GRADE 8 A

The New York City Department of Education

2023 Specialized High School Admissions Test

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

Student Name: ______________________________________

Identifying Information
Turn to Side 1 of the answer sheet.
Notify the proctor immediately if you are ill or should not be taking this test. Do not sign the
statement or begin the test. Return your answer sheet to the proctor.
Line 1: Read the statement and sign your name in the space following the word “signature.” Do not print your
name.
Line 2: Print today’s date, using the numbers of the month, the day, and the year. For example, the date
September 21, 2022, would be 9-21-22.
Line 3: Print your birth date, using the numbers of the month, the day, and the year. For example, a birth date
of March 1, 2006, would be 3-1-06.
Grid 4: Print the letters of your first name, or as many as will fit, in the boxes. If you have a middle initial, print
it in the box labeled “MI.” Then print the letters of your last name, or as much as will fit, in the boxes provided.
Below each box, fill in the circle that contains the same letter as the box. If there is a space or a hyphen in your
name, fill in the circle under the appropriate blank or hyphen.
Make dark marks that completely fill the circles. If you change a mark, be sure to erase the first mark
completely.
Grid 5:
1. Print the name of the school where you are now enrolled in the space at the top of the grid.
2. In the boxes marked “SCHOOL CODE,” print the six-digit code that identifies your school. Below each box, fill
in the circle that contains the same letter or number as the box. (You can find your school code on your Test
Ticket. If it is not there, tell the proctor, and the proctor will get the school code for you.)
3. If you attend a private or parochial school, fill in the circle marked “P.”
Grid 6: Complete the grid with your date of birth. Print the first three letters of the month in the first box, the
number of the day in the next box, and the year in the last box. Then fill in the corresponding circles.
Grid 7: Print your student ID number in Grid 7. You can find your student ID number on your Test Ticket. In the
boxes, print your nine-digit student ID number. Below each box, fill in the circle containing the same number as
in the box.
Grid 8: In most cases, Grid 8 is already filled in for you. If it is not, copy the letter and numbers shown in the
upper-right corner of your test booklet into the boxes. Below each box, fill in the circle containing the same letter
or number as the box.
Now review Side 1 to make sure you have completed all lines and grids correctly. Review each column to see
that the filled-in circles correspond to the letters or numbers in the boxes above them.
Turn your answer sheet to Side 2 and flip this booklet over to continue with General Directions.

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET

UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

TURN YOUR BOOKLET OVER TO THE BACK COVER.

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 GENERAL DIRECTIONS, continued
Print your test booklet letter and numbers, and your name, first name first, in the spaces provided at the top of
Side 2 of the answer sheet.

Marking Your Answers

• Mark each of your answers on the answer sheet in the row of circles matching the question number printed in
the test booklet.
• Use only a Number 2 pencil.
• If you change an answer, be sure to erase it completely.
• Be careful to avoid making any stray pencil marks on your answer sheet. Do not make any marks on your
answer sheet other than filling in your answer choices.
• Each question has only one correct answer. If you mark more than one circle in any answer row, that question
will be scored as incorrect.

SAMPLE ANSWER MARKS

A B C D RIGHT
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG

• You can use your test booklet or the provided scrap paper to take notes or solve questions; however, your
answers must be recorded on the answer sheet in order to be counted.
• You will not be able to mark your answers on the answer sheet after time is up, and answers left in
the test booklet will not be scored.

Planning Your Time

• You have 180 minutes to complete the entire test. How you divide the time between the English
Language Arts and Mathematics sections is up to you.
• If you begin with the English Language Arts section, you may go on to the Mathematics section as soon as you
are ready. Likewise, if you begin with the Mathematics section, you may go on to the English Language Arts
section as soon as you are ready.
• Be sure to read the directions for each section carefully.
• Each question has only one correct answer. Choose the best answer for each question.
• When you finish a question, go on to the next, until you have completed the last question or run out of time.
• Your score is determined by the number of questions you answer correctly. Answer every question, even if
you may not be certain which answer is correct.
• Don’t spend too much time on a difficult question. Come back to it later if you have time.
• If you complete the test before the test time (180 minutes) is over, you may go back to review questions in
either section.
• Students must stay for the entire test session (180 minutes).
DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

Copyright © 2022 Pearson. All rights

reserved. No part of this document may
A
be copied, reproduced, modified, or
transmitted by any means, electronic or
mechanical.

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 PART 1 — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
57 QUESTIONS

REVISING/EDITING
QUESTIONS 1-16 (PART A AND PART B)
REVISING/EDITING PART A
DIRECTIONS: Read and answer the following questions. You will be asked to recognize and correct
errors so that the sentences or short paragraphs follow the conventions of standard written English.
You may write in your test booklet as needed to take notes. You should reread relevant parts of the
sentences or paragraphs, while being mindful of time, before marking the best answer for each
question.

1. Which revision corrects the error in sentence structure in the paragraph?

The land on Earth has not always been separated into the seven continents, at one time a
massive supercontinent, known as Pangaea, covered one-third of Earth’s surface.
Additionally, the supercontinent was surrounded by ocean waters called Panthalassa, much
of which were in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Geologists believe that the supercontinent
split apart over millions of years because of the movement of the tectonic plates that form
Earth’s crust. In fact, experts predict that over the next 250 million years the movement of
the plates will cause the seven continents to merge into a supercontinent again.

A. continents. At
B. surface; additionally,
C. Panthalassa. Much
D. crust, in fact,

2. Read this sentence.

The Appalachian Trail is a really long trail that a lot of people do each year.

Which revision of the sentence uses the most precise language?

E. The Appalachian Trail is an extremely long trail that millions of people do each year.
F. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,200-mile trail that more than a million people hike each year.
G. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,200-mile trail that two million people hike each year.
H. The Appalachian Trail is a lengthy trail that a couple million people do each year.

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3. What is the best way to combine these sentences to clarify the relationship between ideas?

(1) The International Space Station has been inhabited by crew members since 2000.
(2) Tourists will soon be allowed to pay for visits to the space station.
(3) Because the cost is $52–$58 million round trip, few people will be able to take
advantage of the opportunity to have a vacation in outer space.

A. The International Space Station has been inhabited by crew members since 2000, but
tourists will soon be allowed to pay for visits to the space station, which cost
$52–$58 million round trip, so few people will be able to take advantage of the opportunity
to have a vacation in outer space.
B. The International Space Station has been inhabited by crew members since 2000 and will
soon allow tourists to pay for visits, but because the cost is $52–$58 million round trip, few
people will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to have a vacation in outer space.
C. The International Space Station has been inhabited by crew members since 2000, but
tourists will soon be allowed to pay for visits to the space station, though the cost is
$52–$58 million round trip, so few people will be able to take advantage of the opportunity
to have a vacation in outer space.
D. The International Space Station has been inhabited by crew members since 2000, and
tourists will soon be allowed to pay for visits to the space station because the cost is
$52–$58 million round trip, therefore few people will be able to take advantage of the
opportunity to have a vacation in outer space.

4. Which edit should be made to correct this sentence?

In 1962 the agile athletic Wilt Chamberlain became the first and only professional basketball
player in the United States to score 100 points in a single game.

E. Insert a comma after agile.

F. Insert a comma after first.
G. Insert a comma after only.
H. Insert a comma after States.

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5. Which revision corrects the error in sentence structure in the paragraph?

In 1967 Katherine Switzer signed up for the Boston Marathon using her first and middle
initials instead of her full name, at that time, only men were permitted to officially register
and receive a number for the legendary race. Once officials realized a woman was
attempting to run in the race, they made efforts to remove her from the competition.
Switzer prevailed and finished in just over four hours, paving the way for the official rule
change that allowed for the inclusion of women. In 2017, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of
this pioneering event, a seventy-year-old Switzer repeated her run, wearing the number
261, the same number she had worn in that first run in 1967.

A. name. At
B. race. They
C. hours. Paving
D. 261. The

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 REVISING/EDITING PART B
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following two texts and answer the related questions. You will be
asked to improve the writing quality of each text and to correct errors so that the texts follow the
conventions of standard written English. You should reread relevant parts of each text, while being
mindful of time, before marking the best answer for each question.

Cracking the Code

(1) Computer code is part of every electronic interaction, from video games to home thermostats to
vehicle GPS systems. (2) Code is a language that computers can interpret, and programmers use it
to instruct computers to perform different tasks, such as finding, sorting, or calculating data.
(3) People who code have to learn this language. (4) They can construct programs that will perform
detailed tasks. (5) The programs can also perform complex tasks.
(6) A coding language uses letters, numbers, and symbols that are arranged in a way that makes
sense to a computer. (7) The code that makes up a program tells a computer how to process
information. (8) Studying a coding language involves learning the rules for combining phrases and
instructions so that they are recognizable to the computer. (9) Once a person understands coding
rules, the possibilities for applying them are infinite.
(10) Coding skills are becoming important in many occupational fields. (11) For example, code can
be used to create programs to track, analyze, and predict changes in the stock market. (12) Code
can also be designed to help doctors track and monitor a patient’s health. (13) Jobs that require
coding skills are typically higher paying, offering salaries that are up to as much as $22,000 a year
more than jobs that do not require coding knowledge.
(14) People have a variety of opportunities to learn how to code. (15) In some schools, young
people can study computer science and coding just as they study foreign languages. (16) Computer
science teachers can use websites and apps that employ games designed to help everyone
understand how code works. (17) Even high school students who do not take computer science can
learn coding by attending coding workshops and online classes or by watching tutorials online.
(18) After studying the basics of coding, some students may become interested in learning how to
create programs, such as games and apps.
(19) The late Steve Jobs, a pioneer in computer technology, once said, “Everybody in this country
should learn how to program a computer . . . because it teaches you how to think.” (20) Learning
to code can seem challenging, but one does not need to become an expert programmer to reap the
benefits of understanding this language.

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6. What is the best way to combine sentences 3 through 5 to clarify the relationship
between ideas?

E. People who code have to learn this language because they can construct programs that will
perform detailed and complex tasks.
F. People who code have to learn this language so they can construct programs that will
perform detailed or complex tasks.
G. When people who code have to learn this language, it is so they can construct programs
that will perform detailed and complex tasks.
H. If people who code have to learn this language, then they can construct programs that will
perform detailed as well as complex tasks.

7. Which sentence should follow sentence 5 to best state the main claim in the passage?

A. People should take advantage of opportunities to study and learn basic coding because of its
many valuable benefits.
B. People should attempt to understand how code can be used to design programs that are
beneficial for a variety of industries and businesses.
C. Schools should offer coding classes because knowing how to code will help students succeed
in many types of businesses.
D. Students should prepare for the future job market by studying code and learning how to
code programs.

8. Which revision of sentence 10 provides the best transition to the argument in the third
paragraph (sentences 10–13)?

E. Learning a coding language may be difficult, but coding skills are becoming important in
many occupational fields.
F. Learning a coding language is useful because coding skills are becoming important in many
occupational fields.
G. Employers in most industries realize that people with coding skills can demand higher
salaries in many occupational fields.
H. Even though programming is its own unique field, coding skills are becoming important in
many occupational fields.

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9. Which sentence would best follow sentence 13 and support the ideas in the third paragraph
(sentences 10–13)?

A. Experienced programmers, software engineers, and system administrators at large

companies can earn well over $100,000 a year.
B. Hospitals, physicians’ offices, and pharmaceutical companies are frequently looking to hire
people who code to help with a variety of tasks.
C. Many companies are eager to hire employees who have experience in a specific industry as
well as knowledge of basic coding.
D. According to a report from a job market analytics firm, almost half of today’s jobs paying
more than $58,000 a year call for some level of coding ability.

10. Which concluding sentence would best follow sentence 20 and support the argument presented
in the passage?

E. People should understand that knowing how to code is becoming an essential requirement
for most high-paying jobs.
F. By understanding basic coding concepts, people can participate in an increasingly digital
job market.
G. Students who want to secure a high-paying job in the technology industry should become
proficient in coding.
H. Since coding is a valuable marketplace skill, today’s students should begin to write their
own computer programs.

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 Martial Arts for the Mind and Body
(1) The martial arts blend a series of physical movements with strategic mental discipline so that
practitioners can defend themselves, physically defeat an opponent, or both. (2) Historians are
unsure of exactly when and where martial arts were first used. (3) Martial arts have been practiced
by several different societies for many centuries. (4) Martial arts such as karate, kung fu, tae kwon
do, and judo are still taught and practiced as methods of self-defense, but they offer students more
than that. (5) The study of martial arts can provide students with a way to enhance their mental
discipline as well as their physical fitness.
(6) Discipline, focus, and respect are important qualities for everyone to have. (7) However, for
most people these qualities are not innate; they must be learned and practiced. (8) The study of
martial arts can provide an opportunity to develop these skills. (9) Students are rewarded for their
dedication by passing tests and advancing to higher ranks or levels. (10) For example, in a typical
tae kwon do class, students learn discipline by diligently practicing moves, improve focus by listening
carefully, and demonstrate respect by bowing to the instructor and following directions.
(11) For teenagers, martial arts classes provide a safe and structured environment for gaining
physical skills, building confidence, and enjoying a sense of community. (12) A lot of teens go
through hard situations as they try to do well in school and in life. (13) A martial arts class can
provide teens with a physical outlet for stress while also challenging them mentally.
(14) Participating in a martial arts program also helps children and teens focus on self-improvement
rather than on competition. (15) Progressing through levels of achievement involves mastering
more physically demanding techniques. (16) It requires students to take responsibility and be
accountable for achieving set goals. (17) Students gain confidence and experience companionship
with other students who are progressing through the ranks.
(18) Adults who practice martial arts can experience many of the same benefits that younger people
do, but perhaps the greatest of these is health and fitness. (19) Adult martial arts students often
see changes in their body within weeks of beginning a program.
(20) For people interested in studying a martial art, there are many ways to learn and practice.
(21) In addition to private studios, community recreation centers often offer low-cost or free martial
arts classes. (22) There are even online videos that introduce students to the basic concepts.
(23) People should study martial arts.

11. What is the best way to combine sentences 2 and 3?

A. Historians, who are unsure of exactly when and where martial arts were first used, know
that martial arts have been practiced by several different societies for many centuries.
B. While historians are unsure of exactly when and where martial arts were first used, they do
know that martial arts have been practiced by several different societies for many centuries.
C. Because historians know that martial arts have been practiced by several different societies
for many centuries, they are unsure of exactly when and where martial arts were first used.
D. Martial arts have been practiced by several different societies for many centuries, and
historians are unsure of exactly when and where martial arts were first used.

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12. Where should sentence 10 be moved to improve the organization of the second paragraph
(sentences 6–10)?

E. to the beginning of the paragraph (before sentence 6)

F. between sentences 6 and 7
G. between sentences 7 and 8
H. between sentences 8 and 9

13. Which revision of sentence 12 best maintains the formal style established in the passage?

A. A lot of teens have to put up with difficult things while trying to do well in school and in life.
B. Many teenagers deal with tough situations as they try to stay on top of their studies and do
well in life.
C. Many teenagers encounter challenges as they work to succeed both academically
and personally.
D. A lot of teens face problems as they work to keep up with their schoolwork and find
personal success.

14. Which transitional phrase should be added to the beginning of sentence 17?

E. Over time,
F. In fact,
G. Even so,
H. For instance,

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15. Which sentence would best follow and support sentence 18?

A. Adult students gain discipline, focus, self-control, and respect, which are qualities that help
them advance in their careers.
B. Many adults initially train in a martial art simply to get exercise without realizing that the
training also helps develop other skills.
C. The exercise involved in training helps people strengthen their heart, boost endurance,
improve balance, and develop muscle tone.
D. People who commit to training in the martial arts are usually concerned about improving
their overall physical health.

16. Which concluding sentence should replace sentence 23 to best support the topic presented in
the passage?

E. With so many ways to begin studying martial arts, people can easily discover how the skills
needed to progress in rank may help them in life.
F. By taking advantage of opportunities to practice martial arts, people can experience the
satisfaction of achieving goals while also improving themselves.
G. Because people are eager to reap the mental and physical benefits of studying martial arts,
enrollment in martial arts courses has increased.
H. While taking martial arts classes can improve health for both young people and adults, the
effects are clearly more immediate for adults.

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 READING COMPREHENSION
QUESTIONS 17–57
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following six texts, and answer the related questions. You may write
in your test booklet as needed to take notes. You should reread relevant parts of each text, while
being mindful of time, before marking the best answer for each question. Base your answers only on
the content within the text.

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 Excerpt from “Scribe Like an Egyptian”
by Hilary Wilson

1 In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all
Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the
multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.1

2 Hieroglyphs—“the Words of God”—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct
characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by
Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or
idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an
alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions
on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri.2 For everyday purposes,
however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was
quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least
2,500 years.

3 Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called
ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve
almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his
scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten
(1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun
(1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the
young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed “Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands,” and
might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few
years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of
the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the
army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed
much to his scribal background. . . .

4 But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported
schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these
boarding establishments . . . family or household servants delivered the students’ food and drink
rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family’s
income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier
relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land
agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe’s craft. This limited the scope for
employment but such “on the job” training allowed apprentices to help out at home while
learning. . . .

5 Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes,
who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments3 of the hieroglyphic

1 bureaucracy: an administrative staff of government officials

2 funerarypapyri: a sheet or scroll of papyrus containing religious images and hieroglyphs
meant to help the deceased be reborn in the afterlife
3 rudiments: basics

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 script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to
practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing
the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include
tutors’ corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost
exclusively from student copies.

6 A schoolboy4 “dictionary” of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of
more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and
filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal
functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official,
priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps
a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft
of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead.
Others could become draughtsmen5, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections
of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in
the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus6 of civil and
religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists.
Egypt’s bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing
clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, “be a scribe” was the best of career advice.

From “Scribe Like an Egyptian” by Hilary Wilson from HISTORY TODAY, August 8, 2019. Copyright © 2019
by History Today Ltd. Company.

4 schoolboy: slang that refers to materials used during the course of receiving an education
5 draughtsmen: a person who draws plans of machinery or structures
6 corpus: a collection of writings

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 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
SOCIAL CLASS STRUCTURE

Pharaoh

Nobility
and priests

Traders, shopkeepers,
scribes, and artisans

Animal herders
and farmers

Unskilled
workers

17. Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that there were different levels of
education for a scribe?

A. “However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs.”
(paragraph 1)
B. “For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic
script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space.”
(paragraph 2)
C. “This limited the scope for employment but such ‘on the job’ training allowed apprentices to
help out at home while learning.” (paragraph 4)
D. “For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train
for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs.”
(paragraph 6)

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18. Read this sentence from paragraph 2.

Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or
abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic
sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal
inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri.

The author’s purpose for including the sentence is to

E. explain that hieroglyphs were reserved for royal and religious purposes.
F. demonstrate the methods experts use to interpret hieroglyphs.
G. clarify the significance of hieroglyphs in language and literature.
H. describe the basic features of hieroglyphs and how they were typically used.

19. Which statement summarizes the process that schools used to train scribes?

A. Boys had to memorize around 450 hieratic signs. Once they had learned these, they were
expected to copy literary texts that contained valuable lessons.
B. Boys spent at least five years learning hieratic signs, which they practiced by copying texts.
During this period, they were also introduced to basic hieroglyphs.
C. Boys spent five or six years learning the basics of hieratic script. After this period, they
could become apprentices and begin learning hieroglyphics.
D. Boys were taught two different scripts. They practiced both types by copying lists and
eventually progressed to writing letters, reports, and contracts.

20. Which claim is best supported by the information presented in paragraphs 3 and 4?

E. Education was difficult for the common citizens of Egypt to obtain.

F. Once students began studying to become scribes, their future held more possibilities.
G. If someone wanted to become a scribe, support from outside sources such as the
government or a temple was necessary.
H. Becoming a successful scribe required a student’s family to sacrifice time and money in
order to ensure the best education.

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21. Hieratic script was particularly valuable in a bureaucratic government because

A. using hieratic script was an efficient way for scribes to produce large amounts of
documentation.
B. many members of the general public could comprehend information that was written in
hieratic script.
C. knowledge of hieratic script prepared scribes to serve their society in increasingly
challenging roles.
D. people from different professional backgrounds could easily communicate with one another
in hieratic script.

22. The diagram after paragraph 6 best provides additional support for the topic of the excerpt by

E. demonstrating the place of scribes in ancient Egyptian social structure.

F. depicting the types of tasks performed by each social class.
G. indicating that scribes were able to easily improve their social ranking.
H. comparing the social positions of each social class in ancient Egypt.

23. Based on the excerpt, which statement would the author most strongly agree with?

A. Boys in Egypt were encouraged to enter the same profession as older male relatives.
B. Knowledge of hieroglyphs was helpful to Egyptians who were interested in becoming scribes.
C. Hieratic script was more practical to ancient Egyptians than hieroglyphs were.
D. Boys in Egypt who studied for only a few years were unlikely to find employment as scribes.

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 This narrative is about the Nez Perce, an American Indian tribe, in what is now northern Idaho.
The tribe is preparing for a gathering before the coming winter.

Excerpt from Do Them No Harm!

by Zoa L. Swayne

1 In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and
huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation
gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas1 harvest.

2 From far and near The People came. . . .

3 Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, “Where are you from?” the reply was always,
“We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place.”

4 It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for
this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The
visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be
remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting
camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be
friends together.

5 As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up
their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red
Bear’s people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains.
Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across
the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were
located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed
areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

6 Red Bear’s people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing
roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply.
Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of
roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that
WARM was going and COLD was coming.

7 Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the
women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

8 And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They
played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

9 This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily
tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

1 camas: a wild, edible plant

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10 “People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!” they called
as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

11 Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

12 “Who can it be? What brings them here?” were the questions in every mind.

13 “Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they
have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?”

14 It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

15 “Looks like hunters,” the older men agreed. “Looks like they had good hunting. Maybe our four
hunters. [They have] been gone many moons.”

16 “Looks like five people—not four,” others observed.

17 Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

18 “A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?” they asked.

19 “Looks like a woman. Who is she?”

20 The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and
other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their
Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

21 Red Bear’s people rejoiced at their hunters’ success. Good hunters brought good to everybody.
The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through
the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity.
Who was she? Where had she come from? . . .

22 “Belongs to Red Bear people. Gone then come back,” the hunters said, as they dismounted and
unloaded their packs. . . .

23 Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had
left came back now—a grown woman.

24 “Wat-ku-ese!” the women cried. “Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!” And

Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

25 Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for
her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

26 One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

From DO THEM NO HARM!: Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce by Zoa L. Swayne. Published by Caxton
Press. Copyright © 1990 by Zoa L. Swayne Orofino, Idaho and Legacy House, Inc. Orofino, Idaho. All
rights reserved.

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24. Paragraph 1 contributes to the setting of the excerpt by establishing that

E. the story’s location is a plentiful place that allows The People to enjoy a comfortable
gathering.
F. the events in the story occurred in the past and are being remembered by The People.
G. the camp in the story is changing and that the changes are causing problems for
The People.
H. the story’s plot begins as The People are observing their land and what it offers them.

25. In paragraphs 4 and 6, the beginning of the change in seasons affects the characters mainly by

A. causing them to collect their bounty and feel eager to celebrate before it becomes cold.
B. making them want to rest and relax before the challenging work of the harvest begins.
C. forcing them to give up leisure time to prepare their camp for the coming winter.
D. allowing them to trade the goods they have prepared during the warm months.

26. How do paragraphs 7 and 9 convey a central idea of the excerpt?

E. by explaining that The People often explore different areas, which shows the value of trying
new things
F. by revealing that The People must complete many tasks, which shows the necessity of
being organized
G. by suggesting that The People are influenced by the weather, which shows their close
relationship with nature
H. by demonstrating that The People work together, which shows the importance of
contributing to the community

27. In paragraph 8, the author repeats the word “played” most likely to

A. emphasize how much the adults enjoy observing the children.

B. show how everyone finds a way to enjoy being at the gathering.
C. indicate the variety of activities available at the gathering.
D. characterize the manner in which the children master the work of adults.

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28. How do paragraphs 11–13 affect the plot of the excerpt?

E. They establish a feeling of mystery by presenting different points of view about the
arriving people.
F. They contribute to the rising action by developing the idea that the arriving people could
present a problem.
G. They lead to a turning point by describing the moment that the crowd realizes why the
strangers have come.
H. They explain the cause of the main conflict by providing background information about the
strangers.

29. In paragraph 20, the phrases “trophies of their hunt” and “paraded around” affect the
paragraph by

A. suggesting that the hunters are rewarded for their leadership.

B. emphasizing that The People are dependent on the hunters for food.
C. revealing that the hunters are pleased with their success.
D. indicating that The People have gathered specifically to welcome the hunters.

30. Which quotation from the excerpt best supports the idea that The People maintain a connection
to members of their group in spite of distance?

E. “As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they
set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied
before them.” (paragraph 5)
F. “ ‘Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and
never returned?’ ” (paragraph 13)
G. “ ‘Looks like hunters,’ the older men agreed. ‘Looks like they had good hunting.’ ”
(paragraph 15)
H. “But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity.”
(paragraph 21)

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 Excerpt from “The Food Business Incubator”
by Mandalit Del Barco

1 “La Cocina” means “the kitchen” in Spanish. It’s also the name of a business incubator1 based in
San Francisco’s Mission District. Since it began in 2005, it’s been helping local food
entrepreneurs, many of whom are low-income immigrant women, develop their small businesses.

2 Over the years, many of its alumni have found success: more than 50 chefs in its program have
become self-sufficient business owners, and many of them have opened their own brick-and-
mortar restaurants. Two alumnae of its culinary program . . . were even recognized as semi-
finalists for prestigious James Beard awards.2

3 A new cookbook, We Are La Cocina: Recipes in Pursuit of the American Dream, tells some of
their stories.

4 Executive director Caleb Zigas says the nonprofit La Cocina grew out of two grassroots economic
development organizations3 who found many people cooking at their homes and selling food on
the streets. The vendors needed an affordable commercial kitchen space and technical assistance
in order for their businesses to be legally viable. La Cocina provided just such a space, in addition
to helping them develop business plans, pull city permits and more.

5 Zigas says as many as eight businesses can work in the kitchen space at La Cocina at any one
time. Some can prep for a farmers’ market sale, corporate catering gigs or weddings, while
others might be making and packaging their food products.

6 “It’s just an incredible and exciting range of techniques, flavors, perspectives, age, language. And
that’s a really beautiful thing,” he says. . . .

7 Twice a year, La Cocina hosts “F&B: Voices from the Kitchen,” a storytelling project where their
chefs can tell their own stories, as they do in the new cookbook. Some of the chefs will be on tour
to promote the book, whose proceeds will go to support La Cocina entrepreneurs.

8 NPR4 caught up with . . . La Cocina chefs, who shared their stories:

Mariko Grady, Aedan Fermented Foods
9 At La Cocina, you can often hear Mariko Grady singing or humming as she prepares miso, koji,
and amasake. Her fermented products come in four different flavors, including mushroom and
chicken, to be used in soups and sauces. She originally brought the fermenting rice and barley

1 business incubator: company that helps new and startup companies develop by providing
services such as management training and office space
2 James Beard awards: an award named after American cook and author James Beard,
considered one of the highest honors in the culinary industry
3 economicdevelopment organizations: organizations whose mission is to promote economic
improvement within a specific geographical area
4 NPR: National Public Radio, a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes news
and cultural programming

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 koji seeds from Japan, where she had a 30-year career as a singer and dancer with the
prestigious modern theatrical dance group she founded, Pappa Tarahumara. They performed
around the world, and 16 years ago, had a one-night show in San Francisco. The man who would
become her husband was in the audience. She soon joined him in San Francisco, often returning
to Tokyo to rehearse. But after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011, her company
disbanded. . . . Grady focused on nourishing her family and creating a line of fermented products
that she sells online, at local Bay Area stores and at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. She began
at La Cocina in 2012 and named her business after her son, Aedan. (Written in Kanji characters,
the name means “wisdom” and “handed down from generation to generation.”) . . . Her
fermented products are “also full of wisdom about how to relate to nature and how to create a
healthy life,” she says. . . .
Shani Jones, Peaches Patties
10 Shani Jones is a native San Franciscan. Her father was born in New Orleans, her mother, in
Jamaica. She says their home was always filled with a variety of spices and dishes like jerk
chicken and Jamaican patties—savory pastries filled with beef or chicken. Jones says she learned
to cook from her mother, whose nickname was Peaches. After returning from college in Atlanta,
Jones worked on her doctorate in organizational leadership and management while driving a Lyft5
car. She often told passengers about her idea of opening a catering company with her mom’s
recipes. They steered her to La Cocina, where she developed her own business, named after her
mother. Five years later, she caters and runs a kiosk6 at a small food cooperative in Bernal
Heights, where some of her handmade patties have an Ethiopian twist, “because my husband is
Ethiopian.” Jones has big aspirations for Peaches Patties: “The ultimate goal,” she says, “is to be
the patty kingpin7 of the West Coast.”

From “The Food Business Incubator That Helps Immigrant Women Pursue The American Dream” by Mandalit
Del Barco from WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY, June 19, 2019. Copyright © 2019 NPR.

5 Lyft: ride-sharing company where people use their own cars to provide rides to customers
6 kiosk: cart or small structure with one or more open sides that is used to vend merchandise
or services
7 kingpin: the leader in a group or undertaking

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 QUALIFICATIONS FOR LA COCINA APPLICANTS

La Cocina considers assets and access to opportunity when

screening applicants. La Cocina’s mission is to support entrepreneurs
who face barriers to becoming successful in the food industry.
Level of Income
Applicants must be classified as low- or very-low-income earners
according to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Guidelines
for San Francisco.

Applicants must have a business plan that is ready to be put into

action. La Cocina will help applicants refine an existing business
Business Plan
plan. Applicants without a business plan should contact one of
La Cocina’s partner organizations for guidance in developing one.

The applicant’s food must not only be delicious but also stand out.
Viable Product For a business to make a profit, there also has to be a market
for the food.

La Cocina is excited to work with entrepreneurs who are motivated

Entrepreneurial Work Ethic and passionate about growing their business. Succeeding in the food
industry requires a lot of heart and hard work.

The 30+ entrepreneurs who share La Cocina’s kitchen are from

many different backgrounds. La Cocina values the community it has
created and expects each entrepreneur to be active in bringing the
Community Spirit
spirit of La Cocina to the wider world.
In order to succeed in the La Cocina kitchen, accepted applicants
must be flexible and willing to work closely with others.
Source: La Cocina

31. Read this sentence from paragraph 2.

Two alumnae of its culinary program . . . were even recognized as semi-finalists

for prestigious James Beard awards.

The words “recognized” and “prestigious” in the sentence convey that La Cocina

A. makes an effort to identify chefs who have a strong entrepreneurial work ethic.
B. has the ability to mentor chefs to reach the highest levels of achievement in their craft.
C. is focused on establishing local food entrepreneurs as celebrated professionals in
their industry.
D. is dedicated to assisting chefs in developing new and innovative products.

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32. Paragraph 4 contributes to the development of ideas about La Cocina in paragraph 1 by

E. specifying how La Cocina helps local food entrepreneurs become successful.

F. explaining what kind of goals La Cocina tries to set for local food entrepreneurs.
G. providing background information about local food entrepreneurs in San Francisco.
H. describing how Caleb Zigas discovered the need to provide assistance to local food
entrepreneurs.

33. The description of Mariko Grady’s background in paragraph 9 contributes to a central idea in the
excerpt by

A. demonstrating what people are looking for when they come to La Cocina.
B. explaining why La Cocina is the best option for people starting out in the food business.
C. showing how La Cocina can help people find success in the food business even though they
have a background in something different.
D. confirming that La Cocina was originally established for small business owners who are
looking to expand their services.

34. Which statement would the author most likely agree with?

E. The publicity efforts La Cocina engages in will help its business design spread to other cities.
F. The variety of exciting food available in San Francisco is due to the work of La Cocina.
G. La Cocina offers a method that will guarantee business ownership for qualified
entrepreneurs.
H. La Cocina does admirable work in supporting the efforts of ambitious cooks who may have
few resources.

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35. Which detail would be most important to include in a summary of the excerpt?

A. La Cocina produced a cookbook that includes some members’ stories.

B. La Cocina provides legal and technical assistance to its members.
C. Potential vendors need a market for their food before considering La Cocina.
D. There are different types of venues that food vendors from La Cocina use.

36. The table provides additional support for a central idea of the excerpt by

E. showing how La Cocina works with partner organizations to further educate and advance
successful applicants within the food industry.
F. explaining how applicants are prepared to develop their own businesses once they leave
La Cocina.
G. establishing that La Cocina is dedicated to its mission to provide delicious food to different
communities.
H. emphasizing that applicants must be willing to dedicate time to promoting and developing
their business with La Cocina.

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 Excerpt from “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s
Oldest Trees”
by Alex Ross

1 About forty-five hundred years ago, not long after the completion of the Great Pyramid at Giza, a
seed of Pinus longaeva, the Great Basin bristlecone pine, landed on a steep slope in what are now
known as the White Mountains, in eastern California. The seed may have travelled there on a
gust of wind, its flight aided by a winglike attachment to the nut. Or it could have been planted
by a bird known as the Clark’s nutcracker, which likes to hide pine seeds in caches; nutcrackers
have phenomenal spatial1 memory and can recall thousands of such caches. This seed, however,
lay undisturbed. On a moist day in fall, or in the wake of melting snows in spring, a seedling
appeared above ground—a stubby one-inch stem with a tuft of bright-green shoots.

2 Most seedlings die within a year; the mortality rate is more than ninety-nine percent. The
survivors are sometimes seen growing in the shadow of a fallen tree. The landscape of the
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, as this area of the White Mountains is called, is littered with
fragments of dead trees—trunks, limbs, roots, and smaller chunks. Pinus longaeva grows
exclusively in subalpine regions of the Great Basin, which stretches from the eastern slopes of the
Sierra Nevada to the Wasatch Range, in Utah. Conditions are generally too arid for the dead wood
to rot; instead, it erodes, sanded down like rock. The remnants may harbor nutrients and fungi
that help new trees grow. Bristlecones rise from the bones of their ancestors—a city within
a cemetery.

3 Coast redwoods and giant sequoias, California’s gargantuan world-record-holding trees, can grow
fifty feet or more in their first twenty years. Bristlecones rise agonizingly slowly. After four or five
years, the seedling on the steep slope would have been just a few inches higher, sprouting
needles in place of the embryonic shoots. The needles are a deep green, tough, resinous, and
closely bunched in groups of five. On a mature tree, they live for fifty years or more. Decades
may have passed before the tree was human height, and decades more before it resembled a
conventional pine. Bristlecone saplings grow straight up, with relatively sparse foliage, looking
like undernourished Christmas trees. After a few hundred years—by which time the Old Kingdom
of Egypt had fallen—it was probably forty or fifty feet in height.

4 Many tree species live for hundreds of years. A smaller but not inconsiderable number, including
the sequoias and certain yews, oaks, cypresses, and junipers, survive for thousands. Once a
bristlecone has established itself in the unforgiving conditions of the White Mountains, it can last
almost indefinitely. The trees tend to grow some distance from one another, so fires almost never
destroy an entire stand. Because only a few other plant species can handle the dry, cold climate,
the bristlecones face little competition. Unlike most plants, they tolerate dolomite soil, which is
composed of a chalky type of limestone that is heavily alkaline and low in nutrients. As for insect
threats, bristlecone wood is so dense that mountain-pine beetles and other pests can rarely
burrow their way into it.

5 Empires rose and fell; wars raged; . . . and the tree from 2500 B.C. continued its implacable
slow-motion existence, adding about two-hundredths of an inch to the diameter of its trunk each

1 spatial: relating to physical space

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 year. Minute changes in the tree-ring record make bristlecones an exceptionally useful source of
data about changing conditions on Earth. When rains are heavier than normal, the rings widen.
When volcanic eruptions cause global cooling, frost rings make the anomaly2 visible. . . .

6 As the millennia go by, bristlecones become contorted and wraithlike.3 The main stem, or leader,
dies back. Entire branches, even the trunk itself, become fossils. At first glance, the tree may look
dead. Such is the case of the forty-five-hundred-year-old tree that clings to life near the tourist
path that now runs through the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Spears of dead wood jut into the
air. The trunk is a marbled hulk stripped of bark, like driftwood thrown from a vanished ocean. A
ribbon of live bark runs up one side, funneling water and nutrients to clumps of green needles
high above. All told, the tree is an unprepossessing specimen; most people march past it without
giving it a second glance. . . .

7 . . . No two super-elderly trees look alike, to the point where they have acquired the
characteristics of individuals. Trees are prone to anthropomorphism; we project our dreams and
our anxieties onto them. Bristlecones have been called elders, sentinels, sages. The possibility
that climate change will cause their extinction has inspired a spate4 of alarmed news stories,
although tree scientists tend to discount the idea that the bristlecones are in immediate danger.
They have survived any number of catastrophes in the past; they may survive humanity.

From “The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees” by Alex Ross from THE NEW YORKER,
January 20, 2020. Copyright © 2020 by Condé Nast. All rights reserved.

2 anomaly: oddity
3 wraithlike: ghostly
4 spate: sudden abundance

37. What is the effect of comparing groups of bristlecone pines to “a city within a cemetery”
(paragraph 2)?

A. It illustrates that the new tree’s appearance is markedly different from that of mature
bristlecone pines.
B. It emphasizes the new tree’s ability to use resources left by prior generations of
bristlecone pines.
C. It highlights the tree’s capacity for a long life if it is able to survive to maturity.
D. It reveals that the tree’s dense growth patterns are unusual in arid conditions.

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38. In paragraph 4, the idea that the bristlecone pine can withstand difficult conditions is illustrated
mainly through

E. a comparison of the bristlecone pine with similar trees that are known for their long lives.
F. a description of specific qualities of the bristlecone pine that make it suited to its
environment.
G. an explanation of why the White Mountains are the best place for the bristlecone
pine to grow.
H. an examination of why the bristlecone pine has few competitors in the White Mountains.

39. Read this sentence from paragraph 5.

Empires rose and fell; wars raged; . . . and the tree from 2500 B.C. continued its
implacable slow-motion existence, adding about two-hundredths of an inch to the
diameter of its trunk each year.

The sentence contributes to the development of ideas in the excerpt by

A. emphasizing the bristlecone pine’s precise growth pattern.

B. suggesting that things that seem well established face threats.
C. describing the pace of the life cycle of the bristlecone pine.
D. explaining the reason for the bristlecone pine’s longevity.

40. The phrases “clings to life” and “stripped of bark” in paragraph 6 are used to highlight

E. that the tree is fragile and needs help to avoid becoming extinct.
F. how the tree can be misunderstood because of its appearance.
G. how the tree interests observers with its unusual appearance.
H. that the tree manages to survive even when partially fossilized.

41. The details in paragraph 7 convey a central idea of the excerpt by suggesting that

A. the success of the bristlecone pine lies in its ability to resist climate change.
B. the uncommon appearance of the bristlecone pine is related to its ability to survive.
C. the attachment that humans have to the bristlecone pine is understandable.
D. the longevity of the bristlecone pine continues to encourage experts.

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42. Throughout the excerpt, the author conveys his point of view mainly by

E. sharing details about the qualities of the bristlecone pine that make it an unusual tree.
F. comparing the bristlecone pine to global empires that lasted thousands of years
before falling.
G. explaining the way the seemingly sickly appearance of the bristlecone pine contrasts with its
ability to survive.
H. arguing that the bristlecone pine has survived past threats to its survival and will continue
to thrive.

43. What is the best summary of the bristlecone pine’s life cycle?

A. The bristlecone pine takes root as a stubby seedling in the mountains. Over time, it grows
slowly in a hostile environment with alkaline soil that ensures little competition from
other trees.
B. The bristlecone pine grows up slowly from the fragments of its dead ancestors. Over time, it
begins to become contorted in appearance but continues to funnel water and nutrients
to its stem.
C. The bristlecone pine grows slowly in an environment hostile to other trees. Over time, its
trunk and some branches fossilize, but it funnels water and nutrients to other parts that are
still alive.
D. The bristlecone pine grows only in one location in the mountains. Over time, it develops
sparse foliage that fossilizes slowly, but the trunk and branches stay alive as revealed by
ribbons of live bark.

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 Bird Talk
by Carl Sandburg

And now when the branches were beginning to be heavy,

It was the time when they once had said, “This is the
beginning of summer.”
The shrilling of the frogs was not so shrill as in the
5 first weeks after the broken winter;
The birds took their hops and zigzags a little more
anxious; a home is a home; worms are worms.
The yellow spreads of the dandelions and buttercups
reached across the green pastures.
10 Tee whee and tee whee came on the breezes, and the grackles
chuzzled their syllables.
And it was the leaves with a strong soft wind over them
that talked most of all and said more than any others
though speaking the fewest words.
15 It was the green leaves trickling out the gaunt nowhere
of winter, out on the gray hungry branches—
It was the leaves on the branches, beginning to be heavy,
who said as they said one time before, “This is the be-
ginning of summer.”

