Answer key to ISEE practice tests - ISEE practice tests

SSAT & ISEE Prep 2023 - Princeton Review 2023

Answer key to ISEE practice tests
ISEE practice tests

ANSWER KEY

Detailed explanations can be found online in your Student Tools.

ISEE UL Verbal 1

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.C

5.A

6.B

7.B

8.D

9.D

10.B

11.C

12.B

13.C

14.B

15.D

16.B

17.B

18.A

19.B

20.B

21.A

22.A

23.D

24.A

25.A

26.D

27.A

28.A

29.C

30.B

31.D

32.B

33.A

34.C

35.C

36.C

37.A

38.A

39.A

40.A

ISEE UL Quantitative 2

1.C

2.C

3.D

4.D

5.B

6.D

7.A

8.B

9.C

10.B

11.C

12.D

13.A

14.B

15.A

16.A

17.D

18.C

19.D

20.C

21.C

22.B

23.C

24.D

25.B

26.D

27.A

28.C

29.C

30.B

31.B

32.A

33.A

34.C

35.B

36.B

37.C

ISEE UL Reading 3

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.D

6.D

7.C

8.C

9.D

10.C

11.C

12.D

13.B

14.C

15.D

16.A

17.D

18.A

19.C

20.B

21.C

22.A

23.D

24.B

25.C

26.C

27.C

28.D

29.A

30.D

31.B

32.B

33.C

34.C

35.C

36.A

ISEE UL Math 4

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.D

5.C

6.C

7.A

8.B

9.A

10.B

11.B

12.A

13.C

14.D

15.B

16.D

17.C

18.C

19.A

20.D

21.D

22.A

23.B

24.D

25.D

26.B

27.B

28.A

29.A

30.B

31.D

32.C

33.C

34.A

35.D

36.B

37.D

38.B

39.C

40.A

41.C

42.D

43.D

44.B

45.A

46.D

47.A

ANSWER KEY

Detailed explanations can be found online in your Student Tools.

ISEE ML Verbal 1

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.C

5.D

6.C

7.B

8.B

9.B

10.B

11.A

12.D

13.B

14.C

15.D

16.C

17.A

18.B

19.A

20.C

21.C

22.B

23.D

24.A

25.C

26.C

27.A

28.A

29.C

30.B

31.C

32.D

33.A

34.D

35.A

36.A

37.B

38.B

39.B

40.A

ISEE ML Quantitative 2

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.B

5.B

6.A

7.B

8.B

9.C

10.C

11.B

12.B

13.B

14.B

15.C

16.C

17.D

18.C

19.D

20.D

21.C

22.D

23.A

24.B

25.B

26.B

27.A

28.A

29.B

30.D

31.B

32.B

33.A

34.C

35.B

36.A

37.B

ISEE ML Reading 3

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.A

5.A

6.A

7.D

8.A

9.C

10.D

11.A

12.C

13.A

14.B

15.D

16.D

17.B

18.C

19.A

20.B

21.C

22.D

23.A

24.C

25.D

26.C

27.A

28.D

29.B

30.D

31.D

32.B

33.B

34.A

35.B

36.C

ISEE ML Math 4

1.B

2.B

3.D

4.D

5.C

6.A

7.C

8.C

9.B

10.D

11.C

12.A

13.B

14.C

15.C

16.D

17.A

18.C

19.C

20.B

21.B

22.D

23.D

24.B

25.B

26.C

27.B

28.D

29.A

30.D

31.C

32.C

33.C

34.D

35.B

36.B

37.A

38.C

39.A

40.A

41.C

42.B

43.D

44.A

45.D

46.B

47.C

ANSWER KEY

Detailed explanations can be found online in your Student Tools.

ISEE LL Verbal 1

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.C

5.B

6.D

7.A

8.C

9.B

10.C

11.D

12.B

13.B

14.A

15.D

16.D

17.A

18.C

19.C

20.B

21.D

22.B

23.B

24.A

25.B

26.B

27.A

28.C

29.A

30.B

31.D

32.D

33.B

34.A

ISEE LL Quantitative 2

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.B

6.C

7.B

8.B

9.C

10.A

11.A

12.C

13.B

14.C

15.C

16.C

17.B

18.B

19.D

20.B

21.B

22.A

23.B

24.B

25.B

26.D

27.B

28.C

29.D

30.C

31.B

32.D

33.D

34.A

35.B

36.C

37.A

38.B

ISEE LL Reading 3

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.D

6.C

7.B

8.D

9.B

10.D

11.C

12.D

13.A

14.A

15.B

16.B

17.C

18.B

19.C

20.A

21.B

22.D

23.D

24.B

25.D

ISEE LL Math 4

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.D

5.B

6.C

7.B

8.D

9.B

10.C

11.B

12.C

13.A

14.C

15.D

16.D

17.C

18.C

19.B

20.C

21.A

22.D

23.C

24.A

25.C

26.D

27.D

28.A

29.C

30.C

In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 1—Getting Through the Passage

Line (1) Contrary to popular belief, the first European known to lay eyes on America

Line (2) was not Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci but a little-known Viking by

Line (3) the name of Bjarni Herjolfsson. In the summer of 986, Bjarni sailed from Norway

Line (4) to Iceland, heading for the Viking settlement where his father Heriulf resided.

Line (5) When he arrived in Iceland, Bjarni discovered that his father had already sold

Line (6) his land and estates and set out for the latest Viking settlement on the subarctic

Line (7) island called Greenland. Discovered by a notorious murderer and criminal named

Line (8) Erik the Red, Greenland lay at the limit of the known world. Dismayed, Bjarni set

Line (9) out for this new colony.

Line (10) Because the Vikings traveled without chart or compass, it was not uncommon

Line (11) for them to lose their way in the unpredictable northern seas. Beset by fog, the

Line (12) crew lost their bearings. When the fog finally cleared, they found themselves

Line (13) before a land that was level and covered with woods.

Line (14) They traveled farther up the coast, finding more flat, forested country. Farther

Line (15) north, the landscape revealed glaciers and rocky mountains. Though Bjarni

Line (16) realized this was an unknown land, he was no intrepid explorer. Rather, he was

Line (17) a practical man who had simply set out to find his father. Refusing his crew’s

Line (18) request to go ashore, he promptly turned his bow back out to sea. After four days’

Line (19) sailing, Bjarni landed at Herjolfsnes on the southwestern tip of Greenland, the

Line (20) exact place he had been seeking all along.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 4—All Reading Techniques—All Levels

Line (1) In 2011, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ended the Space Shuttle

Line (2) program, which was the United States’ manned space flight program after the Apollo programs

Line (3) took astronauts to the moon. NASA’s Space Shuttle program used five shuttles in its thirty-year

Line (4) program—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis all carried astronauts and

Line (5) cargo into space. Shuttles were used to build the International Space Station (known as the

Line (6) ISS) and deploy the Hubble Telescope. The ISS orbits the Earth and is crewed by astronauts

Line (7) from all over the world. Currently, astronauts reach the station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Line (8) Today, NASA is working to design and build spacecraft for exploration further into space

Line (9) so humans can return to the moon, explore Mars, or even visit an asteroid. NASA has sent

Line (10) robotic labs to Mars, the Moon, and beyond. NASA is also working in partnership with private

Line (11) companies to develop a commercial space industry to supply the ISS and carry out experiments

Line 12) in low Earth orbit. Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin

Line (13) work to develop rockets that can take satellites, cargo, and humans into outer space.

Line (14) SpaceX has already successfully launched missions to the ISS and launched satellites and

Line (15) experiments into orbit on a rocket called the Falcon 9. In the same way the Space Shuttle

Line (16) Program made space travel easier and less expensive by reusing the shuttles many times,

Line (17) SpaceX is able to launch frequently by reusing its rockets and boosters.

Line (18) The commercial space flight industry has many exciting possibilities for scientific discovery

Line (19) both in creating faster travel on Earth and traveling beyond our planet to explore the solar system.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 5—All Reading Techniques—All Levels

Line (1) Martial arts traditions are practiced all over the world. Some of the most well-known martial arts

Line (2) are the Japanese art of karate and the Korean art of taekwondo. One reason for the popularity of these

Line (3) arts in the United States is that many American service members were introduced to them: karate after

Line (4) World War II in Japan and taekwondo during the Korean Conflict in the 1950s. During this time, many

Line (5) service members learned these fighting styles and brought them back to the United States when they

Line (6) finished their service in the armed forces.

Line (7) In Japan, karate is usually called karate do. The word “do” is translated to mean “way.” Traditionally,

Line (8) when the name of a martial art style ends in “do” (e.g., taekwondo, judo, karate do, aikido), it denotes

Line (9) a “way” or philosophically based martial art. In other words, practitioners are learning their particular

Line (10) style as a path to develop this art and to improve their mental focus, physical fitness, self-defense

Line (11) skills, and perhaps spirituality. This is in contrast to martial arts that are practiced for military use or

Line (12) law enforcement. These martial art styles end in “jutsu” (e.g., ninjutsu, Japanese jujutsu).

Line (13) Today, many people practice martial arts as a sport because of the physical benefits and practical

Line (14) applications of the skills they learn. Some styles focus on traditional techniques such as strikes, blocks,

Line (15) and kicks. Others incorporate traditional weapons training such as bo staffs, nunchucks, and swords.

