Writing & Language Drill 2

For each question in this section, circle the letter of the best answer from among the choices given.
Questions 1-11. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

A Change of Direction

Try to picture a film director: what do you see? Is it the

old-Hollywood man with his monocle and riding crop? 0
Or the brooding bearded guy guiding a series of confused
actors through the secret finished project in his mind?
Whoever you see, you almost certainly see a man. Film
direction has often been criticized for being a boys' club,
but things may be slowly changing with the stunning 8
rise of director. Kathryn Bigelow.
In the long history of the Academy Awards, only four
female directors have ever been nominated for Best
Director. • Bigelow was the first to win, for 2008 's The
Hurt Locker. Since 1982, Bigelow has been producing
films of astounding quality, and the public has responded.
e Catherine Breillat and Chantal Akerman are critically
admired, few people know Fat Girl or Je Tu II Elle . A
much broader public knows about The Hurt Locker and
Bigelow's most recent film Zero Dark Thirty, detailing
the lead-up to the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Bigelow
has certainly made a name for herself, and ~ ~
bit, she may be changing the landscape of Hollywood
incrementally.
Bigelow was born in San Carlos, CA, in 1951, and
after high school, she CD mlkd in the San Francisco Art
Institute, where she learned . the ins and outs of the art
Mlrld.. It was this interest in visual media that led her on
to the graduate program in film at Columbia University,
where she made many prominent contacts in film and film
criticism. A few years after finishing at Columbia, Bigelow
directed her first full-length feature, The Loveless (1982) .
The film was the first in a series 0 with strong female pro-
tagonists, so in addition to breaking down gender barriers
in the profession, Bigelow has also torn down the arbitrary
notion of what a "women's film" might be expected to
look like. 41) After all, her most famous work is in the
military drama, and what could be more stereotypically
masculine than that?
Bigelow's most important lesson to Hollywood has
been to show that great film CD> ~ neither masculine nor
feminine. "I can't change my gender," she has famously
insisted, "and I refuse to stop making movies." Bigelow
hopes now that more women will get in to directing
and that the industry will catch up with a set of gender
standards that 4D are way different. With Bigelow as
inspiration , we can only hope that film can reach its real
potential without being shackled by old and meaningless
demographic categories.

32 I 500+ Practice Questions for the New SAT

Page 1 of 8
1. Which of the following sentences would be most in 7. A) NO CHANGE
keeping with the tone and theme of this paragraph? B) art.
C) about art.
A) Or the nerdy guy with his round spectacles
D) some of the arts.
whining instructions to the actors?
B) Or do you not know how important the role of
the director actually is? 8. Which of the following best completes the idea
C) This image comes from many of the German expressed in this sentence?
emigre directors of the 1920s and 1930s.
D) Hollywood has long been filled with many A) NOCHANGE
eccentric directors. B) that were produced by a variety of studios,
C) interested in the structure of violence,
D) OMIT the underlined portion.
2. A) NO CHANGE
B) rise of director Kathryn Bigelow. 9. A) NO CHANGE
C) rise, of director, Kathryn Bigelow.
B) However,
D) rise, of director Kathryn Bigelow. C) Come on,
D) Even so,
3. The writer is considering adding the phrase "while
all the other awards went to male directors" after 10. A) NO CHANGE
the word Director and before the period. Should the B) had been
writer add this phrase here?
C) were
A) Yes, because it adds an essential piece of D) is
information not given elsewhere in the passage.
B) Yes, because the reader will not understand
Kathryn Bigelow's achievements without it. 11. A) NO CHANGE
C) No, because it is already implied in the sentence B) changed long ago.
as it is written. C) couldn't have been predicted.
D) No, because it suggests that female directors are D) are sure to be outdated to anyone who thinks
not capable of winning the award. about it.

4. A) NO CHANGE
B) And Catherine
C) Because Catherine
D) While Catherine

5. A) NO CHANGE
B) one day at a time,
C) ever so slightly,
D) OMIT the underlined portion.

6. A) NO CHANGE
B) enrolled
C) unrolled
D) rickrolled

Writing and Language Drills I 33

Page 2 of 8
 Questions 12-22. Read thefol/owing passage carefully
before you choose your answers.

Research With a Brain ... and Another Brain

As technology makes (J in. way into every facet of our

I/) 100
lives, more jobs reward expertise in a number of fields. Q.

