PSAT 8/9 Reading and Writing Practice Tests

Question 1

The following text is from an original short story written for this practice test. Ana has just moved to a new town.

On her first day at Ridgeview Middle School, Ana ate lunch alone, certain that everyone else already had friends. On the second day, a girl at a crowded table smiled and waved her over. Ana _____ at first, unsure whether the wave was really meant for her. Then she picked up her tray and walked over.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) hesitated (B) hurried (C) complained (D) laughed

Question 2

Emperor penguins survive the Antarctic winter partly by huddling together in groups of hundreds or even thousands. The huddle is not fixed, however. Penguins on the cold outer edge slowly work their way toward the middle while those in the warm center drift outward, so the birds constantly _____ positions. As a result, no single penguin stays exposed to the icy wind for very long.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) measure (B) abandon (C) exchange (D) defend

Question 3

When comic strips first appeared in American newspapers in the 1890s, many editors saw them simply as a way to attract readers, not as a form of art. Yet some early cartoonists were remarkably _____ in their methods. They experimented with the size and shape of panels, with unusual viewpoints, and with where to place speech balloons, trying out techniques that later artists would study and adopt.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) conventional (B) cautious (C) careless (D) innovative

Question 4

When Lakeside Middle School planted a vegetable garden, teacher Marcus Ortiz noticed a change in the cafeteria. Students who had grown carrots and peppers themselves were much more willing to taste those vegetables at lunch. Planting and caring for the crops seemed to have _____ what the students were willing to eat.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) influenced (B) prevented (C) measured (D) repeated

Question 5

Leaves look green in summer because they are full of chlorophyll, the substance plants use to make food from sunlight. Leaves also contain yellow and orange substances, but the large amount of green chlorophyll hides these colors. In autumn, as the days grow shorter, many trees stop making chlorophyll. As the green fades, the yellow and orange colors that were in the leaves all along finally become visible.

1. Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text? (A) To argue that trees with yellow leaves are healthier than trees with green leaves (B) To explain why the leaves of many trees change color in autumn (C) To describe in detail how plants use sunlight to make food (D) To compare trees that lose their leaves with trees that keep them all year

Question 6

The following text is from an original poem written for this practice test. The speaker describes a small lemon tree kept on an apartment balcony.

All winter it stood by the glass door,
three bare twigs in a clay pot,
and I watered it only out of habit,
the way you wind a clock no one reads.
Then one March morning the balcony
smelled of something sweet and sharp:
a single white blossom had opened,
small as a button, bright as a promise.

1. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? (A) The speaker compares a lemon tree with a clock, and then argues that both are equally useful. (B) The speaker explains how to grow a lemon tree, and then lists the mistakes that beginners often make. (C) The speaker regrets having ignored a plant, and then promises to take better care of it in the future. (D) The speaker describes caring for a plant without expecting much, and then describes a surprising sign of new life.

Question 7

Many students prepare for tests by rereading their notes. Research on what psychologists call the testing effect suggests a better method. In a study led by psychologist Dana Whitford, two groups of eighth graders read the same passage about the water cycle. One group read it twice; the other read it once and then took a short practice quiz. A week later, the quiz group remembered more. Surprisingly, the quiz group did better even though its members had spent less time looking at the passage itself. Pulling information out of memory, it seems, makes that memory stronger.

1. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? (A) It introduces the question that Whitford’s study was designed to answer. (B) It points out a detail that makes the study’s result especially striking. (C) It explains why most students prefer rereading to taking practice quizzes. (D) It describes a weakness in the way Whitford’s study was designed.

Question 8

Yawning is contagious: seeing someone yawn often makes a person yawn too. Because people seem to catch yawns more easily from friends and family members than from strangers, many researchers have proposed that contagious yawning is closely linked to empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.

Psychologist Laura Kemble tested more than 300 volunteers. She recorded how often each person yawned while watching videos of people yawning and also measured each person’s empathy with a questionnaire. Volunteers with high empathy scores were no more likely to catch yawns than volunteers with low scores. The strongest pattern Kemble found involved age: younger volunteers caught yawns more often than older ones did.