Line (16) While it is tempting to evaluate which style is “best,” each style of martial arts has advantages and

Line (17) disadvantages in terms of effectiveness in combat. However, the benefits to all practitioners of following

Line (18) the “way” of martial arts are increased focused, fitness, and, hopefully, fun.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 6—All Reading Techniques—Middle and Upper Levels

Line (1) I have not enjoyed a play so much, so heartily, and so thoroughly since I played Miles

Line (2) Hendon twenty-two years ago. I used to play in this piece (The Prince and the Pauper) with

Line (3) my children, who, twenty-two years ago, were little youngsters. One of my daughters was the

Line (4) Prince, and a neighbor’s daughter was the Pauper, and the children of other neighbors played

Line (5) other parts. But we never gave such a performance as we have seen here to-day. It would have

Line (6) been beyond us.

Line (7) My late wife was the dramatist and stage-manager. Our coachman was the stage-manager,

Line (8) second in command. We used to play it in this simple way, and the one who used to bring in

Line (9) the crown on a cushion—he was a little fellow then—is now a clergyman way up high—six

Line (10) or seven feet high—and growing higher all the time. We played it well, but not as well as you

Line (11) see it here, for you see it done by practically trained professionals.

Line (12) I was especially interested in the scene which we have just had, for Miles Hendon was my

Line (13) part. I did it as well as a person could who never remembered his part. The children all knew

Line (14) their parts. They did not mind if I did not know mine. I could thread a needle nearly as well

Line (15) as the player did whom you saw to-day. The words of my part I could supply on the spot. The

Line (16) words of the song that Miles Hendon sang here I did not catch. But I was great in that song….

Line (17) This theatre is a part of the work, and furnishes pure and clean plays. This theatre is an

Line (18) influence. Everything in the world is accomplished by influences which train and educate.

Line (19) When you get to be seventy-one and a half, as I am, you may think that your education is

Line (20) over, but it isn’t.

Line (21) If we had forty theatres of this kind in this city of four millions, how they would educate

Line (22) and elevate! We should have a body of educated theatre-goers.

Line (23) It would make better citizens, honest citizens. One of the best gifts a millionaire could

Line (24) make would be a theatre here and a theatre there. It would make of you a real Republic, and

Line (25) bring about an educational level.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 7—All Reading Techniques—Middle and Upper Levels

Line (1) There is no practice which has been more extensively eulogized in all ages than early

Line (2) rising; and this universal impression is an indication that it is founded on true philosophy‥.

Line (3) Now the mass of any nation must always consist of persons who labor at occupations which

Line (4) demand the light of day. But in aristocratic countries, especially in England, labor is regarded

Line (5) as the mark of the lower classes, and indolence is considered as one mark of a gentleman. This

Line (6) impression has gradually and imperceptibly, to a great extent, regulated their customs, so that,

Line (7) even in their hours of meals and repose, the higher orders aim at being different and distinct

Line (8) from those who, by laborious pursuits, are placed below them. From this circumstance, while

Line (9) the lower orders labor by day and sleep at night, the rich, the noble, and the honored sleep by

Line (10) day, and follow their pursuits and pleasures by night.

Line (11) It will be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast near midday, dine after dark, visit

Line (12) and go to Parliament between ten and twelve at night, and retire to sleep toward morning. In

Line (13) consequence of this, the subordinate classes who aim at gentility gradually fall into the same

Line (14) practice. The influence of this custom extends across the ocean, and here, in this democratic

Line (15) land, we find many who measure their grade of gentility by the late hour at which they arrive at

Line (16) a party. And this aristocratic folly is growing upon us, so that, throughout the nation, the hours

Line (17) for visiting and retiring are constantly becoming later, while the hours for rising correspond

Line (18) in lateness.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 8—All Reading Techniques—Middle and Upper Levels

The Children’s Hour

Line (1) Between the dark and the daylight,

Line (2) When the night is beginning to lower,

Line (3) Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,

Line (4) That is known as the Children’s Hour.

Line (5) I hear in the chamber above me

Line (6) The patter of little feet,

Line (7) The sound of a door that is opened,

Line (8) And voices soft and sweet.

Line (9) From my study I see in the lamplight,

Line (10) Descending the broad hall stair,

Line (11) Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,

Line (12) And Edith with golden hair.

Line (13) A whisper, and then a silence:

Line (14) Yet I know by their merry eyes

Line (15) They are plotting and planning together

Line (16) To take me by surprise.

Line (17) A sudden rush from the stairway,

Line (18) A sudden raid from the hall!

Line (19) By three doors left unguarded

Line (20) They enter my castle wall!

Line (21) They climb up into my turret

Line (22) O’er the arms and back of my chair;

Line (23) If I try to escape, they surround me;

Line (24) They seem to be everywhere.

Line (25) They almost devour me with kisses,

Line (26) Their arms about me entwine,

Line (27) Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

Line (28) In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Line (29) Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,

Line (30) Because you have scaled the wall,

Line (31) Such an old mustache as I am

Line (32) Is not a match for you all!

Line (33) I have you fast in my fortress,

Line (34) And will not let you depart,

Line (35) But put you down into the dungeon

Line (36) In the round-tower of my heart.

Line (37) And there will I keep you forever,

Line (38) Yes, forever and a day,

Line (39) Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

Line (40) And moulder in dust away!

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Practice Drill 9—All Reading Techniques—Middle and Upper Levels

Line (1) It was just then that Miss Minchin entered the room. She was very like her house, Sara felt:

Line (2) tall and dull, and respectable and ugly. She had large, cold, fishy eyes, and a large, cold, fishy

Line (3) smile. It spread itself into a very large smile when she saw Sara and Captain Crewe. She had

Line (4) heard a great many desirable things of the young soldier from the lady who had recommended

Line (5) her school to him. Among other things, she had heard that he was a rich father who was willing

Line (6) to spend a great deal of money on his little daughter.

Line (7) “It will be a great privilege to have charge of such a beautiful and promising child, Captain

Line (8) Crewe,” she said, taking Sara’s hand and stroking it. “Lady Meredith has told me of her unusual

Line (9) cleverness. A clever child is a great treasure in an establishment like mine.”

Line (10) Sara stood quietly, with her eyes fixed upon Miss Minchin’s face. She was thinking

Line (11) something odd, as usual.

Line (12) “Why does she say I am a beautiful child?” she was thinking. “I am not beautiful at all.

Line (13) Colonel Grange’s little girl, Isobel, is beautiful. She has dimples and rose-colored cheeks, and

Line (14) long hair the color of gold. I have short black hair and green eyes; besides which, I am a thin

Line (15) child and not fair in the least. I am one of the ugliest children I ever saw. She is beginning by

Line (16) telling a story.”

Line (17) She was mistaken, however, in thinking she was an ugly child. She was not in the least like

Line (18) Isobel Grange, who had been the beauty of the regiment, but she had an odd charm of her own.

Line (19) She was a slim, supple creature, rather tall for her age, and had an intense, attractive little face.

Line (20) Her hair was heavy and quite black and only curled at the tips; her eyes were greenish gray, it

Line (21) is true, but they were big, wonderful eyes with long, black lashes, and though she herself did

Line (22) not like the color of them, many other people did. Still she was very firm in her belief that she

Line (23) was an ugly little girl, and she was not at all elated by Miss Minchin’s flattery.

Line (24) “I should be telling a story if I said she was beautiful,” she thought; “and I should know I

Line (25) was telling a story. I believe I am as ugly as she is—in my way. What did she say that for?”

Line (26) After she had known Miss Minchin longer she learned why she had said it. She discovered

Line (27) that she said the same thing to each papa and mamma who brought a child to her school.

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Line (1) Florence Nightingale was a woman ahead of her time. Before the nineteenth century, the profession of

Line (2) nursing was largely untrained. Midwives were the only practitioners who had any training at all. For the most

Line (3) part, sick people were looked after by the women of the house in their own homes.

Line (4) Florence Nightingale began a school in London, England to set the standards for nursing. She was able to

Line (5) do this because she had already established a reputation for her work with soldiers during the Crimean War. She

Line (6) carried a lamp above her head as she walked among the wounded men, thereby earning the nickname “the lady

Line (7) with the lamp.” It was this great lady who lit the way for nursing to become the respected profession it is today.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Line (1) In England during the mid-1600s, a group of poor English farmers led by Gerrard Winstanley

Line (2) united to form an organization known as the True Levellers. Their stated goal was to change the

Line (3) laws regarding real estate and ownable property so that all willing citizens would be able to support

Line (4) themselves through farming. At the time in England, there was great social unrest and food prices

Line (5) were very high. Most of the land throughout the country was strictly divided and controlled by a

Line (6) small number of the elite ruling class. The True Levellers believed that they could “level” the different

Line (7) classes of society by creating communities in which the farmable private land was owned by all

Line (8) and available for agrarian purposes. To fight the unequal system that only benefited the wealthy

Line (9) landowners, the True Levellers defiantly occupied private and public land and began farming.

Line (10) Because much of farming involves plowing and planting, these groups of communal farmers

Line (11) became better known by the name Diggers. Their hope was that their act of rebellion would stir

Line (12) the sympathies of the other poor people throughout the country. The Digger philosophy was to

Line (13) unite all the poor and working classes behind the idea that the land should be shared. If thousands

Line (14) of common English folk began to claim reasonable access to the land, the powerful landowners

Line (15) would be unable to stop them. In practice for a brief time, Digger communities flourished as they

Line (16) welcomed anyone who wished to merely grow their own food and live freely.

Line (17) Sadly, the landowners believed the Diggers were a threat and began to take steps to preserve

Line (18) their control over the farmable land. Many members of the Digger communities were harassed,

Line (19) threatened, and jailed. Planting vegetables was viewed as a rebellious act and dealt with as if it were

Line (20) a crime. The majority of land reverted back into the hands of the landowners. Ultimately, most of the

Line (21) Digger communities that had briefly thrived were disbanded. In their place, other political groups

Line (22) arose and continued to protest the various injustices of the time. The Digger name continues to the

Line (23) present day in some English folk songs as a reminder of their ideals.