Bioinformatics, at the intersection of computer science and (.)

e 90 • Soybean
biology, is one such field that has already had a CIi ~ II 80
Ie Cotton
dous and large impact on the way we live today. Because !E
"D
o Maize
0 70
it requires technical proficiency in a number of fields, :&
aI 60
bioinformatics can seem (J) intimidating. but the field is c
always growing and can lead practitioners down a number "ii
:I 50
"D
of fascinating paths. C
.3 40
Bioinformatics made news early this century with what
is arguably one of the most remarkable scientific achieve- j 30
ments of our age: ® people have been talking about it !l! 20
E
eyer since. A process over twenty years in the making, the
Human Genome Project was completed in 2003. This work
would not have been possible with traditional pen-and-
-
(.)

~
::::I

0
10
0 l-
•
In nn 0 Q 0 ~
paper laboratory methods. Even with the many scientists 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
who worked on the project, the project required the sci-
Year
ence of (lb bioinformatics biological research that uses
computers to track, store, and read the data. This project
has enabled to scientists to begin to understand the basic
blueprint of a human being, and this understanding has
already led to huge gains in disease control.
While the Human Genome Project may grab the head-
lines, bioinformatics has a much more direct impact on
our lives for the advances it has enabled in the field of
agriculture. CiI Genetically-modified agricultural products
are more or less the norm today, and the achievements in
genetically-modified agriculture ® ~ all the work of
bioinformatics. Just as the Human Genome Project did
with humans, daily experiments work to map the genomes
of agricultural crops in order to understand how they grow.
This genomic information has been used, for example,
to increase some plants' nutritional value or to enable
them to grow in poor soil. The effects on the crop yields
of CV> soybeans. cotton. and. maize over the last twenty
years have been undeniable. The percentage of cultivated
land devoted to these genetically-modified soybeans, for
instance, has @J) shrunk to record lows in some cases.
There has been significant debate as to the ethical value
of bioinformatics and of genetically-modified crops and
meats. There is no question, however, that 6D it will con-
tinue to grow, and this may well be because the potential
benefits so far outweigh the potential risks. The food we
eat may not be as nature intended it, but we are at least
more protected from many of the famines that decimated
historical populations. And beyond its influence in agri-
culture, fi bioinformatics. neither discounted nor denied
with humans. records success.

34 I 500+ Practice Questions for the New SAT

Page 3 of 8
12. A) NO CHANGE 19. A) NO CHANGE
B) its B) soybeans cotton, and maize
C) its' C) soybeans, cotton, and maize
D) one's D) soybeans, cotton and maize,

13. A) NO CHANGE 20. Which of the following contains accurate data based
B) tremendous and not at all small on the graph?
C) tremendous, which is to say large,
A) NOCHANGE
D) tremendous
B) been entirely replaced
C) been limited to three crops
14. A) NO CHANGE D) grown by over 900%
B) intimidating but the
C) intimidating, but, the
21. A) NO CHANGE
D) intimidating, the
B) bioinformatics
C) they
15. Which of the following gives the most specific infor- D) plants
mation regarding the achievement mentioned in this
sentence?
22. A) NO CHANGE
A) NOCHANGE B) humans successfully deny and discount the
B) all of them worked really hard. record of bioinformatics and its science.
C) mapping the human genome. C) neither discounted nor denied, bioinformatics of
D) it's still not entirely complete. humans has been a recorded success.
D) bioinformatics has a record of success with
humans that cannot be discounted or denied .
16. A) NO CHANGE
B) bioinformatics biological
C) bioinformatics; biological
D) bioinformatics. Biological

17. The writer is considering deleting the phrase "in

the field of agriculture," ending the sentence with a
period after the word enabled. Should the phrase be
kept or deleted?
A) Kept, because the remainder of the paragraph
does not clarify which field is being discussed.
B) Kept, because the sentence is vague without this
information and does not adequately introduce
the topic of the paragraph.
C) Deleted, because it limits the scope of the
achievements of bioinformatics.
D) Deleted, because it distracts from the
paragraph's main focus on the Human Genome
Project.

