Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 1: Answer and Explanation

Question: 1

The following text is from Anatole France's 1912 French novel The Gods Will Have Blood.

"As an appetizer for your capon, I've made some vegetable soup with a slice of bacon and a big beef bone. There's nothing gives soup a flavor better than a marrow bone."

"A praiseworthy maxim, (Gamelin)," replied old Brotteaux. "And you will do wisely, if tomorrow, and the next day, and all the rest of the week, you put this precious bone back into the pot, so that it will continue to flavor it. The wise woman of Panzoust used to do that: she made a soup of green cabbages with a rind of bacon and an old savorados. That is what they call the tasty and succulent medullary bone in her country, which is also my country."

"This lady you speak of, monsieur," . . . Gamelin put in, "wasn't she a little on the careful side, making the same bone last so long?"

Based on the text, Citizen Brotteaux and Citizeness Gamelin have what respective attitudes towards the reuse of food?

• A. Both agree that no effort should be spared to make food as delicious as possible to give refuge from the political difficulties of the time.
• B. There is no need for conservation, given the abundant supply of poultry; use every part of the poultry-let nothing go to waste.
• C. Both agree that given the scarcity of food, every effort should be made to conserve and reuse food.
• D. Be wise by craftily reusing food as much as possible; don't take conservation of food to an extreme.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

(D) Brotteaux's attitude is seen when he advocates reusing a cooking bone; Gamelin's attitude is seen in the final paragraph of the text in which she questions the sensibility of reusing a bone so much. Neither would support choice (A) or (B), and only Brotteaux would support (C).