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Line (1) Flax has been raised for many thousands of years, for many different reasons.

Line (2) Probably the two most important reasons are for the fabric made from it and the oil

Line (3) produced from it. The woody stem of the flax plant contains the long, strong fibers that

Line (4) are used to make linen. The seeds are rich in an oil important for its industrial uses.

Line (5) The people of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Mesopotamia raised flax for cloth;

Line (6) Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen. Since the discovery of its drying ability,

Line (7) the oil from flaxseed, called linseed oil, has been used as a drying agent in paints

Line (8) and varnishes.

Line (9) The best fiber and the best seed cannot be obtained from the same kinds of plant.

Line (10) Fiber flax grows tall and has few branches. It needs a short, cool growing season

Line (11) with plenty of rainfall evenly distributed. Otherwise, the plants become woody and

Line (12) the fiber is rough and dry. On the other hand, seed flax grows well in places that are

Line (13) too dry for fiber flax. The plants are lower to the ground and have more branches.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Line (1) William, Duke of Normandy, conquered England in 1066. One of the first tasks he undertook

Line (2) as king was the building of a fortress in the city of London. Begun in 1066 and completed several

Line (3) years later by William’s son, William Rufus, this structure was called the White Tower.

Line (4) The Tower of London is not just one building, but an 18-acre complex of buildings. In addition

Line (5) to the White Tower, there are 19 other towers. The Thames River flows by one side of the complex

Line (6) and a large moat, or shallow ditch, surrounds it. Once filled with water, the moat was drained in

Line (7) 1843 and is now covered with grass.

Line (8) The Tower of London is the city’s most popular tourist attraction. A great deal of fascinating

Line (9) history has taken place within its walls. The tower has served as a fortress, royal residence, prison,

Line (10) royal mint, public records office, observatory, military barracks, place of execution, and city zoo.

Line (11) As recently as 1941, the tower was used as a prison for Adolf Hitler’s associate Rudolf Hess.

Line (12) Although it is no longer used as a prison, the tower still houses the crown jewels and a great deal

Line (13) of English history.

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Line (1) Most art enthusiasts agree that Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous painting in

Line (2) the world. It is the portrait of a woman, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a wealthy Florentine

Line (3) business man. The name roughly translates from Italian to mean “Madam Lisa” and is a respectful

Line (4) term. Anyone who has ever viewed the painting, seasoned art critic or inexperienced museum

Line (5) visitor, remembers well its greatest feature—Mona Lisa’s smile. It is this smile that has captured

Line (6) the imagination of the millions of visitors who have seen the painting over the years.

Line (7) There is something powerful and alluring contained in Mona Lisa’s smile that intrigues all

Line (8) who see it. The reason for her smile has long been the subject of discussion in the art world. But

Line (9) perhaps it is the fact that no one knows why she smiles that makes Mona Lisa the most famous of

Line (10) all paintings. There is something so appealing and recognizably human about an unexplained smile

Line (11) to which everyone can relate. Furthermore, if we ever tire of analyzing why Mona Lisa smiles, we

Line (12) can consider how da Vinci managed to capture the smile. What could he have been thinking while

Line (13) painting? A genuine smile is hard to capture even in a photograph with a modern camera, yet Leonardo

Line (14) da Vinci managed to capture this subtle expression in a painting. It is amazing that da Vinci was able

Line (15) to create for eternity a frozen picture of a smile that in reality lasts less than an instant.

Line (16) The painting now hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France. Several different owners have

Line (17) possessed it at various times throughout history, including Louis XIV and Napoleon. It was even

Line (18) temporarily in the possession of a former museum employee who stole it in 1911. He was caught

Line (19) in 1913. It is likely that all who held the painting at one time or another wondered about the Mona

Line (20) Lisa smile, just as today’s museum visitors do. Now the painting officially belongs to the French

Line (21) government. In some ways, though, it is really a painting (and a mystery) that belongs to the world.

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Line (1) The first old “horseless carriages” of the 1880s may have been worthy of a snicker or

Line (2) two, but not the cars of today. The progress that has been made over the last one hundred

Line (3) thirty years has been phenomenal. In fact, much progress was made even in the first

Line (4) twenty years—in 1903, cars could travel at 70 miles per hour. The major change from

Line (5) the old cars to today is the expense. Whereas cars were once a luxury that only the very

Line (6) wealthy could afford, today, people of all income levels own cars.

Line (7) In fact, there are so many cars that if they were to line up end to end, they would

Line (8) touch the Moon. Cars are used for everyday transportation for millions of people, for

Line (9) recreation, and for work. Many people’s jobs depend on cars—police officers, health

Line (10) care workers, and taxi drivers all rely on automobiles.

Line (11) One thing that hasn’t changed is how cars are powered. The first cars ran on gas and

Line (12) diesel fuel just as the most modern ones do. You could argue that today’s “most modern”

Line (13) cars are electric or hybrid. The newer cars, however, are much more fuel efficient and

Line (14) much research is devoted to saving fuel and finding new sources of energy for cars.

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Line (1)By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Line (2) Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Line (3) Here once the embattled farmers stood

Line (4) And fired the shot heard round the world.

Line (5) The foe long since in silence slept;

Line (6) Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

Line (7) And Time the ruined bridge has swept

Line (8) Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

Line (9) On this green bank, by this soft stream,

Line (10) We set to-day a votive stone;

Line (11) That memory may their deed redeem,

Line (12) When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Line (13) Spirit, that made those heroes dare

Line (14) To die, and leave their children free,

Line (15) Bid Time and Nature gently spare

Line (16) The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Line (17) —“Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Line (1) José Ferrer was known as one of the most successful American film actors of his generation,

Line (2) but he actually began his career in theater. He was born January 8, 1909 in Puerto Rico and

Line (3) moved to the United States when he was six years old. His acting skills were first showcased

Line (4) while he attended Princeton University and performed with the Triangle Club, a student acting

Line (5) group whose alumni also include Jimmy Stewart and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Line (6) After graduating, Ferrer continued to perform in theater until he made his Broadway debut

Line (7) in 1935 in the play Charley’s Aunt. He had many successful roles on Broadway, including a role

Line (8) in 1943 when he played the villain Iago in Shakespeare’s play Othello. The title role of Othello

Line (9) in that production was played by the acclaimed actor Paul Robeson. With these two powerful

Line (10) performers, Othello became the longest running play in Broadway history (at the time). Ferrer’s

Line (11) greatest role, though, was still to come.

Line (12) In 1946, Ferrer was cast in the title role of Cyrano de Bergerac. He won the prestigious Tony

Line (13) award as Cyrano, the tragic hero who fights men with supreme courage but cowardly hides his

Line (14) love for the beautiful Roxanne. His success in this role led directly to his repeated performances

Line (15) as Cyrano in a film version (for which he won an Oscar) and a television version (for which

Line (16) he won an Emmy). He is the only actor to win all three of those special awards for playing the

Line (17) same role. This feat is all the more remarkable because Cyrano de Bergerac was known as a

Line (18) desirable role, one that had been played very well previously by other talented actors.

Line (19) Through these roles, Ferrer earned a reputation on Broadway as an extremely flexible actor,

Line (20) talented enough to play many diverse roles. Eight years after his debut in professional theater,

Line (21) he finally started performing in movies. Once he began appearing in films, that skill translated

Line (22) into many great performances and memorable roles. His film career included both acting and

Line (23) directing opportunities and lasted nearly forty years.

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Line (1) The native inhabitants of the Americas arrived from Asia more than 20,000 years ago. They belonged to

Line (2) numerous tribes and many were skilled hunters, farmers, and fishers. Some of the most famous of the tribes of

Line (3) Native Americans are the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Iroquois, and the Apache.

Line (4) These tribes settled and developed organized societies. The settlers to North America from Europe fought

Line (5) the Native Americans for land. Geronimo was the last great Native American chief to organize rebellions against

Line (6) the settlers. He led raids across the southwest and into Mexico. Although he eventually was captured, he later

Line (7) became a celebrity.

Line (8) After a long battle, the United States government moved the Native Americans onto reservations—special

Line (9) sections of land set aside for them—where many still reside today.

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Line (1) Twenty percent of all the land on Earth consists of deserts. When most people

Line (2) think of deserts, they think of searing heat, big sand dunes, and camels. But not all

Line (3) deserts are huge sand piles—many are strewn with rocks and some, like those at high

Line (4) altitudes, may actually be quite cold.

Line (5) Desert life is interesting and varied as well. Though the desert is a punishing place—it

Line (6) is difficult to find food and water in the desert—many animals live there. Because there

Line (7) is so little water, desert animals have adapted. Camels can survive for days without

Line (8) drinking. Other animals get their water from the insects and plants they eat.

Line (9) The extreme temperatures of the desert can make life difficult as well. Many of the

Line (10) mammals there have thick fur to keep out the heat and the cold. Some desert animals

Line (11) are nocturnal, sleeping by day and hunting by night when the air is cooler. It may seem

Line (12) that all deserts are the same, but they are as different as the animals that inhabit them.

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Line (1) The original Olympic Games started in Greece more than 2,000 years ago. These

Line (2) games were a religious festival, and, at their height, lasted for five days. Only men

Line (3) could compete, and the sports included running, wrestling, and chariot racing.

