SSAT Reading Practice Worksheet - 33

Read each passage carefully and then answer the questions about it. For each question, decide on the basis of the passage which one of the choices best answers the question.

Passage 1

The following passage is adapted from a work of narrative fiction.

    The morning Aunt Celia arrived from Montreal, the whole house smelled of burnt sugar. My mother had been attempting to make pralines since dawn, and the kitchen floor was littered with hardened amber (5) discs that had refused to set properly. I watched from the doorway as she scraped another failed batch into the bin, her jaw tight with the kind of frustration that made me want to disappear into the wallpaper.     “She’ll notice everything,” my mother muttered, not to me exactly, but to the (10) air between us. “The crack in the banister. The stain on the dining room ceiling. She has eyes like a hawk and a memory like an elephant.”     I had met Aunt Celia only once before, when I was six, and retained only a vague impression of pearls and (15) perfume and a laugh that sounded like ice cubes in a glass. She was my father’s older sister, a woman who had never married and who wrote, according to my mother, “those awful modern poems that don’t even rhyme.” (20) She had lived in Paris for a decade before returning to Canada, and my mother spoke of her with a mixture of envy and dread that I didn’t fully understand until the black taxi pulled into our driveway and a tall, thin woman emerged wearing a coat the color of red wine.

1. The passage is narrated from the point of view of

1. a mother preparing for a difficult visit
2. an adult recalling a childhood memory
3. a child observing events as they unfold
4. Aunt Celia reflecting on her family
5. a father watching his sister arrive

2. The description of the “hardened amber discs” in line 4 suggests that the pralines

1. were intentionally shaped into decorative forms
2. had been successfully completed
3. had solidified before being properly shaped
4. were made from an exotic recipe
5. had been prepared the previous evening

3. As used in line 7, the word “set” most nearly means

1. placed
2. established
3. hardened
4. arranged
5. assigned

4. The mother’s comment in lines 9-11 primarily reveals her

1. admiration for Aunt Celia’s powers of observation
2. anxiety about being judged by her sister-in-law
3. pride in the condition of her home
4. eagerness to impress an important visitor
5. confidence in her housekeeping abilities

5. The narrator’s description of Aunt Celia’s laugh as sounding “like ice cubes in a glass” (line 16) suggests that it was

1. warm and welcoming
2. cold and sharp
3. loud and boisterous
4. soft and musical
5. nervous and hesitant

6. The mother’s attitude toward Aunt Celia’s poetry (lines 17-18) can best be described as

1. enthusiastic appreciation
2. scholarly interest
3. dismissive contempt
4. cautious admiration
5. complete indifference

7. The passage suggests that the narrator’s understanding of the situation

1. is more sophisticated than the mother’s
2. develops as Aunt Celia arrives
3. remains incomplete throughout the passage
4. is based entirely on previous experience
5. contradicts what the mother believes

Passage 2

The following passage is adapted from an article about linguistics and cognitive science.

    For decades, linguists believed that the capacity for grammatical recursion – the ability to embed phrases within phrases indefinitely, as in “the cat that chased the rat that (5) ate the cheese” – was a uniquely human trait and the cornerstone of what separates human language from animal communication. This view, championed most notably by Noam Chomsky, held that recursion represented a fundamental cognitive adaptation that emerged in our species alone. (10) Recent field studies, however, have complicated this tidy narrative.     In 2011, researchers working in the Amazon basin published findings on Pirahã, a language spoken by fewer than a thousand people in Brazil. According to linguistic anthropologist Daniel Everett, Pirahã appears to lack (15) recursive structures entirely. Speakers do not embed clauses within other clauses; instead, they string together simple sentences in sequence. If Everett’s analysis is correct, it would suggest that recursion is not, in fact, a universal feature of human language, but rather a (20) common – though not inevitable – strategy that many languages employ.     The implications extend beyond theoretical linguistics. If recursion is not hardwired into human cognition, then our understanding of how children acquire language must be revised. Perhaps grammatical structures are learned (25) more thoroughly from cultural exposure than from innate biological programming, a possibility that challenges some of the most influential theories in cognitive science.

8. The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. describe the grammatical structure of the Pirahã language
2. explain how children acquire recursive grammar
3. challenge a long-held assumption about human language
4. defend Noam Chomsky’s theories of universal grammar
5. prove that recursion exists in all animal communication

9. According to the passage, Chomsky believed that recursion was

1. a skill that humans learn from cultural exposure
2. present in some but not all human languages
3. a unique cognitive feature of humans
4. unnecessary for effective communication
5. found in certain animal communication systems

10. As used in line 10, the word “narrative” most nearly means

1. story
2. explanation
3. fiction
4. biography
5. tale

11. The example “the cat that chased the rat that ate the cheese” (lines 4-5) is used to illustrate

1. how Pirahã speakers construct sentences
2. the concept of grammatical recursion
3. a phrase that exists in all languages
4. Daniel Everett’s research methodology
5. the limits of animal communication

