TEN FOR TEN®
CRITICAL READING—SHORT PASSAGES
Questions 1-2 are based on the
following passage:
Among the side benefits of the
museum’s exhibition of early
photographs of Egypt is that it can
inspire you to read the travel classic Zola
5 in Egypt. Looking at the photographs
from the 1850’s after reading the book,
you should be able to conjure up French
author Émile Zola just outside the
picture frame. There is Zola in his long
10 white shirt, his shaved head topped by a
maroon tarboosh, settled into the cool
shade of an ancient temple, reading
poetry, and seeming oh-so-exquisitely
bored.
1. In context, “conjure up” (line 7) most
nearly means
(A) convene
(B) portray
(C) imagine
(D) entreat
(E) recollect
2. The characterization of Zola in the last
sentence chiefly serves to suggest that
(A) Zola had an affected manner
(B) Egypt inspired Zola to write
(C) Zola found the Egyptian climate
oppressive
(D) Zola was timid about posing for
photographs
(E) Egypt’s culture was of great interest
to Zola
Questions 3-4 are based on the
following passage:
By breaking down the graphic or
pictorial vocabulary to a bare minimum,
maps achieve a visual minimalism that,
physiologically speaking, is easy on the
5 eyes. They turn numbers into visual
images, create pattern out of
measurements, and thus engage the
highly evolved human capacity for
pattern recognition. Some of the most
10 intense research in the neurosciences
today is devoted to elucidating what are
described as maps of perception: how
perception filters through the sense
organs, our biotic instruments of
15 measurement. Maps enable humans to
use inherent biological skills of
perception, their “educated” eyes, to
separate the message from the static, to
see the story line running through
20 random pattern.
3. The effect of the “breaking down”
(line 1) is to
(A) accentuate selected information
(B) make details small
(C) create momentary confusion
(D) minimize the distinction between
words and numbers
(E) eliminate words that would clarify the
meaning of images
4. In line 12, the phrase “maps of
perception” refers to
(A) drawings of the organs of human
perspective
(B) depictions of how the world actually
appears to the human eye
(C) models of the way humans process
what they encounter
(D) illustrations of how the human eye
functions at the cellular level
(E) representations of a place from one
person’s perspective
SHORT PASSAGES
2
Questions 5-6 are based on the
following passage:
Questions 7-8 are based on the
following passage:
Summer 2003. School children
collecting frogs from a pond in South
Dakota discover one frog after another
with deformities. The story immediately
5 seizes the attention of the national
media. Is this an isolated occurrence or a
widespread trend? What is causing these
deformities?
Malformations have since been
10 reported in more than 60 species of
amphibians in 46 states. Surprising
numbers of deformed amphibians have
also been found in Asia, Europe, and
Australia. Investigators blamed the
15 deformities on amphibians’ increased
exposure to ultraviolet radiation, the
chemical contamination of water, even a
parasite epidemic. Every time another
report appears, the media tout the new
20 position, thus providing a misleading
view. Most likely, all of these factors
have been working in tandem.
She set out from Newburgh early
this morning—a six-hour ride, but as
they headed north, the snowstorm
started, and the traffic slowed to a crawl.
5 She kept checking her watch. There was
still time to spare. Her afternoon class
visit was scheduled for four. The
presentation itself wouldn’t take place
until evening.
10
The talk she has prepared is one she
will be delivering countless times this
year, the centennial of her mother’s birth.
It is academic, and uninspiring, and she
knows it. Other scholars can talk about
15 Felicia’s poetry and her pedagogy, but
she, Cornelia, the only daughter, is
supposed to shed a different light on the
woman.
5. The opening paragraph primarily serves
to
(A) highlight a phenomenon by
dramatizing it
(B) advocate a particular course of action
(C) illustrate how a story can cause
general panic
(D) compare a local situation to a national
one
(E) demonstrate children’s inherent
interest in science
7. The character’s actions in line 5 (“She …
watch”) primarily convey her
(A) fear of traveling in storms
(B) annoyance at having to make the trip
(C) concern about arriving on schedule
(D) eagerness to interact with her
colleagues
(E) excitement about delivering her
speech
6. The author’s attitude toward the “media”
(line 19) might best be described as
(A) respectful
(B) indifferent
(C) ambivalent
(D) resentful
(E) critical
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8. The “light” referred to in line 17 would
most likely include
(A) bibliographic information
(B) direct literary citations
(C) historical analyses
(D) personal insights
(E) scholarly critiques
SHORT PASSAGES
3
Questions 9-10 are based on the
following passage:
The first stage of Europe’s conquest
of northeastern North America was “the
traders phase.” Casual contacts and
exchanges with visiting explorers and
5 fishermen began on a basis that was not
unfamiliar to the Native Americans.
