentence “… in popular myth and stereotype”, I am sure that the geographical references were meant to show how widely the myths and stereotypes about Native Americans are prevalent. No matter where the person is from, he/she judges Native Americans according to the same myths and stereotypes. Looking to the choices. A – the point is not the “influence” here. B – author does not claim that people learn the myths during academical training, eliminate. C – fits. D – we are not talking what Native Americans have in common with other cultures here, eliminate. E – nowhere it was mentioned that scholars have different opinions about Native American history. C is my final choice.
23. Underline “most students” read on from where you left. One sentece before the mentioning of “most students” tells me that students must undergo the process of “demythologizing”. Read on “…are often required to abandon cherished childhood fantasies of superheroes or larger-than-life villains”. Now let’s see the choices and look for something close in meaning. B, disillusionment, is the correct choice. All the other word do not fit.
24. Having in mind the information I got from the previous question, this one can be answered. So the students must start from abandoning the myths, fantasies and stereotypes = from minus zero. Let’s look to the answer choices. A – seems to fit. B – “quality of scholarship”, no, eliminate. C – the choice is talking about something else entirely. D – no one said there is a shortage of written sources. E – no one is talking about seeking grants here. The answer is A.

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 8:22am

More tips:

<ul>
<li>Always read the passage/paragraph asking yourself “what is the main idea?”, “what is the author trying to say?”, “what is the purpose of using this example?”, “what idea does this example support?”. Train your mind to do that.</li>
<li>Reading the whole passage at once leaves you vulnerable to the traps (distracting, irrelevant points) used in the answer choices of the questions. When you read just the relevant parts, you strictly concentrate on the relevant information only.</li>
</ul>

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 8:42am

Continuing with the Test 1 from the 1st edition of the Blue Book.

Section 5

<ol>
<li> “instead of being”, “could be” tell me that I should be looking for two words that have opposite meanings, so I eliminate C because both words are positive, not contrasting; “and worth exploring” tells me that the second word is positive. I eliminate B and E because the second words are negative. A doesn’t make sense, so my choice is D. Both words are contrasting and “fascinating” fits well with “worth exploring”.</li>
<li> “win her approval through praise” tells me that I should look for the first word meaning something alike. A, B and C can be eliminated. D’s second word doesn’t fit, then the answer is E.</li>
<li> “thin, pliable and somewhat transparent” gives me a hint what kind of a word I should be looking for. A,B,C and E do not fit the description. My choice is D.</li>
<li> “mixture of dialects” are used to reflect something that means a mixture of few things. E, heterogeneity, fits perfectly. Other words do not fit here.</li>
<li> She apologized but her excuses failed to serve their purpose. What is the purpose of apologizing? To appease the other party. B, palliative, fits here.</li>
<li> Underline the phrases in 5-6. Read the first half of the passage till you read the phrases. Now you see that you have to find something that “seems to have sprung out of the blue and does not appear to signify anything in particular”. D seems like a good choice. All other phrases’ origins are explainable.</li>
<li> Underline the last sentence and read the rest of the passage. “Explanations are frequently posited but are too often unpersuasive”. This sentence tells me that the author will give an example of something “unpersuasive”. Author says that the explanation for the phrase “to be joshing” is fallacious. Let’s find the answer among the choices. B, invalidate a theory, fits.</li>
<li> After reading the question I see that I will need to read the whole passage to answer. The passage explains the purpose and approach of a study of Western cities (I identified the main idea of the passage and have an answer for the next question). The question asks you how will this study start. The answer is in the sentence “It aims to start with… and buildings that grew up to cater to them.” Let’s look for the answer among the choices. B - “role of central market-places” fits here. A – no crime rates were mentioned. C- “portraits of famous people” is wrong because this study is concerned with the functions of buildings, not people. D – “architectural challenges” are not the topic of the study. E – “ancient archeological sites” are not the topic of the study.</li>
<li> I determined that the main idea is “explanation of the purpose and approach of the study”. Let’s look among the answers. C is the correct choice. A – the study is not criticized. B – no one is talking about expense here. D – out of topic. E – no, it is not; defending includes persuading the other party why the decision is good but the tone of the passage is not defensive.</li>
<li>Underline people in lines 4-5 and 46. “Prospective buyers coming to gape” and “People stoped and stared and admired”. These lines are enough to answer the question. Let’s see in order. A – it has nothing to do with prospective buyers or admirers. B – doesn’t fit the lines. C – seems correct. D – no one is talking about methodology here. E – doesn’t fit the gapers (gaping doesn’t mean being acquisitive) and admirers(admiring doesn’t mean being generous). C is the best choice.</li>
<li>Underline the relevant sentence and read the first paragraph. The author is saying that she would feel uncomfortable and assumes that Sheila will be feeling the same. Let’s look to the choices. A says exactly that, so it is the correct answer. What about the rest? B – that is not what the author is saying. C – “is insecure about promoting her books” is wrong because the author says she would be embarrassed if her books were read in her presence, no promoting is needed here. D – the first paragraph is not about that. E – the paragraph is not about that.</li>
<li>I note that there must be some kind of a contrast between the paragraph I just read and the next one. For now the paragraph says that the author feels uncomfortable and expects Sheila to be uncomfortable too. Read the next paragraph. From the first few sentences I can understand that the reality was opposite from what the author expected. Let’s see the answer choices. I see that B is exactly that. Other choices do not fit here.</li>
<li>Underline the word “justice”. You don’t have to finish to read the second and the third paragraph. Start reading the fourth paragraph till you reach the word “justice”. You can see that you need to read a little bit more to understand what kind of justice is that. Stop after you read “…in front of it”. You have the information: the author is saying that no place in her home allowed the painting to “glow as it wanted”. Look to the choices. A – the point is not the artist here. B – “the widest possible audience” makes the answer wrong; no one is talking about showing the painting to the widest audience possible. C – the choice seems to fit. D – it’s not the point here. E – “elegant surroundings” is not the requirement here; you could be trapped by the phrase “in our ordinary house” and assume that it needed a more elegant house, but you would be wrong. The author explains exactly that the problem was: the lack of light and the small size of the rooms. That has nothing to do with elegance. So the correct choice is C. </li>
<li>Underline the sentence “It was a terrible mistake”. Read a bit above to undertand what mistake is the author talking about. The last sentence of the previous paragraph makes it clear. It was a mistake to sell the painting. Now let’s read on to get a bit more context. Finish with the “I should have found the way to keep it”. Let’s look to the choices. A – has nothing to do with what I just read. B – fits. The exact paraphrasing is in the lines “So it had been overwhelming, too large, too dramatic to contain in either house but I shouldn’t have let that matter, I should have found the way to keep it”. C – no one is discussing the value of the painting here. D – “betraying the trust” is not the subject here. E – there is no mention about how the author felt about the smaller painting.</li>
<li>Underline the metaphor and read the whole sentence and one after it (till you get the whole idea): “I grieved for it and wished I could buy it back, marry it again after the folly of a divorce. But it was too late”. I see that the author is experiencing intense remorse. Let’s see the answer choices. A – it is not what has happened. B – no one is talking about remembering childhood here. C – seems correct. D – artists have nothing to do with anything here. E – “of what they depict” makes the answer wrong; the emotions were felt not because of what was depicted in the painting. So the best choice is C.</li>
<li>Underline “like a poem” and read starting from the above of it. “I can see every detail of it in my mind’s eye anyway. It lives in my head. I can recite it like a poem, and so in a sense I can never lose it”. I get the idea – the painting is like a poem because the author remembers every detail of it/<code>can recite it</code>. Let’s see the choices. A – “share with others for pleasure” is not the idea of what I just read. B – “essential to a sense of identity” is not what the sentences say. C – it’s not it. D – we are not talking about the “first impression” here. E – says exactly what I just read. </li>
<li>Finish reading the passage from the other half of the fifth paragraph. “And then, in 1990… maudlin at saying my good-byes”. I get the idea. The author is trying to say good-bye to the painting; trying to let it go in her mind. Let’s see the answer choices. A – the creator of the painting has nothing to do with it. B – she doesn’t have the painting anymore, so there can be no difficulty “maintaining it”. C – she doesn’t have the painting anymore; she already divorced it. D – seems correct. E – “what it depicts” is not the point here.</li>
<li>The question asks what’s the purpose of the passage. Let’s remember that the main idea of the passage is the loss of a painting and feelings evoked by its loss. A – that wasn’t the idea of the passage, eliminate. B – out of topic. C – “emotional context of a particular series of events” seems like a possible answer, leave it. D – “economic value” of the painting was never discussed in the passage, eliminate. E – “artistic genre” wasn’t the topic of the passage, eliminate. It looks like my choice is C. </li>
<li>This kind of question should be answered lastly but read the italicized blurb. It says that the passage is about “aviation’s early years”. Having this in mind I can eliminate some choice without even starting to read the passage. B – is completely out of topic because the passage is not about the poetry, it is about the aviation (it doesn’t matter that there is a poem in it). Now go and answer all other questions. Now you have a picture of what the passage is about. A – though the aviation pioneers are mentioned, they are not the center of this passage; it is about aviation, not people. C – “effects on lifestyles” – no, that wasn’t the topic of this passage. D – “explain important principles of flight” was not the topic of this passage. E – this choice seems to be correct. I have my answer.</li>
<li>Underline the lines 3-9. Read the first sentence. So the further description will give me how Industrial Revolution was utterly different from “engineering that went into flying machines”. Read the description of the steam engine. Read the next sentence – “Airplane construction was the opposite of all that; it was about lightness”. Author juxtapositions two opposites. Let’s see the choices. A – “provided a model that aviation engineers could follow” - there was no such relation mentioned; the author depicted them as opposites so one cannot originate from the other. B – “society’s interest in travel” is not the point here. C – could be. D – “style over practicality” - no such thing was claimed. E – the author is not trying to argue anything like that. So C is the correct choice.</li>
<li>Underline “cheap end of the market” and read the second parapgraph till you finish the sentence with the underlined phrase. You read that The Wright brothers were making bicycles which were practical and cheap. Now look at the choices. A – “aviation’s progress was hindered” – no one is talking about that here. B – we are not talking about flying here but the bicycles. C – out of topic. D – could be. E – “were too extravagant” is opposite of what I just read. My choice is D. </li>
<li>Underline the lines 31-36. Read the paragraph that contains the poem with intention to find why the poem is mentioned. “…the body was earthbound, but it enclosed a soul that flew – in meditation, in poetry…”. So the poem should express “a flying soul” or something. Let’s see the choices. A – the poem is not meant to illustrate that. B – the poem doesn’t provide the solution to the mystery of flight. C – that is not what the poem is trying to show. D – “those who analyze the mechanics of flight” – that is not what we are talking about here. E – here is the answer.</li>
<li>Underline the quotation. Now read the last paragraph till you finish the sentence with the quotation. The lines I just read are saying that “the new light engineering that allowed people to fly” seemed like a poetry to the uninitiated, “machinery is our new art form” and there are 2 more quotations expressing the idea. Let’s see the choices. A – it seems to fit. B – the author is not claiming that. C – no one is saying that. D – no one is discussing technical language here. E – no one is claiming that. Great, then A is the correct choice. </li>
<li>Underline 47-48. I read on from where I left with the intention to find out what is the purpose of the remarks included. This sentence exalts Wright : “One of Wright’s most eloquent admirers called him… is just as high and faraway”. The biographer’s remark undermines the exaltation, pulling it down. Let’s look at the choices. A – the admirer’s depiction was indeed very imaginative, eliminate. B – seems to fit. C – it wasn’t a reiteration, eliminate. D – no one is talking about an invention here, eliminate. E – “scientific hero” – wrong, the biographer’s remark calls Wright unheroic. I can confidently choose B. Go back to the question 19.</li>
</ol>

