2016SHSAT_English

Sample Test – VerbalExplanations of Correct AnswersBFormReadingNo Summer21. (B) The correct answer must incorporate all ofthe important elements of the reading passage, yet itmust not be overly broad. Options A and E are details,and Option D, while important, is not the main theme.Option C might look attractive, but the passage is aboutmuch more than agriculture in New England. Option Bbest incorporates the description of the strange summerof 1816 and its possible cause.22. (F) The correct answer requires you to make aninference based on information provided in the secondparagraph. Lines 15-16 state that farmers “preparedto plow and plant;” they “expected warm temperatures”(lines 16-17) and were “optimistic” (line 18). Thus,the correct inference is that the farmers expected theweather to be normal and expected their crops to grow,which leads to Option F. Options H and K are incorrectbecause the snow and cold weather actually worsenedgrowing conditions. The replanted crops were stuntedor destroyed (line 27), ruling out Option G. Option J isnot true; by July, the weather showed little improvement(lines 28-29).26. (K) Bessel’s theory is summarized in lines 54-57, andOption K restates his theory. Option F is contradicted bylines 35-37, and Option G summarizes the belief of “somereligious leaders” (line 40), not Bessel. Options H and Jwere not part of Bessel’s theory. The eruption of MountPinatubo occurred long after Bessel’s lifetime, so he couldnot have known about it.Samizdat27. (D) Option A mentions two important samizdat writers,but they are mentioned only in passing in the fourthparagraph and are not the main topic. Option B refersto all poetry published in the Soviet Union, not limited tosamizdat poetry, so it is too broad. Option C is incorrectbecause the Soviet Union had neither a free press nor afree society (lines 6-9). Option D is a good summary of thepassage, describing Soviet censorship and the samizdatresponse. Option E is a detail mentioned only briefly inthe first paragraph.28. (H) The earliest phase of samizdat is described inlines 35-36: “At first, samizdat focused mainly on literature,such as poetry and novels.” Only Option H, a shortstory, fits into this category. None of the other options arerepresentative of the earliest phase of samizdat, thoughthey might be examples of later stages.23. (C) The winter of 1816-1817 followed the meagerharvest of the summer of 1816. With many crops stuntedor destroyed (lines 27-28), one would expect food shortagesthe following winter, which is Option C. Option A is notmentioned. Options B, D, and E are contradicted byinformation in the passage.24. (J) Reread the fourth and fifth paragraphs tounderstand the phrase “the global nature of weather.”They explain how conditions in one part of the world(Indonesia) affected weather in another part of the world(New England), which is Option J. None of the otheroptions are supported by the passage.25. (B) To answer this question, assume that the “year ofno summer” was indeed caused by the eruption of MountTambora and the lingering dust in the atmosphere.Based on the information in the passage, what elsemight you expect to have happened? Option B seemspossible; dust from the volcanic eruption might haveblocked the sunlight and lowered temperatures in otherareas of the world. Options A, C, D, and E are not supportedby the passage.29. (B) To answer this question, you must read more thanthe sentence containing the phrase “a knock at his doorin the middle of the night” (lines 47-48). The fourth paragraphsays that Pasternak feared that he would appeardisloyal to the Soviet state. What did he fear? Lines18-19 state, “Most worried that they were being watchedby the government’s secret police.” The correct answeris most likely that Pasternak feared a visit by the secretpolice, which is Option B. The other options are mentionedin the passage but are not objects of fear, as thesecret police were.30. (J) The correct answer must be in the last paragraph,the only paragraph to mention computers (lines 66-70).The passage does not specify the content of the texts storedon computers, so Options F and G can be ruled out. DoctorZhivago was smuggled out by samizdat, not by computer,which eliminates Option H. Option J is the best answer,since storing and circulating texts via computers is moreefficient than typing or hand-copying samizdat texts.Option K is not mentioned.99