Reading and Writing Test - 5 - SAT MCQ

• Choice A is the best answer because it accurately describes the organization of the elements within the text. The text begins with the claim that Joni Mitchell’s album covers use images she creates in order to emphasize ideas embedded in her albums. It then goes on to provide an example of how Mitchell’s self-portrait on the cover of Turbulent Indigo resembles a painting by Van Gogh, which the text indicates helps emphasize the strong connection Mitchell feels toward Van Gogh, a connection that is also expressed in the album’s title song.
• Choice B is incorrect because there are no references in the text to artists other than Joni Mitchell and Van Gogh.
• Choice C is incorrect because there is nothing in the text that calls attention to any similarities or differences between Joni Mitchell and Van Gogh. Instead, it mentions that Mitchell feels a strong “artistic connection” to Van Gogh.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text discusses the cover before referring to any songs, and it only references one song from the album not all the songs.

• Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively illustrates the claim that Martí argues that a society’s spiritual well-being depends on the character of its literary culture. In the quotation, Martí asserts that poetry is “more necessary to a people than industry itself” and that it has the power to provide people with “faith and vigor.” He also adds that literature gives people “the desire and strength for life.” Therefore, this quotation shows that Martí believes that literature is a societal necessity because it uplifts people and nourishes their spiritual well-being. 
• Choice B is incorrect. Although this quotation emphasizes the importance of literature, it focuses on how the nature of a society is reflected in that society’s literature rather than on literature’s value for people’s spiritual well-being.
• Choice C is incorrect. Although this quotation involves an element of spirituality, it doesn’t discuss literature. The quotation instead focuses on humanity’s actions.
• Choice D is incorrect because this quotation mainly focuses on the importance of Walt Whitman rather than on the value of literature in general.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the sweet potato in Polynesia. The text indicates that the sweet potato is found in Polynesia but originated in South America, and that the sweet potato was being cultivated by Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples in Polynesia long before sea voyages between South America and Polynesia began. The text goes on to note that research by Muñoz-Rodríguez and colleagues has established that the Polynesian varieties of sweet potato split from South American varieties more than 100,000 years ago, which is thousands of years before humans settled in Polynesia. If Polynesian peoples were cultivating the sweet potato before sea voyages between Polynesia and South America began, and if Polynesian varieties of sweet potato diverged from South American varieties well before people were in Polynesia, it can reasonably be concluded that humans didn’t play a role in bringing the sweet potato to Polynesia.
• Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide any information about when the sweet potato began to be cultivated in South America, so there’s no support for the conclusion that cultivation began in Polynesia before it began in South America.
• Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that the sweet potato was being cultivated in Polynesia long before sea journeys between Polynesia and South America began. Therefore, it wouldn’t be reasonable to conclude that Polynesian peoples acquired the sweet potato from South American peoples. Additionally, the text indicates that the Polynesian varieties of sweet potato diverged from the South American varieties thousands of years before people settled in Polynesia, which suggests that the sweet potato was already present in Polynesia when people arrived.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text states that the domestic sweet potato, which is found in Polynesia, descends from a wild South American plant, not from a domesticated South American plant. The only people that the text describes as cultivating the sweet potato are Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples of Polynesia.

• Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of punctuation around noun phrases. No punctuation is needed because the noun phrase “aluminum oxide” is a restrictive appositive, meaning that it provides essential identifying information about the noun phrase before it, “the chemical compound.”
• Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.
• Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed.
• Choice C is incorrect because the noun phrase “aluminum oxide” is a restrictive appositive. Setting the phrase off with commas suggests that it could be removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case.

• Choice B is the best answer because it describes the most likely way that Graeber and Wengrow (Text 2) would respond to the “conventional wisdom” presented in Text 1. According to Text 1, the conventional wisdom about human social systems is that they developed through stages, beginning with hunter-gatherer bands, then moving to clan associations, then chiefdoms, and finally arriving at states with bureaucratic structures. Text 2 indicates that Graeber and Wengrow believe that human social systems have been flexible, shifting between different types of structures, including both hierarchical and collective systems, and that these shifts may have even occurred seasonally. This suggests that Graeber and Wengrow would dispute the idea that developments in social structures have followed a linear progression through distinct stages.
• Choice A is incorrect because nothing in Text 2 suggests that Graeber and Wengrow believe that decentralized collective societies are more significant than hierarchical systems. Text 2 is focused on Graeber and Wengrow’s view that humans have flexibly shifted among various social structures, not on the importance of particular structures relative to others.
• Choice C is incorrect because Text 2 doesn’t include any information suggesting that Graeber and Wengrow believe that hierarchies didn’t emerge until after the rise of agriculture. In fact, Text 2 indicates that Graeber and Wengrow cite evidence suggesting that some hunter-gatherer groups formed social structures with hierarchical elements (“communities that included esteemed individuals”) 50,000 years ago, long before the rise of agriculture, which Text 1 says occurred around 12,000 years ago. 
• Choice D is incorrect because there’s no information in Text 2 suggesting that Graeber and Wengrow would challenge the assumption that groupings of huntergatherers were among the earliest forms of social structure. Although Text 1 does indicate that hunter-gatherer groups are assumed to be the earliest human social system, Text 2 says only that Graeber and Wengrow believe that some huntergatherer groups made use of different social structures at different times. Text 2 doesn’t imply that Graeber and Wengrow doubt that hunter-gatherer groups preceded most other social structures.

• Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support Gómez-Bahamón and her team’s hypothesis about fork-tailed flycatchers. The text indicates that although two subspecies of the birds live in the same region, the tail feathers of the migrating males make a higher-pitched sound than the tail feathers of the nonmigrating males do. Gómez-Bahamón and her team hypothesize that female fork-tailed flycatchers are attracted to the particular sound made by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will bring about additional “genetic and anatomical divergence” between the two subspecies. If it were found that the pitch generated by the tail feathers of migrating males is getting higher over successive generations, it would indicate that the shape of the migrating subspecies’ tail feathers is diverging further from that of the nonmigrating subspecies. And if females continue to prefer the sounds of the males of their own subspecies, the females of the migrating subspecies will become acclimated to increasingly higher pitches over subsequent generations, causing further divergence between the subspecies. Thus, if it were found that migrating males’ tail feathers were producing higher pitches over time, that would support the researchers’ hypothesis.
• Choice A is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. This finding is about the shape of wing feathers and how that affects longdistance flight, whereas the hypothesis is about the shape of tail feathers and how that relates to female mate preference.
• Choice C is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. This finding focuses on how the tail feather sounds communicate different messages, which doesn’t address differences between the subspecies or female preferences.
• Choice D is incorrect because the researchers’ hypothesis is that female flycatchers prefer the sounds produced by the tail feathers of males of their own subspecies, which will lead to further divergence between the two subspecies. The finding that breeding habits haven’t changed for either subspecies does not, by itself, suggest anything about female preferences or divergence between the two subspecies.

• Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the coordination of main clauses within a sentence. This choice uses a semicolon in a conventional way to join the first main clause (“In 2004…sampler”) and the second main clause (“in 2014…pillars”).
• Choice A is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. Without a conjunction following it, a comma can’t be used in this way to join two main clauses. The word “later” is an adverb and cannot be used to join two main clauses unless it is preceded by a conjunction.
• Choice C is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. Without a conjunction following it, a comma can’t be used in this way to join two main clauses.
• Choice D is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. Without a conjunction following it, a comma can’t be used in this way to join two main clauses. The word “later” is an adverb and cannot be used to join two main clauses unless it is preceded by a conjunction.