12. The passage suggests that if Everett’s analysis of Pirahã is correct, then

1. all theories of language acquisition must be abandoned
2. Chomsky’s claim about universal recursion would be weakened
3. recursion would be proven to exist in animal communication
4. children could not learn language without biological programming
5. the Pirahã language would be considered primitive

13. The author’s tone in the passage can best be described as

1. skeptical and dismissive
2. passionate and argumentative
3. objective and informative
4. celebratory and enthusiastic
5. confused and uncertain

14. The passage indicates that the debate over recursion in Pirahã has implications for understanding

1. how many people speak endangered languages
2. where the Pirahã people originally came from
3. how children learn grammatical structures
4. why Chomsky developed his theories
5. when recursion first evolved in humans

Passage 3

The following is excerpted from Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech upon the signing of a treaty transferring Native American land to the U.S. government.

    Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long (5) vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to (10) their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad, happy-hearted maidens, and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love (15) these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your (20) children’s children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land.

15. The main purpose of the passage is to

1. negotiate the specific terms of a land treaty
2. express the spiritual connection between his people and the land
3. describe the landscape of the Pacific Northwest
4. warn white settlers to leave Native American territory
5. recount the military victories of his tribe

16. As used in line 4, the word “hallowed” most nearly means

1. emptied
2. made sacred
3. excavated
4. shouted in
5. forgotten

17. In lines 5-8, Chief Seattle describes the rocks as appearing “dumb and dead” in order to

1. contrast their appearance with their spiritual significance
2. criticize the landscape as barren and lifeless
3. suggest that nature has no memory
4. argue that only living things have value
5. prove that his people worship inanimate objects

18. The passage suggests that the dust responds “more lovingly” to the footsteps of Chief Seattle’s people (lines 9-11) because

1. they walk more carefully than white settlers
2. the land is connected to their ancestors
3. they have special ceremonial footwear
4. the soil composition favors bare feet
5. white settlers refuse to walk on the ground

19. The tone of the passage is best described as

1. bitter and vengeful
2. detached and analytical
3. mournful and reverent
4. celebratory and joyful
5. confused and uncertain

20. Chief Seattle’s assertion that white settlers’ descendants “will not be alone” (line 22) implies that

1. Native Americans will continue to live alongside them
2. the spirits of his people will remain present in the land
3. the treaty will require them to share the territory
4. future generations will reject the treaty
5. wildlife will populate the forests and fields

■ ■ ■   STOP   ■ ■ ■

IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION ONLY. DO NOT TURN TO ANY OTHER SECTION OF THE TEST.

Answer Key

1. Ans: (C) – a child observing events as they unfold
Explanation: This is a Point of View question. The narrator uses first-person perspective (“I watched,” “I had met”) and describes events happening in the present moment, indicating a child observing in real time (lines 4-6). Choice (A) is incorrect because the mother is a character being observed, not the narrator. Choice (B) is incorrect because the passage uses present tense verbs and describes events as they happen, not as a retrospective memory.

2. Ans: (C) – had solidified before being properly shaped
Explanation: This is a Detail/Inference question. The passage states the pralines “had refused to set properly” (line 7) and that the hardened discs were on the floor, indicating they hardened at the wrong time. Choice (A) is incorrect because the discs are failures littering the floor, not intentional decorations. Choice (B) is incorrect because the mother scrapes a “failed batch” into the bin (line 7), showing they were unsuccessful.

3. Ans: (C) – hardened
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In the context of candy-making (line 7), “set” refers to the process by which liquid candy solidifies or hardens into its final form. Choice (A) is incorrect because “placed” refers to positioning objects, not the chemical process described. Choice (B) is incorrect because while “established” is a meaning of “set,” it does not fit the candy-making context.

4. Ans: (B) – anxiety about being judged by her sister-in-law
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The mother’s focus on flaws that “she’ll notice” and the description of Aunt Celia’s sharp observation (lines 9-11) reveal worry about criticism. Choice (A) is incorrect because the mother shows fear, not admiration. Choice (C) is incorrect because she is listing flaws in her home, not expressing pride.

5. Ans: (B) – cold and sharp
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Ice cubes in a glass produce a sharp, tinkling, cold sound, which matches the overall impression of Aunt Celia as formidable and distant (lines 15-16). Choice (A) is incorrect because ice imagery suggests coldness, the opposite of warmth. Choice (D) is incorrect because the image suggests a crisp, hard sound, not a soft one.

6. Ans: (C) – dismissive contempt
Explanation: This is a Tone/Attitude question. The mother calls the poems “awful” and criticizes them for not rhyming (lines 17-18), showing clear disdain. Choice (B) is incorrect because there is no evidence of scholarly engagement, only negative judgment. Choice (D) is incorrect because “awful” indicates contempt, not admiration of any kind.

7. Ans: (B) – develops as Aunt Celia arrives
Explanation: This is an Extended Reasoning question. The narrator states not fully understanding the mother’s feelings “until” the taxi arrived and Aunt Celia emerged (lines 21-24), showing comprehension growing in that moment. Choice (A) is incorrect because the narrator admits to not fully understanding earlier. Choice (C) is incorrect because understanding does develop by the end of the passage.

