New Practice SAT Tests from College Board Coming in February

The College Board just announced that they will be changing three of their SAT practice tests and adding a full new SAT practice test.

  • SAT Tests 1-3 on Bluebook will be removed.
  • SAT Tests 4-6 will remain.
  • A brand new SAT Test 7 practice test will be available.
  • Tests 8-10 will incorporate material from the previous tests 1-3 along with new material.

Further details about this change are available here:

https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice/practice-tests/bluebook

Over the course of 2024, the content of the SAT tests on Bluebook has changed as the College Board has had opportunities to refine the tests based on actual student performance. Once these changes are in place, students can have more confidence that the scores they receive on their Bluebook tests will be fair representations of how they will perform on the actual SAT.

These “growing pains” are to be expected with a major test revision. The last time the College Board made a major change to the SAT in 2016, a couple of the first practice tests they released were far more difficult than the actual tests. They updated their materials accordingly and removed tests 2 and 4 from their website and book.

Students preparing for the March SAT should use tests 4-6 for practice for now. Rather than using tests 1-3 at this time, students should wait until tests 7-10 are available so that they don’t practice with questions that will be incorporated into the updated tests.

Digital SAT Text Structure and Purpose Reading Practice Questions #2

1. The buying of orchids always has in it a certain speculative flavor. You have before you the brown shriveled lump of tissue, and for the rest you must trust your judgment, or the auctioneer, or your good-luck, as your taste may incline. The plant may be moribund or dead, or it may be just a respectable purchase, fair value for your money, or perhaps—for the thing has happened again and again—there slowly unfolds before the delighted eyes of the happy purchaser, day after day, some new variety, some novel richness, a strange twist of the labellum, or some subtler coloration or unexpected mimicry. Pride, beauty, and profit blossom together on one delicate green spike, and, it may be, even immortality. For the new miracle of Nature may stand in need of a new specific name, and what so convenient as that of its discoverer? “Johnsmithia”! There have been worse names.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It explains the idea of economic investment that is later described in depth.
B. It describes the purchasing of flowers as a common hobby which is then explained in the rest of the paragraph.
C. It introduces the gamble an orchid buyer must make which is further described in the following paragraphs.
D. It foreshadows the amazing purchase that the buyer makes later on in the passage.

2. Never were there seven more honest-seeming witnesses; never was there a more undeniable fact than the inversion of Gottfried Plattner’s anatomical structure, and—never was there a more preposterous story than the one they have to tell! The most preposterous part of the story is the worthy Gottfried’s contribution (for I count him as one of the seven). Heaven forbid that I should be led into giving countenance to superstition by a passion for impartiality, and so come to share the fate of Eusapia’s patrons! Frankly, I believe there is something crooked about this business of Gottfried Plattner; but what that crooked factor is, I will admit as frankly, I do not know.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It establishes Gottfried as one of the witnesses mentioned earlier in the passage.
B. It helps to explain why the author feels that Gottfried is crooked.
C. It clarifies the author’s position about Gottried’s anatomical structure.
D. It explains why the author counts the witnesses.

3. The instantaneous adjustments of the wings, the quick response to a passing breeze, the swift recovery of equilibrium, the giddy, eddying movements that require such absolute precision—all that he must learn, learn with infinite labor and infinite danger, if ever he is to conquer flying. The flying-machine that will start off some fine day, driven by neat “little levers,” with a nice open deck like a liner, and all loaded up with bomb-shells and guns, is the easy dreaming of a literary man. In lives and in treasure the cost of the conquest of the empire of the air may even exceed all that has been spent in man’s great conquest of the sea. Certainly it will be costlier than the greatest war that has ever devastated the world.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. To help the reader understand the class of literature being discussed.
B. To explain that flying is currently only in the realm of fantasy.
C. To establish the contrast to the difficulty of actual flight.
D. To discuss the dreams of the author.

4. But great disaster was in store for these fine ships. The Arctic, while on her voyage out, was struck by the French steamer Vesta, in a fog off Cape Race, and but 46 out of the 268 persons on board were saved. The Pacific left Liverpool and was never heard of after. The Adriatic, a much finer ship than any of her predecessors, was put afloat, but the line was doomed. Extravagance in construction and management, combined with the losses of two of their ships and a refusal of further aid from the Government, were too much for the line to bear, and in 1858 the end came. Ever since, the European companies, with the exception of the time during which the line from Philadelphia has been running and the time during which some desultory efforts have been put forth, have had to compete among themselves.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. To help the reader understand the context of the sinkings of the previously mentioned ships.
B. To set up the rational for the failure of the line being discussed.
C. To explain the mistakes that were made that led to the crashes discussed earlier in the passage.
D. To rationalize the lack of governmental support discussed later in the passage.

5. Observations are worked out independently by the chief and second officers, and the former submits his results to the captain. Of course, these calculations cannot have the exactness of astronomical work ashore, and luckily on the high sea this is not needed. On the contrary, over-precision often multiplies the error, and it is good navigation if you can say with assurance that the ship is anywhere within an enclosing circle five miles in diameter. Of course it is widely different when a vessel is running in for the land or coasting, for then the soundings, the cross-bearings of well-known marks, and the contour lines, enable the position to be marked with very great accuracy.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. To explain why inaccuracy is so common in astronomical calculations.
B. To help the reader understand the current location of the ship being discussed.
C. To clarify the earlier statement about exactness in calculations ashore.
D. To explain why inaccuracy is common and not concerning when making navigational calculations while at sea.

6. As I have not used up so much of my time as I had supposed, I will dwell a little longer upon one or two of these minor topics upon which the Judge has spoken. He has read from my speech in Springfield in which I say that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Does the Judge say it can stand? I don’t know whether he does or not. The Judge does not seem to be attending to me just now, but I would like to know if it is his opinion that a house divided against itself can stand. If he does, then there is a question of veracity, not between him and me, but between the Judge and an authority of a somewhat higher character.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It explains a change in opinion.
B. It asks a rhetorical question.
C. It asks a question to clarify the opinion of a person other than the speaker.
D. It builds evidence for the quote in the previous sentence.

7. We went up to the Monument, which was of more particular interest to us, due to the relics within, but admission was denied to all. Many persons were collected around the gate, some of whom, having come from a great distance, were anxious to see it; but the keeper only said such were the orders and he could not disobey them. Among the crowd, a grandson of the original Tam O’Shanter was shown to us. He was a raw-looking boy of nineteen or twenty, wearing a shepherd’s cap and jacket, and muttered his disapprobation very decidedly, at not being able to visit the Monument.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It explains the actions of the keeper of the monument.
B. It helps the reader understand the disapprobation of Tam O’Shanter
C. It clarifies why the crowd had gathered at the gate.
D. It sets the precedent for the concluding information.

8. Stopping for dinner at the town of Rheinheim, we met an old man, who, on learning we were Americans, walked with us as far as the next village. He had a daughter in America and was highly gratified to meet any one from the country of her adoption. He made me promise to visit her, if I ever should go to St. Louis, and say that I had walked with her father from Rheinheim to Zwangenburg. To satisfy his fears that I might forget it, I took down his name and that of his daughter. He shook me warmly by the hand at parting, and was evidently made happier for that day.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. To establish the paternity of the young woman the speaker will later meet.
B. To explain why the speaker walked to the next village.
C. To clarify why the old man was so eager to walk with the speaker.
D. To rationalize the actions of the speaker.

9. It is a delicate task to convey anything approaching a truthful account of the storm and stress of opinions and emotions which accompanied the organization of Kansas as one of the great American commonwealths, and the part played by the citizens of Atchison county in that tremendous work, but sixty years have served to mellow the animosity and bitterness of the past, and it is easier now to comprehend the strife of that distant day and pass unbiased judgment upon it.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It introduces the context of Atchison county at the time of the organization of Kansas.
B. It establishes the timeline for the events previously discussed.
C. It explains why the author has chosen to talk about the topic now.
D. It clarifies for the reader why there was so much animosity surrounding Kansas’s organization.

10. One day the steamboat Duncan S. Carter landed at Sumner. On its hurricane deck was John J. Ingalls, then only twenty-four years old. As his eye swept the horizon his prophetic soul uttered these words: ‘Behold the home of the future senator from Kansas.’ Here the young college graduate, who since that day became the senator from Kansas, lived and dreamed until Sumner’s star had set and Atchison’s sun had risen, and then he moved to Atchison, bringing with him Sumner’s official seal and the key to his hotel.

What choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. To establish the fulfillment of the prediction earlier in the passage.
B. To explain the ambitions of John J. Ingalls.
C. To explain the relationship between Sumner and Atchison
D. To clarify his reason for moving to Atchison.