Line (4) Today’s Olympic Games are quite a bit different. First, there are two varieties:

Line (5) Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. They each boast many men and women

Line (6) competing in a multitude of sports, from skiing to gymnastics. They are each held

Line (7) every four years, but not during the same year. They alternate so that there are Olympic

Line (8) Games every two years. The Olympics are no longer held only in one country. They

Line (9) are hosted by different cities around the world. The opening ceremony is a spectacular

Line (10) display, usually incorporating the traditional dances and culture of the host city.

Line (11) The highlight of the opening ceremony is the lighting of the Olympic flame.

Line (12) Teams of runners carry the torch from Olympia, the site of the ancient Greek games.

Line (13) Although the games have changed greatly throughout the centuries, the spirit of

Line (14) competition is still alive. The flame represents that spirit.

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Line (1) Like snakes, lizards, and crocodiles, turtles are reptiles. The earliest fossils recognized as

Line (2) turtles are about 200 million years old and date from the time when dinosaurs roamed Earth.

Line (3) Unbelievably, turtles have changed little in appearance since that time.

Line (4) There are many different types of turtles in many different climates around the world. In

Line (5) contrast to other reptiles, whose populations are confined largely to the tropics, turtles are most

Line (6) abundant in southeastern North America and southeastern Asia. They live in lakes, ponds, salt

Line (7) marshes, rivers, forests, and even deserts. The sizes of turtles vary. Bog or mud turtles grow

Line (8) no larger than about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. At the other end of the spectrum is the

Line (9) sea-roving leatherback turtle, which may be more than 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length and weigh

Line (10) more than 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms).

Line (11) Turtles live longer than most other animals, but reports of turtles living more than a century

Line (12) are questionable. Several kinds, however, have lived more than 50 years in captivity. Even in

Line (13) natural environments, box turtles and slider turtles can reach ages of 20 to 30 years. The ages of

Line (14) some turtles can be estimated by counting the growth rings that form each year on the external

Line (15) bony plates of the shell.

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Line (1) The summer holidays! Those magic words! The mere mention

Line (2) of them used to send shivers of joy rippling over my skin. All my

Line (3) summer holidays, from when I was four years old to when I was

Line (4) seventeen (1920 to 1932), were idyllic. This, I am certain, was

Line (5) because we always went to the same idyllic place, and that place

Line (6) was Norway.

Line (7) Except for my ancient half-sister and my not-quite-so-ancient

Line (8) half-brother, the rest of us were all pure Norwegian by blood. We

Line (9) all spoke Norwegian and all our relations lived over there. So in a

Line (10) way, going to Norway every summer was like going home.

Line (11) Even the journey was an event. Do not forget that there were no

Line (12) commercial aeroplanes in those times, so it took us four whole days

Line (13) to complete the trip out and another four days to get home again.

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Line (1) You may love to walk along the seashore and collect beautiful shells, but do you ever

Line (2) think about whose home that shell was before you found it? That’s right, seashells are

Line (3) the home of a whole group of creatures known as shellfish. Some of the most common

Line (4) types of shellfish are the mussel, the clam, and the scallop.

Line (5) It may surprise you to learn that the shellfish themselves make the shells. They

Line (6) manage to draw calcium carbonate, a mineral, from the water. They use that mineral

Line (7) to build the shell up layer by layer. The shell can grow larger and larger as the shellfish

Line (8) grows in size.

Line (9) There are two main types of shells. There are those that are a single unit, like a

Line (10) conch’s shell, and those that are in two pieces, like a clam’s shell. The two-piece shell

Line (11) is called a bivalve, and the two pieces are hinged together, like a door, so that the shell

Line (12) can open and close for feeding.

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Line (1) By day the bat is cousin to the mouse;

Line (2) He likes the attic of an aging house.

Line (3) His fingers make a hat about his head.

Line (4) His pulse-beat is so slow we think him dead.

Line (5) He loops in crazy figures half the night

Line (6) Among the trees that face the corner light.

Line (7) But when he brushes up against a screen,

Line (8) We are afraid of what our eyes have seen:

Line (9) For something is amiss or out of place

Line (10) When mice with wings can wear a human face.

Line (11) —Theodore Roethke

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Line (1) Did you ever watch a sport and admire the players’ uniforms? Perhaps you play a sport and

Line (2) know the thrill of putting on your team’s uniform. Uniforms are important for many different

Line (3) reasons, whether you are playing a sport or watching one.

Line (4) If you are playing a sport, you have many reasons to appreciate your uniform. You may

Line (5) notice how different uniforms are for different sports. That’s because they are designed to make

Line (6) participation both safe and easy. If you participate in track and field, your uniform is designed

Line (7) to help you run faster and move more easily. If you participate in a sport like boxing or football,

Line (8) your uniform will protect you as well. You may wear special shoes, like sneakers or cleats, to

Line (9) help you run faster or keep you from slipping.

Line (10) If you watch sports, you can appreciate uniforms as well. Imagine how difficult it would be

Line (11) to tell the players on a field apart without their uniforms. And of course, as sports fans all over

Line (12) the world do, you can show support for the team you favor by wearing the colors of the team’s

Line (13) uniform.

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Line (1) Contrary to popular belief, the first European known to lay

Line (2) eyes on America was not Christopher Columbus or Amerigo

Line (3) Vespucci but a little-known Viking by the name of Bjarni

Line (4) Herjolfsson. In the summer of 986, Bjarni sailed from Norway

Line (5) to Iceland, heading for the Viking settlement where his father,

Line (6) Heriulf, resided.

Line (7) When he arrived in Iceland, Bjarni discovered that his father

Line (8) had already sold his land and estates and set out for the latest

Line (9) Viking settlement on the subarctic island called Greenland.

Line (10) Discovered by a notorious murderer and criminal named

Line (11) Erik the Red, Greenland lay at the limit of the known world.

Line (12) Dismayed, Bjarni set out for this new colony.

Line (13) Because the Vikings traveled without chart or compass, it was

Line (14) not uncommon for them to lose their way in the unpredictable

Line (15) northern seas. Beset by fog, the crew lost their bearings. When

Line (16) the fog finally cleared, they found themselves before a land that

Line (17) was level and covered with woods.

Line (18) They traveled farther up the coast, finding more flat, wooded

Line (19) country. Farther north, the landscape revealed glaciers and rocky

Line (20) mountains. Though Bjarni realized this was an unknown land,

Line (21) he was no intrepid explorer. Rather, he was a practical man

Line (22) who had simply set out to find his father. Refusing his crew’s

Line (23) request to go ashore, he promptly turned his bow back out to

Line (24) sea. After four days’ sailing, Bjarni landed at Herjolfsnes on

Line (25) the southwestern tip of Greenland, the exact place he had been

Line (26) seeking all along.

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Line (1) The term “tides” has come to represent the cyclical rising

Line (2) and falling of ocean waters, most notably evident along the

Line (3) shoreline as the border between land and sea moves in and out

Line (4) with the passing of the day. The primary reason for this constant

Line (5) redefinition of the boundaries of the sea is the gravitational

Line (6) force of the Moon.

Line (7) This force of lunar gravity is not as strong as Earth’s own

Line (8) gravitational pull, which keeps our bodies and our homes from

Line (9) being pulled off the ground, through the sky, and into space

Line (10) toward the Moon. It is a strong enough force, however, to exert

Line (11) a certain gravitational pull as the Moon passes over Earth’s

Line (12) surface. This pull causes the water level to rise (as the water is

Line (13) literally pulled, ever so slightly, toward the Moon) in those parts

Line (14) of the ocean that are exposed to the Moon and its gravitational

Line (15) forces. When the water level in one part of the ocean rises, it

Line (16) must naturally fall in another, and this is what causes water

Line (17) level to change, dramatically at times, along any given piece of

Line (18) coastline.

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Line (1) The Brooklyn Bridge in New York has been featured in

Line (2) movies, photographs, and media for over a hundred years, but

Line (3) the bridge is much more than just a pretty sight. It opened on

Line (4) May 24, 1883, and, at 3,460 feet, it was the longest suspension

Line (5) bridge in the world, measuring 50% longer than any previously

Line (6) built. The Brooklyn Bridge was a symbol of American strength

Line (7) and vitality, but its completion followed years of toil and

Line (8) sacrifice.

Line (9) John Augustus Roebling, a German immigrant, envisioned

Line (10) the bridge that would link Manhattan to Brooklyn over the

Line (11) East River. While in preparations for building, however, John

Line (12) Roebling was injured when a ferry pinned his foot to a pylon,

Line (13) and he died weeks later of tetanus. This first setback to the

Line (14) building of the bridge was indicative of the problems that would

Line (15) plague its construction as well as the harrowing tenacity that led

Line (16) to its completion.

Line (17) Washington Roebling took over the project upon his father’s

Line (18) death. Washington persevered through many hurdles in the

Line (19) building of the bridge including fires, accidents, industrial

Line (20) corruption, and loss of public support. He continued, however,

Line (21) in his push to complete the bridge. In fact, it is said that he

Line (22) worked harder and longer than any worker he employed in

Line (23) even the most dangerous circumstances. While working in

Line (24) the caissons, underwater chambers that supported the bridge,

Line (25) he was stricken by the decompression sickness that led to his

Line (26) paralysis. Nothing could stop him, though, and he continued

Line (27) construction by sending messages to the site through his wife,

Line (28) Emily.

Line (29) Fourteen years after construction began, the Brooklyn

Line (30) Bridge celebrated its grand opening. The total cost to build the

Line (31) bridge was fifteen million dollars, and 27 people died in its

Line (32) construction, but it stood as a tribute to American invention and

Line (33) industry.