• Choice D is the best answer. “However” logically signals that this sentence, which indicates that the Pūhāhonu volcano may be larger than the Mauna Loa volcano, offers a contrast to or refutation of the previous assumption that Mauna Loa is the largest shield volcano.
• Choice A is incorrect because “secondly” illogically signals that this sentence merely offers an additional or secondary point concerning the previous assumption that Mauna Loa is the largest shield volcano. Instead, the sentence offers a contrast to or refutation of that assumption.
• Choice B is incorrect because “consequently” illogically signals that this sentence offers a result or consequence of the previous assumption that Mauna Loa is the largest shield volcano. Instead, the sentence offers a contrast to or refutation of that assumption.
• Choice C is incorrect because “moreover” illogically signals that this sentence merely adds to the previous assumption that Mauna Loa is the largest shield volcano. Instead, the sentence offers a contrast to or refutation of that assumption.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Samuel R. Delany’s character Rydra Wong. As used in this context, “atypical” would mean unrepresentative or not common. The text indicates that Wong is one of “nearly a dozen” characters in Delany’s novels who are poets or writers. This context conveys that being a poet isn’t an atypical occupation for a character in one of Delany’s works.
• Choice A is incorrect because “infallible” means to be accurate or without fault, which wouldn’t make sense in context. The text focuses on the fact that Delany has written many characters who are poets and writers. This context suggests that the occupation isn’t atypical for Delany, not that the occupation isn’t infallible, or problematic.
• Choice C is incorrect because “lucrative” means to be profitable, which wouldn’t make sense in context. If writing poet characters weren’t profitable, it wouldn’t be logical to explain this by citing that Delany gave many of his characters the same occupation.
• Choice D is incorrect because “tedious” means to be boring, which wouldn’t make sense in context. The text focuses on the fact that Delany has written many characters who are poets and writers. This context suggests that the occupation isn’t atypical for Delany, not that the occupation isn’t tedious.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most effectively uses a quotation from King Lear to illustrate the claim that King Lear expresses regret for his actions. In the quotation, Lear describes striking himself on the head—the same act he’s engaged in as he speaks, and one that suggests he’s deeply upset with himself. Referring to himself in the second person (with “thy”), the character exclaims “Beat at this gate that let thy folly in / And thy dear judgement out!” Lear refers metaphorically to his own mind as a gate that has allowed folly, or poor judgement, to enter and good judgement to escape. This suggests that Lear regrets his attempts to test his three daughters’ devotion to him, regarding those attempts as examples of the folly that has entered the gate of his mind.
• Choice A is incorrect because this quotation doesn’t express King Lear’s sense of regret over his own actions; instead, it expresses his belief that the harm that others have done to him (or the extent to which they have “sinned against” him) outweighs whatever harm he himself has caused by “sinning.”
• Choice B is incorrect because this quotation doesn’t express King Lear’s sense of regret over his own actions; instead, it expresses his thoughts about an approaching storm (“this tempest”), which he believes “will not give [him] leave to ponder,” or time to consider, the harm that he will continue to experience (“things” that “would hurt [him] more”).
• Choice D is incorrect because this quotation expresses King Lear’s vow to commit terrible actions (or “things” that “shall be / The terrors of the earth”) in the future, not his regret over actions that he’s already taken.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of noses on ancient sculptures. In this context, “fragile” means weak or delicate. This matches the text’s description of noses on ancient sculptures, which are often missing from sculptures’ heads because they are “especially easy to break.” Therefore, this context indicates that noses on ancient sculptures are the most fragile part of the sculptures’ heads.
• Choice A is incorrect. In this context, “recognizable” would mean identifiable, and since the text indicates that noses are often missing from ancient statues, they therefore cannot be the most recognizable part of the statue.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates that many ancient statues are missing noses, so noses wouldn’t be “common,” or frequent, aspects of ancient statues; they would conversely be uncommon.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text only indicates that noses on ancient statues often stick out and end up missing from the heads, which doesn’t relate to the noses being “sophisticated,” or knowledgeable or refined. 

• Choice D is the best answer because it presents a statement about what surprised the scientists that is supported by the text. The text states that the marsquakes described in the data from NASA’s InSight lander originated from the same location on Mars. The text goes on to say that because they had expected the opposite (that marsquakes would originate from all over the planet) this discovery surprised the scientists.
• Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t say that the data from NASA’s InSight lander revealed any surprising information about the planet’s surface temperature. Instead, the text mentions the cooling of Mars’s surface as a reason the scientists expected that marsquakes had multiple origins. In addition, cooling would indicate that the temperature has been falling rather than rising.
• Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that by studying seismic activity scientists found a possible explanation for what causes marsquakes, the text doesn’t say that they discovered that marsquakes are caused by different types of seismic waves. Rather, the text states that based on the data from NASA’s InSight lander, scientists now believe that this seismic activity happens because of areas of active magma that flow below the planet’s surface.
• Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss the amount of data NASA’s InSight lander collected or whether scientists who studied the data found the amount to be as expected. Instead, the text focuses on what the data revealed about where on Mars the marsquakes originated.

