2016SHSAT_English

Sample Test – VerbalExplanations of Correct AnswersBForm31. (B) The answer to this question is not stated directlyin the passage but can be inferred from lines 16-19.Unsigned documents protected samizdat writers fromcapture and punishment, which is Option B. Options Aand E are not likely reasons—the materials were in factsmuggled outside the Soviet Union and copied over andover. Option C might look attractive, but the samizdatdocuments were unsigned to protect the identities of thewriters, not of the secret police. Since all samizdat documentswere unsigned, that was not a factor in judgingtheir trustworthiness (Option D).32. (F) The answer is found in lines 71-75. The correctanswer, Option F, makes the connection between theabolishment of censorship and subsequent freedom of thepress, which eliminated the need for samizdat. The passagedoes not support Options G or K, and it contradictsOption H. Option J is not the reason that samizdat networksended.Camera33. (D) Options A, B, and C are mentioned in passing,but they are not the themes of the passage. Option Eis mentioned only in the last paragraph. Option D bestdescribes what the passage is about—early versions ofthe concealed camera, examples of its uses, and its rolein spy craft.34. (K) The answer, Option K, is found in lines 9-11.Despite the name of the camera, amateur photographers,not detectives, used this camera.35. (D) The correct answer, Option D, is found in lines9-12. Early detective cameras resembled boxes (Option A),but that was not their purpose. Options B, C, and E referto other kinds of cameras, not early detective cameras.36. (J) According to lines 21-25, the camera with mirrorsallowed the photographer to aim the camera in one directionwhile photographing something in another direction(Option J). Options F and G refer to early detective cameras,not the camera with mirrors, which resembled anordinary camera. Option H describes a different use forcameras, as presented in the third paragraph. Option Kis not mentioned.37. (A) The correct answer is found in lines 17-19.Option A restates the idea that people were no longerdeceived by detective cameras. None of the other optionsis supported by the passage.38. (G) Reread the third paragraph to understand the“idea” in line 40. The attempt to use pigeons to photographthe enemy’s army position was impractical, but the“idea behind it”—taking photographs from overhead,without detection—was practical, which is Option G. Thepassage gives the example of satellite-mounted camerasto illustrate its practicality. Options F and J were truefor photography in general, not to "the idea" in line 40.Option H describes a use for aerial photography, not the“idea.” Option K refers to the impractical attempt, not tothe idea behind it.Pueblo39. (D) Option A cannot be the theme because only thefirst paragraph discusses how weather conditions affecttree growth. Option B is too broad to be the theme of thepassage, which focuses on Pueblo and Hopi villages. Thereason for the abandonment of the Pueblo villages (OptionC) is mentioned only in the last paragraph, so it is not thetheme. Option D, “how tree-ring dating can establish theage of archaeological findings,” offers a good summary ofthe entire passage, which explains the science of tree-ringdating, followed by several examples. Option E cannotbe correct. The passage does not mention other datingmethods, nor does it claim that tree-ring dating is the bestmethod for determining dates.40. (K) This question requires you to understand theestablished chronology (line 50) and “floating” chronology(line 53) and to draw an inference about the “key” beam,based on information in the passage. Option F is true,but can be proved without a “key” beam. The passagedoes not mention Options G, H, and J. Option K is correct.The “key” beam, with its overlapping ring patternsof the established and “floating” chronologies, allowedarchaeologists to connect the two chronologies.41. (B) The trees in the question share an identical patternof a very wide band followed by two narrow bands,showing that both trees were alive during that three-yearperiod, although they were planted and cut at differenttimes. Options A and B can be evaluated by assigningarbitrary years to the three shaded rings—for example,10, 11, and 12. (It does not matter what numbers youchoose, as long as they are used consistently.) Countingout from the shaded rings, Log 1 was cut in the year 16,while Log 2 was cut in the year 13. Thus, Log 2 was cutbefore Log 1 (Option B). Option C contradicts the reasoningbehind tree-ring dating and cannot be correct. Thereis no way to determine which log came from the fastergrowingtree, ruling out Options D and E.100