1. Based on the texts, how would Kemble (Text 2) most likely respond to the researchers’ proposal in Text 1? (A) She would agree with it, since her volunteers yawned most often at videos of their own family members. (B) She would argue that her results do not support a strong link between empathy and contagious yawning. (C) She would claim that the proposal is correct for older people but not for younger people. (D) She would suggest that yawning is not actually contagious for most people.

Question 9

The following text is from an original short story written for this practice test. Jonah is preparing a project for his school science fair.

Jonah’s experiment had not worked. He had predicted that bean plants exposed to music would grow taller, but after four weeks his “music” plants were exactly as tall as the silent ones. He wanted to leave his poster blank. Then his older sister read his notebook and shrugged. “So you found something out,” she said. “Music made no difference. That’s a result.” Jonah looked at his chart again. Slowly, he picked up a marker and wrote a new title across the top of the poster.

1. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (A) Jonah’s sister helps him repeat the experiment so that it supports his original prediction. (B) Jonah decides to withdraw from the science fair because his experiment did not work. (C) After his sister’s comment, Jonah begins to see his unexpected results as worth presenting. (D) Jonah discovers that he measured his plants incorrectly during the experiment.

Question 10

Many butterflies have round markings on their wings called eyespots, which look a little like the eyes of a larger animal. Scientists have found that these markings can protect butterflies in two different ways. Large eyespots in the middle of a wing can startle a hungry bird, causing it to back away. Small eyespots near the edge of a wing can draw a bird’s peck toward the edge and away from the butterfly’s body, so the butterfly may escape with only a torn wing.

1. According to the text, how can small eyespots near the edge of a wing help a butterfly? (A) They lead a bird to attack a part of the butterfly that is less important for survival. (B) They make the butterfly look much larger than it actually is. (C) They help the butterfly find other butterflies of the same kind. (D) They frighten a bird so that it backs away before attacking.

Question 11

Gray squirrels bury thousands of nuts each fall and dig many of them up again during the winter. Biologist Rachel Dunmore, who has studied squirrels on a college campus, hypothesizes that the animals do not bury nuts just anywhere. Instead, she thinks, squirrels sort their nuts by type, burying each kind in its own area. Such a system could make it easier for a squirrel to remember where to look for a particular kind of nut.

1. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Dunmore’s hypothesis? (A) Squirrels on the campus buried more nuts in the fall than they dug up during the winter. (B) Squirrels buried nuts more quickly when other squirrels were nearby. (C) When given a mix of acorns and walnuts, the squirrels buried most acorns near other acorns and most walnuts near other walnuts. (D) Some of the nuts buried by squirrels on the campus later sprouted into young trees.

Question 12

Studies have found that students who sit near the front of a classroom tend to earn higher grades than students who sit near the back. Some teachers conclude that moving a student to the front will improve that student’s grades. Education researcher Paul Hendry disagrees. He argues that the seat itself makes little difference; rather, students who are already very motivated tend to choose seats near the front.

1. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Hendry’s argument? (A) Students who sat in the front row asked more questions during class than students who sat in the back row did. (B) Most students surveyed said that they preferred to sit near their friends rather than near the front. (C) When teachers assigned seats randomly, students in the front earned about the same grades as students in the back. (D) Students who sat near the front said that they could see the board more clearly than students near the back could.

Question 13

Making a can from recycled aluminum takes far less energy than making one from raw ore, so every can that is recycled saves energy. A student in her school’s recycling club made a graph of how many aluminum cans the club collected each month from September to January. According to the graph, the club collected the most cans in _____

1. Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text? (A) September, when it collected 420 cans. (B) October, when it collected 510 cans. (C) January, when it collected 450 cans. (D) December, when it collected 290 cans.

Question 14

In the snowy mountains of central Japan, some Japanese macaques bathe in natural hot springs during the winter. Primatologist Helen Ashby recorded how many minutes per day, on average, a group of adult macaques spent in one hot spring during five months. She also recorded the average daily low temperature for each month. Ashby concluded that the macaques used the hot spring more when the weather was colder.

1. Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support Ashby’s conclusion? (A) The macaques spent the most time in the hot spring in January, the coldest month, and the least time in April, the warmest month. (B) The average daily low temperature rose from −6°C in January to 5°C in April. (C) The macaques spent an average of only 4 minutes per day in the hot spring in April. (D) In both December and February, the macaques spent more than 30 minutes per day in the hot spring.

Question 15

The holes in Swiss cheese form when bacteria in the cheese give off carbon dioxide gas, which collects in bubbles. For years, some cheesemakers had noticed that their cheeses had fewer holes than cheeses made decades earlier. Researchers found that the gas bubbles tend to form around tiny specks of hay that fall into milk in the barn. Because modern milking machines collect milk in closed, very clean systems, _____

1. Which choice most logically completes the text? (A) the bacteria in modern cheese give off more carbon dioxide than bacteria did in the past. (B) cheese made from modern milk contains more specks of hay than older cheese did. (C) less hay ends up in the milk, leaving fewer places for gas bubbles to form. (D) cheesemakers can no longer use bacteria when they make Swiss cheese.

Question 16

In the 1950s, surfers in California wanted a way to “surf” on days when the ocean was flat. Some of them attached roller-skate wheels to wooden _____ the first skateboards were born.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) boards, and (B) boards (C) boards, (D) boards and,

Question 17

A paper airplane stays in the air for the same basic reason that a real airplane _____ its wings push air downward, and the air pushes the wings upward in return.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) does (B) does, (C) does: (D) does that

Question 18

Ancient Egyptians cleaned their teeth with powders made from some surprising ingredients. One recipe, written on a sheet of papyrus more than 1,600 years _____ calls for rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers, and grains of pepper.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) ago— (B) ago, (C) ago; (D) ago

Question 19

In 1889, the journalist Nellie Bly set out to travel around the world faster than Phileas Fogg, the hero of Jules _____ novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Traveling by steamship and train, Bly completed the journey in just 72 days.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) Verne’s (B) Vernes (C) Verne’s, (D) Vernes’

Question 20

On October 24, 1946, a camera carried by a rocket launched from New Mexico took pictures from about 105 kilometers above the ground. The grainy black-and-white photos, which showed clouds and the curve of the planet’s surface, _____ the first images of Earth ever taken from space.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) was (B) has been (C) is (D) were

Question 21

The children’s author Dr. Seuss was known for his playful rhymes and invented words. Late in the 1950s, he took on an unusual task. Challenged by his publisher to write a book using only fifty different words, _____

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) fifty words were all that Dr. Seuss used in Green Eggs and Ham, published in 1960. (B) Green Eggs and Ham was written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1960. (C) the book Dr. Seuss wrote was Green Eggs and Ham, published in 1960. (D) Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham, which was published in 1960.

Question 22

Black-tailed jackrabbits live in the hot deserts of the western United States. Their very large ears, which contain many blood vessels close to the skin, _____ the animals release extra body heat into the air.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) helping (B) help (C) to help (D) having helped

Question 23

Like people, fish need oxygen to survive. People get oxygen from the air that they breathe into their lungs. _____ most fish get oxygen from water. As water flows over a fish’s gills, oxygen that is dissolved in the water passes into the fish’s blood.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? (A) For example, (B) In contrast, (C) Similarly, (D) As a result,

Question 24

Most museums in the late 1800s were designed for adults, who were expected to look at objects quietly from a distance. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, often described as the first museum created especially for children, took a different approach when it opened in New York in 1899. _____ it invited young visitors to examine natural objects such as shells, minerals, and insects up close and to ask questions about them.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? (A) Nevertheless, (B) Likewise, (C) Previously, (D) Specifically,

Question 25

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

• Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) was a French painter.
• He worked for years as a toll collector in Paris and taught himself to paint.
• He is best known for paintings of lush jungles filled with tigers, monkeys, and unusual plants, such as The Dream (1910).
• Rousseau never traveled outside France.
• He based his jungle scenes on visits to the botanical gardens in Paris and on pictures in books and magazines.