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 8:57am

Continuing Test 1 from 1st edition of the Blue Book

Section 8

<ol>
<li> “gullible person unable to resist the traps” gives me a hint to look for something that means “a victim”. C, prey, is the best fit.</li>
<li> “Improvements in refrigeration and transportation” gives me a hint to look for some positive improvement. Eliminate: A - “slowed the distribution of available food”, B – “accelerated the perishability of available food”, D – “lowered the amount of available food” and E – “created the dearth of available food”. My choice is C – “expanded the variety of available food”.</li>
<li> “Although” says that the two authors will be compared in something they have in common. C and E can be eliminated because their first words do not fit this logic. B doesn’t make sense. In D the second word doesn’t fit the logic. My choice is A – “comparison between the two is inevitable because they both lived in and wrote about Mississippi”.</li>
<li> “surprised reporters by weeping openly” tells me that I am looking for something “the least (showy) of emotions”. B, demonstrative, fits perfectly.</li>
<li> “so dense and obscure” tells me that I am looking for something meaning “denseness and obscureness”. E, opacity, is a perfect fit.</li>
<li> “companies seeking permission” should argue that the effects for animals are small or non-existant. C, negligible, fits well.</li>
<li> First answer questions 9-12 (you can’t read both passages at once; you’ll have an overload of information). Finish reading the passage 2. I get the idea that while the author adopted some characteristics of upper social class, he is still feeling like a boy from the slums and doesn’t really like what he sees “in well-off people’s lives”. The problem is, he seems to belong to neither of the classes anymore. He is a hybrid. Okay, now that I understand all that, I am ready to tackle the remaining questions. How the characters from the both passages are similar? A – the narrator of the passage 2 isn’t eager to advance socially, eliminate. B – true. C – the narrator of the passage 2 didn’t do any deceiving, eliminate. D – isn’t true for the passage 1, eliminate. E – there was no talk about influence of the lifestyles of friends, eliminate. I can be confidentthat the correct choice is B. </li>
<li> First answer questions 9-12. What is the characteristic of Jerry that is different from the narrator of the passage 2? A – seems to fit. B – relevant only to passage 1. C – is true for neither of the passages, eliminate. D – Jerry seemed to like to label himself just fine, eliminate. E – “people of all social and economic classes” is not true for Jerry, eliminate. Then the answer is A.</li>
<li> Read the first sentence. Notice “at that time”. Now let’s see the choices. A – nothing was mentioned about the truth, eliminate. B – the narrator recognized it perfectly, eliminate. C – no mention about the background in the first sentence, eliminate. D – possible. E – no such idea was expressed in the first sentence. Then the correct choice is D, with “at the time” hinting that this view will change.</li>
<li>Underline the word “modest”. Read from where you left until you finish the sentence with “modest” in it. Note “so careful… such modest calculations”. You get the sense that Jerry is being careful not to be detected. Look through the choices to find a fit. A, B and C do not fit at all. D – does not create the sense of being careful. E seems to fit the best. </li>
<li>Underline the word “insignificant” and read the first two sentences of the second paragraph to get the idea. What the sentences say is that in such a place like Africa you can lie and will not be caught. Let’s see the choices. A – seems to fit. B – no one was implying that lying in Africa is a commonplace behaviour. C – Jerry seems to know perfectly what’s a fantasy and what’s reality, eliminate. D – author’s reputation was not mentioned in the passage. E – no such thing was implied. Then I can be confident about the choice A.</li>
<li>Now I know what the passage is about. Looking at the choices. A – seems correct. B – on the contrary, Jerry seems to be accepted, eliminate. C – I could infer from the passage that Jerry wasn’t valued in America because of his low status, eliminate. D – no family obligations and constraints were mentioned. E – “varied social background” makes the answer incorrect because Jerry seems to be drawn to high social status. </li>
<li>First answer the questions 14-17. I am looking for something that is true for the narrator of passage 2. I eliminate A and E because they are true for Jerry, not the narrator of passage 2. B – “frequently impossible to obtain” – narrator found it possible to advance, and even was seen by higher class people as becoming one of them: “…in the accepting eyes of those a class above me, was that I had already partly metamorphosed into them”. C – there was no discussion about “love for a childhood home”. D – I am left with this answer and it seems to be correct. Now answer 18-19 questions.</li>
<li>Mark the lines. Now read the passage till you finish the marked lines and one sentence more to get a finished idea. I get the idea that the author is feeling “out of the place” because he is from a different social class but Anna and Chris are friendly and accepting no matter how much the author is trying to show his “real face”. Let’s look at the answer choices. A – the author is not expressing suspicion and mistrust. B – the author was never estranged and even says that “Anna and Chris made me feel at ease the first day in their polished living room”. C – no feelings of despondency are detected in the lines I just read. D – seems to be correct. E – the author is not rejecting his social status; he seems to accept it and is willing to demonstrate it in order to be honest. Then the answer is D. </li>
<li>Underline the lines 44-45. Read on from where you left. “I then suspected… leading stimulating lives…” What I just read is, the author thinks that maybe his rough-edgedness is entertaining the bored couple, except that the couple is not bored at all and have leading stimulating lives. Let’s look at the choices. A – no one is talking about the gossip here. B – no one says that Anna and Chris were trying to make a good impression; they were people who were at ease. C – I already understood from the passage that the couple was very welcoming and accepting, eliminate. D – the couple doesn’t have to pretend; they have very stimulating lives. E – I am left with this answer. It seems to be fitting just fine.</li>
<li>Underline the phrase “in the world”. Read the sentence with it to get the idea. “In the world” should mean opposite from “bored and dried-up”. Let’s see the choices. A – there was no discussion of mundane aspects of life. B – no one was talking about “upper-class social conventions” here. C – there was no mention of spirituality anywhere. D – we already got the idea that the couple is far from “ruthless”. E – seems to fit. It is my choice.</li>
<li>Mark the word and read the sentence with it. I get the idea that the author had to come to the conclusion that he was really liked by the couple but does not feel comfortable with this conclusion yet. Let’s look at the choices. A, B and E can be eliminated as out of context choices. D – no, the author is not frightened. It means the answer is C and it fits perfectly. Now come back to unanswered passage 2 questions since it seems that the rest of the questions are comparing both passages.</li>
<li>How the subject of identity is treated in the two passages? Let’s see the choices… A – possible. B – emphasizing or de-emphasizing the importance of the background weren’t central ideas of the two passages, eliminate. C – the center of passage 2 wasn’t the “affirming that identity is imposed by others”, eliminate. D – “the impact of one’s physical surroundings to the identity” wasn’t the topic of the passages, eliminate. E – out of topic. If the passages do not consider that, then it doesn’t exist and can’t be the correct answer, definitely eliminate. Since I found faults and eliminated B-E, A qualifies for a confident correct answer. Let’s check in my mind how the statement about the passage 2 fits: external factors – the surroundings, internal factors – how the narrator felt and what his opinion was about which social class he belongs to. Next question.</li>
<li>Generalization about class atittudes supported by both passages. Let’s see. A – that wasn’t supported by both passages, eliminate. B – Jerry proves that the low class is concerned too, eliminate. C – passage 2 didn’t mention anything about “living abroad” and the rest of the statement fits neither of the passages. D – isn’t true for the passage 2. E – true for both.</li>
</ol>

yellowcat429 · September 4, 2012, 10:28am

Whoa! That’s very kind of you. I hope people benefit greatly when they read this. :)

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 10:59am

Practice Test no 2 in 1st edition of Blue Book (4th in second edition)

