by Talal Ali Jan

cracking the

SAT

READING – PASSAGE TYPES

#07

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Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

SAT Passage Types

• There are five passages in the Reading section.
• One passage will be in the Literature domain.
• Two will be in the Science domain
• Two will be in the Social Science domain.
• One of the two Science passages will include graphics, and one of the two Social Science
passages will include graphics.
• One Science or Social Science passage will actually be a set of two short passages.
• Literature passages will never include graphics, and will not be presented as paired passages.

Literature Passages

• There is one Literature passage in the Reading section of the SAT.

• Pay attention to how the author uses language and literary techniques to convey his/her
message.

Important Details in Literature Passages

Figurative Language

There are seven basic kinds of figurative language:

Talal Ali Jan 1

 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Practice: Literature Passages

Below is an example passage. Read the passage, paying special attention to the elements we have
discussed, and then answer the accompanying practice questions.

We were planning supplies for our And that oil oozed up and ruined
trip. George said: the sunset; and as for the moonbeams,
"Begin with breakfast." (George is so they positively reeked of kerosene.
practical.) "Now for breakfast we shall 35 We tried to get away from it at
5 want a frying-pan"—(Harris said Marlow. We left the boat by the
it was indigestible; but we merely bridge, and took a walk through the
urged him not to be a fool, and George town to escape it, but it followed us.
went on)—"a tea-pot and a kettle, and The whole town was full of oil. We
an ethanol stove." 40 passed through the church-yard, and it
10 "No oil," said George, with a seemed as if the people had
significant look; and Harris and I been buried in oil. The High Street
agreed. We had taken an oil-stove on stunk of oil; we wondered how people
a boat trip once, but "never again." could live in it. And we walked miles
It had been like living in an oil-shop 45 upon miles out Birmingham way; but
15 that week. It oozed. I never saw it was no use, the country was steeped
another thing ooze like kerosene oil. in oil.
We kept it in the nose of the boat, and, At the end of that trip we met
from there, it oozed down to the together at midnight in a lonely field,
rudder, impregnating the whole boat 50 under a blasted oak, and took an awful
20 and everything in it on its way, and it oath (we had been swearing for a
oozed over the river, and saturated the whole week about the thing in an
scenery and spoilt the atmosphere. ordinary, middle-class way, but this
Sometimes a westerly oily wind blew, was a swell affair)—an awful oath
and at other times an easterly oily 55 never to take kerosene oil with us in a
25 wind, and sometimes it blew a boat again.
northerly oily wind, and maybe a And so for this trip, we confined
southerly oily wind; but whether it ourselves to an ethanol stove. Even
came for the Arctic snows, or was that is bad enough. You get ethanol
raised in the waste of the desert sands, 60 pie and ethanol cake. But ethanol is
30 it came alike to us laden with the more wholesome than kerosene, and
fragrance of kerosene oil. much less persistent.

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Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

1. The main purpose of this passage can best be described as

A. suggesting that planning an adventure might be more fun than going on one.
B. telling the story of how a group of friends learned from a past mistake.
C. describing the process of planning and preparing to go on a trip.
D. explaining why it is important to avoid using certain types of fuel in enclosed spaces.

2. Based on the passage, we can most reasonably infer that Harris, George, and the narrator are

A. recent acquaintances planning a trip to get to know one another.

B. travelling companions who first met during an unfortunate journey by boat.
C. seasoned adventurers who regularly travel great distances.
D. old friends planning a trip similar to one they had taken before.

3. The author's purpose in describing how the oil affected the sunset and moonbeams (lines 32-34)
is mainly to

A. describe the widespread pollution that the boys encountered as they travelled down the river.
B. contrast the environment of the boat with the lonely field the boys would visit later.
C. suggest that the smell of kerosene was so overwhelming that it tainted every other experience.
D. relate the specific event which finally persuaded the boys never to bring kerosene again.

Talal Ali Jan 3

Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Science Passage

• There are two Science passages in the Evidence-Based Reading section of the SAT.
• Science passages will always be from contemporary sources, which means they're current
science. Science passages on the SAT will be about natural or physical sciences—physics,
biology, astronomy, chemistry, or similar fields.
• One of the Science passages will include one or two graphics.
• One of the Science passages might also be a set of paired passages. That means that it will
actually consist of two short passages, presented together.
• With Science passages, your goal is to identify the main topic or argument, and understand how
the additional information and evidence provided explains the subject or supports that
argument.

Important Details in Science Passages

Elements of an Argument

Often, Science passages are going to be mainly about building an argument that shows, using evidence
and logic, why the author believes that some basic idea is true.

