PrepAccelerator’s

SAT CRASH COURSE

Dr. Sampath

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ReadingTest65 MINUTES, 52 QUESTIONS

Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.

Each passage or pair of passages below is followed by a number of questions. After readingeach passage or pair, choose the best answer to each question based on what is stated orimplied in the passage or passages and in any accompanying graphics (such as a table orgraph).

Questions 1-10 are based on the followingpassage.

This passage is adapted from William Maxwell, The FoldedLeaf. ©1959 by William Maxwell. Originally publishedin 1945.

The Alcazar Restaurant was on Sheridan Roadnear Devon Avenue. It was long and narrow, withtables for two along the walls and tables for fourdown the middle. The decoration was art moderne,except for the series of murals depicting the fourseasons, and the sick ferns in the front window.Lymie sat down at the second table from the cashregister, and ordered his dinner. The history book,which he propped against the catsup and the glasssugar bowl, had been used by others before him.Blank pages front and back were filled in with maps,drawings, dates, comic cartoons, and organs of thebody; also with names and messages no longer clearand never absolutely legible. On nearly every otherpage there was some marginal notation, either in inkor in very hard pencil. And unless someone hadupset a glass of water, the marks on page 177 werefrom tears.

While Lymie read about the Peace of Paris, signedon the thirtieth of May, 1814, between France andthe Allied powers, his right hand managed again andagain to bring food up to his mouth. Sometimes hechewed, sometimes he swallowed whole the food thathe had no idea he was eating. The Congress ofVienna met, with some allowance for delays, early inNovember of the same year, and all the powersengaged in the war on either side sent

plenipotentiaries. It was by far the most splendid andimportant assembly ever convoked to discuss anddetermine the affairs of Europe. The Emperor ofRussia, the King of Prussia, the Kings of Bavaria,Denmark, and Wurttemberg, all were present inperson at the court of the Emperor Francis I in theAustrian capital. When Lymie put down his fork andbegan to count them off, one by one, on the fingersof his left hand, the waitress, whose name was Irma,thought he was through eating and tried to take hisplate away. He stopped her. Prince Metternich (hisright thumb) presided over the Congress, andPrince Talleyrand (the index finger) representedFrance.

A party of four, two men and two women, cameinto the restaurant, all talking at once, and tookpossession of the center table nearest Lymie.The women had shingled hair and short tight skirtswhich exposed the underside of their knees whenthey sat down. One of the women had the face of ayoung boy but disguised by one trick or another(rouge, lipstick, powder, wet bangs plastered againstthe high forehead, and a pair of long pendentearrings) to look like a woman of thirty-five, whichas a matter of fact she was. The men were older. Theylaughed more than there seemed any occasion for,while they were deciding between soup and shrimpcocktail, and their laughter was too loud. But it wasthe women’s voices, the terrible not quite sober pitchof the women’s voices which caused Lymie to skimover two whole pages without knowing what was onthem. Fortunately he realized this and went back.Otherwise he might never have known about the

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secret treaty concluded between England, France,and Austria, when the pretensions of Prussia andRussia, acting in concert, seemed to threaten arenewal of the attack. The results of the Congresswere stated clearly at the bottom of page 67 and atthe top of page 68, but before Lymie got halfwaythrough them, a coat that he recognized as hisfather’s was hung on the hook next to his chair.Lymie closed the book and said, “I didn’t think youwere coming.”

Time is probably no more unkind to sportingcharacters than it is to other people, but physicaldecay unsustained by respectability is somehow morenoticeable. Mr. Peters’ hair was turning gray and hisscalp showed through on top. He had lost weightalso; he no longer filled out his clothes the way heused to. His color was poor, and the flower haddisappeared from his buttonhole. In its place was anAmerican Legion button.

Apparently he himself was not aware that therehad been any change. He straightened his tieself-consciously and when Irma handed him a menu,he gestured with it so that the two women at the nexttable would notice the diamond ring on the fourthfinger of his right hand. Both of these things, andalso the fact that his hands showed signs of themanicurist, one can blame on the young man whohad his picture taken with a derby hat on the back ofhis head, and also sitting with a girl in the curve ofthe moon. The young man had never for one seconddeserted Mr. Peters. He was always there, tugging atMr. Peters’ elbow, making him do things that werenot becoming in a man of forty-five.

1

Over the course of the passage, the primary focusshifts from

A) Lymie’s inner thoughts to observations made bythe other characters.

B) an exchange between strangers to a satisfyingpersonal relationship.

