PSAT 2012

Most Missed Questions

3. When Susan, the manager of the clothing store where Nathan shopped, __________ his complaints, he became so ______________ that he resolved to take his business to a competing retailer.

(A) exaggerated…..exhilarated(B) disregarded…..gratified(C) heeded…..despondent(D) ridiculed….unscrupulous(E) trivialized….exasperated

(A) To “exaggerate” is to overstate something or to represent something as more than it is. “Exhilarated” means cheerful and excited. These terms do not logically complete the sentence. Although it is possible that Susan “exaggerated” or overstated Nathan’s complaints when speaking with him or to someone else, it is unlikely that this would have caused Nathan to feel cheerful or “exhilarated”. Further, if Nathan felt “exhilarated,” he might not have decided to start shopping at a different store.

(B) To “disregard” something is to ignore it. “Gratified” means satisfied. Susan certainly could not have ignored Nathan’s complaints, so the term “disregarded” fits the first blank. However, it is illogical to suggest that Nathan would have felt satisfied as a result of having his complaints ignored. Furthermore, if Nathan felt satisfied, he might not have taken his “business to a competing retailer.” The term “gratified” does not logically complete the sentence.

(C) To “heed” something is to pay attention to it. “Despondent” means extremely discouraged or depressed. The sentence indicates that Susan did something having to do with Nathan’s complaints; as a result, Nathan “resolved to take his business to a competing retailer.” Susan could have paid attention to Nathan’s complaints, so the term “heeded” fits the first blank. However, it does not make much sense to suggest that Nathan would have been extremely discouraged by having his complaints heeded. Indeed, if Susan had paid attention to Nathan’s concerns, he might have felt pleased and continued shopping at her store. The term “despondent” does not logically complete the sentence.

(D) To “ridicule” something is to mock it or make fun of it. “Unscrupulous” means unethical or immoral. Susan could have “ridiculed” Nathan’s complaints causing Nathan to take his business elsewhere. However, there is no reason to suggest that Nathan became very “unscrupulous” or unethical as a result of being “ridiculed” by Susan; indeed there is nothing unethical about choosing to shop at one store instead of another, especially if one has been treated poorly. The term “unscrupulous” does not logically complete the sentence.

(E) To trivialize something is to treat it as unimportant or trivial. “Exasperated” means greatly annoyed or irritated. The sentence indicates that Susan, the store manager, did something having to do with Nathan’s complaints; as a result, Nathan “resolved to take his business to a competing retailer.” The terms “trivialized” and “exasperated” logically complete the sentence. If Susan treated Nathan’s complaints as unimportant, it makes sense that Nathan would have become so “irritated” or “exasperated” that he would have started shopping at a different store.

4. There has been a recent ________________ of interest in the art of painter Yayoi Kusama: once at the _______________ of critical consciousness, her work is now very near the center.

(A) restoration…..hub(B) subsidence….boundary(C) resurgence….periphery(D) renewal….core(E) deterioration….edge

(C) Look at the structure of the sentence first. The colon indicates that the text after it explains or elaborates on the idea in the first sentence (the part before the colon). A “resurgence” is a rising again to life, activity, or prominence. “Periphery” refers to the outer edges of something. It makes sense to suggest that certain artworks “once at the periphery of critical consciousness,” or on the outer edges of art critics’ awareness, could now be “very near the center.” That statement does elaborate on the idea that “There has been a recent resurgence of interest” in that artist’s work, or that interest in that artist’s work has recently risen in prominence.

(A) “Restoration” refers to bringing something back to a former or improved condition. “Hub”, in this context, is the center of activity. The second word “hub” does not logically work in the sentence; The idea that Kusama’s work was “once at the hub of critical consciousness,” or at the center of art critics’ awareness, and is now “very near the center does not elaborate on the idea that interest in the work has improved. Also, going from the “center of critical consciousness” to only “near” the center would not be an improvement.

(B) In this context ”subsidence” refers to a gradual lessening or decrease. A “boundary” is the outer edge or limit of something. If Kusama’s work is now “very near the center” of critical consciousness, this would suggest that interest in her work increased, not decreased, so the word “subsidence” does not logically work in this sentence.

(D) In this context, “renewal” refers to being given fresh life or strength. In this context, a “core” is the center of something. While “renewal” may work for the first blank, the word “core” does not logically fit the second blank. If Kusama’s work had been at the center of critics’ awareness, there would have been no need for interest to become stronger. Further, going from the center of critical consciousness to only near the center would not indicate a strengthened interest.

(E) “Deterioration” refers to decaying or decline. In this context, an “edge” is the outer limit of something. While it might make sense to say there “has been a recent deterioration of interest” in the work of “painter Yayoi Kusama,” or that interest in Kusama’s work has been declining, the idea that Kusama’s work was “once at the edge of critical consciousness,” or at the outer limit of art critics’ awarness, and is now “very near the center” does not elaborate on the idea that interest in the work has declined.