  1. C. Throughout the passage, we learn that buying an orchid bulb is a gamble. Perhaps  it is dead, or maybe it is just “a respectable purchase”, but it might also be something new and unique which will be named after its discoverer. “Speculation” could also be called gambling, and so the first sentence is introducing this gamble before it is further described. The author does not describe purchasing orchids as an investment or common hobby, making options A and B incorrect and the passage does not say that the buyer has made an amazing purchase, only that it is possible, making option D incorrect.
  2. A. In the first sentence of the passage, the author established that there are seven witnesses. Later, when he says that he “counts him as one of the seven” he is referring to these witnesses. This means that he considers Gottfried to be one of the witnesses, making answer A correct. Answer B is incorrect as the witnesses (and therefore Gottfried) are “honest-seeming” and therefore this would not establish his crookedness. Answer C is incorrect as the author is not referring to the anatomical structure at this time. Answer D is incorrect as there is no explanation as to why the witnesses are counted.
  3. B. In the first part of this passage, the author explains how difficult manned flight would actually be, describing the labor and danger involved. The underlined part contrasts this difficulty with how easy it is to dream of flight for a man who merely wants to read or write about it (a literary man). While flying is currently only a dream, the underlined part does not establish that, which makes option A incorrect. The author is not speaking of his dream or of literal literature, making options C and D incorrect.
  4. A. The underlined portion of the passage is a list of things that “were too much for the line to bear” which lead to the end of the line n 1858. The shipping line, because of the underlined issues, had to close down. This makes option A the best answer. Answers B and D are incorrect because these issues lead to the line closing, not to the crashes. Answer C is incorrect as there is no evidence that these issues did not cause the government to withhold support.  
  5. D. The previous sentence tells the reader that exactness “is not needed” when on the sea. This is further clarified in the underlined part which explains that exactness (precision) will often make the error worse and that being within five miles of a spot is “good navigation”. This helps the reader understand the commonness and non-concerning nature of less than exact navigation on the sea. Answer option D is the best answer. A is incorrect as it does not explain why it is common, only that it is. B is incorrect as there is no specific ship being discussed and the underlined part does not give a specific location. Option C is incorrect as the discussion is about calculations on the sea, not ashore.
  6. C. The speaker has just quoted another person, “the Judge” and now is asking for a clarification of his statement that “a house divided against itself cannot stand. The speaker wants to know if the Judge therefore believes that it can stand. This makes option C the best answer. Option A is incorrect as the speaker is not changing his opinion. Option B is incorrect as the question is not rhetorical (the answer is not obvious). Answer D is incorrect as it is not giving evidence for the quote, but rather asking for a clarification of the quote
  7. A. We know that the keeper is not letting the crowd into the monument. This is explained by the underlined portion: the keeper has orders to keep people out. This makes answer A the best option. Answer B is incorrect as the “he” in the underlined part is the keeper, not Tam O’Shanter. Option C is incorrect as the crowd had not been ordered to gather at the gate. Answer D is incorrect as the underlined part does not set a precedent.
  8. C. The underlined part explains the old man’s affinity for the narrator. We learn that the old man liked to meet Americans because his daughter lived in America. This best fits with answer option C. Answer option A is incorrect as the speaker never meets the young woman that we know of. Answer option B is incorrect as the underlined part explains why the old man walks to the village, not the speaker. Answer option D is incorrect as it rationalizes the actions of the old man, not the speaker.
  9. C. We learn in the underlined part that the animosity and bitterness of the past are mellowed which, later on means that the speaker can now “pass unbiased judgement”. Thus, the underlined part explains why he can now  speak and judge the situation. Answer option A is incorrect as the underlined part speaks to the fading feelings now, not the context then. Answer option B is incorrect as “sixty years” is not a timeline. Answer option D is incorrect as there is no explanation as to why there was so much animosity early in Kansas’s history.
  10. A. Earlier in the passage, Ingalls predicts that he will eventually be the senator from Kansas. The underlined part gives evidence as to the fulfillment of this prediction. Answer option B is incorrect as the underlined part is about what Ingalls accomplished, not his ambitions. Answer option C is incorrect as Atchison and Sumner are both towns and can’t be senators. Answer option D is incorrect as his becoming a senator later on did not give him reason to move to Atchison.  

Digital SAT Standard English Conventions Questions: Punctuation #2

The following sentences are all excerpted from Jane Austin’s book “Emma”. It’s a great piece of literature that would help you improve your reading skills. If you want to read it you can find it on Project Gutenberg.

1. Mr. Knightley, a sensible man about ____________________________ not only a very old and intimate friend of the family, but particularly connected with it, as the elder brother of Isabella’s husband.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. thirty-seven or thirty-eight was
B. thirty-seven or thirty-eight, was
C thirty-seven, or thirty-eight, was
D. thirty-seven or thirty eight—was

2. Emma could not feel a doubt of having given Harriet’s fancy a proper direction and raised the gratitude of her young vanity to a very good ____________ found her decidedly more sensible than before of Mr. Elton’s being a remarkably handsome man.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. purpose, for she
B. purpose for she
C. purpose; for she
D. purpose: for she

3. The sitting was altogether very ____________  quite enough pleased with the first day’s sketch to wish to go on.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. satisfactory, she was
B. satisfactory she was
C. satisfactory; she was
D. satisfactory; and she was

4. To walk by the side of this child, and talk to and question her, was the most natural thing in the world, and by this means the others were still able to keep ahead, without any obligation of waiting for her. She gained on them, ______________________________ pace was quick, and theirs rather slow.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. however involuntarily; the childs
B. however, involuntarily: the childs
C. however, involuntarily: the child’s
D. however, involuntarily, the child’s

5. Mr. Woodhouse was rather agitated by such harsh reflections on his friend Perry, to whom he ____________ been unconsciously attributing many of his own feelings and expressions.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. had, in fact,
B had, in fact
C. had in fact
D. had in fact.

6. There was something in the name, in the idea of Mr. Frank Churchill, which always interested her. She had frequently _________________________________________ marriage with Miss Taylor—that if she were to marry, he was the very person to suit her in age, character and condition.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. thought, especially since his father’s
B. thought—especially since his father’s
C. thought; especially since his father’s
D. thought especially since his fathers’

7. The contrast between Mrs. Churchill’s importance in the world and Jane Fairfax’s _____________ everything, the other nothing.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A.struck her: one was
B. struck her, one was
C. struck her one was
D. struck her one was,

8. He had long made up his mind to Jane Fairfax’s going out as governess and could talk of it ___________________________________ going to London had been an unexpected blow.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. cheerfully but Mr. Knightley’s
B. cheerfully; but Mr. Knightley’s
C. cheerfully, but Mr. Knightley’s
D. cheerfully, Mr. Knightley’s

9. I am _________________________ hear she is to be so comfortably settled. Mrs. Elton is very good-natured and agreeable, and I dare say her acquaintance are just what they ought to be.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. very glad indeed, my dear, to
B. very glad, indeed, my dear, to
C. very glad, indeed, my dear to
D. very glad, indeed my dear, to

10. Short letters from Frank were received __________________________ all that was immediately important of their state and plans.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. at Randalls; communicating
B. at Randalls, communicating
C. at Randalls communicating,
D. at Randalls communicating

  1. B. The phrase “a sensible man about thirty-seven or thirty-eight” is extra information in the sentence and should be surrounded with dashes, parenthesis, or commas. Since the phrase starts with a comma after the word “Knightley”, we must then match the second comma to it after the word “thirty-eight”. This makes option B the best answer. Option A does not have sufficient punctuation to end the extra information. Option C incorrectly places a superfluous comma before the word “or”. Option D incorrectly ends the extra information with a dash which doesn’t match with the comma at the beginning of the extra information.
  2. A. When connecting two independent clauses, it is appropriate to use either a semicolon without one of the FANBOYS or a comma preceding one of the FANBOYS. In this situation, option A correctly connects the two independent clauses with a comma and then “for”. Option B incorrectly uses a semicolon before one of the FANBOYS. Option B is a run on sentence. Option D incorrectly uses a colon.
  3. C. When connecting two independent clauses, it is appropriate to use either a semicolon without one of the FANBOYS or a comma preceding one of the FANBOYS. In this situation, option C correctly connects two independent clauses with a semicolon and no FANBOYS. Option D incorrectly uses a semicolon with a FANBOYS. Options A and B are run-on sentences since they incorrectly connect two independent clauses.
  4. C. In this sentence the word “however” is an interrupter which requires a comma before and after it. This rules out option A. Option B is incorrect because the word “child” needs to be possessive and therefore requires an apostrophe. Option D is incorrect as it uses a comma without a coordinating conjunction to connect two complete sentences. This leaves option C which correctly punctuates the interrupter with a comma after and then connects the independent clause to the clarification with a colon.
  5. A. In this sentence, the phrase “in fact” is an interrupter which needs to be surrounded by commas. Only option A places a comma both before and after this phrase.
  6. B. The phrase “especially since his father’s marriage with Miss Taylor” is extra information. Such phrases must have the same punctuation before and after them. In this case there is a long dash after and so the only correct answer must put a long dash before it. This makes option B correct and all other answers incorrect.
  7. A. This sentence begins with an independent clause and ends with a clarification of that independent clause: an explanation of the contrast between Mrs. Churchill and Jane Fairfax. The appropriate punctuation to connect an independent clause and a clarification is a colon, making A the correct answer.
  8. C. This sentence is made up of two independent clauses which can be connected with a comma and one of the FANBOYS or by a semicolon without one of the FANBOYS. Option A includes a FANBOYS (but) but no comma. Option B includes a semicolon with one of the FANBOYS. Option D has a comma without one of the FANBOYS. Option C correctly uses a comma and “but” (the B in FANBOYS) to connect the two independent clauses.
  9. B. The original sentence here is “I am very glad to hear she is to be so comfortably settled”. Interrupting this sentence are two different interrupters. The first is the word “indeed” and the second is the phrase “my dear”. Both of these must be surrounded by commas, making option B correct and the other options incorrect.
  10. B. This sentence is made up of an independent and dependent clause. In this situation the only appropriate punctuation would be a comma, making option B the best answer. Answer A leaves the second part of the sentence as a fragment, option C fails to put the comma between the clauses. Option D is a run on sentence.