20 We shall never blame the birds who come

where the river and the road make the Grand Crossing
and talk there, sitting in circles talking bird talk.
If they ask in their circles as to who is here
and as to who is not here and who used to be here,
25 Or if instead of counting up last year as against
this year, they count up this year as against next
year, and have their bird chatter about who is here
this year who won’t be here next year,
We shall never blame the birds.

30 If I have put your face among leaf faces, child,

Or if I have put your voice among bird voices,
Blame me no more than the bluejays.

“Bird Talk” from THE COMPLETE POEMS OF CARL SANDBURG, published by Harcourt Brace & Company.
Copyright © 1970, 1969 by Lilian Steichen Sandburg, Trustee.

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44. Read lines 6–7 from the poem.

The birds took their hops and zigzags a little more

anxious; a home is a home; worms are worms.

What idea from the second stanza do the lines help develop?

E. The birds are eager for the return of warmer months.

F. The birds are most likely to thrive during the spring.
G. The birds naturally adjust to the seasonal changes.
H. The birds instinctively prepare for the future.

45. Read lines 12–14 from the poem.

And it was the leaves with a strong soft wind over them
that talked most of all and said more than any others
though speaking the fewest words.

What does the phrase “talked most of all” in line 13 convey?

A. It establishes that the speaker thinks the sound of wind in the leaves is the best indication
that the season is changing.
B. It introduces the idea that the sound of the wind in the leaves remains constant throughout
the seasons.
C. It suggests that the speaker is overwhelmed by the sounds of nature that emerge as the
season changes.
D. It emphasizes that the sounds of nature enable the speaker to appreciate each season
of the year.

46. How does the repetition of “ ‘This is the beginning of summer’ ” in lines 2–3 and lines 18–19
contribute to the meaning of the poem?

E. It suggests that the shift to summer occurs in the same way each year.
F. It emphasizes the idea that living things are prepared for the change of season.
G. It highlights the idea that the first signs of summer are surprising each year.
H. It builds expectations about what the natural world looks like during a change of season.

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47. Which lines from the poem best contrast with the idea of winter’s scarcity and bleakness?

A. “The shrilling of the frogs was not so shrill as in the / first weeks after the broken winter;”
(lines 4–5)
B. “The yellow spreads of the dandelions and buttercups / reached across the green pastures.”
(lines 8–9)
C. “Tee whee and tee whee came on the breezes, and the grackles / chuzzled their syllables.”
(lines 10–11)
D. “Or if instead of counting up last year as against / this year, they count up this year as
against next” (lines 25–26)

48. How do lines 23–28 contribute to a central idea of the poem?

E. They suggest that the speaker is aware of what has been lost in the winter.
F. They imply that the birds sing the most in the summer.
G. They reveal that the birds are subject to the cycles of nature.
H. They emphasize that the speaker enjoys observing nature.

49. Throughout the poem, the poet conveys the speaker’s point of view by

A. gradually moving the speaker’s attention from one element of nature to another.
B. providing the speaker’s motivation for describing the landscape in great detail.
C. highlighting the speaker’s emotional response as each season passes.
D. shifting the speaker’s focus from external observations to personal reflection.

50. Over the course of the poem, a central idea is developed mainly through the speaker’s

E. sense of eager anticipation as winter ends.

F. description of the changes in nature as the seasons transition.
G. observation of the birds’ behavior as summer begins.
H. prediction of future alterations in the physical landscape.

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 The author of this opinion article attended a symposium, or conference, in Missoula, Montana, at
which biologists and other scientists discussed species of plants and animals that are not native
to the areas in which they live.

Excerpt from “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native

Species Are Evil”
by Emma Marris

1 Invasive species are scary. It was ecologist Charles Elton, back in the 1950s, who introduced the
militaristic “invasion” metaphor to describe exotic plants and animals—but there’s no question
some can be extremely destructive.

2 The brown tree snake has eaten a dozen kinds of forest birds in Guam to extinction; zebra
mussels clog pipes around the Great Lakes; the common house cat turns out to be, in Australia, a
mercilessly effective killer of cute, fluffy marsupials like the bilby and the numbat.

3 As scientists have sounded the alarm about these pests, the public has gotten the message.
Citizen groups rip out non-native plants. Native gardens have become increasingly popular, both
as ways to celebrate the unique flora of each region and as tiny hot spots of diversity. Native
trees provide food for native bugs, which feed native birds. Food chains developed over thousands
of years of co-evolution unfold in our backyards. . . .

4 So we’ve learned, scientists and laypeople alike, that native species are good and non-
natives are bad.

5 Julian Olden, a biologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, who co-organized the
symposium, recently polled nearly 2,000 ecologists. Among his findings: a substantial number of
them said they would immediately eradicate a hypothetical non-native forest plant, even if it
were shown to have no effect on the forest. Olden calls this the “guilty even when proven
innocent” approach.

6 That kind of approach is not very useful on a rapidly changing planet.

Exotics Are Everywhere
7 Climate change is making it harder even to decide who the invaders are.

8 How, scientists at the symposium wondered, do you define “native” on a warming planet, when
plants and animals are already moving toward the poles or up mountainsides in search of climate
conditions they can tolerate? Should we consider them “invasive” in their new homes? Regardless
of what we label them, conservationists will be reluctant to remove them from their new
environs—to do so would stymie1 their chances of adapting to the warmer future we’re creating.

9 And then there are the non-natives that we actually like. Most domestic crops are exotic in most
of the places they’re grown, but there are even wild exotics that “do good,” forming useful
relationships with native species.

1 stymie: hinder or interfere with

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10 Edwin Grosholz of the University of California, Davis, told the recent symposium about one such
relationship. On beaches in his state, non-native spartina grass has become important habitat for
the endangered California clapper rail, a plump shorebird with a downward curving bill more at
home on land than in the air. A project to rip out and poison the spartina—which grows in dense
swaths that exclude many other shorebirds—saw clapper rail numbers go tumbling downward.

11 There are other examples like that. The endangered southwestern willow flycatcher nests in
“invasive” tamarisk shrubs. Many native (and beautiful) Hawaiian flowers are now pollinated by
the Japanese white-eye bird—because the native pollinators have been driven extinct by other
non-native species.

12 Should we impose further risk on already endangered natives by severing these relationships? Or
should we admire the resilience of nature and let such “well-behaved” exotics stay? . . .

13 Leave them alone, more and more conservationists are arguing, and stop focusing obsessively on
categorizing species as native or non-native. Mark Davis, an ecologist at Macalester College in
St. Paul, Minnesota, once considered himself an “invasion biologist”—but not anymore. “I am
actively trying to get the field to retire the invader narrative,” he said in Missoula.
A Good Thing, Not the Only Thing
14 After all, nativeness is just one environmental value, and arguably not as important as preventing
extinctions and preserving biodiversity. In some cases we can best serve biodiversity by leaving
the non-natives alone or even—brace yourself, now—introducing them on purpose.

15 This is the thinking behind, for example, installing the Aldabra tortoise on the islands of Mauritius.
The islands lost their own large tortoises, and the fruiting plants that formerly had their seeds
moved around by these fruit-loving reptiles have been on the decline. A tortoise that’s related to
the island’s large tortoises—a non-native from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean that was
intentionally introduced in 2004—is now handling some of that work.

16 Most of the time, for the time being, conserving species still means focusing on supporting them
in their historical habitats, planting natives and removing non-natives. We can and should do that
in places where it is feasible and important to us.

From “It’s Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil” by Emma Marris from NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, July 24, 2014. Copyright © 2014 by National Geographic Society.

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51. Which sentence from the excerpt supports the conclusion that Elton’s “militaristic ‘invasion’
metaphor” (paragraph 1) has influenced scientific understanding of non-native species?

A. “Among [Olden’s] findings: a substantial number of them said they would immediately
eradicate a hypothetical non-native forest plant, even if it were shown to have no effect on
the forest.” (paragraph 5)
B. “Regardless of what we label them, conservationists will be reluctant to remove them from
their new environs—to do so would stymie their chances of adapting to the warmer future
we’re creating.” (paragraph 8)
C. “A project to rip out and poison the spartina—which grows in dense swaths that exclude
many other shorebirds—saw clapper rail numbers go tumbling downward.” (paragraph 10)
D. “In some cases we can best serve biodiversity by leaving the non-natives alone or even—
brace yourself, now—introducing them on purpose.” (paragraph 14)

52. Climate change has affected efforts to manage invasive species mainly by causing ecologists to

E. call upon the public to be more tolerant of the presence of non-native species.
F. admit that past attempts to eliminate non-native species have damaged the environment.
G. find ways of ensuring that native species are not harmed by the arrival of new species.
H. acknowledge that it is not realistic for some species to remain in their native habitats.

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53. Which detail provides the most relevant support for the claim that “climate change is making it
harder even to decide who the invaders are” (paragraph 7)?

A. the mention in paragraph 8 of non-native species that are forced to seek new habitats
B. the acknowledgment in paragraph 9 that non-native species include many domestic crops
C. the description in paragraph 11 of the interactions between native and non-native species
D. the account in paragraph 13 of an ecologist who changed his beliefs about non-
native species

54. The author’s use of cause and effect in paragraphs 10–11 mainly emphasizes the idea that

E. some non-native species have helped their environments while others have had
harmful impacts.
F. attempts to remove non-native species have seldom produced desired results.
G. some endangered native species have flourished because of the presence of non-
native species.
H. interactions between endangered native species and non-native species must be carefully
monitored.

55. Which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that some species are able to adjust
to change?

A. “Native gardens have become increasingly popular, both as ways to celebrate the unique
flora of each region and as tiny hot spots of diversity.” (paragraph 3)
B. “Many native (and beautiful) Hawaiian flowers are now pollinated by the Japanese white-eye
bird—because the native pollinators have been driven extinct by other non-native species.”
(paragraph 11)
C. “After all, nativeness is just one environmental value, and arguably not as important as
preventing extinctions and preserving biodiversity.” (paragraph 14)
D. “The islands lost their own large tortoises, and the fruiting plants that formerly had their
seeds moved around by these fruit-loving reptiles have been on the decline.” (paragraph 15)

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56. The details in the section “A Good Thing, Not the Only Thing” convey a central idea of the
excerpt by suggesting that

E. some non-native species can replace native species that are unable to survive on their own.
F. decisions about whether to keep non-native species should be considered on an
individual basis.
G. the scientists who study rapidly changing ecosystems agree that non-native species
enhance biodiversity.
H. a natural habitat that is healthy should be able to support a blend of native and non-
native species.

57. How does the chart provide additional support for a central idea of the excerpt?

A. by implying that the public becomes aware of non-native species only after removal is
impossible
B. by showing that the complete removal of non-native species is usually not achievable after a
certain period of time
C. by demonstrating why non-native species can be destructive if they are not removed from
an area immediately
D. by explaining how some conservation groups have approached the removal of non-
native species

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 PART 2 — MATHEMATICS
57 QUESTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTES
(1) Formulas and definitions of mathematical terms and symbols are not provided.
(2) Diagrams other than graphs are not necessarily drawn to scale. Do not assume any relationship
in a diagram unless it is specifically stated or can be determined from the information given.
(3) Assume that a diagram is in one plane unless the question specifically states that it is not.
(4) Graphs are drawn to scale. Unless stated otherwise, you can assume relationships according
to appearance. For example, lines on a graph that appear to be parallel can be assumed to be
parallel. This is also true for concurrent lines, straight lines, collinear points, right angles, etc.
(5) Reduce (simplify) all fractions to lowest terms.

GRID-IN QUESTION NOTES

(1) For each grid-in question, write your answer at the top of the grid.
(2) Begin recording your answer in the columns on the far left.
(3) Fill in the circle under the box that matches the number or symbol you wrote. Leave the negative
sign bubble blank if your answer is positive.

(Answer: –1.5) (Answer: 3.2)

Negative Decimal Negative Decimal

sign point sign point

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 GRID-IN QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 58–62
DIRECTIONS: Solve each problem. On the answer sheet, write your answer in the boxes at the top
of the grid. Start on the left side of each grid. Print only one number or symbol in each box. Under
each box, fill in the circle that matches the number or symbol you wrote above.
• Do not fill in a circle under an unused box.
• Do not leave a box blank in the middle of an answer.

59. A homeowner has a budget of $135 for

58. The figure below shows a circle with a hole
the installation of a light fixture. An
in the middle. The outer diameter of the
electrician charges $60 per hour plus a
1 inches. The diameter of the
circle is 1 _ one-time trip charge of $45. What is the
4
1
_ greatest amount of time, in hours, the
hole is inch.
4 electrician can work on the installation
while staying within the homeowner’s
budget? Write your answer as a decimal.

1
in.
4

60. The list shows the daily low temperatures

in a city during six days in the winter.

7° F, 4° F, 1° F, −2° F, −5° F, 3° F

What is the difference between the lowest

1 1 in.
4
and highest temperatures, in degrees
Fahrenheit, for the six days?
What is the area of the shaded region, to
the nearest hundredth of a square inch?

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61. A grocery store sells 1-gallon containers of 62.
milk for $3.99. The store also sells orange
MONTHLY HIGH TEMPERATURES
juice in a 6-pack of 5.5-fluid-ounce bottles IN NEW YORK
for $1.79. Suppose the store wants to sell
its orange juice in gallon containers
instead. To the nearest dollar, how much
36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88
more would a gallon of orange juice cost
Temperature (°F)
than a gallon of milk?

The box plot shows the average monthly

high temperatures in New York City for
12 months. What is the difference
between the range and the interquartile
range of the temperature data?

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 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 63–114
DIRECTIONS: Solve each problem. Select the answer from the choices given. Mark the letter of
your answer on the answer sheet. When you are solving problems, you can write in the test booklet
or on the scrap paper given to you.

63. What is the prime factorization of 756? 65. If (8 ÷ m) + 4 = 20, what is the

value of m?
A. 2 2 • 32 • 21

B. 2 2 • 3 • 7 • 9 1
A. _
3
C. 2 2 • 7 • 27
1
B. _
D. 2 2 • 33 • 7 2

C. 2

D. 3

2 6
x y
_
64.
x y2

What is the value of the expression above

if x = −2 and y = 2? 66. 6x = x − 1,680

E. −64
What is the value of x in the equation
F. −32 shown above?

G. 16
E. 336
H. 32
F. 240

G. −240

H. −336

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67. A person buys a used car with a down 69. A bus begins its trip with R occupants
payment of $1,200 and makes monthly (including the driver). At each of the 20
payments of $275 for 3 years. What is the stops, 3 people get on and no one leaves.
total amount the person pays for the car? If there are 3 times as many bus
occupants at the end of the 20th stop as
A. $2,025
there are at the end of the 4th stop, how
B. $9,900
C. $11,100 many occupants did the bus have
D. $13,500 immediately after the 10th stop?

A. 12
B. 24
C. 30
D. 42

68.

3x°

70. Jay sold n tickets. Pilar sold three times as

2x°
many tickets as Jay did. Together, Jay and
Pilar sold ten more tickets than Amie sold.
In the parallelogram above, what is the Which expression shows how many tickets
value of x? Amie sold?

E. 36
E. 10 − 4n
F. 18
G. 6 F. 3 n 2 + 10
H. 5
G. 4n + 10

H. 4n − 10

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71. −12 > 6x 73.

6 in.
For what values of x is the above
inequality true? 2 in.

5 in.
A. x > −6 3 in.

B. x < −6

C. x < −2

D. x > −2 1 in. = 25 ft
Scale: _
2

A scale drawing of a new pool is shown

above. All the corners are right angles.
What is the perimeter of the actual pool?

72. If 5(x − 6y) = 50y, what is the value of A. 550 ft

B. 800 ft
x in terms of y?
C. 1,100 ft
D. 1,500 ft
E. 16y

F. 15y

2y
G. 11 _
5
74. Maria rides her bicycle to school at a
constant speed of 15 miles per hour. If the
H. 11y
distance to school is 6 miles, how many
minutes will it take Maria to get
to school?

E. 10
F. 15
G. 24
H. 30

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75. 77. Allison has 5 stamp albums with 576
stamps in each album. If she transfers her
stamp collection to 6 albums, each holding
73°
r° 378 stamps, how many stamps will be
m
left over?
n p
A. 198
B. 612
In the figure above, n ∥ p. Straight line m C. 620
intersects both line n and line p. What is D. 632

the value of r?

A. 17
B. 117
C. 163
D. 173
78. Start with the number 135.28 and
perform the following steps in order:

• Step 1: Multiply by 10.

• Step 2: Add 0.5 to the result of Step 1.

76. • Step 3: Drop the digits after the

decimal point.
Q R
• Step 4: Divide by 10.

18 cm
22 cm
What is the result?

P E. 13.5
T S
34 cm
F. 135
G. 135.2
On parallelogram PQRS above, the length H. 135.3

of ‾
QT is 18 centimeters. What is the area

of the parallelogram?

E. 112 sq cm
F. 396 sq cm
G. 612 sq cm
H. 748 sq cm

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79. If x = −2, what is the value of 82.

|x + x 2 + x 3| − |x + 2x + 3x|?
M R S N
A. −18 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

B. −6
What is the distance between the
C. −2
MN and ‾
midpoints of ‾ RS?
D. 2
1 unit
E. _
2

F. 1 unit

1 units
G. 1 _
2
3 + (−3)
_
80. =
3 − (−3) H. 2 units

E. −1

F. 0

1 83.
G. _
6
I. s − t
H. 1 II. s t 2
III. s t

If s is a positive integer and t is a negative

integer, which of the above expressions
must be a positive number?

81. 12.96 ÷ 0.08 = A. II only

B. I and II only

A. 1.62 C. II and III only

B. 16.2 D. I, II, and III

C. 162
D. 1,620

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 ( ) ( 5)
3
−_ 2 ?
−_ 85. The table shows the income and expenses
84. What is the value of
4 in a bicycle shop on one day.

7
E. − _
BICYCLE SHOP TRANSACTIONS
20
Description Income Expense
3
F. − _
10 Paid employees $120 × 4

3
G. _ Sold 2 bicycles $400 × 2
10
Sold clothing $95
7
H. _
20
Bought new door $500

Sold bike parts p

The sum of all transactions was $70. What

is the value of p?

A. −$275

B. −$85

C. $70

D. $155

86. Dakota has four yardsticks and two

12-inch rulers. If she lays all four of the
yardsticks and both rulers end-to-end,
what is the maximum number of feet she
can measure accurately at once?

E. 12 ft
F. 14 ft
G. 16 ft
H. 18 ft

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87. In a fruit basket, the ratio of apples to 3 foot of curtain width, _
5 yard of
89. For each _
oranges is the same as the ratio of 8 6
fabric is needed to make ruffles. How
cherries to walnuts. If there are 6
oranges, 16 cherries, and 48 walnuts, how many yards of fabric are needed per foot
many apples are there?
of curtain width?
A. 2
B. 3 5 yd
A. _
C. 18 16

D. 38 29 yd
B. _
24

20 yd
C. _
9

7 yd
D. _
2
88. In a showing of an artist’s works, the ratio
of the number of paintings, drawings, and
photographs shown is 3:5:4, respectively.
If the number of drawings shown was 45,
what is the total number of photographs
and paintings that were shown?

E. 36
F. 63
G. 84
H. 108

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90. 91.

ICE COSTS
y
10
3.0

M 2.7
8 2.4

Cost (dollars)
2.1
P
6 1.8
1.5
1.2
4
0.9
V Q 0.6
2 0.3
R
x
T S O 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
2 4 6 8 10 Weight of Ice (lb)

Which straight line is the graph of a Some friends are buying bags of ice for a
proportional relationship? picnic. The graph shows the cost of the
ice, in dollars, in relation to the weight, in
⟷
E. MS pounds. Which statement about a point on
⟷ the graph is true?
F. VP
⟷ A. The point (20, 3) means that 3 lb of
G. VQ ice costs $20.00.
⟷ B. The point (1, 0.15) means that 1 bag
H. TR
of ice costs $0.15.
C. The point (10, 1.5) means that 10 lb
of ice costs $1.50.
D. The point (0, 0) means that 0 lb of ice
will be needed if 0 people go to
the picnic.

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92. 93. When the three-digit whole number 27 ?
is divided by 3 or by 4, the remainder is
INFORMATION ENTERED
y zero. What is the missing digit?

A. 0
12,000
B. 2
11,000 C. 3
10,000 D. 6
9,000
8,000
Keystrokes

7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000 94.
3,000
FOOD CONSUMPTION OF THE
2,000
AVERAGE AMERICAN PER YEAR
1,000
x Fruits and Cereals 10%
O 0.5 1 1.5 2 Meat and
vegetables 38% fish 10%
Time (hr)
Sugar 8%

Fats and
A clerk enters information on a computer. oils 4%
The graph shows the relationship between

time, in hours, and the number of

Milk and
keystrokes the clerk makes. What is the eggs x%
meaning of the point (1.5, 10500) on
Total consumption = 1,840 pounds
the graph? per person
E. The clerk makes 10,500 keystrokes in
each 1 hr of entering information. Based on the circle graph, how many
F. The clerk makes 10,500 keystrokes in pounds of milk and eggs does the average
each 1.5 hr of entering information.
American consume each year?
G. The clerk makes 15,750 keystrokes in
each 1 hr of entering information.
E. 300
H. The clerk makes 15,750 keystrokes in
F. 368
each 1.5 hr of entering information.
G. 460
H. 552

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95. Out of 2,000 high school seniors, 191 97. A bag contains 40 tiles that are either red,
were enrolled in the Honor Society. What green, or blue. A tile is selected at
percentage of the entire group of 2,000 random, the color is recorded, and the tile
seniors were in the Honor Society? is put back in the bag. This process is
carried out 120 times, and 18 of those
A. 0.955%
times a red tile is selected. Based on the
B. 1.91%
C. 9.55% information, what is the most likely
D. 19.1% number of red tiles in the bag?

A. 6
B. 15
C. 18
D. 30

96.

NUMBER OF VISITORS TO
BROOKSIDE ZOO

Male Female
98.
Children 360 340
LAST YEAR’S TOTAL ATTENDANCE
Adults 210 290
Attendees Number
Children 1,750
The table above shows the number of Adults 2,250
people who visited Brookside Zoo in one Seniors 1,000
Total 5,000
day. The largest of the four groups made
up what percentage of all visitors
If 100 individuals will attend the museum
on that day?
next week, what is the best estimate
E. 30% (based on last year’s attendance) of the
F. 28%
number of children who will be in
G. 24%
that group?
H. 17%
E. 30
F. 34
G. 35
H. 50

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99. A teacher will randomly select 3 students 100. A bag contains 15 marbles: 11 blue
to be on a school committee. He will marbles and 4 red marbles. Sarah picks
choose either a student from Classroom A one marble randomly, returns it to the
or a student from Classroom B with each bag, and then randomly picks one marble
selection. This tree diagram shows the again. What is the probability that she
selection possibilities. picks a red marble both times?

A
A 16
B E. _
A 225
A
B
B 16
F. _
A 121
A
B
B 8
A G. _
B 15
B
121
H. _
What is the probability that the teacher 225
will select 2 students from Classroom A
and 1 student from Classroom B (in any
order) for the committee?

1
A. _
8

3
B. _
8

1
C. _
2

3
D. _
4

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101. 102. A deck of 52 playing cards contains 13
hearts. Sara has 12 cards from this deck
Report Subject Topic Choices in her hand, 3 of which are hearts. The
#1 Geography Kenya, Thailand, other cards remain in the deck. What is
Chile, Greece, the probability that a card drawn at
New Zealand
random from the remainder of the deck
#2 English R. Frost,
will be a heart?
L. Hughes,
N. Giovanni
#3 Science 1997 Mars mission 1
E. _
10
#4 Math π, regular
polyhedrons 1
F. _
4

Anita is assigned to report on 1 topic in 3

G. _
13
each of the 4 subjects shown in the table
above. How many different sets of 4 1
H. _
reports are possible, according to the 3

choices available to her?

A. 10
B. 24
C. 30
D. 44

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103. The table shows the probability of 104. This formula can be used to determine p,
randomly picking each flavor of candy the number of pages that will be in a book
from a bowl. that contains w words, with an average of
r words per page, and f extra pages in the
PICKING CANDY FROM
A BOWL front for the title and publishing
information.
Flavor Probability

Butterscotch 0.57 1w + f
p = _
r
Lemon 0.095

Maple 0.125 If the formula is solved for w, it can be

Strawberry 0.21 used to find the number of words in a
book with p pages. What will the formula
Which flavor is most likely to be be if it is solved for w?
randomly picked?

A. butterscotch E. w = r(p − f)
B. lemon
C. maple 1p + f
F. w = _
r
D. strawberry

G. w = f + rp

H. w = r + p + f

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105. A shipment contains 170 small boxes of 106. In basketball, a player can earn 1 point for
medical supplies. In a random sample of making a free throw and 2 points for
20 of these boxes, 8 have damage and the making another basket. Marcus makes a
others are undamaged. Based on this mean of 8 free throws per game, and he
sample, what is the best prediction of the scores a total of at least 25 points per
number of undamaged boxes in the game. The inequality below shows this
shipment, not including the boxes in the relationship, where b represents the
random sample? number of 2-point baskets Marcus makes.

A. 60 2b + 8 ≥ 25
B. 68
C. 90
D. 102 What is the number of 2-point baskets
Marcus needs to make if he wants to score
at least his minimum total points for a
game and make his mean number of
free throws?

E. b ≤ 8

F. b ≥ 9

G. b ≥ 16

H. b ≤ 25

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107. Nadia paid $1.00 to mail a letter. The cost 109. A softball player bought bottles of water
to mail a letter is $0.55 for the first ounce for her team to have at practice. The total
of weight plus $0.15 for each additional number of bottles she bought, b, is
ounce. What was the weight, in ounces, of proportional to n, the number of players
the letter Nadia mailed? at practice. Which equation represents the
relationship between b and n? The
A. 1.4
constant of proportionality is p.
B. 1.5
C. 3
A. b = pn
D. 4

B. b = p + n

C. b + n = p

D. b + n + p = 1

108.

COST OF ORANGES

Number of Oranges Cost

4 $1.80
110. Malik earns $10 per hour at his job. He
6 $2.70 wants to change to a job that will pay $12
9 $4.05 per hour. What will be the percent
increase in Malik’s hourly pay if he makes
The table shows the cost of oranges. What this job change?
is the unit rate for the cost per orange?
E. 2%
E. $0.45 F. 20%
F. $0.90 G. 83%
G. $1.35 H. 120%
H. $1.80

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111. A rain gauge shows that 10 centimeters of 112. The height of a plant, in millimeters, is
rain fell yesterday. If 1 inch is equal to proportional to the number of days the
approximately 2.5 centimeters, about how plant has grown. The plant has grown
many inches of rain fell yesterday? 20 millimeters in 8 days. What is the
constant of proportionality, in
A. 1
millimeters per day?
B. 2.5
C. 4 E. 0.4
D. 10 F. 2.5
G. 12
H. 20

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113. Which table shows a proportional 114. Terry wants to pour cement around the
relationship? edge of the circular patio in her backyard.
A. The patio has a radius of 5 feet. What is
x y
the distance, in feet, around the edge of
0 0
the patio? Use 3.14 for π.
3
_
4
2 E. 15.7

8 3 F. 31.4
G. 49.3
B. H. 78.5
x y

0 1

7
_
4
2

8 6

C.
x y

0 −1

1
−_
4
2

8 0

D.
x y

0 0

4 12

8 16

THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST.

IF TIME REMAINS, YOU SHOULD CHECK
YOUR ANSWERS. BE SURE THAT THERE
ARE NO STRAY MARKS, PARTIALLY
FILLED ANSWER CIRCLES, OR
INCOMPLETE ERASURES ON YOUR
ANSWER SHEET. ■

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FORM A SAMPLE TEST – ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS EXPLANATIONS OF
CORRECT ANSWERS

REVISING/EDITING PART A

1. The question asks for the revision that corrects the error in sentence structure in the

paragraph.

A. CORRECT. The first sentence of the paragraph is a run-on because both clauses—“The land
on Earth has not always been separated into the seven continents” and “at one time a
massive supercontinent, known as Pangaea, covered one-third of Earth’s surface”—are
independent clauses. Independent clauses are complete sentences, and two complete
sentences should not be combined with just a comma. The revision is correct because it
separates the two sentences by placing a period where it is needed after “continents” and
by capitalizing the word “At.”
B. Incorrect. While adding a semicolon after “surface” can be considered a correct way to
separate the independent clauses “at one time a massive supercontinent, known as
Pangaea, covered one-third of Earth’s surface” and “Additionally, the supercontinent was
surrounded by ocean waters called Panthalassa, much of which were in Earth’s Southern
Hemisphere,” this change does not address the sentence structure error in the paragraph
(the run-on sentence). The use of a period separating the independent clauses (complete
sentences) is correct as is.
C. Incorrect. Adding a period after “Panthalassa” would separate the dependent clause “much
of which were in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere” from its subject: “ocean waters called
Panthalassa.” The dependent clause cannot stand on its own, because it shares elements
with the main clause. A dependent clause is not a complete sentence and must be joined
with an independent clause. The clause beginning with “much of which” is an adjective for
“ocean waters.” Changing the comma to a period creates a new error (a sentence fragment)
and does not address the existing sentence structure error at the beginning of the
paragraph (the run-on sentence).
D. Incorrect. Removing the period after “crust” would create a run-on sentence because the
period is needed to separate two complete sentences—“Geologists believe that the
supercontinent split apart over millions of years because of the movement of the tectonic
plates that form Earth’s crust” and “In fact, experts predict that over the next 250 million
years the movement of the plates will cause the seven continents to merge into a
supercontinent again.” A comma after “crust” would combine these sentences into a run-on,
creating a new error in the sentence without fixing the existing sentence structure error (the
run-on sentence) at the beginning of the paragraph.

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2. The question asks for the revision of the sentence that uses the most precise language.

E. Incorrect. The word “extremely” does not specify the precise length of the trail
(2,200 miles); “millions” is less precise than the specific number of people who hike the trail
each year (two million); and the verb “do” imprecisely describes the purpose of visiting the
trail (hiking).
F. Incorrect. While the revision specifies the precise length of the trail and the verb “hike”
precisely describes the purpose of visiting the trail, “more than a million” is less precise
than the specific number of people who hike the trail each year (two million).
G. CORRECT. The length of the trail (2,200 miles), the specific number of people who hike the
trail each year (two million), and the action of the visitors (hiking) are clear and precise in
this revision of the sentence.
H. Incorrect. The word “lengthy” is less precise than specifying the actual length of the trail
(2,200 miles); “a couple million” is less precise than the specific number of people who hike
the trail each year (two million); and the verb “do” imprecisely describes the purpose of
visiting the trail (hiking).

3. The question asks for the best way to combine the sentences.

A. Incorrect. Although the option combines the sentences in a way that accurately reflects the
meaning of each individual sentence, the combined sentence is a string of clauses that do
not effectively cohere. Because it is poorly structured, the combined sentence does not
clarify the relationship of ideas as effectively as the correct response does. The sentence
incorrectly uses “but tourists,” and “which cost” modifies “the space station” but does not
modify the trip. Compared with the correct response, the combined sentence in this option
is also imprecise and unnecessarily wordy.
B. CORRECT. The option uses a complex sentence to present ideas clearly and precisely, and it
shows the relationship between the ideas in the original sentences. In the first part of the
sentence, the conjunction “and” correctly joins the first and second sentences by indicating
a relationship, rather than a contrast, between the two. In the second part of the sentence,
the conjunction “but” adds additional emphasis to the fact that while tourists will be allowed
to visit the space station, the cost of the trip will likely prohibit most people from visiting.
C. Incorrect. Although the option combines the sentences in a way that accurately reflects the
meaning of each individual sentence, the combined sentence is a string of clauses that do
not effectively cohere. Because it is so poorly structured, the combined sentence does not
clarify the relationship of ideas as effectively as the correct response does. Compared with
the correct response, the combined sentence in this option is also imprecise and
unnecessarily wordy.
D. Incorrect. The combination of the sentences contains an illogical relationship between ideas
with the statement that tourists will be allowed to pay for visits to the space station because
the cost is $52–$58 million round trip. The connection between the idea that “tourists will
soon be allowed to pay for visits” and the subsequent “therefore few people will be able to
take advantage of the opportunity” is also illogical.

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4. The question asks which edit should be made to correct the sentence.

E. CORRECT. The sentence in the box needs a comma to separate the coordinate adjectives.
Coordinate adjectives describe characteristics of the same noun or subject and are
connected with a comma or “and.” This option is the only one that places a comma where it
is needed, between the coordinate adjectives “agile” and “athletic.”
F. Incorrect. The option incorrectly adds a comma in the middle of the phrase “first and only,”
which modifies, or gives additional information about, “professional basketball player.”
G. Incorrect. The option incorrectly adds a comma between two adjectives that are not
coordinate adjectives. “Only” is part of the phrase “first and only” and is modifying
“professional basketball player.”
H. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because a comma is not needed to set off the phrase “to
score 100 points in a single game.”

5. The question asks for the revision that corrects the error in sentence structure in the

paragraph.

A. CORRECT. As written, the first sentence (“In 1967 Katherine Switzer . . . legendary race.”)
is a run-on sentence because a comma is used to combine two independent clauses.
Independent clauses are complete sentences with a subject and a verb. The clauses—“In
1967 Katherine Switzer signed up for the Boston Marathon using her first and middle initials
instead of her full name” and “at that time, only men were permitted to officially register
and receive a number for the legendary race”—should be separated with a period instead.
This revision correctly places a period after the word “name” and capitalizes the word “At”
to separate the two independent clauses into two sentences.
B. Incorrect. The revision introduces an error into the paragraph and does not revise the run-
on in the first sentence. The clause “Once officials realized a woman was attempting to run
in the race” is a dependent clause functioning as an adverb of the independent clause that
follows it. Changing the comma after the word “race” to a period would incorrectly separate
the adverbial dependent clause from the independent clause.
C. Incorrect. The revision introduces an error into the paragraph and does not revise the run-
on in the first sentence. The sentence “Switzer prevailed and finished in just over four
hours, paving the way for the official rule change that allowed for the inclusion of women” is
a complex sentence, which combines an independent clause (“Switzer prevailed and finished
in just over four hours”) and a dependent clause (“paving the way for the official rule
change that allowed for the inclusion of women”). The clause “paving the way for the official
rule change that allowed for the inclusion of women” is not a complete sentence and must
stay connected to the first part of the sentence. Changing the comma after “hours” to a
period would incorrectly separate the dependent clause from the independent clause.
D. Incorrect. The revision introduces an error into the paragraph and does not revise the run-
on in the first sentence. Changing the comma after “261” to a period would incorrectly
separate the modifying clause “the same number she had worn in that first run in 1967”
from the words it describes (“number 261”). Additionally, the clause “the same number she
had worn in that first run in 1967” is not a complete sentence.

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REVISING/EDITING PART B

Cracking the Code

6. The question asks for the best way to combine sentences 3 through 5 to clarify the relationship

between ideas.

E. Incorrect. While this sentence shows a relationship between the ideas, it does not clarify the
relationship accurately. Learning the language of code does not depend on people’s previous
ability to construct programs that will perform detailed and complex tasks. The word
"because" incorrectly indicates that people can already construct complex programs prior to
learning the coding language that would allow them to do so.
F. CORRECT. This sentence accurately shows the relationship between the ideas of the
sentences. Before people can construct programs that will perform detailed and complex
tasks, they have to learn a coding language. Knowing that language will, in turn, allow them
to build programs that can perform detailed and complex tasks.
G. Incorrect. This sentence does not accurately express the relationship between ideas because
the sentence implies that some people who code do not have to learn the language to
perform their job functions. The passage clearly states that “computer code is part of every
electronic interaction” (sentence 1) and that “programmers use it to instruct computers to
perform different tasks” (sentence 2).
H. Incorrect. The conditional (If . . . then) construction of the sentence in Option D does not
convey the intended relationship of the ideas in the sentences. The “then” statement (“they
can construct programs that will perform detailed as well as complex tasks”) does not follow
the condition of the “if” statement (“people who code have to learn this language”).

7. The question asks for the sentence that should follow sentence 5 to best state the main claim

in the passage.

A. CORRECT. This sentence logically follows sentence 5 and introduces the main idea of the
passage: that due to the high demand for coding skills across a wide range of industries and
disciplines, learning basic coding skills can provide a range of opportunities for
personal growth.
B. Incorrect. While this sentence incorporates a point made in the passage about how coding
can benefit many occupational fields (sentence 10), this idea alone does not address the
entire argument in the passage. This sentence does not capture the passage’s emphasis on
the variety of ways people can learn how to code (sentence 14).
C. Incorrect. While this sentence incorporates ideas about opportunities to learn coding skills in
school (fourth paragraph), the larger claim presented in the passage is not about
opportunities schools should offer in order to help students learn to code. The passage
primarily focuses on the opportunities offered to people who take on the challenge of
learning to code.
D. Incorrect. Although the passage discusses the opportunities that are available to some
students to learn coding skills in school (sentences 15–16), this point is a supporting detail
of the passage, not the main claim of the passage.

99
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8. The question asks for the best revision of sentence 10 to provide a transition to the argument

in the third paragraph.

E. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this option because the second paragraph does discuss
the complexities of coding; however, it does not discuss the difficulties of learning coding.
The third paragraph demonstrates some of the complex ways coding is used in specific fields
but does not illustrate how difficult learning coding may be.
F. CORRECT. This sentence provides the best revision of the transition sentence. The second
paragraph ends with “the possibilities for applying them are infinite” (sentence 9), which
supports the idea that people in “many occupational fields” (sentence 10) can benefit from
having coding skills. The third paragraph illustrates this idea by providing specific examples
of occupations that benefit from coding (stock market traders and doctors).
G. Incorrect. While sentence 13 suggests that employers recognize the value of coding skills,
sentences 11 and 12 give examples of different industries that employ people who know
how to code. The transition sentence should introduce the idea that coding skills are
valuable to potential employees.
H. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this option because the second paragraph provides a
brief definition of coding—“A coding language uses letters, numbers, and symbols that are
arranged in a way that makes sense to a computer” (sentence 6)—which shows how this
element of programming works, but the second paragraph does not specifically discuss what
makes the field of computer programming unique. The third paragraph discusses how
coding can be used in a variety of occupational fields (sentence 10).

9. The question asks which sentence would best follow sentence 13 and support the ideas in the

third paragraph.

A. Incorrect. While this sentence provides an example of a high salary, which is mentioned in
the paragraph (sentence 13), the reference to “Experienced programmers, software
engineers, and system administrators at large companies” focuses on specific occupations
that may use coding, as opposed to the range of diverse occupations discussed in the third
paragraph.
B. Incorrect. While sentence 12 does mention coding skills in the medical field as an example,
the information provided in this answer supports only that idea and not the other ideas
expressed in the third paragraph.
C. Incorrect. This sentence generally discusses employers looking for two things: “experience
in a specific industry” and “knowledge of basic coding.” The third paragraph, however,
discusses the possibilities of using coding skills in a variety of occupations. The words
“experience in a specific industry” do not connect to the idea the paragraph develops.
D. CORRECT. This sentence provides specific evidence of the job market favoring potential
employees who have coding ability. It supports what is stated in sentence 13, that “jobs
that require coding skills are typically higher paying.”

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10. The question asks which concluding sentence would best follow sentence 20 and support the

argument presented in the passage.

E. Incorrect. While the passage does state that “jobs that require coding skills are typically
higher paying” (sentence 13), it does not say or imply that coding skills are needed for most
high-paying jobs.
F. CORRECT. The sentence successfully summarizes the main argument of the passage, which
is that coding is involved in all electronic interaction (sentence 1) and is a useful skill to
master, especially in many occupational fields (sentence 10).
G. Incorrect. In the fourth paragraph, the passage does promote students taking advantage of
opportunities to learn coding; however, this information is a supporting detail and would not
serve as a strong conclusion to the argument presented in the passage.
H. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this sentence because the fourth paragraph discusses
how “some students may become interested in learning how to create programs, such as
games and apps” (sentence 18), but this detail is only one part of the overall argument in
the passage.

Martial Arts for the Mind and Body

11. The question asks for the best way to combine sentences 2 and 3.

A. Incorrect. This way of combining sentences 2 and 3 places unnecessary emphasis on

characterizing historians, and it does not clearly show the contrasting relationship between
the idea from sentence 2 that historians do not know the exact origins of martial arts and
the idea in sentence 3 that historians know that martial arts have a long history.
B. CORRECT. This option is correct because the word “while” at the beginning of the sentence
best indicates the contrast between the ideas in sentences 2 and 3. Sentence 2 states that
historians do not know the exact origins of martial arts (“unsure of exactly when and
where”). Sentence 3 describes what historians do know about these origins (“practiced by
several different societies for many centuries”). This combination indicates that historians
have a general understanding about the origins of martial arts even though they cannot
confirm the exact details.
C. Incorrect. Starting this sentence with the word “because” indicates a cause-and-effect
relationship that does not exist between the ideas in the original sentences. The idea from
sentence 3, that historians know that martial arts have been practiced for many years, did
not cause the idea in sentence 2, that historians do not know exact details about the origins
of martial arts.
D. Incorrect. The conjunction (connecting word) “and” does not clearly show how the ideas in
sentences 2 and 3 are related. While “and” can be used to combine related sentences, it
does not demonstrate the contrast between the idea in sentence 2, that historians do not
know the exact origins of martial arts, and the idea in sentence 3, that historians know that
martial arts have a long history.