C) the physical setting of the scene to the differentcharacters’ personality traits.

D) Lymie’s experience reading a book todescriptions of people in the restaurant.

2

The main purpose of the first paragraph is to

A) introduce the passage’s main character byshowing his nightly habits.

B) indicate the date the passage takes place bypresenting period details.

C) convey the passage’s setting by describing a placeand an object.

D) foreshadow an event that is described in detaillater in the passage.

3

It can reasonably be inferred that Irma, the waitress,thinks Lymie is “through eating” (line 37) because

A) he has begun reading his book.B) his plate is empty.C) he is no longer holding his fork.D) he has asked her to clear the table.

4

Lymie’s primary impression of the “party of four”(line 42) is that they

A) are noisy and distracting.B) are a refreshing change from the other

customers.C) resemble characters from his history book.D) represent glamour and youth.

5

Which choice provides the best evidence for theanswer to the previous question?

A) Lines 45-47 (“The women . . . down”)B) Lines 47-52 (“One . . . was”)C) Lines 55-59 (“But . . . them”)D) Line 69 (“Lymie . . . book”)

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6

The narrator indicates that Lymie finally closes thehistory book because

A) his father has joined him at the table.B) the people at the other table are too disruptive.C) he has finished the chapter about the Congress.D) he is preparing to leave the restaurant.

7

The primary impression created by the narrator’sdescription of Mr. Peters in lines 74-79 is that he is

A) healthy and fit.B) angry and menacing.C) nervous and hesitant.D) aging and shriveled.

8

The main idea of the last paragraph is that Mr. Peters

A) neglects to spend any time with his familymembers.

B) behaves as if he is a younger version of himself.C) is very conscious of symbols of wealth and

power.D) is preoccupied with the knowledge that he is

growing old.

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9

Which choice best supports the conclusion thatMr. Peters wants to attract attention?

A) Lines 80-81 (“Apparently . . . change”)B) Lines 81-85 (“He straightened . . . hand”)C) Lines 90-91 (“The young . . . Mr. Peters”)D) Lines 91-93 (“He was . . . forty-five”)

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As used in line 93, “becoming” most nearly means

A) emerging.B) fitting.C) developing.D) happening.

PrepAccelerator’s SAT Crash Course:Writing

Dr. SampathPrepAccelerator.com

q1: Commonly Misused Words

In the past, such research waslimited by the weight and bulk ofthe fossils as well as itspreciousness and fragility.

A) NO CHANGEB) it’sC) theirD) there

q2: Commas

The plastic hardens quickly, itallows the printer to build thelayers of the final model.Compared with older ways ofmodeling fossils, scanning andprinting in this way is extremelyversatile.

A) NO CHANGEB) thisC) whichD) that

q3: Transitions

Long viewed by many as thestereotypical useless major,philosophy is now being seen bymany students and prospectiveemployers as in fact a very useful andpractical major, offering students ahost of transferable skills withrelevance to the modern workplace.In broad terms, philosophy is thestudy of meaning and the valuesunderlying thought and behavior.

A) NO CHANGEB) For example,C) In contrast,D) Nevertheless,

q4: Wordiness and Redundancy

Undertaken in the publicinterest, investigativejournalism involves original,often long-form reporting onsuch topics as illegalactivities, street crime,corporate wrongdoing, andpolitical corruption.

A) NO CHANGEB) business scandals,C) abuse of government

power,D) DELETE the underlined

portion.

q5: Relevance

As Box explains, “Soot is anextremely powerful light absorber.It settles over the ice and capturesthe Sun’s heat.” The result is aself-reinforcing cycle. As the icemelts, the land and water underthe ice become exposed, andsince land and water are darkerthan snow, the surface absorbseven more heat, which is related tothe rising temperatures.

Which choice bestcompletes the description ofa self-reinforcing cycle?

A) NO CHANGE

B) raises the surfacetemperature.

C) begins to cool at acertain point.

D) leads to additionalmelting.

q6: Placement

[1] One significant benefit of 3-D printingtechnology is its ability to create scalereproductions of fossils. [2] But now 3-Dscale models can be rearranged withease, which is a huge boon to scientists.[3] A team led by Drexel Universityprofessor Kenneth Lacovara is makingmodels of dinosaur bones one-tenth thebones’ original sizes in order to learn howthey fit together when the animals werealive. [4] In the past, such research waslimited by the weight and bulk of thefossils as well as their preciousness andfragility. [5] In many cases, scientists

had to rearrange bonesvirtually, using artists’renderings.