Section 2

“strives for an element of surprise” gives me a hint that I should be looking for a word that would mean “boring”. After looking at the choices I can see that only D works here.
“pandas had already been weakened by desease and drought” tells me that I should be looking for an even worse consequences. C, catastrophic, fits well.
After reading the sentence I get a sense that I should be looking for words like “matter” and “without”. Only A and D have fitting first words but only A’s second word fits.
“procrastinator” gives me a hint that I should look for words relating to it. B’s both words work.
I see that I should find parallel words for “offering light and insulation”. First word should make a parallel to “offering light”. Eliminate A, B and E. Now which of the second words makes a parallel to insulation? C.
Note “praised for her style”, “ridiculed for her vacuity”. “Naive” listeners (who didn’t get previously stated labels) were moved by her… I am able to eliminate all the other answers based on their first words and see that the correct answer is C.
“quickly became irritated” hints me to look for a characteristic close to that. D is a perfect fit.
“although most of them are not so sentimental”… so it means the movies were called sentimental. What are my choices? I am seeing the word “treacly” for the first time in my life but I know what the other four words mean and they do not fit at all. My answer is A.
I mark the lines 4-8 and read the passage till I finish the marked lines. I get the idea that the man’s writings didn’t reflect his real personality at all. So what does the example suggest? A – on the contrary, eliminate. B – example is not about financial matters. C – true. D – “could not respect him as an artist”, wrong. E – nah. C is my answer.
I read the rest of the passage. “It seems the true source of creation for Balzac was not sesitivity but imagination.” And the rest tells where he got that imagination. Let’s see the choices. A – financial affairs topic is long gone, eliminate. B – exactly. C – lol, eliminate. D – Balzac as a student is not a topic here. E – “school life during Balzac’s youth” is not the topic here.
The passage is very little, so I go ahead and read it. The whole passage is about Dr. Jane’s father; he seems to be the the center of the discussion. A – doesn’t answer the question. B – nowhere in the passage it says so. C – I don’t think so; seems like she was pretty determined. D – doesn’t answer the question. E – logical (“His very fame, within and beyond the African American community, made her training harder in some ways… Everyone knows who Papa is”). That’s my answer.
I already noticed that the center of the passage is Dr. Jane’s father. A and B can be eliminated. C – could be. D – no collaboration was mentioned. E – father didn’t encourage her but warned her it will be hard, eliminate. So the answer is C.
I underline the lines 18-21, then read the passage till I finish the underlined lines. From the lines I can understand that “self worth” and “economic exertions” do not go together. Let’s see the answer choices. A, mutually exclusive, says exactly what I have concluded and skimming through the rest assures me there is no better choice.
I underline the word “occupation”. I read till I finish the sentence with it. I get the sense that the word means something like “career”. Looking through the choices I see that only C fits.
I underline “trade tokens” and read from where I left until I finish the sentence with it. I get the idea that “fifth class” consėsts of women who are housewives; trade tokens included the initials of both men and women in seventeenth century but by the eighteenth century only male initials were kept. Let’s see the answer choices. A – not related, eliminate. B – no one is discussing “middle class” and working class” women here. C – we are not talking stereotypes here. D – on the contrary, eliminate. E – here is my correct answer.
I am looking for evidence of women’s diminshed social status mentioned in the passage to eliminate. A – right, eliminate. B – right, eliminate. C – right, eliminate. D – aha, this one is the correct answer, since the queen was “a famous example of a woman at work”. E – once I read the last paragraph, I find it mentioned, so right, and eliminate.
I underline the lines and read them. Idea - women are withrawing from the business. I should be looking for something that supports that. A – contradicts, eliminate. B – contradicts, eliminate. C – contradicts, eliminate. D – fits. E – out of topic. D is the answer.
I mark the word “hail” and read the passage till I reach it. I get the sense that the word should mean something like “take it”. D seems like a good fit. Notice that “call out to” and “summon” mean exactly the same. When you encounter two identical choices, you can be sure you can eliminate them both. There can’t be two correct answers, right?
I mark the lines and finish reading the passage. I understand that Mary Kingsley’s actions and attitude towards emancipation of women are contradictory. Let’s see the answer choices. A – she wasn’t interested in that at all, eliminate. B – she wasn’t dedicated to any cause. C – no one is talking about the citizenship here. D – there is no mention about any other groups. E – fits the idea I grasped, so that’s my choice.
The sacond paragraph began with answering this question: “desire to do scientific research to involvment in misionary work… the desire to escape from domestic confinement”. “Educational pursuits” match the “scientific research”, “humanitarian concerns” match “misionary work”. No business or work was mentioned so “entrepreneurial interests” can be eliminated. C is the answer.
Which traveler fits the picture depicted in the passage 2? Important notes to have in mind: women were traveling unescorted, alone, and they were going for education or humanitarian reasons; they were from richer families able to afford traveling. I go to the choices. A – seems fine. I look the other choices to be sure. B – her father is present, then it doesn’t fit. C – “and her husband”, no. D – “nursmaid” who accompanies aristocratic family doesn’t fit the picture. E – definitely doesn’t fit the picture since the women were not going there to earn money or work.
I already know that “fifth class” consists of housewives stuck at home and going through the choices I find “caged birds” that match. My answer is B.
Let’s see what’s the tone of the passages. A – definitely not. B – could be. C – definitely not. D – I didn’t detect any indignation. E – definitely not. Okey, then, the answer is B.
I am looking for a statement that fits both passages. A – seems correct. B – as I have noticed already, they weren’t going abroad to do business, eliminate. C – as I noticed earlier, they were traveling unescorted. D – there was no talk about that. E – passage 1 didn’t discuss advocating a social reform. Then I can be confident that the answer is A.

Section 5

“detail-oriented” workers can only be “adept at” keeping track of myriad details. The answer is B.
“controversial tax” hints us that it caused some kind of a disatisfaction. From here we can eliminate B,C, and D. Impassioned speeches could not do what? “Quelled” works so E is our answer.
“subject to desease or impair” gives a hint to me that I should choose a negative word that means “doing harm”. E is the only choice.
The sentence calls for 2 words that should correlate with each other. “The doctor” gives me the context of the words. From here I can eliminate B – out of context, C – opposing words, D – opposing words and E – contradicting words. A fits nicely.
“that depicts both the strengths and the weaknesses” shows that the blank calls for a word that means something like “balanced”; “avoiding too extremes” hints that the second word should be the opposite of “indictment”. A is the trap of this question. If the person isn’t sure about the meaning of the word “polarized”, then that person will fall for the trap since the second word sounds like a perfect opposite of “indictment”. The correct answer is E. The person must know too that “eulogy” is not a word only meant for funerals. It can mean a praising speech for a living person.