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12. The question asks where sentence 10 should be moved to improve the organization of the

second paragraph.

E. Incorrect. Starting this paragraph with sentence 10 would weaken the paragraph’s
organization because it would place a supporting detail sentence (sentence 10) before the
topic sentence (sentence 6). Sentence 6 belongs at the beginning of the paragraph because
it introduces the topic—the qualities of discipline, focus, and respect. Sentence 10 supports
the key idea of the paragraph, that these qualities can be developed through the study of
martial arts. If sentence 10 preceded sentence 6, the transitional phrase “for example”
would refer to an unspecified topic and idea.
F. Incorrect. Sentence 6 presents the idea that “discipline, focus, and respect are important
qualities for everyone to have,” but the example in sentence 10 does not directly relate to
this idea. Sentence 10 explains how martial arts develop these qualities, not why they are
important qualities to have. Because sentence 10 is not directly related to the idea in
sentence 6 (the qualities are important), it should not follow sentence 6.
G. Incorrect. Sentences 7 and 8 should not be separated, because the idea presented in
sentence 8—that “the study of martial arts can provide an opportunity to develop these
skills”—is directly related to the idea from sentence 7—that the skills of discipline, focus,
and respect “are not innate; they must be learned and practiced.” Sentence 10 supports the
idea from sentence 8 by describing an example from a typical martial arts class, so
sentence 10 should not precede sentence 8.
H. CORRECT. This option is correct because sentence 10 logically follows and supports the idea
in sentence 8 that “the study of martial arts can provide an opportunity to develop” the
qualities of discipline, focus, and respect. Sentence 10 explains this idea with examples,
describing three specific ways that students in a typical tae kwon do class develop discipline,
focus, and respect—by “diligently practicing,” “listening carefully,” and “bowing to the
instructor and following directions.”

13. The question asks for the revision of sentence 12 that best maintains the formal style

established in the passage.

A. Incorrect. The phrases “A lot,” “put up with,” “difficult things,” and “do well in school” are
worded informally; therefore, this sentence does not consistently maintain the formal style
established in the passage.
B. Incorrect. The phrases “deal with,” “tough situations,” “stay on top of,” and “do well in life”
are worded informally; therefore, this sentence does not consistently maintain the formal
style established in the passage.
C. CORRECT. This option is correct because it uses clear and scholarly wording throughout the
whole sentence. The phrases “many teenagers,” “encounter challenges,” and “succeed both
academically and personally” make the sentence’s style more consistently formal than the
other options.
D. Incorrect. The phrases “A lot,” “face problems,” and “keep up with” are worded informally;
therefore, this sentence does not consistently maintain the formal style established
in the passage.

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14. The question asks for the transitional phrase that should be added to the beginning of

sentence 17.

E. CORRECT. This option is correct because it best shows the chronological progression
between the ideas in sentence 16—progressing through levels of achievement “requires
students to take responsibility and be accountable for achieving set goals”—and the ideas in
sentence 17—“students gain confidence and experience companionship with other students
who are progressing through the ranks.” The transitional phrase “over time” shows the
gradual nature of the relationship between the cause in sentence 16 and the effect in
sentence 17.
F. Incorrect. Though the ideas in sentences 16 and 17 are related, “in fact” does not show the
correct relationship between the ideas. The transitional phrase “in fact” emphasizes an idea
by giving a detail or example of greater intensity, but the ideas in sentence 16—progressing
through levels “requires students to take responsibility and be accountable for achieving set
goals”—and the ideas in sentence 17—“students gain confidence and experience
companionship with other students who are progressing through the ranks”—are related by
cause and effect rather than by (degree of) intensity.
G. Incorrect. The transitional phrase “even so” is used to connect opposing ideas, but the ideas
in sentence 16—progressing through levels “requires students to take responsibility and be
accountable for achieving set goals”—does not contrast with the ideas in
sentence 17—“students gain confidence and experience companionship with other students
who are progressing through the ranks.”
H. Incorrect. Although the transitional phrase “for instance” connects an idea with a related
example, it does not show the cause-and-effect relationship between the ideas in
sentence 16—progressing through levels “requires students to take responsibility and be
accountable for achieving set goals”—and the ideas in sentence 17—“students gain
confidence and experience companionship with other students who are progressing through
the ranks.”

15. The question asks for the sentence that would best follow and support sentence 18.

A. Incorrect. Though the idea of advancing one’s career is certainly appealing for adults, this
benefit is not directly tied to “health and fitness” and, therefore, does not support
sentence 18.
B. Incorrect. While the passage does discuss potential benefits related to discipline, focus, and
confidence (sentences 6 and 11), sentence 18 is solely related to health and fitness benefits
and should not be followed by a description of “other skills.”
C. CORRECT. This option is correct because sentence 18 conveys that the greatest benefit of
practicing martial arts is “health and fitness,” and the sentence illustrates some specific
ways that martial arts training helps improve physical fitness—“strengthen their heart, boost
endurance, improve balance, and develop muscle tone.”
D. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this option because sentence 5, sentence 15, and
sentence 18 discuss the physical aspects of practicing martial arts, but the idea that people
who practice martial arts are concerned about their overall health does not provide further
details about the connection between training and health.

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16. The question asks for the concluding sentence that best replaces sentence 23 and supports the

topic presented in the passage.

E. Incorrect. The phrase “the skills needed to progress in rank” is vague, and progressing in
rank is not related to the overall topic of the passage, which is the benefits of studying
martial arts. The topic of the passage is not the “many ways to begin studying martial arts”
or how “people can easily discover” the benefits of martial arts.
F. CORRECT. This option is correct because it best supports the topic of the passage—the
benefits of studying martial arts—by stating two reasons why people should study martial
arts: to “experience the satisfaction of achieving goals while also improving themselves.”
G. Incorrect. Some readers may choose this option because it refers to the benefits of martial
arts, but the word “because” and the detail that “enrollment in martial arts courses has
increased” make this sentence unrelated to the overall topic of the passage, which is about
the benefits of studying martial arts, not the number of people who participate.
H. Incorrect. Although the benefits of studying martial arts are described for both teens (in the
third paragraph) and adults (in the fourth paragraph), the topic of the passage is the overall
benefits of studying martial arts, which include mental discipline (discussed in the first,
second, and third paragraphs) in addition to health benefits. Furthermore, the passage does
not compare the health effects of studying martial arts across age groups.

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READING COMPREHENSION

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian"

17. The question asks for a sentence from the excerpt that supports the idea that different levels of

education were available to scribes.

A. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 1 provides evidence that Egyptian scribes used two
different forms of writing, but it does not address the topic of education or the different
levels of education that were available to scribes.
B. Incorrect. The advantages and purposes of hieratic script are described in this sentence
from paragraph 2, but this explanation of the advantages and purposes does not suggest
that there were different levels of education for scribes.
C. Incorrect. The fact that scribes could learn their trade through apprenticeships as discussed
in this sentence from paragraph 4 does provide evidence that another method of learning to
be a scribe was possible, but this process was for a limited entry into becoming a scribe, not
the continued education scribes would need in order to work in specific areas.
D. CORRECT. By explaining that certain professions required additional years of training, this
sentence from paragraph 6 supports the idea that different levels of education existed
for scribes.

18. The question asks for an explanation of the author’s purpose for including a sentence in

paragraph 2 that describes the two types of hieroglyphs and the main uses of this particular

writing system.

E. Incorrect. The sentence explains that hieroglyphs were used for formal inscriptions, but it
does not suggest that these inscriptions were limited to royal and religious contexts.
F. Incorrect. The sentence describes the two basic types of hieroglyphs, ideograms and
phonograms, but it does not address how experts interpret the ancient writing system. A
sentence earlier in the paragraph explains that the hieroglyphs were deciphered by
Champollion, but it does not explain how he deciphered them.
G. Incorrect. Although the sentence explains that the hieroglyphs were typically used for
formal inscriptions, it does not provide an explanation of the significance or importance of
hieroglyphs in the Egyptian language.
H. CORRECT. The sentence explains that hieroglyphs included both phonograms and
ideograms that were used in formal inscriptions and funeral papyri; therefore, this sentence
achieves the purpose of describing the basic features of hieroglyphs as conveying either
words and ideas or sounds, in addition to explaining the common uses for the
writing system.

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19. The question asks for the best summary of the process that schools used to train scribes.

A. Incorrect. This summary incorrectly explains that scribes were expected to learn 450
hieratic signs instead of 450 hieroglyphs along with their hieratic versions as explained in
paragraph 6. In paragraph 5, the author explains that scribes copied texts as part of the
process of learning the scripts rather than as practice after the signs had already been
memorized.
B. CORRECT. Paragraph 5 explains that students began by learning hieratic script and studied
for about five or six years by using “exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to
copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting.” The paragraph also explains that during this
time, they learned only the basics of hieroglyphic script.
C. Incorrect. Although paragraph 5 does explain that the scribes spent five or six years
learning hieratic script, it does not suggest that hieroglyphs were learned only during
apprenticeships.
D. Incorrect. This summary correctly explains that scribes learned two types of scripts, but the
second sentence of the summary is incorrect. In paragraph 5, the author explains that the
students copied from exemplar texts, but the author clearly states that the purpose of this
copy work was “to practice their hieratic handwriting” and does not suggest that the copy
work was used to practice hieroglyphs. Paragraph 6 explains that scribes could make lists
and write letters as part of their professional skills but does not suggest that copy work was
used to help them learn these tasks.

20. The question asks for the claim that is best supported by the details in paragraphs 3 and 4.

E. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 does explain that boys from poorer families had more
challenges in receiving an education, the paragraph also provides examples of obtaining a
patron or getting an apprenticeship as ways that these aspiring scribes could attain an
education. Furthermore, the details in paragraph 3 do not provide any support for the claim
that “common citizens” had difficulty getting an education because that paragraph focuses
on the example of one person who was able to become a king as a result of his background
as a scribe.
F. CORRECT. In paragraph 3, the author provides an example of a person who used his skills
as a scribe to rise through the ranks of society by describing the achievements of Horemheb
to support the idea that “no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could
achieve almost anything.” The author continues in paragraph 4 to explain that with the
proper support, some young Egyptians could become educated, thereby opening more
opportunities for themselves.
G. Incorrect. Paragraph 4 explains that schools were supported by the government and
religious institutions, but it also explains that apprenticeships were a method of learning the
craft of the scribe. As the paragraph indicates, boys could also be helped in their education
by support from “a wealthier relative or patron.”
H. Incorrect. In paragraph 4, the author details the kinds of sacrifices that were necessary for
some poorer families to ensure education for their sons. However, as paragraph 3 reveals in
its example of Horemheb, who was born of middle-ranking parents, the sacrifice of time and
money was not required for all families.

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21. The question asks why hieratic script was especially valuable in a bureaucratic government.

A. CORRECT. Hieratic script is described in paragraph 1 as being simpler for the “multitude of
everyday documents” generated by the government and as “quicker to write and more
economical of space” in paragraph 2. The logical conclusion based on these details is that
hieratic script was more efficient for the large amounts of documentation produced by the
government.
B. Incorrect. In paragraph 4, the author explains that “education was not available to all,”
suggesting that only people who were educated could read and write. The excerpt as a
whole does not provide sufficient information to indicate what portion of the general public
would be able to comprehend material written in hieratic script.
C. Incorrect. The idea that becoming a scribe could lead to taking different positions in society
is addressed in paragraphs 3, 4, and 6. However, the use of hieratic script in the fields of
medicine, law, or religion does not necessarily explain the value of the script for the
bureaucratic government referenced in the question.
D. Incorrect. Although different professions such as doctors and lawyers used hieratic script,
the author uses these professions as examples of different job opportunities for scribes in
paragraph 6. There is no discussion in the excerpt about different professions
communicating with each other, and these professions were not necessarily part of the
bureaucratic government.

22. The question asks how the diagram of ancient Egyptian class structure supports the topic of

the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. The focus of the excerpt is the opportunities available to scribes in different
professions and how people became scribes and therefore improved their position. By
illustrating the position of the scribes in the class structure of ancient Egypt, the diagram
supports the idea that scribes were valuable members of society.
F. Incorrect. The professions of the different social classes are shown in the diagram, but it
does not address specific tasks. Furthermore, the main topic of the excerpt is the role of the
scribes in society rather than the tasks performed by the different social classes.
G. Incorrect. While the diagram does show the position of scribes in the social hierarchy, it
does not provide an illustration of movement between the different classes or rankings, so
the diagram does not support the idea that scribes were able to improve their
social standing.
H. Incorrect. The diagram shows the class structure as hierarchical and can support readers’
efforts to compare the different social positions. However, the role of scribes in society,
rather than a general comparison of different classes, is the main focus of the excerpt.

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23. The question asks for a statement with which the author would most strongly agree.

A. Incorrect. The author only addresses boys who entered the profession of scribes. While the
author does address the role of the family in supporting a boy’s education or securing an
apprenticeship, the author does not provide any discussion to support the idea that boys
were only encouraged to follow the professions of their male relatives.
B. Incorrect. The author explains that communication using hieroglyphs was not widely
practiced in everyday correspondence and that hieratic script was the more popular form of
writing. While being able to read and use hieroglyphs would have been helpful, it was not
common for citizens to use this formal form of communication. In addition, scribes were
trained to learn hieroglyphs and hieratic script as part of their education, so prior ability to
read or compose hieroglyphs was not a requirement.
C. CORRECT. As described in paragraph 2, hieratic script was more efficient and economical
than hieroglyphs. Because this script was used for “everyday purposes,” it was the more
practical of the scripts as hieroglyphs were reserved for “formal inscriptions.”
D. Incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author indicates that “any half-competent scribe” could
become employed in making and updating lists. While the paragraph later indicates that
scribes would need to study several more years to be employed in a wider range of
professions, there is no indication that employment as a scribe would be unavailable to a
boy who studied for only a few years.

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!"

24. The question asks how paragraph 1 contributes to the setting of the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. Paragraph 1 describes summer “when salmon spawn,” “huckleberries ripen,”

and The People gather for “their annual camas harvest.” These descriptions show the
abundance of food in the place where the excerpt occurs.
F. Incorrect. Although the setting refers to past events, the narration is not by The People. In
addition, the voice narrating the excerpt is not an element of the setting.
G. Incorrect. Nothing in paragraph 1 suggests that the camp is changing in any way. The
People gather annually in this place. In addition, the language used to describe the setting
does not suggest any problems.
H. Incorrect. The People are not making observations about the setting in paragraph 1. They
are described as performing actions, such as gathering “for the work and festivities of their
annual . . . harvest.”

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25. The question asks how the beginning of the change of seasons mainly affects the characters.

A. CORRECT. Paragraph 4 describes the time as the last chance for The People to be together
“before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires.” Paragraph 6 tells about how the
women were working hard to dig and cure roots, because “WARM was going and COLD was
coming.” These paragraphs describe both celebration and preparation before the
winter comes.
B. Incorrect. Paragraphs 4 and 6 describe the characters working hard, but there is no
discussion of them wanting to rest and relax.
C. Incorrect. While both paragraphs describe some of the work involved in the harvest,
paragraph 4 also lists a number of leisure activities, such as visiting, foot racing, horse
racing, gambling, and stick games. The characters are still taking the time to relax.
D. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 mentions trading in a list of activities that the characters are
doing, this is just one of many activities. Allowing the characters to trade goods is not the
way the change in seasons mainly affects them.

26. The question asks how paragraphs 7 and 9 convey a central idea of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. Paragraphs 7 and 9 describe activities that The People do at the Red Bear camp.
They do not describe The People exploring new areas.
F. Incorrect. While paragraph 7 lists some of the activities that The People did to help, neither
paragraph emphasizes that The People need to be organized.
G. Incorrect. Paragraph 9 mentions how the sun blessed the Red Bear camp. However, these
paragraphs do not otherwise mention weather.
H. CORRECT. Paragraph 7 lists activities that The People do with one another. Paragraph 9
states that “all were busy with their daily tasks.” Everyone is contributing to the community
in their preparation for winter.

27. The question asks what is the most likely reason that the author repeats the word “played” in

paragraph 8.

A. Incorrect. Paragraph 7 describes the different tasks that the adults were doing at this time.
They were not watching the children play, because they were busy working.
B. Incorrect. While everyone enjoys being at the gathering, the word “played” does not
describe the activities of the adults. As described in paragraph 7, the adults are working
together at various tasks.
C. Incorrect. The word “played” is used before phrases describing what the children did. It is
not used to list activities available for all at the gathering.
D. CORRECT. The word “played” appears before different activities that the children did, such
as pretending to hunt, take care of the babies, and take care of the animals. They played by
pretending to do adult activities. The last sentence states that the children “learned how to
live through their play.”

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28. The question asks how paragraphs 11–13 affect the plot of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. The paragraphs contain questions about the arriving people. They do not present
differing points of view.
F. CORRECT. The paragraphs ask questions in which the characters wonder whether the
arriving people are friends or enemies, or whether they might be bringing good news or bad
news. By suggesting that the arriving people could present problems such as these, the
paragraphs contribute to the rising action.
G. Incorrect. The paragraphs do not lead to a turning point. Instead, they lead to the climax—
the moment the characters discover who the visitors are. This means the paragraphs
contribute to the rising action.
H. Incorrect. Paragraphs 11–13 ask questions. They do not provide background information
about the strangers; instead, they ask for it.

29. The question asks how the phrases “trophies of their hunt” and “paraded around” affect

paragraph 20.

A. Incorrect. The phrase “trophies of their hunt” describes the animals that the hunters have
successfully found. They have already received their rewards (the animals) and are showing
them to The People.
B. Incorrect. The excerpt describes many ways that The People find and prepare their own
food. While they appreciate the extra food, they are not dependent on the hunters.
C. CORRECT. The hunters “parade around” because they are proud of the animals they have
been able to get while hunting. Since a trophy is a recognition of success, they consider
these animals their trophies.
D. Incorrect. The phrases show the pride the hunters feel. As paragraph 20 says, the hunters
want “all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been.” The phrases are focused on the
hunters rather than on those who have gathered around them.

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30. The question asks which quotation from the excerpt best supports the idea that The People

maintain a connection to members of their group in spite of distance.

E. Incorrect. This quotation describes the fact that The People always return to the same camp
to perform the same traditional tasks and enjoy the same festivities as their ancestors. This
quotation highlights the customs The People continue from their ancestors, but it does not
focus on their present personal connections.
F. CORRECT. This quotation alludes to The People’s eagerness to hear about the families who
had traveled away from their group. This eagerness shows that they still feel a connection to
these families, even though they are far apart.
G. Incorrect. This quotation describes The People’s analysis of the visitors—that they may be
hunters. It does not show a connection to the visitors.
H. Incorrect. This quotation shows that The People are curious about a stranger who has come
into their camp. It does not show closeness to distant members of the group.

Excerpt from "The Food Business Incubator"

31. The question asks what the words “recognized” and “prestigious” convey about La Cocina.

A. Incorrect. While later information indicates that La Cocina bases its choices on the work
ethic of entrepreneurs as well as their financial needs, the use of the words “recognized”
and “prestigious” in the context of the sentence is not related to the work ethic of the chefs.
B. CORRECT. The fact that alumni of the La Cocina program have received recognition as
semi-finalists for prestigious awards shows that La Cocina has helped members of its
program achieve at the highest level.
C. Incorrect. As paragraph 1 indicates, La Cocina focuses on helping local food entrepreneurs
develop their small businesses. While some participants in the program have earned official
recognition, La Cocina is not primarily focused on establishing entrepreneurs as celebrated
professionals.
D. Incorrect. La Cocina assists chefs with the development of their small businesses, not
necessarily with their development of specific products.

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32. The question asks how paragraph 4 contributes to the development of ideas about La Cocina in

paragraph 1.

E. CORRECT. Paragraph 4 lists ways that La Cocina provides support to local food
entrepreneurs. This supports the statement in paragraph 1 that La Cocina has been “helping
local food entrepreneurs, many of whom are low-income immigrant women, develop their
small businesses.”
F. Incorrect. Paragraph 1 simply states that La Cocina tries to help local food entrepreneurs
develop their businesses, but neither paragraph describes or mentions any goals that
La Cocina sets for local food entrepreneurs.
G. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 mentions some background information on where local food
entrepreneurs were found, these details do not directly support any ideas in paragraph 1.
H. Incorrect. The description of the process by which Caleb Zigas realized there was a need for
La Cocina provides background for the organization, but it does not directly support any
ideas in paragraph 1.

33. The question asks how the description of Mariko Grady’s background in paragraph 9 contributes

to a central idea in the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. The paragraph about Mariko Grady describes her earlier success in the field of
theatrical dance and how she later started her own small cooking business. It does not
describe what she was looking for when she came to La Cocina.
B. Incorrect. The excerpt does not argue that La Cocina is the best option for people starting
out in the food business, and the description in paragraph 9 does not support that idea.
C. CORRECT. The detailed background story of Mariko Grady describes that Grady started a
small food business after working as “a singer and dancer with the prestigious modern
theatrical dance group she founded” and then, after that ended, created a fermented food
product line. This information contributes to a central idea in the excerpt that many of the
people working with La Cocina, like Grady, “needed an affordable commercial kitchen space
and technical assistance in order for their businesses to be legally viable. La Cocina provided
just such a space, in addition to helping them develop business plans, pull city permits and
more” (paragraph 4).
D. Incorrect. While Mariko Grady is now a food business owner that La Cocina has helped since
2012, Grady’s story does more to illustrate how people from non-business backgrounds can
receive special support from La Cocina in order to do more with their business.

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34. The question asks with which statement the author would most likely agree.

E. Incorrect. The author does not suggest at any point that La Cocina would like to expand its
work and mission to other cities.
F. Incorrect. While the author describes some of the work of talented chefs from La Cocina, at
no point does the author imply that the many food choices that exist in San Francisco are
because of La Cocina.
G. Incorrect. While the author does describe how La Cocina can help entrepreneurs find
success, at no point does the author suggest that La Cocina can guarantee success.
H. CORRECT. The descriptions of the income requirements as well as the information that
some of the chefs are James Beard award recipients and others have achieved success with
their businesses all help show that the author admires the work of La Cocina in helping
chefs who have few resources.

35. The question asks which detail would be most important to include in a summary of

the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. The detail about the cookbook that includes members’ stories is mentioned briefly
but not developed and should not be included in a summary.
B. CORRECT. The fact that La Cocina provides legal and technical assistance is a key factor in
the success of the chefs who participate. Paragraph 4 explains that La Cocina provides
technical and legal assistance by helping businesses navigate city permits and meet other
challenges. This detail supports the central idea by sharing how La Cocina helps food
entrepreneurs expand their businesses.
C. Incorrect. The specific requirements for chefs to be accepted at La Cocina are lesser details
and should not be included in a summary.
D. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 indicates that vendors from La Cocina sell their food at various
venues, including farmers’ markets or corporate events. However, this is a detail that is not
developed at any length and should not be included in a summary.

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36. The question asks how the table provides additional support for a central idea of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. The table describes the requirements that allow food entrepreneurs to qualify to
participate in La Cocina. While the table does mention that applicants without a business
plan must contact one of La Cocina’s partner organizations, it does not specifically explain
how La Cocina works with these partner organizations to help educate successful applicants.
F. Incorrect. The table describes the ways entrepreneur chefs must qualify in order to be
accepted into La Cocina, not how their businesses can be successful after they leave.
G. Incorrect. While the table mentions community spirit, this is in reference to the type of
energy La Cocina wishes to establish within its group kitchen space. The excerpt and table
do not discuss providing food to different communities within or outside San Francisco as
specific goals of La Cocina.
H. CORRECT. A central idea of the excerpt is that La Cocina helps local food entrepreneurs
develop their businesses. The table lists requirements for people who want to participate in
La Cocina. They must be willing to work hard to promote their own businesses as they use
the resources that La Cocina provides.

Excerpt from "The Past and the Future of the Earth's Oldest Trees"

37. The question asks what the effect is of comparing groups of bristlecone pines to “a city within a

cemetery” (paragraph 2).

A. Incorrect. The reference to “a city within a cemetery” describes how new trees use the
remnants of their “ancestors” (paragraph 2) and makes no comment on the appearance of
young versus mature trees.
B. CORRECT. The “cemetery” contains “the bones of their ancestors”
(paragraph 2)—“ancestors” being earlier generations of bristlecone pines—which provide
some of the nutrients that the new trees need.
C. Incorrect. The reference to “a cemetery” is not a comment on how long bristlecone pines
can live; rather, it illustrates that the new pines are using remnants of their “ancestors”
(paragraph 2) to grow.
D. Incorrect. Although the climate is mentioned in paragraph 2, it is not the reason for the
comparison to “a city within a cemetery.” The comment is intended to illustrate how the
new trees use nutrients left behind by the old ones.

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38. The question asks how paragraph 4 conveys the idea that the bristlecone pine can withstand

difficult conditions.

E. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 does mention the bristlecone pine in conjunction with other
long-living trees, this does not explain in any way how the bristlecone pine can survive
difficult conditions.
F. CORRECT. Paragraph 4 mentions several qualities that help the bristlecone pine survive a
difficult environment: it can survive in a “dry, cold climate” as few plants can, it tolerates a
soil that is heavily alkaline and low in nutrients, and the density of its wood protects it
from insects.
G. Incorrect. Paragraph 4 focuses on the qualities of the bristlecone pine that make it well
suited to the White Mountains rather than why the White Mountains are well suited to
bristlecone pines.
H. Incorrect. While paragraph 4 does acknowledge that the bristlecone pine has few
competitors because the pine can stand conditions few other plants can stand, it is the
examination of the pine’s unique qualities that explains how the pine survives those
conditions.

39. The question asks how the first sentence from paragraph 5 contributes to the development of

ideas in the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. While “two-hundredths of an inch” is a reference to the bristlecone pine’s growth

pattern, the point of the reference—and of the entire sentence—is to emphasize the
incredibly slow pace of the pine’s life cycle.
B. Incorrect. While “wars raged” is a threat that empires face, the point of mentioning wars
and the rise and fall of empires is to emphasize the bristlecone pine’s slow-paced life cycle
by contrasting its slowness with the big, dramatic changes taking place in human history at
the same time.
C. CORRECT. Making reference to huge changes in human history such as the rise and fall of
empires and the raging of wars provides a sharp contrast to the incredibly slow growth of
the bristlecone pine.
D. Incorrect. This sentence describes how slowly the bristlecone pine grows in contrast to how
dramatically human history changes in the same time span but never explains the reasons
for the pine’s longevity.

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40. The question asks what the phrases “clings to life” and “stripped of bark” in paragraph 6 are

used to emphasize.

E. Incorrect. While these two phrases are suggestive of the tree’s fragility, nothing in this
paragraph suggests that the tree needs help to avoid extinction.
F. Incorrect. While the tree may be misunderstood to be dead because it is “stripped of bark,”
the phrase “clings to life” emphasizes the fact that the tree is not dead but manages
to survive.
G. Incorrect. The paragraph says that far from being interested in the tree’s unusual
appearance, “most people march past it without giving it a second glance” (paragraph 6).
H. CORRECT. The phrase “clings to life” emphasizes that the tree is still surviving even though
it is partially fossilized, as shown by its “marbled hulk stripped of bark” (paragraph 6).

41. The question asks which central idea of the excerpt is supported by the details in paragraph 7.

A. Incorrect. While paragraph 7 mentions the pines' ability to survive climate change, the
central idea is about the trees' longevity. Surviving climate change is a part of the pines'
longevity, but just surviving climate change does not fully encompass the central idea of
the excerpt.
B. Incorrect. Although the paragraph mentions that the “super-elderly trees” are each unique
in appearance, their appearance does not directly connect to their ability to survive. The
details in paragraph 7 emphasize the durability and longevity of the trees.
C. Incorrect. While the beginning of paragraph 7 expresses the idea that each bristlecone pine
appears to be a unique individual and supports the idea that humans relate to the pines, the
paragraph expresses a stronger central idea in the last two sentences about the
pines’ survival.
D. CORRECT. The longevity of bristlecone pines is a central idea of the excerpt. Experts are
encouraged that bristlecone pines have survived many catastrophes, and the details in the
second half of paragraph 7 draw direct attention to the trees’ longevity.

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42. The question asks how the author conveys his point of view throughout the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. The author clearly conveys his interest in and admiration of the bristlecone pine
by sharing many details throughout the excerpt that show how unusual the tree is; these
include details about the tree using remnants from previous generations (paragraph 2),
details about the “agonizingly” slow growth rate (paragraph 3), and details about the
incredibly difficult growing conditions that the tree thrives in (paragraph 4).
F. Incorrect. While the author does briefly compare the bristlecone pine to global empires
(paragraphs 1, 3, and 5), he mainly offers many details throughout the excerpt about what
makes the bristlecone pine so unusual.
G. Incorrect. While paragraph 6 largely focuses on the contrast of the pine’s sickly appearance
with its ability to survive, this is just one detail about the pine that makes it unusual. The
author offers many such details throughout the excerpt.
H. Incorrect. The author suggests in paragraph 7 that the bristlecone pine “may survive
humanity,” but this is just one detail about the bristlecone that the author offers in an
excerpt full of details, each of which contributes to an understanding of how unusual
this tree is.

43. The question asks for a summary of the bristlecone pine’s life cycle.

A. Incorrect. Though the summary in this option covers key points in the life cycle, it focuses
on minor details (“stubby seedling” and “alkaline soil”) while leaving out major details in the
life cycle (for example, the fact that parts of the trees become fossilized over time).
B. Incorrect. The answer addresses the unique quality of the pine growing from “fragments of
its dead ancestors”; however, it does not address the fossilization phase, which is a major
part of the life cycle. In addition, this option incorrectly states that the tree continues to
funnel nutrients to its stem.
C. CORRECT. The option describes the key phases of the pine’s life cycle without focusing on
minor details. The organization of the summary is chronological, and the information
presented is accurate.
D. Incorrect. The option focuses more on the location and the appearance of the pine than on
the phases of the pine’s life cycle. The option contains an accurate description of the pine’s
appearance but provides little information about the main phases of its life cycle.

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"Bird Talk"

44. The question asks how lines 6–7 from the poem develop an idea from the second stanza.

E. Incorrect. In lines 2–3, the tree branches exclaim that “ ‘This is the / beginning of
summer,’ ” and the birds respond by taking “their hops and zigzags a little more / anxious”
(lines 6–7); however, the birds’ eager reaction to the return of warmer weather is not
referenced in the second stanza of the poem, which is more about the nature of birds
generally than the changing of the seasons.
F. Incorrect. Birds are more likely to thrive in warmer weather as evidenced by some birds’
migration to a warmer climate during winter, and the creatures in the first stanza are
responding to the “ ‘beginning of summer’ ” (line 3) in their own way, such as the birds who
are taking “their hops and zigzags a little more / anxious” (lines 6–7). However, the thriving
of birds during a particular season is not the focus of the second stanza; rather, it is focused
on the general nature of birds.
G. CORRECT. The birds are taking “their hops and zigzags a little more / anxious” (lines 6–7)
in light of warmer weather, but they are not making a big to-do of the change because “a
home is a home; worms are worms” (line 7) any time of the year. Such a natural
adjustment to seasonal changes is reflected in the second stanza, where the birds “count up
this year as against next / year” (lines 26–27) because they are well accustomed to the
cyclical nature of things.
H. Incorrect. Although the birds’ actions of “hops and zigzags” (line 6) may indicate some sort
of preparation, these actions are not preparation but rather the internalized cognizance of
the change that has occurred with little conscious thought. As revealed in the second
stanza, birds do not ponder much about past or future but rather adapt naturally as
things change.

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45. This question asks for what a phrase reveals about the speaker’s perspective on the change

in seasons.

A. CORRECT. The first stanza of the poem establishes the way different parts of the natural
world, including both plants and animals, respond to the change in season. These lines
reflect the way the wind in the leaves is the best indication of the seasonal change because
it is the wind in the leaves that “talked most of all and said more than any others / though
speaking the fewest words” (lines 13–14).
B. Incorrect. Although the sound of the wind is the most obvious sign of the seasonal change
per the speaker, it is in response to the “ ‘beginning of summer’ ” (line 3) that the wind
speaks through the leaves. The poem does not reveal that this figurative speech occurs
throughout the seasons, only that it occurs during the transition to summer.
C. Incorrect. While the language used by the speaker indicates a deep appreciation for the
natural phenomenon being witnessed, the language used does not indicate a feeling of
being overwhelmed but rather a feeling of awareness.
D. Incorrect. Using the personification of the wind “speaking” (line 14) indicates an
appreciation by the speaker for the power and volume of the wind’s voice, but only one
instance of the wind’s speech, that which occurs at the “ ‘beginning of summer’ ” (line 3), is
chronicled by the speaker in the poem.

46. The question asks how the repetition of a phrase contributes to the meaning of the poem in

terms of conveying information about a cyclical event.

E. CORRECT. This phrase is used twice verbatim, in both cases to show the figurative words
spoken by the branches (lines 2–3) and the leaves on the branches (lines 18–19). Repetition
of this phrase conveys the idea that the transition to summer occurs in the same manner
each subsequent year and thus evokes the same response from nature.
F. Incorrect. While living things—branches and leaves—both make identical figurative
utterances, they do so not because they have prepared for such an event. Rather, these
living things take the change in stride because of the sameness and expectedness of the
seasonal shifts, which occur in the same way each time.
G. Incorrect. Even though the branches and leaves have been imbued by the speaker with
some degree of consciousness in their figurative ability to speak, they are not surprised by
the change in seasons. They say the same thing each year because the same thing occurs
each year in the same way.
H. Incorrect. Certain lines of the poem do describe the natural world during the change of
seasons, such as lines 8–9: “The yellow spreads of the dandelions and buttercups / reached
across the green pastures.” However, this repeated phrase serves to evoke a sense of
sameness and inevitability; it is not a phrase related to the physical appearance of the
natural world, only the way the natural world responds to the seasonal change with simple
acceptance for its sameness. The repeated lines do not hold any sort of expectation or
anticipation for the coming of summer; they help relay observations made about the state
of the season.

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47. The question asks for the identification of a description that contrasts with the scarcity and

bleakness of winter.

A. Incorrect. These lines indicate that the frogs are first very excited about the shift from
winter to spring, which causes them to make a loud “shrilling,” yet their sounds lessen after
a time and grow weaker. As such, these lines contrast two periods of spring (early vs. later)
and the response of the frogs to these two periods; the lines do not contrast the bleakness
of winter with the abundance of spring or summer.
B. CORRECT. During winter, there is scarcity of plant life and a bleak landscape: trees lose
their leaves, snow covers the ground, and nature appears dark and shuttered. In contrast,
these lines reveal the bright “yellow spreads” of flowers and the verdant “green pastures”
that are signs that winter has abated.
C. Incorrect. This description contrasts the sounds of “the breezes” of warmer air and the
sounds made by grackles—a type of bird—rather than the bleakness and scarcity of winter
and the abundance of the “ ‘beginning of summer’ ” (line 3).
D. Incorrect. These lines show the contrast between the two ways of looking at things in terms
of past vs. present or present vs. future; in this instance, the lines reveal the way birds
naturally expect and adapt to the passing of time and the change of seasons. The lines do
not present a contrast between winter and spring.

48. This question asks how the description of the “bird talk” contributes to the central idea

of the poem.

E. Incorrect. The birds’ conversations may center around “who is here” and “who is not here
and who used to be here” (lines 23–24), but the lines do not convey that the speaker feels
a sense of loss, only that the birds have such figurative conversations in a direct way.
F. Incorrect. Though the birds are described in these lines by the speaker as “talking bird talk”
(line 22), it is not suggested that this talk occurs more frequently in one season versus
another, only that it occurs year after year because birds encounter seasonal changes as
a constant.
G. CORRECT. In these lines, the birds gather, and some birds are not present but “used to be
here” (line 24). These birds have likely succumbed to another of nature’s cycles: death,
which affects all living things.
H. Incorrect. Though the description in these lines is a vivid one and includes
anthropomorphism in the birds asking about “who is here” (line 23) and “counting up last
year as against / this year” (lines 25–26), it gives no indication of the speaker’s level of
enjoyment in observing nature.

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49. This question asks for an explanation of how the poet conveys the speaker’s point of view on

the natural world and the change of seasons as presented in the poem.

A. Incorrect. Though in the first stanza the speaker describes various elements of nature such
as branches, frogs, birds, flowers, and leaves, these elemental shifts are not precisely
gradual and occur only in the first stanza. Further, the first stanza, though appreciative of
the natural world, is primarily descriptive and does not develop the speaker’s perspective to
the degree that other parts of the poem do.
B. Incorrect. While it may be inferred that the speaker describes the landscape to such a
degree because it has revealed a seasonal shift, that this is indeed the speaker’s motivation
is never explicitly conveyed by the poet.
C. Incorrect. Multiple seasons do not pass in the poem; only the shift to the “ ‘beginning of
summer’ ” (line 3) occurs in an endless cycle. Further, the speaker does not reveal an
emotional response; it is the responses of nature that the speaker describes.
D. CORRECT. The first stanza is the speaker’s observations of the natural world embracing a
new season. In the second stanza, the speaker begins to reflect on how the natural world,
as embodied by the birds, calmly accepts seasonal change in its perpetual sameness. The
reflection continues in the third stanza, where it is revealed that the speaker has been
addressing these observations to a child.

50. The question asks how the central idea about the natural acceptance of change by nature is
developed by the speaker of the poem.

E. Incorrect. The speaker is an observer of the changes in nature as propelled by the seasons
and shows no personal eagerness for the end of winter. Further, even though nature rejoices
at the end of winter as exemplified by “the shrilling of the frogs” (line 4), the speaker
merely records this and does not share in this display.
F. CORRECT. The response of nature to the “beginning of summer” (line 3) is the primary
focus of the poem as revealed by the speaker through vivid descriptions of the sights,
sounds, movements, and attitudes of the natural world.
G. Incorrect. The second stanza of the poem begins a reflection on birds “sitting in circles
talking bird talk” (line 22) and taking a sort of attendance of who is present, but this
behavioral description is largely figurative and meant to illustrate a point about the way the
birds adapt quickly to change, not to develop a central idea of the poem in terms of how
nature responds generally.
H. Incorrect. Seasonal changes are inevitable and cyclical per the speaker, but the speaker
does not predict future changes to the landscape as a method of developing the central
idea. Rather, the speaker describes nature’s response to changes that have
already occurred.

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Excerpt from "It's Time to Stop Thinking That All Non-Native Species Are Evil"

51. The question asks which sentence from the excerpt supports the conclusion that Elton’s

“militaristic ‘invasion’ metaphor” (paragraph 1) has influenced scientific understanding of non-

native species.

A. CORRECT. This sentence shows that of the 2,000 ecologists Olden polled, many said they
think it is right to “immediately eradicate” non-native species plants even if they are
demonstrably harmless in their new environment. The response of these ecologists supports
that Elton’s metaphor discussed in paragraph 1 has influenced scientific understanding.
B. Incorrect. Rather than supporting the idea that the militaristic metaphor has influenced
scientists, this sentence shows that conservationists, at any rate, are happy to let non-
native species thrive wherever they can, given global warming.
C. Incorrect. While this sentence does refer to efforts to eradicate a non-native species, the
main point of it is that these efforts ended up harming a native species (the clapper rail
shorebird).
D. Incorrect. In contrast to supporting the idea that the militaristic invasion metaphor has
influenced scientific understanding of non-native species, this sentence puts forth the bold
idea of treating non-native species as something to be welcomed.

52. This question asks how climate change has affected efforts to manage invasive species.

E. Incorrect. While ecologists are now arguing for some non-native species to be left alone
(paragraph 13), they are arguing specifically on behalf of “well-behaved” non-native species
(paragraph 12), not non-native species in general.
F. Incorrect. While paragraph 10 describes how removing a non-native species negatively
affected a native species, the excerpt never discusses the idea that attempts to eliminate
non-native species might have damaged the environment.
G. Incorrect. While the excerpt refers to climate change causing plants and animals to move to
more tolerable environments (paragraph 8), it does not specifically discuss ways to ensure
that the arrival of these non-native species does not harm native species.
H. CORRECT. As paragraph 8 says, “plants and animals are already moving toward the poles”
because of climate change, and ecologists recognize that those species need to do so to
adapt “to the warmer future we’re creating.”

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53. The question asks which detail provides the most relevant support for the claim that “climate

change is making it harder even to decide who the invaders are” (paragraph 7).

A. CORRECT. The fact that many plants and animals have no choice but to seek out “climate
conditions they can tolerate” (paragraph 8) makes it much harder to decide whether to call
these species invaders.
B. Incorrect. The fact that many domestic crops are non-native species has nothing to do with
climate change affecting our discernment of which species are invaders.
C. Incorrect. The description in paragraph 11 of native and non-native species interacting
never suggests that climate change is a factor in these interactions and never suggests that
climate change muddies our understanding of which species is native and which is
non-native.
D. Incorrect. While the example of Mark Davis so thoroughly changing his beliefs about non-
native species is a powerful one, the role that climate change might have played in this
reversal is never discussed.