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Line (1) Immediately following the dramatic end of World War II

Line (2) came a realization that the United States now had to turn its

Line (3) attention inward. Years of fighting battles around the globe had

Line (4) drained the country of important resources. Many industries

Line (5) (such as housing) suffered, as both materials and workers

Line (6) were used elsewhere in the war effort. Once the soldiers began

Line (7) returning, it became clear that new jobs and new homes were

Line (8) among their biggest needs. The homes needed to be affordable,

Line (9) since few people had the time or ability to save much during the

Line (10) war.

Line (11) It was in this situation that many house developers saw a

Line (12) business opportunity. Amid such a pressing demand for new

Line (13) homes, developer William Levitt realized the need for a new

Line (14) method of building. He sought a way to build homes cheaper

Line (15) and faster than ever before.

Line (16) He wasn’t the only developer to realize this, but he was one

Line (17) of the best in making it happen. He applied the same ideas to

Line (18) homes that Henry Ford had used 50 years earlier in making

Line (19) cars. Levitt did not build a factory with an assembly line of

Line (20) fully formed homes rolling out of some giant machine. Instead,

Line (21) he adapted the assembly line formula into a system in which

Line (22) the workers, rather than the product, moved for a streamlined,

Line (23) efficient building process.

Line (24) Previously, a developer who completed four homes a year

Line (25) had been moving at a good pace. Levitt planned to do that

Line (26) many each week, and succeeded. He created specialized teams

Line (27) that focused on only one job each and moved up and down the

Line (28) streets of new homes. Teams of foundation-builders, carpenters,

Line (29) roofers, and painters worked faster by sticking to just one task

Line (30) as they moved, factory-style, from house to house. The time

Line (31) and money saved allowed Levitt to build cheap homes of good

Line (32) value.

Line (33) With this new approach, Levitt oversaw the building of some

Line (34) of the first towns that would eventually be called suburbs—

Line (35) planned communities outside the city. Some critics blame

Line (36) developers like Levitt for turning farmland into monotonous,

Line (37) characterless towns. However, most agree that his contribution

Line (38) to the country following a bitter war was mostly positive.

Line (39) He did vary the style of home from street to street, and his

Line (40) work on simpler home features was influenced by the work of

Line (41) architecture great Frank Lloyd Wright.

Line (42) In the end, Levitt’s success speaks for itself. After his first

Line (43) success—building thousands of homes in Long Island, New

Line (44) York—he went on to found several more “Levittowns” in

Line (45) Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Levitt gave home

Line (46) buyers what they wanted: nice pieces of land with nice homes

Line (47) on top. In a way, by creating houses that so many families could

Line (48) afford, William Levitt made the American dream a more

Line (49) affordable reality.

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Line (1) Etymology, the study of words and word roots, may sound

Line (2) like the kind of thing done by boring librarians in small, dusty

Line (3) rooms. Yet etymologists actually have a uniquely interesting

Line (4) job. They are, in many ways, just like archeologists digging up

Line (5) the physical history of people and events. The special aspect

Line (6) of etymology is that it digs up history, so to speak, through the

Line (7) words and phrases that are left behind.

Line (8) The English language, in particular, is a great arena in which

Line (9) to explore history through words. As a language, English has an

Line (10) extraordinary number of words. This is in part due to its ability

Line (11) to adapt foreign words so readily. For example, “English” words

Line (12) such as kindergarten (from German), croissant (from French),

Line (13) and cheetah (from Hindi) have become part of the language

Line (14) with little or no change from their original sounds and spellings.

Line (15) So English language etymologists have a vast world of words

Line (16) to explore.

Line (17) Another enjoyable element of etymology for most word

Line (18) experts is solving word mysteries. No, etymologists do not

Line (19) go around solving murders, cloaked in intrigue like the great

Line (20) fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. What these word experts

Line (21) solve are mysteries surrounding the origin of some of our most

Line (22) common words.

Line (23) One of the biggest questions English language experts have

Line (24) pursued is how English came to have the phrase OK. Though it

Line (25) is one of the most commonly used slang expressions, its exact

Line (26) beginning is a puzzle even to this day. Even its spelling is not

Line (27) entirely consistent—unless you spell it okay, it’s hard even to

Line (28) call it a word.

Line (29) Etymologists have been able to narrow OK’s origin down to

Line (30) a likely, although not certain, source. It became widely used

Line (31) around the time of Martin Van Buren’s run for president in

Line (32) 1840. His nickname was Old Kinderhook. What troubles word

Line (33) experts about this explanation is that the phrase appeared in

Line (34) some newspapers before Van Buren became well known. As a

Line (35) result, it’s unlikely that Van Buren could be called its primary

Line (36) source. Like bloodhounds following a faint scent, etymologists

Line (37) will doubtless keep searching for the initial source. However, it

Line (38) is clear that OK’s popularity and fame have exceeded those of

Line (39) the American president to whom it has been most clearly linked.

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Line (1) Bob Dylan was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota,

Line (2) but his name wasn’t Dylan. He was born Robert Allen

Line (3) Zimmerman, one of two sons born to Abraham and Betty

Line (4) Zimmerman. Nineteen years later, he moved to New York

Line (5) City with his new name and a passion to pursue his dream of

Line (6) becoming a music legend.

Line (7) Bob Dylan’s career began like those of many musicians.

Line (8) He began to play in New York City at various clubs around

Line (9) Greenwich Village. He began to gain public recognition as a

Line (10) singer/songwriter and was even reviewed by The New York Times

Line (11) his first year in New York. He signed his first record deal with

Line (12) Columbia Records a mere ten months after moving to New

Line (13) York. From that point on, his career skyrocketed.

Line (14) What is unique about Bob Dylan, given his huge success, is

Line (15) his vocal quality. Dylan’s singing voice was untrained and had

Line (16) an unusual edge to it. Because of this, many of his most famous

Line (17) early songs first reached the public through versions by other

Line (18) performers who were more immediately palatable. Joan Baez

Line (19) was one of these musicians who performed many of Dylan’s

Line (20) early songs. She furthered Dylan’s already rising performance

Line (21) career by inviting him onstage during her concerts, and many

Line (22) credit her with bringing Dylan to his vast level of national and

Line (23) international prominence.

Line (24) In his career, which spans more than four decades, Dylan

Line (25) has produced 500 songs and more than 40 albums. This king

Line (26) of songs has thirteen songs on Rolling Stone magazine’s Top

Line (27) 500 Songs of All Time, including his most famous song, “Like

Line (28) a Rolling Stone,” which tops the list. In 2004, Bob Dylan was

Line (29) ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists

Line (30) of All Time, surpassed only by the Beatles.

Line (31) In a recent television interview, Bob Dylan was asked why

Line (32) he became a musician. He replied that from a very early age, he

Line (33) knew it was his destiny to become a music legend. Certainly,

Line (34) that destiny has been realized!

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Line (1) It is easy to lose patience with science today. The questions

Line (2) are pressing: How dangerous is dioxin? What about low-level

Line (3) radiation? When will that monstrous earthquake strike

Line (4) California? And why can’t we predict weather better? But the

Line (5) evidence is often described as “inconclusive,” forcing scientists

Line (6) to base their points of view almost as much on intuition as on

Line (7) science.

Line (8) When historians and philosophers of science listen to these

Line (9) questions, some conclude that science may be incapable of

Line (10) solving all these problems any time soon. Many questions seem

Line (11) to defy the scientific method, an approach that works best when

Line (12) it examines straightforward relationships: If something is done

Line (13) to variable A, what happens to variable B? Such procedures

Line (14) can, of course, be very difficult in their own ways, but for

Line (15) experiments, they are effective.

Line (16) With the aid of Newton’s laws of gravitational attraction, for

Line (17) instance, ground controllers can predict the path of a planetary

Line (18) probe—or satellite—with incredible accuracy. They do this

Line (19) by calculating the gravitational tugs from each of the passing

Line (20) planets until the probe speeds beyond the edge of the solar

Line (21) system. A much more difficult task is to calculate what happens

Line (22) when two or three such tugs pull on the probe at the same time.

Line (23) The unknowns can grow into riddles that are impossible to

Line (24) solve. Because of the turbulent and changing state of the Earth’s

Line (25) atmosphere, for instance, scientists have struggled for centuries

Line (26) to predict the weather with precision.

Line (27) This spectrum of questions—from simple problems to

Line (28) those impossibly complex—has resulted in nicknames for

Line (29) various fields of study. “Hard” sciences, such as astronomy and

Line (30) chemistry, are said to yield precise answers, whereas

Line (31) “soft” sciences, such as sociology and economics, admit a great degree

Line (32) of uncertainty.

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Questions 1—6

Line (1) New Orleans was the site of the last

Line (2) major battle during the War of 1812,

Line (3) a lengthy conflict between British and

Line (4) American troops. The Battle of New

Line (5) Orleans in January 1815 was one of the

Line (6) greatest victories in American military

Line (7) history. However, the great success of this

Line (8) battle did not actually bring about the end of

Line (9) the war. Surprisingly, the Treaty of Ghent,

Line (10) which declared the end of the war, had

Line (11) already been signed by both sides a month

Line (12) earlier.

Line (13) How was that possible? There were two

Line (14) major reasons. The first is that New Orleans

Line (15) was relatively isolated and communication

Line (16) in the growing United States was not as

Line (17) simple as it is today. Thus, it is possible that

Line (18) the British commanders and the American

Line (19) general, Andrew Jackson, did not realize a

Line (20) treaty had been signed before they started

Line (21) their battle. A second reason is that there is

Line (22) a difference between a signed treaty and a

Line (23) ratified treaty. Even if all soldiers fighting in

Line (24) and around New Orleans had known of the

Line (25) treaty, it had not yet been ratified by the U.S.