8. Ans: (C) – challenge a long-held assumption about human language
Explanation: This is a Main Idea/Purpose question. The passage begins with a widely-held belief about recursion (lines 1-9) and then presents evidence that “complicated this tidy narrative” (line 10). Choice (A) is too narrow; Pirahã is used as evidence for the broader argument. Choice (D) is incorrect because the passage challenges rather than defends Chomsky’s theories.

9. Ans: (C) – a unique cognitive feature of humans
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states Chomsky held that recursion “represented a fundamental cognitive adaptation that emerged in our species alone” (lines 8-9). Choice (A) contradicts the passage, which presents cultural learning as an alternative to Chomsky’s view. Choice (B) is incorrect because Chomsky believed recursion was universal, not selective.

10. Ans: (B) – explanation
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 10, “narrative” refers to the theoretical explanation or account about recursion presented by linguists. Choice (C) is incorrect because “narrative” here refers to a scientific account, not a made-up story. Choice (A) is less precise than “explanation” in this academic context.

11. Ans: (B) – the concept of grammatical recursion
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. The passage introduces recursion as “the ability to embed phrases within phrases” and immediately provides this example (lines 3-5). Choice (A) is incorrect because Pirahã lacks recursion, so this example would not represent how its speakers construct sentences. Choice (C) is incorrect because the passage argues recursion may not exist in all languages.

12. Ans: (B) – Chomsky’s claim about universal recursion would be weakened
Explanation: This is an Inference question. If Pirahã lacks recursion, it would disprove the universality of recursion, directly challenging Chomsky’s position (lines 17-20). Choice (A) is too extreme; the passage suggests revision, not complete abandonment. Choice (C) is incorrect because the passage focuses on human language, not animal communication.

13. Ans: (C) – objective and informative
Explanation: This is a Tone question. The author presents both sides of the debate neutrally, using phrases like “if Everett’s analysis is correct” (line 17) without advocating for either position. Choice (A) is incorrect because the author does not dismiss either theory. Choice (B) is incorrect because the passage presents information without arguing passionately for one side.

14. Ans: (C) – how children learn grammatical structures
Explanation: This is a Detail question. The final paragraph explicitly states that “our understanding of how children acquire language must be revised” (lines 23-24). Choice (A) is incorrect because speaker population is mentioned only to introduce Pirahã, not as an implication of the debate. Choice (E) is incorrect because evolutionary timing is not discussed in the passage.

15. Ans: (B) – express the spiritual connection between his people and the land
Explanation: This is a Main Idea/Purpose question. Chief Seattle emphasizes that “every part of this soil is sacred” (lines 1-2) and describes how ancestors and spirits remain connected to the land throughout the passage. Choice (A) is too narrow; while the speech occurs at a treaty signing, the passage itself focuses on spiritual themes, not negotiation details. Choice (D) is incorrect because the speech does not warn settlers to leave but rather describes an enduring spiritual presence.

16. Ans: (B) – made sacred
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. “Hallowed” means made holy or sacred, fitting the context where every location has been sanctified “by some sad or happy event” (lines 3-4). Choice (A) is incorrect because “hallowed” refers to spiritual significance, not physical emptying. Choice (E) is incorrect because the passage emphasizes remembrance, the opposite of being forgotten.

17. Ans: (A) – contrast their appearance with their spiritual significance
Explanation: This is a Structure/Purpose question. Chief Seattle describes the rocks as appearing lifeless but then states they “thrill with memories” (lines 5-7), creating a contrast between surface appearance and deeper meaning. Choice (B) is incorrect because he is praising the landscape’s spiritual richness, not criticizing it. Choice (C) is incorrect because he argues the opposite-that nature does hold memory.

18. Ans: (B) – the land is connected to their ancestors
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage explains that the dust is “rich with the blood of our ancestors” (line 11), creating the spiritual connection. Choice (A) is not supported by any detail in the passage. Choice (E) contradicts the passage, which refers to white settlers standing on the dust (line 9).

19. Ans: (C) – mournful and reverent
Explanation: This is a Tone question. Chief Seattle speaks of vanished days (line 4), departed loved ones (lines 12-13), and the last Red Man perishing (line 16), creating a mournful tone, while the sacred language throughout shows reverence. Choice (A) is incorrect because despite sadness, there is no vengeful or bitter language. Choice (D) is incorrect because the speech laments loss rather than celebrates.

20. Ans: (B) – the spirits of his people will remain present in the land
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Chief Seattle describes “invisible dead” and “shadowy returning spirits” (lines 15, 19) that will continue to inhabit the land, indicating spiritual rather than physical presence. Choice (A) is incorrect because the passage refers to spirits after his people have perished (line 16), not living Native Americans. Choice (C) is incorrect because the passage describes spiritual presence, not legal treaty terms.