54. The question asks what the author’s use of cause and effect in paragraphs 10–11 mainly

emphasizes.

E. Incorrect. The examples of cause and effect discussed in paragraphs 10–11, such as the
spartina grass helping the clapper rail and the Japanese white-eye bird pollinating Hawaiian
flowers, are all instances in which non-native species have helped their new environments.
F. Incorrect. While paragraph 10 does mention that efforts to eradicate the non-native spartina
grass hurt the native clapper rail shorebird, the main emphasis in both paragraphs 10–11 is
on the fact that certain non-native species have helped native species.
G. CORRECT. Paragraphs 10–11 focus on several examples of non-native species that have
helped endangered native species flourish: non-native spartina grass providing “important
habitat for the endangered California clapper rail” (paragraph 10), non-native tamarisk
shrubs providing nesting places for the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher
(paragraph 11), and the non-native Japanese white-eye bird pollinating Hawaiian flowers
(paragraph 11).
H. Incorrect. While paragraphs 10–11 describe several interactions between non-native and
native species, they never discuss monitoring these interactions.

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55. The question asks which sentence from the excerpt supports the idea that some species are

able to adjust to change.

A. Incorrect. This sentence discusses native gardens, featuring native species, which
presumably have no need to adjust to change.
B. CORRECT. This sentence demonstrates that some species—in this case, Hawaiian flowers—
have adapted well to change: the flowers thrive thanks to new pollinators.
C. Incorrect. This sentence focuses on the importance of “preventing extinctions and
preserving biodiversity” but does not address the fact that being able to adjust to change is
one thing that helps achieve those goals.
D. Incorrect. Far from demonstrating that some species can adjust to change, this sentence
discusses species that were not adjusting to the loss of large tortoises and were therefore
“on the decline.”

56. The question asks how the details in the section “A Good Thing, Not the Only Thing” convey a

central idea of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. While paragraph 15 does discuss introducing non-native Aldabra tortoises to

replace native tortoises that no longer exist, the real point of this section is to show that
non-native species can sometimes help support native species that still exist but are
struggling. In this case, the Aldabra tortoises are now moving seeds around for the fruiting
plants on the islands where they have been introduced.
F. CORRECT. This section discusses situations in which non-native species should be kept (as
in the example of the Aldabra tortoises in paragraph 15) but also asserts that “most of the
time . . . conserving species still means focusing on supporting them in their historical
habitats, planting natives and removing non-natives” (paragraph 16). This section makes
the point that the issue of non-natives needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
G. Incorrect. This section does not claim that non-native species always or even usually
enhance biodiversity; rather, it states that “in some cases we can best serve biodiversity by
leaving the non-natives alone or even—brace yourself, now—introducing them on purpose”
(paragraph 14), later adding that “most of the time . . . conserving species still means
focusing on supporting them in their historical habitats, planting natives and removing non-
natives” (paragraph 16).
H. Incorrect. While the section happens to give a good example of a habitat that supports both
native and non-native species (the islands of Mauritius), it never suggests that being able to
do so is a defining characteristic of healthy habitats.

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126
57. The question asks how the chart provides additional support for a central idea of the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. The chart indicates that the public tends to become aware of non-native species
once eradication is “unlikely or impossible,” not strictly impossible. Furthermore, this idea is
not a central idea of the excerpt.
B. CORRECT. The chart strongly suggests that once “rapid increase in populations” of non-
native species has occurred, eradication will be “unlikely or impossible.”
C. Incorrect. While the chart does show that non-native species can eventually be impossible
to eradicate, it never addresses the issue of how the non-native species might be
destructive to their new environments.
D. Incorrect. The chart shows how non-native species become harder and harder to remove as
their population grows but does not explain how any conservation groups have approached
their removal.

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127
 SAMPLE TEST – MATHEMATICS
FORM A EXPLANATIONS OF CORRECT ANSWERS

58. (1.18) To determine the area of a circle, 59. (1.5) Let x represent the number of hours
begin by finding the radius of the circle, the electrician can work.
which is half of the diameter.
The cost for the number of hours worked

The radius of the entire circle is is $60 times the number of hours worked,

1 in.÷ 2 5 in., so the area of the x. The sum of the one-time trip charge
1_ = _
4 8 ($45) and the cost of the number of hours
5 ) in. 2
entire circle is π( _ 25 π in. 2
= _
8 64 worked (60x) must be less than or equal
to $135. Express this relationship as an
The radius of the hole in the circle is
inequality:
1 in.
_ 1 in., so the area of the
÷ 2 = _
4 8
1 ) in. 2
hole in the circle = π( _ 1 π in. 2
= _ 45 + 60x ≤ 135
8 64

To determine the area of the shaded

Solve the inequality for x:
region, subtract the area of the hole in the

circle from the area of the entire circle:

45 + 60x ≤ 135
60x ≤ 90
(_25 )π in. 2 − ( _1 )π in. 2 =
64 64 x 90 = _
≤ _ 3
9 = _
24 )π in. 2 = 60 6 2
(_
64
(_3 )π in. 2 =
3
Written as a decimal, _ = 1.5.
8
2
( 3 ) in. (3.14) =
_ 2
8
1.175 in. 2

1.175 square inches rounded to the

nearest hundredth of a square inch

= 1.18 square inches

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128
60. (12) Determine the greatest temperature

listed for the six days:

Of 7, 4, 1, (−2), (−5), and 3, the greatest

value is 7 because its location is farthest

to the right on a number line.

Greatest temperature = 7° F

Determine the lowest temperature listed

for the six days:

Of 7, 4, 1, (−2), (−5), and 3, the lowest

value is (−5) because its location is

farthest to the left on a number line.

Lowest temperature = (−5)° F

Determine the difference between the two

temperatures:

7° F − (−5)° F = 7° F + 5° F = 12° F

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129
 (33) × (x) = ($1.79) × (128)
61. (3) To determine the cost of a gallon of
33x = $229.12
orange juice, begin by finding the total

number of ounces in the 6-pack of bottles:

x = $6.94

5.5 oz × 6 = 33 oz
So, the orange juice costs $6.94 per

gallon, and the milk costs $3.99

So, 33 oz of orange juice costs $1.79.
per gallon.

There are 128 oz in 1 gallon. Set up a

Subtract the cost per gallon of milk from
proportion using the $1.79 cost per 33 oz
the cost per gallon of orange juice.
of orange juice and the unknown cost (x)

per 1 gallon of orange juice:

$6.94 − $3.99 = $2.95

33 oz
_ 128 oz
= _
$1.79 x Round the difference to the nearest dollar.

$2.95 rounds to $3.

Cross multiply to solve for x in the

proportion:

128
130
62. (15) Determine the range by subtracting 63. (D) Determine the prime factors of 756

the minimum value on the box plot from using a factor tree:

the maximum value on the box plot:

756

Maximum value = 84° F, Minimum

2 378
value = 39° F

2 189
84° F − 39° F = 45° F
3 63
Determine the interquartile range by
3 21
subtracting the lower quartile value on the

box plot from the upper quartile value on

3 7
the box plot:

The prime factors are 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, and 7,

Upper Quartile Value = 78° F, Lower
or 2 • 2 • 3 • 3 • 3 • 7, which can be
Quartile Value = 48° F
expressed using exponents as

78° F − 48° F = 30° 22 • 33 • 7.

Determine the difference between the

range (45° F) and the interquartile

range (30° F):

45° F − 30° F = 15° F

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131
64. (F) First, substitute −2 for x and 2 for y. 65. (B) The quantity (8 ÷ m) means the
8 , so the equation can be
same as _
(−2) 2 (2) 6
_
m
(−2) (2) 2 rewritten:

8)
(_ + 4 = 20
Then, simplify. m

2
(−2)(−2) (2) (2) 4
________________ Subtract 4 from both sides:
2
(−2) (2)
8)
(_ = 16
(−2) (2) 4
_ m
1

−2 × 16
_ Multiply both sides of the equation by m:
1

−32 8 = 16m

Solve for m:

8 )
(_ = m
16

Simplify:

( 16(÷8) ) (2)
_8(÷8) 1
_
=

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132
66. (H) Simplify 6x = x − 1,680. First, 68. (E) In a parallelogram, any two adjacent
subtract x from both sides of the equation. angles are supplementary, so the sum of
Then, divide both sides by 5. the two given angles is equal to 180°.

Write an equation showing that the sum of

6x − x = x − x − 1,680
3x° and 2x° is equal to 180°:
5x = −1,680
5x = _
_ −1,680
5 5 3x + 2x = 180
x = −336

Solve for x:

5x = 180
67. (C) Determine the total cost of the car by
5x
_ 180
adding the down payment to the total
= _
5 5
monthly payments over 3 years.
x = 36

There are 12 months in a year, so multiply

(12 months/year × 3 years) to get a total

of 36 months. Determine the total

monthly payments by multiplying the

monthly payment ($275) × the total

number of months (36):

275 × 36 = 9,900

Determine the total cost of the car by

adding the down payment ($1,200) to the

total monthly payments ($9,900):

9,900 + 1,200 = 11,100

The total cost of the car is $11,100.

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133
69. (D) Write an expression to represent the 70. (H) Since Jay sold n tickets and Pilar sold

number of occupants after 20 stops. Then, 3 times the number of tickets Jay sold,

simplify the expression. Pilar sold 3n tickets.

R + (20 × 3) = R + 60 Then, since together Jay and Pilar sold 10

more tickets than Amie, subtract 10 from

Write an expression to represent the (n + 3n) to get the expression that

shows how many tickets Amie sold.
number of occupants after 4 stops. Then,

simplify the expression.

(n + 3n) − 10

R + (4 × 3) = R + 12
Then combine like terms.

Write an equation that shows that the

4n − 10
number of occupants after 20 stops is 3

times the number of occupants after 4

stops. Then, solve for R.

71. (C) Divide to solve for x:

R + 60 = 3(R + 12)

(−12)
_ 6x
R + 60 = 3R + 36 > _
6 6

60 = 2R + 36 −2 > x

24 = 2R
Rewriting −2 > x with the x term first
12 = R requires reversing the inequality symbol in

order to keep the meaning “x is less

Write an expression to represent the than (−2)”:

number of occupants after 10 stops. Then,

x < −2
substitute 12 for R and evaluate.

R + (10 × 3)

12 + (10 × 3) = 12 + 30 = 42

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134
72. (E) To find the value of x in terms of y,

solve 5(x − 6y) = 50y for x. Begin by

distributing 5 on the left side of

the equation:

(5 × x) − (5 × 6y) = 50y

5x − 30y = 50y

Solve for the value of x:

5x = 80y

5x
_ 80y
= _
5 5

x = 16y

133
135
 side lengths of the figure:

73. (C) Determine the two missing side

lengths on the scale drawing: 6 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 5 = 22

All corners are right angles, so the figure

This is a scale drawing in which
can be divided into rectangles with
1 in.
_ = 25 ft. Write a proportion to
opposite sides that are congruent in 2
length. This means the sum of the shorter determine the value of x, the unknown

vertical sides on the left and in the center number of feet that is represented
of the figure (2 in. + x in.) must equal by 22 in.:
the length of the longer vertical side on
1
the right side of the figure (5 in.): (_ ) in.
_2 22 in.
= _
25 ft x
2 + x = 5
x = 3 Cross multiply and solve the

equation for x:
So, the missing vertical side length of the

figure is 3 in. 1 )(x)

(_ = (22)(25)
2
1
_
Again, because opposite sides of a x = 550
2
rectangular figure are congruent in length,
x = 1,100
the sum of the shorter horizontal sides in

the middle and bottom of the figure

(3 in. + x in.) must equal the length of

the longer horizontal side on the top of

the figure (6 in.):

3 + x = 6
x = 3

So, the missing horizontal side length of

the figure is 3 in.

Determine the perimeter by adding all the

134
136
74. (G) Maria’s rate of speed is given as 75. (C) The triangle formed by line p, line m,

15 miles per hour. Since 1 hour is and the line segment connecting the two

equivalent to 60 minutes, her rate of contains a 73° angle, a right angle (90°),

speed, in miles per minute, can be and a missing angle measuring x°. The

determined. sum of the interior angles of a triangle is

180°, so begin by finding the value of x:

15 miles = _
_ 15 miles = _ 1 mile ,
1 hour 60 minutes 4 minutes
1 mile per minute.
or _ 180° = 73° + 90° + x
4

Therefore, it takes Maria 4 minutes to 180° = 163° + x

ride 1 mile.
17° = x

The distance to school is 6 miles, so it will

take 6 × 4 = 24 minutes to ride Line m is a straight line, so it has a

to school. measure of 180°. The 17° angle from the

triangle and the adjacent angle outside

the triangle are supplementary, so they

have a sum of 180°. Let s represent the

measure of the adjacent angle outside the

triangle. The value of s can be determined

by subtracting:

s = 180°−17°

s = 163°

Given that n and p are parallel lines and

that they have been cut by a transversal,

line m, then corresponding angles are

congruent. Angles r and s are

corresponding angles, so the value of r is

congruent to the value of s, which is 163°.

135
137
76. (G) PQRS is a parallelogram in which PS 78. (H) Begin by multiplying 135.28 by 10:

is a base and QT is an altitude. The base

is 34 cm in length, and the height is the 135.28 × 10 = 1,352.8

length of the altitude, so the

height is 18 cm. Add 0.5:

To determine the area of a parallelogram, 1,352.8 + 0.5 = 1,353.3

multiply the base × the height:

Drop the digits after the decimal point, so

2
34 cm × 18 cm = 612 cm 1,353.3 becomes 1,353.

Divide by 10:

77. (B) Determine the total number of stamps 1,353 ÷ 10 = 135.3

in 5 albums holding 576 stamps:

5 × 576 = 2,880

Determine the total number of stamps in

6 albums holding 378 stamps:

6 × 378 = 2,268

Subtract 2,268 from 2,880 to find the

number of stamps that will be left over:

2,880 − 2,268 = 612

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138
79. (B) Substitute −2 for each value of x in 80. (F) Simplify the expression.

the expression:
3 + (−3) is the equivalent of subtracting
3 from 3, and 3 − (−3) is equivalent of
|(−2) + (−2) 2 + (−2) 3|
minus adding 3 to 3:
|(−2) + 2(−2) + 3(−2)|
3 + (−3)
_ 3 − 3 = _
0
= _
3 − (−3) 3 + 3 6
Evaluate the terms involving exponents:

|(−2) + 4 + (−8)| The zero property of division states that

minus
|(−2) + 2(−2) + 3(−2)| zero divided by any number equals zero,
0
so _ = 0.
6
Evaluate the terms involving

multiplication:

81. (C) Since the greatest number of decimal

|(-2) + 4 + (−8)|
places is 2 (hundredths), multiply both
minus
|(-2) + (−4) + (−6)| terms by 100, and then divide:

12.96(100) ÷ 0.08(100) =
Simplify the expression:
1,296 ÷ 8 =
162
|2 + (−8)| − |(−2) + (−10)|
|−6| − |−12|

The absolute value of (−6) is 6, and the

absolute value of (−12) is 12, so

|−6| − |−12| is the equivalent of
subtracting 12 from 6:

6 − 12 = (−6)

137
139
 endpoints are 3 units apart. Determine

82. (E) ‾
MN begins at 1 and ends at 7. the location of the midpoint, in relation to

Determine the length of ‾

MN : each endpoint, by dividing 3 by 2:

7 − 1 = 6 3 ÷ 2 = 1.5

The midpoint of a line segment is located The location of the midpoint of ‾

RS

exactly halfway between the two is 1.5 units from either endpoint. Find the

endpoints. Since ‾
MN is 6 units in length, midpoint by either adding 1.5 to the

the two endpoints are 6 units apart. location of R (3) or subtracting 1.5 from

Determine the location of the midpoint, in the location of S (6):

relation to each endpoint, by

dividing 6 by 2: 3 + 1.5 = 4.5

6 − 1.5 = 4.5
6 ÷ 2 = 3

The midpoint of ‾
RS is located at 4.5.
The location of the midpoint of ‾
MN is

3 units from either endpoint. Find the Determine the distance between the two
midpoint by either adding 3 to the location midpoints by subtracting:
of M (1) or subtracting 3 from the

location of N (7): 4.5 − 4 = 0.5

1 + 3 = 4 1 , making the
0.5 is equivalent to _
2
7 − 3 = 4 distance between the two
1 unit.
midpoints _
The midpoint of ‾
2
MN is located at 4.

‾
RS begins at 3 and ends at 6. Determine

the length of ‾
RS:

6 − 3 = 3

Since ‾
RS is 3 units in length, the two

138
140
83. (D) Each of the three expressions must 84. (G) Evaluate the expression by

be considered: multiplying the terms in the numerator

and the terms in the denominator. The

Expression I: s − t, where s is a positive
product of two negative values is positive:
integer and t is a negative integer:

(−3) × (−2)
___________ 6
Subtracting a negative integer is the = _
4 × 5 20
equivalent of adding a positive integer, so

s − (−t) is equivalent to finding the value Simplify the result:

of s + t, which must result in a
positive number. 6 ÷ 2
_ 3
= _
20 ÷ 2 10
Expression II: s t 2, where s is a positive

integer and t is a negative integer:

Squaring a negative integer results in a 85. (D) The sum of all transactions ($70)
positive integer, so s (−t) 2 is equivalent to includes the income data (positive values)
finding the value of s t 2, which must result and the expense data (negative values).
in a positive number. Write an equation to determine the value

of p by adding all the income data and

Expression III: s t, where s is a positive
subtracting all the expense data:
integer and t is a negative integer:

400 • 2 + 95 + p − 120 • 4 − 500

A negative exponent results in the
= 70
reciprocal of the same exponential
−t)
expression, so s ( is equivalent to finding Simplify the expression to determine the
1 , which must result in a
the value of _ value of p:
st
positive number.
800 + 95 + p − 480 − 500 = 70
Therefore, Expressions I, II, and III must 895 + p − 980 = 70
all result in a positive number. p − 85 = 70
p = 155

139
141
86. (F) A yardstick is 1 yard in length. 87. (A) The ratios of the items are equal, so

they can be expressed using a proportion.

1 yd = 3 ft
4 yd = 12 ft Let a represent the number of apples, o

the number of oranges, c the number of

cherries, and w the number of walnuts.

A 12-inch ruler is 1 foot in length.
Write a proportion showing
Two 12-inch rulers is 2 feet in length. apples:oranges is equal to

cherries:walnuts:
12 ft + 2 ft = 14 ft
a
_ c
= _
o w

Substitute the given values for oranges

(6), cherries (16), and walnuts (48):

a
_ 16
= _
6 48

Cross multiply to form an equation to

solve for the number of apples (a):

(a × 48) = (16 × 6)

Solve for the value of a:

48a = 96

a = 2

140
142
88. (F) The ratio of paintings to drawings to 89. (C) It takes _5 yard of fabric to
6
photographs is 3:5:4. _3
make foot of curtain width.
8
First, determine the number of actual
To find the ratio of 1 foot of curtain width
paintings and photographs.

( 8)
3 foot of curtain width 1: _
to _ 3 , divide.
8
Since the number of actual drawings is 45,

each ratio is multiplied by 9, since 1 ÷ _ 8 = _

3 = 1 × _ 8
8 3 3
5 × 9 = 45.

Type Ratio Actual Number So the amount of fabric needed for 1 foot
Paintings 3 27 8 times the amount
of curtain width is _
Drawings 5 45 3
needed for _3 foot of curtain width.
Photographs 4 36 8

8 × _
_ 5 40
= _
Then, add the actual number of paintings
3 6 18
and photographs. 40 ÷ 2
_ 20
= _
18 ÷ 2 9

27 + 36 = 63
The amount of fabric needed for 1 foot of
20 yards.
curtain width is _
9

141
143
90. (H) The graph of any proportional line 92. (F) The x-axis represents the time, in

must intersect the origin, (0, 0). hours, the clerk enters information into

the computer, and the y-axis represents

The only line on the coordinate plane that
⟷ the number of keystrokes the clerk makes.
contains (0, 0) is TR.

The x-value in (1.5, 10500)

Both point T(1, 4) and point R(2, 8) have
gives 1.5 hours as the amount of time the
a y-value that is 4 times the x-value, and
clerk enters information.
every point on the line fits the

proportional equation y = 4x. The y-value gives 10,500 as the number

of keystrokes made by the clerk.

When x = 0, y = 4(0). So the line
contains the origin, (0, 0). Since the graph is a proportional line, the

clerk’s rate is 10,500 keystrokes in

each 1.5 hours of entering information.

91. (C) The x-axis represents the weight, in

pounds (lb), of ice purchased, and the

y-axis represents the cost of the ice,

in dollars.

The x-value in the point (10, 1.5)

represents 10 lb of ice, and the y-value

represents 1.5 dollars, or $1.50.

Therefore, the cost of 10 lb of ice is $1.50.

142
144
 remainder of 2, so 2 cannot be the

93. (D) Each of the options 0, 2, 3, and 6 missing digit.

must be considered:
Option C: In the case of 3, the three-digit

Option A: In the case of 0, the three-digit whole number is 273. Divide 273 by

whole number is 270. Divide 270 by both 3 and 4:

both 3 and 4:
273 ÷ 3 = 91 (or 91R0)
270 ÷ 3 = 90 (or 90R0)
273 1 (or 68R1)
÷ 4 = 68 _
4
270 1 (or 67R2)
÷ 4 = 67 _
2
Dividing 273 by 3 results in a remainder of

Dividing 270 by 3 results in a remainder of 0, but dividing 273 by 4 results in a

0, but dividing 270 by 4 results in a remainder of 1, so 3 cannot be the

remainder of 2, so 0 cannot be the missing digit.

missing digit.
Option D: In the case of 6, the three-digit

Option B: In the case of 2, the three-digit whole number is 276. Divide 276 by

whole number is 272. Divide 272 by both 3 and 4:

both 3 and 4:
276 ÷ 3 = 92 (or 92R0)
272 2 (or 90R2)
÷ 3 = 90 _
3 276 ÷ 4 = 69 (or 69R0)
272 ÷ 4 = 68 (or 68R0)
Dividing 276 by 3 results in a remainder of

Dividing 272 by 4 results in a remainder of 0, and dividing 276 by 4 results in a

0, but dividing 272 by 3 results in a remainder of 0, so 6 is the missing digit.

143
145
94. (H) First, determine the missing 96. (E) First, determine the total number

percentage for “milk and eggs” consumed, of visitors.

based on the circle graph.

360 + 340 + 210 + 290 = 1200
100 − (38 + 10 + 10 + 8 + 4) =
100 − 70 =
The largest group is 360 (Male Children).
30

360 .
Find the percent that represents _
Then, determine 30% of 1200

1,840 pounds. Multiply:

360
_ 100 % = _
360 × _
1 % = 30%
× _
1200 1 12 1
1,840 30 = 552
× _
100

97. (A) First, determine what fraction of the

sample were red tiles, given 18 of the 120

95. 191 represents the 191
(C) The fraction _
2000 tiles drawn were red.
high school seniors out of 2,000 enrolled
18 ÷ 6
_ 3
in the Honor Society. = _
120 ÷ 6 20

To determine the percent, convert the

To predict how many of the actual 40 tiles
fraction to a decimal. Then, rewrite the
in the bag are red, multiply 40 by the
decimal as a percent.
fraction of red tiles in the sample.

_191
= 0.0955 = 9.55%
2000 3 ( )
_ 120 = 6
40 = _
20 20

144
146
98. (G) First, determine what percentage of 99. (B) The tree diagram shows that each of

the total attendees last year the 3 randomly selected students is from

were children. Classroom A or Classroom B. So the first

chosen is either A or B, represented by

1,750
_ 35 = 0.35, or 35%
= _ the left column of the diagram.
5,000 100

The second student is either A or B, so if

The best estimate based on last year’s the first is A, the first two chosen will be
attendance is 35% of 100. either AA or AB. If the first is B, then the

first two chosen will be either BA or BB,

0.35 × 100 = 35
represented by the middle column.

The third student is either A or B, so if the

first 2 were AA, the group of 3 would be

either AAA or AAB. These outcomes are

represented by the top two boxes of the

right column. This pattern is followed so

that 8 distinct outcomes can be

visualized in order:

AAA, AAB, ABA, ABB, BAA, BAB, BBA, BBB

Since the order does not matter, there are

3 groups made up of 2 students from

Classroom A and 1 student from

Classroom B: AAB, ABA, and BAA.

Out of 8 possible outcomes, 3 outcomes

have 2 students from Classroom A and 1

student from Classroom B. Therefore, the

3.
probability is 3 out of 8, or _
8

145
147
100. (E) The probability of drawing a red 101. (C) One report is assigned for each of 4

marble at random from a bag of 15 subjects, and each subject has a specified

marbles (11 blue and 4 red) is shown: number of topic choices:

4 red marbles = _
4 • 5 choices for Geography
P(Red) = ______________
15 total marbles 15
• 3 choices for English

• 1 choice for Science

When the red marble is replaced in the
• 2 choices for Math
bag, the probability of picking a red

marble is unchanged, P(Red) 4 .

= _ The basic counting principle (product rule)
15
applies since the number of choices for
The two events are independent, so the each subject is independent of the choices
multiplication rule of probability applies. for the other subjects. The number of

different sets of 4 reports possible is

P(Red) • P(Red) = 4
_ •
4
_ = 16
_
15 15 225 the product.

5 × 3 × 1 × 2 = 30

146
148
102. (F) First, determine the number of cards 103. (A) The flavor most likely to be picked at

in the remaining deck: random is butterscotch, because its

probability is the greatest of the

52 − 12 = 40 probabilities in the list. More than half the

candies in the bowl are butterscotch.

Next, determine the number of hearts left

in the remaining deck:

104. (E) Apply the properties of equality to

13 − 3 = 10
solve for w.

Last, determine the probability of drawing

p 1w + f
= _
a heart from the remaining deck: r

10 hearts remaining
____________________ 10 = _
1 Subtract f from both sides of the equation.
= _
40 total cards remaining 40 4

p 1w
− f = _
r

Multiply both sides by r.

− f) = r(_
r )
r(p 1w

r(p − f) = w
w = r(p − f)

147
149
105. (C) Determine the fraction of undamaged 107. (D) Let x represent the number of ounces

boxes in the sample, given 8 of the 20 Nadia’s letter weighed. The first ounce

boxes are damaged. costs $0.55, so (x − 1) represents the

number of ounces that cost $0.15 each.
20 − 8
_ 3 or 0.6
12 = _
= _
20 20 5 Given that the total cost is $1.00, the

equation that describes the situation can

Subtract the number of boxes in the be written and solved as shown.
sample from 170.

0.55 + 0.15(x − 1) = 1.00

170 − 20 = 150
0.55 + 0.15x − 0.15 = 1.00
0.15x = 1.00 − 0.55 + 0.15
Basing the prediction of undamaged boxes
0.15x = 0.60
on the sample, multiply the number of 0.15x = _
_ 0.60
boxes not in the sample by the fraction of 0.15 0.15
x = 4
undamaged boxes in the sample.

150 × 0.6 = 90 So the letter Nadia mailed

weighed 4 ounces.

106. (F) Solve the inequality 2b + 8 ≥ 25.

108. (E) The unit rate (cost per orange) can be

determined by dividing the cost of

2b + 8 − 8 ≥ 25 − 8
x oranges by x.
2b ≥ 17
2b ≥ _
_ 17
1.80
_ 2.70 = _
4.05 = 0.45
2 2 = _
b ≥ 8.5 4 6 9

The unit rate is $0.45.

Since the number of baskets made must

be a whole number, the fewest 2-point

baskets, b, he must make is 9.

148
150
109. (A) In this context, the constant of 111. (C) Set up a proportion to solve:

proportionality, p, represents the

_1 in. = _ x in.
relationship between b, the number of
2.5 cm 10 cm
bottles of water, and n, the number of 2.5x = 10
x = 10 ÷ 2.5
players on the team.
x = 4

The number of bottles of water is the

10 centimeters is approximately 4 inches.
product of the constant of proportionality

and the number of players.

The equation that represents this

112. (F) The constant of proportionality is
relationship is b = pn.
determined by dividing the number of

millimeters by the number of days:

20 mm
_ 20 = 2.5 mm/day
110. (F) Subtract to determine the amount of = _
8 days 8
increase in Malik’s hourly pay if he

changes jobs.

12 − 10 = 2
113. (A) The first table is the only one with a
3.
constant of proportionality, _
Divide the increase amount by the original 8
hourly pay rate. 3x
In each ordered pair, _ = y.
8
2 ÷ 10 = 0.2
3 (0)
_ = 0
8
3 (4)
_ 3
12 = _
= _
Multiply the quotient by 100 to express
8 8 2
the decimal amount as a percentage. 3 (8)
_ 24 = 3
= _
8 8

0.2 × 100 = 20

149
151
114. (F) To find the distance around a circle if

the radius is known, use the formula for

circumference, C = 2πr.

C = 2(3.14)(5) = 31.4

150
152
 FORM A SANSWER
AMPLE TEST –
KEY

You can read explanations for each answer online here. If you are in Grade 9, you can find examples of
additional types of math content you might see on your test here.

Answer Key for Sample Form A

1. A 14. E 27. D 40. H 53. A 66. H 79. B 92. F 105. C

2. G 15. C 28. F 41. D 54. G 67. C 80. F 93. D 106. F
3. B 16. F 29. C 42. E 55. B 68. E 81. C 94. H 107. D
4. E 17. D 30. F 43. C 56. F 69. D 82. E 95. C 108. E
5. A 18. H 31. B 44. G 57. B 70. H 83. D 96. E 109. A
6. F 19. B 32. E 45. A 58. 1.18 71. C 84. G 97. A 110. F
7. A 20. F 33. C 46. E 59. 1.5 72. E 85. D 98. G 111. C
8. F 21. A 34. H 47. B 60. 12 73. C 86. F 99. B 112. F
9. D 22. E 35. B 48. G 61. 3 74. G 87. A 100. E 113. A
10. F 23. C 36. H 49. D 62. 15 75. C 88. F 101. C 114. F
11. B 24. E 37. B 50. F 63. D 76. G 89. C 102. F
12. H 25. A 38. F 51. A 64. F 77. B 90. H 103. A
13. C 26. H 39. C 52. H 65. B 78. H 91. C 104. E

153
 GRADE 8 B
The New York City Department of Education

2023 Specialized High School Admissions Test

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

Student Name: ______________________________________

Identifying Information
Turn to Side 1 of the answer sheet.
Notify the proctor immediately if you are ill or should not be taking this test. Do not sign the
statement or begin the test. Return your answer sheet to the proctor.
Line 1: Read the statement and sign your name in the space following the word “signature.” Do not print your
name.
Line 2: Print today’s date, using the numbers of the month, the day, and the year. For example, the date
September 21, 2022, would be 9-21-22.
Line 3: Print your birth date, using the numbers of the month, the day, and the year. For example, a birth date
of March 1, 2006, would be 3-1-06.
Grid 4: Print the letters of your first name, or as many as will fit, in the boxes. If you have a middle initial, print
it in the box labeled “MI.” Then print the letters of your last name, or as much as will fit, in the boxes provided.
Below each box, fill in the circle that contains the same letter as the box. If there is a space or a hyphen in your
name, fill in the circle under the appropriate blank or hyphen.
Make dark marks that completely fill the circles. If you change a mark, be sure to erase the first mark
completely.
Grid 5:
1. Print the name of the school where you are now enrolled in the space at the top of the grid.
2. In the boxes marked “SCHOOL CODE,” print the six-digit code that identifies your school. Below each box, fill
in the circle that contains the same letter or number as the box. (You can find your school code on your Test
Ticket. If it is not there, tell the proctor, and the proctor will get the school code for you.)
3. If you attend a private or parochial school, fill in the circle marked “P.”
Grid 6: Complete the grid with your date of birth. Print the first three letters of the month in the first box, the
number of the day in the next box, and the year in the last box. Then fill in the corresponding circles.
Grid 7: Print your student ID number in Grid 7. You can find your student ID number on your Test Ticket. In the
boxes, print your nine-digit student ID number. Below each box, fill in the circle containing the same number as
in the box.
Grid 8: In most cases, Grid 8 is already filled in for you. If it is not, copy the letter and numbers shown in the
upper-right corner of your test booklet into the boxes. Below each box, fill in the circle containing the same letter
or number as the box.
Now review Side 1 to make sure you have completed all lines and grids correctly. Review each column to see
that the filled-in circles correspond to the letters or numbers in the boxes above them.
Turn your answer sheet to Side 2 and flip this booklet over to continue with General Directions.

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET

UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

TURN YOUR BOOKLET OVER TO THE BACK COVER.

FORM B 154 CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

 GENERAL DIRECTIONS, continued
Print your test booklet letter and numbers, and your name, first name first, in the spaces provided at the top of
Side 2 of the answer sheet.

Marking Your Answers

• Mark each of your answers on the answer sheet in the row of circles matching the question number printed in
the test booklet.
• Use only a Number 2 pencil.
• If you change an answer, be sure to erase it completely.
• Be careful to avoid making any stray pencil marks on your answer sheet. Do not make any marks on your
answer sheet other than filling in your answer choices.
• Each question has only one correct answer. If you mark more than one circle in any answer row, that question
will be scored as incorrect.

SAMPLE ANSWER MARKS

A B C D RIGHT
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG
A B C D WRONG

• You can use your test booklet or the provided scrap paper to take notes or solve questions; however, your
answers must be recorded on the answer sheet in order to be counted.
• You will not be able to mark your answers on the answer sheet after time is up, and answers left in
the test booklet will not be scored.

Planning Your Time

• You have 180 minutes to complete the entire test. How you divide the time between the English
Language Arts and Mathematics sections is up to you.
• If you begin with the English Language Arts section, you may go on to the Mathematics section as soon as you
are ready. Likewise, if you begin with the Mathematics section, you may go on to the English Language Arts
section as soon as you are ready.
• Be sure to read the directions for each section carefully.
• Each question has only one correct answer. Choose the best answer for each question.
• When you finish a question, go on to the next, until you have completed the last question or run out of time.
• Your score is determined by the number of questions you answer correctly. Answer every question, even if
you may not be certain which answer is correct.
• Don’t spend too much time on a difficult question. Come back to it later if you have time.
• If you complete the test before the test time (180 minutes) is over, you may go back to review questions in
either section.
• Students must stay for the entire test session (180 minutes).
DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

Copyright © 2022 Pearson. All rights

reserved. No part of this document may
B
be copied, reproduced, modified, or
transmitted by any means, electronic or
mechanical.

FORM B 155
213 CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
 PART 1 — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
57 QUESTIONS

REVISING/EDITING
QUESTIONS 1-10 (PART A AND PART B)
REVISING/EDITING PART A
DIRECTIONS: Read and answer the following questions. You will be asked to recognize and correct
errors so that the sentences or short paragraphs follow the conventions of standard written English.
You may write in your test booklet as needed to take notes. You should reread relevant parts of the
sentences or paragraphs, while being mindful of time, before marking the best answer for each
question.

1. Which pair of revisions needs to be made in this paragraph?

(1) Both Italian gelato and American ice cream are delightful treats to have on a hot
summer day, but many people wonder: what is the difference between the two? (2) To
start with, the butterfat content is much higher in ice cream than it is in gelato, making the
Italian treat a wiser decision for people looking to make healthier choices. (3) Additionally,
the mixing process, which adds less air to the frozen treat, makes gelato denser than ice
cream. (4) Finally, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream, which
enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato, and allow it to melt more quickly.

A. Sentence 1: Delete the colon after wonder AND change is to are.

B. Sentence 2: Delete the comma after with AND change it is to they are.
C. Sentence 3: Delete the comma after process AND change makes to make.
D. Sentence 4: Delete the comma after gelato AND change allow to allows.

FORM B 2 CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE

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2. What is the best way to combine the sentences?

(1) Scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons.
(2) One of Jupiter’s moons is named Io.
(3) Io has the greatest number of active volcanoes in the solar system.

E. Io, which is one of Jupiter’s moons, has the greatest number of active volcanoes in the solar
system, and scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons.
F. Scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons, and one of
them is named Io, which has the greatest number of active volcanoes in the solar system.
G. Scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons, including one
named Io, which has the greatest number of active volcanoes in the solar system.
H. Io, a moon with the greatest number of active volcanoes in the solar system, is one
of Jupiter’s moons, and scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as
seventy-nine moons.

3. Which sentence contains an error in its construction and should be revised?

(1) The blobfish, a creature that certainly resembles its name, is an unusual fish whose
body is mostly composed of pink, gelatinous flesh. (2) Because it has very few muscles and
its density is close to that of water, the blobfish spends its life floating slightly above the
ocean floor. (3) It must wait patiently for whatever edible matter might float by its mouth.
(4) The blobfish’s downturned mouth, slimy skin, and pale coloring caused them to be voted
the World’s Ugliest Animal in 2013.

A. sentence 1
B. sentence 2
C. sentence 3
D. sentence 4

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4. Which sentence contains an error in its construction and should be revised?

(1) In 1976, the National Basketball Association (NBA) absorbed several teams of the
American Basketball Association (ABA), including the New York Nets, who played in the Long
Island area at the time. (2) The owner of the Nets decided to take the team to New Jersey
after the team had financial troubles, where the team played for thirty-five seasons. (3) The
New Jersey Nets had sixteen playoff appearances, including two appearances in the NBA
finals. (4) In 2012, the team changed ownership and returned to New York, where the team
now plays under the name the Brooklyn Nets.

E. sentence 1
F. sentence 2
G. sentence 3
H. sentence 4

FORM B 4 CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE

FORM B 158
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THE NEXT
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PAGE
 CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE

FORM B 5

FORM B 159
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PAGE
 REVISING/EDITING PART B
DIRECTIONS: Read the text below and answer the questions following it. You will be asked to
improve the writing quality of the text and to correct errors so that the text follows the conventions
of standard written English. You should reread relevant parts of the text, while being mindful of time,
before marking the best answer for each question.

Moving through Mountains

(1) An age-old proverb says that necessity is the mother of invention. (2) Centuries of human
ingenuity in the face of obstacles prove this to be true. (3) For many years the Swiss Alps, a
mountain range spanning southern Switzerland and northern Italy, were such an obstacle.
(4) Roads and railways had to navigate around the mountains or through winding tunnels inside the
mountains, making the transportation of people and goods difficult and time consuming. (5) In
2016 these burdens were eased with the completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
(6) Construction of the high-speed railway tunnel began in 1996. (7) The tunnel was created
through the use of tunnel-boring machines, which are giant drills with a flat rotating head called a
cutter head. (8) Each of the tunnel-boring machines used during the construction of the tunnel was
about the length of four football fields arranged end-to-end. (9) During the seventeen-year
construction period, 28 million tons of rock were removed, enough to rebuild the Great Pyramid of
Giza five times. (10) This massive construction project is reported to have cost $12 billion.
(11) After that, 4 million cubic meters of concrete, or enough concrete to build eighty-four Empire
State Buildings, were used to construct and support the tunnel.
(12) In a few years, the high-speed railway will carry more than 250 freight trains and 55 passenger
trains a day, with most traveling at speeds of around 100 to 125 miles per hour. (13) It will be
faster for people to travel between northern and southern Europe. (14) The travel time between the
European cities of Zurich, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, will be reduced by an hour. (15) Many
European leaders compare the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the Channel Tunnel, a 33-mile underwater
tunnel that connects the United Kingdom and France. (16) While there is no roadway in the Channel
Tunnel, people can drive their cars onto special trains that will carry vehicles through to the
other side.
(17) Just as traffic congestion in major cities led to the construction of underground local
transportation, natural formations, such as mountain ranges, have also sent people underground for
faster, easier, and cheaper methods of transportation across larger areas. (18) There is renewed
interest in constructing innovative methods of transportation that will help eliminate problems
associated with traveling to and from certain areas.

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5. Which sentence should be added after sentence 5 to introduce the main topic of the passage?

A. The construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel was approved by Swiss voters in 1992 and
was funded by tolls, fuel taxes, and government loans.
B. Leaders from several European countries attended the opening ceremonies for the Gotthard
Base Tunnel, a Swiss tunnel.
C. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, stretching
35.5 miles straight through the base of the Swiss Alps.
D. The Gotthard Base Tunnel continues to help reduce the number of freight trucks on the
roadways in the Swiss Alps.

6. Which sentence should be added to follow and support sentence 7?

E. The tunnel-boring machine is helpful to tunnel builders in the modern era and has been an
improvement over dynamite.
F. These enormous tunnel-boring machines function somewhat like a cheese grater, with the
cutter head grinding slowly through rock and stone.
G. Engineers had considered making a tunnel under the mountains for many years, but it was
impossible to do without modern tunnel-boring machines.
H. Different types of cutter heads are used with tunnel-boring machines depending on the
geology of the area where the tunnel is being created.

7. Where should sentence 11 be moved in order to improve the organization of the second
paragraph (sentences 6–11)?

A. to the beginning of the paragraph (before sentence 6)

B. between sentences 6 and 7
C. between sentences 8 and 9
D. between sentences 9 and 10

8. Which sentence presents information that shifts away from the main topic of the third
paragraph (sentences 12–16) and should be removed?

E. sentence 13
F. sentence 14
G. sentence 15
H. sentence 16

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9. Which transition phrase should be added to the beginning of sentence 18?