5. When we act unselfishly toward others, our ___________________ is rewarded by the release of pleasure-inducing chemicals in the brain.

(A) duplicity(B) altruism(C) discernment(D) effusiveness(E) subservience

(B) “altruism” is unselfish behavior that benefits others. The structure of the sentence indicates that the word in the blank refers to “act[ing] unselfishly toward others.” Because “altruism” is a display of unselfish behavior towards others, that term fits in the blank.

(A)“Duplicity” is deceitful behavior. Duplicitous behavior is not unselfish—in fact a duplicitous person is likely acting in his or her best interest.

(C) “discernment” refers to someone’s ability to “discern” something---to make a fine and careful observation or distinction; there is no reason to believe that a person making careful observations would be acting in an unselfish manner—therefore, “discernment” does not fit the blank.

(D) “effusiveness” is great joy or enthusiasm. Although unselfish behavior “is rewarded by the release of pleasure-inducing chemicals,” as indicated in the sentence, the sentence does not indicate that unselfish behavior would not necessarily be characterized by a display of great joy.

(E) “Subservience” is putting oneself under another person’s command or control. There is no connection between submitting to the demands of another person and acting unselfishly. Rather, a person who acts unselfishly displays altruism.

6. Although scientists occasionally receive reports of snowflakes the size of dinner plates falling from the sky, the accounts are always ________________ because of the ____________ nature of snowflakes.

(A) circumstantial…..complicated(B) definitive…unreliable(C) uncorroborated…ephemeral(D) substantive….intrinsic(E) anecdotal….precipitous

(C) “uncorroborated” means unsupported by evidence; “ephemeral” means lasting a very short time. The word “although” at the beginning of the sentence suggests that the “reports of snowflakes the size of dinner plates” are problematic in some way. Furthermore, the sentence indicates that the problem is due to the “nature of snowflakes.” Of the options, only “uncorroborated” and “ephemeral” fit the sentence: the reports of giant snowflakes are always unsupported by evidence because snowflakes melt and, therefore, do not last a long time—in other words, “because of the ephemeral nature of snowflakes.”

(A)“circumstantial” means relevant but not essential; “complicated” means difficult or intricate.

(B) “definitive” means conclusive or authoritative; “unreliable” means not dependable. (D) “substantive” means detailed and significant; “intrinsic” means essential”(E) “anecdotal” means unscientific; “precipitous” means both steep and speedy.

7. Jules Verne’s 1897 novel An Antarctic Mystery was ________________: it foresaw the disastrous long-term consequences of the massive hunting of whales.

(A) spurious(B) vitriolic(C) reminiscent(D) prescient(E) presumptuous

(D) Something that is “prescient” displays great foresight or foreknowledge of events that have not yet occurred. The structure of the sentence indicates that the word in the blank refers to foreseeing, or predicating things that will occur in the future (in this case, “the disastrous long-term consequences of the massive hunting of whales”). The only option that directly involves foresight is “prescient.”

8. Although the authoritative regime accorded significant rights to the ____________ of the opposition parties, their rank and file members still had only minimal___________ to engage in political activity.

(A) commoners…. Opportunity(B) dissidents…cause(C) adversaries…inclination(D) elites….latitude(E) stalwarts….compensation

(D) In this context, the “elites” are the most powerful and well-connected members of the opposition parties, and “latitude” means freedom of action or choice. The sentence uses the word “Although” to draw a contrast between the experience of the “rank and file-members” of some political parties (the “opposition parties”) and that of some other members of the same parties. According to the sentence, “rank and file” members have only a minimal amount of something, while this other group has “significant rights.” “Rank-and-file” members of a group are the lower-ranking members, or followers, while “elites” are the leaders, so elites for the first blank. In addition, because the sentence is about political parties, the elite members “significant [political ] rights” would contrast with the rank and file members “minimal” political rights, or, in other words, “ minimal latitude to engage in political activity.” Latitude fits the second blank.

29. Some mistook Josh’s ____________ for detachment: because he was shy and reserved, they assumed he was ______________.

(A) reticence….pensive(B) exuberance….standoffish(C) modesty….humble(D) quirkiness….arrogant(E) diffidence….aloof

18. The success of Dracula, Bram Stoker’s novel about a Transylvanian vampire, far surpassing any of his other novels dealing with supernatural themes.

(A) far surpassing any of his other novels dealing with

(B) far surpassing those of any of his other novels that dealt with

(C) far surpassed that of any of his other novels that dealt with

(D) far surpassed any of his other novels dealing with

(E) surpassing by far those other novels of his that dealt with addition to racing rocket-powered vehicles.

