Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practie Test 14

1

When two people from different cities or countries meet, they have a topic that they can easily and freely ____________ whose team is the best, they do agree that they love soccer.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

2

Given how reading can benefit an individual, it is not surprising, then, that readers have positive effects on society. Those who read literature are more than twice as likely to volunteer or do charity work and more than three times as likely to go to museums, attend plays or concerts, and create art as those who do not. Good readers are even more likely to play sports, attend sporting events, or do outdoor activities. ___________ criminals tend to have significantly worse reading skills than others.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

3

Luminescence is fundamentally distinct from the way we create light in incandescent light bulbs. Incandescence uses the super-heating of a filament to generate light by thermal radiation, and a lot of energy is wasted in the process. ____________ less than 20% of luminescent light is created by thermal radiation, which has earned it the nickname "cold light".

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

4

When sweating or swimming, sunscreen products can be easily washed away. ___________ a new application will not set the timer to zero: only time out of the sun will do that. What this means is that frequent applications (at least every two hours) and breaks from the sun are important.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

5

Following their return to Spain in the late 1940s, Dali began drawing inspiration from his faith for his work. It was during this period of Dali's life that he produced La Gare de Perpignan, which contains several religious symbols and references. ___________ there is the shadow of Christ on the cross bearing his thorny crown near the center of the painting.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

6

A student takes the following notes for her geography class:

■ Two dimensional maps are imperfect in projecting three-dimensional surfaces, especially planetary surfaces like that of Earth.

■ The Mercator projection is good for navigation because it makes it easy to distinguish between north and south.

■ The Mercator projection is problematic in that it does not accurately show the surface area of countries.

■ The Mercator projection makes the far northern and far southern countries appear to be much larger than they actually are.

■ The Robinson projection shows all the surface of Earth connected together in one drawing.

■ The Robinson projection distorts the size of the land masses close to the north and south poles.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the Mercator and the Robinson projections. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

7

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

■ Before the Incas and Aztecs, Teotihuacan flourished in what is today known as Mexico.

■ Teotihuacan was a large city built in the Valley of Mexico and was at peak importance between 500 and 550 AD.

■ Teotihuacan is responsible for some of the most intact ruins and some of the most impressive pyramids in North America, including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.

■ The city was the most important cultural center of Mesoamerica in its time and produced much of the art, music, and other culturally important concepts of the time.

■ Teotihuacan eventually crumbled for reasons unknown; many archeologists suspect an uprising of the peasant class contributed to the demise of the once-great city.

The student wants to emphasize elements of Teotihuacan that are most likely still physically visible by people today. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

8

Juan was surprised by what he heard but _________ the information as lies. He knew many of his peers were jealous of his success, but he doubted they would stoop so low.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word?

9

When the speaker was done, the crowd rose and clapped vigorously. Yet, at the question and answer session, attentive spectators __________ several points-particularly that the speech's moral lesson came off as condescending and was generally unfounded.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

10

At the turn of the nineteenth century, a prominent physicist stated that physics as a field of study was finished due to the belief that everything about the physical world had already been discovered. Newtonian Mechanics had held sway for over two hundred years and our understanding of the atom had not advanced much beyond the concepts of the ancient Greeks. The view of a static universe was the accepted construct and humanity's ignorance was a kind of simple bliss and arrogance.

As used in the text, what does the word construct most nearly mean?