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 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Practice: Science Passages

Below is an example passage. Read the passage, paying special attention to the elements we have
discussed, and then answer the accompanying practice questions.

The United States Fish and research, 2009 is relatively recent.

Wildlife Service says homeowners use 45 Epidemiologic studies take decades,
up to 10 times more chemicals per acre and developing a battery of reliable
line than farmers do. Some of these laboratory tests also takes many years.
5 chemicals rub off on children or pets, This means that there are more studies
but most are washed with rainwater implicating older chemicals, many of
into our streams, lakes and rivers or 50 which are no longer sold because of
are absorbed into our groundwater. known toxicities.
These are the sources of our drinking But many scientists expect similar
10 to water, and tests show these chemicals chemicals now in widespread use to
are indeed contaminating our water cause the same problems. Endocrine
supply. 55 disrupters are linked to an increased
A study by the United States risk for breast and prostate cancer,
Geological Survey released in 1999 thyroid abnormalities and infertility.
15 found at least one pesticide, and often The Endocrine Society paper and
more than one, in almost every stream others also present evidence that links
and fish sample tested, and in about 60 exposure to chemical contaminants to
half of the samples drawn from wells diabetes and obesity.
throughout the country. These These chemicals are not safe just
20 pesticides are going from our lawns because they are available in stores.
and gardens into our drinking water Regulations governing the sale of
and into our bodies. 65 chemicals do not reflect this new
The amounts of these chemicals are scientific information, because
small and often considered "acceptable," scientists are only now working on
25 but scientists now know that they have a standardized tests both in laboratory
cumulative effect. Many chemicals that animals and cell cultures to evaluate
we use very casually on our lawns cause long- 70 whether a chemical disrupts the
term health problems in ways that have only hormonal system, and if so, at what
recently been understood. They level.
30 "disrupt," or throw out of whack, the What we put on our lawns and
endocrine system, made up of glands down our drains winds up in our
and hormones that control almost 75 drinking water, and it is not removed
every aspect of our bodies' functions. by water treatment. Bottled water is
In 2009 the Endocrine Society, a not a solution because it comes from
35 group of doctors, researchers and the same sources and is susceptible to
educators who specialize in diseases the same contaminants. But if we don't
related to the hormonal system, 80 put these chemicals in our yards, they
published a scientific statement based won't be in our drinking water.
on 485 citations from research papers In the last decade or so, plenty of
40 showing growing evidence that there homeowners have been rejecting the
are significant health threats caused by emerald green lawn and planting with
endocrine-disrupting substances in our 85 species that do not demand chemicals
environment. In terms of scientific and constant watering. But not nearly

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Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

enough of us have taken that step. We

need to see a perfect lawn not as
enviable, but a sign of harm.

1. The main purpose of this passage is to

A. argue that we should change our lawn-care practices.

B. recommend the use of new types of lawn-care products.
C. propose that people should no longer cultivate lawns.
D. describe the effects that lawns have on society.

2. The author cites a study by the Endocrine Society to support the claim that

A. pesticides currently available in stores may be as harmful as those which are banned.
B. chemical contaminants have been found throughout our environment.
C. conducting studies and developing tests can take years.
D. chemical contaminants may be causing physical harm to humans.

3. Based on information in the passage, we can infer that the author believes that the evidence
about the safety of chemicals in stores today

A. is adequate to prove that they cause harm to humans.
B. shows that government regulators are ignoring the scientific data.
C. is sufficient to justify concerns about their safety.
D. explains the prevalence of diabetes and obesity.

Talal Ali Jan 6

Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Social Science & Historical Passages

• There are two Social Science passages on the SAT.

• Social Science passages might include graphic elements, and might be presented as paired
passages.
• One of these passages will resemble a Science passage. However, it will be from a field in the
social sciences rather than the natural or physical sciences. The social sciences include fields like
economics, psychology, linguistics, and history. You can approach a Social Science passage on
one of these subjects much like you would approach a Science.
• The other one will be very different, and this type of passage will be the focus of this part of this
section. On each SAT, there will be one Historical document that is drawn from either the
Founding Documents of the United States or the Great Global Conversation.
• Founding Documents are those documents that shaped the history of the United States. This
category includes documents like the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, or the
Bill of Rights. The Great Global Conversation refers to the ongoing global conversation about
civic life. This category could include a Winston Churchill speech, a passage from a work written
by Nelson Mandela, a letter from Gandhi—or a wide variety of other historically important
documents or speeches.
• These historical documents frequently use dated language that might not be very familiar. They
also address complex topics: the nature of liberty, the role of government, the relationship
between individuals and society, and so on. They're not exactly light reading, but don't worry;
with practice, you can develop all the skills that you need to tackle these challenging passages.