• Choice B is the best answer because it effectively uses data from the graph to complete the statement about Rodrigo da Costa Portilho-Ramos and colleagues’ conclusion. The graph shows the ratio of manganese to calcium in L. pertusa coral samples from the Alboran Sea and the Mauritanian coast. The graph reflects time in approximate years before present: in other words, the greater the number in years noted on the graph’s horizontal axis, the farther that moment is in the past. The text indicates that the researchers tested the samples to determine whether oxygenation played a role in the decline of L. pertusa. The text goes on to note that a change in the ratio of manganese to calcium would signal an inverse, or opposite, change in oxygenation. According to the graph, the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from the Alboran Sea increased from about 30 micromoles per mole 10,000 years ago to about 80 micromoles per mole 8,000 years ago, which means that oxygenation decreased between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. Meanwhile, there was almost no discernible change in the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from the Mauritanian coast between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. According to the text, the population of L. pertusa declined significantly around 9,000 years ago in the Alboran Sea and around 11,000 years ago near the Mauritanian coast. Thus, the increase in the ratio of manganese to calcium around 9,000 years ago in the Alboran Sea coincides with the decline in the L. pertusa population, suggesting an association between the decrease in oxygenation and the decline in population of the coral. No such relationship is suggested around 11,000 years ago near the Mauritanian coast. So, oxygenation likely played a role in the L. pertusa decline in the Alboran Sea but not in the coral’s decline near the Mauritanian coast.
• Choice A is incorrect because it asserts the opposite of what the graph indicates regarding oxygenation in the Alboran Sea, and it misrepresents what the graph indicates about oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast. The graph indicates that at the time of the decline in L. pertusa (approximately 9,000 years ago), the samples from the Alboran Sea contained a ratio of manganese to calcium that was increasing. According to the text, this ratio inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation levels, so if the ratio was increasing, oxygenation was decreasing, not substantially increasing. Furthermore, the graph shows that the ratio of manganese to calcium remained relatively stable in coral samples from the Mauritanian coast during the period studied, which suggests that there was no discernible relationship between oxygenation and the coral’s population decline in that location, not that there was a substantial decrease in oxygenation corresponding to the coral’s decline.
• Choice C is incorrect. Although the graph suggests that the level of oxygenation in the Alboran Sea was higher before the decline in L. pertusa than after—because the ratio of manganese to calcium inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation levels and this ratio was lower before the decline than after—the graph doesn’t support the claim that oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast was consistently low before and after the coral’s decline there. Rather, the graph indicates that relative to coral samples from the Alboran Sea, the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from near the Mauritanian coast was consistently low, which suggests that oxygenation levels were relatively high both before and after the decline of L. pertusa.
• Choice D is incorrect because it states the opposite of what the graph indicates: the graph shows that throughout the period studied, the ratio of manganese to calcium was higher in coral samples from the Alboran Sea than it was in samples from near the Mauritanian coast. Since the text indicates that the ratio of manganese to calcium inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation levels, oxygenation in the Alboran Sea was therefore lower than, not higher than, oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast during the period studied. Moreover, even if choice D did accurately represent the graph, it wouldn’t effectively complete the statement since a comparison of the ocean oxygenation levels at the two locations is not relevant to the claim that a decline in oxygenation levels was associated with the decline of L. pertusa in the Alboran Sea but not near the Mauritanian coast. 

• Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of supplementary elements within a sentence. The comma after “described” separates the first supplementary element (“both of interviewees and the items they described”) from the second supplementary element (“from hair to grass to sculptures”). Furthermore, the dash after “sculptures” pairs with the dash after “photographs” to separate these two supplementary elements from the rest of the sentence. The pair of dashes, which operate at a higher organizing level than the comma, indicates that the elements between the dashes function together— in this case, the second supplement (“from…sculptures”) describes the range of items mentioned in the first supplement—and could be removed without affecting the grammatical coherence of the sentence.
• Choice A is incorrect because it fails to appropriately punctuate the supplementary elements in the sentence. A dash is needed after “sculptures” to separate the supplementary elements (“both…sculptures”) from the rest of the sentence.
• Choice C is incorrect because it fails to appropriately punctuate the supplementary elements in the sentence. The two supplementary elements “both…described” and “from…sculptures” function together to describe the photographs, and placing a dash between them would make this relationship less clear, suggesting that the supplement “both...described” is a standalone element that could be removed without affecting the grammatical coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case.
• Choice D is incorrect because it fails to appropriately punctuate the supplementary elements in the sentence. A colon isn’t conventionally used in this way to separate a supplementary element (“from hair to grass to sculptures”) from the noun phrase it is modifying (“items they described”). Additionally, a dash is needed after “sculptures” to separate the supplementary elements (“both…sculptures”) from the rest of the sentence. 

• Choice A is the best answer. The sentence identifies the novel’s real author, explaining that Mary Ann Evans published the novel under the pseudonym of George Eliot.
• Choice B is incorrect. The sentence explains that George Eliot was assumed to be a pseudonym; it doesn’t identify the novel’s real author.
• Choice C is incorrect. The sentence specifies the pseudonym used on the novel’s title page; it doesn’t identify the novel’s real author.
• Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence indicates that the novel’s real author used a pseudonym, it doesn’t identify that author as Mary Ann Evans.

• Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of how the flow of information between two regions of the brain may affect the ease of people’s decision making. In this context, “reduced” means decreased. The text presents the finding from a team of neuroeconomists that decision making may be connected to communication between the prefrontal cortex and the parietal cortex. In presenting this finding, the text suggests a contrast between people who tend to be more decisive and people who make decisions more slowly. According to the text, people tend to be more decisive when the flow of information between the two brain regions is intensified, or strengthened. On the other hand, this context suggests that people make choices more slowly when the flow of information between the two brain regions is decreased.
• Choice B is incorrect because “evaluated” means assessed, which wouldn’t make sense in context. According to the text, people tend to be more decisive when the flow of information between two brain regions is intensified, or strengthened. This suggests that people’s ease of decision making varies based on the rate of information traveling between the regions, not based on an effort to assess the information.
• Choice C is incorrect because “determined” means judged or influenced, neither of which would make sense in context. According to the text, people tend to be more decisive when the flow of information between two brain regions is intensified, or strengthened. This suggests that people’s ease of decision making varies based on the rate of information traveling between the regions, not based on an effort to judge or influence the information.
• Choice D is incorrect because “acquired” means developed or attained, neither of which would make sense in context. According to the text, people tend to be more decisive when the flow of information between two brain regions is intensified, or strengthened. This suggests that people’s ease of decision making varies based on the rate of information traveling between the regions, not based on the development or attainment of the information.

• Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. A main clause requires a finite (tensed) verb to perform the action of the subject (in this case, Nery and her colleagues), and this choice supplies the finite past tense verb “published” to indicate that these biologists shared their findings about changes in whale genes associated with body size.
• Choice B is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle “publishing” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.
• Choice C is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite participle “having published” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.
• Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The nonfinite to-infinitive “to publish” doesn’t supply the main clause with a finite verb.

• Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the Kelmscott Press’s books. In this context, “manifest in” means evident or apparent from. The text states that the Kelmscott Press, which was cofounded by William Morris, produced its books using preindustrial methods. The text notes the similarity between those methods, which include the use of handmade materials and intricate ornamentation, and methods used in the creation of medieval manuscripts. This context suggests that Morris’s repudiation of industrialization is apparent from, or manifest in, the methods and materials his company employed.
• Choice A is incorrect because there is nothing in the text to suggest that Morris’s repudiation of industrialization is “insensible to,” or unaware of or lacking perception of, the use of handmade materials and intricate ornamentation in the production of the Kelmscott editions. Instead, the text suggests that the methods and materials used to produce the Kelmscott editions are evidence of Morris’s repudiation of industrialization.
• Choice C is incorrect because it would not make sense to say that Morris’s repudiation of industrialization was “scrutinized by,” or examined closely by, the Kelmscott editions’ use of handmade materials and intricate ornamentation. Although creating the Kelmscott editions may have involved examining the books closely, the text does not mention this aspect of Morris’s work, and in any case, the action of using certain materials to create those editions cannot scrutinize Morris’s attitude toward industrialization.
• Choice D is incorrect because the text gives no indication that Morris’s repudiation of industrialization is “complicated by,” or made more complex or difficult by, the Kelmscott Press’s use of preindustrial methods and handcrafted elements to produce books. Instead, the text presents those methods as exemplifying Morris’s repudiation of industrialization.

• Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined portion functions in the text as a whole. The text begins by mentioning scholarly accounts of the Chicano movement, which the underlined portion describes as tending “to focus on the most militant, outspoken figures in the movement,” making the movement as a whole seem uniformly radical. The text then indicates that the work of geographer Juan Herrera shows that focusing less on such militant figures and instead paying more attention to manifestations of the Chicano movement in less widely known neighborhood institutions and projects would reveal that the movement’s participants embraced a range of political orientations and approaches. Thus, the underlined portion describes a common approach to studying the Chicano movement that, according to the text, obscures the ideological diversity of the movement’s participants.
• Choice A is incorrect. Though the underlined portion does present a trend in scholarship on the Chicano movement, the text does not indicate that other scholars have reevaluated their methods in light of Herrera’s work. It only indicates that Herrera’s work suggests that the work of those other scholars does not provide a complete picture of the Chicano movement.
• Choice B is incorrect. Though the underlined portion does identify an aspect of the Chicano movement that the text indicates has been overemphasized, the text does not discuss the political orientations of the scholars whose work is mentioned in the text.
• Choice D is incorrect. Though the underlined portion does summarize the conventional method for analyzing the Chicano movement, the rest of the text does not address the effectiveness of “comparatively low-profile neighborhood institutions and projects.” Instead, the text suggests that those projects were led by people with a variety of approaches to community activism.

