SAT Practice Problems - English

During a 2014 archaeological dig in Spain, Vicente Lull and his team uncovered the skeleton of a woman from El Algar, an Early Bronze Age society, buried with valuable objects signaling a high position of power. This finding may persuade researchers who have argued that Bronze Age societies were ruled by men to ______ that women may have also held leadership roles.

• A) Refute

• B) Concede

• C) Waive

• D) Require

B) Concede
In this context, “concede” means to admit something is true after first resisting that admission.

According to a US tax policy expert, state taxes are ______ other factors when considering an interstate move. Even significant differences in state taxation have almost no effect on most people’s decisions, while differences in employment opportunities, housing availability, and climate are strong influences. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

• A) consistent with

• B) representative of

• C) overshadowed by

• D) irrelevant to

C) Overshadowed by

As used in this context, “overshadowed by” means to be surpassed by or caused to seem less important than other factors affecting a move.

Taxes are still a factor, but employment, housing, and climate have much stronger effects.

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

1. Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia.

2. The city’s population is 907,802.

3. Ulaanbaatar contains 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s population.

4. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam.

5. The city’s population is 7,781,631.

6. Hanoi contains 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population.

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’ populations?

• A) Mongolia’s capital is Ulaanbaatar, which has 907,802 people, and Vietnam’s capital is Hanoi, which has 7,781,631 people.

• B) The populations of the capitals of Mongolia and Vietnam are 907,802 (Ulaanbaatar) and 7,781,631 (Hanoi), respectively.

• C) Even though Hanoi (population 7,781,631) is larger than Ulaanbaatar (population 907,802), Ulaanbaatar accounts for more of its country’s population.

• D) Comparing Vietnam and Mongolia, 7,781,631 is 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population, and 907,802 is 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s.

C) Even though Hanoi (population 7,781,631) is larger than Ulaanbaatar (population 907,802), Ulaanbaatar accounts for more of its country’s population.

The sentence emphasizes the relative sizes of the capital cities’ populations, noting that even though Hanoi has more people overall, Ulaanbaatar accounts for a larger percentage of the people in its country.

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

1. One of history’s greatest libraries was the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Iraq.

2. It was founded in the eighth century with the goal of preserving all the world’s knowledge.

3. Scholars at the House of Wisdom collected ancient and contemporary texts from Greece, India, and elsewhere and translated them into Arabic.

4. Writings included those of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Indian mathematician Aryabhata.

5. The House of Wisdom used Chinese papermaking technology to create paper versions to be studied and shared.

The student wants to explain how the House of Wisdom preserved the world’s knowledge. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A) The House of Wisdom was known for bringing together knowledge from around the world, including from Greece, India, and China.

• B) Founded in Iraq in the eighth century, the House of Wisdom employed many scholars as translators.

• C) Writings from the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Indian mathematician Aryabhata were preserved at the House of Wisdom.

• D) The House of Wisdom collected writings from different countries and created paper versions in Arabic to be studied and shared.

D) The House of Wisdom collected writings from different countries and created paper versions in Arabic to be studied and shared.

The sentence explains how the House of Wisdom preserved the world’s knowledge, noting that the library collected, translated, and printed writings from different countries.

According to historian Vicki L. Ruiz, Mexican American women made crucial contributions to the labor movement during World War II. At the time, food processing companies entered into contracts to supply United States armed forces with canned goods. Increased production quotas conferred greater bargaining power on the companies’ employees, many of whom were Mexican American women: employees insisted on more favorable benefits, and employers, who were anxious to fulfill the contracts, complied. Thus, labor activism became a platform for Mexican American women to assert their agency. '

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

• A) It elaborates on a claim about labor relations in a particular industry made earlier in the text.

• B) It offers an example of a trend in the World War II–era economy discussed earlier in the text.

• C) It notes a possible exception to the historical narrative of labor activism sketched earlier in the text.

• D) It provides further details about the identities of the workers discussed earlier in the text.

• A) It elaborates on a claim about labor relations in a particular industry made earlier in the text.

The increased production quotes allowed employees to make better bargains in exchange for their labor.

The following text is adapted from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1921 short story “John Redding Goes to Sea.”

John is a child who lives in a town in the woods. Perhaps ten-year-old John was puzzling to the folk there in the Florida woods for he was an imaginative child and fond of day-dreams. The St. John River flowed a scarce three hundred feet from his back door. On its banks at this point grow numerous palms, luxuriant magnolias and bay trees. On the bosom of the stream float millions of delicately colored hyacinths. [John Redding] loved to wander down to the water’s edge, and, casting in dry twigs, watch them sail away down stream to Jacksonville, the sea, the wide world and [he] wanted to follow them.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

• A) It provides an extended description of a location that John likes to visit.

• B) It reveals that some residents of John’s town are confused by his behavior.

• C) It illustrates the uniqueness of John’s imagination compared to the imaginations of other children.

• D) It suggests that John longs to experience a larger life outside the Florida woods.

D) It suggests that John longs to experience a larger life outside the Florida woods.

The text establishes that John has a strong imagination, and the underlined portion suggests that John could follow the sticks downriver, into the outside world.