A. Although the Gotthard Base Tunnel is mainly for freight trains,

B. With the Gotthard Base Tunnel taking ten years to complete,
C. Because of the successful completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel,
D. As the number of trains using the Gotthard Base Tunnel increases,

10. Which concluding sentence should be added after sentence 18 to support the topic presented in
the passage?

E. There is proof that underground tunnels such as the Gotthard Base Tunnel are beneficial to
the economy of the surrounding area.
F. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is an extraordinary example of how human ingenuity and
persistence can overcome great obstacles.
G. The completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel shows that people can work together to achieve
important goals.
H. The Swiss government is confident that the economic impact of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
will be worth its construction cost.

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 READING COMPREHENSION
QUESTIONS 11–57
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the following six texts, and answer the related questions. You may write
in your test booklet as needed to take notes. You should reread relevant parts of each text, while
being mindful of time, before marking the best answer for each question. Base your answers only on
the content within the text.

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 Excerpt from “The World Has an E-Waste Problem”
by Alana Semuels

1 As a tech-hungry nation . . . gets ready to upgrade to the next generation of lightning-fast 5G

devices, there is a surprising environmental cost to be reckoned with: a fresh mountain of
obsolete1 gadgets. About 6 million pounds of discarded electronics are already processed monthly
at recycling giant ERI’s Fresno plant. Pallets2 of once beloved but now outdated devices . . .
arrive here daily. Workers with hammers hack at the bulkiest devices, while others remove
dangerous components like lithium-ion batteries. The scene is like a twisted . . . movie, with
doomed gadgets riding an unrelenting conveyor belt into a machine that shreds them into piles of
copper, aluminum and steel.

2 “In our society, we always have to have the new, best product,” said Aaron Blum, the co-founder
and chief operating officer of ERI, on a tour of the facility. Americans spent $71 billion on
telephone and communication equipment in 2017, nearly five times what they spent in 2010 even
when adjusted for inflation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. . . . When we buy
something new, we get rid of what’s old. That cycle of consumption has made electronics waste
the world’s fastest-growing solid-waste stream.

3 That stream is expected to turn into a torrent3 as the world upgrades to 5G, the next big step in
wireless technology. 5G promises faster speeds and other benefits. But experts say it will also
result in a dramatic increase in e-waste, as millions of smartphones, modems and other gadgets
incompatible with 5G networks are made obsolete. “I don’t think people understand the
magnitude of the transition,” says ERI co-founder and executive chairman John Shegerian. “This
is bigger than the change of black-and-white to color, bigger than analog to digital, by many
multitudes.”

4 . . . Less than a quarter of all U.S. electronic waste is recycled, according to a United Nations
estimate. The rest is incinerated or ends up in landfills. That’s bad news, as e-waste can contain
harmful materials like mercury and beryllium that pose environmental risks.

5 Part of the problem is regulatory. Only 19 states have laws banning electronics from the regular
trash. In states without such rules, like Nevada, electronics often end up in garbage and recycling
bins, said Jeremy Walters, a community-relations manager for waste collector Republic Services.
Environmental concerns aside, compacting flammable lithium-ion batteries with paper recycling
can be dangerous; recycling centers have reported an uptick in fires.

6 Even when e-waste rules exist, it’s left up to consumers to handle their old devices properly. But
recycling them can be a pain. Rather than just drop a used phone in a bin outside their homes,
lots of people have to take their electronics to a store, which may pay them for it but could also
charge them to get rid of it. Many consumers, paralyzed by the hassle or put off by the expense,

1 obsolete: outdated and no longer useful

2 Pallets: wooden platforms used to store or transport materials in a warehouse
3 torrent: an outpouring

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 simply throw their devices into the trash or stash them in a drawer, hoping they’ll just disappear.
“We don’t necessarily have the measures to make sure people aren’t throwing it away,”
Walters said.

7 One solution is to make electronics last as long as they once did. At ERI’s facility, Shegerian
showed TIME [magazine] dozens of televisions from the 1970s and 1980s that stopped working
only recently. Yet instead, technology companies are speeding the pace of obsolescence. Most
smartphone batteries can’t be easily replaced when they stop holding a charge, new laptops don’t
accept old cables, and software companies push upgrades that won’t run on old devices. “Our
products today don’t last as long as they used to, and it’s a strategy by manufacturers to force us
into shorter and shorter upgrade cycles,” said Kyle Wiens, the founder of iFixit, which publishes
do-it-yourself repair guides. . . .

8 Some environmental groups say multibillion-dollar companies . . . should pick up the cost of
recycling the devices they sell. Lawmakers in parts of Europe and Canada and in some U.S. states
have passed so-called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, which require manufacturers
to establish and fund systems to recycle or collect obsolete products. . . .

9 . . . Some companies are increasing their recycling efforts on their own, whether for the economic
benefit or the public relations boost.

From “The World Has an E-Waste Problem” by Alana Semuels from TIME Magazine, June 3, 2019. Copyright
© 2019 TIME USA, LLC.

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 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PERSISTENT BIOACCUMULATIVE TOXIC CHEMICALS IN
ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Air emissions Rain

Wastewater
treatment
plant

Unlined Surface
water Runoff
landfill

Soil

Surface
Groundwater water

Electronics such as smartphones, computers, cameras, and large appliances contain toxins like lead,
chromium, zinc, nickel, mercury, beryllium, and cadmium. These substances are bioaccumulative, which
means that they accumulate over time in living organisms.

11. Read this sentence from paragraph 1.

The scene is like a twisted . . . movie, with doomed gadgets riding an unrelenting
conveyor belt into a machine that shreds them into piles of copper, aluminum
and steel.

The words “twisted,” “doomed,” and “unrelenting” most affect the sentence by

A. emphasizing that discarded devices are condemned to an unfortunate fate.

B. expressing a sense of desperation about the amount of waste from discarded devices.
C. implying that discarded devices are often disposed of in an inappropriate manner.
D. suggesting a feeling of doubt about solving the problem of discarded devices.

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12. How does paragraph 2 build on what the reader learns in paragraph 1?

E. Paragraph 2 explains the underlying cause of the massive amounts of recycling that are
described in paragraph 1.
F. Paragraph 2 discusses the past trends that have led to the technological innovation
mentioned in paragraph 1.
G. Paragraph 2 cites statistics that support the claim about technology that is stated at the
beginning of paragraph 1.
H. Paragraph 2 expresses disapproval of the consumers who throw away the products that are
discussed in paragraph 1.

13. Which sentence from the excerpt suggests that electronic devices are purposely designed to be
disposed of after a short time?

A. “ ‘In our society, we always have to have the new, best product,’ said Aaron Blum, the
co-founder and chief operating officer of ERI, on a tour of the facility.” (paragraph 2)
B. “Even when e-waste rules exist, it’s left up to consumers to handle their old devices
properly.” (paragraph 6)
C. “Most smartphone batteries can’t be easily replaced when they stop holding a charge, new
laptops don’t accept old cables, and software companies push upgrades that won’t run on
old devices.” (paragraph 7)
D. “Some environmental groups say multibillion-dollar companies . . . should pick up the cost
of recycling the devices they sell.” (paragraph 8)

14. The details in paragraphs 4–5 develop a central idea of the excerpt mainly by suggesting that

E. the toxic components of e-waste make waste collectors reluctant to process

electronic devices.
F. communities across the nation have taken different approaches to the management
of e-waste.
G. increased amounts of e-waste will further intensify a problem that is already inadequately
addressed.
H. the methods that are used for disposing of non-electronic waste are inefficient for e-waste.

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15. What is the role of paragraphs 7–9 in the organization of the excerpt?

A. They emphasize the contrast between successful and unsuccessful efforts to regulate
electronic waste.
B. They suggest that the electronic devices that were manufactured in the past created less
pollution.
C. They imply that manufacturers are willing to comply with regulations that protect the
environment.
D. They shift the focus from a discussion of individual behavior to a discussion of corporate
responsibility.

16. The idea that e-waste regulations can be ineffective is conveyed in the excerpt through

E. a statistic indicating that only a few states have chosen to adopt e-waste regulations.
F. an observation about typical consumer behavior in response to e-waste regulations.
G. an acknowledgment that electronics stores sometimes profit from e-waste regulations.
H. a comment that manufacturers are making an effort to recycle even without e-waste
regulations.

17. How does the diagram after paragraph 9 most support the claim made in paragraph 4?

A. The diagram suggests that people send large amounts of recyclable e-waste to landfills.
B. The diagram emphasizes that toxic chemicals in e-waste can easily spread from landfills.
C. The diagram implies that most landfills are poorly designed to accommodate e-waste.
D. The diagram shows that water sources near landfills are endangered by e-waste.

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 CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE

FORM B 15

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 The narrator’s summer job is collecting marine specimens in Puget Sound, Washington. In this
excerpt, he is looking for specimens in the mudflats before daybreak. Mudflats, or flats, are
coastal landforms created when sediment and silt from tides are deposited as the tides recede.

Excerpt from The Highest Tide

by Jim Lynch

1 I rounded the oyster beds, to the far side. . . . It was low tide by then, and I saw the water
hesitating at its apex, neither leaving nor returning, patiently waiting for the gravitational gears
to shift. Dozens of anxious clams started squirting in unison like they did whenever vibrating
grains of sand warned them predators were approaching. I stopped and waited with them, to
actually see the moment when the tide started returning with its invisible buffet of plankton for
the clams, oysters, mussels and other filter feeders. It was right then, ankle deep in the Sound,
feet numbing, eyes relaxed, that I saw the nudibranch.1

2 In all my time on the flats I’d never seen one before. I’d read about them, sure. I’d handled them
at aquariums but never in the wild, and I’d never even seen a photo of one this stunning. It was
just three inches long but with dozens of fluorescent, orange-tipped hornlike plumes jutting from
the back of its see-through body that appeared to be lit from within.

3 Nudibranchs are often called the butterflies of the sea, but even that understates their dazzle.
Almost everything else in the northern Pacific is dressed to blend with pale surroundings.
Nudibranchs don’t bother, in part because they taste so lousy they don’t need camouflage to
survive. But also, I decided right then, because their beauty is so startling it earns them a free
pass, the same way everyday life brakes for peacocks, parade floats. . . .

4 The dark mudflats loomed like wet, flattened dunes stretching deep into Skookumchuck Bay in
front of our house. From a distance, they looked too barren to support sea life. Up close, they still
did, unless you knew where to find the hearty clams, worms and tiny creatures that flourish in
mud. . . . I’m not sure why I decided to take a look. It was still an hour before sunrise, and I
knew exactly what the bars2 looked like in the moonlight, but for some reason, I couldn’t resist.

5 I heard it long before I saw it. It was an exhale, a release of sorts, and I instantly wondered if a
whale was stranded again. We had a young minke3 stuck out there two summers prior, and it
made similar noises until the tide rose high enough for rescuers to help free it. . . . I looked for a
hulking silhouette but couldn’t find one. I waited, but there were no more sounds. Still, I went
toward what I thought I’d heard, avoiding stepping into the mud until I had to. I knew the flats
well enough to know I could get stuck just about anywhere. The general rule was you didn’t
venture out past the shells and gravel with an incoming tide. I sank up to my knees twice, and
numbing water filled my boots.

1 nudibranch: type of sea slug

2 bars: sandbars
3 minke: species of small whale

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 6 . . . I kept stepping toward the one sound I’d heard, a growing part of me hoping I’d find nothing
at all. When I stopped to rest and yank up my socks, my headlamp crossed it. My first thought? A
giant octopus.

7 Puget Sound has some of the biggest octopi in the world. They often balloon to a hundred
pounds. Even the great Jacques Cousteau4 himself came to study them. But when I saw the long
tubular shape of its upper body and the tangle of tentacles below it, I knew it was more than an
octopus. I came closer, within fifty feet, close enough to see its large cylindrical siphon5 quiver. I
couldn’t tell if it was making any sounds at that point, because it was impossible to hear anything
over the blood in my ears. . . .

8 The creature’s body came to a triangular point above narrow fins that lay flat on the mud like
wings, but it was hard to be sure exactly where it all began or ended, or how long its tentacles
truly were, because I was afraid to pry my eyes off its jumble of arms for more than half a
second. I didn’t know whether I was within reach, and its arms were as big around as my ankle
and lined with suckers the size of half-dollars. If they even twitched I would have run. So, I was
looking at it and not looking at it while my heart spangled my vision. I saw fragments, pieces,
and tried to fuse them in my mind but couldn’t be certain of the whole. I knew what it had to be,
but I wouldn’t allow myself to even think the two words. Then I gradually realized the dark shiny
disc in the middle of the rubbery mass was too perfectly round to be mud or a reflection.

9 It was too late to smother my scream. Its eye was the size of a hubcap.6

From THE HIGHEST TIDE by Jim Lynch. Copyright © 2005 by Jim Lynch. Used by permission of Bloomsbury
USA. All rights reserved.

4 Jacques Cousteau: renowned French oceanographer

5 siphon: tube-like organ that is used for drawing in or removing fluids
6 hubcap: removable cap over the end of a wheel axle

18. In paragraph 3, the phrase “the butterflies of the sea” conveys the idea that

E. nudibranchs do not have to work as hard as other animals to survive in the ocean.
F. nudibranchs have colorful features that make them stand out.
G. nudibranchs are delicate and have trouble adapting to their environment.
H. nudibranchs are rare and difficult to find in the ocean.

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19. Read these sentences from paragraph 4.

I’m not sure why I decided to take a look. It was still an hour before sunrise, and
I knew exactly what the bars looked like in the moonlight, but for some reason, I
couldn’t resist.

The sentences contribute to the overall structure of the excerpt by

A. introducing the mysterious creature that the narrator discovers.

B. indicating a shift from the narrator recalling the past to the narrator reflecting on
the present.
C. establishing a struggle with fear that the narrator must overcome.
D. building tension through indicating that the narrator is going to see something
unexpected.

20. Which sentence from paragraph 5 supports the idea that the narrator is taking a risk?

E. “It was an exhale, a release of sorts, and I instantly wondered if a whale was
stranded again.”
F. “I looked for a hulking silhouette but couldn’t find one.”
G. “I waited, but there were no more sounds.”
H. “I knew the flats well enough to know I could get stuck just about anywhere.”

21. Read this sentence from paragraph 6.

I kept stepping toward the one sound I’d heard, a growing part of me hoping I’d
find nothing at all.

How do the narrator’s actions develop a central idea of the excerpt?

A. The narrator’s concern about the origin of the noise shows dedication to helping preserve
sea life in the mudflats.
B. The narrator’s curiosity about the sea life in the mudflats outweighs any fear about the
situation.
C. The narrator’s knowledge about a variety of sea life encourages a search for more
specimens to study.
D. The narrator’s eagerness about new specimens of sea life outweighs the reality that the
area is an unlikely place to find them.

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22. Read these sentences from paragraph 8.

So, I was looking at it and not looking at it while my heart spangled my vision. I
saw fragments, pieces, and tried to fuse them in my mind but couldn’t be certain
of the whole.

The sensory language “spangled my vision,” “I saw fragments, pieces,” and “tried to fuse them
in my mind” conveys the narrator’s

E. extreme excitement about making a great discovery.

F. reluctant acceptance that he needs to leave the mudflats.
G. terrified confusion about the creature in the mudflats.
H. sudden concern about his personal safety.

23. The author develops the narrator’s point of view when the narrator sees the creature by

A. describing the narrator’s movements as he approaches the creature.

B. emphasizing the odds of finding the creature in an area inhabited by a rival species.
C. showing the narrator’s growing realization of the creature’s identity.
D. comparing the size of the creature to the size of a vehicle.

24. How does the setting affect the plot of the excerpt?

E. The darkness of the mudflats before sunrise causes the narrator to pay close attention
to his surroundings.
F. The rugged terrain of the mudflats makes it more difficult for the narrator to do
his job.
G. The slow return of the tide along the mudflats forces the narrator to be patient during
his journey.
H. The barren appearance of the mudflats creates a sense of mystery that unsettles
the narrator.

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 Going Solar in China
1 In the Anhui province of China, 166,000 floating solar panels are strung together atop the
rippling surface of a lake. It is the largest solar-power farm in the world, an immense blanket of
renewable energy strong enough to power 15,000 homes.

2 The floating solar-power farm, which harvests the sun’s rays for power, was first conceived by the
Sungrow Power Supply Company after heavy rains flooded a collapsed coal mine and created a
lake. Sang Dajie, a former coal miner from the area, is now an electrician for the farm, which
occupies the original mine site where he used to work. Now, instead of working under the
dangerous conditions at the mine, he spends his days maintaining the solar panels on the water.
“The coal mine,” says Dajie, “was very hot and the air was bad. . . . But here I feel safe. The new
energy is safe.” People in China rely primarily on the burning of coal in massive power plants to
create electricity. While the burning of fossil fuels, like coal, is a reliable source of energy, the
process releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, creating air pollution
and harming Earth. Solar power, on the other hand, is clean and safe for the environment.

3 Solar panels are typically placed on rooftops or in open fields, but experts in China determined
that the newly formed lake was a great spot for the solar-power farm. Solar-power farms over
water are efficient because the water keeps the panels cool. A water-based solar-power farm can
potentially generate more power than one based on land. Additionally, with the solar-power farm
on the lake, the land in the surrounding area remains available for farming, which is another
source of income for Anhui residents.

4 Originally, China displayed minimal interest in solar energy. The use of solar energy was limited
primarily to rural areas that had no access to a power grid. Without access to other means of
electricity, people in these areas used solar panels as an alternative to lighting candles and
kerosene lamps. China began to manufacture solar panels for other countries in the late 1990s
when the German government offered its people financial incentives for installing solar panels.
The heightened demand for solar panels was instantaneous, and Chinese businesses were quick
to seize the opportunity. Soon the governments of Spain and Italy also offered incentives for
using solar technology, and Chinese manufacturers were ready for the increased demand.

5 Between 2008 and 2013, China improved its manufacturing technology and processes so much
that it effectively lowered the worldwide cost of using solar energy by 80 percent, further
increasing demand. However, a point came when Chinese manufacturers had become so efficient
at producing solar-power equipment that they outpaced the demand. The manufacturers were
producing two solar panels for every one solar panel they sold. In order to make manufacturing a
profitable industry again, the Chinese government offered its own financial incentives to Chinese
citizens for using solar energy. Now, projects like the floating solar-power farm are putting those
surplus panels to use, in addition to providing jobs and cleaner energy.

6 A second solar-power farm has already been constructed near the massive one in Anhui as part
of a government initiative to build more low-emission power plants. The goal is to meet
20 percent of the country’s energy needs with renewable, clean energy sources by the year 2030.

7 As Sang Dajie puts it, “I’m glad we are reusing this area to create a better future.” China’s
dedication to increasing its production of renewable energy through solar power demonstrates
that patience, time, and flexibility can result in transformation.

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25. The phrases “166,000 floating solar panels are strung together atop the rippling surface of a
lake” and “an immense blanket of renewable energy” in paragraph 1 convey that the solar-
power farm

A. produces the maximum amount of energy possible for its size.

B. meets and exceeds the energy needs of the area.
C. blends in with the surrounding landscape.
D. produces a large amount of energy and is in an unusual location.

26. The author includes the statements from Dajie in paragraphs 2 and 7 most likely to

E. prove that the solar-energy industry benefits the economy of China by providing jobs.
F. provide the reasons why traditional energy sources are being replaced with solar-
power farms.
G. highlight how replacing fossil fuels with solar energy offers more than just financial benefits.
H. argue that additional solar-power farms should be built in the Anhui province.

27. How does paragraph 2 contribute to the development of ideas in the article?

A. It explains the series of events that led a former coal miner to become an electrician at a
solar-power farm.
B. It provides details on how a shift from coal mining to collecting solar power can improve
conditions for energy workers and the environment.
C. It describes the reasons a company chose to transform a lake created by a collapsed coal
mine into a solar-power farm that floats on the water.
D. It presents an overview of how a collapsed coal mine became a productive floating solar-
power farm over several years.

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28. Which statement best describes how the chronological structure of paragraphs 4–5 contributes
to the development of ideas in the article?

E. It reveals how China’s businesses lowered the cost of solar energy over time for other
countries.
F. It depicts how China’s government helped the Chinese solar-energy industry respond to
growth in the international demand for solar energy.
G. It reveals how China’s position on using solar energy changed because of a surplus supply of
solar panels.
H. It depicts how China’s solar-energy industry improved the manufacturing of solar panels in
order to increase revenue.

29. How do the details in paragraph 6 about the solar-power goals of the Chinese government
convey a central idea of the article?

A. They indicate that the Chinese government wants China to be the world leader in solar-
energy production.
B. They show that the Chinese government understands the benefits of transitioning to
renewable energy sources such as solar power.
C. They suggest that constructing solar-power farms is the best way for the Chinese
government to put excess solar panels to use.
D. They imply that solar farms are a good way for the Chinese government to make solar
power the main source of energy in China.

30. China’s role in the increase of solar-energy use around the world is illustrated in the article
mainly through the inclusion of

E. information about where Chinese businesses sold solar panels and other materials for
solar-power farms.
F. explanations of how solar-power use in China demonstrated that solar power could replace
other energy sources.
G. details about how the Chinese government encouraged its citizens to use solar energy.
H. facts indicating that Chinese manufacturing processes helped make solar power more
affordable.

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31. The author’s purpose for writing the article is best conveyed by the

A. information about the positive outcomes China has achieved by producing

renewable energy.
B. facts about how China has influenced other countries to use solar power as a source of
renewable energy.
C. statements that present solar power as one of several forms of energy used
throughout China.
D. details that emphasize how China developed its solar-power industry primarily as a means
of financial gain.

32. How do the details in paragraph 4 about Germany, Spain, and Italy contribute to a central idea
of the article?

E. They indicate why businesses in China worked to become proficient producers of

solar panels.
F. They emphasize the global need for solar power as a source of renewable energy.
G. They reveal that European countries were competing to see which country could reach its
renewable-energy goals first.
H. They suggest that other countries viewed China as a model for constructing solar-power
farms in unlikely places.

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 Excerpt from “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a
New Language”
by Gretchen Reynolds

1 Many scientists suspect that exercise alters the biology of the brain in ways that make it more
malleable and receptive to new information, a process that scientists refer to as plasticity.

2 But many questions have remained unanswered about movement and learning, including whether
exercise is most beneficial before, during or after instruction and how much and what types of
exercise might be best.

3 So for a new study, which was published recently in PLOS One, researchers in China and Italy
decided to home in on language learning and the adult brain.

4 Language learning is interesting. As young children, almost all of us picked up our first language
easily. We didn’t have to be formally taught; we simply absorbed words and concepts.

5 But by early adulthood, the brain generally begins to lose some of its innate language capability.
It displays less plasticity in areas of the brain related to language. As a result, for most of us, it
becomes harder to learn a second language after childhood.

6 To see what effects exercise might have on this process, the researchers first recruited 40
college-age Chinese men and women who were trying to learn English. The students had some
facility with this second language but were far from proficient.

7 The researchers then divided the students into two groups. Those in one group would
continue to learn English as they had before, primarily while seated in rote
vocabulary-memorization sessions.

8 The others would supplement these sessions with exercise.

9 Specifically, the students would ride exercise bikes at a gentle pace (about 60 percent of their
maximum aerobic capacity) beginning 20 minutes before the start of the lessons and continuing
throughout the 15 minutes or so of instruction.

10 Both groups learned their new vocabulary by watching words projected onto large screens,
together with comparable pictures, such as “apple” and a Red Delicious. They were shown
40 words per session, with the sequence repeated several times.

11 Afterward, the students all rested briefly and then completed a vocabulary quiz, using computer
keys to note as quickly as possible whether a word was with its correct picture. They also
responded to sentences using the new words, marking whether the sentences were accurate or,
in the case of “The apple is a dentist,” nonsensical. Most linguists1 feel that understanding
sentences shows greater mastery of a new language than does simple vocabulary improvement.

12 The students completed eight vocabulary sessions over the course of two months.

1 linguists: scientists who study language

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13 And at the end of each lesson, the students who had ridden bikes performed better on the
subsequent vocabulary tests than did the students who sat still.

14 They also became more proficient at recognizing proper sentences than the sedentary students,
although that difference did not emerge until after several weeks of instruction.

15 Perhaps most interesting, the gains in vocabulary and comprehension lingered longest for the
cyclists. When the researchers asked the students to return to the lab for a final round of testing
a month after the lessons—without practicing in the meantime—the cyclists remembered words
and understood them in sentences more accurately than did the students who had not moved.

16 “The results suggest that physical activity during learning improves that learning,” says Simone
Sulpizio, a professor of psychology and linguistics at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in
Milan, Italy, and a study co-author.

17 These improvements extend beyond simply aiding in memorization, she added. The exercise also
deepened language learners’ grasp of how to use their newly acquired words.

18 This study involved college students performing relatively light exercise, though, and cannot tell
us whether other people completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results.

19 It also offers no clues about what is occurring inside the brain that might be contributing to the
benefits of the exercise. But many past studies have shown that exercise prompts the release of
multiple neurochemicals in the brain that increase the number of new brain cells and the
connections between neurons, Dr. Sulpizio says. These effects improve the brain’s plasticity and
augment the ability to learn.

20 From a real-world standpoint, the study’s implications might seem at first to be impractical. Few
classrooms are equipped with stationary bicycles. But specialized equipment is probably
unnecessary, Dr. Sulpizio says.

21 “We are not suggesting that schools or teachers buy lots of bicycles,” she says. “A simpler take-
home message may be that instruction should be flanked by physical activity.”

From “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language” by Gretchen Reynolds from THE NEW YORK
TIMES, August 16, 2017. Copyright © 2017 The New York Times Company.

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33. How does the author’s use of comparison in paragraphs 4 and 5 contribute to the development
of ideas in the excerpt?

A. It identifies why many adults are never able to learn a second language.
B. It demonstrates why the study of adult language learning tries to include physical activity.
C. It highlights why more is known about language learning in children than about language
learning in adults.
D. It explains why adults were the subjects of the study rather than children.

34. Read this sentence from paragraph 6.

To see what effects exercise might have on this process, the researchers first
recruited 40 college-age Chinese men and women who were trying to
learn English.

Which statement describes the function of the sentence in the overall structure of the excerpt?

E. It indicates a shift from describing the results of the study to describing the process.
F. It introduces the aspect of the research that was most critical to determining the results.
G. It marks the change from explaining why the study was conducted to explaining how the
study was conducted.
H. It shows how questions were raised that could be addressed in further research.

35. In the study described in the excerpt, researchers asked English learners to assess the sense of
words in context because that task is

A. better at determining the capability learners have of language than simple vocabulary recall.
B. consistent with the way earlier research was conducted on adult language learners.
C. a better way for learners to absorb the meaning of individual vocabulary words.
D. more difficult for learners to perform after an extended period of time has passed.

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36. Which evidence from the excerpt is most relevant to the author’s claim that there are many
unanswered questions about the relationship between movement and learning?

E. the method of the study using one type of exercise and people from one age group
F. the statement from Dr. Sulpizio explaining past studies on neurochemicals in the brain
G. the finding of the study that exercise helps people recall information over a long
period of time
H. the statement from Dr. Sulpizio describing how the results of the study can be applied

37. Read these sentences from paragraph 17.

These improvements extend beyond simply aiding in memorization, she added.

The exercise also deepened language learners’ grasp of how to use their newly
acquired words.

Which sentence from the excerpt best explains why Dr. Sulpizio feels confident in the
conclusion stated in these sentences?

A. “They were shown 40 words per session, with the sequence repeated several times.”
(paragraph 10)
B. “They also responded to sentences using the new words, marking whether the sentences
were accurate or, in the case of ‘The apple is a dentist,’ nonsensical.” (paragraph 11)
C. “And at the end of each lesson, the students who had ridden bikes performed better on the
subsequent vocabulary tests than did the students who sat still.” (paragraph 13)
D. “They also became more proficient at recognizing proper sentences than the sedentary
students, although that difference did not emerge until after several weeks of instruction.”
(paragraph 14)

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38. Paragraph 18 shows that the author’s perspective toward the study described in the
excerpt is that

E. though the study allowed some conclusions to be drawn, these conclusions are limited.
F. while the study focused on moderate exercise, it would have been better to focus on
difficult exercise.
G. while the study was performed appropriately, it is doubtful the results can be duplicated.
H. though the study was about learning language, its conclusions can be applied to learning
in general.

39. Which sentence is the best summary of the research procedure used in the study in
the excerpt?

A. Researchers had a group of non-English-speaking students learn new English vocabulary by

matching words and images on a computer screen, and also by analyzing words in context;
some students exercised and some students sat still while learning.
B. Researchers first divided non-English-speaking students into two groups with one group
exercising before and while studying English and the other group studying English without
exercising; then, after instruction, student learning was assessed.
C. Researchers first had non-English-speaking students sit on stationary bikes and pedal for
20 minutes before instruction and 15 minutes during instruction; then, after a rest period,
students indicated whether English sentences made sense.
D. Researchers asked non-English-speaking students to study English while sitting or biking;
then the students’ vocabulary skills were assessed after a short break period and also after
a break of a full month without their having studied any of the materials.

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 Located underground near Geneva, Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) helps scientists
study and understand how the smallest particles of matter interact with one another. The LHC
propels atomic particle beams along a 17-mile-long ring.

Looking for the Smallest Spark of Everything

There are the things the world is made of,
things we can see and feel, and then
there are the things even smaller, things that seem
to exist only when we are looking right at them.

5 So beneath the level of molecules are atoms,

and beneath the level of atoms, we find
protons, electrons, neutrons; and beneath that—
what, exactly? Because we are talking about
everything here: your fingernail,
10 the candy at the back of your mouth,
the coffee your teacher drank this morning,
your little sister, and the stuffed dog
she used to carry around with her everywhere.
And everywhere.

15 Everything and everywhere

are made up of the same stuff, whatever
it is. How do we find it? We can listen for it
in the wavelengths from deep space,
talking back to us from unimaginable
20 distances. Or we can build long,
deep circular tunnels beneath the surface
of this Earth and race particles
(like racing cars, only very tiny cars
flashing along at close to the speed of light)
25 until everything we think we know
bangs against everything else we know.

And there, in the explosion, in the darkness,

briefly incandescent, they appear:
the quarks, the leptons, and the bosons;
30 the baryons and the mesons. Their names
sound like dinosaurs or maybe bands
playing terrible music in someone’s garage.

The one thing we know for sure

is that they spin. This is how gravity
35 enters our world, how our world is held
both together and apart, what keeps
together the pencil in your hand right now

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 as well as separate from, say,
Jupiter. They spin, and it is only down there
40 in the darkness—in the vast garage
where physicists jot down
what they can, whatever seems most real—
that they let us perceive their wild dancing,
combusting to the music they make.

40. Read lines 5–8 from the poem.

So beneath the level of molecules are atoms,

and beneath the level of atoms, we find
protons, electrons, neutrons; and beneath that—
what, exactly?

The lines help develop a central idea of the poem by revealing the speaker’s

E. interest in determining how the parts of matter work together.

F. curiosity about what makes up matter.
G. desire to prove that particles make up matter.
H. questions about what tools are needed to study matter.

41. The break between the second stanza (lines 5–14) and the third stanza (lines 15–26) serves as
a transition from

A. identifying common physical objects to explaining how the particles that make up all
physical things are observed.
B. suggesting that the visible world is made up of simple materials to revealing why invisible
materials make the world complicated.
C. discussing the methods used to study particles in space to describing how matter is
researched on Earth.
D. describing an environment that feels comfortable to characterizing an environment that
seems unstable.

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42. The main purpose of the comparison in lines 23–24 of the poem is to show

E. that the particles’ size makes them difficult to see.

F. how the particles move within the tunnel.
G. that the particles have a familiar shape.
H. how the particles can be seen only in darkness.

43. Read lines 25–26 from the poem.

until everything we think we know

bangs against everything else we know.

The lines help develop a central idea in the poem by suggesting that

A. creative methods for researching particles are frequently being invented.

B. ongoing research continues to add to our knowledge of particles.
C. our understanding of particles is limited by the equipment available to study them.
D. competing theories about particles provoke scientific debate.

44. Read lines 27–28 from the poem.

And there, in the explosion, in the darkness,

briefly incandescent, they appear:

The imagery in the lines reveals that the speaker

E. envies the physicists who research colliding particles.

F. has personally observed colliding particles.
G. admires the powerful reactions that occur when particles collide.
H. has a simplistic understanding of how particles collide.

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45. Read lines 30–32 from the poem.

Their names
sound like dinosaurs or maybe bands
playing terrible music in someone’s garage.

The speaker refers to familiar objects and events in the lines most likely to

A. explain confusing information in simple terms to help the reader understand more about
the topic.
B. demonstrate how scientific ideas can be explained by describing situations that many people
are familiar with.
C. emphasize that the process being used to research particles is still in the early stages of
development.
D. suggest that the scientific language used to describe particles seems silly by making a
humorous comparison.

46. Read lines 36–39 from the poem.

both together and apart, what keeps

together the pencil in your hand right now
as well as separate from, say,
Jupiter.

The poet includes these lines most likely to emphasize that

E. it is important for physicists to continue their research about particles.

F. these particles have a powerful effect on everything.
G. the discoveries about particles provide little information.
H. the study of particles and the study of objects in space are similar.

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47. The last stanza (lines 33–44) concludes the poem by emphasizing which central idea?

A. The exciting work that physicists conduct provides information about fundamental aspects
of the universe.
B. The unusual work of physicists is carried out in unconventional locations and in special
conditions.
C. Physicists are learning about the unpredictable behavior of particles that break up matter in
the universe.
D. Physicists enthusiastically share the discoveries their research yields because most people
can relate to their findings.

48. Read lines 39–44 from the poem.

They spin, and it is only down there

in the darkness—in the vast garage
where physicists jot down
what they can, whatever seems most real—
that they let us perceive their wild dancing,
combusting to the music they make.

The lines reveal the speaker’s

E. frustration with the research facilities physicists use.

F. belief that physicists are frantically working toward a new discovery.
G. interest in physicists and their study of particles.
H. certainty that physicists are working in secrecy.

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 Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) was a Native American writer, musician, teacher, and
political activist who was raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. In 1900 she
published “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” (the term Indian was commonly used at the time
to refer to Native American people) to expose readers to what life is like on a reservation.

Excerpt from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood”

by Zitkala-Sa

1 Soon after breakfast Mother sometimes began her beadwork. On a bright, clear day, she pulled
out the wooden pegs that pinned the skirt of our wigwam1 to the ground, and rolled the canvas
part way up on its frame of slender poles. Then the cool morning breezes swept freely through
our dwelling, now and then wafting the perfume of sweet grasses from newly burnt prairie.

2 Untying the long tasseled strings that bound a small brown buckskin2 bag, my mother spread
upon a mat beside her bunches of colored beads, just as an artist arranges the paints upon his
palette. On a lapboard she smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin; and drawing from
a beaded case that hung on the left of her wide belt a long, narrow blade, she trimmed the
buckskin into shape. Often she worked upon small moccasins for her small daughter. Then I
became intensely interested in her designing. With a proud, beaming face, I watched her work.
In [my] imagination, I saw myself walking in a new pair of snugly fitting moccasins. I felt the
envious eyes of my playmates upon the pretty red beads decorating my feet.

3 Close beside my mother I sat on a rug, with a scrap of buckskin in one hand and an awl in the
other. This was the beginning of my practical observation lessons in the art of beadwork. From a
skein3 of finely twisted threads of silvery sinews my mother pulled out a single one. With an awl
she pierced the buckskin, and skillfully threaded it with the white sinew. Picking up the tiny beads
one by one, she strung them with the point of her thread, always twisting it carefully after
every stitch.

4 It took many trials before I learned how to knot my sinew thread on the point of my finger, as I
saw her do. Then the next difficulty was in keeping my thread stiffly twisted, so that I could
easily string my beads upon it. My mother required of me original designs for my lessons in
beading. At first I frequently ensnared many a sunny hour into working a long design. Soon I
learned from self-inflicted punishment to refrain from drawing complex patterns, for I had to
finish whatever I began.

5 After some experience I usually drew easy and simple crosses and squares. These were some of
the set forms. My original designs were not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic, two
faults with which my mother had little patience. The quietness of her oversight made me feel
strongly responsible and dependent upon my own judgment. She treated me as a dignified little
individual as long as I was on my good behavior; and how humiliated I was when some boldness
of mine drew forth a rebuke from her!

1 wigwam: hut with an arched framework of poles covered with bark, mats, or animal hides
2 buckskin: leather made from the skin of a male deer
3 skein: coiled length of yarn or other thread loosely wound on a reel

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 6 In the choice of colors she left me to my own taste. I was pleased with an outline of yellow upon
a background of dark blue, or a combination of red and myrtle-green. There was another of red
with a bluish-gray that was more conventionally used. When I became a little familiar with
designing and the various pleasing combinations of color, a harder lesson was given me. It was
the sewing on, instead of beads, some tinted porcupine quills, moistened and flattened between
the nails of the thumb and forefinger. My mother cut off the prickly ends and burned them at
once in the centre fire. These sharp points were poisonous, and worked into the flesh wherever
they lodged. For this reason, my mother said, I should not do much alone in quills until I was as
tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin.

7 Always after these confining lessons I was wild with surplus spirits, and found joyous relief in
running loose in the open again. Many a summer afternoon a party of four or five of my
playmates roamed over the hills with me. We each carried a light sharpened rod about four feet
long, with which we pried up certain sweet roots. When we had eaten all the choice roots we
chanced upon, we shouldered our rods and strayed off into patches of a stalky plant under whose
yellow blossoms we found little crystal drops of gum. Drop by drop we gathered this nature’s
rock-candy, until each of us could boast of a lump the size of a small bird’s egg. Soon satiated
with its woody flavor, we tossed away our gum, to return again to the sweet roots.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BEADWORK IN SOUTH DAKOTA

Date Event

The Dakota use beads made from bones, shells, stones, and animal teeth.
1500s
European traders bring glass beads to North America.

Late 1600s The Dakota begin trading with the French in Minnesota.

The Dakota begin using glass beads in clothing, artwork, and decorations in place
1830s
of Native-made beads.

The Dakota are expelled from their homelands in Minnesota as a result of the
1862–1865
U.S.-Dakota War.

1900s–1920s The Dakota create items to sell outside their community.

Source: MNopedia

From “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” by Zitkala-Sa—Public Domain

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49. In paragraph 1, the phrases “cool morning breezes swept freely” and “wafting the perfume of
sweet grasses” affect the tone of the excerpt by suggesting

A. the sadness that the author feels reflecting upon her former way of life.
B. the enthusiasm with which the author approached her work indoors.
C. the fond feelings that the author has toward her childhood experiences.
D. the mix of emotions that the author feels toward her work and her mother.

50. The phrase “just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette” in paragraph 2 suggests that

E. beadwork is a true form of art.

F. color is a source of artistic inspiration.
G. all artistic activities begin with a series of steps.
H. the beadworker tries to imitate art.

51. The author’s use of sequence in paragraphs 1 and 2 contributes to the development of ideas in
the excerpt by

A. listing the many steps that are involved in the process of beading in order to explain its
difficulty and complexity.
B. conveying the importance of following the steps of the beading process in a precise order to
work most efficiently.
C. emphasizing the time required to fully prepare for and execute the many large and small
tasks in the activity of beading.
D. detailing each step in preparation for beading in order to highlight the author’s enthusiasm
for the work.

52. The details in paragraph 3 convey a central idea of the excerpt by suggesting that

E. the author was interested in the work because she knew her mother was making something
for her.
F. the author had difficulty learning through observation but wanted to help her mother.
G. the author was determined to behave according to her mother’s standards and sought
her approval.
H. the author had great admiration for her mother’s precision and mastery of her craft.

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53. Which sentence best summarizes the process of beading that is described in the excerpt?

A. Take a buckskin bag full of beads and spread them out on a mat in different colors like a
paint palette; take a double sheet of buckskin and smooth it out on a table; take a sinew
and awl and thread the beads onto the buckskin in a desired pattern.
B. Cut the double sheet of buckskin into a shape; take a skein of sinew and pierce the buckskin
with an awl; thread the sinew with beads of many different colors in a simple or complex
pattern; twist the sinew to keep it tight after every stitch into the buckskin.
C. Arrange the beads into groups of colors on a mat; smooth out a double sheet of buckskin
and cut it to shape; take a single thread of sinew; pierce the buckskin with an awl; thread
the buckskin with the sinew and string it with beads, carefully twisting after every stitch.
D. Gather beads, buckskin, sinew, and awl and place them on a mat; cut the buckskin into the
desired shape; decide on a pattern for the beads and create it using the sinews and the awl;
thread the beads onto the sinew in the desired pattern and twist it tight.

54. The idea that mastering moccasin design and creation requires experience is best illustrated in
the excerpt through

E. the information about the advanced technique of incorporating porcupine quills

into a design.
F. the descriptions of the special materials that must be used to make decorated moccasins.
G. the descriptions of the various color combinations that make an attractive moccasin design.
H. the example of the author successfully and independently using a sharpened rod.