18. A) NO CHANGE
B) is
C) can be
D) would have been

Writing and Language Drills I 35

Page 4 of 8
 Questions 23-31. Read the/allowing passage carefully
be/ore you choose your answers.
The Study of Man and a Whole Lot Else
[1]
Anthropology is built from roots that mean "the study
of man." That may seem like a pretty grandiose title for
such a minor science. Most people are not even sure
what anthropology is, let alone would consider it one of
the central disciplines in how we understand human life.
Nevertheless, upon closer inspection, we see that anthro-
pology is at the core of • both the social sciences and the
humanities as we understand those fields today,
[2]
Anthropology, unfortunately, was built, and it was at its
most popular exactly when it was at its most controver-
sial II on shaky foundations, That image of a European
dressed in 4i tbciI finery going out to gaze upon "the
natives" of Africa was the norm at the birth of anthropol-
ogy. [A] One of anthropology's earliest contributions to
the public imagination, in fact, was the stadial theory of
development-in other words, that European culture was
at the highest "stage" of development and the natives of
Africa or the aboriginals of the United States were many
stages behind. Moreover, these anthropologists believed
e
that we could essentially see our historical selves in
~ How they live now was a version of how we our-
selves must have lived when we were less civilized.
[3]
• After an inauspicious beginning. eyen so. the effects
on the world and its people were tremendous. [B] This
anthropological understanding influenced everything from
how European countries colonized "less civilized" parts
of the world to the wealthy classes treating the poor like
animals.
36 I 500+ Practice Questions for the New SAT
[4]
Today, the effects of this empathy can be seen every-
where. Literary critics analyze texts and authors not
according to one golden standard but according to the
particular circumstances and contexts of each work. [C]
Public-policymakers advise not according to what should
work according to its success in their hometowns or coun-
tries but to what should work in a particular place given
that ~ ~ need and population.
[5]
Anthropology has shown us how to live, and like the
best ~ anthropologists. it has done so quietly, not insist-
ing on its own superiority but by showing us how e
its work is a lot more interesting than the work of other
disciplines.
[6]
Anthropology still has a central place in the way we
think, but anthropology shifted in the twentieth century.
With the idea of "cultural relativism," German anthropolo-
gist Franz Boas explained that other cultures were not
"less" anything; ~ they were simply different. A single
standard of judgment was inappropriate for such a widely
varying field of cultures. [0] The early twentieth century
ushered in a new empathy, to the extent that we no longer
understood, say,African culture as a lesser culture but as
a different one, characterized by a cultural richness totally
separate from our own.
Page 5 of 8
23. A) NO CHANGE 30. Which of the following best concludes this para-
B) both the social sciences and the humanities, as graph and agrees with the main idea of the passage?
we understand those fields today. A) NOCHANGE
C) both the social sciences, and the humanities, as
B) it can work in our particular moment, location,
we understand those fields, today. and frame of mind.
D) both the social sciences and the humanities as
C) it has finally overcome its controversial
we understand those fields, today.
beginnings.
D) it should really get more credit for how
24. Assuming the punctuation were to be adjusted important it is.
accordingly, the best placement for the underlined
portion would be:
31. Which of the following most effectively completes
A) where it is now. the idea presented in the first part of this sentence?
B) after the word unfortunately.
A) NOCHANGE
C) after the word built.
B) they were beyond our comprehension entirely.
D) after the word popular.
C) they were "more" civilized than anyone else.
D) they were studying us the whole time.
25. A) NO CHANGE
B) they're
C) his Questions 32 and 33 ask about the preceding
D) the passage as a whole.

26. A) NO CHANGE
B) this.
C) them.
D) these native populations.
27. A) NO CHANGE
B) This beginning was inauspicious, but even then,
it had tremendous effects on how people saw the
world.
C) Inauspicious it may have been, but tremendous
also was the effect of this beginning on the
world.
D) The beginnings of this world were inauspicious,
but the effects of them were tremendous.
32. The best placement for Paragraph 6 would be:
A) where it is now.
B) after Paragraph 2.
C) after Paragraph 3.
D) after Paragraph 4.
33. Upon rereading the essay, the author concludes that
the following information has been left out:
Public-health officials figure out not how a
disease could be contained in the abstract but
within what the local conditions of the disease
outbreak will allow.
The sentence should be added at point:

28. A) NO CHANGE A) A.
B) place' B) B.
C) places' C) C.
D) place's D) D.

29. A) NO CHANGE
B) anthropologists. It has
C) anthropologists it has
D) anthropologists have

Writing and Language Drills I 37

Page 6 of 8
 Questions 34-44. Read the following passage carefully
before you choose your answers.