Line (26) Senate. Thus, though the Treaty of Ghent

Line (27) took place in December prior to the Battle of

Line (28) New Orleans, the war did not officially end

Line (29) until February 1815, when the Senate ratified

Line (30) the treaty.

Line (31) Had the combatants in New Orleans

Line (32) known of the treaty, they might have

Line (33) avoided a tough battle, especially the

Line (34) British. In the battle, a force of about 4,000

Line (35) American troops decisively defeated an

Line (36) enemy of nearly twice its size. At stake for

Line (37) the soldiers was control of the waterways of

Line (38) the Mississippi, and the fighting was fierce.

Line (39) A combination of tactical mistakes and bad

Line (40) weather doomed the British attack, costing

Line (41) them nearly 2,000 soldiers injured or killed.

Line (42) The Americans lost fewer than 200. But

Line (43) was the terrible battle all for nothing? Some

Line (44) historians suggest that victory that day was

Line (45) crucial for the American military in order

Line (46) to enforce and help quickly ratify the peace

Line (47) treaty. Potentially, with an American loss in

Line (48) New Orleans, the British could have found

Line (49) hope to continue the conflict.

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Questions 7—12

Line (1) According to game maker Hasbro,

Line (2) approximately 750 million people have

Line (3) played the well-known game Monopoly

Line (4) since it was invented in the 1930s. Charles

Line (5) Darrow is typically credited as the inventor

Line (6) of the world’s most famous board game.

Line (7) However, he likely derived his version of

Line (8) Monopoly from one of several other games

Line (9) similarly involving realty buying and selling

Line (10) that were already in existence prior to the

Line (11) 1930s when he got his patent for the game.

Line (12) A probable reason that Darrow’s

Line (13) Monopoly became the hugely successful

Line (14) game that still exists today is that he took

Line (15) a diligent approach to producing it. Other

Line (16) similar games existed, but some of them

Line (17) had no board or regulation pieces. With

Line (18) help from his wife and son who adorned the

Line (19) sets with detail, Darrow personally created

Line (20) the pieces and boards that became the first

Line (21) Monopoly game sets. His extra work in

Line (22) creating the entire environment that players

Line (23) needed gave his game something extra that

Line (24) other variations did not have.

Line (25) Darrow had marginal success selling

Line (26) his games in various parts of the country.

Line (27) Several Philadelphia area stores were

Line (28) the first to carry his game and sell it in

Line (29) large quantities. Despite this, Darrow had

Line (30) difficulty selling his game to the major game

Line (31) manufacturer of the time, Parker Brothers.

Line (32) He was told that his game was too complex

Line (33) and had fundamental errors in its design

Line (34) that would limit its appeal. Ultimately, the

Line (35) continued sales he managed on his own

Line (36) forced Parker Brothers to reassess the

Line (37) worth of his game. Eventually, the company

Line (38) agreed to produce the game and shortly

Line (39) thereafter it became the bestselling game in

Line (40) the country.

Line (41) That success turned Charles Darrow

Line (42) into a millionaire, which is the ultimate

Line (43) irony. Darrow initially began work on

Line (44) Monopoly to help support himself and his

Line (45) family following the financial troubles tied

Line (46) to the stock market crash of 1929.

Line (47) Thus, Charles Darrow became a

Line (48) millionaire by producing a game that allows

Line (49) “regular” people to feel like they are buying

Line (50) and selling homes and real estate like

Line (51) millionaires.

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Questions 13—18

Line (1) Every year, hundreds of hopeful

Line (2) students arrive in Washington, D.C., in

Line (3) order to compete in the National Spelling

Line (4) Bee. This competition has been held

Line (5) annually since 1925 and is sponsored by

Line (6) E.W. Scripps Company. The sponsors

Line (7) provide both a trophy and a monetary award

Line (8) to the champion speller. In the competition,

Line (9) students under 16 years of age take turns

Line (10) attempting to properly spell words as

Line (11) provided by the moderator. The champion

Line (12) is the sole remaining student who does not

Line (13) make a mistake.

Line (14) Most American students are familiar

Line (15) with the concept of a spelling bee because

Line (16) it is practiced in many schools throughout

Line (17) the country. The National Spelling Bee,

Line (18) however, is a much bigger setting and

Line (19) showcases only the best spellers from all

Line (20) parts of the nation. Students who appear

Line (21) at the National Spelling Bee have already

Line (22) won competitions at local and state levels.

Line (23) Winning the competition nowadays requires

Line (24) the ability to perform under intense pressure

Line (25) against very talented students in front

Line (26) of a large audience. A student who wins

Line (27) the event in the twenty-first century will

Line (28) experience a much different challenge than

Line (29) the first winner, Frank Neuhauser, did in

Line (30) 1925 when he defeated only nine other

Line (31) competitors.

Line (32) Clearly, the 95 years of the National

Line (33) Spelling Bee’s existence attests to the

Line (34) importance of spelling in the English

Line (35) language. However, struggles with spelling

Line (36) English words go back much more than

Line (37) 95 years. The captivating thing about

Line (38) spelling correctly in English is that it is in

Line (39) many ways without rules. English language

Line (40) has a powerful capacity to absorb new

Line (41) words from other languages and in doing so

Line (42) make them “English” words. As a result of

Line (43) this ability to borrow from other languages,

Line (44) the sheer number of words in English is

Line (45) much higher than any other language. Thus,

Line (46) spelling in many other languages involves

Line (47) fewer words, fewer rules, and fewer odd

Line (48) exceptions to those rules. It turns out that a

Line (49) spelling bee in most other languages would

Line (50) be a waste of time. Why is that? Well,

Line (51) without the myriad exceptions to common

Line (52) vocabulary, there would be very few words

Line (53) that everyone didn’t already know.

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Questions 19—24

Line (1) The idea of black holes was developed

Line (2) by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916. Since then,

Line (3) many different scientists have added to the

Line (4) theory of black holes in space. A black hole

Line (5) is usually defined as a very dense celestial

Line (6) body from which nothing, not even light,

Line (7) can escape. But from what do black holes

Line (8) originate?

Line (9) A black hole begins as a star. A star

Line (10) burns hydrogen, and this process, called

Line (11) fusion, releases energy. The energy released

Line (12) outward works against the star’s own

Line (13) gravity pulling inward and prevents the star

Line (14) from collapsing. After millions of years

Line (15) of burning hydrogen, the star eventually

Line (16) runs out of fuel. At this point, the star’s

Line (17) own gravity and weight cause it to start

Line (18) contracting.

Line (19) If the star is small and not very heavy,

Line (20) it will shrink just a little and become a white

Line (21) dwarf when it runs out of fuel. White dwarf

Line (22) stars do not emit much energy, so they are

Line (23) usually not visible without a telescope.

Line (24) If the star is bigger and heavier, it will

Line (25) collapse very quickly in an implosion. If the

Line (26) matter that remains is not much heavier than

Line (27) our Sun, it will eventually become a very

Line (28) dense neutron star. However, if the matter

Line (29) that remains is more than 1.7 times the

Line (30) mass of our Sun, there will not be enough

Line (31) outward pressure to resist the force of

Line (32) gravity, and the collapse will continue. The

Line (33) result is a black hole.

Line (34) The black hole will have a boundary

Line (35) around it called the horizon. Light and

Line (36) matter can pass over this boundary to enter,

Line (37) but they cannot pass back out again—this is

Line (38) why the hole appears black. The gravity and

Line (39) density of the black hole prevent anything

Line (40) from escaping.

Line (41) Scientists are still adding to the black

Line (42) hole theory. They think they may have

Line (43) found black holes in several different

Line (44) galaxies, and as they learn more about them,

Line (45) scientists will be able to understand more

Line (46) about how black holes are formed and what

Line (47) happens as the holes change.

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Questions 25—30

Line (1) The midterm elections of 2014 had

Line (2) the lowest voter turnout of any American

Line (3) election cycle since World War II, with only

Line (4) 36.4 percent of the eligible voting public

Line (5) casting a ballot. What is most disturbing

Line (6) about this number is that it was less than

Line (7) 100 years ago that 200 women marched on

Line (8) the White House, incurring public scorn,

Line (9) arrest, and even torture, to secure the vote

Line (10) for half the American public.

Line (11) Women’s Suffrage, the movement

Line (12) dedicated to securing women’s right to

Line (13) vote in the United States, began in earnest

Line (14) in the 1840s. Several Women’s Rights

Line (15) Conventions were held throughout the 19th

Line (16) century, beginning with the Seneca Falls

Line (17) Convention of 1848, during which attendees

Line (18) officially passed a resolution in favor of

Line (19) Women’s Suffrage. Over the next 70 years,

Line (20) many brave women fought for the cause of

Line (21) basic gender equality.

Line (22) This fight came to a head in 1917, when

Line (23) members of the National Women’s Party,

Line (24) led by Alice Paul, picketed outside the

Line (25) White House in order to influence President

Line (26) Wilson and Congress to pass an amendment

Line (27) to the United States Constitution that

Line (28) would enfranchise women and guarantee

Line (29) their voting rights. This was the first time

Line (30) in the history of the United States that the

Line (31) White House was picketed, and it was

Line (32) done so in an orderly and peaceful fashion.

Line (33) After months of nonviolent protest, police

Line (34) arrested over 200 women for blocking a

Line (35) public sidewalk in July 1917.