55. How does the author distinguish her point of view from that of her mother?

A. by describing their techniques for knotting sinew thread (paragraph 4)

B. by describing their approaches to beadwork design (paragraph 5)
C. by stating her mother’s instructions on working with quills (paragraph 6)
D. by stating her mother’s ideas about activities after lessons (paragraph 7)

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56. Read this sentence from paragraph 7.

Always after these confining lessons I was wild with surplus spirits, and found
joyous relief in running loose in the open again.

Which sentence best describes how this sentence fits into the overall structure of the excerpt?

E. It introduces a shift from the author’s demanding relationship with her mother to her more
relaxed relationships with friends.
F. It signals a change from the challenging aspects of life on the reservation to the advantages
of living on the prairie.
G. It highlights a contrast between the focus and control required while working and the
freedom of having fun outside.
H. It concludes the progression of events in the narrative by describing the sequence of events
at the end of the author’s day.

57. The table after paragraph 7 expands upon a central idea in the excerpt because it shows that

A. the craft that the author was learning was a tradition that endured through many
generations and changes.
B. the author’s family incorporated traditional materials into their craft as a way of resisting
the influence from European traders.
C. the uniqueness of the cultural tradition that the author learned as a child was eventually
recognized in Europe.
D. the author was able to incorporate color into her craftwork as a result of trade with
other peoples.

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 PART 2 — MATHEMATICS
57 QUESTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTES
(1) Formulas and definitions of mathematical terms and symbols are not provided.
(2) Diagrams other than graphs are not necessarily drawn to scale. Do not assume any relationship
in a diagram unless it is specifically stated or can be determined from the information given.
(3) Assume that a diagram is in one plane unless the question specifically states that it is not.
(4) Graphs are drawn to scale. Unless stated otherwise, you can assume relationships according
to appearance. For example, lines on a graph that appear to be parallel can be assumed to be
parallel. This is also true for concurrent lines, straight lines, collinear points, right angles, etc.
(5) Reduce (simplify) all fractions to lowest terms.

GRID-IN QUESTION NOTES

(1) For each grid-in question, write your answer at the top of the grid.
(2) Begin recording your answer in the columns on the far left.
(3) Fill in the circle under the box that matches the number or symbol you wrote. Leave the negative
sign bubble blank if your answer is positive.

(Answer: –1.5) (Answer: 3.2)

Negative Decimal Negative Decimal

sign point sign point

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 GRID-IN QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 58–62
DIRECTIONS: Solve each problem. On the answer sheet, write your answer in the boxes at the top
of the grid. Start on the left side of each grid. Print only one number or symbol in each box. Under
each box, fill in the circle that matches the number or symbol you wrote above.
• Do not fill in a circle under an unused box.
• Do not leave a box blank in the middle of an answer.

58. 59. The table shows the proportional

relationship between x cups of oatmeal
6 mm
and y ounces of raisins in a bread recipe.

BREAD RECIPE

Cups of Ounces of
Oatmeal (x) Raisins (y)

18 mm 2 1.0

3 1.5

6 3.0

What is the constant of proportionality of

the number of ounces of raisins to the
Beth makes a bead in the shape of a cube
number of cups of oatmeal?
with side length 18 millimeters. She cuts a
hole in the shape of a square prism out of
the center of the cube so that the bead
will fit on a string. The base of the square
prism has a side length of 6 millimeters.
After the hole is cut out, what is the
volume of the bead in cubic millimeters? 60. Kelly had 7.3 grams of sugar. She
used 2.7 grams in her coffee. How many
grams of sugar does she have left?

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61. The total cost of a book is given by the 62. A row of seats in a theater contains 20
expression 1.08x, where x is the price of seats numbered from 101 to 120. The
the book before tax. The tax rate is m%. probability that a randomly chosen seat in
What is the value of m? this row will be numbered 104 is x%.
What is the value of x?

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 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS 63–114
DIRECTIONS: Solve each problem. Select the answer from the choices given. Mark the letter of
your answer on the answer sheet. When you are solving problems, you can write in the test booklet
or on the scrap paper given to you.

63. What is the prime factorization of 3,575?

65. What is the value of z in

_ y − x
x + _ z ?
A. 5 • 11 • 13 = _
10 5 10
B. 5 2 • 11 • 13 A. 1

C. 5 • 715 B. 5

D. 5 2 • 143 C. y

D. 2y − x

x + 2y
64. If _ = 3y, what is the value of x in
5
terms of y? 66. Two sets, R and S, are described below.
The sum of the elements in set R equals
7y the sum of the elements in set S.
E. _
5
R = {5, x, 3, 8}
13y
F. _ S = {6, y, 4, 1}
5

G. 13 What is the value of x − y?

E. −7
H. 13y

F. −5

G. 5

H. 7

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 1 , what is the value of _ 2 ? 69. Julie is at a clothing store. She wants to
67. If x = _
4 2 − x buy a bag for $18.75 and some T-shirts
for $9.25 each. She can spend no more
3
A. _
4 than $50.00. Which inequality can be used
to find the number of T-shirts, x, Julie
8
B. _ can purchase?
9

1
C. 1 _ A. 9.25 + 18.75x ≤ 50.00
7
B. 9.25 + 18.75x ≥ 50.00
1
D. 3 _
2 C. 18.75 + 9.25x ≤ 50.00

D. 18.75 + 9.25x ≥ 50.00

68. The cost of shipping a package is $12,

plus $2 for each additional pound over 70. 2x + 11 > 3x + 9

3 pounds. Which expression represents

the total cost, in dollars, of shipping a For what values of x is the above
package that weighs p pounds? Assume inequality true?

that p ≥ 3.
E. x < 2

E. 12 + 2(p + 3) F. x > 2

F. 12 + 2(p − 3) G. x < 20

G. 14p + 3 H. x > 20

H. 14p − 3

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71. In a scale drawing of a triangular park, 73.
the sides measure 5 inches, 7 inches, and
8 inches. The perimeter of the actual park
is 25 miles. What is the actual length of
the shortest side of the park? (2 x + 9)°

A. 6.25 mi
B. 8.75 mi
C. 10 mi
D. 15.625 mi
(3 x − 14)°

In the right triangle shown above, what is

the measure of the smallest angle?

72. A. 43°
B. 44°
S
• C. 46°
12 D. 47°

R P
• x
• 5
•T

P is the center of the circle above, and R, 74. James must read 84 pages of a book for a

S, and T are points on the circle. What is 1 of the

class assignment. If he reads _
4
the value of x?
pages in the morning and _1 of the
3
E. 12
remaining pages in the afternoon, how
F. 15
G. 17 many pages will he still need to read?
H. 19
E. 35
F. 42
G. 45
H. 56

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 _1 1 + _
1
75. + _
11 22 33 77. Which of the following decimals is
2 + 2_
equivalent to 1 _ 4?
What is the value of the expression 3 9
shown above? _
A. 3.1
_
1 B. 3.6
A. _
22 _
C. 4.1
1 _
B. _ D. 4.9
11

1
C. _
6

3
D. _
22

78. The decimal 0.4 can be written as the

fraction _x . What is the value of x?

25
E. 0.016
F. 0.16
76. At Midville High School, 64 students are G. 10
members of either the orchestra or the H. 16
choir, or both. Of these students, 38 are
members of the orchestra, and 46 are
members of the choir. What fraction of the
total is the number of students who are
members of both the orchestra and
the choir? 79. What is the value
2
−9 (−4) + 36(−4) + 304
of ____________________?
16 −4
E. _
21
A. −76
10
F. _
19 B. −4

10 C. 4
G. _
23
D. 148
5
H. _
16

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80. Maxie borrowed $7.75 from her mother, 81. Seth grows strawberries in his garden.
$11.00 from her father, and $4.50 from
her brother to purchase a video game. Her 1 cups of strawberries
• He picked 2 _
2
grandmother gave her $25.00 as a gift.
on Monday.
How much money will Maxie have left or
still owe if she uses the money her • He picked 4 cups of strawberries
grandmother gave her to pay back the
on Tuesday.
money she borrowed?
3 cup of strawberries for
• He ate _
E. Maxie will still owe $2.25. 4
F. Maxie will still owe $1.75. breakfast each day on Wednesday,
G. Maxie will have $1.75 left.
Thursday, and Friday.
H. Maxie will have $2.25 left.

How many cups of strawberries did Seth

have left?

1
A. 3 _
2

1
B. 4 _
4

C. 6

D. 9

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82. Which situation involves quantities that 3 minute.
1 kilometer in _
84. An athlete runs _
combine to equal zero? 8 4
At this rate, how many kilometers would
E. receiving $5 as a gift and then giving
$5 to a friend the athlete run in 1 minute?
F. buying a book for $10 and then buying
lunch for $10
3
E. _
G. getting on an elevator at the ground 32
floor, rising 3 floors, and then rising 3
more floors 1
F. _
H. starting in a cave 20 feet below the 6
ground, climbing up 20 feet, and then
climbing up 20 feet more 1
G. 1 _
2

H. 6

83.

(3 3)
2 − _
_ 4 × _
1
5
___________ = 85. A bus trip takes 9 hours if the mean speed
(3 4)
5 + _
_ 3
1 ÷ _
4 is 50 miles per hour. How many hours
would this trip take if the mean speed was
45 miles per hour?
A. − _2
115 A. 8
B. 10
1
B. − _ C. 12
45
D. 14
2
C. _
9

1
D. _
5

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 2 sunflower seeds. 88. There were 36 people at Emily’s party. If
86. A birdseed mixture is _
5 each person at the party drank 2 cups of
The cost of the sunflower seeds is $0.10
juice, how many gallons of juice did they
per ounce. At this rate, what is the cost of drink altogether?

the sunflower seeds in 25 pounds of this

Note: 1 gallon = 4 quarts;
birdseed? (Note: 1 lb = 16 oz.) 1 quart = 4 cups.

E. $10.00
F. $16.00 1
E. 2 _
4
G. $40.00
H. $160.00 1
F. 4 _
2

G. 9

H. 72
87. A robot moves forward at the rate of 9
steps every 6 seconds. If each step is
x feet long, what must x be in order for
the robot to travel exactly 270 feet
per minute?

A. 3
89. 1 of a book in _
A student reads _ 1 hour.
B. 5 12 3
C. 27 What fraction of the book can the student
D. 30
read in 1 hour?

1
A. _
36

1
B. _
4

5
C. _
12

12
D. _
3

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90. The perimeter of square W is twice the 92.
perimeter of equilateral triangle X. What is
READING ASSIGNMENTS
the ratio of the length of one side of
square W to the length of one side of Assignment Pages Assigned

equilateral triangle X? I 3–17, inclusive

E. 3:8 II 25–38, inclusive

F. 2:3 III 45–60, inclusive
G. 3:2
H. 2:1 Over a two-week period, students are
assigned a total of 250 pages to read from
a science textbook. The table above shows
the first three reading assignments within
the larger assignment. What percentage
of the 250 pages is the total number of
91. 2 cup of sugar for every
A recipe uses _ pages in these first three assignments?
3
_1
1 cups of flour. A cook wants to increase E. 16.8%
4
F. 18.0%
the recipe. How many cups of sugar are
G. 22.8%
needed for each cup of flour? H. 24.0%

8
A. _
15

5
B. _
6

7
C. 1 _
8

2
D. 3 _
3

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93. A box contains an unknown number of 95.
green marbles. An experimenter adds 100
WINTER TEMPERATURES IN CHICAGO
red marbles to the box, mixes the marbles
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
thoroughly, and then draws out 10
Temperature 17 7 2 4 –3 –5 1
(°F)
marbles at random. Assume that this
sample is representative of the proportion
in the box. If there are 2 red marbles and The table above shows temperatures for a
8 green marbles in this sample, one-week period during the winter in
approximately how many green marbles Chicago. What is the range of
are in the box? temperatures shown in the table?

A. 80 A. 12
B. 300 B. 17
C. 400 C. 22
D. 500 D. 27

94. A car costing $24,000 is subject to a sales

tax of 8%. If Bindu made a $10,000 down
payment on this car, what is the total
amount she has left to pay?

E. $14,000
F. $15,620
G. $15,920
H. $25,920

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96. 97. Last week, Emily rode the bus to school
on 3 of the 5 mornings and rode the bus
ERRORS ON JOB TEST home on 4 of the 5 afternoons. Based on
y
last week’s events, what is the probability
7 that Emily will ride the bus in the morning

6 and the afternoon next Monday?

5
Number of 4 1
A. _
Applicants 5
3
2 7
B. _
1 25

x 12
C. _
O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 25
Number of Errors
7
D. _
10
A total of 26 job applicants took a
computer-competency test, and the
number of errors (x) was recorded for
each applicant. The graph above shows
how many applicants made x errors, for
each value of x. How many applicants
98. XYZ Corporation hired 6 people as
made fewer than 3 errors?
summer workers. Of these 6 people, 3 will
E. 6 be hired as permanent employees in the
F. 11 fall. If 2 of the 6 people are male, how
G. 12
many of the possible groups of 3 people
H. 26
hired in the fall will include only 1 male?

E. 4
F. 6
G. 12
H. 24

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99. At any given time, one person out of 100. Karl has one red spinner and one blue
every 20 people has the common cold. spinner. Each spinner is divided into 4
Assume that the common cold can be equal sections, numbered 1 through 4. He
caused by any one of 200 different spins each spinner once and writes down
viruses, each of which is equally likely to the number that each lands on. What is
cause the cold. One of these 200 viruses the probability that the two numbers,
is cold virus V144. What is the probability when multiplied together, will have 4 as
that a randomly selected person is a product?
suffering from a cold caused by
virus V144? 1
E. _
16

1
A. _ 3
F. _
10 16

1
B. _ 4
G. _
20 7

C. _1 7
H. _
200 16

D. _ 1
4,000

101. Melissa has a bag of marbles that are all

the same size. The bag contains three
red (R) marbles, three green (G) marbles,
and two white (W) marbles. For an
experiment, she will take two marbles out
of the bag without looking. Which list
shows the sample space for Melissa’s
experiment?

A. R, G, W
B. RG, RW, GW
C. R, R, R, G, G, G, W, W
D. RR, RG, RW, GG, GW, WW

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102. A graph shows the relationship between 103. The table shows the probabilities of a
the number of gallons of water, y, that has hockey team scoring different numbers of
been added to a tank and the number of goals in a game.
hours, x, that water has been added to
HOCKEY GOAL PROBABILITIES
the tank at a constant rate. What does the
ordered pair (3, 24) represent? Number of Goals Probability

0 0.16
E. Three gallons of water was added
in 24 hours. 1 0.21
F. Three gallons of water was
2 0.29
added per hour.
G. Twenty-four gallons of water was 3 0.21
added in 3 hours.
4 0.09
H. Twenty-four gallons of water was
added per hour. 5 0.04

What is the probability that the team will

score three or more goals in the
next game?

A. 0.13
B. 0.21
C. 0.34
D. 0.50

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104. This graph shows points that represent a 106. A machine part is supposed to
proportional relationship between x and y. be 0.38 millimeters thick. The

y manufacturer allows a variation of −2.5%

to + 2.5%. Which interval shows the range

10 of acceptable thicknesses, in millimeters,

9 for the part?
8
7 E. 0.285–0.475
6 F. 0.355–0.405
5
G. 0.3705–0.3895
4
H. 0.3724–0.3876
3
2
1
x
O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

What is the constant of proportionality for

107. A bakery charges $1.25 for each cupcake
this relationship?
and $2.50 for a serving tray. The equation
E. 0 describes p, the price of c cupcakes and a
F. 1 serving tray, not including tax.
G. 3
H. 9 p = 2.50 + 1.25c

If Samantha bought some cupcakes and a

serving tray for a total of $22.50, not
including tax, how many cupcakes
did she buy?
105. The distance an eagle flies is proportional
to the time the eagle spends flying. An A. 4
eagle flies 90 miles in 3 hours. What is the B. 9
C. 16
constant of proportionality for this
D. 18
relationship?

A. 3
B. 30
C. 60
D. 90

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108. A clothing store buys shirts for a cost of 110.
m dollars each. To determine the selling
price of the shirts, the manager increases
the purchase cost by 55%. Which
expression represents the selling price of
each shirt? 6 in.

E. 0.45m

F. 0.55m
2 in.
G. 1.55m 2 in.

H. m + 0.55
What shape will result from a horizontal
slice of the figure above?

E. a square that has 2-inch sides

F. a triangle that has 2-inch sides
G. a rectangle that has a 2-inch side and
a 6-inch side
109. A farmer has 100 apples and will eat 2 H. a triangle that has one 2-inch side and
apples per day. Is there a proportional two 6-inch sides

relationship between the number of apples

remaining and the number of days that
have passed?

A. no, because the relationship does not

include 99 as a number of apples
111. Anise has a piece of cloth measuring
B. no, because the ordered pair (0, 0) is
not part of the relationship 45 inches by 75 inches. She wants to cut
C. yes, because all the values in the it into squares of equal size, without any
relationship are even
cloth left over. What is the greatest
D. yes, because the number of apples is
possible side length, in inches, of one of
decreasing at a constant rate
those squares?

A. 3
B. 5
C. 15
D. 45

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112. This table shows the number of birds that 113. A team is participating in a contest to
came to a bird feeder on Monday collect canned goods for a food drive. The
and Tuesday. team has 53 points and must have a total
of at least 100 points to win a prize. The
BIRDS AT BIRD FEEDER
team earns 5 points for each can of food a
Day Number of Birds member collects. Which inequality can be
Monday 30 used to find x, the number of cans of food

Tuesday 24 the team needs to collect to win a prize?

What was the percent decrease in the A. 5 + 53x ≤ 100

number of birds from Monday to Tuesday? B. 5 + 53x ≥ 100

E. 6% C. 53 + 5x ≤ 100
F. 20%
G. 24% D. 53 + 5x ≥ 100
H. 25%

114. A store manager purchases a piece of

furniture for $456.00. To determine the
selling price, the manager increases the
purchase cost by 125%. A customer buys
the furniture and pays an additional 8%
sales tax. How much does the customer
pay for the furniture?

E. $615.60
F. $627.48
G. $1,108.08
H. $1,846.80

THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST.

IF TIME REMAINS, YOU SHOULD CHECK
YOUR ANSWERS. BE SURE THAT THERE
ARE NO STRAY MARKS, PARTIALLY
FILLED ANSWER CIRCLES, OR
INCOMPLETE ERASURES ON YOUR
ANSWER SHEET. ■

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FORM B SAMPLE TEST – ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS EXPLANATIONS
OF CORRECT ANSWERS

REVISING/EDITING PART A

1. The question asks for the revisions that are needed to correct errors in the paragraph.

A. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The colon after “wonder” is needed to set off
the question “what is the difference between the two?” from the rest of the sentence. In
addition, changing the verb “is” to “are” would be incorrect with the use of the singular
noun “difference,” which is the subject of the question.
B. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The comma following the introductory phrase
“To start with” helps with clarity and is needed to separate the phrase from the rest of the
sentence. Changing “it is” to “they are” would be incorrect with the use of the singular noun
“butterfat content,” which is what the words “it is” refer to in the sentence.
C. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The comma following “process” is necessary
to set off the nonrestrictive clause “which adds less air to the frozen treat” from the rest of
the sentence. This clause is considered a nonrestrictive clause because it provides
additional, but not essential, information about the mixing process. Changing the verb
“makes” to “make” would be incorrect with the use of the singular noun “mixing process,”
which is the subject of the sentence.
D. CORRECT. Deleting the comma after “gelato” would include the clause “and allow it to melt
more quickly” with the first part of the clause “which enhances the texture and flavor of the
gelato.” The word “and” between the two verb phrases (“enhances the texture and flavor of
the gelato” and “allow it to melt more quickly”) indicates that the two verb phrases share a
subject, “which” (referring to the act of serving gelato 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice
cream). The two ideas should not be separated by a comma within the clause. The entire
clause “which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato and allow it to melt more
quickly” should be separated from the main clause only by the comma after “cream”
because the entire clause is a nonrestrictive clause. This clause provides additional, but not
essential, information about the purpose of serving gelato at a warmer temperature than ice
cream. Changing the verb “allow” to “allows” is also necessary to match the use of the
singular pronoun “which."

214
2. The question asks for the best way to combine the sentences.

E. Incorrect. Although the sentence incorporates the ideas presented in the three original
sentences, it is incorrect because the combination suggests an incorrect relationship
between the ideas. By beginning with “Io,” the sentence places emphasis on the moon and
the detail about the number of active volcanoes rather than the key idea that “scientists
now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons.” Since Io is an example
of one of Jupiter’s moons, the details about Io should follow and be subordinate to the main
clause, which provides new information about the number of Jupiter’s moons in general.
F. Incorrect. Although the sentence incorporates all three ideas from the original sentences
and correctly places the detail about the number of active volcanoes on Io in a dependent
clause, this option is incorrect because it presents an imprecise relationship between the
ideas. By using the conjunction (connecting word) “and,” the sentence construction
suggests that scientists “now believe” that “Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine
moons” and that “one of them is named Io,” instead of presenting Io as an example of one
of Jupiter’s moons.
G. CORRECT. This sentence is the best way to combine the original sentences because it uses
a complex sentence to present ideas clearly and precisely, and it shows the relationship
between the ideas in the original sentences. The sentence starts by stating the number of
moons scientists now believe Jupiter may have and then specifies that one of those moons
is named Io. The dependent clause “which has the greatest number of active volcanoes in
the solar system” immediately follows the word “Io” to provide additional information about
the moon. A dependent clause contains a subject (“which,” referring to Io) and a verb
(“has”) but is not a complete sentence on its own.
H. Incorrect. The sentence incorporates the key ideas from the original sentences, but its
structure does not accurately present the relationship between these ideas. The beginning
of the sentence includes the detail about Io having “the greatest number of active volcanoes
in the solar system” before specifying that Io is one of the seventy-nine moons of Jupiter.
The presentation of the details about Io at the beginning lessens the emphasis of the key
idea that “scientists now believe that Jupiter may have as many as seventy-nine moons.”

215
3. The question asks for the identification of the sentence that contains an error in its construction

and should be revised.

A. Incorrect. There are no errors in sentence 1. The singular pronoun “its” matches the
number of the word it refers to, the singular noun ”blobfish.” Additionally, the clause “a
creature that certainly resembles its name” is correctly set off by commas to provide an
additional, but not essential, detail about the blobfish. The comma separating “pink” and
“gelatinous” is correct because these are coordinate adjectives.
B. Incorrect. There are no errors in sentence 2. The singular pronouns “it” and “its” match the
number of the word they refer to, the singular noun ”blobfish.” Additionally, the structure of
the sentence correctly shows that the clause “Because it has very few muscles and its
density is close to that of water” modifies the words “the blobfish.”
C. Incorrect. There are no errors in sentence 3. The “it” and “its” in the sentence refer to “the
blobfish” mentioned in the previous sentence. The use of singular pronouns in sentence 3 is
consistent with the rest of the paragraph.
D. CORRECT. Sentence 4 contains an error because the sentence uses the plural pronoun
“them” to refer to “The blobfish’s,” which is singular in number. The word “them” should be
changed to “it.” The paragraph refers to the blobfish as a singular species in each of the
four sentences, and sentence 4 should be revised to match.

4. The question asks for the identification of the sentence that has an error in its construction and

should be revised.

E. Incorrect. There are no errors in the structure of sentence 1. The clause “who played in the
Long Island area at the time” correctly modifies the noun “New York Nets.” “Who” is the
correct relative pronoun to serve as the subject of the modifying clause because it refers to
people rather than objects or things.
F. CORRECT. Sentence 2 contains a structural error. The current placement of the clause
“where the team played for thirty-five seasons” suggests that the clause is modifying the
term “financial troubles,” which is illogical. The clause “where the team played for thirty-five
seasons” should immediately follow the location, “New Jersey.” A revised version of the
sentence might read, “After the team had financial troubles, the owner of the Nets decided
to take the team to New Jersey, where the team played for thirty-five seasons.”
G. Incorrect. There are no errors in the structure of sentence 3. The phrase “including two
appearances in the NBA finals” is a nonrestrictive phrase that provides further detail about
the team’s “sixteen playoff appearances.” The phrase is set off by a comma because it is not
essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence.
H. Incorrect. There are no errors in the structure of sentence 4. The clause “where the team
now plays under the name the Brooklyn Nets” is a nonrestrictive clause that provides
further detail about the team after its move back to New York in 2012. The clause is set off
by a comma because it is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence.

216
REVISING/EDITING PART B

Moving Through Mountains

5. The question asks which sentence should be added to the end of the first paragraph in order to

introduce the topic of the passage, which is the description, construction, and use of the

Gotthard Base Tunnel.

A. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it offers information about the funding used to
build the Gotthard Base Tunnel but does not provide a description of the tunnel.
B. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it gives details about the opening ceremony of the
tunnel but does not provide a description of the tunnel.
C. CORRECT. The option correctly presents and describes the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
D. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it offers a result of completing the Gotthard Base
Tunnel rather than offering an introductory statement presenting and describing the tunnel.

6. The question asks for a sentence that provides additional details about the tunnel-boring

machines used to build the Gotthard Base Tunnel in order to support the description of the

machines in sentence 7.

E. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it offers information about how tunnel-boring
machines were an improvement over previous methods but does not include information
about how the machines work.
F. CORRECT. The option is correct because it offers specific details about how tunnel-boring
machines, such as the ones used to create the Gotthard Base Tunnel, drill through rock.
G. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it presents the idea that the tunnel could not be
built until advances were made in tunnel-boring machine technology and does not describe
how the machines function.
H. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because, though it explains that there are different types
of cutter heads used for different geologies, the geology of the tunnel area is not discussed
in sentence 7 or in the rest of the paragraph.

217
7. The question asks where sentence 11, which completes the detailed steps of how the tunnel

was built, should be moved within the second paragraph in order to improve the organization of

the paragraph.

A. Incorrect. The option, placing the sentence at the beginning of the paragraph (before
sentence 6), is incorrect because it would not make sense since the process of building the
tunnel has not yet been introduced.
B. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because placing the sentence after sentence 6 would not
make sense given that adding concrete would have to happen after the rock was broken
down and removed from the tunnel.
C. Incorrect. The option, placing the sentence between sentences 8 and 9, would be incorrect
because the use of concrete did not take place before the removal of “28 million tons of
rock” (sentence 9).
D. CORRECT. The option, placing the sentence between sentences 9 and 10, is correct because
placing the sentence there helps the reader understand the full sequence of steps performed
in constructing the tunnel before the cost of the project is introduced.

8. The question asks which sentence should be removed because it presents an idea that shifts

away from the main idea of the third paragraph, which is about the transportation benefits of

the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

E. Incorrect. The option (sentence 13) is incorrect because the idea of faster travel times is
important to the development of the main idea of the paragraph.
F. Incorrect. The option (sentence 14) is incorrect because the sentence provides a specific
example of decreased travel time between two cities when traveling through the Gotthard
Base Tunnel, supporting the development of ideas in the paragraph.
G. Incorrect. The option (sentence 15) is incorrect because the sentence compares the
Gotthard Base Tunnel to another tunnel that provides an important connection between
places; thus, the sentence supports the idea that transportation innovations are beneficial.
H. CORRECT. The option (sentence 16) is the correct response because, even though the
sentence provides additional information about the Channel Tunnel, it does not help the
reader understand the benefits of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

218
9. The question asks for a transition that bridges the ideas between sentences 17 and 18 and

accurately presents the relationship.

A. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because the use of the word “although” and the mention
of freight trains suggest that sentence 18 will be about other types of vehicles that use the
Gotthard Base Tunnel, and the transition phrase does not logically precede the sentence.
B. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because the reference to the amount of time it took to
build the tunnel does not help lead into the idea presented in sentence 18.
C. CORRECT. The option is correct because it bridges the sentences by referring to the
Gotthard Base Tunnel as a solution to the problems described in sentence 17 and logically
introduces sentence 18.
D. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it suggests that sentence 18 is related to the
increasing number of trains using the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is not accurate.

10. The question asks for a concluding sentence that supports key ideas about the topic developed

earlier in the passage.

E. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because the economies of surrounding areas are never
mentioned in the passage.
F. CORRECT. The option is correct because it supports the points made in the introductory
paragraph by affirming the idea that the Gotthard Base Tunnel is an example of a way
people have improved life by overcoming obstacles.
G. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because, although the construction of the Gotthard Base
Tunnel appears to have required many people to work together, the passage does not
explicitly mention people or groups working together.
H. Incorrect. The option is incorrect because it focuses on the cost of the Gotthard Base
Tunnel, which is referred to only in sentence 10 of the passage.

219
READING COMPREHENSION

Excerpt from "The World Has an E-Waste Problem"

11. The question asks about the effect of the words “twisted,” “doomed,” and “unrelenting” on the

last sentence of paragraph 1.

A. CORRECT. Paragraph 1 first describes the problem of discarded devices in terms of the
scope of the problem (“about 6 million pounds . . . processed monthly”). The author then
elaborates on the problem with a vivid description of the actual process; it is unfortunate
that this process is necessary because, even though they are relatively new, these devices
are no longer useful. These particular words emphasize the process of a once-useful device
becoming a part of a “twisted . . . movie,” and “doomed” to be recycled by going through
an “unrelenting” or never-ending conveyor belt.
B. Incorrect. In the excerpt, the author does express concern about the amount of waste from
discarded devices, but this particular sentence is about what happens to the devices and the
perspective that one has while watching the devices as they are being processed. In this
description, the once-beloved devices have been destroyed, with only some useful parts
being retained.
C. Incorrect. Although there is an indication in paragraphs 4–6 that some obsolete devices are
disposed of inappropriately, this description is of an appropriate disposal—a recycling center
developed specifically for these types of devices.
D. Incorrect. At this juncture in the excerpt, the author has not yet mentioned solving the
problem of discarded devices; rather, the author is describing what happens to discarded
devices that are appropriately recycled.

12. The question asks how paragraph 2 expands upon the reader’s understanding from

paragraph 1.

E. CORRECT. Paragraph 1 describes massive amounts of recycling (“about 6 million

pounds . . . processed monthly”). Paragraph 2 then explains the underlying reason for so
much electronics recycling, using a quote from a resource: “ ‘we always have to have the
new, best product,’ ” so we buy new electronic products and “get rid of what’s old.”
F. Incorrect. The trend outlined in paragraph 2 is not one of the past but rather one that is
ongoing and even increasing at an alarming rate; in only seven years, American consumers
quintupled their spending on “telephone and communication equipment.”
G. Incorrect. While it is true that paragraph 2 presents a statistic about American consumer
patterns from 2010 to 2017, the spending on these items does not directly support any
claims about waste problems. Specific statistics about waste generation, as opposed to this
statistic related only to spending, would better support this type of claim.
H. Incorrect. Although paragraph 2 mentions that consumers “get rid of what’s old” once “we
buy something new,” this is merely a statement of fact and not a judgment about
this behavior.

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13. This question asks for the best support from the excerpt for the idea that electronic devices are

purposely designed to be disposed of after a short time.

A. Incorrect. This statement actually contradicts the notion that it is the manufacturers who
are at fault for designing products to only last a short while, as it suggests that the desire
for upgrading electronic devices comes directly from consumers themselves.
B. Incorrect. Though this explains a problem that occurs after the devices have already been
upgraded, it provides no support for the idea that these devices are intentionally designed
to become obsolete quickly.
C. CORRECT. This explains the techniques manufacturers of these devices implement to make
the devices unusable after a short time. They cannot easily be repaired; they cannot be
integrated with legacy components, and older devices are unable to run with new software.
D. Incorrect. This sentence explains that some people feel that these companies should accept
responsibility for creating such short-lived devices, but it does not directly indicate that they
intentionally make devices to become useless after only a short time.

14. The question asks how paragraphs 4–5 develop a central idea of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. Though “e-waste can contain harmful materials like mercury and beryllium”
(paragraph 4) and recycling it “can be dangerous” (paragraph 5), the reluctance of recyclers
to take e-waste is not a central idea of the excerpt. The excerpt indicates that some
recycling companies, like ERI, take electronics and process many of them.
F. Incorrect. It is true that “only 19 states” have laws about not putting old electronics in the
trash (paragraph 5), but these paragraphs do not discuss any other approaches that certain
communities across the country have tried to implement.
G. CORRECT. These paragraphs highlight problems that already exist and that have been
made worse by increasing amounts of e-waste: too much e-waste that is “incinerated or
ends up in landfills” and the environmental problems this creates (paragraph 4), as well as
the fact that “electronics often end up in garbage and recycling bins” even though they do
not belong there (paragraph 5). This develops the central idea in that increasing e-waste is
yet another human-made environmental problem that adds layers to the existing problems
with too much trash and environmental degradation.
H. Incorrect. There is some indication in these paragraphs that disposing of e-waste creates
new and specific problems. However, this is not one of the central ideas of the excerpt, as
the problem is more complex than this and involves the design of these devices as well as
people’s lack of knowledge and willingness to dispose of these devices appropriately.

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15. The question asks about the role of paragraphs 7–9 in the overall organization of the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. These paragraphs make proposals for new efforts to regulate electronic waste,
such as producing devices that last longer and having device-producing companies pay to
have the devices recycled; however, no claims are made about these efforts being
successful.
B. Incorrect. Paragraph 7 does suggest that today’s devices do not “last as long as they once
did,” but it does not indicate that in the past electronic devices led to less pollution.
Presumably, technology related to electronics recycling has improved in recent years.
C. Incorrect. While it is true that paragraphs 8 and 9 suggest that electronics manufacturers,
who are part of the problem, will also need to be part of the solution, there is no call for
regulations in these paragraphs, as it was previously established in paragraph 5 that such
regulations do not yet widely exist.
D. CORRECT. Paragraph 6 references consumers who may be “paralyzed by the hassle or put
off by the expense” and thus do not recycle their devices correctly. Paragraphs 7–9 then
shift the focus from individual consumer behaviors to the responsibility of the manufacturers
of these devices, who might take action either by making their devices “last as long as they
once did” (paragraph 7) or by making efforts to “recycle or collect obsolete products”
(paragraph 8).

16. The question asks how a point about the ineffectiveness of e-waste regulations is conveyed in

the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 indicates that “only 19 states have laws banning electronics from the
regular trash,” but this statistic does not reveal how effective or ineffective these
regulations are.
F. CORRECT. Paragraph 6 explains that “even when e-waste rules exist,” it is possible
consumers will not follow them, because they have to return their electronics to a store and
could be charged. Because it is such a “hassle,” they will “simply throw their devices into
the trash or stash them in a drawer, hoping they'll just disappear” (paragraph 6).
G. Incorrect. While stores may charge people “to get rid of” old devices (paragraph 6), the fee
will simply cover expenses incurred by the store to properly dispose of the devices. Stores
could actually succeed in getting some devices recycled appropriately, but overall, the
excerpt states that consumers’ frustration over the process means most are discarded
improperly (paragraph 6).
H. Incorrect. Paragraph 9 explains that “some companies are increasing their recycling efforts
on their own,” but this does not mean that regulations are ineffective, only that some
manufacturers are taking action even without regulations.

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17. The question asks how the diagram after paragraph 9 supports the claim in paragraph 4 about

environmental risks from e-waste.

A. Incorrect. The diagram includes an image of people as well as an “unlined landfill,” but it
contains no information about the volume of e-waste that people place in the landfill.
Rather, it seeks to show how waste in landfills impacts the environment in a broader sense
through “air emissions” and “groundwater” contamination.
B. CORRECT. The diagram shows that toxic chemicals that are placed into an “unlined landfill”
can produce “air emissions” that may affect rain and trees. These toxic chemicals may also
seep into the soil and then, eventually, into the “groundwater” and “surface water.”
C. Incorrect. While it is true that the landfill in the diagram is labeled an “unlined landfill,”
which presumably would allow more pollutants to seep into the soil, no claim is made in
paragraph 4 about landfill design.
D. Incorrect. The diagram shows that water sources near landfills are at risk of pollution by
anything in the landfill, but the diagram makes no mention of e-waste in particular.

Excerpt from The Highest Tide

18. The question asks what idea the phrase “the butterflies of the sea” in paragraph 3 conveys.

E. Incorrect. While the narrator does say that they “taste so lousy they don’t need camouflage
to survive” (paragraph 3), the phrase explains that their bright appearance poses no threat
to their lives.
F. CORRECT. The narrator describes the vibrant colors of the nudibranch in paragraph 2. Then
in paragraph 3, the narrator says that “their beauty is so startling.” The nudibranchs are
colorful and unique, just as many butterflies are.
G. Incorrect. The narrator describes the distinct appearance of the nudibranch but does not
suggest that nudibranchs struggle to adapt to their environment because of this trait.
H. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the narrator states, “I’d handled them at aquariums but never in
the wild, and I’d never even seen a photo of one this stunning.” Although this suggests that
the narrator has rarely encountered a nudibranch in the wild, it does not suggest that they
are rare in the wild in general.

223
19. The question asks for an explanation of how selected sentences from paragraph 4 contribute to

the overall structure of the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. These sentences set a tense and mysterious tone for what is about to happen in
the excerpt, but they do not introduce the creature the narrator discovers.
B. Incorrect. While the narrator reveals that he is familiar with the terrain (“I knew exactly
what the bars looked like in the moonlight”), this does not show the narrator recalling the
past or reflecting on the present; it demonstrates the narrator’s knowledge of the mudflats.
C. Incorrect. These sentences reveal the narrator’s curiosity, which is his prime motivation for
venturing out to the mudflats, and his familiarity with the terrain shows that at this point,
he does not feel afraid.
D. CORRECT. The narrator creates a feeling of mystery and suspense with language that
shows how the situation is unknown. Phrases such as “I couldn’t resist” and “I’m not sure
why” reveal the narrator’s curiosity, as well as the tension of feeling drawn to explore the
mudflats in the moonlight.

20. The question asks which sentence from paragraph 5 supports the idea that the narrator is

taking a risk.

E. Incorrect. In this sentence, the narrator is describing the exhale of a creature and his
concern that the sound might be coming from a whale in danger. At no point does the
narrator suggest that this is a dangerous situation.
F. Incorrect. This sentence describes a “hulking silhouette” because the narrator is searching
for a whale that might be stranded. This expression refers to the size of the whale and not
to any danger the narrator might face.
G. Incorrect. The narrator’s words “no more sounds” are used to illustrate his listening for
what may be a whale. At this point, the narrator is still concerned about the possibility that
a whale may be stranded, not the possibility of being in danger.
H. CORRECT. The idea that the narrator could become stuck in the mud of the flats means
that the surroundings pose some danger or difficulty.

224
21. The question asks how the narrator’s actions, as described in the sentence from paragraph 6,

develop a central idea of the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. The sentence highlights the narrator’s concern about sea life and the creatures
living within the flats. However, these ideas do not develop what is being described in
the excerpt.
B. CORRECT. The narrator “kept stepping toward the one sound,” indicating a sense of
curiosity. However, the words “a growing part of me hoping I’d find nothing” suggest a
rising fear or concern. Ultimately, the narrator’s curiosity outweighs his growing fear and is
a central idea in the excerpt, as shown by the fact that the narrator does not run away
when finally encountering the creature.
C. Incorrect. While the narrator’s descriptions of the nudibranch and other sea life demonstrate
a knowledge of these creatures, as well as a desire to discover more in the mudflats, the
knowledge the narrator exhibits is not what is being illustrated in the excerpt.
D. Incorrect. The excerpt does describe the narrator’s enjoyment at seeing a nudibranch in
paragraph 2, and in paragraph 4, the narrator clearly states that there is an abundance of
life in the seemingly barren mudflats, including “hearty clams, worms and tiny creatures
that flourish in mud.” However, the sentence demonstrates the narrator’s curiosity in spite
of fear, not an eagerness about or fascination with the mudflats.

22. The question asks what the sensory language in the sentences from paragraph 8 conveys about
the narrator.

E. Incorrect. While the narrator does not leave the mudflats and is curious about what has
been found, the main emotions described in paragraph 8 are fear and confusion as the
narrator tries to comprehend the size of the animal.
F. Incorrect. The language focuses on the narrator’s inability to organize what he sees into
useful thoughts and conclusions, and while the narrator feels fear in paragraph 8—“I was
afraid” and “I would have run”—the narrator refuses to leave the mudflats out of curiosity.
G. CORRECT. The phrase “spangled my vision” illustrates that the narrator cannot fully
recognize what has appeared on the mudflats. The sight is so amazing, the narrator is
trying to “fuse” together “fragments” and “pieces” because seeing the creature has created
so much emotion in the narrator that he feels confused.
H. Incorrect. While the narrator is feeling some fear, as expressed in paragraph 8, the phrases
actually indicate that the narrator’s amazement causes him to struggle to take in the view
of the creature before him.

225
23. The question asks how the author develops the narrator’s point of view when the narrator sees

the creature.

A. Incorrect. The author’s description of how the narrator moves toward the creature has to do
with the terrain and the narrator’s sense of awe. The narrator’s perspective is not
represented through how he approaches the creature; it is presented later in the excerpt
when the narrator is studying the creature.
B. Incorrect. In this excerpt, while the narrator does discuss other large animals (minke whale,
paragraph 5; octopi, paragraph 7) that have appeared on the mudflats, these are examples
to show the variety of animal life that can be discovered on the mudflats, not rivals of the
creature discovered at the end.
C. CORRECT. In paragraph 7, the narrator describes the largest octopi in the world and then
states that this creature is “more than an octopus.” The narrator then states that it is
“impossible to hear anything over the blood in my ears,” and in paragraph 8, he describes
the creature’s body in detail, as well as his growing fear and amazement as he begins to
realize what the creature really is.
D. Incorrect. While the narrator observes that the creature’s eye is as large as a hubcap in
paragraph 9, a comparison to an entire car is never made. This detail is for description but
does not give the narrator’s point of view.

