PSAT Reading

How would the authors of Passage 2 most likely respond to the “prospect” referred to in line 21, Passage 1?

• With approval, because it illustrates how useful de-extinction could be in addressing widespread environmental concerns.

• With resignation, because the gradual extinction of many living species is inevitable.

• With concern, because it implies an easy solution to a difficult problem.

• With disdain, because it shows that people have little understanding of the importance of genetic diversity.

Which choice would best support the claim that the authors of Passage 2 recognize that the “imagination soars” (line 24, Passage 1) in response to de-extinction technology?

• Lines 28-30 (“The . . . news”)

• Lines 30-33 (“Yet . . . crisis”)

• Lines 58-59 (“That . . . altogether”)

• Lines 61-63 (“For . . . diversity”)

As used in line 10, “plot” most nearly means

• mark.

• form.

• plan.

• claim.

• No Idea

As used in line 45, “post” most nearly means

• publish.

• transfer.

• assign.

• denounce.

• No Idea

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

• Lines 22-26 (“Empowered . . . connectedness”)

• Lines 40-42 (“We no longer . . . ideas”)

• Lines 47-50 (“We are moving . . . socialstructing”)

• Lines 66-72 (“amplified . . . ease”)

• No Idea

The author recognizes counterarguments to the position she takes in the passage by

• acknowledging the risks and drawbacks associated with new technologies and social networks.

• admitting that some people spend too much time unproductively on the Internet.

• drawing an analogy between conditions today and conditions in the Soviet Union of the 1960s and 1970s.

• conceding that the drawbacks of socialstructing may prove over time to outweigh the benefits.

• No Idea

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

• Lines 35-37 (“We can look . . . videos”)

• Lines 74-76 (“a world . . . hackers”)

• Lines 79-84 (“They . . . science”)

• Lines 85-87 (“Much . . . time”)

• No Idea

The references to the shoemaker, the programmer, and the apple farmer in lines 37-40 (“We can easily . . . community”) primarily serve to

• illustrate the quality of products and services in countries around the world.

• emphasize the broad reach of technologies used to connect people.

• demonstrate that recommendations made online are trustworthy.

• call attention to the limits of the expansion of the global economy.

• No Idea

Pauline's loneliness is different from the loneliness she felt back home (lines 9-10) because

• she's more bored than lonely.

• her family has abandoned her.

• she wants Cholly to be more romantic.

• she shouldn't feel lonely with Cholly.

Answer explanation

Although there is a state of ease (line 5) in the relationship between Pauline and Cholly, there is intense loneliness for Pauline. There does not appear to be more intimacy because the loneliness prevails. It can be inferred that back home she was living with her family and she would expect her husband to fulfill her need for companionship.

Question 242 from Toni Morrison's novel: The passage suggest that going to the movies will

• inspire Pauline to become an actress.

• inspire Pauline to demand more respect from Cholly.

• only make Pauline more unhappy with her life.

• create financial strain on the family.

Answer explanation

Because the narrator states that romantic love and physical beauty are probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought (lines 15-16) because they both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion, it can be inferred that Pauline will become more unhappy as these ideas were introduced in the movies.