After skimming through the questions of the double short passage I can see that they all ask about BOTH passages; therefore I read them both, determining their main ideas. It can be useful to write shortly beside each passage their main idea. Passage 1 - “farmer means working hard 24-hours with no holidays”. Passage 2 – “americans believe fairy tales about a life of a farmer”.
6. I look to the choices if I can find ideas resembling what the passage 1 is concerned about. A – idea from passage 2, eliminate. B – bingo. C – not mentioned in either of the passages, eliminate. D – passage 2 material, eliminate. E – passage 2 material, eliminate.
7. In both passages what is discouraged? I know the answer already – believing fairy tales that the life of a farmer is easy and nice. I only need to find it among the choices. D.
8. What do you think the author of passage 1 would say about those people who romanticize the life of a farmer? That they are wrong. Let’s see among the choices. B – they have little understanding of the realities of farm life. This is it.
9. In such questions I like to check for the quotes first since they are easy to spot. Here I am lucky because the answer is exactly E – quotes an authority. I can see that there are no quotation marks in passage 2. No need to analyze other choices.
10. I read the blurb to understand the setting of the first 2 paragraphs. I read those 2 paragraphs. I can’t be sure what Waverly is criticizing by reading her words. The answer is in June’s mother’s reaction: <code>True, one can’t teach style. June is not sophisticated like you.</code> So the correct answer is A – Waverly implies that June is unsophisticated and heavy-handed.
11. I was confused about this question the first time I encountered it so I go into more details. The hint to the answer is the words right after the mentioned line in the question: <code>how humiliated I felt.</code> I got the idea - she was surprised about her feelings. I look to the choices. A fits perfectly. Why “emotional vulnerability” fits? Because “humiliated” says that she was hurt, became vulnerable. Now why the other choices do not fit? B – “exasperated” – there is no sign of being annoyed or angry. C – there is no mention that she “dislikes” someone. D – “mother admiring Waverly” this was not mentioned and also is not the center idea of the question. My clue is “how humiliated I felt”. I cannot infer anything too far from that because it would be making things up. E – “guilty about resenting” – there was no mention about such feelings. So, I cannot just make things up. I can only use facts that are stated in the passage. If it is not clearly named in the passage, then it doesn’t exist. The only emotion/feeling that was named here was “humiliation”. Since other emotions weren’t mentioned, they do not exist.
12. My clue here is “once again”, so I can safely say that this happened before. I look to the choices. A – if it happened before, it doesn’t mean June “expected” it to happen. B – “hoping to embarras Waverly” is not mentioned in the passage. C – no such thing was stated in the passage. D – that’s exactly what I understood, this is the answer. E –no such thing was mentioned in the passage.
13. Here, let’s see the choices. I should know everything to answer this question. A – “mother has taken great pains” – there was no such thing discussed. B – “arguing with Waverly” – that didn’t happen. C – possible. D – Waverly didn’t anger June’s mother, quite the opposite, eliminate. E – there was no discussion of lying. Then C is my choice.
14. Now I read the rest of the passage, tracking the main points. I need the whole story to answer the question. The main points are: June’s mother gave her a pendant which June didn’t like and kept it in her lacquer box. Mother died and then June started wearing the pendant every day having no idea what it means. June was pondering excessively about what it means and was observing other Chinese people with exactly same pendants. One day she decided to ask a random person, a bartender, what his pendant meant. It turned out that he also had no idea. I look to the choices. A – quite the opposite, the stories sounded the same, eliminate. B – possible. C – I just found out that neither the narrator, nor the bartender knows, eliminate. D – no she doesn’t, eliminate. E – not the point here. Then the answer is B.
15. I look to the choices. A – possible. B – “forgiveness” wasn’t the case in both situations. C – “example of extravagance” definitely is not what the act of giving the pendant is. D – that is not an act of generosity. It would be if a stranger would give something valuable without wanting anything back. E – “unremarkable” – quite the opposite. Then the answer is A.
16. I leave this question for last. I make sure I mark it conspicuously so I don’t forget it. So what is the main point of this passage? Bats are inoccuous and even potentially useful creatures that humans unjustly label as monsters and so are afraid of them. Let’s see the choices. A – just a minor detail of the passage. B – just a minor detail. C – only a part of the passage. D – the opposite is true. E – that is a pretty good answer. Throughout the entire passage the author is trying to point out where the fear of bats comes from.
17. I mark the word “classic” and read to it. In here it helps to know how people use the word “classic” and what it means. Classic is something that everyone’s supposed to know. Now let’s apply it to the context. A – “literary incisions” – nah, the author doesn’t even mention literature but says “in the movies” (line 10). B – classics are enduring but “enduring incissions” is out of context. C – here author doesn’t mean a style of incissions. D – fits. Author is implying that everyone has seen vampire incisions in the movies. E – “significant incisions” – I don’t think so.
18. Reading the whole paragraph I got the idea that there are many species of bats and only some of them are vampires; however, in the popular culture we see bats only as vampires. Whereas we see bats as creatures that could seriously harm us, the reality is that bats do their bites so insensibly that they don’t even wake up their victims. On top of that, bats can be used to treat heart patients but there is one central problem – we are afraid of them. Let’s see the choices. A – yes, that was mentioned. B – no such thing was mentioned. C – it wasn’t stated like that. D – on the contrary – not toxic. E – apparently scientists know something. Then my choice is A.
19. I read the first 2 sentences of the second paragraph. I get the idea that by “normal” the author means behaviour that is common for humans. This implies that any behaviour that is not common for humans would be labeled as “not normal” and “defying nature” (line 29). Let’s see the answer choices. A – there can be no such reason. B – time is not the point here. C – a match. People who label behaviours that are not common to them as abnormal have limited point of view. D – he doesn’t agree with that. E – there can be no such reason.
20. I couldn’t answer this question because I had no idea what “detracts from” means. After clearing things up I explain how it was supposed to be. Which of the following undermines author’s argument in the second paragraph the LEAST? First of all I need to know what is his argument in order to understand what contradicts or weakens it. What author is trying to say by that extensive paragraph is that humans label everyone and everything, that doesn’t follow the same behaviour patterns, as villains, ghouls and outlaws. Now let’s see the choices. A – that would contradict authors argument a lot, eliminate. B – that significantly undermines the argument, eliminate. C – that undermines the argument a lot. D – again, this undermines the argument significantly. E – I can’t even understand what’s this choice all about and where did this conclusion came from but I do know definitely that this is the only choice I have left. Others are definitely undermining the argument a lot. E is my answer.
21. Let’s see the 3rd paragraph. There are examples from “mythology, religion, and superstition of peoples everywhere” (44-45) So where are these examples taken from? A – anthropology, correct. B – autobiography – these facts are definitely not taken from one person’s autobiography. C – these facts are definitely not fiction. D – these examples do not belong to psychiatry (science about mental dissorders). E – these examples are definitely not from biology. The examples should list other animals’ beliefs about bats to be taken from biology.
22. This question asks about the structure of the third paragraph. For me, personally, it takes time to stomach and check all the statements. I am not good at detecting “structure” yet so I lose a lot of time or skip this question. How it was supposed to be… I look at the paragraph. The structure is this: first the author gives a statement (thesis) (43-45). Then he cites examples to support it (45-63). Now the choices. A – “different sides of a single issue” is wrong because what I have here is an issue and some examples supporting it. B – that is not what it is. C – perfect fit, the correct answer. D – author does not refute anything in this paragraph. E – there is no one “common opinion” stated but various kinds of views of bats.
23. Let’s see in the paragraph which of the cultures saw bats as useful. I see the answer right away: <code>Ancient Egyptians prized bats parts as medicine for a variety of deseases.</code> All I have to do is find it among the choices. B.
24. Why Stoker‘s work is mentioned? I can see that the mention of Stoker‘s work extends the list of examples why bats are seen as frightening creatures: the novel „turned small, furry mammals into huge, bloodsucking monsters in the minds of English-speaking people“. Let‘s see the choices. A – opposite of what is written. B – possible, a twisted mind boggling answer with an intention to confuse me! C – it is not stated in the passage. D – not the point. E – not the point. Aha, then the answer is that confusing B.

Section 8

„chose not to heed that advice“ gives me a hint that Luis sought her advice. D – counsel is the only word for it.
„that excitement“ tells me that the first word will be related. Looking through the choices only A has the matching word.
„disintegration“ hints me to look for the negative first word; „nevertheless presented some“ tells me the second word will be opposite - positive. E fits with both words.
„cloaked“ tells me that I am looking for a relating meaning. D.
„just as demand was reaching its peak“ tells me that Walker used the fortunate opportunity for her own good. A.
„should not automatically reject what might seem silly or superstitious“ tells me I should look for the first word that means arrogance and the second word should be something like „allows“. Looking through the choices I see that D fits both criteria.
I mark „wire-pullers“ and read till I finish the sentence with it. I understand that the author means „those who form public opinion“. B is exactly that.
I mark the word „consumption“. This one is pretty straightforward. You can only „consume“ television by watching it. B, viewing, is the correct choice.
I look at the lines to locate them. I look to the paragraph with the intention to find out „what impression about cultural critiques“ it conveys. I get the idea that the reference to eighteenth century was used to show how „imitation“ theory‘s claims existed even back then and it was a ridiculous warning about the dangers of reading novels. Let‘s see the answers. A – that is not a tradition. B – no one said they were „the main preoccupation“. C – no one says „they were once persuasive“. D – possible. E – no such thing is stated in the paragraph. Then the answer is D.
I got all the relevant information from the previous question. Straight to the choices. A – nowhere it is stated that television stemmed from literature. B – out of topic. C – out of context. D – possible. E – „shortcomings of television producers“ - no one is talking about them. Then the answer is D.
I locate the words and read the paragraph. It is already stated in the passage that primary and secondary means „reality and fiction“ (line 27). I look to the choices. Clearly it is C. Others are out of context.
I locate the lines and read until I finish them. From the example I understand that what the author is saying is that simulation theory‘s authors do not care that there is not even one person to prove their theory‘s validity. Let‘s see the choices. A – possible. B – the point is rather significant and very central to their theory, eliminate. C – „not a psychologist“ is not supported by the passage. D – the author does not criticize the theory to support another one, eliminate. E – the author already tries to find examples among the people from „popular culture“, eliminate. Then the answer is A.
Lines 45-64 can give me the author‘s attitude. The author sounds kind of aggressive and demeaning. Let‘s see through the choices. B seems like a pretty good answer.
I made a mistake here, marking D as the correct answer. I look to the answers. A is not true because then the author would try to refute the theories. Author only criticizes them. B – no authority was mentioned. C – totally not (no mentions of history after presenting all 4 theories). D – that is something the author does but it is not the “full picture“, just a part of the argument. E – I have to choose this because it applies to the whole passage. The author was trying to imply this with all of his arguments.
Let‘s see the assumptions. I was totally not mentioned. II is correct. III nothing like that was stated in the passage. So I have only II as correct, answer B.
Let‘s see the choices. A – he is not reevaluating anything, just stating. B – no „academic documentation“ was mentioned in the passage. C – he is not warning about the future. D – he is not falsificating anything. E – seems correct, I pick it.
I locateark the word and read the context. Trying to match with the context I end up with A and D as possible choices. Now what makes me choose D is that the critics seem to be <code>completely intact morally</code> (lines 58-59). Completely=absolutely, then they „can distinguish in an <code>absolute</code> manner“. D.
What is the „fatal loophole“? Fatal loophole > „theories themselves are symptoms of a universal stupefaction“ (lines 63-64). Let‘s see the choices. A – out of context. B – sounds like it. C – out of context. D – out of context. E – out of context. I can be confident with B.
I read the last paragraph. I get the idea that the author says that politicians are clearly victims of these theories („they found ready listeners among politicians“, lines 69-70, and the last sentence). I notice the somewhat aggressive language „dealing with millions of idiots“. Let‘s see the choices. A – seems fine, the author is making fun of politicians and does it in a harsh manner. B – no „emberrassment“ detected. C – no „puzzlement“ detected. D – there‘s certainly no „resignation“ here. E – no „sympathy“ here.

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 11:34am

CR requires you to:

<ul>
<li>Understand the meaning of the word in the provided context;</li>
<li>Determine author’s intentions/purpose;</li>
<li>Get the main idea of the passage, paragraph or a sentence;</li>
<li>Understand the purpose of mentioning something;</li>
<li>Be able to understand when something is said in an unconventional wording or when something is restated using different words;</li>
<li>Use the provided evidence wisely without making false assumptions/inferring something that wasn’t stated.</li>
</ul>

What SAT asks of you is to be a good Judge. Your mindset should be like this: I can only use the evidence given and cannot alter any of the facts and I cannot make my own assumptions. The text is your guide.
You must be a Judge here. Good Judge’s mind is devoid of any false judgement and assumptions; he only uses the facts that are given. He has to be fair. He must perform his duty well or an innocent person will end up locked in jail or worse - sentenced to death. So in Critical Reading section be the Judge and perform your duty well because your future is at stake here. Be fair to the provided information. Do not twist the facts in your mind, do not add anything. You only use what you have. Only stated facts are real. Anything that is not stated doesn’t exist.

Critical Reading tests your ability to think critically. Critical Thinking is a very valuable quality that improves the quality of your life. Learn to think critically for your own benefit, not only for SAT.

saismom · September 4, 2012, 1:09pm

Super job analyzing these questions!!!