How Should I Study for my Standardized Test?



We don’t get this question a lot. It’s quite unfortunate. A lot of students think that since they know how to study for a test in school, they therefore know how to study for their standardized tests. However, these two types of test are very different, and so studying varies. Students should be asking how to study for standardized tests!

Students will often try to study for a standardized test in one of two ways:

1. Memorize:
Students will rely on good memorization skills a lot in school. Quite often, school tests are just a matter of remembering facts or math formulas. However, on standardized tests, there isn’t a whole lot that can be memorized. Standardized tests force students to think in new and creative ways, taking old pieces of knowledge and applying them in unique situations. Simply memorizing a math formula won’t help if you can’t understand a story problem and figure out which formula to use and a new way of using it.

2. A million practice questions:
Students tend to quickly realize that memorization won’t help very much on the ACT and SAT and they move on to doing copious amounts of practice questions. This isn’t a bad thing! However, those practice questions need to be done in the right way. Simply doing the questions, marking the wrong ones, and moving on to the next set is going to ingrain bad habits and won’t lead to learning.

So then how should students practice to see the best results?

Practicing on accurate materials is just the first step! Students who want to improve need to realize that doing a practice test is only the beginning of the learning process. The part that really helps students do better in the future comes after the practice test. Instead of merely marking the wrong questions, calculating a score, and moving on, students need to engage with the questions they missed.

Some students will merely read the explanation for the question they missed, think “oh, that’s how you do it” and leave it at that. That may help a bit, but the best value comes from truly wrestling with questions. Before you look at the explanation, go back and try to figure out the question yourself. Ask yourself why you got it wrong. Was it a simple mistake? Why did you make that simple mistake? If you don’t know why, then you can’t avoid that same mistake in the future! Were you distracted? Did you misread the question or the answer? Did you make a small calculation error? How can you ensure those things don’t happen in the future?

Or was it not a simple mistake? Is there something bigger going on? Did you lack key knowledge to answer the question? Could you not think your way through a puzzling math question? If that’s the case, come back to that question often. Plan on solving it once a week for a few weeks until it feels comfortable. Go find more questions like that one and do them over and over as well. Through this process you will get better!

So what are you waiting for? Go get started! Even just a few practice questions each day can help, though including full length practices every week or two is going to be best. Make sure you check out our resources tab to find all the ACT and SAT practice resources you need!

Digital SAT Practice Rhetorical Synthesis #3

1. While researching a topic a student has taken the following notes:

  • The curves of the spine are quite similar in humans and quadrupeds, but there are some distinct differences.
  • In quadrupeds, the curves in spine are turned in the supero-inferior direction, while curves in the human’s spine are in the antero-posterior aspect.
  • The human spine has a single curve through the cervical region while the quadruped generally has two: one with the convexity turned up and one with the convexity turned down. These differences help support the quadruped as gravity pulls along the length of the spine as it moves horizontal to the ground.

The student wants to educate her anatomy class as to why it is important for quadrupeds to have different spinal curves than humans. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. The human spine differs from the spine of the quadruped in that it has only one curve instead of two. The human spine is curved in the antero-posterior aspect.
B. The human spine needs more support than the spine of the quadruped and therefore has fewer curves.
C. The spine of the quadruped needs to be able to support its spine along a horizontal plane instead of a vertical one. It has different curves to provide this support.
D. Quadrupeds and humans have very similar spines with only a few key differences including the number and orientation of the curves.

2. While researching a topic a student has taken the following notes:

  • There are two types of California valley quail. They look similar, but they have very different habits which makes them easily distinguishable.
  • The type known as the California partridge loves damp underbrush while the more well known valley quail prefer sitting on bare hilltops and open places.
  • Both the California partridge and the valley quail are known for being very wily and able to outsmart most hunters by hugging the ground in patches of grass so as to be close to invisible until nearly stepped upon.

The student wants to introduce the differences in the two types of California valley quail to a group of experienced bird watchers. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. California has two types of valley quail which look very similar and yet are easily distinguished from one another.
B. Both types of California valley quail find it easy to evade those hunting it by staying low to the ground in high grass.
C. The habitats of the California valley quail types make them very simple to distinguish.
D. The valley quail makes it home in open places like on bare hilltops while the California partridge prefers low and concealed areas like damp underbrush.

3. While researching a topic a student has taken the following notes:

  • Salmon is one of the most valuable of all food fish and is best known for its fight upriver each year to spawn.
  • Salmon are neither freshwater nor saltwater fish.
  • Fish that can survive in fresh and saltwater are known as anadromous fish.
  • The Pacific Salmon is born in freshwater and then is taken by the river current to the ocean where it spends most of its life. Its life ends 3-4 years later when it returns upstream to where it was born, spawns, and then dies.

The student wants to explain to readers what constitutes an anadromous fish and give an example that most people would be familiar with. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A.The Pacific Salmon spawns in freshwater rivers, but spends most of its life in the Pacific Ocean, which is a body of salt water.
B. A fish that can live in either saltwater or freshwater is known as an anadromous fish. A salmon, for instance, spends the beginning and end of its life in rivers, but lives most of its life in the ocean.
C.  Salmon, which is neither a freshwater nor saltwater fish, is one of the most valuable of all commonly eaten fish.
D. Pacific salmon are known for their arduous journey up river from the ocean at the end of their lives. These fish return to their spawning site to reproduce prior to their deaths.

4. While researching a topic a student has taken the following notes:

  • Many people believe the beaver to be the most hardworking animal in the western hemisphere.
  • In English, the phrase “busy beaver” describes a person who is especially industrious, thus illustrating the hard work of the wild mammal.
  • The primary work of beavers, which takes place over a lifetime, is the construction of dams which beavers use as a home and which provides pools of deep water for safety from predators.
  • Beavers are thought to be motivated by the sound of running water. Any time they can hear trickling water, the are driven to seek out material to strengthen their damns and stop the flow of water.

The student wants to include in her essay a sentence that will show what motivates beavers to be so industrious in building dams. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Beavers are known as busy and hard-working animals because of their constant efforts to stop the sound of running water which trickles around their homes and dams.
B. The hard-working nature of beavers has made its way into the English language with phrases like “busy beaver”.
C. Beavers construct their own homes over the course of a lifetime, felling trees and gathering materials in order to dam rivers and create their ideal habitat.
D. In order to create pools of deep water, beavers build dams. Deep water provides a safe space for beavers to shelter from predators.

5. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • The passenger pigeon is a now-extent species of North American bird that once existed in numbers that probably reached the billions across the continent.
  • The pigeons traveled in vast flocks that were said to blot out the sun for house as they would migrate.
  • Due to their extensive population, passenger pigeons were seen as easy prey for both human sustenance and to sell for income. This led to wholesale extinction.
  • Today, conservationists use the story of the passenger pigeon as a cautionary tale: no matter how extensive a population is, poor management can lead to extinction.

The student would like to explain to classmates already familiar with the concept of extinction what led to the extinction of the North American Passenger Pigeon. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. The extinction of a species is when all individuals are dead and the species no longer exists. The passenger pigeon is one extinct species, its population having dropped from several billion to zero.
B. The passenger pigeon of North America was one time known for its massive flocks and billions of individuals. It is now extinct.
C. The passenger pigeon, once ubiquitous in North America, is now a cautionary tale of wildlife management.
D. The extinction of the passenger pigeon was because of its abundance. Humans thought that this easy food bird could never be extinguished because of its enormous population. They consequently hunted it to extinction.

6. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • Frogs of the genus Ptychohyla live in central America and are generally not well known. They are small and have minimally webbed hands.
  • Ptychohyla can sport a range of colors including yellow, reddish brown, and green with white stripes on the lips and flanks. Most Ptychohyla lack bright flashy colors.
  • As tadpoles, Ptychohyla live in mountain streams and sport streamlined bodies; they have low fins upon long tails.

The student would like to explain how a young biologist might identify frogs of the genus Ptycholyla while collecting specimens. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Ptychohyla in their tadpole stages have streamlined bodies which feature low fins and long tails. They can be found in mountain streams.
B. Central American streams are the homes for tadpoles of the genus Ptychohyla which are relatively unknown.
C. Ptychohyla can be difficult to find because they do not have bright markings that make them stand out from their surroundings.
D. In looking for Ptychohyla, key features include white stripes on the lips and flanks and a range of muted colors.

7. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • In 1946 a party from the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History discovered a new species of turtle in Beaver County, Oklahoma.
  • Belonging to the genus Chrysemys, the newly discovered turtle is extinct and was only discovered through fossilized remains.
  • It is believed that this species of soft-shell turtle abounded in the early Pliocene.
  • When compared to similar species of the same era, differences are seen in the size of the anterior margin, the more concave anterior end of  the carapace, and the longer vertebrae.

The student wants to emphasize that this new species of turtle has no extant individuals. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. While the turtle species is new to scientists, it is actually quite ancient. So ancient, in fact, that it is completely extinct.
B. The newly-discovered species of soft-shell turtle is believed to be from the Pliocene era and was discovered through fossilized remains.
C. This species of turtle differs from its near relatives in the size of its anterior margin and vertebrae.
D. Discovered by the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, the fossilized remains were dug up in Beaver County, Oklahoma.

8. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • Snakes in the species Pituophis deppei are tan with dark blotches and spots which may form stripes or paired spots along the anterior of the body.
  • P. deppei is found throughout Central and southern Mexico and can have regional variations in coloring and scale covering.
  • P. deppei are different from other snakes in their genus in their possession of two rather than four prefrontal plates.
  • P. deppei has been known to scientists and under study since the mid-19th century.

The student wants to explain the external features of P. deppei as well as their unique skeletal feature. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Known to scientists since the mid 19th century, P. deppei have just two prefrontal plates rather then the four that are found in other species of their genus.
B. P. deppei are generally tan with dark blotches and spots; they are unique in that they have fewer prefrontal plates than other similar species.
C. With stripes formed from dark blotches on tan scales, P. deppei have been studied by scientists since the mid-19th century.  
D. P. deppei look different depending on the region in which they live. Both coloring and scale cover differ between individuals in the species.

9. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

  • Given the lengthy history between humanity and cattle, there is much wisdom in how we care for cows; however, there are some old wives’ tales that persist in the husbandry of this animal.
  • “Hollow Horn” is a supposed illness that can impact most types of cattle, yet the horns of most cattle are naturally hollow, making the diagnosis of such a condition by drilling into the horn an unnecessary procedure.
  • Cattle’s horns can be a diagnostic tool for illness other than “hollow horn”.
  • When a cow’s horn is warm to the touch it is evidence of a fever and when it is cold the animal may be suffering from impaired circulation.

The student wants to give an overview of cattle health as it relates to the horns of cattle. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Humans have been tending cattle for centuries. However, there are still mistakes that are made in caring for sick cattle.
B. Hollow horn is known as an illness that can impact many types of cattle. It is diagnosed by drilling a hole into the horn of the animal.
C. The horns of cattle can be used as a diagnostic tool. If the horn is hot the individual has a fever while if it is cool the animal likely has bad circulation.
D. Old wives’ tales can impair the ability of farmers and specialists in caring for their livestock, including cattle.

10. While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes.

  • In caring for the equine species, a good horseman must pay special attention to the food offered to each horse as needs may differ from individual to individual.
  • Some individuals may refuse to eat large meals in which case they should be offered smaller portions several times a day. Other individuals may bolt their food, eating so fast that they don’t properly chew. These individuals should be fed away from the rest of the stable and should have small amounts of straw mixed into their feed to encourage proper chewing.
  • Proper care for the dentistry of all horses is important, as their method of chewing often leads to irregular wear which can cause issues with the ability to eat.

The student wants to explain to a friend the best feeding practices for a horse that is eating too fast. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. The food offered to horses is very important in maintaining health. Different individuals may have different needs such as smaller portions, more frequent feedings, or isolation feeding.
B. When a horse tends to bolt his or her food, feedings should occur away from other horses and straw should be mixed into the food.
C. Chewing improperly or too quickly may lead to irregular wear in horses, so carers should be careful to avoid bolting.
D. A horse that refuses to eat a sufficient amount of food should be fed several small meals throughout the day to increase their intake.

  1. C. The question asks for information about why the different spinal curves are important for quadrupeds (four legged animals). The final bullet point provides information about how the differences in the curves, as discussed in the second and third bullet points, provides support for the quadruped as the spine moves horizontally to the ground. This makes option C the best answer. Answer options A and D are incorrect as they discuss difference, but not why those differences are important for quadrupeds. Option B is incorrect as it misreads the fourth bullet point.
  2. D. The question is asking for the difference between the two types of birds. Only answer option D clarifies what those differences are. Answer options A and C both state that they are easy to distinguish but don’t explain what the differences are. Answer option B only explains the similarities between the two types of bird.
  3. B. The question requires both a definition of what an anadromous fish is and an example. Answer option B is the only option which fulfills both of these requirements.
  4. A. Since the student wants to explain why beavers are so driven, the answer must include information about beavers needing to stop the sound of running water. This means that only option A is correct and the other options are incorrect.
  5. D. Answer option A explains extinction in general, but not the extinction of the passenger pigeon. Answer Options B and C give details about the passenger pigeon, but not about how it became extinct. This only leaves option D which gives clear details about the end of the passenger pigeon.
  6. D. The question asks how these frogs might be identified. Answer option A explains how the tadpoles could be identified and is therefore incorrect. Answer option B describes where they live, but not how to identify them within that habitat. Answer option C explains why they are hard to identify, but gives no clear information on how to do so. This leaves answer option D which explains what to look for in searching for Ptycholyla.
  7. A. The question asks for an answer that emphasizes that there are no “extant” (surviving) individuals. Answer option A is the only choice which makes it clear that the turtle is extinct.
  8. B. The question requires two things: a description of external features and information on their unique skeletal feature. The skeleton of this snake is different in the number of prefrontal plates and the exterior features are described in the first bullet point. The only answer that discusses both of these things is option B.
  9. C.  Options A and D do not discuss how the horn of the cattle relates to its health. Option B gives incorrect information about hollow horn. The notes explain that hollow horn is not a real illness. Option C discusses how the horn of the cattle relate to health.
  10. B. Bolting is when a horse eats their food so quickly they don’t properly chew it. Answer option B explains what feeding practices should be used in order to help prevent bolting. This best answers the question. Answer option A is too general. Answer option C cautions against bolting, but does not explain best practices to avoid it. Answer option D discusses best practices for horses that don’t eat enough, not horses that eat too quickly.

Digital SAT Reading Practice: Main Idea Questions


1. The following text is adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1888 book The Black Arrow—A Tale of the Two Roses:

One afternoon, the bell upon Tunstall Moat House was heard ringing at an unaccustomed hour. Far and near, in the forest and in the fields along the river, people began to desert their labors and hurry towards the sound. By the bridge, there was a stone cross upon a knoll, and here a group had collected—half a dozen women and one tall fellow in a russet smock—discussing what the bell betided. An express had gone through the hamlet an hour before, and drunk a pot of ale in the saddle, not daring to dismount for the hurry of his errand; but he had been ignorant himself of what was forward, and only bore sealed letters to Sir Oliver Oates who kept the Moat House in the master’s absence.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. The church bell has called people together to learn happy news from a stranger.
B. A messenger has brought news that is yet unknown, yet important enough for all the local people to be called together.
C. The bell upon Tunstall Moat House is broken, causing it to ring at an unknown time. A group of people gather together to discuss the issue and the unknown solution.
D. A sealed letter has arrived, causing the messenger to ring the bell at Tunstall Moat House and bring together all the people.

2. The following text is adapted from Arthur Morrison’s novel The Dorrington Deed-Box:

Dorrington looked grave. “It’s really extraordinary,” he said, “most extraordinary; and it isn’t often that I call a thing extraordinary, with my experience. But it’s plain something must be done—something to gain time at any rate. We’re in the dark at present, of course, and I expect I shall have to fish about a little before I get at anything to go on. In the meantime, I think you must disappear as artfully as we can manage it.” He sat silent for a little while, thoughtfully tapping his forehead with his finger-tips. “I wonder,” he said presently, “whether or not those Italian fellows on the steamer are in it or not. I suppose you haven’t made yourself known anywhere, have you?” “Nowhere. As you know, you’ve been with me all the time”

What is the main idea of the text?
A. The man Dorrington is speaking to has an extraordinary talent which has lead to him being chased by the Italians.
B. Dorrington is in trouble and looking to gain time in which to solve a problem he is facing.
C. The man to whom Dorrington is speaking is in some sort of mysterious trouble and Dorrington, in order to help, suggests that he disappear.
D. Two fishing buddies hatch a plan to excel in their hobby, despite the odds being against them.