Talal Ali Jan 7

 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Practice: Social Science and Historical Passages

President John F. Kennedy was the I believe in an America where the

first Catholic to be elected president separation of church and state is
of the United States. During the absolute, where no Catholic prelate
campaign for the presidency, would tell the president (should he be
Kennedy faced attacks over the 40 Catholic) how to act, and no
positions of the Catholic Church, and Protestant minister would tell his
charges that as president he would parishioners for whom to vote; where
"take orders from the Pope. " In this no church or church school is granted
speech, Kennedy addresses the any public funds or political
"religious issue. " 45 preference; and where no man is
denied public office merely because
While the so-called "religious his religion differs from the president
issue" is necessarily and properly the who might appoint him or the people
chief topic here tonight, I want to who might elect him.
emphasize from the outset that I 50 I believe in an America that is
5 believe that we have far more critical officially neither Catholic, Protestant
issues to face in the 1960 election: the nor Jewish; where no public official
spread of Communist influence, until either requests or accepts instructions
it now festers 90 miles off the coast on public policy from the Pope, the
of Florida; the humiliating treatment 55 National Council of Churches or any
10 of our president and vice president by other ecclesiastical source; where no
those who no longer respect our religious body seeks to impose its
power; the hungry children I saw in will directly or indirectly upon the
West Virginia; the old people who general populace or the public acts of
cannot pay their doctors bills; the 60 its officials; and where religious
15 families forced to give up their farms; liberty is so indivisible that an act
an America with too many slums, against one church is treated as an act
with too few schools, and too late to against all.
the moon and outer space. For while this year it may be a
These are the real issues which 65 Catholic against whom the finger of
20 should decide this campaign. And suspicion is pointed, in other years it
they are not religious issues—for has been, and may someday be again,
war and hunger and ignorance and a Jew, or a Quaker, or a Unitarian, or
despair know no religious barriers. a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of
But because I am a Catholic, and no 70 Baptist preachers, for example, that
25 Catholic has ever been elected helped lead to Jefferson's statute of
president, the real issues in this religious freedom. Today I may be
campaign have been obscured— the victim, but tomorrow it may be you—
perhaps deliberately, in some quarters until the whole fabric of our harmonious
less responsible than this. 75 society is ripped at a time of great
30 So it is apparently necessary for national peril.
me to state once again not what kind Finally, I believe in an America
of church I believe in—for that where religious intolerance will
should be important only to me— someday end; where all men and all
but what kind of America I believe 80 churches are treated as equal; where
35 in. every man has the same right to

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 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

attend or not to attend the church of 95 kind of presidency in which I believe:

his choice; where there is no Catholic great office that must neither be
vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc humbled by making it the instrument
85 voting of any kind; and where of any one religious group, nor
Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at tarnished by arbitrarily withholding
both the lay and the pastoral level, 100 its occupancy from the members of
will refrain from those attitudes of any one religious group.
disdain and division which have so I believe in a president whose
90 often marred their works in the past, views on religion are his own private
and promote instead the American affair, neither imposed by him upon
ideal of brotherhood. 105 the nation, nor imposed by the nation
That is the kind of America in upon him as a condition to holding
which I believe. And it represents the that office.

1. Kennedy's main purpose in this passage is to

A. urge Americans to reconsider their religious views, in light of the many issues facing society.
B. argue against providing government funds to religious organizations.
C. express his view that religion and politics should be strictly separated.
D. suggest that since all churches are equal they deserve equal representation in government.

2. Kennedy's tone in lines 6-9 ("the spread ... of Florida") suggests that he feels that "Communist
influence" is

A. slowly decaying until it finally disappears.

B. an offensive problem about which too little has been done.
C. an unpleasant but mostly harmless irritation.
D. the cause of most of the other problems in the United States at that time.

3. Lines 73-77 ("Today I ... national peril") are most likely intended to suggest that

A. when you treat a religious group unfairly, they are likely to treat others unfairly in the future.
B. people are most likely to discriminate on the basis of religion during times of crisis.
C. religious diversity and political harmony cannot exist in the same society.
D. religious discrimination could lead to divisions which harm all Americans.

Talal Ali Jan 9

 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Passages with graphics

• Two reading passages on the SAT will include graphic elements.

