SLIDEREAD

Answer ExplanationsSAT Practice Test #10Section 1: Reading TestQUESTION 1Choice A is the best answer. Throughout the passage, the narratorrefers to Miss Spivey’s 1938 class as “we” and “us” and describesinteractions between Miss Spivey and her students as a firsthandobserver, indicating that the narrator was a member of this 1938 class.Therefore, the narrator of the passage can best be described as one ofMiss Spivey’s former students.Choice B is incorrect because the narrator refers to Miss Spivey’spredecessor, Miss Chandler, by name, not as “I” or “me,” andtherefore the narrator isn’t Miss Spivey’s predecessor. Choice C isincorrect because the passage identifies the narrator as a member ofMiss Spivey’s 1938 class and also mentions the narrator’s mother andbrother, Ralphord. Choice D is incorrect because the narrator refers toMiss Spivey by name and as “she” and “her,” not as “I” or “me,” andthus can’t be Miss Spivey herself.QUESTION 2Choice B is the best answer. The description of the train’s arrival inthe first paragraph suggests that Threestep is a rural town: instead ofa paved platform, the tracks are lined with “burned grass.” Meanwhile,the description of the school in the sixth paragraph implies that thecommunity is small: instead of individual rooms for separate gradelevels, the school’s single room contains twenty-six students spread“across seven grade levels.” Therefore, Threestep is mainly presentedin the passage as a small rural town.Choice A is incorrect because the narrator describes Threestepas uncomfortably hot for its residents, not as a summer retreat forvacationers. Choice C is incorrect because Miss Spivey refers toprominent universities located in other cities, not ones located inThreestep. Choice D is incorrect because in the first paragraphThreestep is characterized as a small rural town that is experiencing“hard times,” not as a comfortable suburb.373

PART 4 Eight Official Practice Tests with Answer ExplanationsQUESTION 3Choice D is the best answer. In the first paragraph, Miss Spiveyremarks that the heat in Georgia is nothing compared to the heat sheexperienced in Timbuktu. Later in this paragraph the narrator states,“I believe her remark irritated some of the people gathered to welcomeher on the burned grass alongside the tracks. When folks are sweatingthrough their shorts, they don’t like to hear that this is nothingcompared to someplace else.” Hence it can reasonably be inferred fromthe passage that some of the people at the train station regard MissSpivey’s comment about the Georgia heat with resentment becausethey feel that she is minimizing their discomfort.Choice A is incorrect because Miss Spivey informs the people at thetrain station that she has experienced even more extreme heat, so theywouldn’t have assumed that she is experiencing intense heat for thefirst time. Choice B is incorrect because the passage indicates thatthe people at the station know Miss Spivey is coming to Threestep towork, not that they doubt she will stay there very long. Choice C isincorrect because the passage doesn’t indicate that the people at thetrain station imagine that she is superior to them.QUESTION 4Choice B is the best answer. The previous question asks what can beinferred from the passage about the reaction of the people at the trainstation to Miss Spivey’s comment about the Georgia heat. The answer,that it can be reasonably inferred from the passage that some of thepeople at the train station regard Miss Spivey’s comment about theGeorgia heat with resentment because they feel that she’s minimizingtheir discomfort, is best supported in the first paragraph: “I believe herremark irritated some of the people gathered to welcome her on theburned grass alongside the tracks. When folks are sweating throughtheir shorts, they don’t like to hear that this is nothing compared tosomeplace else.”Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because the cited lines don’t providethe best evidence for the answer to the previous question. Instead, theydescribe Miss Spivey’s appearance (choice A), reflect on why peopleviewed her arrival positively in spite of their irritation over her remark(choice C), and outline her education (choice D).QUESTION 5Choice A is the best answer. In the second paragraph, Miss Spiveydescribes a break she took from her formal education as a “fruitfulintermission.” She explains that she “traveled extensively in the NearEast and Africa with a friend of her grandmother’s, one Janet Miller”during this time. Therefore, Miss Spivey most likely uses the phrase“fruitful intermission” to indicate that she benefited from taking timeoff from her studies to travel.374

