Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practie Test 26

1

Text 1

If We Were Villains is a novel depicting a group of friends and their journey through an elite arts college. The seven students act in Shakespearean plays throughout the years, each embodying the persona of the character they are given. When it comes to their final play, the students have lost touch of their identity and taken on the character given to them-even that of the villain.

Text 2

Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest English writer in history. His works have been published and used as authors' inspiration for decades. Countless books and movies have come out about this poet's life. Surprisingly, most of Shakespeare's inspiration came from historical figures and events, such as Macbeth and Julius Caesar. Some people question whether the antagonists were also influenced by these people or by those in his personal life.

The example introduced in the beginning of Text 1 is primarily representative of what item mentioned in Text 2?

2

Text 1

According to Darwin's theory of evolution, all organisms arise and develop through the process of natural selection, or small functional inheritances that boost one's ability to compete and survive in the wild. When small genetic mutations occur and prove beneficial, they are passed on to offspring, allowing a slow evolution to occur while the less competitive organism dies out. Eventually, Darwin argues, these mutations accumulate and form an entirely new organism.

Text 2

Without having a grasp of Gregor Mendel's work on heredity, Darwin couldn't anticipate modern discoveries within genetics such as genetic drift. Darwin himself acknowledged that his theory would encounter challenges if any complex organ were to be found which could not possibly have been formed by successive, slight modifications. With modern advancements in molecular biology and biochemistry, these "irreducibly complex systems" are not only known to exist, but are, in fact, very prevalent on the cellular level.

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the two texts?

3

Ecologically, organic farming is designed to promote and enhance biodiversity, so it must combine scientific knowledge and technologies to stimulate naturally occurring biological processes. For instance, organic farming uses pyrethrin, a natural pesticide found in the chrysanthemum flower, to deter pests, and potassium bicarbonate to control disease and suppress unruly weeds. Furthermore, where conventional farming focuses on mass production of each individual crop, organic farming encourages polyculture, or multiple crops being raised in the same space.

Based on the passage, when compared to a non-organic farm field, an organic farm field will most likely be more

4

The following text is from Charles Dickens's 1861 novel Great Expectations. In it, Pip, a poor orphan who is cared for by his sister and her husband, meets the young girl who will become the lifetime object of his affections while simultaneously becoming aware of his lowly position in the caste system.

My uncle Pumblechook, who kept a cornchandler's shop in the high-street of the town, took me to the large old, dismal house, which had all its windows barred. For miles round everybody had heard of Miss Havisham as an immensely rich and grim lady who led a life of seclusion; and everybody soon knew that Mr. Pumblechook had been commissioned to bring her a boy.

The text primarily serves to explain

5

The infamous four-letter words are almost exclusively descended from the Germanic components of English. Even without an expertise in linguistics, one might sense this simply by the way they sound-phonically, most profanity in English is composed of short, terse syllables, and rounds off abruptly with a hard consonant.

A newly formed profane English word with which of the following suffixes would most effectively illustrate the author's claim?

6

A state is considering increasing the payment it provides to unemployed workers from $300 a week to $500 a week. An economist hypothesizes that this change in policy will discourage unemployed citizens from seeking out work since they will receive increased funds from unemployment.

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

7

Which of the following is true based on the information in the graph?

8

Folklorists-regardless of their focus within the wide, interdisciplinary field of folklore-often use a similar approach and methodology, called ethnographic fieldwork. This means the folklorist's job is not confined to a desk, a university, or a museum; instead, _____________________ often in exciting, real-world settings in the expressive realms of festival, narrative, faith, art, architecture, and food, among others.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

9

This is an excerpt from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, written in 1847. Jane, previously a governess at Thornfield Hall, is engaged to marry the wealthy homeowner Mr. Rochester. She fretfully relays unexpected events to him that have recently occurred in his absence.

I dreamt another dream, sir: that Thornfield Hall was a dreary ruin, the retreat of bats and owls. I thought that of all the stately front nothing remained but a shell-like wall, very high and very fragile-looking. I wandered, on a moonlight night, through the grass-grown enclosure within: here I stumbled over a marble hearth, and there over a fallen fragment of cornice. Wrapped up in a shawl, I still carried the unknown little child: I might not lay it down anywhere, however tired were my arms-however much its weight impeded my progress, I must retain it. I heard the gallop of a horse at a distance on the road; I was sure it was you; and you were departing for many years and for a distant country.

In her dream, how did Jane first perceive the presence of Mr. Rochester?

10

In the third grade, my teacher, Mrs. Wabash, asked the class to spend ten minutes sketching our homes, specifically the exterior of our houses as they appeared to passersby. This prelude was part of a larger exercise that I ___________________

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

11

The good news is technology can work in your favor just as methodically as it can work against you. If you approach the World Wide Web as a tool, it can be ____________

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