24. The question asks how the setting affects the plot of the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. In paragraph 4, the narrator says that it is an hour before sunrise. It is difficult
to see because the mudflats are dark, so the narrator, while familiar with the terrain of the
mudflats, is cautious.
F. Incorrect. While the terrain of the mudflats is challenging because of the “wet, flattened
dunes” (paragraph 4), the narrator is familiar with the terrain and moves carefully. In
addition, the excerpt shows that the narrator explores the mudflats for curiosity and
enjoyment, not work.
G. Incorrect. In paragraph 1, the narrator watches the water “hesitating at its apex” and
“patiently waiting for the gravitational gears to shift.” This illustrates that the narrator is
already familiar with the changes in his surroundings, that the tide is slow to move in, and
that he can move carefully through the mudflats without the threat of rising water.
H. Incorrect. While the narrator is on the mudflats for the entire excerpt, the phrase “eyes
relaxed” in paragraph 1 indicates that the narrator feels comfortable there. The narrator
does not show fear until paragraph 6, when a growing fear about the unknown
creature arises.

226
Going Solar in China

25. The question asks for an explanation of the effect of two phrases in paragraph 1 that describe

the solar panels on the lake.

A. Incorrect. The phrases describe the size of the solar panels, but they do not provide any
information about the amount of energy that the solar panels produce in relation to the size
of the solar farm.
B. Incorrect. Despite the descriptions of the size of the solar-power farm, the phrases quoted
do not indicate how much power is produced by the farm or how much energy is required by
the surrounding area.
C. Incorrect. The description of the floating solar panels on the “rippling surface of a lake”
provides a sense of the landscape, but it does not necessarily suggest that the solar panels
blend into the landscape.
D. CORRECT. The number of solar panels suggests that the solar farm produces a great deal
of energy, and the description of the solar panels floating on the lake shows that the solar
farm is in a unique or unusual location.

26. The question asks for the author’s purpose in including statements from Dajie in

paragraphs 2 and 7.

E. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author explains that Dajie previously had a job in a coal
mine, and his statement compares the two jobs. The paragraph does not focus on jobs as a
major benefit of the solar-energy industry.
F. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author explains why the solar farm was built in this particular
location by detailing how the coal mine was flooded and a lake was created. This particular
event does not provide an explanation of why coal is being replaced by solar energy, and
the conditions in the mine described by Dajie in paragraph 2 were not a factor in the switch
from coal to solar power.
G. CORRECT. The description of the working conditions in the mine that Dajie provides in
paragraph 2 shows that improved working conditions are a benefit of the change from coal
to solar power. In paragraph 7, Dajie’s statement suggests that the change is a better use
for the land and also that it will “create a better future.” These statements address the
benefits of solar power that are not related to economics.
H. Incorrect. Dajie’s statement that the coal mine was hot and dangerous is used to emphasize
the difference between the two power sources, but it is not used to suggest that more solar
farms should be built. Although, in paragraph 7, Dajie expresses gratitude about the solar
farm and its role in creating “a better future,” he does not explicitly call for creating more
farms in the province.

227
27. The question asks how paragraph 2 contributes to the development of ideas in the article.

A. Incorrect. The details in paragraph 2 explain how the coal mine was flooded and later
turned into a solar farm. Dajie’s experience is used to highlight the differences between the
two forms of energy, but the transition from coal to solar and the differences between the
two, rather than Dajie, are the focus of the paragraph.
B. CORRECT. Dajie’s comparison of the coal mine and the solar farm is used to highlight the
improved working conditions for energy workers, and the last two sentences of the
paragraph describe the air pollution created by coal power and explain the environmental
benefits of solar power. Therefore, this paragraph shows how transitioning from coal to solar
power benefits both workers and the environment.
C. Incorrect. The first sentence of the paragraph explains how the lake was formed, but the
reasons the location was chosen by the energy company are not a central idea of the article
or the paragraph. The paragraph focuses on the advantages of solar power compared with
coal power.
D. Incorrect. Although the author does explain how the area was affected by a flood at a coal
mine that created a lake, the process of the lake becoming a solar farm is not a central idea
of the paragraph. Instead, the paragraph focuses on the differences between the mine and
the solar-power farm.

28. The question asks for an explanation of how the structure of paragraphs 4–5 contributes to the

development of ideas.

E. Incorrect. While paragraph 5 does explain that the cost of solar panels declined as
manufacturers increased production to meet demand, the chronological structure does not
specifically detail how the businesses lowered the cost of solar energy over time.
F. Incorrect. While paragraph 5 states that “In order to make manufacturing a profitable
industry again, the Chinese government offered its own financial incentives to Chinese
citizens for using solar energy,” this occurred only after there was a surplus of solar panels
in China. Overall, the article does not explain or detail the Chinese government’s role in the
solar-energy industry, specifically the government’s response to the international demand
discussed at the end of paragraph 4.
G. CORRECT. The author uses a chronological structure to show how Chinese businesses
responded to the growing demand for solar power after first being uninterested in it. The
author goes on to explain how the Chinese government took an interest in solar power and
began promoting it to help Chinese businesses. This shows a change over time in the
Chinese approach to solar power.
H. Incorrect. Although the paragraphs do suggest that the manufacturers improved their
efficiency to meet demand, the chronological structure does not specifically show how the
manufacturers changed and improved their processes.

228
29. The question asks how the details in paragraph 6 convey a main idea of the article.

A. Incorrect. The details in paragraph 6 help explain that China has a goal of increasing its use
of solar power, but there is no information in the paragraph to suggest that the Chinese
government wants to make China a world leader in solar energy. The only goal discussed is
the government's goal to use renewable energy sources to meet 20 percent of the country’s
energy needs by 2030.
B. CORRECT. The discussion of a second solar farm and the government’s goal to increase its
reliance on “low-emission power plants” shows that the Chinese government understands
the benefits of solar energy and other renewable energy sources.
C. Incorrect. Paragraph 6 addresses the Chinese government’s focus on increasing its use of
renewable energy and low-emission power. The topic of excess solar panels is not discussed
in paragraph 6; instead, the topic is mentioned in paragraph 5.
D. Incorrect. The paragraph explains that the goal of the Chinese government is to increase
the use of renewable energy so that 20 percent of the country’s power comes from such
sources by 2030. However, this goal would not make solar power the main source of
energy in China.

30. The question asks how the article illustrates China’s role in the growth of global solar-

energy use.

E. Incorrect. In paragraphs 4 and 5, the author explains that Chinese businesses manufactured
solar panels to meet demand from European countries; however, the paragraph does not
specify that those countries used the panels in solar-power farms.
F. Incorrect. Although paragraph 4 does explain the early use of solar power in China, the
paragraph only explains the developing Chinese business of making solar panels. It does not
suggest that solar-power use in China, as opposed to solar-power use in other countries,
demonstrated that solar power could replace other energy sources.
G. Incorrect. In paragraph 5, the author explains how the Chinese government offered
incentives for its own citizens to promote solar energy, but this action served only to
increase solar-power use in China. No connection is made between the incentives offered to
Chinese citizens and the global increase in solar-power use.
H. CORRECT. Paragraphs 4 and 5 explain how growing demand for solar power encouraged
China to improve manufacturing; this “lowered the worldwide cost of using solar energy by
80 percent” (paragraph 5). The affordability of solar energy contributed greatly to the
increased global use of that energy source.

229
31. The question asks how the author’s purpose is conveyed in the article.

A. CORRECT. Throughout the article, the author provides details about the positive outcomes
of China’s focus on solar and renewable energy. In paragraph 2, the author discusses the
improvements in working conditions and the environmental benefits of renewable energy,
and in paragraphs 4 and 5, the author focuses on how Chinese businesses benefited from
producing solar panels. In paragraph 6, the author discusses the increase in China’s use of
solar and renewable energy before concluding in paragraph 7 that this change will create a
better future.
B. Incorrect. Based on paragraph 4, the demand for solar power was initiated by countries
such as Germany, Spain, and Italy. China responded to these demands but did not influence
the other countries to use solar power.
C. Incorrect. While the author does discuss China’s use of coal power, the author focuses on
the developments regarding solar power in China rather than on other forms of energy.
D. Incorrect. The author does explain that Chinese businesses became interested in solar
power for financial reasons, but the author does not focus on the economic benefit or impact
of solar power on China. Instead, the author focuses on the other benefits of solar and
renewable energy.

32. The question asks how the details about other countries in paragraph 4 help develop a central

idea of the article.

E. CORRECT. The different countries are mentioned in paragraph 4 to explain how the actions
of these countries increased the demand for solar panels. As a result, Chinese businesses
increased their production and then improved their production methods to become more
efficient to meet the demand.
F. Incorrect. The author explains that the governments of these countries offered incentives
for people to use solar power, but the actions of these countries do not show a global need
for solar power.
G. Incorrect. The discussion of the European countries focuses on the actions taken by the
governments to encourage the growth of solar power in their own countries, but it does not
suggest that the countries were competing with one another.
H. Incorrect. Although China created a solar-power farm in an unusual place, there is no
information provided about how solar-power farms were constructed in other countries.

230
Excerpt from "How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language"

33. The question asks how the author’s use of comparison in paragraphs 4 and 5 contributes to the

development of ideas in the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. Paragraph 5 does not claim that adults are never able to learn a second language,
only that “it becomes harder to learn a second language after childhood.”
B. Incorrect. The issue of physical activity is never addressed in these paragraphs. They
compare the relative ease with which children and adults learn languages.
C. Incorrect. Paragraph 4 does not claim that more is known about language learning in
children; in fact, it says that children simply absorb language easily and does not attempt to
explain how.
D. CORRECT. Because adult brains lose the “innate language capability” of children and have
less plasticity when it comes to language learning, the study chose to focus on adults and
how exercise might help them learn new languages.

34. The question asks how the first sentence from paragraph 6 functions in the overall structure of

the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. While paragraph 6 begins to describe how the study was carried out, the results
of the study have not yet been discussed in previous paragraphs.
F. Incorrect. The population used for the study is an important detail that helps describe who
participated in the study, as well as an ideal situation (college-age people trying to learn a
new language), but this is not critical information used to determine the results.
G. CORRECT. While paragraphs 4 and 5 address why the study focuses on adult language
learning, the first sentence of paragraph 6 begins to give details about how the study was
conducted, including describing the population being studied: “40 college-age Chinese men
and women who were trying to learn English.”
H. Incorrect. The sentence from paragraph 6 does not include examples or discuss questions
for further research; it simply introduces the subjects recruited for the study.

231
35. The question asks why the researchers in the excerpt asked the English learners to assess

whether the new words made sense in the context of actual sentences.

A. CORRECT. As stated in paragraph 11, “Most linguists feel that understanding sentences
shows greater mastery of a new language” than mere memorization of new words, so the
researchers realized that asking learners to assess words in context would be a better
measure of how well they learned the new words.
B. Incorrect. The excerpt never addresses how earlier research on adult language learners was
conducted.
C. Incorrect. Having learners respond to the new words in context was used not as a teaching
tool but rather to assess learners’ mastery (paragraph 11).
D. Incorrect. The excerpt describes how proficiency at assessing words in context began to
emerge “after several weeks of instruction” (paragraph 14) and never suggests that the
task became more difficult after an extended period of time.

36. The question asks which evidence from the excerpt is most relevant to the author’s claim that

there are many unanswered questions about the relationship between movement and learning.

E. CORRECT. While the study revealed that the college students who used exercise bikes did
better in their language learning, paragraph 18 indicates that we cannot know “whether
other people completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results,” suggesting
that there are many unknowns about the relationship between movement and learning.
F. Incorrect. Rather than supporting the claim that there are many unanswered questions
about the relationship between movement and learning, this statement offers a possible
explanation as to why exercise might help learning.
G. Incorrect. The finding that exercise helps people retain their language learning longer
(paragraph 15) adds to our understanding of the relationship between movement and
learning rather than supporting the claim that there are still many unanswered questions.
H. Incorrect. Dr. Sulpizio’s statement that the study suggests that “ ‘instruction should be
flanked by physical activity’ ” (paragraph 21) does not in any way address the issue of
unanswered questions about movement and learning.

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37. The question asks which sentence from the excerpt best supports Dr. Sulpizio’s assertion in

paragraph 17 that exercise went beyond helping with memorization to deepen the language

learners’ ability to use new vocabulary.

A. Incorrect. This sentence merely describes what the language-learning sessions were like
without making any claims about how the exercise affected the subjects’ understanding of
how to use new words.
B. Incorrect. While this sentence does address the fact that learners were required to think
about how the new words should be used rather than just memorizing the words, it does
not discuss results such as how the exercise affected their ability to do this.
C. Incorrect. This sentence establishes only that exercise helped with the memorization of new
words, not that exercise deepened learners’ grasp of how to use the new words.
D. CORRECT. The fact that learners who exercised were better at identifying when the new
words were used correctly in sentences directly supports Dr. Sulpizio’s assertion that the
exercise deepened their grasp of how to use the new words.

38. The question asks what paragraph 18 reveals about the author’s perspective toward the study

in the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. As paragraph 18 says, the study cannot address “whether other people
completing other types of exercise would achieve the same results” as college students
riding bikes.
F. Incorrect. While paragraph 18 mentions that the students performed “relatively light
exercise,” it never suggests that more rigorous exercise should have been studied, only that
it is still unknown what the impact on language learning would be for other populations
doing other types of exercise.
G. Incorrect. Paragraph 18 points out only that the study’s results cannot be generalized to
other populations performing other types of exercise and never speculates on whether the
study’s results could be duplicated.
H. Incorrect. Far from claiming that the study’s results could be applied more broadly to
learning in general, paragraph 18 points out the ways in which the study’s results cannot be
applied more broadly.

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39. The question asks for the best summary of the research procedure used in the study in

the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. This summary says that students learned new words by matching words and
images and “also by analyzing words in context,” but this last method was how the
researchers assessed students, not how the students learned words; the summary is
therefore inaccurate.
B. CORRECT. The summary includes the most important information, which is that one group
of non-English-speaking students exercised before and during the English lessons, while the
other group did not, and that the students’ learning was assessed afterward.
C. Incorrect. This summary is incomplete because it never mentions the control group—that is,
the students who studied English without exercising—which was essential to the study so
that results could be compared.
D. Incorrect. This summary includes unnecessary details, such as that students were assessed
after a short break and also assessed after a month of no studying; it also neglects to
mention important points: that one group exercised both before and during learning, while
the other group did not exercise at all.

234
Looking for the Smallest Spark in Everything

40. The question asks what lines 5–8 reveal about the speaker to help develop a central idea

of the poem.

E. Incorrect. In lines 5–8, the speaker is demonstrating knowledge about the structure of
matter, not demonstrating interest in how matter’s parts work together; for example,
“beneath the level of molecules are atoms, / and beneath the level of atoms, we find /
protons, electrons, neutrons” (lines 5–7).
F. CORRECT. Lines 5–8 show the connection between the particles by using the words
“beneath the level” repeatedly. The progression of particles of matter, from atoms to
subatomic particles, “protons, electrons, neutrons” (line 7), ends with a question. By asking,
“what, exactly?” (line 8), the speaker questions the mysteries that are still unsolved about
the nature of matter, which is a central idea of the poem.
G. Incorrect. The speaker expresses curiosity in line 8 (“what, exactly?”) but does not use
language in lines 5–8 that expresses a desire to prove a point. The poem does not show any
conflict, either from within or from other scientists, about the concept that particles make
up matter.
H. Incorrect. While the poem is about the Large Hadron Collider, which, according to the
introductory text before the poem, is a tool that “helps scientists study and understand how
the smallest particles of matter interact with one another,” lines 5–8 do not suggest the use
of tools but rather question what comes after the “protons, electrons, neutrons” (line 7).

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41. The question asks how the break between the second stanza (lines 5–14) and the third stanza

(lines 15–26) serves as a transition between ideas.

A. CORRECT. The second stanza describes physical objects, including “your fingernail, / the
candy at the back of your mouth, / the coffee your teacher drank this morning” (lines 9–11)
and even “the stuffed dog” that “your little sister” (line 12) carries around. In the third
stanza, the speaker introduces the topic of observation by asking, “How do we find it?” in
line 17. Lines 17–18 offer one possible method for finding “it” (“We can listen for it / in the
wavelengths from deep space”), while lines 20–22 describe a second method (“Or we can
build long, / deep circular tunnels beneath the surface / of this Earth and race particles”).
With these details, the focus of the poem shifts toward explaining how the particles that
make up everything are observed.
B. Incorrect. While the speaker does list common items such as “candy” and “coffee” (lines
10–11) that many people are familiar with and that seem to be simple in composition or
structure, the speaker does not imply in the third stanza that invisible objects complicate
the world. In fact, the speaker claims that everything is “made up of the same stuff”
(line 16), which simplifies the invisible world.
C. Incorrect. The second stanza focuses on the structure of matter (“beneath the level of
molecules are atoms, / and beneath the level of atoms, we find / protons, electrons,
neutrons” [lines 5–7]) and does not discuss the methods used to explore this structure in
space. The third stanza mentions space (“We can listen for it / in the wavelengths from
deep space” [lines 17–18]) and how we can “race particles” (line 22) on Earth but does not
compare the methods of study used in these different locations.
D. Incorrect. While the second stanza describes items that are familiar to readers, including
“your fingernail, / the candy at the back of your mouth, / the coffee your teacher drank this
morning” (lines 9–11), the familiarity of these items does not necessarily mean they are
part of a comfortable environment. The third stanza discusses studying the parts of matter
“until everything we think we know / bangs against everything else we know” (lines 25–26).
The “banging” the speaker refers to is not related to an unstable environment but rather to
the mysteries of atomic structure.

42. The question asks what the comparison in lines 23–24 of the poem is mainly meant to show.

E. Incorrect. While the particles are moving “close to the speed of light” (line 24), which would
make them difficult to see, the comparison in lines 23–24 focuses on the movement of the
particles, not how visible they are.
F. CORRECT. Lines 23–24 describe “tiny cars / flashing along at close to the speed of light,”
which describes how the particles move.
G. Incorrect. Lines 23–24 do not describe the shape of the particles but rather their movement,
which is “flashing along at close to the speed of light” (line 24).
H. Incorrect. The word “flashing” in line 24 does not refer to light in darkness but rather to
speed, and the word “light” is used to reference a measurement of speed, not brightness
in darkness.

236
43. The question asks how lines 25–26 help develop a central idea in the poem.

A. Incorrect. Lines 25–26 illustrate the collision of old and new information about particles, but
they do not describe “creative methods” that are currently being invented to research
subatomic particles.
B. CORRECT. The lines “until everything we think we know / bangs against everything else we
know” (lines 25–26) are about how the old knowledge about particles interacts with
newfound knowledge
C. Incorrect. While lines 20–22 describe the Large Hadron Collider as “long, / deep circular
tunnels beneath the surface / of this Earth” where scientists “race particles,” lines 25–26
refer to the collision of old and new ideas about particles, not the limitations of the Large
Hadron Collider.
D. Incorrect. Lines 25–26 focus on what “we think we know” about subatomic particles and
how new discoveries challenge “everything else we know.” However, the challenge is not a
result of scientists debating one another but rather what the Large Hadron Collider reveals
about particles.

44. The question asks what the imagery in lines 27–28 reveals about the speaker.

E. Incorrect. The physicists mentioned in the fifth stanza (lines 33–44) are described as mere
observers: they “jot down / what they can” (lines 41–42). In lines 27–28, the speaker is
focused on the reaction between the colliding particles, not on the physicists who
study them.
F. Incorrect. The speaker describes the particle collision in detail, but the text does not imply
that the speaker has personally witnessed a collision. The speaker implies that his or her
understanding of the collision is based on the experiences of the physicists observing the
phenomenon (“They spin, and it is only
down there / in the darkness—in the vast garage / where physicists jot down / what they
can, whatever seems most real— / that they let us perceive their wild dancing”
[lines 39–43]).
G. CORRECT. The word “explosion” and the phrase “briefly incandescent” create a picture of
rapid changes and short bursts of bright light, revealing how powerful the new particles are.
The language the speaker uses is positive, revealing that the speaker admires the power of
the reaction and stands in awe of the new particles.
H. Incorrect. The poem reveals the speaker’s deep knowledge about subatomic particles. For
example, the speaker is able to name the new particles discovered—“the quarks, the
leptons, and the bosons; / the baryons and the mesons” (lines 29–30)—and is able to use
imagery to create a powerful picture that reveals the complexity of a scientific process that
humans have never been able to see.

237
45. The question asks why the speaker refers to familiar objects and events in lines 30–32.

A. Incorrect. In lines 30–32, the speaker only gives an opinion about what the names sound
like and does not simplify confusing information about how these newly discovered particles
function or exist.
B. Incorrect. In lines 30–32, the speaker is only describing what the names of the particles
sound like: “dinosaurs or maybe bands” (line 31). These descriptions illustrate the speaker’s
opinion but do not explain specific scientific ideas.
C. Incorrect. In lines 30–32, the mention of the names of the particles sounding like
“dinosaurs or maybe bands” (line 31) reveals the speaker’s opinion about the names but
does not explain the process of researching the particles.
D. CORRECT. The phrase “their names” (line 30) refers to the scientific names of the
particles: “the quarks, the leptons, and the bosons; / the baryons and the mesons” (lines
29–30). In lines 30–32, the speaker expresses the opinion that these scientific terms sound
nonsensical, much like the strange scientific names of dinosaurs or silly band names.

46. The question asks for the most likely reason the poet includes lines 36–39 in the poem.

E. Incorrect. While the poem implies that the research is important, lines 36–39 do not point
to a need for more research. Instead, the lines explain the power of the particles in
the universe.
F. CORRECT. The particles that are “Everything and everywhere” (line 15) make up the
objects mentioned in lines 36–39: a “pencil in your hand” and the planet “Jupiter.” Even
though these objects are different from each other and extremely far apart in the universe,
they are made up of and affected by these particles. The “powerful effect” is that the
particles keep the objects “both together and apart” (line 36).
G. Incorrect. While the physicists can only “jot down / what they can, whatever seems most
real” (lines 41–42), the discoveries about particles are ongoing and informative. The
speaker shares that the particles are “everything and everywhere” (line 15) and that they
“spin” (line 34) because “this is how gravity / enters our world” (lines 34–35).
H. Incorrect. The speaker states that particles keep together objects in space, such as Jupiter,
as well as objects on Earth, such as “the pencil in your hand right now” (line 37). However,
in lines 36–39, the speaker is not comparing the study of subatomic particles with the study
of objects in space (astronomy); the speaker is implying that because particles are
“everything and everywhere” (line 15), the study of particles affects our understanding of
everything in the universe, regardless of location.

238
47. The question asks which central idea is emphasized in the last stanza (lines 33–44).

A. CORRECT. Throughout the poem, the speaker describes how everything in our universe and
in our everyday lives is made up of these tiny particles. The last stanza allows us to picture
the scientists working “in the darkness” (line 40), jotting down notes. Phrases like “wild
dancing” (line 43) and “combusting to the music” (line 44) describe the activity of the
particles and communicate the idea that the findings are exciting.
B. Incorrect. While the Large Hadron Collider is in an unconventional location that is important
in the poem, it is the only location described in the poem: “it is only down there / in the
darkness—in the vast garage” (lines 39–40). While the darkness is a special condition, the
poem does not describe other conditions where the same type of research is being carried
out. The poem does mention that “we can listen for it / in the wavelengths from deep space,
/ talking back to us from unimaginable / distances” (lines 17–20), but this description
implies the use of a tool (a satellite), not a location.
C. Incorrect. The last stanza states that “The one thing we know for sure / is that they spin”
(lines 33–34). This detail is one aspect of the particles’ behavior that is known; therefore,
the particles are not completely unpredictable. In addition, the poem never describes the
particles breaking up matter in the universe; the poem describes only their movements and
collisions.
D. Incorrect. While the “physicists jot down / what they can, whatever seems most real” (lines
41–42), the research they share with the world is complicated and difficult to understand,
making it unlikely that their findings are relatable to most people.

48. The question asks what lines 39–44 reveal about the speaker.

E. Incorrect. While the discoveries are made “in the darkness” (line 40), the imagery conveys
the speaker’s positive tone through descriptions like “perceive their wild dancing” (line 43)
and “combusting to the music they make” (line 44), not frustration.
F. Incorrect. In lines 39–44, the imagery of energetic movement (“They spin,” “their wild
dancing,” and “combusting to the music they make”) is used to describe the particles, not
the physicists.
G. CORRECT. The speaker uses the phrases “only down there” (line 39), “physicists jot down
... whatever seems most real” (lines 41–42), and “they let us perceive” (line 43) to convey
that the physicists have a rare role in studying the mysteries of the universe and that the
speaker appreciates and is interested in their work.
H. Incorrect. While the description of the experiments occurring “in the darkness” (line 40)
may create a sense of secrecy, the secrets that the darkness refers to are the mysteries of
subatomic particles, not the work processes that the physicists use.

239
Excerpt from "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

49. The question asks how the phrases “cool morning breezes swept freely” and “wafting the

perfume of sweet grasses” affect the tone of paragraph 1 in the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. Although the author describes in paragraph 1 the setting of her childhood
experiences, the positive wording of the phrases the author uses in the paragraph (“swept
freely” and “perfume of sweet grasses”) does not suggest a tone of sadness the author feels
when she reflects on her former way of life.
B. Incorrect. Although the phrases “cool morning breezes swept freely” and “wafting the
perfume of sweet grasses” used in paragraph 1 create a positive tone, the phrases do not
suggest an enthusiasm for the author’s work but rather an appreciation of the peaceful
beauty of her childhood.
C. CORRECT. In paragraph 1, the phrases “cool morning breezes swept freely” and “wafting
the perfume of sweet grasses” are used to describe where the author’s childhood
experiences took place. The phrases create a tone of fondness and evoke a feeling of
happiness through their lyrical sensory detail: “swept freely” suggests a sense of joyful
possibility, while “perfume,” “sweet,” and “cool” convey delight.
D. Incorrect. Although the author describes her mother's beadwork lessons as “confining” in
paragraph 7, the phrases in paragraph 1 do not suggest that the author feels conflicting or
mixed emotions toward her work and her mother. Instead, the phrases convey a positive
tone by affectionately describing the author’s childhood home.

50. The question asks what the phrase “just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette” in

paragraph 2 suggests in the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. In paragraph 2, by comparing the way her mother arranges the beads to the
way a painter “arranges the paints upon his palette,” the author emphasizes that her
mother approaches her craft just as a painter does, thus suggesting that beadwork is a true
form of art.
F. Incorrect. Although the author mentions “bunches of colored beads” in paragraph 2, this
detail does not provide enough evidence for the idea that color inspires beadworkers. The
phrase “just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette” indicates the connection of
beadwork to other forms of art in general, not necessarily to the specifics of color as a
source of inspiration.
G. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author describes her mother “untying the long tasseled
strings” and then spreading “upon a mat beside her bunches of colored beads.” However,
the phrase “just as an artist arranges the paints upon his palette” does not suggest that all
artistic activities begin with a series of steps. There is no mention in the passage of any
other artistic activities involving multiple initial steps.
H. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author describes how her mother “spread upon a mat beside
her bunches of colored beads” as the first step in the artistic process described in the
passage. Therefore, the comparison between the mother’s process and a painter arranging
paints on a palette suggests that the mother is creating art, not imitating it. There is no
indication that the mother is copying a technique she has seen in other art forms.

240
51. The question asks how the author’s use of sequence in paragraphs 1 and 2 contributes to the

development of ideas in the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author does list the steps her mother takes in preparation to
do beadwork, such as “untying the long tasseled strings” of the bag of beads, spreading the
beads beside her on a mat, and using “a long, narrow blade” to trim the buckskin into
shape. However, the language used to describe this sequence does not indicate that
preparing to work with beads is difficult or complex.
B. Incorrect. Although the author’s description of untying the bag of beads, spreading the
beads upon a mat, smoothing out a sheet of buckskin, and trimming the buckskin into
shape in paragraph 2 indicates that the mother follows a certain routine, it does not place
any emphasis on working most efficiently by following the steps of the beading process in a
precise order.
C. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author describes her mother “untying the long tasseled
strings that bound a small brown buckskin bag,” “spread[ing them] upon a mat beside her
bunches of colored beads,” “smooth[ing] out a double sheet of soft white buckskin; and
drawing from a beaded case that hung on the left of her wide belt a long, narrow blade” to
trim the buckskin. Although these descriptions do outline the steps in her process for
creating beadwork, they do not emphasize the time required to do so, since the author does
not mention in the excerpt how long it took her mother to fully prepare for and complete the
large and small tasks in the activity of beading.
D. CORRECT. In paragraph 1, the author describes how the morning begins with her mother
rolling up the canvas of the wigwam and allowing the breeze to come in. In paragraph 2,
the author uses sensory language and precise sequencing to describe the way her mother
prepares the beading materials by untying “the long tasseled strings that bound a small
brown buckskin bag,” spreading the “bunches of colored beads” beside her, and smoothing
out “a double sheet of soft white buckskin.” This combination of sequence and sensory
language highlights the author’s enthusiasm for beadwork by emphasizing that the author
pays close attention to her mother’s preparations.

241
52. The question asks how the details in paragraph 3 convey a central idea of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. In paragraph 2, the author mentions how her mother “worked upon small
moccasins for her small daughter” and when she did, the author “became intensely
interested in her [mother’s] designing.” However, in paragraph 3, the author is interested in
her mother’s work mainly as part of her “lessons in the art of beadwork,” not because she
knew her mother was making something for her.
F. Incorrect. In paragraph 3, the author receives “practical observation lessons in the art of
beadwork” and describes how “from a skein of finely twisted threads of silvery sinews my
mother pulled out a single one” and “pierced the buckskin, and skillfully threaded it with the
white sinew.” The author describes the process in such detail that she provides no indication
that she had difficulty learning through observation. The author also does not give any
indication in the paragraph that she wanted to help her mother; she was there merely to
observe and learn.
G. Incorrect. Although the author refers to her beading lessons with her mother as “practical
observation lessons in the art of beadwork” and indicates that she sat “close beside” her
mother while observing her beadwork, the author provides no indication in the paragraph
that she was determined to behave according to her mother’s standards or that she sought
her mother’s approval.
H. CORRECT. In paragraph 3, the author describes her mother’s artistry and craftsmanship by
using language such as “skillfully threaded,” “picking up the tiny beads one by one,” and
“twisting it carefully after every stitch.” These close observations indicate that the author
greatly admired her mother’s mastery of her craft and the precision that went into every
detail of her work.

242
53. The question asks which sentence best summarizes the process of beading that is described in

the excerpt.

A. Incorrect. In paragraphs 2 and 3, the author describes how at the beginning of the process
her mother “smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin” on a lapboard
(paragraph 2) and how she strings the beads into a pattern. However, this sentence does
not describe the steps that take place between the preparation and the stringing of the
beads. Thus, this sentence does not best summarize the beading process.
B. Incorrect. In paragraphs 2 and 3, the author describes the process her mother uses to
string the beads with “the point of her thread, always twisting it carefully after every stitch”
(paragraph 3). While this sentence includes some of the steps in the beading process, it
does not describe the preparation that must take place before beginning the task, namely
spreading the beads and the buckskin out on a table. Thus, this sentence does not best
summarize the beading process.
C. CORRECT. This sentence best summarizes the process of beading that is described in the
excerpt because it includes details about each step in the process. In paragraph 2, the
author explains how her mother “spread upon a mat beside her bunches of colored beads”
and how “on a lapboard she smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin; and
drawing from a beaded case that hung on the left of her wide belt a long, narrow blade, she
trimmed the buckskin into shape.” The author continues her description in paragraph 3,
stating, “From a skein of finely twisted threads of silvery sinews my mother pulled out a
single one. With an awl she pierced the buckskin, and skillfully threaded it with the white
sinew. Picking up the tiny beads one by one, she strung them with the point of her thread,
always twisting it carefully after every stitch.”
D. Incorrect. In paragraphs 2 and 3, the author describes the process her mother uses as she
“smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin” (paragraph 2) on a lapboard before
stringing the beads. While this sentence includes most of the steps in the beading process,
it excludes the step of piercing the buckskin. This sentence also provides few details about
the process of beading and uses vague wording to describe each step. Therefore, the
sentence does not best summarize the beading process.

243
54. The question asks how the idea that mastering moccasin design and creation requires

experience is best illustrated in the excerpt.

E. CORRECT. In paragraph 6, the author states that when she became more familiar with
elements of design, “a harder lesson was given me.” According to the author, sewing on
porcupine quills is a much more difficult task to master because it requires experience in
handling the poisonous porcupine quills, which is why her mother told her not to “do much
alone in quills” until she was older (paragraph 6). This information best illustrates the idea
that mastering moccasin design and creation requires experience.
F. Incorrect. Although the author provides detailed descriptions of the materials used to make
decorated moccasins (“colored beads” [paragraph 2]; “a skein of finely twisted threads of
silvery sinews” [paragraph 3]; “tinted porcupine quills, moistened and flattened between
the nails of the thumb and forefinger” [paragraph 6]), these descriptions do not illustrate
the experience that is needed to gain mastery of moccasin design and creation.
G. Incorrect. Although the author describes the color combinations she used in making
moccasins (“I was pleased with an outline of yellow upon a background of dark blue, or a
combination of red and myrtle-green. There was another of red with a bluish-gray that was
more conventionally used” [paragraph 6]), this information mainly illustrates the author’s
satisfaction with her moccasin design, not the importance of experience in mastering the
creation and design of moccasins.
H. Incorrect. In paragraph 7, the author tells of using a sharpened rod to spear gum from
trees. She explains that she and her playmates used the rods to “[pry] up certain sweet
roots” to find the gum. The detail of the sharpened rod is from a recollection about the
playtime that followed the “confining lessons” of moccasin making. However, the sharpened
rod was not used to create moccasins.

244
55. The question asks how the author distinguishes her point of view from that of her mother.

A. Incorrect. In paragraph 4, the author explains that “it took many trials before I learned how
to knot my sinew thread on the point of my finger, as I saw her do” and that the “difficulty
was in keeping my thread stiffly twisted, so that I could easily string my beads upon it.”
Although this explanation describes the author’s difficulty in performing the same task as
her mother, it does not distinguish her point of view from that of her mother. In fact, they
seem to share the same point of view regarding the importance of the technique the author
is attempting to learn.
B. CORRECT. In paragraph 5, the author distinguishes her point of view from that of her
mother by describing their approaches to beadwork design. In the paragraph, the author
states, “I usually drew easy and simple crosses and squares” and that “my original designs
were not always symmetrical nor sufficiently characteristic, two faults with which my mother
had little patience.” The author also distinguishes her point of view from that her of mother
by stating that “the quietness of [my mother’s] oversight made me feel strongly responsible
and dependent upon my own judgment.”
C. Incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author states, “My mother cut off the prickly ends and burned
them at once in the centre fire. These sharp points were poisonous, and worked into the
flesh wherever they lodged. For this reason, my mother said, I should not do much alone in
quills until I was as tall as my cousin Warca-Ziwin.” Although these instructions explain the
importance of having experience and skill when working with quills, they do not distinguish
the author’s point of view from that of her mother.
D. Incorrect. In paragraph 7, the author describes her beadwork lessons as “confining” and
states that she liked to roam “over the hills” with her playmates after the lessons. However,
she makes no mention of her mother in paragraph 7; the activities and ideas stated there
belong to the author, not the mother.

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56. The question asks which sentence best describes how the sentence from paragraph 7 fits into

the overall structure of the excerpt.

E. Incorrect. Though the author feels humiliated “when some boldness of mine drew forth a
rebuke from” her mother (paragraph 5) and characterizes her lessons with her mother as
“confining” (paragraph 7), the overall passage does not portray a demanding relationship
between the author and the mother. The shift introduced in the sentence from paragraph 7
is not from one of the author’s relationships to another; it is from work to play.
F. Incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author explains how working with porcupine quills is difficult
because the “sharp points were poisonous, and worked into the flesh wherever they
lodged.” Although this sentence suggests that working with porcupine quills was
challenging, the sentence from paragraph 7 does not signal a change from the challenging
aspects of life on the reservation to the advantages of living on the prairie. Most of
paragraph 6 describes the author’s pleasure in creating designs in different colors.
G. CORRECT. In the sentence from paragraph 7, the author refers to her beadwork lessons as
“confining” and states that after the lessons, she “was wild with surplus spirits” and “found
joyous relief” in being outside and running around. The phrases “surplus spirits” and
“joyous relief” highlight a sense of freedom that stands in strong contrast to the “confining”
nature of the author’s beadwork lessons, which required intense focus and control.
H. Incorrect. In paragraph 7, the author describes how “many a summer afternoon” after her
beadwork lessons, she and her friends used “a light sharpened rod” to gather “sweet roots”
and “little crystal drops of gum.” She then explains that they later “tossed away our gum,
to return again to the sweet roots.” However, the sentence from paragraph 7 does not
conclude the progression of events in the narrative by describing the sequence of events at
the end of the author’s day; the sentence appears at the beginning of paragraph 7 and
provides a contrast with events from the previous paragraph.

246
57. The question asks how the table after paragraph 7 expands upon a central idea in the excerpt.

A. CORRECT. The table provides the chronology from the 1500s, when the Dakota created
beadwork using “beads made from bones, shells, stones, and animal teeth,” to the 1830s,
when the Dakota began “using glass beads,” and the 1900s, when they created items to
“sell outside their community.” Thus, the table helps expand on a central idea by showing
that the craft the author was learning is a tradition that has endured through many
generations.
B. Incorrect. Although the table shows that the Dakota used “beads made from bones, shells,
stones, and animal teeth” in the 1500s and that by the 1830s began “using glass beads in
clothing, artwork, and decorations in place of Native-made beads,” it does not provide any
information about the type of materials used by the author’s family.
C. Incorrect. While the information included in the table states that “European traders
[brought] glass beads to North America” in the 1500s and that by the 1920s the Dakota
created “items to sell outside their community,” there is no mention of whether the
uniqueness of Dakota beadwork was recognized in Europe.
D. Incorrect. The table indicates that by the late 1600s the Dakota began trading with French
traders from Europe who brought glass beads to the Americas and that by 1830 the Dakota
were “using glass beads in clothing, artwork, and decorations in place of Native-made
beads.” However, the table provides no information about whether this work incorporated
color. Therefore, the table does not show that the author was able to incorporate color into
her craftwork as a result of trade with other peoples.

247
FORM B SAMPLE TEST – MATHEMATICS
EXPLANATIONS OF CORRECT ANSWERS

58. (5, 184) First, find the volume of the cube 59. (0.5) To find p, the constant of

using the formula V = lwh. proportionality of ounces of raisins, y, to

cups of oatmeal, x, use the

The length, width, and height of the cube
equation y = px.
are equal (18 mm).

The table shows that there is 1 ounce of

Vc = 18 × 18 × 18 = 5,832 cubic mm
raisins for 2 cups of oatmeal.

Next, find the volume of the cut-out

square prism, with equal length and width 1 = 2p

1
_ = _2p
(6 mm), and height of 18 mm.
2 2
0.5 = p
Vp = 6 × 6 × 18 = 648 cubic mm

Finally, subtract the volume of the prism The constant of proportionality is 0.5.
from the volume of the cube.

5,832 − 648 = 5,184 cubic mm

60. (4.6) Subtract the number of grams of

sugar Kelly used in her coffee from the

original amount she had.

7.3 − 2.7 = 4.6 grams left

248
61. (8) The price of a book before tax is x 63. (B) By observation, 3,575 ends in 75;
and after tax is 1.08x. Subtract to therefore, 3,575 is divisible by 25.
determine the tax rate.
3,575 ÷ 25 = 143
1.08x − x = 0.08x, so the tax
rate is 0.08. Test 143 for factors and eliminate 3, 5,

and 7, but 11 is a factor.

The tax rate m% can be written as _m .
100
143 ÷ 11 = 13; both 11 and 13 are
Solve for m:
prime numbers.

_m = 0.08
100 The first factor, 25, is not prime but is the

( 100 )
100 _ m = 100(0.08) product of primes, 5 × 5 = 5 2.

m = 8
The prime factorization of 3,575 is

52 × 11 × 13.

62. (5) The probability that any 1 seat will be

selected at random from 20 seats is 1 out

of 20. To find the probability as a

percentage, convert the fraction to

a decimal.

_1
= 0.05
20

Then convert the decimal to a percentage

by multiplying by 100.

0.05 × 100 = 5

The probability is 5%.