1. The student wants to explain how Rousseau was able to paint jungles he had never seen. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) Rousseau’s jungle paintings are filled with tigers, monkeys, and unusual plants. (B) Rousseau, a French painter who taught himself to paint, worked for years as a toll collector in Paris. (C) Rousseau is best known for jungle paintings such as The Dream, which he completed in 1910. (D) Although Rousseau never traveled outside France, he painted detailed jungles by studying plants in Paris’s botanical gardens and pictures in books and magazines.

Question 26

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

• Diamond and graphite are both made entirely of carbon atoms.
• In diamond, each carbon atom is tightly bonded to four others in a rigid, three-dimensional framework.
• Diamond is the hardest natural material and is used in tools for cutting stone.
• In graphite, carbon atoms are arranged in flat layers that can easily slide past one another.
• Graphite is soft and slippery and is used as the “lead” in pencils.

1. The student wants to explain why two materials made of the same element can have very different properties. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) Diamond is used in tools for cutting stone, while graphite is used as the “lead” in pencils. (B) Diamond and graphite are both made entirely of carbon atoms. (C) Although both are pure carbon, diamond is hard because its atoms are locked in a rigid framework, while graphite is soft because its atoms form layers that slide past one another. (D) In diamond, each carbon atom is tightly bonded to four others, which makes diamond the hardest natural material.

Question 27

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

• Mary Anderson was born in Alabama in 1866.
• On a winter trip to New York City around 1902, she watched a streetcar driver struggle to see through the snow on his windshield.
• The driver had to open his window or stop the streetcar to clear the glass.
• Anderson designed a hand-operated device with a rubber blade that a driver could move from inside the vehicle.
• She received a patent for her “window cleaning device” in 1903.

1. The student wants to state when Anderson received a patent and what her invention did. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) In 1903, Mary Anderson received a patent for a device that let drivers clear their windshields from inside the vehicle. (B) Mary Anderson was born in Alabama in 1866 and later visited New York City. (C) Around 1902, a streetcar driver in New York City had to open his window to clear snow from the glass. (D) Anderson’s device had a rubber blade and was operated by hand.

Question 1

The Lewis Chessmen, a set of chess pieces carved mostly from walrus ivory more than 800 years ago, were found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland. Although each piece is only a few inches tall, the carvers gave the figures remarkably _____ faces. Some kings stare sternly ahead, several queens rest a cheek in one hand as if worried, and a few guards bite the tops of their shields.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) uniform (B) expressive (C) fragile (D) enormous

Question 2

Common cuckoos do not build nests or raise their own young. Instead, a female cuckoo quietly lays an egg in the nest of another bird species, such as a reed warbler, usually while the warblers are away. The _____ warblers then keep the egg warm and, after it hatches, feed the cuckoo chick as if it were one of their own, even when it grows larger than they are.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) reluctant (B) unsuspecting (C) aggressive (D) suspicious

Question 3

The following text is from an original short story written for this practice test. Maya is helping her uncle build a bookshelf.

Maya measured every board twice with a tape measure before she let herself make a single cut. Uncle Ray worked differently. He held each board up to the light, squinted along its edge, and made a quick pencil mark. Yet every piece he cut fit perfectly. Maya began to wonder how her uncle could _____ lengths so accurately just by looking.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) ignore (B) decorate (C) judge (D) forget

Question 4

Sociologist Andrea Castell studied neighborhoods that hold a block party each summer. She found that neighbors who met at these events were more likely to help one another in the following months by watering plants, sharing tools, or collecting mail. The help also tended to be _____: a neighbor who borrowed a ladder one month often offered to lend a lawn mower the next.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? (A) reciprocal (B) one-sided (C) accidental (D) expensive

Question 5

On hot, sunny days, the ground can heat the air just above it much faster than the air higher up. This warm air rises, and if a gust of wind sets it spinning, it can form a whirling column of dust called a dust devil. Although dust devils may look like small tornadoes, they form in a different way. Tornadoes develop from large storm clouds, whereas dust devils form under clear skies and usually last only a few minutes.

1. Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text? (A) To describe the conditions that allow tornadoes to form on hot, sunny days (B) To explain why dust devils usually last longer than tornadoes do (C) To explain how dust devils form and how they differ from tornadoes (D) To argue that dust devils are more dangerous than most people realize

Question 6

The following text is from an original poem written for this practice test.

At first the rain is only noise,
a scatter of taps against the glass
that I ignore, the way I ignore
the ticking of the kitchen clock.
But then the drops begin to gather,
to meet and join and slide,
each one carving a crooked road
the next one gladly follows,
until the whole window is a map
of rivers I will never walk beside.

1. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? (A) The speaker first treats the rain as a background sound and then watches it closely, imagining it as something larger. (B) The speaker describes a storm growing stronger and then describes the damage the storm causes. (C) The speaker remembers a rainy day from childhood and then compares it with a rainy day in the present. (D) The speaker complains about the rain and then expresses a wish for it to stop.

Question 7

In 1697, the French writer Charles Perrault published a small book of fairy tales that included early versions of “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The stories themselves were not new; many had been told aloud for generations. What Perrault added was polish. He retold the tales in graceful, witty prose for fashionable readers in Paris, and he ended each one with a short poem stating its moral.

1. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? (A) It suggests that Perrault invented the stories in his book himself. (B) It identifies Perrault’s contribution, which the next sentence describes in more detail. (C) It explains why the tales had been told aloud for generations. (D) It criticizes Perrault for changing traditional stories.

Question 8

For more than a century, many public libraries have charged small fines when borrowers return books late. The reasoning is simple: the threat of paying a fine gives people a reason to bring books back on time so that other readers can borrow them.

Library researcher Grace Whitmore studied several public libraries that stopped charging late fines. In the year after the fines ended, the share of books returned on time stayed about the same as before. In addition, many people who had stopped visiting because they owed fines began borrowing books again.

1. Based on the texts, how would Whitmore (Text 2) most likely respond to the reasoning presented in Text 1? (A) She would agree that fines are the main reason borrowers return books on time. (B) She would argue that libraries should charge larger fines so that more books are returned on time. (C) She would claim that most borrowers return books late no matter what a library’s policy is. (D) She would point out that her findings suggest fines may not be needed to get books returned on time.

Question 9

The following text is from an original short story written for this practice test.

When the power went out, Theo’s first thought was of his unfinished video game. His second was that the house had never been so quiet. With no screens glowing, his family gathered in the kitchen around a single candle. His father found an old deck of cards, and his mother laughed as she explained a game from her childhood whose rules she only half remembered. When the lights flickered back on, no one got up. Theo, to his own surprise, asked whether they could finish the round.

1. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? (A) During a power outage, Theo unexpectedly finds himself enjoying time with his family. (B) Theo’s mother teaches her family a card game that she invented during the outage. (C) Theo’s family decides to stop using electronic devices from then on. (D) Theo is frustrated that the power outage kept him from finishing his video game.

Question 10

Many lizards can escape predators by dropping their tails. The tail breaks off at special weak points, and after it falls, it keeps wriggling on the ground for a short time. This movement can distract a predator long enough for the lizard to run away. The lizard later grows a new tail, although the new one is usually shorter and supported by cartilage instead of bone.

1. According to the text, how does a dropped tail help a lizard escape from a predator? (A) Its wriggling can hold a predator’s attention while the lizard runs away. (B) It releases a bad-tasting substance that drives the predator away. (C) It makes the lizard much lighter so that it can climb out of reach. (D) It quickly grows back, so the predator cannot tell that it has been lost.

Question 11

A team led by biologist Grace Linden placed puzzle boxes containing food in a forest where wild raccoons live. To get the food, a raccoon had to either push a lever or pull open a small door. Many raccoons solved the boxes, and they got faster with experience. Linden hypothesizes that the raccoons improved because they remembered how to open the boxes, not because they kept trying actions at random until one happened to work.

1. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Linden’s hypothesis? (A) Raccoons opened the boxes more quickly when the food inside had a stronger smell. (B) Some of the raccoons in the forest never managed to open a box at all. (C) Younger raccoons tried a greater variety of actions on the boxes than older raccoons did. (D) When raccoons that had opened a box were given the same box weeks later, most of them went straight to the correct lever or door.