Answer Explanations SAT Practice Test #10Choice B is incorrect because Miss Spivey’s use of the phrase “fruitfulintermission” doesn’t indicate that her travels with Janet Millerencouraged her to start medical school. Choice C is incorrect becauseMiss Spivey uses the phrase “fruitful intermission” to refer to a breakin her formal education after boarding school, not during her earlyyears there. Choice D is incorrect because Miss Spivey’s use of thephrase “fruitful intermission” doesn’t indicate that this break lastedlonger than she had expected.QUESTION 6Choice A is the best answer. In the second paragraph, Miss Spiveytells her class that she went to Barnard College in New York City,which prompts Ralphord to ask her what she studied at “BarnyardCollege.” In response, Miss Spivey explains that Barnard College “wasthe sister school of Columbia University, of which, she expected, weall had heard.” This interaction implies that, contrary to Miss Spivey’sexpectations, the names of prestigious East Coast schools aren’tcommon knowledge among her pupils. Thus the interaction betweenMiss Spivey and Ralphord serves mainly to suggest that Miss Spiveyhas an exaggerated view of what information should be consideredcommon knowledge.Choice B is incorrect because the interaction between Miss Spiveyand Ralphord establishes an atmosphere of misunderstanding, notfriendliness. Choice C is incorrect because Ralphord’s questiondemonstrates his naivety rather than his precociousness. Choice Dis incorrect because the passage doesn’t suggest that Ralphord’squestion is an attempt to amuse Miss Spivey.QUESTION 7Choice D is the best answer. The third paragraph describes MissSpivey as having “wandered,” or walked aimlessly, into a lectureby John Dewey. Following her interactions with the professor,Miss Spivey was inspired to work as an educator; consequently,she “marched,” or walked purposefully, to sign up for the Teacher’sCollege. Hence, by describing Miss Spivey as having “wandered” inthe former situation and “marched” in the latter, the narrator is mostlikely suggesting that Miss Spivey’s initial encounter with Dewey’sideas was somewhat accidental but ultimately motivated her todecisive action.Choices A and C are incorrect because the narrator’s descriptionof Miss Spivey as having “wandered” into Dewey’s class and“marched” to sign up for the Teacher’s College suggests that heraccidental encounter with him motivated her to begin studying tobe a teacher, not that Dewey saw Miss Spivey as lacking confidencein her ability to teach (choice A) or that she was anxious to bein charge of her own classroom (choice C). Choice B is incorrect375

PART 4 Eight Official Practice Tests with Answer Explanationsbecause Miss Spivey didn’t express a desire to teach in the poorest,most remote corner of America until two years after talking withDewey over coffee.QUESTION 8Choice C is the best answer. According to the third paragraph, aftertwo years at the Teacher’s College, Miss Spivey told a woman fromthe WPA that “she wanted to bring democracy and education to thepoorest, darkest, most remote and forgotten corner of America.”Consequently, “they sent her to Threestep, Georgia,” according to thefourth paragraph. Thus Miss Spivey ended up in Threestep as a directresult of talking with a woman at the WPA.Choices A and B are incorrect because Miss Spivey ended up inThreestep as a direct result of talking with a woman at the WPA,not as an immediate consequence of her friendship with JanetMiller (choice A), or her decision to attend college in New York City(choice B). Choice D is incorrect because Miss Chandler is mentionedas Miss Spivey’s predecessor in Threestep, but Miss Spivey’s arrival intown doesn’t occur as a direct result of Miss Chandler’s retirement.QUESTION 9Choice C is the best answer. The ninth paragraph describes thestudents’ reaction to Miss Spivey’s announcement that she had seencamels on her trip to Baghdad: “We all hung there for a minute,thinking hard, until Mavis Davis spoke up.” Mavis reminds the otherstudents that camels appear in a story they are familiar with. Thus,when Miss Spivey announces that she had seen camels, the students’reaction suggests that they are baffled.Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because when Miss Spiveyannounces that she had seen camels, the students’ reaction suggeststhat they are baffled, not delighted (choice A), fascinated (choice B),or worried (choice D).QUESTION 10Choice B is the best answer. The previous question asks what thestudents’ reaction suggests about them when Miss Spivey announcesthat she had seen camels. The answer, that their reaction suggests thatthey are baffled, is best supported in the ninth paragraph: “We all hungthere for a minute, thinking hard, until Mavis Davis spoke up.”Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because the cited lines don’t providethe best evidence for the answer to the previous question. Instead,they describe Miss Spivey’s anticipation of a delighted or amazedresponse to her announcement that she had seen camels (choice A),376