• One of the passages will be a Science passage, and the other will be a Social Science passage.
There will be one or two graphic elements accompanying each passage.
• The graphics might be used to represent statistical data—as in bar graphs or pie charts—but
they might also be charts or diagrams showing physical relationships or other concepts, like
compasses showing bearings, diagrams of technology or natural systems, or trees showing
genealogy or evolutionary history.

Practice: Passages with Graphics

Below is an example passage. Read the passage, paying special attention to the elements we have
discussed, and then answer the accompanying practice questions.

The level of the most important fossil fuels extensively for far longer,
heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, and experts say the United States is
carbon dioxide, has passed a long- 35 more responsible than any other
feared milestone, scientists reported nation for the high level.
5 Friday, reaching a concentration not The new measurement came from
seen on the earth for millions of years. analyzers atop Mauna Loa, the
Scientific instruments showed that volcano on the big island of Hawaii
the gas had reached an average daily 40 that has long been ground zero for
level above 400 parts per million— monitoring the worldwide trend on
10 just an odometer moment in one carbon dioxide, or CO2. Devices
sense, but also a sobering reminder there sample clean, crisp air that has
that decades of efforts to bring blown thousands of miles across the
human-produced emissions under 45 Pacific Ocean, producing a record of
control are faltering. rising carbon dioxide levels that has
15 "It symbolizes that so far we have been closely tracked for half a
failed miserably in tackling this century.
problem," said Pieter P. Tans, who Carbon dioxide above 400 parts
runs the monitoring program at the 50 per million was first seen in the Arctic
National Oceanic and Atmospheric last year, and had also spiked above
20 Administration (NOAA) that reported that level in hourly readings at Mauna
the new reading. Loa.
Ralph Keeling, who runs another But the average reading for an
monitoring program at the Scripps 55 entire day surpassed that level at
Institution of Oceanography in San Mauna Loa for the first time in the 24
25 Diego, said a continuing rise could be hours that ended at 8 p.m. Eastern
catastrophic. "It means we are quickly Daylight Time on Thursday. The two
losing the possibility of keeping the monitoring programs use slightly
climate below what people thought 60 different protocols; NOAA reported
were possibly tolerable thresholds," an average for the period of 400.03
30 he said. parts per million, while Scripps
China is now the largest emitter, reported 400.08.
but Americans have been consuming

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 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Carbon dioxide rises and falls on a say the climate is beginning to react,
65 seasonal cycle, and the level will dip though they expect far larger changes
below 400 this summer as leaf growth 95 in the future.
in the Northern Hemisphere pulls Indirect measurements suggest
about 10 billion tons of carbon out of that the last time the carbon dioxide
the air. But experts say that will be a level was this high was at least three
70 brief reprieve—the moment is million years ago, during an epoch
approaching when no measurement of 100 called the Pliocene. Geological
the ambient air anywhere on earth, in research shows that the climate then
any season, will produce a reading was far warmer than today, the
below 400. world's ice caps were smaller, and the
75 From studying air bubbles trapped sea level might have been as much as
in Antarctic ice, scientists know that 105 60 or 80 feet higher.
going back 800,000 years, the carbon Countries have adopted an official
dioxide level oscillated in a tight target to limit the damage from global
band, from about 180 parts per warming, with 450 parts per million
80 million in the depths of ice ages to seen as the maximum level
about 280 during the warm periods 110 compatible with that goal. "Unless
between. The evidence shows that things slow down, we'll probably get
global temperatures and CO2 levels there in well under 25 years," Ralph
are tightly linked. Keeling said.
85 For the entire period of human Yet many countries, including
civilization, roughly 8,000 years, the 115 China and the United States, have
carbon dioxide level was relatively refused to adopt binding national
stable near that upper bound. But the targets. Scientists say that unless far
burning of fossil fuels has caused a 41 greater efforts are made soon, the goal
90 percent increase in the heat-trapping of limiting the warming will become
gas since the Industrial Revolution, a 120 impossible without severe economic
mere geological instant, and scientists disruption.

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Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

1. Based on information from the passage, we can conclude that during the winter

A. dropping temperatures will also cause a drop in carbon dioxide levels.

B. atmospheric sampling is less likely to produce accurate results.
C. atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are higher than at other times in the year.
D. scientists are able to sample air bubbles trapped in ice.

2. Based on information from the passage and graph, carbon dioxide levels

A. never reached 400 parts per million before the industrial revolution.
B. never reached levels as high as today in the preceding 400,000 years.
C. have been as high as 400,000 parts per million in the past.
D. are usually around 200 parts per million.