To make this paragraphmost logical, sentence 2should be placed

A) where it is now.

B) before sentence 1.

C) after sentence 4.

D) after sentence 5.

q7: Insertion

Paleontologists are usingmodern technology to gaina greater understanding ofthe distant past. With theaid of computedtomography (CT) scanningand 3-D printing,researchers are able tocreate accurate models ofprehistoric fossils. 1These models haveexpanded researchers’knowledge of ancientspecies.

1 At this point, the writer is consideringadding the following sentence.

Fossils provide paleontologists with aconvenient way of estimating the age of therock in which the fossils are found.

Should the writer make this addition here?

A) Yes, because it supports theparagraph’s argument with an importantdetail.

B) Yes, because it provides a logicaltransition from the preceding sentence.

C) No, because it is not directly related tothe main point of the paragraph.

D) No, because it undermines the mainclaim of the paragraph.

q8: Data Analysis (see chart on next slide)

For example, in SanFrancisco, CA, fare-freepublic transit wasprojected to save $8.4million per year in farecollection costs but createa deficit of $72 million peryear in lost fares, on topof capital investments innew equipment andinfrastructure.

Which choice provides an accurateinterpretation of the chart?A) NO CHANGEB) and save an additional $112

million from lost fares,C) but result in a total increase of

$184 million per year inoperating costs,

D) and save $72 million per year incosts related to adding service,

q8: Data Analysis

PrepAccelerator’s SAT CrashCourse: Math

Dr. SampathPrepAccelerator.com

MATH: No Calculator

q1: Exponents q2: Algebraic Manipulation

q3: Algebraic Manipulation q4: Linear Equations

q5: Quadratic Equations q6: Functions

q7: Straight Lines q8: Cylinders

q9: Trig Ratios

MATH: Calculator

q1: Ratios and Proportions q2: Ratios and Proportions

q3: Percents q4: Algebraic Manipulation

q5: Algebraic Manipulation q6: Inequalities

q7: Linear Equations q8: Systems of Equations

q9: Quadratic Equations q10: Quadratic Equations

q11: Functions q12: Graphs

The figure on the left shows a wheel with a

mark on its rim. The wheel is rolling on the

ground at a constant rate along a level

straight path from a starting point to an

ending point. The graph of y = d(t) on

the right could represent which of the

following as a function of time from when

the wheel began to roll?

A) The speed at whichthe wheel is rollingB) The distance of thewheel from its startingpointC) The distance of themark on the rim fromthe center of the wheel

D) The distance of the

mark on the rim from

the ground

q13: StatisticsA polling agency recently surveyed1,000 adults who were selected atrandom from a large city and askedeach of the adults, “Are yousatisfied with the quality of air inthe city?” Of those surveyed, 78percent responded that they weresatisfied with the quality of air inthe city. Based on the results of thesurvey, which of the followingstatements must be true?

I. Of all adults in the city, 78percent are satisfied with the qualityof air in the city.

II. If another 1,000 adults selectedat random from the city weresurveyed, 78 percent of them wouldreport that they are satisfied withthe quality of air in the city.

III. If 1,000 adults selected atrandom from a different city weresurveyed, 78 percent of them wouldreport that they are satisfied withthe quality of air in the city.

A) None C) I and II only

B) II only D) I and III only

q14: Statistics

q15: Straight Lines q16: Circles

q17: Cubes

PrepAccelerator’s SAT MATH Cheat SheetAlgebra

xa xb = xa+b xp

xq = xp−q (xm)n = xmn

x0 = 1 x1 = x x−m = 1xm x

mn = n

pxm

FOIL (First, Outer, Inner, Last):(a +b)(c +d) = ac +ad +bc +bd

ax2 +bx + c = 0 has solutions x = −b±p

b2−4ac2a

Coordinate GeometryPoints and Straight Line:

Slope: m = y2−y1

x2−x1= rise

run

Distance:√

(x2 −x1)2 + (y2 − y1)2

Equation: y = mx +b

Circle with center (h,k) and radius r :(x −h)2 + (y −k)2 = r 2

Parabola with vertex (h,k) and line of symmetry x = h:y = a(x −h)2 +k

Trigonometrysoh-cah-toa

sin θ = opphyp = a

b = 1cscθ

cos θ = adjhyp = c

b = 1secθ

tan θ = oppadj = a

c = 1cotθ

Plane Geometry

Source: College Board

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