Question 12

“The First Warm Day” is an original poem written for this practice test. In the poem, the speaker suggests that people respond to the first warm day of spring with eagerness, rushing to enjoy the warmth even though signs of winter remain.

1. Which quotation from “The First Warm Day” most effectively illustrates the claim? (A) “The maples, still bare, hold their buds / like small closed fists against the wind.” (B) “Though ice still rims the pond, the neighbors / are out in shirtsleeves, and someone’s hung a hammock.” (C) “Snow lingers in the shadow of the fence, / gray and thin as an old dish towel.” (D) “By evening the air cools again, / and one by one we reach for our coats.”

Question 13

Researcher Monica Hale surveyed 1,200 teenagers about how many nights per week they ate dinner with their families. She also asked whether they often talked with a parent about school. Hale found that teens who ate dinner with their families more often were more likely to say that they often talked with a parent about school. For example, _____

1. Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text? (A) 35% of teens who ate family dinners 2–3 nights per week said they often talked with a parent about school. (B) more than half of teens who ate family dinners 4–5 nights per week said they often talked with a parent about school. (C) fewer teens ate family dinners 0–1 nights per week than ate family dinners 6–7 nights per week. (D) 64% of teens who ate family dinners 6–7 nights per week said they often talked with a parent about school, compared with 22% of those who did so 0–1 nights per week.

Question 14

Rust forms on iron when the metal reacts with its surroundings. To find out what conditions cause rust, science teacher Laura Pike’s class placed identical iron nails in four sealed test tubes for one week. Each tube had different conditions. At the end of the week, the class rated the rust on each nail from 0 (no rust) to 5 (heavy rust). The class concluded that iron rusts only when it is exposed to both water and oxygen.

1. Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the class’s conclusion? (A) The nails in both tap water and salt water received rust ratings above 0. (B) The nail in salt water received a higher rust rating than the nail in tap water did. (C) The nail in dry air, which was exposed to oxygen, received a rust rating of 0. (D) The nail in tap water, which had both water and oxygen, rusted, but the nail in dry air and the nail in boiled water under oil, which each lacked one of the two, did not.

Question 15

Around six months of age, babies begin to babble, repeating simple syllables such as “ma-ma,” “ba-ba,” and “da-da.” Sounds like m, b, p, and d, which are made with the lips or the tip of the tongue, are among the easiest for babies to produce, and the vowel “a” needs only an open mouth. Linguist Roman Jakobson argued that parents in many cultures eagerly treat these early syllables as words referring to themselves. If Jakobson was right, then the words for “mother” and “father” in many unrelated languages would likely _____

1. Which choice most logically completes the text? (A) be built from simple sounds like “ma,” “pa,” and “da.” (B) be much longer than most other words in those languages. (C) be learned by children later than most other words. (D) come from a single ancient language that all of them borrowed from.

Question 16

For many years, scientists disagreed about what causes the popping sound people hear when they crack their knuckles. In 2015, a research team used an MRI scanner to record video of finger joints as they _____ the videos showed that the sound occurs at the moment a gas-filled space suddenly forms in the fluid inside the joint.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) cracked, (B) cracked (C) cracked; (D) cracked, which

Question 17

An abacus is a counting tool made of beads that slide along rods or wires. Over the centuries, different versions of it have been used in many places, including ancient Rome, _____ Japan, and Russia. Even today, skilled users can add and subtract on an abacus with remarkable speed.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) China; (B) China (C) China, (D) China:

Question 18

In 1931, Harry Beck, an engineering draftsman, sketched a new kind of map of the London Underground railway. Instead of showing the real distances between stations, his design followed a few simple _____ lines ran only straight across, straight up and down, or at 45-degree angles, and stations were spaced out evenly. Riders found the new map far easier to read.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) rules (B) rules, (C) rules, which (D) rules:

Question 19

Snow leopards live in the cold, rocky mountains of Central Asia. A snow _____ thick tail can be almost as long as its body. The tail helps the cat keep its balance on steep slopes, and when the leopard rests, it can wrap its tail around its face like a warm scarf.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) leopard’s (B) leopards (C) leopards’ (D) leopards’s