Line (36) Paul and many of her followers

Line (37) underwent a hunger strike during their

Line (38) incarceration to protest the deplorable

Line (39) conditions of the prison, which resulted

Line (40) in many women being force-fed and Paul

Line (41) herself being moved to the psychiatric

Line (42) ward of the hospital. The rest were sent

Line (43) to the Occoquan Workhouse. It was at

Line (44) this workhouse that the most terrible and

Line (45) significant event of the Women’s Suffrage

Line (46) movement would occur. Dubbed the “Night

Line (47) of Terror,” 44 guards armed with clubs

Line (48) attacked 33 women protesters as they

Line (49) returned to the house. They were brutally

Line (50) beaten, choked, and one was stabbed to

Line (51) death. These events infuriated the nation

Line (52) when they were exposed, and within two

Line (53) weeks a judge had ordered the prisoners

Line (54) released and cleared of all charges.

Line (55) Due to the widespread gain of support

Line (56) these women earned through their peaceful

Line (57) protest and physical endurance, as well as

Line (58) the work of countless men and women of

Line (59) the previous 70 years, the 19th Amendment

Line (60) was added to the Constitution three years

Line (61) later, on August 20, 1920.

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Questions 31—36

Line (1) He was one of the greatest scientists of

Line (2) this age. In fact, he was perhaps one of the

Line (3) greatest scientists of any age. Yet he owed

Line (4) much of his success not to mathematics

Line (5) or physics or any other science but to a

Line (6) disease. He was Stephen Hawking.

Line (7) Born in 1942, three hundred years after

Line (8) the death of Galileo, Stephen Hawking

Line (9) had an unimpressive start to his scholarly

Line (10) pursuits. At his revered English primary

Line (11) school, St. Albans, he was considered by

Line (12) his teachers a good, but not exceptional,

Line (13) student. It was not evident at the time that

Line (14) he would become internationally acclaimed

Line (15) as a leader in several scientific fields.

Line (16) He continued this moderately successful

Line (17) academic trend at University College in

Line (18) Oxford. Again, his professors thought him

Line (19) to be intelligent, but not extraordinary in

Line (20) his efforts. Both his cleverness and lack

Line (21) of diligence were noticed by some of his

Line (22) instructors.

Line (23) After graduating from Oxford, he

Line (24) continued to Cambridge, another excellent

Line (25) school. Clearly, Hawking was moving

Line (26) forward into a good science career.

Line (27) However, it was at this time that he

Line (28) encountered a life-changing challenge. He

Line (29) was diagnosed with a disease that affects

Line (30) and damages the nervous system. That

Line (31) meant that he was eventually going to lose

Line (32) control of his muscles and spend his life in

Line (33) a wheelchair. Surprisingly though, Hawking

Line (34) credited this event with making his outlook

Line (35) on life strong again. He claimed that until

Line (36) then, he was often bored by life. For a man

Line (37) with such a powerful mind, that makes

Line (38) sense. He was talented, but he saw little use

Line (39) for his talent and felt no pressure to work

Line (40) hard. His diagnosis and impending physical

Line (41) problems forced him to start living life to

Line (42) the fullest.

Line (43) Most of Stephen Hawking’s

Line (44) contributions to science came after learning

Line (45) of his disease. His work in the field of

Line (46) physics has influenced the greatest scientists

Line (47) alive. Though he passed away before the

Line (48) technology became possible, he had hoped

Line (49) to take a trip into space with the help of

Line (50) influential friends. Though he moved only

Line (51) with a special wheelchair and spoke only

Line (52) with the help of a computerized speech

Line (53) enhancer for the last several decades of his

Line (54) life, he still had the ability to contribute

Line (55) to the world. He credited his disease

Line (56) with forcing him to face the limited time

Line (57) available in one lifetime. Stephen Hawking

Line (58) made a crippling disease the source of one

Line (59) of the greatest scientific careers the world

Line (60) has known. Through his misfortune, he

Line (61) learned to reach his greatest potential.

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Questions 1—6

Line (1) When most people think of the history

Line (2) of transportation, they think of the invention

Line (3) of the wheel as the starting point. The

Line (4) wheel was invented around 3500 B.C.E.,

Line (5) more than 5,000 years ago. Before then,

Line (6) transportation was a difficult process,

Line (7) especially for those who had anything to

Line (8) carry. During prehistoric times, the only

Line (9) way to get around was to walk. Children

Line (10) and possessions were strapped to someone’s

Line (11) back if they needed to be carried. If the

Line (12) load was too heavy for one person, it could

Line (13) be strapped to a pole and carried by two.

Line (14) The sledge was developed as a way to

Line (15) drag a heavy load. Sledges were originally

Line (16) just logs or pieces of animal skin upon

Line (17) which a load was strapped and dragged.

Line (18) In time, runners were put on the sledge,

Line (19) and it evolved to what is now called a sled.

Line (20) Around 5000 B.C.E., the first animals were

Line (21) domesticated, or tamed. Then, donkeys and

Line (22) oxen were used to carry heavy loads and

Line (23) pull sledges. It wasn’t until almost 1,500

Line (24) years later that wheeled vehicles appeared.

Line (25) It is believed that the wheel was invented

Line (26) in Mesopotamia, in the Middle East. About

Line (27) 300 years later, the Egyptians invented the

Line (28) sailboat. These two inventions changed

Line (29) transportation forever.

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Questions 7—12

Line (1) Bison and buffalo are not the same

Line (2) animal. For years, American bison were

Line (3) mistakenly referred to as buffalo. Due to

Line (4) this confusion, there are many references

Line (5) to buffalo in the United States. There is the

Line (6) city of Buffalo in northwestern New York

Line (7) state. In addition, the buffalo appeared

Line (8) on the U.S. nickel for many years at the

Line (9) beginning of the twentieth century. This is

Line (10) often referred to as the “Buffalo Nickel” to

Line (11) distinguish it from the current nickel with

Line (12) Thomas Jefferson on the front. Buffalo are

Line (13) actually found in Asia, Africa, and South

Line (14) America. Bison roamed the North American

Line (15) western plains by the millions just a couple

Line (16) of centuries ago. Because the bison were so

Line (17) widely hunted, however, their numbers fell

Line (18) greatly. In fact, as of a century ago, there

Line (19) were only about 500 left. They were deemed

Line (20) near extinction, but due to conservation

Line (21) efforts, their numbers have increased. There

Line (22) are approximately 50,000 bison living today

Line (23) in protected parks. Though they may never

Line (24) be as abundant as they once were, they are

Line (25) not in danger of extinction as long as they

Line (26) remain protected.

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Questions 13—18

Line (1) The Greek philosopher Aristotle

Line (2) had many students, but perhaps none so

Line (3) famous as Alexander the Great. As a child,

Line (4) Alexander was known for his intelligence

Line (5) and bravery. The lessons he learned from

Line (6) Aristotle left him with a lifelong love of

Line (7) books and learning. But it was not his love

Line (8) of books that made him famous. Alexander,

Line (9) in 336 B.C.E., became the king of a small

Line (10) Greek kingdom called Macedonia. He was

Line (11) only twenty at the time. He went on to

Line (12) invade country after country: Persia (now

Line (13) known as Iran), Egypt, and all the way

Line (14) to parts of India and Pakistan. Alexander

Line (15) conquered most of what was then the

Line (16) “civilized world.” He brought with him the

Line (17) Greek way of thinking and doing things. He

Line (18) is considered one of the great generals and

Line (19) kings of history and is responsible for the

Line (20) spread of Greek culture throughout much of

Line (21) the world.

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Questions 19—24

Line (1) Everyone has had attacks of the

Line (2) hiccups, or hiccoughs, at one point in his or

Line (3) her life. Few people, however, think about

Line (4) what is happening to them and how hiccups

Line (5) begin and end.

Line (6) The diaphragm is a large muscle,

Line (7) shaped like a dome, that sits at the base

Line (8) of the chest cavity. As one breathes, the

Line (9) diaphragm gently contracts and relaxes

Line (10) to help the process. Occasionally, an

Line (11) irritation near the diaphragm or a disease

Line (12) may cause the muscle to spasm, or contract

Line (13) suddenly. The spasm will suck air into the

Line (14) lungs past the vocal cords. A small flap

Line (15) called the epiglottis tops the vocal cords so

Line (16) that food will not accidentally enter into

Line (17) the windpipe. The sudden spasm of the

Line (18) diaphragm causes the epiglottis to close

Line (19) quickly. Imagine the pull of air into the

Line (20) vocal cords from the spastic diaphragm

Line (21) hitting the closed epiglottis. This moves

Line (22) the vocal cords, causing the “hic” sound

Line (23) of the hiccup. Although most people don’t

Line (24) really worry about the hiccups, attacks may

Line (25) last for days. The exhaustion of hiccupping

Line (26) for days on end has been fatal in certain

Line (27) rare cases. Home remedies abound—from

Line (28) breathing into paper bags to squeezing on

Line (29) pressure points that supposedly relax the

Line (30) diaphragm.

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Questions 25—30

Line (1) During the winter months in many

Line (2) regions, food can be extremely scarce. For

Line (3) the wildlife of these areas, this can be a

Line (4) great problem unless animals have some

Line (5) mechanism that allows them to adapt. Some

Line (6) animals migrate to warmer climates. Others

Line (7) hibernate to conserve energy and decrease

Line (8) the need for food. Prior to hibernation, an

Line (9) animal will generally eat a lot to build up a

Line (10) store of fat. The animal’s system will “feed”

Line (11) off the fat stores throughout the long cold

Line (12) winter months. When the animal hibernates,

Line (13) its body temperature decreases and its body

Line (14) functions slow down considerably. The

Line (15) dormouse’s heartbeat, for example, slows

Line (16) down to just a beat every few minutes. Its

Line (17) breathing also becomes slow and its body

Line (18) temperature drops to just a few degrees

Line (19) above the temperature of the ground around

Line (20) it. All these changes decrease the need for

Line (21) fuel and allow the animal to survive long

Line (22) periods without any food. It is a mistake

Line (23) to think that all hibernating animals sleep

Line (24) for the whole winter. In fact, many animals

Line (25) hibernate for short spurts during the winter.