AimingAt750 · September 4, 2012, 2:01pm

I noticed I messed up the ending of the Test 2 analysis. It was supposed to be like this.
after the question 16:
17. I locate the word and read the context. Trying to match with the context I end up with A and D as possible choices. Now what makes me choose D is that the critics seem to be <code>completely intact morally</code> (lines 58-59). Completely=absolutely, then they „can distinguish in an <code>absolute</code> manner“. D.
18. What is the „fatal loophole“? Fatal loophole > „theories themselves are symptoms of a universal stupefaction“ (lines 63-64). Let‘s see the choices. A – out of context. B – sounds like it. C – out of context. D – out of context. E – out of context. I can be confident with B.
19. I read the last paragraph. I get the idea that the author says that politicians are clearly victims of these theories („they found ready listeners among politicians“, lines 69-70, and the last sentence). I notice the somewhat aggressive language „dealing with millions of idiots“. Let‘s see the choices. A – seems fine, the author is making fun of politicians and does it in a harsh manner. B – no „emberrassment“ detected. C – no „puzzlement“ detected. D – there‘s certainly no „resignation“ here. E – no „sympathy“ here.

Userbame · September 4, 2012, 6:19pm

Good Job.I hope you will get the score you want.You helped to adjust my point of
View.I ll try a sample test tomorrow with your techniques.Thumbs up!

vongolax · September 4, 2012, 9:13pm

Wow, nice analysis. I’ll be reading all of it…as i am struggling in CR.

Please let me know if this very thorough analysis helps you increase your score for i will try to do a similar analysis for myself. :)

5am6996 · September 4, 2012, 10:13pm

Haven’t gone through all of this but I can tell you put in a lot of effort so thanks a lot! I’m sure this will help a lot of people that are struggling with CR

AimingAt750 · September 5, 2012, 1:28am

Thanks, guys. I am going to do the next test today.

vongolax, I will write here how it helped once I take the real SAT in October and get my results.

Haphazard · September 5, 2012, 3:00am

Great guide aimingat750!

AimingAt750 · September 5, 2012, 3:32am

Thanks, Haphazard.

<hr>

By the way, when I said that you should be a Judge who shouldn’t make mistakes, I didn’t mean that you should fear mistakes and be obsessed with not making mistakes. Your focus should be on being fair. That’s all. Just be fair to the information. While practicing welcome your mistakes happily because they are guiding you. They point to the areas where you should pay more attention. Mistakes are opportunities to learn and improve.

AimingAt750 · September 5, 2012, 6:27am

CR wants you to detect author’s attitude and tone. This is a great compilation of words used in attitude/tone questions. Make sure you know what they mean.

<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1163656-list-common-tone-mood-classification-words-sat.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1163656-list-common-tone-mood-classification-words-sat.html</a>

ChillyPenguin · September 5, 2012, 7:16am

This is such a great idea. Thank you so much.
if you could do more BB tests that’d be too awesome.

cheers

AimingAt750 · September 5, 2012, 3:01pm

I am a bit disappointed that I made some needless mistakes but I must see the good side - I can see where my thinking goes wrong and have the opportunity to correct it.

Practice Test no 3 from the Blue Book, 1st edition (5th in 2nd edition)

Section 3

“harmless; now, however,…” says that I should look for an opposite word. D – toxic.
“critically examining” tells me to look for a word of similar meaning. D – scrutinizes.
“Frequent name changes” and “political turbulence” are connected directly: “has undergone” and “recent history” tells me that they were happening at the same time. Common sense tells me that “frequent name changes” shows political problems present in the country. So C, testify to, fits that logic.
“30,000 species” shows the variety. I stop between A and C. The correct answer is C because multifarious is an accurate word to reflect the variety. Even if you don’t know the word “multifarious”, you can guess that “multi” = varied. Anything that starts with “multi” means variety.
“so elaborately contrived” that only what kind of student can master them? A skilled student. A is the only with a fitting second word. I don’t know what “byzantine” means, but I know that no other option is possible.
I read the question and note that I need to detect words that would denote Wilson’s letters’ characteristics. The most important clues for the answer are: “was not a self-conscious letter writer”, “undesguisedly reflect his changing moods”. These characteristics mean that Wilson was spontaneous (B), not considering carefully what he writes. A – there was no mention of him being cynical. C – yes, he was a critic, but the descriptions do not reveal him being critical. D – the descriptions do not depict him as preachy. That would require him to be passionate, but it was mentioned in the text that it wasn’t his prevailing tone. E – no mention of him being humorous or witty.
The line implies that no matter how old, Wilson always stayed the same. I look to the choices. A – the opposite is true. B – all the ages are lined in one line like equal, so no such thing could be implied, eliminate. C – I just noted that he didn’t change while aging, eliminate. D – that’s not what the author is trying to say/not the point. E – yes, exactly. The correct answer is this.
I read the first 3 sentences. I get the main idea – Black leaders are portrayed as perfect and unflawed only. I look to the choices. A – no emotions were mentioned. B – no complexity was implied, only one-sidedness. C – yes, exactly. The correct answer is this. D – out of topic. E – not correct.
I read the second half of the passage. I got the idea that “paintings” are used as a metaphor referring to “Black leaders”. Looking at the choices. A – “scultpures” out of topic. B – the correct answer. C – out of topic. D – “cartoons” out of topic. E – “theorems” out of topic.
Here I made a mistake. I didn’t like the word “dramatize” in the correct answer. I thought I didn’t detect “drama” in author’s tone (I am automatically thrown off by any signs of drama in real life and this unconscious prejudice impaired my judgement here. The exact thought that misguided me was “there is no drama in science”). That was an overthinking and being overly captious. The correct approach: I underline the word and read the first two sentences. I leave A and B as possibilities. I eliminate C as completely out of topic. D – there was no mention of the discovery of Andromeda galaxy. E – no one is talking about “the age of the universe” here. Now I must find a fault with one of the possible answers. A – “evolutionary progression in the physical world” – actually, to find a fault with this, I need to know what the rest of the passage is about. Then I can see that evolution is not the topic of this passage at all so the author must be saying something else by mentioning Australopithecus. Maybe the best would be to leave this question and answer it later. After tackling other questions, I would have a better understanding of what the passage is about and confidently eliminate A as out of topic. I would be left with a correct answer B.
I underline the statement and finish the first paragraph. I get that it is too bad we can’t observe the Earth how it was 2 million years ago from some planet in Andromeda. I look to the choices. A fits perfectly. I look the other choices to be safe. B – no one is talking about “space travel”. C – “study of Andromeda” is not the point here, scientists would like to observe the Earth. D – it wasn’t implied that it is a possibility for the future. E – we don’t know the age of it. Okay, then, my answer is A.
I underline the words and read the second paragraph. “The possibilities are staggering” and then the author tells what it would be possible to do if time travel was possible. I look at the choices. A – “novels” out of topic. B – “future”, among examples there are past events. C – “scoff at” – there is no sign of doing that. D – “subjects scientists are interested in” – wrong. E – fits the idea I got. The correct answer is this.
I read the first sentence of the third paragraph. “Being a scientist” conveys that the author knows what he is talking about; he knows the subject well. I look at the choices. B fits that logic. I skim the other choices being quite confident that B is the correct answer.
I mark the two paragraphs and read them underlining the main points. I look at the choices. I must eliminate anything that was mentioned. A – this was supported by “for the way things should behave under a given set of forces and initial conditions would no longer be valid”. This says that scientists anticipate how things should go under a given set of conditions. Eliminate. B – is supported by “physicists do rely on deterministic universe”, eliminate. C – the word “mechanics” give me a feelings it doesn’t fit here. Possibly the correct answer. D – this was mentioned in line 21: “cause would no longer always precede the effect”, eliminate. E – they were mentioned in line 28, eliminate. I am left with C as my correct answer.
I answered this incorrectly because I got confused between A and B. With time pressuring me I lost the track what was what. Correct approach: I mark the lines and go to read them with an intention to determine author’s assumption: Before mechanical clocks people associated time with their mental and physiological processes. I look to the choices with the intention to find something contradicting the assumption. A – it mixes my mind so I leave it for later. B – aha, this one is contradicting author’s assumption. Author is saying that only with mechanical clocks people were introduced to time as composed of discrete, uniform intervals. This is the correct answer, no need to understand A. C – this is not the point here. D – out of context. E – isn’t stated in the passage.
I underline the words and finish the paragraph. “Body contains… excuisitive timepieces, all with their separate rythms”. Author names them as separate clocks. I look to the choices. A – “timepieces” are not the topic here. B – “mechanical clocks” are not the topic in these lines. C – no mention of interaction. D – correct. E – “demystify the precision” is incorrect.
I mark the word and read the sentence. Idea: ruthless clocks cause aging. I look to the choices. A – there is no mention of people being “bewildered” by aging. B – no such thing was implied. C – no such thing implied. D – no such thing implied. E – the same idea written useing a synonym “relentless”. Correct answer is this.
I mark the lines and read the last paragraph. My clues: “something got delightfully twisted in time for a moment”, “there is a kind of time travel to be had”. Author implies that he experienced a kind of time travel. I look to the choices. A – out of topic, B – nope. C – possible. D – out of topic. E – out of topic. I am puzzled why 3 of the choices are mentioning “reading”. He is not reading anything! Well, the better for me, as I easily eliminate the choices.
I circle this question and leave for later. After the 24th question I write a note “go back to question 19” as a reminder. A – “lives artists lead” clearly not the topic of this passage. B – I can’t object to this yet, I leave it. C – possible. D – “wide variety of responses” only 2 kinds of responses were discussed. E – out of topic. Now trying to discern the flawed answer. B – “emotional impact” is not really the topic. I choose C.
I mark the word and read the passage paying attention to what the author is saying and trying to determine the main idea. After I read the sentence with “figures”, I look to the choices. C seems to be the best choice.
I locate “John and Susie” and read the paragraph with it, tracking the idea the author is trying to convey. I stop in line 34. I got the idea. John and Susie is a representation of a realistic pair that people can identify with. I look to the choices. A – wrong, it is not a name of a work. B – “typical narrative” – possible. C – “in a form of a mystery” out of topic. D – it wasn’t portrayed like that. E – nope. Then the answer is B.
According to the author, when do people resist the art? When they can’t relate with it. When they can’t find anything in common. I look to the choices. I eliminate A, B and E as out of topic. I read the main points I underlined in the passage to remind me of the main idea. D must be the correct answer. C – no one is talking about “social message” in the passage.
I through the choices. A – author clearly isn’t puzzled; he understands and explains the preferences of majority of people. B – definitely not. C – hmm… not sure of what “solemnly” means. What about the “respect”? possible… D – author is not indifferent. E – possible. Now I try to determine which is better of the two possibilities. What does “condescendingly” mean? “Looking down on someone”. Again, I see that I could leave this for a bit later. After reading the last paragraph it becomes clear that E is the correct answer. Author doesn’t agree with the majority but he tolerates them. I have to remind myself also of the lines in the opening paragraph: “It is an art not for people in general but for a special class who may not be better but who are evidently different”. So the opinion of the author is expressed in a little opening paragraph and a little closing paragraph. The bigger two paragraphs are telling how the majority (those who cannot really understand the point of it) perceives the arts.
I see that in the last paragraph the author contradicts the whole picture I painted in my head how the art is viewed. I look to the choices. A – possible. B – “artist’s intentions” and “accoplishments” weren’t discussed. C – “responses cannot be easily defined” is wrong; the author had no problems defining. D – these things weren’t discussed. E – “artistic technique” wrong. So the answer must be A. Going back to 19.