Question 20

As a child, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart toured Europe with his father, Leopold, and his older sister, Nannerl, who was also a gifted keyboard player. The letters that Leopold wrote home during the family’s travels from 1763 to 1766 _____ a detailed record of the concerts the children gave in cities such as Paris and London.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) provides (B) provide (C) has provided (D) providing

Question 21

For much of the twentieth century, many science textbooks showed a “tongue map” suggesting that each area of the tongue senses only one taste, such as sweetness at the tip and bitterness at the back. Scientists now know that the map is wrong. Taste buds all over the tongue can detect every basic taste, though _____ sensitivity to each taste may vary slightly.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) it’s (B) its (C) their (D) they’re

Question 22

When it opened in 80 CE, the Colosseum in Rome could hold about 50,000 spectators. On hot days, the crowd was shaded by the velarium, a huge cloth awning stretched above the seats. The complex system of ropes and wooden poles that held the awning in place _____ operated by sailors from the Roman navy, who were experts at handling sails.

1. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? (A) were (B) was (C) being (D) have been

Question 23

From the outside, a geode looks like an ordinary round, dull rock. _____ when it is cut open, it often reveals a hollow center lined with sparkling crystals. These crystals form over thousands of years as mineral-rich water seeps into a hollow space inside the rock.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? (A) Therefore, (B) In addition, (C) For instance, (D) However,

Question 24

Norman Rockwell painted his first cover for the magazine The Saturday Evening Post in 1916, when he was twenty-two. Over the next forty-seven years, he created 323 covers for the magazine, many of them showing ordinary moments of American life, such as a family sharing a meal or a child visiting the doctor. _____ Rockwell’s name became closely linked with the magazine in the minds of millions of readers.

1. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? (A) Consequently, (B) For example, (C) Nonetheless, (D) Instead,

Question 25

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

• A glow stick is a plastic tube that contains two separate liquids.
• One of the liquids is sealed inside a thin glass vial within the tube.
• Bending the tube breaks the vial, allowing the two liquids to mix.
• The mixed liquids undergo a chemical reaction that gives off light but very little heat.
• Glow sticks shine longer in cold temperatures because the reaction slows down, but their light is dimmer.

1. The student wants to explain what a person must do to make a glow stick start glowing. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) A glow stick is a plastic tube that contains two separate liquids. (B) A glow stick gives off light but produces very little heat. (C) In cold temperatures, glow sticks shine for a longer time, but their light is dimmer. (D) To make a glow stick glow, a person bends the tube, breaking a glass vial inside so that two liquids mix and react to produce light.

Question 26

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

• Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) was a Belgian instrument maker.
• He wanted to create an instrument that combined the power of brass instruments with the flexibility of woodwind instruments.
• The saxophone is made of brass but produces sound with a reed, like a clarinet.
• Sax patented the saxophone in 1846.
• The saxophone was first played mainly in military bands; later, it became central to jazz.

1. The student wants to explain why the saxophone combines features of two types of instruments. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, patented the saxophone in 1846. (B) Reflecting Sax’s goal of combining brass and woodwind instruments, the saxophone is made of brass but produces sound with a reed, like a clarinet. (C) Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, lived from 1814 to 1894. (D) The saxophone was first played mainly in military bands but later became central to jazz.

Question 27

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

• Many teenagers look for jobs during their summer break.
• The town of Fairview runs a summer jobs program for students ages 14 to 17.
• Teens in the program work 20 hours a week for six weeks.
• Jobs are available at the public library, the parks department, and local day camps.
• Before starting, all teens must attend a one-day workshop on job skills.

1. The student wants to describe the kinds of jobs available in the Fairview program. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? (A) The Fairview summer jobs program is open to students ages 14 to 17. (B) Teens in the Fairview program work 20 hours a week for six weeks. (C) Teens in the Fairview program can work at the public library, the parks department, or local day camps. (D) Before they start working, teens in the Fairview program must attend a one-day workshop.