3. The following text is adapted from Baroness Orczy’s The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. In it, Madeleine Lannoy is promised help in finding her lost child.

Dante, in his wild imaginations of hell and of purgatory and fleeting glimpses of paradise, never put before us such a picture of a soul that was lost and found heaven, after a cycle of despair. Nor could Madeleine Lannoy ever explain her feelings at that moment, even to herself. To begin with, she could not quite grasp the reality of this ray of hope, which came to her at the darkest hour of her misery. She stared at the man before her as she would an ethereal vision; she fell on her knees and buried her face in her hands.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. Dante’s picture of hell and redemption shows us what Madeleine Lannoy has suffered in her despair and grief for her child.
B. The hope that Madeleine Lannoy feels is such a transformation for her that not even Dante’s literary move from hell to heaven could compare with the change.
C. A man appears before Madeleine Lannoy, and, not knowing if he is from heaven or hell, she sinks to her knees and trembles in fear.
D. Madeleine Lannoy, in her agony, despairs at ever finding her lost child, and compares her life to Dante’s inferno.

4. The following text is adapted from John Buchan’s novel Mr. Standfast:

He leaned forward and tapped me on the knee. “I reverence the British Intelligence Service. Flies don’t settle on it to any considerable extent. It’s got a mighty fine mesh, but there’s one hole in that mesh, and it’s our job to mend it. There’s a high-powered brain in the game against us. I struck it a couple of years ago when I was hunting Dumba and Albert, and I thought it was in New York, but it wasn’t. I struck its working again at home last year and located its head office in Europe. So I tried Switzerland and Holland, but only bits of it were there. The center of the web where the old spider sits is right here in England, and for six months I’ve been shadowing that spider.”

What is the main idea of the text?
A. There is an issue with the netting around the characters which is letting in spiders and other creatures.
B. The British Intelligence Service, and the speaker specifically, is struggling to update its files on issues around the world.
C. The speaker is trying to follow a covert operative who is continually moving through Europe, with his headquarters in England.
D. The speaker is following and learning of an unknown threat which is centered in England and has reach in countries around the world.

5. The following text is adapted from James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans:

The route taken by Hawkeye lay across those sandy plains, relived by occasional valleys and swells of land, which had been traversed by their party on the morning of the same day, with the baffled Magua for their guide. The sun had now fallen low toward the distant mountains; and as their journey lay through the interminable forest, the heat was no longer oppressive. Their progress, in consequence, was proportionate; and long before the twilight gathered about them, they had made good many toilsome miles on their return.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. A party of people undertakes a journey across many different terrains and finds that they can progress at a decent rate.
B. Hawkeye alone travels across plains, valleys, and swells in search of a party of people who have become lost.
C. Let by Magua, Hawkeye finds a route through the wilderness as a larger party of people make good time in their journey.
D. Surrounded by wilderness, a group of people, led by their guide, struggles to reach the mountains across plains and valleys, and through a dense forest.

6. The following text is adapted from Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel Ivanhoe

“Cedric is not her father,” replied the Prior, “and is but of remote relation: she is descended from higher blood than even he pretends to, and is but distantly connected with him by birth. Her guardian, however, he is, self-constituted as I believe; but his ward is as dear to him as if she were his own child.”

What is the main idea of the text?
A. Cedric and the girl are not related to one another even though they love each other.
B.  Cedric’s daughter is from a very noble family on her mother’s side and this separates her from him and his low birth.
C. Cedric and his ward are only distantly related. But despite this and their difference in nobility, Cedric loves her as a daughter.
D. Cedric’s ward is not his daughter and will not let her guardian forget that she is of nobler birth than he.

7. The following text is adapted from George Eliot’s 1872 novel Middlemarch:

Dorothea trembled while she read this letter; then she fell on her knees, buried her face, and sobbed. She could not pray: under the rush of solemn emotion in which thoughts became vague and images floated uncertainly, she could but cast herself, with a childlike sense of reclining, in the lap of a divine consciousness which sustained her own. She remained in that attitude till it was time to dress for dinner.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. Dorthea has read an upsetting letter which has caused her to fall to her knees and seek comfort in the divine.
B. While reading a letter, Dorthea was overcome by emotion and loses her consciousness to grief and fear.
C. Overcome by the contents of a letter Dorthea kneels in prayer of thanksgiving that she has been sustained through terrible news.
D. Having fallen ill, Dorthea seeks comfort in her letters and in divine providence as she drifts through her consciousness.

8. The following text is adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel Vanity Fair. In it the author discuss a woman who, despite already having a large house and many servants, desires to move up in society.

And so—guiltless very likely—she was writhing and pushing onward towards what they call “a position in society,” and the servants were pointing at her as lost and ruined. So you see Molly, the housemaid, of a morning, watching a spider in the doorpost lay his thread and laboriously crawl up it, until, tired of the sport, she raises her broom and sweeps away the thread and the artificer.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. Molly, lost in dreams of a better position in society, slacks on the job, choosing to watch a spider instead of cleaning.
B. The mistress of the house, in following her social aspirations, has lost the respect of her servants.
C. Molly, instead of doing her work, spends her time watching spiders and mocking her employer.
D. Desiring a spot in society, the mistress of the house allows her home to fall into disrepair and uncleanliness.

9. The following text is adapted from Mark Twain’s 1882 novel The Prince and the Pauper:

“He must be the prince!  Will any be in all the land maintain there can be two, not of one blood and birth, so marvellously twinned?  And even were it so, ’twere yet a stranger miracle that chance should cast the one into the other’s place. Nay, ’tis folly, folly, folly!”

Presently he said— “Now were he impostor and called himself prince, look you that would be natural; that would be reasonable.  But lived ever an impostor yet, who, being called prince by the king, prince by the court, prince by all, denied his dignity and pleaded against his exaltation?  No!  By the soul of St. Swithin, no!  This is the true prince, gone mad!”

What is the main idea of the text?
A. The boy who is called the prince is not the prince, but rather an imposter.
B. The prince must have gone mad—no other explanation makes sense to the speaker.
C. The speaker, the king, and the listener are all trying to determine if the boy in question is the prince.
D. No one knows if the boy in question is the prince or an imposter.

10. The following text is adapted from Charlotte Bronte’s 1849 novel Shirley: I did not find it easy to sketch Mr. Yorke’s person, but it is more difficult to indicate his mind. If you expect to be treated to a Perfection, reader, or even to a benevolent, philanthropic old gentleman in him, you are mistaken. He has spoken with some sense and with some good feeling to Mr. Moore, but you are not thence to conclude that he always spoke and thought justly and kindly.

What is the main idea of the text?
A. The author struggles to describe Mr. Yorke’s personality and therefore gives up, leaving the reader with no clear picture of the man.
B. Mr. Yorke is best know to the reader for how kindly he treated Mr. Moore. It therefore is best for the reader to understand Mr. Yorke as a kind man.
C. The author feels he cannot well describe Mr. Yorke’s personality, but attempts to make sure that the reader knows that Yorke is not a kindly old gentlemen despite his actions toward Mr. Moore.
D. Mr. Yorke, despite being known as a kind man for his actions toward Mr. Moore, is actually more than that. He is generous with his money, just, and kind toward all around him.