Section 7

“goods for goods” says I should look for a word “trade”. E is the answer.
“government, industry and the public agree” says that the word could be something like “argument”. The answer is E.
I am looking for a word meaning “the ability to perceive without conscious reasoning”. C.
“in a coordinated manner” says that I should look for a second word that means “combines”. A is the only choice that works.
Firstly I see that the second word could mean something like “example”, and I eliminate D and E. “of what they detested” tells me that it is not “advocates” or “proponents” that are talking. I eliminate B and C. So the answer is A.
“her keen judgment and insight” defines the word. C is the answer.
“filled with obscure references and baffling disgressions” defines the words. I look through the choices. B.
First word should match with “openhanded” and the second word should contradict it. I eliminate A, B and D according to the first word. E should be eliminated because the words do not contrast. The correct answer is C.
I see from the questions that I need to read both passages. I underline the most important things as I read. First paragraph says we need huge cars to express “rugged individualism, mastery over wilderness, cowboy endurance”, they appeal to us because they are “Frankensteinian (no idea what that means) concoctions of our private anxieties and desires”. The second paragraph explores the “subtleties of cars’ names”. That they are used to “plant the image in people’s heads that they can”, “SUV is the perfect transportation shelter to protect us from fears both real and imagined”.
Which both passages support? A – none of the passages support that. B – we don’t know where they wish to live, C – only passage 2 says something about financial status. D – true, the correct answer is this. E – while something was mentioned about fears and anxieties, their origins weren’t stemming from insecurity about social status.
I am looking for an aspect which was addressed in passage 1 and is absent of passage 2. A – true, possibly the answer. B – passage 2 material, though “escalating cost” isn’t really what was stated. C – both passages say something about that. D – none of the passages. E – only passage 2. So the answer is A.
I look what kind of the subtleties: names. Something that arouses some kind of feelings in the buyer. What does passage 1 say about them? They are discussed starting with the line 6. You can already eliminate A and B. The author says the things listed in C are insignificant, eliminate. The clue is “what matters is their connotations”. Connotation=subtlety. Here is the answer – D.
BOTH agree that the names were chosen in order to… Arouse feelings of “rugged individualism, mastery over wilderness, cowboy endurance” (passage 1) and “to plant the image that they can conquer the rugged terrains” (passage 2). Looking at the choices. A – I am not sure of this one yet. B – nope. C – “power and control” seem to match the main point I determined. D – nope. E – nope. I have two options. I read the main points I extracted again. C feels right.
I leave it for later. After the question 21, I write a note “go back to 13”. How passage 2 is unique? A – passage 1 material. B – the view stated was not “official” but of women. C – bingo. The whole passage was concerned with women and passage 1 doesn’t do that at all. D – out of topic for both passages. E – passage 1 material.
I mark the word and read the first paragraph. What is the “fissure”? The gap between the soldiers and thr civilians who do not know the reality of the war. I look to the choices. A fits fine. Other choices are out of topic.
I mark the footnote and read on from where I previously left, noting the main points. I stop reading after I finish the sentence with Somme. I read the footnote. The point is that such a large number of casualties was ignored and reported falsely as successful attack in the newspaper. I look to the choices. A – “history rewriten” would be a pretty huge thing to undertake, eliminate. B – hmm… possible. C – this is a better choice, I eliminate B. What was reported and what really happened was a huge discrepancy. D – no one is discussing the costs. E – false. So my final answer is C.
I mark the line. I already know that those who are at home are misinformed. Now why are they misinformed? There were some lines in the passage: „If they did ever write the truth, it was excised by company officers, who censored all outgoing mail“(9-11) and “Lord Northecliff assumed full charge of government propaganda” (21-22). I look to the choices. A – government was organizing propaganda itself so no need to control it. B – soldiers did write home but their truths were censored. C – out of topic (passage is not discussing men and women). D – out of topic (no pacifists were discussed). E – the correct answer. Actually, lines 21-22 and the last paragraph itself was enough to answer this question.
I underline the word and read the sentence. I sense from the context that what author means is “believe”. I look to the choices. B – my anticipation exactly.
I locate Vera Brittain and read the first paragraph. Author says that the events of the war had very different meanings for men and women and that Vera Braittain example supports this fact (“a point understood almost at once…”). You can sense that it will be an example illustrating author’s statement. I look to the choices. A – a perfect fit. Let’s see the other choices to be safe. B – example doesn’t illustrate “the power women had”. C – out of topic. D – it is not literature the example cites. E – out of topic.
I made a mistake here because I failed to follow the clues. The correct approach: I underline the words and read the second paragraph. The point of this paragraph is that while men are out at war, women are taking the lead everywhere in their homeland. The big clue: „women seemed to become ever more powerful… even as wives and mothers“ (which means <code>even at home</code>). Now I look to the choices. A – “families prospered more” was not discussed. B – the discussion is not soldiers right now. C – I mistakenly chose this answer failing to note “outside the home” which makes the choice incorrect. D – nothing was mentioned about women becoming anxious. E – this statement is correct.
I underline the word and read the sentence. I get the idea that the revolution means “women finally getting a chance to vote and pursue careers “they had never before possessed” (68). I look to the choices. A – the point is not literature here. B – a perfect fit. C – the focus is not on the men here. D – no one is discussing “upper and middle class” here. E – no one is discussing “wages” here.
I underline the line and read the rest of the passage. I have no idea why it is labeled “morbid gloating” yet but I note the fact that Virginia Wolf is usually a pacifist (line 76) so the idea of her writing should be contradictory to that fact (“otherwise known for her”). From reading I get that women started conquering all the fields and were pushing their men to go to war willingly(“…to persuade young men that to fight was heroic?” (81), “would undertake any task, however menial, exercise any fascination, however fatal, that enabled her to escape” (84-85), and “unconsciously she desired our splendid war” (87)). I look to the choices. A – no such thing was implied. B – “peacemakers” definitely not. C – that wasn’t stated in the passage. D – that wasn’t stated in the passage. E – sounds correct. I am going back to question 13.
I locate the words and see that I already grasped the idea. I look to the choices. A – “consequences” are not discussed here. B – sounds correct. Women were so “stifled” by being at home that they were willing to push men away to undertake their places. C – “women idealizing the war” wasn’t the topic here. D – “escaping horrors of war” is out of topic. E – definitely women were not fighting in the war.
I locate the “Behind the Scenes at the Front” and see my previously written note beside this example “liar” (false information was presented). Now I locate “wartime poems, stories and memoirs”. I form the idea in my mind: those writings are concerned with women being liberated. I look to the choices. A – wrong since the first example was lying to the citizens to keep them calm. B – “views of the government” weren’t their concern. C – “women” was only the topic of the second example. D – out of topic. E – correct.
Which effect was supported by both passages? A – no such things were mentioned. B – the material of only passage 2. C – True for both. Correct answer. D – “writers” were never a topic. E – “European conflict” out of topic.