249
64. (H) The goal is to isolate the variable x by 65. (D) First, multiply both sides of the

using inverse operations. First, multiply equation by 10 to eliminate the fractions.

both sides by 5 and then subtract 2y from In other words, multiply each term by 10.

both sides.
_x y − x z
+ _ = _
10 5 10
x + 2y
_ −
( 10 )
= 3y
( 10 )
x y x z
5 10 _ + _ = 10 _
5
x + 2y = 15y
10x + _
_ 10(y − x) 10z
x = 13y = _
10 5 10
x + 2(y − x) = z

Another approach is to make the right side

Then, distribute and combine like terms to
of the equation a fraction and then use
find the value for z.
cross multiplication for the first step.

x + 2(y − x) = z
x + 2y
_ 3y
_
= x + 2y − 2x = z
5 1
2y − x = z
x + 2y = 15y

x = 13y

250
66. (F) First, find the sum for each set by 67. (C) The first step is to substitute the
adding the terms in each set separately.
value for x into the expression to

The sum for set R is 5 + x + 3 + 8, get _ 2 .

− 1
_
2
which is x + 16. 4
Then, evaluate the denominator and

The sum for set S is 6 + y + 4 + 1, finally divide the numerator by the

which is y + 11. denominator.

The question states that these two sums

(4)
2
_ = 2 ÷ 7
_ = 2(_)
8 = 1_
4 = _ 1

(4)
are equal to each other, so write the 7
_ 7 7 7

equation and then rearrange using inverse

operations.

x + 16 = y + 11
x = y − 5
x − y = −5

If the rearranging to obtain the target

value is unclear, use the equation

x + 16 = y + 11 and find a few

possible values for x and y.

For example, if x = 1, then y = 6

because 1 + 16 = 6 + 11. If x = 2,
then y = 7 because 2 + 16 = 7 + 11.
Then find the value of x − y. No matter
which values are chosen, x − y will
always be −5.

251
68. (F) Since the additional cost per pound is 69. (C) The question uses the phrase “no

not added until the package weighs more more than,” which translates to “less than

than 3 pounds, the total cost for 1, 2, or or equal to” (≤).

3 pounds is $12.
Since T-shirts cost $9.25 each and Julie
• 1 pound is $12 bought x T-shirts, the total cost just for

• 2 pounds is $12 the T-shirts is found by multiplying $9.25

by x, or 9.25x.
• 3 pounds is $12

Combining the cost for one bag ($18.75)

Since p is greater than or equal to
plus the cost for x T-shirts, the inequality
3 pounds, the total cost for:
is 18.75 + 9.25x ≤ 50.00.
• 4 pounds is

12 + (4 − 3)(2) = 14

• 5 pounds is

12 + (5 − 3)(2) = 16

• p pounds is

12 + (p − 3)(2) = 12 + 2(p − 3)

You may try to write the expression

without generating the pattern by

recognizing that subtracting 3 from the

number of pounds for the package before

multiplying by $2 and then adding $12

results in the total cost.

252
70. (E) Use inverse operations to isolate the 71. (A) To find the perimeter of a triangle,

variable x by first getting the x variable add the measures of the three sides. The

on one side. perimeter of the scale drawing is

5 + 7 + 8 = 20 inches.
2x + 11 > 3x + 9
2x − 3x + 11 > 3x − 3x + 9 Now, use the perimeters to find the scale

−x + 11 > 9 factor for the scale drawing to the actual

−x + 11 − 11 > 9 − 11 perimeter.

−x > −2
The scale factor is 20 inches to 25 miles,

which reduces to a scale factor of 4 inches

Now, when dividing by −1, the direction of
to 5 miles. Note that the scale for the
the inequality sign changes.
perimeter is the same as the scale for the

side lengths.
−x > −2
x < 2 Since the smallest side on the scale

drawing is 5 inches, use the scale factor to

Another way to solve is to keep the find the actual side length of the
coefficient of x positive and then smallest side:
recognizing that 2 > x is the

( 4 inches )
same as x < 2. 5 inches _5 miles = 6.25 miles

2x + 11 > 3x + 9
11 > x + 9
2 > x
x < 2

253
72. (H) ‾
SP represents the radius of the circle 73. (A) Since the three angles of a triangle

and has length 12. have a sum of 180°, and since one angle

_ is a right angle, the other two angles have

Both ‾
RP and PT are radii and also have
a sum of 90°. By writing an equation and
length 12.
using inverse operations, the value of x

Therefore, the length of ‾

RT, which is a can be found.

diameter, is 24 and is also

(2x + 9) + (3x − 14) = 90
represented by x + 5.
5x − 5 = 90
x + 5 = 24 5x = 95
x = 19 x = 19

Now, use substitution to find the measure

of the two angles to determine the

smallest angle of the triangle.

2x + 9 = 2(19) + 9 = 47
3x − 14 = 3(19) − 14 = 43

The smallest angle is 43°.

254
74. (F) Pages read in the morning: 76. (H) First, add the number of students that

(4)
1 (84)
_ are members of both orchestra and choir.
= 21

Pages remaining after the morning: 38 + 46 = 84

84 − 21 = 63
Then, subtract to find the number of
Pages read in the afternoon: students that are members of both

(3)
1 (63)
_ = 21 orchestra and choir.

Pages he still needs to read: 84 − 64 = 20

63 − 21 = 42
Then, find the fraction of the 64 students

that are members of both orchestra

75. (C) To add fractions, find a common and choir.

denominator and rename the fractions

20
_ 5
using the common denominator. The least = _
64 16
common denominator for 11, 22, and 33

is 66. After adding the fractions, the final

fraction can be reduced to lowest terms.

77. (C) First, add the mixed numbers. Then,

1
_ 1×6 6
= _ = _ 1 to a decimal.
convert the fraction _
11 11 × 6 66
9
1
_ 1×3 3
= _ = _
22 22 × 3 66 2 4
1 1×2 2 1_ + 2_
_ = _ = _ 3 9
33 33 × 2 66 6 4
1_ + 2_
9 9
6
_ 3 + _
+ _ 2 = _
11 = _
1 10
3 + _
66 66 66 66 6 9
3 + 1_1
9
_
1
4 _ = 4.111... = 4.1
9

lineExtend

255
78. (G) First, convert the decimal 0.4, which 79. (B) Use the order of operations to

4 , evaluate the expression. It is important to

is read as four-tenths, to the fraction _
10 recognize that the fraction bar is a
and then set up a proportion to solve for x
grouping symbol and so the entire
using cross products. numerator should be evaluated first.

Exponents are evaluated first.

_4 = _ x
10 25
10x = 100 −9 (−4) + 36(−4) + 304
2
______________________
x = 10 −4
− 9(16) + 36(−4) + 304
____________________
−4
2 before setting
Or, reduce the fraction to _
5
up the proportion and then use
Then multiplication, recognizing that the
proportional reasoning. product of a negative factor and a positive

factor is negative.
_4 = _2
10 5
2 × 5
_ 10 −9(16) + 36(−4) + 304
= _ ____________________
5 × 5 25 −4
− 144 − 144 + 304
________________
−4
Therefore, x = 10.

Then addition and subtraction in order

from left to right, recognizing the rules for

adding and subtracting signed numbers.

−144 − 144 + 304

________________
−4
− 288 + 304
___________ 16
= _
−4 −4

And finally the fraction can be evaluated

by division, recognizing that the quotient

of a positive and a negative number is

16
negative. _ = −4
−4

256
80. (G) First, determine the total amount 81. (B) When Seth picks strawberries, the

Maxie borrowed, in dollars: value represents a positive number, and

when he eats the strawberries, the value

7.75 + 11.00 + 4.50 = 23.25 represents a negative number. Write an

expression and then evaluate the

Then use subtraction to determine the expression, where the negative value is
difference between the amount her multiplied by 3 because he ate the same
grandmother gave her and the amount amount on 3 different days.
she borrowed:
1
2_ + 4 + (3)(− _
3
)
25.00 − 23.25 = 1.75 2 4
1
2_ 1
+ 4 − 2_
2 4
The difference is positive, which means 61
_ − 1
2_
2 4
that Maxie will still have $1.75 left from 2 1
6_ − 2_
the amount her grandmother gave her.
4 4
41
_
4

If the multiplication is confusing, evaluate

the expression below which represents the

sum for the 5 days with each day listed

separately.

( 4) ( 4) ( 4)
1
2_ + 4 + 3
−_ + 3
−_ + 3
−_
2
41
_
4

257
82. (E) When looking for a situation where 83. (D) First, simplify the numerator and the

quantities combine to make zero, find two denominator separately.

values with the same absolute value

To simplify the numerator, multiply the
where one value is positive and one value
last two fractions and then subtract from
is negative.
the first fraction.

In the situation in option A, receiving a

(5 3)
gift of $5 is represented by + 5, and giving 2 − _
_ 4 × _
1
3
a friend $5 is represented by −5. These 2 − _
_ 4
values combine to equal zero because 3 15
10 − _
_ 4
+ 5 − 5 = 0. 15 15
6 = _
_ 2
15 5

To simplify the denominator, divide the

last two fractions and then add to the

first fraction.

(4 )
5
_ + 1
_ 3
÷ _
3 4

(4 )
5
_ + 1
_ 4
× _
3 3
5
_ + 1
_
3 3
5
_ + 1
_ 6 = 2
= _
3 3 3

Finally, divide the numerator by the

denominator.

2
_
_
5 2 ÷ 2 = _
= _ 2 × _
1 = _
1
2 5 5 2 5

258
84. (F) To determine the number of 86. (F) First, calculate the amount of

sunflower seeds in 25 pounds of this

kilometers in 1 minute, find the unit rate
1
_ birdseed by using ratio reasoning to find
kilometer
in kilometers per minute: 8_ .
3
_ minute that there are 10 pounds of sunflower
4
seeds in the birdseed.
To evaluate the fraction, use the reciprocal
1 kilometer
when dividing to get _ 2
_ 10
6 = _
5 25
per 1 minute.

1
_ 3 = _
1 × _
4 = _
4 = _
1 Then, use ratio reasoning to find the cost
÷ _
8 4 8 3 24 6 of the sunflower seeds per pound.

( 1 ounce )( 1 pound ) = $1.60

_ $0.10 16 ounces
_

85. (B) First, find the length of the bus trip in

miles by multiplying the time, 9 hours, by The cost of the sunflower seeds is
the average (mean) speed, 50 miles per $1.60 per pound.
hour, to get 450 miles.
Finally, find the total cost using ratios by
Then, divide the total distance, 450 miles, multiplying the unit cost per pound by
by the average (mean) speed, 45 miles 10 pounds.
per hour, to get the total time:

_$1.60 10 pounds
× _ = $16.00
450 ÷ 45 = 10 hours 1 pound 1

The first two steps above could be done in

the other order; that is, find $1.60 per

pound first and 10 pounds of sunflower

seeds second.

259
87. (A) First, convert steps per second to 88. (F) Since 36 people each drank 2 cups of

steps per minute. juice, the total amount of juice they drank

was 36 × 2 = 72 cups.
_9 steps 90 steps 90 steps
= _ = _
6 seconds 60 seconds 1 minute Convert 72 cups to gallons:

Then, use ratio reasoning to determine 1 quart 1 gallon

72 cups × _ × _ =
4 cups 4 quarts
that each step must be 3 feet since 90
72 gallons =
_
times 3 is 270 (or 270 divided by 90 is 3). 16
9 gallons =
_
2
90 steps
_ 3 feet = _
270 feet
× _ 4_1 gallons
1 minute 1 step 1 minute 2

or lineExtend

270 feet
_ 90 steps
÷ _ =
1 minute 1 minute
270 feet
_ 1 minute =
× _
1 minute 90 steps
3 feet
_
1 step

lineExtend

260
89. (B) To find the fraction of the book the 90. (G) First, set up the ratio of the perimeter

student can read in 1 hour, find the unit of the square to the triangle as 2:1

rate per hour. First, set up the ratio. because the question states that the

perimeter of the square is twice the

1
_ book perimeter of the triangle.
_
12
1
_ hour
3
Recognizing that the square has 4 equal

sides and that an equilateral triangle has

Then use division to find the unit rate.
3 sides, use division to find the ratio of

1
_
the sides.
_
12 1 ÷ _
= _ 1 = _ 3 = _
1 × _ 3 = _
1
1
_ 12 3 12 1 12 4
3 Perimeter: 2 : 1 2
= _
1
2
_
_
4 2 ÷ _
= _ 1 =
Another way to solve the problem is to set 1
_ 4 3
3
Sides: _
2 3 = _
6 =
up the ratio and then multiply both the × _
4 1 4
numerator and denominator by 3, 3
_ = 3:2
1 hour times 3 equals 1 hour. 2
since _
3

1
3×_ book 1
_ book
_ 12
= _
4
3 × _13 hour 1 hour

261
91. (A) To find the cups of sugar for each cup 92. (F) First determine the pages read for

of flour, find the unit rate using this ratio: each assignment. Since the pages per

assignment are inclusive, subtract the first

2
_ cup of sugar page from the last page assigned and
_____________
3
1
1_ cups of flour then add 1 to determine the pages read
4
for each assignment.

Then, convert the denominator to an

Assignment I: (17 − 3) + 1 = 15
improper fraction and divide to find the

cups of sugar per cup of flour. Assignment II: (38 − 25) + 1 = 14

2
_ Assignment III: (60 − 45) + 1 = 16
_
3
= _ 5 = _
2 ÷ _ 2 × _ 8
4 = _
5
_ 3 4 3 5 15
4 The student was assigned a total of 45

pages, since 15 + 14 + 16 = 45.

To determine the percent, express 45

pages out of 250 pages as a fraction.

45 = _
_ 45 ÷ 5 = _
9
250 250 ÷ 5 50
9 = _
_ 18 = 18%
50 100

262
93. (C) In this context, the phrase “this 96. (F) Each (x, y) ordered pair represents y,

sample is representative” means that the the number of applicants that

ratio of 2 red marbles to 8 green marbles made x errors.

is the same as the ratio of red to green

First, determine the points with x-values
marbles in the entire box. Use this ratio of
less than 3.
2 to 8 to set up a proportion and solve,

where x represents the number of green The point (1, 4) means that 4 applicants
marbles in the box. made 1 error.

2 = _
_ 100 The point (2, 7) means that 7 applicants
8 x
2x = 800 made 2 errors.
x = 400
Then, add the y-values to find the total

applicants who made fewer than 3 errors.

94. (G) First, find the sales tax. Then, add the 4 + 7 = 11
sales tax to the cost of the car. Finally,

subtract the down payment to find out

how much she has left to pay.

97. (C) Using the joint probability formula,
(0.08)(24, 000) = 1,920 find the product of the two independent
$24,000 + $1,920 = $25,920
events. The probability that Emily will ride
$25,920 − $10,000 = $15,920
the bus to school on any given morning
3 . The probability that Emily will ride
is _
5
the bus to school on any given afternoon
95. (C) Range is the difference between the
4 . Therefore, the probability that Emily
is _
largest and the smallest values in a given 5
will ride the bus in the morning and the
set of data. In this case, the highest
3
afternoon is _ 4 = _
× _ 12 .
temperature is 17 and the lowest
5 5 25
temperature is −5. Therefore, the range is

17 − (−5) = 17 + 5 = 22.

263
98. (G) An organized list can be used to 99. (D) To calculate the joint probability, you
determine the number of groups of 3
must first determine the probability of
people that include only 1 male.
each independent event. The probability

Let the letters A, B, C, and D represent that a randomly selected person has a
the females, and let the numbers 1 and 2 1 . The probability that a
common cold is _
represent the males. 20
person has a cold caused by V144 is _ 1 .
200
Then, create a list of all possible The probability that a person has a cold
combinations of 3 people with
and the cold is caused by the V144 virus
only 1 male.
is the product of those two

AB1, AB2, AC1, AC2, AD1, AD2 1

probabilities, _ 1 = _
× _ 1 .
20 200 4,000
BC1, BC2, BD1, BD2

CD1, CD2
100. (F) There are four possible outcomes for

each spin of the spinner:

There are 12 possible groups with

only 1 male.
1, 2, 3, 4

The possible outcomes of two spins are:

11 12 13 14
21 22 23 24
31 32 33 34
41 42 43 44

Of the 16 possible outcomes, only 3

pairings have a product of 4: 14,

22, and 41.

Therefore, the probability that the two

numbers resulting from two consecutive

3 .
spins have a product of 4 is _
16

264
101. (D) The sample space of a random 102. (G) It is given that x-values on the graph

experiment is the collection of all possible represent the numbers of hours for which

outcomes. For this experiment, R water was added to the tank, and the

represents a red marble, G represents a y-values represent the numbers of gallons

green marble, and W represents a of water added in x hours. In the ordered

white marble. pair (3, 24), 3 represents an x-value and

24 represents a y-value.
Since two marbles are being drawn, the

possible outcomes for the first marble Therefore, (3, 24) represents a data point

drawn are R, G, W. for 24 gallons of water being added to the

tank in a 3-hour period.

List the possible results for each initial

outcome combined with the second choice

of marble. For example, if the first marble

103. (C) To find the probability that any one of
and second marble are both red, the
several mutually exclusive events occurs,
sample space will include RR (red, red).
use the addition rule, and add the
RR, RG, RW probabilities of each event:

GR, GG, GW P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B)

WR, WG, WW
Using the data in the table, the probability
Since order does not matter in this that the team will score 3 or more goals in
selection, remove any pairing that the next game is represented by
presents a duplicate choice, such as RG P(3) + P(4) + P(5) =
and GR—only one of the two pairings will 0.21 + 0.09 + 0.04 = 0.34.
be included in the sample space. Those

are removed and leave a sample space of:

RR, RG, RW, GG, GW, WW

265
104. (G) A constant of proportionality, k, is the 106. (G) A variation of −2.5% to + 2.5%
constant value of the ratio between two means that the thickness of the machine

proportional values. Two varying values part can be from 2.5% less than the

are said to be in a relation of standard of 0.38 mm to 2.5% greater

proportionality when either their ratio or than 0.38 mm.

their product yields a constant. In the

The least allowed measure is
graph shown, the proportional relationship

between x and y is represented by: 0.38 − 0.025(0.38) = 0.3705.

y
k = _ The greatest allowed measure is
x

0.38 + 0.025(0.38) = 0.3895.

Therefore, the constant of proportionality

for the relationship on the graph is: Therefore, the allowable range of

thicknesses is 0.3705 mm to 0.3895 mm.

k = _ 3 = 3
9 = _
3 1

107. (C) Using the specified equation

p = 2.50 + 1.25c, determine the

105. (B) The constant of proportionality is the number of cupcakes Samantha bought by
ratio of y (90) to x (3). 90 ÷ 3 = 30. So substituting the total paid ($22.50) for p,
the constant of proportionality is 30. and solve the equation for the value of c,

the number of cupcakes bought.

22.50 = 2.50 + 1.25c

22.50 − 2.50 = 1.25c
20.00 ÷ 1.25 = c
16 = c

266
108. (G) It is given that m represents the 109. (B) Proportional relationships are
purchase cost. relationships between two variables where

their ratios are equivalent. The graph of a

1m represents 100%. The amount the
proportional relationship will always go
purchase cost was increased is
through the point (0, 0).
represented by 55%.

In the text of the problem, it is given that

Therefore, the selling price will be

(100% + 55%)m. the farmer begins with 100 apples.

Therefore, the ordered pair (0, 100) would

155 = 1.55
155% = _
100 be the point at which the graph of the

relationship crosses the y-axis, not (0, 0).

The selling price can be represented by
Additionally, in a proportional relationship,
the expression 1.55m.
each pair of values represents the same
y
ratio of _.
x

If the relationship were proportional, the

ratio for the first two days (1, 98) and

(2, 96) would be equivalent.

98 apples
_ 96 apples
= _
1 day 2 days

2(98) ≠ 96

267
110. (E) Based on the diagram, the figure 111. (C) Given that each piece will be a

shown is a right rectangular prism with a square, the length and width will be the

square base. A horizontal slice of the same. The greatest possible length can be

figure will be a plane parallel to the square determined by finding the greatest

base, as in this example. common factor of the length and width of

the original piece of cloth.

Begin by finding the prime factorization of

the length (75 in.) and width (45 in.).

6 in.

45 = 3 × 3 × 5
75 = 3 × 5 × 5

2 in.
2 in. The common factors can be

seen as 3 × 5.
Since the horizontal slice is parallel to the
The greatest possible side length, in
base, it will be congruent to the base,
inches, will be 3 × 5 = 15.
which is a square with 2-inch sides.

268
112. (F) To determine the percent decrease 114. (G) Given a purchase price of $456.00,
from Monday to Tuesday, first calculate the 125% increase in price is
the decrease in the number of birds at calculated as:
the feeder.
456 × 1.25 = 570
30 − 24 = 6
The selling price equals the purchase price

The difference in the number of birds at plus the increase, or:

the feeder divided by the number of birds

on Monday will yield the percent decrease 456 + 570 = 1,026

from Monday to Tuesday.

The sales tax on the selling price is:
6
_ = 0.20
30
1,026(0.08) = 82.08

0.20 represents 20%.

The customer pays the selling price plus

There was a 20% decrease from Monday the sales tax:

to Tuesday.
1,026 + 82.08 = 1,108.08

113. (D) Since each can is worth 5 points, the

total number of points earned from all the

cans, x, is 5x. The team started with

53 points. That is a constant value and

doesn’t change. So the total number of

points the team will earn is 53 + 5x. The

team wants to earn at least (≥) 100

points, so they need 53 + 5x ≥ 100

total points.

269
 FORM B SANSWER
AMPLE TEST –
KEY

You can read explanations for each answer online here. If you are in 9th grade, you can find examples of
additional types of math topics you might see on your test, here.

Answer Key for Sample Form B

1. D 14. G 27. B 40. F 53. C 66. F 79. B 92. F 105. B

2. G 15. D 28. G 41. A 54. E 67. C 80. G 93. C 106. G
3. D 16. F 29. B 42. F 55. B 68. F 81. B 94. G 107. C
4. F 17. B 30. H 43. B 56. G 69. C 82. E 95. C 108. G
5. C 18. F 31. A 44. G 57. A 70. E 83. D 96. F 109. B
6. F 19. D 32. E 45. D 58. 5184 71. A 84. F 97. C 110. E
7. D 20. H 33. D 46. F 59. 0.5 72. H 85. B 98. G 111. C
8. H 21. B 34. G 47. A 60. 4.6 73. A 86. F 99. D 112. F
9. C 22. G 35. A 48. G 61. 8 74. F 87. A 100. F 113. D
10. F 23. C 36. E 49. C 62. 5 75. C 88. F 101. D 114. G
11. A 24. E 37. D 50. E 63. B 76. H 89. B 102. G
12. E 25. D 38. E 51. D 64. H 77. C 90. G 103. C
13. C 26. G 39. B 52. H 65. D 78. G 91. A 104. G

270
 GRADE 9 MATHEMATICS SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Blank grids are provided on page 292.

x 5.
1. 0.44 = _
25
p

What is the value of x in the equation?

T
k
J
m
2. The two equations y = 6x − 5 and
y = −3x + 7 are represented as lines on
a graph. What is the y-value of the point

of intersection of the two lines?

In the figure above, k ∥ m. Straight
line p intersects both line k and line m.

The measure of ∠T is 47°. What is the

3. The function y = 2x − 4 is graphed. The measure of ∠J?
line of the graph travels through point
A. 43°
(0, −4) and point (12, y). What is the
B. 47°
value of y in point (12, y)? C. 133°
D. 137°

4. Which number has a value that is located

6. Which of these numbers is irrational?
between 7 and 8 on a number line?
_
_ E. 0.7
E. √37
_ _
F. √47 F. √9
_
G. √57
9
G. _
_ 7
H. √67
_
H. √7

271
7. Triangles JKL and J′′K′′L′′ are congruent 8. The scatter plot shows a set of data.
triangles.
y
y 8
7
J 6
J" 5
K
4
3
2
L" 1
-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 x
K" -1
L -2
x -3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8

Which two transformations were used to

transform JKL to J′′K′′L′′? Which equation represents the most

A. A translation to the right, and then a accurate line of best fit for the data shown
reflection across the y-axis
in the scatter plot?
B. A reflection across the x-axis, and then
a clockwise rotation of 270°
E. y = (−x)
C. A rotation of 180° about the origin,
and then a translation across
F. y = x
the x-axis
D. A reflection across the y-axis, and then G. y = (−x) + 2
a counterclockwise rotation of 90°
about its center H. y = x + 2

272
9. What is the point of intersection of the 10. The table below represents a

graphs of y = −4x + 3 and linear function.

y = 2x + 5?
x y

12 30
( 3 3)
A. 1 , 4_
−_ 1
24 40

( 3 3)
1 , 5_
2 36 50
B. −_

A second linear function is represented by

(3 3)
C. 1 , 1_
_ 2
the equation y = 4x + 3. Which

(3 3)
1 , 5_
_ 2 statement comparing the rates of change
D.
of the two functions is true?

E. The rate of change for y = 4x + 3 is

less because 3 < 20.

F. The rate of change for y = 4x + 3 is

3
less because − _ > −24.
4

G. The rate of change for y = 4x + 3 is

greater because 4 5.
> _
6

H. The rate of change for y = 4x + 3 is

3
greater because − _ 5.
< _
4 6

11. How many solutions are there to the

equation |4x + 6| = −2?

A. No solutions
B. One solution
C. Two solutions
D. An infinite number of solutions

273
12. The scatter plot shows data that a 13.
researcher collected.
8 in.
y

7 8 in.
x
6
5
4
3
2 What is the length of x in the triangle?
1
x _
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 O 1 2 3 4 5 6
-1 A. √89 in.
-2 _
-3 B. √98 in.
-4 _
-5 C. √128 in.
-6 _
-7 D. √162 in.

Which statement correctly

describes the data?

E. The data have a positive linear

association.
F. The data have a negative linear
association.
G. The data have clustering.
H. The data have outliers.

274
GRADE 9 MATHEMATICS EXPLANATIONS OF CORRECT ANSWERS

1. (11) To determine the value of x, isolate 2. (3) To determine the y-value of the point

x on one side of the equation: of intersection of the graphs of

y = 6x − 5 and y = −3x + 7, first set

0.44 = _x
the y-values equal:
25

( 25 )
25(0.44) = x 25
_
6x − 5 = (−3x) + 7
11 = x
9x − 5 = 7

9x = 12

x 4
= _
3

4 into either of
Substitute the x-value of _
3
the given equations to determine the

value of y:

y = 6(_ ) ( )
4 − 5 or y = (−3) _
4 + 7
3 3

Solve for y:

( 3 )
y = 24
_ − 5 = 8 − 5 = 3

or

( 3 )
−12
y = _ + 7 = (−4) + 7 = 3

The value of y, 3, is the y-coordinate of

the point of intersection.

275
3. (20) The function y = 2x − 4 is linear 5. (C) Angle T (47°) and the adjacent angle

because it is in the form y = mx + b. to its immediate right (x) are

supplementary, so the sum of the two

Determine the value of y using the value
angle measures is 180°:
of x from (12, y), 12, in the equation of

the function y = 2x − 4: 47° + x = 180°

y = 2(12) − 4 x = 133°
y = 24 − 4
y = 20
Because line k and line m are parallel and

are both cut by line p, a transversal,

corresponding angles are congruent. The

4. (G) 57 is a number located between 133° angle and angle J are corresponding

perfect squares 49 and 64. The value of angles, so the measure of angle J is 133°.
_
√49 is located at 7 on a number line. The
_
value of √64 is located at 8 on a number
_
_
line. Therefore, the value of √57 is 6. (H) √7 is an irrational number because it
located between 7 and 8 on a has a value of ± 2.645751311 . . . , which
number line. is a non-repeating, non-terminating

decimal, and non-repeating, non-

terminating decimals are

irrational numbers.

276
7. (D) First, reflect JKL over the y-axis to get 8. (F) The line y = x has a positive slope.
J′K′L′, as seen by the reversed vertices. The data points shown on the scatter plot

trend in a positive direction, and the

y
location of y = x results in 5 of the data
J' J points above the line and 5 of the data
K' K
points below the line. This is the most

accurate line of best fit for this data.

L' L
x

Then, rotate J′K′L′ 90° counterclockwise

about the center, since the order of the

vertices is still the same but rotated.

J"
J'
K'

L"

K"
L'
x

277
 ( 3)
y-coordinate by substituting 1 for x
−_
9. (A) To determine the point of intersection
in either of the equations:
of the graphs of the lines, set the

equations equal:
y = 2(− _ ) (
1 + 5 or y = −4 − _
)
1 + 3
3 3
−4x + 3 = 2x + 5 Solve either equation for y:

( 3)
y = 2
−_ 1 or
+ 5 = 4_
Solve for x:
3
y = 4 + 3
_ = 1
4_
−6x = 2 3 3

The x-coordinate of the point of

x = _2

( 3)
−6 1 and
−_
intersection is the value of x
x 1
= −_
3 the y-coordinate of the point of

( 3)
intersection is the value of y 1 ,
4_

This is the x-coordinate of the point of making the point of intersection of the

( 3)
intersection. Use it to determine the graphs of the two lines 1 , 4_
−_ 1 .
3

278
10. (G) The rate of change is equal to the 12. (G) The data have clustering because

slope. Determine the rate of change for they form two distinct groups: one group

the linear function represented in (cluster) of data points is located in the

the table: area between (0, 0) and (1, 2), and the

other group (cluster) of data points is

y2 − y1
_ (40 − 30) 10 = _
5
= _ = _ located in the area between (4, 4)
x2 − x1 (24 − 12) 12 6
and (6, 5).

The slope of a linear equation in the form

y = mx + b is the value of m, so the

13. (C) In a right triangle, the sum of the
slope, or rate of change, of
squares of the leg lengths is equal to the
y = 4x + 3 is 4.
square of the length of the hypotenuse. In

The rate of change of y = 4x + 3 is the given figure, the leg lengths are 8 in.

5. and 8 in., and the hypotenuse is x.

greater because 4 > _
6
Substitute the values into the equation

a2 + b 2 = c 2:

11. (A) No solutions are possible because an

(8) 2 + (8) 2 = x 2
absolute value can never be negative.
64 + 64 = x 2

x2 = 128
_
x = √128

Answer Key for Grade 9 Mathematics

1. 11 6. H 11. A
2. 3 7. D 12. G
3. 20 8. F 13. C
4. G 9. A
5. C 10. G

279
GRADE 8 GRID-IN SAMPLE PROBLEMS
DIRECTIONS: Solve each question. You can use the extra grid-in answer sheet on page 292 to record your
answers. Print only one number or symbol in each box. Under each box, fill in the circle that matches the
number or symbol you wrote above. DO NOT FILL IN A CIRCLE UNDER AN UNUSED BOX. DO NOT LEAVE A
BOX BLANK IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ANSWER.

1. Carol’s alterations company charges each 4.

customer $5 per item plus $3 for supplies.

COST OF COMMUTER TRAIN
Carol charged a customer more than $50. y
What is the minimum number of items

Carol altered for the customer? 10

8
Number of Stops
6
2. Point N is directly above point M. Point M

is 8 feet below the ground, and point N is 4

40 feet above the ground. What is the
2
distance, in feet, between the points?
O x
2 4 6 8 10
Cost (dollars)
3. What is the value of
−2.8 − (−1.2) + (−0.2)? The graph shows the cost in dollars, x, for

riding a commuter train through y stops.

What is the rate of change for this

relationship, expressed as a decimal?

280
5. The table shows a proportional 7.

relationship between the area of a floor

and the number of tiles needed to cover

the floor. What is the unit rate in tiles per

square foot?
12 in.
TILES NEEDED TO
COVER FLOOR
6 in.
Area of Floor Number of
(sq ft) Tiles Needed
80 520 8 in.
4 in.
130 845
220 1,430 The figures above are cylinders. The

smaller cylinder is completely filled with

water. The larger cylinder is completely

empty. If the water from the smaller

6. A train that usually travels at an average
cylinder is poured into the larger cylinder
speed of 45 miles per hour was scheduled
without any water being spilled, to what
to arrive in Bloomington in 8 hours.
height, in inches, will the larger cylinder
The train arrived 2 hours late. What was
be filled?
the average speed of the train, in

miles per hour?

281
8. A deck of cards has red cards and blue 9. Enid and Susi are playing a math game on
cards. The probability of getting a red card
the computer. A correct answer of a math
in one draw is 0.70, and the probability of
problem is worth + 3 points, and an
getting a blue card is 0.30. The tree
1 points.
incorrect answer is worth −2 _
diagram shows the possible outcomes of 2
drawing one card, putting it back into the Enid solves 7 problems correctly and 2

deck, and drawing a second card. problems incorrectly. Susi solves 6

First Second problems correctly and 5 problems

card card
incorrectly. How many more points does
R
RR
0.7
R Enid have than Susi? Write your answer as
0.7 B
RB a decimal.
0.3

R
BR
0.7
B
0.3 B 10. A basketball player makes 140 out of 200
BB
0.3
free throws. The probability that the

basketball player will make the next free

What is the probability of choosing a red
throw is x%. What is the value of x?
card and blue card in two draws, in either

order? Give your answer as a decimal.

282
GRADE 8 GRID-IN EXPLANATIONS OF CORRECT ANSWERS

1. (10) Let x represent the number of items 2. (48) Given that point N is directly above

that were altered. The charge for altering point M, consider the distances as points

x items is 5x dollars. Carol charged a on a number line.

total, T, of 5x + 3 dollars for

The ground is represented by zero.
altering x items.
Point M is 8 feet below the ground, or at

Carol charged a total greater than $50, −8. Point N is 40 feet above the ground,

T > 50. To find the number of items or at + 40.

Carol altered, substitute 5x + 3 for T in
The distance, in feet, between the two
the inequality and solve for x.
points is:

5x + 3 > 50
40 + |−8| = 48
5x > 47
x > 9.4
4 8
– . . . .
Carol altered at least 10 items. 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
1 0 2 2 2 2
– . . . . 3 3 3 3
0 0 0 0 4 4 4 4
1 1 1 1 5 5 5 5
2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6
3 3 3 3 7 7 7 7
4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8
5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

283
 First, define the coordinates of two points

3. (−1.8) The opposite of a negative number on the graph: (0, 0) and (10, 4).

is positive. Rewrite the expression to show

Substitute the x-values and y-values into
how −(−1.2) becomes addition of a
the formula and solve for the rate
positive number:
of change.

−2.8 + 1.2 + (−0.2)

4 − 0
_ 4 = 0.4
= −1.6 + (−0.2) = _
10 − 0 10
= −1.8
The rate of change is 0.4.
– 1 . 8
– . . . . 0 . 4
0 0 0 0 – . . . .
1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5
7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6
8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

4. (0.4) The rate of change on a graph is

the change in y divided by the change in

x. The rate can be determined using

the formula

change in y
rate of change = _
change in x
or
y2 − y1
rate of change = _
x2 − x1

284
5. (6.5) In a proportional relationship, the

ratio between any pair of corresponding

variables is equivalent—in this case, the

ratio between the number of tiles needed

to cover a floor and the area of the floor in

square feet. To determine the unit rate in

tiles per square foot, calculate the ratio of

the number of tiles to the area in square

feet. Since this relationship is specified to

be proportional, calculating this ratio for

any of the corresponding values in the

table will yield the unit rate.

520 = 6.5
_
80
845 = 6.5
_
130
1,430
_ = 6.5
220

The unit rate in tiles per square

foot is 6.5.

6 . 5
– . . . .
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

285
6. (36) Recall that 7. (1.5) The formula for the volume of a

distance = rate × time (d = rt). cylinder is v = π r 2 h. The diameter of the

smaller cylinder is 4 inches, so the radius,
First, calculate the distance the
r, is 2 inches.
train traveled.

v = π( 2 2 )(6)
d = 45(8) = 360 miles
v = π(4)(6)
If the train arrived 2 hours late, the time, v = 24π
t, would be (8 + 2) = 10 hours.
The height, in inches, to which the water
Substitute the distance, d, (360) and
from the smaller cylinder will fill the larger
revised time, t, into the formula and then
cylinder can be determined by:
solve for r (rate, or average speed).

24π = π(4 2)h

360 = r(10)
360 = r
_
24π = 16πh
10 24π = h
_
36 = r 16π
1.5 = h

The average speed of the train was

The water from the smaller cylinder will fill
36 miles per hour.
the larger cylinder to a height

3 6 of 1.5 inches.
– . . . .
0 0 0 0 1 . 5
1 1 1 1 – . . . .
2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1
4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2
5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3
6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4
7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5
8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6
9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

286
8. (0.42) The probability of drawing a red

card is 0.70, and the probability of

drawing a blue card is 0.30. Multiply the

two probabilities to find the probability

that a red card and then a blue card will

be drawn: 0.70 × 0.30 = 0.21.

Similarly, the probability of drawing a blue

card and then a red card will be

0.30 × 0.70 = 0.21. The probability of

either outcome is 0.21 + 0.21 = 0.42.

0 . 4 2
– . . . .
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

287
 ( 2)
Susi: 3(6) + 1 (5)
−2 _
9. (10.5) Create an expression to represent

the number of problems each student = 18 + (−12.5)

answered correctly, x, and the number = 5.5
each answered incorrectly, y.
Last, determine how many more points

( )
Enid: 3x + 1 y
−2 _ Enid earned than Susi. 16 − 5.5 = 10.5,
2
so Enid earned 10.5 more points
( )
Susi: 3x + 1 y
−2 _
2 than Susi.

1 0 . 5
Substitute the number of correct answers
– . . . .
and incorrect answers for each student as 0 0 0 0
stated in the problem. Then simplify each 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
expression. 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4

( 2)
Enid: 3(7) + 1 (2)
−2 _ 5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
= 21 + (−5) 8 8 8 8
= 16 9 9 9 9

288
10. (70) Given that the player makes 140 out

of 200 free throws, the probability that the

player will make the next free throw (x%)

140
is _ 7 = 0.70 = 70%. The value
= _
200 10
of x is 70.

7 0
– . . . .
0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7
8 8 8 8
9 9 9 9

289
 C
C
t | | | | | | || | | | | || || |
t SIDE 1
NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
2022 8
t SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS TEST
t
t GRADE 8
t 1. STUDENT STATEMENT: I am a New York City resident. I am in Grade 8. This is a test for students in grade 8. I understand that if I take
t the test at the wrong grade level, my score will not be able to be used for placement in the specialized high schools. I am well enough to take
t this test and complete it. If I do not feel well, I will notify the teacher. I understand that once I break the seal of the test booklet, I may not be
eligible for a make-up test.
t
t Signature (full name - include your first and last name):
t
2. TODAY’S DATE: 3. DATE OF BIRTH:
t
Month Day Year Month Day Year
t CAREFULLY RECORD YOUR NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL WHERE YOU ARE NOW ENROLLED, AND STUDENT ID NUMBER. USE A PENCIL ONLY.
t INCORRECT MARKS MAY DELAY THE SCORING OF YOUR ANSWER SHEET.
t 4. FIRST NAME (please print) MI LAST NAME (surname) (please print) 5. SCHOOL CURRENTLY ENROLLED
t
t NAME OF SCHOOL
t \\\\\\\\\\\ \ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ School Code
t \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
-- \
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-- \
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--

t \
A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \
A \
A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A \A

t \
B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \
B \
B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \B \
0 \
0 \
0 \
0 \
0 P Fill in for
\ private or
t \
C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \
C \
C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \C \
1 \
1 \
1 \
1 \
1 parochial
t \
D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \
D \
D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \D \
2 \
2 \
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2 schools
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E \E \E \E \E \E \E \E \E \E \E \
E \
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3 \
3 \
3 \
3 \
3

t \
F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \
F \
F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \F \
4 \
4 \
4 \
4 \
4

t \
G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \
G \
G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \G \
5 \
5 \
5 \
5 \
5

t \
H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \
H \
H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \H \
6 \
6 \
6 \
6 \
6

t \\\\\\\\\\\
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7 7 \\\
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t \
J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \
J \
J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \J \
8 \
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8 \
8 \
8

t \
K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \
K \
K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \K \
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t \
L \L \L \L \L \L \L \L \L \L \L \
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t \
M \M \M \M \M \M \M \M \M \M \M \
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t \
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t \
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t 6. DATE OF BIRTH 7. STUDENT ID NUMBER 8. BOOKLET LETTER

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| || || | | | | || | | | | | | T
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SIDE 2 T
NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS T
2022 SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS TEST
T
GRADE 8 Test Booklet Letter Test Booklet Number T
T
Student’s First Name (please print) Student’s Last Name (please print)
T
T
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PART 1 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS T
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Copyright © 2022 NCS Pearson, Inc. All Rights Reserved. T
| Reprinted by Permission—Restricted Edition—Not for Distribution T

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Blank Math Grid-Ins to Be Used with Sample Items.

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\ . . . .
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4444 4444 4444 4444 4444
5555 5555 5555 5555 5555
6666 6666 6666 6666 6666
7777 7777 7777 7777 7777
8888 8888 8888 8888 8888
9999 9999 9999 9999 9999

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5555 5555 5555 5555 5555
6666 6666 6666 6666 6666
7777 7777 7777 7777 7777
8888 8888 8888 8888 8888
9999 9999 9999 9999 9999

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!!!! !!!! !!!! !!!! !!!!
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5555 5555 5555 5555 5555
6666 6666 6666 6666 6666
7777 7777 7777 7777 7777
8888 8888 8888 8888 8888
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1117854 1 2 3 4 5 A B C D E Printed in the USA ISD19819

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