  1. B. The passage does not explain what is in the letter that the messenger has brought. However, the people gathered have connected the letter to the bell which is ringing to gather the people together. This best fits with answer option B. Answer option A is incorrect because it claims to know that the news is happy. Answer option C is incorrect as there is not evidence that the bell is broken. Answer option D is incorrect as there is no evidence that the messenger himself is ringing the bell.
  2. C. In the passage, Dorrington is commenting on an “extraordinary” situation that they don’t know much about and that necessitates the other character’s disappearance. We can surmise that the other character must be in some trouble and since Dorrington is going to “fish about a little” for him he must be trying to help. This best fits with answer B. Answer A is incorrect as there is no evidence of an extraordinary talent or the Italians chasing him. Answer B is incorrect as it seems that the other man, not Dorrington, is in trouble. Answer D is incorrect as it misreads the fishing comment and other parts of the passage as literal when they are figurative.
  3. B. The first sentence points out that even Dante’s description of hell and heaven “never put before us” an example like that of Madeleine who has been pulled from the hell of losing her child and given a ray of hope. This best fits answer B. Answer A is incorrect as the passage says that Dante’s work is not enough to describe the situation. Answer C is incorrect as the man before her is not actually an ethereal vision, she merely looks at him like one. Answer D is incorrect as Madeleine now feels some hope, not despair.
  4. D. The speaker talks about how there is a hole in the mesh and it’s his job to fix it. In trying to fix it he has traveled the world looking for the “spider” and discovered that while parts of it are in different places around the world, the spider is in England and he has been following it. This spider is a threat that is unknown. Which makes option D the best answer. Answer A is wrong as the spider and mesh are literal, not figurative. Answer B is wrong as it misunderstands the reference to the files. Answer C is incorrect as there is no evidence that the spider is a single covert operative.
  5. A. The main idea of the text centers around the discussion of the journey being made by the group. The journey’s path is described and then the passage ends with a note that due to the relative cool the group managed to progress many miles. This best fits with answer A. Answer B is incorrect as the passage does not focus on Hawkeye’s individual journey nor does it indicate that the people are lost. Answer C is incorrect as Magua is not Hawkeye’s guide. Answer D is incorrect as we do not know if the group is trying to reach the mountains or another destination.
  6. C. Cedric is not the girl’s father as is plainly stated. He is, however, a “remote” relation, meaning they are distantly related. In addition, Cedric has taken on the role of guardian and loves the girl as his own child. There is no evidence that her high birth has caused any issues between them. This makes option C the best option. Option A is incorrect as it claims they are not related at all. Option B is incorrect as the girl is not Cedric’s daughter. Option D is incorrect as there is no evidence that the girl holds his birth against him.
  7. A. Notice that Dorthea trembles even as she reads the letter and, when finished, seems to fall apart. It would seem that the contents of the letter have caused this reaction. This excludes option D: it is not a physical malady that has cause Dorthea’s reaction. We have no evidence that Dorthea is specifically fearful, or even that she feels grief, which eliminates option B. We know that Dorthea does not pray, which eliminates option C. This only leaves option A. Dorthea cannot pray but she does cast herself “into the lap of a divine consciousness which sustains her own”. So, while she does not pray, she does seek comfort in the divine.
  8. B. The woman discussed in the first sentence must be the mistress of the house, given the background information shared before the passage. She is described as wanting “a position in society” which has caused the servants to disrespect her, pointing, and calling her ruined. This leads to her servants, like Molly, not behaving as they should under her employ. This best fits answer option B. Answer option A is incorrect as it is not Molly who desires a better position. Answer option C is incorrect as this is part of the passage, but not the main idea. Option D is incorrect as there is no evidence that the house is in disrepair.
  9. B. In the passage, the speaker insists that the boy must be the prince. Nothing else makes sense to him. He does not think that there could be another person who so resembles the prince, nor does he think that an imposter would ever change his mind and begin to say that he isn’t  the prince. He points out that the king himself accepts that this boy is his son and concludes that the boy must be the prince and must be going mad to try to say he isn’t himself. This makes option B the best answer. Answer A is incorrect as the speaker does not think there is an imposter. Answer C is incorrect as the king and speaker consider it settled that the boy is not an imposter. Answer D is incorrect as the question in the passage is treated as settled, not as something that is unknown.
  10. C. The author at the beginning admits that he struggles to explain Mr. Yorke’s mind (or personality) to the reader. He does, however, make sure that the reader does not see Mr. Yorke as a “benevolent, philanthropic old gentleman” and he warns the reader not to assume that his kind actions to Mr. Moore are representative of how he acts all the time. This best fits with answer C and makes the other options incorrect.

Digital SAT Practice: Writing/Verb Choice Questions #2

1. The mother of Dr. Haddock was Abigail Webster, a favorite sister of Ezekiel and Daniel Webster, who, with Sarah, ______ the only children of the Hon. Ebenezer Webster by his second wife, Abigail Eastman, who survived her husband and all her daughters.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. was
B. were
C. are
D. is

2. Mr. Layard in excavating beneath the great pyramid at Nimroud, had penetrated a mass of masonry, within which he had discovered the tomb and statue of Sardanapalus, accompanied by full annals of the monarch’s reign engraved on the walls! He had also found tablets of all sorts, all of them being historical, but the crowning discovery he _____________________

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. had yet to describe.
B. still has to describe.
C. yet describes.
D. hadn’t yet to describe.

3. It is indeed a painful or rather a terrible condition in which Heine now is and _________ for the past year; though the paralysis has made no progress, it has at least experienced no alleviation. He has now lain near two years in bed, and during that time has not seen a tree nor a speck of the blue sky.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. were
B. was
C. has been
D. will be

4. Dr. Otto Zirckel has just published at Berlin a volume called “Sketches from and concerning the United States,” which has some curious peculiarities to the eyes of an American. It is intended as a guide for Germans who wish either _________________ to this country or to send their money here for investment.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. to have emigrated
B. to emigrate
C. emigration
D. emigrating

5. The omissions by Mr. Sparks—sometimes from carelessness, sometimes from ignorance, and sometimes from an indisposition to revive memories of old feuds, or to cover with disgrace names which should be dishonored—and his occasional verbal alteration of Washington’s letter, _________ that general satisfaction with which his edition of Washington would otherwise be regarded.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. prevents
B. has prevented
C. preventing
D. prevent

6. Bauer treats the political and religious parties of modern Germany with the same scornful satire and destructive analysis which __________ in his theological writings.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. appear
B. will appear
C. has appeared
D. appears

7. Dr. Laing, one of those restless English travelers who have printed books about the United States, _____ now a prominent personage in Australia, where he has been elected a member of the newly instituted Legislature, for the city of Sidney.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

A. was
B. is
C. are
D. were

8. The first two volumes of Oehlenschlager’s Lebens Erinnerungen have appeared at Vienna, and ___________ more observation than anything else in the late movements in the German literature.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?
A. attract
B. attracts
C. will attract
D. attracted

9. The character of Sir Roger de Coverley is a creation which, in its way, has never been surpassed; never perhaps __________ except by the Vicar of Wakefield.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

A. equals
B. equaling
C. equal to
D. equaled

10. When the public understands how perfectly Parodi identifies herself with the emotions and passions she has to portray,—when they appreciate the immense variety of intonations with which she illustrates her characters, and the earnestness and intensity with which she _________her whole nature into all she does—then she will be hailed as the greatest artist ever on this continent, and one of the greatest in the world.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of standard English?

A. throw
B. throws
C. has thrown
D. can throw

  1. A. The subject of the verb is both Abigail Webster and her Sarah. This makes our subject plural. In addition, this passage is in the past tense, which makes B the best option since it is plural and in the past tense.
  2. A. The passage is primarily written in the past perfect, the tense which uses a helping verb like “has” or “had” along with the past participle of the verb. To continue this style, we should use answer option A. Answer option B is not in the past perfect as it uses the word “still”. Answer C does not use a helping verb. Answer D incorrectly uses the word not.
  3. C. Heine is currently in this bad condition and for the past year and up until this moment he “has been” in this condition. Option A is plural where our subject is singular. Option B implies that he was in this condition in the past but is not still in the condition, and option D put this into the future despite it being in the “past year”. This makes option C the best answer.
  4. B. Look for parallel structure within the sentence. The Germans may wish to do two things. The second thing is “to send”. We therefore need to match that with our choice “to emigrate”. This makes option B correct and all other options incorrect.
  5. D. Be careful in identifying the subject of the verb. Ask yourself, “what is it that is going to prevent the satisfaction?” In this case, it is the omissions all the way at the beginning of the passage. “Omissions” is plural and so the correct verb choice would be “prevent”. This makes option D correct and the others incorrect.
  6. A. Be careful in identifying the subject of the verb. Ask yourself, “what is it that we’re talking about appears in his theological writings?” It is the scornful satire and destructive analysis. This means that the subject of our verb is plural. Our verb must work with a plural subject eliminating options C and D. Option B is incorrectly in the future tense. This just leaves option A as the correct answer.
  7. B. Be careful in identifying the subject of the verb. Ask yourself, “who is a prominent personage?” it can’t be “the United States”. Because the U.S. is neither a person nor in Australia. The person is Dr. Laing. This means that we must pick a singular verb, eliminating options C and D. Since it is “now” we must pick the present tense option B and not the past tense option A.
  8. D. These first two volumes have done two things they have “appeared” and “attracted”. The second verb must match the tense of the first making option D correct and the other options incorrect.
  9. D. Make sure to maintain parallel structure. Sir Roger de Coverley has never been “surpassed” so then we must say he has also never been “equaled”. This makes option D correct and the others incorrect.
  10. B. Make sure to maintain parallel structure. People appreciate two things about Parodi: how she “illustrates” her character and how she “throws” her whole nature. Both verbs need to be in the present tense making option B correct and the other options incorrect.