Metal, glass, or cloth items were
exchanged for furs in a setting that was
unprecedented only in the strangeness of
10 the visitors and their wares. But as
casual exchanges became systematic, the
Native Americans began altering their
subsistence and residential patterns to
obtain more furs. As a result, they grew
15 dependent on their European trading
partners while frequently entering into
competition with one another. In the
end, the principles of reciprocity and
equality were substantially undermined
20 by the ethics and imperatives of the
traders.
9. The passage suggests that contact
between Native Americans and
Europeans ultimately
(A) decreased Native American reliance
on the fur trade
(B) distorted relationships among Native
Americans
(C) led to Native American economic
independence
(D) decimated the population of furbearing animals
(E) increased competition among
European traders
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10. Lines 7-10 (“Metal … wares”) suggest
that Native Americans primarily viewed
the European traders as
(A) reserved
(B) arrogant
(C) exotic
(D) capricious
(E) grasping
TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
CRITICAL READING—SHORT PASSAGES
Intention and context are important in all Critical Reading passages—they’re vital when
you’re working the short ones.
1) C. Did you cross out “conjure up”? If not, please do so now, and then read in the
answer choices. Since Zola is not alive, it would be difficult to entreat (d) him, and
the author is not expecting us to portray (b) him—that’s the author’s job. So, as
readers, what should we do?
2) A. Since Zola is “just outside the picture frame,” we can’t see him. So, we’ll have to
conjure (imagine) him with his Egyptian costume looking not just bored, which would
suggest that he would welcome activity, but “oh-so-exquisitely bored,” which
suggests that Zola isn’t really bored, but instead is posing for the nonexistent camera.
3) A. The passage is about maps and how they convey important information. If maps
were to merely “make details small” (b), how helpful would that be? Maps “turn
numbers into visual images, create pattern out of measurements, and thus engage
the highly evolved human capacity for pattern recognition.” If you chose (d),
imagine what “minimizing the distinction between words and numbers” would look
7li3ke8. Clearly, “breaking down … to a bare minimum” must entail distinguishing
between what is important what isn’t.
4) C. Did you cross out “maps of perception”? Let’s do so now and substitute the
answer choices. When we do so, only (c) works: “intense research … is devoted to
elucidating what are described as models of the way humans process what they
encounter ….” Note the colon after “maps of perception.” As we’ve seen in the
sentence completion TEN FOR TENs, such punctuation alerts us that the term’s
definition is coming next. What’s the definition: “How perception filters through the
sense organs …”
5) A. This passage begins with a “dateline,” which makes it read like a newscast;
newscasts do enjoy dramatizing things that go on (phenomena) in our world,
wouldn’t you agree? Next, what’s the author’s intention here? Is it to Inform or
Persuade? Does the author want to change my mind about deformities in frogs?
Because the answer to that question is “no,” (b) doesn’t stand a chance. Choice (c)
would require a longer passage, or at least some sort of comparison with other stories
that have caused widespread concern. Choice (d) implies that the local and
national situations are comparable, when in fact the author included the South
Dakota story to add immediacy to the larger story.
6) E. Which answer choices here will never be right on the SAT? How about (b) and
(d)? If an author is indifferent to the media, why even discuss the media? Since
resentment is a “victim’s” emotion, will the author ever want to portray herself as a
victim? Never on the SAT. While it’s possible that an author might be “respectful”
toward her subject matter, it begs the question as to why the author wrote the piece
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SHORT PASSAGES
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
2
(“Checking in—everything’s still just fine!”); and while it’s possible for an author to be
ambivalent (have mixed feelings) toward a subject, such ambivalence would be
hard to convey in 22 lines, no? “Critical” is a classic correct SAT answer choice, and
the author is certainly critical of the media, which the author claims “provides a
misleading view.”
7) C. Why do any of us check a watch? Because we’re concerned about time! If you
got this one wrong, we need to discuss what scares you about obviously correct
answer choices. Are you afraid of being tricked? Do we need to discuss that again?
8) D. Although “other scholars can talk about Felicia’s poetry and her pedagogy,”
there’s one aspect of her life they just can’t know: what Felicia was like at home.
9) B. Once again, a passage about Native Americans informs us how badly Europeans
messed things up over here in America. “Native American” passages value Native
Americans, so the focus of correct answer choices will be on the Native Americans.
“In the end, the principles of reciprocity and equality were substantially undermined
by the ethics and imperatives of the fur traders.” Any passage that discusses
European influences on Native Americans will never have a happy ending (c) or
focus exclusively on the Europeans (e). The animals are of minor concern (d) and
choice (a) states the opposite of what happened.
10)
C. If this problem gave you trouble because you didn’t know the meaning of
“exotic,” please look the word up. Right now. You might also look up “capricious.”
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