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Reading Paper Practice
Reading Paper Practice
Reading Test
50 MINUTES, 41 QUESTIONS
Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
DIRECTIONS
Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After reading
each passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated or
implied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table or
graph).
Questions 1-10 are based on the following passage. The fortune left by his grandfather, who had been
one of those chieftains on the smaller scale of his day,
The following passage is adapted from a 1913 novel about had descended to him with accretion through his
a detective who attempts to solve the murder of a wealthy 30 father, who during a long life had quietly continued
financier. to lend money and never had margined a stock.
Between what matters and what seems to matter, Manderson, who had at no time known what it was to
how should the world we know judge wisely? be without large sums to his hand, should have been
When the scheming, indomitable brain of Sigsbee altogether of that newer American plutocracy which
Line Manderson was scattered by a shot from an unknown 35 is steadied by the tradition and habit of great wealth.
5 hand, that world lost nothing worth a single tear. It But it was not so. While his nurture and education
gained something memorable in a harsh reminder of had taught him European ideas of a rich man’s proper
the vanity of such wealth as this dead man had piled external circumstance; while they had rooted in him
up—without making one loyal friend to mourn him, an instinct for quiet magnificence, the larger costliness
without doing an act that could help his memory to 40 which does not shriek of itself with a thousand
10 the least honour. But when the news of his end came, it tongues; there had been handed on to him nevertheless
seemed to those living in the great vortices of business much of the Forty-Niner and financial buccaneer, his
as if the earth, too, shuddered under a blow. forbear. During that first period of his business career
In all the lurid commercial history of his country which had been called his early bad manner, he had
there had been no figure that had so imposed itself upon 45 been little more than a gambler of genius, his hand
15 the mind of the trading world. He had a niche apart against every man’s—an infant prodigy—who brought
in its temples. Financial giants, strong to direct and to the enthralling pursuit of speculation a brain better
augment the forces of capital, and taking an approved endowed than any opposed to it. At St. Helena it was
toll in millions for their labour, had existed before; but laid down that war is a beautiful occupation; and so
in the case of Manderson there had been this singularity, 50 the young Manderson had found the multitudinous
20 that a pale halo of piratical romance, a thing especially and complicated dog-fight of the Stock Exchange of
dear to the hearts of his countrymen, had remained New York.
incongruously about his head through the years when Then came his change. At his father’s death, when
he stood in every eye as the unquestioned guardian of Manderson was thirty years old, some new revelation
stability, the stamper-out of manipulated crises, the foe 55 of the power and the glory of the god he served
25 of the raiding chieftains that infest the borders of Wall seemed to have come upon him. With the sudden,
Street. elastic adaptability of his nation he turned to steady
labour in his father’s banking business, closing his ears
2 6
Based on the information in the passage, Manderson In context, “temples” in line 16 refers to
was known chiefly for his A) city chapels.
A) sharp business practices and harsh manner toward B) sanctuaries of calm.
those he thought inferior.
C) prominent marketplaces.
B) vast wealth and willingness to lend money at low
D) factory storehouses.
interest rates.
C) European habits and unusual good fortune as a
gambler. 7
D) power and determination to protect the security The information in lines 43-48 primarily illustrates
of the financial sector. Manderson’s
A) youth.
3 B) natural talent.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the C) irresponsibility.
answer to the previous question? D) fearlessness.
A) Lines 3-10 (“When . . . honour”)
B) Lines 16-26 (“Financial . . . Street”)
C) Lines 27-31 (“The fortune . . . stock”)
D) Lines 36-48 (“While . . . to it”)
1 1
8 10
In lines 48-52, the reference to St. Helena serves As used in line 57, “elastic” most nearly means
primarily to A) rubbery.
A) introduce a comparison. B) flexible.
B) present a perplexing dilemma. C) expandable.
C) cite a historical fact. D) looped.
D) suggest a potential career path.
9
The “change” referred to in line 53 is Manderson’s
change from
A) supporter of his father’s business to rival taking
over that business.
B) soldier in St. Helena to eminent business magnate.
C) disrespectful prodigy to trusted clerk.
D) clever speculator to steadfast and industrious
banker.
13
Based on the information in lines 33-38, Jay believes 16
that those who choose to support dividing the In lines 39-43, Jay makes a distinction between
country into separate confederacies A) self-reliance and liberty.
A) are contradicting the wishes, prayers, and efforts B) secluded provinces and a unified dominion.
of the majority of its citizens.
C) deserted marketplaces and lush farmland.
B) value independence over safety and happiness.
D) division and independence.
C) should not do so without first examining the issue
thoroughly.
D) are threatening the prosperity of the nation by 17
encouraging political turmoil.
Based on the information in the fourth paragraph,
waterways play all of the following roles in America
EXCEPT
14
A) act as boundaries that encircle the nation.
In lines 26-29 (“instead . . . sovereignties”), what is
the most likely reason that Jay mentions the idea of a B) facilitate trade.