DSAT Reading Words in Context Practice Questions #2

1. Up to this moment the young earl had stood still, as if spell-bound; but being now convinced that the spirit had fled, he pressed forward, and, ere many seconds, emerged from the brake. The full moon was rising as he ______________ and illuminating the glades and vistas, and the calmness and beauty of all around seemed at total variance with the fearful vision he had just witnessed.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise phrase?
A. went from,
B. issued forth,
C. cropped up,
D. came across,

2. They walked on in silence, for the earl could not help dwelling upon the vision he had witnessed, and his companion appeared equally ____________ In this sort they descended the hill near Henry the Eighth’s Gate, and entered Thames Street.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. unconcerned.
B. worried.
C. abstracted.
D. alive.

3. Turning off on the left into the lower road, ________ around the north of the castle, and following the course of the river to Datchet, by which it was understood the royal cavalcade would make its approach, the procession arrived at an open space by the side of the river, where it came to a halt.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. dressing
B. skirting
C. avoiding
D. leaving

4. Presently the sound of trumpets smote his ear, and a numerous and splendid retinue was seen advancing, consisting of nobles, knights, esquires, and gentlemen, ranged according to their degrees, and all sumptuously ___________ in cloths of gold and silver, and velvets of various colors, richly embroidered.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. worn
B. addressed
C. redressed
D. appareled

5. The person who thus spoke then stepped forward, and threw a glance so full of significance at Anne Boleyn that she did not care to dispute the order, but, on the contrary, laughingly ______________ it.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. railed to
B. railed against
C. acquiesced against
D. acquiesced to

6. The favor in which he stood with his royal master procured him admittance to his presence at all hours and at all seasons, and his influence, though seldom exerted, was very great. He was especially serviceable in turning aside the edge of the king’s displeasure, and more frequently exerted himself to _______ the storm than to raise it.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. allay
B. allow
C. align
D. stoke

7. He took her hand, and led her to the upper part of the chamber, where two chairs of state were set beneath a canopy of crimson velvet embroidered with the royal arms, and placed her in the seat hitherto allotted to the previous queen. A smile of triumph irradiated Anne’s lovely countenance at this ________________ nor was her satisfaction diminished as Henry turned to address the assemblage.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise phrase?
A. show of force,
B. mark of distinction,
C. level of crime,
D. morbid scene,

8. This ghostly rider wore the antlered helmet described by Surrey, and seemed to be habited in a garb of deer-skins. Before him flew a large owl, and a couple of great black dogs ran beside him. Staring in _____________ wonder at the sight, the two youths watched the mysterious being scour a glade brightly illumined by the moon, until, reaching the pales marking the confines of the Home Park, he leaped them and disappeared.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. speechless
B. unspeakable
C. amazed
D. lonely

9. Before they reached the hill, at the end of the long avenue, a heavy thunderstorm came on, and the lightning, playing among the trees, seemed to reveal a thousand fantastic forms to their half-blinded gaze. Presently the rain began to descend in torrents, and compelled them to ___________beneath a large beech-tree.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise phrase?
A. abide beneath
B. stay wet
C. align themselves
D. take refuge

10. A verdant path, partly beneath the trees, and partly on the side of the lake, led Wolsey to the forester’s hut. Constructed of wood and clay, with a thatched roof, green with moss, and half overgrown with ivy, the little building was in __________ keeping with the surrounding scenery.

Which of the following choices best completes the text with the most logical and precise word?
A. admiring
B. admirable
C. poor
D. abominable

  1. B. The young earl “emerged from the brake”. We are looking for a word that would fit the context of the sentence and describe his emerging. Answer option A does not fit the structure of the sentence as there is no further description of where he went from. Answer C implies something slowly sneaking up over time, which is not the proper in this context. Answer D does not mean “emerging” and is therefore incorrect. This only leaves answer option B, that he issued forth (meaning “emerged”).
  2. C. The earl is dwelling on the vision, not on his companion or on making conversation. He is distracted by what they have seen. His companion, then, is equally distracted. Abstracted is a synonym for distracted, making option C the best answer. Answer A is the opposite of the correct answer. Answer B is incorrect as there is no evidence the earl is worried, only that he is distracted and thinking about the vision. There is no discussion of them feeling or being alive or dead, making answer option D incorrect.
  3. B. Given that the blank is followed by the word “around” we must choose an answer that can be done “around the north of the castle”. A procession could not dress around a castle, nor could it avoid or leave around it. This leaves answer B as the correct answer. To “skirt around” means to go around the edges of something.
  4. D.  The context is describing what the gentlemen are wearing. This makes options B and C incorrect as they are both words that look similar to the word “dressed” but have different meanings. “Worn” does not fit the context of the sentence. This leaves answer option D. The men are “sumptuously appareled in cloths”. Appareled is a synonym for “dressed”.
  5. D. We see in the first part of the sentence that Anne is not going to dispute (go against) the order. The author then sets up a contrasting statement by saying “but, on the contrary”. We therefore need to pick an answer that means the opposite of “dispute”. To acquiesce means to give in. The appropriate preposition for acquiesce is “to”. This makes option D correct. You cannot acquiesce against something, making option C incorrect and options A and B would not show contrast with “dispute” since “to rail against” means to speak aggressively against something.
  6. A. We learn in the first sentence that this man is favored by the king and has great influence over the king. The second sentence shows us how the man uses that influence to turn “aside the edge of the king’s displeasure.” The final phrase sets up a contrast. Rather than raising the storm of anger he is more likely to subdue it. This is the meaning of the word “allay” (related to the word alleviate) which makes answer option A correct. Answer options B and D mean close to the opposite of the author’s intended meaning. Answer option C is incorrect as “align” is not something that can be done with storms or anger.
  7. B. Anne is taken to sit in the seat of the queen this is a good thing for Anne and elicits from her a “smile of triumph”, making options C and D incorrect. Option A is incorrect as there is no evidence that Henry has shown any force toward her. Instead, being sat in the queen’s chair is a “mark of distinction” setting her apart from anyone else who might be watching.
  8. A. The boys are watching a ghostly rider, which makes their wonder understandable. They are together and so option D doesn’t fit. Their wonder isn’t unspeakable, a word for things so horrible they can’t be said. “Amazed wonder” would be redundant. This leaves option A. They are speechless with wonder.
  9. D. Given the storm, the people need to find a safe place. They “take refuge” under a tree to escape the storm. They are not living beneath the tree, making option A incorrect. They would not want to stay wet, but rather, dry making option B incorrect. They are not aligning themselves with anything, making option C incorrect.
  10. B. We see that the house is beneath trees, and on the side of the lake. It is made of natural materials and therefore matches the scenery. This makes options C and D incorrect as they would imply that the house does not match the scenery. The house is not admiring, making option A incorrect.


    If you would like to expand your vocabulary by reading of the story of Anne, Henry, and ghostly riders, the whole book is available for free through Project Gutenberg:
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2866/pg2866-images.html

Digital SAT Practice Questions: Command of Evidence

1. The following is an excerpt from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The farmer imagines power and place are fine things. But the President has paid dear for his White House.  It has commonly cost him all his peace, and the best of his many attributes. To preserve for a short time so conspicuous an appearance before the world, he is content to eat dust before the real masters who stand erect behind the throne. Or, do men desire the more substantial and permanent grandeur of genius? Neither has this an immunity. He who by force of will or of thought, is great, and overlooks thousands, has the charges of that eminence. With every influx of light comes new danger.

Based on the passage, which of the following would best describe the author’s attitude toward power?
A. Power is something to which all men strive and few men attain. Power once found will always corrupt.
B. While men see power as something laudable and to be sought after, they forget that it comes at a steep price.
C. Power should be avoided by all men who can stay away from it. Each man should be content where he is.
D. Power is all well and fine for the president and similar lofty persons, but is not suitable for the common farmer.

2.  The following is an excerpt from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The scholar of the first age received into him the world around; brooded thereon; gave it the new arrangement of his own mind, and uttered it again. It came into him life; it went out from him truth. It came to him short-lived actions; it went out from him immortal thoughts. It came to him business; it went from him poetry. It was dead fact; now, it is quick thought. It can stand, and it can go. It now endures, it now flies, it now inspires. Precisely in proportion to the depth of mind from which it issued, so high does it soar, so long does it sing.

Based on the passage, what is the “it” referred to throughout the paragraph?
A. Poetry
B. Music
C. The world
D. Actions

3. The following is an excerpt from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.

According to the text, what does society provide in return for the surrender of liberty and culture?
A. Food security
B. Names and customs.
C. Stocks
D. Manhood.

4. The following is adapted from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

We have a great deal more kindness than is ever spoken. Barring all the selfishness that chills like east winds the world, the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether. How many persons we meet in houses, whom we scarcely speak to, whom yet we honor, and who honor us! How many we see in the street, or sit with in church, whom, though silently, we warmly rejoice to be with! The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration. The emotions of benevolence and complacency which are felt toward others, are likened to the material effects of fire; so swift, or much more swift, more active, more cheering are these fine inward irradiations. From the highest degree of passionate love, to the lowest degree of good will, they make the sweetness of life.