Answer Explanations SAT Practice Test #10relay Mavis’s reference to a story familiar to the students (choice C),and reflect on the subdued nature of Miss Spivey’s response to Mavis(choice D).QUESTION 11Choice D is the best answer. Throughout the passage, the authorcontends that efforts to make driving more unpleasant can curtail thenegative environmental effects of car use, such as the rapid growthof “energy-hungry subdivisions.” According to the second paragraph,“one of the few forces with a proven ability to slow the growth ofsuburban sprawl has been the ultimately finite tolerance of commutersfor long, annoying commutes.” Consequently, according to the lastparagraph, “from an environmental perspective, inconvenient travel isa worthy goal.” Thus the main purpose of the passage is to argue thatone way to reduce the negative environmental effects of traffic is tomake driving less agreeable.Choice A is incorrect because the author introduces the claim thatefforts to reduce traffic actually increase traffic as a supporting point,not as the main purpose of the passage. Choice B is incorrect because,in the second paragraph, the author does dispute the environmentalvalue of making car travel more convenient, but this isn’t the mainpurpose of the passage. Choice C is incorrect because the negativeenvironmental consequences of car-focused development andsuburban sprawl are supporting details of the passage, not itsmain purpose.QUESTION 12Choice A is the best answer. In the first paragraph, the author states,“Building good transit isn’t a bad idea, but it can actually backfireif the new trains and buses merely clear space on highway lanesfor those who would prefer to drive—a group that, historically, hasincluded almost everyone with access to a car.” In this sentence, theauthor bases his claim about the unintended consequences of buildingpublic transit on the expectation that most people would prefer to drivea car than take trains and buses. Hence this sentence best supports theidea that the author assumes that, all things being equal, people wouldrather drive than take mass transit.Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because the cited lines don’tprovide the best support for the idea that the author assumes that, allthings being equal, people would rather drive than take mass transit.Instead, they argue that in order to have positive environmentaleffects, new transit options have to persuade a substantial number ofpeople not to drive (choice B), contend that unpopular efforts to makedriving less convenient are necessary to reduce driving (choice C),and connect increased commute times to a reduction in suburbansprawl (choice D).377

PART 4 Eight Official Practice Tests with Answer ExplanationsQUESTION 13Choice A is the best answer. The first paragraph states, “That meansthat a new transit system has to be backed up by something thatimpels complementary reductions in car use.” In other words, newpublic transportation initiatives need to be supported, or reinforced, bypolicies that reduce car use. Thus “backed up,” as used in the passage,most nearly means supported.Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because in the context of thepassage, “backed up” means supported, not copied (choice B),substituted (choice C), or jammed (choice D).QUESTION 14Choice B is the best answer. In the first paragraph, the authorintroduces some proposals for reducing car traffic by making drivingslower and less convenient. However, he also acknowledges that“those ideas are not popular.” Thus, in the first paragraph, the authorconcedes that his recommendations aren’t widely supported.Choice A is incorrect because, in the first paragraph, the author doesn’tindicate that his recommendations are costly to implement. Choice Cis incorrect because the author concedes that his recommendationsare unpopular with the general public, not strongly opposed byexperts. Choice D is incorrect because the author suggests that hisrecommendations are environmentally beneficial in the long term, notenvironmentally harmful in the short term.QUESTION 15Choice C is the best answer. In the second paragraph, the authorargues that “if, in a misguided effort to do something of environmentalvalue, municipalities take steps that make long-dist