“division of the States”? C) create channels for settlements to exchange
A) To disagree with the claim that people must give messages.
up some of their natural rights to the government D) provide sources of drinkable water.
B) To introduce a point of view that he will later
counter by showing that the people of the country
are linked by strong bonds 18
C) To argue that dividing the states into separate As used in line 34, “wrought” most nearly means
sovereignties would result in increased prosperity A) caused.
for citizens
B) ornamented.
D) To contend that politicians have been hesitant to
C) finished.
adopt the doctrine of division because they find
the concept too astonishing D) engraved.
1 1
19 20
The principal rhetorical effect of the phrase in In the final paragraph of the passage, Jay
lines 55-58, (“a people . . . government”) is to A) predicts a probable development.
A) discuss four reasons that show the impossibility B) states his central argument.
of dividing the United States into distinct
confederacies. C) summarizes by introducing a metaphor.
B) suggest a four-part method of maintaining the D) concludes by qualifying a previous statement.
United States as a single nation.
C) argue against division by emphasizing the ways in
which the people of the country are united.
D) show that Jay believes that the people of the
United States all came from the same families,
grew up speaking the same languages, and
developed the same beliefs.
A) The author acquaints the reader with an unknown What is the main idea of the passage?
phenomenon, describes solutions that were A) Despite positive steps to limit its occurrence, the
applied, and discusses the negative results that long-term effects of acid rain are still evident and
followed from those solutions. can be further addressed.
B) The author introduces a topic, compares the B) Now that acid rain has been eradicated, it is time
differing geographic effects that resulted, and to turn our focus to the environmental effects of
makes predictions for future effects. carbon dioxide emissions.
C) The author provides a detailed description of the C) The government did not go far enough to restrict
ways in which government regulation solves all pollutants from the power industries.
environmental problems. D) There is still a great deal of work to do for the
D) The author offers a critical review of the recovery of Appalachian lakes.
ways in which markets both help and hinder
environmental protection goals.
36
Which statement best describes the function of the
33 sentence in line 59, “Geology cuts both ways”?
Which of the following best describes the role of soil A) One learns the most from geology from cutting
sulfate retention in local geologies in regards to acid across soil to expose the layers of soil.
rain?
B) Environmental factors can result in both beneficial
A) Soil sulfate retention is the primary cause of and deleterious effects for a region depending on
acidification of lakes. specific circumstances.
B) It is soil sulfate retention that prevents the entry of C) Geology either helps or hurts the organisms
acid into lakes. within a region.
C) Although soil sulfate retention initially acts as a D) The geology of Virginia has been more hurtful
protection for bodies of water, it can increase their than helpful in the long term.
long term acidity.
D) Areas with lower levels of soil sulfate retention
tend to be more adversely affected by acid rain for
longer periods of time.
1 1
37 39
Which of the following best illustrates the irony in the In the seventh paragraph, the author doubts that
geology of the Adirondacks? emissions of acid-rain-inducing pollutants will
A) Because the soil near lakes had low levels of sulfate decrease further due to
retention, the lakes recovered more quickly than A) the reluctance of commercial entities to reduce
those in other regions in North America. individual pollution outputs.
B) Because the lakes were not sheltered by sulfate B) the lack of interest on the part of the EPA to
soil retention, they are showing slower signs of regulate anything but carbon dioxide emissions.
recovery than lakes in other regions in North C) the unwillingness of the Supreme Court to fight
America. for the Clean Air Act.
C) Despite having coal, the geology of the D) the continued leaching of sulfate into lakes and
Adirondacks may in the end may create more rivers from sulfate retaining soils.
burden than benefit for the regional population.
D) The geology of the Adirondacks is the best
outcome of acid rain. 40
All of the following are true according to the passage
EXCEPT
38
A) the creation of a “pollution market” helped
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken decrease rates of acid-rain-causing emissions.
the author’s argument in lines 4-7 (“Studies . . . fish”)?
B) the more weathered soil is, the greater its rate of
A) In 1989 the state of Virginia had the highest rate sulfate retention.
of freshwater fish mortality on record.
C) the decrease in acid rain has led to a decrease in
B) The occurrence of acid rain was most pronounced acidification of the lakes of the Appalachians.
in the southern-most region of the North American
continent rather than the northern-most. D) more can be done to improve the environmental
quality of lakes in North America.
C) The indigenous turtle population of the
Adirondacks had an increase in birth rate during
the 1980s, marking the highest population total of
that species in the twentieth century. 41
D) In the late twentieth century, before industrial Which of the following is supported by the provided
pollutants, rapid post-glacial land uplift increased graph?
rates of lake acidity in the New England and A) Although Kentucky experienced the highest
eastern Canadian regions. concentration of SO4, that state has demonstrated
the lowest level of concentration for the last year
recorded.
B) Virginia experienced the greatest protection from
sulfate soil retention in the early 1990s.
C) Tennessee has had consistently higher rates of SO4
concentration than West Virginia.
D) All four states of Appalachia have an observable
decline in SO4 concentration from 2008 to 2010.