27. Mr. Ford never seems affected by joy or grief; similarly, his son has developed the same nature. a. passionate b. tolerant c. optimistic d. adroit e. stoic 28. Due to the nature of Alice’s tears, she soon found herself in a pool of salty water. a. copious b. conspicuous c. consolable d. humane e. tenable 29. Despite Doug’s to the instruction man- ual, he found it impossible to properly assemble his desk. a. complication b. predicament c. instability d. partition e. fidelity 30. Daphne always did what she was expected to do; therefore, it was an that she joined the circus when it came through town. a. obfuscation b. anomaly c. achievement d. imposition e. exhortation 31. Durwood was born with no discernible musical talent; however, his play very well. a. misnomer b. hasps c. progeny d. prosecutors e. truants 32. The nation’s new rulers tried very hard to all former influences; for example, they all officials with any trace of influence over the people. a. insinuate surmounted b. purge ousted c. explicate castigated d. debrief continued e. cover installed 33. Children of the tribe were brought up with one prime ; namely to their elders and ancestors. a. policy polish b. errand cherish c. reward discourage d. dictum venerate e. interest inculcate 34. Chelsea forgot to mail her payment for the park- ing ticket; thus, her was late. a. extrication b. palliation c. remittance d. precedent e. dichotomy –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 52 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 52 35. Troy was devastated that he lost the wrestling championship, yet he found some in the fact that it was his best effort. a. solace b. attitude c. ambition d. decimation e. prevalence 36. At the reunion, one led to another; and the old friends ended up telling stories all night. a. meal b. allegory c. insurgency d. anecdote e. bereavement 37. As a teen, Jacob really despised doing his chores; in fact, he considered them a(n) rather than a natural part of daily life. a. exoneration b. reward c. amercement d. pretense e. noxious 38. Because he wanted to his counting error, Finn took the inventory all over again. a. rectify b. exacerbate c. indemnify d. undulate e. masticate 39. Though Paul had been banned from all school functions, he sent Devon as his to stir up trouble. a. posse b. surrogate c. template d. genome e. missionary 40. Professor Atkins refused to his point; consequently most of his students misunder- stood what he had said. a. palliate b. capitulate c. elucidate d. conduct e. elongate –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 53 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 53  Sentence Completion Answers Remember, if you don’t know a vocabulary word found in these questions, look it up and learn it. 1. b. The complete unit of this sentence sets up a relationship of contrast, signaled by the word although. The correct word is tenacity, which means the ability to stick to something. 2. d. The word likewise signals a comparison in this sentence. However, the word boor (an ill- mannered person) is in a position of compari- son to the word you’re looking for. You have to notice that a boor would not be admitted to the salon (a sort of club for conversation), whereas the blank calls for a kind of person who would be admitted. 3. c. In other words is a phrase that indicates a restatement, so you are looking for another word for sophisticated. That word is urbane. 4. b. This is a cause and effect sentence. You have to determine what kind of replies would result in a scathing newspaper review. Contumelious is the only word that fits the bill. 5. a. This double blank sentence has a contrasting relationship between its two main parts. The phrase that begins with as, the second unit, is the clue to both the first blank (it indicates a restatement of the first unit) and the second blank. The word but indicates the contrast between the first sentence unit and the third unit. The only answer choice that fits both blanks is a, consummate and garrulous. 6. e. The word but might seem to signal a contrast within this sentence, but when you see the word similarly, you know that it is actually a statement of comparison. 7. c. Namely is the word that indicates a restatement in this sentence. A manufacturer can secure repeat business through planned obsolescence. 8. a. Was due to indicates cause and effect. A cryptic mode of communication would prevent understanding. 9. c. Although expresses the idea of contrast. Although James went to Miami to benefit from—most likely, the positive effects of the warm weather—his health did not improve. Salubrious is the only answer the makes sense in the context of the sentence. 10. b. The word therefore signals cause and effect. The only answer that sets up that relationship is epitome and exempted. 11. e. This sentence is a comparison, as you can tell by the use of the phrase for example. The cor- rect answer choice is pallor. 12. a. A relationship of cause and effect here is sig- naled by the words lead to. The only word that makes sense here is fastidious. 13. d. The word however indicates a contrasting rela- tionship between the sentence units. Rancor is the answer. 14. e. The use of as asindicates a comparison. However, you have to look for clues in the sec- ond unit of the sentence to tell you what kind of comparison is being made. A cat burglar who was never caught would be both furtive and larcenous. 