Based on the passage, what is the general approach of each member of society to each other member of society?
A. They treat one another with chilly selfishness.
B. When they see one another in the street or church they silently ignore them.
C. They see one another in a complacent and benevolent kindness.
D. They experience passionate love for one another.

5. The following is adapted from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Friendship requires that rare mean betwixt likeness and unlikeness, that piques each with the presence of power and of consent in the other party. Let him not cease an instant to be himself. Better be a nettle in the side of your friend, than his echo. The condition which high friendship demands is ability to do without it. That high office requires great and sublime parts. There must be very two before there can be very one. Let it be an alliance of two large formidable natures, mutually beheld, mutually feared, before yet they recognize the deep identity which beneath these disparities unites them.

Based on the passage, what must be true in order for friendship to thrive?
A. Each friend must strive to be as much like the other as possible.
B. Each friend must be great and sublime or the friendship will perish.
C. Each friend must be wholly different from the other.
D. Each friend must be true to himself and have a mutual appreciation for the other.

6. The following is an excerpt from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

A plentiful fortune is reckoned necessary, in the popular judgment, to the completion of this man of the world: and it is a material deputy which walks through the dance which the first has led. Money is not essential, but this wide affinity is, which transcends the habits of clique and caste, and makes itself felt by men of all classes. If the aristocrat is only valid in fashionable circles, and not with truckmen, he will never be a leader in fashion; and if the man of the people cannot speak on equal terms with the gentleman, so that the gentleman shall perceive that he is already really of his own order, he is not to be feared.

According to the passage, what needs to be true in order for men to be a complete man of the world?
A. He must be wealthy and able to use his fortune well.
B. He must be humble, regardless of his wealth.
C. He must be able to connect with men of all social classes.
D. He must be fashionable and a gentleman.

7. The following is an adaptation from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In it, Emerson discusses the works of William Shakespeare:

His lyric power lies in the genius of the piece. The sonnets, though their excellence is lost in the splendor of the dramas, are as inimitable as they: and it is not a merit of lines, but a total merit of the piece; like the tone of voice of some incomparable person, so is this a speech of poetic beings, and any clause as unproducible now as a whole poem. Though the speeches in the plays, and single lines, have a beauty which tempts the ear to pause on them for their euphuism, yet the sentence is so loaded with meaning, and so linked with its foregoers and followers, that the logician is satisfied. His means are as admirable as his ends; every subordinate invention, by which he helps himself to connect some irreconcilable opposites, is a poem too.

According to the text, what makes the work of Shakespeare so admirable?
A. It is part of a greater body of works by English authors.
B. Each part is beautiful on its own and as a part of a beautiful whole.
C. Shakespeare’s tone is incomparable to that of any other writer.
D. Each line is better than the one that is written before it.

8. The following is an adaptation from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Prudence is the virtue of the senses. It is the science of appearances. It is the outermost action of the inward life. It moves matter after the laws of matter. It is content to seek health of body by complying with physical conditions, and health of mind by the laws of the intellect. The world of the senses is a world of shows; it does not exist for itself, but has a symbolic character; and a true prudence or law of shows recognizes the co-presence of other laws and knows that its own office is subaltern; knows that it is surface and not center where it works. Prudence is false when detached. It is legitimate when it is the Natural History of the soul incarnate, when it unfolds the beauty of laws within the narrow scope of the senses.

Prudence, as expressed by the passage, exists for what reason?
A. Not for itself, but to work on the surface seeking the health of the person.
B. To seek only after appearances in order to best present the body to the world.
C. To be a symbol of good moral character when interacting with the world.
D. Not for itself, but to seek good in the world around.

9. The following is an excerpt from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The actions and events of our childhood and youth are now matters of calmest observation. They lie like fair pictures in the air. Not so with our recent actions,—with the business which we now have in hand. On this we are quite unable to speculate. Our affections as yet circulate through it. We no more feel or know it than we feel the feet, or the hand, or the brain of our body. The new deed is yet a part of life,—remains for a time immersed in our unconscious life. In some contemplative hour it detaches itself from the life like a ripe fruit, to become a thought of the mind. Instantly it is raised, transfigured; the corruptible has put on incorruptibly. Henceforth it is an object of beauty, however base its origin and neighborhood.

Based on the passage, why are recent memories so difficult to calmly observe compared to older memories?
A. Recent memories are still filled with emotions and still part of our life.
B. Older memories have had more time to process and fade to nothingness.
C. Recent memories have detached from life like an unripe fruit and cannot be eaten.
D. Older memories are far more precious than recent memories and so must be often thought of.

10. The following is an adaptation from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

All infractions of love and equity in our social relations are speedily punished. They are punished by fear. Whilst I stand in simple relations to my fellow-man, I have no displeasure in meeting him. We meet as water meets water, or as two currents of air mix, with perfect diffusion and interpenetration of nature. But as soon as there is any departure from simplicity, an attempt at halfness, or good for me that is not good for him, my neighbor feels the wrong; he shrinks from me as far as I have shrunk from him; his eyes no longer seek mine; there is war between us; there is hate in him and fear in me.

Based on the passage, what causes the relationship between two people to sour?
A. Simple relations that never progress to deeper understanding of one another.
B. Meeting as two currents of air that must mix together in unity.
C. Any complication of a simple interaction or show of selfishness.
D. A war or argument between mutual friends and neighbors.

  1. B. In the first sentences we see that men without power (farmers) think that power and place are good things while forgetting the cost that “the president” has paid for his position of power in the White House. The rest of the passage builds on this idea, explaining the costs of gaining and maintaining power. This makes answer B correct and answers C and D incorrect. Answer A is incorrect as the author does not state power will always corrupt.
  2. C. This question is answered in the first sentence where the author says that the scholar of the first age received “the world”. He then brooded thereon and gave “it” the new arrangement. From thereon “it” refers to “the world”. All other answers are incorrect readings of the context.
  3. A. In the second sentence the author contends that “society is a… company in which members agree, for the better securing of his bread… to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater.” In other words, in order to survive and have food on the table, people agree to conform to the rules of society. This make answer A correct and the others incorrect.
  4. C. The author says extensively throughout the passage that, even toward strangers, people tend to be “a great deal more kind than is ever spoken”. While Emerson does admit that there is some “selfishness that chills” he maintains that “the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether.” This best fits with answer C. Answers A and B are too negative and answer D is incorrect because while some members of society will feel passionate love for some, they do not feel it for all members of society.
  5. D. The author maintains that friendship requires a balance between similarity and difference and holds that no one should “cease… to be himself”. He goes on to say that friends must “recognize the deep identity which beneath these disparities unites them.” In other words, each friend must be true to himself and appreciate the other, making option D correct. Option A is incorrect as the author thinks there should be some differences. Option B is incorrect as there is no discussion of them having to be great. Option C is incorrect as the friends must have a common “deep identity” to unite them.
  6. C. The first sentence tells us that most people think a fortune is necessary for the “competition of this man of the world”. He goes on to say that there are other necessary qualification and that “money is not necessary.” One of the author’s stated qualifications is an affinity which “transcends the habits of clique and caste and makes itself felt by men of all classes.” The author goes on to give examples of men who are not complete me of the world because they lack the ability to transcend class. This makes option C correct and the other options incorrect.
  7. B. The author says that “single lines have a beauty which tempts the ear to pause… yet the sentence is so loaded with meaning, and so linked with its foregoers and followers that the logician is satisfied.” In other words, he sees great beauty in individual lines yet “it is not a merit of lines, but a total merit of the piece.” Both the lines and the whole are beautiful. No other answer encompasses this concept.
  8. A. Answer option B is incorrect as the passage does not talk about appearances. Answer option C is incorrect as prudence has a symbolic character, but is not symbolic in and of itself. Answer option D is incorrect as there is no discussion of seeking good.
  9. A. We see in the passage that older memories are matters of calmest observation, but “not so with our recent actions” because “our affections as yet circulate through it.” Our affections could also be called our emotions. Later on, the author clarifies that “the new deed is yet a part of life”, giving further reason why detached observation is difficult. This makes option A the best answer. The other options are all wrong due to misreading of the passage.
  10. C. In the passage the author describes the simplicity of human interactions, but holds that “as soon as there is any departure from simplicity, an attempts at… good for me that is not good for him, my neighbor feels the wrong” and the hate ensues. Something that is attempted that is good for one’s self but not the neighbor could be described as selfishness, which makes answer C the best option. The author does not describe a relationship that is always simple as bad, making answer A wrong. The simple mixing of two currents of air is seen as the positive relationship prior to it souring, so answer B is wrong, and the war and argument in answer D must happen after the relationship has already soured. It is therefore not causal.