• Choice D is the best answer because it most effectively illustrates the claim that the speaker has contradictory feelings while experiencing the sights and sounds of spring. This quotation indicates that the speaker is reclined in a grove listening to a thousand sounds. Even though the speaker is in a “sweet mood” and thinking “pleasant thoughts,” those pleasant thoughts also bring to mind “sad thoughts.” In other words, these lines illustrate the claim that the speaker is having contradictory thoughts while immersed in the sights and sounds of spring.
• Choice A is incorrect. Although this quotation refers to several flowers (primroses and periwinkles) and indicates that the speaker is in a “bower,” or shady spot among the trees—details which suggest that the speaker is experiencing the sights of spring—it doesn’t suggest that the speaker is having contradictory feelings, only that the speaker believes that the flowers are experiencing enjoyment.
• Choice B is incorrect. Although this quotation focuses on the sights of spring—namely, new leaves on nearby trees appear to be opening up (“The budding twigs spread out their fan”) to feel the breeze—the quotation doesn’t suggest that the speaker feels conflicted about this: the statement “And I must think, do all I can” suggests the speaker’s determination to attribute feelings of pleasure to the trees, not that the speaker is experiencing contradictory feelings.
• Choice C is incorrect. Although this quotation indicates that the speaker isn’t certain what the birds are thinking (“Their thoughts I cannot measure”), there’s nothing to suggest that the speaker is experiencing contradictory feelings. Rather, the quotation suggests that although the speaker is uncertain about the birds’ feelings, the speaker believes that the birds’ movements likely suggest their pleasure.

• Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of supplementary elements within a sentence. This choice correctly uses a comma to separate the supplementary adverb “however” from the preceding main clause (“only...competitions”), and it uses a colon to introduce the list of dances that follows (“rumba…jive”). Further, placing the colon after “however” rather than before indicates that the information in the preceding main clause (only... competitions) is contrary to what might be assumed from the information in the previous sentence (Latin America has many more dance forms).
• Choice B is incorrect. The comma after “however” can’t be used in this way to introduce a series (“rumba...jive”).
• Choice C is incorrect because it isn’t conventional to use a semicolon in this way to introduce a series of items, such as the list of dances.
• Choice D is incorrect because placing the semicolon after “competitions” illogically indicates that the following list of five Latin American dances (“rumba...jive”) is contrary to the information in the previous clause (only five Latin American dances are included in international ballroom dance competitions).

• Choice B is the best answer. “In fact” logically signals that the critics’ claim at the end of this sentence—that the two editions are essentially two different novels altogether—offers additional emphasis in support of the previous claim that the differences between the editions are extreme.
• Choice A is incorrect because “by contrast” illogically signals that the claim at the end of this sentence contrasts with the previous claim about the differences between the editions. Instead, the critics’ opinion offers additional emphasis in support of that claim.
• Choice C is incorrect because “nevertheless” illogically signals that the claim at the end of this sentence is true despite the previous claim about the differences between the two editions. Instead, the critics’ opinion offers additional emphasis in support of that claim.
• Choice D is incorrect because “in other words” illogically signals that the claim at the end of this sentence is merely paraphrasing the previous claim about the differences between the two editions. The critics’ opinion adds new information to the previous claim rather than simply paraphrasing it.

Choice B: is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically completes the text’s discussion of the different counts of species in the Mediterranean Sea. The text states that Coll and colleagues reported almost double the number of species that Bianchi and Morri reported in their study ten years earlier. According to the text, this difference can only be partly attributed to new invertebrate species being described in the years between the two studies, which means there must be an additional factor that made Coll and colleagues’ count so much higher than Bianchi and Morri’s count. The text goes on to explain that factor: researchers have a relatively poor understanding of microorganisms’ morphological variability, or the differences in microorganisms’ structure and form. This poor understanding makes it hard to classify microorganisms by species and means that researchers’ decisions about classifying microorganisms can have a large effect on the overall species counts that researchers report. Additionally, the text says that the two censuses reported similar numbers of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, which means that the difference in overall species did not come from differences in those categories. Given all this information, it most logically follows that Coll and colleagues may have treated some of the differences among microorganisms as indicative of the microorganisms being different species, whereas Bianchi and Morri treated those differences as variations within species, resulting in Coll and colleagues reporting many more species than Bianchi and Morri did.