15. c. The phrase for instance indicates that an exam- ple of what was stated in the previous clause is about to follow. Therefore, being allowed to take clients to the most expensive restaurant in town to help close a deal is an example of carte blanche in this particular situation. 16. b. Thus is a word that signals cause and effect. An impediment is an obstacle, so refusing to admit impediments would lead to overcoming obstacles. 17. e. But is a word that sets up contrast, so the reader has to determine what word would be most opposite in meaning to someone who was inconsolable after losing her job. –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 54 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 54 18. c. Cause and effect in this sentence is set up by the word because. Her parents found it hard to believe she seldom spoke in class, so the answer is loquacious (talkative). 19. d. Though is a signal word for contrast. The word to contrast with is complained. Look for the word that contrasts with a reason to complain about music. The answer is (barely) audible. 20. b. The key words in the question are despite and managed . Those two words together suggest a breaking of expectations of failure (as opposed to managed ). Think of the question as: Despite (whatever), (whoever) managed to reach (some- thing). Now you know what happens in the sen- tence: Despite (their viewpoints), (the delegates) managed to reach (a ). For the sentence to make sense, the word in the first blank needs to set up a conflict with the second word. You wouldn’t expect delegates with dis- parate viewpoints to be able to reach a consen- sus, so those two words work in the sentence. None of the other pairs works. 21. c. The signal word in this sentence is therefore, so it is a cause and effect sentence. The sec- ond clause provides a bigger clue to the cor- rect answer than the first clause does. If it is “no surprise” that a “political discourse,” or discussion at a party, escalated into a “full- blown ,” that means that whatever happened was expected. What happened was most likely a fight, since a discussion “esca- lated into” something else. This means that the two siblings must have a quarrelsome nature, making choices c, d, and e possibili- ties and ruling out the others. But, because we now know that their quarrelsome nature led to a fight, we can rule out choice d—a “full-blown reverie”—makes no sense, and choice e, as a “full-blown analysis” doesn’t make sense in the given context either. 22. d. Although is a word that signals a contrasting relationship. Monetary benevolence is some- thing you might not expect from someone on a fixed income and is, therefore, the correct answer. 23. e. The word likewise signals a comparison. Banal is the word that is comparable to a poorly writ- ten gossip magazine. 24. d. In other words indicates restatement. The sec- ond clause gives an example of what it means to be an aficionado of baseball. 25. b. The phrase as a result signals cause and effect. Protracted and pinnacle is the correct answer. 26. e. But indicates contrast. Mayor is a key word, indicating a move toward an elected office. Electorate is the best choice. 27. e. The word similarly indicates comparison. This means that if Mr. Ford never seems affected by joy or grief, then his son doesn’t either. Stoic is the only word that makes sense in this context. 28. a. Due to is a phrase that shows cause and effect. Only copious tears would lead to a pool of water. 29. e. The word despite shows a contrast between the two units of the sentence. Fidelity is the cor- rect answer because it is the only word that sets up a contrast with the impossibility of the assembly job. 30. b. This sentence is a little more complicated. Therefore sets up a cause and effect relation- ship; but the two units of the sentence contrast with each other, as a girl who always did what she was supposed to would be unlikely to join the circus impulsively. The correct answer, then, is anomaly. 31. c. However signals a contrasting relationship between the two sentence units. The only answer that works when inserted in the blank is progeny, which means offspring. –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 55 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 55 32. b. The phrase for example signals a comparative relationship, so you are looking for words that will express such a relationship in the sen- tence. In this case, the best strategy is to plug word pairs into the blanks. The words that fit the bill are purge and ousted. 33. d. Namely sets up a restatement. The sentence calls for a positive action word in the second blank, so you can eliminate three choices right away. Then look for the better word for the first blank. Dictum venerate is the correct choice. 34. c. Thus signals cause and effect. The correct choice is remittance, which is another word for payment. 35. a. The word yet indicates a contrasting relation- ship. Someone who is devastated might need solace. 36. d. The word and normally signals a complemen- tary relationship. In this sentence, however, the word therefore is implied after the and. This tells you that whatever goes in the blank leads to telling stories all night. The correct answer, then, is anecdote. 37. e. In fact signals restatement or that an example will follow. If Jacob despised doing chores, it makes sense that he would consider them an amercement, or a punishment. 