Line (26) They may wake for an interval of mild

Line (27) weather. Scientists have now discovered

Line (28) the chemical that triggers hibernation. If

Line (29) this chemical is injected in an animal in the

Line (30) summer months, it can cause the animal to

Line (31) go into summer hibernation.

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Questions 31—36

Line (1) The theater is one of the richest art

Line (2) forms. The excitement of opening night

Line (3) can be felt by the people waiting to watch

Line (4) a performance and by the performers and

Line (5) workers backstage waiting for the curtain

Line (6) to go up. Live theater is thrilling because

Line (7) no one really knows how well the play

Line (8) will go until it is performed. Many people

Line (9) collaborate to bring a play to life. There

Line (10) are playwrights, directors, set designers,

Line (11) costumers, lighting technicians, and,

Line (12) of course, actors. If the performance is

Line (13) a musical, the skills of a songwriter, a

Line (14) choreographer (the person who composes

Line (15) the dances), and musicians are also

Line (16) required. The word theater comes from the

Line (17) Greek theatron, which means “a place for

Line (18) seeing.” One concept from Greek theater

Line (19) that is still seen in some plays today is the

Line (20) “Greek Chorus.” This consists of several

Line (21) actors/characters watching the action of the

Line (22) play (almost like the audience) and then

Line (23) commenting on what they just saw with

Line (24) either reactions or dialogue. Although most

Line (25) people think of the theater in terms of a play

Line (26) performed on the stage, theater has taken

Line (27) on a much broader meaning in the modern

Line (28) world. You may find yourself walking into

Line (29) a theater with no seats in the rows. Instead,

Line (30) you are seated among the set pieces, which

Line (31) makes you part of the setting. Sometimes

Line (32) theater may come to life on a street corner,

Line (33) or in a classroom. The excitement of theater

Line (34) is in its very nature—it is an art form that

Line (35) changes as it is interpreted in different

Line (36) ways by different people. That is probably

Line (37) why the works of the greatest playwright

Line (38) of all time, William Shakespeare, are still

Line (39) performed and enjoyed today, both in

Line (40) classic and new interpretations.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Questions 1—5

Line (1) “What’s that noise?” my brother asked.

Line (2) I listened carefully. Just when I thought

Line (3) I heard a small noise, the thunder crashed

Line (4) again. The rain was hitting the roof hard,

Line (5) too, making it difficult to hear anything. “I

Line (6) don’t hear it,” I said.

Line (7) “What do you mean you don’t hear

Line (8) it? It’s so loud!” my brother whispered.

Line (9) Then I heard it. It was a click-click-click,

Line (10) and it sounded like it was coming from the

Line (11) bathroom.

Line (12) “Maybe it’s a monster. We should go

Line (13) get Mom,” my brother said. I didn’t want

Line (14) to be a scaredy-cat, and I knew Mom was

Line (15) probably asleep. Besides, I’d have to walk

Line (16) past the bathroom to get to her.

Line (17) Click-click-click. I told my brother to

Line (18) go to sleep, but he said, “I can’t. We have to

Line (19) see what it is.”

Line (20) “Okay,” I said. I pretended I was

Line (21) very brave, and got up and marched to the

Line (22) bathroom. When I saw what was making the

Line (23) noise, I laughed out loud. My brother came

Line (24) running down the hall, asking, “What is it?”

Line (25) Then, he poked his head in the door and

Line (26) looked in the bathtub. There was our dog,

Line (27) Mack. He was so scared of the thunder that

Line (28) he was hiding in the tub! He sat there with

Line (29) his head down, shivering. His toenails went

Line (30) click-click-click against the ceramic tub as

Line (31) he turned to look at us.

Line (32) “Poor Mack! He’s more scared than

Line (33) we were,” I said. We brought Mack into our

Line (34) bedroom and petted him until he stopped

Line (35) shaking. Then, we all went to sleep.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Questions 6—10

This story is adapted from an African folktale that explains why the sun and moon are in the sky.

Line (1) Long ago, the sun and the moon and the

Line (2) water all lived on Earth. The sun and moon

Line (3) were married and they were friends with

Line (4) the water. The sun and moon often went to

Line (5) visit the water where he lived, but the water

Line (6) never returned their visits.

Line (7) One day, the moon said to the water,

Line (8) “Why do you never come to visit us?”

Line (9) The water replied, “My people and I

Line (10) take up a lot of room. I do not think you have

Line (11) enough room in your house for all my people

Line (12) and me. I would like to visit you, but I do not

Line (13) want to crowd your home.”

Line (14) The moon said, “Well, then we shall

Line (15) build a bigger house so that you can visit.”

Line (16) “I would like that,” said the water, “but

Line (17) it must be a very big place.”

Line (18) So the moon and the sun built a huge

Line (19) palace. It took many months, but finally it

Line (20) was finished. They sent word to the water to

Line (21) come and visit.

Line (22) The next day, the water came. It stayed

Line (23) outside the gates and called inside. “I have

Line (24) arrived, my friends. Shall I come in?”

Line (25) The sun and moon said together, “Yes,

Line (26) of course. Come in.” So the water came

Line (27) through the gates. So, too, came the fishes

Line (28) and the crabs and the other water-dwelling

Line (29) creatures.

Line (30) The water filled the palace so much that

Line (31) the sun and moon were forced to move up

Line (32) to the top floor. “Are you sure you want me

Line (33) to continue?” the water asked.

Line (34) “Of course, come in,” said the sun and

Line (35) moon. So the water continued.

Line (36) Soon the water had filled the house

Line (37) completely, and the sun and moon were

Line (38) perched on the roof. “Are you sure?” asked

Line (39) the water.

Line (40) “Yes, yes. You are welcome here,” said

Line (41) the moon and sun. And so the water flowed

Line (42) more, until the moon and sun had to jump

Line (43) into the sky. They have stayed there ever

Line (44) since.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Questions 11—15

Line (1) Not all bees live in colonies. Some bees

Line (2) live all alone in a nest built for one. Most

Line (3) of us, however, when we think of bees and

Line (4) wasps, think of huge groups of insects,

Line (5) working together in a cohesive social

Line (6) unit. The hive is, in many ways, a perfect

Line (7) example of a social system. Inside the hive,

Line (8) bees raise their young and store honey. The

Line (9) queen honeybee, for example, may lay up to

Line (10) 1,500 eggs a day in the summer. The drone

Line (11) bees mate with the queen and die. The

Line (12) worker bees gather food, care for the hive

Line (13) and the young, and protect the hive. The

Line (14) stored pollen and honey will feed the colony

Line (15) throughout the cold winter months. Inside

Line (16) a hive there is one queen, a few hundred

Line (17) drones, and as many as 40,000 workers.

Line (18) The expression “busy as a bee” is certainly

Line (19) appropriate when you consider the work

Line (20) that bees perform.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Questions 16—20

Line (1) A wealthy contributor to the arts,

Line (2) Isabella Stewart Gardner was born in New

Line (3) York in 1840. She married John Lowell

Line (4) Gardner, a wealthy heir, and settled in

Line (5) Boston, Massachusetts. When her only son

Line (6) died as a young child, she devoted her life

Line (7) to the arts. Assisted by Bernard Berenson,

Line (8) a young art critic, she began collecting

Line (9) important works of art. After her husband

Line (10) died in 1898, she purchased land for the

Line (11) construction of a museum and worked for

Line (12) years overseeing its creation. She actually

Line (13) lived in the museum until her death in 1924.

Line (14) Her museum became a gathering place for

Line (15) artists, writers, and celebrities. She was

Line (16) considered quite eccentric, often shunning

Line (17) Boston “society” in favor of more colorful

Line (18) characters. She gave her wonderful museum

Line (19) to the city of Boston, to be preserved as a

Line (20) public museum. Today, if you visit Boston,

Line (21) you can admire the work of Isabella Stewart

Line (22) Gardner.

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In this section, passages or poems have been made available to view as text. The design of these sections has been adapted for ebook, and that the appearance may differ from what you may encounter on the actual test.

Questions 21—25

Line (1) Charlotte Perkins Gilman lived from

Line (2) 1860 to 1935. She lived during a time when

Line (3) most women in America and Europe had

Line (4) few educational opportunities. For most of

Line (5) Gilman’s life, women could not even vote.

Line (6) Gilman had many ideas for how to improve

Line (7) women’s lives.

Line (8) Because she grew up in a family that

Line (9) was not wealthy, Gilman read a lot in order

Line (10) to educate herself. When she was eighteen,

Line (11) however, she attended the Rhode Island

Line (12) School of Design. She worked her way

Line (13) through school by tutoring and teaching.

Line (14) Gilman eventually began publishing

Line (15) books, articles, poems, and even a monthly

Line (16) magazine of her own. She also lectured

Line (17) to large groups. Much of her writing and

Line (18) speaking focused on allowing women to

Line (19) use their natural talents and intelligence by

Line (20) giving them access to education and jobs

Line (21) that paid well. By offering lots of different

Line (22) ideas and ways to change society, Gilman

Line (23) helped women gain the right to live full,

Line (24) productive lives.

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