A Chicken in Every Pot

[1] The American Dream has taken many forms: the Goldhaft would also aid in the disbursement of the
big lawn, the white picket Ql fence. including also the 2.6 laryngo-virus vaccine developed by Rutgers scientist Frank
children. [2] That man was Arthur Goldhaft, the unsung Beaudette. The two of them collaborated on a freeze-
hero of twentieth-century poultry farming. [3] One of drying technique that would enable Beaudette to ship the
these American Dreams, "a chicken in every pot," has vaccine to whoever needed it.
very clear origins. [4] The scene is Vmeland, New Jersey, f» Goldhaft's story is inspiring for any number of
where a recent graduate of the veterinary school University reasons. First, it shows that humble origins do not need
of Pennsylvania has moved with his wife and children for to limit one's potential successes. Second, it shows that
a more countrified lifestyle than • Philadelphia in the education can truly make a difference in one's life. And
191Os. e third, it shows that hugely influential events can begin in
Goldhaft was born in Philadelphia in 1886. He went the most 81 remote place. A "chicken in every pot" may
to the Jewish Agricultural School in Woodbine, NJ. 4i have eventually been the promise of the Vineland Poultry
Suspecting that the school was one of the many reform Laboratories, but it was only really made possible by
schools the troubled Goldhaft was forced to attend as a a small-city veterinarian trying to feed his family. The
child, he Gl ~ to run away if necessary. In the end, he history of science is full of such 81 mIff. and it can be
did no such thing: the school taught Goldhaft and many comforting to think that many of the difficulties of contem-
others the techniques of scientific farming, and it mapped porary life are just one chance discovery away.
the course of the rest of Goldhaft's life.
In the 1920s, President Herbert Hoover promised a
"chicken in every pot," but agricultural science had trouble
keeping the chickens alive long enough to be edible. GIlA.
chicken b'Pically needs to be about 6-10 months to get to
an edible size. Goldhaft came to the rescue. His Vineland
Poultry Laboratories developed a fowl pox chicken vac-
cine, which saved billions of chickens from death . Then,
Goldhaft developed a reliable means for shipping the vac-
cine to all parts of the world, thus ensuring that everyone,
not just those in Vineland, could have a "chicken in (!J)
~ pot." Since 1909, chicken consumption in the United
States «D peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, as pork con-
sumption has remained relatively constant.

U.S. MEAT CONSUMPTION

90 - -----
80 _. _.

z 70
I -
_ .
- -
0
II)
iii: 60
W
A.
iii:
W
A.
50
40
- --
... .A. -.- ,..IA -
, \A. ~ .IV~
,..
.-
V'~
.A
Jv ,,-
' / -- ""
'" - - - - - -

"" -
I"'" ".
~
II)
Q
z 30 ....
I"""
:I
0 20 ~

- -
A.
10 ~ ~ - -= I
.- =-
0 =- • == '- j I
1909 1920
•
1931 1942 1953
• •
1964 1975 1986
•
1997 2008

• PORK • CHICKEN TURKEY

38 I 500+ Practice Questions forthe New SAT

Page 7 of 8
34. A) NO CHANGE 41. Which of the following contains accurate data based
B) fence, and the on the graph?
C) fence, too, also the
A) NOCHANGE
D) fence, and some people thought of
B) has decreased slightly,
C) has grown by nearly 500%,
35. A) NO CHANGE D) dropped precipitately in the 1980s,
B) Philadelphia would be
C) Philadelphia was
42. Which of the following best introduces the conclud-
D) Philadelphia could provide
ing paragraph of this essay?
A) NOCHANGE
36. The best placement for Sentence 2 would be: B) What do you say we grab some chicken wings
A) where it is now. after this?
B) before Sentence 1. C) If only Goldhaft could have lived to see the
C) after Sentence 3. organic and free-range chicken movement.
D) after Sentence 4. D) Chicken has overtaken beef as the most
consumed meat in the United States.

37. The writer wants to add the phrase "when he was

15" to the sentence, adjusting the punctuation and 43. A) NO CHANGE
capitalization as necessary. Where should the writer B) remote places.
make this addition? C) remote of all places.
D) remote place in the world.
A) At the beginning of the sentence
B) After the word He
C) After the word School 44. A) NO CHANGE
D) After the word in B) paraphernalia,
C) people and events,
D) like,
38. A) NO CHANGE
B) cursed
C) vowed
D) swore

39. Which of the following sentences best agrees with

the ideas in the previous sentence and leads most
effectively to the next?
A) NOCHANGE
B) Vegetarian consciousness had not yet gained a
foothold in the United States.
C) Pigs and cows were doing just fine.
D) A mysterious pox was killing chickens in droves.

40. A) NO CHANGE
B) his
C) my
D) they're

Writing and Language Drills I 39

Page 8 of 8