Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practie Test 21

1

The following is an excerpt from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (1814). The novel's protagonist, Fanny Price, returns home after many years of living with her wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park.

William was gone: and the home he had left her in was-Fanny could not conceal it from herself-in almost every respect the very reverse of what she could have wished. . . . On her father, her confidence had not been sanguine, but he was more negligent of his family, his habits were worse, and his manners coarser, than she had been prepared for.

He did not want abilities; but he had no curiosity, and no information beyond his profession; he read only the newspaper and the navy-list; he talked only of the dockyard, the harbor, Spithead, and the Motherbank; he swore and he drank, he was dirty and gross. She had never been able to recall anything approaching to tenderness in his former treatment of herself. There had remained only a general impression of roughness and loudness; and now he scarcely ever noticed her.

The text characterizes Fanny's father's intellectual interests as

2

A biologist attempts to determine the cause of evolutionary divergence among the populations of a frog found in the Amazonian rain forest. Based on her observations, the biologist supports the riverine barrier hypothesis, claiming that dispersion across opposite riverbanks is responsible for the observed differences in the frogs. She notes that the width, depth, and water speed of the rivers form an obstacle that makes it extremely challenging for the frogs to cross.

Which finding, if true, would most undermine the biologist's hypothesis?

3

A social scientist would like to make a statement to demonstrate the increasing interest in folklore scholarship.

Which statement would be best supported by the information in the graph?

4

In 1812, U.S. president James Madison declared war on the British Empire. There was a variety of reasons for the declaration: British-U.S. relations were strained by England's attempts to thwart international trade between the U.S. and France-with whom the British were already at war-and on several occasions the Royal Navy had endeavored to conscript American sailors by force. However, perhaps no cause for war was more compelling in the U.S. than the desire to expand the nation into the northern territories of modern-day Ontario and modern-day Quebec, which were still British colonies at the time.

It can be reasonably inferred that the author of the text would argue that the most significant motivation for U.S. citizens who wanted to go to war with Canada in the early 1800s was

5

The primary problem with deriving major amounts of dietary sugar directly from fructose rather than from starch lies in the fact that the degradation of fructose-which, upon entry into the cell, is split immediately into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde-completely bypasses the first four steps of glycolysis, including the most critical regulatory reaction in the entire process. Thus, how our bodies handle the usage of fructose is utterly dissociated from the hormonal controls of insulin and glucagon, which, over time, invariably predisposes one to obesity, diabetes mellitus, and a host of other dangerous metabolic disorders. The long-term consumption of fructose will lead to ________

Which choice most logically completes the text?

6

The familiar, somewhat calligraphic anachronism that today we often refer to as "Old English" did not emerge until the twelfth century, around the time of the extinction of the Old English language. The Old English script or, more accurately, blackletter, is in reality not even English, but evolved in medieval universities along the Franco-German border as an efficient alternative to both the highly variable insular scripts of England and Ireland, and the consistent though cumbersome Carolingian miniscule of Christian monasteries.

The text suggests that the most significant problem with the insular scripts was what?

7

So, I hope everyone will take heed of this important announcement: "Citizens of the world: Relax." Go on vacation more ________.

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

8

When the skin and the natural flora are compromised and not strong enough to fight off the attack, the body's second line of ______________________

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

9

Though we can only speculate on its use among preliterate peoples, some historical anthropologists have suggested that the bullroarer's ubiquity across the world's ancient cultures suggests that _________ primary function must have been practical rather than ritual.

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

10

Once completely oblivious of the damages to the environment caused by pollution, waste, and overpopulation, the world _________ to look seriously upon the depletion of our natural resources. Whether we scrutinize the harmful exhaust gases that pollute our air-carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, among others-or turn to deforestation and chemical effluents, the situation is clearly out of control.

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