(C) Is correct

19. Exhibitions of some works by modern artists have spurred political controversy over should they continue federal support of art.

(A) should they continue federal support of art

(B) should federal support of art continue(C) continued federal support of art(D) whether art should be continued to be

supported federally(E) federal support of art and continuing it

(C) It avoids the unidiomatic phrasing and the ambiguous pronoun of the original by providing the noun phrase “continued federal support of art” to appropriately serve as the object of the preposition “over”.

(A)Results in unidiomatic phrasing and an ambiguous pronoun.

(B) Results in unidiomatic phrasing(d) Results in wordiness(E) Results in wordiness and an ambiguous pronoun

20. Lily Dale, the heroine of Anthony Trollope’s serialized novel The Small House at Allington, captivated readers to where they deluged the author with letters pleading that he have her marry her admirer, Johnny Eames.

(A) captivated readers to where(B) so captivated readers that(C) because she captivated readers,(D) who captivated readers so that(E) she was so captivating to readers that

(B) Lily Dale, the heroine of Anthony Trollope’s serialized novel The Small House at Allington, so captivated readers that they deluged the author with letters pleading that he have her marry her admirer, Johnny Eames. It avoids the error of the original by providing the appropriate correlative construction “so….that” to express the degree to which readers were “captivated” by lily Dale and the actions the readers took as a result (“…they deluged the author with letters…”)

28. Dr. Sandford said that astronomers will (a) soon be able to measure (b) distances between the stars © with an accuracy that ten years ago (d) would seem impossible. (e) no error

(D) The verb phrase “would seem” is logically inconsistent with an action that took place “ten years ago” and should be replaced with a past tense verb form. The simple past tense verb “seemed” could work, but it would probably be more appropriate to use the phrase “would have seemed” in this context.

Dr. Sandford said that astronomers will soon be able to measure distances between the starts with an accuracy that ten years ago would have seemed impossible.

29. The word “lanyard” describes a cord (a) to which an employee (b) might attach an identification card, but the word seems sinister when (c) one learns that it is (d) derived by an Old French word for “noose.” (e) no error

(D) The phrase “derived by” is unidiomatic in this context and should be replaced with the idiomatic phrase “derived from” meaning “to come from.”

The word “lanyard” describes a cord to which an employee might attach an identification card, but the word seems sinister when one learns that it is derived from an Old French word for “noose.”

30. Humans (a) have long been inventing tools, and this (b) film documents the amazing creativity (c) with which tools (d) have been developed through the ages. (e) no error

(E) There is no error in this sentence.

31. (a) Viewing it from Earth, the planet Mars seems (b) to be rushing eastward through the constellations, (c) as if (d) in a futile effort to escape from the Sun. (e) no error

(A) The sentence illogically implies that “the planet Mars” is “Viewing (itself) from Earth”. The active participial phrase “Viewing it from Earth” should be replaced with the passive participial phrase “Viewed from Earth”.

32. A casual observer (a) might mistake a viola for a violin, since they are very similar (b) in appearance, but the tone of a viola is (c) deeper than a (d) a violin. (e) no error

(D) It does not make sense to compare “the tone of the viola” with “a violin” itself. Instead to make a logical comparison between the tone of the two instruments, the noun phrase “a violin” should be replaced with the phrase “that of a violin.”

33. At the site of a royal tomb in Shaanxi Province, China, archaeologists (a) have unearthed thousands of life size terracotta statues of soldiers, (b) no two of which (c) are (d) exactly alike. (e) no error

(E) No error in this sentence

(A) Plural present perfect verb phrase “have unearthed” appropriately describes an action begun in the past and continuing into the present and agrees with the plural subject “archaeologists.”

(B) (B) the plural pronoun “two” agrees with the plural noun to which it refers, “statues,” and the adjective “no” appropriately modifies the plural pronoun “two”.

(C) The plural verb “are” agrees with the plural subject “two”

(D) The adjective “alike” appropriately modifies the plural pronoun “two” and the adverb “exactly” appropriately modifies the adjective “alike”.

34. (a)Though The Second World War , a book by Sir Winston Churchill, was (b) respectively received when it was (c) first published, it (d) is not highly regarded by historians today. (e) no error

(B) The adjective “respectively,” means “separately, or in a particular order,” is unidiomatic in this context, and should be replaced with the intended adjective, “respectfully,” meaning “showing respect or deference.”

(A) “though” subordinating conjunction appropriately serves to link the two main clauses “The Second World War, ….first published” and “it is ……today.”

(C) The past participle “published” is logically consistent with the preceding past participle “received” and the adverb “first” appropriately modifies the past participle “published.” (D) The singular verb “is” agrees with the singular subject “it” and the adverb “not” appropriately modifies the verb “is”.