Section 9

“scarcer” tells me that the divers must go deeper. And “to more dangerous depths” tells me that the “potential for injuries” should then increase. B.
“habitual boasting” tells what kind of a word I need (I have in mind “arrogant” for reference). B is the correct word.
I should be looking for words meaning “steadfast in his beliefs” and “tactful in his negotiations”.According to the first definition I eliminate A and E. Looking at the second definition I eliminate B and C. D is the answer.
Noting that “women had little control”, I see that I should look for a contrasting word (“remarkable degree of”) meaning “independant”. Looking through the choices I find C – autonomy.
I rephrase the sentence in my mind: “banning” some kind of <code>unwanted</code> acts, dealing with <code>disobedient person</code> by aggressive means (“be forcibly detained without filing of formal charges”). First I search among first words for “unwanted acts” and eliminate E. Then I look for the kind of person who would need such an aggressive management. A, B and D can be eliminated because “comformist”, “loyalist” and “nonpartisan” would not need to be arrested. The answer is C.
I made a mistake here failing to get the main idea of the sentence. Noting “a wide spectrum of characters in his one-man show” and “tendency to offer a limited range of roles”, I narrowed down to A and C. I chose C thinking that one results from the other but the correct idea was that the statements are contradicting. So one corrects the other. The correct answer is A. John Leguizamo’s “wide spectrum of characters” worked as a corrective for theater’s prejudice that Latinos cannot handle wider range of roles.
I am leaving this for later. I write a note under the question 19 “go back to 7”. I look to the choices. A – “classical musicians” out of topic. B – “students in college orchestras” seems to be too broad for this passage. C – the passage is not about the relationship of one person and “many others”. D – possible. E – there was no mention of their relationship being “strained”. So the answer is D.
I underline the lines and read the first paragraph. I get the idea that his skin’s tone is changing under a different lighting. I look to the choices. A – incorrect because it isn’t “demeanor” that changes color and also the changing of tone of skin wasn’t because “Virginia was nearby” but because of lighting. B – out of topic. C – could be. She was attentive so she was noticing the changing tones. D – no “monotony” and “routine” was mentioned. E – no such thing was stated or implied.
I underline the lines. “an uncanny complexion” is suficient here to answer the question (because I have no idea what the other part is saying). I look to the choices. A – possible. B – no “erratic reactions” were mentioned. C – there was no mention of “complacency”. D – there was no talk about “loyalty”. E – there was no mention about “arguing”. So even though I don’t know how in the changing tones of the skin his complicated nature was discovered, all the other choices are clearly wrong. A is my choice.
I made a mistake here failing to see the clue in the question: “As contrasted with the language”. Now that the clue is noticed, the correct answer is clear: A – break the mood of abstracted musing. I was trapped with the choice B. I thought “hot duets” is forboding the possible romance but I was inferring too far and also, the question asks what the phrase means “as a contrast to the language”. This answer doesn’t fit logically with the question. C – “romantic music” out of topic. D – out of logic. E – “sense of humor” has nothing to do with the phrase.
I mark the lines and read the paragraph. Clues: “lined up like novitiates (read the footnote)”, “a strange reverence” and “cool serenity”. What kind of atmosphere does it make? Church. D – sanctity.
I mark the word and read on from where I left till I finish the paragraph with the word. Clue: “sailing above the mob”. Mob=crowd. B.
Clues: “Clayton was not rushing”, humming a melody, “sailing above the mob”. What mood does it convey? Let’s see the choices. A – nothing was mentioned about a conversation. B – “other musicians” out of topic. C – “effect on other people” was not mentioned. D – nothing was implied about “showing off his talent”. E – logical, fitting with the clues. I choose this for my answer.
I mark the line and read it. For now I have no idea what to think, I just take into consideration that it should mean something in the context of the passage. I look through the choices. A – he doesn’t seem “dramatic” to me. B – by going to practice he is not disrupting the routine. C – possible. D – no “competition” was mentioned. E – no “insecurity” was mentioned. So the answer is C.
I mark the words and notice that I should look for disruptions (“tempered by”) of the pleasure in the paragraph. Clues: „the wind off the lake whipping her blue“, „she was nearly frozen through“. A – definitely not Clayton made her frozen. B – I am starting to be amused by the consistent efforts of the test makers to plant an idea in my mind that Clayton is uneasy, uncomfortable, being restraint, insecure and alike (words from the incorrect answer choices of different questions). There is no mention of any anxieties in the lines I read. C – yep, the freezing wind is causing discomfort. The correct answer. D – no „self-consciousness“ is mentioned. E – out of topic.
I mark the lines and read the sentence. I read the footnote (I am moved by the sweetness of the situation). Clayton is on Virginia‘s mind. My clue is from the footnote: “and thou”. I look to the choices. A – seems right. B – maybe, but not the point here. C – no such thing mentioned, all she is seeing is Clayton. D – lol, again Clayton being uneasy. No such thing mentioned in the passage still. E – on the contrary, the romance is in the air. So the answer is A.
I locate the lines and read them. So Virginia is looking at Clayton and seeing a cello in him. Base your answer strictly on these lines. Look nowhere else. I look to the choices. A – no “famous musicians” were mentioned. B – again the famous uneasiness of Clayton, just this time in other words. Still resisting this idea. No mention about it still. C – no one is affected by music in these lines. D – pretty straightforward. An answer is this. E – the point is not “identifying with the situation” here.
I read the part where he talks about the bumblebee. The idea: he played the cello no matter what others said. I look to the choices. A – superstition has nothing to do with anything here. B – no one is “cunning” here. C – no mention of the “pride” here. D – most probably. E – the talk is not about volatile temperament here. So my choice is D.
I mark the lines and having in mind that I should find a contrast, I finish reading the passage. I underline “Music was the only landscape in which he seemed at ease” and “in that raunchy kitchen… he was fidgety, even a little awkward”. Finally, here is where all those hints about him being “uneasy” come from. If you would read the whole passage first and then start answering the questions, you could be trapped in all those consistent suggestions. I skim through the choices and see that E fits well with the clues. Going back to 7.

AimingAt750 · September 6, 2012, 4:30pm

Practice Test no 4 from the 1st edition (6th in 2nd edition)

Section 3

I sense that rebels should see the statue of the dictator as a representation of the totalitarian regime. D.
“to master the art of navigation” tells me to look for a word meaning “skillful”. A.
“it needs for decorating its bower” tells me that the bird should have a “predilection” for shiny objects. For the second word I think of something like “take, snatch”. B fits both.
I couldn’t anticipate the meanings of the words for this sentence. Only that the second word should mean something positive, so I eliminated E. I eliminate B because “unconcerned with her theology” doesn’t fit the logic of winning the support of the church authorities. Now I try to determine which of the second words fit. The support won’t win the “accuracy” or “profundity”, then the answer should be A.
I couldn’t anticipate the words again. I start the elimination process. A – possible. B – “research institute” won’t be named “monarchical”, eliminate. C – “irreproachable anachronism” doesn’t make sense, eliminate. D – “scholars having afflictions” doesn’t make sense, eliminate. E – “opponents” won’t label it “commendable”, eliminate. So the answer is A.
I see from the questions that I should read both passages. I see both are concerned with Linnaeus. After reading the first paragraph I put “+”(positive view) beside it, noting the fact that his immediate successors “mistreated” his classification by being obsessive about it. I put “-“ beside the passage2. The author says that Linnaeus’ contribution had negative impact. Now to the question. I look for something positive among the choices. C is the best choice.
What is it that the author of passage 2 makes use of? I look to the choices. D attracts my attention. I look to the passage 1 and see that it is not used there. Then the answer is D.
Now what do both passages talk about? Linnaeus’ contribution to science. A – seems fine. B – the impact on the “present-day” wasn’t discussed. C – there was no mention about “reviving the interest in biology”. D – “settled scientific disputes” is not the topic here. E – “scientific discoveries” makes it incorrect. Then the answer is A.
I mark the lines and read them again. Now I think what would author 1 think about them. I remember that he said that Linnaeus’ immediate successors used his theory incorrectly. I look to the choices. I find that D says exactly that.
I read the blurb to introduce myself with the topic. I underline the word and read the first paragraph. I look to the choices. Only B makes sense. A, D and E could only describe a person. C doesn’t make sense.
I underline the word fraud and read the second paragraph trying to grasp the point. I stop after I finish the sentence with a “fraud”. Aha, Macondo people got angry that the death wasn’t real (lines 11-13). I look to the choices. A – no discussion about the prices of the tickets. B – “adventures” are not the point here. C – possible. D – “difficulties of the actors” weren’t discussed. E – “implausible plots” are not the point. So the answer is C. Macondo people got angry that they shed their tears for something that is not real. If I read the whol paragraph, I could have an even clearer confirmation of the answer in the lines 22-24: „had too many troubles of their own to weep over the acted-out misfortunes of imaginary beings“.
I read the next paragraphs wondering what will be the problem with the phonographs in their eyes. The answer is “they soon reached the conclusion…band of musicians” (lines 34-38). I look to the choices and find that A says exactly that.
I read the last paragraph. The problem with the telephone was not stated but the lines 47-52 tell me that Macondo people were upset and lost, kind of confused (“was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between…”, that says they didn’t know what to think anymore). I look to the choices. A – “where it came from” is not the concern of this paragraph. B – it was not stated why they were upset with it. C – clearly there was nothing like that in the paragraph. D – sound correct. E – no discussion about the “employment” here. Then the answer is D.
What did all the disatisfactions with the technologies have in common? I look to the choices and find C. An easy question.
I look to the choices. A – “distinguished residents” were not discussed here. B – nowhere in the passage does it say that the inventions are “new”; they were just newly introduced to Macondo people. C – “magical performance” out of topic. D – correct. E – “the virtue of nature” is not the topic here.
I mark the lines and read them. The question asks for the structure. First sentence warns the reader that “I am not an adept aesthetician”. The second gives an opinion – a statement. I look to the choices. The first word reveals the correct answer A. I look to the second word to confirm that it fits too. Yes.
I underline the lines and read. With what purpose was the statement used? She starts with “for example”. An example of what? Of her statement “with the instincts of a mathematician or physicist”. Let’s see the choices. I eliminate C,D and E as out of topic. B fits the idea I have determined.
I underline the lines and read from where I left. Clues: “that evokes many ideas and emotions”ę I look to the choices. E. All others are out of topic/not discussed.
I underline “human gestures” and finish reading the paragraph. Clues: „It also shifts the particular personality to the general and the symbolic. This is the power of the human face“ (lines 19-21). Let‘s look the choices. I skim through the answers and locate D. This section seems very straightforward and easy so far.
I underline the words and read the sentence. I answer this question using lines 22-24. I get the sense that „the meeting of the eyes“ is a powerful thing. I look to the choices. I locate D. Other choices do not require deeper consideration.
I read the sentence and quickly understand that their meaning is universal; understood the same today as it was understood back then. I look to the choices. Again, the correct answer was easy to find – D. Other choices are pretty much out of topic.
I underline the word and read the context. Looking to the choices only A makes sense.
Wow, another easy question. I don‘t know how about the others, but to me it‘s a common sense that „to grasp“ means „to understand“. E.
I underline the lines and read the paragraph. Again, a pretty straightforward question. Why do people prefer to sit in the sides of the restaurant? They want privacy. B.