Choice A: is incorrect because the text explicitly addresses this issue by stating that the description of new invertebrate species in the years between the two studies can explain only part of the difference in the number of species reported by the studies. The focus of the text is on explaining the difference between Coll and colleagues’ count and Bianchi and Morri’s count that cannot be accounted for by the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Bianchi and Morri’s study.
Choice C: is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to how much the form and structure of microorganisms vary within the same species than Coll and colleagues were. If Bianchi and Morri had been less sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, Bianchi and Morri would likely have reported more species than Coll and colleagues did, since less sensitivity to withinspecies variation would lead researchers to classify as different species microorganisms that more sensitive researchers would classify as variations within the same species. The text indicates, however, that Bianchi and Morri reported far fewer species than Coll and colleagues did; since the text also excludes other explanations for this difference, it suggests that in fact Bianchi and Morri were more sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, leading Bianchi and Morri to report fewer overall species.
Choice D: is incorrect because the text is focused on explaining why Coll and colleagues reported many more species than Bianchi and Morri did, and an underestimate of the number of microorganism species by Coll and colleagues would not explain that difference—it would suggest, in fact, that the difference in the number of species should have been even larger.

Choice A is the best answer. The narrator is “embarrassed” about the route he took, which ends up leaving him lost and confused about how to get to his destination for the evening.
Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. The narrator is embarrassed, rather than fond, and he doesn’t describe the beauty of the place.
Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. We don’t know from this excerpt whether or not the narrator has visited this part of New York multiple times.
Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t match the passage. The narrator doesn’t explain how he overcame being lost in this excerpt.

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the punctuation of items in a complex series. It’s conventional to use a semicolon to separate items in a complex series with internal punctuation, and in this choice, the semicolon after “2009” is conventionally used to separate the first item (“the world’s…2009”) and the second item (“an online…2010”) in the series of things that Hinson helped create. Further, the comma after “Basic” correctly pairs with the comma after “app,” and the comma after “network” correctly pairs with the comma after “TV” to set off the supplemental elements (“Chickasaw Basic” and “Chickasaw TV”) that provide the names of the app and the TV network, respectively. Altogether, the punctuation in this choice results in a sentence that clearly indicates that Hinson helped make a language app in 2009, an online TV network in 2010, and a language course in 2015.
Choice A is incorrect because it fails to punctuate the complex series in a way that makes clear that Hinson helped make a language app in 2009, an online TV network in 2010, and a language course in 2015.
Choice B is incorrect because it fails to punctuate the complex series in a way that makes clear that Hinson helped make a language app in 2009, an online TV network in 2010, and a language course in 2015.
Choice D is incorrect because the comma after “2009” doesn’t match the semicolon used to separate the second and third items in the complex series.

Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the Cretaceous pterosaur Tupandactylus navigans. The text first describes what paleontologists initially speculated to be true of T. navigans based on observing only fossilized skulls of the pterosaur rather than complete skeletons—namely, that T. navigans had an oversized head crest and that, like other pterosaurs, its main mode of movement must have been flight. The text goes on to describe what researcher Victor Beccari and his team concluded based on studying a nearly complete fossilized skeleton of T. navigans, which provided additional information that fossilized skulls alone could not. Beccari and colleagues determined that T. navigans had long hind legs, short wings, and an unusually long neck, in addition to the oversized head crest previously observed by paleontologists. Taken together, these characteristics would have made sustained flight difficult and upright walking comfortable, which would make T. navigans different from other pterosaurs that moved mainly through flight. Thus, Beccari and colleagues suggest that previously held speculations of paleontologists are inaccurate: that instead of moving mainly through powered flight, T. navigans likely flew for shorter distances and spent more time walking than researchers previously thought.

Choice A is incorrect because Beccari and his team determined, based on their examination of a nearly complete skeleton, that T. navigans would have found "sustained flight difficult," which would differentiate it from most other pterosaurs that moved mainly through flight. Therefore, Beccari’s team would not suggest that T. navigans flew for longer distances than did other pterosaur species with large head crests.

Choice B is incorrect because the fossilized skeleton studied by Beccari and colleagues was notable for its short wings, and because no indication in the text is made that other pterosaurs were thought by paleontologists to be comfortable walking. Therefore, Beccari’s team would not suggest that T. navigans had longer wings than other pterosaur species considered to have been comfortable walking.

Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates that Beccari and his team agree with the paleontologists mentioned earlier in the text that T. navigans had a large-crested head. Therefore, Beccari’s team would not suggest that T. navigans had a smaller head than researchers previously expected.

