(04) SAT - STANDARD ENGLISH CONVENTIONS & LOGICAL TRANSITION

The US Geological Survey wants to map every human-made structure in the United States, and it is asking volunteers to help. Cassie Tammy Wang and Ashish D’Souza are just two of the many volunteer map editors who _______ to the project since it began in 2012.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• contribute

• will contribute

• have contributed

• will be contributing

Smaller than poppy seeds, tardigrades are tiny, but they are tough. These minuscule animals can survive for thirty years without food or water, and _______ can withstand extreme temperatures as low as minus 328 degrees and as high as 304 degrees Fahrenheit.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• that

• it

• they

• he

Emperor penguins don’t waddle out of the ocean. They launch themselves at such a high speed that they travel up to two meters before landing. How _______ A layer of microbubbles on their plumage reduces friction as the penguins speed to the surface.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• they are able to move so fast!

• are they able to move so fast.

• they are able to move so fast.

• are they able to move so fast?

Before the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, transporting goods by wagon between New York City and the Midwest took up to forty-five days and cost one hundred dollars per ton. By linking the Hudson River to Lake _______ canal reduced transport time to nine days and cut costs to
six dollars per ton.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• Erie; the

• Erie (the

• Erie, the

• Erie: the

Generations of mystery and horror _______ have been influenced by the dark, gothic stories of celebrated American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809−1849).

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• writers

• writers,

• writers—

• writers;

Midway through her 1968 jazz album A Monastic Trio, Alice Coltrane switches instruments, swapping the piano for the harp. With the same fluid style that Coltrane was famous for on piano, she _______ her fingers across the harp strings and creates a radiant sound.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• sweep

• are sweeping

• were sweeping

• sweeps

Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz used the metaphor of the “butterfly effect” to explain how seemingly minor events can have major impacts on future weather. According to Lorenz’s metaphor, the wind from a butterfly flapping _______ in Brazil might eventually grow into a storm elsewhere across the globe.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• its wings

• its wings’

• it’s wing’s

• it’s wings’

On sunny days, dark rooftops absorb solar energy and convert it to unwanted heat, raising the surrounding air _______ a light-colored covering to an existing dark roof, either by attaching prefabricated reflective sheets or spraying on a paint-like coating, helps combat this effect.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• temperature; by adding

• temperature, adding

• temperature. Adding

• temperature by adding

The haiku-like poems of Tomas Tranströmer, which present nature- and dream-influenced images in crisp, spare language, have earned the Swedish poet praise from leading contemporary _______ them Nigerian American essayist and novelist Teju Cole, who has written that Tranströmer’s works “contain a luminous simplicity.”

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• writers. Among

• writers among

• writers; among

• writers, among

In studying whether jellyfish sleep, researchers Michael Abrams, Claire Bedbrook, and Ravi Nath attempted to answer three questions. _______ is there a period each day when the pulse rates of jellyfish decline? Second, do jellyfish respond more slowly to stimuli during that period? Finally, if prevented from sleeping, are jellyfish adversely affected?

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• As a result,

• First,

• Additionally,

• However,