Section 7

“tolerates worms and snakes” BUT tells me that an opposite word is coming. D.
I determine that the second word should be something like “ensure”. A, B and C are eliminated. Now looking at the first word. D doesn’t make sense. E.
“found the merriment infectious” tells me that they were won by the “merriment” of the party. B means that.
“do not deserve full blame” means that it wasn’t them that really caused it. C.
“most of their lives up in the trees” refers me to the correct answer. E (looks like playing Farmville is not so wasteful after all because from there I learnt the word “arborist”).
“steadfast and constant” refers me to the correct word. B.
“appease those critics” tells me that the second word must be negative. A, D and E can be eliminated. Since they didn’t like the brevity of the play, she must have “extended” it. C fits.
“lacked worldy wisdom” refers me to the correct word. A.
I underline the lines and read the first part of the passage. I hardly understand what is being depicted. Some kind of a flood?? Confused I look to the choices. A – I eliminate it as out of context. B – no one is “drawing pictures” here. C – aha, possibly this was depicted. D – “basement” was not mentioned. E – “damaged” seems wrong here. I have the correct answer C and got some understanding about the passage.
I read the lines trying to detect the tone. I detect some kind of a fascination. I look to the choices. D works well here.
I read the whole passage. It seems to be mainly concerned with deciphering the writings. But what is the assumptions? I look to the choices. A – “clue to its social significance” is wrong. B – possible. C – the civilizations weren’t compared in the passage. D – that wasn’t discussed in the passage. E – “all” makes it an extreme statement. Also, such a fact wasn’t stated in the passage.Then the answer is B.
I read the sentence again. I sense some kind of a hope and seeing the good side from all of that. I look to the choices. A – no sign of frustration in the sentence. B – there is no sign of “giving up” either. C – nothing is ambivalent here. D – sounds right. E – there is no “unshakable confidence” in the sentence.
I underline the word and read the passage 1 until I finish the sentence with it. I read the first paragraph carefully because it helps me to understand what is the main idea of this author’s argument. I get some kind of a sense about what could be the meaning and look to the choices. Only E makes sense in the context.
I underline the words and read half of the paragraph. So these predicted things are not happening. I look to the choices. A – author is definitely not saying that these things will happen. B – no one is talking about “underdeveloped areas of the world”. C – exactly what I thought, the correct answer. D – no, they are not the consequences of anything. E - no one is talking about those here.
I underline the term and read the sentence. I understand that “the rigors” refer to the predictions that are not happening. I look to the choices. Only D fits the logic. Everything else seems like out of topic.
I underline the lines and read the third paragraph with the intention to find out why the example is used. I get the main idea: the exaggerated predictions are used to induce fear and it is useful to make predictions that directly affect the listener („we fear things less the more distant they are“). So the example is an example of a successful topic that would be convincing. I look to the choices. A – no one is talking „personal experience“ here. B – the example shows the opposite – it is frightening. C – out of contect. D – could be. E – out of topic. Then the answer is D.
I read the paragraph. It sound like a short summary of the history (clue: the use of dates that are listed in order) of environmental activism. I look to the choices. B says exactly that.
I underline the phrase and read until the underlined line. What the author is saying that the environmental activism was successful (lines 59-63) but environmentalism vocabulary still remained negative and alerting. He lists few examples of the exaggerated statements and then say that these thoughts are no longer needed, they are obsolete. I look to the choices. A – nothing was discussed about the „changes of desires“. B – politicians are not discussed here. C – correct answer, the same thing in other words. D – „technology“ is out of topic here. E – no „liberals and conservatives“ are discussed here.
I underline the phrase and read the second part of the paragraph. The main idea is that politicians still like to use the exaggerated rhetorics as well. I look to the choices. A – no bureaucrats are mentioned here. B – I don‘t know where this comes from so I don‘t know what to do with it, moving on. C – out of topic. D – „polluters“ are not the topic here. E – no religion is mentioned here. So the answer must be B.
By now I got the attitude of author 1 but only have a blurry sense about the author 2. I look to the choices trying to determine what fits the author 1. I eliminate A, C and E. D cannot be since the author is not causing „alarm“ by his writings. Subjects of his argument are causing alarm in public‘s mind. Then my answer is B.
I read 17-19. What would the author 2 say about it? He discusses in his passage that talking like that is useful for environmentalists and politicians. I look to the choices. A – author 1 would more likely to say that. B – „scientific uncertainty“ is out of topic. C – he wouldn‘t call them „naive“. D – fits the logic. E – definitely author 2 never said they are needed. Then the answer is D.
Author 1 would be indignant about that „line of thought“, labeling it as exaggerated and false. I look to the choices. A – he would never say they are „original“. B – author 1 never discussed politics. C – he wouldn‘t advocate them. D – irrelevant point here. E – correct answer.
I read the question at the end of the passage: „why not trumpet the success?“. I sense that author 1 would say that trumpeting the success does not serve any good purpose because the public is not frightened and then it doesn’t care about environment. I look to the choices. A – sounds like it. B – author 1 never discussed Right and Left. C – no such thing was stated anywhere. D – “liberal elite” out of topic here. E – “training of the public” wasn’t discussed. So the answer is A.
What do both authors agree about? Exaggerated language was discussed by both. I look to the choices. A – no such thing was said. B – “political” suits only passage 2. C – “technical” out of topic here. D – no one said that the spokespeople are “not sufficiently knowledgable”. E – exactly. This is the correct answer.

Section 9

Having in mind “interest in Black culture” I look to the second words. B attracts my attention and I see that first word fits as well.
I look to the second word and see what could match the context. I eliminate B, C and D. Now I look to the first words and see that A makes sense.
“tame koalas” should be calm. I look to the choices and find E – docile.
“ranged” gives me the sense of what I should be looking for. C – scope fits.
I made a mistake here. I didn’t know the meaning of D and so it messed with my mind. Correct approach: “and helps to elucidate” helps me to eliminate A and C. B – doesn’t make sense when you put it like that: “ancient philosophers disseminate varieties of nihilism that appeared in nineteenth century”. If you know the meaning of D, then you are left with E as correct answer.
Again I start from the second word. Precludes “positive” discourse. I eliminate A, C and D. Now I look to the first words. “paucity of denunciations” wouldn’t make problems, then E is the correct answer.
I leave this for later writing a note after the last question “come back to 7”. What was the passage about? Douglass as an activist. I look to the choices. A – “old friends” is not the topic of this passage. B – there were facts showing that he changed his ideas. C – out of topic. D – correct. My answer is this. E – based on the passage he wouldn’t agree with being “tactful” but would agree with being honest.
I underline the word and read till I finish sentence with it. I look to the choices. A and D make no sense. B – “audibly” makes no sense. C – I don’t know the meaning. E – sounds right. I choose E.
I made a mistake here. I could answer this right after going through the whole passage and getting the general impression about Douglass. Correct approach: I underline the lines and read that part. The clue here was “all rights for all!”. I look to the choices. A – not the point here. B – I leave this as possible. C – nonsense. D – I leave this as possible. E – out of topic. Now I must decide between the two. The best decision would be to leave this for later. B says he was prefering one movement over the other. After reading the whole passage I see that Douglass always fought for treating all the causes equally. So this answer cannot be true. Also the words under the title of his newspaper express this view: “All Rights For All!”. D must be the correct answer.
I locate all the surnames noting that Bloom should contradict the other two and I need the reason for that. I read the second paragraph. Bloomer wanted to exclude the men, Douglass and the other two asked for equality. So those three “prevailed”, because their position… I look to the choices. A – nope. B – not the point. C – on the contrary. D – possible. E – no “financial” issues were discussed. Then the answer is D.
I mark the portion and read the half of third paragraph. I notice that Douglass changed his views. I look to the choices. A – not the point. B – exactly. C – “abolition” is out of topic here. D – no such thing was stated. E – no such thing was written or implied. Then the answer is B.
I finish reading the third paragraph. “Ownership and disposition pf property”. I cannot grasp the meaning here. I look to the choices. They make it clear for me that C works here.
I read the fourth paragraph with intention to find out about Lucy Stone. Douglass was frustrated that she ignored Black people, in particular, slave women. I look to the choices. A – possible. B – “consistently won” makes it incorrect. C – the opposite seems to be true. D – “little in common” makes it incorrect. E – “political inexperience” was not mentioned in the passage. Then the answer is A.
I note “Stephen A. Douglas – one of the architects of the infamous Fugitive Slave Act” and look to the choices. A – “men and women” is not the point here. B – “supporting the repeal” makes it incorrect. C – out of topic. D – out of topic. E – sounds correct.
I mark “moral suasion” and read the paragraph with it. I get the idea that Douglass didn’t like Garrison’s use of “moral suasion”. I look to the choices. A – “capital-punishment” is out of topic here. B – Douglass didn’t like it. C – possible. D – out of topic. E – Douglass didn’t consider it too be usable at all. So the answer is C.
I already got the idea that women leaders grew cold to Douglass after he split with Garrison. I look to the choices. A – out of topic. B – possibly. C – out of topic. D – out of topic. E – out of topic. Then the answer is clear – B.
With whom Douglass agreed mostly? I look to the choices. A – disagreed because of his Fugitive Slave Act. B – disagreed about the “moral suasion”. C – disagreed about excluding men. D – disagreed about excluding slave women. E – looks like the correct answer is this. If you read lines 75-85, the answer is in there already.
I go straight to the choices. A – sounds right (I remember how Douglass changed his views and in lines 89-91 it is stated how Douglass influenced the views of women movement). I quickly look to the other choices. B – “caused both groups to make their goals general” is incorrect. C – “start at the same time” wasn’t mentioned anywhere. D – “made both less popular with the public” is incorrect because it was never stated in the passage. E – “reluctance to work together” is incorrect.
I look to the choices. A – nothing of that sort was mentioned. B – contradicts the facts stated in the passage (remember Amelia Bloomer). C – “pay scales” weren’t discussed or it wasn’t important. D – sounds right (remember Lucy Stone case). E – just a minor detail of the whole passage. Going back to 7.

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