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur’s 2021 analysis of the Vinland Map. The text indicates that while some scholars have believed that the map was drawn in the mid1400s, the 2021 analysis showed the presence of the compound titanium dioxide in the ink used to draw the map. The text goes on to say that titanium dioxide wasn’t used to manufacture ink until the early 1900s, which means that ink containing this compound couldn’t have been available to mapmakers in the 1400s. Since mapmakers in the mid-1400s couldn’t have used ink with titanium dioxide, it follows that the Vinland Map couldn’t have been drawn by mid-1400s mapmakers.
Choice A is incorrect because the 2021 finding that the ink used to draw the Vinland Map wasn’t available until the early 1900s doesn’t imply that Europeans in the mid-1400s couldn’t have known about the eastern coast of North America. While this finding suggests that the map couldn’t have been created in the mid-1400s, it doesn’t preclude the possibility that Europeans nevertheless had knowledge—and perhaps even drew other maps that are no longer in existence or are yet to be discovered by researchers—of the eastern coast of present-day North America as early as the mid-1400s. 
Choice C is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text that suggests that the 2021 discovery of the presence of titanium dioxide in the ink used to draw the Vinland Map caused Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur to question or reach a new conclusion about when mapmakers began using ink containing titanium compounds. Instead, the text indicates that titanium dioxide wasn’t used in ink before the early 1900s. This knowledge led the team to conclude that the map, which was drawn with ink containing titanium dioxide, couldn’t have been created in the mid-1400s.
Choice D is incorrect because although the text doesn’t indicate that Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur established an exact date for the creation of the ink that was used to draw the Vinland Map, the text does say that titanium dioxide was introduced in ink manufacturing in the early 1900s. This fact provides enough information to determine that the ink that was used to draw the map was created no earlier than the early 1900s.
This finding, in turn, led the team to conclude that the Vinland Map couldn’t have been drawn in the mid-1400s.

• Choice D is the best answer because as used in the text, “disputing” most nearly means providing resistance to. The narrator is in a taxi as it drives down a street lined with so many food vendors and shoppers that the narrator describes them as “the multitude of Paris,” meaning an immense group of people. The street is essentially a large open-air market, and there are so many people pushing small wagons of goods and carrying shopping baskets that “every inch” of the taxi’s progress is impeded. In other words, the people are providing resistance to the taxi’s attempt to drive down the street.
• Choice A is incorrect. Although in some contexts, “disputing” can mean arguing, the narrator doesn’t portray the shoppers and vendors as arguing with the driver of the taxi or, indeed, arguing at all.
• Choice B is incorrect. Although in some contexts, “disputing” can mean expressing disapproval, the narrator doesn’t suggest that the shoppers and vendors necessarily disapprove of the taxi’s attempt to drive down the street. Instead, their combined presence along the street has the effect of impeding the taxi’s progress.
• Choice C is incorrect because, as the narrator explains, both the multitude of people and the taxi are using a public space (a street) at the same time. The narrator doesn’t go so far as to suggest that the people feel that they, and not the taxi, possess exclusive access to the street.

• Choice C is the best answer. “In addition” logically signals that the claim in this sentence—that the Inca of South America may have used quipus to record more complex information—is an additional point related to the previous statement about the Inca using quipus to record countable information.
• Choice A is incorrect because “as a result” illogically signals that the claim in the sentence is a consequence or result of the previous statement about the Incas using quipus to record countable information. Instead, the possibility that the Inca used quipus to record more complex information is an additional point about how the quipus were used.
• Choice B is incorrect because “in other words” illogically signals that the claim in the sentence is merely a paraphrase or restatement of the previous statement about the Incas using quipus to record countable information. Instead, the possibility that the Inca used quipus to record more complex information is an additional point about how the quipus were used.
• Choice D is incorrect because “for example” illogically signals that the claim in the sentence exemplifies the previous statement about the Incas using quipus to record countable information. Instead, the possibility that the Inca used quipus to record more complex information is an additional point about how the quipus were used.

• Choice C is the best answer. The sentence makes a generalization about the materials used in dhow replicas, noting that while some modern materials are used, most of the materials are traditional.
• Choice A is incorrect. The sentence provides an example of a traditional material used in ancient dhows; it doesn’t indicate that the material is used in dhow replicas or make any other generalization about materials used in those replicas.
• Choice B is incorrect. The sentence explains what an ancient dhow was; it doesn’t make a generalization about materials used to make dhow replicas.
• Choice D is incorrect. The sentence introduces the construction of dhow replicas to an audience unfamiliar with the vessel; it doesn’t make a generalization about the materials used in those replicas.