3. Information from the graph best supports which of the following statements?

A. From 1960 to 2010, carbon dioxide levels rose more slowly but to a higher point than at any
other time in the past 400,000 years.
B. Seasonally adjusted carbon dioxide levels have been above 300 parts-per- million for more than
200,000 years.
C. Due to increasing carbon dioxide, sea levels in 2010 most likely rose to levels similar to those in
the Pliocene.
D. Between 1960 and 2010, carbon dioxide levels sometimes dropped from month-to-month, but
seasonally adjusted levels rose steadily.

Talal Ali Jan 12

 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Paired Passages

Below is an example passage. Read the passage, paying special attention to the elements we have
discussed, then answer the accompanying practice questions.

The following passages discuss the

length of work shifts for resident
physicians in hospitals. Resident
physicians are physicians who have
graduated from a medical school, and
are continuing their professional
training by performing supervisee'
work in a medical care facility.

Passage 1

At Brigham and Women's Despite the increasing emphasis on

Hospital, we quantified the effects of evidence-based decision making in
work hours on medical error rates in a medicine, these data have often been
group of first-year residents who 35 met with a negative response. Those
5 worked in intensive-care units under who oppose stricter work-hour limits
two sets of conditions: a traditional say continuity of care demands long
schedule with 24- to 30-hour shifts shifts. But even with 30-hour shifts,
every other shift, and a schedule with care of a patient eventually has to be
16-hour limits. On the former 40 handed over to another team.
10 schedule, the residents made 36% Medicine is also increasingly filled
more serious medical errors than on with specialists, a development
the latter, and inadvertently fell asleep requiring a team approach to deliver
on duty twice as often on overnight the best care. So we need to find better
duty. Longer shifts affect not just the 45 ways for teams to communicate and to
15 safety and health of patients but that of transfer information, rather than insist
physicians as well. In surveys that doctors risk their own and their
conducted by our group, residents patients' health by working beyond
working 24 or more hours in a row their biological limits.
reported sticking themselves with 50 Doctors are not immune to biology.
20 needles 60% more often, and had more While we appreciate their dedication
than double the odds of having a car and sacrifice, we cannot allow them to
crash on the drive home from work as harm others or themselves with the
compared with shorter shifts. In a 2010 outdated and unnecessary "rite of
review of 23 studies on the effects of 55 passage" of 24-hour shifts.
25 reducing resident work hours, all but
one showed an improvement or no
change in patient care or resident sleep Passage 2
or quality of life. There were no
objective data showing that shorter For a half-dozen years, the
30 work hours were worse for patients or Accreditation Council for Graduate
physicians.

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 Cracking the SAT – Manual #7 Reading – Passage Types

Medical Education has experimented problems for the next shift rather than
with reduced work hours for to find and address them as early as
60 physicians-in-training. The current possible.
limit is no more than 80 hours per Patients are now the collective
week. Now some want to reduce this 85 responsibility of the team, rather than
even further. primarily the responsibility of "their
I think we should challenge the doctor." In the old system, the
65 whole idea of having a central patient's doctor was expected to take
committee dictate work limitations for care of anticipated problems as well
all residency programs. 90 as possible before signing out. It is
Treating new physicians like shift also more efficient for the doctor who
workers is destroying the individual already knows the patient to order the
70 patient-physician relationship. Having fever work-up, talk to the family, or
shorter shifts means more frequent assess progress and the potential need
"handoffs," which disrupts both 95 for a change in the treatment.
education and patient care. Those who In the old days, it was understood
favor shorter shifts, and thus more that residency would be grueling. A
75 handoffs, may argue that quality of surgical residency was specifically
handoffs matters more than quantity. compared with becoming a Marine.
But quantity matters too. The shift- 100 The enemy was disease or death
work culture means working until or human suffering, and the schedule
time is up, rather than until work is of fighting was determined by the
80 done. The incentive is to leave enemy, not by a central committee.

1. Both passages suggest which of the following is a main reason to be concerned about shift-
length during residency?

A. Freedom of choice for doctors

B. The quality of medical care
C. The safety of doctors
D. Preserving traditional training methods

2. Which of the following forms of evidence is used in Passage 1, but NOT in Passage 2?

A. Logical arguments
B. Expert quotations
C. Personal anecdotes
D. Data from studies

3. The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the argument in lines 35-40 ("Those who ...
another team") by

A. arguing that fewer hand-overs are still preferable, even if some are unavoidable.
B. suggesting that doctors should continue to work until patients recover.
C. pointing out that specialist training would not be possible with shorter shifts.
D. proposing that we should develop a better system for hand-overs.

Talal Ali Jan 14


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