38. a. The word because signals cause and effect. An error calls for a correction. The correct answer is rectify, meaning to correct. 39. b. Though signals a contrasting relationship. Someone who has been banned cannot attend and so would need to send someone in his place. The correct answer is surrogate, mean- ing substitute. 40. c. Cause and effect is indicated here by the word consequently. A lack of explanation, or elucida- tion, would lead to misunderstanding. Conse- quently, the correct answer is elucidate. –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 56 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 56  Part 2: Reading Is Critical There are approximately 40 long-passage critical read- ing questions on the SAT. Each Critical Reading sec- tion contains at least one long passage, followed by questions about the passage. Passages are excerpted from writings in the fields of literature, humanities, and social and natural sciences. There is no poetry. Each passage is between 400 and 850 words in length, and there will be between 5 and 13 questions after each one. In one critical reading section of the exam, there will be a set of two long passages. These two passages will complement each other in some way. Most often, they will present either supporting or opposing points of view. Some of the questions about these passages will require that you be able to analyze similarities and dif- ferences between the two passages. Many of the reading comprehension questions are vocabulary-related. You can think of them as a vari- ation on sentence completion questions, asking you to determine the meaning of a word or phrase in con- text. Sometimes, the test-makers ask about fairly com- mon words that have multiple uses and ask you to choose the correct meaning or shade of meaning. Most often, the answer will be a more obscure meaning of the commonly used word. Other reading comprehension questions test your ability to understand what you read. SAT passages are usually complex, densely packed with ideas; and many are somewhat overwhelming at first glance. You will be asked to extract information that may be stated explic- itly or implied. In other words, a passage may contain arguments with underlying assumptions, which you will be asked to uncover. You will be asked about the logical flow of the texts and about their consistency or lack thereof. You may also have to answer questions about the tone of the passages as well as their overall theme or meaning. Fortunately, the skills you are learning for the sentence completion questions will also serve you well for the reading comprehension questions. Additionally, learning to make sense of complex passages will make your college career even more successful. Ready, Set, Read! If you are already skilled at quickly reading and under- standing dense prose, good for you! If not, try this approach. Feel free to adapt it and change it to suit your needs and temperament. There’s no one “right”way to read. The right way to do all of these things is the way that works for you; so as you practice, try variations on the method to see what suits you. Every reading comprehension passage has a short one- to three-sentence introduction. This introduc- tion will provide you with some context for the passage as a whole, so read it first. Occasionally, there will be a question that requires knowledge of this introduction, so read it carefully. Now you may want to skim the passage for its subject matter. With practice, you will find that topic sentences and key adjectives will practically leap out and grab your attention. Be sure to keep your pencil poised to write as you read. You will want to mark key words and phrases as you see them. Next, read the passage all the way through. As you finish each paragraph, determine its main idea. Then, jot a word or phrase that expresses that idea in the margin of your test booklet. This is a note to yourself, which will enable you to easily find sections of the pas- sage later and quickly tie the separate paragraphs into a coherent whole. As you read the passage, mark any words or phrases that seem particularly important or expres- sive. Often, adjectives that set a mood or tone will help you understand the author’s meaning, so underline them or jot them down in the margin. It’s also impor- tant to note the location of details that support the author’s main point(s). Of course, you were paying attention in English class when the teacher discussed topic sentences, so you know that most well-written paragraphs have at –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 57 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 57 . misunderstanding. Conse- quently, the correct answer is elucidate. THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION 56 5658 SAT2 006[ 03] (fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 56  Part 2: Reading Is Critical There are approximately. elongate THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION 53 5658 SAT2 006[ 03] (fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 53  Sentence Completion Answers Remember, if you don’t know a vocabulary word found in these questions,. in the blank is progeny, which means offspring. THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION 55 5658 SAT2 006[ 03] (fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 55 32 . b. The phrase for example signals a comparative relationship,